Three weeks in, and all is well.

Hello there!

Firstly, I just want to say that that the video diary will come, I promise. I just want to make sure that I'm actually producing something worth watching. I highly doubt I'm going to be sticking to any sort of regular upload schedule, so it's a little pointless me telling you when to expect it. It could be in a couple of days, or even weeks. I don't know, we'll see. In the meantime, head over to my channel here - Click me! - and subscribe if you like. You'll see any content I upload there before you will anywhere else.

Now that that's out of the way, let's get into it shall we?

I imagine this post will be a little similar to the last one, but I'll try and avoid it. I just want to talk about a couple of things that have happened, and what's going to be happening over the next few weeks.

Yesterday - It got worse, the cathedral literally vanished.

I'll tell you now that my course involves so much group work. And of course, there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. In fact, I'm rather enjoying it. I think it's fair to say that without being made to work with people, I'd likely spend the next year working by myself, making very few, if any friends and the work would be a bit. Well, rubbish. There are three groups that I'm in. The first is quite a large one, where we're all required to cover and mix a song of our choice. The second, is similar to the first group but little under half the size, and in that group we have to produce a half hour radio show. The final group is even smaller, and in this one we have to produce a soundscape.

So this is great, because I'm getting to work with a good majority of the people on my course, who all have their own talents, interests and skills. And they're all really nice people. (If any of you read this, I'm not just saying that!)

I'll be honest, for the first week or so I had this little feeling that I perhaps hadn't picked the right course for me. And whilst that wouldn't be a disaster if I hadn't, it's not a problem anyway because now that I'm really getting stuck in, and I know exactly what I've got to do I'm having an incredible time. I know for a fact that this is what I want to do, and whilst it may be rather early to tell, I can do pretty much anything I want when I'm finished here. Or at least I think so anyway.

"If you put your mind to it, you can accomplish anything."

- Doc Brown

So what's next? Well, in a couple of weeks I have to attend a proposal for our radio show. This will be our first assessment. And it's a bit scary, because we have to dress up smart and each need to contribute to the proposal, explaining our roles and whatnot. No doubt I'll be nervous, as I presume we all will be to be honest. But I know we'll get through it, and it'll be fine in the end. We've got a pretty good idea for the show, and I hope that once we're done with it in December I can share it with you all.

One of the things I like most about my course is how hands on and practical it is. As cliche as that sounds, I know. But even still, being able to use various bits of kit, and actually play and practice with everything that we as media students have access to is just brilliant. It's so different to being at sixth form. There's no sitting in a class while someone stands at the front and teaches you. Nope. It's totally different to that. Sure, I have to go to lectures, seminars and workshops and such, but you actually get involved, and you actually have to do something. It's not just about taking notes and studying them, it's about having a go, and getting as involved in the subject as you can both through what you're being taught and what you're expected to go away and find out for yourself.

£100+ worth of books. Bloody hell.

That's why the reading is cool. And it's strange, because as a few of you probably know, reading isn't exactly "my thing". But here I have no choice, and I'm actually kind of glad about that because it forces me to go out of my comfort zone, and find things out for myself. For example, the first piece of reading we were given was about reading. (I think I mentioned this before?) Anyway, there was a bit in the chapter about discovering what the best way for us as individuals to read is. So, these past couple of weeks I've been trying different environments and reading styles to find what works best for me. I'm not simply picking up a book and reading it, I'm trying anything I can think of to find a way that the information sinks in. I think I've got it. I need a cool environment, something comfortable to sit on, and I need my earphones in with music playing. That way I can block out everything else, concentrate on the page and the information just flows. I can't do silence, I don't like it. But as an Audio Production student, I guess you'd expect that anyway.

So in terms of university, the work is coming in at a steady pace, and I need to just keep on top of it. So far I am doing, and all is well. 

On Thursday night, not the one coming, the one we've just passed, me and Hayley went to see Seann Walsh at the Engine Shed. Dad got me two tickets for my birthday, which was great because I wanted to go anyway. It was a really small gig, there can't have been any more than 100 people there. All the seats were taken. It was an absolutely brilliant evening. He's so funny. If you don't know who he is, then shame on you. Go away right this instant and look him up, I can promise you that you won't be disappointed. I don't think I've ever laughed so much in my life. My cheeks were stuck halfway up my face, they hurt and kept snagging on my braces (which, fingers crossed come off at the end of the month!) It was just brilliant though. It really was.

Yesterday, above all else, it rained a lot. Now I've mentioned rain on this blog before, so I do apologise, but it was different. It just kept coming. And it's rained a lot overnight and today too. And by the look of the sky right now, it's probably going to rain again. But, regardless of the weather, I got to meet up with my friend Archie yesterday. He told me all about how much the sixth form back at The Dukeries has changed, and by the sounds of it I got out just in time. But, Mr Bysouth seems to be doing a pretty good job, so hats off to him.

It sucks how much food costs. I'm not even kidding. For starters, it's £3 for a block of cheese. Which, some people would say isn't bad, but at the flipping rate I get through it that's absolutely extortionate. I've taken to shopping around now for literally everything I want to buy. Even bread. I went out today to get bread, and came back with 6 tiger baps (cobs) purely because they were cheaper. And they're absolutely massive, so one a day is more than enough. I've discovered that large bottles of pop are cheapest in Lidl, or Aldi, whichever it is we have here, I always forget. So I buy that from there. For frozen stuff, Farmfoods is where it's at, and then there's always Poundland for snacks and treats and other things which are bad for you. But, I'm budgeting literally everything, and I know I'm safe until January as long as I don't do anything stupid, which I obviously won't.

Bloody hell, it's getting lengthy again. Sorry everyone!

I'll leave you with this. No, it's not a riddle. I'm sure you all know the phrase "you don't know what you have until it's gone." Well, I have been able to apply that phrase to so many things. And to avoid depressing you all with everything that I miss, I'll leave it there. Just know that I'm incredibly happy here, and even though I went home last weekend, and could do every weekend quite frankly, I'm having such a good time here in Lincoln, and at the moment I really don't want to leave. 

Thank you very much for reading!

- Anthony.