I can't believe it's already November. Just last year all anyone could talk about was the election, and voting, and politics. That seems like it was a few months ago. On the plus side, it's almost Thanksgiving and Christmas! My favorite holidays.

I'm already cutting back on spending and saving my paychecks as much as I can so I can go all out for Christmas. I've made lists for the few people I'm buying gifts for and now all there's left to do is wait. Classes end on the 15th so I can relax for a few days before Christmas all the way until January. <3 For my spring semester I'm thinking of actually taking classes on campus. There aren't many pros about going to class on campus but it'd be nice to actually be around people during class. I'll have to think about it some more. I already know that I want to join this social club thing that my friend is a part of, they do tons of activities and it's a great place to meet new people, so I'm really looking forward to that.

I've been drinking so much water lately. I'm trying to get my 8 cups in but it's so damn hard. Most of the time I want to give up because I feel like I'm about to burst. But it's healthy, and it helps, and yeah. I should probably list the benefits of water here for some motivation (for myself):

1. Studies have shown that not drinking enough water, dehydration, can be a key element in causing headaches, migraines, chronic fatigue syndrome and depression.
2. Water helps regulate body temperature, especially during exercise.
3. Drinking water regularly lessens the burden on your kidneys keeping us pollution free from toxins.
4. People who drink more than 5 glasses of water a day are less likely to die from a heart attack than people who drink less than two.
5. Drinking plenty of water is essential to maintain a good digestion which in turn keep your metabolism going.
6. Water primarily stimulates the circulation of blood, fluids, and the necessary elements inside our body. Additionally, it also controls and regulates the skin's natural balance.
7. Drinking more water can help to prevent overeating and benefit weight loss.

Yay water. I hope I can keep this up.

Yesterday was incredibly stressful.

First, I found out that my roommate might have to move back in with her parents. You see, she had about $700+ in her checkings account because she had two jobs (now she has only one), but her mother decided she needed to take a trip to see her family and decided to take the money out of my roommate's account without telling her beforehand. Her mother does not have the money to pay her back anytime soon and so now my roommate is completely broke. Not to mention, about two weeks before her mother took this money, her father borrowed about $300 for a plane ticket because his mother died. My roommate didn't really care about this as much because the money was taking out of her savings and not her checkings account, so it wasn't such a blow. And also, her father asked her beforehand. I guess her mother thought it'd be cute to follow suit and take advantage of my roommate's kindness. So now my sister and I are without a roommate and will most likely take care of the rest of the bills, which is fine, it just wasn't expected and I hate having to adjust my crap last minute.

Second, my Administrative Management teacher decided to just now factor in the 0's we've received on assignments and tests so far and updated all of our class averages. One of the benefits of taking online classes is that we can see our updated grades instantly. Except this teacher was really behind. So yesterday, a day before we can withdraw our classes without penalty, I found out that my grade was not really an A, but a low C. I freaked out basically and e-mailed my teacher to see what was up. I knew I had missed a test and an assignment in the beginning of the class because I had gotten confused with my other classes (It takes me a bit to get used to the different classes and whatnot) so I totally understood that I had those two 0's. But she also factored in another test I had apparently missed that I for sure had taken. Thankfully after e-mailing back and forth she let me re-take that test (I took it immediately and got 100) and hopefully after she factors that grade and the Chapter 9 test I just took (I got a 96 on that one), my grade won't look so sad. What I don't get is that I missed one little assignment and my average percentage for Assignments as a whole is 60%. How is that even mathematically possible? It just doesn't make sense to me. I'm trying to work really hard on getting my GPA above a 3.5 (it's at a 3.4 right now) and I'm scared that this class is going to screw everything up. I just hope it all gets worked out.

OT but remember how I was planning on dressing like Frida Kahlo if something were to come up? Well it didn't, not until this morning. So I basically didn't do any shopping whatsoever and I'm now looking at last-minute outfits because there's this little block party going on and my roommate and my sister are both going. So today I'm going to stop by Target and hope I find something decent. I'm bummed that I didn't really get to work on my costume, but there's always next year. What are you guys doing this Halloween? Are you dressing up? What are you wearing? Tell me everything. I love this holiday <3

Basically a bunch of little entries in one. Fun.

