Now I know what Dad went thru... even if it is only temporary

Last night, I discovered that I can barely hear out of my left ear.

I must have some kind of (ewww) wax build-up that I need to address in a hurry. In my math class today, I thought Kalea was asking me to spell "Chinese food", instead of her saying she smelled Chinese food...

It's driving me nuts.

My dad was deaf in one ear due to a jeep accident after WWII which ruptured his eardrum. Now I kind of know what he went thru during the last half of his life.

And it's a little late to commiserate, now, isn't it?

Guess I'll have to take advantage of the "family discount" and have Dean check my ear and remove any wax that may be in there. I kinda need to hear, don't I?


That's all from where I sit.

--MorelaterZ--

crossposted here

The walk home is going to be brutal today

...or so say the weather prognosticators on the local news.

All it means to me is that I'm going to be sweating and exhausted.

I'm almost missing the rain. :P

I need a nice surprise today. Like my financial aid to come in the mail, or for someone to come over and visit.

Or for someone to fix my car and the money to do the same.

I know, I know... wishful thinking on my part.

Better get on to class...


That's all from where I sit.

--MorelaterZ--

I made the RSC VP's honor roll!!!

Now, don't go saying you knew it all along, that I'm a smart cookie, etc., etc., etc.

Because this is a BIG FREAKIN' DEAL to me! Because for this former underachieving (according to some) student, it means a lot. I wasn't always the best student who ever graced a campus (anywhere), and it concerned me greatly that I would fall flat on my face academically.

This proves that I didn't.

And, yes, I will post all the certificates I get for making the honor roll.

It's all been worth it: the walking in the snow and ice, the troubles with Babydoll, the late nights I spent losing sleep because I was worried about a test, the lack of sleep in general. And, this laptop was the best investment in my education I could have ever made with the limited funds I had.


I'd like to thank the academy...

Okay, okay... even I know when to stop.





That's all from where I sit.

--MorelaterZ--

Welcome all to my disciplined breakdown

(Because if I'm going to go looney tunes, I'm going to do it my way, dammit!)

Before you even ask, Larry, my week sucked.

If Daniel and his smashed up thumb wasn't enough, I had to stay home from school on Tuesday because of some stomach bug. And, because it was raining cats and dogs and chickens and goats when I attempted to walk to school today, I ended up staying home again. I can't miss any more school, so I HAVE to get my transportation issues taken care of, like yesterday.

And there's an issue with the internet service I have from Cox in my neighborhood, so the connection has been iffy since last night. To finish my homework last night, I ended up on someone's wireless signal. Cox assures me that the issues should be resolved by this afternoon.

Now, I'm at the library, on my laptop, typing away. Oh. Joy.

Here is my view from the library:


This is S.E. 15th Street in Del City. Off to the right somewhere is the baseball field at Del City High School.

And this is the library's view of yours truly:


Stef being her usual smartass self.

Right now, as I type this, it's raining again. It's raining hard. I might be here a while.

This just hasn't been my week. Maybe next week will be better. It certainly can't get any worse, can it? (Wait! Don't answer that! You'll jinx me!)

hope your week off was better than mine. see ya soon, cowboy!

That's all from where I sit.

--MorelaterZ--

Maybe it was something I ate?

I'm sure you don't want to read about how I spend all of last night in the bathroom. It's the reason I am still at home instead of at school, where I am currently missing a math test.

Just what was in that KFC that I had at Mom's last night, anyway?

Nor do you want to hear about my phone conversation with Saon at 1am where he told me that he was hospitalized for two days last week because he was stressed about everything. And, being the big guy he is, and his family history of depression and heart disease, maybe he needs to get out of the Big Easy for a while. That's the gist of the conversation.

Nor do you want to hear about how damn hot it is here in Oklahoma City. Yesterday, it was 95; last year on yesterday's date it was 100. Big whoop. Hot and humid is still hot and humid.

So, since I really have nothing to say, I better go. KFC doesn't taste as good when it comes up than it did when it goes down, if you get my drift.


That's all from where I sit.

