But I like it!

Things are going well over here. My official first day of my new job is next week. I am writing monthly newsletters for one of the colleges at my university. It pays pretty well, the only downside is that there is no work during the summer. So I have been applying to several places for summer internships and the like. I'm hoping that I will be able to find something for the summer.

Classes are going really well. It is incredibly hard to drag myself to my marketing class though. It is a 7 pm class twice a week, and the last class of the day. It doesn't help that I've already been at school 10 hours by the time class starts.

I have been very good about not getting food at school. I have eaten at school twice since the semester began! I have found that the easiest thing to do is to just buy a bunch of fruit and veggies and eat that throughout the day. Sometimes I will bring leftovers from the previous night's dinner, but I have no fridge access at school and I don't want to keep the food in my car for hours at a time.

I have decided to take a student loan out for the next semester. Tuition is going up by 50% ! A couple colleges and majors have been cut from the curriculum along with a few graduate programs. Our governor keeps on cutting the school's budget. But that's another rant for another day.

I started volunteering with an organization called Guardian Angels. I've been doing mostly patrols, but they also would like me to help them with planning special events and fund raising. It is a lot of fun and I have met some great people.

The weather here has been insane. I wish it would make up its mind. One day it is in the 80s, the next day we are having freak blizzards that last for 10 minutes. Today I was walking from my class to my car and decided to cut through the student union. I am in the building for not even two minutes and when I leave it, it is snowing so much I can barely see in front of me!

I got my first fillings done earlier this week. That was nothing short of torture. I hate every second of the hour long process. I swore upon leaving that I will do everything I need to to avoid having that done again. And, according to my dentist, they were SMALL fillings!

Out of the 5 classes I am signed up for, 4 of the classes have a very large online component. For 3 of those classes ALL of the homework and quizzes are online.

And I hate it. The ONLY upside is that for those 3 classes, the textbooks are also online. I spent $251.95 on those 3 e-books, as compared to $551 on the paper versions. I ended up spending about $500 on textbooks this semester- the 3 ebooks, 2 books that I rented from Chegg (great deal too- renting the two cost as much as buying one used!), and 1 book that I had to buy from the bookstore (first edition and it came with a special code for online work). I am in the process of putting the ebooks on my Kindle.

I get that there are a lot of advantages to doing work online- less paper wasted on turning in assignments, the teachers don't have to spend hours grading papers, etc. But I don't seem to do well with online assignments. I can complete them, and get a good grade on them, but I just don't seem to learn the material as well as when I have to write it by hand.

It is going to be an interesting semester for sure. I have to spend about 12 hours at school every Monday and Wednesday. I do have breaks in between my classes so I can get homework done while I am there. Tuesdays and Thursdays I have only one class so I plan on going to school early to practice racquetball by myself. Fridays I have off!

I have several recipes I am gong to try this week so I can bring the food to school. Since classes started on Tuesday, I only had to spend one 12-hour day at school this week. And I ended up going to the vending machine (Pop-tarts). I don't want to get used to getting food at school as it will get very costly, very fast.

Speaking of food, I entered a recipe contest! I already submitted my recipe and now I am just waiting. The deadline is Feb. 1 and winners won't be announced until October. I plan on entering more contests as it was a lot of fun making the recipe. There is even a cash prize (not going to lie, good motivation!).

I have sold 6 textbooks the last couple weeks. A little over $300 made. I am going to use the money to buy a cheap pair of boots (mine are following apart) and then put the rest in savings.

That is about all for now. I am going to finish the reading and then make some lunch.

And 2010 is going well so far.

2/3 finished with my Econ class. I had the midterm yesterday and I feel like I did well. I can't believe that the spring semester starts in about a week and half. I have to do some textbook shopping.

My class schedule sucks next semester. I have Fridays off, but Mondays and Wednesdays I am there for almost 12 hours. Blech. I will have to prepare lunches and dinners for those days as it will be VERY tempting to eat on campus.

I have started playing racquet ball with some friends. So much fun! I haven't been playing as long as they have, so sometimes they hit the ball really hard and I run away from it. It has provided endless entertainment for the guys I play with. I am thinking of getting a pass to the school gym so I can keep my work out clothes and equipment there.

I had this really good sushi last night. It was a sushi place in one of the casinos and they had a dessert sushi they called "Sweet Maki". It was bananas, mangoes, cherries, nuts, and whipped cream on top. Absolutely delicious.

