Have you ever gotten into one of those cycles where things just don’t seem to be working out.  I’m in the middle of one of those now.  A couple weeks ago, I took a week away from The Voice Magazine in large part because working on the computer had become painful in my right arm. Some attendance with a physiotherapist and a slight adjustment to my working environment (I put a big pillow on my chair to better lift myself to a better position for typing and mousing) along with that time away seems to have solved that issue, but no sooner is that gone than now I find myself with a cold or some other illness, as I’m dealing with severe chills even while I’m sweating from the heat in this room.  Is it a cold?  Is it COVID-19?  Is it withdrawal symptoms as we’re yet again switching me to another ADHD drug to see if we can find one that does anything but side effects?  Whatever it is, it’s made this week’s Voice Magazine take much longer than it should have to create.  Fortunately, since you’re reading this, I’ve managed to get it all out onto the website, but the PDF will be a bit behind.

And speaking of drugs, I’ve now been through three different types of stimulants, the normal drugs of choice for ADHD, and the only effect I’ve noted is that I’ve learned it’s a good thing I never relied on stimulants to try to boost my performance when I was taking my studies.  Not because they’d do any damage, but because they would have been a complete waste of time.  It turns out I can take a close to the maximum dose allowable of amphetamines with a coffee and go have a nap after.  As super-powers go, it’s not one that’s terribly useful.

Meanwhile, however, our featured student interview is with a student who also has ADHD.  For her, the flexibility of AU studies almost makes up for some of the frustrations in dealing with all the systems required to make an online degree work.

And while we’re on the topic of drugs, Alek Golijanin points us to the Blueprint for Action, a health plan put out by the federal government for schools to deal with substance abuse and misuse by Canadian youth.  With a detailed look at this multi-faceted plan and the evidence it brings to the issue, he notes that it still isn’t widely known in most school boards across the country.

Also this week, we’ve got the first entry by a new writer and former AU student, Jessica Macleod.  She takes us on a journey into the forests of Quebec and Ontario, looking for wild leeks.  I don’t think it’s a topic we’ve ever covered before, nor is it one that you’d think holds that much interest, but she manages to make a good read out of it, and that’s what matters more than anything so far as I’m concerned.

Plus, we’ve got a look at everything from free cottage vacations that aren’t worth the price to a new article by Elisa, who’s come to realize that she’s twenty-eight but still feels like a child, and is figuring out what to do about it.  Also, the strange world of Googling yourself, a recipe for scalloped potatoes, a list of potential side-hustles and what they’re typically worth from Marie Well, plus music reviews, advice, scholarships, events, and for something new, we’re starting a look at some of the available AU research assistantship positions.  These opportunities can lead to big things if you’ve got your sites set on higher academia, or maybe just a few extra bucks in your pocket and a cool thing to put on your resume.  Either way, enjoy the read!