glaswegian musings
My first (normal) post since I arrived in Glasgow. It's been roughly 12 days since my arrival, and I've been graciously blessed with roughly 3 days of gorgeous weather (i.e. sunny, with no hint of rain in the air the entire day/night). According to the locals, that's a glut of good weather. Most days it's just gloomy, really cloudy; the sky tends to be filled with pregnant low-lying clouds that seem ready to burst open at their seams and utterly inundate wherever I happen to be standing - typically while I'm on the sidewalk, with no shelter nearby.
I am more or less settled in, with a routine gradually being bashed out. I don't have many classes, which both excites and scares me. Having too many free time is a bad sign for a philosophy student: it indicates that I'll be spending tons of time thinking and mulling and pondering and comtemplating and cogitating and musing and reflecting... you get the idea. Which in turn translates into plenty of writing and re-writing. Not that both things, in and of themselves are bad things; it just means I'm looking at tons of work ahead of me.
Glasgow's okay, it ain't too bad. For some reasons though, I don't quite find it comfortable. The sidewalks are always filled with stores that never seem to be open, and those that are seem dingy or run by dubious characters or just seem downright strange. There is the anomaly of the well-run, clean and cheap cafe, but it's on the other side of campus and I'm a lazy arse. I can't be bothered to walk all the way there, even if it's for a 99-pence coffee. (In case you're wondering, 99 pence is alomst S$3.30. And that's for a regular coffee on a "special price". Jesus fucking Christ.)
University is awesome though, particularly in the early morning or night. It's lit up pretty nice at night, while in the early morning (think 8.30 or so) it makes me feel like I'm still living in the Middle Ages. It really is a beautiful campus. I guess it helps that people like Adam Smith (former chair of logic and of moral philosophy at the Department of Philosophy), Francis Hutcheson (former chair of moral philosophy and teacher of Adam Smith), David Hume, James Watt (inventor of the steam engine), and Joseph Lister (think Listerine - he promoted the concept of sterility) once trawled the same halls and cloisters that I get lost in. Bloody fabulous, actually. I do have some pictures, but I'm a little lazy to post them up just about now.
I live on campus, and it's about a 20 minute walk to the main buildings, but only 15 to the Department. Once again, the Department is a crummy building, but at least it's bigger - we have our own classrooms (of sorts). My room's pretty decent though, but it reminds me of living in an Ikea catalogue. Not that everything is from Ikea (though I think my chair is), but everything's all wood covered with a light brown veneer with false grain patterns. I sleep on a bed that's still too short for me, and it squeaks a little whenever I turn. My window opens up to some other student residences, though I believe that there aren't many students there. I don't see many lights being turned on there... either there ain't anyone there, or they're more accustomed to living in darkness. Again, I'll post pictures of my room and flat soon - I don't have any).
Weather still sucks - it sucked when I started writing it, and still does. I can hear my German flatmate having a typical Continental breakfast (it helps that I bumped into her just now): cream cheese and butter on four slices of whole grain bread, half a punnet of strawberries, a plum, a glass of orange juice, a mug of steaming tea sweetened with acacia honey; all this accompanied by a Gotan Project song streaming from her laptop. In case you're wondering, it's almost 3 in the afternoon, and she just got up. She's nice to talk to, and fun to laugh with. Granted that sometimes the subtler English mannerisms and phrases tend to zip past her...
I'm thinking of going to Greece during my short December break. Figured that I'm in Europe, and I'm a philosophy student - might as well take a look at Grecian ruins and pretend that I'm a half-decent philosopher. I am also considering spending Christmas there, in a student hostel filled with students from around the world. A Greek Christmas celebrated with international students... it sounds like fun. Except I hope they don't make me drink ouzo. Damn drink is distilled from 96 percent ABV, and the final product is roughly 40 ABV. I might feel my liver pickling when it does down. It'll be fun to try though.
I'm really just writing to kill time, since my Indian roommate is taking all the time in Hell and a leisurely ride over the river Styx with his best bud Charon. In other words, he's taking his goddamn sweet time. Fucking hell. I think I have a right to be pissed - I've been waiting since 12 to go to the supermarket - and he's the one who said he wanted to go. 3 whole hours. Gee-zus.
