Let's pretend: Marshall Mathers never picked up a pen

Our Director Writes: 

Diary of a Mature Student: NewSemesterRestartGO!

And so, it all kicks off again this week, for another nine eight seven months of hard work, intensive study, and rich personal rewards.

Well, for some people, at least. 

Whether it's particularly intentional or not, a university class is like a handy microcosm of life. For every forty students, thirty will turn up on time. Twenty of those will turn up on time and, crucially, in the right place. Ten of them - conversatively - will turn up on time, in the right place, and with the course materials. Because I am old, and therefore worry about things like punctuality and preparation, I'm one of these ten, which isn't as much of a comfort as it should be. 

Still, it's nice to be back, even if it feels like I've been back since, oh, say, September, given that I've been on campus once or twice a week just to remind myself that I would be going back. This was important, given the paucity of summer work and the need to be doing something. But I feel like sometimes I'm happier if there's something to complain about - whether it's not having work to do, or whether the work I do have to do is worthwhile, or how it's organised.... Blah, blah, blah. 

A case in point; it's week zero, i.e. introduction week, and already things are being changed around. Monday's lecture is now on a Tuesday morning, Friday's lecture is now on Wednesday night - and night lectures are a special fun all to theirselves, let's be fair now - and Tuesday's lecture - well, Tuesday's lecture is still on a Tuesday. So that's nice. Heaven forfend that the published hours on the syllabus remain static, because this is a forward-thinking institution with change at it's core. Which is, naturally, another thing...

The entire campus is being rebuilt. Which is a good thing for future generations of students, because it means bugger-all to my year except disruption and other such fun concepts. I say this literally because the work being undertaken at the moment will not even be completed until after my (adopted) generation graduates. So... Good luck, future students! 

But this is all just wind through the engine, because, well, it's good to be back, and see people I haven't seen since the start of the Long Hot Summer, and it's good to be studying and doing something again, so... I figure I should stop complaining just to complain and complain about something worth complaining about, such as the repetition of the word complain...