Ithaca The Ithaca of Odysseus has been found - read about it here.  ¶ 9:08 PM 93 thoughts

  I'm almost all girl (which is a good thing)

You Are 10% Boyish and 90% Girlish

Even if you're not a girl, you're very feminine. You're in touch with your feelings, and your heart rules you. A bit of a emotional roller coaster, one moment you're up and the next you're down. But no matter what, you try to be as cute and perky as possible.

  ¶ 1:58 PM

  Spot the difference ...   ¶ 3:33 PM 12 thoughts

  Things to do ... I’ve just been catching up with some of the blogs I look at and they all have “To Do” lists on them. When I was working, my day revolved around lists. I love lists. If I did something that wasn’t on my list, I’d add it just so that I could put a line through it! Lists give me a sense of satisfaction – I can see what I’ve still to do, but also I can see all the things I’ve already done, and feel proud of myself! So here goes my list …

-
-
-

Actually it was all a bit personal and irrelevant to anyone who’s reading so I scribbled it on a piece of paper instead! In case you think you're missing something ... there was some housework, some money stuff, read a couple of articles, study a bit more of the Ajax, etc etc etc!  ¶ 10:43 AM 10 thoughts

  Write like an Egyptian My cousin sent me the link to this fun website - check out your name in hieroglyphs!  ¶ 8:50 PM 10 thoughts

  My Inner Child

Your Inner Child Is Surprised

You see many things through the eyes of a child. Meaning, you're rarely cynical or jaded. You cherish all of the details in life. Easily fascinated, you enjoy experiencing new things.

  ¶ 8:29 PM 12 thoughts

  Lucy Lucy's owners had split up and she was brought to the Dog's Trust. For a while, we'd been talking about getting a dog and on the spur of the moment we paid a visit to the rehoming centre. Lucy had arrived just the previous day and they hadn't even had time to put her name on the outside of the kennel. We loved her from the first moment we saw her. She's an 18 months old black lab cross, house-trained, and, we've found out, very well-behaved. She's been with us only 3 days but seems to have settled in already, learning our routine and where things are. Both David and I have had dogs most of our lives, and it's wonderful to have one around the house. Dogs are incredibly therapeutic. To stroke them is instantly relaxing, and the unconditional love they give is priceless. Lots of cute photos will follow!  ¶ 12:30 PM 8 thoughts

  Dog Blog Introducing Lucy .......

  ¶ 3:25 PM 12 thoughts

  Ancient Thera

Not quite realising where it was, we endeavoured to visit Ancient Thera. Taking our life in our hands, we PAID for a hairy minibus ride part of the way up to the site. After that, we had to go on foot up a "path" (in the very loosest sense of the word). It was extremely windy, and really quite hazardous to get up there. The journey was worth it of course, and I was very surprised at the numbers of people who had also trekked up to the summit. If the Greek authorities made it easier to travel up to, and charged a small fee, they'd make a mint.

The ruins are fabulous (lots of old stones to poor David who was incredibly patient with me as I took photos from every possible angle). We were just sorry we weren't on the island long enough to do much else.

The first picture was taken among the ruins at Ancient Thera; the second was taken during our perilous journey to the summit (looking down on the resort of Kamari).  ¶ 8:19 PM 30 thoughts

  Santorini/Thira

I would recommend, nay, INSIST, that everyone in the world goes to Santorini. I discovered, when my parents back home couldn't find Santorini on their atlas, that it's also known as Thira. The arrival by catamaran from Heraklion is spectacular. The island appears to rise almost vertically out of the sea. It has to be seen to be believed, and I'm disappointed that my photos don't seem to do it justice. This photo, I took just after stepping off the boat. I'm telling you, it was AWESOME! (I guess you needed to be there.)

