The End of the Run - Late Update

Finally, the holiday run is over! I am done with work - for now - and trying to get back to my "routine". So far, not very successful, but I will get there... But let me start at the beginning...

At the end of the summer, all inspired and excited by my educational achievements and full of energy, I signed up for a 'full load" of classes - full time, 12 units, most of them online, one of them in the evening. I thought I could do it - I had done it before!
Then, in October, a job came - temporary, but long-term and full-time. I was still OK - I expected it, counted on it, knew  it was going to come. But after a full day of work coming to school twice a week, plus homework every night, including weekends, became more difficult. Sometimes I caught myself wondering how badly I really needed that diploma (a dangerous line of thought)... Finally, one time the teacher mentioned that my "attendance is not really that important in the grade calculation, and neither is homework." I still don't know why he said it and if he really meant what he said, but for me that was the last drop. I left class early that day and did not come back. The rest of the classes, although I seemed to be doing decently in them, followed... Unfortunately, it was too late to withdraw from any of the courses, so I quietly took all F's and, as some might say, retired with dignity.

I know what it looks like: I have made a rash decision, my education has suffered and my GPA is down, and I will have to "fix" it by re-taking every class all over again. I know that, and yet I don't feel bad, I believe I have made the right decision. I could have suffered through the semester and come out with decent grades (hopefully), but instead I chose to have real life experiences. I played and talked with my children. I spent time with my friends. I took walks on the beach. I celebrated birthdays and holidays - my own, my husbands' and also our 10-year anniversary - and for once  I was not dead tired, I was able to enjoy them... I have never had so much fun or been so happy, sad, surprised, bewildered  (the whole range of emotions) -  before. So, overall, I believe I did the right thing - to the point that having all F's adds to life experience, another one I have never had before.

A Professional Student Experience

As many of you know, I have come back to school to get a second degree - this time in Accounting. What associations do you have with being a student? Just thinking about it... A day becomes longer, and the nights shorter  - not because of daylight savings or the sun coming up earlier, but because I don't go to bed until all work - regular, house - and home - is done. Getting up in the morning becomes impossible without a cup of strong - really strong! - coffee.... In a nutshell, being a student for me always meant more work and less sleep. Why would someone want to stay a "professional" student unless he or she is into self-deprivation?
Then, a couple of months ago, my husband started working in San Luis Obispo. The kids were visiting with family, and I decided to take advantage of the opportunity and come to Kreuzberg in SLO. Kreuzberg is a restaurant with a "student" theme - mismatched chairs and tables, photographs and paintings on the walls, and piles and piles of books everywhere...
I had a few assignments to do, so I ordered a cup of coffee (with WiFi service included) and went on to work. Three hours went by very quickly, people came and went - all the same type, students, well dressed and happy, -  music was playing, and although it was loud, it did not bother me. When breakfast time came, the bagel with smoked salmon and kippers - with exotic name "J.D Salinger" -  was added to the coffee; a while later, at lunchtime, "Albert Camus" - an ahi tuna salad with honey mustard - or was it raspberry vinaigrette? - sauce arrived on my table... I kept working on my homework, and it was done, but at the end of the day what I remembered was the food and music experience. For the first time in my life I understood why some people prefer to stay "professional" students. If I was eating like that every day, I would not only enjoy it, I could also lose weight... and get my homework done, too! What could be better???
Naturally, living a good "student" life is expensive. Most of us (including me) probably could not afford this luxury on a regular basis. The meals I described earlier - the exquisite salad and the salmon bagel -were not cheap... For me, it was a once-in-a-while treat. As for the cafe regulars - most of them are students, children of well-to-do parents that don't have to work, don't have to do anything, really, but go to school and get decent grades. From the conversations I overheard while sitting there, I could understand that the speakers had but theoretical knowledge of the world around them, as someone would when observing it through the safety of a glass... What a charmed life it is - a life of professional student! For a moment I became part of it - and everything began to look so right, so logical and regulated. So... chaos-free. Just like it used to feel and look when I was a child. It must be pleasant to keep that illusion past the teenage years.
Then my husband came to pick me up, and it was time to go home - back to real life with jobs, bills, children and never-ending chaos. Back to reality.

What I do besides stitching

Of course, stitching is always first for me. But, with the summer break coming up, I have changed my rituals a bit ...
First of all,

I have put together a puzzle. The girls helped.... After it was completed, we took a picture, took it apart and put it away.
Then, I signed up for summer classes. I am taking an online accounting class and a swimming lab. I took the swimming lab thinking I would have plenty of time... until I saw my accounting schedule. Twelve chapters, six weeks, twelve homework sets... Plus quizzes and exams. I forgot - it's summer! Everything is shorter and faster in the summer. But, so far I am doing all right. I have sat myself down and completed the first homework set and a quiz in the first two days! And I was able to swim for an hour. I am super... something!
I planned all this swimming and academics under the impression that the girls were going out of state to see their father. I thought, with them visiting family I would go crazy sitting alone in the house, so why not do something? Now we have found out that the girls, in fact, are not going anywhere... But my schedule stays! Whatever it's going to be, it most definitely won't be boring.
And in conclusion, here is one of my stitching companions, Dusty. 

Updates - stitching, life, drama, etc.

It has been a couple of weeks since I have posted anything - busy with things to do, schedules to keep, housework (yes, that too)... Ah what the hell - there was nothing to write about, that's all. Scrubbing the kitchen counters may be something necessary to do, but it's hardly worth mentioning on the blog for the whole world to see. As for the thoughts in my head - they are too quick and flighty to capture on paper - or virtual space.
There is one update worth noting, though: I decided to go back to school. I changed my major to Business/Accounting - no more teaching for me, ladies and gentlemen. I just do not think this field is all it is described to be... By the time your students realize they had a good teacher, they are generally raising their own kids, and you are ready to retire. In the meantime, you put in hours at work and more hours at home planning lessons, living on coffee and self-inspiration... Oh, worse yet, one of your students goes out and does something horrible... And, although the responsibility is not yours, it still feels like there is something you could have done... And that is just too much.
The world of numbers, accounts and ledgers is more quiet, more definitive, and has clearer expectations. It does not invite you to change the world, but then again I am not up to that task anyway. It only asks you to balance the accounts.... Fairly clear.
If I start this summer, I will be done and ready to transfer to Cal Poly in two semesters. All that General Ed I took while working on Child Development degree is paying off. So nothing's wasted.

The Stitch-Along I am participating in has died out, so it seems - no one is posting their updates. I guess everyone is busy doing things. That's understandable, although it would be nice to hear from someone once in a while.
Toodles.

The Ending and the New Beginning...

I suppose the Powers that Be heard me - or read my blog about the workplace. Last week I was laid off. Not for anything I had done, no fault of my own (the boss was clear about that), but because there is really not enough work. Through the weekend, I was panicking - after all, this is my source of income, what am I to do?
And then... I came by the college. I received my Associate's with them last year, so why not go on? They looked at my records and sent me to the Transfer Center - to speak to the University Rep. The University Rep spoke to me, and it looks like I may be restarting school by the end of this month! That's provided that my Financial Aid goes through. But - what a great opportunity!
I have something to look forward to.