*Pic: my new flat
經歷2個月左右的折磨，終於從論文中解脫了！
I've been through two months of torture because of my dissertation.
過程百般失落和疑惑，也因為選了一個很不 “Management” 的題目，一度懷疑自己真的可以完成這個說大不大說曉不曉得工程。
I've experienced all sorts of confusion during the process as the topic of my dissertation wasn't a traditional "Management" topic. This made me doubt my own ability to finish such complex case.
雖然分數要等年底才能揭曉，對於這樣的結果，還是覺得挺以自己為榮的，也可以大聲的說這是一份很能代表自己的畢業作業。
Although the result of the dissertation won't be released until the end of the year, I feel quite proud of myself for what I have already achieved through sheer effort, and I can say that this is very representative of all my graduate work.
結束論文後，也從住了一年的宿舍搬出來，跟朋友住在靠近市中心的Studio，開始邁入下一個階段。
After the end of the dissertation, I moved out of the student dormitory I've lived for a year, to a studio flat near the city center with my friend, and started our new life as a married lesbian couple.
當初毅然決然選擇留在Bristol，雖然工作機會比倫敦少，但對我而言，倫敦是一個隨時可以再拜訪的城市，這段時間卻可能是我人生最後住在Bristol的機會。
I decided to stay in Bristol for a number of different reasons. Firstly, although London has more job opportunities than Bristol, London is a place that I can visit any time if I wanted to, but it might be the last time in my life in which I can live in Bristol.
找房子的過程很順利，我們8月中旬才開始找房子，很幸運的第一個禮拜就找到不錯的房子，一個靠近市中心的Studio，有獨立的衛浴和廚房，以兩個人平攤而言，租金也很學生價。但在外租房跟住學生宿舍不同，大多數的租金都不包括電費、水費、網路費獲第四台費用，連牽網路和第四台都要自己一手包辦。
The process of looking for an apartment went quite smoothly. We began looking for a place in mid-August, and luckily we found a good studio in the first week. It's a small studio near town centre, with a separate bathroom and kitchen. The monthly rent shared between two people is fairly cheap. However, renting your own place is different from living in student dormitories because the rent does not include electricity, water, internet and TV bills. We even had to deal with the Internet and cable installation on our own.
這些還不是最麻煩的，Council Tax對住學生宿舍的人來說是很陌生的詞，但只要你不是Full-Time學生身份，在外租屋都需要繳Council Tax；如果是全職學生，則可以跟學校申請Study Certification，在以此證明去Council申請減免，這也幫我們省了不小的一筆錢（Council Tax很貴很貴）。
Council Tax for people who live in student dormitories is an unfamiliar word, but as long as you are not a Full-Time student, you are required to pay Council Tax. Conversely, if you are a full-time student, you can ask your educational institute to provide proof of enrolment so as to be able to get a waiver from the Council. This helped us save a significant sum of money (Council Tax very expensive).
詳情：https://www.gov.uk/council-tax/full-time-students
Source：https://www.gov.uk/council-tax/full-time-students
牽網路跟第四台也讓我幾乎崩潰，本來找了有六個月短期合約的Virgin Media，但因為在英國牽網路不是說牽就牽，要先預約工程師確定線路能不能牽。有鑑於英國可怕的做事效率，在搬家前一周我們致電預約工程師勘察，但遲遲等到搬入後都沒有接到他們得聯絡，不巧我的手機網路又沒有吃到飽，每天都在倒數流量。最後實在忍不住打電話去抱怨，Virgin Media才在兩三天後傳簡訊跟我們說已確認線路，無法安裝，只好找了這個Flat原住戶使用的Sky Broadband，現在也還在等16好牽第四台，19好牽網路，希望一切順利，否則我就要斷網了！
Dealing with the installation of the Internet and cable drove me and my roommate crazy. The reason we chose Virgin Media is because they provide a short-term nine month contract, which suits our needs. We made an appointment with their engineer a week before we moved out to check whether the installation is available for our place or not. However, we had not received any information from them even after we had moved in for three days. To make my situation worse, I didn't buy unlimited Internet for my phone this month, so I have to watch how much I use every day. Finally, my roommate could not stand it anymore and she made a complaint via phone, after that, Virgin Media replied to us stating that they couldn't install the Internet here in just two or three days. Therefore, we had to contact Sky Broadband, which was the one the former tenants used, to get access to the Internet. It seems that they will install the TV on 16th and the Internet on 19th, and I hope everything goes well, otherwise I'm going offline
除此之外也還有一些瑣事，像是變更官方地址（銀行跟個帳戶，確認信不會再寄到舊地址），清理圖書館帳戶（把書還清，罰款繳清），夥同全Flat一起整理舊宿舍的公共區域，聯絡搬家公司，隨時注意誰在那段時間有空可以幫忙搬家（很幸運逮到兩位室友壯丁非常好心的自願幫我們搬家），整理新家，添購必需品，這一切都非常非常累人，一周內的運動量每天幾乎都有500 calories，完全沒有力氣做飯，天天外食，幾乎要把自己吃破產了......
Furthermore, there were also some other tasks, such as changing the address for my bank account, and making sure the letters will not be sent to my old address; cleaning up the library account (paid off the books and fines); cleaning communal areas in our flat with other flatmates; contacting the moving company, and paying attention to who might be available to help us move (luckily, we had two generous roommates who volunteered to help us move); organizing our new home, and purchasing necessities. This was very, very tiring within a week, equivalent to burning 500 calories every day, and made us too exhausted to cook for the past week. Eating outside almost bankrupted us!
這些都搞定了，預定要上的英文課還沒開始，我也開始閑下來了，又加上家裡沒有網路，天天呈現不知道該做什麼的狀態，實在是太浪費時間了！於是從今天起，決定不再依賴室友的Hotspot，帶著筆電到圖書館找工作跟寫日記，順便看看YouTube跟玩Facebook。
After these issues were sorted, I began to get bored because there is no Internet at home and my English course hasn’t begun yet. I feel that I have nothing to do at all and I’m wasting my time! So I decided to start writing this blog from today, and rather than relying on my roommate's Hotspot, I decided to go to the library with my laptop every day and try to find a job, write a diary, access facebook and maybe watch YouTube too.
所以，第一篇就是一連串瑣事跟抱怨，明天預告將會是：最近很紅的社交 App Tinder 使用心得。
Anyway, this is the first chapter, some trivial information with a lot of complaints, I will probably write something about the recently popular social App Tinder based on my friends' experience in the next chapter.
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