I'm looking for a job but having some problems. I am writing my resume (not that I have a long resume) and am sending it to a couple places. I never before have had a job require a resume, but there are a couple law firms and doctor offices looking for some part-time help and have advertised on campus. And they require a resume. Good practice though for later on when I am doing the "real" job hunting.

The internet has been wonderful help with the resume though. Plenty of example resumes to model.

I think that pretty much sums up everything. Hope everyone enjoys the weekend!

It has been so long since I have posted here! I have missed you all.

A LOT has happened in the tail end of 2009.

For one, I am no longer engaged. Or in a relationship actually.

Ex-fiance broke up with me in late October/early November. We had just decided on a date and begun planning the wedding. Randomly (to me) he told me that he wasn't happy and wanted out.

I'm doing ok though. Really confused and angry at first but I am doing better now. I actually have a date next week. Don't know if anything will come from it but it will be nice to get out.

I changed my major!

I love math but realized after taking a couple classes this semester that I cannot work in the field of math. I took a theory class, Theory of Positive Integers, that I just hated. Absolutely hated. I don't want to have to do proofs or anything to do with proofs ever again.

The second class was Probability Theory. I had taken a couple stats classes before and thought it was interesting but after this class... no. Just no. I can't stand probability I discovered. The class focused a lot on the types of problems actuaries have so that is one career that is definitely out of the question.

So I am now an accounting major. I am taking an economics class over winter break (business requirement) and I really like it so far. My accounting class were also really interesting this last semester and I found myself really enjoying those classes.

I've gotten so much better at cooking! I did a completely home made Thanksgiving this last year. I even made the bread for the stuffing and everything. It was a hectic two days of cooking as I didn't want any help but I really enjoyed it.

So I signed up for a cooking class at the community college here. It begins in a few weeks and I am really looking forward to it.

Christmas was good. A couple friends and I went to a midnight mass and I had Christmas dinner with their families. One large holiday dinner a year is enough for me.

For New Year's Eve a group of friends and I played 3 rounds of laser tag. One round was free which was pretty nice. Then we watched "Inglorious Basterds". Hilarious movie.

Financially things are ok but could be better. Tuition has spiked dramatically and if it goes up again it looks like I may have to take out a small student loan. I am, of course, looking for other scholarships and financial aid but a student loan may be on the horizon. Fortunately, even with my major change, it looks like I will graduate in 3-4 semesters so I am not worried about having a huge amount of debt.

I can't think of much else to say. I think that covers just about everything... I hope everyone has had a great new year so far!

I know it isn't healthy, and can lead down a bad road, but lately I have been feeling really horrible and have the urge to shop.

The first anniversary of my mom's death is only a few weeks away and it has been getting more difficult to deal with it. I just want something to take my mind off it (something happy- school is stressful right now). I should be looking forward to my second anniversary with fiance, which is a few days before the aforementioned anniversary, but I can't get excited about it.

I haven't gone shopping, aside from grocery shopping, yet. Fiance has been really great- he's been trying to come up with different ways to get my mind off it and is being a total sweetheart.

I am annoyed with my accounting homework. It is online homework, with the website checking your answers. It gives you three chances to get the homework right and then you are marked wrong. In one problem we had to do an income statement and we had to calculate the income tax expense. I am 99.99% sure I got the right number for it but the website kept telling me I was wrong. I think the website made a mistake so I am going to talk to the teacher tomorrow.

That's about it. I may or may not be updating much. School and everything else is keeping me really busy.

I accomplished most of my goals for the weekend. I did not do a lot of studying (I still have time... the test is Thursday) and I did not do the IS quiz. Why? Because there was no IS quiz. There is not a quiz for another month and I figured I will wait to do that one until about a week before it is due.

Everything else though is complete! Yay!

I will be depositing about $800 into our checking today- my last paycheck at my previous work and fiance's latest paycheck.

I am making spaghetti sauce as I type. Ok, technically, my crock pot is the one making the spaghetti sauce, but I am the one who mixed all the ingredients together! I decided to use canned diced tomatoes instead of buying tomatoes and dicing them myself because the canned version was a lot cheaper. Next time I will probably use fresh tomatoes. It was pretty easy and a lot more fun then buying pre-made sauce.

The sauce I am making is pretty basic in flavor. Oregano, basil, and a bay leaf are all the spices I am using. Oh, and a little bit of garlic and onion. I wanted to see what this tasted like before I started experimenting with different flavors. I figured I can use this recipe as a "base" and go from there.

It is (finally) beginning to get colder here. I actually need a little cardigan today. Towards the end of the week is when the temperatures will start to really drop. Our stove REALLY heats up the apartment every time we use it so I don't think we will have to run the heater a lot this winter.