I started school this week. The online classes I'm taking:

Re-designed my Dad's restaurant website (aka the restaurant I work at). Here's a screenshot ( under the cut. )

I took The Brain Dominance Test and got the result: This is basically me. I bolded Accountant, cause hay that's the field I'm studying towards.

One of the main cooks and one of the ~cook helpers~ were fired on Tuesday. It's weird, going to work and not seeing them there. We got a new employee, a woman named Doris. And we also got a new manager, a man named Javier. (More on him lata.) Doris seems really nice.

Tomorrow is my day off. Rent is due on the 31st so I'll be turning the check in tomorrow just to be sure. I'm planning to run some errands, finish watching the third season of Weeds, and maybe head to the movies at night. Should I watch Inglorious Basterds or Public Enemies?

This news story makes me sick. This is a sick world we live in, people.

Fall semester starts in 5 days and I just realized that yesterday. I've been so busy working and doing things that aren't really that important (but they're fun so) that it sort of hit me all of a sudden. I already ordered my books off Amazon (I saved about $60 bucks with Amazon) and all that's left is to talk to Z at work so that I can get just one more day off because although the money is good when I work 6 days a week, I have to keep my grades up. This semester I'm taking three classes:

Office Systems Accounting II
Microcomputer Keyboarding I
Administrative Office Management

I'm only really worried about the accounting class, since it takes me the most time to get through. After this semester I have three more classes and then I'm officially done. I can't even wrap my head around it.

Pay Day today, hollar. That calls for a little dance party to my jam.

I feel like this cat right now: happy and relaxed. Today has been one of those great days you look back on when you have a really shitty day, just to remind yourself that good days exist.

I received a $200 check today that I should have gotten a long time ago from one of my previous employers. I also deposited a check from this past Friday (paydays are <3) so my bank account is looking mighty sexy at the moment. Actually, I've never had as much money in my bank account as I do right now, and it feels really good. I feel secure and relieved.

I also paid off one of the debts that was making me all anxious (owing money does that to me) and I'm on my way to getting rid of another debt that's been weighing on my mind for months. Once I cross that off I'll be good for a while hopefully. 

Oh! I took my first exam for my Accounting class and I got a 97%, bringing my class average to a nice 98%. This makes me very, very happy. Accounting is coming along nicely, I really like it, and I especially enjoy being able to double check everything and balancing things out. It's almost like a quick little rush. By next Spring I'll have two certificates: Accounting Applications and Office Specialist. Next summer I hope to finally finish my A.A. I took a year off and I could never pick a major so I was stalling for a time, but I think I should just finish the general A.A. and be done with it. This is one of my big goals, so once I finish that I'll be a very happy camper.

Apartment preparations are going smoothly. My parents stopped by the apartments and they really liked it. We've already decided on a couch, some kitchen appliances (we're already bringing a few things with us that we won't have to purchase, and I'll be making a list in an entry so I can look back on it), some bed furniture, and we're trying to come up with some decor ideas. We have a month and a half left until the big move and I'm super excited. Brent will be down here a few weeks after we move in and then we'll finally be settled in our new place. It's been a long time coming and it's surreal to finally realize that it's almost here. There's nothing like feeling accomplished and secure.

Summer classes start on May 11th and I'm scared y'all. I'm doing online classes (DL) this time so I won't have to take time off work. I've never done Distance Learning before so I don't know what to expect really, and I hate not knowing things. I'll be okay once I get the hang of it. I ordered my textbooks and it came out to be $300 bucks. Are you kidding me!? I find it absolutely ridiculous that they keep raping us with these fees. How do they (and by they, I mean schools) expect to survive if everything is so damn expensive? I keep hearing on the news about how students are leaving school and moving back in with their parents. I have a feeling it'll be like that for a few more years and schools will have to find out some way to survive and cut costs.

Anyone else notice how the internet has been dead this past year? Update, people, I beg you. I need more reading material. No one blogs anymore, and if they do, I don't really care to read. I guess beggars can't be choosers (sigh).

