Hello Twitter

The last few days have been quite productive. I spent a lot of time thinking of ways to improve my social media skills. I tried Facebook a few years ago but it wasn't for me although I did enjoy playing scrabble. I do write comments on blog posts I like but needed to do more, it was time to join Twitter. After a glass of wine and some chocolate I sat down and created my account. I found lots of my favourite authors and bloggers and followed them. Some of them even followed me!

I now have to figure out what to tweet about. Any ideas?

I have just finished reading The House on Willow Street by Cathy Kelly. Can't wait for her next one.

Meeting a new family member

I have been enjoying my time off from CIT and catching up with other stuff that got left behind while I was studying.

I have also been back to Perth to visit family and friends and meet my great niece! We celebrated her one month birthday while we were there and I am in love! This little bundle of joy is precious and I was not ready for the emotion I felt when I first held her. We left Perth sixteen years ago and I have not seen a lot of my nieces over that time. To see my niece with her baby was amazing. I am so proud of her. My sister is a grandmother and that too is weird. I know I will not see a lot of my great niece but I have started writing stories about her family in NSW to give to her.

Are you away from your closest family members? How do you keep in touch?

I have just finished the new book by Nora Roberts The Last Boyfriend. This was the second book in the Inn Boonsboro series. The first one I mentioned a few posts ago but couldn't remember the name of was The Next Always.

End of semester one

It is done! All my assignments are in and semester one is over! What have I learned?

I learned that I didn't need to agonise over my homework and assignments - just get it done. As the last few weeks flew by I did get better at that as I was running out of time and energy. There is nothing like a deadline to get you going.

I learned which areas of Library and Information Services interest me and where I want to pursue extra work.

I learned that you are never too old to take on something new. I did feel like the 'granny' on campus but I wasn't the oldest one there.

I made some lovely new friends and we supported each other through the last mad weeks of getting assignments done.

I enrolled to continue on in semester two - what was I thinking?

Not much reading has been happening. I did read Stella Makes Good by Lisa Heidke and loved it. Hopefully I will have more time and energy to read before semester two starts! I have a pile of books by Australian women to read and can't wait to get into them.

Has anyone else just finished a semester of study? How did you go?

Assignments, assignments!

Four weeks to go until all my assignments need to be in! Over a coffee with some of my classmates we all 'pinky promised' we would call each other for support if we felt like throwing in the towel. We have been doing well and need to keep going.

I have just finished reading Diane Blacklock's The Right Time and thoroughly enjoyed it. I now have her new one on my pile to read. On Monday I went to an author talk with Diane, Ber Carroll and Liane Moriarty. They were all lovely women and spoke about their journey into writing and publishing novels and were inspirational. I came home and looked at my 'book' but need to finish this course before I can revisit and spend some time on it.

Confessions of a mature age student

We are on a break at the halfway point of the first semester of my course. The work is getting more challenging and it is becoming harder to sit down and do the study.  Life in the country is busy and although it is no excuse that's just the way it is.  I logged in to do an online test the other night only to discover it went for over two hours.  As it was a test reliant on my memory, which is not at its best these days, it would be better to do this one when my brain is not tired. I have nothing but admiration for my classmates who are doing this course full-time and have jobs and family committments.

It is also time to reflect on how far I have come during the last few months. From the first day when I felt totally out of my depth I have learned so much and don't feel out of place on campus any more. Most of the students are so young but there are a few of us in the mature age demographic! I don't sit by myself for lunch every week now - sometimes I sit with my classmates!

My 'book' is still untouched but there are ideas floating around in my head to put down on paper - maybe I will create a character who is studying. We have done some proofreading and I am reading How to Make Gravy by Paul Kelly. It's a big book but a great read.

There is no need to panic!

This last week has been an anxious one. I have been panicking over assignments and wondering what possessed me to think I was up to doing this course. I love my job in the library and don't need the certificate to prove it.

I was booked in to do an exam in the IT subject but I came across stuff I didn't understand while finishing the course work. Ask for help? No. Go into a panic? Yes! After days of stressing I cancelled the test and booked in for some assistance with a teacher. As he explained it to me it all made sense. Should I have asked for help earlier? Yes, yes, yes! So why is it so hard to ask for help?

I don't like being out of my comfort zone and with this course I am. The work needs to be done and I don't like admitting that some of it is hard and I don't understand it. My family are always telling me not to 'overthink' everything and my younger daughter takes pleasure, I'm sure, in pointing out 'you're overthinking it, just give me an answer'.

My husband has been telling me all week it doesn't matter that I don't get it all, I am doing the course to learn and the teachers are there to help. I just have to do my best and pass the course, that's all. It doesn't need to be perfect. Maybe I will listen as last week took a lot of energy to get through and I could have used that energy on other subjects or even relaxing with a good book.

I did read the new book by Nora Roberts but for the life of me I can't remember the name. If I didn't waste so much brainspace on panicking I might be able to remember the name. I did love it though!

Are you studying? How do you manage stressful weeks?

Homework, homework!

I have been doing my course for a couple of weeks now and the homework is getting harder.  Apart from some short courses I have done nothing on this scale for a long, long time and am terrified by some of the assignments I have to do!

I don't have as much time or energy to read or write other than homework. I have cancelled subscriptions to some of the newsletters and blogs I followed as they were piling up in my inbox and had little chance of being read. My 'book' remains untouched and the tv is being ignored.

What I do have is immense pride in myself that I have taken this on and as hard as it is I am doing it.  It's early days but each time I finish an activity or exercise or send in a piece of work to my teachers I feel very proud of myself.

I would love to hear your 'back to study' stories. Please feel free to leave a comment.

One book I did read was In a Nutshell which is the latest book by Janet Evanovich and Dorien Kelly and loved it. I caught the end of  27 Dresses the other night and loved Katherine Heigl and can picture her playing Stephanie Plum in the movie One for the Money.  I must go and see it!