Thursday, November 24, 2011

Getting on with it

My life at Otago has settled into a pattern - walk down to the university in the morning. Sit at my desk, read, drink coffee, read, eat a sandwich for lunch, read more, drink coffee, read, catch the bus back up hill. Very easy. So - I do have a desk. Or at least 9 candidates have the use of 4 desks but being peaceful people we can resolve a resource shortage amicably. The juggling act revolves round not everyone being on campus all at once.

Our office (and the MA students who have the adjoining office) until we move "soon" is in the Music Department studios. Formerly the Radio New Zealand studios in Albany Street the building has now been taken over by the university as part of its great eastwards campus expansion.

These studios are for Contemporary Music Performance. Down the corridor from us is a "Vocal Room". But so far it's been a very quiet room. Maybe it only sings in the evenings. There is also a "Contemporary Rock Waiting Room." I wouldn't have thought of contemporary rock as prepared to sit down and wait. If it waits too long it won't be contemporary. 


Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Nearly on stream

I have the magic ID card and can use the library. This is progress. But it still takes a few days to get security access loaded onto my card. And then I will get a desk. In the meantime I'm sitting in the library and reading. Currently Marc Gopin's Holy War, Holy Peace: How Religion can bring Peace to the Middle East.

Monday, November 14, 2011

Getting enrolled

Things have changed since 1975-1977 when I was last enrolled as a fulltime student at Otago. Now it's computerised. But the computer that produces the ID cards can't do that today since the computer which enrolled me only talks to it at night time. Tomorrow the ID card machine will know me. And then other things will start happening - library access for a start.










Dunedin in the spring is full of rhododendrons and other blossom. My daily walk down through the botanic gardens takes me through these and many more.

Saturday, November 12, 2011

Back to School


I've returned to student life at my alma mater, Otago University. I heard yesterday that I've been admitted as a candidate for PhD  - to write a thesis on some aspect of contemporary Franciscan peace making. Otago University has NZ's only peace and conflict studies centre. It's great to be back here. The university is much bigger, but still with many recognisable views and paths, each with memories.
Researching and writing a PhD thesis seems a massive mountain - I've no idea where the track through and over that mountain will lead.