Happy Holidays

I want to wish all the past, present and future Mount Allison students, as well as faculty and staff a happy and safe holiday season!
I'm sure there will be lots to catch up on once January comes around.
Until then :)

Winter my ass!

So I mentioned a while back about the snow that we were receiving. Well it was very short lived. I have to say that I haven't seen crazy weather like this in a very long time. It's hot, it's cols, it's sunny, it's raining, and it's snowing. I mean really! There are times when you get all those different aspects all in one day which makes it quite difficult to plan for the day. Especially now when its exam time. It's almost always necessary to layer clothes to go write an exam because you don't know what the room will be like when you get there but I have to say that it's an even bigger pain in the ass now. I had to write two exams this past week and it went from being fairly warm but pouring rain to freezing cold with rain and wing in just a couple of hours. So you get soaked heading to the exam, have to sit there and write while you're drying which makes you feel cold and damp (it's a good thing the gym was decently warm in the morning); but in the afternoon it was a different story. The gym was getting colder because the temperature outside was getting colder which meant that it wasn't nearly as comfortable to write my exam. When I was finished and ready to head home I felt a sigh of relief to leave; that is until I stepped outside. It was a long and miserable drive home because it was raining hard outside. The combination of rain and ice pellets makes for crazy driving conditions especially on the highway. It was nice to curl up with a big mug of hot chocolate in some comfortable clothes and relax for the night when I was finally able to get home. So now I am still sitting here looking at the weather outside, reading the weather predictions and preparing for my last two exams this week. All I can say is that I hope that the weather is good on those two days. After that it won't matter until the new term gets started after the holidays; I can stay home all cozy and warm for my entire vacation if I have to and it would be alright. So I guess it's back to studying until then. Wish me luck!

I should finish my paper...oh look! A kitty!

Have you ever had one of those days where everything is just a blur? Well if you have then you'll understand. That is how I have been feeling for the last several days. I will give you a recap since my last post. This past week were the final days of classes for the fall term which mean handing in the last of my assignments and going to class for review. I can tell you though on Wednesday when all my lectures were over I was very excited to head home to my apartment. I decided while I was on the drive that I was going to have a relaxing evening just hanging out and watching movies. I have to say that the best part of my day is when I walked in the door to the familiar sounds of my kitten Abbey. Instead of having someone come and watch movies with me I decided that I would watch movies and spend some time with the cat, especially since she is alone all day when I am at school; she deserved some quality time. Thursday rolled around and it was time for work, last day before the Christmas holidays (for me at least). Friday was a mishmash of different things. I finished up the very last Christmas shopping that I needed to do, I started to work on my paper which is due this upcoming week and in the evening I went to my mother's house and helped her set up her tree.
The weekend is really where it becomes a blur. Most of my time was spent working on my paper but it wasn't coming along the way I wanted it to be. I kept having writers block so what would I do? Play with the cat of course; she is great for procrastination. Sunday I spent some time with my friend Heath. We went to brunch/lunch and than in the afternoon we went to check out the musical put on by the local high schools. They did Beauty and the Beast, directed by the same teacher who directed the musicals when I was in high school 10 years ago. There was no disappointment at all, those kids were exceptionally talented! Once my fun and chance to be drifted away to a far away land was over it was back to the paper. I kept trudging away even though I was completely blocked as to where I should go. Finally my mind was tired and I decided that it was time for bed.
Unfortunately for me because my mind was elsewhere I completely forgot about my blog until right about now. So here I am, writing to you and letting my brain rest slightly from the paper which is now almost complete. What will I do after this? Probably back to the paper....but oh look! There's Abbey!! Maybe I can play with her for just a little while......

'til next time!

Draggin' my ass to the finish line...

Sitting here on a cool Sunday night, the last night in November actually, wondering where the last year has disappeared to. It's hard to believe that in three short days all of our classes are going to be finished for the fall term. Even though it's the end and my work load has decreased significantly I am still feeling the lack of motivation to have that final push to have it all completed. With all the hustle and bustle of this time of year I can understand how other people have their minds on other things besides school. Everyone is attempting to prepare for the holidays, whether that is making final travel arrangements or whatever one needs to do. I have pretty well finished all my shopping already so I will not have to worry about that later on and it's not what's taking my attention away from my work. I unfortunately have been making plans for all the things that I want to do during the break; in turn it has led me making plans during the time that I should be working. For example, Friday night I had planned to stay home and work but friends decided to have people over to their place so off I went for a few hours. When I went I thought to myself "I can do a bit of work when I get home if I am not out too late" but unfortunately this past week I had been sick so by 10 p.m. I was tired and ready for bed. I did manage to accomplish some work on Saturday after finished my shopping. I am always amazed when I can buckle down and work on a Saturday.
Today when I woke up I planned on doing some work but I slept late instead. My Judaism class was taking a tour of the Synagogue this afternoon so that took away from my working on projects but I really wanted the opportunity to see what the Synagogue here is like on the inside. I met up with my classmates and professor outside the MtA chapel mid-afternoon and we headed to Moncton. The tour was given to us by another MtA professor, Dr. Cohen. He gave us the background of the Jewish community and the Synagogue along with showing us all the different aspects of the building and explaining the worship customs to us. I had been in this Synagogue once before in my life, when I was probably eight or nine years old, but as you can imagine the experience today was quite different. So now I should get back to working on my presentation. It won't be finished tonight but I know I will be able to get it all finished tomorrow and it will be great when it's completed.
I will have more with my end of the term excitement soon!
Ciao :)

