I'm now at the end of week 5 which means I'm halfway through the Autumn term. Week 6 is "reading week" which means none of my classes meet and no assignments are due.
Monday began as usual, except I had a really hard time waking up. I blame switching from British Summer Time on Sunday. I ate and did the quick clear of the kitchen counters before class. In RDS we discussed t-tests. It's a good thing that t-tests are fairly simple and something I remember pretty well because I just could not stay awake and focused! I've consulted with some of my other AFP classmates and it turns out I'm not the only one who struggles to stay awake. Our lecturer has a very soft and somewhat monotone voice.
Our FPP lecture was cancelled because Paul had caught the plague sweeping through campus. We were reminded that it would be an excellent time to catch up on our reading/project/whatever, but I confess I took a nap. I figured I would be better at reading if I could stay awake. The rest of Monday passed with some work on my statistics practical.
The birds are always out in the mornings
This campus is gorgeous
I signed up to be notified about Top Gear tickets at David's request and I get SO MUCH SPAM.
On Tuesday we discussed Expert Testimony in LCI. A lot of the lecture pointed out the pitfalls of being an "expert witness". There is a famous case in the UK where a woman was convicted of murdering her infant sons and during the trial a professor told the jury some REALLY incorrect stats on how likely it is that two children in the same household would suffer cot death (SIDS). It is far more likely that as forensic psychologists we'll be asked to evaluate a case for a parole board or mental health tribunal. In the UK the courts hire the expert witnesses, so they aren't on anyone's side. Their purpose is to educate the court and not to prove anything for the defense.
At lunch on Tuesday I finally broke down and tried one of the Naked waffles they sell in the Roger Kirk Center (where The Lounge is). They always smell heavenly. So, I ordered the "Chocolate Heaven" which had chocolate sauce, chocolate chips, and whipped cream on it. When reading the description, I somehow missed that it also has chocolate ice cream on it as well. Yeah, so it was incredibly delicious. Though I think I could eat the waffle itself plain as I've seen a lot of students do.
During FGS we discussed ethics. First Paul lectured about some of the ethical issues we might encounter as practicing psychologists and then we did our group presentations on the four sections of the BPS code of ethics. My group did Competence and I was responsible for the impairment subsection. Then we were given scenarios and had to discuss why they might be ethically difficult and what could be done. On my walk back to the bus stop I noticed how dark it was getting already.
This is part of Central Hall (where my graduation will be held) and the lake.
On Wednesday, I got up and worked on statistics and then went to the Post Grad Staff/Student Forum. Basically, the course reps meet with a staff rep and we discuss any issues our classmates have asked us to address and possible solutions to those issues. The staff rep then works on how to resolve those with the staff and we communicate that back to our classmates. There was a lot of discussion about RDS because it is a revamped course this year, where they've introduced streaming based on skill level. However, there seems to be a lot of disconnect between the lectures and what we do in the practicals. The practicals require a lot of SPSS and interpreting outputs, and the lectures do a bare gloss over of the theory involved in the chapter without much discussion of SPSS or outputs.
After the forum, I went to the train station to begin my rail card application. I had to take it back to get signed by the registrar to prove that even though I'm over 25, I am a full-time university student. I spent the rest of the evening finishing my statistics practical and quiz, which I did well on.
This is the view from the Heslington Hall bus stop.
I'd gone too long without food, so I stopped at the train station's Starbucks and got a hot chocolate and this "chocolate swirl bun"
I also found this mug which made me think of Ellicia
This bridal shop went all out for Halloween. There's another bridal shop a few doors down that looks very traditional, so this one definitely catches your eye.
A 'fairy ring' outside the Ron Cooke Hub
On Thursday I took my signed rail card application back to the train station to be finalized. So, now I finally have a rail card which saves me money on train tickets.
