2006 has come, played its role in our lives and gone….another year gone. Some of us are happy to see it go, some of us, perhaps are sad to bid a good year goodbye. For me 2006 has been a year of transition. Although it started out under quite difficult circumstances, 2006 has provided with me with some unique experiences and some very good friends. Loss and gain was dished out in equal amounts , but overall I think the year has contributed to making my life a little better than ever, although the changes have not been easy. Thus , with a mixture of joy and sadness I bid farewell to 2006 and welcome in 2007 with a lot of hope .
I`ve written a few updates after I moved to Bristol to start my PhD and along with it a new phase in my life, but I`m aware that I haven’t really written much on how life is out here. Perhaps it’s because I`ve been busy getting used to the new lifestyle and the changes in the circumstances. Anyway I thought i`d bore u with bits from life in Bristol.
For the sake of those who are still not updated. I`ve found myself a nice and cosy room in a house that I share with 3 others , which is 20 minutes walk or 10 minutes cycling distance from the university. Although situated at a fair distance away from the city centre, all basic amenities are available close at hand. Office hours are 9-5 but as with most PhDs these are flexible as long as we get the work done. After office hours and on weekends I find myself socialising a lot more (that’s if I`m not sleeping!). I`ve found a few good friends, most, if not all of whom are also doing PhDs . When we are not meeting up at the Uni, we do manage to meet up elsewhere over a meal at someone’s place.
One such occasion was last weekend when a few us met up over dinner at my friend and office mate, John`s place. John is a keen cook and specialises in spicy curries, into which he add his home grown chillies. John is also into sports, social activities, fishing, computer games and anything I can possibly think of! Anyway, today John wasn’t going to test his chillies on us, as he settled for a more European dish.
And so it was that we ended up eating a lovely meal of cheese and bacon pasta with boiled cabbage on the side. Oh, I forgot to Introduce to you my good friend Morgane and Bevan who u can see in the above pic. We all share the same office.
Dinner was followed by an equally tantalising desert which disappeared in no time. We then progressed to the real business of the day – a boardgame! You see board games are quite a different business here. I used to play the odd board game in school..I`m sure most of us did..well, atleast snakes and ladders!..and I remember the fun we used to have (and the fights). Nowadays the booming electronic game industry seems to have taken over, but it is surprising how popular the old board game still is here.
But Unlike snakes and ladders the game we played was quite complicated…called as “War on terrorism” the aim of the game was – well I still am not sure what exactly it was…but you started out with a few villages all over the world and had to build an empire which was large enough to win the game. However since all of the players had the same objective, that wasn’t easy !…to add to it one of us would be the “evil” empire and also anyone could recruit terrorists to do their bidding! ..oh..and everytime one of us became evil..we had to wear a mask..as u can see below!
I wasn’t doing too well until John suddenly decided he was better off being a terrorist and forced both Morgane and Bevan to join him as co-terrorists ! That left me as the only remaining empire fighting of three wicked terrorists!
..and oh boy I wasn’t giving up without a fight!.so we fought each other ..and we fought..and we fought ..and it looked like no one would win; but as they say the darkness always shines through ! (don’t they?) and eventually the forces of evil took over the world by bankrupting me..I had no option but to join the terrorists too! By the time that happened it was well past two in the morning, but we certainly had a really nice time that night!
On another occasion I had Morgane ( she’s from France) and Jolanda (she’s Dutch) over for dinner at my place and did indeed manage to knock together a few items..like my tried and tested chicken curry and some Biriyani….(oh yes I know how to cook Biriyani –instant Biriyani!)
There are other times when we are all too lazy to cook and we head outside to have a meal..or catch a movie. This pic here was when we had a great pub dinner. In the Pic are Alex - a Greek friend and Jolanda, posing with their dinner!
I`ve written a few updates after I moved to Bristol to start my PhD and along with it a new phase in my life, but I`m aware that I haven’t really written much on how life is out here. Perhaps it’s because I`ve been busy getting used to the new lifestyle and the changes in the circumstances. Anyway I thought i`d bore u with bits from life in Bristol.For the sake of those who are still not updated. I`ve found myself a nice and cosy room in a house that I share with 3 others , which is 20 minutes walk or 10 minutes cycling distance from the university. Although situated at a fair distance away from the city centre, all basic amenities are available close at hand. Office hours are 9-5 but as with most PhDs these are flexible as long as we get the work done. After office hours and on weekends I find myself socialising a lot more (that’s if I`m not sleeping!). I`ve found a few good friends, most, if not all of whom are also doing PhDs . When we are not meeting up at the Uni, we do manage to meet up elsewhere over a meal at someone’s place.
One such occasion was last weekend when a few us met up over dinner at my friend and office mate, John`s place. John is a keen cook and specialises in spicy curries, into which he add his home grown chillies. John is also into sports, social activities, fishing, computer games and anything I can possibly think of! Anyway, today John wasn’t going to test his chillies on us, as he settled for a more European dish.
And so it was that we ended up eating a lovely meal of cheese and bacon pasta with boiled cabbage on the side. Oh, I forgot to Introduce to you my good friend Morgane and Bevan who u can see in the above pic. We all share the same office.
Dinner was followed by an equally tantalising desert which disappeared in no time. We then progressed to the real business of the day – a boardgame! You see board games are quite a different business here. I used to play the odd board game in school..I`m sure most of us did..well, atleast snakes and ladders!..and I remember the fun we used to have (and the fights). Nowadays the booming electronic game industry seems to have taken over, but it is surprising how popular the old board game still is here.
But Unlike snakes and ladders the game we played was quite complicated…called as “War on terrorism” the aim of the game was – well I still am not sure what exactly it was…but you started out with a few villages all over the world and had to build an empire which was large enough to win the game. However since all of the players had the same objective, that wasn’t easy !…to add to it one of us would be the “evil” empire and also anyone could recruit terrorists to do their bidding! ..oh..and everytime one of us became evil..we had to wear a mask..as u can see below!
I wasn’t doing too well until John suddenly decided he was better off being a terrorist and forced both Morgane and Bevan to join him as co-terrorists ! That left me as the only remaining empire fighting of three wicked terrorists!
..and oh boy I wasn’t giving up without a fight!.so we fought each other ..and we fought..and we fought ..and it looked like no one would win; but as they say the darkness always shines through ! (don’t they?) and eventually the forces of evil took over the world by bankrupting me..I had no option but to join the terrorists too! By the time that happened it was well past two in the morning, but we certainly had a really nice time that night!
On another occasion I had Morgane ( she’s from France) and Jolanda (she’s Dutch) over for dinner at my place and did indeed manage to knock together a few items..like my tried and tested chicken curry and some Biriyani….(oh yes I know how to cook Biriyani –instant Biriyani!)
There are other times when we are all too lazy to cook and we head outside to have a meal..or catch a movie. This pic here was when we had a great pub dinner. In the Pic are Alex - a Greek friend and Jolanda, posing with their dinner!
Its always a good thing to have good friends around…and I`m grateful to have fallen into a place where there`s plenty of them around. So that’s a bit of my social life for you. I hope to be back soon with more updates ..till then keep mailing. Ta
