It is very strange to now be writing for a blog that I have been reading for quite some time but here I am on my first full day in the office as the new PGR Office intern giving it a go!

     The first thing I should probably do is introduce myself. My name is Zoe and I am a 5th year part time PhD student encoding and analysing the translations of Medieval Welsh law. It is a fairly long and some might call dull but I love it. If my day has been full of coding, statistics and long, long lists of raw data then I can go to bed happy.  I find it hard to believe but I have now lived in Glasgow for just over nine years. I moved here to study for my Undergraduate degree and, truth be told, I have no intention of ever leaving no matter how bad the weather gets!

     To say that I have a slightly hectic lifestyle would be an understatement. On campus, I can be found here in the office and working as a GTA, but I also work off-campus for a well-known Social Enterprise conducting outreach and solving the occasional coding conundrum. I do have some spare time though- evenings and weekends are reserved for my PhD, and my marvellous dog Maisie, who is also known to answer to ‘Maisles’, ‘Princess’ and ‘the best loved dog in Glasgow’. The latter name is quite accurate, she basically has her own fan club at this point amongst my friends and most of the west end’s vets. Together, Maisie and I walk pretty much anywhere in the west end with an occasional squirrel chase or foray into the woods, if Maisie gets her way. Otherwise, we snuggle up on the sofa- usually under a blanket- and she sleeps while I work. Not bad, eh? Occasionally I have some time left over for baking, socialising, reading, playing board games and spending time with my fiancée, a recent graduate of the School of Art and aspiring game designer.

     At this point you’re probably asking yourself why you are reading a post about the my marvellous Maisie dog, scrummy baking, gaming and Medieval Welsh. Well the reason is that I am the new PGR office intern who over the next month or so will be taking over from the brilliant Cia Jackson. I’ve got to say that she wasn’t lying or even exaggerating in her last post about this job - there are a lot of stairs! Joking aside, everyone I met on my tour of the office was exceptionally welcoming and so full of positive energy that I instantly felt right at home. Between organising this blog and preparing for 3MT (I hope to see you all there!) I’m probably going to have my hands quite full, but I am also very much looking forward to meeting some of you at the events I’ve got in mind. So here I am, in that cosy attic office, with my hot cup of tea, ready and raring for the year to come. Wish me luck and don’t hesitate to get in touch!