Tag Archives: back to school

School, Writing, Exams

Thinking Ahead

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This entry is part [part not set] of 73 in the series The Writing Life Blog

Even though this is my first semester at UW Madison I transferred in so many credits that I have senior status. Which is funny to me because I’ll still be here another three semesters at least meeting the requirements for my degree. The upside is that I’ll be one of the first undergraduates to sign up for classes. So go me, I guess. The flip-side of that little perk is that I have to figure out my classes for next semester NOW. There’s only a couple of school days left to get advice and learn about just what the possible courses I might take next semester will entail. I need to maintain full-time student status, but I’m out of the easier gen-ed courses at the end of this semester. That means a full four advanced English courses. I could easily screw myself over by taking a far too large workload on. There’s also NaNoWriMo in November that I’d really like to do, and win, this year.

Not huge problems when compared to all of the truly serious issues in the world but definitely something I’ve been pondering.

Update: After talking with the always helpful folks in the Creative Writing department I’ve settled on taking three creative writing workshops and one required literature class. Not sure how heavy the workload is going to be, especially when NaNoWriMo rolls back around, but I’m going to give it my best shot.

Insomnia, Life, School

A Wednesmonday

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This entry is part [part not set] of 73 in the series The Writing Life Blog

Three to five days a week I take the bus to school. All of my classes start just before 10 AM but due to the bus schedule I usually take the 8:10 or 8:39 bus that stops across the street from my apartment. This bus only runs during the morning and evening rush hours so if I miss it, I’m pretty SOL as far as getting to school by public transit. Needless to say I’m pretty good about getting up and being at the bus stop a couple of minutes before the bus is scheduled to arrive. Usually they’re right on time +/- one minute. Today I was almost to the street at 8:07 when the bus was already pulling away from the stop. Lovely. Thankfully the 8:39 did not pull this same BS and was on time. So I got to my classroom early, but not as early as I usually do. I know, I know. First world problems. It’s just some days, coming on top of physical exhaustion I haven’t been able to shake for a couple of days, that kind of thing feels like a bigger deal than it really is. It’s not like I haven’t missed that first bus before because I certainly have. Those other times were very much my fault yet I didn’t get upset about it really. Just went back inside and waited 20 minutes to head back down.

I guess in the end all I’m really talking about is how strange our perception is at times and how heavily it influences how we perceive the events around us. The same event, missing the bus, could be taken any number of ways. Usually my mood is decent enough that it’s not really a problem, just something that happens from time to time. Yet today it was really annoying. It’s funny how some stress, anxiety, and a little poor sleep can really color your world in negative colors.

Life, School, Writing, Inspiration

Writing and Shyness

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This entry is part [part not set] of 73 in the series The Writing Life Blog

Although I’m not quite certain, I don’t believe I have ever submitted my writing to a contest. I know they existed when I was in high school but I was far too shy to even consider it then. Now though I’ll be submitting the poem from my last post along with two more, and a short story, to a couple of contests for undergraduates at UW. No idea what my chances of winning one of them might be of course. Just from the quality of work in my creative writing class there are undoubtedly much better writers at the school. Plus these things are all so subjective that anyone’s work is fair game. I’m just excited to be participating for once.

I’m nervous too but not as much as I thought I would be. I know when I started writing my first book it was really hard to let anyone read what I’d written. I wanted to protect my writing like it was some kind of secret treasure. Silly but true. I was also envious of the other writers whose blogs I followed. They wrote so easily and were very open about discussing it, sharing it. They were unconcerned with reviews, positive or negative. Then my first book was published, just electronically, and it wasn’t an overnight success. No magic book lottery picked my story out and made it super popular. I was disappointed of course, but it was a good thing really. It made me face the reality that switching to a writing career was going to take a lot of time and effort. So I had to ask myself what I really wanted.

In the end I took the plunge. I gave up a very lucrative career that made me miserable and now I’m back at school full-time as a poor student. And loving it. I have before me possibilities that I couldn’t have dreamed of back when I was working my butt off for a job I hated. I’m still enjoying writing, enjoying school despite the sometimes annoying work that comes with it, and most of all enjoying the exploration of my life in a way I never anticipated. I never expected to get a chance to start my life over in this manner. Especially not so far into my life. But that just means I’m going to push myself to make the most of this chance. Not everyone gets a first one, let alone a second.

School, Exams

Once More into the Midterm Breach

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This entry is part [part not set] of 73 in the series The Writing Life Blog

Less than an hour away from my first big test in my return to college. Over the years I’ve learned I’m not the kind of person who can sit and study for tests. Rote memorization just doesn’t work well for me. Instead I’ve discovered that I have to be super focused in class, every class, take notes, and participate. That gets me the best rate of retention. It’s just one more thing I have to thank the Navy, and specifically my time at DLI, for teaching me. So for these midterms I’ve only gone over the study sheets provided by the professors, re-read my own notes, and skimmed a couple of things we read at the very beginning of the semester. Here’s hoping it’s enough.

Insomnia, Publishing, School, Writing, Live Writing, Method

Midterm Madness (or Damn You Daylight Saving Time!!!)

