The Uni Thread

[Spikey M]

I did a Cisco course on Networking at college. Was a piece of piss.

Put the yellow cable in the yellow input and you'll be on a winner. Revision. Pffffft

[Magic]

I'm sure you did.

[Adamski]

It sounds absolutely riveting.

[Magic]

It's not really, especially because I've done it before, albeit with some minor changes. It was kind of exciting and NEW WORLDE last time but it's just repetitive unnecessary bullshit this time round, again bar the new stuff.

Wish I'd went for the next level up or a different specification of this level but I'm a lazy shit cunt so...

[ItalAussie]

Back visiting Oxford. I couldn't live here, but it's a really lovely place to be and think about research.

[Magic]

Passed my exam. :cool:

87%. :(

[Alan Shearer The 2nd]

Worth a read- https://www.spectator.co.uk/2017/08/safe-spaces-and-ze-badges-my-bewildering-year-at-a-us-university/

It would be funny if it wasn't so depressing.

[ItalAussie]

Worth a read- https://www.spectator.co.uk/2017/08/safe-spaces-and-ze-badges-my-bewildering-year-at-a-us-university/

It would be funny if it wasn't so depressing.

Exaggerated by someone with an axe to grind. There's lots of stupid stuff on uni campuses, but it's easy to avoid. You have to go looking for it and deliberately engage with it.

Never let it be said that lefties are the only people with a ridiculous victim complex.


EDIT: Also, the second paragraph suggests that they've missed the point of their studies. Anyone who suggests that they "believe" in some kind of objective standard of art will be asked to back that up. I doubt an undergraduate is even capable of making a cogent argument for that position which depends on anything other than their own subjective experience, which kind of undermines their point.

[Alan Shearer The 2nd]

Pronoun badges?

[Lewis]

Anybody poncing off to study journalism in America is liable to be posh as fuck, so they're probably a massive fanny to begin with.

[ItalAussie]

Pronoun badges?

There's always going to be kumbaya drum circles at universities. Nobody's ever going to force you to join one.

It's all scare-mongering among the anti-university set, aiming squarely at people who love feeling victimized.

[Pepe]

NYU is probably as bad as it gets to be fair.

None of that nonsense existed in the two places I attended as an undergraduate, but it does exist where I am right now. Might be that I just barely missed it time-wise.

[mugbull]

There's always going to be kumbaya drum circles at universities. Nobody's ever going to force you to join one.

It's all scare-mongering among the anti-university set, aiming squarely at people who love feeling victimized.

Disagree. At Stanford social forces compel you to take part. It's 100% pushed on you, especially for organizations that aren't specifically minority rights orgs. The last couple of years of school, I'd say at about 50% of meetings that I attended, when you introduced yourself, you had to give your preferred pronoun alongside name, field of study etc. If you're the one guy out of 30 to not give preferred pronoun, people judge you for that. Pretty inescapable.

[Jimmy Floyd]

SOAS was heading that way in the last year I was there (2012), having been fine to start with, by now it'll be absolutely riddled with it. And I avoided absolutely everything (though being a politics student didn't help as +-75% are gobshites).

[mugbull]

SOAS was heading that way in the last year I was there (2012), having been fine to start with, by now it'll be absolutely riddled with it. And I avoided absolutely everything (though being a politics student didn't help as +-75% are gobshites).

I can't imagine what it's like to be a white person at a school with 'African Studies' in its name in this age. Probably have to deposit reparations in order to use the toilets.

[Jimmy Floyd]

It's a worthwhile exercise in terms of broadening your mind, albeit you get the odd legend like this geezer (https://www.soas.ac.uk/staff/staff36179.php) who just used to say 'It's all their own fault'.

[mugbull]

How many actual Oriental/African professors are there at the school, compared to whiteys?

[Jimmy Floyd]

Many more whiteys (including a shitload of continental Europeans), but enough Asians/Africans, mainly in their local subjects like languages and so on. Humanities and social sciences were very white.

Occasionally you'd see the professor of Yoruba mooching around in his Fred Flintstone-esque national dress, or a Buddhist monk here and there.

[GS]

I was only confronted with the left wing nutjobs in 2008 protesting that if the government could afford to bail out banks it could afford to give them free tuition.

I avoided absolutely everything, though, including all events of every description outside of the course itself.

I've no idea what they're like these days, though.

[Lewis]

Malcolm Caldwell setting himself up as the best-known Western cheerleader for the Khmer Rouge before being murdered by them sums SOAS up nicely.

[Pepe]

'Frats' are still the worst part of American universities.

[mugbull]

Frats at a lot of schools basically just produce Mert clones, so i'd agree, but there's a lot of frats/schools that are not like that at all

[phonics]

#notallfrats

[Pepe]

I'm sure there are some fine ones out there, but most are filled with twats.

[Lewis]

At least it keeps them all in the same place.

[Spikey M]

I would argue that it is all frats.

[randomlegend]

There's been a few moments of madness from the student union since I've been at UEA (banning Blurred Lines as it's a RAPE ANTHEM, banning Sombreros for cultural appropriation, having a bitch-fit to get gender neutral toilets) but nothing that bad.

I don't think I could give my 'preferred pronoun' with a straight face.

[niko_cee]

Banning sombreros?

[Lewis]

Cultural appropriation mate.

When I was there they tried to stop the bar[s] showing the Six Nations on account of Royal Bank of Scotland being involved in that filthy Canadian oil stuff, but loads of people moaned and they BOTTLED IT.

[randomlegend]

Banning sombreros?

There's a tex mex place in the city that gives them out and the SU got offended about it and from what I remember tried to stop them from doing it, but settled on banning people wearing them at the Uni when they were lolled out the room.

[Boydy]

Blurred Lines is rapey af, tbf.

[Alan Shearer The 2nd]

Even if it is, who cares enough to try and ban it? Who was it that tried to stop Delilah being played at Wales rugby matches again? Lol.

[GS]

'Cultural appropriation' really is the worst explanation to give for a manufactured grievance.

It must be fucking exhausting being angry about everything all the time.

[niko_cee]

Someone should go round all the ethnic society meetings turning the lights off on the basis of technological appropriation.

[Spoonsky]

After more than a half dozen years of reading the uni thread, I begin uni tomorrow. :cool:

(although really I'm just moving into my dorm room and classes won't start for another week and a half.)

[Offshore Toon]

Which frat are you joining?

[Foe]

How are you settling in to your new surroundings Spoons?

[mugbull]

O Caaanadaaa

[Spoonsky]

Classes have started!

