| Kyle |
[Nov. 29th, 2007|12:29 am] |
A friend of mine (Paul) recently lost his cousin Kyle. His body was found washed up in Dundee. Although I never knew him it was obvious how many people cared about him - from Facebook alone.
Life is too precious. When things like this happen it puts all of my problems in perspective. My thoughts are with Paul and his family. |
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| Life (Continued) |
[Jul. 22nd, 2007|12:16 pm] |
Went on an expedition in the Lake District with Ash, Sandy and Will which took us on a circular route all the way round Lake Windermere and Coniston Water over 4 days (June 1st - 4th). I expected non-stop rain, typical on a British holiday, but it turned into four of the hottest days in the year. In fact, I even got some sunburn on my nose which has never happened before!
It turned out to be quite intense. Ash turned out to be a great hiker but that shouldn't have been a surprise since he walks in the Peak District near Sheffield all the time (and he's a forrester...so likes the outdoors). Sandy felt quite ill on the first day unfortunately and decided to pull out on the second. He gave it a really good shot. In the end it all proved in vain since on the last day we discovered a bypass had been built across the final leg of our route! We spent a couple of hours trying to get around it but in the end it proved too much, and a great pub in Ambleside beckoned.
Ash decided to move flats for fourth year. He said it'd benefit him being with other honours foresters but whatever the case, it won't be the same without him. There was some severe flooding recently back at home for him (near Sheffield). Apparently he had to help his mum escape some of it! Hopefully I'll get to meet up with him for a drink when he gets back.
Wolfson Microelectronics decided to give me a summer placement. My relief was palpable. In fact they have also decided to take me on for the industrial placement next year and given me a scholarship for my final two years of Uni. I am in a good position indeed.
My placement started on July 9th and should last for 6-8 weeks depending on how I do with the work. So far it's involved learning a scripting language called Perl to produce XML from an Excel spreadsheet. Is supposed to help engineers process the data required to run circuit simulators. Slightly over my head but at least it sounds useful :). Gordon and Mark from my course are also at the company. I'm working in Design and they're both working in Applications. They seem to be enjoying it though Mark is complaining about all the documentation! At least I didn't draw the short straw there, maybe.
A few weeks ago me and my summer flatmate James (who I worked with last summer at Crocodile Clips) decided to take up Aikido. It's been quite a learning curve for me. I see some common ground with Ju Jitsu, but it's very different in other respects. I've not got use to the teaching style yet which is very much by demonstration rather than verbal troubleshooting. Something I've not got to grips with well yet. In fact James taught me their breakfall. Different from what I learnt previously but fascinating, I am learning. Maybe my past experience is a hindrance also.
The Uni sent me a very interesting letter in the post. I've been awarded two prizes! The Dinnis Prize for top student in 3rd year Electromagnetics and the Freescale Prize for top student in Niceway - a semiconductor simulation lab. Amazing since there are only 5 prizes awarded to the whole of third year EE. I may have had an advantage in electromagnetics since I studied it previously in physics (outside course), but I'm proud.
School (St. Benedict's) sent me a letter again about the Higher Education Convention. I went in my first year here. It's a chance to talk to the current sixth formers and tell them what life at Uni is like. Plus, being able to catch up with all the teachers and friends again is great. The free school lunch tasted great after being fed food from the Uni canteen (the JMC). I can't make it this year since I'm going with Kathleen to Ireland on September 4th. Maybe next year. It's strange how I miss school in ways. |
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| Paranoia |
[Apr. 2nd, 2007|11:10 pm] |
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I may have been slightly paranoid in that last post. It still stands but I've decided to try and forget the whole thing and move on. We'll see how that pans out. Must be the stress. |
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| Gloom |
[Mar. 30th, 2007|03:29 pm] |
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The interview with Analog went well, but Wolfson managed to ask questions on my weakest areas. I haven't heard anything back from either company which isn't a positive sign, we'll see. I asked Crocodile Clips if they'd take me on again but it seems they have all the testers they need. It looks like I'll be back to SAGE (the uni's online careers service) to hunt for a summer job again. |
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| Time |
[Mar. 19th, 2007|08:16 pm] |
Kathleen's sister Helen passed away. It's been really difficult for her family. It came as a shock, and the circumstances (which I can't get into) have made it all the more stressful. My thoughts have been with her and her family.
