Untitled.
Back in Scotland, weather's nice, flat spacious... all sorts of pleasant to be back. Can't work out how to make hot water happen in the flat... but there it is.
Me flatmate's just arrived, which is nice. Gonna meet him for lunch in a bit. Catch up etc.
The new Starbucks in town has got fed up of students demonstrating disapproval by taking the letters from their sign (when I left it said "**r**cks") and has painted its name in big yellow letters instead.
Back in March, I went to a funeral. Well, I went to two, actually, but only one is relevant to the rest of this post.
His name was Finn. Well, actually it wasn't, but that was the name he chose for himself, so that's what we called him. Whatever he called himself, he was a very good friend of mine. We saw eachother kind of infrequently since we left school, but in bursts of semi-regular contact. Often a year or two could roll by without us seeing eachother and then we'd get back in touch and hang about together for a bit. It was kind of nice.
He had some problems. He was rather heavily depressed, on some fairly serious medication, I gather. I tried to help, but he was fairly hard to reach. He knew I was around, though.
In any case, I hadn't seen him for a while when I came up here to start my PhD and I had just started to try and get in touch with him when I got a phone call from his ex-girlfriend (and long time confidente) to tell me he'd hanged himself and that was that really.
There's a lot I could say about that. There's a great deal I could set down. I could, for example, mention that not one day has gone by without me thinking of him at some point or another. I could say that I missed him. I could say many things but, on the whole, I don't think I will. It seems fairly facile.
What I will say is that he would have been 26 today.
So Happy Birthday Finn.
All the best, mate, and cheers.
Here's to you.
Thankyou Colin.
Okay, so my plans to give you a day by day, blow by blow account of Memehunter versus the Kids kind of fell by the wayside, but hey, what you gonna do? The best laid plans of hmm and hah and all that.
Was interviewed today by man from CEDAR, which stands for something Educational. Possible some sort of Research body... I have no idea. Anyway, he wanted to know what I thought of the whole summer school phenomenon and the Anthropology strand in particular. Bless his cottons. So I told him and that was that really. He manifested later to see Robin give a small lecture (a lecturette, if you will, and I often do) on magic.
What else has happened? I spun some fire poi in front of all the kidlings last night. Wasn't gonna, coz I'm not all that good, but some old friends of mine were teaching the kids how to do the poi thing (with socks and rice rather than chains and flames) and then gave a flaming demo later on, when it was darker. Somewhat surpised when my chum grinned in my direction and call me out. Further surprised when the kids started chanting my name. Out I went. Haven't done flaming poi for YEARS. But the kids were cheering, so what could I do? Other than panic.
Anyway, tonight I seem to be joining the RAs in singing a song to the kids at their big gala show.
Two more days to go...
Ah, gotta dash. Dinner calls.
Joy!
HUZZAH! I have FINALLY made the university network here give in and let me run Adium. It being sunday, however, no one is online. Sigh.
A sunny day, a simple friendship...
Hooo, end of the first week.
Should have updated previously to let you know that I don't hate the kids any more. Days 4 and 5 went very well, although I was greatly tired and hungover on day 4 so I tried not to look at them. Happily it was ethnomusicology and the oriental museum on Thursday, so I didn't have to say much. Yesterday was hominid evolution and library research. Having spent AN HOUR AND A HALF lecturing to the poor guys on primates on Wednesday, I thought maybe a change of style was in order (also I had been told by the Site Manager that I had slightly melted the kiddlies brains with my talkingtalking). This was also helpful because hominids really aren't my field AT ALL and I know very little about them. So I gave them each an animal, and told them to go and research it and present it to the group. Then off they went to the library to find out what they could about Homo floresiensis and stuff. All in all, a good day.
Just got back from helping shepherd the kids out and about through town. Some of them have bought hair dye (frowned upon). I look forward with interest to the results. Heh.
Ooh, hey, gottsa get ready to gwout. Pizza with some old chums tonight.
Whoop.
Shitemonkeys
Evil little bastards.
"Do we HAVE to do the assignment?" Yes, you do. "But whyyyy?" Because we need something to assess that we can write about how relentlessly great you are to your schools. "None of the other courses have homework" Well, that's their problem. "It's so *unfair*". Well, it's not exactly homework, we are, in fact, giving you time to do it now. In the classroom. This is, in fact, called class work. "No one else has to do it... seriously, it's why I want to change, I don't like it."
I mean. For. Fuck's. Sake.
And then that otherwise charming youth announced that he just didn't like the biological bits. Whoop. After a day of me pouring primatological knowledge in to their ridiculous sub-primate brains. GAH.
Hmph.
Ah well, I'll be fine tomorrow. I must say, it took me longer to get to this stage last year. Of course, most of them are lovely. Working on the projects with no problem. Listening attentively AND, it seems, absorbing information.
I just can't stop HATING THEM.
[[[[[[[[RAGE]]]]]]]]]]
...
Not to worry. I'll go out and get drunk as a fuckwit tonight, that'll sort it ALLLLL out.
It seemed to be going so well, also. Ok, so I spoke UTTER nonsense in the genetics lesson this morning, to the extent that Serena had to step in and help, but they seemed to get to grips with evolution alright and then seemed to like the primate stuff. Blimey, I was on my feet talking for an hour and a half. I was knackered, never mind them. I hope some of it stuck.
