I think I may have found the book I need on Queen's Online, or at least a section of it. I've found a pile of documents on Free Will and Determinism, anyway, so I'll be able to read at least something for tomorrow's tutorial. Yay!

My Philosophy tutor (a thoroughly awesome guy with an equally awesome but impossible to pronounce name) got back to my e-mail yesterday regarding the fact that absolutely no Philosophy files have gone online for me. The files still aren't there so it's most likely out of his hands as I expected, but he's sent me a PDF of the module guide which is exceptionally useful to me.

Upon going through this, I've realised that the book I need to read ('Free Will and Determinism' by A. Macdonald) is supposedly available on Queen's Online. If I could get a digital copy, that would be all my problems sorted. If only I could actually find the damn thing!

I had a minor crisis earlier as well when I came to the PFC and the WiFi here wouldn't let me on either. You know those moments where it feels like absolutely everything is conspiring against you? This was certainly one of those moments.

Anyway, I just need to dig through QOL now, to see if I can find this bloody book. I've looked through the Queen's library catalogue (QCat) for it with no luck, so it must be somewhere on the digitised seas of the internet. It's all very confusing but whatever, I'll figure it out.

Soon, though, I'll have to pop off to my English Language tutorial. I wonder if I'll be given an essay in that, too?

I might do a series of blogs later explaining Rhythm, Metre and Syntax in poetry, for those interested. If nobody's interested - well, sod you. I'm doing it anyway. C:

Okay, so I can't access the WiFi at Queen's when I'm in the Students' Union building. Weird. When I managed to get online yesterday I was in the PFC. So why can't I use the WiFi here?! This is usually where I come to lurk.

I've had no luck getting a copy of the book I need for Philosophy, 'Free Will and Determinism' by A. Macdonald. I'll have to pop to the PFC in a moment so I can get online, then check if it's available in the library, then if it is, dash to the library and get myself a copy. I hope to god it's available because if not I don't know what the hell I'll do.

Right. Off to the PFC. I'll put my laptop away for now and update later when I know something.

Thus starts my third week at university! To think that when this week is over, that's a quarter of the semester out of the way. Then it's just nine more weeks until the Christmas holidays, and I can go back to England for almost three weeks.

When my Student Loan came through, the first thing I bought was a return flight to England. I'm flying out on Saturday December 17 and coming back on January 6; if all goes to plan, Jason and my Dad will be meeting me in the arrivals lounge at Liverpool John Lennon airport. I can't wait!

I've just had the week's lecture for English in Transition; we were doing Rhythm, Metre and Syntax, which is an area of poetry that I'm less familiar with - or was, prior to my attending the lecture. I understand a lot more now, which will help me both in writing my essay (more on that in a minute) and in writing my own poetry. Because I've taken a 'whatever' approach to writing my own poems, they've always come out rather ungainly - like a newborn foal or someone with an awkward gait. Hopefully in time, now that I know a bit more about how to structure the lines themselves, my writing will improve.

Oh yeah. English in Transition essay. You thought my five-week Philosophy deadline was terrifying? My first assignment for English in Transition is due in two weeks' time. And now I know what fear is.

English Literature is my thing, though. So ultimately the Philosophy essay is more scary. At least I know what I'm doing when I'm writing to compare two poems. In fact I know even more after just three weeks at university. As for Philosophy, yeah the deadline's further away but i know sweet fuck all.

I'd best get learning. It might be a good idea to get up the essay questions, make my choice quickly and get working. On both essays.

And holy fuck, I think I've just gotten onto the Queen's WiFi. HOW DID I DO THAT?!

After sleeping on yesterday, I've woken up feeling a lot better. Maybe I was just having an off day - I think it was because I spent so much time thinking about being back in England, with the added stress that my Philosophy course has dumped on me.

I have an essay for Philosophy due in on November 11 and I don't know anything about the subject. Our tutor asked us to read a book called 'Free Will and Determinism' by A. Macdonald for next Friday but it isn't available in No Alibis or on Amazon, other online sites would take too long to ship it and there are limited copies in the library which you can only take out for two days at a time - and no doubt all the copies have been taken out. But I have to try - if I can't get hold of a copy from the library, then there's nothing I can do.

I hope I can get a library copy. If I can, I'll probably read it aloud into the voice recorder on my laptop so then at least I have some sort of copy I can study from. The tutor said we don't have to read it all but I'd honestly prefer to get down as much of it as I can in time for the tutorial.

In other news, it dawned on me yesterday that NaNoWriMo is a mere 22 days away, including today! As I was drifting into waking this morning I had the perfect idea for one of my two planned novels, 'Chaos at the Jazz Club', and I bolted out of bed to get my laptop and type the idea down. It's one that is crucial to the story. And now I can't wait for it to begin! I just need to keep on top of my university work while NaNoWriMo's on. Especially since that Philosophy essay is due in partway through the month.

I've been looking into giving blood again, and a quick poke around the Northern Ireland Blood Transfusion Service website tells me that there's a few sessions in Portadown Town Hall on November 2 and 3. When I donated the first time round, they told me I'd have to wait sixteen weeks before donating again, so I'll need to remember the date of my first donation and see if it's safe to pop along to one of the Town Hall sessions. I blogged about giving blood, so I'll be able to find the date on my journal somewhere!

