Nyx Goldstone

Yesterday the book requirements were posted for my school.  …Yay?

This semester is book-light for me, since I took a couple of easy art classes. I planned on re-taking Claudia Suzanne‘s Ghostwriter Certification Training class, but that schedule and my schedule didn’t mesh. So, I’m not gonna be as burned out this semester, which is still a yay! I managed to squeeze my way into both photography and the required ceramics class before I can take a wheel-throwing class. I love wheel-throwing.

So, what am I doing to get ready for the new semester?

Well, I started yesterday by working the internet hard and finding the best deals in textbooks. One of my housemates had previously sent me a link that worked wonders. Textbook Price Comparison isn’t the end all, be-all of textbook searching, but it gave me a good place to start. My range came out to between $130 and $213, depending on if I wanted to go to sites I didn’t know and trust such as Course Smart and Textbooks Now or if I had to buy all new from the school itself.

My next step is one where I sit and wait impatiently for all my end-of-year tax info stuff to come in. I hate waiting… I just want to fill out the stupid forms to tell the Government that I make no money so they can confirm to FAFSA that they need to give me money so I can go to school. You’d think this would be really easy. Actually, once you’re past 24, it is.

My dad refused to help me through school, so I figured I’d work full time to pay for that full time schooling. I bombed that. Still, at 23, the Government needed my parents’ tax information because I was still classified as a “dependent.” Yeah, kids, that’s right. They’ll not only need but base your award on your parents’ taxes until you’re the ripe old age of 25. I was rejected every year for FAFSA because my dad made too much, which was the salt in the wound since I had to fight every step for my dad’s tax info and I was paying for everything myself.

I think I digressed…

So, yeah, the big things are no where near done, but I’m busying myself with little things: school supplies, making sure I don’t forget my schedule, griping about how there’s only two weeks left before I have to start school again…the usual stuff!

My brain is just not wired to take an online class. I swear, I just am not able to do it! Yet, sadly, I’m probably going to be doing it again next semester.

I might get a D in my Personal Finance class this semester because I missed the deadline for the final by 31 minutes. That’s right, it closed 31 minutes before I sat down to take the test. It’s my own fault, really. I fully admit that. When I read the email that the teacher sent out regarding the test time and date, I thought it would close at 1am PST the night of the 17th. No, no… It closed on the 1am EST of the 17th… So, tonight, being the 16th, when I sat down at my computer in the good old Pacific Standard Time of 10:31 PM, the test was already closed.

Confused yet?

When I attempted to attend the Art Institute Online, I had these same problems. I always read the date and time wrong for when things were due, so they were either late or never turned in because late work wasn’t accepted. Why? If anyone else can figure it out, let me know. Though, all things considered, I made the same date/time mistakes when I had Inventory shifts at Blockbuster. I never knew what night I was coming in at midnight so I drove my manager batty checking and double checking.

Now I’m just irritated at myself. It’s completely a “Should have known better…” moment. There’s nothing more I can do about it now. I already emailed the teacher to see if there is anything I can do to fix it, but I’m pretty sure that the only option is to retake the class and replace the grade.

Has anyone else had “experiences” with online classes, good or bad?

Well, I hate to admit it, but I did fail this year’s National Novel Writing Month challenge. I clocked in at a whopping 2,949 words.

Yeah, I know, pathetic, right?

I realize I’ve been seriously slacking in the update area. I promise, I’m not dead, but it sure as hell feels damn close. The event itself had its ups and downs this year, though happily it was more up than down. Man, some people can be crazy. Anyhow, the challenge is over and I get a bit of a breather from personal challenges AND school work to just focus on school work. I’ll be doing another one in April with Script Frenzy. I’ve even got a bit of a concept for that one already. Hopefully I won’t start doubting myself by the time April comes around.

What else… What else…

I finally figured out what my site is for until I get some published works out there. It’s kinda weird, but I’m still digging the idea after about a month, so I’m going to try and run with it. What is it? Well, I realized that I’m in my twenties (*coughcough*27*coughhack*) and just starting college, more or less (you know, not counting the high school college courses or the couple semesters at Fullerton College…). I’ve got a different view on the way classes are handled then someone fresh out of high school. Not to mention it’s my blog, so it’s a great way to vent about the over-romanticizing that teachers seem to be doing lately. Dude… Really… I swear, an ice cream sandwich is not some symbol for religion…

I will still be commenting on books I’m reading, since I plan on trying to continue the 100 New Books a Year challenge. Yes, I have been counting the books I read in class. Speaking of, this semester in English we read Never Cry Wolf. Now, being a bit of a wolf nut, I’ve owned a copy of this for a while but never read it. I vaguely remember attempting, but it always going over my head or something. This attempt stuck, though, and probably would have been completed much quicker if it wasn’t for that crazy “Gotta read on MY time-line, sister!” thing that teachers get. There’s some great lines in there, and while it may get a bit dry in places (unless you’re weird like me and find scientific jargon and field journals fascinating), Mowat is actually pretty darn funny.

Speaking of being on a teacher’s time-line, I’ve got an outline for a Never Cry Wolf essay to finish by tomorrow night.