Pardon the interruption

School has been in for about 3 weeks now and I am loving it.  The light bulb has clicked on regarding the classes I was sure I would never get.  Economics rocks!  When I am finished classes, I rush home so that I have quiet time to do homework because I am learning that when the family is here, it does not get done.  I should explain that we have two sided living room...basically a room was opened to make a large room but it still feels separate.  If you have been here you know what I mean. The TV is in one part of the room and the computer desk in the opposite side of the room.  Here is what happened last Sunday...


10:00am-
Jodi sits down at the computer to work on organizing the slides she needs to print for this week and decides to print them all at Staples.  So, I go about placing my order.

10:15am-
Darling Mom enters the room  
DM "what'ca doing?"
Jodi "Homework"
DM "Oh okay, want some bacon and eggs?"
Jodi "sure"

10:30am
DM "How much bacon should I cook"
Jodi " at least 10 pieces for all of us"
Jodi continues getting all the slides to one place...
DM "Bacon is done?"
Jodi "okay?"
DM "How many eggs?"
Jodi " Well I'll have one, please and DH eats two"
This is followed by DH coming into the living room and exclaiming "ummm bacon and eggs"

10:45am
Stop working to eat wonderful breakfast

11:00am
Back to computer desk to finish up slides to send to staples.  Interrupted by husband:
DH "What'ca doing?"
Jodi "Trying to organize my slides so I can send them to Staples to get printed and coiled"
DH "Well how much is this going to cost?"
Jodi "Less them me printing all of them at home..."

11:20am
DD "Mom... are you getting dressed?  Who is driving me to work?"
Jodi "Is your Nan dressed?  No, alrighty let me just finish this and I will get dressed"
DM "Oooo when you go can you pick up some Frosty's... I really want a Frosty"

Get dressed, get in car, take DD to work, go through drive thru to pick up frosty's, go back home, go back to computer desk.

12:00pm
It has now been 2 hrs since I started organizing the slides to print.  I spend another 30 minutes uploading them and placing my order...now to study.

12:30pm
DH enters the living room again (he is a pacer and it drives me nuts)
DH "What'ca doing now?"
Jodi "Working on Accounting homework online"
DH "OH cool...when's it due?"
Jodi " Not till next Sunday"

DH leaves the room and I can hear him in the kitchen rummaging around.
DH returns to living room and sits on couch, turns on tv and starts flicking through the channels...sports...movie...sports...movie...sopranos...movie...sports...movie....we have movie!

I sit in the other half of the living room attempting an accounting assignment for the 10th time and am getting frustrated with myself.  I then find myself trying to do the homework to the time of the bad guy music on the TV...you know.. that hurry rush and slow down music when the bad guy is just about to strike.  I try to shake it off.

DH...switch back to sports...movie...open can of pop and slurp it...grabs bag of chips and in a evenly continuous action eats said chips.  It sounds like this...

(with bad guy music in background)
Slurp of pop...little burb
Crinkle of bag, slowly as to not make to much noise but holding bag at wrong angle so it makes lots of noise
Crunching of chips (DH eats in even numbers... he says he doesn't but he does) it sounds like this...
crunch crunch crunch...chew chew...crunch crunch crunch...chew chew....and repeat
Crinkle bag, repeat crunching noises and then switching of channels.

I finally say something because it is now 1:30 and I barely have anything done.  I find myself unable to concentrate and rushing to the sound of the tv music.  Distracted by the chips and pop noises and all around annoyed that I need to get this done and there is no other computer for me to use.

I suggest we move the computer desk up to the bedroom, where I can lock myself away and explain why.  DH clues in that he is not helping the issue and decides to take the movie watching to another room.  By this time I am done, I have a headache and have decided that it would be better to stay at school and do work when I can...

To help or not to help

This course is tough....becoming a number cruncher is not easy. 

I have 7 classes and have organized myself to read a chapter each night from a different class, usually 2-3 days before class so I am always on top of things.  Now I love reading so this task is not difficult.  Most of our homework is online and can be done at home.  I also set aside time everyday to do an assignment for a class.  I guess you can say I am organized this time around.

