We Will Remember Them

Rememberance day is one of the most important days on my calendar and that of many other people I'm sure.

It is a day of reflection and thankfulness, gratefulness even, for everything that the servicemen and women have given for us to be able to live as we do. As I was often told growing up 'it's thanks to them we don't speak German', and although I have nothing particularly against speaking German I am proud of my heritage and the flexibility of the English language. Without it I wouldn't be able to enjoy many of the books I do, and certainly if the second world war had been won by Hitler we'd be much less culturally diverse than we are today.

It makes me angry to hear of demonstrations such as the one last year where people burnt our poppies on one of our most important days as a nation. I don't object to people living in this country who weren't born here, I'm not against them seeking protection. But I have to say that I do agree with the sentiment of 'If you can't show some respect to the people who made the safety and security of this country possible then maybe you shouldn't be here'.

We Will Remember Them!

Rowen

Linear Algebra

This module has been a major disappointment to me since I started it.

Linear algebra makes you think of the simple linear equations which you start to learn about when you're approximately in year 9, however this module is missing all of its simplicity.

It's actually only half a module and the other half which I thought I would enjoy less I find myself enjoying more.

My point I guess is that the university modules are like a book, you can't necessarialy judge from the cover and blurb how much you'll like it. There are those which will fulfil all your expectations, those which you know you'll dislike and do, those you discover you like much more than you anticipated and those, like linear algebra, which smash all of your hopes to splinters.

Rowen

Elements of a love story

I'm one of those cynic few, I suppose it's cynic at any rate, who believe that any love story is made up of  approximately 7 essential elements. It makes it no less magical to me, it just means that i'm able to place exactly where in the story I am by what's already happened.

These elements in my opinion are;

• The two meet/remeet each other and either get off on a bad footing(more common) or fall instantly in love (less common because in the type of story i normally read this would make the rest of the story void, although it has it's place, if for example they need to fight their situation rather than each other to be together).
• The two are forced into a rather excessive amount of contact with each other for no apparant reason, often against the will of one party or the other.
• The two discover they have a lot in common, or at least a startling amount of chemistry.
• She tells him she hates him, possibly despite the fact she already knows she loves him.
• He either despairs and goes off only to realise he can't live without her or becomes determined to make her see his good qualities.
• The couple declare their undying love for one another.
• The two get married or make some sort of lasting commitment to one another.

The epitome of this for me, is not the common romeo and juliet, but pride and prejudice.

When Elizabeth Bennett and Mr Darcy meet they definately get off on the wrong footing. Meeting at a ball where he displays his pride much to her displeasure.

The two spend an awful lot of time together, although not a lot of it in intimate society at the beginning of the story. Mostly at balls, although they are also forced together when Jane Bennett becomes ill, and later at Mr Darcy's aunts.

Elizabeth has very little respect for Mr Darcy, compounded by rumours which she is told. However he becomes attracted to her. In the 1995 Tv adaptation it is in the first episode that he first expresses an admiration for her 'fine eyes'.

Mr Darcy then proposes to Elizabeth. She tells him in no uncertain terms that she would never marry him, that she does in fact despise him.

He despairs at this point, resolves to leave her alone, but does try to improve her opinion of him on some points. When they then spend more time together, coincidentally, she begins to see him in a better light, and a softer side to him.

He proposes a second time and she tells him she's actually been in love with him for some time now.

The couple get married.

The 1995 Tv adaptation is one of my all-time favourite go-to feel-good watches, despite the fact that I was only 2 when it aired. Despite the fact that it isn't my favourite book, or even my favourite Austen. I can't get enough of the Tv series.

I'm currently educating one of my flat-mates :P

Here's to us all finding our very own Mr Darcy!

Rowen

Cooking

I'm not a good cook. I don't enjoy it. But I can cook.

I tell a slight lie, I do enjoy cooking but only in certain situations, preferably ones which involve clean kitchens and copious amounts of time.

I normally enjoy eating, but since starting uni, meal times are something i dread and to some extent try to avoid.

