Monday October 6, 2008

Scott’s Spiel

The blog of a Glasgow medical student, St Andrew’s first aider, Mactard and slacking web developer.

…Mac fixed!

Posted by Scott On August - 12 - 2008

Popped into the Apple store on Sunday with my MacBook and presented my problem. They didn’t even question the warranty period. Instead I left the shop about 10 minutes later with a free replacement battery.

Considering I was thinking I might have to pay around £50 for a new one, I’m quite chuffed.

Now I just need my TV licence refund and old flat deposit and I should be a little safer in the money camp.

Contemplating

Posted by Scott On July - 29 - 2008

So recently I’ve been contemplating whether starting my own St Andrew’s Section in the West End would be a good idea or not.

According to the regulations I only need 4 members to start a “Section”. This would be attached to a Company (would I have a say in which one? no idea) and if I achieved 12 members after it year it could become a Company itself. Honestly, I don’t see 4 members being a problem. With some decent effort I don’t even think 12 would be a problem. The problem comes when I try and think about the logistics involved.

  • To hold meetings I’d need some sort of hall. This would involve money, probably around £100 a month.
  • To train I’d need equipment. Equipment costs money. Storage is also a problem
  • New members would need to undergo a full course before being allowed on duty. This cost me £60 to go through (probably not the best deal in the world). Could I pass on some of this onto the applicants?
  • Income probably wouldn’t happen until a number of members were able to go on regular duties.
  • Uniform costs.
  • The time and effort involved, combined with me going into 3rd year, might burn me out.

On the other hand, there are a number of pros:

  • I wouldn’t be annoyed at my current situation any longer
  • I would be leaving a, hopefully successful, Uni society behind when I left. That’s pretty cool as well as looking good on my CV.
  • I might be able to expand upon the training normally provided.
  • There would be a much more social aspect, great for everyone meeting other people, etc.

I’m still not too sure. Theoretically it would be comparable to the LINKS aspect of St John’s ambulance which seems to work well.

At the moment I’m going to wait until I start back again. This way I’d be able to see how much time I’ll have and how much I can get annoyed about my current company.