I’ve been worrying the last, well, year or so. Two years. Or so. Maybe three. That I’ve stopped being FUN. And when I say “stopped being fun”, I actually mean “stopped going to parties”. Because I have. I don’t know. At one point I didn’t find it at all that entertaining anymore, so I just stopped going. And then I started studying again, so that started taking up all my spare time. But you know what? I can still be fun.

Granted, I only give myself to be fun, in the meaning “going out for drinks” when I’m not home, because then, you know, I have my excuse. I couldn’t study because I wasn’t home. I was out with coworkers. The wine was free. They were all there. And you know, serious studies show that if you socialise with your coworkers, not to mention your boss, you’re more likely to get promoted. So it’s all quite legit, you see.

And I know, that doesn’t sound like fun, does it? It sounds like FORCED fun, but I swear, it wasn’t. It was just pure, crazy fun. Or you know, not too crazy. I didn’t dance on any tables. Or on the floor, for that matter. I didn’t fall over, or down any stairs. I didn’t spill anything on myself, or on others. I didn’t say anything that I regretted later. I didn’t sing. I did:

• Have a few too many drinks.
• Stay up too late.
• Talk to Ian from Aberdeen. Apparently he’s been looking for me.
• Openly talk to one of my coworkers about how I was sort of threatened by her when she first started working with us.
• Talk to my department’s only ph.d. (except the dean, obviously he has a ph.d.) about the master’s thesis I want to do, and how I want to keep my options open for a ph.d. later. He was all for it, and didn’t hate my thesis proposal. Now if only my advisor will be as supporting, this might go places…
• Eventually make it back to my room.
• Get 4 hours of sleep before I had to get back up and endure 6 hours of group sessions, although I spent the first one chugging down water and not talking.
• NOT get too badly hung over. Wow. First time in years.

All in all, a very successful outing, and I really can’t wait to go out again. I’ve made somewhat loose plans with a friend, we just have to find a good time. And we better! ;)

I talked to my boss today about my possible plans for a master’s degree in history, and at first she just said that well, a master’s degree is always nice and handy. Then I told her the topic I’ve been thinking about for my thesis, and she was all for it. It’s not that her approval will be a decisive factor, but if I can get her behind me, then maybe I can get approval for paid time off to attend lectures, and that counts for a LOT. Right now, I go to lectures 4 hours a week, but that’s time I have to work extra later to make up for.

And the thing is, I might be able to start taking master level classes already this fall. I’m only missing one mandatory course to get my bachelor’s diploma (it’s silly - it’s one of the courses that you’re supposed to take during your first year of studying, I just chose not to). I’d originally planned on taking at least one more bachelor level class in history, to make my bachelor’s degree more uniform and not such a patchwork of different studies, but I don’t know. The thing is, I don’t have to, and if I get a master’s degree, no one’s going to care what courses I did for my bachelor’s. But then I had also originally planned on studying this spring plus the coming fall, and then take next spring off and just work. I don’t know. It might be dangerous to take time off, too, because that will just make it harder to get started again.

Either way, here’s what I should do (later in the year, when I’ve had more time to think):

• Talk to the institute to figure out how I’d need to plan the degree when doing it part time.
• Talk to the professor I want as an advisor for my thesis, and see if he thinks my idea is any good at all.
• Figure out if work will “sponsor” me.