Friday, 30 June 2017

Another perfect day in Victoria

1.  Go to Senior Cardio
2.  Meet Tom and Rick for lunch at Glen's Fabulous Sandwiches.  Eat said lunch out on the Food Court patio.
3.  Buy new bed linens.
4.  Stop for martinis on the way home.

Rick plonked Tom's hat on my head just as the picture was taken.

Excellent olives.  The martinis were pretty good, too!

Monday, 12 June 2017

School Daze

A friend of mine was interested in going back to university for a second degree and asked if I would go with her to talk to the recruiter at UVic.  What I heard in that meeting was so exciting and so stimulating, and there were so many great courses being offered, that I decided to go back to school myself!

You have no idea how difficult a process it is to document one's earlier studies when one is a "mature" student.

UVic wants a copy of my high school marks!  I graduated from high school almost 50 years ago!  The school that I graduated from no longer exists; neither does the school board.  Luckily, the Quebec Ministry of Education keeps an updated register and database on the secondary school studies of anglophone students dating back to 1898.  Online Request ... doesn't work ... call the Quebec Ministry ... transferred ... transferred .... transferred .... advised to submit Online Request .... You get the idea.  Finally I reached a person who, while indicating that the Online Request was the only way to go, gave me the name of a person to whose attention it should be sent.  Success!!

McGill, similar problem.  The transcript of my studies from 1968 to 1971 are also archived.  They did send UVic a copy, but the Admissions folks didn't like it because, though it was date stamped 2017, the document itself was dated 1972.  I call McGill ... press 2 ... press 4 .... press 3 ... explain my problem .... transferred .... Sound familiar?

I reached the most wonderful woman in the Transcript Dept named Alby (short for Albertine, she told me).  "Of course we can't provide a copy dated 2017.  It's not in the system; it's archived!" she told me.  "Give me their phone number and I'll set them straight.  This is as Official a Transcript as they'll ever get!"  Success!!  (Thanks, Alby.)

So here I am, on my way back to university in the fall, joining said friend and Bryan.  I've got my registration date and time, and I'm ready to go!  I'm thinking, Moral Problems in Contemporary Society ...  Or, maybe, Introduction to Judaism, Christianity and Islam ...  Or, How English Grammar Works ...  Who knows, maybe I'll finally finish that degree after all!

See you on campus in September.

Go Vikes!

My first successful selfie.  The UVic rep thought I must be a Graduate student (given my age?)

It's all about the photo op.  Bought a UVic sweatshirt to make it work.

Had to make a stop at the student pub ...  When I first went to McGill, I was too young to drink.