Life's a beach

Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all.

Helen Keller

Well, escaping for a few days, sans technology, worked wonders.  Teenage Daughter had no money for credit, so the phone was out of the question; there was no internet access (well there was but I told them there wasn't!); and the TV didn't go on until 7pm at which time we were all so tired, we were in bed by 8.30.  So for three days it was absolute bliss with nothing but the sun, the surf and ourselves for company -until we returned home and TD fled straight into her room, onto Twitter and I haven't seen her since!

It was good while it lasted and it was just the break I needed before having to return to uni yesterday, where I arrived over an hour early for my first class (I was so keen and motivated), only to find five minutes before class started the lecture had actually been cancelled.  That didn't worry me too much - only that I was hoping to get some results for an assignment I handed in before the break. 

After bumping into another mature-aged student who also didn't get the early morning email about the cancellation of said class, we decided to have coffee and began to chat about what we were going to do once our degrees are finished - a popular topic not only amongst my peers but with everyone I come into contact with.  Family and friends are forever asking what I'll do when, after seven more subjects
(S-E-V-E-N!!!), I will have a degree.  My friend and I decided we just don't know and it's okay that we just don't know.  We're still figuring it all out and a decision will be made somewhere along the way - we're sure.

For now, this whole university/discovering myself thing is still a big adventure and I'm just enjoying the ride.  YeeHa!!



Weapons of mass distraction

Be not afraid of growing slowly; be afraid only of standing still.

Chinese Proverb

The holidays have finally arrived, (albeit an extremely short one - one week) and I'm so looking forward to sitting back and relaxing.  So much so, that until this morning, I haven't turned my computer on since my last lecture - Wednesday last week.  Nope, not since then have I seen a single email or post on Facebook or Twitter and I've got to say, that break alone has been truely cathartic.  It got me thinking about the hold social media has on our lives, particularly those of our teens and young adults.

Being the parent of three teenagers, it worries me that they seem to be constantly distracted by Facebooking, Twittering, Instagramming, IMing, texting and other web-based communication technologies.  It doesn't worry me that they're involved in global communication, it worries me that these forms of communication are continual and can only be turned off not by choice, but by force.  It worries me they can't spend time by themselves without getting bored.  I'm speaking generally, of course, in my experience as a mother and student - it still surprises me how often I see my fellow students in lectures, presumably typing notes but actually messaging on Facebook.

So, I've had to take my children in hand.  I'm taking them away from it all for a couple of days and you should've heard them when I told them it was conditional - there'll be no WiFi.  Instead, there will be swimming, fishing, board games and...gasp...face to face communication.  I'm hoping the down time will make them see the benefits of switching off every now and again.

Nature beckons.



Have a breather

Dost thou love life?

Then do not squander time, for that is the stuff life is made of.

Benjamin Franklin

I've gate-crashed my son and hubby's boys weekend.  Having had another stressful week with assignments and family, I made a spontaneous decision to join them on a weekend up the Coast.  They don't mind - at least they made out like they didn't!

I haven't intruded on their precious bonding time too much - they've still managed to watch the all important footy game, while I was lucky enough to go out for drinks with a girlfriend last night.  Now that's something I haven't done in quite some time.  And we even got hit on to boot - which also hasn't happened in I don't know how long!  Yes, they were a tad under the weather and we were the only girls left in the bar.  Actually, if truth be known, they were quite annoying and were impeding on my precious bonding time with my BFF and I thanked God I wasn't single!

We've been fishing, walking, swimming and just generally enjoying a gorgeous weekend.  And I haven't once thought about assignments.  Well, maybe once over breakfast but I was actually thinking about the fact that I haven't been thinking about assignments.

Every now and again you have to be spontaneous - life is to be lived and when an opportunity presents itself, grab it!

Crazy Town

'Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate

Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure'

Marianne Williamson

Yes, people, I'm still alive and well in the bloggerverse. 

The truth is, for the last couple of weeks I feel as if I've been living in Crazy Town.  The lull of the first few weeks of semester 2 was brutally broken by the sudden crash of assessments and presentations and I feel as if I've only just survived the whirl of it all.  I can't help but feel that somehow I brought it all on myself.  Was I not prepared enough?  After all, this is my 3rd year of being a uni student, you'd think I'd be used to the workload by now.  I am doing three subjects this semester but I did last semester as well.  So, what can I do differently?

The answer is - nothing.  I find, in my wise old age, that life tends to throw everything at you at once.  I have one daughter who's just started in her first year at uni; another one in her last year at high school; and a son who has just started year 8 - all stressful situations which require support from 'Mum'.  On top of all this, I've had a few health issues in the last couple of months as well.  No, I'm not finding excuses, I'm saying that life doesn't stop when you decide to take on something big in your life.  The trick, therefore, is to try and find balance. 

I've been working on my readings, presentations and assessments pretty solidly as well as managing the day to day running of a busy family.  We're only human and we can only do so much.  And I'm telling you this as well as myself - don't be too hard on yourselves if it all becomes too much - and use your support system.  I have a great support system at uni (consisting of both mature age students as well as regular straight out of school students) and what I've learned is we all go through times when it's hard to find motivation and times of self-doubt.  At uni, we're never alone (however, if you do  feel as if you are alone, please contact me).  Just keep putting one foot in front of the other and climb that mountain - it doesn't matter how fast you climb it, just keep going. 