Anthropology is awesome, I'm really excited for it. Italian is fun and nice because there are 20 people instead of 300 like my other classes. Philosophy seems a bit dull but we'll see. English is weird because it's exactly what my parents teach so I've grown up surrounded by these books without every having read them myself; but it should be fun. And there's a "Natives of the Americas" class which seems interesting enough but I might drop because it goes till 5:30 and I don't want that much reading.

[Bartholomert]

Kinda weird that there's nobody left to legitimately post in this thread these days. I guess I've got another year left kinda.

[mugbull]

Spoonsky take a heavy math class. Just do it. If you really hate it at the end of the semester don't take one again, but just do it once. Trust me.

[Foe]

Classes have started!

Anthropology is awesome, I'm really excited for it. Italian is fun and nice because there are 20 people instead of 300 like my other classes. Philosophy seems a bit dull but we'll see. English is weird because it's exactly what my parents teach so I've grown up surrounded by these books without every having read them myself; but it should be fun. And there's a "Natives of the Americas" class which seems interesting enough but I might drop because it goes till 5:30 and I don't want that much reading.

What are you planning on doing after college? That's a really eclectic mix of subjects.

[Pepe]

Just donned my proposal. Which I should, since I left it until my fifth year. :eyemouth:

[Spoonsky]

Spoonsky take a heavy math class. Just do it. If you really hate it at the end of the semester don't take one again, but just do it once. Trust me.

What does 'heavy' mean in this sense?

[Pepe]

Accounting.

[mugbull]

What does 'heavy' mean in this sense?

One where you write proofs as assignments. You'll come out feeling so knowledgeable, if you put the time in.

[mugbull]

A nice introduction would be a proof-heavy linear algebra class. I also loved number theory and set theory, so if you're into that, take a swing.

[ItalAussie]

What are you planning on doing after college? That's a really eclectic mix of subjects.

It's the US. You do just enough for a major, then a random selection of whatever you feel like.

[ItalAussie]

One where you write proofs as assignments. You'll come out feeling so knowledgeable, if you put the time in.

Everyone should have to write proofs at some point in their formal education. Not because it's intrinsically a specific skill they'll need, but because it's the most demanding and yet unassailable form of constructing a logical argument.

Most people just can't think in straight lines, which is what proofs demand.

[Spoonsky]

One where you write proofs as assignments. You'll come out feeling so knowledgeable, if you put the time in.

I wrote a lot of proofs in 8th grade, that shit was awesome. Math has been one long downhill slope ever since.


It's the US. You do just enough for a major, then a random selection of whatever you feel like.

It's Canada.

But yeah pretty much, at least in my faculty (Arts).

[randomlegend]

Passed my resits and going into final year :)

Absolutely buzzing my tits off, to be honest.

[phonics]

I thought you hated it and were going to quit before it kills you?

[randomlegend]

Things change. My mental health has improved dramatically. Found a speciality I actually really enjoy which has given me a reason to do it again.

Let me have my moment. It's been a fucking hard journey.

[Boydy]

Well done.

Genuinely pleased to hear that and that you're enjoying it again.

[Lewis]

That 'speciality I actually really enjoy' is booting people off of disability benefits. Still happy for him?

[randomlegend]

First day back, lectures 9-7. Fuck this shit. :D

[AyDee]

5 weeks into my solicitors course and I'm bored senseless.

[Adramelch]

I could never imagine myself studying anything related to law. I like the discipline in general, but having to study the specifics and stuff sounds so incredibly boring to me.

[AyDee]

I could never imagine myself studying anything related to law. I like the discipline in general, but having to study the specifics and stuff sounds so incredibly boring to me.

The academic side is very interesting (undergrad was great) but this course is designed purely to get you ready for practice so a lot of it is about procedure, solicitor's code of conduct and other tedious practical issues. It's sadly just a case of learning stuff as opposed to having to come up with any sort of original analysis.

[phonics]

AD, gimme your business card so I can shout 'I WANT MY PHONECALL' when I get arrested for doing something dumb.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

To what extent has the monarchy been central to British identity in the period 1500-1660?
To what extent is British folklore connected to the British landscape?
To what extent has the rural landscape of Britain changed in the past five hundred years?

Not sure which to pick.

Not sure why they have a hard-on for the landscape.

[Lewis]

The first one is the least terrible, and you won't have to read about the Norfolk four-course and poetry.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

The first one is the least terrible, and you won't have to read about the Norfolk four-course and poetry.

That's what I was thinking.

I'm not keen on Monarchy during that period (or any period really) but the other two options are painfully shit.

[McAvennie]

I'd have done the one about folklore and the landscape, but then I like that kind of thing

[Pepe]

Spoonsky mate, you dodged a bullet not going to that Reed shithole. :harold:

[Spoonsky]

First semester DONE. Best feeling in the world :cool:

[Pepe]

4.0 I presume?

[Spoonsky]

No clue yet. Wouldn't be surprised if I got a B in one of my classes, but I don't really care.

[Lewis]

I got an article published the other week (it should have been up months ago), and it turns out that 'Every author at Routledge gets 50 free online copies of their article to share with friends and colleagues'. I don't have any of those, so my actual mates might as well have it (http://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/3yR3cjguV2h6bb9xixKE/full) if they are interested in Harold Macmillan and appeasement.

[Pepe]

Independent scholar. :cool:

[Lewis]

Yeah. 100% un-owned. Free to bring you the TRUTH.

[Pepe]

Did you have to pay to publish? Last one I did was like $2000 per figure if you wanted them to appear in color on the print version. I had about eighteen. :harold:

[Lewis]

They want a few hundred quid for colour figures, and you can pay to have it open access (lol), but us independent scholars don't need any of those.

[Spoonsky]

Good stuff Lewis.

Second semester started yesterday, though I'm still figuring out exactly which classes to take. Did really well grade-wise first semester, should be harder this time around though.

[ItalAussie]

You in the academic job market, Lewis? Or getting out while the getting is good?

[Lewis]

I tried to get into it after finishing, but I haven't bothered going for anything for well over a year. The competition for post-doctoral positions is mental, and, even with all applicants being equal (which I'm not saying they are), my proposals to write about white men and missiles were never really in line with what universities/funding bodies prioritise. I still have loads of old notes and half-written things that I will do stuff with, but mainly as a means of getting it out of my system and having some fun with it, rather than expecting it to get me anywhere.

[Raoul Duke]

Surely "white guys with missiles" is topic du jour nowadays with an orange mentalist with his finger on the button?