I have been slacking the past few days. I did, however, have three tests this week so everything else got put on the back burner while I studied for the tests. Now that the weekend is here I can do some catching up.

So today's goals are:
1. Get my IS quiz done. And possibly get a couple quizzes done that aren't due for awhile.
2. Do the accounting hw and quiz.
3. Pick up my paycheck and turn in my work shirts.
4. Upload all the food pics I have taken and flip through my cookbooks for more ideas.

Tomorrow's goals:
1. Get the probability hw done and start studying for the test.
2. Clean the bathroom (tub and shower curtain- don't ask me how that got dirty, I really don't know), living room, and the kitchen. Also put the clothes away properly (fiance originally did this but I don't like how he put my clothes away so I am going to redo it).
3. Go for a bike ride in the morning.

Just barely though. :P

I have been so busy this past week and a half with school and work and family... I've been popping in and out, reading a post here and there, or reading a thread.

Last week I did try a new recipe, but it wasn't from any of the cookbooks. It didn't turn out too well. In fact, I hated it. Fiance insisted it didn't taste that bad but I think he was lying to me to spare my feelings. Lol. Tonight I will not be trying a new recipe, but rather a new thing.

Chicken thighs with bone and skin. I have NEVER cooked chicken thighs or breasts with the bones and skins. I always buy them boneless and skinless. But, it is more economical to buy them with the bone and skin still on. We'll see how it turns out. I've seen cooks add herbs and spices underneath the skin so I think I will try that.

School is going well. Info Systems is really boring but really easy. I really like my accounting class. The only class I don't like is probability theory. It is challenging, which I like, but I don't like probability. Which is a bummer because several people have told me to consider becoming an actuary.

Fiance and I are doing well with not spending a lot of money. We went to sushi over the weekend and got all you can eat for $30 for the two of us for dinner. We even got a coupon for the next time we go. But we both agree we won't be eating out again this month.

I will be sticking to Walmart to do my grocery shopping. Last week I went to a different grocery store that my friend said is really good and not expensive and ended up spending a little over $50! I got the same items I usually get at Walmart. So I'll be doing my shopping at Walmart for groceries, with the possible exception of fruit. Sometimes the Walmart here doesn't have the best fruit so I'll go to another grocery store (same shopping center) for that if I need to.

So far my half.com total for this month is $21. Not bad.

I think that is all so far... it seems so little to update on for the past week.

Every once while someone does something that is so annoying you just gotta rant about it.

That happened today.

Around lunch time I was walking from one class to another. The hall was very crowded as there were a lot of people in a small hall. The girl walking in front of me was texting and just randomly stopped walking.

I bumped into her. She gets irritated at me that I bumped into her (when she turned around to say something snarky is when I noticed that she was texting while walking).

Why the heck are you getting irritated at me when it was technically your fault I bumped into you? It is not like we were walking in a wide, open field of daisies and I had my mind set on running into you. Text and walk if you want to, I don't care. Just don't get upset with me when I run into you because you stopped suddenly!

Jeesh.

Ok, happy news!

A friend gave me a cookbook. It is a Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. It is a special edition and it features favorite recipes from the 1930's until now. Some of the desserts are so mouthwatering it was hard not to eat the page! I'm very glad to have this friend back. She was gone for two years on a religious mission and is now attending the same university as myself. She's really gotten into cooking as myself so we'll probably end up exchanging a lot of recipes.

I also bought a cookbook yesterday. It is a gluten-free, sugar-free cookbook (the recipes are gluten-free, sugar-free, not the actual book ). I don't know if I am going to go gluten-free but I bought it for a couple reasons:
1) A relative of fiance has Celiac disease. I was curious about what kind of recipes that relative could have.
2) The back cover really upset me. My mom had fibromyalgia, along with a couple other auto-immune disorders, and the back cover said that going gluten-free could help with that illness (among others). So it played at my heart strings.

My total for August for half.com was $162.88! One of my most profitable months! I even sold a book this morning so September is off to a great start.

As for savings... I'm not sure. Fiance and I did put money into savings this month but then we had to take money out because of school. So I think we ended up saving a negative number this past month. But that just reinforces the importance of a savings. We'll make up the lost amount over the next few months (hopefully).

This week has been pretty busy.

I quit my job.

I will be doing some "stuff" in the math department at my school. I say "stuff" because they haven't actually decided what I will be doing most of the time. I will most likely be doing paper grading and some tutoring.

