Sunday, August 30, 2009

Wanted: Chicken Soup

As much as I don't want to admit it, I give in. I have a cold. It's not allergies...it's a full blown cold. I'm sitting here missing someone, and trying to cram in all the anatomy information into my brain for what's shaping up to be a brutal exam and lab practical. Problem is--the info is duking it out with the mucus. I know...not a pretty picture. Who will win? Stay tuned...


The upside, if there is one, is I'm looking out my bedroom window here on the second floor and I'm noticing it's that magical time. You know, the time when that beautiful golden light streams in through the trees right before dusk. It's soooo pretty! No one should be alone when it's like this! Makes me miss him more...get a grip girl...

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

thought you'd want to know...


Did you know that everything that we see visually on a person is dead except for their eyes? Never heard it put that way until today. Interesting...

Sunday, August 23, 2009

I made it through week one. It wasn't so bad. I think we begin dissection this week. Yikes. I've got my lab coat and rubber gloves standing by.

I found a great, albeit expensive, rolling backpack at Sports Authority. I dragged Chris around one evening to several different stores on the hunt for one. They seem to have two kinds. Cheap ones made for children--poor quality, kind of small, and with a very short handle. Then there are the really expensive, but great quality ones like the ones I found at Sports Authority and REI. I chose the black Jansport one from Sports Authority. It has a huge capacity to store stuff, and the handle is not only sturdy, but it locks into place. The thing cost me $80, but I think it's going to be worth it. Now...does my coolness quotient go down with the use of this handy item? I submit that it does not.

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Day four...

Lab #2 today. We looked at slides under the microscope. Deudenium...stomach...trachea....kidney...They ALL looked like bacon! Lol!

I really like my lab partners--Tonya, Jana, and Victoria. Very nice ladies. Gave myself a headache today by having the light resolution up too high on my scope. Sometimes I learn the hard way. :) We're learning so much info, so fast. I'm really going to have to stay on top of the memorization stuff. Algebra is cool, cause I get to do my homework online, and I don't have to turn any in. Honor system...because of Arnie's budget cuts. No more aides to grade math papers apparently. Stupid of you not to do the homework though....that'll bite you in the you-know-what. With my math bundle, came an online code for this website called MyMathLab. Sandy (my adorable latina teacher...hmmm....interesting....why are all the teachers at the JC either hispanic or granola?) has it all set up for us, so we can do the problems on the computer. The nicest part is it gives examples of similar problems in case we need extra help. We can also take practice tests there.
Had to drop my speech class because it conflicted with my anatomy class. Anatomy is #1 priority this semester. May have to take that next summer.

Chris seems to be loving high school. Especially the abundance of pretty girls! A lot of fish in this pond. I was hoping this would be a great academic year for him. Oh geez....

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Day two...

Happy to report today was better than yesterday. Today was my first anatomy lab. 7:30am. Parking is better at that hour. :) Yesterday I had to park in Petaluma. Ok....a slight fabrication. Felt like it though. I wasn't late, but all the seats were taken by the time I got to class, so I got to stand for the first class. I'm liking the feel of the lab better than lecture. It's a much smaller group of people, which is less intimidating. Our lab instructor, Nick, seems like a really cool guy! So does Pete, his teacher's aide. Nick was way more positive than Dr. Wilson the day before. She gives the lectures. I felt really discouraged after her talk. What a negative woman! Made me question whether I'm going into the right field or not. Who is she to harsh my mellow? rain on my parade? hmmm...out of cliches..............

In the lab, there are 6 lab stations. Mine was with 3 other women...all super nice! We exchanged info with each other so we can study together. Nice to make some connections. It's going to be a lot of work, but I'm determined to do well!

My complaint of the day is my back and shoulders. I'm carrying so much book weight in my backpack, that it's taking a toll. Actually broke some skin on my shoulder. I WILL be buying a backpack with roller wheels. Either that, or I'm rigging Chris's skateboard up. Think he'd go for it? I can hear him....Mom, you are sooo weird!

I decided that I would spend my afternoons in the Doyle library and do my homework in there. It's quiet. It has free wifi. The tutorial center is right there. Only problem with it that I've noticed is it's so quiet, I get sleepy. Oh yeah...iced coffee on level 2. :D Problem solved! I have this awesome new netbook now, so I can stay connected to you know who. So cool!

