ASL 102

So I am starting my second course in the American Sign Language program that Conestoga College offers.

We have a different teacher then the one we had for 101.  He's incredibly funny but has an ENTIRELY different way of teaching.  I don't mind it, but I also miss Kathy.
Some of my classmates are going to suffer when he starts docking marks for talking instead of signing in class.

I can now count from 1-100 :)  My brain is too overloaded to actually explain anything else I learned tonight it was that intense.  Oh other then I now know the sign for twin, sweetheart, partner and in love.
Of the 10 people in the course 8 of them are from my 101 class.  The other two took 101 in the winter 2011 and summer 2011 sessions and the 102 classes didn't run in the summer or fall due to low enrolment.
Hopefully this won't be an issue for my group since of the 8 of us 7 are planning to take the program to it's full completion.  I believe we need 8 to make a class run.

Wednesday nights are going to be fun.

End of an Era and the Beginning of a New One

So last night was pretty much my last night playing a player character in Waterloo by Night.
It feels a little surreal to be done as a player.
In February I will be one of the Story Tellers for the game.
Last night was also a couple of firsts for me.

First time doing Character Creation for 4 brand new players on my own for a good portion of the time.  I was very thankful for the help over the course of the evening from the current team and my co ST.

I also narrated a simple combat during the course of game, because the 3 current STs were all busy and I wasn't doing anything of major import in character so I just walked over and did it.
Now that may not seem much to some of you, but I have little experience with running combat in the World of Darkness setting or even being apart of combat. I have never played a combat oriented character in WBN and rarely engage in combat.  The table top games I have been apart of are not helpful because I generally played the healer, or the system is too different to use for comparison.
So for me, this was an achievement and it also let me know that my head won't explode when I have to narrate combat.  :)
I will probably carry the books around for reference for the first because I recognize this is a weakness of mine and it will take some time to memorize the information required.

It was also amusing and a bit unexpected to see the twists and turns players caused to plot and the direction it was headed last night.  Some of our plans for transitioning certain things has literally been thrown out the window.  But hey it was some awesome role playing that brought about those changes and I look forward to coming up with new contingency plans.  Just reinforced the advice the current team has been telling us about expect the unexpected and be flexible.  Players will always do something you don't expect them to do.

:)  I have to say earlier in the fall I was a little skeptical about my decision to take on the challenge of Story telling a larp.
Now I can say I am excited and look forward to this challenge.  I look forward to learning new skills and utilizing the skills I already have (and in some cases didn't realize I had).
Oh I expect we will make mistakes big and small.  None of us on the new team have run a larp,  But everyone has to start at the beginning and how else do we learn?

Blogger fail

I am tired of the list of blogs I fail disappearing and reappearing at random.

Blogs I unfollow staying in my list for up to a month or more and Blogs I do follow randomly becoming unfollowed.

And yes I have notified Blogger each and every time it happens.  They must get annoyed with me.  Since the one issue happens every 3 days.

Perhaps I didn't choose the best place for a public blog.  Maybe this is why I started it so long ago and didn't actually use it? (Created it in April 2011 and didn't start using it till late summer/early fall 2011).

Do I stick with it or move it else where?

Decisions, decisions.

Unexpected Flaw

The changes of children in my group are starting to affect my son in ways I never thought of.

When I was growing up my Mom did home day care.  Maybe it was because I was older and in school when she started that the coming and going of children didn't bother me much.
Lately I feel like I have been a revolving door for children.  It's starting to take its toll on my son.
In some cases those children just disappeared with no warning.
Last year it started with NT abruptly stopping coming because his Aunt was visiting from away and then they moved with no warning.
William was devastated he never got to say good bye.
Then I had the two little girls come for back up, one was only here a month when things fell apart financially and they had to end care.  The other should have stayed with me until she started school, but Dad sat on the fence post and they ended up going back to their old provider till the fall.
Both children were a year older then William and he ADORED them.  The one girl had actually been here several times in the past for back up.
William was very sad that the girls weren't coming anymore, but he still had E (a year older then him) who had been in care with me since he was 6 months old.

Then there was A the 7 year old. Who's parent had the audacity to give me an ultimatum that I take her child till 730pm or end care.  I ended care.
He was a great kid, but for two days after school a week and I wasn't working past 530pm anymore, that wasn't cool.
Again, another child ending care with no good bye.
Again it was weeks before William stopped asking me where he was and if he was coming.

This summer I was the revolving door for back up because I asked not to take on any new children to the fall when I learned of my surgery scheduled for early August.

This was a bit confusing for William, but because I phrased it as such that these children were just visiting for the day (or week), he was less upset when they didn't come back.
He still asks where P is, I keep reminding Wee Watch that if P needs back up I have the space currently.

End of August and beginning of September saw two young children start with me.  One who was 9 months old and the other 12 months old.
This also marked the end of Miss E coming to care because of their impending move to England.
We continued to see Miss E right up until they left in mid October.

William thought the "babies" were great except when they knocked his blocks over.  They provided a bit of a distraction from noticing Miss E no longer coming.
Then I injured my shoulder stopping a child from falling down the stairs.
I was off work for 7 weeks.
William was a bit upset but C continued to visit off and on through that time and I kept assuring him R and CL would be returning when I was better.

