UniBlog: About "The Long Ones" And An Almost Perfect Saturday...

Welcome to the blog, and welcome to a sunn- okay, overcast Saturday/Sunday.

Before I start I'd like to address the elephant in the barely read blogs - and that is size.

Discussiong The Size Of "UniBlog" I'm going to up front here, the size of the "UniBlog"'s have been considerably larger than the average race report - and I understand and accept that, some even at lengths of taking a good 5 - 10 minutes to read.

University isn't racing. Obviously, it's common knowledge and a simple statement - but a race is over in 6 hours or so, this being able to be summed up pretty quickly with the "highlights of the race - a lecture however...is different.

In a lecture, pretty much every sentence (bar a few) that the professor says is important information, and information that I haven't thought of before - so the purpose of UniBlog is not only to inform the few that read it of what I've been up to during the day (or even week), but as a sort of reminder to myself of not only what I did/learnt - but so I can come back to this blog and re-read it and properly understand it when I forget.

Naturally, if I don't blog for a week (or more) and I've had three lectures lasting multiple hours, the blog is going to pretty darn long - but no matter the length, I thank each and every one of you who reads it - even if it's boring, uninteresting or you are simply killing time.

For those not quite at the university stage and are overwhelmed by the massive "passages" - University IS a step up from primary/secondary education - the lectures are longer, but if done online then using OBS (Open Broadcasting Software), Sonocent or other recording software, you are able to record the audio and listen back to the lectures in your own time or at your own pace.

Despite having longer lectures, you will have days off - in the beginning, you will find that the days you don't have lectures can be "Mental Health" or relaxing days - but as time goes on, this will turn into independent study/research time or doing assignments - filling your entire life with either lectures or essay-writing - I hope I haven't put you off! With that out of the way and cleared up (hopefully) and with my one single solitary reader who reads this blog understanding why I write a novel every blog, let's get into a particularly crazy weekend! Saturday 18th October, 2020

One month ago, On Friday 18th September 2020, I would be going into my final weekend before becoming a university student - this day in particular saw my 5th most recent race to date - celebrating the start of Season 4, 2020 by racing in the Ferrari GT3 Challenge - a series that I loved oh so much, and with a 7th place finish I was a happy wee boy!

The four others following that were: 19/09/2020 - F3 @ Watkins Glen (9th) 03/10/2020 - F3 @ Suzuka (13th)

03/10/2020 - V8 Supercar(s) @ Le Mans (1st)* (We all know what happened during that one, don't we?) So, onto today (pictures will come when Jya gives pics)

The initial plan was to go to Wild Zoological Park, which was 20 minutes South-West of my accommodation - but (late) on Friday evening, Jya suggested going to Dudley Zoo - the same distance away, but in the South.

I did the ol' Google and despite £2 more expensive - it was considerably larger and looked like it had room for larger animals - so we went for it. We'd both paid for our tickets (plus me paying £3 for parking) and got ready to leave to arrive at 12.25...however luck had other plans. I turned on the engine put my foot on the brake and tried to shift it into drive but the gearbox was a little stiff - like crumbs were under the gearstick or something.

I turned the engine off (to see if it would loosen up) turned the key and...

nothing. No coughs, no splutters, just silence.

I tried it again. Still nothing. Knowing nothing about mechanics I thought the battery had died - and stuck with this theory - especially as the interior light had stayed on no matter weather the ignition was on or not. I was only able to turn this off with the electrics on.

I popped the hood to see if I could see any sort of issue - but being a basic bish - I couldn't diagnose anything.

To be honest, If the engine was missing, I'd probably blame the issue on low windscreen fluid. Alas.

There was nothing me nor Jya could do, so we phoned the zoo to inform them to re-schedule us to a later time-slot, and with over 100 different available slots (demand non-existent due to it being cold, overcast and the current situation) it was no problem for them

So, Jya suggested hopping on a bus - so we walked to the bus station and boarded a bus into Dudley

We then spent a good two or so hours going around the zoo and we saw all kinds of animals from the most adorable pygmy marmosets

to absolutely incredible beasts like snow leopards, lynx and a very horny sumatran tiger and his moody significant other!