[Lewis]

The idea was to use olden days case studies to develop a better way of analysing 'irrational' foreign policy preferences, so I was well ahead of my time.

[ItalAussie]

I don't really know how post-docs work in the humanities. Could you take a sideways jump? I know the Peace & Justice studies crew always seem to have funding at Sydney, so it might be that straight history isn't the easiest way to go?

[Lewis]

I tweaked my proposals for applications to related fields, but you are still ultimately writing about the same sort of stuff (and if you find a specific project that somebody is running that you think you could contribute to they have already promised the role to their PhD students anyway).

The problem (for me at least, although you could argue it is a wider issue) is that funding in the humanities is almost entirely decided by the extent to which your research can reach beyond the academy, and most application forms devote as much space to demonstrating how your research does that as they do to your actual research proposal. This might be the case with all fields, but in the humanities there are no obvious industrial applications for our stuff, like there might be for your research, so that essentially means relevance to public policy (or bullshit social history). That left me having to tout my project[s] as the beginning of the end for traditional foreign policy analysis, which, even if I believed I could contribute towards bringing about a different way of looking at certain things, probably just made me look like a Toby-headed twat.

This is why your Peace and Justice cobbers will always have money, because they will be able to present their work to a bunch of NGOs and the like, and, even if it never has any actual impact (ugh) beyond that, the university can say 'Hey, a team from...' and rake in more money off the back of that. What little money there is goes to projects on migration, women in warzones, and shite like that (this is also why every teaching position in these subjects 'particularly welcomes applications' from people doing gender and post-colonialism, because that is where the research funding is). Funding for foreign policy projects is pretty much restricted to supranational institutions, conflict resolution, and terrorism. My stuff, nuclear stuff... You might find something if you were working on proliferation, and there will be a fellowship at an American university somewhere named after a maniac to support your work on containment/kicking Iran about; but that is all 'Political Science' and International Relations stuff, and they tend not to want honest historians and their actual academic standards (plus that is not my area).

[Panda Bear]

I tweaked my proposals for applications to related fields, but you are still ultimately writing about the same sort of stuff (and if you find a specific project that somebody is running that you think you could contribute to they have already promised the role to their PhD students anyway).

The problem (for me at least, although you could argue it is a wider issue) is that funding in the humanities is almost entirely decided by the extent to which your research can reach beyond the academy, and most application forms devote as much space to demonstrating how your research does that as they do to your actual research proposal. This might be the case with all fields, but in the humanities there are no obvious industrial applications for our stuff, like there might be for your research, so that essentially means relevance to public policy (or bullshit social history). That left me having to tout my project[s] as the beginning of the end for traditional foreign policy analysis, which, even if I believed I could contribute towards bringing about a different way of looking at certain things, probably just made me look like a Toby-headed twat.

This is why your Peace and Justice cobbers will always have money, because they will be able to present their work to a bunch of NGOs and the like, and, even if it never has any actual impact (ugh) beyond that, the university can say 'Hey, a team from...' and rake in more money off the back of that. What little money there is goes to projects on migration, women in warzones, and shite like that (this is also why every teaching position in these subjects 'particularly welcomes applications' from people doing gender and post-colonialism, because that is where the research funding is). Funding for foreign policy projects is pretty much restricted to supranational institutions, conflict resolution, and terrorism. My stuff, nuclear stuff... You might find something if you were working on proliferation, and there will be a fellowship at an American university somewhere named after a maniac to support your work on containment/kicking Iran about; but that is all 'Political Science' and International Relations stuff, and they tend not to want honest historians and their actual academic standards (plus that is not my area).Would you be willing to take a government job doing policy analysis, a position doing military intelligence, or travel to work at a political thinktank?

[Lewis]

The military life isn't for me, but yes to the other two.

[Pepe]

Just come to the US already. We'll go tailgating together.

[ItalAussie]

It really sucks that academia is a tough ask for you (if that's what you were set on - sucks less if you weren't, of course), but it's good to hear that you do have really good options available.

[Pepe]

If STEM could be turned into STEAM, can't we just go a step further and make it SHTEAM so that Lewis can be cool like Ital and I?

[Lewis]

I think it's a tough ask for anyone when supply far out-weighs demand. It's harder for me in that my areas are unfashionable, but even if you are on trend then you will still have forty people going for every job, and half the ones you will go for will have already been promised to somebody in the department.

[Pepe]

My wife is on the same boat. Her 16th century research meant that she could only apply for seven positions in the whole country, five of which where for 'generalists.' Everything goes to Francophone and/or women/migration related shit.

[Lewis]

The typical teaching advertisement in my field looks like this (http://www.jobs.ac.uk/job/BGO638/lectureship-in-the-history-of-modern-britain/) (identical one here (http://www.jobs.ac.uk/job/BGO713/lectureship-in-us-history/) for American History). I don't even know what half of it means.

[Pepe]

:sick:

Mine read more like this:


The Department of Mechanical Engineering at Rice University invites applications for two tenure-track/tenured positions effective as early as July 2018. We seek faculty members who will develop a dynamic and innovative independent research program and will excel in teaching at the graduate and undergraduate levels while embracing Rice's culture of excellence and diversity. Excellence and scholarship in teaching and research are the primary selection criteria for a search in all areas of Mechanical Engineering, including robotics, solid mechanics, dynamics, fluid mechanics, heat transfer, and controls. Applicants should have a PhD or ScD in Mechanical Engineering or a related field. The positions are open to applicants at the assistant, associate, or full professor level.

'We don't give a fuck what you do as long as you publish' basically.

[Spoonsky]

Why do you like the 'nuclear stuff' so much?

[Pepe]

He likes big butt[on]s.

[Lewis]

Humanities doesn't seem to be as 'publish or perish' as the sciences (it fucking can't be given half the useless cunts in lecturing jobs), but what pressure does exist is in bringing external funding in, so it sounds like the reverse of your cashed-up environment.

[Pepe]

You need to bring external funding in? In the humanities? That sounds fucked up.

[Spoonsky]

Humanities doesn't seem to be as 'publish or perish' as the sciences (it fucking can't be given half the useless cunts in lecturing jobs), but what pressure does exist is in bringing external funding in, so it sounds like the reverse of your cashed-up environment.

My parents have published for years. :cool:

[Lewis]

Why do you like the 'nuclear stuff' so much?

I personally am equally as interested in 'conventional' military and political history (albeit all higher-end statecraft stuff), but as far as applications for things go my thesis, book, other book contract (which won't happen now, but was happening then) are all on nuclear stuff, so that was all I could really go for with no real way of demonstrating my wider knowledge.

