53 Days

I have exactly 53 days of higher education left in my life. (Unless I go to law school, which looks less and less likely as the days go by.)

I would just like to say that I feel that these past 2 years have been the biggest waste of my time. I got really good at knowing how to use unlimited practice quizzes to get 100% on final exams that counted for 75% of my grade, thus ensuring little effort had to be put into learning.

And I recently sat down and figured out that as long as I get a C- (70% - the required grade to pass) in my last ever (and current) class, I will still graduate magna cum laude and on the Dean's list. So the little motivation I had to do well is pretty much gone.

I am such a major slacker.

Kill me now.

I found out last night that my class that starts this week - my very first class of my senior year of college, my very first 400 level class - is being taught by a professor I've already had.

We had to write a group research paper the last time I had her. We have to do that again this semester. My group would have gotten a perfect score, except that we lost a full letter grade for word usage. Not incorrect words. Not inappropriate words. Just words that had a better substitute. Like we used "show" instead of "demonstrate" and "teach" instead of "instruct." Is that legal?

So now, on top of working earlier, driving to Royal Oak twice a week, and the uncomfortableness that is my physical therapy, I'll be going through the next 8 weeks worrying about my word usage!

Higher Education is funny

Aharon's at home with a totally spazzing back. I'm not sure what he did, but the guy almost always has back pain, but I've never seen him in quite as much pain as he was in this morning. Luckily, work for him today was kind of optional. And even more luckily, his health insurance card arrived on Thursday. So he's home until around 2 and then he's going to the doctor...for like the first time in years with the exception of when he burned all the skin off his elbow last winter.

Anyway, I'm sitting at work right now with a pot of coffee and a 20 ounce bottle of coke. The coffee is to warm me up and wake me up, since it's freezing in this building. I also didn't sleep well all weekend thanks to being home alone most of Friday (Aharon was at a bachelor party until 5:30 am), a huge thunderstorm Saturday night (we're talking constant lightening and thunder from about midnight until around 4 am), and a small thunderstorm Sunday night coupled with Aharon flopping around trying to get comfortable despite all the pain he was in.
The coke (I normally drink diet) is to hopefully settle my stomach, which is full of unhappiness that should have been gone by now. (TMI: birth control. Doctor said it would take 3 months to really feel the effects. I'm going on 4 months and do not feel any better.)

But the point of my post is really this: college and why people hate me/I hate myself.

I had a class that started one week before my wedding. Stress management, ironically enough. Right away I found out I had to do a book report (because apparently senior in college equals fifth grade) and write a paper about past experiences with stressful times. The paper was due while I was on my honeymoon, so I sat down right away and did it. I can't say I put a lot of effort into it. I got a perfect score on it.

So I slacked a little. I went on my honeymoon. I came home and picked up my book for my report from the library. It sat untouched on my kitchen table for about 3 weeks. Then I realized I had two weeks to do the four-page paper. I read the first 3 pages of the book and then set it aside.

One week later, I read about nine random pages, then set out to write the report. I spend about twenty minutes writing it on Monday, and then about 15 minutes finishing it up on Tuesday. Including reading time, I probably put about 2 hours into the entire project. Aharon was upset with me for not taking school seriously. (I never have, though. He knew this before the wedding!) I told him that the wedding made me slack and that I'd do better next semester.

I got my paper back Saturday night.

I got a 100%.

Aharon = furious.
Sarah = a little disappointed that I was basically rewarded for being the biggest slacker-who-is-still-a-straight-A-student in the history of the school.

I want to get a degree. I want to learn. I just don't want to do homework or learn about stress or read books.

It's not my fault that school comes naturally to me. Ask my mom, if I would have put even a slight effort into high school, I easily could have been top of my class. Instead I slacked off and graduated fourth. I was thrilled about that, but I knew I could have done better.

I guess I just don't have any motivation.

That's why I want to go to law school. I think it's the one thing that would actually provide a challenge to me and be interesting at the same time! I may actually put some effort into law school. 'May' being the key word, here, though. Because after I graduated magna cum laude and not summa cum laude when I earned my Associates, I said I would actually apply myself at Siena. That clearly hasn't happened.

This Blog Keeps Me Organized! - Updated!

Things accomplished:

1. Invitations are in the mail!
2. Thank You cards from the shower are done and ready to go out this weekend!
3. Aharon's suit is ordered.
4. Honeymoon plans are underway, although not concrete.
   

Things to accomplish:

1. Aharon needs a dress shirt and shoes.
2. All the guys need ties. I plan to accomplish that this weekend.
3. Flowers need to be made. Get back with me the first week in June. Scrap the making flowers. Ordered bulk floral from Sam's Club.
   
4. Hotel for night before and night of wedding needs to be booked.
5. Honeymoon plans need to be finalized.
6. My legs are really white. I should do something about this. I have a buttload of gradual tanner from bath and body works.
   
7. Put together the slide show.
8. Programs!
9. Music for the ceremony and reception.
   
10. Engagement pictures!
    

Non-Wedding related things to accomplish:

1. Car needs touch up paint applied so it looks pretty for the wedding every single day!
2. Car needs to be cleaned like woah. There's dirt from 2007 in it!
3. I have a paper to write. It's due this Saturday...or maybe next Saturday. Either way, I'm writing it on Friday night soon. Because Aharon will be gone so I can have the apartment to myself and write, dang it! I felt the need to clean the entire apartment instead of write my paper.
   
