Kindles, strawberries and academia

My Kindle. And fish.

I finally got around to buying a Kindle! Already I love it; reading just seems so much easier when you don't have to hold open two pages. I've started reading David Copperfield by Charles Dickens, one of the free books in the Kindle store.

The highlight of Scottish summers, in my opinion, is our delicious strawberries. As I write this I'm tucking into a punnet. I remember picking strawberries with my grandparents when I was a boy. Naturally, the tastiest ones were the ones you cheekily ate while picking them! Alas, there are not many strawberry fields in my part of the country. It was always a nice way to spend an afternoon, picking strawberries and raspberries in the summer sunshine. Instead I'll have to settle for visiting the fruit-stall on Byres Road at lunchtime.

Work has been equally challenging and rewarding, although I have had a couple of not-so-great days. Some days I just feel unsatisfied with the amount of work I've gotten through, although maybe that's just me failing to meet my usual high standards. I think that my research skills are definitely improving. Even after 3 years of university, I don't think that I've learned much about independent research. By the end of this summer I reckon I'll have improved my research skills enough to put me into a good position for my 4th year project.

Last week I found out that I won two awards for my work in third year; the Level 3 Honours class prize, and a prize for my team project work. I'm honoured to have won both - it's a fantastic way to wrap up an otherwise stressful year. At least that hard work wasn't in vain.