Journal – October 2002

Here’s another look at some of my journal entries. Here you’ll find out the subjects I’ll be tackling on my next year at university, and more of the DVDs, TV, music and video games I’ve been enjoying. I hope you find it interesting!

Wednesday October 2, 2002

I went out to meet a friend again today. And while I was out, I bought a couple more CDs:

• Status Quo – Heavy Traffic – This is their new album, which I was tempted to get anyway but a friend also said I should get it. And he was right, it’s very good. The title track is great, as is the single Jam Side Down that’s also on there. There’s a bonus track for the UK edition too – Money Don’t Matter. So it’s worth the money – Quo are back and haven’t changed a bit!
• The Rolling Stones – Forty Licks – There are 2 CDs in this one, with 40 tracks if you hadn’t guessed by the title. It’s a greatest hits package, and I haven’t got many of their songs, even on compilations, so I’m glad I got this. They are a classic group and the songs are great, which is no surprise. There are 4 new tracks on here too, and they’re very good.

Friday October 4, 2002

Those new CDs were great, and I’m still enjoying Grand Theft Auto 3 (I’ve nearly done Portland, I’m trying to do as much as I can there before opening up Staunton Island).

Sunday October 6, 2002

I’ve been getting ready to go back to uni today, although I didn’t have much to sort out. Tomorrow we register for the second year, and then lectures start on Tuesday.

In GTA3 I’ve opened Staunton Island, and that’s great. I’m looking for jumps and packages right now and I’m doing very well. I’ve got over 50 packages in total, so I’m over halfway with those, and I’ve got 10 out of 20 unique jumps. I’ve delivered most of the vehicles to the crane and garage in Portland too, just a couple to go. Sorry if anybody doesn’t know the game, but it’s very addictive!

Monday October 7, 2002

I’ve got the timetable for the second year of my university course now. Things may change from week to week – extra events, lectures cancelled, etc – but basically I know what to expect now.

There are 2 semesters, but the year actually consists of 3 10-week terms, so the ‘semesters’ overlap them. The first semester ends a few weeks into the second term, then there’s an exam week, then the second semester starts. At the end of all that, in June roughly, there’s an exam period lasting about a month, so any exams we have are sometime in that period.

So here’s how my timetable looks:

Monday:

• 9am – 11am: Management Accounting Lecture
• 3pm – 4pm: Management Accounting Tutorial

Tuesday:

• 4pm – 6pm: Financial Accounting Lecture

Thursday:

• 9am – 11am: Information Systems Lecture
• 12pm – 1pm: Financial Accounting Tutorial
• 3pm – 4pm: Information Systems Tutorial

Friday:

• 10am – 12pm: Taxation Lecture
• 3pm-4pm: Taxation Tutorial

In January, I finish Information Systems and this will be replaced by Audit for the rest of the year.

The lectures are 2 hours each, which is the same format as before, although the lectures were split up last year (1 hour each, spread over the week) so I had to go in more often.

A tutorial is where you are a much smaller group and you work through questions related to the latest lecture. It’s a good chance to discuss problems too. Lectures can have anything from about 50 to 200 people (sometimes more in the first year) depending on how many have to do that module (degrees often share some modules between them). Tutorials usually have between 10 and 20 people to make it much easier.

So the timetable’s not too bad really – nothing on Wednesday and most of Tuesday free. It’s all handy for studying, I’ll need it! And we haven’t got any tutorials this week, which makes things much easier to start with.

The registration process today was fine. And I had my first lecture today (Management Accounting was moved to 4pm just for this week). It was ok, if a bit boring, but it’s because it was stuff that was fairly easy and I think everyone was still getting used to being back. I have seen a few of my mates from last year too, so that’s cool.

Tuesday October 8, 2002

Financial Accounting today, from 4pm – 6pm. It wasn’t too bad. As long as I keep up with the work the year won’t be too hard. The only thing I’ll hate doing this year is presentations – getting up and speaking in front of people. It sounds silly I know but I’d just rather not do it. It’s important for the future though when employers look for new recruits, so I’m going to keep working on it.

Thursday October 10, 2002

Information Systems today, not too bad either. I also bought some more books today. I bought one on Tuesday and I bought 4 today. And I have 2 more to get. That’s not including what I’ll need for Audit, so that’s at least one more, but I won’t get that until January. Last year we had 1 book per module which was ok. This year they are recommending 2 books per module (not counting Information Systems). I certainly won’t read every book from cover to cover, I’ll just look at the bits I need.

There’s a new Minder DVD out now – The Specials: Volume 1 of 2. I’ve been buying the series since it first came out, thanks to my parents suggesting it. If you’ve never seen the show, it’s great. Dodgy dealing, a bit like Del Boy, but it’s more of a comedy-drama, with more emphasis on the drama. Good action scenes in the earlier shows too. Anyway, I’ve got the first 4 series. And series 5, according to a net forum, isn’t out until 2003. At least there’s a DVD of some sort out to make up for it.

I’m a Madness fan too and they’re bringing stuff out as well. First there’s a compilation called Our House, with the songs that will be used in their West End musical Our House, following in the steps of We Will Rock You and Mamma Mia. I admit I already have most of the songs on that Madness disc, but I’ll get it later this month when it comes out as it has 2 new songs on it, done especially for the show.