I am sad but relieved to be leaving my job. It is time that I start making more connections with those in my department. I will be working at my job until mid-September.

I joined "Intervarsity Christian Fellowship" and ended up spending 12 hours at school Thursday. I got to school early to meet with friends before my classes began. And then after my classes I attended the bbq that the club was hosting and then the group meeting.

I also changed my church membership from the church I have been going to for a few years to the cathedral. Fiance and I have been attending the cathedral for mass for about a year now and no longer go to the other church. I've been meaning to do it for a long time now, but I have always forgotten. The cathedral is on my way home from school so I no longer had an excuse of not being able to make it to the church when the office is open.

For my IS class we have several online assignments. I have finished all but one. I hate it when teachers assign homework online. For one, I *always* forget about it until 5 minutes before it is due. Hence why I have finished most of the assignments already. I need to get them out of the way now or later on in the semester I am not going to have the time to do them or remember that I have those online assignments. For another, I do not learn well with doing things online. I learn best by hearing the material and writing out the problems step-by-step. Online assignments don't help me at all.

After spending 9 hours in the sun, I am exhausted. I was supposed to do the grocery shopping tonight but I think tomorrow will be a better option.

Is how much money I have made on half.com this month. I have sold 19 books this month.

What started as four boxes of books waiting to be sold has become three boxes of books. I can't wait until they are all gone. Too bad I don't have a never ending supply of books waiting to be sold. Lol.

I will be receiving a $25 gift card to Barnes and Noble in the mail very soon. I have a credit card with them and they have a rewards program where every 2,500 points (1 point= $1) you get, you receive a $25 gift card for the store. It is automatic so I don't have to do anything (besides using my credit card that is). And no annual fee.

I'm thinking a buying a cookbook or two with the gift card. My dad said James Beard is a great cookbook author to look for. I was also thinking of getting a Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. I could spend hours in Barnes and Noble (and frequently do) just browsing so it might take me a looooooong time to decide what to do with the gift card.

I called AT&T because I was worried about my bill. Or the lack of bill I should say. I signed up for internet about a month ago with them and no bill so far. So I called and the representative hunted down my account and told me they mailed my bill on Friday so it should be arriving within a week. If it doesn't arrive then, call again. I am very relieved to hear that it will be arriving soon. I thought I had missed it in the mail!

I did the grocery shopping this morning and spent $40.74. It was higher than usual because I had to buy cat food and litter. While there I completely forgot to buy notebooks for fiance and I so I must go back to Walmart again to get the notebooks. I won't buy them at the student store because one notebook will cost about $7! And I need 10 of them (or 2 five-subject notebooks...).

My first class begins in about an hour and a half so I have to get ready for it.

Though it hasn't been much of a summer- I was either in school or working. Lol.

I have so much laundry to do tonight. Fiance and I are going over to my dad's to do the laundry and move a desk. I am so sore from the past few days at work that I doubt I will be much help with the desk. I hope he has food. I have not been eating much the past few days because of work.

Speaking of work... major drama going on. I have decided to look for a new job. I won't/can't quit until I have something else lined up, but I am getting fed up with my job. I am going to ask my advisor on Monday or Tuesday if there are any openings in the math department. Who knows, maybe there is something I can do. Paper grader anyone? Lol.

I will apply to places outside of school for a job of course. I will be looking a lot closer to home for a job. No more driving 14 miles to work everyday. There are plenty of restaurants and stores within 3 miles of my apartment that I can apply to. So I will look there.

Finally deposited my paycheck yesterday. $530. Of course all of that will be going to school related expenses. I still have to buy notebooks for my classes. I will get that at Walmart when I do the grocery shopping.

Which reminds me... I have to do grocery shopping. Darn. Why can't the groceries just appear in the fridge/pantry when I need them?

Yesterday was our housewarming party and it was so much fun.

Fiance and I started cleaning at about 1 pm for the party (started at 6) and I started dinner at about 4 pm. We took a lot of breaks from the cleaning so we finished just in time.

A friend gave us a huge basket with pomegranate tea and biscotti. Also in the basket was a tea set (cups and saucers) for four. It was so cute! I can't wait to use it.

Payday is Thursday which is a relief. For some reason a scholarship I normally get has not paid yet (and it always pays by this time). I need to go down to the financial services building tomorrow and see what is going on with that. I know I still qualify for the scholarship so I have no idea what is going on. I know I sent in my scholarship application on time. I hope it is just a glitch.

Fiance and I have been pretty good about our fun spending. We went to the movies once ($18) and that's about it.

