I had been wanting to get my college degree for some time now, but there always seemed to be something more important or demanding of my time and energy. 22 months ago, I finally embarked on the path to a lifelong dream: A college degree. Now, at 48 years of age, I completed my Associate program and plunged right into my bachelor program. My goal is a bachelor's degree by the time I reach my 50th birthday. So far, I’m on track.
April 2008 - Posts
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I am so tired. Aren’t vacation supposed to be for the purpose of winding down and relaxing—taking a break from the chaos of our lives and recharging in order to better face the chaos of our lives?
We returned on Tuesday morning from our three-day marathon of fantasy-land adventure exhausted and spent (physically and financially). Don’t get me wrong—we all had a magnificent time; the expression on Julie-Anne’s face was priceless when we were flying to Never-Never Land, when we were battling the Evil Emperor Zurg with our Astro Blasters as we joined Buzz Lightyear and Star Command to help protect the universe, and when we dove with the submarine and found Nemo and Dora (and friends). Sunday’s visit to the newer California Adventure Park was wonderfully new to everyone and the biggest impression was the Soarin’ ride which simulates a hang-glider’s view over various geographic beauties in California such as San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge, the pine forests, the orange groves, the snow-capped mountains of Lake Tahoe and much more. The ride adds the dimension of scent so as one soars over the pine trees or orange groves, the air is filled with the delicious scent of pine trees or oranges. It was awesome. Since the temperature in Anaheim was a sweltering 101 degrees, a ride down Grizzly River Run ended in a very welcome and well-needed soaking which I am certain thwarted the heat stroke that would have overtaken most of us that day.
Monday was spent at Universal Studios where the temperature and the attractions were much less threatening. The day was shorter for us as well, and we ended up back at the hotel late evening to clean up, pack up, and get a few hours rest before hitting the road for the drive back. We left at 3:00 AM Tuesday morning and drove straight home, stopping only twice and gladly pulled into the driveway at 9:30 AM. After unloading the kids, the car, and starting the washing machine (5 people + 4 days + hot weather = non-stop laundry for the rest of the day), and swinging by the kennel to retrieve the dog who surprisingly seemed reluctant to leave his new-found friends and their water hose game, everyone settled in for a much needed nap.
Everyone except me. Being the dutiful college student, I had homework due that night. I had reading to do that I had ignored since Sunday. I had a discussion question due by midnight. I had math exercises to perform (or face crashing and burning in the coming final test). I gave it my best shot…read as much as I could before my eyelids would stay open no longer. I posted my response to the DQ and ignored my math book. I needed a nap. At 3:00 PM I finally laid down…blissfully sinking into my pillow for what I hoped would be an uninterrupted and much-needed nap that lasted longer than an hour (which is what it feels like was all I had gotten over the past 4 days).
But it was not to be. Since I had not laid down for my nap when everyone else had, they were all getting up as I lay down. So, for the 5th consecutive day, I need to manage on about 2 hours of sleep.
The domino-effect of driving to a vacation destination is that not only do you burn precious vacation hours actually getting there and back; you are physically exhausted before the fun even begins. AND, in an effort to maximize your time at your destination by not wasting it sleeping, you stay up instead and wear yourself (and your patience) out. By the time we first walked through the gate at Disneyland on Saturday morning, I had been awake for 28 hours (except for snoozing in the car on the way—not a particularly restful way to sleep). By the time we laid down for the first time that afternoon, I had been awake for 34 hours. I slept for 2 hours and was back up and going for another 8 before lying down again. Again, a short 3 hours later we were on our way back to the park for a 7-hour marathon of Disney magic. Another 2-hour nap, and another 8-hour Disney marathon followed by 4 hours of sleep and a 13-hour Universal Studios adventure followed by 3 hours of sleep followed by 6 hours of driving.
