it's not life that matters but the journey...

I talked with my friend yesterday who is also a student in the paralegal program. We were going to take a class together, Intellectual Property, my last class in the program . This friend of mine quit her job back around Halloween and started waitressing - I guess she wanted more free time for school. But now she tells me that she can't afford school and she's dropped her classes. Then she told me the real reason she can't afford school - the cost of the textbooks. She was going to take three classes, and the one book for the Intellectual Property class is - get this - $185!! With 10% sales tax, that would cost over $200. For one paperback textbook!! What the hell? Thankfully I went online and found the book for only $112 on Half.com - so even with expedited shipping, I'm saving about $80.
And I've been trying to sell some other textbooks on there - yesterday I knocked $10 off the price of one that I had been trying to sell for about a month, and it sold right away. Granted, I'm selling it for half what I paid, but at least I can make a little money for it.

I am sorry for anyone who has to put kids through college, or pay for your own tuition and textbooks. The cost of textbooks these days is outrageous - it's robbery. Do you know that when I went to university for my undergraduate degree (way back in the stone ages), I paid less than $400 for an entire semester of classes? I don't remember what I paid for textbooks, but then they didn't get new volumes every year, and you could get used books for really cheap.

ah, the high cost of inflation. Kind of makes me yearn for times when things weren't so hard or so expensive.

I think my head is going to explode. I've read about 200 pages this weekend and still have 150 to go before the test on Thursday. This weekend it's been family and criminal law, and now I have to read 3 chapters on legal research. You might be asking: why are you reading it all in one week? well, the last two months of my life were hijacked by life and other circumstances, and all of my energy was gone. So I'm really catching up now. Luckily, my estate planning teacher pushed our final up to the 18th - so I have one test this week and one next week. I'm more than ready for it to all be over. don't get me wrong - I love the material, and I want to get into this field, but I don't want to be a student anymore. I want my free time back. I want to knit, watch movies, waste time on LJ (oh but that's not waste of time is it?), and even study Japanese. I know that's also learning, but it's not the learning I mind. I just don't want to go to classes. it's such a waste of time for me.

anyway, soon it will be done. then I can also focus on getting another job. I haven't forgotten how miserable I am at this company - but I'm just too busy to extend any effort to get out.

in other news, it's ridiculously cold and miserable weather here. see my icon? i am not that elated with the snow that we had last week. I don't remember last winter being so ugly -but it probably was. I spent 20 minutes getting a thick layer of ice off of my car windows today before I could even leave. ICE!?? it was so thick I could only break it with hot water. did I mention I want to live in Hawaii??

finally, I think I'm the only person still watching Smallville - I just finished the DVD's of Season 6, and now I need to catch up on Season 7 - but there are hardly any downloads. it's ridiculous - and I can't watch it on The CW site - the episodes aren't available. I could watch Supernatural on there though...

speaking of Supernatural - I can't believe the next episode (and the last B4 another hiatus) is on the same night as my final!!

oh and last but not least - cards are on the way tomorrow. it's a bit late, and I hope that they arrive before the 25th, but at least they'll arrive before the end of the year - that's still the season right?

i miss you all!! sorry I'm not around - I will be very very soon!!

if anyone noticed, I haven't posted for a long while. It's been almost two weeks in fact. I can't believe how time flies when you're busy (notice I didn't say having fun). There's so much going on that I couldn't even begin to put it all here - not to mention that I'd bore everyone to tears with all the details. But in a nutshell, I've been working full time, going to school two nights a week (for two sessions of each class now - more details on my classes later), and dealing with various dramas at home and with life in general. I could sort all of these dramas into a) car problems b) money problems (and of course these are related) and c) relationship difficulties (which of course is related to both, and to other issues which I won't go into now). We have two old cars, and both seem to be having their share of difficulties (as old cars do).