Okay. Enough griping.
I think I'll go hang with my German roommate... maybe she'll share her strawberries with me.
I am more or less settled in, with a routine gradually being bashed out. I don't have many classes, which both excites and scares me. Having too many free time is a bad sign for a philosophy student: it indicates that I'll be spending tons of time thinking and mulling and pondering and comtemplating and cogitating and musing and reflecting... you get the idea. Which in turn translates into plenty of writing and re-writing. Not that both things, in and of themselves are bad things; it just means I'm looking at tons of work ahead of me.
Glasgow's okay, it ain't too bad. For some reasons though, I don't quite find it comfortable. The sidewalks are always filled with stores that never seem to be open, and those that are seem dingy or run by dubious characters or just seem downright strange. There is the anomaly of the well-run, clean and cheap cafe, but it's on the other side of campus and I'm a lazy arse. I can't be bothered to walk all the way there, even if it's for a 99-pence coffee. (In case you're wondering, 99 pence is alomst S$3.30. And that's for a regular coffee on a "special price". Jesus fucking Christ.)
University is awesome though, particularly in the early morning or night. It's lit up pretty nice at night, while in the early morning (think 8.30 or so) it makes me feel like I'm still living in the Middle Ages. It really is a beautiful campus. I guess it helps that people like Adam Smith (former chair of logic and of moral philosophy at the Department of Philosophy), Francis Hutcheson (former chair of moral philosophy and teacher of Adam Smith), David Hume, James Watt (inventor of the steam engine), and Joseph Lister (think Listerine - he promoted the concept of sterility) once trawled the same halls and cloisters that I get lost in. Bloody fabulous, actually. I do have some pictures, but I'm a little lazy to post them up just about now.
I live on campus, and it's about a 20 minute walk to the main buildings, but only 15 to the Department. Once again, the Department is a crummy building, but at least it's bigger - we have our own classrooms (of sorts). My room's pretty decent though, but it reminds me of living in an Ikea catalogue. Not that everything is from Ikea (though I think my chair is), but everything's all wood covered with a light brown veneer with false grain patterns. I sleep on a bed that's still too short for me, and it squeaks a little whenever I turn. My window opens up to some other student residences, though I believe that there aren't many students there. I don't see many lights being turned on there... either there ain't anyone there, or they're more accustomed to living in darkness. Again, I'll post pictures of my room and flat soon - I don't have any).
Weather still sucks - it sucked when I started writing it, and still does. I can hear my German flatmate having a typical Continental breakfast (it helps that I bumped into her just now): cream cheese and butter on four slices of whole grain bread, half a punnet of strawberries, a plum, a glass of orange juice, a mug of steaming tea sweetened with acacia honey; all this accompanied by a Gotan Project song streaming from her laptop. In case you're wondering, it's almost 3 in the afternoon, and she just got up. She's nice to talk to, and fun to laugh with. Granted that sometimes the subtler English mannerisms and phrases tend to zip past her...
I'm thinking of going to Greece during my short December break. Figured that I'm in Europe, and I'm a philosophy student - might as well take a look at Grecian ruins and pretend that I'm a half-decent philosopher. I am also considering spending Christmas there, in a student hostel filled with students from around the world. A Greek Christmas celebrated with international students... it sounds like fun. Except I hope they don't make me drink ouzo. Damn drink is distilled from 96 percent ABV, and the final product is roughly 40 ABV. I might feel my liver pickling when it does down. It'll be fun to try though.
I'm really just writing to kill time, since my Indian roommate is taking all the time in Hell and a leisurely ride over the river Styx with his best bud Charon. In other words, he's taking his goddamn sweet time. Fucking hell. I think I have a right to be pissed - I've been waiting since 12 to go to the supermarket - and he's the one who said he wanted to go. 3 whole hours. Gee-zus.
Okay. Enough griping.
I think I'll go hang with my German roommate... maybe she'll share her strawberries with me.
NIGEL
9:12 PM
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