Second Year in Review

Two years ago yesterday I gained a place at university, and it feels like the right time to finish this post, which has been in my drafts for months! Second year had its ups and downs, but I've made it out all right!

I started second year studying the physiology and pharmacology of the nervous system and completing employability activities for the BREES unit. Year in industry application deadlines were already looming; I missed the first one because it was so early, and the next company ended up cancelling the four placements they were offering. By mid October, diminishing confidence in my abilities and an increasing academic workload were taking their toll, so much so that I ceased applying for placements. I promised myself (and my personal tutor) that I would resume applications in spring, when Janssen in Belgium were expected announce their placement opportunities. Taking this weight off my mind allowed me to focus on my studies and as October came to a close, I made the laborious journey from the pharmacology lab to the O2 Arena to experience my first U2 concert! Finishing the Friday afternoon practical early, I arrived in London with plenty of time to spare and had an incredible time hearing songs that mean so much to me live. The experience was elevated further by Bono singing the elusive Shine Like Stars verse of With Or Without You, for just the 11th time this decade!

November was full of deadlines, but a very enjoyable three days made up for it. On Thursday 26th I had a lot of fun at the Angels vs Devils social, but still managed to sober up in time for the Friday afternoon practical, in which we drank more alcohol to investigate its effects on our reaction times, sensory discrimination and cognitive performance. On Saturday morning I awoke in a hotel room at 5 am ready to fly to Ireland for my second U2 concert. This time around we were on the floor two rows away from the e stage, and the incredible atmosphere resulted in another Shine Like Stars performance, as well as the classic "40" to end an unforgettable evening. Back at uni I had a few more lectures at the beginning of December before the Christmas holidays began. In January I sat three exams and achieved 85% in Neuropharmacology and 82% in Neurophysiology, grades that would really bolster my placement applications.

During the spring term, the BREES workload increased considerably, and on top of that I had to juggle three other units: Pharmacology of Body Systems, Integrative Physiology, and Molecular Cell Biology. Gone were the stay-at-home Thursdays, although Mondays soon freed up, once we'd finished collecting data on our saliva production for physiology. Janssen announced their placements in early February and I took my time writing my application, which I sent at 6:55 pm the day before the deadline. My diligence paid off: I was one of ten candidates selected for a Skype interview. Unfortunately, when the day came, technical issues rendered me invisible to the team in Belgium, but after a shaky start, I tried to make the most of my fifteen minutes face-to-voice with the head of the Neuroscience department. Disappointed, I at least managed to enjoy my first concert of 2016 (Patent Pending) later that day, but two weeks later I found out for sure that I wouldn't be spending my placement year at Janssen.

As the Easter holidays came to an end, it became clear that I'd spent far to much time fearing the outcome of my interview and left very little for other tasks, which included several outstanding assignments. I was alerted to the existence of one particular project just days before the deadline, but thankfully my partner and I managed to construct a half decent presentation in a fraction of the time I would usually take. Collaboration turned to reliance when it came to the BREES enterprise tasks, as I completed the bare minimum to avoid losing marks for lack of commitment. Thankfully I had kept up to date with the BREES research tasks, although I wasn't confident with my analysis for the exam dataset. As the countdown to exams reached single figures, I still had a lot of revision to do, so much so that I averaged about ten lectures per day. The BREES, physiology and pharmacology exams weren't too strenuous, but when it came to the MCB exam I had a crisis of confidence that almost prevented me from taking the exam. I'll be forever grateful for the phone call from my mum which snapped me out of it, because I actually found it pretty good! My results were far better than I expected, with 79 in Pharmacology of Body Systems, 76 in BREES, 73 in Integrative Physiology and even a first in Molecular Cell Biology (with exactly 70!)

Somehow as I was preparing for exams, I found time to apply for two more placements, one at a biotech company in Oxford and the other based at a university an hour's train ride away. While I heard nothing from the former, the latter invited me to an interview on the 6th of June. It was my first time visiting the city, and I was in awe of the beauty of the university grounds. The interview was a really positive experience, and a few hours later I met the other three candidates for a tour of the neurophysiology labs. I left feeling content, but it still came as a shock when, at 5:41 pm, I received an email offering me the placement! Last week I had my induction to the university, my accommodation is all booked, and from September I'll be in the lab trying to understand how brain cell firing changes in Alzheimer's disease. It still feels like a dream, but soon it'll be reality…

Just a stop down the line...

"Don't get on the wrong train." That was the first line of the first song I heard at the most recent concert I went to in London, and it's sound advice for tomorrow, when I undertake my laborious journey from the Biomedical Sciences Teaching Labs to The O2 Arena. Yesterday I found a new route that will shave approximately one minute off of my journey time to the bus stop, and I've looked up the station platforms between which I'll have to traverse, so I'm feeling well prepared! Today I carved a pumpkin with the current U2 tour logo and painted my nails; the thumbs with the same design, and the other nails crimson, to be my crimson nails of success! Right now I'm listening to a live stream of tonight's concert, and almost crying with excitement about tomorrow, when I'm actually gonna be there...

