h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Right. Will need to have a look around this new place but what a relief it is to be back somewhere familiar!

Facebook is driving me crazy at the moment and I feel further removed from my RL and OL friends than ever before. I joined Twitter mainly so I could communicate with the DancingTree as he can't stand FB and for old times sake I quite like communicating with him online but he rarely sees my tweets and rarely responds.

As I'm in my final year at school I should really rather be cracking on with it and some days / some projects I do. Other days / other projects stall until the deadlines start to approach the speed of sound whooshing towards me.

I've gone from doing as much weightlifting as I could, just to see what I could do, to fantasising about long runs, just to see what I can do. GP basically said I had a choice of running or weightlifting as my knees don't like doing both and I chose running.

Starting to think about Next Year and moving on from what I call the holding pattern. DT disagrees and says our lives have continued while I've been at Uni, which is true, but any big planning or decision making has all been put on hold. Mostly I'm scared and have no plan, other than fantasising about impossibilities.

How are you all? Finding your way around here alright? Your lives all OK? Seen any good films? Read any good books? Heard any great music? Had any epiphanies?

Hi ismarah, glad you made it! I was just thinking about you earlier, while looking for that skyr cake recipe...

I've gone back to being a student myself, enjoying it immensely.

No student-ing for me but given we now have a little one on the way that's probably for the best! Welcome back, it's nice to see familiar faces.

Ohhhh, where and what please?

Been looking at MAs but find the idea very...BIG...

Yes. We had a scare just before school started. We were not amused. But luckily the Plan is still in force and little ones wait patiently.

How goes it?

Hi Ismarah! How nice to see you back, too. I read your tweets on FB but sometimes there isn't much to say in reply to a tweet in way of actual conversation.

Yes - I agree. FB is rubbish when it comes to just having a conversation - I've felt very annoyed at the darn thing and like I'm losing touch with people!

Am in the middle of frantic report & presentation writing for tomorrow so will make more & lengthier sense after that.

How are you?

The course I'm doing is a MSc in Heritage Science at Queen's in Belfast - it's in the Geography, Archaeology, and Palaeoecolocy (terrible word to type, all those vowels!) department. But it meshes well with the whole (historic) architecture thing, all about conservation of natural and built heritage. It's very hands on, and no exams, just a paper due every other week. Lasts a year + dissertation.

Ooh, sounds cool! Very specialised

I've fantasised a lot about moving to Sweden or Denmark for 2 years but then DT reminds me he doesn't want to do that. London programmes really feel expensive and snobbish, which I don't like anyway, but although my school offers an MA, I want to move somewhere else now, been there for 4 years. And the same guy is head of dept. and I'd like to get a different perspective on how things can be run.

Now, it's 6.45 and I have an assessment at 10. Let's DO this thing. I.e. finish the presentation and model (and report if possible).

Good luck - I'm sure you'll do it well!

I'm glad I went to a different uni for the Master's. And I like Belfast - I'd be happy to show you around sometime, if you like. Trying to get a Belfast meet organised at some point, anyway.

(I had applied to Aalborg for last year, but they cancelled the course because they didn't have enough people - a few weeks before it was due to start!)

Well, I survived it. Suspect it may have gone OK. Surprised if it has gone Well. My aim for the first assessment of the year is to score above 60% - if I cracked 65% I'd be ecstatic, honestly.

Cause it's an Arts Uni - the score from 90-100 basically doesn't get awarded, ever. And 80-90 is doable, but rare. Anything above 70% is therefore, amazing.

I'm quite tempted (in the fantasy world I live in, obvs.) by Copenhagen Royal Arts and something in Sweden. Not really picky which. Helsinki could also be good, but truly, truly cold.

Considering being mad and wild and reckless and applying for Central St.Martins in London. RCA seems off-putting to me - don't quite know why.

Belfast isn't somewhere I've ever been. So it's got that going for it as a possible destination. Is it as pricey as the rest of the UK, degree-wise?

No, it's cheaper than the rest of the UK; they've just capped prices.

Apparently, anything over 80% is quite rare here, too. I think an average of 65% + 70% in the dissertation already gets you a degree with distinction.

