Friday the what?

Totally lost track of the date. Why? I've had to move my calendar into the kitchen, because I haven't been able to find a convenient place to hang it in the living room - something has got to be done about that. I'm used to it being somewhere where I can easily keep track of it and what I'm supposed to be doing. I'm in one of those dreadful half organised states - I'm trying to make this study area, and it's only half done. I feel like it should have been fully done some time ago, all ready for me to start work, but what with one thing and another it hasn't been, and this has not been the week to get it finished off.

Well, it all kicked off on Wednesday for me - I arrived at uni to find that freshers week was in full swing. Amazing the energy these people have, dressed up and handing out leaflets and stuff - the first place I went to was Hunter Halls, where registration happens. In my first time round this was called Matriculation, but in keeping with the change from terms to semesters, it seems it's now called registration. It's an oddly American change of terms, and the university itself doesn't seem to have fully adjusted to it, because in a few of the notices I've seen about it, it appears as "Registration (Matriculation)"! Anyhow as some of you know I was supposed to go and get registered at half past three, which clashed with the induction meeting for History MLits and MSc's, so I figured I'd just go along and see if I could get through early. Which I did, with no problems, I was expecting a bit of resistance to the idea, but no one seemed to blink an eyelid at it.

Hunter Hall is a place I know reasonably well - I've had many exams there in the past. It's quite an interesting place - a very big room, with pillars in it, painted pink with gold stars. It has large paintings of elderly men in academic dress, who I can only presume are past professors and masters of the university - mid exam when your brain has temporarily dried up this can be really quite alarming, as they all seem to be frowning down at the very idea of you, yes, you, sitting there when you clearly haven't done enough work, and well, what are you doing there in the first place, but when you go to register, they seem to reflect your own sense of total bewilderment at what's happening under their painterly gaze. It's queue, after queue after queue - first you queue to get into the room, then you queue to be assigned to the right queue to be processed. Heaven help you if you forget your registration letter - I assume you'd be dispatched off to get it. After this has been examined by a member of the registry staff, they ask you how you're going to pay your fees - yes indeed, a very pertinent question, and then you get to the queue to do this - one for cheques, one for credit cards, etc! These are much better queues than they used to be when I was an undergraduate - now there are rows of chairs laid out, and you bounce along moving from chair to chair - my neighbour and I had a bit of a chat about whether or not they should have provided music. And as an absolutely extraordinary diversion, in the quad outside someone had set up a hot dog stall, and the smell of the frying onions made me so, so very hungry! The quads had been taken over by the freshers fair, with stalls for groups and societies - the sword fighting lot are still going strong, very handsome young men in kilts and rugby shirts, swinging broadswords around with what I was going to describe as gay abandon, but frankly I don't think the term is at all appropriate. Back in the way back when, they used to do this on the lawns outside the reading room, but on this instance they'd roped themselves off for health and safety I presume! The big poster sale is still going strong, and I'd swear that the posters haven't changed very much. Pulp Fiction still reigns strong.

Anyhow with a quick break for a fag between payment and photography, I emerged in about under an hour (somewhat of an improvement, way to go registry!) as a matriculated post grad student. I'm sorry to report though that my photograph this time round is truly awful, whereas in the past I had been quite lucky and got a good one, now it seems to resemble an OAP's bus pass. Dear God, time will have it's evil way with you.

Anyhow on to the post grad induction meeting - this first week is awful, because of the endless waiting in between doing things. You hang around, feeling oddly out of it, because you don't know anyone, with nothing to do because you've got no work as yet,thinking I daren't go off and do something useful because then I'll be late for X or Y. I did meet John for lunch which was great - I felt like shouting out loud, see I do know someone!!! I also ran into one of my old tutors outside the library which was nice. But for the most part I felt very odd at times!!!

Anyhow the induction kicked off in the lecture room in Modern History - if I tell you 2 University Gardens it will mean nothing to most of you, but the History department is based in a string of houses over the road from the main university building. There seemed to be between 20 to 25 of us (no I didn't actually count!) and they'd provided tea and coffee which was very ok. Biscuits too. I'm a bit more used to where you turn up in a large lecture theatre, get loaded with paper and bombarded with information. Well, that hadn't actually changed, but the tea/coffee bit was new, and very welcome. Apparently next week (I think, I have to consult my notes) we're to be bombarded with more information accompanied by wine this time. I'd best steer clear of that, or the aforesaid information will be in one ear and out of the other.

