Hi again!

Hi bloggers, yes, I know it has been forever since I blogged. And I am sorry about not posting your comments on here or responding or checking out your super blogs.

At the risk of sounding really boring and cliché, it’s not you, it’s me and my hectic schedule over the past eight months. But the school year is done and I’ve got more free time to blab on here.:)

My time now is pretty much divided between taking two online courses part-time and packing to move, which happens next month! (Holy cow!) Anyways, my first year back at school after a eight-year hiatus was interesting with its ups and downs; Some of the projects were great, some weren’t, some of the people were friendly and awesome, while a few had WAY too much bitchy attitude and tended to be clique-y (still stuck in dumb high school mentality I guess). In the fall, I was a neurotic, basket case who literally obsessed over assignments, while in the winter, I calmed down into a slightly more relaxed basket case who had a better understanding of the expectations and culture.

But overall it was good, it is not easy being 32 and going right back to square one with 17-19-year-olds. The nagging regret about not doing this sooner, though pointless, is tough. (And yes, I know I sound like a broken record) But at least I escaped my last job and was lucky to be given the opportunity, since there were quite a number of bitter, unhappy people there and I used to be one of them. I am so happy that I didn’t waste more time doing something I hated and decided to chase after a crazy dream.:)

Now onto moving, summer classes and adventures. I’m hoping Hubby and I can take at least a couple vacations. Nothing extravagant of course, just more touring around Ontario, but that is good enough for me. Ontario is awesome, if you haven’t you should tour around this beautiful province!:)

What are your plans for the summer?

Photo: http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2012/05/01/summer-fashion-2012_n_1468714.html

Expiration dates-How much do they Matter?

Last time we moved, we didn’t just have to move our furniture, clothing, animals and assorted junk, we also had to pack up all of our foodstuffs and it was a pain! A large chunk of it also went into the garbage. To say it was a waste of resources would be putting it mildly.

So I’m starting a new “experiment”-I call it eat-everything-in-the-house or the cheap-persons-diet; Month-old food, expired snacks, overpriced foodie stuff that my mother-in-law buys us every Christmas that we swear we will eat and then promptly forget. It’s all getting eaten by moi!

Now, I’m not eating rotten meat or things with mold colonies growing on it, I’m just not taking the expiration date on dry packaged products quite as literally as I used to. Maybe it’s a risk but I just don’t want to throw out what might be perfectly edible food that is slightly less fresh.

What about you guys? How long do you keep food? Do you eat expired goods?

More Big Changes!

(A view of Guelph from an earlier trip, there was a lot more snow during my most recent outing)

Well we’ve decided: I’m more than likely moving to Guelph in the summer, provided they keep Hubby at his new job. As mentioned, I spent Valentine’s weekend in Guelph visiting him and it was so great! (I tell ya, long distance relationships really suck, but when you finally do get to see each other, it’s amazing!)

I also went down there to check out another college-Conestoga-and met with their Graphic Design coordinator. I showed him my portfolio along with my marks and he said that I would need to apply as an advanced year standing student through OCAS if I wanted to get into their second year program. So being the keener (and forgetful) person I am, I zoomed back to Hubby’s apartment and got right on it! Fingers crossed I can get into second year in the Fall!

I’m also hoping to take Web Design classes in the summer for fun and for the resume.
Speaking of which, I should probably learn my way around the HTML part of WordPress.

So here I am on the train on the long ride back to Ottawa, it’s boiling hot and my butt is sore from sitting down so long, but I’m happy and grateful for my weekend with my husband and can’t wait to see him Easter weekend!

Pushing Through

Thanks everyone for their nice comments on my last post. I may not have time to reply to everyone, but I do read and appreciate your thoughts.:)

Instead of wasting time worrying about what kids think of me, I’ve decided to just focus my energy on my school work and the future. Some of my classmates are nice people, but I guess I shouldn’t expect too much out of them. When I was doing my undergrad and was their age, making lots of new friends was even tougher. I knew a few people from my high school but the only other people who I hung out with were random creeps who were trying to get into my pants. Yeah, not exactly ideal and they didn’t stick around long when they learned I wasn’t interested.  But I was there to learn and spent most of my time in my pjs staring at books and eating oatmeal. (Study food of champions!)

Anyways, I’ve got focus on what’s important and besides I have friends outside of school, which is great. Plus, I’ll be seeing Hubby Valentine’s Day weekend.

What are your plans for Valentine’s Day?

The Loneliness of School

I’m not sure if anyone is still reading this but I thought ‘What the hell? I just put it out there anyways!’ Maybe there are some other old fart students who can relate or even just regular students who are struggling socially.