And my course only has 7 people in it, and field trips nearly every week, so it's good fun.

My course is a small one too, 8 in my final year! But as many of the group are very young, I haven't found it so close-knit. Or fun, to be honest.

Fieldtrips can be amazing though.

Is it a 2 year MA / MSc?

Well, it's 1 1/2 years, really - a year, and then the dissertation. I don't really talk to my classmates much outside of the classes, but I've met plenty of other interesting people.

Dreamt I'd got 18% on my assessment and was forced to admit that the borderline-bullying little turds were better than me. Suspect the only reason I'm chipper today despite this is the fact I'm off to Iceland later!

Enjoy the trip, then - and I'm sure you did very well.

Hmm. I did OK. I got my desired minimum grade but not what I actually wanted.

So everyone really is better than me. Which upset me for a few days until I suddenly had an epiphany.

My career will be different to theirs, because I already had one. My life has been different to theirs, because I've already had one.

They have no life experience, they have no personality that isn't borrowed from something/someone else, they have no professionalism and no ambition.

So I came up with a new motto 'fookem' Except, you know, I can spell.

How are things with your horrible-sounding situation?

Change of subject - I'm rather burying this in the hope that few people will read it and I can jut moan as I feel the need to.

I'm supposed to be writing a dissertation and finishing a 30 credit unit. The dissertation is due early Feb, other project Jan 27.

I've got half a dissertation and loads more to do. I've got nothing tangible for the project although I have the designs in my head and *just* need to go make 3 scale models, maquettes, CAD drawings, renderings and so on.

I didn't do anything over the holidays (bit of writing and editing) because I really needed a break from things.

Over the holiday, the design project had the goal posts moved again and that seems to have somewhat broken me.

I spent some / most of November / December in a fairly low mental health way until I had a slight tah-dah moment and thought rude things about my bullying 'colleagues' at school.

Had a slight upswing after that but am now back to low, albeit for different reasons.

I'm so angry at my tutor (and myself!) that parts of me want to quit my course, with 4 months to go, which is the most idiotic thing ever to do. Parts of me want to just lie in bed until it's all over. Parts of me want an extension on my design project (impossible as tutor didn't give us the project brief, due in September, until last week in November and as a consequence moved our deadline to the last day of the interim week before the new term.)

So far this school year, I've just ignored the things that annoy me, on purpose. There have been plenty. I'm on track for a 2:1 (provided I finish) but can't improve that in any way. Plus, tutor has decided that's my grade, I think.

Above all, I'm so angry I'm practically incoherent.

Then to cheer myself up I start feeling like this utterly entitled spoilt cow, wondering if I should / could spend my student loan on a triathlon bike, leaving DT to support me. Again.

What shall I do?

Do the work, finish the course, take the at-least-a-2:1. Ignore the b@stards, be kind to yourself, just look at how far you have come, and how little there is left. One last push and you'll be qualified!

Don't buy a new tri bike, good grief those things are dear!

But more s for you. There are good things around the corner - exciting plans, a change of scene once you have finished the course. 4 months is nothing, it will fly past taking you with it.

Yes yes yes to all those you are SOO right! Much appreciate the support x

Know these things myself really (and wasn't _actually_ going to quit, but this was my dream, somewhat tarnished now, it feels like), but sometimes it's hard to move past the anger and frustration towards actually DOING something to solve the problem.

DT has agreed we'll go away for a night or two post-dissertation, just us, dog and the SEA!

And I don't need a tri bike really, just want one to make the tri thing more real and make me feel like less of a hanger-on poser.

Did discover just how fatally flawed my calorie counter app database was though. All these days where I thought I was on target, I really wasn't. Still low-ish, but explains why I've not lost any weight in ages. So have swapped calorie counters and am moving on.

DT also helps, listens and understands and is angry on my behalf. He'd very much like to have a conversation with tutor, but so far I've managed to safely keep them apart..

Now feeling a little better, less angry mainly and less frozen (always have to be different - don't have a fight or flight response, I have a freeze response) and so now just have to make my designs and put stuff together / pull off a miracle / finish dissertation.

We'll see how it goes. I may rant some more. But less angry is good.

Thank you x