And the Results are In...

Graduate school tallies over the last 19 months:

• $14,021.30 paid in tuition and fees (through student loans… I’m not a millionaire)
• 50 roundtrips from my home to the Detroit campus at 210 miles each
• 14 roundtrips from my work to the Detroit campus at 170 miles each
• 12 roundtrips from my work to the Oakland campus at 150 miles each
• 9 roundtrips from my home to the MLC in Lansing at 150 miles each
• For a total of 16,030 miles driven to class and back
• That’s 259 hours on the road (almost 11 days of my life!)
• Approximately $2000 in gas (just for the class miles… not including any other driving)
• And $144 for parking on campus

Now I get my whopping raise of $1000 per year. Wow. But it was still worth it.

Some Things 101-110

While it took me the entire month of November to come up with 100 things about me, as soon as they were done, I kind of got on a roll. Before I knew it I had accumulated another 15 things, so I think I'll keep working and hand them out in installments as several of my fellow bloggers have been doing recently.

Things 101-110

101. I was a band nerd in high school and college.
102. I was a huge flirt in high school.
103. But then I had a long-term boyfriend in college and he killed my spirit.
104. I’m still trying to get it back.
105. My friends used to say that my dad was the inspiration for Dana Carvey’s “Grumpy Old Man” sketch on Saturday Night Live.
106. He’s really not that bad, but you do want to stay off his bad side.
107. When I was in high school I looked like I was in college.
108. One time my sister and I went shopping when I was 16 and she was 22. A salesman thought I was the older sister.
109. Now I’m 32 and I still look like I’m in college. I’ve even been mistaken for a high school student on field trips.
110. I think I will cry when I stop getting carded on a regular basis.

Stay tuned for our next installment where I unveil a highly attractive hairstyle from my younger days.

One

One more short paper to write.

One more drive to Detroit.

One more class to sit through.

And I'll be Done, Done, Done!!!

Yesterday was my last practicum day. Then I came home and took a nap got right to work. I finished my research proposal and, while printing all five (FIVE?) copies that I needed for today (did I mention that this was a ten-page paper?), finished my practicum journal and e-mailed it off to my instructor.

Today I made my way to the Motor City and had my last practicum seminar, ate my last lunch at the campus Subway (they were out of wraps, though... the bastards), and went to Research class for the second to last time.

Now I have only to write my critical analysis paper for my practicum (basically a 4-5 page reflection paper) and attend class next week to participate in the final exam. Yes, you read that right. All I have to do is show up and participate in the day's activity and I get an A on my final exam. Too bad it's only worth 5% of my grade, but I should be getting an A anyway.

I thought my critical analysis was due by Wednesday, so I was going to try to get it done tomorrow, but today I learned it isn't due until Saturday. I still want to get it done early in the week, but now I know I have a couple more days if needed, which is nice since I also need to write a social studies test tomorrow.

As for tonight, I will be venturing out to the garage shortly to bring in the Christmas tree. Now that I have decided where to put it (I don't have a very big living room) I just need to move a couple pieces of furniture and vacuum before hauling it in. Should be a nice way to spend the evening, but I'll have to keep you posted on how many times I have to yell at Coal for climbing the tree in the next couple of weeks.

**Added note: Today I also received my $125 gift card to Barnes and Noble for participating in my practicum instructor's research study. I haven't been able to read for fun in so long that I need suggestions, people!!**

Stolen from Jen

Jen over at Quarter Life Crisis has been doing this for a while, but I though it might be entertaining for today. And I'm sure mine won't become a weekly occurrence, but it might be an occasional one. See, it reached a balmy high of 28 degrees here in Anytown, Michigan today. I realize that this is below normal and it is supposed to be back around 40 degrees this weekend, but somehow I just know this is a harbinger of things to come. And, me being the huge fan of cold weather that I am (please note sarcasm), I get a little distressed by such things. So, in an attempt to make myself feel better about the approaching eighteen 3-4 months of winter, I bring you:

Top Five Suckiest Jobs to Have in the Winter

5. Postal carrier a.k.a. Mailman: I am referring particularly to the on-foot style of postal carrier, but I suppose that driving around for hours with your window down isn't exactly a big barrel of fun either.

4. Newspaper delivery boy: Ranks as a suckier job because the teenager who delivers the paper is typically entirely on foot, whereas the postal carrier at least has a vehicle to return to periodically.

3. Utility workers: Those poor guys (and gals, I suppose) who have to climb the utility poles and play with wires so that we all retain the comforts of home, such as cable TV, Internet, and electricity.

