Since my PhD ended I have stepped back from work a little and started to relax, moved house etc. Coupled to this the need to blog appears to have diminished, although whether this is a good thing is yet to be clarified. Anyway today will be the end of one chapter and the beginning of another.
Firstly I've posted minutes from six years of Swansea Uni Hiking Club into the university archive. The minutes had been passed down to me and had spent far too long in my flat before I finally got round to preserving them. As far as I know the hikers are the only club to have put material into the archive. Sad really, but in 50 years time there won't be records of any other clubs in the university. UCS Ramblers, UWS Hikers, SU Hikers... and nothing else :(. History isn't just about finding out about what happened. It does rely on those in the present to preserve material for the future.
Secondly today should really mark the end of my PhD... I'm taking a break from university. I've sent off all the material I can to journals for publication and I'm taking a break. Hopefully I'll be appointed to a short-term position in a couple of months time, or a permanent job somewhere else, but in the mean time a holiday is required.
Plan - drive to Scotland.
Destination - Isle of Skye.
Activities - Walking, scrambling, possibly climbing, exploring, sitting, looking, cycling, relaxing, and photographing.
Staying - nothing booked - camping, bothies, bunkhouses, hostels, B&B if I feel the need for creature comforts.
Aim - to discover the magic of Skye.
Nervous - a little.
Care - required.
Enjoyment - assured.
Weather - unpredictable.
Records - photos and a notebook.
Contact - minimal.
End point - uncertain.
Looking forward to it? - of course!
See you later ;)
Thursday, 30 September 2010
Tuesday, 3 August 2010
Things Desired
To many this poem will be well known, to others it may be the first time they have come across it. A friend sent it to me yesterday and while some of the lines were familiar, possibly from television dramas(?), most of it was new to me. I really understood a lot of what Max Ehrmann appeared to be saying in Desiderata and went back to it this morning for another read. If you haven't read it before here it is. Enjoy, absorb, think and relax.
Desiderata
Max Ehrmann, 1926
source http://www.poetseers.org/the_great_poets/misc/desid/
Desiderata
Go placidly amid the noise and haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others,
even to the dull and ignorant; they too have their story.
and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others,
even to the dull and ignorant; they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexations to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter,
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter,
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs,
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals,
and everywhere life is full of heroism.
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs,
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals,
and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love;
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment
it is as perennial as the grass.
Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Neither be cynical about love;
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment
it is as perennial as the grass.
Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.
You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.
Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be.
And whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace with your soul.
With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.
And whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace with your soul.
With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.
Max Ehrmann, 1926
source http://www.poetseers.org/the_great_poets/misc/desid/
Thursday, 24 June 2010
Madness
Madness strikes
at the drop of a hat,
you don't see it coming
- Simple as that!
Some call you crazy
others 'an old bat',
but age doesn't matter
if you think like that.
Each to their own
affect in different ways,
manipulating thoughts
with the mind it plays.
Be happy with yourself
in rhyme and verse,
and content with your lot
while others curse.
The state will pick up
the bill for the care,
personal oblivion
taxpayers despair!
Madness strikes
at the drop of a hat,
you don't see it coming
- Simple as that!
(c) Martin Lilley 24/6/10
(written walking Crystal beach, Zakynthos between 23:00 & 01:00, 22-23/6/10)
at the drop of a hat,
you don't see it coming
- Simple as that!
Some call you crazy
others 'an old bat',
but age doesn't matter
if you think like that.
Each to their own
affect in different ways,
manipulating thoughts
with the mind it plays.
Be happy with yourself
in rhyme and verse,
and content with your lot
while others curse.
The state will pick up
the bill for the care,
personal oblivion
taxpayers despair!
Madness strikes
at the drop of a hat,
you don't see it coming
- Simple as that!
(c) Martin Lilley 24/6/10
(written walking Crystal beach, Zakynthos between 23:00 & 01:00, 22-23/6/10)
Wednesday, 5 May 2010
Where next?
