~ ANNE! ~

I'm too lazy to defect to a different blog-hosting place just yet. But think it's going to happen. Starving-studenthood does not permit extras like Gold memberships (either that or I'm just too cheap).

So it's exam week, but I have no exams and finished all my papers in the last two weeks. You would think I'd have some free time, but puzzlingly that never seems to be the case. Did some work for my supervisor this week, for which I will get paid quite well, so that's exciting. We've also started two experiments in the lab, both of which I am the research assistant for. So that adds up to more work but more money, which makes it worthwhile in the grand balance sheet of my brain. I'll be doing 7-10 hours per week on one, and the other I will help out as needed.

I'm also marking first year essays (most of which look like they were written by a drunken chimpanzee who's never heard of APA format) and invigilating, which involves standing around watching people write exams. This burst of money-making activity is partly prompted by my sudden decision to head to Europe at Christmas, and partly by my inability to say no to anything that sounds worthwhile.

My thesis work is on the way to being on its way to being started, which is further than it was. All (!) I have to do is learn to program in E-Prime (a language for writing psych experiments, basically) and write my program, then get my stimuli ready, pilot-test it, find participants, find time to test them... But it will get done. Somehow.

The fleas have mostly subsided, after the grand spray-a-thon on the weekend. I'm washing my duvet today, as I am suspcious of it. But that, hopefully, will be the end of that.

Liam arrives on Sunday, which is very exciting. Think I will go hang out in Manchester for the day, as I've never seen it (well, I've seen the train station!) And then classes start next week. Blimey.

Still, this is so, so, incredibly much better than work last year.

Ooh, and I got a huge compliment from my supervisor. I had a meeting with her and another prof on Monday, as he may be able to help me program my experiment. She said, "We could do this thesis project two ways: the easy way, or the potentially publishable way. Normally for a Masters thesis I'd say the first, but Anne's not afraid of hard work. Let's do the second." I was quite chuffed. Now, just keep your fingers crossed that we actually find an effect!