I've got those ol' TMA blues...

The TMAs (Tutor Marked Assignments) are beginning to come thick and fast now - the consequence of studying two modules at the same time! Not that I had much choice once I deferred, but that's another story.

 I have just submitted one for A215 Creative Writing and have a 1500 word essay on Conan Doyle and Robert Louis Stevenson to submit by mid-day on Thursday 26th.

So what, you may ask, am I doing here on my blog?

Fair question.

I am the Queen of Procrastination - I have to log on to the Open University website daily, to go over the Prose Skills Tutorials, but from there, it is a short hop to Facebook and the Open University groups, of which I am an enthusiastic member...and then I am lost. Posts about cats, things that my non-OU buddies are up to, more posts about cute Red Pandas, things that my OU buddies are up to... and then I look at the clock and OMG, an hour has passed and I haven't done a stroke of work towards the TMA.

So I am here, trying to convince myself to switch off the Internet.

Just for a couple of hours.

Surely I can do without my emails, Facebook OU Groups and the more legitimate uses of the Internet for research purposes?

It is now gone 17.15hrs and I won't get any more done on this TMA now, so I am setting down in writing exactly what will happen tomorrow.

I will get up, shower, have breakfast, switch on my laptop and DISABLE THE INTERNET CONNECTION for three hours, during which, I will work on my TMA04.

I will have an hour's lunchbreak and read my Kindle.

Then I will do another three hours on this damned TMA and break the back of it.
I want it gone before the deadline, so that I can get going on the next two TMAs - a piece of Life Writing and an essay on James Joyce and either the New York Poets or Metropolis. The Life Writing is to be submitted 13th April followed by another on 30th, but I should also be working on the EMA (Externally Marked Assignment), which is due on 28th May.

The essay (TMA05) has to be in on 2nd April, followed by TMA06 on 14th May and then, while I'm trying to get the EMA done, I have to be revising for the A230 exam on 4th June.

So you can see why the Internet has to be switched off. I have the entire summer after 4th June to 'play' (unless I screw up the exam and have to resit *sob*).

In October, I will start the first of my Level 3 modules - Children's Literature and frankly, it will be a relief to be studying just one module.

This will be my last blog entry for a while - unless I need to come on and wail about exams and EMAs. See you after June 4th