We managed to see pretty much all of the animals (some naturally not being out due to the climate or other reasons) and then went to the gift shop where I totally didn't spend £19.00 on a bleeding soft toy - no of course that didn't happen - I just wanted a memoir of the good experience at the zoo I had - and since I only paid £4 for the bus fair + £15 entry fee (got refunded for parking fortunately) I thought "why not, let's treat myself" so Sammy, (a slightly less horny version of the real life equivalent) is sitting proudly beside my side

Yeah, I'm 19, Problem? Deal With It. #AdultsBuyToysToo

When I got home, I'd try the Kia's engine again - but to no avail.

Following this, I'd sign into netflix and begin binge watching Glee via watch-party (TeleParty) with my girlfriend

Context

Annie, my girlfriend is a MASSIVE fan of Glee - a "Gleek" if you may, and since at least July she's been trying to get me to watch an episode - and I've always been busy or not had time - even with the deal that I could take her to a motor-race if I watch an episode/series.

So, I finally agreed and set a date to watch watch it - and that was Saturday.

At first, I thought that it would be a rip-off of High School Musical - School + Songs = Glee....but no!

It was so much more!!! It had character, it had a story-line - it had bloody loveable characters, each one with their strengths and weaknesses and the fact that they were "outcasts" make them oh so much more relatable!

So yes, we binged 5 episodes in a row...and only stopped because it ended on a high and I didn't wanna end on another shocking cliffhanger 😂😂😂

So yes, she's got me massively into Glee - one could say I'm a "Gleek" (Is that a good thing?!?!) and am aboslutely hooked and can't wait for the next Binge Session!

Exactly the same time the Kabort Boys were finishing the ISRC (Intercontinental Sim Racing Challenge) 6 Hours of Nurburgring league race - and astonishingly Kabort took the win for GTE AM - a wild celebration erupted throughout the team and the beers were once again whipped out for a party night. After scoring no points during the opening round at Spa - this was incredibly sweet and will hopefully do many favours for our championship hopes especially as the LMP2 finished P6 in class too! The Final round of the IES (iRacing Endurance Series) ended just after midnight - Kabort scored another Top 10, 8th Place specifically, after a tough race with off-tracks - I'm sure they're as exited to be leaving the last season behind them as they are looking forward to the next (if not more so!)

After all of this, I'd have my final three sausages at 01:00 in the morning - and as luck would have it - everything would go wrong and make a hideously loud racket - but fortunately, no-one was awoken. But echos only exist when you least want them to!

Sunday 18th October 2020

HOLD UP A SECOND!! IS ROBIN WRITING A BLOG ON THE SAME DAY AS IT'S BEEN WRITTEN?!!? WOOOOOAH!!! MADD!!

Today I wanted to go out and get some liquid (Milk & Juice) from ASDA - but plans change - After finishing up yesterday's mega-blog I went to sleep and woke up at 1 or so, having breakfast an hour later. Following this, I phoned green-flag about the Kia - and within about 10-15 minutes I got a call from a man who didn't know quite where to go - so I directed him and moments (more like fifteen seconds or so) later, an "E&S Recovery" branded 2019 Ford Transit pulled up at taccommodationsio gates, and was shortly allowed in - promptly pulling in front of the Kia.

After ten minutes or so, he said he'd take a while, so would call me when he was finished - and he did so

When I returned (after being called), Kiaras engine was all fired up and purring as normal - the cause of the fault was a fault with the electric wire on the starter motor, which he said was was "wear and tear".

Despite no immediate fix, he said that I should get the car booked in at QuickFit/EuroFit, and when booked - I should inform Green Flag so they can tow it to the garage. The tow itself, I was told, would be free - however I have no idea how much the repair-job itself will cost. What Am I Doing Now?

Writing A Blog...No, In seriousness, I'm just listening some good tunes waiting for 8:01pm when I can steal Netflix from my mum and spend another night binging Glee! Yeeharr! - RT

Edit: We Binge-Watched 5 Episodes - T'was A Right Blast!