Heading towards year 2 exams (uni 2017)

[brizzlemint]

Starting uni 2017 continued.
Tales of radiators, errant boilers, tomatoes and potato mashers...oh and university students.

We've had a few WhatsApp messages, including some photos of his room and the uni campus. His flatmates have all arrived. 2 others from the UK, 2 from Italy and 3 from the USA. He seems fine and it's not like when DH and I went to college/ uni and we could only communicate via letter or phone box. It's early days, but so far so good.
The canula incident made me smile. DS1 was born on 10th August and I can still remember a student doctor fishing around for a vein in my arm on only his 2nd week. I don't think the glares from the midwife did much for his confidence, poor lad.

Your posts are bring back memories of when I had meningitis and was asked could the trainee do the spinal fluid extraction/ after about 5 goes someone experienced took over! 😳😳

DS,s landlord has reduced deposit deduction to £15 each - no explanation of what deduction is for or receipts. DS is now on a mission to get it all back as a matter of principle!

We've been to DD's year 3 house today and I have to say her room smelled much better. The landlord said the previous tenant never opened his window and had washing in the room all the time. Hopefully the damp isn't as bad as we thought.

We repainted it and it looks really quite nice now.

The 4th tenant brought in at the last moment is another story. He's the only one living there. He has stuff all over the living room and the kitchen is trashed. When the girls all get there they are going to have to have some stern words with him (DH has already given him a warning shot).

DD is going to be happy with her fresh new room.

That's good news SMaCM. DH is moving DS home this weekend. Apparently the house is very clean and tidy as there's only one lad there over the summer. DS will miss his housemates next year but he's close enough next year to drop in and will go round for visits. They have an evening once a week when current and old tenants go around and cook a meal together which sounds like a lovely idea, if not crowded!
It's lovely having him home although I'm not looking forward to finding space for his stuff again!
Hope all your summers are going well.

We are having a lovely week with DS despite the rain & thunder!

He’s at work but staying in our rented house with us, so nice family dinners, evening walks (in the rain) , he’s making full use of the tumble dryer ( all his sheets and towels done) and my DH is spoiling him by making his packed lunches for him.

He’s slightly upset though that DS2 is now taller than him!

We've got DS1 visiting, so house is full, luggage everywhere and fridge constantly being restocked with them both being here - had forgetten just how much they eat! 😮

It's unlikely we'll get away as a four, as DS1 is off abroad with work in a few weeks. I'm just enjoying a relaxing summer 🙂

Hello - hope everyone is surviving the weird weather, whether it be excessive heat a couple of weeks ago or wind and rain now.

DD seems to be enjoying her job, I suppose she's half way through already.

Hello 🤗, all well here. The weather has been reasonably ok thankfully. Last week DS1, his fiancee and my Mil joined me at our caravan for the week. The youngsters were able to go off exploring while I took Mil on gentler excursions. We also just enjoyed having time to chat. She's almost 87 and has a wealth of stories about social change that I find fascinating.

Good to hear that the jobs/placements are going well. DH has been mentoring placement students and has been really impressed with this year's batch. A couple of them will probably be offered a job for after their final year, so time well spent for them.

We hear from DS2 via WhatsApp every few days. He's been there 3 weeks now and has already done a bush walk with the Hiking Society and is getting to grips with his subject content.
We haven't spoken to him as we weren't sure if that would make him homesick. It's tricky to know how to play that. He seems his usual self in WhatsApp exchanges.

Still purchasing food like it's going out of fashion! One more week as a 4, then DS1 will be away, DS2 will go back mid Sept and peace will reign.

@bTM, I saw you on the 2019 uni starter thread - congrats to your DS! 🙂

Ach, that should have been @bigTillyMint.

DD has stayed in her uni city for the summer as she had work experience for 4 weeks then was away with a university society for a competiton. She also found some part time paid work so has been busy.

She came home briefly as elderly family pet had to be pts and is coming home this week to go on holiday with dh and me.

We've missed her but are pleased she's had a productive summer - last year she struggled to find paid work near home as we're semi rural and transport is not great. Looking forward to our holiday and amazed dd is halfway though her degree ( Scottish uni so 4 years)

Lovely to hear howeveryone is doing - good luck to all for year 3 especially to all of those who will be in their final year !

Thanks Horse! It's only just really sinking in Congrats to you too!

DD needs to firm up her dissertation plan. Anyone else?!

BTM - my DD is really stressed about her dissertation project. Everything she is interested in doing is not ethically sound. She's studying psychology, so interesting things like whether pain affects performance, or whether being deprived of sleep affects feelings, etc isn't allowed. We keep throwing 'boring' ideas at her.

bTM no congrats needed, unless you are congratulating me on surviving the summer with 2 home!
I was only on the thread as I know someone on there and had given some info. 🙂

It certainly brought back all the feelings from 2 years ago when DS2 (my youngest) was doing it all!

Oops Horse I am so rubbish at remembering whose DC are doing what!

HSM, DD is doing Sociology and having similar problems - she'd really like to do something on knife-crime but it would be very hard to collect interview data. She has some other ideas but needs to firm them up.

