Posts Tagged School

My days are packed.

Feb 5

Posted by Ashley in General | 1 Comment

My days have been pretty busy as of lately consisting of work in the morning from 7:45-10am, going to class from 11-12:50, and back to work from 1:45-3:30 on Monday’s, Wednesday’s and Friday’s. Then on Tuesday’s and Thursday’s, I’m in class from 11-3:45 and work from 5:15-8:45.

Both work and school have been great lately except for the fact that Ashley (my supervisor) has been running around trying to get inspections and paperwork together for things like business insurance so that we can become a certified daycare center – which means more children will be allowed to stay. Also, the flu is going around at school AND work. Per an article I read in the University paper the other day, people are just now coming into the health center sick with the flu which is out of the norm considering the flu season usually peaks and drops around February/March; it seems this year it’s starting late. At work, clients and techs have been out with a 24-hour stomach flu consisting of vomiting and dirreha…luckily, it hasn’t made it into the childcare area as far as workers are concerned but some of the children have been out sick since two weeks ago.

I feel like my body is trying to come down with whatever flu is going around because for the past two days I’ve been achy in random places, have had a horrible headache that doesn’t go away with eating or taking medication and my stomach has just felt off. I haven’t vomited or anything, so I’m hoping that I’ll just have this “off” feeling rather than actually getting sick. I don’t need to be sick AGAIN, I just got over a two week sinus congestion deal that had my whole head stuffed up – I’m still blowing my nose to get the nasty crap out.

Other than that, I haven’t been up to much at all. I’m going to try and see Barry this coming weekend since I haven’t been the last three visits; I got sick for one thing and then last week, I was going to go but just didn’t feel up to it. I have a test tomorrow in Abnormal Psych which I’m pretty confident I’ll do well on. I have an appointment for my yearly exam on Monday, next Thursday is my 23rd birthday and I take my car to get repaired on the 17th, so my days are pretty packed, but I’m doing well and that’s what is important to me.

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Exams week and vacation.

Dec 11

Posted by Ashley in General | 1 Comment

Tomorrow is stop day which means the end of classes which means that Monday is the start of exam week. I have four exams next week but luckily all of mine are scheduled at one per day so I can study and concern on one thing at a time. My math final is on Monday, Western Civilization on Tuesday, Research Methods on Wednesday and Child Psychology on Thursday. After that, I’m off to South Carolina on Friday until the 29th and picking up Alan at 10:30pm on the 29th when he arrives in Kansas City; he’ll be here until January 8th, so I have a pretty busy schedule until then.

Not only that but I am 98% sure that I got the job I interviewed for on Tuesday. I’ll be working as a child care attendant taking care of children while their mothers undergo treatment for drug and alcohol abuse and/or work in the community. I’m working in a day care setting but it’s not an actual day care but rather a place where these mothers live while receiving treatment for their problems and they get to keep their children with them. I’m really excited about it because it goes along with my psychology/sociology work from school and it’s about time that I find something that will give me good work experience in the field I study. I should start the job around the 12th of January; it really depends on how quick all the background check and paper work gets done.

I’m hoping that after I start working it won’t take me long to save up some money so that I can get regular Internet through my cable company so I don’t have to deal with this crappy wireless anymore. I also want to save up so I can build a new PC that doesn’t have problems and wants to crash all the time and also save for a laptop. Good thing I don’t have a home theater system, otherwise I’d have to save up for home theater seating as well…but mainly my money will be going into savings for awhile so I can rebuild my funds since I’m completely broke.

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Screw new neighbors!

Nov 18

Posted by Ashley in General | 3 Comments

Not even a week after they move in are they playing loud music with tons of bass at 12:30am when I’m trying to sleep. I had a long day yesterday after only getting about 2 hours of sleep max, waking up to take my Corrections exam, coming home and trying to figure out my math homework, turning around and going back to campus for math class, and then coming home for the rest of the day to work on my psychology assignment, fix dinner and try to relax all the while feeling sick as hell.

ALL I WANTED TO DO WAS SLEEP WHEN 11PM ROLLED AROUND. After getting off the phone with Alan at that point, I lied there and hoped they’d realize what time it was and turn the music off…but that didn’t happen, so I got up and turned the computer on to shoot an email over to the property manager about the issue – he’ll take care of it even if it means kicking them out; he doesn’t tolerate that crap either. Aside from that it’s been nice and peaceful around here since getting rid of all the trashy, loud people and I’d like it to stay that way.

