Having gone once again into the city of Birmingham I did not yet get a connection from my camcorder into my laptop, but now I do know where some of the computer and camcorder shops are. I did learn: I do have a firewire I will have to connect and a simple USB connection will not do me any good. I would have to get a new port which I can add by buying a PC card. Furthermore my computer will accept a Type II PC Card and I also found the PC Card slot. Got it? So my next step will be to go back to the last shop in the - oh, I forgot the name of the street - and get me such a card and hope that it will work. The card alone will cost around 27 Pounds. But that will be money well spent when and if it works. I could take my laptop to the shop, but I would like to fix this by myself and the laptop has a weight of I think 3 and a half kilos so I do not really want to drag it with me down town. The bus was very friendly to me today and was on time too. There is so much SALE down town, luckily I am too lazy to go and try on clothes, but I did use the trip to get me some more food to store away. I do start to wonder: I am a food hoarder?

Today I ventured out of my flat again: Please notice: The second day in a row. It was less cold than yesterday, still my eyes were teary and my nose was leaking. So I walk around campus crying and sniffeling. At least I did not attract any attention. I did buy the Office Package, for about 10.000 Ikr. what I find too much but satisfactory and had it intsalled on coming back to my flat. It works properly so I am satisfied. I did not get a connection from my camcorder to my computer and will have to go to the city for it once again. I did look in the internet for it but do not know exactly what I need but I will not rest before I solve that problem! I went to the library, brought books back and got new ones, 10 to be exact, but no, I do not read them all word for word but look for passages that are of interest to me. My first assignment is running nicely, as I do have "Word" now I can even write on.

When the world smiles at you don´t smile back too soon: I had a nice outing down town yesterday and did buy this and that, mostly food. When now I go by foot or bus I don´t think so much about how expensive things are - that goes by itself - but how heavy they are and I am always quite happy when I got home with all that stuff. That was nice and then I chatted with lots of people and was ready to smile but then my computer went blank and had me worried. I do try not to worry too much, but... I wenr to the computer help desk today, with my laptop and this nice boy there got it going again in no time so I felt very lucky and happy. I did get the tip to load down "AVG free anti-virus software" and did that and am quite happy now. The computershop does close at 4 o´clock but tomorrow I will go and buy me the Office package so up til then I have a good excuse not to write anything. It is cold outside, getting colder each day.

Slowly I am getting used to being alone again and adjust to my student life. I did have some more trouble with my allergy and coughing, but now I have my two windows open at night and during the day I use my cooking hood a lot, so that helps.
I did go to class and most of the people I did expect where there but not yet all of them. I am reading and have to go down town to day as I need one more cable for my computer. I was terribly frustated yesterday when I found out that when copying old videos to my computer in the Christmas holidays (for hours and days) I did not get the sound, so some day I will have to do all again. Thankfully it does not hurt me now, I can live without sounds for the time being. It is cloudy and drizzling outside but not very cold.

So, as most of you know, I am back in the UK and the heaven is crying: it´s raining.
I started my first schoolday in Sabine style: Up to now I had been at the right time on the wrong days, today I started the right day at the wrong time and went to my first lecture at 9:30 and should have been there at 14:00, so I got nice walks as there is a road construction and the bus changed it´s route..
I worried about the trip between the islands, but I should not have worried, the trip went beautifully and I even managed my 20 kg suitcase.
The first night I woke up with a sore coughing and found out that it had been my allergy to the duvet which had me sick in the autumn. So I took the bus to the city, the bus was on time!, and bought me a new one and now I am very happy and slept so well that I was brightly awake at two o´clock in the night...
I have already started reading, good for my brain which did empty itself over the Christmas holidays when I had the luxus to be a guest at my own home.