Category Archives: Personal Issues

7 Quick Takes: Stunned Edition

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7 Quick Takes

— 1 —

So, um, this happened. I received an invitation to the Honors Reception this year because I was receiving something. I had no idea what it was and thought it might be grades-related or something. Let’s just say that I was completely stunned when it was announced that I was receiving this:

President's Medal

— 2 —

An explanation. Apparently, my GPA was noteworthy and I met some other criteria that I have yet to find out. I’m one of 21 students in my graduating class who received it. I have been instructed to wear it when I graduate next week.

Redacted medal

— 3 —

Some more pictures. Here’s a medal selfie and a picture of me with my dad.

Car selfie
Me and Dad outside of McIntyre Hall

— 4 —

My last final. I got 6 of the 7 documents in rough draft form for my Document Production final while I was stuck outside the house today. (Mom was polishing the hardwood floors today, so we all got banished until early afternoon.) I have a report to key tomorrow, and then I’ll spend the weekend proofing them and trying to make sure my formatting is correct. Getting the medal is pushing me to finish strong. The highest I’ll get in the class is an A-, but I’ll at least keep my killer GPA if I focus on getting at least 90/100 on this final.

— 5 —

IBS. I started feeling queasy on Tuesday and having some stomach pain, and I’ve been fighting the less fun aspects of IBS for the last two days. Eating is hard enough already and I’m having to find things that are not making my stomach cranky. My coffee habit doesn’t help this and I’ve been pushing the liquids because it’s in the 80’s with humidity here, so I also face the threat of dehydration. Thank goodness for Starbuck’s Pink Drink!

— 6 —

My plans. I’ve had people ask about what is coming next for me. Daniel *STILL* needs to start his biobehavioral stuff and that won’t be until later this summer. I’m also looking at a likely hysterectomy, so I’m having to figure out that in addition. It looks like I’ll probably start applying for jobs around November, and I’ve got some tax-preparation training that is possible this summer and fall.

A parishioner joking asked me that now that I’ve won the President’s Medal, what am I going to do? My response: “I’m going to take a nap!”

— 7 —

Huh. Kelly provides some food for thought today with her ponderings about blogging as a side hustle vs. blogging for leisure. Go read it. Do it now.

For more Quick Takes, visit Kelly at This Ain’t The Lyceum.

The Simple Woman’s Daybook: June 11, 2019

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For Today… June 11, 2019

Simple Woman's Daybook

Looking out my window… sunny and in the 70’s. I was working on homework, so I was inside all day.

I am thinking… about my assignment due as well as my final for Document Production.

I am thankful… that I will be done with school completely as soon as this final is over. As much as I love my program and classes, I am ready to be done with my degrees and to find work.

One of my favorite things… club soda. It is helping to deal with avoiding Coca-Cola.

I am wearing… charcoal heather shirt from Old Navy and capri pajama bottoms from Target.

I am creating… formatted documents.

I am watching… Forged in Fire reruns on On Demand.

I am hoping… Daniel sleeps through the night tonight. He’s been having issues going to sleep and/or waking up super early.

I am learning… about the Mediterranean diet. I’ll probably move toward meal-planning it through this summer.

In my kitchen… pesto quinoa.

In the school room… Daniel has six days left.

Post Script… Captain Awkward, an interesting advice column.

Shared Quote… “Jesus did not simply die to save us from our sins; Jesus lived to save us from our sins. His life and teachings show us the way to liberation. But you can’t fit all that on a bumper sticker. So we try to boil it down to a formula. Four steps. The “Romans Road.” John 3:16. And yet the gospel itself, in its eternal scope and scandalous particularity, defies reduction.” — Rachel Held Evans

Hosted by The Simple Woman.

7 Quick Takes: Almost Done Edition

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7 Quick Takes

— 1 —

Portfolio. I got my Portfolio back during my exit interview today. I got a perfect score on it… obviously. (I am motherfreaking Hermione, biotch!)

Title page

By the way, I made the background from scratch… and used it on my table of contents and all my divider pages.

— 2 —

Exit interview. My exit interview was today and was 30 minutes of shooting the breeze with my department chairs. I ended up with a 99 in my Final Project class (and yes, I am flipping out mentally about that point I lost because it was a stupid proofreading error I made on my reflection paper), so yay!

— 3 —

My Document Production class. I still hate Document Production and my instructor was laughing at me today when I told her. I hate it because I lose points for stupid things like extra spaces that will not be visible in the printed copy (or even when I turn off non-printing characters), and I told her that her favorite saying (“read all the words, not just the ones you like”) is completely true. The instruction I miss is something small in a margin or a couple of words in the midst of a huge paragraph.