On a side note, I sent an email inquiring about a job position on campus for next semester as a student assistant in the sociology department. I think I qualify for the position but the only thing holding me back from applying at this moment are the hours they have listed – 12p-5p M-F. Next semester I have class until 12:50 om MWF and 3:45 on TTH, so if they aren’t flexible then I’ll have to pass but I’m hoping they’d be able to work something out because after all, I am a student…and I sure would love a regular job so I didn’t have to figure out how to write about things like english saddles anymore!

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Personal growth: employment.

Jul 19

Posted by Ashley in Job, Uncategorized | No Comments

Yesterday, at work one of my co-workers showed me her one year anniversary pin she had received for working at Old Navy for a year. She was all excited and rightfully so, then it hit me that I will be celebrating my one year of working for Gap Inc. at Old Navy in November and I can’t wait. Sure, all you get from the company is a shiny silver pin that says 1 year of service that you can put on your name tag and a card that says congratulations with your name on it, but it’s so much more than that…it’s a year of great times with some pretty cool co-workers as well as a personal feat of being able to hold a job for an entire year!

I’ve come to realize as I’ve gotten older that having a job and access to money is a necessity, not an option and something we can’t live without. I’ve also realized how important it is to save a proportion of your earnings because you’ll never know when you’ll be hit with an emergenacy that calls for back up funds or if you want to splurge alittle on yourself. Not only that, I’ve realized how much I’ve grown personally and how far I’ve come from being a lazy high school teenager who didn’t give a rats ass about working to feeling bad if I call out of work because I know I’m letting someone else down, someone that depends on me to be there.

And when I sit down to pay what little bills I do have because I still live at home, I wonder how the people who are too lazy to lift a finger and don’t have jobs – those who should be working - really feel about themselves…I know I would feel awful if I had to depend on everyone else to take care of me, whether it’s paying bills or lending money.  I know seeing my paychecks deposited into my bank account every two weeks is exciting because I know I worked hard for my money and I earned the things I am able to buy for myself, even if those things are few and far between. It also makes me feel great to know that I can take care of the responsibilities I do have even if it’s only $70/month ($462 over six months) for car insurance and $104/month for access to the Internet and cable TV. And while, I haven’t splurged on myself with my earnings because I’m a very frugal spender I have been able to buy clothes and items I’ve needed when I’ve wanted too…I don’t have to ask my mom to purchase the small stuff anymore, and that’s a good feeling.

However, with classes starting up next month and finally attending a larger university and being able to live on my own in a one bedroom apartment where I’ll be responsible for every last bill known to man when it comes to living on your own, saving has become more important than ever and I’m a bit worried. I’ll be able to transfer my current position with Old Navy (ON) to ON in Lawrence (if I go to KU; KS) but with being a full time student who will be taking between 12-15 credits (4 to 5 classes) it’ll be more difficult for me to work.

Currently, I work part time which is what I’ve been working since hired and average about 25 hours a week with 2 days off, it’s been a bit more because it’s summer time and my availability is wide open but when classes start it’ll change drastically. Hopefully, I’ll be able to find a good deal on an apartment which will be paid for using reimbursed tuition money that originally would have gone to on-campus housing. I’m just worried about the extras – Internet/cable, any utilities that aren’t paid for by the apartment, food, etc. – because I won’t be able to work as much and school comes first. Hopefully though, it’ll all work out for the better and I won’t have to stress out about money and whether or not, I can completely afford it which I want to be able to do on my own without any help, I know that my mom will always be there to help me in the littlest ways.

With that being said, don’t be alarmed should you start seeing random links about simple project management software- it’s only temporary (this blog will not become a bunch of spam!) and a means to make a little extra saving money for a college student who will soon be poor…okay, not poor but you get what I’m saying :) I look forward to this next chapter in life, even though I’m absolutely scared out of my mind and filled with anxiety at this point which will only get worse when I finalize my decision but like I tell my friends – keep your head up and have faith because things will work themselves out for the better, and everything happens for a reason!

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I’m going to be a Spartan, baby!

Jun 11

Posted by Ashley in General | 4 Comments

It’s been a long, stressful and rather uneventful year since I applied to Michigan State back in August of 2007; however the wait finally came to an end on Monday June 9th, when I received my acceptance letter telling me I had been offered admissions into MSU for a major in psychology. I cannot even begin to explain how excited and relieved I was, yet at the same time how nervous I quickly became.

Spartan HeadIn the next few weeks, I will be sending in my advanced enrollment deposit of $250 which will hold my spot for academic orientation as well as a spot in a residential hall. I will most likely, no scratch that, I will be attending the August 18th session since I live farther than 500 miles from the school. The august 18th session is a week before classes start, however, I’ll be able to move into my dorm on August 21st I believe so I won’t have to stay in a hotel long once I get there.