[Spoonsky]

I meant more like, what about it interested you in the first place? Why study that and not 16th century French peasants?

[Lewis]

I don't know really. My original PhD application was going to cover more general stuff, and then I just narrowed it down to nuclear things as the most interesting. I had never actually studied any Cold War stuff at BA/MA level.


You need to bring external funding in? In the humanities? That sounds fucked up.

You won't get sacked for not doing so, but if you want to climb the ladder your promotion prospects will be heavily-weighted towards the externally funded research projects you have been involved in/managed, since anyone can just write bollocks for desperate publishers. Those adverts make you read between the lines for it, but others (http://www.jobs.ac.uk/job/BGZ033/university-lecturer-in-medieval-french-and-occitan-studies/) (Mrs Pepe) just say it ('high-level research' is also code for it).

[Pepe]

Does externally funded = you found someone willing to publish your book, or do you also need to get money to get students and whatnot? I guess I don't quite understand what externally funded means in the humanities. I think most tenure requirements over here are basically publish 5-7 articles and 2 books, at least in literature.

[Lewis]

It basically means getting people not affiliated with the university to fund your work. So you might get a government grant (through some research council) to research Lesbianism in the Syrian Civil War, which you then use to fund your work generally, and that is good; but you might also hire a research assistant, and possibly even fund a couple of extra PhDs on loosely-related subjects (Fetishism and the Derg: 1974-87). All of which either subsidises the university directly (since your research assistant and PhDs are all on the books and teaching and getting more funding per head), or at the very least gives the university new people to improve its research output. Other sources - fellowships, travel grants, etc - all get chucked in as well.

I posted before about my old supervisor getting fifty grand to produce an interactive map of an old base that is now an industrial estate. It was the most pointless project ever, but the funding bodies have to justify their own existence by taking academia to the plebs, and an interactive map of something nobody cares about technically fulfils that requirement (see the earlier point about bullshit social history).

[ItalAussie]

External funding trumps publications as the key academic metric now. Publications are simply a mechanism to improve your chances of pulling in grant money.

Science is exactly the same.

EDIT: Hence the month of January every year in Australia being almost uniformly dedicated to grant-writing. Ask me how my day's been.

[Lewis]

Is it for the same reasons? I can see the point in science, since you might need loads of money, but you have to wonder with humanities research whether not getting the money - but having an extra year to actually do the work instead of writing grant proposals - would be a better trade-off for the majority of funded projects.

[Pepe]

No one gets external funding in the humanities over here. Well, at least not in literature. They just write whatever shit they want and the university takes care of paying students, who do most of the teaching anyway.

In my department it is indeed the case that external funding is the most important metric. The requirement for tenure is to bring in three times what you were given for startup, according to a recently hired professor. The admin loves it since those grants are used to pay the tuition of graduate students (the full $65,000 per year each of us allegedly cost) to the university. That's the reason they were all chimping out at the plan to tax stipends - they would've needed to decrease or completely eliminate tuition, which would've meant less money going from THE TAXPAYER straight into their gold coffers.

The places I've interviewed for are teaching-focused (they only give Bachelors) so they don't care for external funding, but they do require some publications.

[ItalAussie]

Is it for the same reasons? I can see the point in science, since you might need loads of money, but you have to wonder with humanities research whether not getting the money - but having an extra year to actually do the work instead of writing grant proposals - would be a better trade-off for the majority of funded projects.
In the end, it's because universities are businesses who primarily prioritise the bottom line, which makes sense to a certain degree. Publications can increase prestige, which can have some limited effect on student enrolments and strengthening grant proposals. But grant money is cash-in-the-pocket bottom line to a university, with no indirectness involved.

I'm not commenting on whether I think this emphasis is right or not, but across the board in academia, grants have become the primary success measure for an academic. Which is annoying, because there's such a huge element of chance involved.

[Lewis]

I don't know whether it's true, but we once had the daftness of the system explained to us with the example of Brian Cox almost single-handedly making Manchester the most popular destination for Physics applicants, but none of it actually mattering because BBC work isn't part of their funding equations.

[ItalAussie]

I've been told by people who studied there that he's actually not a very good undergraduate lecturer, interestingly enough.

[Lewis]

Would people know who he is without the telly work?

[Raoul Duke]

Would people know who he is without the telly work?

Err, he was in D:Ream :cool:

[ItalAussie]

Would people know who he is without the telly work?

He's a decent theoretical physicist, so I'd imagine so within his field. But not people outside physics.

[Panda Bear]

Just applied to three Masters of Architecture programs in Canada. (Sorry Spoon, but not McGill.)

I decided to do it a couple weeks ago, and I wound up sending in an 80% complete portfolio where images from the final project don't even match. 😎

Don't worry--I have a bunch of F's from my most recent degree (that's another story), so that's going to go down well with the Admissions committees.

[Panda Bear]

Pepe, is there a way to repackage mechanical engineering as a social justice issue for Mexican-Americans?

[Pepe]

There is probably something about a Big, Beautiful Wall that could be said.

[Spoonsky]

Just applied to three Masters of Architecture programs in Canada. (Sorry Spoon, but not McGill.)

I decided to do it a couple weeks ago, and I wound up sending in an 80% complete portfolio where images from the final project don't even match. ��

Don't worry--I have a bunch of F's from my most recent degree (that's another story), so that's going to go down well with the Admissions committees.

Where'd you apply?

[Panda Bear]

UBC in Vancouver, Calgary, and Carleton in Ottawa.

I'm hoping for Calgary because it'd be possible for my fiancée to keep her job.

[Pepe]

Are you an architect now? What does a Masters get you?

[phonics]

Are you an architect now? What does a Masters get you?

If it's anything like the architects I know, a higher quality cocaine.

[Panda Bear]

Are you an architect now? What does a Masters get you?Not even close to one.

You need a Masters to work as an intern architect, which is the only route in Canada to becoming a licensed architect (if you're not already registered in another country, that is).

[ItalAussie]

Not even close to one.

You need a Masters to work as an intern architect, which is the only route in Canada to becoming a licensed architect (if you're not already registered in another country, that is).

I don't know what it's like there, but here, architecture is one of the most arduous professional qualifications you can work towards. Years and years and years of study.

[Lewis]

In China you probably just need to know how to use a ruler.