Plus, Madness are releasing a DVD of all of their videos, with commentaries and other fun extras! And Queen have got Greatest Video Hits 1 coming out on DVD, again with commentary and other features (including a Bohemian Rhapsody section). And there’s a new Air Guitar album on the way. So there’s plenty to look forward to!

Friday October 11, 2002

That’s the end of my first week at uni this year. It was quite easy really, as it was only an introduction to our various subjects. Next week the work starts properly.

I got the Minder Specials DVD that I was on about. I may also get another couple of DVDs soon, in addition to the ones I’ve already mentioned in my previous entry:

• The Good Life – Series 4 – A very funny 70s comedy. It’s still repeated on TV, Friday nights at 7:30pm on BBC2 in the UK at the moment. This DVD is the last series, plus a special performed in front of royalty.
• ‘Allo ‘Allo! – Series 1 & 2 – Now I shall say this only once! If you’ve seen the show and liked it, you probably just laughed at that comment. It’s very funny, but I haven’t seen it in ages. This set has the first 2 series, including the pilot episode, so that’ll be good to watch.

Let’s face it, TV isn’t great right now, so I need something to watch (I can’t play Grand Theft Auto 3 ALL of the time, much as I’d like to!). I met my best mate again today and we went to Pizza Hut for lunch – all you can eat for a fiver, yum! Finally, and most importantly, it’s my parent’s 28th wedding anniversary today. Dad and I got some flowers sent to Mum, and they were nice.

Monday October 14, 2002

Uni was fine, nothing to report there. I got the DVDs I’ve been talking about – Series 4 of The Good Life, Series 1 & 2 of ‘Allo ‘Allo! and – best of all – Queen’s Greatest Video Hits 1. I haven’t watched any of them yet, but I’ll let you know if I enjoy them.

Wednesday October 16, 2002

Uni is going fine, nothing to report there. There was a mini tornado yesterday morning though. It was in a town near me, but we did get some of the strong winds and rain that came with it. The tornado ripped off a big part of a church roof, throwing it across the road! As far as I know, no major damage was done inside the church, but it must have been scary for those living there.

Not much else to say right now, except to wish England good luck in their Euro 2004 qualifying match against Macedonia. We beat Slovakia 2-1 on Saturday, so hopefully we’ll win this one.

Saturday October 19, 2002

Not much to report really. There’s quite a lot of reading to do for uni though. And it was my Dad’s birthday on Thursday though, so that was cool. Oh, and we drew 2-2 with Macedonia in the football on Wednesday night, which wasn’t that good. There’s nothing on TV tonight, so I’m going to watch the Queen Greatest Video Hits 1 DVD.

Monday October 21, 2002

Uni is going fine as usual. I bought the new Madness DVD today with all their videos, so that’s something else to watch this weekend. I also bought the Our House greatest hits album that goes with the new musical. And Queen’s Greatest Video Hits 1 was awesome by the way.

Apart from that, the weather was awful this morning. It rained on and off, heavily when it was actually raining. When I left the house though, it didn’t start again! Strange, but lucky for me. I nearly got delayed on the train by 40 minutes too. Somebody was refusing to buy a ticket, and we were told that the train would have to wait at the station for 40 minutes until the Transport Police arrived. I’m guessing the offender got off the train though, because we moved on about 2 minutes after that announcement.

Monday October 28, 2002

Yesterday there were storms all over the country. Trees were brought down and some damage was done to property. The railways were left in chaos, with trees and leaves on the line, plus overhead power cables coming down. Despite that, I still got to uni ok today without a problem, this area wasn’t affected too badly. Still, it’s a risk I have to take as I get the train to uni every day. It may sound mad, but it doesn’t take long and it’s far cheaper than paying rent in halls of residence or other accommodation.

Apart from that, the Madness DVD was good, and I finished watching The Good Life Series 4 too. ‘Allo ‘Allo! Series 1 & 2 was also good, so hopefully I’ll get all the series of that eventually.

Wednesday October 30, 2002

Wednesday’s my free day, so I’ve been getting some work done today. We’ve also got a new DVD/VCR player today, although I haven’t got around to setting it up yet. Dad and I will do it tonight probably. It can play videos, DVDs, audio CDs, video CDs and MP3s. We needed a new video recorder anyway really, so my parent’s thought they’d have one that plays DVDs too, as it’s a big thing now.

In TV news, Angus Deayton has been sacked from Have I Got News For You – a comedy quiz show he presented here in the UK. Recent reports about his private life (prostitutes and drugs) have led to him becoming the subject of the show, rather than just the presenter, so he had to go. He’s done a lot before though, including being in a band called the Hee Bee Gee Bees, writing radio scripts, and starring as Victor Meldrew’s neighbour in One Foot In The Grave. So I doubt this is the last we will see of him, but it will be interesting to see who replaces him on Have I Got News For You. Paul Merton (normally one of the panellists, opposite Ian Hislop) will be taking over as host for the next episode while they decide what to do about a permanent replacement.