Holidays are coming...
For you and for me
For one, the Mountains
For the other, the sea
Why have a British holiday
When Greece you could go?
It really depends if you need
The sun or the snow!
(c) Martin Lilley 15/3/10
With the submission of my PhD I have been lacking the rhyming touch, this one above was written a while ago. Still I would much prefer to be relaxed and not rhyming than working too hard and needing an outlet to my thoughts.
So with submission comes the prospect of what to do next. Thankfully for the moment I can sit back and relax, enjoy my working holiday and gradually come to terms with the future. None-the-less in a couple of months I will know if i have achieved my doctorate and be contemplating jobs. So what does an out of work Marine Biologist do? Do i look for science jobs, for marine jobs, for voluntary jobs?, for anything?
Personally the choice has to come between an academic post and a commercial one.. While voluntary and taking a break from science are attractive they certainly can't be long-term aims. So..., to continue at university and pursue post-doctoral positions or look for something more applied.
Currently I am looking towards the commercial aspect mainly because I don't feel that the university environment has enough funding to support a practical person and hence the need to move on somewhere else. Alternatively I could change the way I work to adapt to the university environment.. but for the present I don't feel that is a worthwhile option. All in all I am currently planning which companies to apply to with my CV and see if they show any interest. Some have suitable roles going on a 'until they are filled' basis, while others suggest that speculative CVs will be put on file until such time as they are looking for a suitable candidate.
All in all I don't know what the future holds, but I'm sure it will be interesting.
For you and for me
For one, the Mountains
For the other, the sea
Why have a British holiday
When Greece you could go?
It really depends if you need
The sun or the snow!
(c) Martin Lilley 15/3/10
With the submission of my PhD I have been lacking the rhyming touch, this one above was written a while ago. Still I would much prefer to be relaxed and not rhyming than working too hard and needing an outlet to my thoughts.
So with submission comes the prospect of what to do next. Thankfully for the moment I can sit back and relax, enjoy my working holiday and gradually come to terms with the future. None-the-less in a couple of months I will know if i have achieved my doctorate and be contemplating jobs. So what does an out of work Marine Biologist do? Do i look for science jobs, for marine jobs, for voluntary jobs?, for anything?
Personally the choice has to come between an academic post and a commercial one.. While voluntary and taking a break from science are attractive they certainly can't be long-term aims. So..., to continue at university and pursue post-doctoral positions or look for something more applied.
Currently I am looking towards the commercial aspect mainly because I don't feel that the university environment has enough funding to support a practical person and hence the need to move on somewhere else. Alternatively I could change the way I work to adapt to the university environment.. but for the present I don't feel that is a worthwhile option. All in all I am currently planning which companies to apply to with my CV and see if they show any interest. Some have suitable roles going on a 'until they are filled' basis, while others suggest that speculative CVs will be put on file until such time as they are looking for a suitable candidate.
All in all I don't know what the future holds, but I'm sure it will be interesting.
Monday, 19 April 2010
Thought for Today
Far from the maddening crowd
All alone, high on a Cloud
Sitting, thinking, watching it all
Don't upset the balance, 'else you'll fall.
Forget the future, the past has gone,
Today is the thing, live it in song.
Enjoy the present, while you can,
Tomorrow's a new chapter, in our life-span.
(c) Martin Lilley 18/4/10
All alone, high on a Cloud
Sitting, thinking, watching it all
Don't upset the balance, 'else you'll fall.
Forget the future, the past has gone,
Today is the thing, live it in song.
Enjoy the present, while you can,
Tomorrow's a new chapter, in our life-span.
(c) Martin Lilley 18/4/10
Sunday, 18 April 2010
Sunday Supplement
I stopped in the sun today, on the way to work,
Thinking of poems, in my brain they lurk.
A number of themes came to my head
the remainder unspoken, yet to be said.