[Panda Bear]

I don't know what it's like there, but here, architecture is one of the most arduous professional qualifications you can work towards. Years and years and years of study.Over here it's two years of studying a Masters followed by 3,720 hours of practice signed off by a licensed architect. The hours are broken down into different categories, which each have their own minimums. It takes most people 3-4 years to get their license.

So I'm looking at seven years minimum starting from this September at best, which puts me at 38. 😒


In China you probably just need to know how to use a ruler.Digital rulers.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Just had the most awkward/shit lecture ever.

Meant to be on the start of the Irish free state and the lecturer said it had been a while so she was nervous and would probably stutter a bit. There was more stuttering than coherent language, I also couldn't look at her face when she started stuttering for fear of laughing. She was also from Northern Ireland so didn't know Irish so couldn't pronounce Irish language which was in the lecture which was odd as the main lecturer for the unit is proper Irish and fluent.

Probably hates her so wanted her to fail.

[phonics]

Mahow laughing at people stuttering when talking in front of a room...

[John]

I bet her lecture constituted a better example of the English language than that post.

[phonics]

I bet her lecture constituted a better example of the English language than that post.

Even the mention of a female in a post causes him to fall apart.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Mahow laughing at people stuttering when talking in front of a room...

Surprisingly I don't.

I get an incredible dry mouth but that's about it. I always seem to be marked well for presentations and such despite me feeling that it's going terribly.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

I bet her lecture constituted a better example of the English language than that post.

I'd assume so, she has a doctorate and published a number of articles.

[Lewis]

There is a spectrum that goes across the worth of the subject area and how bad a writer the historian is. You start with people who have to be good writers to make their stuff stand out in crowded fields, and you end up with the frauds who write about the subject itself or race or some other shite and who couldn't tell you their names without confusing or contradicting themselves. Irish history sits more towards the latter end of that spectrum (precise position dependent on how much of a whinger they are).

[Pepe]

Where do BOMBS fit in? :henn0rz:

[Lewis]

That sort of thing is well-written insofar as it is normally formal and not full of made-up terminology. Obviously not everybody has six Best Poster titles under their belt, so quality writing is still rare.

[Jimmy Floyd]

Some of the stuff I had to read for politics/IR was properly badly written, but then 95% of academics in that are stealing a living.

[Pepe]

Most academic writing in general is awful. Some even do it on purpose, the frauds Lewis mentions. My wife's writing has been criticized for not being 'refined' enough just because it is not full of made up bollocks. I usually get good comments on my writing, but my competition is the Asian crew, so yeah.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

There is a spectrum that goes across the worth of the subject area and how bad a writer the historian is. You start with people who have to be good writers to make their stuff stand out in crowded fields, and you end up with the frauds who write about the subject itself or race or some other shite and who couldn't tell you their names without confusing or contradicting themselves. Irish history sits more towards the latter end of that spectrum (precise position dependent on how much of a whinger they are).

This one specialises in late 18th-early 19th century women's history in Presbyterian families across Ulster.

Where does that rank on the spectrum?

[Lewis]

I bet she writes in wingdings and fingerprints.

[Panda Bear]

So what you're saying @Mahow is that she had troubles.

[Boydy]

This one specialises in late 18th-early 19th century women's history in Presbyterian families across Ulster.

Where does that rank on the spectrum?

Specialisms are always going to be narrow like that though.

And Presbyterianism at that time is important and interesting.

[phonics]

So what you're saying @Mahow is that she had troubles.

That joke was so bad you've broken the tagging system.

edit: Oh that's not his name

[Panda Bear]

😎😎😎😎

[ItalAussie]

Just had the most awkward/shit lecture ever.

Meant to be on the start of the Irish free state and the lecturer said it had been a while so she was nervous and would probably stutter a bit. There was more stuttering than coherent language, I also couldn't look at her face when she started stuttering for fear of laughing. She was also from Northern Ireland so didn't know Irish so couldn't pronounce Irish language which was in the lecture which was odd as the main lecturer for the unit is proper Irish and fluent.

Probably hates her so wanted her to fail.

Being a university lecturer is a bit of a rough gig, especially when you're starting. You're basically untrained as a teacher, and you're not even remotely hired on your ability to teach. You've had extensive training as a researcher, been hired on the basis of your research record as a researcher, to do research. Oh and by the way, you'll have to teach basic elements of your field - a task you've never been trained for - in front of a hundred students, the vast majority of who don't care and will never understand the real subtleties. And, while we insist that it's an important part of your job, you're on a hiding to nothing, because good teaching has little career impact, but bad teaching scores can scupper your promotion and career opportunities.

Now, I actually enjoy teaching, and my scores suggest that I'm decent at it. But it's still a really weird feeling for me to be doing a job I'm largely untrained to do.

[Raoul Duke]

How much research do you do versus teaching?

[ItalAussie]

How much research do you do versus teaching?

My job is 60-20-20 between research, teaching, and administration. Most jobs are 40-40-20, and mine will probably get there once I move past the early-career researcher stage, depending on grant success.

[randomlegend]

Pretty sure I'm going to fail finals which is a pain. Only allowed one resit which would be in June I think.

Had an absolute bitch of a first term with migraines so although they are under control really well now, I've been playing catchup all year and am not prepared enough.

Oh well, give it my best and see what happens.

[ItalAussie]

Best of luck with it! Hope it goes better than you think.

[randomlegend]

Well I don't think the first two days went as disastrously as expected, other than one station which was being examined by the consultant who supervised my previous placement and will haunt me for the rest of my life.

My thought was I'll be resitting and that this was a practice run so if I do scrape a pass it'll be a nice bonus.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

It's election week and usually I either skip Uni those days or I somehow miss it all.

Yesterday I did not. Loads of dickheads with flyers and some proper shit school-esque posters all the place to try and garner votes. There was either one twat dressed as the blue Power ranger (green or black only ffs) but with no helmet.

[Dquincy]

It's election week and usually I either skip Uni those days or I somehow miss it all.

Yesterday I did not. Loads of dickheads with flyers and some proper shit school-esque posters all the place to try and garner votes. There was either one twat dressed as the blue Power ranger (green or black only ffs) but with no helmet.

How old are you and what university do you go to?

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

31, Hertfordshire.

[SvN]

I'd love to know what nickname the other students have secretly given you.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

All good I'd imagine.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

This is more likely though:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2xE-f-_dkQ

[Boydy]

Mahow being older than me surprises me every time I hear it.

[randomlegend]

I'm not getting too excited yet but I think there's a slim possibility I might actually pass this.

We had a ridiculous station today though. Had to talk about 3 different types of catheters (tubes for going up piss holes) and answer questions on them. Just not something we'd ever need to know, have ever been taught or would have thought to look up.

