Introductions

Introductions

by Daniel Gill -
Number of replies: 26

Hello Everyone,

Firstly, big thanks to Melanie for setting this forum up. I thought I would set up this discussion topic where we can introduce ourselves. I shall begin. :)

Hello everyone, I'm Daniel. I'm from a medium-sized village near the Sheffield/Rotherham border. My main interests are public transport and, more specifically, public transport timetables. I also enjoy creating public transport maps, for example, a South Yorkshire rail and tram map, you can find this here:

http://www.danielgill.net/maps/

I look forward to meeting people, even if it is online even for now.

Dan

In reply to Daniel Gill

Re: Introductions

by Zhicheng Ding -
Hi Dan! It's great to have you here :)

Again I'd like to thank Melanie for the behind the scenes work that she has done in the past couple of weeks to make this happen.

I'm Zhicheng, I grew up in Shanghai, China and moved to the UK at 16. I'll be doing an MA in linguistics at Queen Mary this year. I did maths as my undergraduate degree and I've got a general interest in the sciences. My interests tend to shift over time: back then it was maths, then physics, currently I'm into languages and philosophy. I'm also interested in urban road and transport networks; during my school years I spent lots of time on things like creating road and underground networks for imaginary cities, making hand-drawn maps and underground networks for parts of Shanghai, and creating alternative transport plans for a couple of cities.

I'm eager to get to know more of you guys, I'll be regularly checking this post for the near future and I hope to have a chat with some of you soon ;)
In reply to Daniel Gill

Re: Introductions

by Zhicheng Ding -
Have you tried Cities: Skylines? It's a city building game which I enjoy for its huge flexibility of urban planning and road construction; there are lots of public transport options as well and you can create bus and train lines and watch the vehicles move, if that's your thing. It's a game that I highly recommend and perhaps the only downside is that it takes so much time to play, I have to be careful not to spend too much time on it.
In reply to Daniel Gill

Re: Introductions

by Zhicheng Ding -
Also I really liked your rail and tram map! What app/software did you use? In the past, I tried to make diagrams of single underground lines (those on the top in the tube train carriages) using Microsoft Visio, but what you've done is impressive.
In reply to Zhicheng Ding

Re: Introductions

by Daniel Gill -
Hello Zhicheng,

It's lovely to hear from you. I have played Cities: Skylines, it's certainly good fun, although I always seem to get bad traffic!

I created the map on Inkscape, a free vector illustration program, it takes a bit of getting used to, but the results are very good. If you have any maps that you'd like creating, I'd be happy to give it a go! (It'll give me something to do during my downtime.)

I have a bunch of other maps I've created, I can send them over here if you'd be interested.

Dan
In reply to Daniel Gill

Re: Introductions

by Dana Helen Jane Hargrave -
Hello everyone.

My name is Dana, I’m from Chessington, Greater London, and am study Biomedical Science.
In reply to Dana Helen Jane Hargrave

Re: Introductions

by Zhicheng Ding -

Hi Dana, welcome! As we approach the end of the second week the academic pressure is creeping up, I hope you're coping well with that! Despite the busy student life, did you manage to do anything recreational recently in your free time?

In reply to Zhicheng Ding

Re: Introductions

by Dana Helen Jane Hargrave -
Hello Zhicheng,

I’m doing okay with everything. I crochet in my free time and have finished making a scarf in the last few days, and have now started on a unicorn, and I enjoy that. I like making my family gifts, like I recently finished a batman for my second cousin. People in my building are self isolating and apparently someone has tested positive, so there isn’t much going on outside of my room currently.

How have you found starting your MA? 
In reply to Dana Helen Jane Hargrave

Re: Introductions

by Zhicheng Ding -
Hi Dana,

It's good to hear that you're okay. The first two weeks turned out to be very busy, I was unprepared by the amount of reading I received. My undergraduate degree was in maths and my current one is in linguistics, so there will be new study skills to acquire; for example, I've never written an essay or read a research paper or attended a seminar. I've never organised my time and always simply did things as they come along, but given the amount of work I've got right now, I'm going to start making weekly plans from this weekend. The material was mostly fun, but I suppose there were just too many of it!
In reply to Zhicheng Ding

Re: Introductions

by Zhicheng Ding -
Besides, in my experience I've always had difficulty doing a full-time workload; it is often the case that if I'm back home from lectures I'd have to take half an hour's rest just because I was a bit overwhelmed (possibly due to the noise outside). It seems that I have to spend much longer doing daily tasks than the average person; I'll take more half an hour having a meal, take half an hour for a shower, etc. Perhaps Cambridge was an outlier, but what I found during my time at Cambridge is that I had to use all the time I had all day every day for my studies, which has a devastating effect on mental health in the long run. It remains to see how my time at Queen Mary will turn out, but at the moment I don't feel I'll survive in any full-time job for a prolonged period of time.
In reply to Dana Helen Jane Hargrave

Re: Introductions

by Daniel Gill -
Hello Dana,

Hope you are well, welcome!

Biomedical Science sounds very exciting, what made you choose that course?

