Comes in handy sometimes!

What does?  My OU learning!

I'm currently learning some stuff about networking and IP addresses (not going to go into horrid levels of detail here cos there's a danger that I put my readership to sleep!!), anyway while having some IT issues of our own yesterday, a question came up that would normally have sent me running for the hills (or at the very least phoning for help from my 'baby' brother to explain it to me).  Anyway, I was able to establish that what appeared to be an issue wasn't one, and understood the information I was being presented with.

It's those (albeit rare) moments when my learning is relevant to daily home or work life that I celebrate as a proof of how far I have come in this convoluted OU journey of mine.

Just thought I'd share that, it's good to procrastinate on a positive note!

Middle of the Road...aka mid-course blues

Halfway House...Middle of the Road...Battle of Midway?

No I'm not planning on releasing a solo album any time soon, I'm discussing the inevitable slump, usually arrives at the halfway point of any module.  The time when I know I have to study, but the want has all but left the building. When reading anything but the course materials is my greatest desire.

This week it's been waxing and waning a lot, perhaps egged on by the fact I am on public transport whilst hubby is off work for the week.  Somehow the thought of study after a longer day is less appealing, and carrying the textbook to work on the bus not as simple as the short walk from the carpark outside the office.  I have managed to force some in, via the guise of my old friend the study-bath.

It's harder to judge the balance of life without the state of the basket, so I'm not sure where I am in the chaos-scale, when I figure out a new measure I will let you know.

Only twice more will I hit this halfway mark though... And then onwards towards .....whatever is next outside the basket.

What's in a Name?

Well, still living outside the basket, in that the role reversal has continued with consent form both parties.

I'm not entirely managing to maintain full distance from the basket, but have refrained from all but a tiny couple of bits of necessary ironing that I wanted to wear immediately.

Which begs a question.... Do I need to rename the Blog?  Not sure that any other name would suit it, although if I come across suggestions then I might give it a try.  My  whole OU journey began because of the basket so I would like to keep some reference to it at least!

Completely out of the Basket!

Before you ask, no I haven't had a major strop and thrown clothes and studies into the wind.

In his own words..."There's a new sheriff in town! "

Hubby and I were discussing the chores over Sunday dinner, and both of us felt like a change of some sort might do us good.

So I have abdicated as Queen of the Laundry, and him as King of the Dirty Dishes....These being the roles we traded off when we first moved in together.  An experiment has been proposed and accepted by both parties, we will be doing each other's major task.

It's been but a few days yet so we are still ' keen to impress'.  I can't help feeling that I got the best end of the deal, so I am happy.

A little part of me is finding it difficult to let go, the automatic tendency to sort another load till it's gone is still hanging around so far.  And I did smile a little as he talked of how you could just wash dishes but you need to learn many different things to do laundry....I don't think I really thought of it that way before... But it does explain somewhat why my head is so fuzzy... So many instructions to remember! What goes in with what... What definitely doesn't... What gets ironed and on which setting?

So I will keep you abreast of progress.... In the meantime I might have to catch up with study if I have less work to procrastinate with!!!

Washing and Waiting

Hmm....there's been lots of both of those recently.

The most positive wait....funding was agreed and work are going to help out financially - it's a big boon and will benefit both parties, as the logic and programming knowledge will help with the work I am being asked to do most days now in the 'day job' (not always in the calm focused environment I would like to be doing it, but hey it's programming whichever way I have to be doing it and that's got to make me smile sometimes!!)

From a waiting point of view, the wait to start the course is well and truly over, now it's just time to try and keep the procrastination fairy away.

Which brings me to one of the other waits...yes the wait for the winter craft 'mojo' to arrive - typically it arrived about a week after the start of the course!!  So I am trying valiantly to balance studying and sewing, I've waited so long to feel the urge to stitch again that I can't force myself to ignore it entirely and go study instead!

And as for the final wait - I've been looking into the graduation ceremonies - this being the year that I should achieve 300 points - however there isn't one yet this year in this area which would take place before I get the course results for the current module.  And the next one 'up here' is next September - so having waited till September 2016, do I just continue and wait till I graduate with Honours too in June 2017?  I might need to take some advice from Student Support on this one.

I'd kind of love to simply go to a ceremony elsewhere later this year, but then it would mean not being surrounded by all the family and friends I have been so supported by along the way.  And I think that having that proud moment shared would mean so much more to me than 'doing it sooner'.

 So -  lots to think about.  And in the meantime, plenty of washing in the basket to keep me occupied!!

A Parcel of Delights!

Ooo its that time again... the eager unwrapping of a box full of goodies!!

And no, I don't mean it's Christmas Day again already! I speak of course of the delights of the new course materials delivered yesterday.  A strange mix, with a DVD, a novel and a small (thankfully) textbook.

Somehow there's always a delightful feeling of anticipation mixed with slight trepidation when the new stuff arrives.  I'm looking forward to starting again, kind of still bemoaning the lack of obsessive crafting throughout the winter but positive and ready to begin on this last step for the basic degree.

Soon it will be time for the ritual of tidying the desk space to allow me to study in a pleasant place.

And then of course the sudden emergence of the procrastination fairy from her winter lair.  Let's see if I can empty the washing basket before the course officially begins on 31st January!!

Couldn't wait any longer....to be a basket case again!!

....I signed up for TM129 - Technologies in Practice today.

I have had agreement locally from my office manager to pay for the remaining courses, but as I needed to be registered by 8th January, I didn't feel like I could safely wait much longer for higher approval.  So I have signed up online and paid for it myself, in the hopes to recoup it in the New Year.

Whichever way things progress financially, I would be studying the course anyway - I've come too far to 'step off' the mad bus ride that is my degree now.

Feeling like the downtime isn't really 'normal' this year, but then nothing else has been normal for the last year or so anyway.  Still not really got my crafting 'groove' on, although I have sudden flashes of inspiration, I never quite have the energy to follow them up with actions!  Maybe after Christmas eh?

Strange to think that, by the end of this course, I will have enough points to graduate with the basic degree.  And then only 2 more left.....Level 3 unknowns again......to get me the long awaited honours degree.

I occasionally have these moments....where I realise that it will all have been 'real' - somehow distance learning has some kind of a sense of unreality about it, except for those rare moments of interaction with other students on our chosen modules.  Don't get me wrong, I know exactly how much work I have put into this convoluted path of mine over the years, but somehow the reality of the actual degree still seems quite hard to grasp!

Looking forward to the day when I can say 'I achieved that'.  I am immensely proud of the journey, and I forget that sometimes in the reality of the daily 'doing' of life.