Reading week
Hi All
Last week was reading week. For most people, this is a chance to relax, go home, or go to Dundee or Edinburgh for a few days out. Unfortunately this was not the case for me. I spent my reading week in the union working on essays, rigging for ents, or preparing for lectures – so unlike most people I could not spend all day in bed working my way though a packet of chocolate digestives.
Don’t get me wrong though, I had a good time. The ents work is always a laugh. And I had two talks, one to Durham University, and one at a school in Dundee.
The one in Durham was a talk on Aspergers to a group of 60 or so students and lecturers at the university. While it was smaller than most, it was a great crowd. Although what I found particularly challenging was talking to two very different audiences – students and lecturers – for one, I needed to do advice for lectures/university structure, for the other, peer support.
Dundee was certainly the highlight of my week. The day before I had an interview with the local radio station about the talk, and in most local news bulletins there was a mention of the conference. The conference itself started with a 45 min presentation from two parents on their experience of Aspergers syndrome and autism. Then I had a half hour and a one and a half hour slot (with a tea break in between). It was really well attended – about 150 people, made up of parents, teachers, support workers, psychologists and other professionals working with children on the spectrum. Overall, with the talk in Durham and this talk in Dundee and all the other work I had during reading week, I ended reading week feeling more tired than when I started!
I have also had my philosophy essay plaguing me. I have realised that Philosophy is a subject that is impossible to understand. Writing an essay on a subject I do not really understand is tough. To remedy this, I spent about 7 hours in the union building glued to my usual sofa trying to write it, which I have done. I was quite happy with it, but then I got a mini-essay for philosophy back which was done on the same subject. It seems I had totally the wrong end of the stick – I was not amused. So, I have taken to distracting myself from essay failure, by writing this, buying a new CD for Friday (I am DJing for 2 hours again), and playing random online flash games. However, unfortunately, I have run out of things to write about this week, so I need to get back to the essay.
Joshua Muggleton (Not leaving the union building until the essay is done)
Last week was reading week. For most people, this is a chance to relax, go home, or go to Dundee or Edinburgh for a few days out. Unfortunately this was not the case for me. I spent my reading week in the union working on essays, rigging for ents, or preparing for lectures – so unlike most people I could not spend all day in bed working my way though a packet of chocolate digestives.
Don’t get me wrong though, I had a good time. The ents work is always a laugh. And I had two talks, one to Durham University, and one at a school in Dundee.
The one in Durham was a talk on Aspergers to a group of 60 or so students and lecturers at the university. While it was smaller than most, it was a great crowd. Although what I found particularly challenging was talking to two very different audiences – students and lecturers – for one, I needed to do advice for lectures/university structure, for the other, peer support.
Dundee was certainly the highlight of my week. The day before I had an interview with the local radio station about the talk, and in most local news bulletins there was a mention of the conference. The conference itself started with a 45 min presentation from two parents on their experience of Aspergers syndrome and autism. Then I had a half hour and a one and a half hour slot (with a tea break in between). It was really well attended – about 150 people, made up of parents, teachers, support workers, psychologists and other professionals working with children on the spectrum. Overall, with the talk in Durham and this talk in Dundee and all the other work I had during reading week, I ended reading week feeling more tired than when I started!
I have also had my philosophy essay plaguing me. I have realised that Philosophy is a subject that is impossible to understand. Writing an essay on a subject I do not really understand is tough. To remedy this, I spent about 7 hours in the union building glued to my usual sofa trying to write it, which I have done. I was quite happy with it, but then I got a mini-essay for philosophy back which was done on the same subject. It seems I had totally the wrong end of the stick – I was not amused. So, I have taken to distracting myself from essay failure, by writing this, buying a new CD for Friday (I am DJing for 2 hours again), and playing random online flash games. However, unfortunately, I have run out of things to write about this week, so I need to get back to the essay.
Joshua Muggleton (Not leaving the union building until the essay is done)