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Sunday, December 31, 2006

Bye-bye 'honours, even?'

Well, I got them, so it was finished!

'Gone weird' - hmm. Well, I have decided, after all, to do a BA. It seems as though I need very little by way of new courses to get it ... so I'd just as well. I would like to do the philosophy course (A211), but I'm not sure I feel confident enough to jump straight into philo essays, so I thought the humanities foundation course (A103) might be (a hoot) interesting. I need to check with a study advisor on Tuesday first though. The current plan is to have a break from science (with the arts) and then return to do the new named MSc in Earth Systems Science, which hasn't even been approved yet! If it doesn't get given the go ahead, then I'll do the MSc in Science. I have until 26th January to register for next year's course. (I will have to cancel my registration of S369, but I will still read the books).

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Thursday, December 28, 2006

I feel like a potato ...

... stuck in the dark, with no air.

Christmas was *OK* as Christmasses go - plenty of family and gifts and chocolates and savouries containing sausages or equally questionable fillings. The turkey was a bit overcooked and the sprouts were like bullets, but all presents were happily given and received. The hub bought me a beautiful aquamarine and diamond ring - for a Christmas and graduation present. I was quite amazed at that!



So, all was fine - but I feel flat, flat, flat. However, I forced myself to go out this afternoon - and feel a little bit brighter after a long drive and a brisk walk on the (very cold!) moors!


No, you cannot have any grub - it's illegal to feed the ponies!


I've also booked my graduation ceremony at Torquay's Riviera Centre for 14th April. Dreading it!!




Remnants of Christmas

Jack Sparrow stands atop cake, surrounded by cracker gifts.

Monday, December 18, 2006

Yer tis!




I haven't booked my grad ceremony yet though - I'm really not sure that I want one!

Sunday, December 17, 2006

Soul searching

I still haven't decided what to do with myself now. I'm feeling rather flat. But I think that I should take my time over this and have decided to take a 'year out' and have registered for S369, The Geological Record of Environmental Change, for next year. It's the course I would've done this year instead of S330, but it wasn't running. Although not an easy course, it is only 30 points and I intend to 'go easy' with it, as I'm going to study it purely out of interest; I just thought I should do it before I completely move on. I might not even take the exam, as there is no point.

After that .... who knows. I could do a BA - or I could do an MSc. My heart and mind yearn for the MSc, but my wallet tells me not to be so daft. I don't know ... but I have a year to figure it out.

We should hear confirmation of our degree classifications tomorrow - and we can also then make our graduation ceremony arrangements. I'm really not sure about that ...

Soul soothing

We all went to the annual carol service at Buckfast Abbey yesterday afternoon. As usual, the abbey was filled to the brim - and, as usual, people brought babies ..... The acoustics are incredible, and I don't think I have captured them very well on these shabby little digital camera movies - but they give a flavour.

This one is sung by the choir as they enter the abbey (Jistebnice Cantional)



and here are links to a few more snippets.

Once In Royal David's City
The First Nowell
Cantique de Noel (choir) (beautiful)
O Come All Ye Faithful

My one complaint is that they left out 'Hark the Herald Angels' this year.

Thursday, December 14, 2006

Well, well, well ....

The exams people listened to my plea and released the results at 11:50 this morning!

and

I passed SXG390, grade 2!

and

I PASSED S330!!! By the skin of my teeth, but I only need to pass for the 2.1 hons!

No idea what to do now - I need to let this sink in for a bit.

Wednesday, December 13, 2006

Message to the OU Exams Office

HURRY UP!!

Please.

What is a blog?

According to Uncyclopedia:

"The blog is an important and recently introduced aspect of the much-lauded "Care in the Community" treatment for the mentally-handicapped. Mental patients (from the schizophrenic [1] to the learning-disabled [2] to the just plain weird) are invited to express their fears, suspicions, experiences and cravings by means of one of these occasionally-updated internet logs."

There is also a pretty accurate description of a geologist on there!

God bless Ikea!

We now have storage! The trip up to Bristol last Thursday, was more of a trial than usual, because of the atrocious weather! We did a little shopping in Cribbs Causeway (after Ikea) and when we came out, it was blowing an absolute hurricane and pelting with rain - and we couldn't find our car ... Then we got stuck in the traffic on the M5, for about 3 hours, as the motorway was closed, due to an accident involving a lorry and gas canisters. We got home very late.

BUT, a blitz over the weekend saw our bathroom quite transformed!






There is still a fair bit to do but, apart from putting up the blinds and some pictures, it can wait until after Christmas.

Wednesday, December 06, 2006

Water on Mars?

NASA scientists think that there could be water on Mars - or at least, they think there may've been water on Mars during the last 5 years! New photos show deposits in gullies, that weren't there before (the deposits). These deposits could be CO2 or rivers of dust. Or they could be WATER! How exciting!

See New Scientist.

So what do you think?

click pic for bigger

My little world of what ifs

The results are fairly imminent now - some postgraduate results came out today. The '15th December' message has also appeared on my SXG390 page, so despite the imminentness of things, that one isn't as imminent as I'd hoped. What if the results come out tomorrow when we're up in Bristol. What if the weather is so bad (as forecast) that we can't get back and I don't know they're there? Well, they will wait!

What if I've passed S330? (Now then, there's a forlorn what if if ever there was!). What should I do? I have been over and over the artsy course descriptions and, in all honesty, I don't fancy doing an artsy course. So I could do the Masters? But it's so expensive! There's always the Crowther Award! But you have to apply the year before, I think - so if I applied and, even if successful, I would have to wait until next year to start. And I couldn't afford it else. And why am I thinking of doing a Masters? Could I do it? What if I couldn't?

Ho ho ho!

What if I've failed S330?? LOL - well, that's almost a given! However, I have changed my mind slightly over SXN390 (nuke waste project), because I have so always wanted to do S369. So I should do that one. What's one more exam? I could even do it if I passed S330 and had to wait another year for the Masters (if successful with the Crowther plea). I could do it for fun!!

(However) What if I get a 1 or a 2 for SXG390? (I would be disappointed with less). (And failed S330). Then I would stand a chance of a first!!! So would I then want to do S369 with another exam - or should I do SXN390 to stand a chance of a 1 or a 2??? I don't know!!

And what if I've passed S330 AND SXG390 and I take my 2:1 (which I would, if that's what it is) then what would I do next year?

Confused.

Syzygy Mimistrobell (that is my Second Life name, but I cannot access the game on this PC, due to having an inferior graphics card or something - I can only access on my laptop and as I can't get at my laptop at the moment, I cannot play it. Not that I want to play it. I got myself a free pair of purple leather jeans and somebody approached me and I flew away!! It's very odd - all those people on that game are actually REAL!)

Sunday, December 03, 2006

Back to it ....

The bathroom work is limping along.



We've now got to the stage where we're thinking about storage and (I) have decided that Ikea cabinets would be the most economic/useful - so we will have to drive up to Bristol (probably Thursday), which is a horrid drive and one which we only did last week!! We'll do some Christmas shopping while there, and make a day of it.

I'm all flu and dithers at the moment. I wonder if thoughts of the impending results has anything to do with it .... ?


There is no such message on my SXG390 page - maybe that result'll be out earlier???

Praha - a city of fascinating hats!

We returned from the Czech Republic on Wednesday, having had to fly back with a cold, which resulted in deafness and a near-exploding face. I'm still suffering! However, it was a very interesting trip.