We were staying on the other side of the island where there's a beach, with BLACK sand.  ¶ 7:59 PM 10 thoughts

  Crete
I had intended to blog quite a bit about my trip to Crete, but that seems a helluva long time ago. In brief, we spent several days lazing about, visited Santorini for a weekend (awesome), and hired a car to drive to some of the Minoan sites. We didn't realise Crete was SO big - it took a couple of hours to drive from the north coast to the south. This is a photo from Knossos. David says he "enjoyed" it the most (ie was less bored) because the reconstructions gave him some idea of what it all used to look like. For David, the other sites we visited - Malia, Agia Triada, Phaistos - were just a load of old stones. Of course, I was gushing over these old stones. I found it all incredibly exciting!  ¶ 7:44 PM 10 thoughts

  Back I just spent ages typing a rather philosophical post about returning from holiday and having to adjust to student life rather than returning to the 9 to 5 office job. But blogger ate it and won't give it back. So all I'll say is that I'm back from wonderful holidays, the highlight of which was a weekend on the breath-taking volcanic island of Santorini. I've got lots of blogs to catch up with, so will see you all later with stories from my holiday and some photos. Yiassas!  ¶ 4:59 PM 11 thoughts

  Another chapter over I can't quite believe that Friday 12th August has come and gone. I got all my work finished up, received a very generous gift from my workmates, then went out on the lash with one of them. Needless to say, I hardly left my bed yesterday. Today, though, I feel bright as a button (ok, slight exaggeration there) and am not quite sure what to do with myself. It's that in-between period. I've got 2 weeks of lying around in the sun to do before I officially call myself a student. I'd like to go up into the attic to search for summer clothes (not much call for summer clothes in Ireland) but David's still in bed and I don't want to make too much noise ... or am I just making excuses?! Bless his heart, he's been working all hours to get things done before going off on holidays. He was gigging til 3am on Friday night/Saturday morning, and same last night. I don't expect him to get up until it's time to visit his Mum later in the afternoon.

We jet off to Crete on Tuesday, staying not too far from Malia. Can't wait to visit Knossos! And hopefully I'll be back in the blogosphere around the 31st. See ya!  ¶ 11:48 AM 15 thoughts

  Crouching tiger hidden cat I found funny pictures of cats here ... don't know who the girl is tho ...  ¶ 4:32 PM 10 thoughts

  Fun in the Sun Check out the weather forecast for Heraklion here! woo hoo! (dances round the room) I got a summer dress out of the wardrobe last night, haven't worn it for a loooooooooong time but it fitted ... well ... it didn't fit perfectly but I wasn't bursting out of the seams. BTW when I get home from my holidays I'm joining a gym.  ¶ 10:45 AM 10 thoughts

  Latest on the other scholarship Although the project brief was widened, the university wants research on the historical perspective not literature. I'm just grateful they let me know so soon and I can move on instead of worrying about it.

My life for the next few days can focus on finishing up in work, shredding anything incriminating, and looking forward to my "farewell lunch" on Thursday and "farewell drinks" after work on Friday.

This time next week I'll hopefully be spread out on a beach in Crete. I can't make up my mind what books to pack. Helen-the-student says to pack the Iliad, the Odyssey and the Aeneid because I'm attending a conference on epic the week after I get home. However, Helen-the-holidaymaker argues that I'll never be able to concentrate on those heavy books and to bring half a dozen trashy novels instead!  ¶ 12:08 PM 10 thoughts

  More applications For those who've been following ... you will know I didn't get the scholarship. It didn't come as a great surprise since the research council receive 6,000 applications for 1,500 grants. The odds were stacked against me. Anyway, there were two studentships available for a project on Sparta and I decided to apply for one of those. It involved telling lies to get out of work early and working on my proposal through the night. Well not exactly through the night but I went to bed only when I couldn't read the words anymore and set the alarm for 5am. I had time in work to tweak it into shape and I emailed off before lunchtime today. Apparently there's an interview next week - it better be Monday or Tuesday because after that I'm off to Crete. I've explained this in my cover letter. I did the best I could with the proposal - I was pleased with it, particularly given the rushed circumstances in which it was produced. I think it would be a really interesting project - Helen of Troy and her sister Clytemnestra. They appear in epic and in tragedy, and there are lots of sources for them. It's in the lap of the gods now!  ¶ 2:08 PM 10 thoughts

  A meme I found this over at New Kid's.