I'd be surprised if I got more than about 10 out of 25. One guy reckoned he saw his marksheet and he'd got 4 :D

[Pepe]

So are you a doctor now?

[randomlegend]

I have the last of my clinical finals tomorrow and then written finals in two weeks. If I pass I'm a doctor. If I fail I resit in June. If I pass the resit I'm a doctor. If I fail again I'm a binman.

[Dquincy]

31, Hertfordshire.

Good luck to you on your sexual travels.

[Pepe]

I have the last of my clinical finals tomorrow and then written finals in two weeks. If I pass I'm a doctor. If I fail I resit in June. If I pass the resit I'm a doctor. If I fail again I'm a binman.

:cool:

Good luck.

[randomlegend]

Thank you. Will give it my best.

[Lewis]

Team Doctor. Doctor Club? Club Doctor. :cool:

[Raoul Duke]

Doctors vs Engineers :drool:

[Pepe]

Shame that Boydy bottled joining the CDR. We now have to wait for Spoonsky to grow some pubes.

[Foe]

Pepe is an engineer and a doctor. Surely he wins?

I wrote Dr Foe xoxo on my lab coat pocket at uni, so clearly I am too.

[Pepe]

Still two months as an engineer exclusively.

[Boydy]

shame that boydy bottled joining the cdr. We now have to wait for spoonsky to grow some pubes.

cdr?

[Pepe]

Club Doctor.

[Boydy]

Ah. I didn't bottle it. No one would fund me. :(

[Giggles]

Team binman :cool:

[Panda Bear]

I got into the University of British Columbia's Masters of Architecture program, which is the most competitive program in Canada. It's ranked #27-35 worldwide depending on the list, which is the highest in Canada.

Made it in first round. 😎😎😎😎😎😎😎

[Spoonsky]

I got into the University of British Columbia's Masters of Architecture program, which is the most competitive program in Canada. It's ranked #27-35 worldwide depending on the list, which is the highest in Canada.

Made it in first round. 😎😎😎😎😎😎😎

Hell yeah. Are you moving to Vancouver then?

[Panda Bear]

Hell yeah. Are you moving to Vancouver then?Looking like it, yeah.

Shame it's so fucking expensive.

[Giggles]

Aren't you a fully grown adult man? Everywhere is expensive if you're a career student.

[Panda Bear]

Aren't you a fully grown adult man? Everywhere is expensive if you're a career student.Yeah, I'll be 31 when the program starts.

I haven't been in school for three years now.

Vancouver is about 25% more expensive than Edmonton, where I currently live. I won't be working either as I won't have time for it, so I'll need student loans. I've got no savings from working three years as it's all gone to getting my fiancée's massive student debt down.

[Spoonsky]

Is she going with you?

EDIT: That was a dumb question.

What's she going to do?

[Pepe]

Panda. :cool:

[randomlegend]

Well exams have all been examed. I survived. Honestly no idea how they went. Couple of weeks of blissful ignorance until results.

[randomlegend]

Fucking hell waiting these results is getting to be torture. About 6 days to go.

[Pepe]

I'm defending my dissertation on Monday. Can't wait to be done.

[randomlegend]

I hate knowing that some bugger already knows. Just tell us you vicious bastards...

[Lewis]

When I did mine they told me that I had passed before we even sat down, and then we just had a nice chat about how mega I am.

[randomlegend]

Unfortunately medical exams don't work like that. Have to pass every individual thing rather than passing across a year.

[Pepe]

When I did mine they told me that I had passed before we even sat down, and then we just had a nice chat about how mega I am.

I already gave everyone my draft. My advisor said it was "excellent." The rest of my committee are two old profs who don't give a shit about anything, another one who told me that since I already have a job there is no way anyone says no, and two other ones who have been here for a year, so there is no way they give me any trouble. I'd say my certainty of "passing" is about 99%. I'll still have to do my presentation (things work a bit differently in engineering,) spend an hour fielding their TOUGH questions, and then I'll be good to go.

[Lewis]

They said mine was excellent, so I said 'I know', and then I think they were too shit scared to ask me half the questions they originally wanted to.

[Pepe]

:D

Academics are a hard as fuck bunch.

[randomlegend]

They'd probably never come across a burly northerner before.

[Lewis]

Somebody claiming to be a Greek army officer e-mailed my old supervisor asking him to ask me for a copy of my 'highly praised book' which he needs for his thesis to earn a promotion but apparently can't buy with his credit card (something something Greek economy). I don't have any spare copies, but I'll send him a link to the actual thesis. What? :cab:

[Lewis]

UPDATE: Greek in question appears to have posted similar sob stories elsewhere. Unless he has been in officer training for seven years (learning that queer march they have), it sounds like shite. Whatever. I'll still send him it.

[Pepe]

Reminds me, I need to give my copy back.

[Boydy]

learning that queer march they have

I just googled this. What the fuck. :D

[Pepe]

:lol:
Adramelch, mate, you have some explaining to do.

[randomlegend]

Passed the written, failed the clinical. As expected to be honest, although I can't pretend that I wasn't hoping I might have just sneaked it.

Oh well. Onto resits.

[Boydy]

Shit one. I'm sure you'll pass the resits.

If (when) you do, is that you finished? Do you still want to be a doctor any more?

[randomlegend]

If/when I do that is indeed me finished, and I would start work as a doctor in August.

I want to at least give it a go. Looking at friends, I think being honest with myself I'm not sure I have enough MEDSIN IS MY PASHUN in me to put up with how shit life will probably be for the next few years. Long-term if I got where I want to go (being a paediatrician) I can see myself happy, but it's a lot of years of sacrifice away. Maybe I'll end up loving it, IDK.

If I start and I hate it I'll find something else. Medicine degree is a good thing to have in the jobs market, or so people like to tell you at least. Might get me on the Lidl graduate scheme at least.

[Adramelch]

:lol:
Adramelch, mate, you have some explaining to do.

To be fair most Greeks want to read Lewis' book, but we don't have the money so we got to come up with stuff like that.

[Boydy]

I think Pepe was talking about the weird march.

What the fuck is this?


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4Ej1vK8hCg

[randomlegend]

How are the people watching not laughing?

[Pepe]

Yes, the lol march. I totally get why people would resort to extreme measures to read Lewis's book.

[Pepe]

How are the people watching not laughing?

In the video I watched lots of people were.

[John]

Every aspect of that is deeply silly.

