All systems go, Captain. We WANT lift-off!!!!

Have now possibly dug myself into a hole of failure - I'm unable to find any motivation strong enough to get me to study. Not only that, I've taken on MORE freaking bloody study. Yeh. I've started a TEFL course. Why? Because I'm going to Peru. How? I don't know. I DO NOT KNOW.

So my life is full of fun and games for me right now. In the middle of hammering out my second and third assignments for Accounting, studying for the test, doing this TEFL course, working full time and you know, generally trying to maintain some kind of order and balance in my life, I am all out of time! Admittedly though, I am in a much better position than where I was last year. Last year I was a wreck of a person. I had to focus on just living week by week. Every small victory was something to be cherished. Now I have so much more at stake and I don't want to take any of this for granted.

But Cuzco will be awesome. Am finally biting the bullet and doing the i-to-i thing I've been dreaming of doing since ... forever. I will be teaching English in Cuzco to a group of schoolchildren and making a difference in some one's life. It might not be in an overly profound way, but it will be more than what I am doing right now.

Yes, I should really be grateful for the fact that I am doing this.

Am also extremely looking forward to Europe in January. Some people can't believe I'm going there in the dead of winter, but to me it will just feel that much more foreign, and that's kind of the whole point. So I'm gonna shove my fists into my ears, chant "lah-lah-lah-lah-lah" with my eyes firmly clamped shut and refuse to listen to people who poo-poo my winter escape. Go fugg yourself, I say. I haven't stepped off Aussie soil since 2007!

Meanwhile, my love life has taken a complete nosedive. A date? What's a date? I can't even get a guy to take me out for a "casual" coffee, let alone a proper old-school date. And those that do contact me, well ... you know that old Groucho Marx syndrome of not wanting to be a member of a club that would have you as a member (or something to that effect)? That's how I feel about the guys I've met. I don't want to go out with someone who is so willing to go out with me. He says "let's meet' up", I say "no thank you". My mother would have a heart attack if she knew I was purposefully turning away potential fathers of her future grandchildren. And that's all they'd be to her, never mind I want to actually live with the guy and have some form of compatibility with them.

But I will NOT fail my first Accounting course, and I will get through all of this because I DO NOT HAVE A CHOICE.

Feels good to have a lot on my plate though. Feels really good! =)

Aaaaalriiiiiight!

I'm so proud of myself I just finished my first assessment for the Introductory Accounting part of my course! YAY! I gotta tell ya, those were a lot of numbers I went through - I never went through so many numbers in the past 10 years, it was really like I was back in high school again doing homework! Do kids now do assessments online and submit them online? How old do I sound ....

I also inquired about an el cheapo flight to Paris in January. I've never thought of going to Paris in January but there you have it. It's coz it was cheaper to go to Paris than it is to go to London so I thought what the hey ... and I get to see Paris! Accommodation now ....

Anyway today was a good day for me. I'm sick though (not swine flu, maybe piglet flu) but I'm proud of the very small little tiny steps I made today in my quest for .... the pursuit of happiness. H A P P I N E S S - spelt correctly.

Yay me!
=)

Ohhhhhh, OTEN!!!

OTEN student support services are bugging the hell out of me, it must be said. Here's my original email to them (note the date):

Sent: Saturday, 1 August 2009 3:12 PM
To: Businessmarketing, Oten
Subject: Communicate in the Workplace unit no FNSICGEN301B

Hi, I'm fairly new to OTEN and I'm a little bit confused. I wanted to start the "Communicate in the Workplace" unit but when I went through the CDs for this I found out that I needed a textbook. I've already order the textbook through the Co-op bookshop site, but I wanted to know if I could go through the toolbox CD while I was waiting for the textbook to arrive? I've also read through the Learning Resource overview and there is a learning plan, but do I do this while I'm reading the textbook and do the chapters relate to what I'm up to in the learning plan? My OTEN number is ********** and I've just started the Cert IV in Financial Business. Please feel free to contact me via email or on 1234 567 890.

Thanks

I just checked my email today and here's the response they gave (again, note the date):


Thursday, 13 August, 2009 3:33 PM
From: "Businessmarketing, Oten"

Good to hear from you.

Apologies for the delay in responding to you. You are welcome to work through the Toolbox, although I'm sure the textbook has arrived by now!

Kind regards
Finance Teacher
OTEN Marketing and Financial Services

I swear, WHAT THE HELL?!?!?! Could they not tell from my original email that I am in a state of complete confusion about this whole OTEN self-study thing??? Ohhh my lord OTEN. Still, I have to admit, the times I do study I do really get into it. I went to uni straight after high school, so all my academic study has been done with plenty of theory whereas TAFE seems to give you theory based in practice. Or maybe it's because I'm been working for a good decade and I can see the theory I'm learning in my every day work situations. *Siiigh*. I just hope I get through all the modules on time. I don't want to fork over another $900-odd for next year only to have gotten through like 2 units so far ...