Thursday, October 25

excuse me while I rant for a moment...

(Preface: I am incredibly aware of and thankful for the privilege and blessing of being able to have a post-secondary education. )

So, I'm sitting in a class that wastes approximately 2.6 hours of my time on a weekly basis. The topic is fantastic, the readings are fantastic, the people in the class are fantastic, the professor is extremely knowledgeable...and yet, his weekly stream of consciousness blathering is less than fantastic. If it wasn't for the participation mark, I wouldn't need to be here - he doesn't even test on his lecture material, there's no midterm or final, I'm just warming my seat for 10% of my mark. In the meantime, I have been able to order some textbooks on amazon, which I needed to get done, so, I suppose that's good.

Education is a wonderful thing, but I am constantly amazed and frustrated by the structure/system of the undergraduate world. I don't understand how one is expected to function within this system. It makes me angry that I cannot both live a healthy, balanced lifestyle, and complete the bare minimum of my school work. Is it unrealistic to want to be able to cook proper meals (as in, not pre-packaged and frozen), walk the dog, read the newspaper,
and keep my home sort of in an orderly fashion, while I go to school work? I don't think so...and yet, if I break to do these things, I have constantly hanging over my head the reading not yet done, the assignment soon due, the studying I should do. I am amazed by students who somehow manage to complete their work, volunteer in the community, participate in school activities, and maintain their friendships. I'm finding the demands of a full course-load on its own overwhelming and unattainable.

It frustrates me to be in a program (Global Studies) that is constantly opening my eyes to many of the problems and injustices of our world, related to environmental and consumer issues, and yet after I read about and respond to these issues in my papers and assignments, I don't have the time to make changes in my own lifestyle to do my part in dealing with these issues. While I know I should be walking to the market to by locally grown food, it's all I can do to swing by the grocery store on my way home and grab a frozen pizza and a bag of baby carrots. While I know it's best for me to spend the time to by second-hand clothes and not be participating in some of the oppressive systems of capitalistic production, I don't have the time to look through rack after rack and maybe find a sweater that will work, when I know that I can run into a store in the mall, pick my size and colour, and leave. Despite my awareness that walking/busing places is possible and better for me and my world, the packed schedule I have right now makes it practically impossible to get everything in without the car. It is increasingly frustrating to have the awareness that comes with my education and be limited in my actions because of the demands of that same education. ARG!

So, that's my rant today. While I am so grateful for the ability to go to school, I am so ready to be done and put my learning in action. Instead of reading and writing about the problems of the world, I'd really like to be able to rearrange my own lifestyle in my own little corner of the world in an effort to live responsibly. Get me out of the world of ideas and into the world of actions!

Thursday, October 4

"nobody cares about your blog"...

...or so a t-shirt told me today. Seems to be true, as apparently nobody actually reads these :P

It's beautiful out there today. I can't wait for the weekend, to just get outside and enjoy it. This week has been a little nutso, SO much to do. I've gotten through it bit by bit. I have one more assignment due tomorrow, then I'm working in the evening, and then blessed Saturday arrives...I can't wait. James and I have been working towards trying to keep a Sabbath day once a week, it's so healthy (especially lately the way school has been). The thought of taking Charlie for a hike on Saturday is what's keeping me going.

I'm in class. I thought I had something to say, but, can't think of anything right now...I think it was just about being nice out today. I sat outside under a tree in the sunshine and finished my reading on my lunch break, it was quite nice. And my drive today was gorgeous. It was all foggy, and you would get snippets of blue/gray and then all the colours of the leaves. Quite pretty.

Tuesday, October 2

My cat was on fire...

...no, literally, my cat was just on fire. Burnt cat hair stinks.

So, I have an uber-ridiculous amount of school work to do this week, which is leading me to contemplate not going to my class this afternoon, being as I haven't even touched the reading, and, to drive to Waterloo for one 90 minute class when you haven't read the material seems kind of silly when I have two other assignments to do. We'll see. James would like it 'cause he could have the car. Charlie would like it 'cause he wouldn't be alone. Monty...may not like it, being as if I am at home he is more likely to be on fire.

So I've hunkered down in my little house with my books, laptop, cup of coffee, warm socks, hoodie, laptop, cbc in the background, candles lit ( our house smells really musty...I'm trying to combat the musty smell). Everything to make my study experience more comfortable.

And then the cat jumped onto the coffee table, and went to walk across it, which would be ok if he just walked across it. But instead he stopped, right over the candles. I assumed he would feel hot and keep going. Nope. Not until half the side of his body was flaming. Very briefly, but still, there was indeed a flaming cat on my coffee table a few minutes ago.

Burnt cat hair stinks.
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