Visiting Alexandra Road Accommodation

After looking around student accommodation websites online I managed to find a property that appeared to have everything I want; double bed, en suite bathroom and for the reasonable price of £99 per week. What I didn't realise is that it is the place C is living in now. Obviously he is going to be moving out so it doesn't bother me what so ever...even if we did break up.

The new room is lovely though - so big! And it is on the top floor, in the attic-space, so I have a lovely sky light window - hopefully will look nice at night with the stars. Regardless the room is amazing. I seriously cannot wait to move in. Despite my Mum's doubts she seems to be a little bit excited about it for me, although this is probably her way of keeping control of my independence if that makes any sense.
Now I just need to email my landlord to get him to send me all the rental agreements so I can also send him my £250 deposit. So excited!

English Literature - Done

My English Literature coursework is finally in. Now, I can just concentrate all my effort on the Ireland exam coming up this Thursday. I am really worried about it...considering I need to get a 'B' grade overall in History, I don't know if I can really do it! Hopefully these next three days will be enough for me if I really do some hardcore revision.
I wish that my English had been done sooner so I would have had more time to revise, but my teacher kept pushing me and pushing me to do more the work, so much so that he extended the deadline from Wednesday, to Friday and the to mid-day today (Sunday). He was trying to push me to get an overall A grade by "slightly" redoing some of his essay since the other one was an 'A' grade it was probably a mid 'B' grade, not sure if I really managed it though but we will see. I will probably find out tomorrow or Wednesday what my moderated grade is.
I find doing essays about novels so much easier than writing about poetry. Although I like writing about the symbolism and imagery used in poems (as we did in the actual timed examinations whereby I wrote about Thomas Hardy's 1912 collection) I find it really difficult doing all the formulated answers, talking about rhythm, structure and pattern etc like I had to do in this piece of coursework (writing about Percy Shelley's 'The Mask of Anarchy') it just seems too...mathematical for my brain. I love writing about novels; as I did in my A grade piece of coursework. The two books I chose to write about were; 'Wuthering Heights' and 'Lady Chatterley's Lover' (possibly one of my all time favourite novels) and the portrayal of class conflict. It's so interesting!

English Literature Coursework Deadline

My eyes are blurry, I can't concentrate properly...It's currently 1am, and I am sat here attempting to finish my two final pieces of English Literature coursework...after a whole day of school and four hours of working in Morrisons' cafe. I wouldn't be sat up at this ridiculous time if it wasn't for Plymouth City Council deciding that between 9-11am they are going to turn the electricity off in my area. Love it.

It's times like these that I wish I didn't have to have a job to support myself financially and could just throw myself into my work and get it done as soon as possible. If I wasn't at work tonight I could be tucked up in bed right now.

No point wishing these hours away. The faster I get this finished, the sooner I can go to bed!

Visiting Richmond Lodge Accommodation

After my giving my Cultural Influences on Gender seminar today, I went into town to meet the letting agent from Home and Student Link to visit Richmond Lodge. It sounded pretty perfect and, once I got there and was waiting to meet her - the surrounding area looked lovely too. Streets lined with trees, opposite a park with not much traffic flow and just a steady stream of students walking to and from University. I had plenty of time to observe this, arriving there 20mins early to make sure I could find the place, and then waiting and additional 15mins because the agent was waiting around the other side of the building!

The hallways inside were a little cramped, however, it is a massive house made up of about four or five flats and then seven or eight rooms per flat, each sharing a kitchen/lounge area. The rooms differed in price from between £100 per week to £116 per week, with stop gaps of about £105 and £110 per week (for the difference in size). Unfortunatly (which I only found out upon being show the rooms) was that there was only one £100 room left and a £116 room. The £100 room, although having an en suite bathroom was absolutly tiny and not what I was looking for at all. The room could just about squeeze in a single bed and work station and when the door to the en suite was opened it pretty much took up and standing space in the room. I swear if you fell out of bed you could quite easily end up in the shower. Anyway, after that she showed me the remaining £116 room. It was beautiful, so spacious...even with a double bed and massive work station in it...and the en suite was very large too. But, unfortunatly that was out of my price range.

So I have been looking around again for more accommodation more in my price range and to my requirements. I have found another three places to look at and have sent emails to the landlords requesting a view of the places. They are all much cheaper than Richmond Lodge too so hopefully I will have a little more success there. Hopefully.

Accommodation

The search for student accommodation began today. I visited Plymouth University's Accommodation Office but they were rather unhelpful basically telling me I couldn't get access to the housing data base until I had got my A Level results, which isn't until the end of August! - my University course starts 26th September! So I left the office pretty disheartened and made my way up to Mutley Plain.

I bought C (my boyfriend) a Red Bull and Rooster to drop around his student diggs as he had a big exam today that he wasn't feeling too confident about. I dropped them round, loved him and left him.
He suggested I go to a student letting agent so, I did. There are quite a few around the Mutley Plain/North Hill area of Plymouth but I chose 'Home and Student Link' they were so helpful and basically have me lined up to visit a property tomorrow afternoon at 1.30pm. It looks gorgeous, is really close to the University as well as obviously town and the pubs and clubs. Everything is within walking distance...and it has a double bed with an en suite shower/bathroom. Perfect.

My Adventure

Well, it is well and truley underway. My step into some form of independence, going to University. The choices have been made, places accepted and rejected. The student finance applied for.
The student bank account still needs to be opened (hopefully with a rather large 0% interest overdraft limit) and accommodation place applied for.

I need to step back and realise that just planning on University won't make it happen. I need to pass my end of year exams first...the first one coming up on the 19th May. The British Empire Challenged, which, misleadingly is basically Irish History from roughly 1800-1920. It has been the bain of my life for the past two years, apparently the easiest of the history examinations, being a source based paper. Not the case for me apparently. The Russian Revolution, easy, passed with a 'B' grade...no sources just two essays in an hour. Irish History - no, 'E' the first time 'D' the second time - hopefully pull that up to a 'C' this final time.

Anyway, today I am off to visit the Student Accommodation Office to hopefully find some grade 'A' or 'AA' house worth living in. I know it's a little bit silly of me to go for top end accommodation when I will clearly by struggling to live but, at least if I can't afford a night out, cinema trip or meal...I will have a double bed and en suite bathroom to comfort me.