Now there are classmates who wander from class to class saying they are lost, that they have no idea what they are doing.  They ask if I understand what the teacher is teaching and I always say I think so ( I refuse to say yes till I have a test...lol)  When the teachers get upset because they are bombed with questions, their excuse is that outside the classroom, life happens.  Children, work spouses...life.  I have solved this issue by reading during my daughters dance classes.  I have 45 min to 2 hrs of study time in the waiting room.  I read while cooking dinner, I get up early and do an assignment before anyone else is up.

These are the same classmates that have not cracked open a text book and read a chapter as the teachers have suggested.  They take massive notes during lectures but then say they don't understand.  They don't understand because they did not read the textbook as most of the teachers teach from the book and use the slides and their lecture to bring more understanding.  They want help and they want a tutor but no one from a senior class as volunteered yet! 

Our accounting teacher suggested that we get a study group going.  Great idea!  If they were going to study before hand.  I would love to be involved in a study group but the key word is study.  So the question is, do I help create this study group and see where it goes?  Or do I forgo it alone and keep my own schedule?

1st week of school

Along with learning in the classroom, I am learning much more out of the classroom.  Here is my top 5 things I discovered the first week of class:

5. Strike! Strike!  Support staff went on strike just as school was starting, this made for unhappy students, teachers and staff that are working.  I had quite a few teachers tell me their opinion about this.  No one was happy and we were counting down the days till it ended.

4.   Students fresh out of high school is not the norm at college.  Several of us have been out of school for years and alot of us are through the 2nd career program.  We are all in the same age range and all are looking for something to do with our lives.

3.  E-book?? What is this?  Last time I went to school you purchased an expensive text book, a binder with paper and a pen.  Now they have E-books, Netbooks, Laptops and Ipads.  Not a pen or paper in sight!

2. Blackboard...is that like blackbeard??  Last time I went to school, if you wanted your mark you found your teachers room to see the grade list.  If you needed to speak to the teacher, you did so after class or made an appointment.  There was no email, powerpoint pages to print or getting your grades online.

1. And the most important thing I have had to learn the first week of school...... get to the city bus early to get a seat or even get on the bus!  Because the bus goes on the highway, there is a limit to how many people they will take.  If your not one of the lucky 53, you are waiting 30 minutes for the next bus.  Stand as close to the curb as you can and push your way in...

What do I want to be when I grow up?

When I was in high school 20 years ago, I was determined to go into interior design and be the next designer on CityLine with Marilyn Dennis... got to school and realized that it was not what I wanted.  After 2 years I realized that I could not do another 2...the thought gave me shivers.

I tried school again after I had my daughter but it was too much with a 16 month old, issues with family and life in general but it gave me another year under my belt.

Life went on and I worked many different positions in retail but was never happy with the hours or the pay.  This going back to school gave me the chance to decided what I wanted to do for the rest of my life and hopefully did not include long hours, working holidays and working for little pay.  

But, what to choose!!  The choices for the 2nd career program are varied.  You can do a 1yr program or a 2 yr program, a business program or perhaps learning to make wine..what to choose?

It came down to this, I asked myself what did I like to do.  I love to be doing paperwork, billing, invoicing, payroll but I loved working with people.  

I got it! 

I'm going to be a professional number cruncher! 

I'm going to be an ACCOUNTANT!!

I gotta go back, back, back to school again.

Here is how my journey starts...about 3 years ago I had a great job.  It paid the bills and I liked the people I worked with.  Then the day after my 35th birthday I found myself with out this great job.  Now this job was just that a job... it was not where I planned on spending the next 30 years but like I said it paid the bills.  I was sad at losing this job but looked forward to what I could do.

Well this is where I find out that there is not much.  For the next 3 years, I covered a Mat. leave, worked for a crazy lady, went back to retail and always vowed I would go back to school through the Second Career program.  I was just about to start the process when I got a dream job!  Great hours, great pay, great people!  I was set for life, no reason to change anything and then....

Head office came in a year later to the date of my hire to announce they are moving the office to Hamilton.  I was shocked, sad and pissed off!  I loved my job, loved the people I worked with and what we did.  I was set for the next 30 years!  I found myself again at point A and had no idea what to do.

Then came the 2nd career calling again.  Hello you go to school, work hard and the government helps you.  It was perfect because I quickly found out that everything needs a degree now, something I did not have.  I had lots of college education but nothing completed.  This was my chance!  To finish school and show my daughter that yes you can!  But what program....