I have found my way through another year of school and some people gave me some letters:

Cartoons and Comics: A-
Close Reading: B
Creative Process: A
History of Catholicism: B+
Intro to Human Geography: A
King Arthur: A
Pulp Fiction: A-

I have to admit, these are better than I was expecting. This year, more than last year, I basically felt tired and overworked the whole time. I expected my marks to suffer more than they actually seem to have done. Oh well, here’s what I learned: next year I am taking fewer classes at a time.

Last Year’s Marks

Today was, I’m pretty sure, the first day since my return to school when I have missed class due to feeling ill (instead of just oversleeping or just wanting to skip class). I could feel it coming on at work last night, but on the walk to class today I could tell I wasn’t going to be up to it, so I turned back around. Unfortunately it happened on the day of the week when I have three classes, instead of the day I have just one. Oh well. It’s like that old saying: “sometimes you miss school because you are sick.” What a classic old saying that is. So true.

Haiku!

Splaz kembordar fut.
Wezlengy, jurtra? Dersal.
Velteng wutnuvvy.

I can’t remember if I’ve mentioned it on the site before or not, but my plan was to take summer classes. I’m not doing that now. Not this year anyway. Instead I think I’m going to take the summer as a relaxation time, and when I go back to school in September, take fewer courses at once. I feel like I will get more out of it that way.

Well, I haven’t been saying much but the bare basics on here lately, so here goes:

I’m not extremely skilled at balancing school and work.

I’ve been pretty busy with school and work lately. Whereas last year I had a class in which I’d already read most of the material, I don’t have that this year. With three reading-intensive courses, I’m already behind on my reading and, realistically, I’ll have to start deciding which materials I’m going to skip reading altogether. I am enjoying these reading-heavy courses, but they’re a lot of work for someone who hasn’t the time to read.

Work, meanwhile, has been occasionally difficult. I drive a company car, which is immensely helpful, but since Winter set in, I’ve experienced all manner of problems. Flat tires, drained batteries, door malfunctions, and the steering column had to be replaced. I’m confident that the advantages of not having to own my own car still outweigh the disadvantages, but the scales are shifting. Because of the latest issues, the car has been in the shop this week, which means I lose a week’s worth of money, but I also gained some free nights in which I was able to accomplish some other things (like reading some things for school…)

Haiku!

Rainbows in the sky
burning all the world below
and laughing. Laughing.

Speaking of money, I got around to trying to find a roommate again at the end of December, but didn’t have much luck. Up until now I’ve been considerably better off financially than last year, but that is likely to change in coming months. Let’s see what happens!

School starts back up again tomorrow. I had a whole month off school there (classes at least, there were still exams), but I sure as heck don’t feel like I had any time off. Work and holidays kept me busier than I would have been by choice. Admittedly, there were a handful of days in December where I got to relax and not worry about work or school or some familial obligation, about six such days, but I had plans for all the things I wanted to get done over December (a new Hover Head story, for example) and I have definitely not had time for that.

My plan has all along been to take Summer classes, but now that I’m looking ahead to another four months of no days off, I don’t think I can do that. If I had weekends off (even just one day a week, really), I could do it, but it is tiring having seven days in a row of things to do every week. I will not take classes this Summer, instead I will make time for things like friends and writing. Try to take some time for the things I just can’t fit into six non-consecutive December days.

But that’s still a lot of weeks away.

EDITED TO ADD: It occurs to me that part of the reason I found the last semester of school more tiring is because I had classes I wasn’t enjoying. I’ve got three new classes starting this week and, who knows, maybe I’ll find myself more engaged and thus more energetic time time around.

Behold! The Dark Lord Char’Nagh arises and reviews our lives for another year! Are you confident that he will not find you wanting? You still have a few hours, so use them imploring his mercy! You do not want to face the wrath of Char’Nagh!

2013 went by too quickly for my liking. I didn’t feel like I really got a chance to slow down and do anything other than work and school. Maybe it wasn’t as bad as it felt, but it felt bad. On the plus side: I like my job a heckuva lot more than I have any other job I’ve had in decades, and I’m still doing reasonably well in school. Still, I could use a nice break in which I could do more things not related to school or work. I had planned on taking Summer classes, but I’m not so sure now.

Anyway, that’s it for me this year.