School Daze

After a long absence, I have decided to continue my education and complete the courses for a Bachelors Degree. I should have done this twenty years ago, but I was a sap. I completed the course work for an Associate in Applied Science degree in the Fall of 1987. Ronald Reagan was still president. George Bush the Elder was ratcheting up his campaign for the presidency. Gary Hart was still viable. Bill Clinton? Still needed to make the keynote at the 1988 Democratic Convention. I did a stint of jury duty, and began working in February 1988 for an Electrical Instrument manufacturer in Rockville Centre, NY. The game plan was I was going to go to engineering school at night. I was running late in my education, I had already changed majors three times and took a two year break between two of those majors. I wanted to work, I wanted to get married.

I started looking to school in '90, but I did not do anything about it. Then in 1994, I took a leap. I registered for Fall '94 to take Computer Science Courses. I had to do that at night. I went until Fall of '97. In between those points, my marriage collapsed and I was a basket case. I didn't manage to screw up all my courses, but I did have some unproductive time. I was forced by circumstance to withdraw from my courses in the Fall of '97. I also got my current position in that fall, and time marched on. Fall 2000 arrived. My son was entering High School. I thought it would be cute if the two of us would both be going to school at the same time, and we could have study time together on weekends. That was good for a few chuckles. Workload and responsibilities and the coursework, first math course in 14 years...
Totally frazzled, I threw my hands in the air and surrendered.

In the summer of 2007, I began feeling like I wanted to go back and finish what I started. I would need to prep myself. I still had a shit load of math to look forward to and I needed to learn a new programming language. I decided, January 2008 was when I was going to return. Finances forbade that at that moment. OK, we will prep and go fall '08. I slacked off. Sometime this spring I decided I wanted to get serious. I started prepping. OK, I tell myself, January '09.

Procrastination and self defeat building up.

Thursday, I am speaking with my gal. We I mention my plans for January, and she tells me that I am foolish. I should just shit or get off the pot. Don't wait if I am going to do it. See if I can get in for the fall and if not, just get the ball started. The fire is lit under my ass.
I make a call to admissions...
"Come in, but move fast. Classes start in two weeks."
Friday I am off from work. I go and apply for readmission.
Saturday, I get general academic advisement. There are issues with my computer account at the school with regards to online registration. The college help desk assures me that Monday morning, the problems will be solved. Monday morning comes, problems solved. I am going to start off by taking one course in the humanities towards my core requirements. Any course that would satisfy the requirements are filled.
Call to the registrar office redirects me to the English department. Over tally granted and I am registered for my preferred course. Go to online billing. Pay bill after reassuring discussion with my girlfriend to overcome my nerves (I am sacrificing money that is scarce, and time that is also scarce, the nerves kick in).

I am now going to Queens College starting August 28. I have a hard road ahead of me, besides the work, but conquering my self doubt.

But I'm there. And I am upbeat about doing this. I have shame for not doing it when I should have, but I have to keep that buried so it does not throw me off.

And I need to think of this as fun.

My Fishing Trip on August 1st.

Friday, I got to the fishing piers of Jones Beach about 8:45. That’s about an hour later than I wanted to get there. No great loss. It wound up that nothing was biting there so the extra zzzzs were appreciated. It was a beautiful hot sunny day and the smell of the ocean salt was invigorating.

That and views that I saw were like this:

Pure relaxation was written all over those crests in the bay.After about an hour of just familiarizing myself with my new reel (yes I finally used my new Abu Garcia Ambassadeur 7000i after two months) and casting out something happens. I was doing some slow bottom dragging of my bucktail looking for fluke. I feel something take on my line.

Usually if you snag any structure under water, you can’t pull any more line in without getting all tight on the line and either breaking loose or cutting your line loose. That was not the case here. I was retrieving something heavy. There was no fight to whatever I had on the line, so I think to my self ‘what the hell is this you got’. Usually a live fish, no matter how small will give you a fight that you will feel on the rod. That was not the case here. I am retrieving dead weight. I am thinking ‘ what dead animal have you pulled up Louie’?

I reel in some more and what do I have?

A string of some awful looking mussels is what I pulled up. Mind you, I love eating mussels, but these were not very delectable looking to me. And I eat practically any shell fish. These mussels attached themselves to this old lost or discarded fishing rig in the water. It had lines and hooks and weights that the mussels were all attached to. It seemed like they grew around it. Like when a tree grows completely around a power line.

I looked over the mussels and thought that I may clean out the line and give them back to the bay. After a careful review of how they were on the line, and seeing a squadron of gulls and kingfishers surrounding the local area, I opted to leave the mussels out by the trash can on the pier. Let the birds have them if they felt they wanted them. I was in a rush to get at fishing seeing the aviary activity on the waters. I did not want to return the fishing debris to the waters, so I would let nature have her way with them. Placed them in an empty disposal can that I knew the birds would be at once all the humans came off the pier. I just made sure there were no hooks by yanking the two our of the mussels shells. This stuff was all rusted. This tangle was under for quite a while, it was not fresh.

So after the mussel incident I stayed at the lot 10 piers for about another hour to an hour and a half. No fish were to be had on any of the four piers with the exception of the fisherman to my left who pulled in a Sea Robbin with the longest set of sings I have ever seen on one of the beasts (well it really isn't a beast, it’s one ugly fish). I packed up my gear, and then went for a drive to Captree state park. I went to their café, caught a bagel, some water and diet 7up. I was real thirsty and did not want any caffeine at that point. I was perfectly at ease and did not want any stimulants other than the two cups I had prior to heading out in the morning. I strolled down the pier checking out the party boats and charters that were still in. I then went in to my car and headed back to Queens. All in all I was home by 1:30 in the afternoon. It was a peaceful relaxing Friday for me. Hope every one else had a relaxing one.