My Crazy Life

This is going to be a rapid fire, all over the place and long (sorry Steph) post. I'm feeling it today. I'm feeling overwhelmed and freaking out a little bit inside. I got back to Austin last night. Thought I'd be fine and be able to get back to the grind with no problems. I had so much to do last night that I went to sleep really late. But couldn't actually fall asleep. I guess my body got used to sleeping next to my husband. I just could not fall asleep until right before my alarm went off. Then I hit off instead of snooze so I overslept. I don't know how or why I woke up when I did on my own, but I'm glad I woke up at all. I usually get up around 6am and head out by 7am or 7:30am. I woke up at 8:30am! I was gone by 8:50am and arrived at school about 10:45am even after stopping at my favorite kolache bakery in Caldwell. And I didn't even speed too bad, only 4-5 mph over the speed limit where I could. I was starving since I didn't have time for breakfast and really needed some comfort food this morning. I know worldly things won't solve the problem, but it sure felt better as I was eating my favorite kolaches, poppy seed. Yes, that was plural. I had two! It's okay since I've lost 10 pounds this semester, probably from stress.

As I was approaching the parking lot I'm assigned to I could see both buses I can ride driving off. I only had to wait about five minutes for both the #1 Bonfire and #5 Bush School buses to arrive. I jumped on the #5 and arrived on campus with 15 minutes to walk to the building. I got to class on time but didn't have enough time to use the restroom. Thank goodness I didn't have to go too bad, like normal. Sorry. We covered problems people were having with their research paper and got our book reviews back before the professor left so we could do an evaluation. I am not happy with my grade, 79, C+. This is the first C I've made in this class. Of six assignments, I've made 3 A's, 2 B's and now this C. And I thought I did so well on it too. I was actually pretty pissed off about it.

After we finished our evaluations, five of us stayed in the classroom and discussed our disappointment with our grades on the book reviews which led to discussion about our final paper and overall grade in the class. Everyone else is graduating this December so they are freaking out more than me. One girl sat with me and helped me figure out my grade in the class so far. I have an 87.9, B+, which is not bad. I actually had no idea what my grade was because I had not calculated it. So I'm feeling a little better about that since it means if I make an 80 on my final paper, I'll make an 88.1 in the class. If I make a 70 on my final paper, I'll make an 84.8 in the class. AND if I make a 60 on my final paper, I'll make an 81.5 in the class. IF we calculated it all correctly. So I'd have to do really, really bad on my final paper to make below a B in this class. I know I have to make at least a C in the class since it's a class for my major, but I think I only need a C in it to keep my GPA above the minimum for my major.

I'm usually not a person who figures out the minimum I need to make on a test or paper to pass a class, but I do not want to take this class again or pay for it again. My other problem is I'm an overachiever and I care about my grade in this class and what my professor thinks about me. Although I have an "I don't care" attitude, deep, deep, deep down inside, I really do care. I wish I could be like that sometimes, but I can't. I wasn't raised that way. Darn hard-working, respectable parents of mine are to blame for that. SO I made an appointment for tomorrow morning and Sunday afternoon at the University Writing Center for help improving my paper. I'm going to spend tonight fixing all the little problems so I can use all of my 45 minute appointment with a writing expert on the bigger issues.

Once I turn in my final paper for my history class on Tuesday, December 4th by 5:00pm, I will finish reading two weeks worth of assignments for my anthropology class for the final on Wednesday, December 12th. While I was in DC our grades were posted for the third test in that class. I made an 83, B. I'm cool with that. I have an 88 so far in this class and I'm not worried at all about it or my final grade. Plus if I go to the local natural history museum, I can get two bonus points added to my final grade. So you know I'll be going to help my overall grade any way I can.

Now that I got all that off my chest, I feel better. Wow, this blog is good for something. Thanks for reading my ramblings. And thanks for all your prayers. I'll try to post this weekend if I get time about my wonderful time in DC with Roger. It really was a blessing to be with him especially when he received his MEB. I was so happy to be able to be there to see one step of the process and meet so many people that have helped Roger to get to this point and make it through this whole process. It was great to get to celebrate with him. I'll tell you more about it all when I get a chance. Until then...pray for me to make it through this next two weeks and keep praying for Roger to be able to come home to me soon. I love you all and appreciate your love and prayers so much. I hope you all know how much I do. :)

Back To School

Okay, school started a couple weeks ago. I'm behind posting about starting school. Yes, I've finally gone back to college to finish my bachelors degree. Since I was blessed with being able to work part time (and from home) and while Roger's still in DC, I'm going to take this opportunity to get as much out of the way as possible.

I am taking two classes this semester. History 481 and Anthropology 202. History 481 is my last history class for my major and the toughest. Both of my classes are on Tuesday-Thursday. So I travel to Texas A&M two days a week. The commute is not bad. I'm sure eventually it will get old, but thank the Lord I only have this semester and next spring to graduate. And everyone else is driving in the opposite direction so there's really no traffic to deal with except getting out of Austin. My first day of class has been the worst. As I drove away from Austin towards Bastrop, the traffic began to back up. I heard on the radio a dump truck turned over and split it's load over the entire road. So I slowly inched forward for an hour. But it was slow enough that I could read some of my anthropology homework. Thank goodness it was not a sign of things to come. So far, my commute has been easy and uneventful. And I give myself four hours to travel two just in case. I use the extra time to read before class. I've got it down to a science now.

