Everyone how knows me realises I'm pretty liberal minded about pretty much everything. I hope this post doesn't offend anyone...

I was just trying to pop onto my website for something a minute ago. I'm at work at the moment. And I've been given Tom's old desk permanently, so there are two people working over my shoulder. Anyway. I didn't actually get to my website as such. I typoed to http://www.klopy.com/ [NSFW!!].

(Btw, for casual internet users, the acronym NSFW stands for Not Safe For Work. Essentially, if you're my parents or boss or anyone else who will have thier opinion of me changed by the content of the website, you don't want to click on the link. This text is in red to ensure noone else makes the same mistake as I just have)

My god, I hope noone in the office saw. Maxine did stop talking though, and hasn't spoken in the 5 minutes since. I don't want everyone in the office to think on my first day as full-timer, "Golly, he's picked up some rather unusual habbits whilst at University!".

Last night I went to see Coldplay at Crystal Palace just south of London town center. It was pretty amazing. It's pitty they didn't play Talk, X&Y was a bit bland, but other than that it was a fantastic gig. I was about 6 people from the front and everyone between me and the stage was really short so I had the most perfect view of the whole thing. The music is brilliant, the more I hear the X&Y tracks, the more I love them. However the sound was a little iffy, a bit too bassy and probably not loud enough. Personally, I think the crowd was too loud.

Crap, there's too much negativity in that... it really was great. I love the style of their live performances, the energy and enthusiam lead singer Chris Martin shows is absolutely crazy. You can really tell he, along with the rest of the band, thoroughly enjoy playing. And that rubs off on the crowd, who around me were brilliant... I didn't have any of the drunk offensive or abusive people I usually seem to end up next to at gigs. At the front Laura and her flatmate Liz apparant were next to a couple of arses, which they weren't too happy about. But for me at least, the gig was almost perfect! :D

Supporting Coldplay were Morning Runner and Supergrass. Supergrass didn't play the one track of theirs I know (We Are Young) so I haven't really got anything to say about them other than... average. But Morning Runner... oh my they're good! Absolutely fantastic. I can't wait to get my flat, get ADSL setup and get myself downloading some of their stuff. They're very similar in style to Coldplay but perhaps more "happy", not that Coldplay's newer music is more lively than their "depressing slit wrist" first album, Parachutes.

But, god.. getting home was a mission. Can you image the majority of a 40k attendance trying to get home on a small suburban railway system. It took us from 10:40 at the end of the gig until 12:30 to get into central London. I didn't get to sleep (because of noise in the hotel room) until 02:30, and I had to get up at 8 for work.... and now on my first day of full time, real grown up world employment, I just want to go to bed!

And the worst thing is... I have no music player in my hotel room to play X&Y to relive the concert!

It's been a while since I last posted; I've been moving all my possesions home. Eventually, after roughly 1200 miles of travelling and just under 24 hours in the car, it's all at my parents.

Anyway, on Friday I got my results. I got an average mark of 67.5% which equates to a fairly good 2:1. I'm quite happy with this. Although I know, if I tried harder I could have had a 1st, I've balanced my academic and social lives well and I've enjoyed my three years at Uni.

Anyway... Hooray. It's all over!

I currently, and always have, intend to keep this website as an archive of my life either until the Internet dies or I'm forced to remove it as Governments such as the US and UK finally remove freedom of speech. Assuming services such as Google's spidering and indexing of all the worlds information continue to exist for this time, I hope this post if of use to someone, somewhen.

When you get to University, don't buy anything. Sure, the odd pint is fine, but don't purchase clothes, hi-fi's, computer equipment, white good, instruments, dart boards or anything.

Seriously, don't even think about it. You'll think it's great having all these fun toys and gadgets but come the last few days you're at Uni the realisation dawns that you've got to pack all the crap up and somehow get it home. And you've no idea how BORING packing is, especially if (by the time you read this) University academic years (if they're still working in full gregorian years) still end at the start of Summer. The first weeks of sun and you've got to be inside endlessly packing junk into box after box.

All you need for Uni is two pairs of clothes, one to wear and one in the wash and a few pens for exams. I keep my fingers crossed that this message will reach and help at least one person.

Hmm... I seem to have been neglecting my website slightly. Not really said much about what's been happening despite lots of important things occuring.

