Well, this has been quite a couple of weeks. Hello from St Peters House in Brighton!

I sit here in one of Brighton Uni’s many libraries, listening to tunes on my headphones and using my laptop and the Uni net connection to research children in soap product advertising.

This is all part of the first module, where as a group of three we’re having to come up with a whole load of marketing materials for a rather excellent, Sussex-based custom soap company.

It’s been quite a fortnight. I won’t lie: moving back into a full time education mindset has been bloody hard work.

Weekends and evenings are no longer time off, necessary, but then Wednesdays and Thursdays no longer have to be work either. You don’t get spoon fed stuff, you’ve gotta go out and research stuff yourself and work on your own steam. And there’s no easily definable right and wrong thing when it comes to creating a sketchbook full of book, poster, shop and gawd knows what else research sitting next to several design drafts. All annotated to the max, of course.

It’s a world of difference from an IT job, trust me. And it’s been bloody tough to get used to this.

But I think I’m largely there, now (thanks in no small part to support from awesome friends). Two weeks in isn’t bad after 9 years in employment! One thing working full time for years – coupled with actually really wanting this course to be useful – has done is given me a MUCH better working mindset than Uni the first time round. I’m spending a LOT of time on the work and social stuff comes second to it.

So THIS was what I was supposed to do last time? Damn :)

Anyway, aside from all that I’ve been socialising a fair bit – World Zombie Day in London a week ago was incredible fun, plus I’ve been to see comedians Alex Horne, David O’Doherty (just… brilliant!) and Andrew Lawrence, plus Noah and the Whale last night. Oh and a couple (but only a couple, so far) of pub trips of course.

Oh and walking. A lot. Our course is based at City College, which is exactly a mile walk from my flat. I’m walking at least 2 miles a day, and I’m losing weight slowly but surely – which is nice!

Anyway, enough rambling, I’m off back to the flat. Internet next Friday, baby! Ooooh yeeeah!

Pat