6 posts tagged “college”
Ever have one of those days?
Blah. Blech. Humbug. Grrr. Sigh. Aaaaarrrrrgggghhh.
Ok, I feel a little better now. Thanks for listening.
It was a rough day yesterday, but I did get a little bit of really pleasant news right in the middle of it.
I've been published!
I sent in a set of photos from Newfoundland to the Downhome Magazine for their calendar contest and I didn't win that,
but they asked if they could use the photo in a Coffee Table Book that they're publishing. It's their first one ever and I'm right in the middle of it.
They chose one of my least favorite from the set (it's still nice, I only sent them the top five from the set), but there were nicer ones. I think they took it because it was of a famous landmark and they're trying to remind expatriots of certain themes.
Whohoo! I'll have to order a copy for Mom to show off to all her friends.
I'm officially behind and over booked. And I start teaching Wednesday - I'm no longer looking forward to it, now it's just another night that I won't have available to get projects completed. Sigh.
I am, however, looking forward to taking tomorrow afternoon off to see Michelle's new campus (assuming she makes the grade). That should be fun.
I'm thankful that in the midst of my stress that I'm able to have the clarity of thought to seek help, talk myself down and see reality through the fog. I know people that can't see beyond the stress and it causes hopelessness.
I'm thankful that the Bible is so clear about how to deal with Worry and Stress. It's nice to have an 'owners manual' with such good advice.
I'm thankful for cameras. I was going through my collection to compile a small portfolio to show someone and it brought back a lot of wonderful memories. People, places, tastes, smells, feelings, emotions -- it was a really nice trip down memory lane.
Is that your experience? Did High School suck for you?
I had the most fun that I've ever had in five consequtive years in High School. I knew what I wanted to do, I knew who I was (or quickly discovered) I had a great group of friends, I was smart, enjoyed my classes, got along with my teachers, I didn't really get picked on much, I met lifelong friends and generally had a great time.
I found out this week that I have friends who hated people like me (well, ok 'hate' is a really strong word - how about vigorously envied to the point of enthousiastic dislike?)
The more people that I talk to about this the more I'm realizing that High School in general is not a fun place. I had really expected Michelle's experience at school to at least somewhat mimic mine. WRONG.
I guess not know what she wants to do when she grows up is really weighing heavily on her. We have an appointment at a college an hour from here on Friday - I'm hoping that she gets excited about something. Yikes.
I was chatting with a friend of mine yesterday and he said that he still doesn't really know what he wants to do. I knew 25 years ago (grade 9) what I wanted to do today - and I'm doing it. Obviously I've matured and I've identified new priorities for the next 15 years, but I'll be a programmer for the rest of my life - it's what I was created to do.
Wow.
Hmmm. My friend said that when he was in high school he just assumed that his life would be over at 20. He really didn't see anything past that.
I'm going to have to get him to sit down with Michelle and let her know that there's a rich life waiting for her after 20. There is a rich life waiting, right?
I didn't realize how different I was.
Wow.
Hmm. Bummer.
I'm really, really, really thankful that I was given a vision of my future when I was 15. Really, really, really thankful.
I'm thankful that I was given the skills to live out that vision.
I'm thankful that the vision turned out to be more than I was ever hoping for.
Wow.
Just another Tuesday.
One of the troubles with blogging every day (well, every weekday) is that sometimes there's really nothing to write about.
We're looking into getting a beater car for the winter. We've found a really affordable Breeze that looks good. It'll be time to make a decision soon.
We've hired a new guy at work - I've known him since I was a teenager and he's a really funny and hard working guy. It should be fun.
Michelle has an appointment at a college on Friday (actually three!) it'll be a busy day and I'm really hoping that she catches the vision.
Sherry is counting the days until she gets laid off for the winter. It's supposed to be cold and rainy all day today, but she has to work anyway.
I'm really looking forward to starting a job that I just quoted on yesterday. It'll be starting soon as long as the client approves the cost.
I had someone ask me when I was going to teach the course that I haven't been trained at yet. The training is supposed to be the end of November, but it's been cancelled before. Hopefully January.
Last night was Alpha. I had a lot of fun serving. Sherry made an amazing Shepherd's Pie (which is appropriate for a course abou The Great Shepherd). There were a ton of complements - and I get to hear them all and pass them on.
I'm thankful that serving is fun. It's amazing when you're doing what you were created to do and I'm very thankful that I have a deep appreciation for where I'm supposed to be going and that the journey is fun.
I'm thankful for hot and cold running water. The water that I drink is healthy and tasty (I have a 5 stage RO unit under my sink to polish it up even more than the city water already is!) I'm thankful that I can take a shower and linger longer than I should and not have to worry about taking water from someone else.
I'm thankful that my family is all so close to me. Both physically and emotionally. I have a buddy that hasn't spoken to any of his family in years - even though his sibling lives close by. I have a good relationship with my brothers and my parents (my aunts and uncles live pretty far away, but I'm ok with that).
Last night was a bit of a surprise. Remember how yesterday I said that we live on a busy street with no sidewalk.
Exactly zero kids showed up.
