My Plan.

[same_sky]

I can't believe how productive I've been today. Along with confusing most of my LJ friends (sorry, ya'll, I didn't know I was being so vague about the salt bowl. See? I didn't call it anything with a long dorky name this time!), I've done a heap of other stuff. I've paid the bills and deposited two salary checks in the bank, mailed the bills, mopped the kitchen and the bathroom--since paradisecowgirl never showed up to clean my kitchen, I had to do it myself, cleaned the bathroom, downloaded two thingies for Magnus, fixed his start page (offline list of links that we use as browser start pages) and uploaded it so he could get it at work, scanned a picture of me as a kid that Magnus particularly likes and we borrowed from the parents, repotted my basil and parsley and sat them out in the sun for a while, done two loads of laundry, transferred the pictures in the camera and formatted the card (I'm really bad at remembering to do that), filed a bunch of papers and had lunch with my parents, planned and defrosted dinner ingredients, gotten the pictures ready to update my tatting blog (the internet connection is being extremely screwy, though, hence I'm writing here while I wait for it to stop.. multitasking!). It's only 4 pm, this getting up at 8:30 thing is for the birds!

Oh, right, did I mention that I'm getting up early now? I decided that it might help me with my boredom if I started getting up earlier. I'm not entirely sure how I came to that conclusion, since it really means that there are more hours in the day in which to be bored, but I've been doing it for a week now (including the weekend, which was scary) and it seems to be working. But this way, I'm up, showered and dressed and checked mail (not in that order, I must say) with a couple hours to spare before lunchtime, which means I can actually start working on stuff before lunch.

Speaking of working on stuff, I have a Plan now. I have three major things I want to work on in the coming weeks. I want to spend more time working on my Swedish. Possibly up to an hour a day, although that might vary. I'm going to learn PHP (hopefully this won't be too hard. I do have programming experience.) I want to work on writing a book. Haven't decided what this book will consist of, but I'm warming to the idea again. I always wanted to be a writer, right up until high school. Why did I stop in high school, you might wonder? Because the state of Kentucky decided that they were tired (understandably so) of being ranked 48th in education, and so they would implement this huge system called KERA. All the administrators were tremendously excited about it. All the teachers and students were pissed off in a major way. No one talked about the fact that this system was apparently tried in two other states. I could go on about this for ages. Anyway, the point is that we were forced to write in every single subject, especially math classes.

So what they've ended up with was a group of students with writing skills that shocked our college professors, apparently used to kids who can't string a coherent sentence together, when we got to college, but not a single one who still enjoyed it. Isn't that sad? Sometimes I honestly think that the purpose of public school is to kill out any possible love of learning that might remain in a child. I'm seriously considering homeschooling our kids, though I don't think M is too into the idea. It's been almost six years since I've been out of high school, and the enjoyment I used to find in writing is only now returning. I don't think that's a system that works, regardless of how it turns out with test scores.

Comments

[reebert.livejournal.com]

Wow! Congratulations on your ambitions! I think it's great. I'm totally sold on the home-schooling route as well, but like your Swede, mine also has his reservations. *L* For three years now I've told him that I know everything, but I think he still has doubts... ;)

[same-sky.livejournal.com]

Thank you! This is the most ambitious I've felt in a while. ;)

That made me laugh out loud. I know everything, too! I don't know why he doesn't believe that! :)

[paradisecowgirl.livejournal.com]

Good lord! Why did you have to get so ambitious on my self-imposed day of laziness!? LOL! Sorry about the kitchen thing, let's just make sure Peter takes care of the vacumming, shall we? ;-)

It's so sad when talent or the joy of learning gets beaten out of kids somehow :( I had a couple of experiences along these lines myself (having to do with music) and it just sucks. Off and on I've addressed it but that sense of joy for those things continues to elude me...

I too keep threatening with home schooling as well because our public schools have become such crap. Peter's not too sure so it might end up being private school. But that all depends on the final answer to the "kids question" of course! ;-)

I'm with you on the Swedish thing -- email today or tomorrow! :o) And, you, no help from Magnus!! ;-) I'm excited for you regarding the writing thing -- I wish you all the best with that! And I think you'll find PHP is blast :) :)

[carrieb.livejournal.com]

Wow! You are one ambitious girl. I need to get off my butt and start learning Swedish too. At least I live over here so I should be able to do it easier by watching TV and stuff. I just hate it *lol*.

I know what you mean about the homeschooling thing. When I was teaching I said I would never homeschool my kids b/c we would often get students who had been homeschooled in their younger years and then sent to high school as teenagers and they were almost always social outcasts. The current public school system scares me though. Things just seem to get worse and worse every year (though I only know about Oregon, which used to be a great system and is now in the toilet). Of course, we don't even know if we will have kids.

[same-sky.livejournal.com]

I hope he's talented with that vacuum, this place really needs it! ;)

I go back and forth about homeschooling. I think I could do an excellent job of it, if I don't get tired of having my kids around 24 hours a day. :) I'm so unimpressed with how schools teach kids, and it's not all their fault, of course, but now that it's not even completely safe to send them off to school.. I don't know. It's a sad, scary world.

I'll work on the reply mail in a little bit. I have never exposed my bare, unproofread skills to anyone but Magnus, so I'm a little nervous. *giggle* :)

[same-sky.livejournal.com]

I hear ya. I wish I could have fun with learning Swedish, but it really just seems to sap up energy like a sponge. Wish we had TV with subtitles.. but I'm just kidding myself if I think I'd sit down and watch it like I should to learn! ;)

The social aspect of homeschooling is the one thing I'm really worried about. (Okay, the main thing. I'm also worried that I'll get burned out on my kids if I have them with me ALL the time.) There are other ways and places to make sure your kids make friends, but I'm fairly antisocial, so I don't know if I could be trusted to nudge them into social activities. ;)

I'm glad I have a few years to decide, but I keep wondering what would be best.. worrying about them the entire time they're in school and trying to teach them the things that they're not learning, or creating antisocial munchkins that I feel have learned everything they need to. Troublesome.

[paradisecowgirl.livejournal.com]

I'll work on the reply mail in a little bit. I have never exposed my bare, unproofread skills to anyone but Magnus, so I'm a little nervous. *giggle* :)

I know what you mean :-) I only asked for help twice when I got completely stuck and didn't want to sound like a two-year old ;-) I sent a copy to Peter after I sent it to you and have a corrected version now -- you'll probably spot a few grammatical goofs yourself :)

[ozswede.livejournal.com]

Amazing ambitions! And somehow, I just know that if you set your mind to it you will get there. I can sympathise with you about schools and writing. My brother was a gifted artist, loved to create and was considered highly talented by all of his art teachers, until he struck one teacher mid way through high school who tried to force him to conform to a strict way of doing things. He said it was to help my brother learn art and he made him do a lot of technical type stuff and study, that ensure he topped the state in the public exams. Yep, he came first and has NEVER drawn, painted or created again. It's so sad. He almost gets traumatised if it's even mentioned.