Monday, March 31, 2008

Productive Monday

Well, I just want to get these thoughts down before they're gone...

I scored an 88 on my Econ test. I had really done a lousy job at reading/studying these 3 chapters... so I didn't feel too good about taking the test today, the last day I possibly can take this test... argh!!!! So as I did study for this test, I was becoming more and more anxious about it. I really was, to the point I was just a scatterbrain and I couldn't concentrate at ALL.

There were several other things going on as well at this time... I also had to finalize my outline for persuasive speech (which is tomorrow), so I worked on that this morning.... I got my new laptop late this morning as well... I first told myself I would open it up AFTER my econ test, but that resolve only lasted about an hour. I rationalized opening the new laptop by saying I wanted to review the powerpoint slides while sitting in my fabulous chair... with my screwed up screen on my old laptop, powerpoint was pretty much out of the question. And lastly, I was distracted by these stupid wrist braces I have to wear 23 hours a day because my carpal tunnel syndrome has flared up again. Argh.

But after reviewing the powerpoint presentations for each of the chapters, I went right into the test. I wasn't feeling very strong at it, I did have the book as a resource but I just wasn't very confident. I had one question that just plain ticked me off and it was a basic econ type concept questions but just wasn't addressed in anything we had read... so I called my husband at work. He was an econ major. And the question was basically "which is more liquid, stocks or fine art?" I knew of course currency is the most liquid, but WTF? stocks or fine art? which is more liquid? Chris thought fine art was less liquid than stocks, and I kinda thought so to even though that was just a guess.... we were both right as it turns out. And I got an 88 on this mofo test.

About an hour ago, I drank a cup of coffee to quickly, my stomach has been queasy ever since... argh. Still today I need to practice my speech and write a 1.5 page draft of something for english. Argh!

Thursday, March 27, 2008

What a Freakin' Afternoon!

Well, so here I am... my goal this afternoon was to wrangle a decent score for my math quiz. I really had to "cram" for it... I had gotten behind in the class some. But I busted my butt this week and I knew I was ready for the quiz.

I got a 94!! yay!! my best quiz score yet!

and as I was taking this quiz, one child screamed at me, I yelled at the other child, there's a big wood chipper two doors down (between the yelling and the wood chipper I have a headache, and I'm a headache wimp, I get them so rarely)...

Oh! and I had to freakin' fight with my laptop for about 10 minutes, ultimately having to reboot the mofo before taking the quiz!

Oh! and this 94 was technically my 2nd try at this quiz... I scored an 81 my first try. And as part of my computer problems before the quiz, I clicked to open the quiz and it didn't open... it just didn't open, so I had to restart IE (piece of shit program), and then from there I had to reboot the whole dang system. And I had an attempt shown for that! Oh well, as long as I did better than okay and I had the energy to attempt the quiz again I wasn't going to both with it.

and a 94 is just fine with me. This is only 1 of 4 quizzes for the class, and quizzes are only 5% of the grade. I don't know why I stress out so much with these.

Monday, March 24, 2008

Lots to do

I used to think various moments at various jobs were the hardest things I'd done. Then I became a parent, I quickly realized THAT was the hardest job to do. Now I'm a student, and yes, it's hard. I'm still a parent, I'm a wife, I'm kinda selfish - I like to do plenty of things JUST for ME and just because I LIKE IT - so this latest phase of my life is hard.

I have to get my speech put together. The more I think about my instructor, the more I think she's a bitch and I don't like her.

I just took it easy tonight. So I still haven't done my english homework - I'll save it for tomorrow morning - yah, how smart is THAT? Do it the morning it's due? just dumb.

I worked on Math a lot today. I realized I didn't just mess up the schedule on one date. I have a whole other section to cover and the quiz is due on Thursday. I guess you could say I'm a little behind. Good thing quizzes are only 10% of the grade. But still I like to do well.

Econ and History I need to get caught up with the reading. By next Monday for both the classes there's a quiz (history) or a test (econ again)... History I need to cover chapter 12, for Econ I need to cover chapters 12-14 and I've only read ch.12 so far.

Sunday, March 23, 2008

Did I do anything this weekend?

grrrrrrrr..... it's been very hard getting back into the swing of things since we've been back. I need some serious time off from last week.

