SPRING TEXTBOOKS!

Here it is! I ordered all of my political science textbooks via Alibris.com again...  well okay except for one, only because there isn't much of a price difference between online and the bookstore.

In addition, my financial aid allows what some schools call a "Bookstore Advanced Purchase program" (I'm sure names will vary) where basically if you are expecting to get a refund of financial aid funds, the school allows you to buy books ONLY FROM THEIR CAMPUS BOOKSTORE with your student ID number, and the amount is automatically deducted from whatever amount is left-over after tuition is paid.... well I have that and frankly just blew the last of my paycheck on these books because they're cheaper in the long run... and so I'll have them in time for classes next week.

I see where the saying, "You must have money to make money" comes from now.... 

 I stuck with Alibris.com because they send me coupons literally every week (annoying, yes.. but at least I know that there will be one available whenever I need to buy again!)

(ONLINE) 4 textbooks (+ shipping), ($3 off coupon code): $46.03

(CAMPUS BOOKSTORE) 4 textbooks (no shipping), (no coupon code): $175.15

73.7% SAVINGS

If you notice my little note, let me make this comparison:
   This whole process, of shopping around for the best price no matter where the item may reside (that's the wonders of the internet! And also what the postal service and UPS and FedEx are for, right?) resonates well with our current health-insurance crisis. In simplest terms, it's like letting our healthcare system function without the internet (not allowing consumers to buy insurance across state lines, even if it is with the same company). Sucks, right? Could you imagine if your college's bookstore put up a (excuse my dirty American mouth) serious wifi cockblock because they don't want to facilitate you taking your business elsewhere, and would rather you pay higher prices for the same good ("textbook" in this case)? Yea, there's your real-life economics lesson for the day!

My Little Secret...

If music helps you study... then I'll share my little secret.... chilltrax.com

I'm Alive!

And so are you!

Congratulations, we survived the 2012 Mayan apocalypse. Also, I survived the fall semester. Which is why I'm taking the time to be EXTRA lazy. Grades are in, all of my financial aid stuff is ready, and yes I have to buy books and do other un-fun stuff like buy more printer ink... but for now, I relax.

I know how hectic life will become in another two weeks (start of the spring semester, 6 classes Monday thru Friday + work) so I'll take what I can get... not to mention that Christmas is finally OVER! I work in a mall, and over the past month we have had "Holiday Hours" which went as early as 8am to as late as 11pm.

And now my favorite holiday of all is upon us: New Years Eve!

This is the time of year when I like to reflect on all of my accomplishments, as well as make new goals for the upcoming  year. Because really, if you don't set goals then you are going to wander. Luckily this past year I've spent a lot of time reflecting on where I want my life to be in another three years... I have my answer and goals, do you?

Remember, efficiency is good. It decreases frustration and that feeling you get when you're sick of worrying/bothering with a specific something.

Anyway, I'll be textbook shopping soon so I will show you all of my awesome savings when the time comes.

For now, back to lazy ^.^

FINAL EXAMS ADVICE!

Very important..

The big day comes, it's time to take your final exam and determine the fate of that letter grade which shall remain on your transcript and affect your GPA.

But before you get to your testing room early and sharpen all of your no.#2 pencils, USE THE RESTROOM FIRST!!!!!!!! Even if you don't have to!

For instance, I arrived at the testing site for my math final (Venti iced coffee from Starshmuck's in-hand) at EXACTLY 5:30pm (the scheduled time). I take a seat near the top of the auditorium and notice tests being handed out.  Now, I thought to myself, "gee I know what coffee does, maybe I should use the bathroom before starting... noooo it shouldn't take that long, besides I don't really have to pee." Yea well next thing I know it's 7pm and I'm one sneeze away from pissing myself! I had about ten questions left to answer so let's hope that my bladder didn't cause too much damage to my score while rushing.

