2nd year uni (starting 2018)

[HSMMaCM]

The old thread seems to have filled up!

Yes, anyone can be on the thread, even me. My twins are going through this as the last of 5 children over the last almost 15 years so we have certainly had a lot of university experience I suppose, although it is different for each teenager to some extent.

Adelaide! Wow, that's brilliant. I hope you are able to go out there to visit.

Nothing new to report from here. DD is well and seems quite happy. She did brilliantly in her exams and is as usual cramming lots in, which is probably why she sleeps for hours when she gets home, after sleeping for most of the journey. Depending on the weather, we'll try to see her over half term. She doesn't get any sort of break but can normally manage a meal or two with us.

It's great that some of us have been together since choosing GCSEs. The more the merrier. I can't even remember who started the first thread. It's just been an ongoing support group.

I love hearing what different people are doing and how they have changed over the years,

Just back from visiting DD. Seems to be happy and thriving, very busy but managed to find time for a couple of dinners and a lunch followed by free visit to King's College chapel. She's not sorry to be at one of the untouristy colleges!

Do stay. DD has four and a half more years, whilst her older sibling has six years funding for a PhD.

I feel as if I haunt MN threads. I have been part of a long running elderly parents thread as my mother has had Alzheimers for ten years, and could live another decade (she turns 90 next month). Maybe I am destined to always have student children and a dependent mother.

That said both DC seem happy. It is so very difficult when they are not.

NMS, my mum (with dementia) is also still going 10 years on. I can't believe she has been in her Nursing Home for over 3 years now Its a terrible slow death, isn't it?

Aah, these threads are great! 🙂 Wonder if I can find the one I was on when DS1 started; would be nice to hear how the students are now 🙂

Wow bTM, 3years! 😮 I remember you talking about your mum going into her home at that time.

I spoke to one of my two at unviersity today. He sounded happy and the dreaded group exercise/essay he was in charge of apparently they got a first on it, ( and he seemed very pleased about that) but another similar gorup exercise/essay one is coming up. I don't like this idea of group work where one person can pull you all down counting towards your marks but it seems to be what some subjects require.

DD is home for her inter semester break. She is catching up with old school friends and away from all the stresses of uni life. Hopefully she will go back ready to tackle the challenges of next term refreshed and ready.

She would love to have her exam results before she goes back, but I would hope the tutors are having a break too.

Horsemad, I was speaking to her GP today and she said she could carry on for a few years yet! She's nearly 88

No idea what DD got in recent exams/essays, but DH has gone to see her so maybe he will find out!

She's a great age bTM 🙂 do you get to see her often?

DS is waiting for exam results (or has had them & not telling! 😉). He & his friends are still looking at houses; I can't help but feel the ones left will be rubbish and everyone will have got in early with the nicer houses!

Good to hear exams have gone OK for HSM dd and others. DS has just had some practical exams doing stuff like taking blood pressures for the first time on real patients. Apparently his patient was an elderly man who got bored half way through ds's list of questions and just got up and walked out mid exam. Good practice for dealing with real living human beings!

Latedecember ds1 did a uni year in Australia last year (but not Adelaide) and we managed to get over for a visit. Brilliant experience for us all.

😆 Haha aww, bit tough on the med student Haff but like you say, good practice for dealing with real live patients!

Haffdonga, that's made me giggle. My niece often had "quirky" patients during her training. She was convinced they were especially drafted in to give all the med students a taste of dealing with all walks of life. 😁
What time of year did your son go to start his Australian year? DH and I were wondering if the academic year starts at a different time to the UK because of the difference in seasons. It's good to hear that your lad had a good experience.

Latedecember - he started in July which is the beginning of Australian Semester 2 (mid-year) and then did their Semester 1 afterwards. Is that what your dd is doing? Apparently the course was very modular so it didn't matter what order he did the units in.

A disadvantage was the big change over of people. He'd just made friends with one lot who then graduated and had a whole new cohort to get to know. Plenty were there all year too.

Something that caught us out was that on the timetable there was a summer term after Christmas to end of February. What ds didn't know was that only students who had failed their exams needed to attend uni those weeks. He had 3 months off. It would have been the ideal time for us to visit ds but instead we crammed our trip in before Christmas.

