December 12, 2009
December Update
It’s been a long fall. Not a bad one, just a very busy one. I took 19 credits this semester, as well as got a job in the tutorial and academic success center. I have literally been on campus every day from 7:30 to after 5. Nights I have studied, and weekends I have been very tired, as well as trying to run a “weekend family.” It’s funny; I realized a lot of people don’t consider you a family here until there are children involved. I guess on week days we are simply a married couple….. Anyways….
Even though it’s been a rough fall, it has been one of the best mentally so far for me here. I feel good. Sure, I get moody once in a while, but that is just life. I am starting to fit in better, and I am feeling a lot surer about who I am and what I want to do in life. I did not realize that I had not quite figured that out yet. I thought I knew what I wanted, but apparently not. There have been a lot of choices to make, and hubby has been great about it all, helping me when I need it, but still letting me to stand on my own two feet. I am a very independent person, after all. But I feel I am satisfied with what I have chosen, which is important.
One of the things I have changed once again is my major. I was going to do history, then Public Relations, and now, I am going to do anthropology. This is what I will be applying for in about a month at our local University. We did a lot of soul searching on that one… But I think that is what I need to be happy with myself, regardless of later status. I don’t want to spend so much money on tuition if it is not something I am going to enjoy studying. I may seem fickle on this one, I know, sorry about that. But am I going to be happy working for a public relations company? No. I will be better off teaching somewhere, being the annoying, bossy, besserwisser I really am.
My husband is in Europe for a couple of weeks. I really miss him, and it is so lonely here without him. I am keeping myself busy though, since these weeks are the last two of the semester. I have a lot of last-minute tests and presentations, as well as 7 finals. It’s a bit different from the spring semester, when I only had 4 classes, but had finals in like 2 of them. I am swamped, and if I hear more about environmental biology, geography, American history, World Civilizations and math I think I am going scream. And if someone even mentions being creative and writing stories I will stab them to death with my ball-point pen. I am done with two of my finals though, and I am anxiously awaiting the results. I know I will have them before hubby comes back, but that’s about it. It won’t be another 4.0, I know that, but that’s okay. I am not perfect, nor do I need to be.
I have been getting allergy shots for a while now. I don’t know if it is working yet, but Linda, the lady who administers the shots told me that I should be able to eat apples in the fall. I am thrilled and can’t wait. It’s been so long. The shots are alright, some days they hurt like hell, and once in a while my arm swells up and aches for days (but this is only if I have not been taking the extra dosage of allergy medicine as they told me to. So I really can only blame myself for that….). It does make sense that I am having some extra reactions though; they are literally injecting me with EVERYTHING I am allergic to at once. We have built up my tolerance though, and yesterday (Friday) I finally got to come off the increasing colors (different dosages, different concentration) and have moved to maintenance, which is red, which I will stay as for the rest of my shots. I also no longer have to come in twice a week; we are down to once now. This will continue for another 3 months or so, and then it will gradually become less over time. It is all worth it though, it really is.
It is Christmas in a couple of weeks. It is technically my second Christmas here, since the first one we went beck to Sweden. The plans are still up in the air, which I don’t like, but I can’t do much about. Hubby will have to talk to Ds mother when he comes home. Though she was actually friendly when I dropped D off last Sunday. Might have been because she got money (for Ds new phone…. *sigh* don’t ask….), but still. I was also thrilled, because D hugged me, right there in the parking lot, right in front of her mother. It meant a lot (hasn’t happened before). Anyways, Christmas will be nice, I am sure if it, regardless of what happens. All I know is that I will be making turkey regardless.
My graduation ceremony will be May 12th, even though I technically will not graduate until end of June, since they don’t do any ceremonies during the summer. I am SO excited though. I will have an official college degree! This is HUGE! Cap, gown, diploma, I am doing it all! We might have a small get-together after the ceremony, not that we know a lot of people here, but I am sure some people will come for me. And then I will start in the anthropology department at our local University in the fall, if I am accepted that is. I am sure that I will though, as long as I keep my grades decent. I know they raised the entrance requirements to like a 2.5 in GPA. That should not be a problem; hopefully I can get my boss to sign a recommendation letter to the entrance committee.
I am sitting here munching candy-canes (seriously, they were like $1 at Toys R Us today), listening to French soundtracks with a pile of books beside me. Also, there is a large plastic tub with Lego in it here too. I bought it today for D for Christmas. She is a little strange that girl, rather immature for her age. I mean Rebecka would not have been caught dead playing with Lego at 11, but then again, she has two older sisters to model, D has only a brother, and he isn’t exactly the best role model in the world…..
Speaking about Rebecka, I got her the best Christmas gift yesterday. She isn’t the easiest kid to shop for, I’ll tell you that, impossible to get a straight answer out of. We had come to an agreement, which fell through, and then we tried again, but her gift did not make it into the large box of gifts that left for Sweden on the 2nd of December. I was about to give up and go to Target and pick her up a pajamas (fun? No, but it was the only thing she would approve for me to buy that she might actually use) when I went into Hallmark on a whim to see if they had stamps (I later forgot about buying the stamps…) and saw it, and I just knew if was a great gift. A bit sentimental, yes, but the kid is sentimental too. Spent a bit too much of course, but I love it. Hopefully she will too. It is on its way to Sweden as of this morning, and I hope it will make it on time for Christmas.
Nope, time to finish this up and head into the shower to get ready for bed. Sure it is 9:20 PM on a Saturday, but what else am I going to do? Life? Friends? What is that? (Just kidding….). I know this has been a bit long, sorry about that, but hopefully it will help make up for the fact that I haven’t updated for over two months. I’ll try to update relatively soon again.
