Electric Quaker II

Cool! I just extended my name by a whole two letters!

So… Yeah. Graduated yesterday. That was a new one.

Since I was not only turning up to graduate but also leaving on the same day, Aber was predictably fantastic (O, aye, it rains there sometimes, but it doesn’t dare if it knows you’re leaving anytime soon…).

It dun’t half feel weird, though, mainly, I think, because I’m now in a situation where I’ve left on paper, but don’t really agree with what the paper says. But, then, I wasn’t really at Aber for the getting of a degree anyway; I was too busy having learning experiences, and the like. Getting a degree, therefore, isn’t something I’m finding to be the cut-off other people seem to take it as.

That said, I ought to be grateful to have made it as far as graduating at all – back in 2003, AGS sent eight people up to Aber, three of ’em to do English. Somewhere along the way, Messers. Ben ‘Convince JTA to skip every A-level Biology Lesson bar Two’ Michael and Thos. ‘Aberystwyth has Lecture Theatres? What on Earth For?’ McCaughey seem to have caught stray bullets. I didn’t actually notice at the time, on account of being too busy ducking myself, but three of us went into that Department, and I appear to be the only one who’s made it out. Hm.

You’ll forgive me for the faintly militaristic imagery there, at least if you know me… Pacifist, yes, adverse to looking at situations as if they were dramatic all-against-the-odds action films, no.

I didn’t have any money to buy my gown and hood &c. This is a bit of a bugger, because I was rather enjoying swanning about in them – for some reason, I kept thinking of our ex-deputy head Mr. Iddon, which is a bit weird, because AGS had at least ten teachers who used to swan about in proper academic clothing – and I imagine I’ll end up buying a set once I’ve managed to finalise the Get A Job plan (still working on it…)

Uh. Went and got some big proper photos taken, which I’ve no done for a while, and Boy, has digital photography improved those things… Also took a bunch of shots on the little domestic camera, which my mother made the mistake of taking out in the vicinity of Dan, with predictable results. Hey ho.

Was quite astonished by the number of people I ran into; people I’ve not seen for years suddenly started popping up all over the place. Also there was much champagne. Have got myself an e-mail address-for-life thingy, which you can get from me if you want it by either: e-mailing an address you already know I have [choice of Gmail or current UWA account] sending me a text [as long as your version of my phone number is from November 2003 or later] or by leaving a comment with you details [I ain’t getting spammed, cheers.]

Ah… Listening to Pandora again… I guess it must be near on a year since that came out, actually; vague recollections of it as an element of the immortal summer of 2005…

…Anyway, that’s doubtless rather more than you had any desire to know about me and graduating, but the photo Dan’s put up doesn’t quite say it all, so I thought I’d put in a few words as well, not least because the “picture = 1,000 words” argument has never held much in the way of water for me. Who ever raised an army using a hasty rally and a bloody painting to get people’s blood up?

Enjoy…