A Change of Pace

So I've done it. I made it through my first September of not going to school since I was 4 years old. It's crazy to think of how many years of our lives are spent in the classroom. For me, it's been 1992-2010, that's 18 years of the same routine. 18 years out of 23 alive. And now it's over, and I don't know what to do with myself. Technically I'm still a University student even though my coursework is done because I used the co-op program to help find me a job, since the job market is pretty tough right now.

So, I have a contract working for Paris Orthotics until April 2011, and then I officially graduate in June. I'm working in the orthotics lab, so it's a bit of a nice break from customer service. The people I work with are tons of fun, so I enjoy that. The job in itself though is a little monotonous. All I do is take work orders for orthotics and input the information into the computer system so that the people who actually create the orthotics know what to do. The people making the orthotics have little knowledge of biomechanics or lower limb ailments, so my job is to lay out the instructions clearly for them. I also have to landmark certain points on the foot casts the clinicians send in - like the calcaneal-vertical line for example, which marks where the heel would actually line up with the rest of the leg. Sorry if that doesn't make any sense, but that's the best I can do with explaining it without a visual. Anyways, it's pretty repetitive work, so I'm glad it's short-term.

I am so looking forward to next summer because I plan to go to Europe! It's been something I've wanted to do since going to Europe in gr. 12. And I decided I would wait till I graduated, which is next year officially. I asked my sister if she would be interested in coming with me and she said yes, so right now it's the two of use. After going with a group from school, I decided I wanted to do a trip on my own terms, and go where I wanted to go, so that's what we're doing. Right now, the countries on the list are Switzerland, Italy, France, Austria, Poland, and Croatia, and of course, the Netherlands. I've been looking at sights and selecting where to go so we can figure out what to expect as far as price and timeline go, but apart from that, I kind of want to wing it and play the trip by ear.

This year (meaning September onwards, as we all know the year starts in September) is going to be legendary! Totally different from what I'm used to, which is awesome. I am stoked.