What have I been up to?

Maybe you were wondering, maybe not, either way I’m going to get my ramble on to bring you up-to-date.

Did anyone else have an unusual 2020?

By the end of March I was working from home, which was an ergonomic nightmare for a while. By June of 2020 I had made the decision to never work outside of my home again. (That still holds true, but might not be possible just yet. My cat would be beyond happy, though, so…)

I think I posted about how my plans for pretty much everything in 2020 got either indefinitely delayed or cancelled outright, which sent me into a bit of a bad patch because while I can adapt pretty quickly in most situations, big changes like deciding to move and not being able to are a bit more tricky. Once I have committed to a big change I need it to happen so I can deal with it and move on. The holding pattern the pandemic sent everyone in had me spinning in place.

Making the decision to graduate in May 2021 rather than the original December 2020 was one of my better 2020 decisions, and so I put nearly all obligations on hold to concentrate on my Capstone project and defense in May.

I nailed it.

The Committee asked to use my presentation as an example of a good presentation, and they had nothing but praise for the finished project. One thing to note for anyone completing a thesis or Capstone project in the future: if your Committee gives you suggestions for changes? Make them. 

I’m not saying take every suggestion, but also don’t think you know best and your work is perfect. It probably isn’t. I considered and implemented about 85% of the suggested changes and it made my project so much better, but not only that, the Committee was impressed and amazed with my willingness to accept critique so well. They felt it showed maturity and flexibility, and when I didn’t take a suggestion my explanations were well thought-out and respectful.

I procrastinated, of course, and I was still working from home for the most part, but it was a busy semester both personally and professionally. I completed my Capstone on time, actually enjoyed the defense presentation, and am just waiting to receive my diploma in the mail.

My intention was to take the rest of May “off” and just play with the layouts for this blog and my capstone site. While it is currently set up as the capstone, I would like to change it up to become a regularly updated site… I have yet to do that, mostly because it deals with travel, and I’m playing it safe by not going too far away from home just yet. On the other hand, it also deals with virtual travel, so do I really have an excuse for not updating? Eh….

Just like I haven’t planned out what I will be posting here regularly for the rest of the year.

One thing I am still interested in is learning Mandarin. And Welsh, Japanese, Spanish, and French. And Korean someday. My interest in language learning in general has been pretty consistent over the last year or so, which means I might be writing about that. Or do I go back to the beginning and write about writing? 

I’m still figuring it out.

I wish I could settle on one thing to write about, my niche topic, but I also like the freedom of just writing about what I find interesting when I sit down to write a post. A list of a small number of topics to choose from each week might keep me somewhat on track so that I don’t sit and stare at my monitor because there are too many choices to make from the infinite number of interests that can grab me. (There’s a reason why I have a list when I go anywhere…otherwise I wander the store aisles and buy much more than I actually need.)

I do like making lists…

For now, if you would like to check out my Capstone Project, click on the title slide above. I’d love to know what people outside of my Committee think about it! I’m proud of it, even if it wasn’t my original idea. Definitely click on the hearts if you like the articles!