--MorelaterZ--

Waiting on Daniel Time

I'm going up to the Social Security office at Shepard Mall this afternoon, and Daniel is picking me up from school. He always does everything on his time, so now, I'm on Daniel Time waiting for him.

Let's see if he gets here before too long.

In other news... while waiting for him to call me (because he was out when I called him), I was waiting outside the Admin building here on campus and two things happened: one, I was sitting on a wall when I felt something wet on my backside. Turns out I was sitting on a sprinkler that had gone off shortly before I arrived there. Now I have a wet spot on my butt. Two, when I realized I was sitting on the sprinkler, I hopped off the wall and heard something crunch under my shoe. I looked down and saw that I had stepped on a small frog, and said frog was now deceased. It didn't have a chance.

And this right after watching the first twenty minutes of "Saving Private Ryan" in Music Video Production, just to check out the editing... now I know why I never saw it... it's a little too realistic for me.

Better go out and see if Daniel has arrived...

That's all from where I sit.

--MorelaterZ--

Oh, man... I am soooo sore!

It's not the walking to school that's going to kill me, it's the pain I feel in my back that probably will. I told Larry today I might be in traction by the end of all this. He thinks I'll be healthier from all the walking, and that may be true. But it's a long, long way to the end of July...

I had homework today, which I expected. What I didn't expect was Ben, Larry's colleague from the broadcasting school, to be in my Music Video Production class. I had a heads up that Ben would be there, but it was still a surprise when I walked into class, and there sat Ben, looking like he was going to a GQ photo shoot after class.

And I think I've seen my math prof at WalMart a few times. She looked really familiar when I walked into her class this morning.

When I get a little cash, I'm going to get mad amounts of Gatorade, and lots of body lotion to keep my skin from drying out from all the showers I'm going to be taking.

It's going to be in the 90's tomorrow... Lord help me!

help me dry off?

That's all from where I sit.

--MorelaterZ--

Used, cheap and available-- and NO it's not me

I had ordered my summer class textbooks earlier this month and UPS brought them to my door this afternoon. I opened up the box (which was smaller than I imagined it would be), and saw that all three books I ordered were included. My government text had this sticker on its spine:



Ratcliffe's is the other bookstore that Rose State students can purchase books from, but all three of mine came from Rose State's bookstore on campus, so the government text must have started out at Ratcliffe's at some point.

I also got the books for my (dreaded) math class and for the video class I'm taking. The thing about the book for the video class is that the prof uses it in four of his classes, one of which I'm taking in the fall, so that's one less book I have to buy in August.

And there's no doubt the books (except the math book) are used. Not only do they have stickers on them indicating they're used, but there's a stamp on them as well... as if I couldn't tell by looking that they weren't new. The government text is in pretty good shape. The television news reporting book is not in great shape, but it's not falling apart, either. It's also got highlighting in it, too. I was always told that if you highlight a textbook, you can't sell it back. Guess the rules have changed since 1985, ya think?


That's all from where I sit.

--MorelaterZ--

It just dawned on me

Summer classes start on Monday!

I ordered my books online from the Rose State Bookstore and I'm expecting them before the end of the week.

It's the schlepping them to school that's going to be hard on me. Still trying to get the dinero to get the water pump replaced. Until then, I'll be hoofin' it.

At least I won't be having any more of those unintentional all nighters, because I'll be too tired to stay up all night long.

Meanwhile, I've got stuff to do...

thanks for peeking, cowboy.


That's all from where I sit.

--MorelaterZ--

And now, for the first time in his life...

Number 3 son, Scott, has to go to school on his birthday!

Usually, school would be out by now. But because of all the wacky winter weather we had, that's pushed the last day of school to June 1st.

Hell, when I was in school, many moons ago, we didn't even get out of school for the summer until mid-June. And the fall term started in the fall (mid-September), dammit!

These kids got it so good nowadays. I always had to go to school on my birthday, unless it fell on a weekend. Then again, my birthday is in February.

So have a great day at school today, Scott. Oh, yeah, happy 16th birthday! Love you --Mom



Scott shares his birthday with some impressive people... among them John F. Kennedy, Bob Hope, and Melissa Etheridge.

