My Year in Review

Best Decisions:

In March 2007 I joined the choir at the Anglican cathedral. Slowly, my musical skills have been improving and I have been gaining confidence with my singing. I have also been getting to know the other choristers and have found a community I feel comfortable in. In December I had to take a few weeks off and it was nice to come back and discover that I had been missed!

Quitting my job was by far the best decision I made in 2007. The harassment situation there had become so stressful and damaging to my health I was on the verge of taking stress leave when a new opportunity opened up. While I had supportive coworkers, the nastiness I was subjected to was treated as a “misunderstanding” by others and I just couldn’t handle things anymore. I was a little sad to leave my coworkers but I leapt at the opportunity to TA at the university. It was a little scary to leave a permanent part-time job for a one-semester job and even though I am now unemployed I don’t regret my decision. The stress and busy-ness of school was nothing compared to what I was dealing with before!

The department secretary at school gave me a kick in the pants to apply for grad school a year earlier than I had planned. She motivated me to find a summer course to make up the course I was still missing, to apply for funding and, of course, to apply for the programme. It was all a rather rush decision—it was, of course, something I had already decided I would do but I just hadn’t anticipated doing it this year. Nothing ventured, nothing gained!

Pleasures:

Watching my little niece grow from baby to little girl has been fascinating. I don’t see her as much as I would like, but when I do I always marvel at how she has changed. My birthday (December) and Christmas were especially special with her helping to open presents! I look forward to her little brother or sister’s arrival in January.

My menagerie expanded this year and continued to provide me with amusing stories. In June I set up a pond in a 24” flower pot on my balcony and stocked it with two goldfish (Hubert and Opal), an algae eater (Leroy) and an apple snail (Hector). In September I got an aquarium and moved them all indoors, adding two more fish (one of which later died) and another snail, Jeremy. Either Jeremy or Hector was a female because egg deposits began to appear! I hatched one clutch out of curiosity and, as I threatened, gave baby snails to friends for Christmas. Sadly, Jeremy deceased for mysterious reasons, but Hector, Leroy, Spartacus, Hubert and Opal continue to grow. Muggs gets much amusement watching them, sometimes getting so absorbed she attempts to attack them through the glass!

Muggs has continued to provide me with great amusement—and some pain. I finally discovered how to cure her of her occasional biting habit and she continues to be her friendly, cuddly self. Ironically, there have only been two people that she has ever met that she really hated, one being the ex. I really need to pay more attention to my cat’s opinions when picking a boyfriend!

Unexpected Blessings:

Sometimes God blesses us in the most unexpected ways. On the Labour Day weekend I travelled to Montreal for an old friend’s wedding. While there, I reconnected with a dorm-mate from my Glendon days and made new friends out of old acquaintances, especially JD. The funniest part of it all was that in my Glendon days, we were such complete and utter opposites that we very likely would have gouged each others’ eyes out with spoons had we been left in the same room unsupervised—I was extremely conservative Christian and he was an adamant atheist! I’m still a Christian, he’s still an atheist, but we have both changed and mellowed. Now, we are great friends and his friendship and generosity has been an amazing blessing to me this past semester.

Every year—every semester—the school social group shifts. Working as an undergrad TA meant that I got to know the MA students better and I found that in many ways I had more in common with them than with some of the undergrad students, at least in some respects. I became good friends with a new MA student—we can relate to each others’ challenges and struggles in that way that someone only can if they’ve been where you are. It is so lovely to have a friend at school that can understand the challenges I face with the fibro and offer me emotional support when I need it. I only hope I do the same for her!

Worst 48 Hours:

Last January I thought the year could only get better, and it did. That’s because over the course of 48 hours my boyfriend of six months dumped me, my oven blew up and I was rejected for an amazing summer job I thought I had wrapped up. While each thing on its own would have been tragic enough, having all three happen at once made for a great story. And I chose to laugh about it, as much as I could. In hindsight, it’s all worked out: I’m glad to be rid of that fellow, the oven did eventually get replaced (albeit 5 months later) and if I had got the job in France, who knows how things would have turned out. Maybe I never would have come back!

Greatest Challenges:

When I think about the greatest challenges I’ve faced this past year, it comes down to the same old bugbear: fibro. It really does affect every aspect of life and makes things like work, school and relationships that much tougher than they would be otherwise.

Being back in school is a huge—and scary—financial commitment. It’s one more bill to pay on top of all the others. But God has been providing and even though I sometimes get down about the financial challenges, I know it is an investment in my future that will be worth it in the long run. Sometimes you have to fight for what you want.

Academic Accomplishments

While I don‘t define myself by my academic accomplishments, they are an important part of who I am. An essay I wrote last year won second place in a faculty-wide competition following the spring semester.

My fall marks weren’t quite as high as I would have liked for grad school, but considering some of the fibro issues I had this fall they’re not too shabby, either. I studied as best as I could and prayed for the rest! Greek started off with a D on one of the first quizzes in September, but by the end of the semester I was getting As and my overall mark was the B+ required for grad school. What a blessing and relief!

Looking Forward to 2008:

God willing I’ll be starting MA studies next September. While I don’t see the way clear through this semester (being unemployed), I’m confident that God’s going to work it all out somehow. I already have a needed prep course (Latin) lined up for the summer.

I’m looking forward to employment again! Although I’ve only been unemployed for a few weeks now, it takes its toll mentally and emotionally as well as financially. I feel like I’m at the bottom of a pit and I can’t see the way out… yet. The challenge, of course, is finding a job that is compatible with my school schedule, pays well (to help with all the bills—rent, car, tuition, utilities… oh yes, and food) and doesn’t make the fibro worse.

