Je ne le crois pas... J'ai fini niveau 3! Ça fait longtemps depuis j'ai posté. Je crée des nouveaux mots, excusez-moi. Donc, oui, shit got real. Mais, je pense que je suis fonctionnelle en français maintenant. Sûr, ma grammaire est terrible parfois, et je ne sais pas toute la vocabulaire, mais je bien comprends et peux repondre awesomely quand je suis dans le droit état d'esprit. Je suis sûr que je fais beaucoup de erreurs ici! Je me promets que je ne utilise rien des utiles comme Google Translate... C'est seulement pour pratiquer mon français.
For the first four weeks of this last level, which was complete immersion, I was utterly blocked. But two weeks ago, I woke up and suddenly French clicked into place. I can use relatively complex sentence structures (but not a couple of important tenses, like the subjunctive or conditionals), speak fluidly and with excellent pronunciation. It's absolutely true, and I'm just so fucking proud of myself today, the day of the last two final exams. So fucking proud. It's not much longer now.
It is such a joy to be alive! Nine days, free of work and school, stretch before me, to be filled with afternoons of lying in the garden in my yellow bikini, painting furniture bright colors, cooking excellent meals, reading and watching Sailormoon (I am on like episode 60/200 right now, and I still feel like I got an A somehow). I haven't had a single day off for thirteen weeks, including weekends. I am sure you don't blame me for forgetting to post for almost a month. ;)
I made things even more challenging by starting my very first 30 Day Challenge (see www.ted.com)... To run 5k every morning at 6:15 AM for the next month. I realized on day 4 that this is unreasonable, and amended it with "running interspersed with days of weight lifting." I'm on day 7 today and I find it very easy and simple to wake up 40 minutes earlier to get in some extra exercise. I feel closer to my ancient ancestors, closer to the earth, when I run in the morning. There are a few moments when most of the city is asleep but everything else is wide awake. Why sleep through it?
Finally, all of my tuition is paid, through level 5 (the final level). I will obtain, fingers crossed, my certificate of proficiency at the beginning of December, 2012. And I will have accomplished my "30-years-old goal," which is to become fluent in another language. I could cry right now I am so happy. WAIT. Still two levels to go.
Level 4 begins in 9 days. BRING IT.
Showing posts with label planning. Show all posts
Showing posts with label planning. Show all posts
Friday, June 15, 2012
Saturday, May 19, 2012
I had big plans...
For this blog, including a makeover featuring custom graphics by yours truly. That was before I raced through four books by Ilona Andrews in two weeks. ::headdesk::
I just finished up my 2nd week of six of Intermediate French at McGill University. It felt like two days. I can't believe that 1/3 of this insane class (and about 50% of the entire degree) is already behind me. Soon, I will be clutching the certificate in one paw with a cold, frosted bottle of Fumées Blanches in the other and a pile of job offers in my inbox. Chin chin!
On another note, I keep my Facebook friendlist cropped short at all times, and yet it seems to me as if at least 80% of all of the women I know in committed relationships with a male between ages 23 and 33 are preggers or postpartum at the moment. I'm feeling kind of left out of all of the congratulatory messages such as "soon, the real work will start!" and "I LOVE the name you chose; Barbados Elrond is so original!" and my personal fave, "only 24 months till his first poo-painting episode; cherish these final days!"
Three hours of dancing this morning. Felix and I were in the middle of a practice at Conseil des Arts when our coach called and said that he'd been waiting on us for 15 minutes at the studio... We'd forgotten all about our lesson! So we booked it to Des Ormeaux and commenced to dance until our feet fell off. It was a nice feeling and spawned a lovely nap fraught with green tree shadows and warm breezes (I had the bedroom window open). I worked for a few hours, did plenty of weekend chores and ate brownies that Caspian made. I find it amazing that he managed to pull himself away from his 60-hour workweek and the lure of Diablo III to create them.
I will put up a picture of our container garden, which Caspian finished planting earlier this morning! All of our seedlings were successful... Until yesterday, when Kiska decided that spinach seedlings would make an excellent evening snack and mowed them down. They are pretty much decimated, but they may bounce back yet.
I just finished up my 2nd week of six of Intermediate French at McGill University. It felt like two days. I can't believe that 1/3 of this insane class (and about 50% of the entire degree) is already behind me. Soon, I will be clutching the certificate in one paw with a cold, frosted bottle of Fumées Blanches in the other and a pile of job offers in my inbox. Chin chin!
