zcat_abroad | Entries tagged with study

I keep meaning to say how pretty autumn is this year (that's fall, for you good folks in the US of A). We don't see much of the leaf-colour thing around our house, 'cos it's all natives (which all seem to be evergreen) but on the drive in and out of Laingholm there are some beautiful patches of oak, maple and other pretty British trees. The very cold snap we had at the beginning of the month has created a great show. The rain has been nice to hear, and the sunny days very blue, but with a bite of cold in the shadows. And there are leaves to scuffle in on Symonds St.

( Birds, Cat, Mice, and Students )

Work, for the night is coming. Actually, the night is here, so I'm off to bed now. Gym and tutorials tomorrow, not necessarily in that order.

Current Mood: content

a library is waiting for me.

Library Pron Totally work safe, and ripped from

allova. Good to find students who have tase.

And it's all in context - I should go to the library, and pick up a book from interloan, for

zcatcurious, of course; not any of the 4 or so I'm waiting on, for the 'chapter' I emailed to my supervisor on Sunday, 2 days late.

It was an interesting weekend.

Friday I spent pretending to write. Saturday was spent with the Wolverines, getting to the next cliff-hanger in "Pirates: The Swashbuckling". We ended up burning down a couple of buildings, and stealing a valuable, creepy, and supernatural thingy (can't come up with the noun, as usual), thanks to my l33t pick-pocketing skills. Only one session left to go. A full day was too long for my concentration span, and I ended up feeling there hadn't been enough me time in the day, but time with the Wolverines is always worthwhile.

On Sunday, I actually got writing done, and it was easy! It all came pouring out. Not sure if any of it was any good...

On Monday it rained. I read. I looked at my computer screen (not connected to the internet). I thought about how I might cut down the chapter to present it for the PhD Work-in-Progress Day on Friday. I played Free Cell, and Spider. Then we went with our land-lords to watch "An Inconvient Truth". It was scary (the movie, not the landlords). Change the world, people!! We then had dinner at the landlords place, finally convinced the Mynx that she could come into their place, and talked for ages. They are great people.

And now (drum-roll, please) I'm off to the gym. Watch me get fit. Watch me row to South America. Watch me fall over and die.

Current Mood: energetic

Hmph. Office-hour yesterday was spent actually doing course related things. I keep forgetting that I leave all the tests to mark during that time.

So, in brief, to catch up... Nothing happens.

( Other than... )
Well, that was long enough. I think that's all I have to say that's of any use. And I will try and keep more up to date, in the future.

Current Mood: busy

And so the holiday disappeared, and I haven't managed to do half of what I intended.

No, I wrong myself. I almost got the chapter finished - but needed to get to the library to chase some things up. Unfortunately, with now living a long way out of town, and only going in when I have classes (either as student or teacher), it makes it kinda hard to get library time.

But there was success today - I paid off $56.85 in fines - for interlibrary loans, not overdue books! - and found the answers to some of the questions. Such as where on earth I found out about a certain unedited manuscript lodged in Oxford's Corpus Christi College - and so what sort of date I can assign to the document (15th century).

Tomorrow I'm going in to Uni to play with a course on Paleography, which hopfully will result in me being able to describe such a manuscript myself, without having to go looking for what the experts say. Who knows - I might find out something amazing about some old manuscript that no-one ever noticed before - it's cutting edge research! Though probably not with the photocopy versions I get sent to me.

'Twas a strange thing, but this was the first time I did not feel it was a shame that there were students on the campus again. Instead, there was a kind of excitement, and a realisation that this is what university is all about - informing, filling empty young minds. Perhaps this has something to do with the fact that there are 58 people enrolled in Old English this semester. There might not be tomorrow, after the first lecture and tutorial. One girl left half-way through tutorial, and we do try to scare people into withdrawing in the first 2 weeks - otherwise they upset our statistics at the end of term - fails and DNSs. But it's definitely a good start.

Now there's enough time for me to start on the next level of WarcraftIII, followed by watching House, and going directly to bed. Too tired to see much more of today.

Current Mood: They. Will. Not. Fail.

...there is no end, and too much study wearies the soul. Proverbs 12:12.

( Yn Whiche one ys maad to feyl a ryht foole )

Students have been stressing this week, due to their first assignment being due today. Not feeling terribly sorry for them, as I've been trying to get them to work on it ahead of time. Then there are the people who have come to one lecture (during which the person spent the whole hour whispering to a friend xhe had brought), not attended any tutorials, emailed me asking for times I was free, and never showed up to any of the times I indicated. REALLY not sorry.

