Well, actually, as it turns out, the second post office is already something. Its in the basement of a BOOK STORE!!!!

I am trying to get some important documents in the post....have walked for ages to the local post office only to find....its been turned into a KEBAB SHOP since last week. Now must walk miles in another direction to another post office. Let's hope its not McDonalds now.

Telly! That is the lap of luxury! Sadly there is no telly at Bleak Towers!!!! Only its robin's egg blue walls....

I am in deep denial about the eye changes anyway, so I will probably just grumble and keep on as I am at least for awhile....

I thought about having them sent over, but I was afraid they might get crushed or something...I had just got them before I left! and was always losing them and forgetting them, and found them a nuisance--too hard to have two pairs of glasses ( and DO NOT say the bifocal word...no no no).

Most of the time off the computer I do not wear them, am used to just being short sighted....its how I have gone through life.

Its an ageing thing and soooooooooooooooo annoying, not that ageing is annoying, but not being able to see!!!! I am short sighted, so I can still see things without my glasses without having to extend my arm ( that classic move) but I DO have that problem when I am in my regular glasses and I brilliantly left my new reading glasses in the US ( was it a subconcious move to reject having to use them???) that would have let me read up close without problems. So I have to take off my glasses to read hard copy and on for the computer. Grumble.

I like to listen to the Coffeehouse radio station on Yahoo from Canada--it has a mix of really modern but mellow-ish tunes that tend to be uplifting, and very pleasant listening. I have a hard time getting a lot of Internet radio and Youtube due to the age of the stuff of the computer I am on. and did not want to pay to listen to radio stations, but am extremely happy listening to this station....makes working a treat.

And I should add, I think the UK mentality as I see it, taking holidays and such is a better, healthier one.

the UK has a different pace of work too I think than I ran into in the US, although it could just be my limited experiences and no generalities to be made, but people in the UK seem to think you are mad if you are working on a holiday, whereas in the US they would think you were brilliant and dedicated to your work. The UK has more holidays and people take them--there does not seem to be the overwork is good mentality that I saw in the US, well, not to the extreme anyhow.

Excellent, that is just the option I was looking for! Thanks!

Also, I don't know if you are looking at moving away from your local community for school, but don't overlook the possibilities of high rated Ivy League and other schools. They might have good alumni contributions for scholarships--I have read where most of the students at these universities have generous financial aid packages to help them attend. Best of luck.

Surely there is some kind of college prep guidance counselor at your school who could help you start to sort out your options? Also, even if there are not specific courses on offer at your high school, perhaps special arrangements could be made for you to have access to additional college credit courses while you are still in high school. You sound very bright and motivated--I would hope that you get a lot of supportive guidance from your current high school and teachers. Can you talk to the Financial Aid offices at the colleges you are interested in attending and see what they might have on offer generally?

when you dig through stacks of articles, can't find the one you need even though you had it 10 minutes ago, print off a copy again, somehow then as its printing find the missing one.....its time to go home!

I keep having to explain that even once I submit there is no end to it because I have to do the viva, there could be corrections, etc., its not like taking an exam and getting results--the end of this is somewhat open ended! I think people just do not understand the whole process--and perhaps there is something about a PhD that is mystifying from afar...

I am editing footnotes...ick.....and it seems like there is a function on Word that lets you view only footnotes, but I cannot get it to work...does anyone know anything on how this works?! Cheers!