End of the road (for now)

I've just realised that it's been three months since I last posted on here. The time has flown by with too much to do, and too little time. As well as my studying, which I'll tell you about in a moment, I've also had to attend a 'Mandatory Work Placement'. I was fortunate to have had a placement in a local charity shop rather than a supermarket. The shop is one of several across West Yorkshire raising funds for The Forget Me Not Trust Children's Hospice, and as I feel it is such a good cause, I continued to volunteer part-time whilst I am still unemployed. I've also been distracted by some sporting things going on in London.

Right then, time to tell you where I've been on my study journey. Last time we met, I was just setting off to Benin in the jungles of West Africa, following the journey made by the Benin Bronzes as they were 'liberated' by those jolly nice Victorian gentlemen. Since then, I've travelled  all over the world via the Short Stories chapter. Destinations included South Africa, Cuba and Florida, Canada and France. So that was TMAs 5 and 6 out of the way.

TMA07 took me on an altogether different journey, into the deepest darkest recesses of... me! It was a reflective assignment, looking back at my progress through AA100; the highs and lows; the good and the bad; what I enjoyed and what I didn't; where will I go next? (You can find the answer to this in my next blog post!) 

My final travels through this first leg of my degree came in the form of Book 4 and my End of Module Assessment. I quickly skipped the sections on Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome and instead plumped for a staycation, remaining in the good old British Seaside. Although the deadline is still three weeks away, my AA100 journey has ended, having submitted my EMA last weekend.  

I hope you enjoyed the journey, please remember the AA100 terminates at this stop and all passengers will need to change if they wish to continue their journey. All aboard the A215 and the U214!

The Orient and the Ancient

I've submitted my second assignment. If there's anything wrong with it, it's too late now, there's no going back!

I've also been very busy this week working through the chapters on the Dalai Lama and then Plato. While I was in the mood for studying, I thought I might as well get my third assignment written up.

I really enjoyed both chapters, although I started to falter a bit when I got to the political stuff about Tibet and China. I have always been interested in learning about all religions. I don't know whether this is because I am atheist, or whether I am atheist because of it? I can identify with many of the Buddhist ideas, as there is none of the 'we are right and you are wrong' that you get with some other religions.

I have to say though, that the Plato chapter stands head and shoulders above all the other chapters as my favourite. I don't know if this is because, like Plato and Socrates, I enjoy a good argument. I have decided I am definitely a Moral Rationalist - I like to know the reasons WHY people choose to do things; WHY they believe what they do; I like to challenge the reasons and make conclusions based purely on the evidence, not experience.


This often annoys people, as most people tend to be Moral Traditionalists - They do things because that's what they've always done; they believe things because their parents believed it... and their grandparents... and their great-grandparents...


Think of how many people you know who are like this - the bloke who comes in the pub at exactly quarter past twelve on a Sunday, has three pints, plays the fruit machine for ten minutes when he gets his second drink, then goes home at exactly ten to three because his wife will have the dinner ready... or the old lady who goes into town on the eleven o'clock bus every Tuesday, visits the same three market stalls, has fish with peas and a cup of tea for lunch, goes to the supermarket to buy the same seven items, then gets the quarter to one bus back home.


I am most definitely NOT a creature of habit. To illustrate this, I have worked extra hard this week so I can have the next couple of weeks completely study-free. I'll see you after the Easter break...

Onwards and upwards

I've been a bit hit and miss with my writing over the past couple of weeks. Last weekend being Mother's Day followed by my Mum's birthday on Tuesday meant I wasn't really in the mood, although I did manage to do a few poems (link on the left).


I've also worked on an action plan for my jobseeking, however the biggest drain on my time has been my obsessive checking of the online TMA service, waiting for my assignment to be returned.


It was finally returned last night. I was very pleased with my result - a very respectable 82%. not quite a distinction but definitely good enough. I had some excellent comments from my tutor which actually made it harder to decide what to rework for my second assignment.


The doubt didn't last for too long though - I had my second assignment completed by midnight (I've always found it easier to work at night). I might leave it a week before going back to it, then if everything still looks fine I'll get it submitted.

Stalling at Stalin

Over the past week, I've learnt just one thing - I'm glad I decided I'm not going to do History for my degree.