On another note, I keep my Facebook friendlist cropped short at all times, and yet it seems to me as if at least 80% of all of the women I know in committed relationships with a male between ages 23 and 33 are preggers or postpartum at the moment. I'm feeling kind of left out of all of the congratulatory messages such as "soon, the real work will start!" and "I LOVE the name you chose; Barbados Elrond is so original!" and my personal fave, "only 24 months till his first poo-painting episode; cherish these final days!"
Three hours of dancing this morning. Felix and I were in the middle of a practice at Conseil des Arts when our coach called and said that he'd been waiting on us for 15 minutes at the studio... We'd forgotten all about our lesson! So we booked it to Des Ormeaux and commenced to dance until our feet fell off. It was a nice feeling and spawned a lovely nap fraught with green tree shadows and warm breezes (I had the bedroom window open). I worked for a few hours, did plenty of weekend chores and ate brownies that Caspian made. I find it amazing that he managed to pull himself away from his 60-hour workweek and the lure of Diablo III to create them.
I will put up a picture of our container garden, which Caspian finished planting earlier this morning! All of our seedlings were successful... Until yesterday, when Kiska decided that spinach seedlings would make an excellent evening snack and mowed them down. They are pretty much decimated, but they may bounce back yet.
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Money Equals Freedom?
Here I am, thoroughly enjoying my three week break from school!
Despite the fact that it's been rainy (and snowy, at times) and gross, and despite some truly epic migraines that have lasted for days (I blame allergies), much exercising, reading, cooking and planning has happened. Applied for a really interesting position at one of Canada's largest philanthropic organizations dedicated to women's issues, and even got headhunted yesterday in French. I will interview just for practice!
Much thinking has happened as well. I have decided to be uber, super picky about my career path. I pondered my naive decision to work for government after grad school, as well as possible careers in the private sector, and completely gone are the days when I would accept a position simply because it "sounds good" or "pays well" or "is 'professional.'" It's time to actually do something that will change the world in ways that interest me. Anything less is just a placeholder and a farce.
After interviewing at the advertising firm and being perfect for the position apart from the fact that I couldn't start work until after six weeks (ultimately why I wasn't offered a position), I realized just how short-sighted that particular company was. Maybe they were pressed for time and/or man/womanpower, but they passed up a potential dedicated, intelligent, long-term employee. Was not concerned; the bottom line was obviously more important than honing the combined skillset of the company. However, if I'm not granted an interview at the women's advocacy organization I mentioned above, I'm going to be really bummed.
Prematurely and happily, I've spent many hours of my free mornings dreaming about what I'd like to see in a custom house on a large piece of property. HA. I dream of designing a rather small contemporary home to be built on Prince Edward Island, covered in solar panels and boasting a state-of-the-art rainwater reclaiming and filtering system, complete with a forest, a view of the Atlantic and a garden capable of sustaining us all year on our own produce. We would have a music room for Caspian (and I), a library to contain our zillion books and a beautiful nook where I can write my books. I would just love to live this kind of ultra-modern, old-fashioned, self-sustaining life.
In the meantime, I mean to find a fulfilling career and make the most of this car-free, dance-filled, downtown city life!
Despite the fact that it's been rainy (and snowy, at times) and gross, and despite some truly epic migraines that have lasted for days (I blame allergies), much exercising, reading, cooking and planning has happened. Applied for a really interesting position at one of Canada's largest philanthropic organizations dedicated to women's issues, and even got headhunted yesterday in French. I will interview just for practice!
Much thinking has happened as well. I have decided to be uber, super picky about my career path. I pondered my naive decision to work for government after grad school, as well as possible careers in the private sector, and completely gone are the days when I would accept a position simply because it "sounds good" or "pays well" or "is 'professional.'" It's time to actually do something that will change the world in ways that interest me. Anything less is just a placeholder and a farce.
After interviewing at the advertising firm and being perfect for the position apart from the fact that I couldn't start work until after six weeks (ultimately why I wasn't offered a position), I realized just how short-sighted that particular company was. Maybe they were pressed for time and/or man/womanpower, but they passed up a potential dedicated, intelligent, long-term employee. Was not concerned; the bottom line was obviously more important than honing the combined skillset of the company. However, if I'm not granted an interview at the women's advocacy organization I mentioned above, I'm going to be really bummed.
Prematurely and happily, I've spent many hours of my free mornings dreaming about what I'd like to see in a custom house on a large piece of property. HA. I dream of designing a rather small contemporary home to be built on Prince Edward Island, covered in solar panels and boasting a state-of-the-art rainwater reclaiming and filtering system, complete with a forest, a view of the Atlantic and a garden capable of sustaining us all year on our own produce. We would have a music room for Caspian (and I), a library to contain our zillion books and a beautiful nook where I can write my books. I would just love to live this kind of ultra-modern, old-fashioned, self-sustaining life.
