Cardiff Carnage

I have been in Cardiff for 11 days now and I still haven't begun any kind of constructive work - I am once again feeling like a Fresher! Me and one of my new flatmates (Claire) have been partying practically every night. The nightlife in Cardiff is really brilliant. On Monday evening the postgrad freshers week activities kicked in and we haven't looked back since! Monday night started with speed meeting in the Grad bar followed by a cheesy disco. Tuesday morning was very hazy and I'm sure the phrase 'I'm never drinking again' was uttered! Needless to say I promptly carried on pickling my liver that afternoon when I had to attend a 'compulsory' department meet-and-greet cheese and wine. It was only then polite to compliment the cheese and wine with a wee trip to the local pub. On Wednesday morning I felt like it was Groundhog day! Swiftly my body rejuvenated itself however, and me and Claire reluctantly headed for the postgrad pub crawl. Although I started with good intentions, ordering an orange juice, I soon saw the light and nominated myself as kitty carrier (we were a group of 13 and we each put £10 into the kitty and ordered bulk rounds). It has to be said that it's the best pub crawl I've been on to date! To be honest, the mornings seem to be getting easier and this morning I was up and raring to go by 9:30. Tonight is tequila night at the Grad centre and, at the moment, I am thinking that me and tequila really won't get on...watch this space!



So that's my week so far. What else have I got on the horizon? Well, I am pleased to say that I have baggsed myself some tickets for both The Feeling (12th November) and the Fratellis (13th October) - I can't wait for either! I am working at the rugby again on Saturday, should be a manic bar as Wasps are the visitors and they have massive away support. I finally start classes on Monday. Not forgetting my wee holiday to Berlin in November. I have the feeling that this semester is going to fly!

So far so good

After a two day car journey via Sheffield I have finally made it to Cardiff. I got here on Monday and since then things have been going swimmingly! I have now met all five of my flatmates, Max, Luna, Gemma, Claire and Lee. They're all lovely and fairly susceptible to falling into my Neighbours/Home and Away routine - it's all good! My room is very new, and sparkly, and has been enhanced by a few choice items purchased in Ikea. I'm settling in well. Over the past few days I've been acquainting myself with my new city, I've walked into town, walked through the park, visited my local Tescos (it's ENORMOUS!), hunted out the Student Union, and sussed out where my European Studies department is. Cardiff really is a beautiful, very accessible city and every time I go out I find a new wee undiscovered corner.

It may sound as if I've been really busy this week, but actually it's been quite a chilled out week. I've done lots of lounging around on my new sofa and spent most mornings snuggled up in bed. That's not to say I haven't done any labour, I have. I was successful in getting a job at Cardiff Arms Park, working on the bar on match days. As you can imagine, I am in my element! I did my first shift yesterday at Cardiff vs Glasgow and I had a really good time. The beer and the banter were both flowing!

Two days to go

So my room is full of boxes and suitcases, my mum has upped the nagging - it must surely be time to move out! Last night was the night for farewell drinks in town with friends (old and very new!). The evening started off in Bar 38, then later we decided that it was not pretentious enough for us so we meandered over the road to Tigerlily instead. I can highly recommend the Pear and Cardamon cocktail! Once we had spent a fortune there we moved on to Le Monde and finally downstairs to Tokyo. The end of the evening quickly became a haze of southern comfort and coke! It was a good night out though and a really fun night to remember as my last night out in Edinburgh for a while. The down side to having such a good night out though is the fact that I am feeling pretty rough now, so much so that I almost opted for not watching lunchtime Neighbours in favour of sleep - I must be getting old!

Two weeks of thumb twiddling

It's been about two weeks since I finished working for EF and up until now I had been keeping myself busy sorting out all my worldly possessions, readying myself for the forthcoming upheaval (not only do I move to Cardiff soon but my parents are moving soon as well!), managing to scatter a few nursing shifts throughout for good measure too. Now however, the novelty of condensing old uni files and throwing out much-loved but long-unwatched videos is most definitely wearing off. I just wanna get down to Cardiff and start something new.

I'm leaving Edinburgh on the 17th September. I'm already feeling very sorry for my poor wee Clio, which will be rammed full of all my 'necessities'! On the way down I've arranged to stop over in Sheffield with Libby's parents, whom I have not seen for ages. It'll be nice to catch up with them. Once I'm in Cardiff I have so many things planned! Aside from all the formalities of enrolling and sussing out where my seminars and things will be, I have already pencilled in all the Cardiff Blues home fixtures and lined myself up with an interview at Gap. On top of all that there will be the fun side of things too - hopefully meeting lots of nice, friendly, new people and going out and having an amazing time.

Eventually some kind of routine will form around all these plans. I'm hoping that I can restrict my money-earning work and my academic work to during the week so that my weekends are freed up for me to take off in my Clio and explore the surrounding area. South Wales (and South-West England for that matter) is not an area I am familiar with and I intend to make the most of my year down south by visiting lots of new places and getting to know new cities. Having free weekends will also mean that I'll be an idle hostess for anyone who feels like visiting - nudge nudge!

Anyway, my adventure doesn't start for another two weeks and I must content myself with following the lifestyle of my retired parents and live on a meal-to-meal basis until then!