Dan :)
In reply to Daniel Gill

Re: Introductions

by Dana Helen Jane Hargrave -

Hello Dan,

I chose biomedical science because I enjoy human biology and wanted to know the lab side of things and understand how human biology works, and also goes wrong. 


What are you studying? 

In reply to Dana Helen Jane Hargrave

Re: Introductions

by Daniel Gill -

Hello,

I'm studying Computer Science, I chose it because enjoy solving problems

Dan

In reply to Daniel Gill

Re: Introductions

by Zhicheng Ding -
Hi Dan,

I'm sorry that we had to stay in contact via email in the past few days while the social circle was down. I heard from your email that you were very busy with your work and I feel sorry about that, but at least you can be assured that I'm just as busy with my studies! I attended a couple of online and offline social events where I don't think I've made any (potential) friends, but the point was I got my essential dose of social contact. I hope to make more friends, but I don't have high expectations in general social events; as of now I'm not capable of getting to know many of the people or expressing my self in a general social event. However, I do hope to make some friends among fellow linguists and in this social circle.
In reply to Zhicheng Ding

Re: Introductions

by Zhicheng Ding -
A side note on social events: I've experienced mental health problems in the past partly due to a lack of social contact, so now despite all the difficulties I'm trying my best to create some social opportunities for myself. It doesn't matter if I was a passive listener in these social events, I still find myself in a better mood afterwards. There are many social events that I don't consider attending, I never drink alcohol, go to noisy places like pubs, nor stay in a group after 9pm, but I'm now trying to attend one from time to time when I don't feel terrible to do so, just because it's good for me.
In reply to Zhicheng Ding

Re: Introductions

by Daniel Gill -
Hi Zhicheng,

I can certainly concur on the importance of social interaction. At the moment, I'm living at home, so online is probably the option for me at the moment.

I've been for a short trip down to London this weekend, although I didn't stay in my room as the others in my flat are social isolating. (If I had stayed, I would have had to be there for 2 weeks.) I would go again next weekend, but I don't want to risk it, so my plan is to take a trip elsewhere and book a hotel. I'm thinking maybe Birmingham or Bristol.

Hope you stay safe,
Dan
In reply to Daniel Gill

Re: Introductions

by Zhicheng Ding -
Hi Dan, where are you living right now? Have you made your plan for your trip this weekend? Sorry for the late reply as it gets increasingly busy deeper into the semester!
In reply to Zhicheng Ding

Re: Introductions

by Daniel Gill -
Hi Zhicheng,

Don't worry about the delay, I'm sure you've got a much bigger workload than me!

I'm currently living in a small village near Sheffield, it's a far cry from the city.

I've decided to go on a smaller day trip this weekend, at least it will get me out of the house!

What are your plans for the weekend?

Dan
In reply to Daniel Gill

Re: Introductions

by Zhicheng Ding -
Hi Dan,

Sorry again for not replying - when there're lots of emails I sometimes overlook the notification. I'm as busy with my studies as ever, having taken some shortcuts when it comes to the assigned readings. I went to Greenwich Park (which is relatively close to where I live) on Saturday and found the place packed with people, so I'm going to avoid it on weekends in the future. I aimed to go to Greenwich Park at least once a week - a target barely met. I hope you're well?
In reply to Zhicheng Ding

Re: Introductions

by Daniel Gill -
Hi Zhicheng,

I'm doing well, thanks.

I've been to Greenwich Park many times, a lovely park. Fantastic views over the docklands.

My brother is a big fan of the planetarium in the royal observatory, so we've been there quite often.
In reply to Daniel Gill

Re: Introductions

by Michael Craske -

Hello!

I'm Michael,

I've been at Queen Mary a while as I'm just finishing my PhD and I also teach in the school of English and Drama. I haven't been to campus since early March, which makes me feel sad as I haven't seen people I know there for ages. Having said that - and to completely contradict myself - before covid I often found campus disorientating as I stay away from crowds and - at peaks times - it often felt like one big overpowering crowd. There aren't many places to go to be alone.

I draw and paint in my spare time as a way of 'framing' things, if you know what I mean.

I hope everyone is doing well in these opening weeks, and the workload is manageable, and the remote teaching not too distancing.

Best wishes,

Michael

In reply to Daniel Gill

Re: Introductions

by Jol-Esther Verard -

Hello,

My name is Perotine.
I live in London off campus.
I'm studying Russian Language.
I'm in my first year at age 28. 
I never thought going to university would be a realistic option for me but here I am!


In reply to Jol-Esther Verard

Re: Introductions

by Daniel Gill -

Hi Perotine,

Welcome to the social circle.

I didn't even know QMUL offered a Russian language course, sounds very exciting!

What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?

Dan

In reply to Daniel Gill

Re: Introductions

by Melanie Dupin -
Hello everyone,

Just an update to my previous announcement on the main page, there will be a recurring Teams meeting on Wednesdays from 3-4pm which will act as an online social space for students to join in, get to know each other, have a chat and play online games. If you'd like to join the meeting, you can just use this link:

Microsoft Teams meeting
Join on your computer or mobile app

Click here to join the meeting

Or call in (audio only)
+44 20 3443 9667,,275977327# United Kingdom, London
Phone Conference ID: 275 977 327#
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