Not strictly true, but continuing on the theme from my blog title, post titles will also be named after songs, whichever I happen to be listening to at the time. Anyway, welcome, sit yourselves down, pour some tea and make yourselves comfortable. If you’re not sure what it is you’re being welcomed to, don’t worry, I’m sure it won’t be an isolated case. What will follow over however long I manage to keep this blog going will be a series of pretty much whatever comes into my head as I’m writing. I’m setting out here with no real plan nor agenda save to simply have some record of my thoughts in a vague and/or vain attempt to make sense of them.
It’s increasingly dawning on me just how much I miss university; the people, the atmosphere and, yes, even the work. I enjoyed learning, enjoyed being busy most of the time. The saying “you don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone” has so much truth to it. I’m also slowly beginning to realise just how much of my life has been in academia. A visit from a plumber brought it home to me. He said he’d left school at 14, went straight into work. And though I inwardly scoffed at the notion, I couldn’t help but feel sorry for him. The man had been left with the impression that university is pointless. I admit having done a degree in Philosophy doesn’t put me in the best place to refute that claim, but refute it I do. Vehemently. Universities are havens for academics such as myself. They are, I believe, an invaluable part of society, which is why they’ve been around for 800 years. Not just places to pass on knowledge, but wisdom as well. Strange though it may seem for those who have never experienced it, those who have will know the truth behind the statement.
The philosopher in me at the moment is screaming at me to stop bandying about words like knowledge, truth and wisdom, for such words need careful and clear definitions. Since such definitions escape me at this time, I shall continue without those words… or try to.
So, I’m currently looking at Masters courses, as well as trying to find a job in the meantime to fund things such as travel, transport and future expenses. I’m sorely tempted to either carry on my philosophical journey or quench my thirst for history, but as I’m finding out, such qualifications in the current economic climate aren’t as helpful as, say, a qualification in IT would be. Which has led me to look for IT Masters courses which require little or no prior experience. Such courses are thin on the ground, but there are some out there, and some of those actually manage to sound interesting. History and Philosophy will sadly have to wait for another time I feel. A shame.
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