In the meantime, I mean to find a fulfilling career and make the most of this car-free, dance-filled, downtown city life!
Monday, January 30, 2012
Stuff and Things
I've been thinking. I find it totally relaxing to read about the minutiae of other people's lives (especially the blogs of authors I like). Maybe I'll do some of that here as well, just for shits and giggles, but first I have to update you regarding recent happenings.
All is well in the land of Shinseiko and Caspian, albeit a bit cold, windy and covered with ice and snow. Don't visit Canada in the wintertime unless you have fondness for these things.
I wake up early every weekday morning, shower, put my (already selected) lunch together and walk [in arctic temps] about two miles to my university, where I'm in class with some really awesome people from all over the world. We have a doctor from Saudi Arabia, three Canadians from other provinces, two Mexicans, one Venezuelan, one Kenyan, a lawyer from Jordan, one Ukranian, one Chinese, one Thai and one Taiwanese. That's 14 people total, including me, the only American. I think it's hilarious and irritating that I'm considered like the representative of the USA in this class. When people talk about the US, they will address me with the plural "you."
It is a superb program, probably one of the best French language programs in the world. After all McGill University is the 17th best university in the world. I spend my days laughing, acting silly, making up skits, conjugating verbs and babbling in pronunciation lab. I walk home facing west (I despise sunny days, because the light reflects blindingly from the snow and ice on the sidewalk and into my eyes) at 3, get home at 3:30, and start work at 4, working until 7. My clientele has changed a bit with the new hours; I have plenty of Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and Japanese students. French students prefer to take their lessons in the early evenings on weekends, on which I also work, for six hours each day... Which means I don't have a single day off until the semester is over (I have a week of break between them). Hours of homework are completed by candlelight in the evening or on the weekends. I pretty much have no life right now. Luckily, that means that I don't spend much money either.
And yet, Felix (who has been stressed about work recently for reasons I can't disclose) wants to practice twice this week. I... Have been ultra irritated with him. With his simplicity and hyperactivity and unrelenting energy. It is difficult for me at this point in my life to have a friend like him for some reason. I feel like I am a child in his eyes, full of simple emotions and thoughts, in need of repetition, never learning, always making the same mistakes. Maybe it's true and things can be distilled like that, but I'm just not in the mood for it.
We also had a very sick kitty a couple of weeks ago. We came home from our friends' place and found Kiska unable to move on the floor of our bedroom. She had pooped and peed on herself. We rushed her to the emergency veterinarian at midnight on a Saturday, sure that she was going to die. I thought it was neurological and feared that the last memory of my little white cat would be the image of her struggling to move on the floor, crying in fear. Caspian held her to his chest and she just panted between cries, her face smushed up against him.
We discussed euthanasia that night for two hours in a stuffy exam room. I cried the most anguished tears of my life, over a little 8-pound creature. We couldn't afford any treatment, only hospitalization, with me a student again. We agreed that if she did not get better in two or three days, we would say goodbye.
Luckily, it turned out to be ideopathic vestibular disease, an uncommon but not unheard-of inner ear syndrome that strikes with a vengeance and usually corrects itself. Within two days, she was able to stand, eat and drink on her own, and we brought her home, where she joyfully reunited with her housemate. She has been playful, active and friendly ever since. $500 for those three days, which was part of my dance costume money. It looks like competition isn't in the near future.
The schedule above is how it will go for the next year or so, until I finish my Certificate of Proficiency. I've already started the job hunt, sending my CV to my career counselor for editing. Hopefully I will have a well-paying bilingual position lined up as soon as I have my certificate in hand!
All is well in the land of Shinseiko and Caspian, albeit a bit cold, windy and covered with ice and snow. Don't visit Canada in the wintertime unless you have fondness for these things.
I wake up early every weekday morning, shower, put my (already selected) lunch together and walk [in arctic temps] about two miles to my university, where I'm in class with some really awesome people from all over the world. We have a doctor from Saudi Arabia, three Canadians from other provinces, two Mexicans, one Venezuelan, one Kenyan, a lawyer from Jordan, one Ukranian, one Chinese, one Thai and one Taiwanese. That's 14 people total, including me, the only American. I think it's hilarious and irritating that I'm considered like the representative of the USA in this class. When people talk about the US, they will address me with the plural "you."