I can't think of what I did school-work-wise this weekend! OH! naughty me! well, not quite naughty, but this morning I went into my math class (online class) to do the homework I thought was due tomorrow night. Well, it turned out it was actually due last night! great. The instructor is a very nice lady and I simply asked her for more time and she emailed me the password to access the work. Yay. Thank You Dr. Forbes! So I worked on that today. But then the last two problems made me cranky... the exponents are just getting to funky. I couldn't help but think that whoever first thought to make exponents negative and then to make exponents as fractions, and then put those negative fractional exponents IN fractions themselves is really a twisted person... a sadist I daresay!

I still haven't done my english homework... but I did work on my speech outline some yesterday. Its starting to get more form. yay.

Thursday, March 20, 2008

Spring Break II

Well, it's my kids spring break. After a pretty intense first part of the week with all that I had due (and being sick), we left town on Wednesday. We're in a very nice cabin on the edge of Big South Fork Recreational Area (I think that's what it's called, I just always hear 'big south fork').

Good thing (in a way) so much was due right before we left... it means I can kind of enjoy some down time before things heat up again.

I really didn't do squat yesterday. I had pulled out my econ book to stay on top of the readings to do but after reading about 3 paragraphs and realizing not ONE word was sticking in my brain, I bagged that idea.

My econ book has still been out today, but I've still ignored it. Well, actually I picked it up and brought it with me to this chair but then I decided to fire up my laptop and go to ebay for a new battery charger for my camera (I can't find my original dammit!)... and now here I am at blogger and NOT reading chapter 12 in my book.

Its kinda interesting how both my history and econ classes have just finished at chapter 10 and they're both skipping chapter 11, so for both classes I need to read chapter 12. Kinda weird how both my classes are at the same chapters.

I did read for my enlish comp. class.... Dr. Martin Luther's Letter from Birmingham. There's a writing assignment due on Tuesday. So I'm good shape for that class.

Also today I looked over speech topics for my upcoming persuasive speech. I think I'm going to persuade my audience that incorporating exercise and better diet is easy to do! yee-haw, where's my fritos?

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

VERY tough two days

In the past two days I've had a history test, an economics midterm, an english comp. paper due and a minor speech to give, and I did the best I could at all of them. Late yesterday I started getting sick. REALLY sick, not just the I don't feel well kind of sick, but the OMG every muscle in my body aches sick!

This morning I managed to get myself together, I HAD to get to my speech class for today, there was a minor speech scheduled, she had told us so last week. So I get myself there. and she very quickly asks us to take out our index cards and twenty five cents. WTF? No one in the class knew what she was talking about. She then realized she hadn't given us this assigment last week and that we would flip the schedule around, cover chapter 10 originally scheduled for Thursday today, and do the jackpot speeches on Thursday. Well FUCK!

I had talked to her over a month ago about specifically choosing THAT date to be gone (my kids are on spring break this week, and we're going out of town) and I had even talked to her about sitting in on another class of hers because I really wanted to get the info for persuasive speeches. I was frustrated, I couldn't help but cry... WTF was I going to do now? I become very emotional and I couldn't STOP crying.

I even made the decision to skip my english comp class, all I needed to do was turn in my paper and that's that. Two other people in class did the same thing, one for legitimate reasons and the other I think was just wanting a reason. ARGH!

I went to the library and finished my study sheet for my history test, and then at noon I went to take the test. Twenty lousy questions! So freakin' lame! I really don't like these tests where there are FEW questions and HIGH point value per questions. I really don't like these. I have questions about three questions, I very likely missed those - and that's 24 points right there! Out of 200 possible points, thats 3 lousy questions will drop your grade by a full letter. Fuck! The essay part, there were two questions... I think I did okay on those. Last History test he graded me 100% on the essay parts (wooo-hooo!) and I thought I did B work on that... so we'll see how I do. I expect that grade back early next week.

After the history test was time to find my speech instructor, which I did and she offered to let me do this speech next week when we get back. As I left her office, I saw my english comp instructor, we made eye contact, I approached her. I said something along the lines of "I feel I need to explain my situation... I'm sick, I cried in my earlier class, I've had SO much going on this week... I just want to go home, so when I left your class I took care of my history test... argh" and of course I started crying as I said this, this poor woman, she really didn't need emotional me in her face... but she simply told me to go home and not worry about it.

