whats coming up.

I'm sooo sorry. it seems like ages since i last blogged. but thats because it has been a long time since i blogged about something substantial anyway. i know some of you get kind of annoyed when i "cheap out" use those quizzes as blog "fillers". haha. i like em though, at least it gives you a chance to get to know me a lil better.

Cheryl and I are heading on a long but free bus trip to the Maritimes as some of you may know, on friday night. we stop over in montreal for a night (two day after we begin), and then are in moncton, new brunswick (cheryl's hometown) on tuesday. we also booked a flight to newfoundland where we have both never been. surprisingly from a west coast perspective most of us don't realise how incredibly far newfoundland is from the maritimes. its FAR. its almost as far as vancouver to regina! but here is our bus route, check it out:



school life is just nuts. i am taking a bit of an academic break and gearing up for a long research project coming up. its a long story but basically i am preparing to write either a 60pg or 120 pg thesis/book. the 60pg one will take the majority of a semester, the bigger one will hold me back here until the end of the summer 2007, with a delayed degree until april 2008 (though i will officially be all done in late 2007).

so we'll see. it all depends on my grades, and if they are high enough by january (cos i gotta wait for my marks from the summer to come in - they take forever!), then i'll probably do it. Compared to other master's degrees in the social sciences my degree is actually pretty comprehensive, encompassing a massive 60 credits. a lot of university master's degrees require anywhere from 39-48 credits, and course based masters, typically don't require a research component. and if they do, its mainly the 60pg research project that is required. This is apparent in psychology, social work and education fields that i know of for sure.

i'm also working at the fire dept, with student households leadership and an internship with one of the profs in the school. none of those are necessarily paid (it sorta is, but its complicated) so i'm running around really busy working without a lot to show for in my wallet. the stress of planning for life in the new year and all the possibilities it holds is sorta weighing down on me, as i'm realising that, yet again, my last semester of student loans will only just barely cover my costs. they simply don't factor in wedding preparations as a viable reason to lend you more money. not that i want to borrow anymore anyway.

so in short, i have no idea what the future holds. only that i leave friday to meet this wonderful girl's family. and i'm gonna be praying and thinking hard over the lil while to see if this whole relationship is right for both of us. i'm excited really, but also quite apprehensive about the uncertainty that the future will hold. Life is certainly much easier when you are single and living life independently. its even like that if you are much younger and aren't ready to settle down. but you know its probably time to at least embrace life the way its laid out for you when your parents are starting to wonder when i'm going to move forward in my next stage of life. parents who aren't typically the kind to talk about these things to begin with.

anyway, enough rambling, i look forward to further adventures to share with you on a pilgrims progress. i hope to blog while i'm there and keep you updated on travels to the east. it'll be exciting to get back to writing back something more exciting than just everyday work and school - which gets boring to write about pretty quick!