I've spent all day today calling people and emailing people trying to get them to get back with me so that I can get some work done!
Now I'm having to stay late because someone never got back with me - and they're on their way over here now. I'm just marking time until they get here and I can go home.
It's more than a little frustrating when your (large) projects get stuck in limbo because people aren't doing what they're supposed to do.
Okay, vent over.
John is studying, waiting for me to get off work. Then we're going to go eat (depending on when we get out of here I'll either go home and cook or just pick something up) and then take Honey for a nice walk. It's gorgeous outside! And considering there are less than 6 weeks a year with beautiful weather here, we must take advantage of it!
After that we'll have a quiet evening of studying and crocheting. I'm working on a queen/king sized blanket. I'm hoping to complete it in time for my brother's wedding to give it to them as a wedding gift. They're not even engaged yet, so I still have time! I've only been working on it for, oh, five years now?
I am so tired of working on the thing! I'll be glad to give it away.
It really is beautiful (before you start thinking that I'm giving something horrible to my brother and (future) sister-in-law)! Various shades of blue in a variety of stitches that I may or may not have made up myself.
Since it's so large, each row takes me anywhere from 25-75 minutes to complete depending on the stitch. Thankfully, I've finished the most time consuming stitches, so now I'm down to about 25-35 minutes per row. Still ... that's a lot of rows and a lot of time!
But I'm determined that I'm going to finish this blanket before I start any other projects. Period. Done.
Showing posts with label studying. Show all posts
Showing posts with label studying. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
Thursday, October 4, 2012
This time, it's different
I am feeling exceptionally optimistic today. I'm sure part of it is just feeling well again, and part of it is the huge coke that I drank at lunch. But another part is that it's Thursday, which means the weekend is almost here! The weather is cooling off from the normal 90+ degree weather! My job is more relaxed than it's been in over a year! And now that both John and I are bringing in a paycheck, finances are not as pressing!
John is so happy in his program right now - even with the lab rotation not being quite to his liking. He remarked at lunch today that he's been getting a lot of excellent study time in lately, and he's a bit concerned about not being able to sustain it and getting burnt out. I told him I didn't think it was a problem.
He got burnt out in medical school. In medical school he was told that he absolutely had to study every day all day - if he wasn't he was doing something wrong. He had no control over his own schedule - it was always "study, study, study or fail."
Now, the only point is to get through the classes. The classes are the basics before the labs, which are really important. He study's for the classes, not for the purpose of studying. He's in charge of his schedule. He sets aside good chunks of time to get some studying done.
Yes, he's studying a lot. But because he's keeping up with his schedule, he was not overwhelmed when he got sick last week and did nothing (school-wise) for three days. He was able to go to church, to go to Bible Study, to play some computer games, to do extracurricular things. Grad school is not ruling his life right now.
There will be times when his blocks of study time are more or less effective than others. That's normal. But do I think his current schedule is unsustainable? No. Not as long as he continues to schedule the breaks and can get up and walk away from everything; to give himself a true mental and physical break from school; and come back refreshed.
That's what is different this time.
I am so incredibly happy to see him succeeding, and being happy where he is.
John is so happy in his program right now - even with the lab rotation not being quite to his liking. He remarked at lunch today that he's been getting a lot of excellent study time in lately, and he's a bit concerned about not being able to sustain it and getting burnt out. I told him I didn't think it was a problem.
He got burnt out in medical school. In medical school he was told that he absolutely had to study every day all day - if he wasn't he was doing something wrong. He had no control over his own schedule - it was always "study, study, study or fail."
Now, the only point is to get through the classes. The classes are the basics before the labs, which are really important. He study's for the classes, not for the purpose of studying. He's in charge of his schedule. He sets aside good chunks of time to get some studying done.
Yes, he's studying a lot. But because he's keeping up with his schedule, he was not overwhelmed when he got sick last week and did nothing (school-wise) for three days. He was able to go to church, to go to Bible Study, to play some computer games, to do extracurricular things. Grad school is not ruling his life right now.
There will be times when his blocks of study time are more or less effective than others. That's normal. But do I think his current schedule is unsustainable? No. Not as long as he continues to schedule the breaks and can get up and walk away from everything; to give himself a true mental and physical break from school; and come back refreshed.
That's what is different this time.
I am so incredibly happy to see him succeeding, and being happy where he is.
Monday, September 24, 2012
Back In School
John did not get much study time this weekend. He claims that he doesn't have much to study yet; only a week out from his first tests, and nothing posted online yet for the upcoming week. A part of me is glad that he's on top of things. Another part is just a little bit worried.
We've done this before, you see. Before starting the program he's currently in, John spent two years in medical school - and hated it. He disliked the curriculum, didn't connect well with his classmates, and generally was not ready for the responsibilities required for medical school. By the end of his second year, he was genuinely dreading the next 8 years of his life.
After much heartache and discussion and prayers and more discussion ... we decided it would be best for him to leave. Which he did. Leaving him unemployed, without an MD degree, and over $100,000 in debt. Yeah. For two years of medical school.
We spent the next year basically trying to "find" ourselves and survive. John found a temporary job to supplement my decent-but-not-great income. Our income was low enough to put his school bills into deferment for a year until we could "re-evaluate".
Months passed with John recovering from his ordeal in medical school, and finally he decided that he wanted to go back to school again - this time for a PhD in research. He worked hard, interviewed several places, and was accepted - at the same school he had attempted to get his MD degree! Plus side: we don't have to move! And they give their grad research students a stipend. He would be paid for going to school - and actually be making more than me!
We've still got that medical school debt ... but now that John's in school it should go into deferment. Meanwhile, we've bought a house in a much nicer neighborhood (no drug dealers or murders! Yay!) And John is so much happier than he ever was in medical school. Which makes me happy!
We've done this before, you see. Before starting the program he's currently in, John spent two years in medical school - and hated it. He disliked the curriculum, didn't connect well with his classmates, and generally was not ready for the responsibilities required for medical school. By the end of his second year, he was genuinely dreading the next 8 years of his life.
After much heartache and discussion and prayers and more discussion ... we decided it would be best for him to leave. Which he did. Leaving him unemployed, without an MD degree, and over $100,000 in debt. Yeah. For two years of medical school.
We spent the next year basically trying to "find" ourselves and survive. John found a temporary job to supplement my decent-but-not-great income. Our income was low enough to put his school bills into deferment for a year until we could "re-evaluate".
Months passed with John recovering from his ordeal in medical school, and finally he decided that he wanted to go back to school again - this time for a PhD in research. He worked hard, interviewed several places, and was accepted - at the same school he had attempted to get his MD degree! Plus side: we don't have to move! And they give their grad research students a stipend. He would be paid for going to school - and actually be making more than me!
We've still got that medical school debt ... but now that John's in school it should go into deferment. Meanwhile, we've bought a house in a much nicer neighborhood (no drug dealers or murders! Yay!) And John is so much happier than he ever was in medical school. Which makes me happy!
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