Tails’ Blography

A lot has been happening these past few weeks…havent got around to blogging about it all like a good blogger. Apologies!

Firstly I have to say with great glee that it was my 6 year anniversary with my adoring boyfriend yesterday!! The love of my life and I have made it six years, we’ve rolled with the punches, taken everything with a pinch of salt, and had some amazing times together! I am truly blessed to have such an amazing, caring man by my side. And when I got home from gym yesterday, I was allowed to shower and then swept away to dinner at a restaurant of my choice! Had some awesome wine, starter mussels, and steak and calamari at John Dory’s (my first choice was my best friend’s restaurant, but alas they’re closed on Mondays). So here is to another six more years, and then some! I love you, dear heart! Thank you for helping me be a better person each and every day and for putting up with my many quirks. I love you!

Secondly, I bought myself a new gaming mouse, so hopefully my CoD4 skills will improve! I got myself the beautiful Razer Lachesis in blue (I was sad it didnt come in green). Its uber smooth and fast, but I have to still get used to it in CoD4 haha. OC is this weekend, so I’ll get some practice in then (and yay for sleeping over!).

A week or two ago I lost someone who I thought was a friend. I tell you, I’ve never had to put so much effort into a friendship before! I’ve also never been lied to so much by someone I thought cared about me. I guess I probably should have realised it was doomed from the start, but I so did want it to work out, so I tried to ignore those negative issues. Things started getting a bit hectic when he started purchasing inappropriate things for me in the form of sex toys and lingerie. Yes, you read correctly. Despite my many mentions about my boyfriend and upcoming engagement, he still persisted (with a shock, I realised he’s done this with multiple women!!). It saddened me, because we could have been awesome friends. I think he’s lonely. I believe that will change when he gets a job and starts living. I did put in a good word for him with a friend who works with my bf and knows some people (heavens! I wonder if he thought I’d try get him a job at my bf’s work haha bf would soooo not let that happen!), so maybe something will come of that, but I doubt it. A lot of people I’ve spoken to think he needs to mature a little before he can settle into a real job. But how…? Maybe he’ll make the Dog Unit in three years if he persues that career. I think it’d do him some good, despite his mother vehemently disagreeing with me. Oh well, maybe she knows him in a way I never did. Still, I think a boot up the butt would wake him up enough to do something with his life. Things dont come without effort. Despite the friendship going sour, I do wish the best for him. Especially if he didnt lie about his childhood like he lied about everything else…his parent’s need a good boot up their butts for that! Makes me so mad!

Speaking of effort, I’ve finally started the process of applying to Unisa for a BEd degree….eek! I apparently have to apply online, and I got to Part 3 in Step 1 where they ask my Exam Number from when I was in Matric/Gr 12/Std 10…like I still had that haha. I had to phone my school and they called me back when they found it (their online archive only dates back to 2005…I was 2001) but when I tried to submit it on the Unisa website, they only wanted 10 digits, not 13!? I’ll have to phone tomorrow and find out what the deal is.

My poor car is also having a bit of trouble. After Girls’ Night I found my car was smelling like petrol (gas) when I drove her, so the following Saturday I called my cousin out to take a look. Turns out my fuel pipes were worn out, so I had to have those replaced. And my exhaust has a large hole rusted into it. Le sigh. Fuel consumption goes down because of that…grrr! I was wondering why I used to get around 12km per litre and now I get around 9km…that must be it! And lastly, my gearbox is sticking when changing from 1st into 2nd…so much all at once! I wont even mention the tappets hahaha. At least I’ll be pampering her a little bit on Sunday…gonna give her a bit of a polish. V’s doing her car, so she thought we could do it together…yay!

Other than that, I cant think of anything more to tell you…I guess I’ll have some more news next week. New poll up, about mouses…please do vote

To apply for a spot in Unisa, I need to provide a matric certificate, preferably with exemption. As I think I’ve mentioned before, I didnt get an exemption but I’ll apply for a Mature Exemption (‘cos at the age of 26 I’m “mature” lol). The problem comes in that I dont actually have my physical certificate.

When I matriculated, I still had one or two textbooks that I never returned (due to laziness I’m ashamed to admit), so they withheld the certificate. I was also told at various points that without an exemption I wouldnt get into university so I didnt think I’d need my matric certifcate any time soon. Well, now is when I need it.