4. My prescription is not generic. I need 3 free months to make up the cost or a new prescription. I have a budget, drug companies!
5. Sign off on Aharon's loan transfer.

This is why I hate higher education!

Every single day for the last two weeks has had something going on. About 95% of it is wedding/marriage related. We finally looked at apartments. The first one is a nice, spacious two bedroom. It really could rival a small house in the area. It's affordable, but not comfortably. Plus we are concerned about the employment situation. Aharon's job at G5 with me is technically a seasonal job. I think if they can avoid laying him off they will, but we don't want to just bank on that happening. The second one is tiny. Like really, really tiny. But it's dirt cheap. However, we won't be able to take all of our furniture with us, and having friends over will be difficult. There's just not enough room. Luckily we can store whatever doesn't fit at his parent's house. But it just feels strange to me to move and not take everything with me.

When Aharon and I sit down and talk about it, the small one definitely makes sense and sounds like the best option. But then as the day or night goes on and I spend time thinking about it, I start to get a little panicked. It's very tiny! I want to be able to have friends over and feel like it's home. I just don't know if that will happen at this place.

I'm going to try to go back to the small place tonight and take some measurements and then get all geeky and do some 3D floor plans. Plus I want my mom to see it. She's lived in a tiny apartment before and then moved into our very large house, so she'll have a better idea of what can be done and what can't. Maybe she'll say there's no way we can make it work. And if so, two bedroom here we come!

Aharon and I agreed last night that we both feel like we're trying to sell the other person on the apartment of our choice. He likes the small one, I like the big one. It's a little entertaining.

So now, back to the education thing. Anybody who really, really knows me will know that learning comes naturally to me. I don't have to work for it or even put forth much effort. Aharon hates this, and I totally understand.

The college I'm at now is hard, or, at least that's what I've been told. It's degree - among Catholics - is considered very prestigious. I'm not sure how it fares in the real world, though. All I know is that it was affordable, in my price range, and they transferred every single credit I had. You can't argue with that.

While some of the classes have been challenging - like the religion class - others aren't a big deal. Sitting down and writing a big paper in 8 weeks when I'm more on a schedule of 16 weeks was an adjustment, but it's of no concern to me now.

Long story short, I don't really do the assigned reading. I skim each chapter, read the summaries and review terms, and I read the professor's lectures through. So I know the material. But I don't feel the need to spend 2 hours reading a book that will just get regurgitated to me through the review terms and lectures.

Anyway, last night I took my final. Open book. I had an hour. I went through and answered what I knew, then spent time looking up the ones I wasn't sure of. I had time left over, so I went back and looked up ones I had answered on my own just to double check. I submitted the exam with 3 minutes remaining.

I got a 65%.

How is that even possible?

And don't tell me that's what I get for not reading. I have never and will never do the assigned reading. And I've gotten through life with a pretty high GPA so far.

The Politics of Emotion

I'm going to see how many posts I can get in 2009 that have a Lostprophets' song title as the entry title. So far I'm 2 for 2!

I am now back to work after my incredibly busy two week layoff. Had I not been laid off from December 20 through January 4th, I may have had to take all that time off anyway, as such is usually the case.

I am also back to school. This was really the part of January that I was dreading. I don't think I have the following traits which are necessary for online schooling:

1. An attention span
2. Discipline
3. Time management skills
4. The ability to do school when I would rather do any of the following:

• Playing video games. Specifically: Animal Crossing City Folk
• Watch TV on DVD.
• Sit on my bed - thinking about what I should be doing for school - and watch Aharon play video games.
• Clean. Yes. I like to clean. It's almost unhealthy how much I like to clean. But only if it's my mess. I don't like cleaning up after others.

I think all of those bullet points as well as item #4 lead me back to item #1.

I really want to make a bunch of lists. For what purpose, I do not know. But I want to.

New Shoes Won't Save You This Time

January.

Tomorrow is Aharon's little sister's wedding. That's all I have to say about that.

Monday I am back to work! I am pleased to report that I am actually happy that I am going back to work on Monday. I enjoyed my two weeks off as best as possible. Attending a funeral was not something I planned on doing over those two weeks, but life and death are unpredictable.

School for me starts back up on Saturday, but since I will be dealing with the wedding all day, I'm not officially starting until Sunday. I logged in last night and read through all my assignments so I have an idea of what needs to be completed over the next 8 weeks. I am honestly and truly terrified of taking this class. It's called Scripture and Society. And in case you didn't know, I go to a private Catholic University. I read the preface to our "textbook" last night and I was unimpressed. The textbook literally states that the problem with "religion" in our modern society is that so many people still "see the Bible as the inerrant and infallible Word of God." Kill. Me. Now.

Lucky for me, I have the associate pastor at my church reading the textbook along with me. Also, my friend Kadie's boyfriend Chris (a recent theology school graduate) is in Michigan and unemployed at the moment, which means he can help me write my papers in exchange for some high-speed internet access for his Playstation 3.