Senior-itis

Phew, my last semester has begun with a fury. Being gone over Christmas break did not allow me to get as many things done as I had hoped but I had a blast in Florida over Christmas.

PICS from Florida
Paul and I- Self Pic Pensacola Beach, FL Christmas Day

Paul walking P'cola, FL
Family on the porch at Condo

Over the break I also had the opportunity to finish an eight day wilderness first responder course. So now I am a WFR (as they call it) and ready for any backcountry emergencies thrown my way. Which is very useful when I lead trips that have any type of risk.What can a WFR do? Well it is the ability to act in an emergency when you are too far from local EMS. Example, if someone happened to fracture their femur on a gnarly mountain bike ride- I am legally allowed to pull traction in line on that bone until it pops back with circulation restored and splint it up or if someone were to fall from a cliff, I have the tools to stabilize their head and build a backboard to carry them out in case of a spine injury. It was a very enjoyable class and another tool in my arsenal for job searching.



As for my last semester....I am BURNED out. Not with my teachers (who quite contrary have been nothing but amazing) but with the run around that University of Akron gives you when you need to get things done. For instance, the University College lost my folder...yep, the one with all of my paperwork since I have been there, and they lost my intercollegiate transfer form. What are these things to all of you? Probably not much, it just meant another 45 min wait to get the transfer form filled in again and a smartass university college advisor who tried to make a joke about the missing folder (sorry buddy my life for the last 6 years is not much of a joke to me).

Then he tried to sit me down and open up with a description of what my goals are...reality check, my goals are to graduate and hopefully make enough money so that my hubby and I aren't broke and poor and constantly trying to make ends meet. Plus the fact that I am irritated that you have an empty file of me in front of you. Not the time to be asking me my dreams.

I do have dreams and aspirations but they may not happen. That is life. I am going to school to make a better life for myself and that does not always mean that the perfect job will somehow fall into my lap. I watch my friends graduate and not get jobs; they become overly qualified bartenders and servers and whatever jobs they can get folks. That is the reality we have now and everyone seems to be skirting around what is truly happening to students once they graduate. All I can do is work hard, make connections, and hope. Hope that things will turn out in my favor


Man, I sound cynical. Maybe I am a bit, but things are not all bad. My College of Education adviser has been nothing but amazing, my bosses at the Rec Center have put their necks on the line for me (and in turn I have gained much), my classes at the UAkron have been great (with the exception of a few), and I am four months from graduating...not bad.

C-bus Retreat

School is done...well for a week anyway....well, kinda.

After 16 hard earned credits for summer school, The University of Akron has let us have a week off of classes before fall semester starts. And this girl signs up for a in-depth week long First Aid/CPR instructor course. Yep, so instead of just working part time hours and sleeping in this week, I will actually be at the University even more than this past summer and I picked up two shifts at work...Yep.

I am not trying to complain, because I do understand the value of the things that I do; I need more money...I work more shifts, I want a job...I make sure to fill that resume up with needed certifications. Makes sense and I realize this, but at the same time I feel as though I needed a vacation.

So what do I do....I spend the weekend in C-bus; budweiser factory, city life, and...oh yeah...my BEST FRIEND! Much needed friend time that has been long overdue, for some reason I have very few girl friends up in the area right now and I needed to be able to hang with my girl, never mind the fact that I had not been out of Akron for too long of a time. I pretty much needed to get away, laugh, drink a little, and relax for a couple days and visiting Kate was just an added bonus. I just love that girl.

But my training this weekend did fall flat...how do people manage to fit in exercise when they are visiting a friend? Usually Kate would be up to running with me but a recent stress fracture has her unable to participate with me...I am hardly going to visit the girl and then leave her to go on a long run. Oh well. This week is going to be a hard week for fitting in training, at least swimming and biking. I just hate that this seems to always happen once summer is at the end; my schedule increases exponetially and my training suffers...how do you all do it in blog land?

So we will see how things go for the week...maybe this really wet weather will slow down enough for me to ride the bike...maybe.