changes galore

The past few days rendered the month of November as the month of ginormous changes in my life. Most of the time life throws you a curve ball that you can hit with your usual or just slightly increased amount of force; however, every now and again that pitch is pure perfection that you have to exert the extra effort and concentration to hit it out of the park. What happened these past few days is that perfect curve ball.

It began right before my trip to the Motherland. I received a letter from my wonderful federal government informing me that I am approaching the limit for my student loans. Honestly, I have not kept up with the number of weeks I have been in school nor was I aware of this limit. Nevertheless, it clearly stated on the letter that I am approaching it. Considering my very busy schedule, I opted to address this matter upon my return.

My return from the Motherland was welcomed with organized chaos. I mentioned in a previous post that class immediately started for me along with a new job. This pretty much occupied my time and energy that I made the decision to delay my inquiry regarding the issue a little while longer.

Then came mid-October.

I finally had the respite that I needed and I contacted someone from the student loans office. The provincial government informed me that I was not even close to reaching the limit on their end. The federal government, on the other hand, proceeded to tell me that I was actually not approaching the limit. I was past the limit! The person I spoke with continued to explain to me that it means they are halting my loans after this year unless I switch to a doctoral program on which they will extend my time frame. This places me in a bit of a conundrum since I still have my practicum year left before I finish my master’s degree. Eventually I do want to enroll in a doctoral program, but at the same time I want to finish this degree so I can work on acquiring my license. Also, the program I am currently interested in requires a master’s degree as its requirement. As a result, I have been in such a pensive mood that I could not even post anything until now. For now though, I do not have a solution yet. It’s still a work in progress.

Happy Halloween

 

MLB and me

Over the past couple of years, I began following major league baseball more closely primarily because Mr Shell is an avid fan. Initially, baseball never really held my attention because I have always considered it an American game and I did not know anyone who followed it. At one point, I had tendencies to confuse strikes with balls. Nevertheless, Mr Shell has provided me with all the information I needed and I actually enjoy watching the game.

By default, I cannot help but always root for the Blue Jays, the only Canadian team left. It feels a little weird cheering for a team I am not completely familiar with yet the departure of the Expos (I’ve actually seen them play against the Mets once) removed all my options. Thus, it’s inevitable. The Canadian in me will always have a spot for the Jays. On the other hand, Mr Shell is a huge Red Sox fan, which means that I am also a Red Sox fan. To some this may appear to be an issue of autonomy. To me? It’s my way of supporting him on something that he loves. Relationships are about give and take. With regards to this matter, I am more than happy to be doing the giving.

With the present World Series ongoing, I hope the Phillies win because I see them as the underdog even though they are the reigning champions. I perceive them as underdogs because the Yankees have some of the best players their money can buy. In a way, it would be like the Yankees bought the World Series instead of actually winning it. Then again, this is how professional sports is like. Talent = money = champion. Team with the most money will have the most championships. What a faulty system.

INTP

I remember taking the MBTI for the very first time. As a second year student who partied a little too hard during her freshman year, I decided to avail of the services offered by the university counseling centre. My main reason? I wanted to ensure that I was on the right path. I typically do not make any rushed decisions; however, I am merely human and succumb to certain doubts every now and again. The code I received at that time was INTJ.

A few years later, I had to take it again for my career counseling class. At first, I forgot that I had already taken the assessment before and it was not until I began writing my paper that I remembered. I admit that my interest was beyond piqued in learning that I went from INTJ to INTP. The consistency of the first three codes showed me its reliability in action yet I was more interested on how I have changed from a moderate score in the judging scale to a slight score in the perceiving end. It seems that my temperament shifted from being organized, with a focus on planning to having a slightly flexible and spontaneous approach to life. Of course, having a slight perceiving score really means that I sway between both sides, but I can’t help and wonder what possible events in my life led to the shift. Maybe my perceiving side was suppressed all these years that it took a few years of independently living by myself before it surfaced. Could it be a specific event that was under the radar yet significant enough to swing the pendulum? The thinker in me can’t help but dwell a little bit on this anomaly. It’s so fascinating to me. In the end, the question becomes which temperament do I associate more now. I would have to say…the perceiving. I still like to ponder my future and make plans, but, at the same time, I have more than 1 plan every time in case life happens. I guess the flexibility that accompanied my maturity allowed me to become less rigid and be more prepared for life and whatever it throws at me.

Really…I’m back

Rundown:

- Traveled to the Motherland and spent a glorious yet exhausting two weeks there.

- A couple of days later, Fall classes began. I was immediately back to the grind.

- A few days later, I was offered a TA position and I accepted. I started the very next day.

- Paper number 1: personal career development paper. I had to integrate my codes. I began thinking and questioning (a little) my choice to enter current career track. It did not show up on ANY of my assessments. Surprisingly, physiotherapy continuously surface. I say surprisingly because, back in high school, my hockey obsessed self yearned to be Pavel Bure’s personal physiotherapist. Yes, what was I thinking! He doesn’t even play anymore…hahaha.

- Desperately seeking volunteer client. I struggled to arrange a session with my friend, the volunteer client of choice.

- In the midst of paper number 1 and volunteer client, I decided to get my very first flu shot. Since I volunteer at a hospital, I deemed it wise to choose this time to be my first time. Plus, it was free and the nurse kinda cornered me while I was volunteering.

- Three days later, I experienced for the first time in my life…the flu. I officially had the flu. Instead of celebrating a friend’s birthday, I was stuck at home switching from tshirt to sweater every two minutes and having my voice disappear and reappear an hour later. It was not a pleasant experience and I really really really do not want to get the flu again.

- Due to the unexpected visit from the flu virus, I was unable to schedule a time with my volunteer client so I opted to do it with Mr Shell, who was not very thrilled about it. He has a slight aversion to assessments. Thus, the very first day I felt better, I had an hour mock intake session with Mr Shell.

- With the assessments scored, paper number 2 was in progress.

- This brings us to the present day. I have more room to blog anymore. I am feeling recovered from the flu and in a way, I am back in business. In essence, the mundane and random rants I typically fill my blog with will be on its regular schedule once more.

Now, if only I can catch up on my Google Reader feeds. *sigh*