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During summer, that shortens to only two classes, but I have them every Saturday. It took a while to get used to. Thankfully, I also have about a month in between each semester to take a break and ramp up for the next. You know, to refill the crazy pills and hibernate. And maybe wash a dish or two.
This time around, however, I’ve entered my second year. The good news: I get to pick electives and meet new people (my program has me with the same 25 people class after class aside from electives, so I’m glad I get to mix it up a little). The bad news: electives are a little trickier schedule-wise. This time around, my normal 16-week courses every other weekend stay about the same. During the week, however, I have a weekly Financial Analysis class that is kicking me squarely in the ass.
Again, it’s a good news/bad news sort of thing. Because I’m having the classes every week, it’s more of a “mini-mester” – meaning I’m done by March. But I’m also done by March – which means fitting an entire semester into a mere eight weeks. I’ve already had my first exam and we started mid-January! I’m pretty sure I OD’d on those crazy pills the day I thought signing up for a course this compact was a good idea.
I guess what I’m getting at is that today’s post has absolutely squat to do with DIY. But that’s sometimes the way it goes; some days you can tackle an extra coat on the wall and wash your hair; some days you forget whether that was your second or third cup of coffee by 10 AM and don’t recognize where the black paint on your arm might have come from (my stairs – oh, right).
I’m three weeks down, and five more to go. And for the next two days, I’m going to give myself a little “me” time – which will pretty much consist of ice cream, TV, and painted toenails. Will I paint anything else? Who knows – but for those out there who have asked, this is one of the ways I handle hitting the DIY wall. I’ll elaborate sometime soon on a more in-depth post about my overall time management tips, but for now, I’m doing the number one thing on that list – getting past a hurdle and taking some time to do absolutely nothing. Ahhhh.
Do you need a break too? Just lift your ice cream spoon up in salute sometime tonight. I’ll raise one back.
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I have taught accelerated classes and I promise the “why am I doing this?” that you feel during is overshadowed by the “I am so glad to be done!” afterward. You'll have so much free time you won't know what to do with yourself =)
I'm glad that you wrote this because a) as a reader I wondered how you were still standing/sitting/alive, and b) teaching makes me exhausted and i'm having a hard time being motivated to diy after children and lesson plans. :) thanks for this. enjoy that ice cream and know that i finished off a bag of chocolate chips two nights ago. and it was awesome.
Sarah,
Your master's program sounds a lot like mine. I earned my MA in counseling in 1998. It was a cohort program and we had classes every Friday from 5-9 and all day Sat. We had only one class at a time but finished each class in 4 weeks. We were with the same people for every class. We had a few weeks off between classes. It was geared towards adults who worked full time, which I did the entire time, even while doing an internship at a high school. (I am a school counselor) Oh, and I also had my first child while I was in that program! I found out I was pregnant on my first day of my first class! I got through it with a little help from a lot of people, and I know you will too! Good luck! Love reading your blog!
Oh, and one more thing! I work in a school and I cannot get on your blog from work. I think it is because ugly duckling is in the title?? It is blocked! Now, I know that I am not supposed to be doing personal stuff from work, but sometimes I just eat my lunch in front of my computer so I can catch up on my blog obsession! I thought you would find that amusing!
Good for you!! Blogging takes up so much time (people who don't do it, have no idea) I have a hard enough time juggling family life and being a mom..I can't imagine something like getting my MBA. Kuddos to you for juggling both!
Oh, how I feel your pain right now! I am in a compressed program right now too (picture one 4 month semester of 6 classes packed into one month!). I have done zero DIY this month, and I can hardly wait to get started again! One more week for me, and I can go back to “normal” life again! Don't worry, even though it may feel overwhelming right now, I can assure you that it will be over quicker than you know it! Thank you for sharing this personal post. It makes me feel not as guilty for my lack of progress!
I'm not doing anything so mentally taxing as you (good luck with the class, by the way!) but at the end of stressful week or weekend, or at the end of a big project that had a short deadline, I will kind of mentally shut down and do absolutely nothing except mess around online or play computer games. We eat sandwiches or pasta for dinner and no chores get done that day.
Just stumbled across your site! You are adorable! I love your site so much! I'm also a fellow DIYer and I recently launched my site within the past 6 months. Hope we can stay in touch!
xoxo Sam
DIY Huntress