It is a superb program, probably one of the best French language programs in the world. After all McGill University is the 17th best university in the world. I spend my days laughing, acting silly, making up skits, conjugating verbs and babbling in pronunciation lab. I walk home facing west (I despise sunny days, because the light reflects blindingly from the snow and ice on the sidewalk and into my eyes) at 3, get home at 3:30, and start work at 4, working until 7. My clientele has changed a bit with the new hours; I have plenty of Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and Japanese students. French students prefer to take their lessons in the early evenings on weekends, on which I also work, for six hours each day... Which means I don't have a single day off until the semester is over (I have a week of break between them). Hours of homework are completed by candlelight in the evening or on the weekends. I pretty much have no life right now. Luckily, that means that I don't spend much money either.
And yet, Felix (who has been stressed about work recently for reasons I can't disclose) wants to practice twice this week. I... Have been ultra irritated with him. With his simplicity and hyperactivity and unrelenting energy. It is difficult for me at this point in my life to have a friend like him for some reason. I feel like I am a child in his eyes, full of simple emotions and thoughts, in need of repetition, never learning, always making the same mistakes. Maybe it's true and things can be distilled like that, but I'm just not in the mood for it.
We also had a very sick kitty a couple of weeks ago. We came home from our friends' place and found Kiska unable to move on the floor of our bedroom. She had pooped and peed on herself. We rushed her to the emergency veterinarian at midnight on a Saturday, sure that she was going to die. I thought it was neurological and feared that the last memory of my little white cat would be the image of her struggling to move on the floor, crying in fear. Caspian held her to his chest and she just panted between cries, her face smushed up against him.
We discussed euthanasia that night for two hours in a stuffy exam room. I cried the most anguished tears of my life, over a little 8-pound creature. We couldn't afford any treatment, only hospitalization, with me a student again. We agreed that if she did not get better in two or three days, we would say goodbye.
Luckily, it turned out to be ideopathic vestibular disease, an uncommon but not unheard-of inner ear syndrome that strikes with a vengeance and usually corrects itself. Within two days, she was able to stand, eat and drink on her own, and we brought her home, where she joyfully reunited with her housemate. She has been playful, active and friendly ever since. $500 for those three days, which was part of my dance costume money. It looks like competition isn't in the near future.
The schedule above is how it will go for the next year or so, until I finish my Certificate of Proficiency. I've already started the job hunt, sending my CV to my career counselor for editing. Hopefully I will have a well-paying bilingual position lined up as soon as I have my certificate in hand!
Monday, January 23, 2012
:\
I am never happy where I am. Always thinking about the next achievement, the next goal, the next relocation. I've only got about 100 years (or less) to find the most beautiful place on the earth to live.
Monday, July 12, 2010
Time Management
I'm boycotting Facebook, or at least becoming only minimally active in that sphere. What a waste of time and energy. In the course of deleting about 50 "friends," I discovered that my closest childhood friend had unfriended me, probably around a month ago. I giggle as I write this. It's so inane. I'm completely mystified as to why she unfriended me, but if that's the way she wants it, so be it. If I'm influencing her in a bad way, or if she doesn't particularly care about me, I guess I don't need to be keeping in touch with her, do I? Grump grump. I thought she'd evolved a little bit, maybe, perhaps become more adult? No, no, I can't judge her for it. For all I know, she was jealous of me, and in that case I wouldn't blame her. We should all cull those connections that inspire unpleasant things in ourselves. Honestly, I was the one who reached out to her. I was the one who wanted to connect. The best laid plans of mice and men...
I took another time management course on Friday, and despite its cheese factor, there was a lot of good information to be gleaned from it. It was especially enlightening after my lesson with Kokopelli on Thursday night. She told me to point myself in the direction of my goals, and the rest will happen. See, one actually has to HAVE concrete goals in order to do that, so what did I do on Friday? I wrote down a few of my concrete life goals. Here they are, in no particular order:
- Learn French
- Write a sci-fi/fantasy book
- Relearn Japanese
- Go to music school
- Discover a career that I love
- Become extremely well-read
Now that I have those, I wrote down the activities that I need to involve myself in to reach those goals. For example, for "Learn French," I wrote:
- Buy French books
- Read one chapter per week and complete exercises
- Read one chapter of Linguistics book per week
- Practice every day with Natty (sister, minored in French)
- Work on pronunciation with Caspian (husband, opera singer, sings in French)
For that first activity, I assigned a date to it... And I did it. Next, I have to get my butt in gear and start reading. I'd actually assigned a date for that activity to begin, but was so busy this past weekend that I couldn't either practice piano or read my books like I wanted to. Piano and reading have been rescheduled for tonight, after work.
