School Starts In About 2 Weeks And Other News

Classes officially start on September 2nd.  We'll be travelling during that time frame, which is very lucky for me that my program is 100% online. At some point during the day classes being I'll have to log online and check out my classes and see what's in store for me.  I've done part of the orientation offered and the program seems really intense.  The video I watched was done by the director and he mentioned that 60% of the jobs in this career field are not posted by filled by referral and word of mouth.  Isn't that crazy? I could potentially used my connections at USC or any other jobs I get that would allow me to get a great job!  Not sure how all the works, but I'll figure it out.

My biggest fear is that, even though they say it can be done in conjunction with your current job, I will somehow fail on an epic level.  I plan on spending 3-4 hours per night during the week studying and then filling in with more study time on the weekends.  My adviser recommends 8 hours of study time per week per class.  I'm taking 3 classes each semester so, in essence, it's a part time job.  I know I need to put in the time if I want to succeed but I'm just afraid it won't be enough.   I did OK with studying when I was doing my undergraduate work, but that doesn't seem like it will be as difficult or time intensive.   There are also other changes happening in our family that could affect all my study plans.  But I am moving forward with the theory of "If not now, when?" I don't want to be one of those people who could have done the thing they loved but chose to put if off because of the timing of certain life events.  You make it work, you have to or you don't get anywhere.

In other news, David and I are taking a trip to Washington D.C. and Boston in a few weeks.  I am very much looking forward to this trip as I've never visiting many places on the East Coast.  David's been to D.C. before but I've never been.  I know he's really excited to see the museums and the zoo.  I'd just like to kind of wander around and people watch. I'm looking forward to Boston more just because of the history.  Not that D.C. doesn't have it's own history but there's quite a lot in Boston that I'm more interested in for sure.  Either way, it's looking to be a great trip that I'm very excited about, regardless.  I'll be talking the Gnome with me so I'll be posting pictures when we get back.

That's about all for now. Hopefully I'll check back in soon. Toodles!

Graduate School

Earlier this month I was officially accepted into the USC Masters of Management in Library and Information Sciences program.  This is such a huge and awesome opportunity I am beside myself. I've always wanted to go back to school and I'm just so lucky to be a part of a prestigious school.  I never thought I would be one to be admitted to a distinguished school like USC.  They have a very impressive academic and athletic alumni list and they have nationally recognized programs for all sorts of careers.  My words seem to fail me at this moment but suffice to say it's a huge honor and a BIG feather in my cap, if I do say so myself.

My enrollment is conditional, though.  I must get a 3.0 average GPA for the first semester or risk being dismissed from the program.  It's a B average, which back in my olden days, wouldn't have been hard at all.  But this is a pretty intense, high level program.  I'm just hoping I have what it takes to keep up.  If I do, and I graduate with good grades, then I will have such great opportunities available for me career-wise I can't even begin to be excited.

I'm very nervous and so so so so so so excited to go back to school and change the trajectory of my life.  While what I've been doing up to this point has served me well, it's not what I want to do. Even if it doesn't work out the way I ultimately plan, at least I did something about it and something that makes me happy.

 

Or at least I will be.

Pick a Picture

This kid is now 7 years old and almost taller than me.  Where does the time go?

Pick a Picture

I decided that since I haven't uploaded anything in a while I'd just pick a picture I already had and just talk about it for a bit.  This one was taken at Versailles in Paris during one of the coldest winters I've ever lived through.  As you can see, there's not much snow on the ground but it was so bitterly cold that year everyone was miserable.  This was over Valentine's Day weekend and we'd decided to take the high speed train to Paris.  We left on the early train Saturday morning and came back the next night on the late train.  

So, this picture.  We had just made the frigid walk from the train station to the chateau and were desperately trying to get inside and find heat.  But, being at Versailles, I just had to stop and take pictures of the exterior.  While I was doing that a very nice Asian couple asked if I would take their picture.  I said of course, got the shot and handed them back their camera. Then the man asked if we wanted ours done.  I hate getting my picture taken but the family always complains they never see me in any of them so I begrudgingly said yes.  And I'm actually glad I did. It's a lovely picture that always reminds me of mint green tea (that I spent way too much money on), fondue and good wine, poutine and great ciders.

To elaborate on the poutine and ciders thing a bit I'll explain what happened after Versailles.  So we had dinner on the Left Bank across from Notre Dame that evening after we got back in to town. It was still fairly early and we didn't want to go back to our hotel just yet. We decided to go find a bar and have a few drinks and just enjoy being in Paris.  While walking along the river we found, of all things, a Canadian bar.  Yes, that's right folks a type of Hoser Hut right in the middle of Paris.  Seemed as good a place as any so we decided to pop in. It was pretty busy so we sat at the bar where we could see all the TV's in the place playing hockey, what else?  We ordered drinks and sat back to enjoy ourselves.  I saw poutine on the menu and decided we needed to get some. David hadn't ever tried it and I was dying to let him know what he was missing.  We were through our second drink by the time our food came out. When David finally relented and tried some he realized how awesome it was and ate more than his half of the plate! 

As you can tell by my rambling on, one picture can dredge up a thousand memories and make you remember a whole weekend in the blink of an eye. I think this is a good exercise that I might try to keep up with in the future.  Goodness knows I have a ton of pictures that I could work with. :)

New York City

I Like Cute Ducks And I Cannot Lie

We went to Ogden this last weekend for my brother - in - law's wedding.  It was beautiful and we had a great time with family.  My mother-in - law had suffered a stroke a few months ago and is still in the hospital but was able to attend the ceremony and reception.  Before we left to come back to Vegas we went to see her in the hospital.  It's one of the prettiest hospitals n I've been to in a long time. We all went out for a walk and saw these ducks in the po d.  Friendly fellas.  Reminded me of the ducks I used as a kid; very sweet and calm natured.  If I lived on a farm again I would totally have ducks.  Just because. 

Road Trip!

We took a quick trip to Idaho for my nephew and grandfather's birthday.  It was so great to see everyone and spend the afternoon with them. It makes for a long weekend with all the driving but it was worth it for sure.