(For other well known folks who share May 29th as their birthday, go here.)


That's all from where I sit.

--MorelaterZ--

Hmmm...not bad...

but I can do better. Something to work towards at any rate.

Got all of my grades, finally. The last two were probably posted this morning. I was hoping for a 3.5, but the 3.25 I did get is okay.

My goal for the semester was to get a 3.0 GPA, so I achieved that. For the summer classes, I just want to get the math class out of the way without falling flat on my face. It doesn't count towards my GPA, but that doesn't mean I can do poorly in it. For the two that do count, I want to do well.

In the fall, I want to better the 3.25 GPA I just got for the spring semester. I mean, if I'm not going to do well, what's the point of going to school?

Part of me wishes I'd done this years ago; and part of me is glad I waited until now.

It's gonna be tough asking my 21 year old son to help me with math homework though (he offered, BTW).

thanks for peeking, cowboy

That's all from where I sit.

--MorelaterZ--

Grrrr...

This just kills me...

When I was looking for full time work, there were no jobs to be had. Now that I'm in school and really need only a part time job, everybody's got full time work.

Now that I need to get at least a water pump for the car, I need something asap. I have qualified for the Federal Work Study program, but, if I indeed get a FWS job, it won't start til August.

And I'm too old to work in fast food. It's fine for kids like Jeff. Johnnie's Express has allowed Jeff to save money for a car, but you can't live on that. Or at least, I can't.

But if that's what it takes... *sigh*

I got a call just before I sat down to do this post. It was for a full time job, but I can't take it because I'm in school full time. The guy on the other end sounded like I wasted his time.

I'm not going to give up on school. There has to be a way to make it all play nicely together.

There HAS to be.

Now, I have to go hunt up something to get rid of this headache.


That's all from where I sit.

--MorelaterZ--

Hmmm, interesting...

In looking at the Rose State website, two of my classes have already posted my grades for the semester.

One of them was for the class where I had my first final and screwed it up royally. I actually got a decent grade out of it.

Once the grades for all four classes are posted, I might post them here. And, I might not. So far, I have a 3.5 GPA going on... but that's only for those two classes.

Interesting, indeed...


That's all from where I sit.

--MorelaterZ--

Be still my achy breaky heart...!

I can sleep in tomorrow!

How much you want to bet that I'll still get up at 7:30am like I have everyday since January 22nd?

Then, it's back to the US History stuff...



That's all from where I sit.

--MorelaterZ--

Three down, one to go

Had the two finals I've been dreading all weekend this morning.

The English Comp project from hell is behind me now. I think I did a pretty good job with the parts I was responsible for. I wasn't the weak link (that's what I was afraid of the most). The only problem was that part of my presentation was on Power Point, and my version is newer than the one on the laptop I was provided, so it didn't get used... so I wrote the information on the chalkboard. It wasn't perfect, but it had to do.

The editing final took me all of about half an hour, and I actually had a fighting chance of passing it with a decent grade (i.e. I knew the answers).

US History is Wednesday, then I'm done. Summer session starts June 4th, so I have a couple of weeks off before going back to school. I don't know about the cramming 16 weeks of classes into half that time (classes are every day but Fridays), but it probably won't be that bad.

More to come on that.

I've already ordered my books for Summer, and I should get them the week of May 28th.

So now, I think I will go to sleep for a while.


That's all from where I sit.

--MorelaterZ--

First final is tomorrow (eep!)

Because this class (studio production) is considered a lab, so the final is the last class. And tomorrow is the last class of the semester.

Note to self: ready everything you take, and you'll be fine.

I found out today what my financial aid for fall 07 and spring 08 will be. Suffice it to say it's a lot more than I got for the semester I'm finishing up. Wow! It pays to get your financial aid paperwork in as early as possible.

Gas here is now $3.06 a gallon. I bought gas last Friday and it was only (ha!) $2.85... If it gets to $3.30 like it did in Wyoming last summer, I'm going to seriously consider getting a Vespa or something.

I know why Jeff wants to get a motorcycle, but I don't have to like it. In fact, it makes me nervous. It's not that I don't think Jeff would be a good rider... it's everyone else who don't look out for people on bikes.

