Wow going to practicum. Long drive to Huntington, but think it will be worthwhile. Checking into the note taking program WVU. That really interests me. Homework is piled up & I seem to keep moving it from one side of the room to the other...

It does not seem possible.
K

12

12 days of class left. Does not seem possible that 2 years have went by. A lot has happened in a short amount of time.
Curious to see what Tracy has to offer, it will be interesting to see what she has done. She is very involved in her community and the Deaf community. She is considering getting certified and goes out of her way to go to everyworkshop she can. It will be nice to have some real world experience.
I buy my ticket to Singapore tomorrow morning. This trip is going to put everything into perspective for me, I hope. After I have some fun, relax and decompress I think I will have a definite direction. Is interpreting in my future? Maybe, but definitely in the future. I love working with Robin, she answered some questions for me last night that helped things become so much more clear. I have a love for the language and the culture that I do know. I will definitely become more fluent. Interpreting and I are not on a first name basis. I will let you know what I decide when I get back if you care to find out.
A few mai-tai's and fantastic food, sunshine & the most beautiful sunsets over the ocean......even if I dont' make a decison, I won't really care.
K

4,3,2,1

Wow time passes so fast when you are having fun or a nervous breakdown. This year has been a really wild ride. My life has been constant transition. Last week was one of those weeks when you really wonder if you need an exorcism or someone has put a curse on you. I could not complete the simplest task. When you are at the point that you feel like you are banging your head against a brick wall it is time to give it break. There is a point when you realize that stressing really doesn't help in fact it makes things much worse. It isn't good for you. Things come together in time & if it takes you a little longer than someone else it is no big deal. Don't measure yourself against someone else. Measure your progress & plan to improve, that is all you can do. I think going to work w Tracy will be interesting & allow me to learn w/o the stress of grades or a video camera. Considering that I have had pneumonia, been going through a divorce, knowing that my kid is going to Iraq, struggling w finances etc. etc. I think I came through it all pretty well. Much better than the last divorce, I ended up w Frankenstein tattooed on my ass, but that is another story for another day. This is the first time in my life I don't have parents, a husband or a son to dictate my decisions. My goals have changed & to be honest I don't know where the hell I am going. For those who seem to think that I need to have a certain destination in mind, what the hell do you care? It is my life. So for once I am going to throw away the plans & see what happens. I will be leaving for Singapore after school is out. I will be staying for 3 weeks. If things work out that may be where I am going. Hopefully, all the pieces of the puzzle will fit together or if not, you keep on searching. this I know, nothing I have learned or gained has ever been wasted. It seems to always be there when I need it. Countdown! K

Hoorah!

I was skyping with my brother this weekend. We were discussing my upcoming trip to Singapore & some of the experiences that I have had going through this program, he started laughing. I didn't find it funny. He said that I sounded like a recruit going through boot camp. He said that it sounded like a similar emotional experience! I am glad somebody gets it. He also said that if we have instructors who make us feel that motivated & determined it was a good thing. It is the internal pressure that you put on yourself that gets you. It isn't anything, anyone can make you feel or do, it is you. Learning that you will fail, but you get up & you keep going, you figure it out, you get help, but you don't quit. Somedays you wonder why, but you go to class anyway. There have been days that I think I would have preferred to have been shot at. Its over faster, you know you lived so you are relieved. No one is going to film the near miss & say, you could have ran for cover, why did you stand there & look like a deer in headlights, do you want to be a target? You are not going to have to critique the skills of the person who missed you, did they have the right caliber gun & a heavy enough bullet? Did they aim high or low? No, I am not the best interpreting student in the history of the program, but I gave it what I had. I learned a lot. Skills can always be improved, you will gain so much with experience. But, if you do not have what it takes inside of you, it isn't going to matter. I still hate it that I got so sick, its over, don't make excuses, you have to double-time it, try to learn what we are doing & go back & practice some of what I missed. I tried to do that this weekend. The most important lesson, keep moving forward. I think that may be the most important lesson that we have all learned. No matter what happens, how bad you blow a test, or a performance piece keep going. Take away something from the experience & move forward. Let it go its done, you survived. Maybe tomorrow will be your day. K