1. First name: Helen
2. Were you named after anyone? No, but isn't it funny that my MA dissertation was all about the Trojan War? And at the time I was born, my Dad's boss was called Mr Troy. **spooky**
3. Do you wish on stars? no
4. When did you last cry? last Thursday when I heard I hadn't got the scholarship.
5. Do you like your handwriting? other people say it's neat but my Mum always makes a thing about not being able to read it.
6. What is your favorite lunch meat? pastrami (is that a lunch meat?)
7. What is your most embarrassing CD? too many to list
8. If you were another person, would YOU be friends with you? you know, I'm not sure!
9. Do you have a journal? this is it!
10. Do you use sarcasm a lot? yes, and I think it's why most people don't get me.
11. What are your nicknames? um, boyfriend calls me Sweet Pea sometimes.
12. Would you bungee jump? hell, yeah
13. Do you untie your shoes when you take them off? no
14. Do you think that you are strong? absolutely not
15. What is your favorite ice cream flavor? Maud's Belgian chocolate
16. Shoe Size? 3 1/2 (well, I'm only 5 feet tall)
17. Red or pink? red
18. What is your least favorite thing about yourself? dunno. I try not to dwell on things about myself I don't like.
19. Who do you miss most? my cousins in New Zealand
20. Do you want everyone you send this to, to send it back? Put it on your blogs ...
21. What color pants and shoes are you wearing? black trousers and black high heels - I'm in work!
22. What are you listening to right now? other people's boring conversations about computer stuff
23. Last thing you ate? a breakfast bar (yuk)
24. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? yellow
25. What is the weather like right now? sunny, yey!
26. Last person you talked to on the phone? Maureen, my MA supervisor and mentor for life (I hope)
27. The first thing you notice about the opposite sex? smile
28. Do you like the person who sent this to you? I found it over at New Kid on the Hallway, she said for anyone to pick it up and do it ...
29. Favorite Drink? Cabernet Sauvignon
30. Favorite Sport? none
31. Hair Color? naturally mousy brown, but it's been highlighted blond for about 10 years.
32. Eye Color? brown
33. Do you wear contacts? no but I should wear my glasses
34. Favorite Food? Pizza
35. Last Movie You Watched? Alexander
36. Favorite Day Of The Year? birthday
37. Scary Movies Or Happy Endings? scary!
38. Summer Or Winter? summer - at least the rain's warm in the summer
39. Hugs OR Kisses? hugs
40. What Is Your Favorite Dessert? Chocolate mousse made in a restaurant called Lemongrass in Belfast - it's to die for.
41. Who Is Most Likely To Respond? haven't decided yet who to tag
42. Who Is Least Likely To Respond? see 41.
43. What Books Are You Reading? Herodotus, a David Lodge novel, Athenaze, 44. What's On Your Mouse Pad? University College London crest!
45. What Did You Watch Last night on TV? Extreme Makeover and an old episode of Friends while doing the ironing.
46. Favorite Smells? bread baking in my bread-maker
47. Favorite Sounds? David practicing
48. Rolling Stones or Beatles? gotta be the Stones - Jumpin' Jack Flash, Honky Tonk Woman, the list goes on
49. What's the furthest you've been from home? New Zealand - if I travelled any further I'd be coming home again!
50. Do you have a special talent? sadly, no.
51. What is your ring tone? "I like the way you move"

I hereby tag WannaBe, Journalesque, Cheeky Prof, Rebecca and Stewgad.  ¶ 12:25 PM 23 thoughts

  Summer in NI Yey, it's hot today! Summer has decided to make an appearance in Belfast. It must be, oh 24 degrees C at least in my garden - too hot to sit in for too long! I think I need to plant a tree so there's a little shade to sit in. How am I ever going to manage low 30s in Crete next week? Frankly, I don't care if it's too hot or too cold. I'll be on holiday somewhere that's not home, therefore life will be good. Yassas!  ¶ 3:01 PM 18 thoughts

  Scholarships First of all, thank you for your advice on getting pierced … I think I'll try it - sure I can always take the jewellery out if I change my mind!

I didn't get the scholarship. Bummer. But there were 5,800+ applications and only enough money for some 1,500 scholarships. So I'd have to be extra super-duper to get one of those. Can't help being disappointed though. I do have a dilemma though. As I said before, my parents and I can raise enough money to get me through the first year of my PhD. Hopefully, if I get some teaching work to do, a little part-time job will be enough to see me through to the end. But I don't like my parents doing without, yet again, so that I can have what I want. There are 2 university scholarships available. There were advertised earlier in the year and the subject was Sparta. They must have had no takers because they were advertised again, with a wider remit, and a closing date of 1 August. I know we're past the closing date but I was thinking of enquiring about whether they had been allocated. I know my topic isn't really connected to Sparta - but I am interested in mythology and drama (and before she was Helen of Troy, she was Helen of Sparta!). I should also say that there are others (post-doctoral research assistants, doctoral students, and the former Head of the Classics Department) working on the Sparta project, and there will be conference and publication opportunities.