Like the fact that my flat WONT be purchased before I have to leave Southampton, so for a week or so I shall have no home and nowhere to store all the crap I've accumulated during my three years here.

Thankfully, there are only a couple of remaining issues on the flat now, we've got word from the freeholder that the changes made the flat are fine, but waiting on the written confirmation of this, etc. I'm meeting up with my soliciter sometime early next week to go through the lease, sign the mortgage and he's said that the remaining issues (if they haven't been answered by our meeting could well be things that I feel aren't important and can just accept.) So fingers crossed, the flat warming will be soon!

Anyway, I'm going with Chris up to his parents for the night tonight, then we're going across to Southwold for a night, then coming back down to Soton. And by that time it'll be Friday and I'll be getting my results!

Then on Saturday, Dad is coming down to pick me up and take me up to Hitchin. Hopefully by then, I'll have somewhere to put my stuff and somewhere to sleep.

But ultimately, what this means is that I have this morning and Friday afternoon to pack. That's a total of a few hours. My room's a tip. God knows how I'll get this done.

Hopefully all that info quashes the blog-neglect and aids any stalkers or identity fraudsters who are profiling me. Good day.

Dorctor Who was great. I'm looking forward to the Christmas special. But for vaiours reasons I am this evening especially loving Laura, Stuart, Coldplay and... I don't want to sound like a teenage blogger, but... life too! Everythings working for me at the moment.

I bet any of can't take the grinning smile off my face by midnight.

Now I realise I've not posted in a while.. there are many things I want to say. But I've got something to say right now...

I've just watched a sort of behind the scenes thing to the current Doctor Who series on BBC1. At the end of the programme they just really hyped up the last episode, broadcasting in about a minute.

Now, I just wanted to admit to anyone who reads my corner of the internet that I got to the last WEEK of my time at University before REALLY WANTING to see a program on telly. I REALLY WANT to watch this final episode. I'm excited.

Anyway, it's starting. Good bye.

So, this is my fifth day of post-Degree fun. The weather has been lovely, so I've been out playing with a range of balls from the juggling variety, through a slightly larger squahsy thing and up to a football. I've even tanned my arms a bit. I've played lots of pool and snooker and drank an obcene amount of fizzy drinks (due to the non-drink contract).

But it's been difficult adjusting. I frequently get guilt pangs where I automatically think "Argh, I can't be out enjoying myself doing activity X, I need to be (Choose one: revising, writing my 3rd year project, going to lectures, surely doing something productive).

Nevertheless, I've seen a noticable change in me. I feel much more lively, I've got a clearer head, I'm more attentive and generally feel much happier.

Anyway, moving on.. I've bought my bowtie, got my suit dry cleaned and booke..... SHIT I need to book the restaraunt... all in preparation for tonights Graduation Ball. I'm really excited, I've always enjoyed black tie dos, and I get to go to this one with Laura. In fact, I'm so bouncy today I'm like a little kid at Christmas.

List of things to do today:
Tidy room
Change bedding
Do a load of washing
Book Restaraunt
Get hair cut
Check I've got everything for the ball
Sit on campus in the sun with a chilled glass of wine
Wait for Laura to arrive
Give Laura a big big kiss
Get dressed for the ball
Go to meal
Go to ball
Enjoy self
Return (although, this will probably be tomorrow)

I'm erm.... excited. About this exam. I can't explain these emotions. I know they're wrong and insult students around the globe. But I am. I have an exam in little over an hour and I'm smiling and in a chirpy mood.

Sorry.

...as a student. In some ways. I'll never have to attend another lecture, write another essay, do another coursework or sit another exam after tomorrow.* This sleep I'm about to get is the final sleep I'll ever have as a student. And I've been in education since I was 5. That's over 75% of my life! Tomorrow marks the end of it.

I wonder what my final dreams whilst in education will be. If I remember in the morning, I'll be sure to let you know.

* This sentence may contain non-truths. Perhaps whilst working I will attend training sessions where I'll be forced to do one of the activities listed. But I will avoid such circumstances at all costs.

I thought I was unprepared for my exam last Friday. But crap.. Perhaps the penultimate exam of my life and I know almost nothing.