--
Black Bird on the bough
Robin red, I see him now
Tit of blue, fluttering near,
shows surprise & disappears
Magpie pecking on the lawn,
Carpet of green, closely shorn.
All around, sounds of the wild,
broken only by a small child.
--
Long shadow on the page,
A pencil of dark, centre stage.
Book tilted, a strange poise
Sun shining bright & nature's noise.
--
The birds are fluttering, a squirrel to one side
I should be working.. - its for my pride.
Out here the sun shines, for now it can wait
It is Sunday after all, I Can't be late!
Watching that squirrel, creeping around,
Birds still twittering their pretty sound.
The sun is warm and I'm getting hot,
Don't want to burn, protected not.
--
All (c) Martin Lilley 18/4/10
Thinking of poems, in my brain they lurk.
A number of themes came to my head
the remainder unspoken, yet to be said.
--
Black Bird on the boughRobin red, I see him now
Tit of blue, fluttering near,
shows surprise & disappears
Magpie pecking on the lawn,
Carpet of green, closely shorn.
All around, sounds of the wild,
broken only by a small child.
--
Long shadow on the page,
A pencil of dark, centre stage.
Book tilted, a strange poise
Sun shining bright & nature's noise.
--
The birds are fluttering, a squirrel to one side
I should be working.. - its for my pride.
Out here the sun shines, for now it can wait
It is Sunday after all, I Can't be late!
Watching that squirrel, creeping around,
Birds still twittering their pretty sound.
The sun is warm and I'm getting hot,
Don't want to burn, protected not.
--
All (c) Martin Lilley 18/4/10
Sunday, 4 April 2010
A foggy day
The foghorn blows
out on the head,
A lonely sound
it must be said.
No wind this day
Mist on the sea
To port please go
or faithful be.
The lifeboat waits
for the call,
Brave men to risk
their lives for all.
Here it comes,
*The phone it rings*
"Way to the west"
the Coxswain sings
Out on the shout
To sea they go
Through the darkness
and waves they flow.
To the ship adrift,
heading for the rocks,
can't see them yet
the fog it blocks.
But they know,
it must be soon,
From mist she comes,
and big she'll loom.
There she lies
A ship and cargo
Eight in the crew
To save & embargo.
One by one
across they come,
dressed for the sea,
shivering, numb.
They save them all
Lucky this time,
but the ship founders
her position prime.
A Wreck she'll make
if she can't be lifted
Homes of holes
to Sealife gifted.
The lifeboat makes
her way to port
One dicey moment,
Nervous, fraught.
They make it back
safe and sound,
men to their beds
no-one drowned.
Another shout
entered to the log
Too many this year
excluding the fog
The foghorn blows
out on the head
Completely oblivious
I’m tucked in bed.
(c) Martin Lilley 4/4/10
out on the head,
A lonely sound
it must be said.
No wind this day
Mist on the sea
To port please go
or faithful be.
The lifeboat waits
for the call,
Brave men to risk
their lives for all.
Here it comes,
*The phone it rings*
"Way to the west"
the Coxswain sings
Out on the shout
To sea they go
Through the darkness
and waves they flow.
To the ship adrift,
heading for the rocks,
can't see them yet
the fog it blocks.
But they know,
it must be soon,
From mist she comes,
and big she'll loom.
There she lies
A ship and cargo
Eight in the crew
To save & embargo.
One by one
across they come,
dressed for the sea,
shivering, numb.
They save them all
Lucky this time,
but the ship founders
her position prime.
A Wreck she'll make
if she can't be lifted
Homes of holes
to Sealife gifted.
The lifeboat makes
her way to port
One dicey moment,
Nervous, fraught.
They make it back
safe and sound,
men to their beds
no-one drowned.
Another shout
entered to the log
Too many this year
excluding the fog
The foghorn blows
out on the head
Completely oblivious
I’m tucked in bed.
(c) Martin Lilley 4/4/10
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)