All week, I've been trying to get through Chapter 5 on Stalin. I enjoy reading about him as a person, however I soon switched off as soon as the book started talking about dates and places. While I understand it is important to know when something happened, I just find that it bores me. 

Needless to say, this was yet another chapter that I quickly skimmed over, before moving on to Chapter 6: The Diva. So far, I'm enjoying this chapter a lot more.


It hasn't been a completely wasted week though. I managed to write another chapter of my short story, as well as a couple of poems. Now i just wish my tutor would hurry up and mark my assignment so I can get on with rewriting it for TMA02.

Road Block

For almost a week now I've not been able to write anything, unless you count the umpteen Facebook statuses and replies to other people's posts. I've also managed to revise my CV, but that was more of a chore than a pleasure. I haven't written any poems, stories, or even this blog!

It isn't just writing either - I've hardly done any reading. I've attempted to start reading several books, but got no further than half a dozen pages in each. I do have one of Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels sat on the shelf, which I haven't read yet, so I'll have a go at that tonight and see how it goes.

I have managed to do a lot of 'not very much at all', as well as watching a lot of TV and films. I have managed to get out of the house a few times as well.


I really need to get back into the habit of reading and writing again, so that I can continue with my studies as I haven't managed anything since sending off my first assignment. OK then... here goes... Chapter 5: Stalin, here we come!

Over the first fence

On Sunday, I decided to go through my assignment for Cleopatra and Doctor Faustus. I was having a little trouble with both parts of the assignment for different reasons. With the Cleopatra part of my assignment, I had so much to say and so many ideas that I was finding it hard to condense this into less than 500 words without compromising on the quality of my argument. With Doctor Faustus, I was finding it hard to get above 400 words without waffling.


In the end, I managed to get the assignment completed in 475 and 455 words respectively. I sent it off this afternoon so that's it now, until I have to revisit again in a month's time for my second assignment (a reflective assignment and reworking of the first).


I've also finished working through Faraday (Chapter 4) and started on Stalin (Chapter 5) which puts me about three weeks in front on my studies...

Missed Opportunity

Saturday was the first Day School for my OU course at Leeds Rose Bowl, but I didn't go. I intended to, but only had a few pounds left and had to decide between bus fares or food... I chose food!


What was really annoying though (and also a lovely surprise), was when, out of habit, I checked the balance of my bank account at the ATM - my grant money had been paid in (although I didn't get the letter until today).


So, with my wallet now full of cash, I headed off to Leeds anyway, although sadly too late for the Day School. Instead, I went straight to Waterstones to purchase the rest of my set books for the course: The Faber Book of Beasts (ed. Muldoon, P.), The Burial at Thebes (by Seamus Heaney) and A World of Difference: An anthology of short stories from five continents (ed. Prescott, L.).


I also decided to buy myself a few writers' magazines and pay a few months broadband in advance, so that after last week's fiasco, at least I know I can stay online.


That wasn't my only surprise on Saturday. When I returned home, I had received a small parcel through the post from Waterstones - a proof copy of a new book which I need to review. The book is called 'Toxic Treacle' by a Yorkshire born author called Echo Freer. It is a young adults' novel, set in a world where there are clear but complicated laws regarding the mixing of males and females; where everyone has specific roles to play; where relationships between male and female are purely for breeding. I'm only on page 70 at the moment, but am enjoying it so far. When I finish, I will post a link to the review.

A trip to Leeds

I had a shock yesterday morning when I got home from the shops. My Internet wouldn't work! I phoned Virgin to find out why - a call that lasted almost half an hour and cost me the full £10 that I'd just topped up. Apparently, the £30 I'd paid off my bill hadn't gone through in time as I'd paid using PayPoint. Anyway, it meant that yesterday I had no internet... no email... no jobseeking... no Open University... and shock, horror, NO FACEBOOK!!!


It did mean that I could get on with a bit of reading and writing. I read a little more about Faraday but I'm still struggling to take in all the science bumph. As this reading isn't essential for the assignments, I may just skip it and move on to Stalin. I also finished reading 'Moon Over Soho' by Ben Aaronovitch, which is about a Detective Constable who is also an apprentice Wizard. Next up is 'The Windup Girl' by Paolo Bacigalupi.

