I finally graduated!!!

Yes, at long, long last, I graduated from Langara College's Library and Information Technology program, so I'm officially a Library Technician.

Graduation day at Langara College

My final term was extremely busy, as it also included two work placements, one at the West Vancouver Memorial Library and another at the Sunshine Coast Museum and Archives. I enjoyed them both immensely, even though for the West Van practicum, I had to be up at 4:50 every morning to get the ferry. The staff at both institutions were extremely welcoming and I loved learning new things. In fact, I'm staying on at the SCMA as a volunteer :)

My time at Langara was extremely challenging, but I was very impressed with the quality of the program and most of the instructors (those I didn't like were not in the LIT faculty). However, without the support of Sean (who cooked countless meals and talked me through difficult assignments), the rest of the family and the staff at the Sechelt Library, I would have been lost. My colleagues were endlessly patient with my many, many questions and were always happy to help me out with assignments when necessary. I learned so much more about how the library runs because of the various interviews I had to conduct as part of the program.


Other than the learning, the best part of my Langara experience is the friends I made - that is what I'll miss most of all, my daily interaction with my classmates. Fortunately, Facebook does provide an easy way to stay in touch, though it's still not quite the same as the Blackboard Social Cafe. 


So, what now? Well, I hope to get more hours at the Sechelt library, but I'm also looking forward to returning to my writing, a pursuit I pretty much had to put on hold over the last three and a half years. Publishing a novel is still a dream of mine :) And I know from long experience that when my mind isn't fully occupied with school work, my characters cannot be silenced for long. I also admit that a summer without school is looking pretty good at this point! What a concept - being able to enjoy the sun and take photos to my hearts content, not to mention getting my hands dirty in the garden.


So, that's it for now - I should be able to update this blog more frequently from now on!


Teresa

February update...

It's been a long time since I've posted, and for that I do apologize. My life has been so busy, but the end of school is now in sight - at long last! If all goes well, I'll graduate during the first week of June :) It's been a long haul - this is the fourth spring term for me and I'm feeling a little burnt out at this point. Fortunately, I've only been taking one course as well as working with a supervisor to arrange my final practicum. Even so, there has been a lot of work.

In other news, Sean and I took two mini vacations late last summer/early fall. The first was a camping trip to Lightning Lake in Manning Park - about 3 hours east of Vancouver. We hiked, biked and enjoyed campfires - even met up with some friends who had been camping nearby and decided to spend the night at the same campground we were at. The weather was a little cool, but we were snug in the camper every night and only got rained on a little. In late September we drove north of here to the West Coast Wilderness Lodge in Egmont, so celebrate our 21st wedding anniversary. Again, we went hiking and visited the museum in Egmont, which is fascinating, and ate lots and lots of lovely food.

Christmas was a noisy affair - lots of family and we enjoyed watching our young nephews run and play. We also spent New Year's Eve with the family up at Whistler, which was a lovely treat. Along more mundane lines, I'm continuing to work two days a week at the Sechelt Library, a job I continue to love. There's always something new to learn and it's wonderful to part of such an important community service.

That's about it for now. Once school is done, I hope to resume a more regular blogging schedule as I resume my writing and hopefully, my reviewing.

Teresa

Midsummer update...

Well, not that it's actually summer here *g*.

Anyways, I figured it was time to take a deep breath and raise my head from the school work to drop by and update this blog.

Starting in January I've been nose to the grindstone at school. In spring term I took three courses and since May I've been doing a course on Business in Canada (a required support course for my diploma). As in-depth financial analysis etc isn't exactly my forte, I've been having to slog through a lot of stuff that makes my head ache and my eyes very tired. Also in May, I did a 10 day library practicum at the Sechelt Library, on top of my regular 2 day/week shift...made for some busy weeks going 6 days!

Other than that, we've put in a veggie garden, Sean has built a ramp from the lawn to the deck, and we're looking forward to a big family week in early August when both our families will be out here at the same time :) I'm sure my camera will get quite a workout. A camping trip is also in the offing - we'll be off-the-grid at Lightning Lake in Manning Park for three days...should be fun, as the scenery is gorgeous and there is lots of hiking and biking in the area.

Come September I'll start my second-to-last term at Langara...it's hard to believe I'm so close to being finished!! It hasn't been easy, but OTOH, I've learned a lot and combined with my experience working at the Sechelt Library, I feel like I've finally found my career (well, the one more likely to earn me decent money...not sure my writing will ever do that!)

Speaking of my writing, I'm still plugging away as I have time, editing What the Heart Remembers and brainstorming on my three Works in Progress. I do miss being able to write as much as I did before, but I think all the time I've spent in school will make me a better writer and I'll certainly appreciate the time I do have to write once my diploma is finished. It will seem strange to combine p/t work and writing again :)

Finally, Chloe and Cleo are still as sweet as ever, loving life and finding new and inventive ways to have fun.

Hope you enjoyed this update :)


Teresa