Well, here is the big news in Corrie's life, these days. Except it isn't really news yet, more like the anticipation of news. Or news of things to come. Maybe that's a better way to put it.
Anyhow, the endeavor upon which I plan to soon embark is the pursuit of my bachelor's degree (yeah, another one) in biology, which plan I plan to undertake at Metro State. Most likely beginning this fall. This is, of course, less to do with any desire for schooling, and more to do with my continued quest to attend and conquer every post-secondary institution in the Western hemisphere. (For those who have not been keeping track, this shall make four.)
No really, though. If you are asking yourself "why," you clearly have not met me... and thus, I ask of you, "why" are you reading my blog, anyway? I don't even read my blog, and I know me quite well, methinks.
Yes, I have already spoken with a department co-chair and been assured that I shall have no trouble not dissecting the animals I so love in the course of earning said B.S. Yes, I have realized that to attempt to go to school while working 40 hours a week (in a circumstance where I have to take the more time-consuming public transit, no less) is sheer insanity. Yes, I know that this degree is going to involve lots of chemistry, and some math as well. But I'm not shying away from that, like I did years ago, which is when I should have actually been embarking on this-- or some similar-- venture, in the first place.
Because while I love the work that I do, my favorite time of the day is still talking to the pigeons and squirrels in the park on the way there. So I could pretend to be waiting until the timing is perfect, the job schedule is perfect, the finances are perfect, the... everything is perfect, but then I'd still be sitting here in another 8, or 58, years, wondering why I didn't ever get off my butt and go back and get some schooling that would allow me to do some sort of work that I love.
I don't know how long this will all take me. That is yet to be seen. Hopefully not more than 4 years. (Since my GRE is already 1 year in towards its expiration date. And I don't really feel like taking it again.)
So, yeah... that's that. That's the news.
Oh, yeah... and for those who like to know more:
Metropolitan State College of Denver
MSCD Department of Biology
Auraria Campus
Monday, June 30, 2008
Friday, June 13, 2008
It's like the apocalypse, yo
So, maybe just no one told me when I was little, but this kind of stuff was happening all the time then, too. Maybe not. Maybe the world is coming to an end. I'm really leaning toward that one-- not that it's actually some sort of apocalypse, other than the kind we'd brought down on our own heads by seriously messing up this planet. It is not happy with us. Not happy at all.
Just a few of the more headline-grabbing recent examples... just a few. They stand without needing much further comment, I think.
Unbelievable earthquakes in China.
Just a few of the more headline-grabbing recent examples... just a few. They stand without needing much further comment, I think.
Every couple of years, a massive storm in southeast Asia-- just the most recent being Cyclone Nargis.
Unbelievable earthquakes in China.
Wildfires in North Carolina. (Yeah. I know. That's not even in the Southwest.)
An unusual tornado recent swept a mile-wide, 34-mile long path of destruction through Weld County, Colorado. More recently, another in Iowa killed four Boy Scouts.
Flooding all over the Midwest. Thousands evacuated from cities in Iowa.
Monday, June 9, 2008
How much changes in a year...
It dawned on me today that very, very much has changed in the last year of my life.
A year ago, I had not yet decided to move to Colorado. I was being talked into it, and the decision followed not long after (and not long before I was to actually move), but I believe that at this time last year, I was still leaning towards staying put where I was. I had a different job, a really adorable apartment, was close to family and friends, loved my volunteer gig at Crash's, and had the best furry friend you could ask for just a short drive away.
All that has changed in the last 12 months. I'm now 1200 miles away, have lived in Denver almost 12 months (in 3 different places... some more or less adorable than others, though it's hard to compete with that last place I lived in MI), have been working a different job for the past 6 months, am now far away from most of my family & friends, have lost my beloved dog, and spend lots of time bored out of my mind in what should be a fabulous city.
So the question: what's the verdict? Was it a wise choice I made, which so radically changed my life in under a year?