As for the writing... I did a little tweaking of my Cleopatra/Faustus assignment. I edited some of the information in my CVs. I also wrote two poems about yesterday's ordeals with Virgin. The bulk of my time yesterday though, was taken up writing the first draft of the first chapter of a story I've been thinking about for years called 'The Leeds Witch'. Please DO read them, and as always, your comments and advice are gratefully received...

Change of Route

Yesterday evening, I was sat watching TV with my 'Stepdad' (he isn't really my Stepdad, but there is no word for 'the fiancé my Mum never got round to marrying before she passed away even though they'd been engaged for fifteen years' so until I finish my degree and submit new words to the OED, this will have to do).


We were watching the 1999 film 'The Mummy' starring Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz and John Hannah. When the Mummy first spoke, my Stepdad said to me, "I preferred it in the old days when the Ancient Egyptian Muumies in films all spoke in English. I can't keep up with all these subtitles!"


After a brief discussion about how EVERYONE should speak English ALL the time, he asked me to find out how many people actually DO speak English, and whether more people speak Mandarin. He also wanted to know when English as WE know it now was first widely spoken. I won't spoil it for you here - if YOU are interested, you'll have to do your own research!


After about an hour of searching and reading, I was hooked. I immediately went to the OU's Qualification Planner and changed my study route.  I am still concentrating on Creative Writing, but now instead of History I will be doing English Language.


I now have my next four years of study planned out: After I finish AA100, I will start A215 Creative Writing and U214 Worlds of English in October of this year. They will both finish in June 2013, giving me the Summer off. In October 2013 I will start my level 3 studies with E301 The Art of English. I will then have an overlap when I start E303 in February 2014. Iwill then finish my degree with A363 Advanced Creative Writing starting in October 2014, hopefully finishing in June 2015.


So, now all I need to do is find a job as a writer, proof reader, editor, librarian or any other job which will complement my studies...

 

My Mum and her log term Fiancé, Kevin - This is the last photo I have of her, taken three days before she passed away

Different Directions

As I have decided to take a short break from studying, I needed something else to keep my brain busy. After conversations on the A215 Creative Writing (October 2012) Facebook Page, I've decided to write the occasional short story. This is in addition to the poetry I'm already writing. To view my efforts, use the links to the left of this post, and please bookmark them so you can pop back later...

Take a Break

I've done it! I've finally managed to write Part 2 of my Assignment. After reading Faustus's Last Soliloquy about a hundred times, listening to the CD track about twenty times and watching Richard Burton in the 1967 film version three times, I've managed to get something down in my own words.


The tricky part here wasn't understanding the play or deciphering the language; nor was it a case of not knowing the character of Doctor Faustus and figuring out why he did what he did or said what he said. No - the hard part was trying to put this into my OWN words when the books were making such a good job of explaining it all to me.


For this 500 word assignment I only managed 375 words but decided if I added any more I would just be waffling. At first I was a bit worried until I read the rules about 'word lengths' which told me it is fine to be under the word count but frowned upon to go over. Still to be on the safe side, I may go back and have another go just before I send it off. For now though, it's time to take a short break from my studies...

And we're off...

Well today is the official start of the AA100 course. So what's different? Well... not a lot really. As far as I can see, there's my electronic notebook and tutorial forums; but I'm not sure how much I'll be using them as they seem a little 'clunky' for the 21st Century. I'll probably stick to using Evernote and the Facebook group during most of my studies.


I was planning to go to the Induction Event at Leeds University Rose Bowl this morning to meet my tutors and fellow students. Unfortunately we had a power cut at quarter past nine last night. I had no TV to watch, no internet and no light for reading so had no choice but to go out for a few drinks. They were still digging at the end of the road at two o'clock this morning when I got home and went to bed. As my only alarm is an electric radio-alarm clock, I was unable to set it. I'm NOT a morning person so didn't wake naturally until about ten (the event started at half past).


Yesterday afternoon, I managed to write a first draft of my Cleopatra assignment. I really struggled at getting it down to less than 500 words. I did plan to write about three different years, but only had space to write about two. I'm going to leave it for a week or two before I go back and look at it again. Hopefully by then I may have some ideas of how to condense it further...

Gazetteers and References

I didn't read as much as I wanted last night so I've still not moved onto Faraday (I will eventually... Honest). I was thinking about what to do on Saturday after the Induction Event at Leeds University. I've no money left (apart from the £5 I've put on one side for my bus ticket), so I won't be shopping. The event will finish around 12.15pm which leaves the rest of the day clear, and as I will have a 'Day Ticket' for the buses, I might as well get some use out of it.

