1. My orthopedic appointment didn’t go as planned. Apparently, my broken ankle is a “good break” which means a walking boot or cast wouldn’t help me much. The orthopedic gave me one exercise to do and told me he wanted me to start walking normally on my foot. So. Really helpful appointment. I know it’s better to be on the safe side and I’m also grateful I don’t have to wear a cast… but I’m still frustrated that I spent $60 for basically a consultation. It feels like such a non-answer. He wants me to come back in 3 weeks for another x-ray but I can tell it’s healing and getting easier to walk on so I’m thinking of canceling that appointment. Another $60 to hear, “Healing great!”? Nope. Not gonna do it.
2. Fingers crossed, I’m getting my one-year review today. I’m at the point where I just want it over with so I can move on. When I said I was nervous about it on Twitter, people asked me why which I found to be an odd question, honestly. I know constructive criticism is good and necessary, but I can’t say I enjoy hearing all the ways I need to be better. And I was once blindsided in a review (internship) so I have legit fears. Hopefully, it goes better than I expect!
3. Our cable and Internet were supposed to continue until Sunday at our old place and then be hooked up on Sunday afternoon at the new place. Weeeell, we found out as we turned on the TV to watch the Big Brother finale that Brighthouse decided to turn off our cable/Internet Wednesday night. Nice of them, eh? We could have had a technician come out that night but by then Big Brother would have been mostly over and there really wasn’t a point since we would be at the new place anyway. So I’m writing this post on my iPhone. Fun times, my friends, fun times indeed. (I did follow what happened through Twitter and I am ECSTATIC that Ian won. He deserved it over Dirty Dan. When Dan orchestrated Britney’s leaving, he became Public Enemy No. 1 for me.)
4. Our first night in our new place was last night! Sadly, for me, it was not on my brand-new IKEA bed I bought since I forgot to also buy the mid beam, it’s not very safe to even sit on. I’m going back tonight to buy that (thankfully, it’s only $10) so hopefully, I can have my first sleep on my new bed tonight. I’m dealing with some new-place anxiety and trying to stem any panic attacks that seem to be rising in my belly but I think once we are more settled in and things calm down, I’ll be okay. Big changes – like a move – are hard on my emotions and I’m also dealing with other unpleasant life things so it just adds to the stress.
5. I’m starting to get more and more serious about grad school. After I graduated with my Bachelor’s, I was SO burned out from school and I needed a long break from homework & classes & tests. I haven’t missed it at all until recently when I started getting nostalgic for college campuses & projects & thinking outside the box. I love everything about the academic world and I miss using my brain in that way. I’ve been perusing grad school sites and exploring my options and it’s something that I know I’ll pursue in the next year or two. It’s exciting to think about diving into classes again but I’m also quite okay with waiting a while longer.
Do you get nervous about reviews at work? Would you ever tackle graduate school? If you’ve already done it (kudos!), what was your degree in?
I’m sure grad schools could give good reasons for going, but I don’t really think it makes sense for most people. I mean, most people don’t need an advanced degree to advance in your career. I suppose it can help, but I think it depends on why you are going. Some professions (doctor, lawyer, teacher/professor) require it, and other professions it can be a good idea (business). But it depends on what you want to do. It’s a lot of money and I guess I wouldn’t do it unless you had a solid reason for it, or if you were changing directions in your career.
Personally, I am planning on getting a Masters in Diabetes Education from Columbia. But only because it’s available and directly relates to what I want to do. If it wasn’t there, or if I was still in PR / marketing, I would get a master’s because I don’t think they would teach you anything that you don’t already know.
And finally: As a future nurse, GO TO YOUR APPOINTMENT. Yes, they might say everything is fine. But what if it isn’t? Do you really want to find out six months down the road you’ve been walking on a badly healing foot?
Grad school is still a big pondering for me right now. I miss school a lot, but it’s such a big step and requires a LOT of dedication (and money!) so I’d never do it unless I was more solid and set in exactly what I want to do. I am thinking of a complete career change so it would be useful, but still… it’s just me trying to decide so thanks for advice. It helps!
I’m still not sure about my follow-up appointment. The orthopedist was pretty full of himself and the appointment was NOT useful in any way. (Other than knowing my break is a “good one”.) Right now, I’m leaning towards not going because I can tell it’s healing fine. But we’ll see! It’s still 2 weeks away so a lot can happen between now and then.