But school... omg.

Fiance and I bought our parking permits today. $200 for two permits for the entire school year. We went from a $200 permit to a $100 permit each. More walking but less money.

$200 for all of fiance's textbooks. $100 on my textbooks so far and I will spend another $3-400 on textbooks tomorrow. One textbook I might be able to split with a friend because we are taking the same class. We'll see.

Fiance has prepaid tuition so his scholarships are extra money. That will cover the cost of textbooks and part of my tuition (which is about as much as textbooks!).

I'm still in shock over how much my textbooks cost. In the past I have been able to get the textbooks for so much less. Guess I chose an expensive major and minor. :P

I sold another book today. I made $4.14 pre-shipping. Shipping will cost about $3. I'm going to apply this month's half.com money to textbooks/tuition and next month's money will go towards fiance's IRA. He didn't contribute to it last month. After we will probably use the half.com money for spending money. Every little bit counts.

Tomorrow I have to be at work at 5:30 in the morning! That means I have to get up at 4:30! Ugh. I like mornings but that is a little too early for me. This week I am working several days which is very good. My last paycheck was for $428 so this next one should be at least that.

I went grocery shopping today. I spent $26.48. Last week I spent $22.96. I have budgeted about $50/week on groceries so we are coming in way under budget. Next week's grocery shopping is going to be more expensive because I have to buy food for our party. I think it will add another $15-20 to our grocery bill, leaving us still under budget.

I have to do laundry at my dad's and I need to do a little bit of cleaning there today too. But it hurts to move! Fiance says the sunburn looks better today but I don't believe him.

Fiance and I went to a movie last night. We saw "Julie and Julia". It was my choice. Fiance ended up liking the movie- it was really funny. At some points, it had the whole theater laughing so loud you couldn't hear what was being said! Definitely worth seeing.

Yesterday I sold five books! One person ordered one book and another person ordered four!

Yay!

I made about $14 from the books, so that bring my total for the month to almost $39!!

I've made a decision about the textbooks. After doing a lot of looking on the internet, I have determined that the cheapest way to buy two of the three is through the school. So there goes $314. The third textbook I will order online for considerably less than what the school is charging for it. Tomorrow I will pick up the textbooks from school.

I went to the student store today to look for my textbooks. I couldn't find most of my textbooks online and wanted to see the books in person so I would know what I was looking for.

Turns out a couple of my textbooks have access codes that come with the book. Now I'm not sure if I should buy the books at the university or online.

I don't know.

And I think I accidently bought the wrong edition of a book. I received the book yesterday. But today when I looked at the book in person, it has a different cover! Same author, same edition, same copyright year... so why the different cover?

Tomorrow I think I will go back and compare the book I bought to the one on the shelf. If most of the pages are the same, then I have nothing to worry about. The other math textbook I bought is exactly the same as the one in the store so no worries there.

Ugh. Why does this have to be so complicated?

I haven't decided yet what I am going to do about the access code issue. I'm still looking around. Maybe the publisher's website will have the code sold separately and I can buy the book and code individually.

One of the books that requires an access code I can buy as an e-book. It cost about $40 and if I do that, it is cheaper than buying the regular textbook and access code (or the package being sold at school). I am wondering if it would be a good idea to buy an e-book. As long as I get the right edition and everything I should be fine.

I don't know what to do!

Yesterday evening I sold one of my more expensive books on half.com. My total for the month so far is $17.81. If I'm lucky, I might be able to off set the cost of one book through half.com sales.

I have purchased two of my textbooks so far. One I bought for $65 and the other I bought for $25. Neither was available in the international version. However I paid considerably less for almost brand new copies of the book online than I would have if I had bought them at school used. I can't find the other three anywhere, but I'm still looking.

A friend of a friend is an accounting major and has two of the books I need. I will be calling her tomorrow and asking her if I can buy the books from her. She might not want to sell them since she is an accounting major.

Ok, maybe not, but it feels that way.

I looked online for the list of textbooks I need. I need 5 books, and the total for buying them new at the university (none of them are offered used) is $491 for FOUR of the books. The fifth does not have a price as of now.

So I am going to look for international versions of the books first and then look on half.com and textbooks.com after that. I have a feeling though, that I won't be able to find one of them anywhere but the university. It is a binder of papers for the accounting class. I *think* it was put together by the teacher. And for some reason it costs $132! Crazy. Keep your fingers crossed that I can find cheap versions of all the books.

