  A Year in Review . . . Seeing as yet another half-day (more on that later) is going by so slowly, I think I can afford a little time to look back on 2002 . . . The first part of 2002 was fraught with personal problems. I was definitely not getting along with my brother as a roommate, and I take part of the blame for that. Still, it was not an ideal living arrangement, and we fought constantly during the little time I was actually home. I spent most of my time over at my boyfriend's, which wasn't the greatest thing for us at the time, either. He was sympathetic and very accomodating, but a new relationship needs time to grow without that kind of pressure.
We had our problems over the summer, but eventually started seeing each other again, for which I am glad. I am very happy at the moment. =) Thanks to long distance and sporadic communication, my father stopped talking to me when I moved out of the apartment I shared with my brother. Although he was covering my share of the rent (long story - I was still in school), it was apparently still a huge deal for me to be leaving 8 months into a year-long lease. It wasn't as if I was forcing my brother to leave as well .
. .
but the end result of the matter is that my father no longer speaks to me.
Oddly enough, the harshest words were exchanged between my brother and I, and we are now back on pretty good terms. One family member down .
. .
one gained. My grandpa moved to the city from Sherwood Park (Edmonton area) in October. Though I have yet to see his place, it's nice to know he's in the city with the rest of his family. He suffered some very difficult times health-wise, and I'm glad he's closer now, and I'm hoping he's got many more good years to go before his time is up. I graduated from school .
. .
this is an accomplishment that has been 5 years in the making. It's too bad I don't have a bachelor degree to show for those 4 years (I only have a diploma, and I took a year off after 2 years at university), but at least I have something.
I love learning, but I definitely don't miss the homework, or the exams, or the late nights stressing over whether or not everything would get done in time. I miss the comraderie of seeing the same 20-odd people 5 days a week. The shared commiserating over beers after a particularly grueling day. And strangely enough, I sometimes miss the craziness that was my last 2 months. I had just moved out on my own, I was trying desperately to maintain the 20 hours a week required at work in order to qualify for a scholarship (not to mention, making enough to cover rent), and at school we had 16 weeks' worth of material in 3 classes crammed into 6 weeks. For the most part, I'd wake up Monday morning and go to school from 8-3. From 3-5 I'd be downtown working on a project, then I would go home and sleep until 11pm. Then I'd work 12am-7am, and head back to school for 8am. I'd sleep when I got home in the afternoon sometime between 4 and 6pm, and this would continue until Friday morning.
Then I would have 3 semi-normal days. But I'd still be at school for most of Friday and Saturday, since I needed use of a computer for homework and didn't have one at home. And the schedule was further complicated by being quite sick once or twice, sleeping at night, then switching back to sleeping in the afternoons but not being sleepy. I'm sure this makes absolutely no sense. =) But sometimes I miss that craziness. Only cuz it gave me an excuse for doing a half-assed job of stuff.
*L* I got my first apartment .
. .
though it was tough at first, because I was still in school, I managed. I learned that, much as I always wanted my own place, I really miss having company. In the 8 months I've been on my own, I just do not enjoy spending more than a few hours at a time at home alone. Growing up, I had 3 brothers and plenty of (sometimes unwanted! *s*) company. I like my own space - and I LOVE being able to walk around in the buff - but I get lonely easily.
=) 
