Got the link emailed to me by Arepo (I think?), so as I tend to sign up pretty much everywhere, thought I'd pop on here too.

I'm studying a part-time PhD in English Lit, with the uplifting current thesis title of 'AIDS, Cancer and Poetic Form' - built around Thom Gunn and Peter Reading, in case anyone is interested. I'm also keen on Brazilian jiu jitsu (hence ridiculously detailed blog), though with current economic situation, that's taking a bit of a back-seat at the moment (only making it down once a week this month).

Hi sf

That PhD title is new, no? Care to draw us a pretty diagram (metaphorical at your choice)?

Yeah, although in terms of what I've written already, more of a sidestep than a major change of direction: I've been able to c&p large chunks of what I had before. I never liked 'sincerity' and 'authenticity' in the title, so nice to replace them with something more concrete. Previously, the bits I was most comfortable with were all to do with Gunn and Reading's writing on terminal disease, so made sense to take that and expand it, seeing as I was looking for more focus anyway. Still on form, like before.

Hi slideyfoot,
Welcome to these forums. I wish I knew more literature. I just never took to reading (in primary school) and English (in high school) as much as I should have.

I figure slideyfoot is a jiu jitsu reference?

Nope, 'slidey foot' is a name I had for the vague approximation of dancing I attempted the first time I got drunk. That wasn't long before uni at the end of the '90s, which is also when I first got online. Used it ever since.

If I was going for a jiu jitsu reference, I'd probably stick -oplata on the end of something (omoplata is a well known type of shoulder lock, from the Portuguese for 'shoulder blade'. It has led to various permutations as either techniques, like 'gogoplata', or online nicknames, like 'joemoplata'), but I only got into BJJ comparatively recently, in 2006.

Hey dude! Great to see you here. How's tricks?

Heya Meathead! Still job-hunting and staying with my sister, looking after the niece. The joys of changing nappies and all that, which reaffirms my already solid aversion to having children

Not that my niece isn't lovely, of course, but seeing how little sleep my sister gets (on top of all the other usual reasons I've babbled in the past) is definitely not tempting...

Hi Slidey. I was wondering how long it woulod take for Arepo to drag you on board

slideyfoot wrote:Heya Meathead! Still job-hunting and staying with my sister, looking after the niece. The joys of changing nappies and all that, which reaffirms my already solid aversion to having children

Not that my niece isn't lovely, of course, but seeing how little sleep my sister gets (on top of all the other usual reasons I've babbled in the past) is definitely not tempting...

Yeah, it's great being an uncle, innit? I love being able to play with my nieces and nephews, and then being able to pass them off to my sisters when they need some form of responsible parenting. Best of both worlds. Yay for us.

Good luck on the job search.