[ LEEDS "GRE Psychology" TRIP ]

12/12/2004 started writing...

I am finally back from Leeds...been sleeping very little by my standard this week, now I am knackered! I have been up since 6.45am (11th Dec) and now it's 1.29am (12th Dec), and the previous night I went to bed around 1.30am....hm....I dun think I will have time to catch up with sleep until at least monday! Tomorrow, I was told that I HAVE TO MOVE TO HAMMOND HOUSE FOR THE REST OF MY VACATION!!!!! S**T! Anyway, I am freaking tired, but I wanna write about my trip to Leeds, 'cos I know if I don't write now, I will not get the chance to write it in the next few days. So there we go...my thoughts are getting incoherent as I type.

10th Dec (Firday)
11.15am--- left New Hall, heading towards the station- bought a sandwich from Pret A Manger on the way

12.04pm--- got on the train to Peterborough.

1pm-2pm--- got a gap between the Peterborough train and the next train to Leeds, so I sneaked out to walk around Peterborough, a very nice town, with a grand cathedral and massive shopping mall.

2pm-3.30pm--- Train from Peterborough to LEEDS! I was allocated a seat in the smoking coach... o_O" When I opened the coach door, I was dazed for like 3 seconds!!! I simply just stood at the door, staring at the smoke and swore in my heart! I have never been onto a coach of a train filled with smoke...so....I sat down and frowned basically my whole train journey thinking I would be suffocated or dying from acute lung cancer (probably doesnt exist) anytime.

3.30pm-4.00pm--- ARRIVED AT LEEDS STATION. Looked around the tourist info centre, bought a mini city map. Then headed towards the town to find my hotel TRAVELODGE! Actually took me quite awhile to find it. And it's dark by 4pm!

Took a break in my room, and went out at 5pm to town to find out about what's around and whereabout is the University of Leeds. Back at 7pm.
(I stopped writing at this point... 2 am 12/12/2004 zzzzzz I really did need sleep. Resume at 2am 15/12/2004...early morning again, and I feel restless. Will address this problem later)
Yes, In fact, my exploration that early evening should be a little bit more detailed. I love Leeds, though not love at first sight, but definitely started to love it as I walked around. It's a city, somewhat similar to London, but it's not as crowded and the air doesn't seem as polluted (as I didnt get my itchy nose) It's exciting, with many many huge shops, great variety, and cheap! Gosh, nothing to compare with London and Cambridge! I walked and walked, refering to the map as little as I could, walked mainly on Albion Street and up the hill on WOODHOUSE LANE (yes, the university is also on da hill like New Hall, but the slope isn't as steep as our very own Castle Hill). After walking for about 30 mins, I 'd found where I was supposed to go for the next morning, great! On my way back to TRAVELODGE, I went to a German Christmas Fair at Millennium Square, bought a piece of freshly prepared Garlic Bread there. I then picked up a takeaway box (costed me 5 quid) at Maxim Express which is inside a really nice shopping centre called LIGHT on Albion Street. I was surprised to find a Maxim in this country! So... my so called fabulous dinner was a Chinese takeaway in my little hotel room all on my own. As I was eating, I was mulling over my GRE questions, on the dressing table with a huge mirror right in front of me. I stared at myself, I couldn't deny the shitty feeling deep inside me which I could not explain. Despite I was in a marvellous city, I was ALL ALONE. :'(
Anyway, enough of this depressing stuff. My melancholic self was taking over me. Ok, there I was working through till really late (1am?), then I took a shower, washed my hair and went to bed!

11th Dec (Sat)
6.45am--- I was up and running at this time of the morning, I just knew that I had to get to U of Leeds preferably by 8.20am, and I needed a breakfast! I planned the night before that I was gonna have it at McD! I washed, packed and stepped out of TRAVELODGE, it's 7.15am-- and it's still DARK. It's depressing to call it morning when it's still pitch dark outside and one could easily do with a nice warm bed. The street was almost empty- yeah, you kinda bumped into one or two persons, but that's nothing to compare with HK on a Sat morning, the city would be bustling with traffic and people at 7.15am! I ordered a Hot Cake with Sauage and a Hot Chocolate at McD, fabulous! Exactly what I need to get through the horrid morning ahead.

8.20-10am--- Going through the administration procedure of GRE. (Impression I got of the invigilators: disorganised)

10am- 12.50pm--- EXAM TIME! It was tough, I knew I wasn't that well prepared, but having read the GRE preparation book did not help that much! There were still things which didnt appear in the book and it's just impossible to get a perfect score! Perhaps I was setting myself too high of a standard which landed me into a high stress level for the past week and beyond (yes, I am now (and still) suffering from the post stress symptoms)

say 1pm - 2.30pm--- I have met a few other cantabs doing GRE (you know, you just sort of recognised them in the exam hall, and then went to chat to them afterwards to confirm your suspicion?) and we all headed for lunch at Hard Rock Cafe. Expensive, but nice. First time being in a Hard Rock Cafe...

2.30pm - 5.20pm--- I split up with the cantabs and went on my own sightseeing and frantic photo taking journey. Walking for almost 3 hours with a heavy backpack is and always will be TIRING! I took LOADS of photos, at the same time my back and my shoulder ached a great deal. As I started my window shopping at around 4.30pm (as it's dark and no more pics to be taken then), I was dying to find somewhere to sit and rest. After a few shops, I simply broke down onto a bench on Briggate. I was outside but it was not cold at all. I looked around the street, people are either paired up, with/without kids, or in groups. And guess what? Natually I.... :'(
That's when my darling called.

5.20pm- 10pm--- Making my way back to Cambridge. Leaving this lovely city was not easy, but I was tired and needed comfort of my room! I made my way to the station, got on the train to Stevenage, this time, I found myself a seat in a non-smoking coach. I ended up with a more relaxing journey when I could take a nap. Changed train at Stevenage and got back to Cambridge at around 9pm. Waiting for the bus to take me back to the city centre seemed to take forever. It was freezing cold then. After I reached the town centre, bought myself a pack of microwavable meatball spaghetti in tomato sauce from Sainsbury (right, that's my dinner sorted) and finally got back to my room at 10 pm! Nonono, my day did not end there! I then did laundry (believe it or not?), loaded my pics on the computer and started blogging (which obviously did not complete till this moment in time).

end 3.16am 15/12/2004