Busy, Busy, Busy...

Three weeks in and life is beginning to get busier! I like it that way, though - it's what I signed up for after all!

My first assignment of the year is due just before Halloween. It's a photography assignment and the brief is 'Faces and Places of Ireland'. There are basically two parts to it. I have to take ten pictures that represent Ireland to me, and present them in class. However, I also have to submit three of these pictures to a competition run by the Dublin Photography School in aid of Brainwave, the Irish Epilepsy Association. It just so happens that's an organisation close to my heart, as my dad has epilepsy. The deadline for the competition is next week and there are €2000 worth of prizes to be won - not that I'm expecting any of my photos to be chosen! I have almost half of my assignment done. I'm renting the camera for this weekend to take more shots. It's a Nikon, very fancy... unfortunately that doesn't make the slightest bit of difference to my photography skills! On Friday I'm heading over to my aunt's place because it's a great setting for photographs, plus it'll be nice to see her and my uncle and cousin for a few hours. I haven't seen them since that family party back in July, and now that I'm living in Dublin it's nice to be near them again.

I'm not going to post any of the photos here until after the presentation - it's top secret information until then! You never know who could claim them as their own, and then I'd be up shit creek!

Apart from lectures and assignments, clubs and socs are also keeping me occupied. Tonight I've got football training and studio training for DCUfm, tomorrow I've got my first Music Soc meeting of the year - with free pizza! Speaking of which, here are some of the most important things I've learned about university generally over the past couple of weeks:

1. When you have as few hours as I do, getting involved in society life is absolutely vital.
2. Lecturers are not like teachers. They won't tell you what to do - only you can take responsibility for your own learning.
3. There is no right or wrong answer. It's all about being able to think for yourself and trust your own instincts.
4. When it comes to the ovens in Larkfield, forget about the cooking times you read on the packaging of whatever food it is you're making. When you hear sizzling, take the food out! The ovens tend to burn everything that touches them.
5. There is always a way to get free pizza.

Finally, today marks the birthdays of two of my favourite musicians, John Lennon and John Entwistle, both sadly departed. Happy Birthday to them!