So, shall I move to London then?
Jul. 7th, 2011 03:20 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
uiscerosThere's a few things that are intrinsic to my being. Without them, I am not me. One of these is my changeability. My whims, so to speak (They're more like obsessions, but "whims" sounds less insane, so I'm sticking with that). Every once in awhile, I fall in love with something. And then all I want to do is change my life in drastic measures in order to accommodate my new thing. (Reason number 46932 why I'd make an awful parent - right after my narcissism, and total lack of patience)
Well, I fell in love with Doctor Who. Insanely. Obsessively. In. Love. I'm not sure how it happened, I actually fought against watching it for awhile. Which is stupid. But I ALWAYS do that. And now I want to move to England.
If I were being totally honest with myself, I'd know this isn't new. LONG before I ever wanted to visit Asia, I was obsessed with Europe. I ALWAYS felt like I belonged there, for some reason. And as much as I adored Italy, Ireland, and Germany, I spent most of my time reading British books, watching British TV, and studying British history. And it occurred to me not that long ago that I should really just go. Why the hell not? It's a lot easier than Asia. I ALREADY SPEAK THE LANGUAGE (I'm pretty good at British colloquialisms as well - thanks books and tv!). Why not?
And, to top it off, I found the best best BEST Masters degree programs ever (well, technically - my ideal is still at Georgetown, but whatever). It's at the amusingly named London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (which is part of the University of London). Check these Master programs out;
- Biology & Control of Disease Vectors
- Control of Infectious Diseases
- Medical Microbiology
- Medical Parasitology (!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
- Molecular Biology of Infectious Diseases
- Tropical Medicine & International Health
- Virology
And these are just the ones I am interested in. All of them are amazing. I don't even know how to choose. CAN I DO THEM ALL?! You cannot understand how amazed and excited that there's a school that offers a MASTERS in parasitology. Most parasitology degrees are firmly PhD.
I'm going to apply. But I also have no fucking idea of what else to do. How do I live in England? I have no clue. Yes, I've lived in Taiwan, but for some reason that wasn't nearly as difficult as this seems. I need a job, an apartment, transportation... I've never been to Great Britain before. I have no idea how things work there. The money is confusing, I don't know any of the areas, and I'm just generally baffled by the whole thing.
So here's my question for you lot - ANY SUGGESTIONS OR TIPS ON HOW TO DO THIS?. I beg you, please help me! Anyone ever studied abroad? British people on my flist, any help with how to work things? Somehow I think it's worse that Britain isn't terribly dissimilar from the US. It makes it more intimidating.
- Still watching Doctor Who. Slowly. I alternate episodes with a billion fanfics. Ten was my first Doctor, so I'm a bit wary about watching the Eleven series. I think I'll like them, but I'm so invested in David Tennant right now, it feels a crime to switch. I'm VERY firmly a Rose/Ten shipper. But I do actually like Martha and Donna. Especially Donna. Why do some people hate her? I ADORE her. And, as a result, now adore Catherine Tate. I've loved Billie Piper for awhile (saw her in Ruby in the Smoke, and then Secret Diary where she ruled my world).
- I remembered how much I love being in huge and established fandoms. The fanfic never seems to run out. Especially when your OTP is not only canon, but a fandom favorite.
- I have a weird obsession with Daleks. I don't know why, but I LOVE them, and their cute little ear light things.
- In non-fandom news, I am still attempting to buy a car. I got my loan approved (whooooooooooo LOAN!), so now I just have to find a car I like. I want a small car - preferably two doors and sporty. I also need it to have an automatic transmission. And apparently small + sporty + automatic does NOT FUCKING EXIST. I can't drive manual. I could always learn, but WHY, when I could be driving automatic?!
- I dyed my hair blonder the other day. Just from a box. And you know what? IT WORKED. Most of my hair was blonde to begin with, but it even dyed the dark brown parts (it did give them a slightly orange tinge, but it's actually kinda pretty, and easily fixed with toner). So yeah, dye from a box from now on. Saves me HUNDREDS of dollars at the salon.
- Work is okay. Mostly boring. I'm disappointed by how different it is from my old job. I want a position requiring more management of the lab. More quality systems. More business rather than science. There's a senior position open on my shift, and I'm going to apply for it. I probably won't get it (they want someone who has been there for 3-4 years. I've been there a year), but I'm still going to try. I typed up a lengthy list of all my different accomplishments and qualifications, and I'm most definitely qualified for the position.
- I think my pills are working, because some days I'm REALLY WEIRDLY HAPPY. Like today. I was bouncy and excited, and cheerful. It was odd.
- My skin's still shit. I don't know why. It was AMAZING for three years, and now it's back to zero. I might have to go on Accutane, which kinda scares me. We'll see.
I think that's it!
Well, I fell in love with Doctor Who. Insanely. Obsessively. In. Love. I'm not sure how it happened, I actually fought against watching it for awhile. Which is stupid. But I ALWAYS do that. And now I want to move to England.