2. The kid who has to claim the shopping carts from the grocery store parking lot: not only does he/she have to be out in the cold, but also has to deal with the morons people who drive like idiots across the parking spaces. Then he/she has to haul the carts through the slush into the store where someone will inevitably make a wisecrack about making a mess on the floor.

1. Billboard workers: The inspiration for this post. As I drove home from work today I spotted two men putting up a new billboard along I-75 and thought, "That job's gotta suck on a day like this." But hey, the wheels of commerce must continue to turn.

In other news: I'm not procrastinating. No, I'm not. Okay, yes I am. My final draft of my research proposal is due Saturday and it has a few gigantic little holes waiting for me to fill them in. I know it will get done and I even worked on it some last night, but I would rather not be staying up all night Friday finishing what should already be done. Plus, there's the daily dose of work for my actual paying job to do. Tonight's assignment: type up notes from a section of the textbook. And, seeing as I've commandeered a little used data projector from the library and have decided to see how long I can keep it before they remember I have it, I'm hoping to put said notes into PowerPoint slides for delivery tomorrow. Wish me luck!

Just Call Me Herman

Friday night, my friend "Drew" IMed me. His primary mission was to give me crap about having a snow day when he did not, but he also wanted to see if I was up for beer and wings and hanging out. I told him I couldn't do it because I had homework that had to be done before class on Saturday.

A couple hours later the phone rang. It was Richard. He also wanted to see if I wanted to go to the bar with him that night. Again, I told him I had work to do and class the next day so I really couldn't.

Now, I did do some of the work I needed to Friday night, but most of the evening was spent on the couch in front of the TV. I ended up getting up a little early on Saturday to finish my work.

Then it was Saturday. I got home from class and waited a short time before changing my IM away message because I knew that Drew would want me to hang out again... and I just didn't want to. Instead, I made my own plans of watching Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (which I purchased months ago, but hadn't had a chance to watch yet, although I saw it in the theater) with a nice bag of microwave popcorn.

Sure enough, when I let Copper out a few minutes into the movie, Drew had IMed me with an invite to Midland Street with him. I didn't even respond because he had sent the message about an hour earlier, plus I was quite comfortable in my PJs.

As I was talking to Heather this morning, a thought dawned on me... Am I becoming a hermit? It seems like most times I receive invitations to do something with friends, I claim that I have grad school work to do. I actually do have that work to do, but I rarely end up actually doing it during the time periods in question. When Richard inevitably calls me on Friday nights, I always tell him that I can't go out because I have class the next day. But, let's face it, I don't even leave for class until 11:00... surely I could safely go out for a beverage or two.

Am I just blaming graduate school when it's really that I don't want to go out? And why don't I want to go out?

Well, I think there are several issues at play:

• First, the invitations I receive typically come from these two sources: Drew and Richard. Well, I've told you about Richard before, so I'm sure I don't really need to say more, except to mention that he still thinks I'm hot for him. Which I'm obviously not because if I was I would probably succumb to his innumerable charms. Drew is another matter. Drew is a pretty nice guy that I had a class with several years ago. He had a girlfriend and I was dating Richard at the time, although Drew still flirted with me pretty heavily. And still does. Actually, it's not so much flirting as brazen overtures. Which would be fine if I was even a little bit attracted to him. Drew thinks I've never taken him up on the offer because of our friendship, but it's actually that I really have no desire what so ever to sleep with him. Still, I like having him as a friend and he's usually fun to hang out with, but I really hate that everytime I see or talk to him he has to make some crude remark about how he wants to sleep with me. I know he's just joking around, but it skeeves me out. And makes me not want to be around him.
• Second, it really is the fault of graduate school. Really. See, while I'm not always busy with the work that I say I am, my time to myself is really quite limited. So limited that, when I do have a little time to myself, I want it to myself! I don't want to share my "me" time and I don't think I should have to. People are just going to have to understand that I'm out of commission for a couple more weeks.
• And finally, there's the timeless favorite of, I'm getting too old for this. Honestly, I was a little repulsed at the thought of going to Midland Street last night. I was really glad when I went home before the party moved there the night Heather was home. I'm 32 years old. I think most people max out on Midland Street at about 24. The main purpose of the bars there is to get trashed and find someone to hook up with for the night. That is so not what I am about. I don't have a good time there because I don't enjoy drinking until I puke, and I'm ten years older than most of the other girls, so, while I do look younger than I am, I don't even get a second look from most guys. Not that I'd want to because I'm not looking for one-night hook ups.

So, I don't think I'm going to worry just yet. If it gets to be January and I'm still blowing off invites, then I should probably have my head examined. Or at least find some different friends.