All told, from Friday 6:30 AM to Tuesday at midnight, I am certain that I managed to capture 22 hours of sleep which averages 5.5 hours a day. If those hours were consecutive hours, it would seem manageable. However, since each day those 5.5 hours were split into two or even three parts…it is amazing I managed to drive the last leg home, not to mention get my discussion question posted on time.
Next time, we are definitely going to fly.
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I didn’t think I was going to get it done. In my excitement, not to mention exhaustion, I had just not been able to work on my assignment that was due by midnight on Sunday. I could not seem to focus on the task at hand. Why?
We are at the ‘Happiest Place On Earth.’ I have been awake for 48 hours with only cat-naps here and there. I had gotten up at the usual 6:30 AM on Friday to go to work as usual, worked only a half a day because there was so much to do before we left and I needed to do my Algebra checkpoint. Barely two dozen questions and I thought I would be able to get them out of the way and focus on packing for our trip and getting ready to go.
Seven and a half hours later...I had no choice but to submit what work I had completed and hope for the best. It took me seven and a half torturous hours to produce a decent submission for Algebra. I was so frustrated…by midnight, there is no other choice but to turn in what I had. I was unable to answer two of the problems due to lack of time, and I had incorrectly answered a one or two more leaving me with an 85.4% for a final grade. Nothing to shake a stick at, but still a B. AND, it took me all day. Literally.
Anyway, it was done and all that was left was the history assignment due on Sunday. Straightforward: A PowerPoint presentation; 6-9 slides. Should be easy and quick because the source material was already given. I didn’t even have to research it.
So, we packed up the kids and the car and departed in the wee hours of Saturday morning (I still had not slept). We drove straight to Anaheim from San Jose sharing the driving between three of us while the kids dozed. I had the second leg, so got a few winks of sleep, but not for long before it was my turn to drive. We arrived at the hotel at 9:15 AM on Saturday morning only to find out that our room would not be ready until after 2:00 PM. So, off to Disneyland we went to start our weekend of fun!
Now, the weather report said it was going to be warm, so we made sure we had lots of water and sunscreen but because we hadn’t checked into the hotel yet, I was still wearing my long-sleeved t-shirt when we entered the park. Who knew the temperature would nearly break records that day. A return to the hotel for a break from the heat was my first chance to try to pull together the PowerPoint presentation that was coming due. But the heat had gotten to me, not to mention the lack of sleep, and I needed to rest. Everyone else had crashed and so I set my alarm for two hours and gladly passed out.
Two hours later, we were back up and headed back to the park. It was open until Midnight so we were going to take full advantage. I still had Sunday to work on my assignment I kept telling myself, so although I was anxious about it, I didn’t want to spoil everyone else’s fun by having to leave the park early. We returned to the hotel after 2:00 AM on Sunday morning, exhausted. After showers were had and everyone had gone to bed, I sat down at the computer to give it my best shot. After all, I didn’t want to have to miss out on Sunday’s fun at the park.
I couldn’t do it. I found myself falling asleep with my hands on the keyboard. At 3:00 AM I gave up and went to bed. We were getting up at 7:00 to get to the park as they opened at 8:00. I could work on my assignment when we came back to the hotel for a cooling off break (like I was sure we would). How was I to know that the temperature in Anaheim would reach 101 degrees that day? The unusually hot weather was causing us to move much more slowly and the prospect of going back to the hotel was not something anyone was looking forward to. Eventually we made it back to the hotel, but it was now going on 2:30 and nobody had eaten all day, so off to get some food. At 4:00, we were back at the hotel and while everyone laid down for a short rest, I got started on this darned assignment that was now due in seven hours.
At 7:00 I finally got it done and we returned to the park to close them down. So now, we’re back in the hotel…it is 3:00 AM on Monday morning and we’re getting up early to go to Universal Studios…
I’m going to need a vacation when I get home!