— 4 —

What’s next after graduation? I have to chase down some therapy stuff for Daniel this summer and there is a possible hysterectomy on the horizon for me, so I can’t job hunt just yet. I’m looking for an accounting assistant or accounting paraprofessional position, so I’m keeping my ears open for now and seeing what comes up. I’ll also put my resume on GlassDoor and InDeed.

— 5 —

Comparison. I’ve had people ask if this is harder than my college degree and the answer is “not even close”. I have a 95 or above in all but two of my classes. I can’t say that this happened in more than a handful of my BA classes because the work expected of me was so much harder. I did my BA in three years, but unlike my AAS degrees at Skagit, it was three VERY full years. I was full-time EVERY quarter, if not more than a full load.

My MTS classes were all A’s, but that’s because it was a very specific area in which it was all my strengths.

— 6 —

A new show for y’all. Now that Game of Thrones is over and the writers did a horrible thing to Daenerys (she should have been queen and they know it!), y’all need to be watching Forged in Fire and learn how all those cool swords and knives were made. Seriously, it’s a fun show (and yes, I’m watching it while I blog) and I’ve learned a lot about an area of craftsmanship that is not my own.

— 7 —

Chucks. I was hoping to get myself a pair of Converse Chucks for the first time ever… and found out when I went to my local shoe store that my feet are too wide for Converse shoes. There was a pair that might have worked, but it still felt tight and like it would give me blisters. I was bummed, but I did end up buying shoes that worked better for me.

For more Quick Takes, visit Kelly at This Ain’t The Lyceum who is talking about writing her book.

7 Quick Takes: Reasons I’m Tired Tonight Edition

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7 Quick Takes

— 1 —

Daniel isn’t sleeping well. We think it’s him feeling hungry and not knowing how to process that. Because Daniel. I’ve been trying to enforce EXTRA drinking of milk to keep him full and I’ve upped his feed.

— 2 —

PTK induction. I was inducted into Phi Theta Kappa (international 2-year college honor society) tonight. I was invited to join in Fall 2017, but I’ve been a little busy. My mom was watching Daniel and Dad surprised me by showing up.

Dad and me at the induction

— 3 —

Portfolio. My portfolio for my Final Project class is due tomorrow. I have almost everything printed out and done, but Sage was being catty yesterday and I need to redo and print out a report for it. I blame the LA Dodgers.

— 4 —

Puke. I hadn’t been gone for five minutes tonight when Mom called to let me know that Daniel puked (of course) and asked if she should give him tomorrow’s meds as he presumably puked up tonight’s. I was on the road to school, so I said “yes”. Well, I’m not totally sure now and am keeping an eye on him. At least he’s sleeping?

— 5 —

Donald Trump is still in office. His mere existence tires me.

— 6 —

Pentecost. I’m writing the prayers for Pentecost and I need to translate them into Spanish… or at least send them to my translation staff, one of whom came into tutoring last week and scolded me for not having them done yet. (God bless my “translation staff” of students!)

— 7 —

Forged in Fire. I’ve been watching “Forged in Fire” reruns while I’ve done homework lately… and this sometimes has me up too late. Oops!

For more Quick Takes, visit Kelly at This Ain’t The Lyceum.

The Simple Woman’s Daybook: May 27, 2019

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For Today… May 27, 2019

Simple Woman's Daybook

Looking out my window… sunny. Daniel and I might head to the park later while we’re doing errands.

I am thinking… about job-hunting.

I am thankful… for the men and woman who have sacrificed their lives while serving this country.

One of my favorite things… quiet. Unfortunately, Daniel is home today and in a cranky mood, so he is yelling right now. (Autism is fun.)

I am wearing… black fitted tee from Old Navy and capris from Kohl’s

I am creating… forms and documents for my Document Production class.

I am watching… reruns of Forged in Fire. Thank goodness for On Demand!

I am hoping… Daniel settles down. He had a crappy night last night where he was unable to get to sleep easily, and he’s a pill today as a result. The rest of us are feeling similar and trying to stay out of the way of each other.

I am learning… where my trouble spots are in putting together business reports. It’s frustrating because the things I’m missing are opinion things in the mind of the computer program.

In my kitchen… hot dogs last night. I don’t know if Dad wants to do anything special tonight for Memorial Day.

In the school room… Daniel has a few weeks of school to go. We’re going to work on reading this summer during his daytime feeds.

Post Script… this is a very sweet story.

Shared Quote… “Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.” — Neil Gaiman, Coraline

A moment from my day… Thinking of Grandpa today.

My grandfather's memorial marker

Hosted by The Simple Woman.