I have absolutely no plans for this summer, other than to study and work and save money for the apartment my sister and I hope to move into in the fall. Oh, and I also want to get a CPA certificate to see if I can get a job in a day care center because I love doing it. I did it senior year and I actually enjoyed it so I have my eyes on that. That's really what will be taking up most of my energy, is just work, school, and saving money. I wish I could just backpack through Europe this summer, build some houses in south america, go on a road trip, do something. Do you guys have any plans for summer?

Oh and has anyone seen the new Star Trek movie yet? I haven't seen the series or the old movies (not one) but I really want to see this one for some reason. Knowing me I'll walk out a huge fan and will get consumed in Trek World. Only me, amirite.

I've been communicating with Leo's new owner (David) over e-mail quite frequently. I love that he's more than eager to share how Leo's adjusting and about his new companion, Trixie. I thought I'd share what he's said so far ( E-mails under the cut. )

This morning I made the mistake of catching up on the news, especially news concerning the economy. I'll be completely honest, I had high hopes for Obama. I didn't expect him to fix everything or come in and rescue the day like some, but I was hoping his first 100 days would have been a lot better. I don't respect his administration for trying to blame everything on Bush, either. This isn't the time for blame, this is the time for transparency, adjustment, and responsibility. I also believe he's misleading the public saying he will cut the "deficit in half." Even if he did (which I doubt he will), we would still owe more money than we ever did with Bush. It's frustrating and a huge let down, and I'm disappointed in myself for not realizing this sooner. Anyway, after I read all about the economy I thought of the future and how I want to be of use to those who are in need. We've lost 3.6 million jobs in the last 100 days, and that number will continue to rise. Even though it hasn't affected me directly yet, I'm already starting to feel the urge to do something. Anything, even if it's small. Maybe volunteer somewhere? Give things away? Something. I have to look more into it. I'm not the type of person to ignore what's going on and try to live my life as best as I can. I wish I was. It's something that's plagued me all day.

I've registered for summer classes online. I'm taking an accounting class to see how I like it. I need to start buying my books already since classes begin May 11th. Hopefully by then I'll have both the paycheck from my second job and the other paychecks from the store already deposited in my bank account (the ATM nearby is out of order sometimes, which is super frustrating).

I'm also looking into getting a CDA certificate next month, just because. I've been holding off on that too long, I think. It's always something I've wanted to do. What's something you've always wanted to do that you've never done?

I fucking hate my Microsoft Applications teacher. The class is basically a run through of Microsoft Office -- Word, Excel, Access, and Powerpoint. There's a lot of ground to cover and most of it is supposed to be useful. SUPPOSED TO BE.

And it WOULD be if my teacher wasn't such a dipshit. I swear to god. The first day of class he was talking about how long he's been working with computers, his degree, blah blah blah. I expected someone who knew his shit. Especially since he's teaching in two campuses.

He is so completely clueless. To give you an idea of just how ridiculous he is, here's a sample "lesson" of Microsoft Word:

Teacher: "Microsoft Word is a great tool! You'll use it for lots of things. Let's take a look at the interface. (He has a very limited vocabulary, and uses soundbites whenever he can) Here is the Review tab. You use it to Review. There's lots of things to use for going over your document ." *Hovers over tabs* "See, this tab here says Spelling and Grammar. You use that to spell check. The Thesaurus and The uh.. Research. So you use all of these to help you."

Class: "No shit."

He is so confident but he's not prepared. He just uses the same soundbites and vocabulary over and over to try and appear like he knows what he's doing but if any of us had a problem, he'd just stare at us blankly and start clicking around to see what's up. He pauses a lot as if he doesn't know what he's doing half the time. He barely can move around Windows XP. And it pisses me off because I'm paying for this class, I need this class, and he's wasting my time.

Today we had an introduction to Powerpoint and I swear he said "We can digitize and pixelize" like four times. That doesn't even MAKE SENSE. Then he started talking about "delivering a presentation" but that's not part of the course. That's a SPEECH PROFESSOR'S AIM. NOT YOURS. You're just supposed to help us learn the programs!

SDLFJDSLFJKDLSFJKDSFJK.

I can't wait until this class is over.