part two

The first week of the second semester of school had come to an end today.  Some happy and not so happy news from last semester.  

And as usual, this semester I seem to bite off more than I can chew.....  this is slowly turning into a bad habit...  And I found too many interesting things, as usual, LOL...  From the planned 6 classes and 1 tutorial session, I think I am going to take 9 courses, and give 1 tutorial class.  The headache is about deciding which exam to take...terrible, right?  The semester had just started and I am already thinking about exams....really terrible....

Have a great weekend!

Frankfurt, 19 April 2013.

A week 'off'

Wow, my real week 'off' kind of finally started.  I have to be honest that I actually got almost 2 months of semester break (well, it's not actually a break, it's called Vorlesungsfreizeit in German, which actually mean something like the time when you don't have to attend classes.... but time to attend tests and write your papers.... seriously...).

The first week I thought I got to read for fun after some time of reading only classes materials.  And then we had to travel a bit for a gift we owed my parents-in-law for more than a year.  And then time flew by.

The last 2 weeks or so I spent really working hard on the 2 papers that I had to hand in, and everything was finished last Friday, one week before the new semester starts.  Not great :(  I need to put myself into a better discipline.  At more than one points of time during the last weeks I really was close to panicking and was really wondering if I could really submit everything in time.  But then again, it felt good at the end to know that when I started writing, it really started flowing.. phew... Haven't lost the touch.  I don't know whether the result is good enough to get a good mark, but at least I got the minimum page numbers done, LOL.

Now it's time to start preparing for the next semester.  The classes to take, and the one to teach.   But at the same time, there are so many crafting ideas I have put on hold during the semester, and I really want to get into action for some of them.  Oh well, I guess you can't have everything ;)

On the brighter side of thing, Frankfurt does get brighter, the sun is finally out most of the day, and it seems that spring finally arrives!  I am not one who suffers easily from winter blues or something, but sun does make a difference :)

Frankfurt, April 7, 2013.

scatter brained

Today I should be reading, and writing, something else than this post.  But in any case, to get the writing flowing is already something.  I just to get the other things out of my mind right now.

The first is the flat refurnishing project that caught a hiccup or two.  In the stress of finishing up before closing time, we managed to pick up the wrong key pieces from the shop.  Conclusion: living with half of our clothes in suitcases, and having to come back to the shop to return the wrong parts and (hopefully) pick up the right ones.

The second is the fact that teaching is creeping back into my life sooner than I thought it would be.  I know I have to put the idea aside and focus on what I have in front of me now, but the thought that I have to start preparing materials and projects for a class I will co-teach starting mid April keeps getting in the way.

The third is the fact that not only I am going to start teaching a language next semester, I am also going to 'co-teach' a dance group.  And THAT also requires some planning and creative ideas, especially since me myself need a refreshing training on the dances.  And that a show awaits us on an undetermined date in June.  We, my co-instructor and I, would need to figure out the costume and figure out a way to create fun but efficient workshop sessions, so that we are 'bühnereif' in less than 10 weeks. Oh la la...

The fourth is a new information, or probably I should call it a 'wake up call', that the language class would need to produce something to present on the same stage as the dance group, in less than 10 (academic) weeks.  And I know I will face some resistance from some people with my ideas for the show.  We'll see how far we will get.

I should be a part of organizing party of an event,  but sometimes I am wondering, whether I really am too old to deal with youthful ego and ambition.  I sometimes have a feeling that some people lose their eyesight on what the event was suppose to mean, and who we wanted to reach with this event, and how much MONEY we have, and what is realistically achievable with what we have.  That instead of trying to prove how great we could be, and the various stuffs we could have done to prove how awesome we are, we should sometimes focus on how we do the things we can do awesomely.  Every time something popped up, and I chose to bite my tongue, I got so worked up anyway that I couldn't stop thinking about it, though I know that debating, with my lousy German at that, is out of the question.  I guess I just have to trust that they know what they are doing, and simply put my energy in 'defending' my own decisions, I know I would need to do that.  

Take a deep breath, concentrate, and choose your battle.  Choose your battle. Reminder to self.

Today is sunny, yay!!!! Cold but sunny, a good day to write :)

Frankfurt, March 27, 2013.

2013 started with a (good) decision

Wow, it's been a while since I wrote the last time.  I guess I was too busy struggling with school ;p

School has been interesting, although to be honest, at times I am still wondering what I got myself into, LOL.  This year started with a great decision.  We decided to stay in the apartment where we've been living in for the last one and a half year.  With a consequence, we are buying a new kitchen! We are also (finally) buying some new pieces of furniture to maximize the space.  YAY!  I (not so) secretly enjoy the fact that to prepare for the rearranging of our flat we got to buy some interior  design and inspiration books.

Timing wise it's not great because I still have to write two papers, but hey...a woman has to know how to multitask, right? :)

Wish me luck!

Frankfurt, March 20, 2013

PS:  We are rather curious to see how much we will like the white bookshelves wall, wait and see ;)