Random
It's pouring rain and 55 degrees here on this Saturday afternoon, so needless to say I'm spending the day indoors. Chris isn't though, he's paintballing right now with some labmates and I imagine he'll come home a muddy mess :) I like having these weekends in between trips to relax, although I've been spending quite a bit of time today planning our Belgium trip next weekend. So anyway, a couple random topics to blog about...Clearing and Free Things.
Clearing-
This past week was the beginning of Clearing at work. Clearing is used by college applicants who have not yet been accepted to a University. Approximately 30,000 students in the U.K. obtain their place in college through Clearing, which amazes me because it gives them very little time to prepare for where they're going, as classes start September 17. The timing of Clearing is based on A level results, which are exams that UK students take after taking classes for 2 years (what would be the last two years of high school of US students). All college offers are conditional until the A level results are released and it is only then that students know whether or not they will actually be able to attend their first choice college. If their grades aren't high enough, they get rejected and their places is then offered to another student during Clearing. I'm learning quite a bit about the UK educational system, but it was still scary this past week to be offering advice to students over the phone regarding their educational future!
Oh, in case you're wondering as to why I was helping with Clearing, it's because my department works closely with the Admissions department. My day-to-day job is still boring statistics and database management. If it weren't for the great people I work with, I'd probably be more serious about finding a job that doesn't bore me to death. At least now I know what career I do not want to pursue when we return home to the States :)
Free Things-
I've found that things which I expect to pay for here are free and things I don't expect to pay for are not free. For example, checks are free. You simply ask for a new book of checks at the bank and they mail them to you. Also, birth control pills are free. You just need a prescription and then you can get them from any pharmacy. All other prescriptions cost £6.65 ($13) for everyone between the ages of 19-59 (all prescriptions are free for children and the elderly).
People generally refer to the NHS as providing free healthcare, but we've found that many things are not free including routine dental and eye examinations. We pay £30 ($60) for dental cleanings and £40 ($80) for eye exams. That's not to say that I dislike the idea of universal healthcare, but when such an enormous portion of my paycheck goes toward national insurance it kind of sucks to have additional healthcare related costs.