School has been crazy, to say the least. In the past 3 months, I've had no life outside of studying. I expected hard work in grad school, but this past 3 months has been the most stressful/busy I've ever been in school. Having survived that, I know I can do anything - but I also feel it took over my life. I lost the balance - I no longer go out and do things with anyone (or even by myself).
It sounds totally emo and lame, but earlier today I felt this deep loneliness/sadness. I miss home. I miss my friends and family. I've made some great new friends in Chicago, but I've only known them for a few months and these friendships are mostly superficial. Not to mention, I totally feel like I don't have a life outside of the program because everyone I know is in the program. Luckily for me, my super awesome best friend Derek called. We hadn't talked for awhile because we had both been so busy. I miss him SO much. It was so good to talk to him. I forget how he can make me feel happy through just a short conversation.
Now I feel all "rejuvenated" to.... do some more homework. Just two more weeks of school, and I'll be going home to visit friends and family. I miss my family, especially my little cousins. I can't wait to see Vancouver - I even miss the rain a little. I just got to put in some extra effort to make sure I do super well in all my classes this term!
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Life As a House
"You know the great thing, though, is that change can be so constant you don't even feel the difference until there is one. It can be so slow that you don't even notice that your life is better or worse, until it is. Or it can just blow you away, make you something different in an instant. It happened to me."
- Life As a House
Instead of studying, I finally watched "Life as a House". Good movie. Lots of great quotes in the movie.
- Life As a House
Instead of studying, I finally watched "Life as a House". Good movie. Lots of great quotes in the movie.
Friday, January 7, 2011
It's the simple things in life
Today I discovered a new website/blog:
http://1000awesomethings.com/
It was voted the top blog of 2010. I can see why. Reading bits of the blog definitely make me feel warm and fuzzy and more optimistic about my day and life. With so many sad news everyday, people need a little bit of positivity. I'm almost inspired to start my own 1000 awesome things. I will be turning 100,000 days old in a couple of months. I want to think of a cool/good goal for that day. Something I could do to move my life in a positive directive from that day on. I don't know. I guess it'll be my symbolic than anything else?
So anyways, happy 2010 to everyone! I've been on hiatus from my blog for a month because of my crazy school schedule and winter holiday season.
I found out that I got almost all A's in my first quarter (one A- instead of A, apparently I missed the A by just 1 percentage point. So I'm going to count that one as an A in my head anyways). I'm very happy with myself and super happy with my program. I think a large part is because of how amazing all my classmates are at helping each other out, how much support my professors give us all, and just how super fun the curriculum is.
I did find myself burning out at the end of last quarter, so I'm going to try to pace myself better this quarter, hopefully continuing to do well at the same time. This quarter we have a much busier schedule since we are starting clinical rotation. I am so excited for it, I hope I get some awesome rotations!
I do feel a little overwhelmed already during the first week, largely because I kind of slacked off during the holidays and now I have to catch up all that work. I have a stack of paper about 5 inches thick (no exaggeration) that I need to read - most of them research for my thesis. I feel like the paper that I turned in for my scholarship project wasn't so good, and wish I could have spent more time on it. I have to start training for my new job as a Kaplan teacher here in Chicago, reading for the classes, and reviewing for classes I've already had. I'm sick so I feel exhausted all the time. I hope I feel better soon - we will be visiting babies next week and if I'm still sick, I won't be able to go :(
Over the break, we were given an assignment to read a book and find our strengths. So apparently mine were: Harmony (I like world peace and for people to get along), Learner (I love to learn, especially the process of learning, and learning for the sake of learning), Developer (I see the potential in other people and like to help them develop it), Analytical (I need concrete evidence and proof and can think through problems logically), Positivity (I see the world as a half-full cup, I can see the silver lining in situations and I'm not hesitant about dishing compliments out to others). I thought it was pretty accurate. There are other qualities that I thought I might've gotten but didn't. The book talked about how everyone is unique and that we should focus on developing our strengths instead of weaknesses. I don't know why, but seeing my list, it makes me feel less unique. I mean - I don't "not" like my strengths, but I think it does make me seem like a pretty boring person. I mean I could sum up those qualities into one word: nice. What's so fun about being "nice"? Anyways. I guess that wasn't the point of the exercise. I guess if I was the nicest person in the world that would make me extraordinary? Or something like that.
http://1000awesomethings.com/
It was voted the top blog of 2010. I can see why. Reading bits of the blog definitely make me feel warm and fuzzy and more optimistic about my day and life. With so many sad news everyday, people need a little bit of positivity. I'm almost inspired to start my own 1000 awesome things. I will be turning 100,000 days old in a couple of months. I want to think of a cool/good goal for that day. Something I could do to move my life in a positive directive from that day on. I don't know. I guess it'll be my symbolic than anything else?
So anyways, happy 2010 to everyone! I've been on hiatus from my blog for a month because of my crazy school schedule and winter holiday season.
