This turned into a big rambley essay, but I felt some explanation was necessary. If you don't think it is, it's spoilered, but hell it was cathartic to write all this down. Mind is racing.
Spoiler:
Most of you know I live in England. A lot of you know I'm of the age and level of education where one who intends to study for a degree traditionally applies to various universities. About five of you know I've applied to read a degree in History and English at a particularly prestigious institution, one Oxford University. (But now you all do! Fancy that! :P)
A month ago, I checked my emails and saw they'd received and acknowledged my application. I was thrilled. At the beginning of this month, I sat an aptitude test for them to see whether I was smart enough. I also had to mail them three example papers I did previously for class so they could see the quality of my work under normal circumstances. It was all a little tedious to get through, but I managed it. Nonetheless, my mind kept going back to the mistakes I knew I'd made in the exam and I was pretty sure my application would be dismissed.
Ten minutes ago, I checked my emails and saw they'd given my application the green light to go onto the next stage. Somehow, the sample work I sent off and the aptitude test I did seems to have impressed them enough, and some academics at the university want to meet me in person to see if I have what it takes.
I have an interview down in St. Hilda's College, Oxford, Oxfordshire on the 8th of December. Two weeks today. I'm not so much thrilled right now as I am panicked, but really it's a bit of both.
I need to read up on the subjects of the papers I sent them and everything I mentioned in the application statement, because I've been told the interview is largely going to consist of talking about that (they've assumed those are my areas of interest/expertise) with some experts in the fields. Thinking about it, it's actually rather exhilerating, but I need to make sure I'm prepared.
So I'm gonna mend my presently-wonky work ethic in school while dedicating an hour or two a day for the next two weeks to preparing. It'll involve brushing up on my knowledge of the authors, individuals and events I talked about in my application statement (so that's Machiavelli, Charlotte Bronte and the Spanish Civil War, if you're curious) so I can at least pretend I know what I'm talking about when I'm discussing it with leading academics.
I also think I'm gonna start getting some more sleep. If you RP with me on CotH, you'll likely have realised that I do not get anywhere near enough of it, and the sleep I do get is in highly irregular hours. xD f I start sleeping well again, chances are I'll look better, feel better and think better when it comes to that interview. So I'll stand less of a chance of making a complete ass of myself and more of a chance of making an impression on the scholars who are gonna decide if I can join them as an undergrad.
Suffice to say, this is pretty important to me, so I'll be taking a step away from CotH for a while to make room. But it doesn't mean I don't love you guys any less. <3 :3 Wish me luck.
TL;DR generally reduced levels of activity for the next two weeks along with a complete two day absence between the 7th and the 9th of December. Also unlikely to be keeping my usual hours in-game from tonight onwards because I want to get my sleeping pattern back into shape, thank you very much. :B
. . . Figured there wasn't any point starting a second absence thread in the space of a week, so I'll update this one. Nothing to do with Oxford, I'm afraid, although the date of my interview draws terrifyingly close. (Thanks for the well-wishing, guys, it really means a lot to me. <3)
My laptop's finally decided to pack in. Completely kaput. We're still trying to diagnose the exact issue but the meat of the matter is that it won't boot up. I'm gonna try and equip this old piece of junk with Skype etc. etc. in case people need to reach me, but I'm certain it can't run WoW and thus I'm out of the game indefinitely.
As for in-character alibis, Mercy has literally just gone into hiding anyway thinking everybody's after her, so assume she remains just that. Dhorgun will continue his trek to meet up with the Wildhunts in Nagrand, to finally reach there whenever I can return. Askari's completely and conspicuously missing, Ciaphas has vanished looking for one of his sons while Stephen is probably off evangelising in the Stormwind provinces, so don't worry about him. Jared I really cannot think of a reason to not be around, so just assume he is. xD
I'm still available for RP via MSN and Skype, so if you're interested:
Posting this off my phone. Waiting for my train now. Holy hell am I scared. xD
Thanks, guys. A friend of mine is letting me borrow his old laptop until mine's up and running again, and while it's unlikely you'll see me in-game while I'm in friggin' Oxford, I might be online over the weekend. Until then, I have more pressing concerns. :P
![[Image: Ml7sNnX.gif]](http://i.imgur.com/Ml7sNnX.gif)
! And bucketsful of good luck~!!!
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![[Image: Lirshar_zpscaa814f0.png]](http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll212/Max_ch2/Lirshar_zpscaa814f0.png)