There was a beautiful mass and funeral service. I met most of Kathleen's extended family, I wish it were under better circumstances. Many of Helen's friends came down to Lockerbie. It's difficult to begin to imagine what she meant to them all. She'll be missed by all of us so much.
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My own troubles seem insignificant by comparison. I've been stressed with interviews coming up for Analog Devices and Wolfson Microelectronics. Wolfson want a 10 minute presentation on a project I've done recently - which will be my TV project, Satway.
Financially I might be heading into some tough times, and I'm not sure what I'll be doing this summer. I have a 6 week break after this weeks over till exams. So there's a lot of time to revise and figure out my plans. At least I've handed in a large assignment called SEWay today. It was based around abstract object oriented programming - confusing to me.
Next time I post, hopefully I'll have a placement/job.
I shouldn't forget my troubles are trivial by comparison. |
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| Placement Interviews |
[Jan. 18th, 2007|12:09 am] |
Three interviews today with National Semiconductor, IBM and Wolfson Microelectronics.
The interview with National was quite informal, the only technical question was being asked to draw out a cross-section of a BJT (transistor) when fabricated. Managed that (almost), seemed like a strange question but in retrospect was fair. IBM is of course a massive name, but they were mainly interested in software types (strange, as this is the electrical engineering faculty...). In the end I could get my CV sent off to their storage devices section - will need to write a CV at some point then. The first Wolfson interview was interesting because one of my Jitsu instructor (Martin) was interviewing me. Slightly unnerving, and not helped by the fact a change in my interview time hadn't been forwarded to them. The second part was an OpAmp question which was fair enough - they had in fact asked me an identical question when I tried to get a summer job with them!
Starting Satway tomorrow, a lab to put a TV signal onto an oscilloscope screen. Should be fun, not sure about going to Jitsu though. Am taking a step back this semester to put more focus on my studies - not a mistake I hope. |
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| Christmas etc. |
[Jan. 7th, 2007|12:26 am] |
December exams went okay. Microelectronics was hard with the exam not bearing much resemblance to the tutorials - these were all calculations though in the end we needed to do some actual explaining, gah! Signals & Systems / Electronics was, as expected, hard. Three hours was a long time though I could've done with another half an hour. Digital Electronics wasn't really too difficult, but there was again not enough time *grumble*. So to summarise, not my most amazing set of exams, I hope some mark scaling upwards goes on!
I went back home for Christmas which was good. I didn't get on too well with my step mum for parts which was a shame. Still, it was good to be back - bought some great presents which were slightly expensive, being a poor student :S. These were, for my brother a Sgian Dubh (a scottish ceremonial blade), for my sister a fabric craft kit and some cashmere gloves for my step mum. I'm most proud of my present for dad which was a miniature model of some guy with a workbench and tools - made out of nuts & bolts. Since my dad is obsessed with these things it went down well :).
Edinburgh's Hogmanay was the only place to spend New Year's at. Though in the end the street party was cancelled due to bad weather (rather strong winds). Just as well Rob and Kaye couldn't make it up in the end! Me, Kathleen, Sandy, James, Selina, Simon, Kassie, Jai and Dave spent it at McEwen's Ale House - a worthy substitute being our regular here. Lots of drunken photos which I might post up at some point, great fun had by all.
Lots of shopping done in Glasgow. Even more given that I'd left clothes at home - typical.
Have just got back from spending a few days with Kathleen's family in Lochmaben. Visited Dumfries which was not as bad as I had been lead to believe! Also went to Carlisle which was okay - though not very interesting.
...and I also graded to purple belt in Ju Jitsu somewhere during my exams. I'm not sure how much I'll do this semester mind :/.