Then there was the interview for the 4 and 6 year old that confirmed and then cancelled the DAY BEFORE they started.  William had fallen in love.  He was excited.  I was excited.  And then I had to break it to them that they were going somewhere else.  He cried for an hour.

Then CL ended up discontinuing care abruptly shortly after starting back in December because of some flimsy excuse.  They felt their barely one year old child was missing her "girl" friends at the other provider and wanted to return her back there.  In other words they were not happy that my group was all boys.  Despite the fact it was all boys when she started in August.
Again another child leaving with no good bye.

William has not stopped asking me yet when CL is coming and why she isn't coming.  Because he doesn't think the answer I give him is good enough.
He's also been pining for Miss E.  We've skyped a few times, but the realization that she wouldn't be at his birthday this year had him sobbing himself to sleep the other night.

William has one heck of a memory.  As far as he's concerned his friend Miss E has been at every birthday he's had.  Which is true, she only came to one birthday party, but because she was here for day care, she was also here for his actual birthday.
We were talking about how old we all are now turning because of the new year and I guess that is what got him to thinking about his birthdays.

He still hasn't quite grasped that Miss E is in another country and that we can't drive to her house anymore.  He also doesn't understand why we can't just get on a plane and go visit on the weekend.

Thankfully he always seems better after a skype session.  Thank goodness for the Internet.

So I have a full time spot (baby to 3 years old) and two part time spots (school age 4+) open.  I am going to put a post back up on Kijiji this week.

In the mean time the September Posse (all 3 boys have their birthdays in September) and I will continue to have fun.

2011 A Year in Review

I made some resolutions last year.

One was to get healthy and the other was to write more.

I partially succeeded.

I am healthier.  Despite the sprain to my shoulder.  I have lost weight.  I am feeling better.  I am rid of the literal pain in my rear.  August to September were incredibly long months as I healed from the pilonidal extraction surgery, BUT IT IS GONE!  No more horrid antibiotics.  No more feeling run down and tired all of the time because my body was constantly fighting off an infection.  No more having to say to William "Sorry no Mommy can't do that she is sick."
No longer do I have to worry if I am over doing it standing/sitting/exercising wise.  I can go down a slide with my son or the day care children without fear.  I can go TOBOGGANING with William!!!!
I am no longer paranoid about falling when walking on slick surfaces and am more apt to go ice skating this year and take William with me.
Emotionally...
I am more balanced I guess.
Still working out exactly what my path is Spiritually.  Been asking questions.  Reading and waiting.
I needed my physical health to be less precarious before I added something to my plate.  I want to commit fully to a path, not half way.  First I have to find the path.

Writing wise.  I did not write as much as I wanted, but I did write.
So there was some improvement in that department just not as much as I wanted.
I suspect I am just going to have to pick three set times a week and ensure that nothing interrupts those writing times.
I know I will need to do this because though work has normalized to a more regular day schedule I have taken on the responsibility of being one of the Story tellers for Waterloo by Night, the local Requiem larp.  That responsibility fully begins in February.  I am still wondering what I was thinking when I decided to take this challenge on, but I feel up to the task.
This time round I won't be finding myself unexpectedly pregnant.  (Last time I stepped up to the ST team I learned a month or two later I was pregnant).

We have not been trying for a sibling for William for about 6 months now.  We have been taking measures to ensure we don't accidentally have an oops.  This was brought about mainly to me being referred to the surgeon for my pilonidal cyst and its eventual removal.  I did not want to be pregnant while that was going on.  About the time we were thinking of ending the measures in place I injured myself at work. 
We cannot afford for me to get pregnant.  Hopefully toward the end of this year we will know that Andrew is going to be done his PHD and we can start trying.
I don't want to be having children once I am past 35. 
I walked away from both my doctor and gynecologist very jaded and bitter.   Neither seems to think what I go through every month is problematic.  Hell my gynecologist had the nerve to accuse me of lying about my history despite the fact she has a f*cking file with tests SHE sent me for that show that I have major issues with ovarian cysts and signs of scarring from Endometriosis.  But apparently she only remembers being my OB.  So I suffer in agony upwards of two weeks of every month because since I get my period every 30-56 days (each month varies), there is nothing wrong with me because I get my period.  0

So if  when I finally have a second child I won't be going back to her or my useless family doctor.  I will get a midwife and I will continue to go to the walk-in clinic I have been going to since I moved to KW.  It may suck to have to wait upwards of 3 hours to see a doctor, BUT at least they are competent and they listen.  I have received better care from that clinic over the past 6 years I have had a family doctor. 
I will still likely go to the hospital for birthing.  I don't feel comfortable having a baby in this town house.  Not to mention with the complications I ended up having with William I would worry way too much.
But there is still time to think on those choices.  First I have to get pregnant again.  Which will happen in good time.  Though William has asked me on average of about twice a week when I am going to make him a big brother.  He WANTS to be a big brother and he doesn't care if it's a brother or a sister that comes out.

So my goals for this year are not a whole lot different from last year.

I plan to write more.
I am going to continue to strive to continue to become healthier in mind, body and spirit.
I will find a Spiritual path to walk.  And hopefully a group to connect with as well.

Not really resolutions, but life goals.