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This entry is part [part not set] of 73 in the series The Writing Life Blog

This is a big week in school for me with two midterms, both in literature, on the same day. Coming on the end of an exhausting weekend has made this a tough Monday. Thanks to Daylight Savings my roommate’s bus to the airport came an hour early. Despite the fact that Daylight Saving didn’t officially start until 2AM on Sunday. No notice on their website of any kind that they decided to use midnight as the change over point. Thus did a frantic drive ensue where we powered down to O’Hare and back in the wee, and not so wee, hours of the morning on Sunday. To this I can say that naps do not adequately replace a full-night’s sleep and so today has been a very tired one.

On the writing front I’ll be submitting a few of my select pieces, poetry and fiction, to a couple of undergraduate contests. I’m pretty nervous about this and I have no idea what my chances are, but I’m going to go for it. The prizes are very small so it would definitely be more about the recognition and getting my work out there than anything else. It would also be nice to know that people like what I do. The hard part now is sitting down and deciding which items to submit. How do you know what your best work is?

As far as the whole audio book process goes, I’ve selected the reader/producer I want to work with but I am still waiting for ACX to finalize my account info. Until that happens I’m not allowed to make offers on their site. I know I submitted my books, and account info, late Wednesday night so effectively they’ve had 2.5 work days to get my stuff done. It still feels like it’s taking forever. I’m super eager to get this audio book show on the road already.

 

BTW, why for the love of my holey socks do we still observe Daylight Saving Time?! Enough is enough I say!

 

If you like these and other posts, feel free to check out my other work:

My Fiction on Tumblr: http://fuzzynerdcorner.tumblr.com/

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My Live Writing, Editing, and other videos: http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFZHBRlGb3-RFEr2BXQPi-Q

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General, Life, School, Writing, Changes, Inspiration

Week One is Done, on to Week Two!

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This entry is part [part not set] of 73 in the series The Writing Life Blog

My first week of classes went fairly well. I was forced to miss one discussion session thanks to medical appointments but now that I actually know my schedule that is the last such occurrence. All in all, I am satisfied with the classes I have. Given I’m going for a Creative Writing major I have three English classes and only one elective. I was worried at first at the workload from these courses but it ends up being far more manageable than I’d thought. It certainly opens up the possibility for  taking on a little more next semester. Provided I can get a better schedule of course.

Being back at school so much later in my life is a bit strange but it’s also exciting. I find I am more motivated to get the work done than ever I was in my early years. Even if there are other things I’d rather be doing, and there usually are, I don’t have much trouble sitting down and getting on with my homework. I guess that comes with age.

At any rate, it’s time to take on my second week!

School, Writing, Inspiration

I’m on a Boat -er Bus!

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This entry is part [part not set] of 73 in the series The Writing Life Blog

Had an early start to my big day so far. Woke up almost an hour before my alarm and dozed. Guess I was nervous about oversleeping. Hit up the public bus system for the first time in many years and discovered my chosen bus gets me to school a little too early. Guess I don’t need to get up quite so early. An early win!

So now I’m sitting outside of my first class. My only class for today actually. Feels a bit silly to go through all of this for just one class but my schedule options were very limited being a transfer student whose application was approved in late December. Thankfully that won’t be the case for next semester. (Apparently we can sign up for those classes in two months or so. Crazy.)

Guess I’ll get some writing done.

General, Life, Changes

Taking a Deep Breath Before the Plunge

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This entry is part [part not set] of 73 in the series The Writing Life Blog

I am officially signed up for my classes. I’ve got four nailed down for sure and I’m wait-listed on one. If I manage to get into that class, and I really hope I do, I’m in for a busy semester. Way back in the day when I was first a full-time student I took six or seven classes my first two semester. Sounds crazy but they were just general education classes for the most part so they weren’t terribly difficult or intensive. They also weren’t terribly interesting. (Definitely a contributing factor for why I dropped out all those years ago.) Now though I’m basically a junior/senior so my classes should be much more involved. Having been gone from college for so long, and also not being familiar with this one, I do wonder just how big of a workload I’ve signed up for.

It’s also been a very long time since I had to deal with homework. Of course the real working world sucks a whole lot more than homework so I think all of the perspective and experience I’ve gathered since my first college try will help it suck a bit less.

Overall I’m feeling super excited, nervous, and anxious to get started. This will be my last weekend before school starts so it’s all about relaxing (if possible) and making sure I have everything ready. I’m in for some busy days.

General, Life, Changes

New Beginnings

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This entry is part [part not set] of 73 in the series The Writing Life Blog

So today is the day. I get to sign up for classes and all that jazz. It’s pretty strange being back at school and knowing I’m here to be a full-time student. It’s been 16 years since the list time I had the opportunity, both financially and with life obligations. Part of me wishes I could give at least some of my experience and perspective to my 19 year old self back then so that maybe I wouldn’t have dropped out. I was disappointed when I did at the time but I really didn’t know what I was going to school for. College as a place holder just didn’t work for me. Now is different though.

Today I start the process of honing my writing skills, and perhaps other skills as well if the second major I want pans out. It’s both exciting and scary to be here but I’m glad I am.