A whine

The beauty of a blog is I can whine as much as I like here and it has as much if not more of an effect in the real world. And it doesn't make anyone defensive. So Fr Cyriac the old heretic genius his class ended last week. I explained to Jose that well that I experience communication difficulties with my peers could he give me the email of the course tutor so I can find out what the next courses are and pick one suitable with him. Negotiations continued. He sent an MA student to assist but I didn't get very far. Apart from his suggestion that unless I already had some counselling or theology I would not find the M A courses accessible. This after telling him I have two years Theology and three years Counselling, five years in Religious Life and several years as an Addictions Counsellor. Anyway he said he would get back to me so I asked Jose again. He finally got me a meeting with Fr Matthew who was happy for me to attend any of the courses I suggested that I understood were coming up. This week Yoga. Ok so when does the class start. I tried with the student I thought I was getting on with. Fr Johnson, the Tomist but I get jokes about my Kurti, the slightly dopey look about classes, es Yoga. When will they start es Yoga perhaps the Library. No but when do we actually start the next class and where. Oh I don't know. But tomorrow when the classes start how will you know where to go. Oh they will tell us. Well can you tell me also when you know. That's before dinner. This morning the swine accosts me and says oh why weren't you at Yoga class this morning. I nearly lost my temper with him just decided to sit with someone else for me breakfast pooris and curried mushy peas. I had tried with another priest but had got the same dopey look. And then over breakfast some second year says oh its a great course you must go. So do I go to the lecture hall for the theory. Oh es. And is it the same hours 4 lectures in the morning then two after lunch. Es or maybe not. Same as before. Or maybe not. I am not discussing Maya with them.

Now on East and West. At TVU lectures would be cancelled either for no reason. Or technically because the lecture failed to attend. The next very common excuse was train and or photocopier breakdown. And if it was the latter it meant the lecturer would bugger off for half an hour to make additional photocopies. My point being, everybody pisses about with timetables. Whether they are bus train or teaching, they are more symbolic that there is a governing order to the universe a deus absconditus. So I was going to email Jose and complain it my most outraged virgin style if I was attending an MA here it would be far less frustrating to know when and where the lectures are being held and in advance what those lectures might be. But then since he is not God and it's not his job to do this. (I got that one when I asked how many tribals and SCs do you take at Christ's then). So let's not embarrass him. I shall instead try to press him to get a local shyster to get me an OCI. The beauty of that one is all it needs is sufficient bribes. I am not taking the mickey here it is the system they use. Uncle John was at first surprised at how open they are but when in Rome. And if I get a shyster through the Church he won't just rip me off for many thousands of rupees and not do anything for me. I am happy for him to take his facilitation fee, pay some bribes and get me the OCI.

Either way I shall enquire at SEERI in Kottayam about the MA in Syriac to start next June. My reasoning being, a year or two in community retreat on an MA in spirituality and counselling is all well and good but the poor admin would frustrate me. That and then they'll expect me to regurgitate lectures for the exams. Whereas with Syriac, good old fashioned dead language. There I know where I stand, memorize irregular verbs, build up some vocab, bullshit about connotations and meaning changes over the centuries, they asked me to conjugate but I declined, and I doubt there will be that many teaching hours involved. It will be get thee to a library. Poring over old manuscripts or photocopies or really nicely printed ones with decent large size fonts and vowel points visible but I can enjoy that and get an MA too, just need a room on campus and be surrounded with liturgy nerds. Heaven.