Thread 51 - Covid GCSE Cohort - Summer 24 - End of Uni Yr 2

[Oblomov24]

2024 Summer, end of year 2 for those at Uni.

This is a support thread for our young adults post GCSEs 2020, regardless of their educational setting, and their results ( or life updates for those who went into work or have had results earlier). It is respectfully requested that all are supportive and helpful to each other. If you want to start a debate, e.g state vs private, uni vs employment please don't within this thread.

Some of us have been here since first thread back in yr10, some will be new. Everyone has been friendly and helpful in the past. Everyone is welcome. It is hoped this will continue. We were previously on the secondary board and then further education, now we shall be here in 'Parents of Adult Children' gulp

Our DS/DD may continue down various pathways ( employment, apprenticeships, higher ed). Experience is that everyone is welcomed wherever, whatever their child is doing we have some in work, gap years , apprenticeships etc too. Lots of contributors with different experiences and always sympathy and advice to be had.

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@KingscoteStaff That is interesting. Sounds as if he is a round peg in a round hole!

@DontCallMeBaby Hopefully with more time in the holidays the interest in cooking will expand into creating tasty snacks and breakfasts.

DS is starting to get assignments marks back and it's a roller coaster. Some not so good at all and some great. From what I can gather it's not lack of knowledge of content, it's not appreciating what is required. I was left shaking my head last night when he told me the instruction for one had been 'keep it concise' and that the word count was a maximum not a target so he only used 70% of it. It's as if he thought there would be marks for being super succinct.

DS has exams next week, but took the day off today to do a strongman competition - he sent me a video of the 9.5 tonne truck pull! He also had a ball last night and one tonight and one last Saturday. I was surprised that UEA had so many balls. He had a DJ crisis - his is a 38, but chest now 48(!) so I got an emergency one on Vinted. Then the shirt crisis, but apparently I am off trend and the nice M&S dress shirt I got on Vinted was not wearable because the subtle pleats gave "old man" vibes! He will be staying in Norwich for singing commitments until the end of July.

Thanks @Oblomov24 for the new thread!

@Monkey2001 Strongman eh!! DH and i love watching anything strongman and are off to the Royal Albert hall to watch the strongman classic in July.

DD had her Uni Ball last night but missed the first two hours as had school placement and her bus was late home. Is shattered and can't wait for reading week end of May. Is getting all overwhelmed and thinking it's all too much and that she can't hack it as a teacher as is exhausted. Hoping it's just end of term-itus. Her school placement teacher is expecting far too much after just two days as DD seems so capable but inside she's finding it too much Has to run a lesson on Tuesday as teacher on school trip - that's pressure she doesn't need. I feel helpless.

Enjoy your 40 degrees @ealingwestmum 😀

Serves me right for gloating (actually, I’m not great with extreme heat), but my own baggage didn’t make it from Mumbai to Delhi. Only through lost form preforma and 4hours wait did we establish it got held for security breach. But 24 hours later, no updates as to WHY, and still not forwarded on. I leave 2am ‘tonight’ for LHR 😱

So now 2 bags in the ether (DD’s could be in LA Craggy, thanks for asking) after lots of senior escalation, hoping both turn up at some point. I’m a master of hope :)

Throw in an Irish passport still pending (that’s also 40 days overdue after we finally got the original docs back from their 4 months RTW Paddington Bear travels) whilst others are being processed within SLA times. We are certainly a charmed family on all things travel related.

At least it was my bag this time round and not another of DD’s 😱 I think that would have finished her off.

My poor DH on the other hand. It had been a great break otherwise. It’s certainly a colourful experience!

Hi everyone,
I’m really sorry I dropped off the map and now I’m feeling very behind with everyone. I have been really ill with a horrible virus and then had the most awful post viral fatigue which meant I was going to work, coming home at 5ish, sleeping for 3 hours, up for supper and back to bed again. A load of blood tests later they discovered I was very deficient in vitamin D so am now on massive doses, and have booked a week in the sun week after next to try and sort myself out. Can’t wait.

re kids - ds2 is finished his 1st year exams and seems relaxed about them. He has absolutely loved his first year at Plymouth and has made really great friends. He is heading off for a summer of getting professional yachting and diving qualifications to go with his oceanography study at uni, lucky guy. Spending the second half of the summer crewing on yachts. Sigh.

DD2 has done 3 A level exams already - one more next week before half term and then 5 after I think. She passed her driving test (4th time a charm) and is loving that freedom. Hasn’t organised her gap year yet but I think the plan is to do so after July spent interrailing.

ds1 has finished his degree, graduates on 17 July and is hopeful for a first. He is off to Central America this week to travel before graduation, then immediately moves to London to start his working life in strategic communications/crisis management.

dd1 is loving being a flat- owner in Hackney, is running the Hackney 1/2 marathon this morning, starts a great new job in August and is taking 6 weeks off to travel between jobs. So happy as Larry.

I hope everyone is well - I will try and stay up to date from now on!

Oh god Ealing that sounds awful and stressful. Though I like to imagine you are now fully dressed in new and beautiful saris bought in Mumbai… !

