caps, gowns and hat hair

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American College Dublin, cap and gown, celebration, donuts, graduation, graduation ceremony, hat hair, masters, MfA, writing

Yesterday the sun came out in Dublin to celebrate my graduation with me. It was an early start as all graduates had to try on cap and gown at 8.30 am. Everyone showed up dressed for the occasions, and while some cleavages were lower, some heels higher, some beards scruffier and some outfits more casual than others everyone looked great.

So gowns were shrugged on and caps placed on heads and I suddenly realized that I had never considered the possibility of hat hair as my freshly washed hair was plastered down by the black mortarboard balancing on my head. But I decided that was the price you pay for having the privilege of donning cap and gown when graduating.

The ceremony was long – some of the speeches even longer – but the atmosphere was great. even if the presidential election was barely mentioned (unusual for an American college in Ireland) and Trump’s name not uttered.

For me the biggest surprise was when I was handed my parchment and I discovered it was just an empty piece of paper rolled up  and tied with a blue ribbon. My degree still rests in the hallowed halls of the college and I’ll have to drop in an pick it up one of these days.

It feels great that I’ve achieved this goal can now call myself a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) even if I still think I may be only a Jack of all trades …

graduation parchment – just an empty piece of paper

celebratory donuts

glittering graduation gifts

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antik, Chalcedory, Dublin, gems, gifts, graduation, healing properties' of stones -, jewellery, Rhinestones, vintage jewllery

In Dublin there is a lovely antique jewellery shop called Rhinestones. It is just a short walk from Grafton street and I pass it often on my way to and from lecturing. Every now and then I go in and look at all the stunning pieces that hang in multitudes in various display cases. The whole place glitters and shines and is a true Aladdin’s cave filled with jewels, silver and gold.

I have rarely purchased anything as the price tags are often higher than my budget allows for but I love looking at the costume jewellery, the antique gold, the vintage designs and studio silver. But a few days ago  I was able to splurge and buy myself something special.

In less than two weeks time I’ll be donning cap and gown and going to my graduation to receive my Masters in Creative Writing. My generous Godmother is nearly as pleased about this as I am and she gave me a monetary gift with the stipulation I was to buy myself something I normally wouldn’t – and so I did.

At first I was drawn to items way beyond my price range proving to myself that I do have very expensive taste but after a little while I had picked out a handful of items I really liked and could afford: two rings and three pendants on silver chains.  After trying them on I soon settled for one from the 60s. At it’s center it holds a glass Aventurine and is surrounded by three rotatable rings.

But because I really like a 70s Chalcedory ring as well, and I still had some money left in my budget, the lovely shop girl gave me a deal and I was able to afford both. I had never heard of Chalcedory before but is is a variety of quartz.

Mine is of a milky grayish hue and seemingly the stone promotes enthusiasm, openness and transforms melancholy into joy. It is said to bring mind, body and spirit into harmony, increase physical energy and ease self-doubt.

Now I don’t know if I believe in the ‘healing properties’ of stones – to me it all sounds a little bit hippy-dippy – but since this gem seems to be filled with positive attributes I think I’ll allow for the possibility and hope it turns out to be true.

 

celebrating my Masters

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cupcakes, Dublin, masters, perfect day, photography, photos, writing

You know those days where everything just seems to go wrong – you get up late, you spill your tea, you miss your bus and it just all goes downhill from there – well my Friday was the opposite of that. It was  a day filled with pleasant surprises.

The sun was shining so I walked into town as I was asked to teach a few extra hours, much to mine and my back accounts delight. The day went well, the students were great and I had exactly the perfect amount of material prepared, not too much as to be rushed and not to little as to run out.

I had to switch classrooms and buildings so on the way from one to the other I came across a little cupcake place that was doing a special so I purchased one on a whim – hazelnut and caramel –  a treat for later, it was if I knew I’d have something to celebrate.

On my way home the bus pulled up just as I got the stop and since the card machine wasn’t working I got a free ride. Back home a pair of free tickets to a film were waiting in my letterbox and the books I ordered last week arrived as I was shutting the door.

The guy who was  fixing the shower (it broke on Monday as I was washing the suds from my hair) had left and the show was working again, with a little extra power. But the best was yet to come, a ping into my emails and I found out I had completed my masters successfully. Relieved and happy I made myself a cup of tea and enjoyed my cupcake, celebrating my masters in the sweetest way possible, the perfect ending to a near perfect day.

writing outdoors

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Germany, no internet, novel writing, work, writing, writing out doors

After two weeks of (failed) attempts to access the internet from where I am staying I have finally given up. It still frustrates me and rives me demented that I can’t just quickly look something up when writing but I have arranged to drop in on my mother every now and then to surf the web and get work done, not ideal but the best solution for now.

Thankfully I have been getting some some writing done, I even managed to top my goal for 7000 words last week (I wrote 8350) and am delighted. After all I have so much to catch up that every extra word, page, chapter counts.

What has surprised me most of all is how well I write out doors, something I have never done before and was amazed to find suits me. Sadly the weather hasn’t always been on it’s best behavior so I need to use the usually dry hours in the morning to get as much done as I can.  And it seems to be working.

I have two more weeks left at the house and hope the mornings will stay dry, helping me get my writing done!

a big cup, a gift from my big sister

the blue bench I sit on

just birds and bees disturbing the peace

last few days of Dublin

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busy, Dublin, masters, stress, time

One, two, three – three full days left until I leave my home for the summer and I am starting to panic. Between the making lists of what to take and what to do I find that I all I want to do is curl up and read a book.

But since beaming hasn’t been invented yet and I don’t have staff to whip my the house into shape I will just have to bite the bullet and try and get everything done.

