Leicester Adventure: Settling In

It's beginning to look like I've settled nicely into a new routine. It's not that I pop out of bed at 7am sharp every morning, also because somehow I never manage to sleep before 2, but things no longer seem as new and slightly frightening as they did when I first arrived.

I've had all my second lectures and seminars this week; I very much enjoyed Penology, seeing as we touched upon the subject of the Social Contract (Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau), and upon Bentham and Beccaria, with Rationalism and the Panopticon - the Social Contract was one of my favourite topics in Politics last semester, and I really enjoyed the class on Rationalism in Crime & Law Enforcement. I also was informed that I get to go on a trip to a prison on 26 October, which does unfortunately coincide with a very interesting lecture by another of my instructors, but I'm still looking forward to the trip.

I've taken a real liking to the Criminological Research Methods course, and Understanding Crime is also rapidly becoming something I look forward to, so that's all good.

I've settled into the habit of popping by a small local Sainsbury's on Queens Road on my way home, because it saves me a trip to Asda.

Furthermore, a small group of people is trying to set up a social society for the Criminology MSc students, and I'm on the "founding board" if you could call it that, so I'm keeping myself busy.

Lastly, the weather is currently in that awkward stage where your winter coat is too warm and your summer coat too chilly, where you just don't know what to wear. But the leaves are turning a crispy gold and falling off the trees, so I'm sure winter's not far off.

It feels very nice to settle into a new sense of 'having to do something', also because I do still need to finish properly revising my Dorian Gray paper for the Pala Conference proceedings (deadline: 1 November) and should really do something about my practice essay (deadline: 29 October). But that'll be fine.

I'll probably not write much in the coming weeks unless I have something important to say, but be advised that whenever I don't write, I'm doing my routine and I'm doing well.