Just 2 stops down the line…

Two years ago today I experienced my second 25-hour day in a row when, the day after the clocks went back, I travelled back from Germany, gaining an hour in the process. Although tomorrow will be 24 hours long, I anticipate it feeling far shorter, as I complete final preparations for my lab session and the journey to London…

4 stops down the line…

Six years ago today I had my first experience of seeing U2 live, when their 360 Tour concert at the Rosebowl in Pasadena was streamed  live on YouTube. After an enjoyable day celebrating my grandad's 65th birthday, I set my alarm for 3:15 am and settled down for a few hours rest. A short time after I had drifted off, it was time to get up and go, all the way downstairs to watch U2ube. I was extremely proud of myself for not drifting off during the twenty minute intro, and when the show began I really perked up! The stand out moment for me was hearing the beautiful Ultraviolet (Light My Way) during the encore; I believe it almost brought me to tears. I'm led to believe that particular highlight won't be repeated in four days time, when I attend my first proper U2 concert, but I'm looking on the bright side: I will be attending my first U2 concert in four days time!!!!

Just 5 stops down the line...

My first U2 show is less than a week away, and I'm getting more excited by the hour. On 18 September I was pretty annoyed to discover I have a practical session in the afternoon, which gives me a mere three and a half hours to get to London before the concert starts. Over the following few weeks, I became pretty confident that I'm gonna make it on time: a quick search on Google maps gave me hope that a train at 17:30, followed by a tube journey, can get me there in time; recces to the train station have taken no longer than 25 minutes; and my dad suggested a fast and hopefully less crowded route to the venue on the tube. Additionally, last week I bought some leather effect trousers to complete my "Female Fly" look for the concert!

Dreaming out loud

It's been a nice rounded 2 years, 3 months and 4 days since I last posted about a concert, and in that time I've seen many more artists, including Gary Barlow, Scouting For Girls, half a dozen Eurovision winners, NKOTB (once), Lawson (twice) 5ive (three times) and most recently, Take That (including Howard for the first time)! However, my all-time favourite band continues to elude me. It's kind of my own fault for becoming a fan a few months after the tickets for their tour had been sold, but how was I to know they wouldn't come back to my country on the next European leg?! Anyway, they will not elude me for much longer...

Last September, U2 surprised the world with the release of their new album, Songs of Innocence, when it turned up on the Apple devices of millions of people worldwide. I was in the minority who were delighted by this, and eager to learn whether seeing them live would be a possibility in the coming year or so. It seemed likely, so I decided to convert my u2.com free membership to a paid subscription in order to get access to presale tickets. Sure enough, on 3 December the tour was announced, including four nights in London, which I could easily get to. But things weren't all positive: the shows were on weeknights in late October, so I'm extremely likely to be in uni on those days (I won't know for sure until 18 September this year); the presale code only allowed me to buy two tickets, but my sister and mother both wanted to come; and signing up after the album release meant I was in the Innocence presale group, so wouldn't have access until a day after long-term subscribers, by which time the general admission tickets I wanted to go for could well have sold out. Setting aside my GA dreams, I decided to try for two presale tickets anyway, and managed to get a pair of seated tickets for my sister and I! The following Monday my mother entered the general sale and succeeded getting herself a ticket only a few blocks away from us!

But that's not all! A week ago, six Irish dates were added to the tour itinerary: two in Belfast and four in Dublin, including one Saturday. Getting to Ireland for this date seemed feasible, as I could fly over after university on Friday evening, so I decided to try to get tickets. Having already used my presale code, I had to enter the general sale on 14 September. While setting up a Ticketmaster account, I noticed some student tickets would be available. I decided to go for them, as my sister and I are both eligible, and the demand for them would be lower than for general admission tickets. I was entered into the ticket queue at 9:00 am and after about 15 minutes, was able to select two student general admission tickets! At 9:23 am I received email confirmation of my purchase and the fact that I'll be going to Dublin to see U2!

So I now have two opportunities to see my favourite band and hear my favourite songs live, the first in just over six weeks! I'll try to keep this blog updated as the time approaches...

First year was a great time, second year...

...will hopefully be a blast!

After a very relaxed summer, I'm now only a couple of weeks away from the start of my second year at university. First year was wonderful, and I'm really excited to get back to the grind of daily bus journeys, 3 hour practicals and 6:00 am starts (ideally not too many of them). This year I only have two proper units during the first term, neuropharmacology and neurophysiology, which should ease me into level 5 study. However this time round I'll be juggling my studies with writing and sending applications for the placement year I'm hoping to do in 2016/17. I'm working on my first one at the moment, the deadline for which is mid October, as well as trying to formulate a general cover letter and CV to get a head start on subsequent applications. I know very few placements will be available, but if I'm unsuccessful I can still look into alternative ways to get experience, such as a summer internship.