The hardest part of the commute has been on the days I'm really tired. But of course, I have found a few coffee shops and one kolache bakery along my two hour drive. There's the usual McDonald's and other fast food places, but I really can't stand those so I don't stop there. One of the coffee shops is local, Coffee Dog, which I prefer over the mega chain Starbucks in Bastrop. But both are convenient and have drive-thru's. And of course the kolache bakery is my favorite but I try not to stop there unless it's an emergency. I'm usually tired from all this reading I've been doing. I basically spend all my time reading. The first week of class I had to read 478 pages of extremely interesting material. Of course you know I'm being sarcastic. I learned a lot but it was difficult reading. I had to have a dictionary through out most of it. I don't know why these people have to use pompous words instead of more understandable words. Some of them I have never heard of. Some weren't even in the latest edition of Webster's dictionary and I had to look them up online. It's kind of ridiculous to need a dictionary to read something. And it was pretty boring at times due to the overwhelming data. The first Saturday night I had to make myself a few cups of coffee to stay awake. It was tough. And now I get to add onto those reading assignments, work toward a 20 page research paper. My research proposal is due next Friday. And my first test is next Thursday. So my weekends (Friday afternoon through Monday) are spent reading, studying, researching and writing. I work three mornings a week. The other time during the week I'm either in class, stopping to visit my parents or reading. Even in between classes I read. I'm so glad this is all almost over.

One thing about going back to school after such a long break is how different college is now. It's the same for the most part, but it's better in one sense and worse in another. So it's better because of technology. Professors are actually using it now. We don't turn in papers physically now. We turn them in electronically using a website called Turnitin.com. We also don't get our grades in class after a test now. We go to a website, log in and get our grades there. I can do almost all of my research online now. There are so many journals, articles, documents, etc which have been digitized now. Which is good for me since I don't live in the same town as the university. And some professors are actually recording their lectures and posting them on websites so you can catch anything you miss. Or skip class completely and just listen online. Of course, human error still exists so that last option is not a smart one. I wish you could listen to my anthropology professor's lectures but only students can access it. He can be very funny, but over all presentation of the subject matter is boring. It could help anyone with sleeping problems. I'm very happy about this part of going back to college. Technology has made it so much better.

The part that's not so much better is how much more "mature" I am compared to my classmates after this long break. It's not that I look like grandma to these kids, even though I'm ten years older than most. I blend in pretty well. Someone told me last week they thought I was 27. Yes, I did hug them. But the immaturity of my classmates and the majority of the undergraduates is hard to deal with sometimes. From fashion to study habits to conversation topics to personalities to commitment to priorities is strikingly different. Most of the time, it's actually amusing. I have to laugh, in my head of course, sometimes. I asked two kids sitting next to me in my 300 student anthropology class if they were freshmen because their conversation was too much. And they freak out so easily. It really is amusing. I feel like every other class I'm calming their fears about something. And the fashionistas are unbelievable. Okay, so Texas A&M's main campus consists of about 2400 acres plus west campus right across the railroad tracks which makes the College Station campus a total of 5200 acres plus 340 acres for the Research Park. The average student walks the 2400 acre main campus. Some have classes or park in both the main and west campuses. And it's hot in Texas regardless of the mild summer we've had this year. And you should see the heels, heavy make-up and the outfits. I've seen Dolce & Gabbana sunglasses, low plunging necklines, skimpy, spaghetti strap summer dresses. These girls are trying so hard. One might think they are only there for a hook-up or future husband. It's actually quite amusing. One thing that really bugs me is the lack of commitment and professionalism especially in my history class. This is our major's seminar class. Everyone has to take it. You'd think if it's your major, you'd actually care. But no, most don't. And it was beginning to seem like no one was doing the reading for class discussion, which is a major part of our grade and people were waiting for me to answer questions. So I decided last week, I wasn't going to speak up until after someone else did. Although the professor has to wait for a response, I don't feel like a big mouth or goody two shoes. Maybe I've been in the professional world too long.

This semester ends the first week of December. I'll have already registered for classes for Spring 2008 before then and paid the graduation fee which is required before you graduate. Next semester I have to take two 300-400 level anthropology classes for my minor. I've already looked at the classes available and wow, it's going to be tough to pick two. I've got it narrowed down to three possibilities based on the schedule, work load, whether a research paper is required and topic. In that order. Of course, the 2008 schedule won't be posted for another month so this might change. Because of technology, you can see most of the syllabi online and choose your classes by what ever criteria you like. As long as I pass these last four classes, I will be able to graduate next May. Yeah! I can't wait. At first I was set that I wasn't going to walk the stage but I was convinced I should. Man, I really can't wait for that day. Then it's Roger's turn to finish his degree.

Although I'm making it sound horrible, I really am enjoying what I'm learning in both of my classes. I would not ever have learned the material that's being covered and I know I will benefit from knowing it. I might actually use it toward my career. I'll try to post about the actual topics of my class later. Hope you're having a great weekend. I'm off to finish my anthropology reading. :)