Anyway, I wondered if any of you academics out there could advise on the etiquette of what I'm thinking about. It would mean a change of supervisor. Is my current supervisor likely to be miffed that I want to move (to where the money is)? Is the chap in charge of the Sparta project likely to feel offended that Sparta wasn't my first choice?

Thanking you in anticipation ...  ¶ 4:38 PM 23 thoughts

  Getting pierced I saw a couple of interesting postings here about piercings. When I left my job at the age of 33 to do my Masters degree full-time, I decided I wanted to do something a bit crazy - so I had my nose pierced. (crazy, huh?) Once it had healed, I put a little sparkly stud in it - I thought it was really pretty. I finished my degree and it was time to apply for jobs once again. I was applying for more secretarial work because I still hadn't decided what I really wanted to do or what I actually could do with this degree. To be a secretary, it seems to be necessary to conform to a certain image - business suit, neat hair, not too much make-up, etc, you get the idea. I needed to be earning money and there's competition enough without being penalised for having a sparkly stud in my nose. So I took it out for the interviews. It never went back in. Now that I don't have to conform anymore, I'm thinking about it. Does a cute little sparkly thing in my nose make me less responsible? I don't think so. (There are some who'd say I never was responsible anyway.) Having read Anne's posts about getting re-pierced, I'm thinking about it too. BTW I can't make decisions so I'm waiting for someone to make a comment telling me to go ahead or to stop being so ridiculous.  ¶ 5:05 PM 20 thoughts

  Telling others For the first time I've actually given my blog address to someone who knows me - one of my Kiwi cousins. I thought it'd be a good way of him keeping up-to-date with what I'm doing. (I'm very bad at keeping up with emails) I don't think there's anything here that I'll not want him to read. I'm wary about telling my mother the address particularly because I remember making a post about having an enormous hangover when I was out with her and trying not to let it show! Mums don't like that sort of thing, well, mine doesn't anyway. Although she has mellowed since I've been grown up and she's seen that having a drink doesn't turn me into some sort of criminal. Anyway, welcome Jason if you're there - please make yourself known!  ¶ 4:55 PM 12 thoughts

  The end is in sight ... Next Friday I leave Azkhaban for good! I'm doing lots of therapeutic shredding of all the rubbish on and in my office desk - I keep copies of reports and letters 'just in case' but there's no need to keep these multiple copies any longer. I've spent the day just generally farting about, doing nothing in particular, certainly where work is concerned! I booked my flights for my trips to Nottingham in September. The first trip is to a conference and accommodation is provided, but I need accommodation for the last week in September. The university's visitor accommodation is all booked up so I booked myself into a hotel in the little village nearby. That should be a fun and hopefully leisurely week. I need to be there Monday and Friday for induction and registration. On Wednesday there's an event for new postgrads, and on Thursday there's a do at the Postgraduate Centre. I should have plenty of time to learn about the campus and find my bearings.  ¶ 4:49 PM 9 thoughts

  More about that reaction The more I thought about being told I was sad, the more I seethed yesterday. By home time, I was livid. David came up with a couple of ways of getting my own back. Not seriously though. I thought about coming into work today and confronting her, asking her what she meant and why was she so rude. Then I decided that she's not worth my anger. I just don't understand why people can't be happy for me, or why they can't just say 'well done' or 'have a good time' even if they don't mean it. Yes, I know I'm naïve - can't help it.  ¶ 4:47 PM 16 thoughts

  Alexander review ... I've only watched half of it ... the Irish accents are hilarious! And Angelina Jolie sounds like a Transylvanian vampire! Um, apart from that, it's going ok!  ¶ 4:06 PM 1 thoughts

  Alexander the Movie Alexander is out on DVD today - guess what purchase I made during my lunch break?! So tonight I'll position myself (with the ironing board and overflowing ironing basket) in front of the TV.  ¶ 3:35 PM 10 thoughts

  The weekend I haven't been online for a few days since the weekend was jam-packed from start to finish.

