Well my boredom threshold has been reached.
I am ready to get going again now.
I only have to modules left to do, so i am keen to get nearer the finishing post.
My books should be here at some point next week.
I am ready to get studying again.
Personal Blogs
I am ready to get going again
Tuesday, 13 Aug 2019, 08:07
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Getting ahead of myself
Monday, 5 Aug 2019, 18:39
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Get home from work, see a yodel parcel on the mantle.... oh great i think... text books have come early.
No... it's a book my lovely Mrs has bought.
Stand down Michael....
Just found the Fass you tube channel..
Saturday, 3 Aug 2019, 20:45
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FASS have a you tube channel.
Quite a bit of good stuff on it.
Glad i found that
Not long to go
Thursday, 1 Aug 2019, 19:30
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Text books for DD316 should arrive in 4 weeks.
Not long to go before it all kicks off again.
Bored with not studying now... ready to get going again.
Getting into the Facebook group
Monday, 29 Jul 2019, 20:35
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I have been negative about Facebook groups before.
However i am enjoying the general open university Facebook group. It is very inspiring to see all the people who graduate this week, being excited about booking their graduation ceremonies.
It is an interesting read, from newly enrolled students, excited about starting, to finished graduates, excited about graduation ceremonies, and everyone inbetween.
And a lot of excitement about stationary.....
Actually getting to 100,000
Tuesday, 23 Jul 2019, 20:38
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Edited by Michael Gumbrell, Tuesday, 23 Jul 2019, 20:38
I actually got there. Well, i didn't get there, you got me there.
Into the 6 figure club... 100,000 views.
Thank you everyone, frequent visitors and new visitors.
I hope you all did the best you could in your exams, i did okay, but wasn't expecting to do better than okay.
I did not revise that much, so could not hope for a good result, so much of DD209 went over my head, instead of going into it.
However, a pass is a pass, so happy days.
After 5 years with the OU i have amassed;
1 CertHe
1 DipHe
1 hundred thousand blog views
1 student debt
And
1 desire to finish with the OU and move onto a Masters.
I am a lucky 1.
100,000
Monday, 22 Jul 2019, 19:25
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I have a really busy day at work tomorrow.
Which means i won't be around when i get to 100,000 views.
Thank you everyone. That is truly amazing. I am very humbled that so many of you have taken the time to come to my blog and wade through the stream of posts.
Thank you all so very much.
Exam results are in
Monday, 22 Jul 2019, 18:23
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Got my exam result today.
53%. So i passed.
Overall score for the module 60% a grade 3 pass.
No more exams for me.
Essays all the way home now
Claiming credit
Friday, 19 Jul 2019, 17:33
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This is good news.
Did you know that for a fair few path ways, you can claim your qualifications as you go along.
Since i am 4 years in, i have finished level 1 and level 2.
That means i can claim a;
Certificate of Higher Education- for level 1.
CertHe
And i can claim a;
Diploma of Higher Education- for level 2.
DipHe
Claiming them will not effect my continuing to study for the whole degree.
I have the contact details for the relevant department, so just comment below if you would like to know them
Waiting upon waiting
Sunday, 7 Jul 2019, 19:58
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I am waiting for my exam result.... so that i can move onto DD316....
The OU are waiting for Student Finance Hades, sorry England to approve my loan, so that i can move onto DD 316
It's all waiting at the moment.
Oh DD316... will you ever be mine?
Writing a personal statement
Sunday, 30 Jun 2019, 08:46
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I have never written a personal statement before.
The OU did not require one from me.
I would like to apply to the university of Winchester to do a masters in liberal arts... so i will have to write one.
I have looked at some advise notes about writing one, so hopefully i will be able to write a good one.
Views creeping up. .
Sunday, 23 Jun 2019, 16:40
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Views to my blog are creeping up all the time, just about to top 95,000.
I still have no idea how to celebrate getting to 100,000
Do i double down
Sunday, 23 Jun 2019, 11:50
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Well, i have been thinking about this long and hard.
None of the OU masters programs would suit my degree study.
I live on the South Coast in Hampshire.
The University of Winchester does a part time (2 years) masters degree in Modern Liberal Arts.... it is tempting, another 10k in student loans, but i would be 56 when i finished it, so l would never pay back the full loan.
