Following on from my previous account, for once it seemed that my passport photo passed muster, so that was one hoop successfully negotiated. Then, last week, the excitement of registering for my modules. Randomly I do seem to be registered for something entirely different as well but that is a bridge to be crossed, probably if I seem to be expected to pay for it. I am sure that a graduate certificate in world heritage conservation is all very interesting but ……..

Yesterday I conquered, at the third attempt, applying for Commonwealth Games tickets. I thought I was all prepared for this, having registered as soon as it was possible about two years ago. It seems I failed then to click on the ‘confirm your registration’ link in an email I never received and certainly don’t have now, so I am not registered at all and my application kept stalling as I was told that I needed to verify my account. Never fear, thinks I, I’ll just reregister with one of my many other email addresses – there are advantages to having several. But no, it seems, as you have to give your name, address, date of birth and probably your inside leg measurement, so they think I am already in the system. I reapply as a fisherman of my acquaintance, hoping that my using my own card details but his address won’t mess things up. He will only attend under sufferance; I can hardly expect him to pay. At regular intervals throughout the whole debacle, I was exhorted to ‘click on the (ridiculously blurred) images with traffic lights/stairs etc.’, to ensure that I am not a robot. Maybe a robot could make a better fist of navigating the system.

Anyway, after all that, I’d had my fill of technological challenges for one week but embarking on an online university course comes with a whole set of challenges all of its own, before you even get to the actual studying. Yesterday I clicked on various links I’d been sent and discovered that course material was available. With a holiday in the offing, I gleefully began looking at this, thinking that I might be able to get ahead. There is in any case a debate about whether the course started yesterday, next Monday or next Tuesday – take your pick from advertised dates. It was a tad confusing, as this material seemed to refer to a similar, in-person course that ran last year. Despite the excitement, I was reluctant to go too far down this route in case I was spending time on the wrong course. Today I seem to have got the correct material, so that is a relief and also slightly scary, well, okay, very scary.

I filled in my student profile, choosing to upload my Mistress Agnes picture for this. They might as well know from the outset that I am weird. I added some biographical information as requested, confirming my weirdness status. This involved changing my Facebook username to something that actually was my name, before sharing the link, tick in that box. What the heck is my Google URL? Nope, no idea – I tried several likely combinations but all just lead back to a Google advert. I decided to leave that box blank.

I read the module handbook and ordered two very expensive books. One even might arrive before I go away if the mighty Amazon do as they claim. Other suggested books can be downloaded. I much prefer actual books to reading online but in the interests of economy, I downloaded some more. One helpfully tells me that it will take me 594 minutes to read. That seems awfully precise; if I had nothing better to do I’d time myself. I am quite thankful that I am a speed reader. I am also increasingly aware that I haven’t done any proper taught courses since the mid 1990s. I don’t count the PhD where you basically make it up as you go alone and devise your own questions.

There are weekly Zoom tutorials. Thankfully, only one of these clashes with a pre-existing engagement but I am concerned that I will be in the middle of a field with questionable wifi for the first ones. The first assignment is due in six weeks. I am starting to wonder if Ireland has a different calendar to us as in one place a least, the due date is a day/date combination that don’t exist. I am a submit early person, so hopefully this won’t matter anyway.

So I am off to read for 594 minutes, or maybe 593 if I am lucky.

It is difficult to find illustrations for these blog posts, so you will have to put up with a gratuitous ‘practicing with the new camera’ picture – so far the most significant challenge with that has been trying to thread the strap through a teeny tiny slit.