Current happenings...

I had meant to do a post about what was going on in my life currently, so thought I might as well start writing it now and see what happens.

This past year and a bit has been quite chaotic and stressful for me, for a couple reasons. One of which is university. After graduating from Glasgow University in 2008, I had a year in which I looked for some jobs in the Earth Science field, but maybe not as effectively as I could have. I just wasn't too sure what I wanted to go into. Earth Science is enjoyable, but a lot of the disciplines...well, I just couldn't really see myself going into for a career.

I tried applying to some post graduates, ie. Masters degrees, but didn't have any luck. They are mainly looking for 2:1's or higher, and my 2:2 put me at a huge disadvantage there. T_T Perhaps I could have tried harder, and applied to more, but I didn't really want to certain disciplines, such as the oil industry. I mean, I found studying the geology behind it interesting, but I was told that the industry as a whole will start slowing down and eventually shutting down in the next 10 years or so depending on the reserves available ie. in the North Sea. 

So with the help of my parents, I decided to take their advice and apply to an Engineering BSc, slightly different course from my first degree, (Earth Science) but with some overlap. So I have done the first semester of the Engineering course now, it started in September. Right from the start, I realised that it really wasn't for me. The work is very tough for me, I aint as confident in the maths as some other people, but more than that, I couldn't really see myself doing Civil Engineering as a profession, as it is really based on a lot of maths and whatnot, and you do that kinda stuff day in day out. I know I really should stick in with the course for longer, to see if I can get past the initial difficulty curve of having to do Maths after taking about 5 or 6 years largely away from it. I did Higher Maths in 5th year in school, and didnt really have to do much of it in my degree for 4 years, and then my year out of study after that. But really, if I have very little interest in the course, I don't see why I should continue, and after thinking long and hard about what I should do, I've decided to drop out from the Engineering degree. Its not something I usually do, or like the idea of doing, but it is what I want to do now.

So now I've decided to take another option, again very different to my Earth Science and the little Engineering I have done. My parents own an independent Optical group, so I am going to take a BSc in Optometry. After a long series of email and phone communications with Glasgow Caledonian Uni, they gave me a couple conditions on getting into this quite hard to get into course.(there are only about 50 or 60 places in the first year course) Either I could stay in my Engineering course and get 70% or so in all my subjects in first year, or if I got an A in my Higher Human Biology course that I am currently doing, I would get in.

The Human Biology is something I enrolled on as soon as I knew would be useful or necessary. I don't have any Biology qualifications, and it is one that they require for this Optom course. I only just got into the one of the colleges, as I was applying in October 09, just around the time when most colleges close their doors to new applicants to send the lists of students off to the SQA, the Scottish Qualifications Authority or whatever it is called.

I had a very limited choice because I was still at uni at Edinburgh, and a lot of them were not taking any more people on,  so I had to find somewhere that would take another person, and preferably with hours that I could attend. So I am now at West Lothian College in Livingston, about a half hour drive away from my house. It was quite chaotic having to get there after being at uni-some times I'd finish uni at 3ish or 4ish and have to get up there for 6 when the classes started on Tuesdays. 

So now, after I go down to Edinburgh Uni when my director of studies is back and sort out my leaving the course, I will just have classes at college on Tuesdays, 6-9. So I'll hopefully have a lot of time to study and try and get that A that I will need for my entry to the Optometry in late 2010.

Thats not really the only thing that I have been stressed and a bit fucked up about...I am still finding stuff hard, my 2008 and some of 2009 were some of the best times I've had, as I was with my ex-girlfriend at the time, but since we broke up in April this year, I've kinda become detached and down. I'm still trying to cope, but it is hard.

Anyway, I don't like to talk about my problems too much, and I have already done so at great length here, so I will leave it at that.

Here's hoping that stuff works out for me somehow...