A Week in the Life of...

Part of the reason I started this blog was not only to have my own personal internet soapbox available to me again, but also to try and share what it is like to be a final year undergraduate at Cambridge University.

With those two thoughts in mind, it appears I haven't really done too much of the latter; something which I will attempt to rectify over the next week, but before I start spieling off stuff like that, I'd like you to note that my experiences are probably not representative of the average undergraduate experience, in fact, I have no idea what that would be. I just know that as an Engineer, I tend to work a lot harder, have a lot more 9 o'clock lectures, and probably drink more coffee than someone, say, studying Philosophy (they may make up this time with deep, wine fuelled discussions late at night though, so who am I to say?).

In Cambridge, the week actually begins on Thursday, which is why the first post of this series is posted when it is. So, this is the start of Week 5, commonly associated with something known as Week 5 blues. This occurs to people because Week 5 is generally the time when people have realised that shit has hit the fan work-wise (that happens usually in Week 4), tried to do something about it, and realised that the rate of them clearing the shit doesn't match up with the rate at which it's incoming. (Again, this applies to Engineering, and other proper subjects. Philosophy students can just carry on going to Cindies as normal).

So on my to-do list, it goes something like this:

1. Computational Fluid Dynamics Interim Report, due Wed 10th (not started).
2. Transonic Wing Design Interim Report, due Tues 16th (not started).
3. 4th Year Project Interim Progress Meeting, Mon 8th (doing okay!)
4. Organise University Badminton Away to Worcester for Wed 10th
5. Organise Aerodynamics Team for the Eco Racing society, ASAP!

Now, that doesn't look too bad, quite manageable in fact, but then we have to add on a few hours of lectures and then the two hour lab tomorrow, and then Badminton training over the weekend, and then the Composites Examples papers which I really should have been doing more of...and as you can see, it all mounts up.

Let's not forget time for sleeping and drinking too (not necessarily in that order).

Now, you might have read that list and thought to yourself "Compu...what now?", along with other synonymous expressions of confusion. It doesn't matter, you can replace those bits with "Complex Engineering Stuff the Author doesn't understand" without subtracting from the overall meaning one bit.

I would however, like to talk about the Eco Racing society a bit.

Cambridge University Eco Racing (www.cuer.co.uk) is a student run society attempting to build a solar car to race 3000km across Australia in October 2011, as part of the World Solar Challenge. I, somehow, have been made the Aerodynamics Team Leader for this attempt, which I find absolutely fantastic, a little scary, and very daunting all at the same time. Essentially, I am responsible for the design of the whole outer shape of the car, trying to make it as streamlined and slippery as possible. Also, if the car flies off the road, it will probably be my fault.

LOOK:


Now, granted, that won't happen to our car because of Aerodynamic gubbins that I do understand, but still, better not cock up.

More tomorrow!