It isn’t so much the dread of packing for six weeks or the fact that I have to clean, which I hate, but that everyday life just keeps moving on, chewing up precious time. Today I am meeting my prof to talk about my masters, and I am truly dreading it as I am so behind, tomorrow I need to do some test editing for a really exciting job opportunity and then there is a meeting that I need to prepare for as it is about a project I will be working on while away.

As my stress levels rise the only thing that is keeping me sane is the fact that I know that while I only have three days left, it will also be over in three days too!

My 1960s wall-clock reminding me of what time I have left

the final countdown

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change, city, country, Germany, Ireland, photography, photos, travel

Ten days, in ten days it will be time to hand over my keys and head out for my German summer. As always I have begone making lists (I know!) and I have to say I am looking forwrad to crossing things off them – particularly the ones about what to pack.

I will be swapping my tiny urban path-garden with a large green space and lots of trees, even a little wood for me to rest my eyes on, and my small blue bench will be replaced with a much longer one. I look forward to stepping out onto grass instead of concrete in the mornings and I know the pigeons and seagulls will be replaced with song birds and – if I’m lucky – a woodpecker.

Instead of hopping on a bus for a quick trip into town I’ll be cycling to the local shops for my food and the nearest town is a train ride away. The only cafe I know of is a cycle away – but it is in the grounds of an old manor and really beautiful with home-baked cakes.

So in ten days I’ll be swapping my usual urban living for some country life-style, Ireland for Germany and I am really looking forward to it. Hopefully my muse will board the plane with me and feel as inspired by the change of scenery and not suffer from hay fever!

short story static

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masters, psychology, short story, static, static thought, writing

On Friday I’ll be handing in my end of year short story final – 6.000 words (minimum) and at least two different stories. Since my short story attempts tend to be more minimalist than expansive, I’ll need to hand in three pieces of fiction.

While all of that isn’t really so much of an issue, and I do have two good, solid pieces (one I am particularly proud of), the third is creating a bit of a headache. Somehow I have entered a static phase, my thoughts are static and my writing is just not moving forward. And with time running out that is  not the most pleasant of feelings.

In psychology Static Thought is the term used to describe a child’s belief that the world is unchanging, that the world will always stay the same as it is in the present, and that the world has always been like that. And this is exactly how I currently feel about my story …

Somehow I can’t see where the story is going, and I am struggling to figure out where it came from. But my hope is that in a few short hours my story will have matured enough to allow for logical reasoning and complex thought structure and I can move forward. If so, the static will lift and the world will change and I will type like never before  – after all I do have a deadline looming.

hoping that the Muse will inspire me

 

red pens and grading

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grading, photography, photos, red pens, students, teaching, writing

As a lecturer I go through quite a few red pens, and this year is no different. Over the years I have discovered that my preference are gel pens, they seem to just slide over the page and allow for quicker marking, but when stuck (or when I run out of ink) I switch over to my trusty red Stabilo.

But this year, while I sit grading my students work and slash red all over their pages I can’t help but wonder how much red will be on my own pages this year. After all I am currently in the unique position to be both a student and lecturer, the grader and the gradee.

Knowing that your work will be scrutinized and compared to a grading scale is somewhat disconcerting, and not very inspiring. And while I understand the need for unification of grades I am discovering I am not really too found of being on the receiving end.

Maybe that is why I am  being a little more generous this year when it comes to giving a grade, when stuck between two I tend to go up, when working out percentages I round up. I just hope that my lecturers will do the same – after all  don’t they say, what goes around comes around?

red pens and grading scale

 

one down, two to go

Tags

editing, masters, novel, publishing, short stories, to much to do, words, work, writing

After two long weeks of typing, deleting and editing I handed in my novel writing final, 12.500 words of my novel plus 3.00 words of reflection, in all nearly 50 pages of words. Hard won and energy sapping words.

But once I handed the printed out pages in for my professor to collect, a burden was lifted from my shoulders and I decided to take a day. So on Saturday I spent time reading and in the afternoon my neighbour sat in the warm(ish) spring sun enjoying a chat and a cup of tea.

Sadly one day was all I could allow for as I now still have my short stories final and  publishing final to hand in. So with one down, and two still left to go my time is still filled with words.And of course there are still all of my corrections and grading left to do, and I still have to cycle in to do my contract work.

With that in mind I think it is safe to say that I won’t be bored or wondering what to do in quite a while. However as the temperature rises and the sun seems to be spending a little more time in the sky everything does come a little easier.

The biggest issue I am left with however is whether I should on my novel or on my short stories for my thesis. After all I’ll be spend  most f my summer with it and I wonder which one will be the better option.

So as I contemplate my options and try and concentrate on the job(s) at hand I think it’s time for another cup of tea and maybe a cookie, after all a cookie makes nearly everything better.

 

distracting Saturday

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distractions, quote, trying to write, Winston Churchill, writing

Why is it that I sit down brimming over with good intentions but when I open up my laptop and stare at the neat rows of letters in front of me everything around me becomes immensely important – more so than the task at hand?

I get up and potter about, return to my mac and sit down, hands hoovering over keys, thoughts forming to only be led down an endless row of rabbit-holes:

The Saturday newspapers need to be read – oh and look a Sudoku yet to be solved – mmmh I think a cup of tea is needed – and what about my emails – oh and I did want to read that post/blog/online article. Every movement outside my window – even the violas bobbing in the breeze – catch my eyes and distract me.

And I so need to write, time is running out before I have to hand in my end of year assignments, but my mind has other ideas, one that seem to stray far away from my novel. But what to do?

Keep trying – I suppose!

You will never reach your destination if you stop to throw stones at every dog that barks.

Winston Churchill