finals, finale and fins....

As some of you may know, I am attending school online at the University of Phoenix. After trying and failing at attending or enrolling in "regular" college, I decided that maybe an online thing would be easier for me to keep up with, since I am on the computer probably 12 of 24 hours in a day. (It sounds sadder when I say it out-loud like that...) I am seriously pursuing my degree in Web Design, although now I think I want to be a Web Developer. Oh, higher education and your many choices. If I were a better woman, I would have "picked a horse" sooner, and avoided the eternal stress you seem to give me...

Anywho, So in my desperation to get my degree to "grow up" (in no uncertain terms... literally. I vehemently believe [is that redundant?] that once I get my degree I will in essence be an 'adult' for the first time in my life...) I jumped on the "higher education" horse. Not literally. ;)

I just have to say right now, that I am in favor of education. I think that it is the bee's knees. The cat's pajamas... and all that. Seriously one of the spiffiest things out there for a young person to do. Educate yourselves. It is better to live life in knowledge than to dwindle in ignorance. (lol... that was for all my Mormom readers out there.) Anyway, back to the blog.

Online school is TOUGH!!! I would not recommend it to my worst enemy. Well, maybe I would... I am not in the right frame of mind now to say anything that is intransigent... Let me explain.

This is what I have to do for my classes. I take two classes at a time. These classes last for nine weeks, in which time, I am to complete a semesters amount of work. (This is not for the faint of heart, let me tell you.) There are participation requirements as well as attendance requirements. I also need to be (as I am finding out as I go along) a self-starter. (Which anyone can tell you [who has known me for any prolonged period of time] that I am HORRIBLE at.) Like right now... I am "taking a break" from using my brain... but we'll get back to that.

Anyway... Back to the issue at hand.

So, in each "semester" there are final projects for each class, meaning that I have two final project due every nine weeks. This in addition to the homework load and my "life's" load... My brain is fried... fricasseed, frizzled, sauteed, seared, singed, sizzled... and any other word that means (in no uncertain terms... ;) ) cooked!

I feel like just as I am grasping the gist of what I am supposed to be learning, I am taken out of the pot and thrown into a whole new pot, where I have to identify new and unfamiliar ingredients, and why they make sense together. (How did this become a food analogy???)

I guess I'm just complaining and procrastinating my work, because I have a rough draft of my communication final (which is due tonight by midnight for full credit) that I don't want to do.

I know... I can hear my conscience yelling: "What do you mean you don't want to? You are paying for your education. Don't waste your time. You can't afford to be lazy right now..." Yada, yada, yada. Truth be known,  I want to be in Hawai'i right now.

Next month, I get to take my annual pilgrimage to my motherland, Hawai'i. My little bro is getting married, and all of my free time has been dedicated to designing their invitations, debating with my mother as to the best way of getting all of the brides family around (they are all from Japan) and deciding on the best colors for the wedding cake. That, in addition to finals, car problems (Blanche, my car is in the shop. :( ) and a shortage in money, seem almost too much to think about. I guess it's all a part of life and making sacrifices and growing up.

The end of the year is coming up, and I'm unsettled by how quickly this year has gone by. It feels like it should still be summer, and I have the time to finish everything and be there for everyone. :S I guess I should tell you about what happened this weekend before I get back to my finals. (Conscience: "Procrastinator!" ;) )

So, some of you have yet to meet Blanche, my car... or as I lovingly call her, my g-ride, hoopty, or P.O.S. :) She's a '92 Crown Vic, with a busted interior and faded paint job. I got her for free from my grandma when we moved to Utah. I love her, but it's frustrating for me (someone with little to no knowledge about how to fix, diagnose, or even recognize car problems) to have an older car. I honestly have no knowledge whatsoever about cars.

I think that if I had a car that I could make mistakes on and take apart, I could get the hang of it... but I don't, so let's not dwell on things that aren't a part of reality.

Anywho, I've been realizing slowly that something was wrong with Blanche, but since I don't have any money (mostly from buying plane tickets and paying bills) I thought I had a little bit of leeway with her problems. How wrong I was...

I went out to my car on Friday, and found a puddle under the engine area of Blanche. Being the "smart" person I am (thanks to Slick Willey's... my lube guys) I got a napkin to see what color the fluid was. When I go to Slick Willey's they always have a color indicator they show you, to see how mucked up your car's fluids are. So, I knew that red = power steering fluid. Maybe it was the redness that sent me into a panic (resemblance to blood) or maybe I really just needed to get rid of the stress in my brain about my car, but my only thought was, "Blanche has a leak...  I need to call someone!"

I did. I called Bruce, my car guy. He's a magician, a miracle worker of the automotive world. I called him and explained what happened, and he said I needed to come in right away. So, we (Blanche and I) went to Bruce's place. (Nielson Automotive. They really are the best.) The diagnosis: A faulty power-steering pump. Thank goodness it wasn't anything worse.

Unfortunately my weekend plans were shot. I had planned to go to Page this weekend to see my uncle before he goes to work in Iraq for a year. BUT,  I am grounded in St. George. Which, I think actually worked out better because I never would have been able to focus on my rought draft with all the hustle and bustle of an early Thanksgiving. (My favorite holiday.)

Which reminds me... I am cooking Thanksgiving for my grandma, great-grandma, and my Uncle Kelly and his family. I'm pretty excited, and I hope they are ready for some exotic Thanksgiving flavors. :)

huh. Okay. Lyric time. Seriously, this is such a beautiful song. It makes me warm and fuzzy and nostalgic all at the same time. So, ONWARD!!!

 

Blue Skies
by: Noah And The Whale

This is a song for anyone
With a broken heart
This is a song for anyone
Who can't get out of bed

I'll do anything
To be happy
Oh cause blue skies are calling
But I know that it's hard

This is the last song
That I write
While still in love with you

This is the last song
That I write
While you're even on my mind

Cause it's time to leave
Those feelings behind
Oh cause blue skies are calling
But I know that it's hard

I don't think that it's the end
But I know we can't keep going
I don't think that it's the end
But I know we can't keep going

But blue skies are calling
Oh yeah blue skies are calling
Oh blue skies are calling
But I know that it's hard