I regret to inform you...

My Fellow Mature-aged Bloggers,

How should I say this?  Well, let me see...you know how a couple of posts ago, I told you I was going to take a summer semester course in Intensive Beginners Italian?  Well, I regret to inform you that...I'm so tired and I just don't think I can do it!!!  Despite my lecturer telling me it's a great course; you'll learn a lot; you'll get another 10 credit points out of the way - I'm...just...so...tired!  It's partly the 'Intensive' that's putting me off - I just don't think I can do anything too 'intense' at my age.  And I seriously think I need to give my mental self a break and concentrate on my physical self. 

I just read this morning that a recent study reveals 2 out of 3 Australians are overweight or obese.  2 out of 3!  I just know I'm one of them.  Sitting in front of this laptop; researching, reading and writing essays has taken its toll on my short, broad frame.  I'm not obese but I am fat and I really, really feel the need to work on my bod over the summer.  I owe it to my kids; I owe it to my fellow Aussies; and more importantly, I owe it to myself.

I've done well this semester; I've proven myself intellectually capable.  I deserve a break.  So apart from (stupidly and publicly) committing to re-reading all those 'classics' over the summer, the only remotely 'intense' activity that will be taking place in the gym...hopefully.

Forgive me?

Dumb and dumber

The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you.

B.B. King

I don't know about you but the longer I stay at university, the dumber I feel and it's given me great insight into the fact that I can't know everything because there's so much to know.  And this is the great testament to the saying 'lifelong learning'.

However, having said that, what I have learned, I'm keen to put to the test.  I've decided that over the summer, apart from taking a beginner's Italian course, I'm going to re-read all those literature greats that I just didn't 'get' the first time around - as well as those that I thought I got, just to see if I did, if fact, get them.

So, here's my summer re-reading list:

Mrs Dalloway - I started reading this many, many, many years ago and when I say 'started', I mean just that.  It's very rare that I don't actually finish reading anything, no matter how bad.  I just didn't understand the first thing about Modernism or stream of consciousness.  Now I am aware of those literary techniuqes, but that doesn't mean I'll enjoy it!

All seven of Jane Austen's novels...yeah, right!  Maybe just Pride and Prejudice - I've always been a huge fan and always will but I've only re-read Emma - gasp, horror! I identified myself in class yesterday as being a 'huge fan' and was then asked to quote the first line of Pride and Prejudice...really?  Apparently MOST Jane Austen fans are familiar with the first line and its irony...embarrassing!  But I have been to her house in Chawton, if that accounts for anything?

Madame Bovary - I first read this about five years ago and remember wishing I'd read it in my teens.  I want to re-read it to see if those feelings are warranted.

My brilliant career - I read this when I first entered my foray into university and I loved, loved, loved it.  It's Australian for one thing and I've since become a 'fan' of Miles Franklin.

Bossypants - Okay, it's not a classic but I've never actually read this one and after reading the others, I might be looking for something hilariously funny.

So that little list should keep me busy over the summer.  There will be no book reviews, by the way, but I will let you know if my opinions about them have changed due to my higher learning!

I must be mad

I don't have any words of wisdom this week.  The semester is nearing an end and I find myself completely unmotivated to complete the last three assignments.  They're all well spaced out and that may be the reason I'm not my usual stressed-to-the-max self - it feels as if I have all the time in the world, not just three weeks.

That may be the reason why I've (stupidly?) enrolled to do a course over the summer - Italian for Beginners, an intensive four week course worth 10 credit points. 

'Four weeks'?  I said to myself, 'easy'!

 Well I guess I'll see how easy it is after a week of 9am-2pm days learning a completely new language.  It's those damn 10 credit points that got me - that would only leave me six subjects to finish next year, three a semester! 

I have always wanted to learn Italian.  In fact, I started a beginners course in Italian last year but had to drop it.  I found it too hard to learn while doing two other subjects.  At least over the summer I won't have to worry about fitting it in around other subjects, I suppose.

Yeah, it'll be fine.

Oh God, what have I done...

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!