Life is Great

Wow, so much is going on! I feel like I only blog when I finally feel like my brain is overflowing with thoughts. So, to give an update, Dave and I both started Spring 2011 semester a couple weeks ago and everything is going well. We both enjoy our classes so far. Dave is so cute, he like lives for school. Can you say nerd?? Ha ha. I love it. He was going to DeVry but quickly realized that might not be the best place to graduate from. He is now going to SLCC and planning to transfer to the U and earn a Computer Science Degree. I think I finally have a plan as well. It feels great! I am taking Intro. to Radiology and planning to get put on the Radiology Tech. list as soon as I'm done with my last two pre-requisites, Biology classes. While I'm on the waiting list for that, I will finish my Associate of Business degree. I only have 6 classes left to take for that. The scary thing is that when I start the Rad Tech program, it will be full time during the day. Do you know what this means?? This means leaving the comfort of an 8-5, M-F schedule. It is so comfy too! Almost like a warm bed at 6 am. Leaving it would be like jumping out of that warm bed in only your undies and tank top, just to hop in the shower and realize your roomate used all the hot water! I hope everyone realizes my strong feelings on the matter now. Lol. It is SO nice to know every other Friday, you will get paid this much and to have a budget written out of how much goes to savings, the car, car insurance, etc. I hate the idea of working as a waitress a few nights a week and hoping that I'll make enough to cover the necessities and still have time to get all of my homework done and study hard enough to do well on my tests. AHHHHH! That sounds scary! I guess I should think of it this way instead.....I am currently working 40 hours/week and taking 9 credit hours of school which is 49 hours/week. I will most likely have 14 credit hours of school in the Rad Tech program and if I work maybe even four 6 hour shifts at a restaurant every week, that will be about 38 hours/week. I can do this!?!? I think I should stop worrying so much. I guess not having great medical benefits, or possibly none at all, worries me. The idea of such a stressfull job and coming home not being able to get to sleep forever since I am wound up from waitressing, also worries me. I think at a nice restaurant I can make per hour what I'm making now, but I will be working less hours so I will be able to pay the bills but might not be saving as much money as i am now and won't have as much freedom as I have now. Which sucks, but it is do-able. Wow, that was a lot of thinking out loud. I needed it though. It's just stressful to leave the comfort of an office job when this is what I have known for the past, geez, 4 years? Anyway, I know it will be well worth it and I won't have a car payment anymore hopefully in about a year, so that will help a lot too! I can do this!
So, school is hilarious. I have realized a few things the past FIVE YEARS I have been at SLCC. The first day of class, you go in, the teacher tries to scare you as badly as they can by telling you how hard the class will be and how much they will expect of you and how there will be NO EXCEPTIONS for late work and yada yada. This is a scheme to get people to drop the class. It works. Second day of class, you go in and there are about HALF as many people. It is so funny. You also start out the semester studying really hard and doing your homework that isn't due for another week, right away. As the semester continues, you realize a few things. The instructor has let you know that the homework you are doing online, you have three tries for each section's quiz. Three tries! Lol. I thought you were only supposed to get one chance when taking a quiz but OK. They tell you that you can bring ONE page of notes to the final with you. So you write super tiny and fit pretty much everything you need to know for the test on the one piece of paper. The teacher also tells you that he will have the exam the class before the final and will read the actual questions to you, directly from the final exam, as a way to review for the final. As I'm saying this, the headline on MSNBC is "46% of College Students Aren't learning Anything." Lol. Hmmmm. I may say this is partly correct. I know that I will have a TON to learn when I get to my Radiology classes, but for now I do feel a bit like I'm wasting time. Anyway, just thought I would let people know what college is like if they haven't been. It's comical.
I was worried winter life wouldn't be as fun and exciting as summer life this year. Dave and I had a BLAST last summer. We had an adventure every single weekend. Well, I was wrong. This is my first year with a season ski pass and it has been so much fun! Dave taught me how to snowboard a few weeks ago as well, it was an adventure to say the least. His sister has been coming to our place with her husband, they are so much fun. They were with us, learning to snowboard as well. Dave's 30th birthday party was a blast, I haven't partied that hard in forever! We have some snowboard competition trips coming up for Dave, which I am excited for. We will be in Sun Valley, Idaho Feb. 3rd-5th. Even though it's Idaho, I'm excited because I haven't been on a vacation in FOREVER! Lol. Not having to work and going somewhere even hardly foreign, will do as a vacation for now! =) When I get my tax return this year, the big decision will be where to go for a REAL vacation. Woot woot! The choices are, possibly a cruise with my family, or NY! Ahhh. i could really go for either one!