Good news galore!

[annwfyn]

The first bit of good news is that the prodigal cat has returned! rweishaar heard him mewling at the back door at 2.30 am, and let him in. He is now firmly esconced in the bedroom and keeps climbing into my lap for reassurance. We've no idea where he's been since 5 pm yesterday - we suspect either

a) lost, scared and hiding until he could orient himself well enough to find his way home
b) residing with another family, eating their food
c) roaming the night, looking for trouble.

The one thing that I keep pondering is that last night at about midnight pierot and I went for a walk around the neighbourhood to see if we could find Madoc. We figured that at midnight it would be quiet and we might be able to hear some mewling or something. We walked along the river, when suddenly I saw this light feline figure cross the road up ahead. I wasn't sure, but it looked as it it were the same build and size as Madoc. We ran up the road, but by the time we got there, he had gone. We hunted around, and then wandered home fairly slowly.

I'm now wondering if that was Madoc, or not, and whether he partially followed us home, or at least tracked us back into familiar territory. The cat I saw was a ten minute walk from home.

I'm also in a slightly odd religious place. When Madoc went missing I offered God a deal. I said if he brought my cat back, I'd get baptised, but I neglected to specify which sect. So. Is God Catholic or C of E?*

I'm also pondering the rather silly spell I did from some wicca website (look - I was at home, I was worried, and it seemed like a good idea at the time). Does a cat turning up again 36 hours after vanishing, when a spell has been performed, offer any kind of proof of the functionality of magic, or just of the wisdom of performing spells where the odds are statistically in your favour?

In the other good news, I got my results back from Oxford. I passed my Masters! I am now officially a Master of European Archaeology. The marks for my dissertation weren't great - they were a straight pass at 61, instead of a merit or distinction, but considering the whole thing was done in two weeks when my deadline got brought forward, I can live with that. My reference has been sent to Camberwell by Helena Hamerow, and the future is looking good.

And I'm feeling positive!


*This entire thread may not be entirely serious at the moment. Me and religion is a long and tangled subject that I shall talk about in another entry one day.

Comments

[castorpollux23.livejournal.com]

Congrats at passing the masters! Hooray!

Now, we will call *you* Master

[twicedead.livejournal.com]

Congratulations Master Sally. Passing a dissertation is an achievement in itself.

I think you went with too many options for retrieving the cat, next time ones goes walkabout, try parying to a specific deity or performing heathen magics.

Whenever our dog went missing, he always ended up in retirement villages because the elderly were always nice to him.

[headinclouds.livejournal.com]

Glad to hear Madoc is back home safe. I think getting baptised over it is going a bit far though. :p

Does a cat turning up again 36 hours after vanishing, when a spell has been performed, offer any kind of proof of the functionality of magic, or just of the wisdom of performing spells where the odds are statistically in your favour?
It only proves that, most of the time, cats come back. :)

And congrats on passing your Masters!

Congratulations, o my master.

[davywavy.livejournal.com]

God doesn't do deals - get baptised if you want to and would mean it, not in return for a pet.

[raggedhalo.livejournal.com]

God is clearly Catholic.

[vulgarcriminal.livejournal.com]

Congratulations on all counts :)

[vireton.livejournal.com]

glad to hear you passed your exams and got your cat back it's been a good day all round

Re: Congratulations, o my master.

[twicedead.livejournal.com]

Satan, on the other hand, does do deals.

Re: Congratulations, o my master.

[davywavy.livejournal.com]

Not quite true - Satan offers deals, but he can't enforce them...

[davywavy.livejournal.com]

Good grief, man! Is the sky pink in your world as well?

[annwfyn.livejournal.com]

Joseph is a rather Catholic name, isn't it?

[raggedhalo.livejournal.com]

:-p

That's what they always used to tell us during mass...

[raggedhalo.livejournal.com]

So's Christopher. So's Rooney!

So's Thomas Aquinas, my confirmation name, for that matter...

[castorpollux23.livejournal.com]

Oh yeah, I'm glad little pwecious sweet Maddoc made it back.

Kitties have a way of doign that. Running off on a walkabout and then returning after you are all nervous. ;)

Is that not commendation

[gopher-that.livejournal.com]

Wow. master of Archaeology, something I am wanting to do later. However is 61 not a commendation?

So far I am a Bachler Arts in Archaeolgy
Master of Science in Information and Library Management
Master of Arts in History.

High on my list is a Masters in either Archaeolgy or Classics, possibly as MPhil, these letters are like customisable card game cards. So what letters are you planning on collecting next?

Re: Is that not commendation

[annwfyn.livejournal.com]

Sadly Oxford doesn't really do any marks other than 'pass' or 'distinction'. I have pouted mildly about this.

I've now got an MA in History (tho that's through Edinburgh, so the MA bit is a bit cheaty - it's a Scottish masters), an MPhil in Archaeology, and my next plan is a MA in conservation, which isn't so academic, but will get me an actual job looking after Old Things. You did Information and Library Management? I looked into that at one point - it was that, conservation, or archive management for me once I'd done my MPhil, and in the end conservation won.

[annwfyn.livejournal.com]

I'm constantly scared by how many Catholics I know. I'm sure that if my friendship group were a representative sample, England would be a Catholic country. At my last birthday dinner, every single male there had actually been educated by either monks or nuns. Then there were three girls sitting at the end feeling like heathens.

[tooth-fairy.livejournal.com]

yay for the return of the cat and yay for the Masters :)

[taimatsu]

Glad things are sorted, and congrats on the Masters!

