fallen behind

the ones that didn't get away: bug collection at Science World

Oh the complete irony! - enrolled in a professional writing program and doing relatively little of the stuff, or so it seems. I am doing a lot of writing these days but very little of it ends up here. There's a huge time crunch in my life right now. Writing these days seems solely to Get Assignments Done. The last straw was probably blogging for class! The novelty of higher education is wearing thin as the time for yet another blog post flies out of the window. Ditto creative time too - I'm twitchy from not enough crafty moments making stuff.

I'm also experiencing a frisson of frustration at still being so far from IRL with my endeavours. While churning out homework, nothing seems to translate into concrete experience; I seem far from Re-Launch. Though when I do look at Those About To Graduate, I am glad it's not me. I have so far to go compared with these embryonic professionals I share classes with currently. (Don't take my word for it, btw - come to the Print Futures Portfolio show on April 14th to see some real writers in action!)

So between the frustration of still chugging away at Plan C and the impending terror of Making It Real, I'm cultivating patience and foresight. Over the years of volunteering and teach-yourself-software I've developed a not-too-shabby portfolio of skills, and this can only get better.

But in the meantime I need to give myself a break, establish some much-needed regular exercise and get back into gear with some recreational writing. So far this semester you've missed reading about my weekend away in Victoria, the angst of interviews for a summer internship, assorted domestic woes, adventures in counselling, and I've not yet expanded on my llama farm project!

Stay tuned :)

scribing

Grizzy studies her reading homework

It's a beautiful sunny day outside ...... and I've got a newsletter to write! All my files, scanner, etc. are on the desktop so no goofing off in the sun for me until I get it all done.

The newsletter is for a non-profit I volunteer with. It's a great way of getting writing, editing, and web experience. I'll be putting my recent SFU continuing studies courses into practice. Yesterday was my last copyediting class - I'll miss my Saturday morning escapes into the real world (both courses were excellent BTW, I can highly recommend Barbara Tomlin's courses). It has been a stimulating experience going back into the classroom. Hopefully I'll be able to build on what I've learned and continue working from home.

This stay-at-home parenting thing is a huge dilemma for me. While I don't want the Wee Guy to become a latch key kid I'm also feeling the inner turmoil over not contributing to the family budget. I realise that by staying at home I am saving by not having fulltime childcare and we can eat more cheaply as there is time to prepare meals from scratch. I aso don't have commuter expenses, my wardrobe needs are very simple and I do all the housework. By my conservative estimates, I'm 'earning' approximately $1300 CAD per month at the least but that's way off the mark according to a recent survey. I haven't even begun to estimate what my hunting around for bargains, cost savers and best deals nets.

But I'm still feeling the pull toward doing something more than just kitchen and kid. My former fully employed outside the home life is calling. I volunteer a lot, I run my jewelry design business, I'm at home before and after school ...... I'd just like more please.