Not off to a flying start

Well, my 'I know I can and I will' mantra faded somewhat the day before my first class, when I suddenly decided I can't do four subjects after all.  I withdrew from Prose Writing the day before the class started, mainly because it meant an early start and conflicted with SH No.1's work commitments.  Anyway, I feel happy with the three subjects I'm doing and the first week back has gone well.  More or less.

Turning up for my Reading Fiction leccture, everyone wanted to know where I was the day before for the Prose class.  This set my mind back to thinking I could re-enrol and do four subjects after all - SH No.1 could work out alternative arrangements at work.  However, after the lecture, I decided that with all the reading involved, three subjects would be enough.

The next day, I arrived for my Fame and Celebrity class and met one of my old friends from last semester who wanted to know why I wasn't doing Prose.  Once again, I thought I would still have time to re-enrol and sent SH a text asking him to make alternative arrangements for the assigned day for that class.  In the meantime, I went to the lecture with my usual coffee heartstarter in hand and enjoyed the intro to the sociology-based lecture.  As I went to leave the lecture at the end, I lifted up my lecturn/table thingy and accidentally spilt whatever little cold coffee I had left at the bottom of the cup, onto the girl next to me!  It was a mininmal amount and it didn't actually land on her but onto the strap of her bag.  Well, you could imagine how apologetic I was!  I must have said 'sorry' a dozen times as I scrabbled around in my bag for a tissue.  And this girl didn't utter a word - she completely ignored me as she bent down and proceeded to scrabble around in her bag for a tissue, which she found.   I bent my head closely to hers and said once again, 'I'm really sorry about that'.  No response.  'Hello?', I said.  No answer.  Awkward!!!  She's obviously one of these people who can't accept an apology and want to make you feel as guilty as all hell.  'Alrighty then', I said as I left to go to my tutorial - hoping to God she wouldn't be in it!!  She wasn't, but this little episode made me think that no, I won't re-enrol in Prose, three subjects are enough.

After Fame and  Celebrity came Screen Analysis 2.  I did Screen Analysis 1 last year and quite enjoyed it and I had the lecturer for Ghosts and the Gothic last year and feel safe with her.  I surveyed the room and verified that I didn't know anyone in the class - not to worry, a great chance to make a couple of new friends.  My confidence was soon shot when the lecturer asked us to introduce ourselves and tell everyone who our favourite director is and whether we considered he/she to be an 'auteur'.  Now, I know 'auteur' is French for 'author' but I was a little confused as to the context in regard to cinema.  I also knew that I didn't know another soul and many of the students seemed to be real film buffs, so to ask the question would've made me feel, if not look, like an imbecile!!!  Anyway, I winged it and came up with a few, mainly Sofia Coppola (I'm probably the only person who enjoyed 'Lost in Trnaslation' and saw it twice) and after the film screening and tutorial, felt quite confident but decided that yes, three subjects is definitely enough!!