A new niece or nephew will be making an appearance January.

My youngest sister will be returning from her missionary work in Malawi in April. It will be awfully good to see her again!

Christmas

coming soon--whenever I get around to it

Wrong

Homeless children use a fire to warm themselves at a road side in Jammu, India.

Photo: Channi Anand/APFrom BBC In Pictures
http://news.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/07/in_pictures_enl_1197980681/img/1.jpg

Let It Snow--Part 2

What a wonderful start to the holidays! Friday night I had my last exam and today the second blizzard of the year! Saturday I spent sleeping, today I spent sewing. My Christmas decorations are up.

Actually, I"m such a geek, Friday (before my exam) I bought my textbooks for next semester and I have already started reading one.

Anyway, the computer is being a little funny tonight, so I'll come up with a better post later.

Birthdays Are Best With a Niece to Share

As of yesterday, my age rolled forward another digit. I can't quite believe sometimes how old I'm getting!

Yes, I had a pretty good birthday, all things considered. Went to the farm on Saturday to celebrate with my parents, my sister and her family. The highlight really was spending time with my two year old niece. She really is growing so fast! I got her to help me blow out the candle and she helped me open my presents. Opening presents is so much more fun with a niece to show you how to do it! The cutest part is that she held up both the tops I got in front of her to see if they 'suited'! It was so adorable.

Despite feeling ill, and singing some pretty sour notes, Evensong was beautiful. Like I said, my mom couldn't make it, but three friends from TO braved the weather and a misunderstanding of directions to show up in time to enjoy the most of the service. They couldn't stay to socialize, as they had commitments back in TO (one of them had to catch a plane), so it was really sweet that they came.

The drawback to having a birthday this time of year when you're in uni is that it is the busiest, most stressful time. So after my Greek exam on Wednesday, I'm heading up to TO with a couple of uni friends and meeting up with friends there for a belated celebration. Well, the pretense is my birthday, but it's really so my friend can wear her fancy new cocktail dress!

That same friend has a well-earned reputation in the department for her fantastic baking. Today she brought in the most delicious chocolate-lemon cheesecake I have ever laid tastebuds on! I happily shared it around the department. Very sweet, in more ways than one!

You know, I got some nice presents, but it really wasn't about getting stuff. I appreciate them, but they took a back seat to the best part of this birthday-- spending time with my niece.

Friendly Neighbours?

I always hope for snow for my birthday, but I really wasn't thinking of a foot or so and freezing rain.

I have the dubious privilege of parking my car on the street, and come winter it can be a real hassle. Apparently when the snow fell overnight it was relatively fluffy; by the time I was ready to leave for evensong rehearsal at 2 it had started to rain on top of the snow. But the snow wasn't too heavy yet and I was able to dig my car out (and clean it of a foot or more of drifted snow) without too much difficulty. (Driving to practice, I was somewhat glad my mom had decided not to come to the service because as much as I wanted her to come, I also knew that she would not at all be comfortable driving in the weather.) I should also mention here that the residential side streets are, of course, the last to be cleared. And since the cars park down the same side of the street all winter, that side never gets cleared. The brutal truth of it is that where cars are parked during the first major snowstorm, those are the parking spots for the next six months. People clear their sidewalks and pile a huge drift along the curb; then the plow comes by and makes a huge drift down the other side of the cars. Finally, as people start going out, they dig out their cars creating huge piles fore and aft. These spots will remain pretty well defined until the snow melts.

The challenge comes not when you LEAVE your parking spot, but when you come back to it. Because it is not your spot (although you've done all the heavy lifting to create it) and more often than not someone else has taken it. And since the plows don't clear that side of the road, any empty spots that weren't parked in during the storm are full of snow and not the safest places to park until someone with an SUV has broken in the ruts for you. So I came back from evensong at 6 and drove around the block looking for a spot. Not appreciating how wet, heavy and sticky the snow had become, I attempted to park in a spot some ways away from my building. Since it had been raining for some time, any compact snow became slippery and almost ice-like. And I got stuck. I got out my shovel and gamely dug. Got back in the car and moved a foot. Got back out and dug. I was on the verge of tears, I will admit: I was not in the best of health because, between the fibro and withdrawal symptoms because my medication had run out, I really just wanted to be in bed. I was tired, I hurt, my head hurt to blink, and I had managed one meal in three days. And it was dark, cold and raining and I wasn't dressed for digging. But I didn't have a choice so, as frustrating and painful as it was, I gamely dug, moved, dug, moved. Oh, how I wanted some friendly, kind person to stop and offer to help!

But it was the fourth time I was digging away at the wheels, trying to get the compacted, icy, wet snow out of the way that I really reached my breaking point. Because at that point, the lady whose house I was in front of stuck her head out her door and scolded me for putting snow on the sidewalk! I had better use my shovel to clear off the sidewalk. Oh, I wanted to swear at her, I'll admit that. But I bit my tongue, blinked back tears and said "Ma'am, I am trying to dig my car out. I will take care of your sidewalk." And I eventually got my car free. I admit, as I shoved the snow to the lawn side of the sidewalk, I had the fleeting hope that maybe there would be lots of salt mixed in it....

I did find another, safer parking spot much further away and walked all the way to my apartment in the pouring rain. And headed straight for a soak in the tub.

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!

We got almost a foot of snow overnight, going from bare and drab to brilliant white! I cannot remember the last time we had significant snow on my birthday--not since I was a kid, I'm sure. It's gorgeous!

The only drawback to all this snow (and the threat/promise of more) is that my mom might not be able to make it to Evensong later today.

But oh, it's beautiful!