Missed Opportunity

Well, Hubby and I went to my parent's house for the Memorial Day weekend. Hubby and I left Monday morning. Hubby and Dad had a talk Monday regarding religion, beliefs, and faith. It turns out that my dad feels the same way about those items as Hubby and I. He believes faith is a personal relationship with you and your maker. He also believes that organized religion and people in church follow the man (preacher, leader, whatever name he goes by) instead of trusting your own instincts and beliefs. He stated that as a boy, he questioned his faith and church. He said that the only reason we went to church while G and I were growing up was to instill the concept of faith in our lives. When Hubby told Dad that I felt the same way growing up and that I felt that I had no one to talk to or to discuss my feelings with, Dad seemed a little disappointed (not in me, but in himself) for never getting that point across to me and my brother. He was surprised that I believed the same way and also questioned my faith, beliefs, and church while growing up. Yet, I felt that I had no one to talk it all out with. I guess my family doesn't talk about the important things and I missed out on a great opportunity not only to talk out my frustration and questions with someone that has been there and would completely understand what I was going through, but also as an opportunity to get closer to my dad.

My family does not talk about important things at all. Growing up, I always felt like I was expected to live up to my parent's expectations. I tried my hardest to be the "perfect daughter" for them, but I always felt like I fell far short of their mark. Now, I find out that my dad would have understood everything I was going through if only I felt comfortable enough to open up and talk to him about what was going on in my head. Instead of talking to them, I was afraid that they would judge me or not love me as much if they knew that I doubted everything I was learning in church. What a waste of time! I would have had a much better childhood if only I felt comfortable enough to open up and tell my dad what I was going through. You live and learn. Now I know that I can talk to my dad about other things and maybe our relationship will get better and we will get closer now that I know he will understand.

Latest Addiction

Well, thanks to my husband and one of his friends from work, I have become hooked on the game "World of Warcraft". I blame Ash (the friend from work) ultimately because he got my husband interested in the game who got me interested in the game. Since starting this thing, I haven't gone to bed before midnight any time in a week. We're normally in bed no later than 10:30. What's worse is that while playing the crazy thing, you don't realize how late it is. Friday night, we stayed up until 3:30 Saturday morning playing the game. I thought it was no later than 11. Man was I wrong!

The game is GREAT! You can have up to 10 characters per realm. I currently have 4. One of each race in the Alliance section. There is also a Horde section with four races. And the two fight against each other (Horde and Alliance) if they ever meet.

Anyway, that's my latest obsession. I've never been this way with a game before. It's kind of strange. I find myself coming home from classes and turning on the game to play for a few hours and it turns into an all night thing. I have a Psyc paper that I need to write in the next two weeks, so I really need to step away from the game - at least occassionally during the next two weeks to write it. :-(

Redneck at Heart?

I am a BIG NASCAR fan. I love watching the Cup races and rarely watch the truck or Busch series. I have a hard time calling the Cup races Nextel. They were Winston for so long that I now just call them the ”Cup races”. I agree with Dale Jr. who said that the Busch races are like the “minor leagues” of Cup races. He’s right. All the Busch racers are trying to get into the Cup races. They don’t have the money to invest into their cars like the Cup guys. The problem is that a lot of the Cup guys are driving in the Busch races. I have a problem with this. First of all, as previously stated, the Busch racers are trying to break into the Cup races. Yes, racing the Cup guys on their turf and in their car setup (instead of the Cup setup) may help them figure out if they’re ready to go to the Cup division. BUT, and this is a BIG but… for every Cup guy in the Busch race, it keeps a Busch guy out of it. For every position a cup driver finishes in the race, it takes away the winnings a Busch driver could have gotten to help him with his cars. I don’t think the Cup guys should be in the Busch races unless they are a rookie in the Cup division. If the non-rookies do choose to race the Busch races (for the fun of racing – the reason they have given), then the Cup guys should not be able to earn points or cash for whatever place they finish. That would show who is really racing just for the fun of racing. The Cup racers should be ashamed and embarrassed if they do not beat every single Busch guy out there. They are the big guys, the “professionals” so to speak. If they let a Busch driver beat them, maybe they should think about going down to Busch and hanging up their Cup careers.

Family...

Well, since graduation is a few months away, I asked Mom if they were going to throw a party for me. She said they weren't and that I should throw my own party. I don't want to throw my own party and toot my own horn. I want my family to be proud of me and do it for me. Anyway, I let it drop and a few weeks ago, we told my in-laws when graduation was so they could make sure they were not working. They spoke up and said we should have a party at their restaurant for my graduation - everything on them. I couldn't believe it. I was so touched that they would offer.

I told my mom last week about it and she said that if I wanted, she and dad could throw me a party at my house. I didn't want a bunch of people in my home (it's too small - I only have three rooms besides the bathroom, kitchen and living room). We're talking 20-30 people here, hopefully. She said that she and Grandma could come down the week before graduation to help clean my house and that she would pay for everything. Funny, she couldn't be bothered to do it before my in-laws graciously offered.

I'm not going to hurt my in-laws by turning down their offer for my party. They have been completely supportive of me since the beginning. I always feel welcome and loved by them. I always feel like I don't measure up to my parent's desires for me. I have been trying my best to be the "perfect" daughter and to do everything they expect me to do, but I never feel like I measure up. I feel like the black sheep of the family.

Anyway, that's my moan session for today. Thank God for my in-laws. I always feel welcome and at home with them.
:-)

well...

Today was my last day at work. Starting Monday, I will be beginning my final semester of college. I will be graduating from college exactly 19 years and 3 months from the date I graduated high school. If that doesn’t make you feel old, nothing will. I got teared up today when I said good-bye to everyone. I let the HR person know that this company is my first choice for full-time employment after graduation and that I would even be up for a part-time position through the end of the year as long as it would be full-time by Jan 1.