@Monkey2001 UEA is definitely very sociable! All the clubs and societies seem to have their own events. DD had 3 Christmas balls, but a couple of her dance societies are combining for their summer event, and her course related society do isn't until the middle of June, and she's home by then, so a bit cheaper this time!

@Monkey2001 laughing at the truck pull and the 48”chest which does not fit in with my mental image of “mini monkey” 🤣. Impressive both!

@Delphigirl hope the Vit D dosing does its stuff. I honestly thought I had something really serious about 10 years ago. Turned out ferratin was at 5 and Vit D at 20. After a course of Vit D and iron tablets I felt like a new woman! Actually thinking about it, maybe the issues have reappeared because I'm completely knackered most of the time....

do get checked out @seeline. I couldn’t shake this virus off, which kept causing more issues. Started in my chest, then my sinuses, then got total laryngitis, then went into my eyes. I ended up in the eye hospital my viral conjunctivitis was so bad (a low point) and I kept saying “I feel like my immune system is shot - I feel like I need to lie on a beach and recover” - little did I know that was exactly it! But they tested my thyroid, my iron, for glandular fever etc before they found the vit D.

My vit d 23 😢

Aw @Delphigirl I really hope the high dose makes a difference quickly. I remember the feeling of gradually waking up. I was never quite sure which symptoms related to which deficiency, but I certainly felt better 😁

Welcome back @Delphigirl ! Hope you start to feel better soon.

What bad luck @ealingwestmum 😱

@Cantonet glad your ds is happy, even if maybe not working as hard as he could! Ds found ADHD meds made him feel really low. Good luck to ds2!

@Monkey2001 where did he get his suit from? Ds will be needing one for prom soon. Not sure if his chest size is quite that large but he definitely doesn’t fit into his sixth form suit!

Thank you @crazycrofter.

@Ealingwest I can't believe you've lost a second bag as well. Your story about your passport revelations has also completely put me off applying for an Irish passport too. Talking about missing bags... I once picked up the wrong black bag at HK airport 😳. Luckily it was quickly picked up via courier later that night & the person who's case it was was overnighting in HK!

@Delphi I hope you start feeling better soon. It's unbelievable that Vitamin D can have such an effect.

@Monkey your ds's chest size 😲

@crazycrofter I paid £4.25 for DJ jacket on Vinted, his trousers were fine. If you want a 38 I think we now have a spare, there may be others in the cupboard, have several 32,32 DJ trousers which don't fit anyone.

Thanks! I have no idea what sizes he is. He often has problems with trousers too - he has to buy huge ones to fit over his legs and then the waist is massive!

@crazycrofter try suitdirect.com

@Seeline my ferritin is at 7. Iron tablets make me feel really bloated though. If I persevere with them will they stop feeling like that ?

@NCTDN I cut down the iron tablets to one every other day. I was prescribed 3 a day but I just couldn't cope. I know they are known for causing constipation, but unfortunately they have the opposite effect on me - I don't think I could have been absorbing anything at all!!
I wasn't called back to have my levels re-tested and I began to feel better after about 3 months so I stopped taking them. Heading towards menopause now🤞 so I think the main cause is now solved.

Glad to have found the new thread.
I'm hoping to contribute a bit more to this one. The last few months have been taken up by my breast cancer diagnosis - I finished radiotherapy last week and have now started Tamoxifen, but my MH has taken much more of a battering than my physical health.

DD seems to be doing well. She's finally managed to sort out an in-person study skills mentor, which has made a huge difference, not least to her confidence.
She is back with the BF who is leaving for Australia in July, so we're bracing ourselves for a lot of tears and heartache.

DS has his first A level exams this week. It's been really hard for DH and me, with him being away at School and us so tied up with hospital appointments and our minds on just getting through my treatment. DS has felt very distant, and not just physically; he hasn't been communicative and when we have managed to get in touch with him,he's been pretty monosyllabic.
On top of all that, there has been ANOTHER episode with the ex GF.

@Alwaysplayspicc good to hear from you. It is a very up and down MH journey with the BC. Glad to hear you've got to the end of radiotherapy. I had a call from BC nurse whilst on holiday and even though it was just to check in it threw me for a day or two.

Good to see you Picc. Can't believe ds ex gf has struck again!

@Alwaysplayspicc sounds like you are being battered on every front. This academic year will be over soon, hope you have some lovely plans for the summer.

Hope you are doing OK in the circumstances picc. Can;t beleive ex has reared her head again.

Ds has his last assignment to hand in on Wednesday. I think he is planning on staying there for most of the summer though. He's got a few things to rehearse for etc.

Welcome back@Alwaysplayspicc . Well done on completing radiotherapy you must be feeling flat out now but you'll regain your strength. GLad to hear DD is doing well even if BF is heading off to Australia. Your DS myst be concerning and his MH wellbeing. Everytime I hear about the ex gf, it gets me so angry on his behalf, you must be so frustrated. Do you think that's why he's a bit withdrawn? quite obsessive behavior in someone so young.

DS starts his exams in 2 weeks then he's off on a learn-to-surf holiday with some friends. I am petrified just thinking of it because he's not a strong swimmer but he really wants to go so I'm going to have to grit my teeth till he gets back.