Belated General Update Post

Since it took me such a long time to finally post the Easter Holiday trip, I'm afraid I'm having a hard time thinking through what this blog and its readers needs to be updated on...Well, let's see. After I got back from Liverpool I'm afraid I fell ill and had to do school work, writing essays, giving presentations, and whatnot all while recovering. The end of the semester approached much too quickly and simultaneously, not quickly enough. Alas, I had far too much to get done in a short period of time and being ill did not help. I have a feeling that it's due to the illness that I've forgotten quite what all I have done.

Well, after getting all of the course work finished I indulged in a week of not thinking about school work and read the Hunger Games books. Seriously, do yourself a favor and read them if you haven't. With all of the research I'd been doing on styles and forms of narrating I sort of wanted to start writing about them. However, that narratological reading and research will all be going into my dissertation - which is what I'm currently trying to work on. Although the weather here in Aberdeen doesn't make it feel or look quite like summer to this Californian, the idea of it being summer, and the tiredness after this last semester, has made it difficult for me to want to focus on my dissertation. Fortunately I've chosen a topic that I find interesting, so that's been helpful in those moments when any other drive to work on it disappears.

Aside from spending copious amounts of time with the narratological theory books my dissertation research necessitates reading lots and lots about crime and detective fiction, particularly of Agatha Christie's.

Last week, for a change of scenery, a chance to visit a good friend, and a chance to see one of my favourite stand-up comedians, I went to Dublin. I had a lovely visit with Becky and we spent half our time together discussing or reading/researching for our dissertations, and the other half was spent enjoying Dublin in the summer. Oddly enough we had a strange hot/humid day, which was weird but nice. And we got to go see Rhys Darby's This Way to the Spaceship stand-up show! It was hilarious. And the week was a nice relaxing mix of fun and work.

We also did a lot of talking about the next steps after these dissertations are handed in: going home. We spent a lot of time talking about what, at least, I have been thinking about for a long time, what it will look like to go back to the states. How much we've changed in this year, and how much home will have changed; how much we miss our community in Fullerton, and how we can't wait to see everyone again, but how weird it will be to not be in Scotland and Ireland any longer. In the end, as with everything in this life, we'll have to walk through these coming months one step at a time, and that's the best way to do it anyway. Dear God, please help us keep our eyes on You, and lead our feet to the next best right step each step along the way.

Admittedly it was weird being in a foreign country yesterday, on the 4th of July. A little anti-climatic what without fireworks or bbq-ing. But the weather here in Aberdeen yesterday was so foggy and cold that it did not feel like July, anyway. To be honest, I believe that even the end of September in Sacramento might be too warm for me based on what I consider hot days now. That will be one of the first "shocks" of coming home; not to mention some of the cultural things I'll have to get used to, again, returning to the States.

Oh! I nearly forgot, in between course work getting done and my trip to Dublin, I also had another trip to Glasgow to go see Tenacious D (Jack Black's band) with my flatmate Caitlin. It was quite an adventure! And I got to see one of the girls in ACF's youth group in Guys and Dolls with Gillian. And in general have had quite a lovely summer so far.

Well, I think that's about all I have to tell you about. In case I haven't posted it here yet, I have a plane ticket back to California for late September, and before that flight I'll be travelling with my parents around Europe. As long as I get this dissertation done, that is. Speaking of the dissertation because of it I really shouldn't let myself get distracted and post too much on here, but I'll make sure I let you know about any fun things I get up to. Hope that suffices for an update for now.

All the Best!