( car problems )

Work, thankfully, has eased a bit lately. The work load doesn't seem so stressful, and I haven't been working 10-hour days very often. But that is also because I've been going to school two nights a week and leaving earlier. I guess the biggest thing about work is that I'm just bored and unchallenged. If I wasn't so busy, and also if I wasn't considering another move next year, I'd be looking for another job that pays better and that would be more rewarding. I feel like I am just doing the same stuff every day, and doing a good job, yet I'm not getting any positive feedback or adequate compensation. The only way they reward hard work is by piling on more!

So because I hate my job, I am really concentrating my efforts on this paralegal program.

( school stuff behind the cut )

So besides the fact that I am going to be extremely lost and challenged by both of my classes, I am challenged by stuff at home regularly. the daily upkeep of bills, cleaning, cooking, shopping, and keeping my husband happy despite the fact that he misses his country and family, hates his job, and wants to surf and play music. it's tough! I tried watching a few movies recently but was too distracted to really enjoy them. So with Netflix, I've decided to just rent tv shows (I'm into season 5 of Smallville now), and documentaries until i can really have time to enjoy a movie. It's so unlike me to not watch movies - but I just haven't found anything I can really concentrate on.

I'm trying to keep up on all of your posts, and do a bit of commenting when I can. of course I'm so behind on comments from like a month ago or so, but I will do my best to get through them. some of my friends are still missing in action - I guess life is just overwhelming (good or bad) for lots of people these days!

If i've missed anything important, like birthdays or great posts, please let me know. meanwhile, I'm off to clean my apartment and do some reading before my mom arrives tomorrow afternoon. I'm taking Monday and Tuesday off from work to be with her! then it's back to the grind.

oh the other good thing is that our local indoor pool just opened, and we've signed up for a 3-month pass (only $82 for a couple for three months - so cheap!), so I've gone twice already. the swimming will help me to both exercise and relax and deal with the stress of life. so there are positive things happening too:)

sorry this was so long - I put the breaks to make it easier to handle. thanks for reading, and please drop by and say hi because I miss you all:)

oh my goodness this has been an interesting week. some good, some bad, and some just weird.

( With school, there has been a bit of all three )

let's see what else is happening...

The weather has been incredibly hot and a bit on the humid side. it's been gorgeous and clear, though, so I can't complain. and I do have air conditioning and fans.

( now on to work )

good thing though, it's Friday and I can relax! And today was a better day altogether than yesterday was. And we had a company picnic this afternoon, which was both good and weird (or bad depending on your perspective). That's because our picnic area also doubles as a mating ground for the 17-year cicadas! for those of you who aren't living in or near the mid-west and don't know what this is all about, here's a video you can watch - I actually can't figure out how to link to it, but go to this link http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070615/ap_on_sc/gypsy_moths_3, and click on the picture that says "Swarms of Cicadas" = that will take you to a video about them.
you can also see this ABC video: http://video.yahoo.com/video/play?vid=1114747392&fr=yfp-t-501

( more details about the Cicada Picnic )

oh, and finally my movie review. I watched a British movie called "Keeping Mum" with Maggie Smith, Rowan Atkinson (also known as Mr. Bean), Kristin Scott Thomas and Patrick Swayze (who is looking very old). It's a dark comedy about a woman who comes to be a housekeeper for a vicar and his family in a tiny British village. The vicar is too busy to have sex with his wife; bored and lonely, she starts having an affair with her American golf instructor (Patrick Swayze. Their gorgeous 17-year-old daughter isa nymphomaniac, and their young son is being bullied in school. But along comes this wonderful housekeeper who has some dark secrets and ways, but who manages to solve all of their problems in just a few weeks' time! This is absolutely one of the best movies I've seen all year! It was brilliantly written and acted, and laugh out loud funny, especially if you like morbidly dark British humour. It was just what I needed last night to relax after a stressful day. Maggie Smith is one of the best women to ever grace the silver screen and Rowan Atkinson is enjoyable in a surprisingly low-key role that is so different from his usual silly roles like Mr. Bean. He is incredibly talented, as is Kristin Scott thomas who I also adore. The movie was also full of incredibly witty sexual innuendoes, which the British do so brilliantly! Watch this movie!!!!!

and on that note, I'm off to have another glass of wine. have a great weekend!!