I have been quite busy over the last two weeks. Right now, I am taking a break from studying, so I thought I'd post.

Mostly during the day I am studying for the CLA Exam and looking for land or a house. For the past three weeks I have been spending time with The Wife for a few hours or I was at CASA training. Late nights, I have been playing EQ.

Studying continues and my stress level about what the exam is going to be like has not diminished or increased, so there is no change there.

CASA training ended last night. All that is left to do is sit through a 3 hour court observation, get sworn in, fill out paper work, and select a case. Oh, speaking of court observation, last week (Friday) I went to have my fingerprinting done for CASA. Since I was in the area, I stopped by the courthouse to watch any case that might be going on. I sat for a couple of hours until a break took place. I asked the court clerk how long the break was. She asked who I was since I did not respond to the judge when he asked the courtroom if anybody's name wasn't called for a case. I told her I was a student paralegal and she asked me to be seated and she'd be right with me. She came back about 15 minutes later and asked me to follow her. I was taken into the judge's chambers, because he wanted to meet me. He explained what was going on in the courtroom that day (pre arraignment conferences) and invited me back any time. I spent about 15 minutes with him. It was kind of cool to be invited into that area to meet everybody and the judge. Anyway, I digress.

The Wife was enjoying my evenings out at CASA, so she could have time to herself. Although CASA training has ended, I do have some supplemental sessions that I will be attending throughout the year, so she will still have those random nights to herself. Dustie the Cat is doing good, but still whines all day long. She is very high maintenance.

EQ has been a blast. I was level 20 on Sunday night and had a goal of reaching level 25 to 30 by this weekend. On Monday night I had reached level 26. I took a couple days off to deal with school and CASA. Then Wednesday night I hit level 27 and last night I hit level 29. I am sure to hit level 30 by tomorrow. Oh, my main character is an Ogre Shaman. I have never played one but for about an hour on the first day I ever installed EQ. I was so blind, I kept getting killed in the Feerrott, so I made my High Elf Enchanter in order to have improved vision. That is history as Gitter (level 64) was deleted when I mistakenly thought I'd never play EQ again.

So, that's my post, now back to studying.

Are we all here fulfilling our dreams and the dreams of others only to be infused with the same emotions as everybody else?

Is there a way to survive without the stress, frustration, and anxiety that comes with life?. Or, would we all be numb to the joy of successes and the sorrow of failures we experience throughout life like zombies?

These questions? Why am I asking them? Well, I certainly know the stress, frustration, and anxiety levels I am experiencing right now are high.

Sleep? Does it help to relieve the stress? It might, but how can we truly know? My understanding is stress interferes with regular sleeping patterns by having disrupted or shorter sleeping sessions. So, if I can't sleep, how can I reduce my stress levels?

I must have always been stressed throughout my life? I never have really slept a lot. I get about 5 hours of sleep a night. Soundly? Not particularly.

Is there a specific reason for this posting of questions? Sure, why not? I was just thinking that I must be pretty stressed out due to the abundance of activity in my life right now. Especially, knowing how the CLA exam has been described to me as comparable to that of the BAR exam for attorneys.

Maybe the stress is also due to being anxious? Something that needs to be released through this post. An anxiousness to complete my training as a volunteer Court Appointed Special Advocate.

Could it be something else, like frustration? Surely it could be. I would love to know that we have land already picked out, a contractor already contracted, and a construction loan already available to begin work on our dream house.

Is there a way to manage such stress, frustration, and anxiety? Probably. Do I know what it is? Nope. Just going to keep moving through it and hope I come out the other end relatively unscathed and soon.

Of course everybody tells me that I shouldn't stress over the CLA exam and that I'll do fine. And that if I look at me history in these studies, I have excelled. I understand that almost all CASA volunteers are accepted and sworn in, and that it is simply a matter of a couple more weeks. And, lastly, I do know that The Wife and I will in time have everything managed to make a purchase of some property and have a house built.

So, I ask you again . . . Is there a way to survive without the stress, frustration, and anxiety that comes with life?.

Now that you have read this, it's time to have a good weekend!

Yes, it's true I have been playing EQ once again. And, yes, I have been playing a great deal. However, there is a balance in my life with play and work.

I am in training for CASA. Tonight's training will complete one third of the training. It's interesting stuff. I never knew how much goes into protecting children and how volunteers advocate for their rights when they cannot. This should prove to be an interesting chapter in my life. Who knows, it might even be the beginning of something a bit more permanent than originally anticipated.

Tomorrow begins the two month review course for my Certified Legal Assistant education. In March I sit for the certification exam. Everything is already paid for and it's just a matter of time and studying.

The Wife and I are focused on securing a construction loan and locating a modular home company we want to deal with. We are going to talk to a loan representative tomorrow to see where we stand. We have already been in contact with a contractor who has his own company that builds homes from scratch and is a turnkey operation for a couple of modular home companies. Once we find out about the loan we need to secure a contract with a contractor and locate land to buy.

Oh, and I do still keep up on my Pogo playing.

So you see, I might have re-entered the addiction of EQ, but I seem to be managing between playtime, work time, and family time with The Wife and Dustie the Cat. With that all said, I have already spent time with Dustie the Cat today, now it's time for me to play EQ for one hour, shower, go to my training, come home, watch TV with The Wife, and log back into EQ for a few hours this evening.

Balance, juggle, balance. I feel like an acrobat, but it feels good!