Friday night my classics friends came round. I made Moussaka and Greek salad (what else?!), then we watched Troy (again). By the end of the film the wine was flowing ever so freely and we decided that we'd go to Greece next Easter and visit all the archaeological sites. We've been before, but separately, and I will be able to show them Delphi and Marathon, while they will show me Mycenae, then we'll take in Tiryns, Sparta, Pylos and, time permitting, Olympia. It's basically a tour of the sites of the Odyssey and the Iliad on the Greek mainland - sadly we have to exclude Troy and Ithaka, but that will keep for the next time!

Saturday was spent recovering, and running errands connected to my Mum's birthday party. Saturday night was the last of 5 gigs at the Empire. Brilliant as usual, the band are fun to watch and great to listen to. Much as I enjoy it though, it will be good to have a few Saturdays 'off' when David and I can go out for dinner or something on a Saturday night. Mind you, the last Saturday David wasn't gigging, we went to the Empire anyway and watched one of the other regular bands!

Sunday dawned and I got up to prepare for Mum's party. The family came round in the afternoon - there was 14 of us in total - aunt, uncle, cousins and their children. Mum had a phone call from the New Zealand contingent the previous night. We had lots of food and sweet things and everyone seemed to enjoy it.

I came into work today for a rest!  ¶ 3:10 PM 8 thoughts

  More reactions Another one this morning - the marketing manager is just back from holidays and heard the news that I was leaving to go to Uni. She came over to my desk and asked what I'd be doing - I said "concubines in Greek tragedy." I was starting to elaborate a bit further when she said 'you sad, sad woman'. I thought I'd misheard, so said 'pardon' and she repeated 'you sad, sad woman'. Obviously my face betrayed how offended I was and she went on to say good for me and it was great, etc etc. Then she said we'd have to go out for lunch before I left. Not if I can help it.  ¶ 2:59 PM 11 thoughts

  Resignation, part 3
I just had to record this: one of the accountants I work with was very interested in my PhD topic - concubines in Greek tragedy. As I talked more about it I could see she was confused. "Aren't concubines those wee animals, a bit like hedgehogs?" she asked. NO, you're thinking of PORCUPINES!  ¶ 4:55 PM 19 thoughts

  It's a slow afternoon I'm quite disappointed actually - I thought I'd be at least 80% weird ...

You Are 30% Weird

Not enough to scare other people... But sometimes you scare yourself.

Hmmm .....

You Aren't Scary, You're Scared

Probably even scared to see how this quiz came out!

Woo-hoo!

You Are a Chick Rocker!

You're living proof that chicks can rock You're inspired by Joan Jett and the Donnas And when you rock, you rock hard (Plus, you get all the cute guy groupies you want!)

  ¶ 4:02 PM 11 thoughts

  Money, money, money It's nearing the time when I'll hear if my funding application has been successful. Given that there are 5,000 applicants for 1,500 grants, I'm not hopeful.

My current situation is this:
I've handed in my notice at work and am looking forward to walking away from this dead-end job.
My parents can only afford to keep me going financially for 12 months maximum.
The PhD course lasts 3 years.
If I don't get the grant this year, I can make another grant application next year, perhaps being in a better position of having a year of research behind me and being able to demonstrate my commitment to my research.

What will I do if I don't get funding next year when I have no alternatives? Part-time work seems the only option, and perhaps I should consider relocating closer to Uni but there's not just me to think about - my partner lives with me, and I own my house and don't want to sell it ….

I've been researching what kind of work I could do. There's a great uk site called www.homeworkinguk.com with lots of ideas for income. I was thinking about freelance proofreading, or translation but would have to greatly improve my Italian language skills.

Money running out/being a problem is still a year away but I've begun to think about it and can't help feeling anxious. I know that something will sort itself out when the time comes, but when you're a worrier …..!  ¶ 3:48 PM 13 thoughts

  Well, whaddya know!

You're Egypt!