I decided to start by looking at the Gazetteers on the AA100 website. They list locations around the country to see examples of works I will be studying throughout the course. After a bit of scrolling and clicking I've discovered that there is a great example of Pugin's architecture at St Anne's Catholic Church in Keighley, and examples of Benin art in the Leeds City Museum (there are others at the Leeds Discovery Centre, but this is only for pre-booked tours). I can't decide whether I should visit any of these or leave them until I'm actually studying them (possibly on the same day as a tutorial).

As I was scrolling through the coming weeks I discovered that NONE of the Ancient Sacred Sites, Roman Villa Sites or Eighteenth Century Houses listed on the website are within West Yorkshire. The nearest being in York, which although only another hour by bus would be another £6! I think a bit more research might be required to find something similar locally.


I also spent a little time today working through the online activities for using the Harvard Referencing System, and then followed this up by adding some references to my pre-prepared assignment and advising someone on the AA100 Facebook page. Now back to my reading...

Getting Ready

Well, I still haven't finished the book, so still haven't moved on to Faraday. It hasn't been a totally wasted day though. I spent an hour or so preparing my document for my assignment. I'm still trying to find my way around Open Office, as previously I've always used Microsoft Word. The free version of Word that came on my laptop though has an annoying little animated advert in the bottom corner which you can't turn off (without buying the full version), and always seems to crash my computer (obviously nothing to do with the half dozen tabs I have open on Firefox).


With a bit of playing around, customising toolbars and changing default settings, I managed to get it to do what I want, although I am disappointed that there is no option for a 'live' word-count or even just a word-count button to save me having to go to the menus. 

For my first TMA I've set up a document with a header containing my name, OU identifier and TMA number; a footer containing page number; title, question (copied and pasted from the PDF version of the Assignment Booklet) and bibliography for parts 1 and 2 (part 2 separated by a 'Page Break'); and just because the idea has been swimming around in my head for a couple of weeks - my introduction paragraph for Cleopatra. This has helped a lot because I now know that six lines of Arial 12pt, is approximately100 words.


As well as this, I've also set up a LinkedIn account to help with my job search, and following advice I received in an email, I shall be including details of LinkedIn,  my Poetry Page and my Blog on any future CVs that I send...

Beginings

Around five weeks ago now, I received an early Christmas present. A box full of books, CDs and DVDs... my study materials for the Open University. After checking the contents I placed it in a corner and immediately forgot about it. After all it was Christmas... and there was partying to be done!


Once Christmas and New Year were out of the way (and the living room back to a state of normality) it was time to get the box back out again. I set up a study area in the corner of the room. Desk, bookshelves, boxes of pens and pencils, laptop and printer, and calendar and whiteboard on the wall. All set, ready to go and only three weeks until the website opens... and a full month until the official start date!


Eager to get going, I took the Study Companion from the shelf and devoured it in a single afternoon. I spent the evening navigating the eternal sea that is the OU website, and still working under full steam I read the Assignment Booklet from cover to cover. Just the tonic I needed to slow me down a little!


I haven't studied since school, twenty years ago so seeing the questions for the assignments started me thinking whether or not I had made the right choice. Arts? Me? When I was at school I dropped History and RE before GCSE, just managed to scrape a C in English Language, D in Music but only F in Art & Design... should I have considered a BSc instead? My results were much better for Maths, Geography (Physical), Economics, Chemistry and Physics.


But no! I just HAD to go down the Arts route if I was to develop my writing skills. You see, after my Mum died last October, we found a book in the bottom of her wardrobe. It didn't look particularly important or exciting, just a dog-eared, greying school exercise book; the type we used to use as jotters (or for doodling when we couldn't be bothered working). But it was what was INSIDE the book that was important.


For about fifteen years, my Mum had been writing poems. They were never going to win any awards, and were unlikely to be published in a Faber Anthology. A lot of them though were about her seven children - Me, my two brothers and four sisters. She had been writing all this time and never shared them with anyone. It was then that I decided I would start writing every day and share MY writing with the world. I just hope she's looking down and reading this over my shoulder, because Mum - this is all for you.


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