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I started the day early. Unintentionally early, but early never-the-less and so got a head start on my Algebra quiz. This quiz was making me crazy and I had to take frequent short breaks just to stay sane while I struggled with figuring out what ‘b’ equaled and wondering why I really cared or if I will ever need to know in a real-life application. After all, the examples of real-life examples given in the textbook are nothing I will likely experience (or care to know) in my lifetime, like the grade of a hill or the domain and range of an equation and whether or not it is a function.
Last night I enjoyed watching my oldest son perform in a community musical theatre production after which the actors greet audience members and they try to have a decent conversation over the hubbub of everyone else trying to have a decent conversation. It was not going to work and his girlfriend was waiting for him, so I said I would talk to him today. So, during one of the frequent short breaks I needed to take from this Algebra quiz, I was chatting with him on the phone when I peeked out of the front window.
But that is the surprise…let me give you the lead-in:
For the past several weeks (apparently) unbeknownst to me, my family has been plotting this visit by Priscilla and Julie-Anne. Being in the military, Priscilla is eligible to “hop” onto a military flight on a space-available basis. It seems that she has been trying to do just this for the better part of a month. There is never any way to know whether or not the flight will accommodate passengers or even how many passengers so it is hit-and-miss. Priscilla and Julie-Anne packed up no less than three times to attempt the trip, each time to be turned away at the last minute. There are no reservations.
Last week I wrote in my blog about the Sharks’ game that I nearly got to attend. Apparently, I was going to be going to this game with Priscilla. But, she did not make the flight. Then, Ted said he had a project at work that he needed to go in early to take care of. Nothing out of the ordinary. When he did not go, he said that it got rescheduled. I didn’t think twice. This morning, he left for work and took Brandon with him saying that the project was back on and he had gotten permission for Brandon to help. Again, nothing out of the ordinary and I thought nothing of it. I looked forward to a day all to myself—I would sleep in, finish my homework, go shopping or even take in a movie. First things first though…the darned dog was not going to let me sleep in, so I got up early. Oh well, an early start on my Algebra quiz might mean more time for ME later on.
During one of my frequent breaks during the marathon Algebra quiz…who knew it would take me half a day to complete 23 questions…I called my son like I had promised the night before. We were having a long-overdue conversation, catching up on what he has accomplished in his sophomore year at college and he was explaining a project he had just recently completed and was somewhat proud of him. Unfortunately, it was at that moment that I peeked out the window…and I was no longer hearing him.
So, back to the surprise...
Standing there across the street was my husband, but who was that with him? The devil had cooked up a surprise visit by our daughter and granddaughter from Hawaii! There they were, waiting for me to notice them. I had not seen them for nearly two years. My little granddaughter was 3-1/2 when they moved to Hawaii and she turned 5 last February (they grow up so fast). I was so surprised…how had they all kept this secret from me for so many weeks?
Needless to say,…it was another hour before I settled back to the last three questions on my Algebra quiz. Although it was hard to focus, I managed to get it done and somehow squeezed a decent grade (84.8%) out of it as well. It isn’t an “A”, but I’ll take it anyway.
The next week or so is going to be tough for me because I am SO not going to want to focus on school. How can I when there is an adorable 5-year-old needing her Gamma??
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Thank goodness my Algebra quizzes are not timed. Thank goodness I decided to stay up this morning when the dog started yipping for a potty break coaxing me out of bed at 7:15 AM on a Sunday morning.
I let the dog out, made a pot of coffee, contemplated slipping back under the covers while it brewed but quickly made the bed before I could change my mind. I let the dog back in, fed him, fed the cats, poured a cup of coffee and turned on my computer. Sip. While it booted up, I wondered what I was going to do with all of the free time I would have today since I was getting an early start. Sip. Ted took Brandon to work with him this morning so I would have the entire day to myself—peace and quiet while I take my Algebra quiz, and then whatever I wanted. Maybe I’d go shopping. Or to the movies. Maybe I’d call up a friend and go have some lunch. It was going to be a “me” day, something I haven’t had in ages. Sip.
