What made me happy today?

[CatrionaGrace]

I was a year and a half into my master's program when I got ill. I survived the fall semester by the skin of my teeth and the aid of two very dear classmates, may all the gods bring blessings on their heads. Recovery time cut well into the spring semester, so when I was up and around, I found a temporary fulltime job. All of a sudden, I had free time. I had money. I wasn't spending every waking hour poring over schoolwork. I wasn't constantly fighting bias in a male-dominated field. I had no idea a life of relative freedom was possible. After that, I never looked back at academia.

 

[JT Woody]

I like academia.... if money wasnt an issue, i'd probably go back for another degree. Art Therapy was my first undergrad major, but i wasnt ready for the therapy part. The counseling classes and the tough situations I had to learn about really scared me. And I didnt think i could go into the counseling profession because of my stutter, so I dropped the major.
But working with the public and the interactions i've had (and meeting other people who stutter that have various degrees and careers in counseling, teaching, medicine, etc)... I feel like i'm ready to retake those counseling classes.

-sighs-
but money.....

 

[GrahamLewis]

When I was 36 I decided to go to law school, got accepted by the only school I applied to, and, for the first time in my life, devoted myself to academia. Twelve-hour study days, and got a couple awards, almost won the moot-court competition, made the law review and had an article published, graduated cum laude. Became someone I didn't know I could be. Proudly graduated, and became a federal law clerk, the guy who sits up there beside the judge (and does most of the research and writing of opinions). My intellectual life was good.

But my marriage collapsed. And I have been years recovering.

Was it worth it?

Won't know until life's final reckoning.

 

[CatrionaGrace]

When I was around 40, I returned to community college for a legal assistant certificate before taking the national certification exam. I enjoyed the first two semesters, but by the third, I was over preparing for mock trials at school since I was getting ready for real trials at work. I used to study in my favorite chair in the living room with books spread out all around me. As long as the kids could see me, they were happy to "parallel play" with me. Worked as a civil litigation CLA for over eleven years. Don't regret it but wouldn't go back to it. I chose the field because it was something I could do and still be home every night, which wasn't true of being a field biologist.

Happy moment for today: cleaning out computer files.

 

[Louanne Learning]

My turn.

I graduated with a degree in Politics and Economics in 1982. I spent the 1980s working for a bank, working my way up to Investment Officer. But it got boring, so at the age of 30, I quit my job and went back to university to take Biology and Chemistry credits, and then to teacher's college. Best decision I ever made. Really found my niche.

 

[GrahamLewis]

My lovebird.

Lately he's become obsessed with shredding paper. He does a very neat job of it, working his way down the edge, like eating corn on the cob, making perfectly straight long strips, as precise as a paper shredder. Okay as long as it's newspaper the floor of his cage, or even a free calendar hanging on the wall, but he also has his eye on one poster in my office. He had already done considerable damage by the time I realized what he was doing, and now I work to keep him from doing any more. And that's what amuses me -- he will fly over and perch right next to it and look back at me. I will say, "No, don't do it." And he'll look away from the poster, maybe even turn around, but as soon as he realizes (or thinks) I'm not looking he turns back to it. I'll say no, and he'll stop and look at me. Just like a toddler who's testing his limits. I'm pleasantly surprised that he understands my demand, and amused at the way he tries to outwait me (or maybe outwit me).

Until one of us gives up, and he either gets involved with something else, or I put him back in his cage. Inter-spetial fun and games.

 

[Amontillado]

I don't know if this makes me happy or not.

Yesterday, I noticed a thing I'm working on had dropped from 24,000 words to 8,000. It was a mouse/keyboard misfire. I remember having a bunch of text mistakenly highlighted, the phone rang, it was an old friend, we reminisced over good times, my MS suffered considerable evaporation while I was distracted.

I use a Mac. File->Revert To->Browse All Versions is really nice. I went back a couple of auto-saves, scrolled through the document preview and found what I knew was my latest intended change. Nice. 100% recovery. That definitely makes me happy.

The problem is what I first thought when seeing more than half my work gone. Incinerated.

Imagine a meteor storm of cute little ducklings flashing into overcooked pâté in the upper atmosphere with a disquieting gust of burnt feather fumes.

And yet, it didn't occur to me to resort to industry standard profanity. My only thought was, "Well, at least it's only my document. I still have my outline. Recovery is just a matter of a little typing."

Seriously?? I detest outlining, and that was the extent of my reaction?

 

[TrevorD]

This could go in either the happy or unhappy bin, depending on how it turns out. Making a ten-pound standing rib roast for the family - the first time i've ever done it. UUgh nervous.

 

[Rath Darkblade]

My turn.

I graduated with a degree in Politics and Economics in 1982. I spent the 1980s working for a bank, working my way up to Investment Officer. But it got boring, so at the age of 30, I quit my job and went back to university to take Biology and Chemistry credits, and then to teacher's college. Best decision I ever made. Really found my niche.

Guess it's time for me to take the stand. :-\

When I was young, I wanted to be a published author. But I graduated with a degree in Business and IT in the mid-90s, because my parents pushed me into it. I spent about 15 years working in contracts (sometimes IT, but mostly admin and bookkeeping) and doing a network engineering diploma, to hone my IT skills. But I couldn't make an breakthrough in IT, so focused on the bookkeeping side instead. (Everyone needs good bookkeepers).

Finally landed a permanent job in accounting, but it went pear-shaped because the company's CEO moved on and the new CEO (and his 2IC) turned out to be parasitic, exploitative A-holes. Spent the next 7 years struggling between unemployment and contracts, including short-lived ones. Finally landed a contract where I was renewed year-after-year, and after 3 years, they offered me permanency. Been there for 6 years now (going on 7), and feeling very happy and valued.