Quite a large amount of a chat last night with DD was about her best friend's dissertation choice - I think DD is rather glad her subject has a practical project (in the 4th year) instead.

Do your DCs all have their maintenance loans confirmed? DD's still isn't confirmed.

Maintenance loan was confirmed back in May, not long after applying again online with student finance Wales ...ds only gets minimum maintenance loan so it was very straightforward and we didn't need to supply any further documentation

No idea bit I guess DD would have mentioned if she was worried.

She is pondering her dissertation choices. One may involve her coming home to collect data - not sure how that would work...

Hi everyone.

Sorry I have been a bit rubbish at keeping the thread updated.

DD1's internship ended last Friday instead of tomorrow as the person who had to supervise her is about to become a dad. The baby was already 5 days late so everyone decided it was best if she finished last week. They promised her some money, but nothing has appeared yet. She is going to wait until after the bank holiday then kick off. She found out this week that she had won some prizes. One is from her college and gets her money off her accommodation bill and some books. The other was in the form of a cheque. Sadly all the local bank branches are shut and the PO wouldn't take it, so we need to find a branch open during working hours. She's going to see her new boyfriend who is on his year abroad and will then stay with my dad for a week whilst she does another week of work experience, this is in the field she thinks she wants to work in.

In other news DD2 did really well in her A levels and has been awarded a bursary by her chosen university. She had a nasty glass related accident at work the week before her results which ended up with us spending Friday night/Saturday morning in A&E getting her X-rayed and glued back together. She couldn't work for a week as it was on her hand and her jobs involve serving food. As she couldn't wash her hand, or even use it properly, she spent a week skulking in her room and complaining. It has healed quite well and she is now back at work. Peace and harmony have been restored in the Malbec household! I'm taking her to uni on 21st September, DD1 goes on 28th. No idea what I'll do after that!

Well done your DDs Malbec! Glad the injury is healing, sounds nasty.

Poor Malbec child in accident. One of my sons went to A&E this week as his GP sent him straight there, although as it was abour 10am the place was really empty and he seemed to get seen right away by a lovely lady doctor and her medical student and they did loads of tests for at least an hour - he had blurry vision and felt spaced out and in fact at a dinner the night before ( a very lovely one his sister had put on at Soho House for the twins and one of their friends) he thought he was going to faint. They found nothing so he went to the opticians as he thought his vision was getting a bit worse and he now has glasses and is getting contact lenses. I still don't understand how that would cause those symptoms but the optician thought it was common. So it sounds like nothing serious is wrong.

We continue to have lots of people here. The day after we got back from the Seychelles (lovely holiday, my first time there) one of their friends came to stay - a girl friend if they use those terms these days - who I think leaves today and is no trouble. the other also had his friend who is a girl for one night a few days ago and yesterday they put on a barbecue for old school friends and our guest ( 7 people) but that did not disturb me as I went to bed early with ear plugs and they were outside round the table and it's impeccably tidy today so someone must have tidied up. Next week one twin is hosting the leaving party for his housemate (who goes on her year abroad very soon) here with lots of people sleeping over. They rarely seem to go to these people's houses, just vice versa. it is apparently easier here as no younger sibilings now and only one parent and lots of space. Anyway they are all lovely.

Mine have anothe rmonth here. One is moving bed rooms at home and going to buy a double bed (I have always slept in a single bed so not sure why people think they need double beds but there you are.....) and a desk - this is partly because I think both will move home in a year when they graduate, for further studies in London so getting the bed rooms sorted out at home is worth it as they are likely to be here for at least 3 or 4 more years.

I would rather more time were spent on career development than all this socialising but there we are and as they do say their marks have been very good.

Well done to the Malbec daughter in A levels. We have had relatives who did very well too this year. I remember taking the twins (our last of 5 children) and how peaceful the house was. Also I work full time based at home so it is always busy even with no children here. I do however like my own company and have never in my life had as much time alone as I want so I suppose children leaving the nest was never going to be something too difficult for me.

Wonder if your DS was a bit dehydrated maybe, Xenia? Hopefully he will be ok now.

My two are out working today, so it is peaceful here! 😉 DS1 who has been here almost a month goes away again on Sunday and DS2 returns to uni about the 16th.
I think he's chosen his dissertation topic - after some deliberation...

May be. I asked him what being spaced out means (as I have never fainted in my life). It sounds pretty nasty and he has had it for a fe days. I ssent him an NHS link - drink water, rest, keep off alcohol, coffee so hopefully if he does that and gets used to his glasses it will pass. He seems to be up and about this afternoon so hopefully will be okay.

Mine had to submit dissertation topics last term so that is all done although no work has been done on it yet and I think they just went out with the friend who is staying to buy some clothes which hopefuly she will like as last night she was the only girl at the dinner they had in the garden with 6 boys. She says it was fine. She seemed to get on well with them all anyway.

Denis, that's interesting as they are at Bristol same as my DD and she still hasn't decided on her dissertation topic. Different subjects have different deadlines I guess!