Back to school: the sequel

What does it mean when your when your life feels like an ill-advised sequel to an 80s movie? It can’t be good.

So I guess that it makes sense that it is a cold gray morning as I am about to head out to the campus of Eastern Michigan University, where I did my undergrad back in the lat 80s/early 90s. I’m going to look into a graduate certificate program in Technical Writing. If I lose my job I can go back to school with money from the Michigan Works program. At least, I think that I can. They don’t just hand out money to anyone. In any case, I figure it’s a good idea to explore all my possible options.

But as is probably obvious I’m feeling conflicted about going back to school. I mean, I already tried once this year when I took a class at Macomb Community College, and I ended up dropping that class. What makes me think this will be any different? And it’ll be even more money down the drain if I bail this time.

I have to do something, though. I can’t just do nothing, can I? I know: even not choosing is a choice. But that always struck me as a cop out. And besides I’ve done my share of not choosing in  my life. The biggest problem with not choosing is that if you don’t choose your life someone else will choose it for you. And then where will you be?

I suppose in a way it is easier to let someone else choose your life, to let someone else make all the decisions and just follow along, but it fails to provide a certain satisfaction. Plus, if the day ever comes that you want to choose something it’ll be a struggle, perhaps even a battle.  I think it makes people uncomfortable when someone they know as a non-chooser suddenly wants to choose. They fight against it. But that’s just this bloggers opinion [insert sound effect of two pennies hitting a table top].

this GenX dad on Superbowl Sunday…

…can  only hear the roaring of the crowd from the TV set in the other room — Go Colts! — because I’ve chained myself to the desk in the office in order to study for my first exam in the Environmental Science course that I decided, for some dumb reason, to take. We can use one 4×6 card of notes for the exam, so i’m carefully selecting info, typing it out and shrinking it down to 8 pt. font and pasting it to a card. So far it’s working quite well. Although as per usual I’m sure I’ll forget something. Hopefully the test is all multi-choice. I rock at those. And at essay exams. Fill in the blanks, though, I suck at.

I still have to write 1-2 page CTR (current topic report) as well,  in which I distill a news article that is relevant to the course in some way. I have the article, this time on the increased growth rate of trees in the northeast part of the country, but I’ve yet to write it. Hoping to do that tonight.

Add to that a pretty busy first half of the week. Wife is out of town on biz. While she’s working hard in the Big Apple, I’ll be filling in for my daughter’s Brownie troop outing to a local police dept for a safety program. Not only am I driving but I’ll be providing snacks – got em, check! Then on Tuesday morning my daughter has an 8:45am doc. appt. (need to remember to call school to let them know she won’t be there in morning) after which I need to hustle her to school and the head for work. Now, I’ve got a babysitter lined up for Tuesday night so I can go to class to take this exam but if it snows too hard (is it supposed to?) that could fall through. Have a couple of options, though. We’ll see.

Damn, I feel tired just writing this.

First class: postmortem

Any nervousness that I had about returning to school quickly disipated when the instructor, while taking attendance, pulled the Beuller gag from Ferris Beuller’s Day Off when he came to a name that no one answered to. (awkward sentence, eh):

Beuller…?  Beuller…? Bueller ?

I nodded, snickering. And I wasn’t the only one either. There were a few others, seriously. I mean, they still regularly show that movie in reruns, right.

In any case, the class seems like it will be interesting, because the instructor is interesting, and interested in teaching. That makes a big difference.

It was hard to sit still, although considering I sit all day at my job you’d think I’d be used to it.

On my way to class, I couldn’t help wondering if I’m doing this for a confidence/ego boost. It’s like when I took that communications class down at Wayne State and actually got more than 100% on a test because I also answered the bonus question correctly. And my review of the book we had to read was probably much better than most — it was a freshman course. I pulled an easy A. Of course, this is a science class, which is not something I studied very little after high school, only the minimum requirement.

Anyhoo….

After class, walking across campus in the dark I was reminded of my days in undergrad, not at MCC but at Eastern Michigan, when I’d wander campus late at night or when I’d be coming back from a late night class. I loved that feeling, when the campus was quiet and dark and the air was cold and crisp. I guess I miss it. I was good at school. Not so much in the real world.

It was driving home that I was reminded of my MCC days some 20 years ago. On a Thursday night, I’d be leaving campus at 10pm, when the library closed, and I’d head for my buddy Mick’s place for pre-bar beers before going out. We’d be out late, sometimes untile 3 or 4  in the morning, even later. Often Thursdays would run into Fridays would run into Saturdays would run into… Suddenly it was Monday morning and time for school again. I could do that then. Not anymore.

First Class

Am I going on a trip?

Unfortunately not. Because Costa Rica sounds so good right now. Or Mexico. Or The Bahamas. Anywhere with some sunshine and beaches and fruity drinks in funny glasses would do. Sigh…………

But that ain’t going to happen right now, and even if it were I wouldn’t be flying first class.

Anyhoo… as per usual I digress.

I’m talking about my first class tonight, at the community college, from 8-10pm.

Am I nervous? Perhaps a tinge. But it’s a familiar nervousness, one that harkens back to my college days, a simpler time, or so it seems to me now. But I’ve probably blocked out the BS and anguish, like that one psycho girlfriend <shutter>.

If anything I’m more concerned about being able to stay awake. And I’m not looking forward to trekking across campus form the parking lot in the cold and the dark, and then back again after class.

I’m not worried about being able to handle the class, but it may cut into my writing time, especially when I’ve got myself on a deadline to submit a story to a contest at the end of March.

Not to self: bring lots of change for vending machines — junk food and coffee/pop will be essential.

I am curious as to how it is going to feel to perhaps be one of the older students in class, although with it being at night the age gap likely won’t be as great. Also, I don’t look my age — 42, which BTW does NOT feel twice as cool as turning 21, despite what you may be thinking.  It’s not all like — woo hoo, I get have regular digital-rectal exams!

The other thing is that I’ll be going to class after a full day of work, and picking up my daughter from school and helping her with her homework plus getting her dinner. And tonight we have to go grocery shopping and pick up a prescription from the Rite Aid. Whew.

When I was young 20-something, all I had to do was drag my ass to class one time, sometime after a long night of partying, sometimes still slightly inebriated.

In any case, I’ve got the first chapter of the text book read, so I got that going for me…

We know it’s fall because…

…of course the leaves are changing color, and falling to the the ground. Hell, we got one house on our block with the entire front lawn already covered with leaves. Yikes! And there is a certain crispness in the air, especially in the mornings. And the kids are back to school. Addy’s doing second grade and she loves her teacher, who used to be an Opera singer and speaks several languages, which is probably why Addy has a little girl from Germany in her class, plus another little girl who is Russian.

Anyhoo…one of the other tell tale signs that fall is here, although perhaps not officially, is Addy had her first soccer game today. She’s on a new team this year. Only two girls from her team last year are on the team this year, and at first she was a little nervous about that, but the new girls were so friendly, coming right up to her to introduce themselves, the first day of practice that there was no problem. And of course, a new team means a new coach, but she likes the coach too. So we’re all good. The game went well, despite the early time, 9am, and the rain. It wasn’t a downpour but it was steady. But the girls didn’t seem to mind much. Addy never complained, and really couldn’t get out on the field enough. Although she is still a bit of a daydreamer at time. And even though at this age score is not a big issue, it was a freaking route, our team winning by a score or something like 8-2. Woo hoo!

But back to the rain if I may. Turned out we were lucky to have such an early game. The rain picked up later this morning. And it is still raining now. I read that because of Hurricane Ike we will be getting a lot of rain this weekend.