Expected...yet overwhelming

Uhhhh, where do I start?? This week has been very intense, frankly. I can't say I didn't expect it though. I knew that the course would start with a bang and the workload would suddenly be piled on, but it still feels like quite a shock to the body-clock! I had been staying with my sister all week which made things easier (didn't have to commute all the way from home!), but all of a sudden I'm waking up at 0600hrs Monday - Friday to prepare and arrive on time for class start at 0900hrs. It's been almost two years since I last woke up at such 'unearthly' hours for work on a daily basis so...here we go again! I best get used to it again I guess! Especially considering I'll be expected to work all kinds of hours when I'm a First Officer for an airline someday.

The first day was great. The other students on my course all seem really down-to-earth and easy to talk to which is great! The girl and guy I sit next to in class seem such fun and we all help each other out in class if one of us doesn't understand a particular topic of the lecture. The lecturers are great too - ENCYCLOPEDIAS! Being specialists in their respective fields, they are seemingly able to explain absolutely anything in an understandable 'bite-size' manner. Such a wealth of experience. Our first exam is on 7th November for the following three topic areas that we are currently studying:

- Airframes and Systems, Powerplants, Electrics, Emergency Equipment (Patrick Geary)
- Performance (Peter Knapp)
- Principles of Flight (Washington Mhangami)

I'm finding the above subjects really interesting so far, although I'm struggling a little bit with 'Performance'. There are so many equations to remember and right now, I feel completely overwhelmed with the sheer quantity of information that has been presented to me in the first week. I'm sure everything will start making more sense throughout the second week starting on Monday once I have settled into my study routine. Oh and everyone is in the same boat as me after all :).

Tomorrow afternoon, I move into the house I'll be renting in London for the duration of the course (8 months) so I'll finally have my own space to focus. I've been trying to arrange a transfer with work to a store near where I live so hopefully they'll get back to me sometime next week because I honestly do not want to have to commute home for work every weekend. Pointless.

Better get back to packing now. The need to keep 'current' with regard to my flying is also in the back of my mind...so I need to book a Sunday slot for sometime mid-month, THIS month. I'm going to be really disciplined with my studying throughout the week so I can have a break at weekends for work and flying purposes. Whether this idea is too ambitious or not is yet to be discovered, but I feel I will burn myself out if I study literally seven days a week! Need to have at least a day's rest...and is there anything better than getting some airtime? I don't think so :)



David