ahahaha - oh!
it's been a DAY (in a minor way - was off south overnight for a meeting that was utterly pointless, and managed to leave my own phone behind, and then - somehow - screw up the password for my work blackberry five times in a row. at which point it SELF DESTRUCTED. or, well, announced it was wiping all its data. and then wiped all its data. which was a wee bit disconcerting. calling support tomorrow will be fun! i may have to open with "hello, i am an idiot. please pity me!".) so, up late, LARGE glass of wine, and youtube has given me david mitchell being all kinds of adorable on who do you think you are? i have just told the screen that "i want one. I WANT ONE. GIVE ME ONE!" i am such a dignified viewer!
anyway, i have also just had a weird alternative life-path revelation (fine. revelation MIGHT be a nice way of saying "oooh. i can totally construct a mary sue-ish fantasy version of my own life based upon this!"): had i not lost interest in doing any work at all in my 6th year of secondary school, having decided that since i had the highers i needed for the courses i was interested in at scottish universities it would be more fun to skive off, drink gin at lunchtime, and listen to radio 4/watch the crimson pirate/ go paddling in the burn/have the Late Teenage Angst) i might (very might, yes, but it is technically possible) have made good on the results at CSYS* i needed to confirm my provisional offer** from cambridge. to study history. which... is what david mitchell studied there. and given we were born in the same year... brb, AU IN HEAD JUST GOT MORE INTERESTING.
*a qualification no-one outside scotland will have heard of. once upon a time, in year 5 of secondary we took "highers", one year courses, in c. 5 subjects (depending). in 6th year you could take some of those subjects (usually between 1 and 3, but up to 5; though maths was a special case with up to 5 papers each of which was about 1/2 a CSYS) on to a certificate of sixth year studies, which was very (very) approximate to an A-level in the eyes of english universities. whereas scottish institutions would take you straight out of 5th year and primarily/initially looked at higher results.
**i... actually, wait: i think it was the step before a proper offer? it was "get these results & we will interview you for a place" as i recall. even the scottish offer system is now a mystery to me, and i forget the proper term for this because - bloody ages ago!
anyway, i have also just had a weird alternative life-path revelation (fine. revelation MIGHT be a nice way of saying "oooh. i can totally construct a mary sue-ish fantasy version of my own life based upon this!"): had i not lost interest in doing any work at all in my 6th year of secondary school, having decided that since i had the highers i needed for the courses i was interested in at scottish universities it would be more fun to skive off, drink gin at lunchtime, and listen to radio 4/watch the crimson pirate/ go paddling in the burn/have the Late Teenage Angst) i might (very might, yes, but it is technically possible) have made good on the results at CSYS* i needed to confirm my provisional offer** from cambridge. to study history. which... is what david mitchell studied there. and given we were born in the same year... brb, AU IN HEAD JUST GOT MORE INTERESTING.
*a qualification no-one outside scotland will have heard of. once upon a time, in year 5 of secondary we took "highers", one year courses, in c. 5 subjects (depending). in 6th year you could take some of those subjects (usually between 1 and 3, but up to 5; though maths was a special case with up to 5 papers each of which was about 1/2 a CSYS) on to a certificate of sixth year studies, which was very (very) approximate to an A-level in the eyes of english universities. whereas scottish institutions would take you straight out of 5th year and primarily/initially looked at higher results.
**i... actually, wait: i think it was the step before a proper offer? it was "get these results & we will interview you for a place" as i recall. even the scottish offer system is now a mystery to me, and i forget the proper term for this because - bloody ages ago!