Curator of ancient mystical secrets, your life on the surface is fairly
typical these days.  Though you are in denial about more things than most people.
 Nevertheless, you're trying to convince people that you're safe despite your more
volatile and unstable times that seem to be behind you.  You like cats a whole lot.
 You'd probably really appreciate The Blue
Pyramid.
Take
the Country Quiz at the href="http://bluepyramid.org">Blue Pyramid

  ¶ 1:17 PM 8 thoughts

  Lord of the Rings
In March 2004 I visited my cousins in New Zealand. Under duress I was taken to Matamata - the town near which scenes for Lord of the Rings were filmed. In the rolling hills a few miles outside Matamata, lies Hobbiton, or what's left of it. The film producers won't allow the landowners to decorate the cottages. Even so much as planting flowers isn't permitted. But as you can see from the photo, the cottages are recognisable, and we were allowed to go inside Bilbo Baggins' house (there's nothing inside). My cousin and I had a wonderful day in Hobbiton. We had rented 'Fellowship of the Ring' the previous night and watched about an hour of it - enough so that we understood what we were seeing when we visited. I'm ashamed to say I still haven't watched 'Fellowship of the Ring' to the end. Two of my ambitions are to watch the LotR trilogy one after the other, and other is to watch all six Star Wars movies (I've only seen Episode 4). Anyway, I thought this photo demonstrated the cuteness of Hobbiton and wanted to share.  ¶ 7:54 PM 9 thoughts

  London Not again ...  ¶ 4:13 PM 1 thoughts

  Beam me up, Scotty... (apparently they never actually said that) From Yahoo News: Actor James Doohan, best known as the feisty, Scottish-accented chief engineer on television's original "Star Trek" series died aged 85 at his home in the Seattle suburb of Redmond, Washington, of complications from pneumonia and Alzheimer's disease, about a year after he was diagnosed with the degenerative neurological illness, manager Steve Stevens said in an interview.

The Canadian-born actor also had suffered from the chronic lung disease pulmonary fibrosis, which doctors believed was linked to Doohan's exposure to hazardous chemicals during his military service in World War Two.

A native of Vancouver, British Columbia, Doohan was a prolific voice actor on Canadian radio before making his move into television in the 1950s.

But he will be remembered for playing Lt. Commander Montgomery Scott, or "Scotty," the can-do chief engineer aboard the starship USS Enterprise on the original "Star Trek" series, which ran from 1966-69 on NBC. He reprised the role for several big-screen "Star Trek" features.

The often-excitable Scottish brogue effected by Doohan for his role became as much a signature element of the show as science officer Mr. Spock's logical stoicism or chief surgeon Dr. McCoy's irascibly folksy manner.

According to Stevens, Doohan auditioned for the part in several European accents before the show's creator, Gene Roddenberry, asked him what nationality he thought best suited the part. "He said, 'It's got to be a Scotsman,' and so he did it and it ended up being a Scotsman," Stevens once recounted. He said Doohan learned to do a convincing brogue from a Scottish-born soldier he bunked with during the war.

Doohan is the second actor from the central cast of the original "Star Trek" to die -- DeForest Kelley, who played Lt. Cmdr. Leonard H. "Bones" McCoy, died in 1999.

Stevens said funeral services would be for family members only, but Doohan's wife plans to send the actor's ashes into space via the same private launch service that carried Roddenberry's remains into orbit after his 1991 death.  ¶ 9:48 PM 10 thoughts

  Resignation, part 2 I have been amused by the differing reactions of those I work with to the news that I’m leaving.

The people who do the same work as me (and I don’t wish to be insulting or offensive here, merely truthful) are the sort whose favourite topic of conversation is Coronation Street and Big Brother. No, that’s not entirely true, my friend at work is studying part-time for her law degree, but generally, women who do secretarial work aren’t very bright. I know I shouldn’t generalise in this way, and there ARE some PAs who are very talented and do an excellent job, but I’ve found them to be the minority. I try not to let it annoy me anymore. When I left secretarial college (not having gained the A level grades to do my chosen computer studies degree) and started my first job I was amazed. There was a canteen where all the secretaries ate their sandwiches and discussed the previous night’s television. In great detail they analysed one soap opera after another. It drove me insane. OK I admit I used to watch Eastenders. When I first met David, he said he hoped I didn't watch the soaps. I said no, and I haven't watched Eastenders since!

