I already apologised for not posting for so long last week. I understand that it has been over a month, but I have an excuse - I had exams. Yes, you’re right – that’s hardly an excuse. I have another one – my laptop has been stolen. I’m not going to talk about the incompetence of the Metropolitan Police (they’ve done NOTHING about the whole situation, even though CCTV cameras are pointing at the place it was stolen from). Instead, I’m gonna concentrate on my life without laptop.
I’m pretty sure that not many students at Imperial would survive without a computer. I don’t need to say how useful it is. It is also perfect thing for revision. You can view the lecture slides (which is important for people who don’t take notes during lectures – I wouldn’t be able to read them anyway), and most importantly, use Wikipedia – student’s best friend. But there is the downside – apart from Powepoint and Wikipedia, there is also Facebook, Youtube, and million other evil websites which would not help in your revision. I, in particular, enjoy procrastinating on Wikipedia – reading really random stuff (and that deserves a post on its own).
Although initially devastated when I lost my laptop three weeks before exams, I started to see the good sides of it. I was in this situation before – during my AS exams, I got banned from the schools IT room for having a virus on my computer, and last year, when revising in SAF, I asked my friend to put a password which wouldn’t let me use the internet for more than an hour a day, except Wikipedia and WebCT. Of course, as a real Imperial student, I found a hole in the security system and managed to get to the internet using my music player software. And there was always Wikipedia.
So, I thought, that without a computer or a TV, what could stop me from revising? There is absolutely nothing to do at my flat. I was wrong. Very wrong. Firstly, I had my PDA, which is okay for viewing PDFs, but the reduced sensitivity of the touchscreen makes internet browsing a real pain. That did not stop me. I still went on Facebook when I wanted – but it took me five minutes, instead of thirty seconds. The old PDA did not support Youtube – but I had my mobile with wi-fi connectivity. Installing some messengers on it also made me master typing on phone keypad. I even played bowling using energy drink cans. I don’t have to say, that the last days before the revision were pretty crazy – but you probably know exactly what I mean.
At that point I realised that no matter whether I have a computer or not, I’ll find a way to procrastinate. I also found out that my addiction to the Internet is not as severe as I initially thought. Which, I guess is a good thing.