At this week's lesson, Kokopelli is going to teach me how to practice. Oh, I've done a lot of practicing in my day, but I think she means something completely different. It's another time-management thing. Last week, we established that my three primary goals when I get to Montreal will be: Learn French, find a new career, and prepare for auditions. She told me to stick to a rigorous schedule for all of the things I do relating to those three goals, and said "no fewer than 15-20 hours of piano per week." Which means if I get to Saturday and haven't practiced all week, my weekend is essentially going to be spent in front of the keyboard.
Oh, I also switched from five 8-hour days/week to four 9-hour days and one 4-hour day per week, starting today. We'll see how I do. It's actually a strategy to combat my propensity to take naps right after work. I figure if I have less time to myself, I'll be less likely to squander it in sleep?
I took another time management course on Friday, and despite its cheese factor, there was a lot of good information to be gleaned from it. It was especially enlightening after my lesson with Kokopelli on Thursday night. She told me to point myself in the direction of my goals, and the rest will happen. See, one actually has to HAVE concrete goals in order to do that, so what did I do on Friday? I wrote down a few of my concrete life goals. Here they are, in no particular order:
- Learn French
- Write a sci-fi/fantasy book
- Relearn Japanese
- Go to music school
- Discover a career that I love
- Become extremely well-read
Now that I have those, I wrote down the activities that I need to involve myself in to reach those goals. For example, for "Learn French," I wrote:
- Buy French books
- Read one chapter per week and complete exercises
- Read one chapter of Linguistics book per week
- Practice every day with Natty (sister, minored in French)
- Work on pronunciation with Caspian (husband, opera singer, sings in French)
For that first activity, I assigned a date to it... And I did it. Next, I have to get my butt in gear and start reading. I'd actually assigned a date for that activity to begin, but was so busy this past weekend that I couldn't either practice piano or read my books like I wanted to. Piano and reading have been rescheduled for tonight, after work.
At this week's lesson, Kokopelli is going to teach me how to practice. Oh, I've done a lot of practicing in my day, but I think she means something completely different. It's another time-management thing. Last week, we established that my three primary goals when I get to Montreal will be: Learn French, find a new career, and prepare for auditions. She told me to stick to a rigorous schedule for all of the things I do relating to those three goals, and said "no fewer than 15-20 hours of piano per week." Which means if I get to Saturday and haven't practiced all week, my weekend is essentially going to be spent in front of the keyboard.
Oh, I also switched from five 8-hour days/week to four 9-hour days and one 4-hour day per week, starting today. We'll see how I do. It's actually a strategy to combat my propensity to take naps right after work. I figure if I have less time to myself, I'll be less likely to squander it in sleep?
Saturday, June 26, 2010
This whole planner business...
...is going smoothly. For the first couple of days, the genius ideas that usually mill around in my head, repeating themselves so that I won't forget them, all got written down in a big glob. It's nice to be able to let them go, rather than seeing the same old parade go by.
I've also been making a list of things I'd like to get done in July. No particular dates, but things that occur to me at mile 2 of an 8-mile jog, or in the shower, or walking to my building that I forget when I'm in a place to actually get them done. Some of those things are:- Replace the cord on the vacuum cleaner. It is the slowly dying victim of a bad cat's chewy teeth.
- Bleach sheets and duvet cover.
- Buy kitty kennels for moving.
- Take Caspian's synth and our futon frame to Caspian's parents'.
- Write 1 letter per week (I hope I can continue this - my grandma would love it).
After a few months, I tend to amass all sorts of weird files on my desktop, and when it finally gets unbearable, I systematically go through them. I feel like I finally got all of my mental miscellany organized into folders and deleted unneeded things, and now I have more space to think!My next goal is to look in my account transactions to find the dates that bills hit, since almost all of them are set to automatic draft on random and unrelated days. Caspian and I have a detailed budget, but after setting it up and knowing what amounts need to be where at what time, we don't pay much attention to it. We had a whole bunch of odd bills this month (veterinary, property taxes on vehicles, completely paying off credit cards, boxes, semi-annual insurance payments, etc.) and things are mayhem in there. Budget went completely down the tubes.
I also started tracking our moving-related expenditures to make it easy for his company to reimburse us. A list of potential sewing/knitting projects was also started. I'm going to be taking my knitting (and I am the newbiest of newbies) on my camping trip, along with some good, motivating journey books.On Monday, I ordered a pastry/bread keeper that allows enough moisture to remain in the bread that it doesn't go stale, and also doesn't grow mold. I also sent it to my old address, where it was stolen by the new occupant. So I ordered another, and Amazon will refund me the value of the stolen one in four weeks.
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