Commuters...Rejoice!

Gas has now dropped under $3/gallon (at least in my part of the world). I'm so happy I could hug my Honda!

Index Card Update

I had another test this week so I turned to old reliable--my trusty index cards--for studying once again. My young friend promptly made fun of me when she came to class...and then she asked to borrow a few.



Go figure. :)

TGIF

I'm truly thankful that it's Friday and even more thankful that next week is Fall Break! It was especially hard to drag myself out of bed this morning. Yesterday, my family drove to our state's largest metro area (okay, so there are only two really official "metros" in our state...). We were attending the state fastpitch softball tournament that our school was a part of, and we went a little early to get some much needed fall shopping out of the way. It was a productive and fun trip, but it couldn't have come at a more difficult time for me. I loaded my laptop (TGFL--thank goodness for laptops!), my index cards, a pile of research I had printed off and a textbook into our already full SUV. On the drive up, I studied for a test. It was a very technical-oriented test, so it was difficult to focus between the blare of sports-talk radio, the whining from the backseat ("Are we there yet?") and the motion sickness (not to mention that I have almost zero interest in this particular subject). Luckily--or not so luckily, I'm not sure which--the ballgames were actually running almost two hours behind. While my family was sitting in bleachers with the rest of our small community, I was crammed into the passenger's seat of our vehicle with a laptop and papers scattered throughout finishing a rough draft of my research paper which was also due this morning.

We ended up getting home and in bed somewhere around 1 a.m. I reluctantly set my alarm knowing that I would have to get up early enough to get two children bathed and make sure the oldest finished her homework (she claimed motion sickness prevented her from travel study, too). I was also stressed about the amount of housework that I needed to complete especially considering that I have family visiting this weekend and visitors throughout the next week (immediately followed by out-of-state travel during fall break). Plus, it is busy season for me at work and I have lots of catching up to do.

I seriously contemplated skipping my first class (Fridays are slim class days anyway), but I didn't think I could really get much marked off of my to-do list in an hour and I really needed to be in my other classes. I did, however, arrive late only to find out later that the professor didn't even take roll (I could have missed class!!!).

Ugh--frustration and regret.

On the upside, I managed to make it through the day without falling asleep in class or at the wheel (I credit some of that to my friend, Red Bull energy drink), and now I'm off to finish my housework. And cook supper. And get started on my photography backlog.

Book Tag

Just when you think they've run out of blog tags....they come up with a new one!

My pal, Bethany, has challenged me to the following:

*Grab the nearest book.Open the book to page 56.
*Find the fifth sentence.
*Post the text of the next two to five sentences in your blog along with these instructions.
*Don’t dig for your favorite book, the cool book, or the intellectual one: pick the CLOSEST.
*Tag five other people to do the same.

This will be oh-so-exciting because my book is a textbook: Adobe Illustrator CS3 Revealed! Here's the quote from page 56:

"Using the Character panel, click the up and down arrows in the Kerning text box to experiment with higher and lower kerning values, then change the kerning value to -40."

Gripping, edge-of-your-seat reading material, eh? Just think: you, too, could be reading such interesting stuff every day like me!



(Oh--I'm going to break the rules and not tag anyone else on the grounds that I have already tagged too many people this year and I don't want to annoy any of my cyber pals).

Bailouts & Breastmilk & Squirrels...Oh My!

I mentioned earlier that in my Media Writing class, our latest project was to write scripts for a television broadcast. Our professor is pretty laid back, so she welcomed pretty much any kind of script including purely fake news which my group tackled. So, in light of the fact that it's Friday and this University Mama could use a laugh and a break from reality, here were the topics of our broadcast:

Lead Story: The presidential candidates and their VPs were killed in a tragic motorscooter accident. They were filming an ad dressed as clowns and riding a motorscooter together as a symbol of bipartisan cooperation. Biden--who was driving the scooter--swerved to avoid hitting a squirrel, causing the team to fall off the side of a cliff and crash to the earth below (no word on why they were filming on the edge of a cliff). The accident brought up serious issues about clown impersonation, even prompting professional clowns to release an ad saying, "Clowns are professionals, not a bunch of bozos wearing fake noses and big shoes." People are stunned about the tragedy and wondering where the country is headed only weeks until election day. Hillary Clinton, who was on-location for the filming with her pet squirrel, said that the accident "saddens her."

Other News: Today, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke announced a newly revised federal bail-out plan to help stimulate the fragile U.S. economy. The plan has been changed to include relief for any Americans who currently owe more than they make, which is almost 90 percent of the country. This is good news for homeowners who borrowed beyond their means and for the banks who loaned to them in the first place. People who suffer from chronic shopping disorder are ecstatic about the decision that will nullify their outstanding credit card debt, according to the N.A.S.S.—the national association of super shoppers. The revised bail-out plan is estimated to cost over 500 trillion dollars and will lead to the ultimate demise of the United States Treasury. However, recent polling shows that 85% of Americans believe the plan is a good solution for the current economic crisis.

