How do you reward your study spurts? With ten-minute washboard-ab workouts? Ten-minute zombie zone-outs? Or ten-minute roasted prairie dog pig-outs? I’ll opt for all three. But rewards mean little when lacking structure. During my undergrad, I studied steady: 30-minute sessions; 15-minute breaks. I scored the highest grade in most every math class. To quash resentments,… Read more »
What if you spend months writing an A paper, but get an F? What if, instead, when you saw your grade, your eyes blinking tears, a dove gently perches on your shoulder, startling you, nuzzling soft feathers against your neck? I used to crumble with criticisms. They crushed me, kept me small, snatched away my… Read more »
Dear Barb: It’s two weeks before Christmas and we still haven’t decided who is hosting Christmas dinner. I come from a family of five girls. We all have partners and a couple of us have young kids. My parents are getting older and my mom has developed health issues so she is not able to… Read more »
Have you looked at the calendar recently? You may have been so absorbed in your schoolwork—so disciplined and focussed—that you overlooked how quickly time is passing. It’s time to raise your head from your textbooks and count the days until Christmas. If you need to get any seasonal shopping done, it’s time to start thinking… Read more »
December brings a particular kind of panic to many people. Yes, there are the major holidays, which are meant to be a time of happiness and joy, but all too often those feelings are overshadowed by the menu planning, the juggling of schedules around school concerts and other events, and the hard decisions about who… Read more »
There are many pros and cons to being enrolled in six courses. I started at Athabasca University in November of 2016 and at the end of 2017 I will have completed 14 courses. That’s about one course per month. The pros to doing this include finishing my degree sooner, never losing momentum, and never forgetting… Read more »
Have you healed your emotional wounds? Dreamed nightmares about your emotional baggage, luggage lying open, spilling over with your private stuff? Recently, I griped about how peanut butter bunged me. But a week before, I begged for peanut butter to get more fats in my diet. Fickle, I now abhorred the nutty spread. Minor issue? … Read more »
If a professor punished lateness to class by making you sing opera, what would you do? Hide under the lectern while whispering Marylin Monroe-style, your head paper-bagged? Or rent a karaoke machine, sport a belly dance dress, and don a Lady Gaga wig? Some of us would do the latter. Truly. Proof of point: I… Read more »
Have you ever suffered sleep disturbance because of a mind heavy with thought? The thoughts may be disturbing if the underlying issue is serious. If someone is worried about a dire diagnosis, job security, money trouble, cracks in a relationship, or the perennial favourite—the meaning of life—the angst is real. The thoughts that consume us… Read more »
Make your New Year’s resolution to butt out! Quit smoking—before your blonde hair frizzes, your lush lips wither—and your lungs singe. I smoked during grades six and seven. Luckily, basketball, volleyball, soccer—sports of all sorts—saved my lungs. Sadly, I restarted puffing in grade ten. I’d carry two packs a day, one for myself, the other… Read more »