And hey, I can still write books in my 'copious' spare time. ;-P

This could go in either the happy or unhappy bin, depending on how it turns out. Making a ten-pound standing rib roast for the family - the first time i've ever done it. UUgh nervous.

Good luck, TrevorD! You can do it.

 

[CatrionaGrace]

My husband just made a fire in the woodstove and the green chili is ready.

One of my many minor life goals was to never learn to cook meat so no one would ever expect me to produce things like ten-pound standing rib roasts.

TrevorD, I salute your resolve and courage.

 

[Iain Aschendale]

Academia... Dunno if this is a happy, not happy, or what, but since we're on the subject.

I'm oversimplifying and glossing over a lot of stuff because a) I tend to overexplain, and b) it protects both my privacy and the privacy of my institution. So not everything I'm about to say is strictly accurate, but it is correct.

I'm an adjunct. Just finished my eighteenth year at my school. And there's a big gap between the adjuncts and the "proper" "professors."

Some of them kinda despise us. We don't have letters after our last name. We don't publish, or even know how to. We're "just teachers."

Well, yeah. Mail from the school comes to "Professor [Aschendale], but I discourage my students from using that title. I'm "Mr. [Aschendale]," and I'm a working teacher.

The professors make a lot more money than we do for a similar or lesser workload, but they've gotta publish, so I dunno.

The professors who don't get tenure have to move on after five years for reasons too complicated and fraught to go into here.

Crunch all you want, we'll make more. Professors are these temporary, fleeting images in the background.

I've got no special qualifications, just twenty-five years as a working teacher. I've been teaching English longer than some of the new professors have been speaking it, and they're native speakers. Nothing special. No letters after my name.

So professor, would you like to take your doctorate and spend it on teaching "one space after every period and comma, no spaces before," subject/verb agreement, and the five-paragraph essay, or would you like to read up on the theory of comparative advantage and leave us mere adjuncts to our thing of getting the freshmen ready to join your class in two years? Oh, wait, your tenure application fell through? Guess they won't be joining your class after all.

Good luck.

that came out a lot more bitter than I intended but I like the way it reads. things at work are fine and now that my adjunct colleagues and I are quite a bit older than the new professors, we seem to get more respect. and the older professors? they've been working with us long enough to know the score. still separate social circles, but the tension has melted away over the years.

mostly.

 

[CatrionaGrace]

One of the most brilliant agriculturists I ever met summed up his degrees as "Bull Shit, More Shit, Piled Higher and Deeper." This is the guy who breezed in for what he thought was a last minute informal preliminary meeting with the folks on his masters committee, and arrived back at the office to a phone call telling him he'd passed his orals. His worker bees had to scrape him up off the floor and pour a beer down his throat to revive him.

 

[Homer Potvin]

Today is my last day as a smoker. 7 days of Buproprion doseage in preparation, all alcohol and weed products flushed from the house. Ashtrays (for outside), butt cans, and other smoker necessary things disposed of. Primary care doctor, therapist, guitar teacher, and various spirit animals all onboard and monitoring. 8 cigarettes left in my pack with the last one timed out for around halftime of the game tonight.

If nobody hears from me for a few days, I'm gnawing on the drywall.

 

[JT Woody]

A patron came to my library with his family. I'd helped him at my former location. He needed help again but apparently, they didnt understand what he was asking ("those people were incompetent, so i asked for you" he says).
He asked me why they moved me to this branch. I said i got promoted and he was super happy for me. He and his companion shook my hand.
I was able to help him with what he needed and he said he'd make this branch his new home branch since i was there.

 

[Rath Darkblade]

It's summer here, and after a long time of it being cold (even in summer), we finally got proper summer days, with temperatures in the 80s (F) or low 30s (C). It's nice to see a bit of sun for once.

So I've doing long walks every morning in the sun and getting exhausted and sweaty. But after gaining some weight over the Christmas parties and such, I can see that I've dumped it all and more. Huzzah. *pumps fist*

Not that I was overweight to start with, but it was bothering me. Now I'm 66 kg (about 145 lbs) and feeling fine.

 

[Set2Stun]

Today is my last day as a smoker. 7 days of Buproprion doseage in preparation, all alcohol and weed products flushed from the house. Ashtrays (for outside), butt cans, and other smoker necessary things disposed of. Primary care doctor, therapist, guitar teacher, and various spirit animals all onboard and monitoring. 8 cigarettes left in my pack with the last one timed out for around halftime of the game tonight.

If nobody hears from me for a few days, I'm gnawing on the drywall.

You can do it !

The first three days are the hardest. After that, using a quit tracker app can really help with the motivation.

 

[Louanne Learning]

The first three days are the hardest.

They say it takes about 3 days for the nicotine to entirely leave your system.

 

[Homer Potvin]

You can do it !

The first three days are the hardest. After that, using a quit tracker app can really help with the motivation.

Only 67 hours, 57 minutes, and 34 seconds left!

 

[Selluwud]

Only 67 hours, 57 minutes, and 34 seconds left!

I applaud anyone trying quit, it took me 2 years of trying once I finally decided to quite after 23 years of heavy smoking. The doctors say my smoking was probably a large contributor to my heart valve stenosis 33 years later. Good for you, it's certainly worth the effort.

 

[Hammer]

Only 67 hours, 57 minutes, and 34 seconds left!

The one thing that makes it all worth it is the sense of taste. Food and drink are a revelation when you quit smoking.

Not stinking is also a lovely side effect, but that's more a benefit to others (c:

I used nicotine gum to help with the nicotine cravings. It's so much easier to give that up a little while later because it's revolting, but it certainly helped me.