I found out that I got almost all A's in my first quarter (one A- instead of A, apparently I missed the A by just 1 percentage point. So I'm going to count that one as an A in my head anyways). I'm very happy with myself and super happy with my program. I think a large part is because of how amazing all my classmates are at helping each other out, how much support my professors give us all, and just how super fun the curriculum is.
I did find myself burning out at the end of last quarter, so I'm going to try to pace myself better this quarter, hopefully continuing to do well at the same time. This quarter we have a much busier schedule since we are starting clinical rotation. I am so excited for it, I hope I get some awesome rotations!
I do feel a little overwhelmed already during the first week, largely because I kind of slacked off during the holidays and now I have to catch up all that work. I have a stack of paper about 5 inches thick (no exaggeration) that I need to read - most of them research for my thesis. I feel like the paper that I turned in for my scholarship project wasn't so good, and wish I could have spent more time on it. I have to start training for my new job as a Kaplan teacher here in Chicago, reading for the classes, and reviewing for classes I've already had. I'm sick so I feel exhausted all the time. I hope I feel better soon - we will be visiting babies next week and if I'm still sick, I won't be able to go :(
Over the break, we were given an assignment to read a book and find our strengths. So apparently mine were: Harmony (I like world peace and for people to get along), Learner (I love to learn, especially the process of learning, and learning for the sake of learning), Developer (I see the potential in other people and like to help them develop it), Analytical (I need concrete evidence and proof and can think through problems logically), Positivity (I see the world as a half-full cup, I can see the silver lining in situations and I'm not hesitant about dishing compliments out to others). I thought it was pretty accurate. There are other qualities that I thought I might've gotten but didn't. The book talked about how everyone is unique and that we should focus on developing our strengths instead of weaknesses. I don't know why, but seeing my list, it makes me feel less unique. I mean - I don't "not" like my strengths, but I think it does make me seem like a pretty boring person. I mean I could sum up those qualities into one word: nice. What's so fun about being "nice"? Anyways. I guess that wasn't the point of the exercise. I guess if I was the nicest person in the world that would make me extraordinary? Or something like that.
Monday, November 22, 2010
Culture Bump
November is crazy busy, but I'm getting through it - it never seems as bad once it's all over. So, last weekend all of us in the program took a road trip to Madison, Wisconsin for a grief workshop where we learned about how to deal with parents who have had perinatal losses (miscarriages, still births, newborn death). I had the best time going out with the gals (and guy) the night before - we stayed out until 2am in the morning even though the workshop was at 8am the next morning. It probably wasn't the BEST idea, but definitely totally worth it. The grief workshop itself was good, too - one of the presenters, a NICU nurse, shared her story of loosing her grandchild. We were all touched by her story and most of us cried. I did, too. :p Anyways, after that emotionally draining day, we drove back to the city, a 3 hr drive. And we saw this:
Yeah. We were pretty shocked. I was a little grossed out / disgusted by it. But, we are in America. Needless to say... CULTURE BUMP (definition = when you expect one thing but get something else)!
Anyways, I got home, and Michigan Ave was lit up with all the lights to welcome winter. It is SO pretty - I'm just sad that I missed the lighting ceremony. They have a parade down Michigan Avenue and the lights lit up as the parade goes by. Because we were stuck in traffic, I only got to see what it looked like after. It was still gorgeous, though.
Winter is here! I know that it is snowing back at home. It isn't snowing here yet - but it is suppose to get pretty cold soon. Only a few more weeks until this quarter is over, and I come home to see friends and family. I miss everyone so much.
Yeah. We were pretty shocked. I was a little grossed out / disgusted by it. But, we are in America. Needless to say... CULTURE BUMP (definition = when you expect one thing but get something else)!
Anyways, I got home, and Michigan Ave was lit up with all the lights to welcome winter. It is SO pretty - I'm just sad that I missed the lighting ceremony. They have a parade down Michigan Avenue and the lights lit up as the parade goes by. Because we were stuck in traffic, I only got to see what it looked like after. It was still gorgeous, though.
Winter is here! I know that it is snowing back at home. It isn't snowing here yet - but it is suppose to get pretty cold soon. Only a few more weeks until this quarter is over, and I come home to see friends and family. I miss everyone so much.
Friday, November 12, 2010
Pan Can!
I'm not sure why, but the Chicago Skyline lit up to say "PAN CAN" yesterday. Usually when there is some sort of big event, the buildings lights are turned on/off in a way that spells something related to the event on the building. Anyways, that was cool. Too bad I don't have a picture of it!
I had my second academic adviser meeting yesterday. It seems that I'm doing quite well. I've been getting good grades and I'm learning SO much. I'm still absolutely loving the program. I keep saying how lucky I am, and how everything is perfect beyond my expectations, and it's really true. For example, I'm not the best writer and I'm not very confident in my writing. So, last week, it just so happens the program decided to hold its first ever writing workshop. Normally writing workshops are boring and useless - not this one. I learned SO much and actually learned a lot from it. I can't say that I'm 100% confident with writing now, but at least I now have specific things I can identify and work on. Another example. I have been fortunate in my life that no one close to me has ever died. Because of this, I'm quite uncomfortable in dealing with grief - I don't know what to do or say. Well, next week, we are going to a grief workshop, and my practice role play scenario this week is to talk about DNR with a family. It's amazing that the program seems to be targeting exactly what I feel like my weaknesses are and teaching me skills I need to make me a better GC.
