Category Archives: School

Bear With Me

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Please bear with me as I may not post consistently for a week or so. A new semester just started and I’m trying to get into a routine. I’m taking an accelerated German 101/102 class so even though I have one class at a time, it’s like having two. And with my full-time job, I’m not doing much more than sleep, work, school, and homework.

On the plus side, I can now introduce myself and tell you what I’m wearing, including the colors of my clothing, in German:

Ich heiβe Jenni. Freut mich. Ich trage ein Hemd, eine Jacke, eine Hose, Socken, und Stiefel. Mein Hemd ist lila, schwarz, weiβ, und grau. Meine Jacke ist grau. Meine Hose ist blau. Meine Socken sind weiβ. Meine Stiefel sind grau.

English translation: I am Jenni. Pleased to meet you. I’m wearing a shirt, a jacket, pants, socks, and boots. My shirt is purple, black, white, and gray. My jacket is gray. My pants are blue. My socks are white. My boots are gray.

The Art of Juggling

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You’d think I’d be a pro at juggling by now, but I’m not. And, when I say juggling, I don’t mean the throwing of balls, or other like materials, in the air while simultaneously catching multiple previously thrown objects. I mean juggling as in balancing life’s responsibilities.

The second week of school is almost over, and I’m trying to learn how to deal with going to school and working full-time again. Luckily, most of my homework is reading, which does take time, but it’s not hard reading. I get to read about different grammar and usage rules with a few exercises thrown in here and there to make sure I understand what I’ve read. So far, I really like my classes (Modern American Usage and Grammar), and I find them both very interesting. It’s just that my “me” time has decreased significantly.

I haven’t found a way to do some of the things I did over the summer. But, once I get used to my schedule again, I’m sure I’ll be back in the swing of things, including coming up with more discussion posts for my blog. Please just bear with me during this transition period. It should only take one more week, maybe two at the tops, to get things down.

Getting Ready for School

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The first day of school is Monday. When I had three weeks until school started, I came up with a list of five things I needed to get done. I only accomplished one of them, albeit the most important. Oopsies.

  1. Finish watching LOST.
  2. Conquer Zelda: Ocarina of Time.
  3. Finish reading The Book Thief.
  4. Reread Shiver and Linger, so I can read Forever.
  5. Gather my sanity to get me through the next few months.

Now that I’m out of time, I don’t really care about the first four items. I’ll still do them, just during the semester instead of before. I’ll watch LOST over the weekends. After all, I only have 16 episodes left. And, I can conquer Zelda one week or another. After I get out of my reading slump, I’ll accomplish 3 and 4.

I had one thing that wasn’t on my to do list that I still had to accomplish. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be able to go back to school at all. BYU, the school I attend, doesn’t allow extreme hairstyles, which is anyone’s guess, but I was fairly certain my current color wouldn’t be allowed. Today, I remedied that and had my niece Carlee redye my hair. :)

Although I miss the purple … a lot, I really like the new color. I also love that it’s still a bit edgy, but within BYU’s rules. (The red isn’t quite as noticeable when it’s not in the sun.)

At this point, after I put all my supplies together tomorrow, I’m ready to go back and I’m quite excited about it!

Where Did Summer Go?

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At the beginning of summer, I felt like time was moving slowly which is how I wanted it. Now that summer is almost over, meaning I start school in three weeks, I’m wondering where my summer went.

I’m not ready for school to start again. I need to qualify that. I’m ready for school, but I’m not ready for how it’s going to affect my schedule, especially my work schedule.

Currently, I work full-time and go to school part-time. Because of this, I have to fit my school schedule into my work schedule. As I’m getting closer to graduation, this is becoming harder to do because the classes I need are only available at certain times. This next semester, they happen to be available around lunch time.

Each day, I need to be to work by 7:00 in the morning. Then, on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, I have a class from 1:00 to 2:00. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, I have a class from 12:00 to 1:30. After class each day, I’ll go back to work and stay there until 6:00.

I’ll still be working only 40 hours, but because I’ll be there from 7:00 am until 6:00 pm each day, it’s going to feel more like 60 hours each week. The things I do to better myself.

I was able to work out my class schedule so I have a class each day. I like that much better than last semester when they were all MWF classes and I had to make up the time away from work on Tuesday and Thursday by working 12-hour days. Thank goodness for small miracles.

Before School Starts To Do List

  1. Finish watching LOST. I only have 16 more episodes.
  2. Conquer Zelda: Ocarina of Time. I only have Ganondorf left to defeat.
  3. Finish reading The Book Thief. I keep getting distracted and now I have no more time for distractions. ;)
  4. Reread Shiver and Linger, so I can read Forever.
  5. Gather my sanity to get me through the next few months.

Checking in on 2011

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Because the first half of the year’s over, I thought it’d be good to check in on my yearly goals.  Looking back at the last six months, I realize that I haven’t done well this year.

In 2011, I want to:

  • Continue to improve my relationship with Corey.
  • Finish reading The New Testament.
  • Continue to get straight As in school.  This includes As and A minuses.
  • Read at least 25 books.  This includes at least two classics (and The New Testament).
  • Lose another 30 pounds through healthy eating and exercise.
  • Show up for everything I’ve committed to. This includes school, church, work, 12-step meetings, and exercising (whether this is through boot camp or on my own).

My relationship with Corey continues to improve daily.  I know it’s something we’re both fully committed to so it’s just a matter of keeping at it.

I finished reading the New Testament in May. After a year and a half of reading and plugging away at it, I finally finished. I started to read The Book of Mormon once I finished The New Testament, and I plan to read it in its entirety by the end of the year too.

I bombed my goal of getting straight As in school. I actually failed, literally not figuratively, one of my classes during Winter Semester. It was a conscious choice so I don’t feel sorry for myself. However, I do feel a little bit of regret for failing that class. All I can do at this point is not do it again. And, that’s what I plan to do for the rest of my school sojourn.

I’m definitely on my way to finishing my goal of reading 25 books this year. I’ve read 12 books so far. I thought I’d have more time during the summer to read, but I keep getting distracted by other things I don’t have time to do while I’m in school. Conquering Zelda: Ocarina of Time once and for all (I hadn’t played for almost four years and only had one dungeon and defeating Ganondorf left) and finally watching LOST (I’m in the middle of season 4) have been my major distractions. But, even with these distractions, I still feel like I’m on track.

Losing 30 pounds hasn’t gone well at all. I’m a little ashamed to say that I’ve gained all my weight back and then some. I know it’s my choices in eating and activities. And, I also think it has to do with some of my medications and their side effects. But, I’m woman enough to admit that my meds and their side effects are a very little part of my weight gain. I just need to get back on the horse….

As far as my commitments go, I’ve basically given up on those as well. I went to school while it was in session, but I missed a few days. I go to work, but I’m back into my old habit of using up my PTO (paid time off) as soon as I get it so I have no time for vacations and I’m even in the hole. I’ve stopped going to my 12-step meetings because most of the people in the groups bug me and I don’t feel like we’re there for the same reasons. And, church is really hard right now. But, that’s another story for another time.

I guess it’s time to step up to the plate for the last half of the year and do better than I have been. At this point, I’m not really committed to accomplishing all my goals (e.g. weight loss and commitments) by the end of the year. I guess that’s something I need to work on too. And, I need to remember my mantra, “I’m striving for progress not perfection,” so I can get back on the horse sooner rather than later. At least, I have accomplished a few things. ;)