Uni

This week has been insane and I am so grateful for the upcoming weekend.

On Monday, I started a new class at the university. I'm testing the waters somewhat, and I am also giving myself something other than my job and my son to think about. It's "me time" and something I really, really feel I have needed. Mateo is fifteen months old and this is a first for me.

So far, the class is great. It is thrilling to be back in an American university setting. The enthusiasm is palpable. There are over 100 people in the class, and my professor is still making every effort she can to get us actively participating. This energy was something I always missed in French universities, and it's such a breath of fresh air. Plus, the topic is interesting and familiar territory to me, so I am feeling pretty low-key about the whole thing. People in Portland are also crazy nice; throwing in the conviviality typical of university settings just makes the niceness scale go off the charts.

I am thankful to my parents for helping me out with this. The class is in the evenings, twice per week, so they are picking Mateo up on those days and feeding him dinner. I wouldn't be able to do this without them, or at least not without paying a babysitter and what not.

Starting the class has added a bit of stress to the week, though, mainly because the routine is not yet in place. Work has also been crazy, as a few last-minute projects cropped up and I found myself working at an insane pace most of the week. Adding outside craziness was... well... crazy. On Monday, I had to figure out where the class was. On Tuesday after work, I picked up Mateo and the two of us went through the joy of textbook-buying after hours. Wednesday, class again. Today, Thursday, I left work early to take Mateo to the doctor for a check up. So tomorrow? Friday?

I will do my work and then relax. Right after I get my online account activated during my lunch break. I am going to try riding the office bike over to the university-- I think I'm going to bike to classes to avoid insane parking fees and the general chaos of finding a spot. Plus, hey! Twenty extra minutes of exercise.