Sunday, November 9, 2008

What's Next???

Good question. That has been the question since I finally finished my Graduate program officially almost two weeks ago! The answer is yet to be determined. I am looking for jobs and trying to figure out where I need to be, whether staying in California, back to D.C., Texas, Spain, Italy, Brazil ... who knows? I'm working on it.

So for anyone who used to follow my Blog and gave up on me actually updating it, I'll try to get back to letting you know what's happening. And for now, here's a quick summary of what happened to me and why I sort-of disappeared from the Blogging world or even with keeping in touch and letting you all know what was going on.

In April, I turned in my program Portfolio, which didn't pass. It was a bit devastating for me, but honestly, I didn't have time to complete it the way I had wanted to nor in a satisfactory manner that would allow me to pass. I had been working too much and carrying 16 credits at the same time, which is insane for this enourmous elephant of a task. Therefore, I sort-of dropped out of communication with most people and buried myself in a hole of devastation at first and then a pile of work. I worked like crazy to try to make ends meet all summer. The summer was insane with many jobs, including Program Coordinating and Teaching for a language teacher training program for a group of Elementary and Secondary teachers from Korea. It was the busiest job of the summer, but was made busier by carrying at least two or three others at the same time. Of course, this all had to end and I had to learn to say no to other possible teaching jobs or other work in order to re-do my portfolio. At the end of the summer, I basically had 3 weeks to complete the whole portfolio! I felt like I had about started over with the two main theses, the position paper and the B1 Revised project. I somehow got it in and three weeks later found that I had passed, pending a million revisions. I felt like I did the portfolio a third time! But, luckily my revisions were approved and the portfolio conference (similar to, but not as intense as, a thesis defense) went well. Then, I found out about a week and a half ago that it was official as far as my department was concerned ... I was done and received my Master's!!!! Now that it is official, I can post my graduation pictures, even if I didn't actually walk or even pick up my graduation robes that I had paid for. My roommate, Nicole, made me put her's on so that I could at least document the event that won't ever happen because I was too proud or embarrassed or whatever at the time, when I didn't feel I deserved to walk in a graduation I wasn't actually graduating in. Whatever ... hindsight is 20/20 ... and I missed out, but here are a couple of pictures in celebration of actually graduating.


You can tell that the robe was not mine, but Nicole's (a bit too short :))

Just a switcheroo for documentation purposes.

It's finally official!

So now, with the lovely economy the way it is, I'm looking for employment, hopefully with benefits and also sufficient to cover my insane grad-loan debt payments! Since the portfolio has been done, I've been extremely busy with doing freelance copyediting and yes, for those who know me well ... I've continued to be stressed and lacking in sleep in order to do it. Well, that is the way deadlines go. But of course, the deadlines were all at the same time ... last week. Now, there is a lull, so this week is when the really serious job searching will happen. And something has to happen quick ... or I've got to get a lot more copyediting freelance work soon.

Alright, there is a bit of an update for ya'll. I hope that you are all doing well and that you'll forgive me for having dropped off the face of the earth since April, seven months ago!

Saturday, June 28, 2008

Sidra is Pocahontas, but who am I?


You Are Cinderella!

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Dignified and hard working. With a gentle and soft-spoken manner you have something many people don't. Patience. Even through the moments of heartbreak you're still able to hold onto all of your hopes and dreams. Bide your time; your dream will come true.


Which Disney Princess Are You?

Monday, April 21, 2008

Less than three weeks left!!



I am tired of looking at my crazy monkey picture of myself from over a month ago. Actually, I'm not really looking at it ... but I'm sure you might have been and would be sick of seeing such a psycho picture. So instead I'm including two of my photos I placed in a photo contest here at MIIS. I received a third place for the "Seasonal View of Austria" but nothing for the butterfly. The butterfly is my favorite though.

Just a quick update, so I can get back to my 10 projects I have left to do or finish. Besides the 10 projects, I have a comprehensive final and the expected revisions on my Portfolio once I get it back this Friday and find out my fate.

I am staying in Monterey for most of the summer at least. I'll be working more hours for the Modern Language Journal and possibly teaching a Business English class for the English for Academic and Professional Purposes Intensive English programs here at MIIS. If the enrollment for the class isn't high enough, they are going to pay me to come up with the curriculum anyway for future use. Beyond that, it is still a mystery ... Some things have popped up as possibilities and I'm waiting to hear from others that I've applied for. I haven't really had time to apply for the majority of the ones that I've been interested in, unfortunately. Well, rather than tell you about my lack of time, I'll get back to my projects and applying.

Graduation is May 10th!!! Then, that is it for school for me!!! I've got a line up of books I want to read, places I want to go, people I want to see, and as my Dad told me to do ... my blank calendar for the week after graduation now has an "S" an "L" an "E" an "E" and a "P" on Monday through Friday! Great advice! I don't know what that is, so I'll find out!

Sunday, March 16, 2008

My Birthday

Birthdays ... who wants 'em? Well, they come anyway, so we may as well enjoy them! Nicole planned to take me to dinner with some friends and then we had cake and ice cream at our house.


Me the scary monkey, on my birthday. :) (Oh and Nicole gave me some great monkey slippers as part of my portfolio writing outfit, for our many late nights ... so I guess I'm monkey from my head to my toes.) My actual birthday is tomorrow, but the day is booked with my "singing tour" as Nicole, my roomie, calls it, so we couldn't celebrate tomorrow.


Nicole, me, Anna, Gunnar, and Elizabeth at my birthday party.


Anna, me, and Chris and Rayna (my cousins).

Monday, March 10, 2008

East Coasters/Former East Coaster Family

Washington DC LDS Temple with Stacy and Kelley and David and Tira and families at Christmas

I keep seeing this picture on my Desktop and have wanted to add it to the Blog. Yes, it is now March and this was Christmas, but it was a pretty good half-of-my-family picture.