If I were being totally honest with myself, I'd know this isn't new. LONG before I ever wanted to visit Asia, I was obsessed with Europe. I ALWAYS felt like I belonged there, for some reason. And as much as I adored Italy, Ireland, and Germany, I spent most of my time reading British books, watching British TV, and studying British history. And it occurred to me not that long ago that I should really just go. Why the hell not? It's a lot easier than Asia. I ALREADY SPEAK THE LANGUAGE (I'm pretty good at British colloquialisms as well - thanks books and tv!). Why not?
And, to top it off, I found the best best BEST Masters degree programs ever (well, technically - my ideal is still at Georgetown, but whatever). It's at the amusingly named London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (which is part of the University of London). Check these Master programs out;
- Biology & Control of Disease Vectors
- Control of Infectious Diseases
- Medical Microbiology
- Medical Parasitology (!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
- Molecular Biology of Infectious Diseases
- Tropical Medicine & International Health
- Virology
And these are just the ones I am interested in. All of them are amazing. I don't even know how to choose. CAN I DO THEM ALL?! You cannot understand how amazed and excited that there's a school that offers a MASTERS in parasitology. Most parasitology degrees are firmly PhD.
I'm going to apply. But I also have no fucking idea of what else to do. How do I live in England? I have no clue. Yes, I've lived in Taiwan, but for some reason that wasn't nearly as difficult as this seems. I need a job, an apartment, transportation... I've never been to Great Britain before. I have no idea how things work there. The money is confusing, I don't know any of the areas, and I'm just generally baffled by the whole thing.
So here's my question for you lot - ANY SUGGESTIONS OR TIPS ON HOW TO DO THIS?. I beg you, please help me! Anyone ever studied abroad? British people on my flist, any help with how to work things? Somehow I think it's worse that Britain isn't terribly dissimilar from the US. It makes it more intimidating.
- Still watching Doctor Who. Slowly. I alternate episodes with a billion fanfics. Ten was my first Doctor, so I'm a bit wary about watching the Eleven series. I think I'll like them, but I'm so invested in David Tennant right now, it feels a crime to switch. I'm VERY firmly a Rose/Ten shipper. But I do actually like Martha and Donna. Especially Donna. Why do some people hate her? I ADORE her. And, as a result, now adore Catherine Tate. I've loved Billie Piper for awhile (saw her in Ruby in the Smoke, and then Secret Diary where she ruled my world).
- I remembered how much I love being in huge and established fandoms. The fanfic never seems to run out. Especially when your OTP is not only canon, but a fandom favorite.
- I have a weird obsession with Daleks. I don't know why, but I LOVE them, and their cute little ear light things.
- In non-fandom news, I am still attempting to buy a car. I got my loan approved (whooooooooooo LOAN!), so now I just have to find a car I like. I want a small car - preferably two doors and sporty. I also need it to have an automatic transmission. And apparently small + sporty + automatic does NOT FUCKING EXIST. I can't drive manual. I could always learn, but WHY, when I could be driving automatic?!
- I dyed my hair blonder the other day. Just from a box. And you know what? IT WORKED. Most of my hair was blonde to begin with, but it even dyed the dark brown parts (it did give them a slightly orange tinge, but it's actually kinda pretty, and easily fixed with toner). So yeah, dye from a box from now on. Saves me HUNDREDS of dollars at the salon.
- Work is okay. Mostly boring. I'm disappointed by how different it is from my old job. I want a position requiring more management of the lab. More quality systems. More business rather than science. There's a senior position open on my shift, and I'm going to apply for it. I probably won't get it (they want someone who has been there for 3-4 years. I've been there a year), but I'm still going to try. I typed up a lengthy list of all my different accomplishments and qualifications, and I'm most definitely qualified for the position.
- I think my pills are working, because some days I'm REALLY WEIRDLY HAPPY. Like today. I was bouncy and excited, and cheerful. It was odd.
- My skin's still shit. I don't know why. It was AMAZING for three years, and now it's back to zero. I might have to go on Accutane, which kinda scares me. We'll see.
I think that's it!
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no subject
Date: 2011-07-07 12:34 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-07-07 04:54 pm (UTC)@SHINee is her twitter name unless u wanna find her on livejournal then it's
I'm pretty sure if u talk with her she could help....idk though since I wanna help you....
....to help you I am sending u to other people....oh yeah that's lovely LOLZ XDD I fail at helping I'm sorry unni
London, here comes Unni
Date: 2011-07-12 03:45 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-07-14 02:52 pm (UTC)Otherwise, I can't help you with other aspects, as I'm not from London T_T
(My Aunt stays in London though ^^)
no subject
Date: 2011-07-15 08:43 am (UTC)OH GOD YES. This is me, too.
By the way, I have lived (and studied) in London for 5 years and just moved back to Germany last month to finish my MA thesis, so if you've got any questions, fire away.
I will probably be doing a year of English teaching in Korea as from September because this is the only time I can actually go - and it pays better than anything I could get here atm and my student loan for my MA is really scary and needs to be paid off asap and I want to go abroad and HJAKSDHKJASHDJ KOREA. Yes. I definitely know where you are coming from with the obsession / whim-bit. On the other hand, why not?