Wow. I haven't been on here on a long time! I have checked in occasionally, but need to get back in the swing of things. I'm done with school, and now that Jan has issued a blog challenge, I can put my time to good use.

Truth be told, I'm not comfortable with my time off. Being in school gave me that "college" experience that I had years ago, when I was in a zone for four years of just being. This time around, I totally lived out the college experience. However, I couldn't wait to finish my degree because I could do the stuff I wasn't able to do due to time constraints.  When I got done, I gave myself some time off to try to catch up on sleep (still doing that) and read some books and get back on the nutrition bandwagon, but I'm seriously edgy right now. Like I should be doing something. But I don't know what it is. Ok, I know it's only been a week since graduation, but I'm seriously jonsing here. I suspect it's because I've always been in full-engaged "homework" mode, as there was always THAT to do.

 I suspect a good portion of my mookies occured recently when I got served by this dude who offers resume services. I sent him a breezy little email about whether he could help me with my resume and what his rates were. Oh, and the fact that I lived rather close to him. He replied to my email with a one-page response that said that my college should have prepared me to market myself and if it hadn't, the only thing it managed to do successfully was separate me from my hard-earned money. I think this was probably his idea of a sales pitch:  point out what people don't know, what he knows and thus separate THEM from their hard-earned dollars. Oh, and he didn't care for my reference to our proximity, stating that geography is good for finding hamburgers, but not resume writers, personal injury attorneys or brain surgeons. I got his response on New Years Eve, so that was great timing when you reflect back on the year! Lol

So, while I can compartmentalize the dude's comments, I'm still thinking about doing big things in the new year. So, right now, I'm taking requests for things I can do in 2009. Here's what is coming to my head right now: 

• Apparently learn how to market myself.
• Clean my house
• Completely redo my house in an economical fashion
• Learn to fence
• Train and run in a marathon
• Learn a craft that I can take places. (Making soap and bath bombs, not so much)
• Throw dinner parties in a most clever fashion.
• Find a volunteer opportunity.
• Tale another class.

Any other ideas? What are your New Years Resolutions?

Right now, for some odd reason, I'm really craving a hamburger about now.

 Hey peeps! I just finished my ethics class this week, and all I have left is my major project, which should finish mid December, and you can stick a fork in me, cuz I'm gonna be done with this degree.  I've got to finish strong, as I tend to wimp out on the end of things just to be done.  And I'm kinda in a funk probably for that reason. This is my third fall and holiday season shot to crapola because of school. It will be done in two months, so there's that. Then I'll have to find another excuse for being a crotchedy old man.

 So, I thought I'd share some recent stupid stuff I've been saying when I think I'm making a point. I seriously believe I'm saying something profound. Most of it involves math. Why do I even bother?

Wedding Storage

Me:  I cannot believe my stepdaughter's mother wants to store that cake in our house. It's hotter than hell! Really, even with the air conditioning, it's 80 degrees. That's like 20 degrees from boiling!

China Population

Me:  Hey, Mikalsylvine is over in China now.  There's like 6 billion people in China.

Hub:  (laughs, then chokes on his laughter) Um, that's the population of the entire world.

Me: (trying to recover) Oh, whose to say they all weren't there at the time? Don't limit me...or them.

Sweetener Shortage

Background Info:  We are cutting back on grocery shopping to every other week to see if it helps the budget.

Me:  Oh, crap. I'm almost out of Splenda. Well, when I run out, I'm gonna have to do it like the pioneers did.

Hub:  (laughs) Yeah, forget about the starvation, the weather etc.. It was running out of artificial sweetener packets that caused them hardship.

As I mentioned in my last blog, I was ticked royally that our graduation day got pushed out six months. So a person in my class drafted an email, then instructed all of us to send it out. Well, today, after the Graduate Studies program received a number of letters, we received an email that stated our cohort will indeed graduate in December 2008, as an exception to the current policy, provided all our work is turned in. Yahoo! They were pleased with the "professionalism displayed in bringing the information to our attention, and they were happy to make the adjustment." 

So, we are back on track...

I've been working on my degree for the last two years. On the first day of orientation, our class was walked around the auditorium as a representative from the Graduate Studies program gave us a visual of what graduation is like---from the "hood", to the cheering professors on the staircase, to the lining up and the march into the auditorium, where our friends and family would be watching our big event. We were told "just imagine this day, and it will get you through 2.5 years to your December 2008 graduation." And trust me, sometimes it's only the idea of wearing the hood that keeps you from tossing it all in.

Today, we received in the mail a letter from the new program head. Turns out that our last day of class is December 16, and there needs to be a 10-day allowance for grades. We can't walk in graduation unless all our credits are accounted for rather than make them up later like other institutions would allow. Therefore, we can't graduate in December like planned, but that our official graduation date is May 23, which by the by, is Memorial Day weekend. Furthermore, walking in commencement is a graduation requirement!!! What????? In other words, we can't officially say we have the degree for six months, when we actually do.  Another girl took a job in England in January because she thought she'd be done with the program; she gets an exemption in walking in commencement, but she really wants to walk!

As a result, our class is putting our heads together and are trying to come up with a way to honor the college's guidelines, yet we can graduate on time. It probably means cutting out breaks, but that's fine with me! I hope it flies.

If you happened to miss Saturday Night Live's opening skit with Tina Fay as Sarah Palin (or just want to see it again), here's the video. Pitch perfect! And Amy's Hilary was a great counterpart. What a great skit idea!