Anyway, ds1 is planning to go back for a couple more years after uni so it cant have been too bad!

Horsemad, I go up in the holidays- I'm going on Monday. She's got advanced dementia and is now only vaguely aware of who I am (and my family even less so) - mainly from the photos in her room I think!

Haff, I had to speak to an "expert" about one of my pupils yesterday. I sorely wished I could get up and walk out after the first half hour I'm sure he wasn't as poor at catching on though

☹️ bTM - dementia is horrible. My lovely neighbour is in a home now & she doesn't recognise her family or neighbours who visit.

DS is ok, had a brief chat earlier this evening. Just started waiting for exam results.

Haffdonga, thank you so much for that information. We've only spoken to him briefly this week because he's been focussed on essay and seminar deadlines. We're going to visit him in 3 weeks time when hopefully he'll be able to tell us more detail of what needs to be arranged.
We watched the 1st episode of the Julia Bradbury Australia series on ITV last night.

Glad everyone is doing fine. I spoke the second twin yesterday who is as well as his brother. The letting agency inspection seems to have gone well particularly as they could point out some issues - leaking bathroom above my son's room is apparently going to be sorted out next week - there is a wet patch as large as the size of a bed on his ceiling (although it's not dripping down yet).

He keeps stocking up on loo paper and as there are often so many people staying - someone's girl friend, another friend who often stays over it is amazing how much they go through They don't use the downstairs toilet as the door does not properly shut.

Anyway he sounded quite happy and had got a 2/2 in the worst exam of his life (everyone did badly apparently) and a 2/1 in the other one, - almost a first so it all sounded okay. He is coming back for a medical appointment I think it is twice next month and oh yes the reason he called was he needed over £500 for the university ski trip I'd agreed to pay for.

Yes, dementia is awful. Our mother was bright as a button until she died, but my father had it and we would visit and sometimes he would not know who was there. I remember taking all 5 children up - hundreds of miles, large cost and he just didn't know anyone so I sent the 5 out shopping and I just sat with him. He was also ill when all we siblings had young children and all worked full time so not easy. I am now the oldest person in the family.

I'm knackered today !

DS has placement interviews yesterday and today at more or less opposite ends of the country, he needed to get to them as missed other interviews as he was doing exams, but train journeys would have been VVVV long and lots of changes.

Luckily both interview locations are near to offices where I can work so I have picked him up and driven him - done 12 hours driving over last couple of days.

Would like to say was quality time spent with DS chatting on the long journeys - but he slept the entire time!! .

Dementia is a horrid disease - my dad was 1 of 13 ( large Irish farming family) and all 13 have had dementia. At timeswhen I cant recall a name or remember something I think oh my gosh its starting early with me!

Gosh Eve, all 13

Good luck to all those looking for placements!

V pleased for DD who got good marks in her exams - phew!

Thanks bigtilltmint - yes all 13, some had dementia, my dad had vascular dementia, some Alzheimer’s. My DH and boys make jokes about when exactly I will lose my marbles!

i’m Currently on a business Trip doing the lonely single evening meal in a restaurant as hotel food is really not desirable, and DS phones!!

He got offered a placement!!!
.

And those exams he failed and did so badly in..... he averaged 73%!!!!! I may be shedding a few tears into my lone glass of red wine!!!

I’ve been so worried about him!!

Hello all. Great news Eve, well done to your DS. I too will raise a glass.

As it's half term and I have a bit of downtime, I Facetimed DD last night. She's very happy, working hard and getting good grades, so no complaints here. We fixed up dates for collecting her and dropping her back at Easter - in less than 4 weeks she'll be home again. She has heard from the ex-bf who was asking after DD2. DD says she wants to be friends with him but is going to wait until the summer before picking that up. She's being polite but nothing more. However, the lad in the room next to hers has just split up with his gf. He had tickets to a football match in London featuring "our" team so has asked DD if she'd like to go in his ff's place. She needs to sit with the home fans (i.e. the "wrong" stand) but she's really excited.

I hope everyone is well and happy

Eve - great news about your DS

Malbec - remind her not to cheer for the wrong goals