Over the moon!

Greetings one and all!

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As I was saying last time, 2008 was a funny old year - a few exceptionally good bits and an awful lot of grim stuff. But 2009 has got off to an exciting start with Ruth getting a new job in the Midlands, and now, just a few days ago, I received an email from UCAS to say.....

wait for it......

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I have been offered an UNCONDITIONAL place to study Geology

on their 4 year MGeol Masters degree course

at Leicester University from September 2009!!!

How cool is that, huh?

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To say that I am over the moon would be something of an understatement! I am almost soiling my underwear with the excitement of it all! It's the 'unconditional' part that has really surprised me a bit, to be honest. I rather thought that any offer would be conditional on me passing the Open University Science Foundation course at least and maybe have to attend an interview. But it seems I must have made some sort of decent impression during the course of last July's Open Day to be offered a place straight off! FANTASTIC! It also means that the pressure to pass the OU course is off, so I can relax a bit more, just enjoy the learning and not get so stressed on the run up to the assignments.

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For an idea of what I will be getting up to in the not too distant future have a little click on this, the Leicester University's Geology web page:-

Just imagine the change:- here I am sitting in the same old office, bored rigid, drawing yet another road to yet another housing development or whatever. Now, before me is the chance to get out in the open air to study rocks, fossils and everything else that shapes this amazingly complex and fascinating world. Instead of sitting in an office every day I will be visiting, Arran, Wales, Tenerife, Spain, the Alps and who knows where else! Pinch me someone, I must be dreaming!!!

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Lord knows, give me a few years, I might even be taking people on tours like my geologist chum from the other side of the herring pond, Wayne Ranney! He's currently on an amazing 'Private Jet Expedition' covering Madeira, Burkino Faso, Rio de Janeiro, Cape Horn and Panama! Nice work if you can get it!

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I can't wait to get cracking, but wait I must! There's the small matter of funding to sort out, which is not as straight forward as it should be. It seems my previous period of study, back in 1978-81, which was funded by a local authority grant affects my entitlement to further funding now! So it may be that I will have to defer my place to the 2010 intake to give me time to save up a few pennies! That would be a bit frustrating but as I've waited this long for the opportunity, another year won't be too bad and knowing that the place is there ready and waiting will give me something to look forward to!

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In the meantime, we'll have to sell the house (not easy in the current climate!), get a new temporary job and move. So no stress there then? It will be a weird old year, spending so much of the next 6 months apart from my wife and youngest daughter, but as I keep saying to Ruth, we must focus on the goals and take one step at a time! Everything will fall into place in the fullness of time, you see if it don't!

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See y'all later!

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Cheers, Alyn