Ok, that's it for now =)
Tomorrow is my chem final, which is cumulative. Gotta get these formula sheets finished, then finish a paper for my writing intensive class ("Schools and Society" I highly recommend.. we've all gone through the education system and you'd be surprised and flabbergasted at the details of it all).

To all my fellow students out there, good luck and conquer your finals!

One down, three to go..

Ok now that I have a little bit of time, I'd really like to finish my thoughts from my last post because, like I said, it was almost an "a-ha!" kind of moment...

You have to be confident in your abilities. You have to finally cross the line from using words/phrases like "perhaps," "maybe," "I think.." to "I know," "It is certain that," and "definitely" because these introduce doubt to your audience (whether it's an auditorium full of people or yourself). I can definitely say ( <-- see? More certainty..) that I may be ( <--still working on it, haha) discovering this later than others because I grew up with 3 older siblings who just loved to tease me and play jokes and call me stupid, etc. 

So I'm explaining the difference of impacts between being given instructions/standard solutions versus being assigned a bin of glassware and given raw chemicals. My main point was that the labs allow students to be as precise and accurate as they want to be, and those who really do have an interest to pursue more lab work have opportunity surrounding them! There are x million dollar research experiments going on all over the place! All you have to do is talk to people, be diligent, and apply (you have to choose which faculty and which of their research projects you want to work with; they don't post positions like a job website).

Me, personally, I'm using the tactic of sticking with the same Gen Chem professor because he is currently doing research in nanomedicine. Also, I'm always nice and say hi to my lab TA because he is part of a research group intensively studying proteins. Making your presence known, becoming a familiar face, and showing interest in further study never hurts.

Okay now that one test is done I have three more finals to go plus two papers are due. Getting back to work!

As my math professor likes to say, "happy studying!"
>.<

I only have a few minutes... it's finals season you know!

Ok, so I just wanted to update you all real quick since I've devoted from now until 10pm my quick brain-drain/food time... class didn't get out until 8 since we were reviewing for the final.

Anyway, not the purpose of this post!

I volunteered to do an interview for the Chemistry Department regarding the labs... I guess they've changed a few tactics and like to get feedback (hey, I appreciate that!). So basically the gist of this interview ended up taking 30 minutes. While I was trying to explain some significant differences between the labs I had at HCC and the one encountered this semester (and many more to come) at USF, I had a pretty kickass realization... okay maybe not realization but a way to express a way I felt that I had a hard time explaining.

Because I only have eight minutes to spit this out (geezus are finals OVER YET?!) basically the biggest difference between the two labs were instructions being provided along with materials that are EXACTLY what you need (meaning, solutions are already mixed in the proportions you need)... HCC's lab book was all instructions. USF's lab "manual" is a book of blank grid paper and carbon sheets. At USF, instructions aren't given to you... they don't tell you how to perform your experiment or reach your objective; if you need help, your TA and lab group are there to collaborate with, definitely! But basically a Project write-up goes something like, "Dr. X here at USF is doing blah blah research to determine blah blah blah. The significance of blah results in blah because of blah. What you're doing: take x and figure out y. Have fun."

Ok, keep it moving.. 4 minutes.... I ended up explaining how I absolutely loved my chem lab this semester at USF strictly because there were no instructions... I kept saying, "don't get me wrong it really sucked at first!" and he asked me when that change of thought was made since they are pretty polarized statements. I responded with, "because students are able to be as precise and accurate as they want to be." Later asked something like, "what can the lab do to engage students more to reach their goals?" ... I had to think for a sec and I basically explained that the lab can't make students reach their goals, they have to WANT to get there. If they don't have the drive to do the work and research to maintain the integrity of their experiment, then they're probably taking the class because they thought it would be fun or have no serious interests in future lab work.

Crap, one minute!


Ok if grammar or something didn't make sense, sorry. I have my chem lecture final (comprehensive) tomorrow at 2pm and I JUST got home from class already.. got lots to do..

Eek, time's up!!!

See you on the other side <3