So I went through the whole schlep of getting an affidevit from the police as to why I no longer have my certificate, a certified copy of my ID book, and of couse the application form as per this website.

After a day from hell on Monday, which I wont even go into here, I managed to get my certified copy of my ID, my affidevit, and I printed and completed the required form. Then I dashed over to the Dept of Education (after struggling to find them for almost 30min!!), only to find they closed fairly shortly before my arrival. Sigh!

So today I went back, they were open, I paid my R35 and have officially applied for a copy of my matric certificate. I’m told it’ll take around 2 months to get to me (another sigh!). This will mean I might miss the applications for Unisa 2010 as they close on Oct 16 (or so I was told in an email, but the website says Oct 31). I do believe they have late admissions, so hopefully I can try that way if need be. Hopefully.

But, I’m getting somewhere…and that’s something!

e-piph-a-ny [i-pif-uh-nee]
–noun, plural -nies.
1. (initial capital letter) a Christian festival, observed on January 6, commemorating the manifestation of Christ to the gentiles in the persons of the Magi; Twelfth-day.
2. an appearance or manifestation, esp. of a deity.
3. a sudden, intuitive perception of or insight into the reality or essential meaning of something, usually initiated by some simple, homely, or commonplace occurrence or experience.
4. a literary work or section of a work presenting, usually symbolically, such a moment of revelation and insight.

I was debating about blogging about this, since if it doesnt work out then everyone knows I failed etc etc. But then I thought, “why should I fail?” And its true. Failing is not an option. So here I am, blogging about my epiphany: I’m applying to do a Bachelors of Education (BEd)!

Wow, it’s scary just typing it. Seems so daunting. It’s a four year course, and I’ll be applying to UNISA for full-time correspondance. I’d be aiming to teach Primary School, preferably Gr 6′s (Std 4′s for us old-schoolers), which to me is a nice age to teach (the mere idea of teaching high school scares the crap out of me!). I would have loved to do full time study at CPUT, but alas, classes are from 8am-4pm Mon-Fri, and I have a sordid thing called rent thats called for once a month. Oh, and insurance and a cellphone bill among other expenses. How inconvenient!

This whole tertiary education confuses me, what with all the modules and credits and exemptions. Speaking of which, I’d have to apply for a provisional exemption, since I didnt get one in Matric and I’m over 23 years of age. This really makes me wish that I would have applied myself better in high school. It certainly would have saved me these hassles I’m having now. I could seriously kick myself. Some institutions, like CPUT, dont require just an exemption. They also accept you if you got an aggregate of 950 or higher, and passed at least three subjects on higher grade (HG), two of which must be languages. All very well, but this is where I fall short (without knowing what my aggregate is). I passed both Enlgish and Afrikaans on HG, but dropped Biology to standard grade (SG) halfway through my last three years of high school. Its not like I was a terrible student, but I just didnt apply myself 100%, and I should have. My other subjects werent that great, but that was simply because I was lazy and, at the time of selecting my main subjects, didnt have any idea what I wanted to do after school. I chose Biology (HG, down to SG), Computer Studies (SG), Home Economics (SG), and Ceramics (SG). I would have chosen Computer Studies as HG, but that was a 7th subject and you had to be doing Math, which I didnt do well at at all. I dont know how I got by on Ceramics (yes, pottery) on SG, as to choose SG you had to be doing Art as well. If you werent doing Art, you were supposed to do it HG. *shrug*.

Anyway, I’m aiming to enroll for January, so I have until Oct 31st to get everything in order. It’s all very exciting really. I feel like I have a purpose now, and I feel so proud that I’m taking the plunge to study further at the age of 26 (ok ok, 25 until August). By the time I’m 30, I’ll be qualified! How insane is that! I know its going to be a huge responsibility, and that there will be tough times and chances are I will struggle, both with modules and self discipline, but I will give it my best. That’s all I can do. At the very least, if I’m struggling with modules, I believe there are a few lectures I can attend, as well as get in contact with other students and form a study group or something. And I’ve already checked Facebook, and there are some groups for people studying BEd through UNISA formed. And I have two teacher-friends who are only a phonecall away.

I’m so excited. I feel like a new person. I’m so nervous. I’m so keen. I cant believe I’m actually going to study for the next 4 years! Wish me luck!!!