The last couple of crazy months...

Ruthie and I the day we finished our last presentation


Ruth and Karen hard at work in our room in UCD


Michael with his books and his dinner


Blathnaid and Brian in Bourbon


Irene, Eugnen and I at dinner in Bourbon in Belfast

It seems years since I got back from Las Vegas! In actual fact it is just under two months since I returned from the city of bright lights and surreality. Tomorrow morning I head off to sunnier shores to attend a global studies conference and to chill with my mum - I cannot wait! But before I leave I felt that my poor neglected blog deserved some attention. So here goes a summary of the last two months:
The first word that springs to mind is moodle (for those of you who are not in the Irish academic system, this is a computer programme where the students get all their course work and submit all their assignments online. Most of April and the first ten days of May were spent grading assignments on moodle and answering lots and lots of students emails complaining about these grades! It makes me feel old, but I don't think any of my crew in college would have had the nerve to tell the lecturers or the tutors that they were WRONG!!! It is definitely an eye opener into the 'youth of today'.
The rest of the time was spent trying to do assignments for my modules in UCD. We follow an American structured PhD system were we have to complete a certain number of credits by taking courses and writing papers. But they got done, as did the final presentation to the department on the 8th of May.
But it was not all work I promise. Moments that stand out are dinner with Ruanne and Michael, where Michael got through the first two chapters of book 6 of the Harry Potter series - I am so proud of him. There was a trip to Cork which I was told involved a conference, but I had a great time hanging with great ladies and drinking cocktails with geographers from all over the world. On the academic front I also got to hear Edward Soja speak - one of the fathers of the 'third space' and a great speaker. The Shawshank Redemption stage play based on Stephen King's novel debuted in Dublin, and myself, Alison, Cait and Ruanne had the pleasure of being in the audience. It was the most fantastic play I have ever seen. The book was made to be a stage play, and I say this despite the movie being one of my favourites.
The final high point was just this weekend when Cait, Blathnaid and I went shopping in Belfast for the bridesmaid dresses for the big wedding in October. We found the perfect dress for both of us, but you will all have to wait till October to see what it is like :-)
So a tough couple of months work-wise, but some wonderful moments surrounded by dear old friends and wonderful new friends.