Graduate School Weeks 4/5
Ugh, I'm hitting a bit of an emotional wall. Pat was going to come out next week because he has a new job with Elliance and that's great. But it turned out to be too expensive and too hard on his financials with the new pay schedule. I can't say that I was very happy because it would be so nice to just have someone hug me and reaffirm my basic worth as a person.
And let me tell you about how I almost had to do CPR on my flatmate. So Tuesday, I had boat club early, so I came back and had a nap. I hear a knock at the door and it's Liz, and she's pale as a sheet and says she can't feel half her body. OK! Called 999, they said she didn't need an ambulance, that NHS24 would call her back and sort her out. So NHS 24 calls, goes through the talk with her, and tells her to go to A&E. So we get in the taxi, go up to the hospital, and they tell her she's got viral meningitis (not the scary kind!), give her some pills, tell her to take it easy, and send her home. We're not back a half hour, I'm sitting here on the computer, and I hear a scream. And then another. So I go flying into her room and she's lying on her bed having a fecking seizure. Like, foaming at the mouth, pupils dilated, scary seizure! So my other flatmate is on the phone with 999 and I'm desperatly trying to recall my first aid training...so finally she stops seizing, starts breathing, and can't remember a thing. So the medics show up, and the essentially don't believe me or her. They don't believe her that she can't walk, and essentially refuse to put her in a wheel chair. She gets taken back to the hospital, admitted, and they find out that she had a fecking blood clot in her brain. Yep. And that seizure? Real. Thanks.
That being said, my course is amazing. On Monday, I spent the day rooting around the stores of the Burrell Collection and handling 17th century walnut furniture. Like, touching it. I was giddy! You never realize how much stuff museums own that they *don't* show. Its astounding. Tuesday we visited the University of Glasgow Archive service, including the Scottish Brewing Archives (no, not making that up). They have records of every student that's ever matriculated at GU since 1451. They have the records of the original 10 students. That's awesome.
I've managed to narrow my thesis focus to a specific neighborhood of Glasgow. Now I have to go digging through the aformentioned archives and look for the building records and permits and then the ownership records and then the maintenance records. And then I have to go and take pictures. But my convener mentioned something today about doing an "alternative dissertation". I have to give a proper, gown and cap dissertation like everyone else, but I might also be allowed to do a "walking tour" as part of my dissertation, and maybe put it on the programme of the West End Festival. That would really rock my world. I'm so so so so glad this thing has sorted itself out so well, but I've still got a lot of work to do. w00t.
Today I spent most of the day "high on books" as it were. I joined the Mitchell Library, which is this GORGEOUS building in Glasgow, and has just about every book imaginable in it. In addition the our uni library, which has 12 floors of literary madness, I'm swamped in possibilities. It was great to just sort of have a wonder around and pull out obscure books. Hooray!
And now, some pictures
This was taken from the top of the bell tower
See? High up!
Yeah, that bell tower
Ceildh dance (pronounced like "kaylee") basically, scottish square dancing.
Edinburgh/ Firth of Forth
My mate Oli on the train back from Edinburgh
Stirling/Wallace Monument
And let me tell you about how I almost had to do CPR on my flatmate. So Tuesday, I had boat club early, so I came back and had a nap. I hear a knock at the door and it's Liz, and she's pale as a sheet and says she can't feel half her body. OK! Called 999, they said she didn't need an ambulance, that NHS24 would call her back and sort her out. So NHS 24 calls, goes through the talk with her, and tells her to go to A&E. So we get in the taxi, go up to the hospital, and they tell her she's got viral meningitis (not the scary kind!), give her some pills, tell her to take it easy, and send her home. We're not back a half hour, I'm sitting here on the computer, and I hear a scream. And then another. So I go flying into her room and she's lying on her bed having a fecking seizure. Like, foaming at the mouth, pupils dilated, scary seizure! So my other flatmate is on the phone with 999 and I'm desperatly trying to recall my first aid training...so finally she stops seizing, starts breathing, and can't remember a thing. So the medics show up, and the essentially don't believe me or her. They don't believe her that she can't walk, and essentially refuse to put her in a wheel chair. She gets taken back to the hospital, admitted, and they find out that she had a fecking blood clot in her brain. Yep. And that seizure? Real. Thanks.
That being said, my course is amazing. On Monday, I spent the day rooting around the stores of the Burrell Collection and handling 17th century walnut furniture. Like, touching it. I was giddy! You never realize how much stuff museums own that they *don't* show. Its astounding. Tuesday we visited the University of Glasgow Archive service, including the Scottish Brewing Archives (no, not making that up). They have records of every student that's ever matriculated at GU since 1451. They have the records of the original 10 students. That's awesome.
I've managed to narrow my thesis focus to a specific neighborhood of Glasgow. Now I have to go digging through the aformentioned archives and look for the building records and permits and then the ownership records and then the maintenance records. And then I have to go and take pictures. But my convener mentioned something today about doing an "alternative dissertation". I have to give a proper, gown and cap dissertation like everyone else, but I might also be allowed to do a "walking tour" as part of my dissertation, and maybe put it on the programme of the West End Festival. That would really rock my world. I'm so so so so glad this thing has sorted itself out so well, but I've still got a lot of work to do. w00t.
Today I spent most of the day "high on books" as it were. I joined the Mitchell Library, which is this GORGEOUS building in Glasgow, and has just about every book imaginable in it. In addition the our uni library, which has 12 floors of literary madness, I'm swamped in possibilities. It was great to just sort of have a wonder around and pull out obscure books. Hooray!
And now, some pictures
This was taken from the top of the bell tower
See? High up!
Yeah, that bell tower
Ceildh dance (pronounced like "kaylee") basically, scottish square dancing.
Edinburgh/ Firth of Forth
My mate Oli on the train back from Edinburgh
Stirling/Wallace Monument