Am I horrible person?

Current Mood: reading-now

It has come to my attention that I have not updated this in many moons. That's 'cos life happened, and I should be writing a chapter for my thesis, and it's due tomorrow. So briefly:

January - preparing for a MEDEMS conference. This included being a go-fer during the event, and more importantly - PRESENTING A PAPER. I am now officially a PhD student! I have presented a paper at a conference! And it rocked! If anyone wants to know about "Miracles of St Aethelthryth: Healing and Smiting" I'm the one to come to.

February - preparing for my brother's wedding. An internet romance that all went right. So he's happily married, and that leaves one more sibling - but baby-bro is only 19, so it should be a while before anything happens there.

March - University started. Involves: teaching Medieval Literature to about 40 students (tutoring, but there on the front-line, making sure they understand what they're reading); trying to get Anglo-Norman (Old French with a twist) up to scratch; taking a history paper so my incredibly varied PhD can officially be both a History deal and an English event; and trying to do something about Latin.

All this in addition to actually doing research and tracking down manuscripts containing lives of Etheldrede (same chick as above, different spelling). And writing a chapter by Friday, and creating a database on all Anglo-Saxon Female Saints.

However, I'm enjoying it all, and Aethelthryth kicks butt, big time. And did I mention my scholarship?

So I'd better do some work, I guess.

Current Mood: study mode
Current Music: Gregorian Chants

Well, I'm mostly posting to show off my cool new icon - thanks to

theunshaven for pointing me to

ghengis, where I got it from.

Time has gone fast. The best bit of the holiday period was having a holiday - see

zcatcurious's post. Once having recovered from nasty bug, I went back to uni. There is no rest for the wicked or the PhD student.

So I have been battling with a conference paper, to be given on the weekend. The first draft sounded like a coffee break-conversation in a factory, said

zcatcurious. My supervisor had apparently not wanted to sound quite so critical, but was glad zcc had brought it up. So now you see me, having written a much more formal account, and still feeling very fuzzy about the conclusion, trying to waste time 'til I can pick him up at 5pm.

I've taken up going to the gym, 'cos they had a good special on ($80 for 8 weeks at the YMCA) and I tend to eat when trying to study. Last week I went every day, 3 times for the exercise, and twice for the pool. It is the pool that made me sign up at the Y rather than here at Uni - I use it as a treat.

I have more tutoring this semster, for a paper I never took, 'cos it either didn't exist at the time, or I thought I didn't want more Chaucer. So I have a few Middle English texts to read, which shouldn't take long.

More worrying is the fact that somehow, by the end of the semester, I have to have earned a B+ or higher in Anglo-Norman (Old French with a twist), in a paper which doesn't actually have any marking schedule, 'cos it's been made up specially for me. I did NOT spend enough time on it last semester, and somehow need to LEARN the thing now.

And not forget Latin at the same time.

My brain hurts.

Current Mood: slightly stressed
Current Music: Our Lady Peace - Innocent (it was on the computer)

- But not from any hunky guy. I have finally written a very official sounding proposal for my PhD thesis. After many weeks of reading, and a book list that grows every minute I read another book. It's mad!! I have to read so many books to find out what is already known and discussed on the topic, before I can get to the point of saying, "well, this is what I shall add to the great Halls of Learning". Except you can't say 'shall' - you must say 'will'. I like 'shall' better.

Yup, sorry, kinda incoherent with semi-relief. Will now go downstairs and read

zcatcurious's grammer book for light relief.

Current Mood: intoxicated, with no alcohol

From

neongraal's site:

I am nerdier than 42% of all people. Are you nerdier? Click here to find out!

Hmmm, Nerdier than I expected.

Yet, is Nerdom in the control of computer geeks?

I could have gotten a higher score if they were testing for other kinds of nerdity, particularly the kinds associated with old books, libraries, second-hand book shops, new books, dictionaries (, versions of (, dead languages)), book sales, literature departments, PhDs in dead languages, catalogues (without pictures), palimpsests, paleography, manuscripts, illuminations, initials, scriptoria, incunabula, transcriptions (some of dead languages), conferences in literature departments (run by PhDs in dead languages), and people who understand that the greatest contribution of computers to society is their ability to do rapid word searches on long texts, even in dead languages.