Matthew's Journal

I have just passed a very pleasant weekend away in Kent, but didn't sleep terribly well (despite being a party-pooper every night :s ), so am left feeling a bit brain-dead today. Accordingly, I've spent some time fighting the joy that is University paperwork.

First, I wanted to apply for appointment of my examiners. Unlike just about everything else, you can't do this through CamSIS (you only discover this after much digging through menus); instead, you have to phone the degree committee (at Addies), and they then email you a Word document that won't print terribly well on a Mac. You fill this out, and post it (along with three copies of your th*s*s summary) to said degree committee. No-where on this form do you specify who you want your examiners to be. Apparantly, when they get this paperwork, they will write to your Head of Department, who will ask your supervisor who they want to be examiners; if the HoD approves (and the degree committee doesn't overturn that approval), then the examiners are asked if they are willing.

Secondly, I wanted to apply to be allowed to include a CD in my th*s*s (I'm going to release some of the software to the scientific community at large); there is a form in CamSIS for this. You tick a button to specify you want to include a CD, and then have to add some further text. Then you get sent a PDF form by email, which you have to print out, fill in (another rationale box has appeared), and get signed by (in order), your supervisor, your head of department, your degree committee, and the board of graduate studies. It's all a bit silly - couldn't all the "I approve" things be done online?

Pizza tonight, as I'm not feeling up to climbing.

Tomorrow I must arrange removers...

In the Grand Old Days of the Empire, you signed an initial assured shorthold tenancy, typically for 6 or 12 months; thereafter you went onto a rolling 1-month contract. This was good, because when you wanted to move out, you'd just give a months' notice, and all would be well.

These days, however, you have to surrender your tenancy at the end of each 6/12 month period, pay the agents a sizable fee (around £60) to photocopy the contract, and have another fixed-term tenancy. This makes you easier to evict, and means that if you want to leave early, you get shafted. It works something like this:

"There is no notice period within the fixed term tenancy.

However, you can ask for early release from your Tenancy Agreement, and we would ask your Landlord if they are are prepared to release you. If they agree, you would be expected to pay rental until the day that the new tenants take up occupation, and you would be liable for early release costs as per your tenancy information which was given to you when you took up occupation."

The "early release cost" is a charge of £60 if you've got <2 months left to run, £120 if <3, and £300 if more than that. I think you're only liable for the rent until when the tenancy would have ended anyway. Note that there is absolutely no incentive for the agents to get anyone in before that point, because they're still getting all of their money.

It stinks.