Back to university

Semester Two started today, which is both exciting and frustrating.  It's the latter because it wasn't until today that we could have access to this term's on-line course resources, including unit outlines, tutorial topics, essays, final reading lists and lecture schedules.  I'm annoyed to find out that one of the courses will not have taped lectures (contrary to pre-enrolment advice).  I'll need to alter my working hours, starting as early as I can on Tuesdays and Thursdays to compensate for early departures.  It'll work out if I commit myself to what needs to be done.  But it's bothersome.  Life would be so much easier if I could take in the lectures at home in the evening.  Circumstances are not made easier by a) my abscess and b) the absence of my van (back from Elio, the mechanic, by the end of the week I hope).

More positively, there's the excitement (some trepidation) of starting new courses.  I've signed up for two (and maybe Chinese for beginners in the evening).  There's ENGL1025 Fiction, Film and Power and ANHS1601 Foundations of Ancient Rome.  Both courses 'do what they say on the packet.' 

The Film / Film Adaptation course should be fun and well within my comfort zone.  I simply have to read the novels, articles and watch the movies.  We had our first lecture today.  It included a showing of Buster Keaton's Cops, which is still funny 88 years after it was made.

The Roman history course is an altogether different kettle of fish.  All those dates, dynasties, periods and the rest - challenging (to put it mildly).  It's a long, long time since I studied any form of history (not since Stirling University in the late 1970s when I took a couple of units in Modern European, British and Social history topics). 

Here I am though ... Romans at Sydney University!!  Not looked at them since second year at secondary school, which was not yesterday (nearly 40 years ago now I think on it.)