Monday, January 21, 2008

A true confession, and a real dilemma

The time has come for me to start thinking seriously about pursuing a PhD. I have one year left of my program, and there is the pressure (mostly internal, but some from outside sources) to look into post-graduate schools. Chris and I have been talking, trying to plan our future, which is hard when I am still undecided as to what I want to do. The real dilemma is that if I don't do my PhD, in all likelihood we would move back to the West Coast. Both Chris and I feel that is home for us; Chris's family is there, my friends are there, we could both paddle year round, and we wouldn't have to wear winter boots for 5 months out of the year. Neither Chris nor I are abundantly happy in Ottawa, although I am doing better than I was last year. So what do I do....do I go home because I am happier in Victoria, or do I actually commit myself to more schooling? See my conundrum?

Monday, January 14, 2008

Christmas 2007 and the New Year

Happy New Year! I trust all your Christmases and New Years celebrations were everything you all dreamt of. We decided to stay in Ottawa this year instead of travelling to Alberta and BC. It was a first for both of us, but we managed to have a wonderful Christmas with just the two of us. We made our own turkey dinner, went to see a movie on Christmas Day, spoke to our families and just generally enjoyed each others company.

We both took Christmas jobs; Chris at HMV and Heather at the Body Shop. We have also decided to continue on at these jobs in the new year since they both proved to be enjoyable for us. My (Heather) parents came to Ottawa late on the 26th, and we were able to spend 3 full days with them. We thoroughly enjoyed their visit, even though we didn't get to cross country ski as we had hoped. Mom and Dad took us to a few great restaurants, and generally spoiled us rotten.

We spent our New Years at Mike's sisters place. I managed to stay awake until midnight, but shortly after that, I fell asleep on the couch. This is now the second time I have fallen asleep at a strangers place during a celebration. I truly am the life of the party!

January is almost half over, and we have both gotten back into our respective schedules. I am back at school (one class and my thesis writing) and Chris is back at work. Since my typical New Years resolution is to be in better health, I signed up for a yoga class at school. I had my first class yesterday evening, and I really enjoyed it. Pretty much everyone in the class is a beginner, so I didn't feel out of place. The whole experience was much better than my first attempt at yoga (see Yoga and the Raines', September 2006) and I look forward to next week's class.