Moustache Make Happy Party Time

With the first huge snowfall of the year over and done with you can feel the change that's in the air. The anticipation of the end of the term is now setting in; the final workload is coming to its end and the excitement for the holidays is starting to grow. I've already had my Christmas tree set up for a week now (and if you think that I'm a little crazy for having it set up that early you're not the only one). Having the tree set up is a great way for me to keep my spirits up during this stressful and often hectic time of the term.
There are other ways to relieve the end of the term stress as well. What's a good way to have fun and de-stress with your friends? PARTY! That's right-we had a fantastic extravaganza to celebrate the passing of another year of my age (i.e. my birthday). So we ventured out into the snowy weather to our friend's house, who graciously hosted the event, since putting more than five people in my place starts to become a crowded party. We had a blast! There was a lot of food, drinks, games and of course cake. This was a great time for us to catch up on what's going on in each other's lives. I don't think I have laughed so hard in a long time. Why all the laughter you ask? Because of all the moustaches of course! That was the theme of this party, "everyone wear a moustache" party; so everyone, guys and girls, had on some kind of funny moustache (some real, but mostly fake). We even had a game of "pin the 'stache on Borat" where the winners received fabulous prizes, such as a framed picture of Pamela Anderson. The birthday cake even had a picture of Borat on it. Could you ask for anything funnier? I think I had the most fun watching the friendly competition of people playing on the Nintendo Wii. Someone got so into the game that an ornament that was on my friend's Christmas tree ended up flying across the room and bouncing off my head - ouch! I haven't had so much fun in a long time.
But sadly today the party's over and it's back to the real world and finishing up my work for the end of the term. I am determined to have a great end to this term so now with the party having relaxed and rejuvenating me, I can make it through the next week and a half of classes knowing I can get through the end with ease.
The countdown in on: 8 days of classes, one paper and presentation and 4 exams until the end of the term and the Christmas holidays are here. Keep checking in, I'll have lots more to day before then.

The Journey of a Lifetime

Morning. Time to get in the car and make the drive. I know it so well that I could probably make it with my eyes closed if I need to. Ah, the life of commuting to school; it’s a strange journey with great rewards at the end of the trip. This is just part of what makes my MtA experience my own. There are other people who make this same trip everyday, but everyone gets something different out of it.

If you’re planning on joining me on this journey I suppose that we need to get the formalities out of the way. My name is Victoria Stroud (that sounds like proud) and I am a fourth year double major finishing degrees in Psychology and Religious Studies, as well as being one of the mature students here at Mount A. What does mature student mean? Well, I am not your typical student even though I may blend right in with the rest of the population; I am 27 and made the decision to finish my degree in order to open doors for myself in the future.

My university experience actually started almost 10 years ago when I decided to go to university right out of high school just like all my friends; but that was not the right time for me to take in everything that it means to be a university student. So, with the push of a very close friend I made the jump and applied to Mount A, a decision that I have never regretted. Even though I came here with a plan things changed and I have decided to go down another path, hence the double major. Its one of the things that I love about Mount A; that they want to create well rounded individuals, so creating degrees that are all your own is easy.

The life of a mature student is not the same as the rest of the student body. I have all the everyday adult responsibilities that I need to balance, like working and paying the bills, along with all the work that comes from my classes. It was hard at first but as time went on I found my groove which allowed me the freedom to feel like I was part of the Mount A community without neglecting everything else in my life. I decided that I wanted to make the most of my final year so I’ve taken on the role of Vice-President of ALOMA (Adult Learners Association of Mount Allison), became a peer tutor and joined the Psychology and Religious Studies societies. I am also writing this blog to help you (yes, you!) find out what its like to be a student here at Mount A.

So what else can I say? I could go on and on, but I think that I’ll leave that for another time. So check back later and I’ll have more stories of the comings and goings of life here at Mount A.

Ciao!

Victoria