Totally forgot about this...

So, re-living my frustration with Mr. Math reminded me of something that happened before I started my last semester. I meant to write about this over the holiday, but I was having too much fun being out of school AND work.

I went in for my initial advising appointment. The lady was great, incredibly supportive and got me going with my GI benefits as well as giving me a copy of the course book that I somehow wasn't supposed to have. I go back to the advising office and meet with a lady that was about as personable as a 2 x 4. I told her I was having a hard time deciding what classes to start with and I could use some help.

Lady: "When during the day would you like to take classes?"
Me: "Evenings, I work during the day."
Lady: "How many hours a week do you work?"
Me: "Full time. Forty hours."
Lady: "How many semester hours are you wanting to take?"
Me: "Full time. Twelve hours."
Lady: "It's not going to work. People who think they can do that wind up not doing well."
Me: "...Great. Can we sign me up for classes?"

Had I said what I wanted to at that very moment, it wouldn't have been very nice. I'm not your typical student at this school. I'm not eighteen trying to save a few bucks on tuition and working my way through school. I'm old enough to manage my time wisely and get through school. I'm not out partying, or anything like that. Pretty sure I'm a grown up. She should change careers because after meeting me for ten minutes and figuring out what I'm capable of and weather or not I'm going to succeed at this thing is an amazing talent. I feel like her time is being wasted in the advising office of this little college.

And on her remark about people can't do it? My dad, my wife, several coworkers, my cousin and many MANY other people I know have pulled off the working/school thing. In your face.

I mentioned this to the veteran's advisor on campus between semesters when I went to check out things for this semester. I brought it up and she looked on her computer to see who I spoke with. This lady is super cool:

"Well, I'm sorry this happened. She should not have made this assumption about you. That situation she described does happen a lot with our younger students, but my veterans have a great success rate with similar situations to what you're going through. I'll bring it up to her directly, and at our next meeting that we do not need to lump people in as a whole, and we do need to take people on a case by case basis to ensure that we can accommodate them. I'm just glad that you didn't take her advice, and that you proved her wrong with your grades this semester. Keep up the good work."

That made me feel much better about that whole situation. I haven't seen that particular adviser again. I hope I don't. I might not be very polite...

Been a while!

Hi people! Been a while, I know. The semester ended and I was off of work for quite a while, so  I took the time to relax, hang out with my wife and baby girl and do the whole Christmas and New Years thing with the family. It was a very nice break. I'm back at work now, and I have one more week of "easy street" and just having to worry about work before school starts again in a little over a week.

Here's the "report card"-
Geography- A
Government- B
English- B
Music Appreciation- C

A freaking C!!! WTF, MAN!?

Got in touch with the guy after my grades posted online and apparently my essay for my final wasn't up to par, and neither was my journal that I have to write in and discuss all of the music I was listening to for the class. Whatever. C's transfer and it's a BS class. I got D's on those two grades, and with the final weighing so much, it drug me down. I'm not saying he was wrong for giving me the grade he did, he has his reasons. In other words, I earned that C, he didn't "give me" a C. I'll move on to the next semester and focus on what has to be done.

Speaking of next semester, I got registered this morning and well, my schedule could be WORSE I suppose. Monday I have US History I (Everything up until 1877, I think?)
Tuesday is Texas Government. They broke up government from just being two semesters that explain everything to one semester that does federal and the other to do state and local.
Wednesday is the second half of my week in History and it's also... COLLEGE ALGEBRA! That's the gorilla in the room this semester. Hopefully I can manage it, I think I'll be ok.

I'm also doing into to computers as an online class. The adviser took it and said it's simple, so did someone in my office actually. It's just Microsoft Office. The teacher will email assignments and say I need these pages done by such date. You go to those pages and it tells you step by step how to create the document they want. Easy-peasy. Watch though, I'll get a C in that class like I did my "easy class" for last semester.

Be back when I have my first days in my new classes, hope you all had a great holiday and a good start to your new year.

Odds and Ends

A few more miscellaneous things I didn't mention in my "catching up" post.

One of the requirements in my music class is that we have to go and see a concert, and write a report about it. Well, two concerts, actually, but one of them is due at the end of October. Our teacher has been good of letting us know when there is one coming up that we can attend for free, the problem with that is, that they're mostly during the week. That really doesn't work for me as I work every day and I have class mon-thu.

I emailed him asking him if there was anything he knew about that was during the weekend, and I didn't mind paying for admission. We get to class that week and he said he had gotten my email and had a solution. He offered to go to a local high school THAT NIGHT for a concert, but the whole class had to agree to go. They did, we went.

It was a local HS orchestra, and they were really good. The sound coming off of the stage for the amount of musicians on stage, was HUGE. I was very impressed. Afterward we went into the orchestra hall to discuss the music, and to hopefully talk to some of the students that played.

So, we talk to someone who played each of the different instruments, and the string bass player... was definitely my favorite. Mr. Music asked the kid what his favorite piece was, what his instrument was, was there anything special about it... blablabla. Then it came to what was awesome about this kid. Keep in mind he's talking to a man that has a masters degree in music education...

Mr. Music asked him what his plans for college were, and if he wanted to get some sort of music degree and keep playing. The kid very matter-of-factly replied with "Well, I enjoy playing, but I don't think I'll get a music degree. Music majors don't get good jobs or have careers."

The room got real quiet, real quick. Then it was followed by the sound my laughter. I pretty much lost my shit when he said that. Mr. Music, who has a pretty quick wit, said "Yeah, and what am I? Chopped liver?" He understood what the kid was saying, but he could have said it better.