[Lewis]

UPDATEUPDATE: I e-mailed him the link to actual thesis and said I would answer whatever questions he had, and he replied - three times - thanking me and asking me to send him what spare books I do have about the British nuclear deterrent (which is also none). Nigerian scammer. But wait. He also included a Greek postal address with a description of what the street/place names mean.

When I was nine my grandad, who was an engineer on merchant ships, set me and my brother up with some similarly-aged pen pals in Ghana where he did some of his work. Why I don't know, but their surname was Yorke so he mugged us right off telling us that they were related to Dwight Yorke (we told everyone at school as well like cunts). Anyway, after two letters of generic 'Haha no lions here mate' pleasantries we got identical letters asking us for money and - weirdly specific for a relief appeal - a fucking walkman.

[John]

Finding out your grandad was a madam for scammers must have been a bit of a moment.

[Lewis]

He's apparently been dogged by rumours since the eighties that he had/has another family somewhere in Africa, so it's hard to know what to make of it all (I should say that he is actually my step-grandad, but I once made a big deal about that being a stupid term so I have to live with it).

[Adramelch]

I think Pepe was talking about the weird march.


Ah yeah, read the quotation first from the notifications and then the posts so that messed up my thought.

I have no idea what's up with that other than it being a tradition and that it's really not easy to pull off.

[niko_cee]

If/when I do that is indeed me finished, and I would start work as a doctor in August.

I want to at least give it a go. Looking at friends, I think being honest with myself I'm not sure I have enough MEDSIN IS MY PASHUN in me to put up with how shit life will probably be for the next few years. Long-term if I got where I want to go (being a paediatrician) I can see myself happy, but it's a lot of years of sacrifice away. Maybe I'll end up loving it, IDK.

If I start and I hate it I'll find something else. Medicine degree is a good thing to have in the jobs market, or so people like to tell you at least. Might get me on the Lidl graduate scheme at least.

Do the hard yards for a few years and then relocate somewhere they pay you an awful lot more than the NHS.

I had a friend who has just been made up to consultant and he was offered* about 5 times his salary to come over here (and do basically nothing).

*he is/was based in a hospital where doctors from over here sometimes go and he was tapped up by a consultant, but never followed it up.

[Baz]

Do the hard yards for a few years and then relocate somewhere they pay you an awful lot more than the NHS.

I had a friend who has just been made up to consultant and he was offered* about 5 times his salary to come over here (and do basically nothing).

*he is/was based in a hospital where doctors from over here sometimes go and he was tapped up by a consultant, but never followed it up.Yesh someone I do locum work for has a son who is a doctor who’s a millionaire from working in good ol America, rather than slumming about on the NHS like his dad.

[ItalAussie]

When I did mine they told me that I had passed before we even sat down, and then we just had a nice chat about how mega I am.

Yup. 15 minutes to pass, then two hours of talking about what I actually did.

I was so scared beforehand that I wanted to choke, mind.

[Lewis]

I knew I would pass, so I was alright; but I also assumed I would get some corrections and/or minor re-writes because everybody does (not least because what might be clear to someone who has been reading your work for three years might need further clarification for others), so I had priced in having to go away for a month or whatever before re-submitting it. Actually passing on the day was mega. I had to rush around getting it bound and submitted to the library and all that, and it meant that I was the only person from my entry group graduating that summer. I bet some of them are still at it.

[ItalAussie]

I knew I would pass, so I was alright; but I also assumed I would get some corrections and/or minor re-writes because everybody does (not least because what might be clear to someone who has been reading your work for three years might need further clarification for others), so I had priced in having to go away for a month or whatever before re-submitting it. Actually passing on the day was mega. I had to rush around getting it bound and submitted to the library and all that, and it meant that I was the only person from my entry group graduating that summer. I bet some of them are still at it.

I had about three hours worth of corrections to make, which I knocked out the next week. I passed with no problems, but I don't know how anyone could ever feel confident walking into a defence. It's not like I've had a dozen before and knew basically what to expect. I was pretty much clueless.

At the time, I thought it didn't help that my examiners were probably two of the top half dozen applied mathematicians in the world, so I was absolutely petrified about having to face them down in an adversarial examination. But it turns out that worked very much in my favour, because they had nothing at all to prove, and didn't need to me to explain any of the broad details, as they already knew it all. We spent about ten minutes tops on all the background stuff before diving into the real content.

[Pepe]

Submitted the final version today. All done. :cool:

[ItalAussie]

Submitted the final version today. All done. :cool:

That is awesome. Congratulations!

[Lewis]

I had about three hours worth of corrections to make, which I knocked out the next week. I passed with no problems, but I don't know how anyone could ever feel confident walking into a defence. It's not like I've had a dozen before and knew basically what to expect. I was pretty much clueless.

At the time, I thought it didn't help that my examiners were probably two of the top half dozen applied mathematicians in the world, so I was absolutely petrified about having to face them down in an adversarial examination. But it turns out that worked very much in my favour, because they had nothing at all to prove, and didn't need to me to explain any of the broad details, as they already knew it all. We spent about ten minutes tops on all the background stuff before diving into the real content.

I was confident because my thesis was literally the first study of its subject, so it wasn't really possible for any examiners to question its originality or where it sat amongst the existing literature (I know everything has to meet a level of originality, but some claims are debatable). With that in mind, and having been told by other people that it was well written and researched, I figured - short of some weird unforeseen failure - that I would just be pulled up on were minor interpretations and mistakes I might have made.

My supervisor also put a bit of stock into getting established people to do it for the reasons you mention (I did my upgrade with two people who weren't specialists [him being the only one in the department] and it was painful). His additional theory was that having an internal examiner with a more established reputation would provide some sort of home advantage under normal circumstances, but you can only really test one at a time.

[Pepe]

That is awesome. Congratulations!

Thanks. Now I need to publish all this crap though, so it's not really over. Still.

[randomlegend]

Someone in my year has to do their written papers again because (he does his papers on pc due to dyslexia) an invigilator accidentally deleted one of his papers.

I'd have burnt the fucking med school down.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Fuck that shit.

[igor_balis]

thinking about doing a pgce

[Lewis]

'I bet you didn't think I'd like Crowded House, did you? Well I do. I like them a lot.'

[igor_balis]

Don't dream it's over is quality, alright.

[Boydy]

thinking about doing a pgce

I thought you were moving to Plymouth?

[niko_cee]

Falmouth.

[phonics]

More like Failmouth if he's turning up.

[ItalAussie]

I'm going to use this thread to vent occasionally about lecturing.

