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That light tho.

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My learning style.

Those people who start the course a month before the course starts, they are not my people. 

I’m a slow and steady, and sleepy and chill, and night-before-its-due panic, people.

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Distance learning for the distant learners

I had my first tutorial, face to face, meet my tutor, yesterday. I was late. It was 10am on a Saturday in the next city over. I didn't have time to get a coffee, which made me fuzzy and flustered. Found the room, I’d pre-emptively texted him to apologise, and then apologised 12 times more for good measure. Assessing the empty room of people, maybe 6 of them, I, sharp as a tack, noticed I was the only female. Lotta carrots in that stew. 

It's fine I guess, that's how STEM is currently. But it would have been nice to not have to rely on the constant drone of white males listening to themselves. 

We’re told to go to these things, even though it's a distance learning course, to meet your fellow students and tutor. But I don’t know, it felt a bit fluffy. I missed the “ice breakers” (fortunately?) but chatted to a few after. It made sense and was primarily about learning, and how best to practice learning but I think is probably suited to a demographic of people who haven't been in education ever, or for a long while. Maybe people who aren’t as awful as me. Maybe if I’d had coffee, it would have been very different?

Make sure your learning facilities have coffee facilities all I’m saying.

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This was my journal entry from a year ago. I’ve now been a distance learning mature student for a year. And so far, I’d say it suits me and my needs. 

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I listened to this on repeat for a year; lying in the sun on holiday, going to sleep, at work, while writing a plan for a book about time travel I thought I should write (it was a weird few months) sitting on the sofa in the dark, you know, everything all the time, all at once. It’s what I listen to when I’m sort of between depression and mania. It’s really grounding. Like a weighted blanket. If you like it, and if you can afford it, buy their albums, they deserve your money and ears.

My favourite track is A White Truck, but that might be a bit much for a first time listen.. Maybe not, who am I to judge.

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Bed. Plants. Pile of shoes.

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I like to have something on while I work (or sleep or walk or lie on the floor), and you can’t work in absolute silence anyway, there are so many sounds, you’d need to be inside a soundproof lead box a million miles away from civilisation. And then you’d just hear yourself breathing. Can you imagine anything worse.

Having a white noise is nice, it’s soothing, you can usually adapt it to suit your style or needs, and it’s less distracting than every day sounds. Working in a studio, a library or coffee shop is the ultimate distraction for me. Being around people to watch, to compare yourself to, to just watch. People watching is a vacuum of time. I’m always looking for an excuse to not do what I’m supposed to be doing. INFP, Slytherin, rebel, Gemini… Um.. Moon.. Child..?

My current favourite is video game ambient sounds. Right now, Life is Strange has piqued my auditory interest - anything that has lots of sounds that I know are familiar but won’t distract me. Outdoors, nature, running water, a swimming pool generator (bear with me) the gentle music that occasionally drips through. Mass Effect, Skyrim, Witcher, Dragon Age too. (Also, chill synth wave.. Yaaas.)

These guys have put together a nice ambient playlist as a taster: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QQ_87G9fOY&list=PLNzC2DFnAqp9CiN8AJEEoKwdIxDbayv9T

As for actual game soundtracks; I mean, they were made to not distract you from the “mission” at hand, but aid you. It should sit alongside whatever you’re doing, and occasionally energise you, spur you on… Hey, it was in Popsci so it’s “legit”. 

ASMR too. You guys like head scratches? I’m pro ASMR for work/sleep/concentration/anxiety/depression/mania etc etc, but it can’t be the distracting kind when I’m working or studying. No talking. Just soundscapes; head scratches, hair brushing, ear touching anything wall-of-noise and familiar, those white noise type sounds. Until I start zoning out, then I’ll switch back to background game sounds.

What about you? What works for you? Do you recommend anything? 

IMG - screenshot of LiS in Chloe’s bedroom and Max’s dorm room (the artwork and colour and lighting in that game is 😘👌)

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Ooooo.. If you’re a student, with a university email address you can register with JetBrains for free. 

https://www.jetbrains.com/student/

"Students should have access to the highest-quality education available. So if you’re learning (or teaching) Java, PHP, Ruby, Python, JavaScript, Kotlin, Objective-C, or .NET technologies, hit the ground running with professional developer tools from JetBrains. The best part is, the educational licenses are completely free!"  

This is very good, very useful software, which at regular usage, has a very expensive licensing fee.

IMG - In 1966 NASA crew members for the Apollo 1 space flight, practice water egress procedures in a swimming pool in Texas  https://images.nasa.gov/#/details-S66-51583.html

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So, as I mentioned in my introductory post, I’ve gone back to school. But I haven’t really. Because it’s distant learning. Which means its online. It’s 2019, that’s normal.

It’s a BSc in Computing, with the idea of moving into computer science or software or networking - I don’t know. I currently have very little idea about what’s going on. However… I’ve discovered that despite failing maths GCSE at school (roughly 3 times - hey who’s counting??!?) and loathing the very essence of its restrictive soul. It’s not actually as hard as I thought it was. It’s logical. And I quite like it. Old age has made nice safe logical black/white answers reassuring and easy.

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Hello. I’ve been blogging since LiveJournal days, usually under a pseudonym, because in the 90s the internet was a doomsday device for perverts, creeps and weirdos. Waves  

This “blog” started as an allotment blog, but it took a turn when the local council just couldn’t relax for a goddamn minute. So, it’s less about that now. I continue to grow things from my flat, but it’s more about adventures into mature studenthood, as well as things I love, and things I hate. It’s likely going to slip into things I’ve watched, played, eaten, heard until it’s just a screaming match in an echo chamber.

The degree I’m undertaking is a BSc in Computing, ideally, moving on to Computer Science, Software, Networking or Game Development. Who can say? I definitely can’t.

I like story and character-driven games with consequence, thought and narrative (beautiful design and sound are equally important tbh). You may read that as: alien sex and being an elf. And you’d not be much off the mark.

I already have a BA(Hons) in illustration, which I squandered in my 20s doing crappy meaningless jobs for money. I live in England, in the south west, where I now work full time in STEM outreach. I’m usually always tired and tend to overuse emojis. 💀🤙🌚🌊🍕

IMG - Artist Alexey Kondakov Imagines Figures from Classical Paintings as Part of Contemporary Life