The verdict's still out. We'll give it the rest of the year. After all, life changes quickly. This time last year, my plans were rather different. So I'll give it another 2 months to see what else is still to be, in this first year of life in Denver. I'll keep ya posted.
A year ago, I had not yet decided to move to Colorado. I was being talked into it, and the decision followed not long after (and not long before I was to actually move), but I believe that at this time last year, I was still leaning towards staying put where I was. I had a different job, a really adorable apartment, was close to family and friends, loved my volunteer gig at Crash's, and had the best furry friend you could ask for just a short drive away.
All that has changed in the last 12 months. I'm now 1200 miles away, have lived in Denver almost 12 months (in 3 different places... some more or less adorable than others, though it's hard to compete with that last place I lived in MI), have been working a different job for the past 6 months, am now far away from most of my family & friends, have lost my beloved dog, and spend lots of time bored out of my mind in what should be a fabulous city.
So the question: what's the verdict? Was it a wise choice I made, which so radically changed my life in under a year?
The verdict's still out. We'll give it the rest of the year. After all, life changes quickly. This time last year, my plans were rather different. So I'll give it another 2 months to see what else is still to be, in this first year of life in Denver. I'll keep ya posted.
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Direction
So, I've been thinking a bit over the last couple weeks about direction. Mainly, the direction I want my own life to go in. I mean really, where I am right now (both generally in life, and geographically) has really come about through a series of random occurrences and abrupt decisions, rather than some deeply thought-out master plan for the next 60 years... or even 6.
But as I've been trying to plan some direction for my life-- steer it towards where I want to be, in 6 years or 60-- I've been getting frustrated, because that's easier said than done. Having direction and being able to, in fact, go forth in that direction are entirely different things.
I encounter kids (or rather, "youth," as we term them, some of them being not much younger than me) everyday who have some idea of the direction they want their life to go in, but don't know how to get there. The fancy GPS system on your rental car (sorry, folks, but I know I don't know anyone who actually owns such a fancy car) can tell you to turn left 300 feet ahead, but sometimes they just happen to have built an office building right there.
Which suddenly brings to mind a trip to Vegas, a year ago-- well, an incidental trip, anyhow. It was more a matter of returning to Vegas from the barren desert, as that was where our flight departed. But the maps-- which were, if I recall, actually provided by the rental car company-- failed to mention that there was now an entire highway in our path. We followed the road where it told us to go, only to be met by an open field and no place to go but back in circles.
So it is with the young people I work with. And me. And, I'm guessing, most of y'all. Sometimes you can know exactly where you want to go; the difficulty is in getting there. Obstacles of time, finances, family circumstances, misinformation, or inexperience (among many others) have this amazing way of placing themselves directly in our paths.
So much for finding direction.
But as I've been trying to plan some direction for my life-- steer it towards where I want to be, in 6 years or 60-- I've been getting frustrated, because that's easier said than done. Having direction and being able to, in fact, go forth in that direction are entirely different things.
I encounter kids (or rather, "youth," as we term them, some of them being not much younger than me) everyday who have some idea of the direction they want their life to go in, but don't know how to get there. The fancy GPS system on your rental car (sorry, folks, but I know I don't know anyone who actually owns such a fancy car) can tell you to turn left 300 feet ahead, but sometimes they just happen to have built an office building right there.
Which suddenly brings to mind a trip to Vegas, a year ago-- well, an incidental trip, anyhow. It was more a matter of returning to Vegas from the barren desert, as that was where our flight departed. But the maps-- which were, if I recall, actually provided by the rental car company-- failed to mention that there was now an entire highway in our path. We followed the road where it told us to go, only to be met by an open field and no place to go but back in circles.
So it is with the young people I work with. And me. And, I'm guessing, most of y'all. Sometimes you can know exactly where you want to go; the difficulty is in getting there. Obstacles of time, finances, family circumstances, misinformation, or inexperience (among many others) have this amazing way of placing themselves directly in our paths.
So much for finding direction.
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