Another thing that made me shake my damn head...

So, my two siblings are significantly older than I am. They went through this same college system before moving on to a larger university about twenty years ago. Keep in mind, they're older than I am, and I graduated high school in 2001. What I learned from my brother, is that both he and my sister had Dr. Government in the early 90's. THE SAME Dr. Government.

So, my brother wanted me to ask him a question about a female country singer that he was in love with. I asked him after my test a couple of weeks ago, and he laughed when I told him my siblings had him about twenty years ago. So, the following week, someone asked me what made Dr. Government laugh.

I explained to them the whole story and one girl said "Wow, I wasn't even born yet."

To which I replied, "Good for you, man!" My veteran buddy thought that was funny.

So, that's not the only time that happened to me that week. The very next night in English, Mr. English the movie buff mentioned that on that very day, the movie "The Princess Bride" turned 25 years old. The girl next to me said "Wow, I wasn't even born yet."

Being the idiot that I am, I said "I was born the year E.T. came out." and she JUST HAD TO ASK... "When was that?"

I said "1982.", knowing full well I was not going to be happy with what she said next:

"Wow, that's pretty old."

I was left speechless. Mr. English just shook his head.

*sigh.* Damn kids...

Labor Day!

No school today! Hooray!


Instead of me going on about my geography class, I'll tell you about my misadventures in textbook purchasing.


So, I ordered most of my books online as you can get them for a fraction of the cost. There were two of them that I couldn't find, or they were cheaper to just buy at the bookstore. I had to do this Saturday because my Friday after work was busy. I checked online for the bookstore across the street from campus #2, they had good deals when I went there years ago. They were closed Saturday. Ok, no big deal. I checked online for the different campuses I go to and #1's bookstore was open until like 2. Awesome! Away we go!

I haul myself down there, enjoying a cup of coffee on the way. Park in the garage and walk on in. When I walk down the main hallway there was an Indian or Pakistani guy who must have just gotten out of class. He was fondling a balloon sculpture. Seriously. There was this thing that was made out of round balloons and those long skinny ones clowns make poodles and stuff out of. I couldn't help but stop dead in my tracks and look directly at him. He stops and looks at me and says "Isn't this amazing?" I started walking again.

So balloon fetish is walking behind me down this walkway that goes in between buildings.

Balloon Fetish: "Excuse me."
Me: ...
Balloon Fetish: "Excuse me."
Me: "Yeah?" 
BF: "Is the cafeteria this way?"
Me: "I have no idea."
BF: "Do you know if it's open today?"
Me: "Dude, I really don't know."
BF: "If it's open do you think I could use the microwave?"
Me: "Man, I don't know anything about the cafeteria."
BF: "Oh, you just look like you work here."

Really? I'm wearing shorts, flip flops and a batman t-shirt. Yeah, I teach advanced astrophysics. In the cafeteria. Whatever, dude.

So, I make it to the bookstore... and it's closed. Crap. Back out to the truck! I get on the phone and call Campus #2's bookstore. Got a voice mail that says they're open today. Great, I get on the road and head up that way. I wonder why the website said they were closed. I get up to #2 and walk inside and.. IT'S CLOSED. CRAP! I called campus #3 and a couple of others and they're all closed. Great, what are working people supposed to do to get books?

I guess I'll have to buy books on my lunch break and stay up late Tuesday night getting my reading work done for Wednesday's English class. Awesome. No sleep for me!


Got my bonus work done for Government, hopefully Dr. Rock 'n Roll likes it and gives me points on my second test. Other than that, it was a pretty uneventful weekend. Class tomorrow night!

Well, here goes nothing

Here's a little bit about my life. I graduated high school in 2001 in the suburbs northwest of Houston, TX. After one semester at the local community college system and a STELLAR GPA of 0.75 I decided that school wasn't for me. I was miserable and felt like I wasn't going anywhere. The fact that I never went to class didn't help my GPA either. Something about missing tests and not turning papers in doesn't make for good grades. I did the only thing I knew would get me off of my butt and doing something with my life. I joined the Navy. 

I spent five years in the Navy and got out as a second class petty officer, the same as a sergeant in the Army or Marines. I enjoyed my time there and would do it again in a heartbeat, but I didn't like it enough to make it a career or anything. It did a lot of good for me personally. 

I came home to Houston. Got a job. Met a girl. Got married to said girl. Got a Labrador. Got a house. Had a baby. We have a pretty typical life, filled with friends, family, church, bbq's... your typical suburban life. But once we had our little girl earlier this year, I thought to myself, "I have to do better."

After a lot of thinking (and by that I mean drinking) I decided I had to get a degree. I have a free education waiting for me to use through the GI Bill and it would be a shame if I let that go to waste. So, here I am at 29, about two months away from turning 30, going back to school to get my bachelor's degree. I have no idea in what yet, so don't ask. My current degree plan, because I have to have one, is an associates of applied science. Once I've exhausted that, I'll move on.

I went through the process of getting my GI Bill started and enrolled in that same community college system which was brutal. If you've ever tried to get money from the government you know what I'm talking about. You have a better chance of getting ice cream from a sack of dirt.

So there's the long and short of it. I'm sure I'm not going to be the oldest person in all of my classes, but I'm old enough to where "those damn kids" will get on my nerves. It will be an experience to say the least, one that I hope to get a laugh out of in the midst of all of the complication it will throw into my life.