The PETA organization recently requested that Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream stop using cow's milk for their product and start using human breastmilk instead. They claimed that milking cows is cruel and that milk supplies can often be hazardous. PETA suggested establishing human dairies which would provide plenty of breast milk for ice cream and provide employment for crack addicts, apparently solving the issues of mistreatment of animals and securing a safe milk supply.

Seperation Anxiety (From My Index Cards)

I had an index card emergency the other day. Yes, you heard right: an index card emergency.

I was preparing to study for a test and realized that I was completely out of index cards. This posed a huge problem for me. How would I study?? I always use index cards to study. I can't just read notes. I can't write out questions and answers on a piece of paper. Know why? I'm weak. I would cheat! I would look at the answer while trying to answer...to myself. Pathetic. The only way I can curtail my wandering eyes is to put the answer on the back of an index card.

So, I begin my search. I started with the husband's office. No luck. He suggested the lumber yard, the grocery store or the drug store....as if there were many more businesses to choose from in our tiny town (Have I mentioned that our town is only 12 blocks wide? That should give you some perspective...). The lumber yard was already closed and I had luck at the grocery the last time I was in dire need of index cards. Unfortunately, I think I bought the last pack of cards there six months ago and they hadn't been replaced (guess they aren't a high-demand item around here). I make my final stop at the drug store hoping that in our local pharmacist can save the day for me because the other alternatives are: a) drive 34 miles to get a 70 cent package of cut card stock b) do without.

I nervously approach the counter: "Do you happen to have any index cards?" I ask. The pharmacist calls from behind, "Do you want five by seven, three and a half by two, hinged...." He makes his way over to the eye drop and nasal spray section and retrieves a handful of various index cards. Why didn't I think to look there instead of the school supply section? Silly me.

I was able to continue my test preparation in peace, thank goodness. Thanks to those little index cards, I think I did pretty fair in the end, but who knows how this saga would have ended without them?

(And how in the world do people study without index cards anyway??)

The Roller Coaster of Emotions

Yes, I am a girl therefore I can be moody, but yesterday, I noticed my emotions were on a crazy roller coaster ride. It went something like this:

ANXIETY: We were discussing our upcoming test and even though I have always tested well, I was fretful because numerous students have told me that this particular professor's tests can be difficult.

ANGER/RESENTMENT: We played "Jeopardy" in class to review our test material (kudos to the professor for creativity). My partners and I soon found competitiveness taking over and rearing its ugly head. We were angry that our buzzer wasn't working, felt cheated on a few answers, resented the one girl in class who seemed to know every single question..... I'm thinking "Jeopardy" might not be a great idea after all if it is going to cause such high blood pressure.

EXCITEMENT: In my Public Relations class, we had a guest speaker. Right now, I'd really like to pursue a PR job, so I was naturally excited to have someone who could share his first-hand experience with the field.

REGRET: Said PR guy began to spout off his many internships held while in college. I have had one and hoped to have another this semester, but there was no time left to give at the end of the day. In short, my family obligations outweighed the need for another internship. Nevertheless, I still felt regret for all the potential networking and experience I lost out on. And, once again, it felt as if there was no hope for a "country girl" to land a PR position when the majority of PR jobs are in the big city.

HAPPINESS: I didn't have to listen to a lecture. That always makes my ADD-hard-to-pay-attention-for-an-hour self happy. Plus, we were recording our fake news segment and I laughed...a lot.

MORE HAPPINESS: Back-to-back joy as I learned that we are going to be watching a movie in Media Law this week. Awesome!! (To clarify: movie was for educational purposes and, sadly, no popcorn was involved.)

SATISFACTION: Our entire broadcast crew has figured out the rhythm and flow to producing segments. We are actually ahead of the entire class even though we have the fewest number of team members in our crew.

FRUSTRATION: Returning my glasses which actually make my vision worse. Frustrated that I paid almost $200 for plain ol' reading glasses (which you can pick up at any drug store in America) when, from what I can tell, I might not need any in the first place. Hoping I can get my money back in the end or frustration may turn to anger.

EXHAUSTION: I'm not sure why school is so draining, but by the time I get home, I'm pooped!

FEAR/UNCERTAINTY/WORRY/ETC: My consent companions who show up when I'm driving or going for a walk or whatever, usually related to "what will I do after graduation" or "what do you really want to do with your life?" I ask them to leave, but I'm certain they will try to show up again tomorrow.

See what I mean? It's a crazy roller coaster ride of emotions. Don't worry--I medicated with a package of peanut M&M's and felt better. :)