We are having the adjusters out today around 2:00 to check on the damage to our home after the hail storm a few weeks ago. The hail did over $4000 worth of damage to my car. I can’t imagine how much this damage is going to add up to. You can see the wood under our siding in spots. It looks like our home was shot up on the one side and we have a little damage to the roof. We have a swing out back that got all torn up from the storm. It’s crazy.

I will be in class starting Monday from 9-12 for Cognitive Psychology and then from 1-2:20 for my bowling class. Looking forward to both (they’re electives).

Write more later.

Things I Don't Understand

1. How can a college have a graduation without playing Pomp and Circumstance? I went to a graduation at my college last Saturday (my cousin’s wife was graduating) and they didn’t even play the graduation song. How can that happen? I’ve been waiting for years to walk down the aisle to that song (I was the only graduate in my class, and my school didn’t want their first graduating class to be one person so I didn’t get to walk and get my diploma – I got mine in the principal’s office a year later with only my parents and my brother there. What a let down!). Now after almost 20 years, I may not get to walk down the aisle hearing Pomp and Circumstance after all? WTF!!
2. Why can’t grown women flush the toilet or wipe the seat when they’re done. They realize that’s gross, don’t they? I mean, my gosh. They’re over 8 years old. Don’t parents teach their kids to flush the toilet when they’re done?
3. How can a person that isn’t a citizen of a country demand rights from that country? I don’t mind having “illegals” in our country. I understand them wanting to better the lives of their family members back home. I do think they should only be allowed to work in our country for 5 years without having to pay taxes. I also think if they are planning to stay longer than 5 years, they need to apply for American citizenship. With citizenship come the rights all Americans enjoy. Without being a citizen, a person does not deserve the rights of that country. If an American were to travel to another country, we are not guaranteed the rights the citizens of that country enjoy. We have to obey the laws of that country just as those visiting our country should have to obey the laws of America. Just being here does not entitle a person to the same rights as our citizens.

Grade from Crappy Teacher

Well, I got my grade today from the teacher that continues to change her mind. I got an email from her yesterday stating that I had either a 135 or a 140 on my long, formal paper. Amazing how she doesn't even know what grade she is going to give me on a freakin' paper. Anyway, I got my final grade today. It was a "B". My GPA is now a 3.62- (I don't remember what the last digit is), but I know I will be graduating Cum Laude. I'm happy with that.

She used to teach University Studies which is a class for incoming Freshmen. It teaches them how to study and shows them the college and help them get comfortable with everything the college has to offer. This is a class where the teacher pretty much holds the hands of the students to get them through in hopes that they will continue their college career.

She needs to go back to teaching University Studies and leave the upper division courses to the professors with a teaching degree. She may have one, but she keeps talking about her life in industry like she's only been teaching for a few years or so. I should probably still complain about my grade because everything else I did in the class, I got an A on and my paper was very well written and thought out with valid information and studies to back up my paper. My paper was "What Companies can do to Increase the Productivity Levels of thier Employees". And she wanted me to interview 10 people and considered that valid. WHATEVER!!
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My cousin's wife is graduating from MTSU today. We will be going to the ceremony and then to her house afterward to celebrate. Looking forward to it.
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Next week will be my last week working as my summer courses start the following week. For the first 3 weeks, I will be taking Cognitive Psychology and Beginning Bowling. The next 5 weeks, I will be taking Organizational Psychology; and the remaining 5 weeks, I will be taking Business Policy which is the most important class I'm taking during the summer. It's my last class in my major. I have to pass the class in order to graduate. I may go back to work during the month of June to help out in the Accounting department. The girl I am currently training will be taking over the position of invoice clerk, so someone else will need to be trained for my position all over again.

Anyway, that is what is currently going on.

Catchin' Up

Well, I’ve got a lot to talk about right now….

I have a teacher that is driving me crazy!! She keeps changing her mind about EVERYTHING! We had a long, formal paper to write. According to her syllabus, the only people that were to make a questionnaire for the paper were the graduate students. Two weeks before the paper was due, every student had a one-on-one with her regarding their paper. During each one, she told us that we had to do a questionnaire. I don’t understand. None of us are grad students. She told one of the students that it was possible not everyone would need to do one depending on their topic and how much information they were able to glean from secondary sources.

Not a problem. I found great sources online (16 of them). Two of my sources were studies that were done and published regarding my topic and the other was a questionnaire that was given to 300 companies across the country and was also published. So…obviously, I thought I didn’t have to make up my own questionnaire to give to companies (which she told me I should do) and try to get back AND do the statistical work to put into my findings all in TWO WEEKS. After all, I have completely valid information in my paper while the majority of the other students were having students fill out their questionnaires (I know this because a few of them had me fill them out for their papers). The teacher only wanted the students to do 10 questionnaires. Obviously, the sample size is WAY too small to get any kind of an accurate representation making the papers invalid.

She gave us our papers back all marked with her comments and with a grading rubric. She was grading the questionnaire as 30 points out of 200. Since I didn’t have one, my paper’s starting grade was 85% instead of 100%. That blows! Especially since my paper is completely valid while the others aren’t. I talked to one of my teachers about it and she said I should take it up with Grade Appeals. I will probably end up with a C in the class because of this crap. Luckily, I figured out my GPA if I were to get a C in the class, and I will still have over a 3.5 GPA meaning I will graduate Cum Laude. If I were to get an A in the class, I would still be graduating Cum Laude but with a 3.65 GPA. Seeing as how it really won’t make that big a difference overall, I may just let it go and suck it up. It was my decision to not write my own questionnaire and to accept whatever grade I got. I just feel that I do not deserve a starting point of a B on a paper that was really good and completely valid.