Last night fiance and I went shopping. We bought a lot of stuff and the total came to $100.96- the gift certificate was for $100. So we did pretty well. We bought:
-16 piece set of dishes
-Set of three whisks
-Utensil caddy (not needed, but very useful!)
-Hand mixer
-Sheets
-Trash can
-Set of three glass casserole dishes
And I think something else but I can't think of it...

I got a free lunch today. A local deli offers one of those punch cards (buy so many get one free) and I found one on the ground the other day. I added the card I found to the punch card I already had (I frequent this deli) and I was able to get a free sandwich.

I'm off to hunt down some books.

I finally reached a decision about the parking permit situation.

I had two options. Option A was to stick with my current parking permit and pay $205. Option B was to "step down" and go with the cheaper permit and pay $105.

My main concern was about walking to and from my car if I were to park in Option B. Since a shuttle does not stop in that area, there is less foot traffic coming and going. But I went over my schedule for the fall and the latest I get out is at 4 pm. Even during the winter, there is still some daylight at 4 pm.

So I have opted for Option B.

I also sold another book this morning! I made $3.48, bringing my total to $23.39 for the month. I'm starting to become a regular at the post office.

I don't have anything to report on. I'm just putting off my essay. Here is my prompt:

"Eurocentrism: Using examples from history or particular writers we have examined, describe what it means to say that European Age of Discovery had a highly "ethnocentric character". Then examine the way that Montaigne uses satire in order to make Europeans aware of the ethnocentric biases in their attitudes towards New World peoples. What makes Montaigne's essay effective or ineffective in combating the cultural biases of Europeans? What practical effects might Montaigne hope that his essay "On the Cannibals" would have for the debate about the status of New World peoples and their treatment by colonizing Europeans? You can also bring in texts such as Columbus' letter and/or other assigned readings."

Blah.

I actually liked Montaigne's essay "On the Cannibals". It was interesting to read and discuss. But I'm totally unmotivated to write this essay.

I really need to rewrite the one paragraph I have...

Ick. I hate it when the weather is like this. It's hot with high humidity and no breeze. I could stand it if there was at least some kind of breeze. So boyfriend and I are going to buy him swim trunks and then go swimming at the pool.

I paid my tuition today. You guys were right- I was only charged $25 in late fees because they weren't open Saturday and Sunday. I paid the second half of the tuition today too.

Turns out I need to get one more book for my class. It wasn't listed online but it is required. We won't need it until next Monday so I have some time to get it.

I went grocery shopping today and only spent $85! I usually spend between $95-105 each week. I'm going to try a few new recipes this week. I think what made the grocery bill less this week was that I didn't buy any beef.

I also got some green tea and herbal tea. I've never really liked tea but I want to try the various flavors. I have this strange urge to buy a teapot but I won't buy one until I know that I'll drink tea regularly.

I've been meaning to go to the storage unit to get some books to sell online. I really need to do that tonight or early tomorrow. I have some homework to do and I want to get the books before the homework starts to pile up.

ETA: So I looked online for the two books I am missing for my class. One is by John Locke and is available for free download on the Kindle. Once I get my Kindle (should be here by Friday!) I'll download Locke and use that for school. The second is available in the library so Wednesday I will check it out and make copies of the pages I need at home (for free!). I could have purchased a used one for $15 online but I don't know if it will get here in time. Whew! Glad I solved that.

I can't believe I forgot to make a payment!

Not on my CC, but for my summer tuition! The $400 was due yesterday and I completely forgot! I can still pay until Tuesday, with late fees of course. I think the late fee is $25/day.

Arrggh. I doubt that the financial services building will be open tomorrow but I'll stop by just to be sure.

So the summer tuition is $418.50 + $75 (late fee guess) now. While I'm there I'm going to pay the second half of the summer tuition (not due for another month) just to be safe. Dad said he will cover the second half of the tuition bill.

Live and learn, right? I'll be out $75 (or around there)- expensive lesson to learn.

This is a non-financial bragging post:

I got a 4.0 GPA this semester!!!!!

I haven't had a 4.0 since high school! My GPAs for the previous semesters have always been around 3.6-3.8.

Yay!!!!!!!!

[/end bragging]

I finished buying all of the textbooks I need today.

I bought 4 online (half.com) for $30.40. I ended up saving a couple dollars per book after shipping was included. I did purchase two other books new at the bookstore because I couldn't find it cheaper anywhere else. I spend $11.25 on the books. The final book is the most expensive one. Available used at the school for $65, I got it free from a friend of mine who is currently taking the class. If she doesn't remember to give it to me, I can purchase it used of half.com for $40. Either way I save money.

