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Thursday 8 October 2009

Too much work!

Yesterday I hardly had time to read my emails let alone do any serious work on WHEN EMPIRES CLASH! – COLONIAL WARS.

Last night, after teaching for three hours and attending a compulsory training session about Health and Safety in the workplace (rather a waste of time as I teach Health and Safety to the students!), I helped my colleagues prepare for the college’s Open Evening. This gives prospective students the opportunity to see what is on offer and to meet some of the staff involved in delivering the curriculum.

Because I was involved in the preparations for the event, I did not have to attend the Open Evening; nevertheless, the preparations took some considerable time and I did not get home until later than normal. My working day was not, however, over. I am a tutor to fifteen students who are preparing their applications to go to university, and I spent several hours reading through the drafts of their Personal Statements.

If you have never been involved in the processes used in the UK to apply for a university place, you will be unaware of the importance placed by the universities on each student’s Personal Statement. It can make or break their application. My tutor group have done their best … but their best is just not good enough. As a result I had to spend a considerable amount of time both adding notes to each Statement and preparing what we in education call a ‘writing frame’. This is a template for the students to follow and it took me the best part of two hours to produce a computerised one that they will be able to download and use.

Despite all of this I did manage to read through what I have so far written in the latest draft of WHEN EMPIRES CLASH! – COLONIAL WARS, and I have identified several things that need greater clarification or explanation. Hopefully I will be able to do some work on the rules tonight or tomorrow … but the way things are at the moment I cannot be sure!

PS. My cold is slowly getting better … but my wife now has it as well. C’est la vie!

2 comments:

  1. Howdy Bob,

    That's Hi from the Old West where we can't seem to get rid of the 90F temps.

    Don't worry about WEC while eveyone is sick. Get well. Get your wife well. Relax. After you are both feeling good, take her out for a little surprise dinner or whatever she enjoys. Retail Therapy and a meal?

    We will all still be here, interested in WEC when you get back in the mood.

    A break from rules writing is also good to clear the mind and gain a fresh perspective. All work and no play...

    Jim
    The Dull Jack Type, but I'm getting better. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Jim,

    The temperature here is very variable at the moment; warm and sunny one day, cold and wet the next ... which is one reason why so many people I know seem to be coming down with colds of different sorts. Mind you, 90F is a bit extreme in the other direction!

    My problem is that I am, by nature, goal driven. It is a product of my upbringing and education. You are set goals - or set yourself goals - and must strive to achieve them. Once one is achieved, you move on to the next. It has its good side and its bad side.

    At present the desire to finish WEC (and start play-testing) is helping feel like I want to get better as quickly as possible and also making me feel bad because I am not meeting the schedule I set myself for finishing it.

    Your advice is very sound, and I shall try to adhere to it. That said, I had an idea about an aspect of the rules last night that won't go away ... and like a itch I am going to have to scratch it!

    All the best,

    Bob

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