Yet I'm sat here with ream after ream of lecture notes and blissfully listening to the Coldplay gig in Camden this evening broadcast live on Radio 1. I know that tomorrow, for 2 hours of exam hell I'll be stressed and stuggling to blag marks. But as I've said over and over recently on my blog, despite being so close to the end, I don't care one bit about my exams.

I'm wasting revision time by watching Saturday morning childrends TV. It's a bit shit really. But I laughed huge when the following happened...

In the between-cartoon acting by crap early 20 year olds, they had a fake 6 year old mime artist on. To get the children in the crowd worked up the mime artist was introduced: "This small guy has piles <a long second pause> of mimes to show you."

How can they get away with being so rude? I bet that kids parents were shocked. Deary me... I can't hack much more of this, I'm actually going to go and print the notes for my Advanced Networks exam.

What the crazy hell just happened?... You're probably wondering if my exam went amazingly well or if I've just flunked my exam, but it's unrelated.

At the Broadlands Road side of Rapists Alley, there is a tree the pikeys like to play in. They hurl abuse from there and try to spit on the students (as it overhangs the path).

But today three kids, all of whom I recognise, were up there. As I went under the tree, tense with the fear and sense of danger they so well instill (not), they called out "Hello Mister Handsome". Now I first thought my ears were deceiving me, but when I didn't respond they called again. Never before have the pikeys from Broadlands road put a smile on my face. But what're they lulling me into a false sense of security for?! Hmm..

Oh, and considering I did between 5 and 6 hours total preparation for this exam, it well alright! Now, considering I have this silly non-drinking contract how do I waste the rest of the day?!

Ok, so by mid-afternoon I had caved in and started revision for this Large Scale Distributed Systems (LSDS) exam. I've read the notes a couple of times, made up answers to the past two exams papers and come to the conclusion of "Bollocks, low mark for me."

So I decided that a few more hours revision before bed wouldn't matter. So, to expand on the short (and if I'm honest) rather crap notes and despite it being frowned upon in academic circles, I turned to Wikipedia.

When I woke up this morning, I didn't care for LSDS, I wasn't interested in the Grid, Internet routing or in fact pretty much all the course. (I -am- interested in adhoc networks however, as this is what my 3rd year project is based on.) But now, after reading the Wikipedia and having the technologies expressed in a succinct and direct manner, I do care! It's all interesting stuff and I just hadn't realised.

It's a pity this happened 13 hours before my exam, of which most I'll be asleep.

<Unrelated Edit>
For ages I've thought that links on my blog weren't visible enough. I just had a moment of genious. All links are now bolded. I think it's a suitable change. *shrug*
</Unrelated Edit>

I don't know what's happened. With exams, I've never really been stressed like people assume exam stress should be. I get quiet and dazed. I guess it's my way of passing the time until the exams have passed. But I have always felt the slight stressing need to revise.

But not this time. I've only got tomorrow to revise for my Large Scale Distributed Networks exam and I've not started revision. I don't care. I know it's bad, but I don't. The only reason I'm in my dazed and want-to-be-alone state of mind is because I'm worried that I don't care. If you get what I mean.

Anyway, hopefully tomorrow the guilt will have gathered enough to get me revising. (Sorry Laura for breaking my promise that I'd revise this afternoon. b3ta and other such sites forced me to waste me time instead. xxx)

Now I'm all for saving 50,000 lives every day despite the over population of the world as it is. Doing my part to improve (or extend) the lives of others makes both them and me feel good. Unless of course they don't like their lifestyle and death is preferable, which I guess is true for some unfortunate people around the world.

But my point it, to promote awareness, these five Live 8 concerts around Europe are great. Who can argue against doing their bit when there's a chance to get tickets for a free concert at which the following are performing:

• Mariah Carey
  
• Coldplay
  
• Dido
  
• Keane
  
• Sir Elton John
  
• Annie Lennox
  
• Madonna
  
• Muse
  
• Razorlight
  
• Scissor Sisters
  
• Sir Paul McCartney
  
• Joss Stone
  
• Stereophonics
  
• Sting
  
• Robbie Williams
  
• U2
  
• REM
  
• Velvet Revolver
  
• Bob Geldof
  
• The Killers
  
• The Cure
  
• Snow Patrol

I am most certainly going to be entering the text competition thing to get tickets. What an amazing day out would that be? And you get to be a part of something good at the same time. More details can be found on the Live 8 website.