I have been feeling so incredibly lonely in school. You might think that it’s me, maybe I’m doing something wrong, but I’ve been friendly, helpful, and happy because I love what I’m learning. (Well most of the time, there have been a few growing pains which is normal)

I’ve helped people out willingly, given rides home, laughed, listened to their stories, empathized, but I just still don’t feel like I fit in with the students. I’m not wanted or missed and feel like an island. Sometimes I just feel plain used too.

Of course, people go to college to learn new skills, not necessarily to make new friends, but networking is incredibly important and I just don’t feel like I can count on anyone in my classes to be a contact for possible work or as a good friend.

People don’t really care about me and a few don’t like me for no-good reason and it just hurts.

Of course the age thing doesn’t help either-Many don’ t get the references I make and I feel like I can relate more to the profs more than the students. (Makes sense since one of them is only a couple years older than me)

Speaking of the profs, it is so depressing to hear them talk about working in the industry for the past ten or fifteen years, while I pissed my twenties away working as a retail employee-secretary-retail employee-secretary-mailroom clerk.

I know, I know, nothing I can do about it now, but regret doesn’t really ever go away completely, it just fades a bit in the background. 

Maybe I’m also feeling like this because my husband moved to Guelph last Friday, while I’m still here in Ottawa. He got a job there, which is great and believe me, I’m happy for him, but the house can feel really empty. I felt the inklings of loneliness and stress in school when he was here, but it does make things a bit tougher.

Anyways, apart from the loneliness, school is great, I love what we’re doing and enjoy design so much. I just wish I could make some great friends and feel appreciated.

Happy Holidays!

Hi everyone!

It has been absolutely crazy past few weeks, but all my projects are handed in and I get three weeks off! Woo! So much has happened this term, I’m not sure how to describe it all in one blog post. Let’s just say I worked my ass off and got some pretty good marks in the majority of my assignments.

One of the toughest things about graphic design that I’ve found is paying attention and remembering the little things. I can follow instructions but they usually come with smaller bits that can really trip you up! So you pretty much have to read the instructions and any notes taken about a hundred times and make absolutely sure that you haven’t forgotten anything. (It sounds easy but when you have seven classes and each assignment literally takes hours and hours, it then becomes easy to miss these things)

But I’ve learned a lot in just four months, so the stress and work is worth it.:)

So now, I get to relax and do whatever I want, although ironically, part of my holidays will be spent preparing for next term. I’m going to learn all I can about Adobe Creative Suite and Typography, and maybe through in some general design principles and perspective in there as well. We’re expected to start making some design decisions on our own, so I’d rather make hopefully the right ones.;)

Apart from that, I’ll be baking and wrapping and we need to buy a new Christmas tree since Hubby ran over our old one with the car. (Our garage is just slightly disorganized, LOL, that’s another thing that I should do). Oh and I’ll be turning 32 at the end of the month. (Man it hurts saying that in a room full of literally 18-year-olds! Ah well! I’m not old, I’m “mature”)

What are your plans for the holidays?

I’m Still Alive!

Hello dear readers! It’s been a long time, I know, but school has been really, really stressful. If I had to describe studying graphic design in two words it would be “stressful” but “gratifying“.

Deadlines are hard and fast, projects literally need to be perfect and the learning curve is steep! But I like challenges and put 110% into every single project in every single class. I’ve sweated literally on assignments out of sheer panic and fear, cried in hubby’s arms over actual or anticipated marks and there was one particular incident with one of my cats, who shall not be named, who decided to climb on me while I was working, and there was some blood involved. (I was SO not impressed!)

And as good as the program is, it can feel like they expect you sometimes to already know everything, which can be a tad frustrating. I had next to zero experience with Adobe Creative Suite when I first started, and after only one class in some of the programs, we were asked to use them to create some projects ranging from basic to fairly elaborate. So I’ve been redoing projects in these programs at home as well as getting together with a second-year tutor. I’ll pretty much do anything to get ahead and stay ahead.

That’s what this program requires, complete dedication. You can’t settle for the first design concept that pops into your brain and you have to be proud of your work. Regularly communicating with the teachers is also key, although some are easier to access for their opinion on your progress than others. It also requires time, lots and lots of time, for research and execution. For instance, I spent ten hours working on one drawing and my mark was pretty good, but there were people who spent twenty or thirty hours on theirs (One girl worked FIFTY hours on hers! Holy shamoley!) and their marks were better.

However, despite these complaints, the program is fulfilling and rewarding. They push you to think and create things and sometimes they turn out really neat! Some projects are so much fun too, and I have laughed so hard while doing them, my sides hurt! Sometimes, I’ll be walking the dog at night, which is great creative fodder btw, and smile at how much I enjoy doing my homework. (Even if it can be crazy stressful sometimes!) The other students have been helpful too, which is great, and I’ve been sure to express my gratitude to them by helping them out should they need it.

That’s it for now, but I hope you guys enjoyed my little spiel. I’m just going to keep fighting and doing my best and hopefully it will all work out!:)