(Well, ok, a friend of ours brought her two kids over and our neighbour stopped here on her way to the quieter streets - so we did get three kids, but that was it).
So, we packed up our bucket of goodies and drove over to my Mom's place -- I wanted to see her off anyway. We gave out a half a dozen treats and posed for several pictures and then drove over to a buddy of mine's who's kids are big Star Wars fans. They were still out trick or treating, so
I gave a few more candy bars to the bigger kids that were still out at 8. It was a kick for them to get a bar from Darth Vader.
The kids came home just about the time that the costume started to cut off my circulation, so we posed for a few more photos and were home by about 9. So it looks like I can wear the suit for about three hours before it becomes painful. Good to know.
Michelle's tour through her potential college is this time next week. I'm sure that I'm more excited for her than she is - but that'll change. I really enjoyed my College years and I'm hoping that she does too.
Sherry has already started praying for snow. She works outside and the weather is turning nasty now and she can't be laid off until the ground freezes.
She's praying for snow. Lots of it. Soon.
I'm thankful that we know how to have fun and have the freedom to do it. Not only do we have the disposable income to pay for the fun, we're fun people and we can do childish stuff without needing the excuse of having a child to do it. It keeps us young.
I'm thankful for friends to hang out with. It's nice being able to just show up at a friends place or invite them out to a hockey game and simply spend a little time with them. It's very pleasant chatting with buddies.
I'm thankful for the technology in my house. I have three 20" monitors hooked up to my PC, I have a Home Theatre PC, a Media Server, a PC for everyone, streaming audio, streaming video and a Wii. Most of the time it works flawlessly (every now and then I get complaints from my housemates that something failed, but not very often).
It's here, it's here, it's finally here!
I've been working on my Darth Vader costume since January of this year. I have an insane amount of labour invested in this and I'm excited to show it off. There are a bunch of things that I want to change and make better for next year, but I have 12 months to work on that - tonight I'm just going to bask in the glory that is Star Wars.
Ahhh.
Mmmm.
*Contented Sigh*
I hope the kids come. I'm on a busy street with no sidewalk - there's a sidewalk on the other side and I'll have the theme music playing and the pumpkins out - hopefully they'll brave the street and get a chocolate bar from me.
Michelle has decided that she wants to go to college again. We quickly booked her a tour of the campus in London (ON) and I'm hoping that she'll get excited about the cool courses and the freedom and independence that will be hers there. We also have a lunch booked with a good friend of mine that day - it should be a good time.
Things have been relatively peaceful here since Michelle decided that she wants to ace her courses this year. The only thing that's a little niggly is the Kitchen Chore. She's completely responsible for keeping the kitchen tidy (and, of course, a messy kitchen really stresses Sherry and me out!) We'll get it worked out before she leaves. It's a skill that will serve her very well in college.
Michelle isn't excited about staying in residence. Everything that she's heard is about drunken parties and freshly minted alcoholics. Hmm. I guess I stayed in the wrong dorm (or the right dorm...)
I'm thankful that I'm in a job that challenges me intellectually. I'm working on a project now that will pull together a bunch of my skills and should last 4 to 6 weeks of straight cool stuff. Yaaa.
I'm thankful that I'm able to feel pain. A buddy of mine is going through a thing where his nerves aren't doing everything that they're supposed to and he's being pretty rough on his hands. I'm very glad that I know when I'm doing damage to my fingers.
I'm thankful for enough disposable income to work on hobbies. It's really nice not having to worry about making rent or where my next meal is coming from. It's really nice being able to spend good money on a project as completely frivolous as Darth Vader.
So, the wedding rehearsal is tomorrow and then Halloween is just a couple of days after that. What an exciting time!
I had a chat with Michelle last night and she actually doesn't have a valid reason for not starting college on time, but she is dead set on taking a year off between highschool and college.
Do any of you have advice for her?
She has her budget worked out and as it turns out the girl that she's planning on sharing the apartment with is the daughter of a single mom. If things go poorly for the two girls the mom has offered to move in with them to help pay the rent and take care of the day-to-day chores.
I think I'd take that offer too. There doesn't seem to be a down side from Michelle's point of view. My big concern is that once she stops being a student it will be impossible to go back. Without a college diploma it will be difficult for her to move much past twice minimum wage.
The more I think about it the more resigned I am to accepting her decision. There doesn't seem to be a lot that I can do. If I choose to make her life difficult then she'll move out now and not even finish highschool. If I do manage to force her to go to college, then she won't apply herself and it will become a self-fulfilling prophesy. Yuck.
Hmm.
I'm thankful that we're allowed to pray without concern for protocol. "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." In everything simply present your requests to God. Cool.
I'm thankful for the gift of sight. I love photography - it brings me a lot of joy to see something beautiful and then capture the feeling of the moment with my camera. Sight allows me to drive, to work, to enjoy a movie, to see Sherry smile, to watch Michelle's creativity. Sight allows me to bask in the beauty of God's creation.
I'm thankful for warm clothing. There are far too many people who dread fall and the cold, wet weather that it brings. No one deserves to be cold and thankfully I don't usually think about it. I'm very thankful that I can venture outdoors on a cold, wet fall day and not have to suffer.