My point is I've found that secretaries are all tarred with the same brush. The reaction to my resignation from the other secretarial staff goes something like this: “what’s a PhD”, or “what’s a concubine” (my area is concubines in Greek tragedy), or worse “what’s classics? Is that music?” From the (highly-paid) accountants and consultants in the company the reaction has been mixed. Some assumed I was thick because of the type of work I was doing and have been extremely surprised, shocked even, to hear that I have a Masters degree and am going on to doctoral study. Some are genuinely pleased for me and have congratulated me on having the courage to pack in my job to do something I’ve been dreaming about for a long time. Others have yet to even mention it to me (I spoke to those that were in the office and sent an email to the others).

The differing responses have made me think about how in the workplace at least my job had become my identity, despite (I hope) not matching the stereotype of a dippy secretary (others may disagree)!  ¶ 4:19 PM 24 thoughts

  Anonymity This post made me think about anonymity. I'm beginning to understand why most of the blogs I read are anonymous. What I've said on my profile and in my posts identifies me, so much so that someone who I just met in passing at a conference earlier in the year came across my blog and contacted me. I'm not saying that's a bad thing, I'm very glad to have caught up with this person. What I'm saying is that I am hesitant to blog about personal stuff. Um, that's all. Just an observation.  ¶ 10:19 AM 11 thoughts

  The Seven Dwarves "Being a graduate student is like becoming all of the Seven Dwarves. In the beginning you're Dopey and Bashful. In the middle, you are usually sick (Sneezy), tired (Sleepy), and irritable (Grumpy). But at the end, they call you Doc, and then you're Happy."  ¶ 2:58 PM 10 thoughts

  London, 07/07 I was oblivious to what was going on until 10.30am. Turns out I actually heard the bus bomb but had assumed that it was just a crash coming from the building work. I merrily texted my Mum and David while I was eating breakfast. It was only when I got to the University that the other 2 people in the class that made it in (they were, like me, staying in central London and had come on foot) said "isn't this awful" and I said "isn't what awful?" En route from my hotel to the University, I passed a corner of Russell Square. The opposite corner of Russell Square was where the bus had exploded. What I found most upsetting was the notices that appeared, pinned to trees, asking "Has anyone seen this person?" and featuring a photo of the missing. These people are now being identified as the fatalities of the bombs. The bombs were completely indiscriminate. They killed mostly young people, going to work, and the names of the dead highlight the multi-national nature of the city of London.

I returned home to Belfast on Friday 8th July, as I had planned and returned again to London on Sunday 10th for the final 3 days of my course. I wasn't going to let terrorists ruin my course. The best we can do is continue as normal and it is admirable that the bulk of the transport network across London was running on Friday with only certain routes out of bounds. Yesterday my workplace honoured the 2 minutes silence at noon for the bomb victims.  ¶ 1:00 PM 4 thoughts

  Back!
I'm back from the classics summer school in London, sadly marred by the distressing events of 7th July, but more about that later.

I was in a class with 6 other nerds, I mean students. Our tutor, James, was a lecturer with the Open University - the first uni I graduated from - so he was alright with me. We were quite a mix of students. There were three 17 year-olds, still at school. The rest of us were mature students - I was the least mature of the mature students IYKWIM. The other mature students weren't doing the course for any professional reason, while I was doing it as a precursor to my PhD to get my ancient Greek up to speed.

We had four 1-hour sessions per day, starting at 1030 and ending at 1530. We did a good mix of grammar and texts: for every aspect of grammar we were taught, James presented us with little exercises and a piece of text to translate which featured the grammar we had just learned. On the first day we made our requestes to James. Passive, optative, subjunctive, conditional sentences, perfect, you name it. We covered such a wide range of grammar, yet none of the course seemed at all rushed. It really was very enjoyable.

On day 2, we had an afternoon lecture by Michael Wood entitled 'the archaeology of myth' - this was just up my street. Clutching his book 'In search of the Trojan War', I approached him before the lecture started. We had a chat while he signed my book. I returned to my seat, giggling like a starstruck schoolgirl. How uncool.

Day 3 was the day of the bombs in London. Only 3 of the class managed to make their way to the college, and the afternoon lecture was cancelled. I hoped I could use this time to have a look around the British Museum, but it had closed extra-early.

