Un-busy business (?)

I've always known I have unusual interests, and a wide range of them. My mother sent me a list of ivy league courses available for audit online to occupy myself until I leave Nunavut or get a job (not that there isn't plenty for me to do- the land around Iqaluit is like a book I've barely cracked open), and the list turned out to be 450 entry level courses of every sort. I ended up selecting around 40 that I was interested in and narrowing it down from there. Here's what I ended up with (interesting ones made bold in case you don't have an abundance of time like most of us or don't care that much):

- Wonders of Ancient Egypt
- A Journey through Western Christianity: from Persecuted Faith to Global Religion (200 - 1650)
- Fantastic Places, Unhuman Humans: Exploring Humanity Through Literature
- The Ethics of Memory
- Building High-Performing Teams
- Vital Signs: Understanding What the Body Is Telling Us
- Imagining Other Earths
- Backyard Meteorology: The Science of Weather
- Bipedalism: The Science of Upright Walking
- Tangible Things: Discovering History Through Artworks, Artifacts, Scientific Specimens, and the Stuff Around You
- Scrolls in the Age of the Book
- Exploring Renewable Energy Schemes
- Going Out on a Limb: Anatomy of the Upper Limb
- Anatomy of the Chest, Abdomen, and Pelvis
- Feeding the World
- Orchestrating Whole Classroom Discussion
- The Science of Learning - What Every Teacher Should Know
- Improving Communication Skills
- Ancient Philosophy: Plato & His Predecessors
- Religious Literacy: Traditions and Scriptures

Anyway, I need to cut it down a bit more still. The highlighted ones are definitely staying, and the meteorology one.

I've also gone to the pastor's house a few times to spend time with the family. They are wonderful- I've really appreciated them since I moved here. Elaina (spelling?) called me 'Aunt Aliya' today and I'm not sure why it made me feel so happy. Today I played Chutes and Ladders with the girls, then Settlers of Catan with the boys. The girls had widely varied understandings of the game- Elaina wasn't sure which direction to go (I don't think she knows numbers), and when she went up once, instead of going back across, she would keep counting up the board. Mary-Beth knew the right direction most of the time but kept picking up her token and forgetting where she was supposed to be. And she went up instead of across. Julia had the game figured out. The boys knew Settlers, but I won (they told me that they let me win so I would come back).

I also trimmed my own hair (ill-advised, I'm aware, but it turned out fine). Curly hair is fairly forgiving, except with the washing and drying process. For anyone concerned, here's what it looked like after:

Can't even tell a difference. My earrings are healing well so far. Even if I wanted to do something dumb that could get them infected, every place I could is closed. And I've been playing lots of music and writing plenty of blog posts.

That's been my life lately- busy with self-development and just doing the things I want to be doing. Even time without a job can be worthwhile time.

All is well!

- Aliya