In Australia the university results are out.

I will give a quick tour of what we are up to for my new audience.  There is a secret society within the walls of blogdom.  That society is filled with brilliant people, and caring people.  As best as I can tell all of these people fall into both categories.  From time to time a blog entry by a society member gains a heartbeat and personality and BECOMES.  Late in November, a seed was planted.  It received much fertiliser and water.  And more fertiliser.  And it BECAME.

 

This seed that became, was in fact a suggestion to adjust your Christmas spending pattern to include one extra family member.  A member you have never met.  Will possibly never meet.  That member is a charity.  Members of the society have rallied support and offered donations to this cause.  Tomorrow I will be posting an up to date tally and list of contributors for the fundraiser, so if you were planning on giving but haven’t got around to it yet… tick tock… tick tock… If you have given directly and wish to be included in the acknowledgement please email me your receipt number.  slimpedal AT iinet DOT net DOT au

 

This offer will always exist, but right now it is the season of giving.

 

 

And now for something completely different.

 

As my time in the spotlight draws to a close I thought I would take the opportunity to puff out my chest and brag a little.  Well OK, a lot.

 

Many people faced with disappointment in their career, ditch their job, attach themselves to a comfortable piece of furniture in front of a big screen TV, and sulk.  I’m in the midst of my mid-life crisis and am very proud to announce that mine is a positive event. 

 

Back in 1985 I had a very bad experience at university.  It was completely my own doing.  The degree I enrolled in, a Bachelor of Engineering, had a recommended first semester consisting of seven, yes seven, fulltime subjects.  That equates to over 80 hours each week of lectures, tutorials and head-in-book time.  Needless to say, I gained a distinction that semester.  For one subject.  For the other six, I achieved a well deserved FAIL.

 

Let’s briefly visit the next 19 years.  15 years in one job.  4 jobs and a business in the next 3 years.  I have 2 things to say about the business.  #1. I was the majority shareholder of the Local Bike Shop.  #2. I doubt I will see my money or my (former) friend and business partner ever again.  The 4 jobs were carbon copies of the one I grew disheartened with after 15 years and I couldn’t settle into any of them satisfactorily.

 

At the beginning of this year my wife and I sold our home of 10 and a half years that had seen our family grow from 2 adults and a bulging belly in October 1994 to an amazing team of 6 (have I ever mentioned the dog before today?).  We moved 25 kilometres (15 miles) and now live a single kilometre (less than a mile) from the university we are both enrolled at.  We are what is politely referred to as “mature-aged students”.  My wife has a 9 subject head start on me and will graduate at the end of 2007 with a double degree – Bachelor of Education / Bachelor of Arts.  She will be a classroom ready senior high school English and Civics teacher.  At the end of 2008 I will graduate with a Bachelor of Education / Bachelor of Science.  I am negotiating at the moment to manipulate the subject structure.  Presently I am enrolled as a Physics major, Maths minor.  But with a bit of twisting, I can see a way to make it a double major.  Now I just have to convince the administration of the soundness of my proposal.

 

Here’s how I plan to go to the negotiating table for this thing.  I will have the recommended enrolment pattern in one hand and my results in the other.  The annotated enrolment pattern will show them what I am proposing to do.  My results are the leverage to tell them that I can do it.  Having completed 7 subjects in my first attempt at university with an appalling outcome, I have re-entered the system with a different perspective and a different motivation. 

 

My results (the source of today’s bragging topic) this time around are different, and will be the fulcrum for the leverage I need to convert to a double major.  During 2005 I have completed 8 subjects.  We don’t have grade point averages in Australia, we have words that identify each level of achievement.  There are dozens, many of which are rarely used, that relate to things being late, incomplete, pending, etc.  But from the dozens come 5 that are considered “final” results.  FAIL, PASS, CREDIT, DISTINCTION, HIGH DISTINCTION. 

 

Here’s what 2005 looked like for me:

COR109	Communication and Thought	Credit
EDU100	Becoming a Teacher	Distinction
MTH101	Algebra and Geometry	High Distinction
SCI110	Research Design and Data Analysis	Distinction
ENS262	Hydrology and Geomorphology	Credit
MTH202	Calculus and Algebra	High Distinction
SCI102	Biodiversity and the Environment	Pass
SCI107	Physics	High Distinction

 

There was a little bit of disappointment attached to the lowly pass, but all in all I’m satisfied.  It beats the hell out of 1 distinction and 6 fails.  Fortunately they were 2 decades ago and are long since buried.

 

 

 

Remember to have a look at how to help save the world.

 

I’ll see you tomorrow and we’ll talk about how many goats and chooks we can buy.