Freshers Ball and Meet the Department

I'd like to say it's been a hectic couple of days, but... *ahem*

I've been making lots of shiny new friends, going to all the James events and generally having a whole lot of wholesome fun. Last time I posted something was Monday, which was the day of the Psychology ice-breaker and Freshers' Ball. My verdict follows:

Ap-cray onway away ickstay. Actually, it wasn't too bad. The ice-breaker was just weird. PsychSoc got all the Psychology freshers into a room and told us to mingle. Unfortunately, it was packed, and the lecture hall wasn't massive, so I ended up getting a bit claustrophobic and leaving. Did make a new friend or two out of it, though, so it wasn't a complete loss.

The Freshers' Ball was held at York Racecourse, and that was a real experience. We were supposed to get a bus to the venue at 8pm, there were supposed to be a few artists that everyone else assured me were real and fairly decent, and then we were supposed to get a bus back.

Problem #1: everyone in the university was getting the buses, so the queue stretched all the way from James to Vanbrugh, which is quite a way to queue. Unfortunately, the people in my house are too fun to have the patience to queue for so long, so we went back to our house (even those from the other houses came with us, because we're just that awesome), and had a few drinks to pass the time. Then, when we went back to the queue, one of us got glowsticks for being the last one in the queue, so we all had wrist and neck decorations. Success.

Problem #2: when we got there, we couldn't find the dance floor or, indeed, the live music. All we found was four floors of a lot of people packed into a small space, with loud thumping music coming from speakers and a bar (again, on every floor) with a queue to rival the bus queues. Not to mention that, at £3/pint, it was difficult to get drunk without breaking the bank.

Eventually we settled into a rhythm, sending scouts to buy a couple of drinks at a time while the rest of us guarded our carefully protected space in the centre. At some point, we did find some live music, but the main act that had been promised never turned up, so it was disappointing.

Don't get me wrong, though. As far as nights go, I've had a lot worse. Ended up walking around and forcibly making friends with vulnerable-looking freshers who had strayed away from their flocks. Can't remember any names, but it was fun at the time.

Then, of course, we decided not to get a bus back, as we were feeling lazy, so we just bought a taxi. Between a group, it was only a couple of quid each, so it wasn't bad.

Then today, I went to the Meet the Psychology Department thing. From drunken freshers to chatting about hippocampus shape and the effects on topographical awareness with doctors who are going to be publishing their work in upcoming journals, it was a really surreal experience. I was fully aware that I was talking too much, and that now the lecturers probably hate me, but it was a really enjoyable hour.

I don't think it had really sunk in before quite how awesome Psychology at uni would be. It's finally dawning on me, I'm happy to say.

And now I have to start getting ready for the James Bond formal this evening. I don't have a tux, or even a bowtie, so I'll just have to slum it and go in a suit. I'm such a slob. :P No doubt photos will be up at some point.