[suchid.livejournal.com]

Definitely good news on the reappearance of your wandering feline resident.

Congratulations on the degree. I don't suppose you'll be after a Doctorate next, will you? ;-)

[vireton.livejournal.com]

i was educated by the salesian brothers a group of cathloic preists one of whom had a thing for ham radio so we used to talk to truckers and people in other country's it was quiet fun

So happy for you!

[leahdarbyshire.livejournal.com]

Excellent news all round. Many congratulations!

*looks at you funny*

[wraithwitch.livejournal.com]

well done on your masters - i think that probably means you are officially smarter (or at least have more neurons) than most people i know - apart from rain, but then my neurons refuse to believe there is anyone living with more academic neurons than rain.

on the other subject... you are a very strange girl. who panics. rather a lot. and then does practical things - every single practical thing they can think of.

i mean, I don't think i've ever heard of anyone trying to strike a deal with god (oh he of the 'i don't do deals or party tricks' fame) and then realising she left out the fine print.

surely god is just god (not that i know, i don't talk to him) and the difference between catholic and c/e etc is how his representatives interpret stuff...?

not only that, but you do a spell to achieve the same desire you'd just petitioned god (who according to writ, isn't keen on magic) about. that's... different?

(on the subject of spells, as far as i can tell magic is just about stacking the odds in your favour. If something was *never* going to happen, then a spell is unlikely to help. But if something had a chance, doing the spell increases it.)

i don't mean to be pokey, but my neurons are somewhat bemused...

[satyrica.livejournal.com]

cool news on both counts!

[anysbryd.livejournal.com]

Many Congrats on the masters, that is much of an achievement.

I think that God does not belong to any of the religions, but then i have problems with organized religion so will be quiet now.

Yey for Madoc, round the neighborhood and back in under 24 hours! probably off terrorizing the local animal populations =)

[taimatsu]

Oh, and if you're debating between Anglican and Catholic, you're not a Catholic.

(Seriously, RCs are supposed to believe we/they are the One True Church, pretty much, so if you aren't persuaded of that you would be better with some flavour of Anglicanism or otherwise Protestant Christianity. However, I don't believe God makes bargains like that, and you should only do it if it's genuinely something you'd do anyway.)

Re: *looks at you funny*

[annwfyn.livejournal.com]

I am the sad product of an entirely heathen upbringing, raised by loving parents with no religion whatsoever, but a strange fascination for it, in much the same way that all nice English girls are fascinated by the shiney and the exotic.

It's surprisingly difficult to find a religion later in life when no one has ever given you any kind of structure to start off with. That, and I often find myself missing bits of organised religion, just because I never really got taught any of it. I was vaguely sure that God does occasionally make deals. Look at the story of Jephthah's daughter. *nods nods nods*

[annwfyn.livejournal.com]

It wasn't an entirely serious comment on the baptism. It came up in my mind at about 2 am in a fretful place, and then just stuck when Madoc reappeared.

[aardnebby.livejournal.com]

_Lapsed_ Catholic please ;) and I consider it an emotionally scarring period :P. Sex ed by Brother Joseph was a bizarre combination of mortifying, hilarious and banana scented (fruit? as a demonstration model?).

Congrats on your Masters dear, I told you so ;)
*hugs*

Madoc was clearly checking out the alternatives and decided he had already found the location where he would recieve the maximum ammount of pampering *grins*

I intend to visit London once again in the nearish future. But GAH... work.

[liamgaidin.livejournal.com]

Congrats on the Masters hun! That's fantastic! :)

Outdoor cats just occasionally wander off so they can get to know their territory. Fairly normal. 36 hours gone is really not that bad. I am glad he is home though.

As for what religion to get baptized into? Scientology? :)

Though if C of E stands for Cult of Ecstasy I would go with that one :)

[childofcrow.livejournal.com]

A - Glad to hear that kitty found his way back home. My dog went missing for 6 days once and was found 10km from home by a farmer. Some of the worst 6 days of my life.

B - Glad to hear you got your masters! And from Oxford at that! Congratulations! :)

Re: Is that not commendation

[windzswept.livejournal.com]

Keele only does fail, pass and distinction :o) 'cept I'm 2% off a distinction going into my dissertation... :oD

Course I just finished is only pass and fail (thankfully).

Congrats hun! (and I'm glad you got your kitty back)

[windzswept.livejournal.com]

Though if C of E stands for Cult of Ecstasy I would go with that one :)

Church of England... :o)


Although the Methodists are more fun... or the Baptists - full immersion baptism ;o)

[hardwired.livejournal.com]

I had a policy of no Taig's in my Storytelling staff. ARGHH!!!!

And you "Mo Johnstoned" in there.

;P



It's a Joke people

[raggedhalo.livejournal.com]

Well, you never asked so I never told ;-)

How goes it?

[annwfyn.livejournal.com]

*beams*

Thank you!

[cleosilver.livejournal.com]

Glad to hear Madoc returned.
Knowing cats he was probably hiding somewhere watching you panic and feeling pleased that you cared so much about him.

[melsner.livejournal.com]

I'm amused that you announced the cat first, then the Masters.

I'm also surprised that you didn't try a voodoo ceremony as well. There are several religions you neglected trying.

also, I think it extremely likely that Madoc fell through a hole into Underhill or some other Fae realm.

Re: Now, we will call *you* Master

[melsner.livejournal.com]

Do we all have to call her "Master"?

[melsner.livejournal.com]

God is Jewish.

Jesus is Catholic.

They always argue religion at dinner.