I’m a student. Again. I just hope I do a better job of it than I managed ten years ago… but that can’t be too hard because I did a fairly diabolical job of it last time. I don’t remember concentrating a great deal on work, but I do remember a succession of late nights, bad meals, and strange girlfriends. Work-wise, I do remember being in a drama class and being asked to breath through my vagina while crouched under a table in the part of the room I felt safest. I do remember a philosophy lecturer called Phil who looked like Jesus Christ and had a cord jacket with leather elbow patches, who appeared to come straight out of The Book Of Stereotypical University Lecturers. I do remember playing Jason in a production of Medea, screaming my lines out over the top of the theatre’s fire alarm, which had been triggered by a malfunction with a smoke machine, or possibly the arm-waving of a ten foot high puppet. It was all jolly good fun what what, but I realised after a year and a half that it was leading me nowhere. So I left.
When I take over the world, no-one will be allowed to go to University straight from school. It’s a bad idea. Go away somewhere, get a job, grow up, get an opinion. Then just think about the idea.
This time round, my course, starting next month, is related to personal environmental impacts, sustainable travel, food chains, and the role of technology in improving ecosystem health. I actually care about this stuff, and the course is linked to a degree in International Studies that presents a fascinating mix of topics stretching across politics, human geography, health and environment. This course, is, I hope, a milestone in making a move towards a new career that I can pursue with some passion, and ties in with a desire to travel, to work with people, and to do something genuinely valuable (Wow, I wish I had been this idealistic when I left school). Now, I just need to work my backside off to make sure I keep up with the course, put in the hours, concentrate, and make it count for something. Whoops, sounding a bit like a US daytime soap there.
In other news, Flickr has just announced a Geotagging feature, which is a great excuse to revisit my photos from last year, and add them to the map. Yet another Flickr toy that could get quite addictive.
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Ghana 180- Cloud poo poo land February 1 2012