Heron There & Everywhere

Here is Sera this morning.  She was eating sunflower seeds out of the bird feeder until I went outside with a bunch of peanuts.  She worked on one of those for a bit while I watched her.  When she finished, I stood there for a few minutes, talking to her, and she sat and listened.  She’s good at that.  It’s nice to have someone to use as a sounding board. That’s what friends do for each other.

I’ve been a little pensive myself lately.  I was sick for much of last week, and even I was surprised by how much that took out of me.  I thought since I was too sick to be around folks I’d have time to rest, relax and read.  I read nothing.  My mind was so fuzzy and befuddled, and my head hurt so much that I couldn’t read more than a sentence or two before it got too hard to concentrate. I didn’t get anywhere with my reading.  I slept a lot, stared at a lot of old re-runs on TV, read a few emails and attempted a few posts, but that was about it. I slept more than I have in ages.

I went back to work on Friday, and that wasn’t so bad.  I had a floating secretary at my desk some of the time while I was out (a first for my department!), and she did a great job.  There’s still a mountain of work to do, but a lot of that was there before I got sick.  I have a very busy job.

This morning I worked on getting acclimated to my new school and their online environment.  Everyone I have talked to over the last several months is extremely nice and helpful.  It’s interesting that they all have the same manner of speech and speech pattern.  I haven’t figured out yet if it’s school-specific – maybe there’s some sort of intensive training program they all go through – or if it’s Ohio-specific.  They are located in Columbus, Ohio.  Are people from Ohio nicer than people from New York?  (I don’t mean New York City – I’m from Upstate).  Some of the administrative people from my New York State school were a little clueless.  They could have used an intensive training program or a manual or something!  I think I had 4 or 5 different academic advisors in the 3 years I was there, and every time I called or emailed, I got someone different.  I am hoping the new school is better.  It is different. The way to request financial aid is different, and the way to order textbooks is different.  I do like the online portal so far.  It’s easier to navigate and find things.

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking this past week.  I was in one of those feeling sorry for myself moods, too.  I realized today that I hadn’t blogged in a couple of days (it kind-of slipped my mind), and I got to wondering whether anyone had even noticed.  I know most people have moments when they wonder if anyone cares, and I don’t mean just blogging.  If you’re quiet like I am, you tend to get overlooked and bypassed.  I don’t often speak up.

School the first time around was good for me.  It proved to me that I wasn’t too old to learn new things and that I’m smarter than I thought I was.  It showed me that I can be more than I am.  It helped my confidence grow, and it made me into a different person (even if it was just on the inside).  I wonder what school the second time around will bring? I am eager to face the challenge of a more advanced degree.  I know I can keep up. I just have to keep practicing speaking up.

For now, I’ll practice on Sera.  I don’t care what the neighbors think, and she seems content to sit and listen.