Having said that, it's time for me to start another assessment due on Friday.  I've got my mountaineering boots on, my alpenstock in my hand, my head down and I'm going to keep climbing, right out of Crazy Town!

Oh, and by the way, another handy piece of advice...utilise your university library for the absolute peace and quiet it offers when trying to study or finish assignments.  For me, distractions like washing waiting to be done, dishes waiting to be cleaned, door to door salesmen and phone calls are non-existent in the library (as long as you turn off your mobile phones!).  Happy climbing!

The bitch is back

Yes, I'm back.  I've been in hibernation for the last couple of months - didn't really have much to say.  I actually deleted my blog altogether which was rather scarey for a while there.  But I figured, I've been keeping a record of 'my life as a mature age student' for  so long, I have to continue.  At least until I've graduated and I'm no longer a student.  Wonder what I'll be then?

Anyway, update, update, update...Uni is going extremely well and I'm now a member of an honours society, 'being in the top 15% of my peers' at university!  Five years ago, if you'd have told me this I never would've believed you.  I didn't think it was possible for me to even get into uni, let alone do so well.  I've now made peace with the fact that I try hard and receive the results I strive so hard for.  Although, there's still that little voice inside me at the beginning of each semester telling me this could be the semester it all starts to go downhill.

Nevertheless, it's time for me to start thinking about my life post-uni.  Should I consider doing post-grad?  Should I look for work?  If so, in what field?  I do rather like the idea of being a lecturer/tutor at a university but I can't even contemplate a PhD at the moment.

For the time being I think I'll concentrate on the journey rather than the destination.


 

The good life

Yay, mid-semester break and a chance to take a breather for a week.  I was so close to chucking it all in about two weeks ago.  However, amid tears and tantrums there was SH No. 1, egging me on and encouraging me I could do it.  After two weeks of incessant reading, researching and finishing three 2,ooo word essays, I've come out the other end, jubulant and so proud of myself for not throwing in the towel and a little exhausted after the adrenalin wore off.

Apart from having two novels to read before I go back, I can enjoy my family and catch up on the dreaded housework.  Today after doing all the floors (sadly, I get such enjoyment from seeing the floorboards all shiny and clean!), hubby and I went for a bike ride and found a groovy coffee shop where we sat and had an iced coffee with a double shot and talked without interruption for about an hour about the kids.  The double shot gave us the energy we needed to zip home where we had lunch followed by a nap.  Feeling re-energized, my 16 year old daughter and I took the dog for a walk in the park where we were followed by four skateboarding, wolf-whistling youths, all calling out for 'beautiful's number (ah, sweet youth - I remember those days!). After coming home and washing the dog, I enjoyed a delicious vegetarian curry prepared by, yep, possibly the best husband in the world - supportive and an excellant cook (although he doesn't clean, but I can forgive him thatl).

As my husband and I acknowledged while we were quietly sipping our iced coffee earlier that day, we're going to be great retirees. Case in point, I'm up at 2.45am watching re-runs of  'Everybody loves Raymond'... and my knees are killing me!

April Fool

It's 3.00pm.  It 's almost the end of an absolutely beautiful weekend, which I've once again missed - sitting at my laptop, frantically trying to spew out another assignement and I've only JUST realised it's April Fool's day!  I feel quite sad that I've managed to miss another whole day, not having any idea of what's going on around me.  Last weekend was equally as beautiful and I was equally as absent from my surroundings in my efforts to finish a literature essay. 

Yep, it's the end of term.  However, learning from previous mistakes, rather than throwing my laptop out the window in frustration (not literally, just really, really wanting to) and dropping a subject or withdrawing from the course altogether out of pure irritation, I've stuck with it.  That doesn't necessarily mean it's a good thing. 

On Thursday, I finished a 2,000 word literature assignment which was due on Friday; at the moment, I'm trying to finish a 2,000 word essay on media law for Thursday and at some stage I will have to complete a draft for an Australian history essay due also on Thursday.  Now, anyone who has been following my blog will probably know I'm a little highly strung, so to have all this to do and to still be able to write about it is a huge feat for me.  I don't know how I sound but I feel rather overwhelmed but determined to to do my utmost. 

Unlike previous years where I've managed to complete all the course readings and allow myself two weeks for essays, this time round, I'm behind in most of the readings and am stuggling to keep my head above water.  But I have a new outlook - I think I had an anxiety attack last week and felt as if I couldn't breath.  That was an eye opener for me and I've come to the conclusion that if I try my best and don't do as well as I usually do, so be it.  As a friend recently told me (Nicki from Diaries fo a neurotoc non-trad) after my meltdown over Summer semester exams (for which, by the way, I received a Distinction and a High Distinction!), 'acknowledge your worry, wrap it up and send it out into the universe' -  or words to that effect.  Anyway, it's my new motto - yes, I'm extremely busy; yes, I'm feeling slightly overwhelmed but it's almost Easter and I get a week's break and next term, all this stress will be forgotten as I make way for some new ones!

Think I'll take the dog for a walk and enjoy what's left of April Fool's day.