The best part of the program, though - is my awesome classmates. Each one of them is so unique and awesome, and I think we've all started to bond as a group. I love how different we are, too. Maybe one of these days I will write little profiles on each of my classmates. Even though I miss the depth of the many friendships I now have to maintain long-distance, the way I get along with my new friends make it slightly easier. I miss my best friends.
So now the only thing I really really need to integrate into my life is a healthier life style - especially exercising and losing weight. Yes, Pan Can!
I had my second academic adviser meeting yesterday. It seems that I'm doing quite well. I've been getting good grades and I'm learning SO much. I'm still absolutely loving the program. I keep saying how lucky I am, and how everything is perfect beyond my expectations, and it's really true. For example, I'm not the best writer and I'm not very confident in my writing. So, last week, it just so happens the program decided to hold its first ever writing workshop. Normally writing workshops are boring and useless - not this one. I learned SO much and actually learned a lot from it. I can't say that I'm 100% confident with writing now, but at least I now have specific things I can identify and work on. Another example. I have been fortunate in my life that no one close to me has ever died. Because of this, I'm quite uncomfortable in dealing with grief - I don't know what to do or say. Well, next week, we are going to a grief workshop, and my practice role play scenario this week is to talk about DNR with a family. It's amazing that the program seems to be targeting exactly what I feel like my weaknesses are and teaching me skills I need to make me a better GC.
The best part of the program, though - is my awesome classmates. Each one of them is so unique and awesome, and I think we've all started to bond as a group. I love how different we are, too. Maybe one of these days I will write little profiles on each of my classmates. Even though I miss the depth of the many friendships I now have to maintain long-distance, the way I get along with my new friends make it slightly easier. I miss my best friends.
So now the only thing I really really need to integrate into my life is a healthier life style - especially exercising and losing weight. Yes, Pan Can!
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Halloween
I wasn't going to do anything for Halloween this year because the amount of school work coming up in November. But grad school is about balance. Work hard, play hard, right? So instead, I decided to take some time off. First, the pumpkin carving party at one of the second year student's apartment.
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| The Pumpkin Patch |
And later on, WILD party at one of my classmate's apartment. I didn't have the time or money to come up with a good costume, so I borrowed a friend's cat ears. Voila! Cat! I'm SO creative that way. The party was tons of fun, though. We had some great costumes and great company.
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| Some of my lovely classmates |
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Month in Review
It's been awhile since I last updated, but I've been keeping busy! Here's what I've done in the past month:
The East Lakeview Art Festival at the end of September:
Chicago Symphony Orchestra, conducted by the world reknown conductor, Muni. This was a FREE concert ant Millennium Park, look at the GORGEOUS background of the city lights. I was there with 7 other classmates, we had a picnic on the lawn. It was a gorgeous night and a beautiful concert. The whole place was packed (they had to shut down the entrance 1/2 before the show started). At the end, there was even fireworks!!
Now that I'm a member of the Chicago Architecture Foundation, I've been taking advantage of the bus tours and walking tours that they offer. I've been to two so far: The Great Chicago Fire Tour and the Loop Tour. They were both great. It was fun to learn more about the city and to walk around and just relaxing after a full week of learning.
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| The Chicago Fire Department. The art piece marks the site where the Great Chicago Fire originated. |
Another free concert at the Millennium Park. This was the Chicago Country Music Festival. It had been a long stressful day of studying, so it was so good to take a break with one of my classmates and listen to some awesome concert, by Jake Owen and then Jewel. Jewel yodeled. It was random, but great!
And lastly, it was my birthday yesterday. I had SUCH a wonderful day. I had so many people wishing me happy birthday (thanks Facebook!). I got a very sweet phone call from my lovely co-workers at EComm. I miss the girls at the fire pod. It was so great to hear from them. I wrote an exam (and learned today that I received the highest mark in class! WOOT!), my classmates got me a birthday card and mini cupcakes (totally unexpected, SO sweet of them!), and we all went out to celebrate after class. The bar we went to had trivia night. My team got 3rd place (with VERY little help from me), and this was my prize:
All in all, a fantastic month. I feel like I'm getting the hang of grad school. It's a lot of work, but I think I'm doing pretty well. My past two exams have been good, anyways. I love everything I'm learning, I LOVE my new friends, I love the new city. I'm just too happy for words, and just so so lucky.
The next month should be pretty hectic - I've got even more exams coming up and many papers and assignments all due within a week of each other. But there are also lots of other exciting things: we are taking a class trip to Wisconsin for a workshop over one of the weekends in November, for one. Halloween is coming up, and I think I just might dress up this year if I can come up with an idea.
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