The Book of Na'Lon

Another exceedingly frustrating Friday at work. Had to prepare the stuff for my peer observation on Tuesday and it took all day. As a result I didn't get the lecture for Monday written. And the library didn't close at 7pm like I thought but at 5pm. So I may have to go into work tomorrow again.

I also discovered that Dipsy rewrote the content for the course I am teaching on Mondays without paying attention to the validated course content. The good thing about this is that I don't have to do a lecture on risk taking and adolescence. I think I'll do one on the development of identity instead.

The Marquis fetched me home at about 9pm, which was very nice of him: that way I could load the heavy books on the bike...

Watched Thursdays Six Feet Under which was good and grim as usual.

( Emither )

Prompted in part by pellegrina's comments on the last one ('Connected') that we did. I agree with her that we've become quite adept at our literary 'rolling with the punches' -- it's amazing what I have been getting out of it. I think I am beginning to prefer emithering to RP, because you can go back to it and show it off to other people, too. And it's easier to stay in character.

I spent lots of today feeling pleased as I trudged up and down the hill in Lancaster before and after teaching, with the ending to our last effort. Also been thinking about how to get started on the next emither and casting about for a title (something I quite enjoy doing).

The really good thing about the mithering euphoria was that it also gave me some ideas about what to do with my story (which still hasn't got a title, despite the fact that I am currently writing chapter 13.) In fact -- this update to lj is probably going to stay quite short, because I want to get back to the story, to get the scene I am in the middle of writing out of my head and onto paper.

Anyway... back to story...

Spent most of today at work to get tomorrow's lecture finished. But as I have mentioned before, I don't like working at weekends. So I feel a little bit cheated.

On the plus side, I have decided to take my story with me tomorrow and spend all time not actively engaged in standing in front of the students by working on Ch.13 (jane_somebody have you had a chance to read Ch.1 yet?)

The really good thing about today was, however, that pellegrina and I have nearly completed 'Connected'... a little more tinkering to do and that should be it [big sense of satisfaction here]. This emither has been something really special, and I feel that both Pellegrina and myself have come such a long way in our emithering capabilities. I look forward to the next one already.

the_marquis made rice and mozzarella (with tomato sauce) for me tonight -- that was very nice. And yesterday he got me Affirmation by Savage Garden, which I have wanted for ages because of the song of the same title (he got it cheap). He's been very nice to me all weekend, actually.

Didn't get the work I originally intended to do today done, because I was too tired and didn't feel in the mood.

Today went past in a laundry filled blur and with some good emithering, and even some actual work on my story. That said I am semi-stuck again. I know what I want to use the current scene for but am in danger of it turning into info dump. Hm. I know there's going to be a way around it. I'll just have to leave it for the moment and hope that inspiration strikes when I next look at it.

(There -- you happier now, TK?)

( Yes, thank you kindly. -- TK )

are just kind of weird, without anything particularly weird happening...

( So here's another ramble )

Isn't that absurd. I can't think of a title for my update, but I want there to be one, so I make one up that means nowt. But, heck, why shouldn't I? Today's entry is mostly inane, but read if you wish...

( Don't say I didn't warn yer! )

Today was my first day teaching in Lancaster after the break. It was actually surprisingly nice, despite the digustingly early start.

( Read more... )

I resent having to work at the weekends, I really do. I want to get on with things I want to do. But because I tend to feel guilty about the requirement to do work, I usually end up doing nothing worthwhile at all. And the next thing I know is, it's Sunday night and I am intensely dissatisfied.

So this weekend, I have work to do. This damned assignment for the teaching and learning course, and when I realised yesterday that I hadn't really done the right thing with my drafting so far, I became very unmotivated indeed. Which is a farce, really, giving that part of my assignment is about helping student's find motivation and some form of enthusiasm for research methodology. Grrr.

I tried to break the cycle described in the first paragraph today. I will do some of the things I want to do instead, so that at least I enjoy my weekend as a break from the week. And maybe once I have done some of the things I enjoy, I can get down to work feeling less deprived of my fun.

As a result of my reasoning, I have already reedited chapter one of my Story and sent it to my Evil Twin (jane_somebody) and I have finished and posted off my bi-monthly column for the magazine of a society I belong to. I have also sweated over the current emither with pellegrina which is very enjoyable, but hard, hard work as it's plumbing some psychological depths that are hard to put into words. But very useful exercise nevertheless.

Yesterday, I finally spoke on the phone to my aunt Yo'Quith to thank her for her Christmas parcel. She sent me a couple of video tapes of a puppet show that I used to love as a child, because she saw it and was reminded of one of my "phases" (or "thuses" as eudesia might call it). It's about a ghost that lives in a castle. I don't remember this at all, apart from remembering that I liked ghosts and puppet-shows by this particular group of puppeteers.

Hm... while I think of it, a note for any one who recognises some of the names, such as Na'Lon or Yo'Quith, from my fiction writing and role-playing: I am borrowing these names for various people, including 'Na'Lon' for myself, but here they are only used as descriptors, and no similarity between character and RL person I refer to is intended. There are some similarities between character's family structures and my own family structure: e.g. The Marquis is also Na'Lon's mate in the Game, and Na'Kat really is Na'Lon's mother in Game and fiction. However, that is as far as the similarity goes...

Today's entry is some rambly insanity, as usual and so I'll park it sideways, as it were. That way I won't take up too much space on my friends' screens... This really is about coursework assignments. It also is about what I have to do over the weekend and some burbling...

( Read more... )