Posting While Baking

Every year at my work around this time of year, my office has a huge potluck over the course of two days. Before the merger, it went for three days. Five years ago, when I started there, I made some meringue cookies and they were an unexpected hit. There's no need to mess with success, so I make them every year--and every year, people get excited when I tell them what I'm making. Meringue cookies have to sit in a low oven for a loonnng time. So, in the meantime, I thought I'd post my final grades for the quarter. Obviously, they're pretty decent or else I wouldn't want to share them.

Background: I'm in my second year of grad school for Library and Information Science, with a specialization in school media. (IOW: I'm studying to be a school librarian.) I've been taking 3 courses a quarter--full time--and working full time as well, with the added challenge of keeping my studies a secret b/c this is my springboard to a new career. (Most likely the career I always wanted, had I known about it.)

I just finished my fourth quarter, having taken a break over the summer. Here's what I earned (using simplified names for the courses):

Cataloging: A
Library Systems: A
Education course (my 2nd ever): A-

Tears came to my eyes when I looked up my grades. I didn't think I was going to see a single A this quarter, let alone two. I mean, cataloging took forever to "click," and the instructors of my other two classes were somewhat detached and difficult to "read" so I could figure out what they wanted. There was also the small matter of the bizarre midterm for the education course that barely matched up with the materials we'd covered. Some of these instructors re-use others' materials and don't bother to check them at all.

The other funny thing is, I "experimented" this quarter. I wondered what it would be like if I acted the way everybody else had when I was an undergrad, so I tried it. I procrastinated, and not just a couple of times. Was patient with myself every time "writer's block" happened and tried not to freak out. Went on dates, or at least met some dating prospects. Heck, the week of finals I took a day trip to North Jersey to visit my grandfather, and the night one of my final projects was due, I had an hour long phone conversation with someone. Sure, I took some time off from work to accommodate this approach, but I still wound up having enough vacation days left to take off yesterday and the day after Christmas.

I managed to "get a life" somewhat, and I kind of liked it.

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