I’m so excited that you’re looking more into grad school! I felt the same ‘burnt out’ kind of feeling after CEGEP when I completed my degree there (I was 18) and my two years off helped ENORMOUSLY. Despite kinda missing school, it was still really hard to get back into the swing of things, but I’m happy I did because now I’m in a good place for school. Sometimes I wish I had just sucked it up and gone to school ASAP but my circumstances wouldn’t have allowed it anyway, so I can only say to myself that it was meant to work out this way! I think it’s going to be similar for you, particularly with this job you’ve been working and how things are going. I’m convinced things will work out for you in a way that’s best for school AND work… I’m trying to stay vague here just because it’s a blog comment haha but we can totally talk more about that at some point 😀
I’m sorry about all your anxiety at the new place though 🙁 That’s really tough. Hopefully getting to sleep in your new bed tonight & being your own room will slowly help things? Once you’re more installed with internet and whatnot hopefully that will help too. If you need anything, just let me know!<3
I think I’ve always wanted to tackle grad school but I definitely needed to take some time off after graduating undergrad because I was so worn out and just wanted to start my career. But I do miss school & learning & I know a part of wanting to go to grad school is due to my job and everything that’s going on here.
I’m doing better on the anxiety front! I think getting my bed put together and our cable & Internet working has helped it feel more like HOME. I’m getting there! 🙂
Good luck today on your review!!
Thanks, Linda! Unfortunately, I didn’t get it so I’m still playing the waiting game. Sigh. I’m 6 weeks behind on it now!
Yes, I get nervous for reviews. I hope my comments to you did not come off as criticism – I totally understood why you were nervous but was trying to share things that would help with your anxiety. 🙂 I get nervous because I had a horrid experience with a former boss. Since then all my reviews have been awesome conversations, and I hope that yours was too!
I did tackle grad school and my advice to you would be to do a cost benefit analysis. Just make sure you can make more money that will offset the cost of a masters…. I only say that because my masters was very expensive and while I don’t regret getting it as it has opened up doors for me, it’s also a very very expensive degree! That said – grad school is great and it’s wonderful to go back to school as a more mature student with real life experiences!!
Grad school is something I’ve always wanted to do, but it’s still a big IF right now. Something I’m trying to decide if I really want to do so any advice is so helpful for my decision! I didn’t rack up a whole lot of debt from my undergrad degree so it does make me a little hesitant to actually for for my Master’s and end up owing a LOT of money.
I hope your review went well. That stuff makes me nervous too. I’m in grad school now. I’ll be graduating in May with my Master’s in Library Science and to be honest, grad school is not as hard as I thought it would be! What are you thinking of going for?
Still waiting on that darned review. Hopefully this week!
I’m thinking of secondary education for my Master’s. Possibly English education. It’s definitely a career change, but one I still need to keep my thinking cap on about! 🙂
I hope your review went well. Reviews are nerve wracking, but helpful in the end, especially if you have a good boss who will be honest but kind. I have thought about going back to grad school but my biggest fear is that I would go back and get through it only to realize I didn’t love what I was aiming for as much as I thought I would.
I can’t believe you have been at your job for a year already!
Still waiting on the review! I have been promised this week. (But I was also promised last week and the week before so I’m not holding out much hope!)
I LOVED grad school. I would do it again, only for a different degree this time. It was definitely tough to juggle work + school times, so I would take a break once a year from the 9 week semesters that was offered at my school (and then missed it, of course).
Hope your review went well last Friday, that your ankle is feeling better and that you were able to sleep on your bed after purchasing the mid-beam 🙂
I really miss the whole school environment and learning. Sigh. But am I ready for GRAD SCHOOL? I just don’t know. I do still enjoy my free weekends!
I second everyone who said not to skip your doctor appointment. You just never know!
I would love to do grad school one day too. I’m not sure what for though so won’t be tackling it until I have a plan for what degree I want and how it will help me advance in my career! I do think that all knowledge is good knowledge though and I LOVE learning!
Yes, I’m still trying to really envision what I want and make sure it’s something that would be beneficial for me… because grad school is expensive & requires a lot of commitment so I need to be ready and sure about what I want.
I tend to get nervous about reviews, even though they always go pretty well. I’ve never had a bad one, but KNOWING I’m going to have one every year does make me just a little bit peaky. Like you, I’m going to restart the grad school hunt, and try to find the program that’s right for me. I’d like to stay in the south, but since my trip to NY over the summer, I’m not ruling out NYU’s MFA program. However, I think I’d like to get my M.A. first to give me a couple years to pair down and find out exactly what I want out of academics, which – also like you, I’m starting to miss terribly, especially my alma mater’s campus. They are on the top of my list for M.A. programs. Good luck with finding your school! And I’m really glad your ankle is getting better. I kept meaning to ask you how it was doing, and kept forgetting. :-/
I really, really miss the whole academic environment. For right now, it’s just me pondering and trying to decide if I’m up for the challenge.
My advice, as someone in grad school right now, is to know exactly what you want to do with your degree. Grad school, even more than undergrad, is what you make it. And it’s not exactly cheap. At least for me.
I hope the ankle is healing up well! If it doesn’t get better though, don’t put off going back to the doctor. Otherwise, I say skip the follow-up too.