Tag Archives: Uni

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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I haven’t grown out of it yet

Posted in Study by

Yesterday I handed in my first assignment for my second degree.  As I have previously blogged, I have just started my dip ed while continuing my full time work and if it is going to be like last week all the time, it may just kill me.  I know that sounds dramatic, but it’s true, last week was busy, really busy and of top that, I had this stupid half sickness (which continues, just FYI) and my first assignment due. 

To be honest with you I thought it would be different this time around, I mean this time I am a fully fledged adult… and perhaps I even classify as that annoying mature aged student (although I am not sure that 24 really counts as mature… just yet).  I was ready and organised but then stuff just kept happening, my motivation lagged and while I am not behind yet, I am pretty close.  Completing my first assignment also brought with it a lot of memories… I have also referred to myself (when talking about my school/uni work) as a perfectionist, there are lots of things I don’t do perfect but when it comes to my academic life I just can’t cope with the P’s get degree’s philosophy of my husband.  As I prepared to hand in my assignment all the anxiety I used to feel came flooding back, did I answer all the questions?  Will my word count be ok? Is this the right way to submit it? Have I proofread everything a million times? Is my reference list done correctly?  All these things stress me out and unfortunately take a toll on those around me.  Last night as I got Dave to check something for the 100th time he rolled his eyes and told me it was fine, I have to admit I was a little shocked and explained that he knew I was like this when we got married, and he responded ‘well I did think you might grow out of it” and in fairness to Dave, it’s probably fair enough.  I thought I would have out grown stressing about that part of uni too, but I haven’t, not yet anyway.  It made me realise though that the next two years are going to be really intense, there will more than likely be more weeks like this… it isn’t always going to be easy and there will probably be times I wish I could give up, but I am in it now and I will keep going… perhaps I will learn how to not stress about assignments as I get further in?  Perhaps it will help me become the super organised person I always wanted to be?  Perhaps it will leave me stress and exhausted with just an extra piece of paper?  But here’s to hoping that I do ‘grow out of it’ but in a good way and this expereince makes me stronger and better…

Saying goodbye to life as I know it

Posted in Life, Study, The List by

Well it’s official last night I enrolled myself into a uni course… again, this one is part-time and off campus which means I will being keeping everything else in my life the same just adding this on top of it all and perhaps I might have bitten off more than I can chew… but it’s too late now, it’s what I wanted, what I had been hoping and praying for and its now in my hands so I need to make it work, but I think it will mean two things… I really really really need to get organised and I am about to become a hermit… a full on hermit…

The thing is I am already busy, over the past 2years I have made a real effort to strip back my life, so to speak, to get rid of the things that I don’t need to do, things that might be good, but not great or the best option for me.  But even with all this saying no, I still find myself busy, but I guess the saying is true, if you want something done ask a busy person.

I am really excited about this next chapter in my life, it will be an interesting process learning how to balance everything again, but it might finally push me into becoming super organised which is something I wanted to do anyway.  In fact it all ready has, almost every night this week I have been sorting boxes and organising books and throwing out stuff that I should have thrown out years ago all in preparation of whether or not I would get the offer and now getting my study backing working order, ready to start.  I am pretty sure that my new course is probably the end of my current social life, which let’s face it, was already becoming non-existent and it will probably make achieving my list more of a challenge, but I think the thing that it will impact most is my holidays… I haven’t had a holiday since our honeymoon and instead of booking something massive and awesome, I have just agreed to make all my annual leave time, placement time for the course, so no long holidays in site for the next 2years… I am guessing that my ADOs are about to become quite sacred.

This isn’t the first time I have been a nerd hermit, and unfortunately I don’t think it will be the last, I survived back then, and I will survive this time… in fact, like last time, I will most likely come out better for it…