So I spent a total of $41.65 on my textbooks. Had I purchased them through the book store I would have spent $114.25!

Thank you, internet! What would I do without you?

try, try again.

I attempted to do online bill pay yesterday. I went to my CC website and put in my checking account number, how much I wanted to pay (full balance- $78), and set up the payment for today. I just checked and there was no payment made. It didn't even show a pending payment.

So I went over to my bank account (the checking account showed no pending payment either) and set up a payment for today for $78 to that CC. It says it will go through in two business days, on the 28th.

So we will wait and see. Worst case is that I send two payments of $78 resulting in a credit of $78.

My French class was cancelled today so my friend and I went to a juice place. First time I've been there. I got an "Oreo Speedway" and it was delicious! Wasn't the best drink to get on a cold day (really should have gone for the hot coco but next time!).

There is an odd smell in the house that I need to track down. I think my brother left some food in his room and forgot about it...

Whew!

Last night I sat down with my computer, my DARS (Degree Audit Report), and a pen and paper and mapped out what classes I needed to take when. I pretty much planned what classes I will be taking for the rest of college. I'm going to run it by my advisor today just in case.

So after talking with my boyfriend and dad I am only going to take two classes this summer. They both think taking three classes and working will be too much stress and too costly. So the summer tuition bill dropped from $1,265.50 to $837! Still a lot of money, but more manageable. And it will be nice to not be in classes all summer long.

I found a few scholarships last night with an upcoming deadline (3-4 weeks away). Tonight I'm going to try to get started on them. Most do not require an essay (thank God!) but I just have to collect all the information for them. And luckily I can submit it electronically so I don't have to worry about mailing it.

This weekend at least. The rest of April is pretty much dead.

No work gives me a chance to relax and hang out with family, but that also means no pay. I picked up my paycheck today and it was for $83.66. And I doubt my next paycheck will be anything.

Oh well.

Summer school is going to be very costly. The tuition alone is $1,265! And that doesn't include books.

Ouch.

And fall tuition, after the school scholarships, is about $740 + books. At least I *think* that is how much it is. It could be less. I'm going to do extra searches for scholarships. Normally the school scholarships pretty much cover tuition so I don't need to do a lot of outside search for scholarships. But this time, I will. I'll begin looking tonight.

I'm a little mad at myself for not looking for scholarships for the summer. The school scholarships do not cover summer tuition and I should have prepared for that. If I am lucky I might be able to find a couple scholarships.

I am thinking that over the summer, instead of taking 3 classes, I will take two. This will drop the tuition to below $900 and I will not have to buy as many books. Unfortunately, this means that I will have to take this class over the fall semester and push one class to next spring. But if I take it during the fall, the scholarships will cover almost all of it. I think this might be the best choice but I will think about it for a couple days.

So with all this upcoming expenses I am not going to spend any of the money I am getting from the apartment complex for referring my friend. It will be saved and will most likely go towards books and tuition. As much as I would like to buy something for myself with it, I know I can't. It would be irresponsible to not put it towards tuition.

(This is very long and somewhat boring. I'm mostly writing this here to organize my thoughts and keep track of what was said.)

Yesterday I spoke with the Accounting advisor and was overloaded with information. We talked for about 40 minutes on the requirements for a minor, CPA license, Master's degree, jobs, etc. She was very thorough and didn't rush me (which I liked. My Math advisor tends to speed through everything, but he is still a great advisor).

Minor in accounting

I have decided to minor in Acc. The requirements include Information Systems 101 and 102 and Accounting 201, 202, 401, and two more upper level accounting courses (not 460/481).

The advisor told me that even if I decide to not get a CPA license, I would still be able to get a job in accounting if I minor in it. I would have to start off as an entry level accountant, but that's ok. This definitely made me happy. I was worried that she was going to tell me I needed to major in Accounting to be a CPA (more on that later) or to be an accountant. I'm still not sure exactly what career path I want to take and I'm glad that a minor in Acc. gives me another option.

The CPA License

The advisor informed me that Nevada is one of the harder states to get a CPA license in (which doesn't surprise me- NV is big on licenses). The requirements are three-fold:

1. 150 hours of schooling. This includes an undergrad degree (doesn't have to be Accounting) and several accounting classes. The classes include: Accounting 401, 402, 403, 405, 410, 460, and 470. I also need to take four elective classes (one of which is an internship) and 8 general business classes. Obviously majoring in accounting would get most of the classes taken care of, but minoring still gets several out of the way.

