Thanks to Dexie I had about 5 hours of sleep the night before. I wasn’t terribly happy with the way that I did the presentation and pulled the plug on what would have been a slightly melodramatic ending.

Despite all this, I found out yesterday that I got a Distinction for the presentation.

Eight years later, I bit the bullet and returned to study. At the time I was working, for the most part, 0.8 or about 30 hours a week. As a result of the previous study, I did 2 subjects a semester, winter school, 2 subjects, summer school, 2 subjects, winter school and 2 subjects. This meant that I completed 2 years of the degree in 2 years, normally students would do 4 subjects a semester and no winter school or summer school.

At this point in time, at the start of my third year, my peers are doing their placements. Since I’ve had about 8 years of experience in case management and roles where social workers would also be employed, I’m getting Recognition of Prior Learning for it. I’m only doing one subject, a fascinating look at current Indigenous issues. Next semester I’ll have to do three subjects.

Again, my peers will be doing four subjects, but by doing this Indigenous subject now, I don’t have to do one in second semester. I rang uni today to confirm that I was on the right track. I was looking at the course time tables for the two internal subjects that I’ll be doing to find that they are on the same day. One lot of awesome. Life is a lot less complicated if I only have to go into uni once a week.

However, I noticed that these subjects had the placement as a pre-requisite. I wanted to check that this could be over-ridden and the program co-ordinator said that wouldn’t be a problem. After I breathed a sigh of relief, I lamented that third year would take me a year, but fourth year would take me two. I would do my fourth year placement at work, but I couldn’t do a full time load of study and work 30 hours a week.

The program co-ordinator said that lots of people work and do fourth year because the subjects are not the traditional lecture + tutorial once a week. They are done in one week blocks, so I could do the four subjects in one semester, with paid and unpaid leave. Then do the placement at work and I’ve finished! I will have done a four year degree in four years while working 30 hours a week for most of it.

I couldn’t decide whether to laugh or cry. Pure Awesome.

I was looking at the timetable for the subject I want to do in first semester of next year – seems like it is on a Wednesday, both the lecture and the tutorial. So Wednesday will be my ‘day off’ It’s at a different campus to the one I’m used to – I’ve been there before to go to the library which is open 24/7 around exam time. The parking is going to be a hassle though, especially since I won’t be going there at 9pm like I was previously!

Next year’s study won’t be the traditional plan that most people doing their 3rd year of Social Work would follow. Normally students would do their placement in first semester and 4 subjects in second semester. I’m applying for Recognition of Prior Learning for my placement, so wouldn’t have anything to do in first semester. However, there is a subject I can do in first semester that will give me Recognition of Prior Learning for one of the subjects I’m to do in second semester. So I’ll be doing one subject in first semester and three in second semester.

However, I am open to the idea of doing a second semester subject in summer or winter school if it is offered. Either way, I’ll be getting third year done in one year!

School holidays are coming up next week. I have taken the Tuesday after Easter off, and I plan to take Willow into work with me on Friday. Of the next week, I’ll take her in on Monday, a school mum has offered to have her on one day and a lovely friend is having her on Friday. So that will mean she only has 4 days in Vacation Care, which I’m happy with as it will mean she has a bit of a break.

Although we are very happy to have started her at school at the ELC, that did create a problem with school holidays. Ideally I would have liked to get her into Family Day Care, but because she is under 5, that would put them above ratio (4 under 5). So that was a no go. In the end, I’m happy with our hobbled together solution.

While I was at UniBooks, I bought Willow this book, The Way Back Home. It is simply gorgeous and came with a CD of the book. We have Lost and Found already, so I will be on the lookout for the other books the author has written.

Oh and have I told you what a good boy A is? He’s been downloading the latest episodes of LOST for us.

This subject has an exam, which we are not impressed with.

I also worked out a short cut to get from uni to FDC. That was a bonus.

In other news, Willow has two birthday parties coming up on the same day! One is a bit of a drive away, from 10 to 12, then the next one is in town from 2-4. I think we’ll make it, but she will sleep well that night!

Willow brought home a folder today titled ‘My day at ELC’ it was a lovely book of photos detailing what she does in a day at her ELC. We read it together tonight before she went to sleep.