I am definitely thinking about doubling down and applying for it, in a couple of years, when i get this degree finished
Student finance Hades...sorry, england
Friday, 21 Jun 2019, 06:27
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Well i am trying to apply for my part time loan, honestly i am.
It would appear that student finance Hades.. sorry, England are having a bit of a mare with their website....
Who would have thought getting myself further in debt would be so hard...
70% done
Thursday, 13 Jun 2019, 20:03
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This must be a post exam blues..
So, with the access module, i have been at this studying game for 4 and a half years...
Two years to go...
I probably didn't give much thought to the scale of commitment when i started... but for crying out loud... six and a half years... what a grind.
The long wait
Thursday, 13 Jun 2019, 06:24
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The long wait for the exam result begins, which made me wonder...
If you could just slip the exam marker 100 quid and say... here mark mine now please.
....would you?
Post exam remorse
Wednesday, 12 Jun 2019, 05:59
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If you can have buyers remorse, can you also have post exam remorse...
The feeling you get when after the exam, you remember all the little things you forgot to mention in your exam answers....
That is me today... reflecting on how i could have squeezed more marks out if i had mentioned certain things.... oh well it is done now, it is what it is....
Exam
Tuesday, 11 Jun 2019, 14:46
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Well that's it. The very last exam, my next 2 modules, which are also my final two, are scored off of a dissertation.
So no more exams for me. Happy days.
I think today's exam went well for me, hopefully all of you did well.
Study England opened for part time loans today as well, i will probably do my application next week, after 9 months of economics, i have earned a weeks sitting down time...
Getting shot of economics
Sunday, 9 Jun 2019, 10:07
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I will be glad to be shot of economics.
Such a dry course.
So much rereading to check understanding.
It has been a dull module.
Revising
Saturday, 8 Jun 2019, 12:37
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What did Dory from finding Nemo say...
Oh thats it.
Just keep revising, just keep revising.
This economics exam will be my last exam.
Essays all the way home after Tuesday.
Lets get this last exam done and dusted.
Blimey 90,000
Monday, 3 Jun 2019, 19:24
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Gosh
90,000 views.
That's a lot of views.
Thank you everyone.
What can i do that would be 'special' if i get to 100,000?
Early bird
Thursday, 23 May 2019, 06:38
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When is the best time to study?
I start work at 7am each morning.
That means i get up at 5am.
I am washed, dressed, fed and lunch packed by 6am.
I then have 45 minutes to study before leaving for work at 6.45am.
The house is quiet, everyone else gets up at 6.45am, they don't start till 9am.
So sitting here quietly with a cat, purring away, i often get loads of revision done in those quiet 45 minutes from 6am to 6.45am.
Does anyone else enjoy an early bird morning study session?
Goodbye to a legend
Tuesday, 21 May 2019, 05:45
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If you have read much of my blog, then you will know that i am a massive fan of formula 1.
So it is a very sad day when a legend of the sport passes away, Nikki Lauda was incomparable in many ways, and his death today is sad news.
R.I.P champion.
The grind
Sunday, 19 May 2019, 10:56
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Just a little note to reflect on what a grind study has become.
The exam in June will mean the 4 and a half year mark of study with the OU, it will also mark 2 years remaining until the bitter end.
I do recall, and my first blog posts reflect it, being all keen and excited at the beginning.
Then it started to drag by year 3, towards the middle of year 3 it became a grind, i have ground out the next 18 months to get here...
Have any of you hit a slump, or have you managed to remain motivated?
I may have mentioned before that studying has just become a habit for me now, i do not recognise much enjoyment in it anymore.
Is that quite a common feeling for anyone else?
As well as my study partner quitting, many other people who started on the P.P.E pathway in 2015 have quit or switched courses. As far as i can tell only me and my other study partner, Stephen, remain.
Since we all sit in rows, by subject, in the exam, it will be interesting to see how many P.P.E students remain in the row at the next exam in a couple of weeks, i have a feeling we have become very thin in the ground.
I do hope that DD316 next year is a good module that will bring back a bit of the spark in interest for me again.
A few short weeks to the exam
Saturday, 18 May 2019, 22:38
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Not long left now before the DD209 economics exam.
It will be my last exam
All the level 3 modules on my pathway require an final 3000 word essay.
My pathway also only had one level 1 module in it.
So i have had 3 exams in a row, and am approaching my 4th and final one.
It will be nice to have finished with exams.
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