Argh. My laptop is fucked up. I'm going to buy a new one next week likely. The screen is damaged, Chris pinched it last fall and it hasn't been the same since. Since then, here and there it will be really fucked up, but those were very brief moments. NOW, this has been like this since last night - fucked up. I'm having to get very creative and handy with keyboard shortcuts because I can't see the bottom third of my screen! :(

Monday, March 17, 2008

Too Tired to Really Celebrate

Well... the big ugly Econ Midterm was this morning for me. Yes, it's an online class, yes there's a window of time in which to take the midterm. I knew since the begining of the class that the last day to take the midterm was March 17th... but that seemed SO FAR AWAY! It was/is a week after we came back from spring break. And I of course played video games during my spring break, so when I came "back to class" and I realized the midterm was due a week later, well I had to get to work. I hadn't even READ chapters 8-9-10!!!!! What a lousy situation I got myself into.

Short story short... I got an A on my midterm!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 90% I am VERY very pleased. OMG happy actually. I had only scored 82 and 84 on the previous tests... but I did the best I could and I got an A!

Now if I weren't so tired, and with a history test tomorrow and a paper due... maybe I can live it up tomorrow night - wouldn't that be the COOLEST if I get an A on my history test also? I did last time! but last time was easier.... wish me luck!

Sunday, March 16, 2008

Lazy and/or Desparate?

I can't help but laugh at this... isn't it the act of a lazy and desperate college student to play with the margins of a paper to extend it to a full 3 pages? Argh!!! So freakin' lazy!!!

I'm **so** close to being done with a first draft of this paper and it’s **so** close to being a normal three pages the minimum... I just made it a full 3 pages by making the margins all around 1.1 inches... so lame! I should just finish this mofo.

The plan for tonight is to finish this paper, then study and review for the Economics midterm tomorrow. I will be lucky and happy to get a C on the Econ test. I just don't have a good feeling. But we'll see... I'll be doing that tomorrow morning. Red Bull is in the 'fridge awaiting me and darkness. Coffee from this morning is still at my side... I intend on staying up late tonight. Who the fuck knows? What if this paper I'm writing gets an A, I get an A on the history test and I pull a high scoring B on Econ?????? THAT would be a riot! I'm woefully unprepared for good grades this week. Damn. There's a lot this week.

Thursday, March 13, 2008

The Plan for 3/13

OK - there's plenty to do. My plan for today is the following

  • History Quiz - take care of that for chapter 10. Do look up on 5 terms from study sheet.

  • Econ - I'm actually undecided whether to continue with chapter 9 or go ahead with chapter 10... I'll probably study my wrong answers for ch. 9

  • English - I HAVE to start on the outline for my paper.


If I had three extra days between now and Tuesday I would be in great shape. ARgh!!! HOW am I goin to get this all done? I gotta work! I'll check in here later.

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Informative Speech Day

Well, should I start with how my speech went? or all the other nonsense from today?

How about even earlier - first steps in any day for success, Breakfast. I had half a cup of coffee (leftover from yesterday) and a big handful of Fritos. Yeah. Breakfast of Champions I know.

I had made arrangments with Chris that I would bring Lila to him at 8:55, and then I would cruise on up to Nashville. Traffic was good to me, I was able to do 80 just about the entire way up there - and I wasn't the fastest person on the road! Ha! I love it when I can speed like that.

I got to my class with a bit of time to spare, the instructor wasn't around that I could ask her about leaving early, and when she came in she jumped right into what she does... she was barely done with her spiel, and I got up to do mine first. I had to set up the computer, so I did that while she got herself ready.

I was **close* to completely forgetting my introduction, and in fact I was able to start right in with the first 3 sentences or so and then I did go blank - totally blank - I was stopped obviously, but I even looked at my "audience" and grinned like "how is this happening? I have no idea what to say?"... argh!!!!!! but I recovered and dove right into my speech.

After that slighly rough start, everything went well. I saw the green card for the 5 minutes mark (the minimum) kept talking... then I saw the card for 8 minutes! Ack! point penalities for going over 8:30.... I was close enough to the end of the main body of my speech, so I wrapped that up quickly and went right into a slightly abbreviated conclusion.

It wasn't perfect, but it wasn't too bad either. I expect I'll get a B grade on this.

When I got home, in the afternoon actually - I put a movie on for Lila so I could have uninterupted study time (I was aiming for Econ ch. 9) I read maybe a page and a half and I realized how slow I was reading and how little I was actually comprehending... argh! It was bad. Then I realized the only coffee I had had so far was that half a cup from the morning... so? Did I get up and get some coffee? No. I pulled out the knitting loom that I wanted to learn how to use so I could teach Lila. And I did that for an hour.

