End-of-year ramblings & reflections

I love the festive season- there’s always so much going on! Marty & his Patricia arrive tomorrow evening- Yippeee! We’ll be heading off for a wee adventure to Zambia’s Northern Province for about a week. I’ll then expect company through to February 4th- how wonderful is that?

There’s one thing that has been getting me down though. My unofficial exam results have been received- though they weren’t quite what I had expected. All of the exams I sat in Lusaka I cleared (which is great news- I was really worried about my International Human Resource Management course...) However, I apparently didn’t pass my research proposal (which surprise, counts for the two introductory courses of the program. Without passing this proposal I cannot continue on with the program as I had hoped). My initial reaction was shock which quickly shifted into anger. Now I’m irritated that I don’t have the official results to see where I went so very wrong. The worst part is that when I submitted my draft my tutor provided praise & thought the draft would be developed into a passing research proposal with a few minor adjustments. So in those minor adjustments I must have really bunged up. I’m hugely disappointed, & a small part of me is holding onto the hope that maybe- just maybe- they’ve given me the wrong unofficial results (Maybe it was that International HRM course I bombed…). But since I can’t really hang on to that & still pursue my degree, I’m doing the best I can to dust myself off & attempt the RP again. GAH. What a waste of time & money & I really have no idea how I failed. I thought my proposal was tight. And so did the host of people who reviewed it. Another part of me is trying to accept the failure- I don’t really remember failing at much in my life. I was always the kid who “made the team”; so I’m trying to embrace this as a learning experience. I'm looking at the situation as a challenge that will hopefully (somehow) help me become a better person.

Apart from the things I’m caught up with at the moment, I’m hoping to make some time to reflect on the events of 2008. We certainly started out with a bang in India, & there’s not really been a dull moment since I threw so much energy into school & basketball. I look forward to sitting down & planning for 2009 as much has been ticked of the “to do list” for 2008.

Otherwise I’m wrapped up in Christmas baking, holiday planning & wedding planning- despite the poor school results I’ve got a couple of exciting months ahead! Here’s a shot of my delicious pecan squares- thanks for the recipe Ma, they’ve received many compliments already (okay, they don't look divine, but they're certainly scrumptious).




















Happy Christmas/holidays/festive season to all! I’m about to be on holiday- Whoop!