After that I went into town to check on my HSBC debit card. So after showing my passport, they went to check if it had arrived since it should have been in on Wednesday. After about 10 minutes they came back to let me know that my card had "not been dispatched" when I opened the account like it should have. Now my card should be here on the 6th. If it isn't I'm going to throw a full-on hissy fit. I decided to transfer money to my Gesa account so I could order some things from Amazon (like my memory foam mattress pad) and that has been a nightmare. They put my debit card in "warm" status even though I changed my address with them and told them I was moving to the UK. Then they said I had to call them to get the fraud alert off my card. Only one problem, my phone plan is good for UK calling only and I need a working debit card to call internationally. So I pointed out that I was messaging them with the "secure messages" from inside my online banking account and I could tell them the exact amounts that were purchased. She apologized and said she would forward it on to the card fraud team and my card should be working again by tomorrow. Hopefully I'll have my order delivered on Tuesday or Wednesday. grrrrr.
Some shirts a vendor sells in the city center market
Love the top center one. I think Ericka needs it in her life ;)
On Thursday evening Andrea and I went to see "This is Where I Leave You" at Reel Cinemas on Blossom Street. Most ghetto movie theater EVER. You can see from the picture how frayed the seats are and how tiny the screen is. There were maybe 27 seats and I chose our row based on which chairs were the least frayed, only to discover our seats were a bit broken and inclined us forward uncomfortably. The movie was good, although in retrospect it was not the best choice only a couple months after an aunt and a friend died.
Not pictured: the little fan sitting on a wooden chair next to the seats. I assume it's there for summertime.
My right foot is still hurting when I walk very much and after limping back from the bus stop on Thursday, I spent most of Friday with my foot up. It feels fine after some rest. Friday evening I went out to the Illuminating York festival with Matt, Sam, Keita, Lara, Hulya, and Tanya. We only saw the free parts of the festival. It was fun, but I'm told last year's was better.
Clifford's Tower
Already putting up Christmas decorations at the Coppergate shopping center.
This story (which was hard to follow) was the Coppergate shopping center's attraction. We didn't stick around for the whole thing. It sounded like Siri reading a weird bedtime story.
The city center was busy
York Minster's attraction turned out to cost money. I guess last year the front of it was lit up and was really cool.
A church near Betty's was space-themed
The King's Manor courtyard display was very abstract and I can't say I got it, but it was interesting to watch.
An explanation of the symbolism. Or whatever.
Poor "stange" manager
This Starbucks is big
City lights on the river
We ended the night at Matt's favorite pub, The Phoenix Inn. I had a coke as usual because Dr. Pepper is extremely hard to find.
On Saturday, I slept in after the late night and then spent most of the day resting my foot again and watching Netflix or Amazon. After dinner we went to The Glasshouse in Langwith College for Matt's and Naz's (sp?) send off before they spend almost a month in and around London for part of their course.
We arrived to find it was open mic night. The face has been blurred out to protect the singer, who was kind of terrible. Not as terrible as the guy after him who sang Nirvana and murdered it so badly that I didn't realize it was Nirvana. yeah.
It was a relaxed evening. I had another coke.
I'm finally getting over my sniffles, but I have definitely been keeping Kleenex in business. I ran out mid-week, and the only boxes of tissues available at Nisa were the "mansize" kind. Is that a thing in the states too? I see them everywhere here and they are absurdly large. If you need that big a tissue in one go, you should probably see an ENT.
Today was Stake Conference at church and they called a new stake presidency, much to the delight of Sister Tunnicliffe our RS president. Her husband has been stake president for nine years and they were ready for the release. After that I took a nap since I get to Skype late with the Seamus, Kaylee and Bria AND my family in Washington.
-British people are weirdly obsessed with the sell-by date on food. I've explained to a couple people that food isn't magically bad after that point, the store just can't sell it.
-Also, fire safety. There are "Fire Door Keep Closed" signs everywhere. Even at church. There are also a variety of handicapped refuge point and fire exit signs.
Tomorrow begins reading week, which I will start with a small shopping trip to Morrisons to last me until my debit card arrives and I can FINALLY have my groceries delivered. I don't think you understand how exciting that is. :)
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