Because my sister says so...

Because my sister told me to... I am blogging.


I usually ignore listen to everything my sister says. She's pretty smart.


This semester has started picking up this week. I can't believe it's my last one! No more school EVER (probably). I'm only taking 13 credits, which doesn't seem like it would be a lot, but it's shaping up to be pretty busy. I'm in two choirs this semester- Jazz choir, and Bethel choir. Those two rehearsals take up a lot of time in the day. I am also taking Principles of Marketing, Principles of Management, and Christianity in a Cross-Cultural Perspective. The first class is an all-online class that just started yesterday. We had a crap-ton of work thrown at us due this week. I wrote it all down so I could cross stuff off my list and not feel so panicked all the time. I've already crossed off 5/11 things! The hard thing about this class is that it is completely online, and it is only 8 weeks long. We are getting a lot of stuff thrown at us in a short amount of time, but I know I can cope...it's only a 200-level business course, after all. That's like fingerpainting compared to Discrete Math Algebraic Structures Real Analysis (okay, pretty much all my math courses).


The second class, Principles of Management, is a hybrid course. So we do have some in-class sessions, but they are usually only once a week, if that often. We have 9 "face-to-face" meetings throughout the semester, and we've already had 4 of them. The other stuff we do is online discussions, readings, and quizzes. There's also a small group project that's due at the end of March, but I'm not worried about this class at all.


The last class I'm in is the most time-consuming of the three. Not only is there a regular classtime, we have this outside "cross-cultural experience" that we have to do. You are reading the work of a new AWANA leader at Trinity Baptist church in Maplewood. There is a huge Karen population there, and they desperately needed the help of some leaders to keep these kids from killing each other help these kids learn Bible verses and play games! That is every Wednesday night, and I'll probably have to do some more outside volunteering to meet my hourly quota for the semester. I am in charge of a group of 6 5th grade girls who are very independent and opinionated. They are a HOOT to hang out with. Their personalities are already starting to shine through. The language barrier is a little difficult to get around (English is their second language), but we are getting there. I only wish we had more time to talk with these girls and get to know them more! But the few hours we spend there each week go by so fast, and they are SO CHAOTIC. Sometimes I feel frustrated that I can't learn everything from them that my professor expects us to- they are just young children! How does she expect us to learn what their praying habits are, or their cultural norms when all the girls want to do is draw or talk about how they want to become fashion designers when they grow up?


In addition to these classes, to make some extra moola, I picked up a tutoring job in the business department at Bethel. I work in the help labs for Managerial Finance from 6-9 every Tuesday night. I used to work on Sundays too, but I was approached by a student who wanted the experience (he was a senior finance major), so I gave up my Sunday nights for him. I figured it would work out fine since I am not normally on campus on Sundays and with my Marketing class starting up, it would be nice to have my Sunday nights free. I also picked up a one-on-one tutoring position, helping another student in Principles of Economics, which I took last semester. I just pray that I can have the patience to help him succeed. It's difficult to become a teacher when I've been a learner for so long. It's hard to have patience when the answer is just STARING ME IN THE FACE and he is oblivious. But this will be a good learning experiment for both me and him. I also am a TA for Linear Algebra, grading homework. So all these things together should help pay for booze groceries and gas. I've also been donating plasma when I can on Tuesday and Thursday mornings, as if I wasn't busy enough!


I try to get most of my homework done during the week so I do not have much to do on the weekends, because that is the only time I get to see The Boy. And we have so much fun! Last weekend we went ice skating, graded papers together, and went to one of his student's basketball games (his kid was so excited to see him there, it was ADORABLE TO THE MAX). The Boy and I don't always have to be out doing things and going places and spending money- I just like spending time with him. We made a bet when grading papers about which of his students would score the highest on their last test. Loser had to make lunch.


I don't know how I ended up making lunch.


I apologize to my sister for going off on about 6 different tangents. But she wanted a post. So she got one.


I also apologize to her for not taking pictures ever. 

P.s. I hate when this happens.