Gotta get back to hitting the books, and hoping they don't hit back.


That's all from where I sit.

--MorelaterZ--

I'm going to take a nice long snooze... right after finals are over

I told someone today that I'm going to take a nap right after finals. I haven't been getting the sleep I need the last couple of weeks, and it's starting to take a toll on me. No more of this staying up til 2am, trying to cram a whole semester's knowledge into my brain. I know the material, so for my first final on Thursday, I'll study in the afternoon tomorrow, like I did today and yesterday, and take it from there.

I'm going up to Mom's tomorrow after school, because another place has called me for an interview, and it's closer to her house than it is mine. The job, as I understand it, is near me though.

So I have a double whammy here... do well on the interview Wednesday and the final on Thursday.
=====
Warning: Rant Ahead--

The whiny kid from one of my broadcasting classes has a class on Tuesday and Thursdays in the same place where I was editing my final project, and again, he was complaining about juggling work with school (and I guess he's not doing a good job at it, because school is apparently suffering). I didn't hear all of his arguments (mostly because I've tuned him out, and because I don't think he has a valid argument), so I don't know what all he said. Nor do I care. He hasn't learned to set priorities-- if he's going to go to school, then he should strive to do well. Blaming his work schedule, or the instructor, or whatever his lame argument is, isn't going to win him any brownie points. The person he should be blaming is the one he looks at in the mirror every morning.

The way I see it is this-- if you're not going to do your best work, for whatever reason, be it work, the instructor, your classmates, or your own failings, I don't want to hear your excuses for why you didn't complete the work. You either do the work or you don't. I may have not had the best editing projects in class, but at least I did them, and got them done on time. This guy was still editing the very first project we had in that class last week. That first project, if memory serves, was due in February! It's May, dude... it's too late for all that. I don't care what kind of fancy ass equipment you've bought to help you, the project is still late. Period. End of Story.

And this ends my rant about that!



That's all from where I sit.

--MorelaterZ--

Storms, sleep (huh?), and school

There was a wicked storm around 3-4 in the morning. It actually woke me up out of a sound sleep.

I looked outside and the wind is blowing, the rain is going sideways, and the power kept cutting on and off. I flipped on the TV and there was Mike Morgan from "Oklahoma's NewsChannel 4" with the weather (doesn't that man ever sleep?!).

We were having 70 mph winds, heavy rain, and the possibility that all that could turn into a tornado.

Then it moved to the northeast a little into Potawotomie County, and there was a tornado warning for Shawnee and the vicinity.

It was there, and the wind and rain here where I live lessened considerably. By this time, it was close to 4am and I needed to get back to bed.

Of course, I didn't actually fall asleep til much later. The alarm goes off really early when you've only gotten 3 hours of sleep.

It was still raining a little when I took my sleep deprived self to school. I thought I was going to fall asleep in the middle of US History.

And it seemed that everyone is made of sugar, because there weren't too many people in any of my classes today. What's the matter, afraid a little rain might make ya melt? Sheesh!

And the English Comp project from hell is getting more weird. I hope she's just not feeling well, but another of our group has gone AWOL (or UA as it's called in the Navy. UA= unexplained absence). This project gets more bizarre by the day. C'mon, there's only a week of school left... can ya stick it out that long?


That's all from where I sit.

--MorelaterZ--

My hair is saved!

in that I won't be pulling it out in frustration for the time being.

My homework is done, and the studying will start anew tomorrow.

My first final is Thursday. Help?!


That's all from where I sit.

--MorelaterZ--

The All-Nighter?

Maybe not, but sometime in the next week, I'm going to be one exhausted grrl!

I may need some help in getting some things done, homework-wise. Or else, stuff is going to suffer.

I really need to go to bed, but I'm not tired yet.

I need to go somewhere where I'm not tempted by other things. Maybe I'll make a trip to the Rose State library tomorrow later today.

The essay that is due Monday in English Comp I is done. Still working on the group project stuff. It has to be presented on the 14th. It's something like 50 percent of our grade, and I have an A in there now.


That's all from where I sit.

--MorelaterZ--