Anyway we had to do the stand up and say who we were bit, which always freaks me out a bit. I start off positively enough then by about the second phrase think I'm babbling, and sort of dry up by the third. Ghastly. Anyway I did establish that I'm the longest person to have been away and returned - I'll get to that later - but there are other's who've been off for a few years and returned. There are lots of eager lads there to do war studies - their convenor promised them a trip to the armoury at Edinburgh with real guns to handle - yes. Yes, I'll need to think about that. The words boys and toys spring immediately to mind. Anyhow we had at least one American, and a Canadian too, and somewhat alarmingly, it appears only one other medievalist. This is truly alarming as you need a certain number of people to ensure that your courses run, but - yep, more of this later. Anyhow this was more about things like core courses, (RRSH, Research and Resourse Skills for Historians), various other meetings, arranging meetings, logging on to Moodle - Moodle is an interactive online information system as near as I can make out, where you get lots of the things that years ago used to be on paper. I did get to meet some people, which was very good, I'm no longer so - not alone, but you know what I mean. I now know other people doing the same thing. Chief among these is a girl called Aimee, who is interested in Highland culture and the role of bagpipes in war. She works as a volunteer in the Highland Infantry Museum I think it is - I've seen this from the outside, but never been in, which I think perhaps I should - but we've hung out together over yesterday, which was great. So much better to be with others than on one's own. She has a much better memory for faces than I do, and thus we've bumped into others from our group - we met Andrew, who's the American chap on our way into the Reading Room - stunningly this no longer has books in it, and is now a sort of circular nest of computers.

Anyhow that was like the first day - we did get ourselves into a bit of mix-up over the Arts Faculty Induction meeting, which according to Moodle was supposed to be on Weds evening, but this turns out to be a total mix up which if we'd have read our handouts properly we would never have made. Turns out this is in October!!! Yes, it would have been a long wait!

Yesterday had to go and get my courses approved - I'm still mixed up over my Latin, but I now have a plan, so I'm going to Latin on Monday morning, this is Basic Latin, and I'm going to Medieval Latin on Weds, and the same professor is running both so I shall talk to her, and arrive at some sort of a decision on this. Apparently they are both supposed to be good for beginners. I must admit over the last week, I'm suddenly thinking if I did basic Latin, which is a more modern form of latin than Medieval, I could get awfully confused between the two. Maybe I should stick to the medieval. Anyhow we'll see. In the afternoon we went to a library induction - I know the library pretty well, but a lot's changed in the past decade, so I thought this was a good idea - the view from the 8th floor is still pretty spectacular and I'll get round to taking a few photo's at some point. Apparently there's now a gallery on the 12th floor you can go out on to to get a better view. I'm not sure I'll make that, what with the vertigo and all, but it's certainly a view and a half.

Anyhow we have no meetings or anything scheduled for today and I'm quite pleased about that - both days I've got home absolutely shattered. Yet I've done nothing! I mean what are a few meetings here and there, it's all the newness of it all. I suppose. It's oddly disconcerting being somewhere you know well, yet there are all these subtle changes to the place. It's not the buildings - there are a few new one's around, but by and large they haven't changed, but departments have moved and you have to get your head around that - it's just been oddly tiring doing all this. Physically demanding too for an old unfit hag like myself too - all those stairs to be up and downing!!! I'd say it's gone well, I've not made a total fool of myself anywhere, and the people I've met have been so nice and friendly. It's been fun, but as this friend of Aimee's said yesterday, it all starts in anger on Monday!!!

Sunday 13th September

Dunno where my head was at last post with 'this is the big day.' Nothing like it. This is the real start of term proper, registration on Wednesday. It seems like it's been a long time coming!
Anyhow I'm just a tad p.o. - I just switched the light on in the living room only to get one of those irritating little pops and the bulb has burst. Exactly how I'm going to get up there to change it I don't know, I shall have to consult with J & P and see if they've got a ladder. I couldn't even get the tail end of a cobweb that caught my eye on what, Wednesday, no matter how much I jumped swinging the broom around in the air! Must be 15 - 20 feet up this ceiling. It's a very long way!!!
And I've been doing nothing but knock things over today. It's probably because I'm cross with myself - I had to spend today searching the flat from top to bottom looking for something that had gone astray. There was no putting it off, it had to be done. So instead of going in to town - where I had been intending to take back a load of shirts I bought from M & S the other day and infuriatingly don't fit, I had to search high and low for it. Happily I did find it, but it's a waste of a day. You know what it's like when small things go astray - I replaced an alarm clock this week, only to be putting the new clock's instruction leaflet away safely when what did I find? Yep, you got it, the old alarm clock. I feel like my mind is going mushy, but I think rather than actually turning into mush, this is the effect of anticipation, and yes, slight tension. Add a dash of boredom into that mix and you've a potent recipe for knocking stuff flying and loosing things left right and centre. I fully expect it to have cleared up by about 9am Wednesday. If not, this might be a more interesting year than I'd planned.

