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| Thursday, April 19, 2007 |
| A New Chapter Has Begun....... |
Hello!! I'm back in the land of blogs!! Yay to that! What a week I have had as well!! I don't know where to start describing the many wide and varied events of the past few days! Well, I'm sure I will find a beginning......
I know this is going to sound more than a little sappy, but I once more felt like I belonged somewhere. I have always felt comfortable in academic surroundings, it just seems to feel right to me. It's kinda weird though. Being out of the 'academic world' for so long (nearly 10 years!!), you start to feel like you are regressing back to the days before you commenced your first degree - at least, that's how I felt. You begin to convince yourself that you are actually not very clever at all and are only just higher than wood lice on the evolutionary scale. It came as quite a surprise to find that I wasn't out of my depth after all. Lecturers and students nodded with approval on the rare occasions I managed to contribute - aahhh, the warm feeling of acceptance.
Having said that, it is still very easy to feel a bit despondent by the experience. As always, there was a small group who decided to play the old 'alpha-male' trick. Dominating lectures and questioning the lecturer's arguments in an attempt to make them look superior. Initially, I thought I was the only one who hated their behaviour. Right from Day 1, I had their cards marked as typical competitive students. As the week progressed I discovered, luckily, that everyone else hated them too. This discovery came at around the time I wrote the word 'C**T' on my notes when one of them came up with a typically pedantic question. A guy behind spotted it and laughed out loud before expressing his contempt as well (luckily!!). By and large I tend to ignore people like that. I am never too concerned about other people's backgrounds and apparent superiority. Nine times out of ten, they end up exposing their stupidity, rather than the other way around. Still, they were DEFINITELY 'C**TS'.
Still, other aspects perked me up no end. Now, I know this is wrong, I'm married and I shouldn't be looking at other women, but I'm only human, so I did (sorry!). One girl in particular caught my roving eye (sorry!). She was stunningly beautiful. She came from the Middle East and she was almost flawless. Dark hair, tanned skin, dark eyes, gorgeous (although, of course, marginally less beautiful than my wife). Well, we kind of had a running joke about me chasing this girl during the course of the week, but I hardly exchanged words with her at all. And then, just when I thought the moment had passed, I bumped into her in the library the day before we were due to leave. I struck up a pretty unexciting conversation about travelling home and what-not, the kind of conversation that just kills time to save embarrassment, when she said something that struck me dumb. She asked me if I had ever been to her country, I replied 'no' and, before I knew it, she invited me over there to stay whenever I wanted!! My initial thought?? SHIT!!! Of course, I would never take up the offer, but where the hell did that come from???? I know nothing was meant by it (I understand that they are very hospitable people), but it was still a little disconcerting for a Westerner. I guess I better not tell the wife!!
Then, on top of everything else, I managed to wind up a couple of our tutors on the final night. The university had arranged a pub quiz for the evening, so we couldn't resist the opportunity to show off our (lack) of knowledge. We ended up next to the lecturers which meant that, at the end of every round, we would have to make their papers (a funny little twist of fate!). Much to the shock of my team-mates, I decided to taunt our rivals (our rivals that will decide my fate on the course I hasten to add). On the first occasion I wrote the words:
'CHEATS'
at the top of their page. A risky thing to write for sure, but we were behind them and they deserved it! I decided to tone it down on the next sheet and wrote (with a smiley face):
Only joking (please don't fail me!!)
Thankfully they seemed to see the funny side, but then I decided to taunt them again on the last round with a hefty:
HA! HA!
Did someone say 'line', 'cross', 'do not'??? The beauty was, my tactics worked!! My decision to resort to intimidation drew us level with the lecturers, after being well behind! Who would have thought mind games would be so much fun??! However, I did get concerned that I was going to get shit marks on my assignments so I did decide to check with one of the members of staff that they are marked anonymously. They are. PHEW!!! Note to self: wind up the lecturers at the end of the course, not the beginning!
Anyway, I guess I will share more of my experiences over time (if I have any now I am starting a Masters) so prepare for more boredom in the near future (hey, at least I have posted here, ok???!!!). |
posted by korova @ 5:42 pm  |
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| 8 Comments: |
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Glad you're adapting so fast (and sharking, you filthy sod). Let's just hope the ladies don't find out about the whole badger thing, eh.
At least you don't have to try and write prose for the first time in over 5 years on your first assignment. THAT was scary (though I got an A!).
ps. Due to their great age, woodlice are highly refined and successful, from a certain evolutionary perspective.
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good luck with uni, i'm sure you'll be great. and at the top of every prof's *keep an eye on list* of course.
hehe.
:)
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Sharking??? Not sure what you mean by that xulub!! And thanks for helping me develop a new found appreciation for woodlice!!
am - thanks, yes I dropped a few hints about my views (what a shock), so my card is well and truly marked!!
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"hey, at least I have posted here, ok???!!!"
Yeah, It's terrible when people don't blog for ages...
*ahem*
Glad to hear it is going well. The alpha males will stand no chance against the alpha badger.
Just remember that you were there to study, not to pick up girls. The sharking must be a secondary consideration no matter how much your hair confuses them.
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This must be some term from your neck of the woods! Anyway, it helps to pass the time!! Long live the Alpha Badger!!!
Glad to hear you have not suffered death by a vicious, prodding badger!!!
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Death by badger buggery is certainly not how I would choose to go.
: (
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hope you survived the earthquake. heh. just thinking of y'all.
like the new header. veddy nice.
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Yeah, fine thanks. It didn't cause any problems where I live, although my friends and family were closer to the epicentre. Luckily there was no major damage. It obviously made international news then??!!
Thanks for the comment about the header. I like it too!!
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Glad you're adapting so fast (and sharking, you filthy sod). Let's just hope the ladies don't find out about the whole badger thing, eh.
At least you don't have to try and write prose for the first time in over 5 years on your first assignment. THAT was scary (though I got an A!).
ps. Due to their great age, woodlice are highly refined and successful, from a certain evolutionary perspective.