1 down, 21 to go!

And so my first week as a peripatetic post grad has ended. Apart from the tedious bureaucratic guff that goes with starting a new term in a new place all is going well. My fellow students are a great bunch and there already seems to be a supportive feeling in the group. I feel strangely confident and am sure I have made the right decision in taking this course. Ask me again at Christmas and see if I still feel like that!
Of course, I feel very tired this weekend but I expected that. Once I actually get into the routine of travel I hope that it will get easier. The bus trip up last night was uncomfortable and stuffy but hopefully that will not be the norm.
I have been trying to find cheap accommodation so as not to outstay my welcome with the girls but so far no luck. I will try the University accommodation office next week but I suspect they will be pretty much out of flats and rooms now term has started. I might also try to phone a couple of cheap hotels to see if I can do a deal as a potential regular customer. It is worth a try anyway.

One foot in front of the other...and remember to breathe!

I didn't sleep well last night. No particular reason other than a strange bed and new noises. It's funny how you forget how noisy city centre living is. The male choirs outside the window in the middle of the night are probably something to be avoided if at all possible!
It wasn't until I was walking to get the bus to the University that reality began to seep in through the cracks in my carefully constructed fantasy world and I suddenly thought 'What are you doing here!' Deep breathes were needed to reconstruct the fabric of my own little world and then I was OK! Back safe in Jennyland!
After class several of us went for lunch so we got to know each other better. I relly like the PG house where we can lock all those undergrads outside to preserve our dignity. It has even got a fancy name...the Hetherington Research Club! How cool is that?!
Simon and I then went to get registered although neither of us had been 'Faculty Approved' and the person listed as my advisor has apparently been dead for several months! Needless to say we queued for a long time to be told to go away and get approval (with a seance perhaps!)I have been given another advisor so hopefully she will still be in this world when I try to find her tomorrow.
I decided that Georgina and I would have tea at one of the Italian restaurants along the street. It was very nice. Then George was working again at night so it was home to get ready for that.

In Glasgow

It has been a hectic couple of weeks!
Having made no real progress on the Russian language I decided to take the bull by the horns and apply for the PGDip at Glasgow Uni. Having done that I then had to arrange funding, accommodation and travel. So, after a frantic whirl of activity I am here in Glasgow ready to start the course tomorrow.
The funding was remarkably easy considering the trouble I have had in the past, as was the accommodation (Thank you George and Jo). Travel has been a bit trickier as I plan to stay in Glasgow for three nights only and commute back to Aberdeen between times. However, that too seems to have worked out OK.
Now all I have to do is put one foot in front of the other tomorrow morning in the general direction of the University and remember to keep breathing!

Leeds again...but this time it is war!

Well I am back in Leeds but I am not delving in the archive this time but attending a conference entitled "Aftermaths of War". It is a small conference looking at Women's movements throughout Europe after the First World War. While everyone else knows exactly what the other speakers are on about I am the obligatory fish out of water! I have to keep explaining that it is not really my topic but still of peripheral interest. Not that women's movements are peripheral, just my involvement at this juncture!
Leeds does continue to pose internet connection problems for me! Not that it is probably the fault of Leeds the city per se but that every time I come here I can't get my laptop to behave and finding a connection proves difficult. I am staying at the Hinsley Hall Conference centre and it is fine although being watched by all the former Bishops of Leeds is a bit daunting (from paintings on the walls and not in person I hasten to add!) The centre is run by the Diocese of Leeds, hence the paintings! (Not some weird fantasy!)
I have also just received an unconditional acceptance to Glasgow University and funding all in one day. (How lucky can a girl get?) I was told that this would be my year as I am a Rat and this is the Year of the Rat so I guess it must be 'A Good Thing'. So, onward and upward!