Check email. Sip. Read the headlines. Sip. Ok, the caffeine has started to kick in…so I dug into the quiz. The first few questions were not very difficult…apparently, some of this stuff is sinking in. Plus, the quizzes and tests are open-book so I have an advantage. I know there are going to be 23 questions and after the first hour, I had completed half of them, taking my time and flipping through the textbook to make sure I knew what I was doing…or at least making a good show of it. Then, I came to question #14. Uh oh. I hate the ones that try to take “real-life” examples and make an Algebra equation out of it. Seriously, when am I EVER going to need to know this? I’m nearly fifty years old NOW and haven’t needed this stuff yet.
I need a fresh cup of coffee. Put in a load of laundry. Did the breakfast dishes. Came back to my desk. Sip. Sip. Sigh. Dig back in.
There has to be an example of this in the textbook. I searched and searched, and for the life of me could not find out how to determine what ‘b’ equals. I found ‘m’ and even what ‘x’ equals. But, in order to correctly answer the question, I need to know what ‘b’ equals. How the heck do you find out what ‘b’ equals??? Sip. Sip. Sip.
After more than an hour and a half, stuck on question number 14, I decided I needed to move on. I was not getting anywhere on this one and it was now two and a half hours into this quiz with half of the questions still remaining unanswered. I plugged away for another hour and a half before hitting the submit button. Instantaneous results told me that I missed only three out of 23 questions. Of course, question number 14 was one of them. Question 20 was also wrong, but that question also required me to determine what ‘b’ equaled. Ugh. Cold coffee.
So, more than four and a half hours later I had completed twenty-three questions. I passed the quiz with a score of 84.8%. Not bad. Not GREAT. But not bad. Good thing these things are not timed.
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Concentrating on writing an essay about something I know very little about is hard enough so when single-parenting a belligerent, ungrateful, disobedient, rebellious, deliberately disrespectful, confrontational, soon-to-be-a-6th-grader-for-the-second-year-in-a-row interferes, my focus on History 135 is, well, history. Sometimes I just want to scream, he makes me so angry. Where in the world is that switch that was flipped that suddenly turned this child into an angst-ridden adolescent bent on pushing every single button I have. I said single-parenting earlier because due to my husband’s non-standard work schedule, I (the step-mom, who automatically as step-mom am in a lose-lose situation here) am saddled with the majority of the parenting.
I do not know how many times I have had to bite my tongue so I do not call him all of those things to his face…after all, he is a child and I am the adult…but I tell you one of these days I am going to slip up and all bets will be off.
Looking back into my own angst-ridden childhood, I can remember hating my parents. I think all kids do at one point or another because there is always going to be boundary-testing going on…it is, after all, a part of growing up. The difference is that when I was a child, if I disrespected my parents, I got the belt…on my bare butt (sometimes it was a metal spatula or a hairbrush. I came to be afraid of that belt and so I behaved myself (as far as they know) and minimized the times that the belt and I would meet.
Nowadays, parents are not allowed to parent. Instilling the fear of punishment is no longer an acceptable form of parenting. Parents can no longer strike their children for fear that Child Protective Services will come knocking at their door. The acceptable form of punishment is a ‘time-out’ or the removal of a privilege such as watching T.V. or going out to play. Being ‘grounded’ is the worst thing a parent can do to a child.
Big deal.
Grounding a child is punishment on the parent. Grounding a child means they cannot get out of your hair. They are constantly coming to you with “I’m bored” or “what can I do” which, when offered a chore like, say, cleaning the bathroom or organizing the chaos in their closet, they refuse and retreat back into their room for 20 minutes before the ritual begins again.
