return

The Return(ish)

Greetings!

A lot has happened since my last post. You know, the one where I went on hiatus or whatever without telling anyone I was going to.. About that…. Sorry? But not really.

As the great Ferris Bueller once said,  “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”

I did that, kind of; except that it less like I stopped to look around and more like I reached out to grab on and gotten taken for one hell of a ride. I’m still reeling.

Where to begin?

First of all, as of October 2018, I became a homeowner. It’s a two story, 2 bedroom, 1.5 bath (and counting, nice row home that continues to increase in equity. Not much in the way of yards, but I do have a deck and a balcony. For a “starter home” as some are inclined to say, I don’t think I did too bad. I’ve technically been moved in for about 2 months now, but I’m still waiting on throwing a house warming party.

Part of that is due to the other big thing I went through recently. I had a bit of a spill… onto the sidewalk… in November. Apparently that fall caused 2 unusual tears in my meniscus, and led to the discovery of a “Chronic ACL tear,” which is probably the culprit for the meniscus fiasco. You see, the ACL helps stabilize the knee. Without it, you’re more prone to damaging the rest of the knee and to greater significance. I walked with a cane for a while. Then I had surgery and used crutches. They put a brace on my knee and told me I couldn’t walk on my leg for 6 weeks. Well, now that I’m weight bearing, I’m going through physical therapy, butting heads with my surgeon, and torturing myself in the name of getting better. Seriously though, during my daily routines , the involuntary sounds I make are akin to a men’s tennis match, but with more pain in it than usual. So, probably Wimbledon then.  I am getting better, and everyone expects a full recovery from me.

I’m still in school and I’m 30 now. There was an complete failure on the part of my previous adviser who was, apparently, advising me as if I were getting a different degree, and now I will have to spend a little more time getting the degree. I also had to learn CSS and HTML to continue with this degree. Not sure I know enough yet to put on a resume, but I’m hopeful I’ll get there. You’re never to old!

I am still writing. Slowly but surely. Still mapping. Still looking things up. Still writing things down to add. It’s a lot. I’m probably going to take breaks and work on shorter forms and submissions, but the longer piece is still being hammered out/typed.

With that said, don’t expect the same amount of volume from this site as was previously being published. Yes, I intend to write here from time-to-time. Expect more of a quarterly schedule, if that. I will send stuff out via social media when I have an update.

I hope that the creativity is going well!

 

Yours,

Nathan

 

PS I found out recently that I am going to be an uncle soon and I’m so EXCITED!!!

Back to School: February 2018

Admittedly, this almost didn’t happen due to financial concerns, a student worker at an office who gave me wrong information, and my own stress and anxiety levels, which I’m always working on improving. Needless to say, I decided to go through with it.

I once told someone, and many other people, upon graduating an MFA program, I would NOT be returning to school ever again. Well, I’m doing it.

It almost seems foolish to do so, but with my tuition remission from work and my lack of traction in my career, it’s anything but. It happened not too long ago that I sat with my former boss, who is technically my current boss only she’s out of office for over a year due to a project, and she told me that I should pursue some more education. After all, it’s virtually free. Virtually being the key word. There are still fees to pay. And not all schools fee same. Found that out the hard way!

Several months passed by and I received an email from my dad about a Graduate Certificate Program that might interest me.

It did.

I applied. I got in.

For some reason I was surprised. I saw the email with my name on it, welcoming me  back to the university that I said would be the last place I’d attend after the last time I attended it. And the sudden rush of this good news probably intensified my reaction. I was overjoyed. I shared the news with everyone I thought might care. I posted it on social media in case I had missed anyone. That way I also wouldn’t have to contact everyone in my friends list individually.

That’s my secret. Oh no! I’m lazy!

I’ve already mentioned why, practicality-wise, I should go back to school, but why did I want to? It’s simple on multiple points:

1. Structure

  • Post-graduate school, life lost something I didn’t realize it never had, but school did – structure. I missed it. Things seemed chaotic. I didn’t know what to work on or if I should. Although I prefer the freedom of choice, I definitely enjoy a structured schedule where I probably won’t get surprised.

2. Direction

  • There are ways that you know you should go in life, but no certainties. In school, you know what you need to do and how to do it. If you have any questions, you can ask.

3. People

  • This is not to say that I don’t spend time with people, a sentiment my parents and other people might not believe. I do. I really do. I try to spend time with like minded individuals when I can. In school, I am assured this. I can also meet MORE people who may be like me or have similar interests. I might also meet people who are completely different than me, ultimately causing me to grow as a person! The thing about life is the older you get, the more difficult it can become to make (and keep) friends and etc. This is kind of like a work around of that. Granted, difficult does not mean impossible.

4.  Learning

  • I get a chance to learn more about something that interests me, and do so in a way that  I couldn’t on my own. I also don’t want to learn on my own. At least, I don’t ALWAYS want to learn that way.

5.  Because I want to and I can!

  • There are a number of difficulties in simply getting into higher education, whether it’s political opposition or financial struggles, but if you can and you want to, then you shouldn’t think twice about it. Do it! Do it.
  • Also, I wanted five things here. Or ten, but no more or less than those numbers. Anything else feels wrong.

Yes, I may have had to go against a crusade of misinformation, threatening to leave the program a few times, calling everyone who should know something. I may have seriously considered giving up, which isn’t bad, but doesn’t seem to be the right thing either. Thing is, I have plenty of reasons to do this. I don’t think I need any, but I do have them.

I have benefits through my job that allow me to do this. I am fortunate that I can, and I will take full advantage of it as long as I am able. I’m actually interested in what I’m going to be studying and learning. I also think this is a prime example of people learning and changing over time. I mean, I was DONE with education. I did not want to go back, but here I am. And I couldn’t be more excited!

I hope that everyone out there can find something big and important to further themselves too.

All the best,

Nathan