Before I settle down to write my first research paper of the year, I am going to take a moment to write an entry. I am a busy girl now, moreso than I've been in a while. I am in school every weekday and, with few exceptions, I am also working every weekend in Toronto. These last couple of days, I've been somewhat lax in my attitude to homework, but that changes as of today. Beginning Friday, my intense assignment schedule begins. What had been one project a week is now something closer to two or three and for the first time in my post-secondary life, I realise that I will have to study over Reading Week. My plate is full. This is not to say that I won't make time for other things, only that I'll have to use that time sparingly. Random art projects will have to give over to reviews and reports and TV time will probably be shared with writing time.

I went out after class yesterday to visit my friend Kerri, who has the horses and with whom I used to ride, and could only visit briefly because I'd already had a full day and was tired. I set up a horsey date for today, but thanks to coming down with something last night, I got to cancel it today. I managed to get to school this morning for our first meeting about the exhibit my section will be planning and building for the Peterborough Museum, but had to leave prior to the following class because of dizziness. It was my first sick day, which is pretty good for me. The thing is, I don't want to miss anything - it's so exciting. Well, alright, I could live without Care of Collections, but not if I plan to graduate. Anyway, I slept from 11:30am straight until 3:30pm despite having had a decent night's sleep. I'm still a bit woozy now, but at least I've roughed out my plans for this paper. Anyway, my point was that I'm so busy that getting sick will seriously interrupt my schedule. Well, I guess that's the real world for you.

I've now met all my instructors with the exception of the man who, starting next week, will be teaching us Archival Management, and generally, I am satisfied. Ken has been the most fun and probably the most flexible. Deb is very nice, patient and genuinely interested in our well being, but she's extremely task oriented and I suspect she's not quite sure how to handle those of us who take the tangental path through life. Gayle is... tiny. She's nice and chipper, but she has a tendency to talk down to us or, alternately, expects us to know all about science. I think she forgets that most of us come out of an arts background and few of us actually went all the way in the maths or sciences in highschool. Regardless, highschool was a long time ago. I'm still not sure exactly what we're meant to get from Care of Collections, but I'm taking copious notes and participating - if for no other reason than to stay awake.

Yes, I'm still very happy to be back in school. I'm enjoying it and I know I've already made new friends. My peers are an eclectic bunch who come out of varied social strata, but whose values are basically the same as my own. As one student said, "I had no idea there were so many nerds like me out in the world. I'm happy to know I'm not alone." Amen.