2 & 3. At least 2 years of work experience in the field. and passing all 4 parts of the CPA exam. The advisor said that the best way to do this is to get a job as an accountant, and then begin taking the CPA exam. I can't remember if she said all four parts were given at once or separately.

In order to fulfill all the requirements for the CPA, I have to apply to a special "graduate" program by the university. And when I do, the State Board of Accounting (I *think* that is what it is called) determines what business classes I need to take along with the accounting electives.

Master's in Accounting

I know I want to go onto graduate school. But I'm not sure if I want to study Math or Accounting (or both?). I guess that depends on what career I take. A Master's in Accounting (at my school) is 10 graduate classes. The requirements are: Accounting 401, 402, 403, 405, 410, 470, 460.

Other Stuff

My advisor told me that if I were to stay in Nevada, it might be easier to get my MACC first (if I want to get my Master's) and then start the license program.

That's a lot of "if"s.
--------

So the big question is what the heck do I want to do and when and where do I want to do it?

Thankfully it doesn't need to be answered anytime soon.

I'm not keen on staying in Nevada. I like living here but... I don't want to stay long. With my dad in Cali (and my brother probably going there when graduates HS), I don't have any family that ties me here. And I much prefer the East coast.

Boyfriend says he would prefer to stay in Nevada, but as long as we don't go to the South, he's fine with wherever. And his future job (he wants to be a police officer) is available anywhere.

I *could* stay in Nevada to get my Master's and CPA license (if I decide to go that route) and then move. But that probably wouldn't be compatible with boyfriend's career plans (agencies aren't keen on training you and then you leaving them after a couple years). I think I would prefer to move to another state to get my Master's and CPA license.

So over the next couple years there is a lot to decide. What career I want, what to get my Master's in, if I want to get my CPA license (even if I don't want to be an accountant)...

The decisions aren't going to be made anytime soon. I'm going to look to see if there are any internships in the accounting field. And as graduation comes closer, I'll start making the big decisions.

Whew! That was a lot.

Ok, so Friday I register for classes. Both for the summer and for the fall.

Summer classes:
Core Humanities 202
Accounting 201
Math 285

Fall Classes:
Math 373
Math 330
Math 461
Accounting 202
Information Systems 101

I shipped my item today. Shipping and packaging was $2.19. So my total for this month is: $9.21. Decent.

I am so exhausted. I got only a couple of hours sleep last night. I wasn't up late studying or playing games or watching movies. My brain would just would not shut off. I wasn't tired until it was really late.

I somehow got through the day. I did the grocery shopping and went to the post office and talked with my advisor and then went to my classes. Tomorrow I will post about what my advisor said and what I plan on doing. Right now I need a nap.

I skipped out on you guys for a few days just to keep you on your toes.

:P

Actually, there have been some problems with boyfriend's mom. I have been hesitant to post about it but I am getting sooo frustrated with the situation and I don't want to put my boyfriend in the middle even more than he already is.

The problem *seems* to be that our personalities just don't mesh well. I rub off on her the wrong way and visa versa. It also really doesn't help that I am the first girlfriend she has had to deal with. This is unchartered territory for her.

Boyfriend thinks mostly it is that I am such an independent person that bothers her. I have always been this way- my parents said even was I was just a few years old I was always very independent. I don't get why this is an issue, but apparently it is.

And she wants me to fix everything, but I don't know what to do. She won't talk to me and the times we do talk about what is going on, she just tells me that she knows we are both stressed and everything will be ok. So how am I supposed to fix what is going on if I can't get a straight answer?

Le sigh.

So last night I totally forgot that I didn't have school today because of spring break and I started to do my homework. I was working on Diff. Equ. and finally got so frustrated with it that I threw my pencil down, threw my hands in the air, and said "Pfffffttt." My boyfriend then asks me why I was doing homework when it was spring break.

My reply? "I forgot that it is spring break. Why didn't you tell me sooner?" paired with an evil glare.

His reply? "I dunno."

He just likes to see me suffer.

Work was interesting on Saturday. I forgot to call and get my schedule today so tomorrow I will call them.

Boyfriend and I did some window shopping today. It was a lot of fun walking around town with him and looking at everything in the stores. All we bought was lunch (I think it was about $10). Wednesday I am having lunch with friends and Thursday boyfriend and I may be going to spend the day at the lake. Maybe. I haven't decided if I actually want to go.

I wish boyfriend was here right now. I really just want to watch a movie or something with him. I need to relax somehow.