Weds 2nd September

Well the big day finally arrived - I say 'big', it's nothing particularly special or out of the ordinary, but I got to go to uni and see the Post Grad Co-ordinator, and pick up a list of the courses that are running this year, find out exactly how all this part time bit works. Can't say that I've got my head completely around it yet, but as I understand it at the mo, basically I do the core course, Research Training, 5 short courses, and a dissertation. Twenty thousand words I think, which - me being me, hopefully won't present too much of a problem.
Anyhow, you have to spread these courses out over the two years. Apparently most people do it as the core course, and 3 short courses, in the first year, and then two courses and the dissertation next year. (You'll have to bear in mind that I might have got this completely ar*** over tip.) I will have to phone her back again tomorrow and double check I think. It's just that when I got given the course booklet, I was all agog, and 3/4 of what I was told has gone right out of my head!!! And of course, the same courses might not be running next year, so if there's something that I really, really want to do it's best to do it this year. I know - pretty much - what courses I want to do, and of course I have to fit in Latin into this mix along the way. I'm not exactly looking forward to Latin, and to make it worse there are three different types of Latin course to choose from. Latin for those who've never had a Latin Lesson in their Lives Before (in a few less words I should say!), Latin for those who've heard of Latin, and are heading towards or doing Classics, or Medieval Latin for Post Grads. Now that's what I technically should be doing - being like a baby medievalist, but the notes attached to this suggest its a course aimed at those who have experience of language learning. The last time I tried to learn a language was when I was about 15 and being put through the hell of schoolgirl French. And yes, we all know how well that turned out. (As a total side bar, something went in, because David always seems slightly surprised when I know the odd word here or there.) I think I'll go for the Latin for Novices version, I can always put myself through Medieval Latin for PostGrads next year. As I may be one of those people who needs two go's at it to really get the hang of it, that sounds to me like a plan. And since the classes are at 9 in the morning it will give me no excuses not to be head down in the library!!!

So as you can see I've had plenty to try and get my head around. Needless to say after this I had another of my quick trips to the Post Office - tried the one on Alexandra Parade this time, rather than the one on Duke Street - I think I'll be going there probably as my regular post office, it's much quicker to get too. And it's been another of those days where pretty much every time I set foot outdoors the rain came down - but the poor kids on the pitch have had to just put up with that. Nothing like a hockey or football lesson in the pouring rain! Yep, they use it for hockey too - seems nothing like the dire lessons that I had to endure when I was younger. We used to get sent out to this huge field in the middle of nowhere, wind and rain pelting down, nothing like this lovely little half sized pitch which at least has a few walls and high trees to give it a bit of protection. Ankles the size of tennis balls I used to have after that, until I got the hang of swinging my own stick around a bit!!

Anyhow I've now got another while to go before anything more happens. Well, I've got to speak to the Convenor of the Latin course and sort out which course is really the best, and give Christelle a ring tomorrow and double check all the stuff that she told me today. In one ear, out the other that's what it is. Actually it's not, it's this whole two term business. I look at the plan they've drawn out for the terms and I'm thinking if I do this then, I won't have anything to do after Xmas. Part timer eh?

Tuesday 1st September

Lord another month! Still, tomorrow I'm off to uni to meet up with the Post Grad Co-ordinator to find out exactly how my degree structure will work - knowing nothing about being a part-timer that is. At last.. it seems like ages since I've been waiting for something to happen!
I had a funny weekend - that is I had a great day on Saturday and it's seemed like it's been all downhill since then. I went out and got myself a new bookshelf - it looks great in the shop, we'll see how it looks at home when it arrives! Still it works as being flat against the wall or as a room divider, and it's my idea to create a little study for myself by using it as a room divider. Then I have somewhere to work, and somewhere to just sit and veg out. I like the idea of this, but whether it'll work in practise is, as always, another matter.
So on my way home from the shops, I wandered past this church hall where they were having a craft fair. Great I thought let's go have a look - and it was super. A really lovely little fair. I stopped and had a chat to the organiser, and got all the details because they're having another one in November. Just in time for Xmas - perfect. The women I spoke to sounded quite enthusiastic, and I felt all would go well, I sent off my email etc, but what I got back was very disappointing - apparently all of their stalls are sold out and 'they'll put me on a waiting list.' Well it's not the first time, but it's very disappointing. I thought I'd be in plenty of time, it being what, September, just!! But it was such a nice little fair, and it's a nicely handy location - I shouldn't be surprised I suppose. And there's always a chance that a space will come up.
I indulged in one of my favourite activities today - I went stationery shopping! Yep, pens, paper, file binders, plastic pockets - all of that stuff!!! I also just happened to pick up some rather nice bath stuff, and a new scrunchie type thing - I don't know what you actually call them, the plastic scrubbing things you use in the shower. You'd think they should be like scouring pads - and I suppose that they are soft scourers - but I don't think I could ever go back to a plain old flannel again. Oh well I suppose I should go and do the washing up - I had pork meatballs in tomato sauce tonight with linguine. Very tasty. I made it a week or so back and I've got one portion left in the deep freeze, God I love that thing. I suppose this is going to become another thing that I just can't live without..