I’m nervous and excited, all at one time. I have worked so hard to get into MSU and it’s finally happened, yet I”m nervous because for the first time in my 22 years of life I’ll be living away from my family and from living under the roof of a parent, who has always been there when I needed them. It will be difficult to say goodbye, but it’s not the end of the world and I will see them again; I am ready for the next step in life and I’m ready to be able to be on my own, more so than I ever was before. I’ve been through so much in my life up to this point, I want to prove to myself that I have the strength to stand on my own two feet without someone always there to pick me up when I fall (not that they were anyways!). Not only that, but I’m ready to start the next chapter of my relationship with Alan…with our one year anniversary coming up fast on June 29th, I am excited about what the next year holds for us and so on and so forth with me being in Michigan – only an hour away rather than miles apart.

It’ll be a new experience for the both of us and most importantly for me, but I know I’ll make it and I’ll be okay and I have a feeling that I’ll come out on top in the end; I can’t wait.

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Love makes you do crazy things.

Jun 6

Posted by Ashley in Education | No Comments

It’s amazing some of the things we will say to someone admist an argument. For me, I prematurely told Alan I had gotten accepted to Michigan State the other day during an argument, in hopes of diffusing the situation. My heart was in a good place, but I shouldn’t have said what I did. Granted, what I said doesn’t hurt anyone, the decision from MSU has played a major role in our relationship considering that if I get in I will be moving to Michigan which will change our whole relationship from being long distance to being “normal.”

I told him today that the argument we had and what had been said had scared me so much and upset me so much that I prematurely told him about MSU in hopes of diffusing the situation; I couldn’t keep the fact that I had told the white lie to myself, even though nothing had been mentioned again about MSU since that day. I figured it wasn’t that big of a deal but I don’t like the feeling of even the smallest of lies gives me, so I fessed up. He apparently has already told his mom that I got accepted too, which I didn’t know…

Bah. It seems lately I can’t do or say anything right and that I just keep disappointing myself and him. Even though, I said what I did, I didn’t do it to upset anyone especially him if it did. My letter has been sent out and it will be here next week which will give me a for sure answer…I just hope it works out the way I want it too.

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Two exams left.

Apr 24

Posted by Ashley in General | 1 Comment

The semester is coming to a close and I have two exams left…well two and a half if you count the essay section of my history exam that I still have to write. My plan is to drive up to campus tomorrow and take my economics exam, study for my math one later in the evening and take my math exam on Friday – some where between now and then, I’ll write my essays which will be cake. I’m so glad that the semester is almost over because it just means that the next chapter of my life starts! I called MSU on Tuesday and updated my address since I hadn’t done it since we moved – now I know for sure I’ll receive my letter in the mail, haha.

Also, I’ve decided that I’m done with the negativity – honestly, done with it. In the end, where does it get you except hurt feelings and lots of crying which makes you feel like crap. I realize that I need something to keep myself busy aside from work and now that classes are almost over I won’t have my assignments to keep me occupied either. I’ve been wanting to lose some weight and I’ve been seriously considering joining a gym, I just haven’t had the motivation to do it or I guess the courage to start, I think that if I did that I’d be good for me aside from the obvious health reasons.

My relationship with Alan will get better in time, I’m not ready to give up on it and neither is he; our relationship isn’t really that bad to be honest with you, we have no major issues or problems that really warrant us breaking up or anything, it’s just that when emotions run high they run high for the both of us especially me and when that happens, it makes us miserable and makes us think we would be better off apart. And the funny thing is…it all steams from silly, stupid crap like me taking a joke personally or something he said the wrong way – ugh!

Our major issue, however, is being able to come to common ground and understanding in an argument and because we can’t seem to achieve this common ground the issues never get solved but rather pushed under the rug which then reveal themselves at later time when something happens. I’m not exactly sure how we’re suppose to achieve this common ground and understanding in an argument because we’re both hot headed and stubborn – I want it my way, he wants it his way, neither of us want to give into each other – but I believe and have hope that we’ll work it out. All the other issues I have as far as not feeling wanted and such will be resolved when we are together – I know that my main issue with feeling that way is not having the physical connection, after all it’s been four months since we’ve seen each other but it always works out when we are together.

I look forward to attending MSU and starting my life in Michigan, as much as I look forward to having a more normal relationship with Alan without the distance. After all, nothing is perfect and every relationship has it’s up’s and downs but what is the point of being in a relationship in the first place if you aren’t willing to keep on going when things get tough. As long as I don’t feel taken advantage of and stepped all over, I will be fine and I don’t feel that way one bit…we just need to learn how to understand each other and come to agreements and I need to not take things so personally, which I admit I do a lot and admitting your faults is half the battle.

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