On day 4 I was surprised and pleased to see that all the class had made their way through the public transport disruption. There was tight security at Stansted airport as I made my way home that evening. The weekend was spent sleeping and washing clothes. On Sunday morning, I was up early to take David to the airport - he was heading to Birmingham for a couple of days to attend the British Music Fair. I believe a good time was had by all, and much food and drink was taken - most of it provided by the manufacturers attempting to sell their goods to the retailers. After waving David off, I returned to bed. So tired. Sunday night I was off to the capital again. Bombers weren't going to stop me learning my ancient Greek.

Monday was day 5, and we were all refreshed and ready to reimmerse ourselves. I decided not to go to the afternoon lecture, instead I took a whizz around the Greek, Roman and Egyptian galleries of the British Museum. I'd spent just over an hour there when it was closing time and the lights were being turned off while I frantically tried to take photos of Mycenaean pots.

Day 6 was filled with lots more grammar. By day 7 I was still enjoying the course, but was glad that this was the final day. I was absolutely shattered. I think my brain was rebelling at the amount of information it was being asked to process. The course ended with all the students being given certificates of attendance. Not terribly important, but very nice to have nonetheless!

And I heard a wonderful retort to those who say that ancient Greek and Latin are dead languages - they're not dead, they're IMMORTAL!!!  ¶ 12:55 PM 8 thoughts

  IQ ivillage.com says my IQ is 147. Hmmm, who shall I believe?  ¶ 4:23 PM 2 thoughts

  Mood Anyone know what happened to Unkymoods? They don't seem to be at unkymoods.com anymore ..... If you're interested, my mood is EXCITED!  ¶ 4:03 PM 3 thoughts

  Resignation Well, it's done. I've resigned from my job. Don't think my boss was too surprised since she'd said in the past about how I was over-qualified for the post. I'm relieved to have that done. No doubt the grapevine will do its worst and by the time I return next Thursday after my ancient Greek course, everyone will know. Then it's 2 days and 4 weeks until I can wave bye-bye. It's going to be an exciting summer. This will be the last blog until the weekend. I'll have neither the time nor computer access while I'm away in London! My days will be full of aorists and optatives, datives and accusatives. Sounds deadly, but I'm really excited!  ¶ 4:02 PM 4 thoughts

  Survey   ¶ 1:49 PM 2 thoughts

  Wife Swap Omigod did anyone see Wife Swap last night? One half of a lesbian couple swapped with the wife of a seriously strict Christian household. The Christian family were wierdos. There's no other word to describe them. The Christian woman was downright nasty and bigotted towards the lesbian family. What a bitch. I just can't believe that people like this exist. Especially when they profess to be Christians. There was nothing Christian in their attitude. Their poor children were being smothered, they weren't allowed to do anything. Unbelievable.  ¶ 10:19 AM 15 thoughts

  Duvet day I've sort of taken a duvet day from work. Feel guilty but it's been very profitable so far... tidied the study - filled the bin and got lots of stuff to go up into the loft. David will be proud. Done a load of washing. Paid some bills. Now I'm going to get stuck into some reading - I made a list - top of it is a commentary on Sophocles' Ajax. Should also do a little bit of ancient Greek too, so's I don't look too dumb when I enrol at summer school next Tuesday. 7 days of intense ancient Greek ... hard work, bet I'll sleep well at night, but won't I be the clever one when I'm finished! We get 'after school' lectures in the afternoon, and the first one is being delivered by Michael Wood - he of 'In Search of the Trojan War' and 'In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great' fame. Anyway, very busy, lots more to do.  ¶ 11:23 AM 18 thoughts

  Weekend... ... has been busy. well, sort of busy. Got up REALLY early on Saturday (9am) to run David into work, called on my parents on the way back, they were still in bed and got up specially. Then did grocery shopping. Back home at 11ish, felt like I'd done a whole day's work, so had a snooze. Got up, went to beautician's for assorted hair removal, home again and did the ironing, back into town to collect David. Phew. Quiet night turned into a late one - we went to the Water Margin Chinese restaurant. It used to be a church, it's so pretty inside, beautifully decorated. With energy levels renewed, we went to the Empire Music Hall and stayed til closing. I was shattered today. All my plans to read and translate and learn, were out the window.

Just one week left until I hand in my notice at work. Hoping to finish on 12th August! Then next Tuesday I fly off to London for the Classics summer school - I am going to be SUCH an expert in ancient Greek when I get back! (here's hoping anyway).  ¶ 8:32 PM 3 thoughts