I set the world's easiest mid-term exam today. I told them precisely what week each of the two questions would test. I made the questions practically identical to in-class examples, with some small tweaks. And I let them bring in a formula sheet. At least a dozen of them forgot to bring in the formula sheet entirely, and the sheer range of wrong answers I saw when going through the scripts was dire. It truly is one of the worst things I've ever seen from a class.

[Lewis]

Maths seems like one of those degrees you would only do if you were right into it (and therefore likely good at it), unlike humanities stuff that people do because they sort of like it, so people fucking it up feels like it should be unusual. Is that fair?

[Pepe]

It's all signaling anyway so who cares, right?

[igor_balis]

just use a calculator losers

[Lewis]

It's all signaling anyway so who cares, right?

I received my 2017 book royalties today, and I earned £63.65, so thank you for your contribution.

[randomlegend]

How many books sold is that?

[Lewis]

No idea.

[Baz]

I received my 2017 book royalties today, and I earned £63.65, so thank you for your contribution.
Anything-for-a-quick-buck-Baz approves. :cool:

[ItalAussie]

Maths seems like one of those degrees you would only do if you were right into it (and therefore likely good at it), unlike humanities stuff that people do because they sort of like it, so people fucking it up feels like it should be unusual. Is that fair?

It's a bit different here. Basically everyone in science, engineering, finance, etc., has to take first year maths. It's considered such an important skillset that it's not optional for most students. Which means that most of our teaching is actually to people in different degree specialisations, which tends to lead to a little bit of laxity in study. After all, they're "not here to study calculus"; they just want to build bridges.

But this particular class are meant to be the smart ones, so I have no idea what went wrong. Even an utterly basic amount of revision should have done the trick. They clearly didn't revise in any way.

[Pepe]

Have you considered the possibility that you're just a shit lecturer?

safety wink

[Pepe]

I received my 2017 book royalties today, and I earned £63.65, so thank you for your contribution.

:cool:

Milks are on you when I get you a seminer gig at the new place.

[ItalAussie]

Have you considered the possibility that you're just a shit lecturer?

safety wink
I appreciate the safety wink. My lecturing and engagement scores have always been very good. I won a prize last year!

But I am slightly concerned that I failed to communicate something important here, although I've no idea what it could be. "Maybe study guys?"

[Pepe]

Who knows. Maybe some other class had something in a close time-frame which distracted them. Or maybe they are a particularly lazy bunch. Some classes do seem much better than others. You'd imagine that they should all average out, but that doesn't seem to happen.

[mugbull]

What's the class specifically about? Maybe dreadfully easy to you isn't so for others

[ItalAussie]

What's the class specifically about? Maybe dreadfully easy to you isn't so for others

It's first-year linear algebra, but the first mid-term test is supposed to be a freebie. It's nothing they didn't see in high school. And given that good high school grades are a prerequisite for doing the course, it's reasonable to assume that they've seen basic vectors and complex numbers before.

The crazy thing was the number of students who didn't bring in a formula sheet, after I told them about it in every lecture leading up to the test, and in two seperate announcements on the course website. I don't know what more I could have done for those kids.

[Panda Bear]

It's first-year linear algebra, but the first mid-term test is supposed to be a freebie. It's nothing they didn't see in high school. And given that good high school grades are a prerequisite for doing the course, it's reasonable to assume that they've seen basic vectors and complex numbers before.

The crazy thing was the number of students who didn't bring in a formula sheet, after I told them about it in every lecture leading up to the test, and in two seperate announcements on the course website. I don't know what more I could have done for those kids.
How many of your students even attend your lectures?

[Spikey M]

That’s the sort of Zinger you don’t see on many Forums.

[Pepe]

Shit, looks like I will be asked to teach Fluid Mechanics. That's the one I am a bit crap at. Will have to brush up on my Navier-Stokes.

[Foe]

Shit, looks like I will be asked to teach Fluid Mechanics. That's the one I am a bit crap at. Will have to brush up on my Navier-Stokes.

Bit of delta p f never hurt anyone.

Say hi to mr Bernoulli too.

[-james-]

I failed first year maths because I was high all the time. I think I failed exams that were exactly like the one you're describing. I imagine it's fairly common amongst first years everywhere.

In hindsight it's pretty embarrassing that I didn't ace the entire first two years of uni, a good part of it is an open goal.

[ItalAussie]

How many of your students even attend your lectures?

About 65% attendance. All the lectures are filmed and streamed.

The first-year general calculus averages 30% attendance. I can't even understand that mindset. Not attending lectures never even seemed like an option, let alone the norm.

[ItalAussie]

Shit, looks like I will be asked to teach Fluid Mechanics. That's the one I am a bit crap at. Will have to brush up on my Navier-Stokes.

What topics? Teaching fluid dynamics is great. We used to start each lecture with a short discussion of a video or picture showing some kind of fluid effect.

[Pepe]

What topics? Teaching fluid dynamics is great. We used to start each lecture with a short discussion of a video or picture showing some kind of fluid effect.

Don't know yet, but the basic Mechanical Engineering one. So mostly (iirc) inviscid flow, internal flow, boundary layer theory, Bernoulli equation. Stuff like that.

[Spoonsky]

I finished my first year at McGill. Everything went pretty well and I enjoyed my classes even though some of them were really big.

I feel like that fake James Milner twitter posting like this.

[Pepe]

https://i.imgur.com/ChY6ojI.jpg

Lol.

[igor_balis]

I finished my first year at McGill. Everything went pretty well and I enjoyed my classes even though some of them were really big.

I feel like that fake James Milner twitter posting like this.

soon ya gonna be sophomore spoon, destroyer of poon

[Lewis]

Pepe. :cool:

[Pepe]

Didn't even have to pay the $2500 I owe for health insurance. :harold:

[randomlegend]

Resits this Friday and next Friday.

I'm a million times more prepared than last time, but fucking hell it's still so nerve-wracking. Especially given it's basically do or die now - either I'm a doctor in a month or I've got almost nothing to show for 8 years of effort.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

[Boydy]

I'm sure you'll be fine. Good luck though.

[randomlegend]

Thanks.

[randomlegend]

Well resits are done and I finished my last half day of catchup placement earlier today. I will never attend anything as a med student again - one way or another it's all over. Results the week of the 9th apparently.

Fuck me it's been a long old journey but I'm proud I managed to stick it out to the end whatever happens, although obviously I'd really like to pass.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Congrats dickhead.

Hope you passed.

[Boydy]

Well done, RL. Hope you passed. How do you feel it went?