I like my algebra instructor. She's adorable. Couldn't be more than 25. She has a very different teaching style from my last teacher, so I'm hopeful this time. She also says that she calls on us, so that will keep me focused. Let's face it, I'm never going to be a math teacher. That would be disastrous for everyone involved. I just want to understand it better before I move forward with Chemistry. Oh yeah....and that kid over in the corner glaring at me?...that's Aaron. I'm not high on his list of favorite people....ever since I made him lose his recess time in 6th grade. Haven't got a clue what he did either....must have been bad if I went that far. Maybe I'll torture him tomorrow and plunk myself down right next to him...good idea?? Thought so...

Saturday, August 15, 2009

Summer's over??

I'm just going to say it. Back to school blows...

This summer flew by! Thanks to Scott, I got to have a lot of new and fun experiences. I can't speak for him, but I really had a great summer. Hope he did too. I am so grateful!

This semester of SRJC starts on Monday. I'm taking Anatomy, Algebra (again), Communications 7 (world speech), and Counseling 60 (what the heck is it?). Dreading the early classes, but I know I'll adapt fast. Probably feel like I'm working again. I hope. I'm sure my coffee intake will increase exponentially. Hope I can handle the load....small sigh....

And in other news....my baby starts high school on Monday too. Big sigh...

Friday, August 7, 2009

Reflection

About to enter my fifth decade. Wow! How do I feel about that? It's a very mixed bag really. Getting older naturally makes me think of the past, as well as the future. I've said it before. Didn't expect life to look like this. A year ago, things looked so bleak that I just couldn't even allow my thoughts to go beyond that day. What a difference a year makes! I'm getting closer in my education goals, which feels great! (school starts in a week! Yikes!). My family and friends are doing well. Scott. Scott is a big change. I now have Scott. What a blessing he is to me, each and every day. Never know what life's got planned for us, do we? Since I don't know what God's got in the works for tomorrow, I'm not going to worry about it. I am a happy girl. What an amazing feeling!

Ok...anyone care to place a bet on how long it will take mom to remind me that Sharon Tate was murdered by the Manson Family today? Ah....birthday traditions!

Stuff that happened 40 years ago:

The first man landed on the moon. It was the Apollo 11 mission. Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin became the first humans to set foot on the face of the moon. Armstrong flubbed his line of "One small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind." and famously said "One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."

Richard Nixon became president of the United States.

The RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 came into service.

Golda Mier of Milwaukee became the Prime Minister of Israel.

Public Broadcasting Service was established (PBS)

The first US military troop withdrawl of Vietnam began.

Senator Edward Kennedy drove his car into a pond. A female passenger was found dead on the scene. This was named the Chappaquiddick Affair.

Manson family gruesomely murder 5 people.

Wal-Mart incorporates into the Wal-Mart stores, Inc.

Charles De Gaulle resigns as President of France.

The death penalty is abolished in the UK.

Woodstock attracts more that 350,000 rock and roll fans.

The first transplant of a human eye.

Seiko sells the first quartz watch.

The first ATM machine is installed in the US.

The Boeing 747 jumbo jet makes it's debut. It carries 191 people, mostly reporters and photographers, from Seattle to New York City.

UNIX is invented. That one's for you sweetie!

The Pontiac Firebird Trans Am is introduced.

A free concert by the Rolling Stones is held in Livermore, CA. The Hells Angels are hired as security, resulting in numerous deaths.

Sesame Street makes it's debut on PBS.

The Beatles last public performance is held on the roof of Apple Records.

