General update

OK, I'm way too tired and shouldn't even be blogging, but what the hell… A quick general update is in order.

School – In short, I am loving it. It’s a crapload of work and one thing that makes me sad is that I am always strapped for time. I’m currently reading Paulo Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed and Carlos Alberto Torres’ work on multiculturalism, democracy and education (too tired to remember the exact title though…) They are densely-packed works that pretty much make my brain hurt. That’s what grad school is all about, I guess. I have to say, I like this theory stuff… and I’ve never been a theorist before! God, what on earth has happened to me?

Work – Again, far too busy, but good. The replacement assistant (God, that sounds awful! But it is not, honest!) is Carmen. She’s a fellow M.A. (Spanish) graduate and we are working well together. She knows a good deal about how the University works and is catching on quicker than I expected. I am so grateful to have her there.

A fellow blogger asked what I do… I coordinate research projects at the Language Research Centre at the University of Calgary. So, between school, work and the gym (all of which are at the U), I pretty much live on campus these days…

Fitness – I have cut back a bit on the gym stuff… still keeping up with physio and rehab exercises though. Basically, my workouts were just getting too long (2-2.5 hours a day, six days a week), so I have scaled back considerably. Still a bit worried about ballooning, given that “land cardio” is pretty much out, but I’m trying to keep those worries in check…

Had my second swimming lesson tonight. I must say, I am enjoying this class! Today we worked on how to use your legs. As usual, I struggled when trying to learn new physical activities, but for once, I was not the only one! In fact, I was secretly pleased to see that I was not at the very bottom of the class, which was what I expected.

Still though… far from perfect. I can’t swim in a straight line. I go off to one side, have to stop and then start again. The teacher says I could have one leg stronger than the other, or just use one more. Says it will even out if I swim more and will also get better when we add in arms.

He poked a bit of fun at me at the end of the class when he asked us all for some feedback on what we had learned. I said, “I hate that I can’t go in a straight line.”

He said, “That’s OK, Sarah. I’m a little obsessive compulsive myself.”

At least we laughed about it. So in short, although I am not doing perfectly, I don’t entirely suck, either. And I’m having fun in the class. And a healthy dose of fun is essential these days.

In general – What can I say? It is the end of the semester and like every other student on campus, I am swamped. I get up early and go to bed late. Tonight I felt my eyes drooping on the drive home from work, so I found a CD of Maroon 5 in my collection and let their rendition of “Highway to Hell” keep me conscious until I got home. It’s not my usual driving music, but a tuckered driver has to do these things sometimes.

I miss seeing my friends regularly and communicating with my family, too. So if you’re out there and reading this blog, feel free to take the initiative to stay in touch over the next couple of weeks, please! I miss you!

Anyway, I’m all nestled into bed here, flanked by the two cats and this laptop screen is getting just a little too bright for these tired student eyes. I should stay up and study, but tonight, I just don't have it in me...

Besides I have to get up early tomorrow to finish the last 20 pages or so of reading before my 9:00 a.m. seminar class in Educational Leadership, so I’ll sign off for now...

Over and out.