This is because nowadays mealtimes involve standing around in a crowded kitchen for a minimum of 20 minutes where you can be interrogated about anything and everything, to cook something in an unclean environment with no space, which 9 times out of 10 looks awful anyway.

Today I was looking forward to my dinner, i had it planned. It would be relatively simple and tasty.

It burnt, not a minor burning but a nice thick coating of the bottom of the pan, and while the meal doesn't taste awful it does have a secondary, and lasting, kick of charcoal.

Rowen

Hobbies

Everyone has hobbies. They're the things that make us who we are.
From sports, to crafts, to social clubs.
Sometimes I feel a bit like I'm collecting hobbies.

I enjoy;

• Reading
• Sewing
• Embroidery
• Swimming
• Scouting
• Gaming

to name a few. Each time i take up a new hobby I get filled with grand ideas of inspiration, the things it will one day be able to do for me when i have my very own family and live the oh-so-sustainable life I dream of.

Sometimes I think I have too many.

What's your favourite hobby?

Rowen

Respect

I think that in many ways respect is an abstract concept nowadays. Political correctness has blurred the borders. I thought that my sister's boyfriend made a very good point recently when he posted a rantlet on facebook about using 'Miss' and 'Sir' as terms of respect and how he thinks that some of that is lost when you reach higher education and are able to call your teachers/lecturers by their first names. I think that he's right. They're not our equals, as using their first name implies, they are our superiors, they know more than us and are trying to pass that on.

This point was raised in my mind during several lectures I've had over the past week where the lecturer has had to tell people who were talking to stop, and in one case gave up and ended the lecture. Personally at that point I was disappointed as I was sincerely interested in what he had been trying to say. However it hadn't been a small portion of the lecture group who had been talking over him.

I can understand going to a lecture and getting bored, it's happened to me on more than one occasion, but I still can't understand how you can be so disrespectful and start talking over the lecturer. If someone doesn't want to listen to a lecture that in my opinion is fine, it doesn't bother me... as long as they ignore what's being said quietly. At that point they're going to probably fail anyway but I'm paying to be there as are many others who actually want to learn. It becomes a point of disrespect to all of us as well.

Another point of disrespect I've come across since being here is noise. People who get drunk tend to get louder, I get that. But when it's 3 in the morning and you're trying to sleep because you need to get up in about 3 hours, the last thing you want to hear is thudding, thumping and shouting. I get a little bit angry that people can't understand this basic courtesy.

And finally it's food. I think, having paid for it's use, we should all be able to leave food in the communal areas without having to think about whether we'll go back to it and find that it's been eaten. We should be able to eat what we want in the communal areas without people looking down their nose at us for our choice of food, making themselves seem superior, or even trying to put us off our food.

Rowen

On Irritation and Isolation

I've always been a bit of a loner that's just my personality.

As a child I was perfectly able to amuse myself, from the age of about 8 my idea of a good afternoon was to curl up somewhere quiet by myself with a good book. This has probably led to my lasting obsession with books. I collect them. I love them. People tell me you'll grow out of it and get rid of them, but I could never get rid of any of my books, they're my best friends.

I've never spent more than a couple of hours a day in the company of my family, or even friends on days such as weekends and holidays where it could be helped. That is because if i push it much beyond that point I often find myself indulging in murderous thoughts towards them. Too long with any one person and their every irritating trait starts to drive me up the wall. The exception being my boyfriend who i could happily spend days at a time with.

This has meant coming to Uni is a shock to the system in another way. Here you can't escape people. They come and knock on your door and there's a good chance that if you're there someone knows and you can't risk offending them. This has meant that I've answered the door at points where i would've told my family to just get lost, they understand I need my space.  There are people here who struggle with that concept however.

I like the people here, but I don't want to tell them my exact plans for my days or meals. I don't want to be checked up on. And I certainly don't like it when they expect to be able to come into my personal space and criticise. It's not affecting them, so...

Anyway. My point kind of is they're irritating me and I'd like some space. I nearly isolated a good friend permanently in the last year going over a similar problem after spending 10 days together.

Is a little space too much to ask?

Rowen