Popular films:

Funny Girl
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
The Love Bug
True Grit
The Midnight Cowboy
Easy Rider
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

Stats:

Tangerines--29 cents a dozen
Skippy peanut butter--85 cents
a dozen eggs--49 cents
Average price of a house--$15,550
Rent--$135
Average cost of a car--$3,270
Gas per gallon--35 cents a gallon

Famous people born in 1969:

Jack Black
Kate Blanchett
Jennifer Aniston
Matthew Perry
Gwen Stefani
Renee Zellwegger
Ice Cube

Thursday, August 6, 2009

Chris scared me awake at 4 am this morning. He used to be quite the sleep-walker, but as he's gotten older, he's almost stopped. This morning I heard loud rustling coming my way, complete with my bedroom door being thrown open...and Chris flopping himself down on top of my bed. What scared me the most was that my dad (insomniac that he is) was already up downstairs, and was apparently opening the front door at the same time to check and see if the newspaper had come. I thought it was Chris going outside. He did something similar when we lived at Spring Creek. Scared the living **** out of me! I got a shot of adrenaline so big...let me tell ya! I was relieved to see him when he threw open that door. Getting him to go back to bed in his room was not easy! Probably going to be mad at me...if he remembers at all...which is usually not likely. I tried to go back to bed after that, but apparently adrenaline and sleep are not good bed buddies. Finally gave it up at 5. Since I don't seem to make the time to blog much these days, I thought this might be the perfect opportunity to get some thoughts down. I seem to be quite lucid. We'll see...

Let me see...Well, day camp is over for the summer again. Seemed to be a tiny little camp this year. Don't know what that means for next year. The JC is about to start again on August 17th. This semester this lucky girl gets to take Anatomy. Complete with a cadaver. Oh joy! I also decided to take algebra again. I hated the fact that I didn't do well, and I really want to understand it. I'll need it for my chemistry class when I take that also, so here I go again. Hopefully, I'll discover some brilliant part of my brain, and it will all click! Yeah...right! Another class I'm taking is called Communications 7. Something about world speech. I dunno. All I know is it involved public speaking...gulp! Helps to have done a bit of subbing at RVC I guess. Whatever...maybe I'll try picturing people naked. Does that really work? And you're not supposed to laugh, right? Lastly, I needed 1 more unit, so I'm taking an online class. I don't even remember what it is at the moment. Doesn't start until November anyway.

Got my books a couple of days ago. All used...$280! Ouch! Could be worse I guess. Look at me being all positive! :) Chris is also starting a new school. We made the really tough decision to enroll him at Maria Carrillo High School. It has been really difficult for me to cope with. I had always had a dream that he'd go the full ride at RVC. The tuition became too much. I think this change may have had something to do with Chris's sleepwalking adventure this morning. Stress seems to be a trigger for him. He's going to do great, but it is a really big change. I'm sure the fear of the unknown is what he's worried about. Me too for that matter...We meet his counselor and get him plugged into his classes next week.

Scott and I took another trip to Redding a couple of weeks ago. Had a really nice time visiting with some of his family. His wonderful cousin's Kim and Bill hosted us again. The only down side was the tremendous heat. I think, at one point, it was around 115 degrees. You just can't even really go out in it for more than a few minutes at a time. But it's a dry heat!! So is my blow dryer, but I don't want to walk around all day with it blowing in my face. How does anything get done around there? I felt like a sloth. We did manage to go visit a neat old museum. It was the old courthouse/jail/bakery/general store for Shasta. Got some neat pictures, which I will post. We also visited the Sundial Bridge again. Last time, we saw it during the day. When I got home, I looked it up and found out it's all lit up at night. What the pictures didn't show was how the entire bridge is covered in those huge garden spiders. Yuck! My flesh was crawling the entire time. Scott thought it was amusing to pretend to throw one at me too! Isn't he a prince?! Pretty sure that's my last visit to the Sundial Bridge, thank you very much!

Turning 40 in two days. Naturally, I'm feeling a bit reflective. My life is sure different from what I thought it would be like. I was driving through San Rafael on the way back home the other day. I got slammed in the face by a huge rush of emotions, and the tears started. Not sure why exactly. I guess some old dreams that will never be, or something like that. Letting go of them, piece by piece. My hometown kind of reminded me of some of those, I suppose. I'm enjoying my life right now, and I have found a wonderful person who wants to share it with me..and he makes a lovely addition to the friends and family I'm already blessed with. This is a really good time in my life. So why does the number 40 sound so foreign to me?? Come on! I feel like I'm still 18. Aren't I supposed to be flowing with wisdom and maturity? Dignity and grace? Have you seen me in the morning? Oh well...I'm me. I guess that's good :)