If not, there's actually a big centre on Lisburn Road in Belfast - the NIBTS HQ, which holds drop-in sessions on weekdays. I walk past Lisburn Road on my way to university every day! So I could just pop in one day when I haven't got much in the way of lectures or tutorials.

I officially hate second week Fridays. First week Fridays I have off. Second week I have a Philosophy tutorial at 11, which means I get the bus at 9:30, which means I have to be up at 8am by the latest.

I was up at seven this morning. After melting my mind with Daybreak for an hour (which is still a bland and loosely strung together succession of features that nobody gives much of a toss about), I'm going to get ready.

The upshot of all this is that I get home by about three o'clock, possibly even earlier as I get the bus at quarter to every hour; depending on the bus I get the journey might only be three quarters of an hour long. I could get the Belfast Express straight to Portadown, or I could get the Belfast Express which is actually an epic adventure through Moira, Lurgan and half the Irish countryside. Which, coincidentally, is largely held together by potatoes.

So, early home, and early to BED! And this weekend, I'm going to get a heap of work done. Even though they haven't set much official work yet. Actually, they probably have, on Queen's Online, which my laptop has developed a sudden and unexplained aversion to.

But first sleep. Can't work when you're nodding off at your desk.

Well, I'm not able to connect to the Queen's WiFi. Looks like I'll be hunting down some technical ninjas after all. I don't know what I did wrong, though - I followed the instructions on the WiFi handout they distributed yesterday so it should have worked... I probably faffed up somewhere. Maybe chose the WiFi program for the wrong operating system or something. I'll have to try it again tonight, when I'm at home.

I've just had my first ever Philosophy lecture! Contrary to yesterday's worries, it wasn't a tutorial - I forgot that there are lecture halls in the PFC that aren't on the ground floor! Anyway, it was a strange experience - the lecture was an introduction to Philosophy, which I'd assumed would have been the one I missed last week; I'd expected to come to the lecture completely clueless as to the course structure, to be thrown into some hardcore philosophising.

Academically, then, all is well in the world. I feel on top form in all subjects. English Language is a joy, English Literature is a dream... and from just one Philosophy lecture, I can tell I'm going to enjoy this next year very much! I managed four pages of notes, which I'm quite happy with, and got a good feel for what was going on.

Next up? My English Language tutorial. This will be after an hour of sitting in the Students' Union, harnessing all my willpower to resist the smell of coffee, the hunger in my gut and the colourful displays dotted about advertising a poster sale that's on. Must... resist... urge to spend!

( Anyway, let's talk WRITING! )

I still can't get over how amazing it is to actually have my own laptop; right now, I'm sitting in the McClay library (ground floor, auditorium, training room 2) and though I'm surrounded by computers here I am, on my very own laptop. When it comes to exam and deadline times I won't have to get involved in the cut-throat struggle for computers. Once I figure this WiFi out, I'll be well and truly sorted.

My lectures for the day are over now, and next on my agenda is the scheduled tour of the library I mentioned in my last post. I'm rather excited to see just how big it is, and to find out about all the resources available to me.

Despite the rather poor start to the day, (as in, being late for my first lecture), I reckon I've bounced back quite well! I've got loads of notes from my lectures which I need to type up, plus a clear plan of what extra-curricular work I need to do. Gotta love having a page-per-day diary; there's plenty of space for to-do lists!

What worries me is Philosophy. I missed my first timetabled lecture, and in the second, the lecturer never turned up. The room number for my next Philosophy 'lecture' is actually a seminar room, but it's put down on my timetable as a lecture. What the hell is going on? Is my timetable messed up or something? If it is a tutorial as I'm suspecting, I'll be going into it totally blind.

En route to the McClay Library, I couldn't help but notice a deep green oasis to its right; the Botanic Gardens. This would be quite a nice place to study, I reckon, during the summer months. I haven't taken the chance to explore that area yet but it could be well worth looking at.

Another worry of mine is the social and extra-curricular side of things. Because of where I live, there are so many events I simply can't get to because then I'd miss the last bus and I'd be stranded in Belfast. I need to get hold of a train timetable to see if they run any later, because there's so much I'd like to do. Writers' groups, pub quizzes, talks, the 'Poetry and Pints' meetings at the Bookfinders' Café... This is why living in Belfast itself would be a good idea. Plus if Jason were to come over, we could have more time to ourselves and it would be easier for him to get to and from the docks or airport, whichever he decides to come in by.

Five minutes to go until this tour begins and more people are drifting into the room. I think I'll cut this entry off here and shut down my laptop - I don't want to be faffing around when the tour's meant to begin!

Well then, people of the Blogosphere! I am writing to you all from my very own laptop! Isn't that exciting?

It's a £369.99 HP Pavilion g6 in purple, and IT'S MINE. At last, my very own laptop! No more fixing the mess that other users have created; I can download what I want, and have my ENTIRE music collection on the hard drive, because nobody else has a say. I can take it to university and avoid the cut-throat competition for library computers during exam times. I'll never again have to ask 'when can I go on?'.

I have my own laptop, and it's just as glorious as I'd always envisioned.

( Mum and I went to town together for the first time since my arrival today... )