I've Opened the Door of Hell!! I'm Free!!!

Well, it's time to take the knitting needles out of the fire, and put them back in the box. The mod from hell is OVER! I have to say, I thought these five weeks were never going to end.

I have to give a shout out to the instructors though. It must be frustrating to teach adults. I know it would be for me. Some of the instructors are retired teachers, and even in this age of snot nosed teens who think they know everything (Yes, I know, I was once one of them, but today's level of disrespect is off the charts!) at least there was some sort of recourse they could take if one of their students did something to disrupt the class. Send them out to the hall, to the principal's office, suspension, detention, whatever. Teaching adults is a whole new ball game. Students show up late, walk out in the middle of class, and don't come back.

Look, I'm paying a lot of money for my education. I do have grants and student loans, but eventually, I am going to have to pay it back. If I screw around, don't study, or don't finish, I'm not hurting anyone but myself. Because then I'm going to have no degree, and STILL have loans to pay off.

The type of students I'm talking about are few and far between. Most of my classmates study hard, get good grades, and are serious about their education. Most of them want a better life for themselves and their children. And I'm happy to see that. I'd hate to see them struggle like I did and have to go back to school at my age. It's not easy, (well, this part was) and it has to be harder for those who have small children. But they're doing it. And I'm happy to help them when I see them really trying, and struggling with something. The ones who are taking it for granted, though, I'd just like to shake them until their brain rattles.

I would go into the details of my finals, but unless you want a story that will put you to sleep, I'm not going to. They were pretty straightforward, and I was out of school at 10:00 am.

Now I'm going to go into something that actually brings tears to my eyes. I started this blog for a number of reasons. One is that I really like to write, and I love to entertain people. And while it sounds trite, I hoped that maybe I would inspire someone who was stuck in a dead end job to see what I was doing, and think, "I could do that!"

I was speaking to one of my old high school friends. I hadn't seen him since high school, and thanks to Facebook, we connected again. We reminisced about old times, and when we were speaking about what we were doing now, I told him I was back in school. He said he wished he could do that. I asked him why he couldn't. It was like listening to myself before I started! He said he'd think very hard about it, and a few days later, sent me a message saying he had enrolled back into school.

Today, I heard from him again. He's finished his first mod, and has his finals on Monday. He told me he is doing well and loves it! He also wanted to thank me. Well, I don't need thanks. Just knowing that I inspired him to do this is thanks enough, and the fact that he's doing well is icing on the cake.

So, to my old school friend, I'm extremely proud of you. I know you can do this, and I am pulling for you every step of the way. Hugs, Buddy!

Monday, I get to be a buddy, and have classes that sound like they're going to be interesting. Medical Terminology, Transcription and Pathology (with Dr. Older Hot-Guy).

See you all then! Have a great weekend!

Are You Bored Yet? Yeah, Me Too

Yes, it's Thursday. Yes, I didn't blog last night. Put it down to pure laziness, because that's what it was. That, and I sometimes need a respite before I write about things.
So let's start this day the way I actually did. We were doing mock interviews. We were told to dress appropriately as if we were actually interviewing for a real company. So I got up earlier than normal to make sure every hair was in place, and what I was wearing was nice and clean.
Now this had been postponed last week. We were supposed to do it on Friday. They were rearranging classes so that we'd have the interviews in the morning, and keyboarding in the afternoon. So yesterday, when I got to school, I went to my Career Development class, and it was a room full of strangers. I was a little bewildered, so I went over to my keyboarding class, and realized that they weren't rearranging classes that day, and that the interviews weren't going to be held until the afternoon.
Now anyone who knows me, knows that during the course of the day, no matter how much hairspray, mousse, gel, or other products I use, my hair will eventually revert back to it's sinful nature and just lie there. It's slothful, is what it is. And the fact that there were high winds didn't help much either. But all was well, I still aced the "interview".
As for Keyboarding, it was the same as always. BUT they added just a little more torture, as they BLOCKED FACEBOOK!!!! Can you believe it??? Luckily, I had enough work to do so it didn't really matter. When I was finished with all of my assignments, I helped some of the other students. That makes me feel somewhat better.
Friday is finals day! We should get out pretty early, so I'm happy about that. On Monday, I am going to be a buddy. That means I get to take a new student around and show them where everything is. That should be interesting!
More tomorrow!

Monday's classes--And Now for Something Completely Different!

So, I know it's Tuesday, and I didn't blog yesterday. I felt so guilty that I took today off so I wouldn't disappoint my legions (4) of fans. Today I was supposed to be in Keyboarding all day, so remembering the red hot knitting needle waiting by my stove, I decided I'd do the lesser of two evils. My eye hurts.

So! Yesterday's classes. In the morning I had keyboarding, which goes as it always does. Exercises, timed test, report with footnotes. Yay. Word 7 is pretty much idiot proof, but of course you know the old saying: "Make something idiot proof and someone will come along and make a better idiot." Luckily, my class seems to be getting it. My only problem is that back in the age of dinosaurs, when I took my courses in word processing, you actually had to work at it. So the hardest thing for me is finding all the little buttons that make my document do what I want it to do. No worries. I'm pretty quick when it comes to things like this. So I have a final on Friday. We'll see what happens!

Afternoon class was First Aid. We watched a video, then took a test. We learned how to do splints, bandage wounds, what to do when someone gets burned, or has a stroke, a diabetic emergency, and heatstroke.
The test was pretty simple and straightforward, and everyone got 100. Yay us! Since that was our final, we got out an hour early. I love final week!

I also got my new schedule for next mod. I'm incredibly excited. I have Medical Transcription, which is basically what I've done for the last 25 years. Listening to someone talking, and typing what they say.
I am also going to have Medical Terminology. Medical Terminology is cool because you can make the most minor injuries or illnesses sound like they're a life threatening disease. I mean, doesn't hematoma sound much more threatening than bruise? Not to mention I get to have one of my favorite teachers again.
And finally (how appropriate!) I have Pathology. Scenes of CSI, and Dr. Quincy ME are running through my head, although I know it's not going to be anywhere near that in excitement. But again, I get one of my favorite teachers, so it's good.

Oh, they also changed the name of my school. Why? I don't know. But the acronym for it used to be too close to America's Next Top Model (ANTM). Now it's the Latin word for Strong. Look it up.

Tomorrow:
Mock Interviews and more Keyboarding!