Firstly apologies for this distant update. I realise it's been ages since I have updated, there are reasons, they shall be detailed. Secondly, to make sure we get it out of the way so (it is the topic of the blog after all) the course. I failed TMA04 with a measly 21, which taught me that leaving things to the last minute then rushing the submission without spending time checking it over, makes for a fail. I may be re-covering ground, I haven't gone back and re-read, so I apologise again if I am. I had to get an extentsion on TMA05 because of a bereavement. Which is a nice way of saying my brain was totally incapable of grasping the concept of education or work for about three weeks.
So anyway, it's kind of a fun story. I got the extension until the 20th, I got home from the funeral on the Tuesday. Eventually. I had sorted out with work so that I could had Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday off to complete the assignment. A good friend sorted me out with a proper dinner and some company so I didn't completely fall apart when I got home. So Wednesday, as is so often the case, got lost to procrastination. I played Football, went to a games night at the pub, then got a call from work. They had an 11 hour day for me! Woo! On the next day, from 9AM, which I gladly took. Working on the assignment on the evening didn't happen so much. I had to wash my clothes. Cook pasta. Hoover. Watch Sons of Anarchy. On Saturday, the 19th, at around 1PM (when I got up, I had stayed up a little late) I started work on the first question. By 6PM I had pretty much read all the material, identified what I felt I needed to include in my essays and formulated a rough plan. I then played a game ( a fantastic game*) until about 11:30PM. Totally by accident. So I spent the whole rest of the night working on the TMA, I submitted at 5:25AM, and emailed my tutor (who had asked me to try to submit as early as possible) thanking her and suggesting that being that I had written the whole thing in 5 hours, the fact it was 6 hours early meant I had done it in plenty of time.
Fear not!
I didn't rush it like I did with the last one and I am mildly confident of a pass. I backed up my points with (gasp!) facts and citations. I was a bit mushy by the end of the second question (for those not on the course, a situation question about a new musician whose ex-boyfriend gave an interview about her past in the paper, advising her on privacy law and the European Convention of European Rights), but I think I managed to jam enough case law into it to get a few marks and drag me over the line. Hopefully.
I will absolutely start the EMA this week. Or next week.
What else have I been doing? We had a 2 week Irish Catholic wake, I drank every night. My liver and I are no longer on speaking terms. I have started smoking again. Ish. I am smoking tailor mades (silk cut super lights) to hopefully cripple me financially and force me to stop if I don't stop myself. We had the last game of the season at the Amex Stadium for Brighton and Hove Albion FC (SEAAAGULLSSS) and yes, they won (2-0 as predicted), Reading are going to durp at the weekend and we're going to the play-offs. This time without having to deal with Wilfried Zaha and all that nonsense. Then the big time. I have taken a leave of absence from football that I am hoping will go some way to recovering from my injury. We have a match on Tuesday, in which I will Goalkeeping with one hand. I refuse to risk doing more damage to myself, I would quite like to be able to keep on playing in goal without having to wrap my wrist and take painkillers before I play. Every time. There's some tournament thing in May that I want to get fit for. Speaking of fit, we have started a fat club at work. A bunch of us are going to lose a stone in a month in preparation for the summer. I am planning to eat fruit and vegetables, go jogging and stop drinking fizzy drinks. After this orangina that I am currently drinking.
Games nights have started to gather some momentum which is nice. Three a week now. Over ten people on the Wednesday, I am starting to get to know what the frak I'm doing. I wonder if I am crossing some sort of invisible geek line that I can never go back across, but well, I am across it now. I know how to play Lords of Waterdeep. Which is a positive life step. Yep.
I have a slight ... addiction problem as well. Not having a drug or mental health problem I have a Collectible Card Game problem. I have had it since I was about 15 or so. Pokemon cards to begin with. Then a WWE based online card game. Most recently an independent project that Sony eventually picked up called Poxnora. Now, well I won't go into it now. I'll wait until next time when I can start with it and it will seem less boring. Needless to say I become insatiable until I reach a certain point.
Final things, Comic-com in London, Game-con in Birmingham, the Days of Future Past premiere, High Definition festival in Eridge and the Fringe here in Brighton. All going to be mass-ive. I also have to look for some temporary summer work as I got fired from Glyndebourne, because I am a moron and they are mean, before looking for a real-person job somewhere around Christmas.
For other W100-er's, I hope you are on your way to a good score and we can continue our blogger-blogee relationship next year. I've got very little idea what module I'm going to take. Start the EMA first. Baby steps. For the rest of you, go watch Inside Llewyn Davies. It's freaking brilliant and Empire gave it 5 stars.
Yeah that's about all,
Joe