Tag Archives: Study

It’s almost done

Posted in Life by

I can see the finish line… the end of my second degree is in sight… now I just need to find the motivation to complete my last three assignments because I am really looking forward to it being done!

There are parts of the course I have really enjoyed, for example In September I finished my last teaching round – which I really loved… I know it’s not uncommon for people to hate teaching rounds, but I feel really blessed to have had the placement I did this year.  I loved sharing my knowledge with the students in the classroom and learning from them too, it’s nice to feel like you know what you are talking about and being able to answer questions about a whole range of things, although it does make me feel old.  I loved the kids, I loved the actual teaching and I loved being able to grow as a teacher in an encouraging and supportive environment.  I loved the fact that I got to see the students grow and I loved the challenge of being confronted with social and life issues that I have never and probably will never experience.  I was so amazed listening to some of the kids stories and knowing how far they had come, and what they had achieved despite the rocky start.  It is most definitely an experience I will never forget.

But now I have to put my head down again and smash out some assignments… which if I am honest… I just don’t want to do.  I have been counting down my assignments… Only 3 to go… I’m not really sure what happens when I finish coz I am really loving my new dietetic role, but they are still some extra skills up my sleeve… I am also sure that once it is done I will have that empty feeling for a little while, the one that used to follow me around in the summer holidays during my school and uni years. That feeling that I should be doing something, that something is due… That I have forgotten something, but if anyone hears me talking about doing more study while I work… Please slap me and tell me No! Cause I don’t think I have it in me again…

My Dip Ed has been a really interesting process, I have learnt a lot about myself, my expectations and been challenged by the diversity and experience students bring to the classroom and how that impacts me and my own teaching style.  It has been an interesting juggle of work, homework and life and I am really looking forward to a holiday that is actually a holiday… but I can’t think too much about that or these assignments will never get done… it’s time, back to the desk…

Once Again I’ve Let the Blog Down

Posted in Life by

Well it’s been a long time since I last blogged… and just like always its because life gets in the way, things get busy, things need to be done and unfortunately most of them seem to out rank my poor little blog.

So what have I missed… well uni is back in full swing and to say that I am excited about the fact that this is my last semester would be an understatement.  I really thought it would be easier with my new job boing only four days each week, but it turns out I have just done other things on the Friday… not fun things, like adventures and day trips, but mostly other work.

I have also found it harder than ever to get back into study, last semester for one subject my grades were a lot lower than I would have ever liked, and it all came down to a combination of poor instruction and lack of interest… but it has really made me even more nervous about this semester.  I have been triple checking things, re-reading and second guessing everything I post, submit and write which means everything is taking longer, all because of some poor communication last semester… but I am trying to let it go and just get this semester over and done with…

This week I am back on placement, which while it is a break from work, it means putting my teacher hat back on and thinking about everything I do… because it’s all being watched.  All with the added pressure that this is the last one, so I have to prove I can do it… I feel like I am back at uni doing my last clinical competency placement all over again… and it’s only day one.

Other than that, well there have been a few other things, but they are probably worth talking about on their own or not at all, so you will just have to wait and see.

Cleaned Out

Posted in Life, The List by

Earlier this year my faithful laptop died… it was unexpectedly painful because I didn’t realise how attached I had become to it, even though it was an inanimate object. In fact I wrote a little obituary for it back in January which you can read here if you like.

The day before my computer died, I finished my list for the year which had included two computer specific tasks…
No. 56 Clean out my computer properly and…
No. 73 Tidy up my iTunes library

The truth is, while I didn’t think my computer would die… I knew it needed a good clean up, it was like someone how had been living on fatty foods and had been clogging their arteries, with so much plaque and crap floating around it was only a matter of time before my poor little computer had a computer heart attack or stroke… little did I know it would be the next day. I had planned to give it some TLC and a massive purge of data so that it could once again live a healthy and I had hoped long life… but it was not to be… perhaps it was a case of too little too late.

Anyway, it is now June and earlier this semester I finally replaced my computer… I got my new laptop at the end of March and I have been very careful about what gets transferred across and what remains on the hard drive from my old mac, which now lives on like a brain in a jar… supplying information as I need… As part of this process I have had to choose which music I take and by default cleaned out my iTunes library. The hoarder in me is secretly happy that all the information is actually just sitting right there on another drive if I change my mind and what it back, but I still feel able to tick it off the list all the same. The same with no. 56 – my computer has well and truly been cleaned out… not the way I had imagined… but off the list all the same…

As part of this whole process, I feel like my new laptop has given me a new opportunity to keep the file situation down to a minimum from the beginning. And while it may have gotten a little file crazy during uni, now that my uni semester has finished… a long and painful semester… but that’s another story… I have stopped and taken the time to do another mini clean out… just to make sure everything stays organised and not just repeated piles of things I really didn’t need to keep in the first place. I have actually found this quite cathartic and I think I will have to sit down and do it regularly so that is stays neat and tidy… but I guess still a little by default these can come off the list…

Oh and here is a selfie with me and my computer… cos everyone does that right?

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Now I can breathe

Posted in Life by

Last night I handed in my final assessment piece for the first year of my grad dip ed, and even though I have another whole year next year, I feel like I can breathe again. This last semester has been long and tiring and I am really glad that it is over. I am not really sure why it has been so bad, but it has been exhausting and now just having full time work feels like a holiday, which is kind of nice.  Anyway, I just thought I should touch base and let you know that I am alive, and I have survived… oh and I now only have 2 months to cross the next 40 odd things off the list.