| This is the Journal of Skankyrich [?] << Evening all! Hello! >>
On the day of our reception, the company providing one of our 'essential services' (I can't say which for reasons that are about to become obvious) pulled out at the last minute. They did their best to find people to fill in, and promised a full refund. I arranged for them to do something special and secret for Mrs B's birthday as she's 30 on Monday, but they seem to have used this as an excuse to avoid giving us our money back. Today was the final deadline; I've had to spill the beans and ruin the surprise for the wife, and we've written to threaten legal action if it isn't sorted out pronto. So I'm pretty gutted about the situation, to say the least - it would have more than made up the disappointment at the reception and made her birthday really, really memorable. And this on the same day I decided that I'm going to start studying again. I went to uni when I was 19, like most of my friends, but had chosen totally the wrong course and dropped out after six months. Today I sent off the forms to the OU to register for a couple of short science courses, and I plan to start a degree in the autumn if they go well. So I'm kind of disappointed, angry, frustrated, excited, optimistic and nervous all at once. Thank goodness Mrs B understands it all.
Bergers! I went to Uni at age 25, it was most fun (yeah, I know you're not that young  )Oh, and when we love someone entirely, we wives forgive 'almost' everything 
Good luck with the OU! I enjoyed studying with them until it needed more than half a brain and full concentration, when I dropped out.
Sorry to hear you've been let down, Rich - I don't know how people can sleep at night when they ruin people's big events like that.  I wholeheartedly recommend the OU - I'm about 3/4 through a Maths course, and I love every minute of it. The course material is high quality, but remember that it's a steady commitment - you must allow yourself the time (say 8 hours per week for a 30-point course, 15h for a 60-point course).
It sounds great to start studying again. By June I´ll have my degree on Primary teacher. I´m glad,not only because I have the feeling that these two years of "compulsory holidays" have not passed in vain, but also because apart of having more opportunities to get a stable job, studying again has been rewarding from the intellectual point of view. Learning is always positive. Even more for you now that you are choosing what you want to study just for the pleasure of doing it. When I´ve got the job I want, I intend to go on studying. I want to learn the deaf sign language and other things. About Mrs B´s birthday... Amor vincit omnia. 
Good luck with starting studying again (says someone who seems to have spent his whole life taking exams...) I'm assuming the 'essential services' company weren't just providing portaloos (if they were, it would be one hell of a birthday surprise) - hope they see sense and settle things.
Hopefully Mrs B will appreciate the thought though! Good luck with getting a speedy and satisfactory resolution. And good on you for the OU! It is a real committment though - two girls at work are doing OU degrees. That said, you seem to find time for any number of things so I have no doubt you'll be fine.
Good luck with it all, Rich. 
We overcame the disappointment of not having the day exactly as we wanted, but to not get our money back afterwards is pretty upsetting for both of us. We were supposed to get the money back today, and still nothing - no cash, no phone call, no email. If we haven't been paid by Monday we take it further, and we really don't want it to come to that. Amor vincit omnia indeed  I reckon I'll get on with the OU short courses ok. We went down to see Dara O'Briain in Plymouth last night and on the way down I was able to explain why hydrogen peroxide is volatile and homeopathy is b  to my non-scientific wife and cousins (they got a bit bored when I started to explain the placebo effect, which is actually the most interesting bit, but you can't win 'em all). And I did their pre-science course test and got almost all of the questions right first time, so I think I can handle level one. It may be that I don't end up doing a degree, but I think I'm more likely to get on well because I don't really need to do it. I'm very interested in archaeology and want to expand my knowledge of evolution, so I've chosen two courses along those lines. As long as I'm studying subjects that satisfy my thirst for knowledge, I think I'd do well.
< I think I'm more likely to get on well because I don't really need to do it.> Think of it as something extra, which you enjoy doing, but which will be very rewarding, and may ultimately turn out to be very useful. I have a relative who lives not far from you - over at Exmouth - and he started the OU Science course when his job in old-fashioned printing disappeared. He lapped it up, completed the degree, then started a new career in teaching science.
I always assumed you'd got a degree behind your belt  well I can't see any reason for you failing ....you will be successful in all things you set out to do.
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