I really need to get this history essay written. 700 to 1050 words addressing the connection between student unrest and the Vietnam War, noting how each affected the other, and explaining the political and social outcomes of the end of the Vietnam War is due by midnight on Sunday. Concentrating on the volumes of peer-reviewed articles on the subject is hard enough. Having to stop every 5 minutes to explain why I insist a helmet is required when going skateboarding, rollerblading, or biking – even though all of the so-called ‘normal’ kids don’t have to wear one, or to intercept a hasty exit to find out where he’s going or when he’ll be back, or to watch the clock and call him 30 minutes past check-in deadlines to find out why he didn’t check in, is making the completion of this history research very, very difficult.
When I was a kid, I swore I would never use the phrase “Because I said so.” I understand now why my parents used the phrase. It is a stop-phrase that says, “I do not have to have a reason; you are a child and I am an adult.” It also says “I am so freakin’ tired of explaining to you why I am asking or telling you to do or to not do something that if I have to tell you one more time to (fill in the blank) I will just have you come in and you can stay in for the rest of your spring break.”
Why?
Because I said so.
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Ok, while I’m not the diehard fan my husband is, I still thoroughly enjoy going to hockey games when the San Jose Sharks play home games. If we could afford season tickets, we’d have them (but at $5,000 per year for a pair of them, it is just not realistic, let alone practical). My husband shares with a friend what is called a 10-pack which gets him 2 tickets to 5 games in the regular season and 1 ticket to each round of playoff games should the team do well. Last night was Game A, Round 1 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Sharks are the top pick to win The Cup this year but they lost last night—on home ice, even—to Calgary by one goal—not a strong start, but we remain hopeful. My husband is going to the game tonight and until about 5 minutes ago I was resigned to sit at home with our son and watch the game on T.V. (that is, assuming my homework is done—priorities, you know).
As I was saying, that was until about 5 minutes ago. Ted (my husband) just called me at work to tell me that his go-to-hockey-game-buddy, Mark, had four (4) tickets to tonight’s game (quick excited breath!)…so Ted had an extra ticket for tonight’s sold-out game (another quick excited breath – YES!!! A playoff game…so very exciting!!!).
Crud. Sudden letdown.
If I go, there is nobody to stay home with our son. DANGIT! The opposing team is our son’s favorite. DANGIT! I have homework. DANGIT! DANGIT! DANGIT!
My husband is so sweet…he said “why don’t YOU go and take Brandon?”
Ok, diehard hockey fans with two playoff tickets and the chance to spend quality ‘boy time’ with their son do not say “why don’t YOU go and take Brandon” and really mean it. Do they?
Don’t think I didn’t consider it—even if it was for a millisecond.
Sigh. I have homework. Go Sharks.
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Although the class is taking up more of my time than any other class I have taken so far, Algebra 1A has proven to be easier than I thought it would be. I’m certainly not saying it is easy, just easier than I thought.
The quiz in week 4 was 22 questions. Thank goodness it was untimed and open-book because otherwise I would have crashed and burned. However, patience and my textbook at my side helped me lose only one point (one-half of two wrong answers) to result in a 95.5% grade on the quiz.
I got an A on an Algebra quiz. “I” got an A. On an “ALGEBRA” quiz. Me. The girl who can’t count to 10 using her fingers.
Wow.
It took me one hour and thirty-three minutes to answer twenty-two questions. The two I missed were wrong because I did not correctly apply that darned negative sign (I wonder if I will EVER ‘get’ that darned rule). Because those two that I missed each had two parts, I only missed one-half a point per error, so…21/22 was my final score.
Did I say “Wow” ??
Entering Week 5 of Algebra 1A with a boost of confidence was a very good feeling that quickly went away because as soon as I began to read the chapter on functions, my brain turned to mush. Correspondence, domain and range…OH MY! I spent several hours trying to formulate a response to the discussion question and finally within an hour of the deadline I submitted my weak post and a plagiarized example for the class to analyze. I took the example from the textbook (I cited it…ok, so it wasn’t plagiarized…) but feel so stupid that I just don’t get it. I read my classmates posts and am amazed that they get it. Why can’t I get it?
If the final test in Week 9 is timed, I’m screwed.
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