What the mind can conceive, it can achieve...

Well I think Napoleon Hill was right.

This is a quick post to update you on 2 equally important things.

Number 1. Yesterday Child #3 and I achieved an A pass in our first Tae Kwon Do gradings. We are fully fledged yellow stripes now...and we have those all important belts to prove it. So now we are learning Chon Ji, and it meaning, and we are learning lots of other Korean terms, and we are getting fitter and stronger and we are learning together. Child #3 insists we will become 8th Dan black belts together...I didn't have the heart to point out that, due to timing restrictions on gradings, I may be dead by then or at least very very old!

I won't lie. It was, at points, terrifying! One of the other adults that was also grading from my club, whose son has done Tae Kwon Do for a while commented, while sat on a bench waiting to be called, "I can't believe I put my child through this!". I knew exactly what he meant! Some of the kids were tiny...and there was me...36 (just) and scared! 

We were called for the practical in groups of 10 ish, and whilst some things went well, I couldn't block and reverse punch for toffee. I was rubbish. I wanted to cry. Thankfully the examiner didn't have a direct line of sight to me and I may have got away with it. I won't next time and I need to up my game.

Number 2...I am going to complete my MA. Yes, I mentioned it some time ago but I never really thought I would be motivated enough to do it. I am though. I have got as far as submitting the protocol (the plan of what, how and when I will do things) and I have also written about 750 proper words (so only another 19, 250 to go). I know now that I will get it done though, and surprisingly, I am actually quite enjoying it so far.

So, my motivation? Well I want to do another degree of course! I suddenly feel the need to learn everything! (See kids...this is what happens when you O/D on Omega 3!!) I had been thinking about doing another degree for a while and have always wanted to do a maths degree. When I first applied to university I was offered a place on a Maths, Stats and Computing degree. It would have been great except that at the time I had 2 young children. I assessed the amount of time I had dedicated to my IT vocational course at college compared with the amount of time towards A-Level Maths. I think i spent 4 times as long on the maths to be honest and only got a C, whilst I got an AA in IT. I decided that, being as this was my first degree, I would be better just doing Computer Science and sailing through with minimum effort and maximum output. After all, a degree is a degree no matter what and Computer Science degrees go a long way. It was the right decision and I came out 3 years later with a 2:1 (less than 1% off a first though!!) but it did what was needed and I know, now, that I made the right choice back then. 

It's always bugged me though, the fact that I never did maths. I can't say I regret not because I don't but there is still plenty of time, so why not now? Well, the only thing preventing me enrolling is that unfinished MA. So I have to finish that first and I think the promise of doing Maths, or Maths and Stats is keeping me motivated. The OU has September and February starts and I will make the February one at the lastest but will do my best to make the September start!

So that's it for now. Hopefully in September you can call me Master, and also a Yellow Belt (next grading is September 28th I think!) Will keep you posted!