7 Quick Takes: English Only Edition

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7 Quick Takes

— 1 —

Working with non-English speakers. When I walked into the classroom for my drop-in session on Monday, I had to calm down one of the students who was taking a test for one of her classes. Her English is limited and she had been sitting there for two hours trying to figure out how to start her test. Once I got clarification from her instructor on what she was supposed to be doing, we were able to get her working. I’m thankful to a couple of my other Spanish-speaking students for translating because I needed to give her very specific instructions and Google Translate can only do so much.

— 2 —

“English only” people. My experience on Monday got me thinking about the misguided people who make nasty comments about how “this is America and people need to speak English!” Most of these people do not speak any language but English and many of them cannot write English well. For my Spanish-speaking students, it’s the equivalent of learning two languages because you have the words that come from French and the words that come from German. Add in grammar that is complex and you have something that confounds a lot of people learning the language. Other languages are hard for us to learn, especially those with different alphabets, but I see a lot of my ELL students struggling with verb tenses and the number of verbs that have prepositions attached that change the meaning. On the other hand, you don’t have to think about the gender of nouns in English as you do in Romance languages.

— 3 —

It’s about time, Washington! Washington took away personal and philosophical exemptions for the MMR vaccine last week. I’d prefer if they had taken away religious exemptions too, but I’m thinking that most of those people either homeschool or only attend schools of their religious tradition. With the number of measles cases in the state and the fact that it had been eradicated 20 years ago and is now back, I’m glad my state is taking a stand!

— 4 —

Hematology update. I saw my hematologist on Tuesday morning and he is OK with my blood work the way it is. My ferritin is the low end of normal and my red cells are still funky, but there is nothing that is concerning him. He is sending me back to my regular doctor and adding to the recommendation of every medical professional I’ve seen since February that a hysterectomy is a good idea for me, given that my body is depleting red blood cells faster than it can make them. With any luck, I’ll be getting spayed this summer.

— 5 —

For handwriting enthusiasts… This Reddit is fabulous.

— 6 —

Mother’s Day. Mother’s Day was lovely. I got a rose at church, a carnation at Starbucks, and my mom and Daniel surprised me with flowers when they came home from the grocery store. I was honestly just happy to get a craft thing from Daniel that he made in school — I have pretty simple tastes and I don’t expect people to make a big to-do over me. The flowers were definitely a nice surprise though.

— 7 —

Funny… Did y’all know that Green Bay Packers player Aaron Rodgers was the soldier who got immolated on GOT last Sunday? It was interesting to watch.

For more Quick Takes, visit Kelly at This Ain’t The Lyceum. Tell her how cool her new layout is!

7 Quick Takes: Only 6 Edition

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7 Quick Takes

— 1 —

Daniel update. We saw the psychiatrist at the Autism Center again today and he is keeping Daniel on the dose of meds that we titrated up to last week. I didn’t quite realize until we were talking to him that Daniel’s behavior is actually good on this new dose. Now if we can keep him from waking up at 4:30 a.m. and bouncing off the walls…

— 2 —

Interesting… The psychiatrist commented that he has seen more than a few kids with Daniel’s genetic abnormality that is responsible for his autism and they tend to have similar behavior, food issues, etc. In other words, THIS IS NOT BECAUSE WE VACCINATED HIM.

(Seriously… there are STILL people who harp on this despite studies coming out daily showing that VACCINES DO NOT CAUSE AUTISM.)

— 3 —

Hematology. I saw my lovely hematologist on Friday afternoon and he referred me for more bloodwork. My red cells are funky, my clotting factors are OK, my folate is too high, and some of the other factors are off. I’ve tried googling this stuff and I’m not finding anything conclusive, so I’m going to have to wait until Tuesday when I see my hematologist again to find out what’s up. It might be that they’ll have me do repeat tests every so often to see if/when I’m heading toward anemia. We’re also going to see if a hysterectomy helps with it at all because it seems like my body is losing red blood cells faster than it can make them.

— 4 —

Rachel Held Evans. If you want to understand why I and many other Christians (Protestants and Catholics alike) are mourning her, read this hashtag.

— 5 —

School update. I’m required to do a mock employment interview for my Final Project class and I went to interview with the head of the BASAM program at school… who happens to be a former Fortune 500 VP who worked all over southeast Asia. It was interesting and also really good practice for what to say and how to answer questions that I might be asked. She asked if I would connect to her on LinkedIn in case one of her local friends has a job that might fit me. Score!

— 6 —

Game of Thrones. I’m betting on Daenerys winning the throne. Because girls and dragons! Not that I’ve ever seen more than a few minutes of the show…

For more Quick Takes, visit Kelly at This Ain’t The Lyceum.