I can't help wanting them to learn. I want them to understand it all. At least some of them.
I am somewhat irritated that they have annoyed me so.
Teacherama
Day 2 went off sans hitch. No teaching at my end today, much preparatory work for tomorrow afternoon, which shall be just me haha and the kids and LOADS OF PRIMATES. Not actual primates... unless you count the kids themselves, and me and Robin, of course... would have been great to reveal a chimp or something, but no. Have to make do with a begillion photos.
Dammit, I have the theme from the closing credits of the Raccoons running through my hair.
Running through my *hair*? How strange.
Yes, I am a tired hominid today. I must to my bed.
One of the kiddlies wants not to do Anthropology any more. Whispering in the ranks; I'll not have it. Tis a mystery though. For fun, I shall attempt to guess which one it is tomorrow.
But now, lest more typos reveal more about my personality that strictly necassary (in true Freudian penis-sorry-fashion), I shall to my bed, which I must say is more comfortable than it initially looked.
It has begun. (Teaching Day 1)
Amusingly
this lady is keeping her own record of this grand occasion, but from her own perspective as a residential assistant.
Day 1 now over. Kids ensconsed in various activities at the moment. Regimented fun of the most compulsory nature. A nice range of activities; some are engaged in a quiz, some are drawing, some are dissecting hearts somewhere with my medic chum (also site manager) and some are out on a nice walk around town... although that group just summoned Kevin the Nurse. I hope all's well.
Lessons today went well. Introductions, setting the assignment. Some ice-breakers (which I inevitably and totally deplore), tours of the classrooms etc. I was up after lunch, basic intro to Biological Anthropology (during which, I think, I failed to make a single bit of consecutive sense... go me) and then an introduction to Mendelian inheritance. Woo. They seem bright enough.
One girl seems to have spent all morning crying coz she was homesick. I didn't notice. Robin, my course leader, tells me that this means I'm cold and heartless. Shame.
I was going to write more and more here, but now have to go leap in a shower and go to the pub, because I've spent too long on the phone.
Arses.
To be continued... maybe.
Is it hot in here, or is it just me?
HELLO everyone.
Blimey.
Well, here I am ensconsed in sunny/cold and rainy Durham. Once again. Careful readers may note that this is not far off where I began this blog. Sort of. Mind you, less careful readers will recall that I mentioned that not so long ago. Ah well, whatever.
It's kind of odd to be back. My old college is over the road... if I lean out of my window, I can see the old place. Fun though. Took a group of the RA's (that's Residential Assistants) to a local nightclub last night. Hadn't been in it for years. Oh how the memories came flooding back.
Anyway, I'm sitting in my (en-suite) room, attempting to put together a lesson on mendelian inheritance for monday. w00t.
Heh, remember the mowhawk? Well, I got M and J to carve it back in to my head on Tuesday, before I came up here (brief hysteria when J accidentally carved a bit of an S bend into it. Her first time with clippers... M fixed it). Yesterday
Kathryn bleached it. Heh. Blonde mowhawk for me. I must confess that part of the motivation for doing it was because the kids are arriving tomorrow and I want to see the look in their parents' eyes when I tell them I'll be teaching their kiddlies anthropology. Grin.
Right, so I was tagged by
Jess ,which was a first for me.
"List ten songs that you are currently digging ... it doesn't matter what genre they are from, whether they have words, or even if they're no good, but they must be songs you're really enjoying right now. Post these instructions, the artists, and the ten songs in your blog. Then tag five other people to see what they're listening to."
10. Instant Pleasure - Rufus Wainwright
9. Interview With an Angel - Ghostland
8. I'll Find You - Hundred Reasons
7.Out of My Mind - James Blunt
6. Dead Man - Nitin Sawhney
5. Walk on Gilded Splinters - Dr John
4. Overkill - Colin Hay
3. Black Horse and the Cherry Tree - KT Tunstall
2. I Thought You Were My Boyfriend - Magnetic Fields.
1. Breathing - Lifehouse
... you know, Itunes made that quite easy. Inspired mainly by my Top 25 most played list. Logical I suppose.
Anyway, now I have to tag people. The problem is, that I don't know 5 people to tag. How sad. Ah well,
Kathryn,
Andy and
Pete . Consider yourselves tagged.
Cheerio.
One more thing...
Oh lawks, I've been
tagged . That's going to take some thought. I shall play, I shall, but give me a moment.
Crustacea
My word and good gracious me, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry.
Off to summer school tomorrow. If they've got me kitted out with net access from my room, I'll be in touch at greater length then.
Was down in London, you see, and mum's new place had no web access that I could easily use, then was back here and the suitmonkeys came to see me. They're still here, actually, but are over in Computer Science having their heads scanned. Woo. Supervisor took us all out for a very, very nice dinner last night. Fish restaurant down on the sea front. Mmm. Tasty goodness. M. accidentally ordered oysters thinking they were going to be muscles. Asked me why they were cold, after eating four of them very fast. "I'll tell you tomorrow", I said.
"Are they... cooked?" she asked.
"Well, no."
She looked a little pale.
"Why are they so cold?" she asked again.
"Because they're about as fresh as they can get"
She looked at me. "Are they...?"
"yes" I said.
She gave me the last one.