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| Blood |
[Nov. 8th, 2006|06:06 pm] |
Gave blood today, or tried. Didn't feel too great when the flow kept dropping off and the nurse adjusted the needle which made me feel pretty rough. Thus I only managed a partial donation, ach. The first time I went back in 1st year I didn't feel too great after I gave blood, though I did manage a full donation. Maybe this isn't for me! Though Kathleen did find it quite amusing to see my face drained of all colour :|.
The course is going alright, I'm extremely bored of digital electronics now. Analogue is a lot more interesting and apparently where all the money is/something computers can't easily replace us in. First semester is going really fast, in a few weeks I'll be sitting three exams, I'm feeling fairly confident which is a good sign.
In the last couple of weeks I went to a ceilidh with Kathleen and Louise which was fun, though I didn't really know anyone there - to my surprise I wasn't completely clueless with the dancing. Last weekend I had a good time at Jitsu. We had a 3rd dan in our foundation come up (Sensei Bishop) who isn't very tall but she was extremely impressive. Really nailed a few issues I had with my technique and helped me appreciate it more. That said, I'm not sure if I'll ever feel completely motivated just before a session :|. Lazyness is very easy.
As my sister Bridget says, nose to grindstone for now. Lots of fun work :) |
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| Studying & Jitsu |
[Oct. 1st, 2006|10:00 pm] |
Third year at University's started well. I'm fairly certain all the complaining made by previous third years about its difficulty is exaggerated, it feels more like a step up in difficulty as opposed to a cliff. I'm sure my initial 'misconception' will be destroyed when the real work begins! Last year we were under the impression it was going to be the end of maths. Specifically, our compulsory maths course would end. That, was a mistake. We're doing as much maths as ever, and some of the lecture notes are mad. [/grumble]
I've returned to Ju Jitsu after a summer without it. I had forgotten how tiring a 1 - 5:30 session can be. Yesterday I also went to the Martial Arts Ball which was really fun - if knackering! The ceilidh was great, one great thing about being here in Scotland, even if my co-ordination leaves a lot to be desired. Each year at the MA Ball there's an event called the Boat Race. Every MA club put forward 7 people to down a pint each in sequence. The winning team being the ones who finish first and apparently Jitsu have never been defeated, last night being no different. Absolutely amazing to see the guys down those pints so fast, I see why they claim it as part of their training...
Me and Kathleen had to be the luckiest couple that night though. In the raffle, which we had each only spent £1 each on, we each won two of the top prizes! One of which was £20 off at Howie's restaurants here (where I've been wanting to go for a while) and the other being a meal for two at another restaurant. Not bad at all! Thanks to Brett for insisting we buy tickets :D.
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| No more work. Roll on Phrontistery (University) |
[Sep. 9th, 2006|10:10 pm] |
Work is over at last. It's been a great summer job, and a great summer in general. Last weekend I invited Mel up for her birthday with Fiona and Sian. Although I've now been in Edinburgh for two years I spent the most time I ever have being touristy. We managed to visit the castle, go to the zoo, experience a ghost tour, watch the end of festival fireworks and climb Arthur's Seat (a large hill here). That's not bad at all, and it even rained so they all got a proper Scottish experience - which I'm sure Mel was fully appreciative of even if she didn't show it.
The last day of work was uneventful on the whole. The usual running software, filing defects and verifying fixes. That is except for a final farewell gift me and James left for the guys. We left one regarding the empty handtowel dispenser in the mens toilets, complete with 'screenshot' and even a potential 'workaround'. Went down well even if I couldn't meet their request to verify it for the womens toilets! I've had a great time working there and for my highest rate of pay yet. Part of that was spent doing e-mail hangman, hence the strange word in the subject. We really did work well though, honestly.
Kathleen's coming back this tuesday. I can't wait to see her again, even if it has only been a couple of weeks. It sounds like she's had a great time in Spain, am looking forward to hearing about it and the tacky souvenirs I've been promised! We'll have been together for two years soon, getting serious... But I love her as much as ever (that is to say, lots). I miss her hugs and a lot else besides :). |
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