Hoyden update

[hoyden]

Hi all!
I have missed y'all and this forum. I miss my FWC too! and adventuring!

I've had my own kind of adventure over past few years -
For those of you who followed my blog https://www.no-destination.org/, you remember that I found a near-dead three-legged dog in the northern Illinois desert, ran down to Tucson, then had to go back to Columbia, Mo. to prove to Unemployement that I existed (not sure I answered that existential question, but at least they continued my unemployment payments), then I decided to go back home to southern Illinois.

Once I got home, things started falling into place easily - found a rental home for me and the dogs through an old friend from high school, sold my camper to a couple of young adventurers, got a crappy job long enough to buy a house. Reconncted with a bunch of old friends, made some new ones, spent time with my mom....

I've found that my and my family's history here and being a local opened a lot of doors.
It's pretty handy. lol. Mostly, though, it's been refreshing and really wonderful living somewhere that I have such a deep, long-standing connection. We are nestled in the Shawnee National Forest with a gon of hiking and kayaing, so that's nice. I just wish it was someplace that didn't have ticks, so many mosquitoes, humidity, tornadoes, and isn't in a dying rural midwest small town.

The economy here sucks and, in 2019, after having a really good job offer (working on the backend of the local hospital group's EMR) recended due to my lack of college degree, I decided to finally get my undergrad degree. I'd chipped away at it for the previous 20+ years and took my variety of transcripts to an advisor at Southern Illinois University. He looked at them all and said, "you can get a bachelor's of science in 'University Studies' if you take English 101, 102, college math, and three electives." SOLD!

I have drempt of walking across a stage to receive my handshake and college diploma since I was in my early 20s. I finished those few classes two months after the pandemic lockdown in May 2020.
Graduation was via Zoom

SUCH A LETDOWN!

So... I decided I had to get my master's degree and move away from working in IT.
Social Work master's degree? Sure!

Last year, with four more classes to go, I had a minor freakout about the idea of not being employed after graduation, so I got hired at the unversity... working on their IT team.

In two weeks from today (May 13), I will finally get to walk that stage and get my handshake and diploma. Master of Social Work.

My assistantship was with our SIU Center for Rural Health and Social Service Development. Most of the work I did was research, presentations, and studies around opioid use disorder in rural southern Illinois. I am hoping to contiue this work after I graduate.

I miss living in the West, but (and I hate that I am saying this), the Illinois university system has a really good pension.... If I had a place where I felt the same sense of community that I have here, I'd seriously consider moving sooner than later, but for now, I have a nice home, friends, family, and happy dogs. Also, I get free tuition while working at the university, so I can keep taking classes as long as I work here. haha!

For some crazy reason, I traded my Tacoma in for a Subaru Forester Wilderness. It's a really good car, but I shoulda kept my Tacoma. Oops. I'll get another one in the future.

 

[buckland]

So good to hear where and how you landed! Congratulations on your academic work and I am sure your collection of 4-paws are rooting you on. Every life stage just sorta happens and we couldn't have thought we'd be doing something before that feels just fine now... and so it goes! Who knows what's next. Happy belated birthday and keep on keeping on.

 

[Casa Escarlata Robles Too]

Congratulations on your degree.
Frank

 

[ski3pin]

Lady Bug, thanks for the update and big congrats on attaining your degree! Remember, someone once said, "There's no place like home. There's no place like home." Remember to click your heels together.

 

[kmcintyre]

Nice! Interesting how life throws you "curves" and how they turn out! Thanks for sharing. This is not what I would have guessed those many years ago when you left the corporate world.

 

[hoyden]

Thank you all so much!

I'm definitely doing some heel-clicking here at the end of my last graduate semester. Stay here? Create new home elsewhere? I love it here because "home," but it is a miserable place to go camping! hahaha! I grew up going camping in this area, but I got spoiled living out west with the lack of annoying buzzy bugs and nice arid outdoors.

I will never go back to corporate. Some people are good at navigating that world - I am not. haha.
Perhaps I can get a remote job and keep C'dale as home-base and go do some traveling again.

It's 8am and I don't think I had enough coffee. I could keep rambling, but I should probably go get some work done now.

Hope you all are doing well!

 

[ckent323]

Congratulations on completing your Masters! I wondered what became of you. Glad to read you are doing well.

I know first hand how hard going back to school can be. I went back to school at age 38 and got a Bachelors of Science in Physics graduating at age 42 while working full time, commuting 100 miles between work and school and going through a divorce my last year. Hardest thing I have ever done. Most rewarding thing I have ever done. It changed my life and my career.

I started on a Masters in Optical Sciences at U of A the year after I got that Physics degree but after two classes I decided I was too burned out to make it through and set it aside. It was the right call.

I had a good career in Aerospace and I am semi-retired while still doing a bit of consulting work for the Government but that is coming to an end mostly because it is competing with time to go on long camping trips and traveling internationally.

Best to you.

Craig

P.S. I'm with you, I do not miss the corporate work environment one bit!

 

[Foy]

Great to hear from you, and with such uplifting news! And I recall having joined in on the "assignment" of your screen name "Lady Bug" just a few years back.

In another "birds of a feather" mention, I made the transition from mineral exploration geologist to desk-bound CPA over a 3 year period beginning in 1984. We had an infant son born in 1983 and I traded the professional life I'd dreamed of for job security and being home every night. While I definitely missed the field work, I haven't for one day regretted the decision to change careers. Now I'm semi-retired, wife fully retired, we can and do spend much more time with our grandchildren, ages 10 and 7 and our around the corner neighbors, and the income from the sale of my CPA practice is and will continue to provide for many a "Pop Adventure", a term coined by the grandson for our field trips. We reached new heights last weekend when we watched a water snake slip off of a rock only to pop right back out of the river with a baby catfish in his mouth. Most likely few of the very special events involving kids and grandkids over the last 39 years would have been possible if not for the career change.

So cheers to Lady Bug, Craig, and all who took on life changing challenges well after typical college age. Anything is possible with some gumption and some elbow grease well applied.

Foy

 

[hoyden]

Good morning!

I love hearing about y'alls decisions! My dad always wished he'd gotten a college degree. I wish that he was here to celebrate what I've accomplished (he died in 2006 at the young age of 58). He'd be so excited! I also wish I could have convinced him that it's never too late to go back to school (or try anything new).

I miss campering, but I have to admit that it's been pretty nice having some solid footing. It'll be a while until I can retire (though, if I can stay in the Illinois State University Retirement System aka SURS, I'll have a nice pension once I do retire) and with three dogs now, campering is kind of a hassle.

Regaredless, I will get back to campering - even if it means getting dog sitters for a week here and there (I could bring the little guy, Sully, and leave the two more rambunctious bigger dogs. Maybe rotate them for trips. haha)

 

[ntsqd]

You're never too old to learn more. I'd take as much advantage of your employer as possible. I discovered a class on Orienteering at my college!

My dad had retired and was pondering taking some classes at the local Jr. College. They have a Culinary School that he was interested in, but was dithering. I asked him what was the worst that could happen? He could enroll and hate it enough to drop out. At least then he'd know and it wasn't like the hit his GPA would take was going to be a problem.
He succeeded in the school and after graduating was interested enough in food sources that he went on to become a Master Gardener thru the UC Davis program. When dad passed he had something over 300 College units on his transcript, and no degree in anything.