Great use of time, I know. And now, after the kids have gone to bed, I'm too tired, I'm physically tired... and now I've really goofed off for an hour online. Chapter 9 Econ will have to wait until tomorrow.

Monday, March 10, 2008

The Perfect Storm

Oh boy... I'm in for a doozy tomorrow. My daugher is running a fever, we went to the doctors office, she did test negative for strep and flu but they warned that those can turn positive in 24-48 hours.....

AND I HAVE A MAJOR SPEECH TO DO TOMORROW! There are no makeups, no rescheduling. None. Argh! Chris is totally slammed at work right now, but I did ask him and he agreed he will watch Lila tomorrow so I can do my speech. And I will leave right afterwards. (I hate to be such a jerk, to do mine and then leave and not listen to the others. I would like to tell my class, I'm not a jerk! I just can't be there today... ).

Today I mainly focussed on my speech. I cut my powerpoint presentation down by a good number of slides and I've been focussed on TIME. Yesterday I practice an entire run-through with Lila and I was about 60% of the way through and that was at 10 minutes! OUCH! This is suppossed to be a 5-7 minute speech! I found time (and the classroom schedule) and went up to NSCC to set up my presentation and to make sure that my wireless clicker actually works for that system, and the projector works, etc). It's 24 miles one way, and I only had about 40 minutes to be up there, but it was time well spent. It was just a relief to know that it will work.

Tomorrow I need to cover chapter 9 in econ. The readings and study-everything for chapter 8 went well. I actually scored 90% on the chapter practice exam - one of my better scores. I swear, the instructor always throws in one or two extra questions that don't cover anything related to what was in our materials. Aggravating!

Sunday, March 9, 2008

Econ!!

OMG.

I just realized how screwed I am... not totally screwed as in the Econ Midterm is tomorrow, but it IS next Monday and I haven't even covered chapters 8-10 yet! Fuck! What was I thinking? I was thinking that March 17th seeems soooooo far away, and crap! How is it March 9th already?

I can probably do okay for this, but it is going to take A LOT of focus and time this week. Oh boy.... is there a drug that can keep me awake for about 3 days straight, no side effects and absolutely keeps my head clear while I'm awake. THAT would be such a good thing this week.

Saturday, March 8, 2008

Spring Break Week

Woooooooooooooooo-hooooooooooooooooooo!! Its been spring break and I've done a little bit ore than nothing. I went to the gym 3 times this week. I discovered http://www.kongregate.com/ and have fallen in love with the game Fancy Pants World 2. I played so much I actually had to put myself on a restricted internet diet; I was online for perhaps a total of 3 minutes between late Wednesday afternoon and Friday morning. and I successfully did it! I'm not an internet junkie yet! I wasn't sure I could just walk away from being online so much. But I really did burn myself out on that game and other misc. online pursuits.

I read a book this week, well once I quit playing video games I finished the book.

My plan this week was to WRITE that stupid english paper. I haven't even yet decided on which topic (we have 3 to chose from). I was going to read my Economics (and I haven't even thought of it until I happened across my book about an hour ago) and I was going to decide on a topic for a position paper (I think I've chosen, but I really should start a little research for it)... oh!!!!! crud! I have a major speech on Tuesday when we get back and I have not practiced nor put together a powerpoint slide show. Maybe I can still work on that this afternoon.....

Sunday, March 2, 2008

Sunday afternoons

Sunday afternoons usually mean I finally pay attention to the online class I pay the least attention to. This semester it's History, last semester it was Music Appreciation. They both have/had quiz due dates of either Sunday night or Monday night, so I would generally open up the book for the first time Sunday morning.

So far, this system of studying for neglected classes has worked out fine. Generally Sunday's are about doing laundry and planning for the week ahead. "Studying" for these lame classes usually fits in quite well with this schedule.

Right now I'm going over a practice quiz from the textbook online. The instructor has us linked from the class to the 4th edition of the book online. For the class we actually have the 6th edition. It was so lame a few chapters ago, I realized he was taking quiz questions directly from the practice tests for the 6th edition of the book online. I relied on that for a while, and then last week I got really lazy, and just went to those questions, jotted down the right answers to those I didn't already know and went into the test. And guess what? Totally different questions.... argh!!! I still managed 4/5, okay but not the perfect quiz scores I had previously rang up. This week I'm going back to my old ways, thoroughly read the chapter, do both version 4 and 6 practice quizzes... and THAT should do me good.