It's Friday morning.
I didn't blog yesterday because it was kind of a boring day. I was up most of the night, so then slept most of the morning. I got up, had a shower and some lunch, and then it was basically time to start dinner. I made vegetarian meatball sandwiches, salads, and steamed broccoli.
After dinner, Dave and I ran some errands. He needed to get a haircut for an upcoming business trip so we went together to do that that. Then we stopped at Sonic for giant, icy, fizzy drinks. Then we went to Target and spent way too much money on some stuff we needed (cat food) and a lot of stuff we didn't really need (a new tote for me, an over-the-door drying rack) and so on. I also got a new pair of jeans because I've sized out of my largest sizes and have just about worn out the two pairs I have in smaller sizes. (I need to do a wardrobe overhaul and get rid of some older, worn-out, ill-fitting stuff, but I hate to even think of tackling the closet!)
When we got home, it was already Roomba o'clock and Dave practiced his clarinet, too.
I was asleep early-ish, but up again around 1:30 a.m.
That brings us to this morning.
I just sent off an email to my future A&P lecturer, asking if I can substitute an earlier edition of the text--a 9th edition versus a 10th edition--for the one that is currently required. That little switch would save me about $200, believe it or not. The new text prices are outrageous. If I absolutely must have the 10th edition it will set me back about $320, which is more than the tuition for the class.
When the revolution comes, textbook publishers will be the first against the wall. Bankers next. Then politicians. Then I'll play it by ear.
In a little while, I'm going with Kelly to check out the new labs at CNM. They've just completed construction on the labs and she says they're quite impressive. I hope so. The old labs weren't terrible, but they were certainly dated. After a certain point, it becomes a safety hazard to work in an out-dated lab. I remember one lab I took the first time around where we couldn't do anything in the hoods because the hoods vented into the room!
(You may not know what a lab hood is. In case not, it's a fume hood that you can work under when working with dangerous or volatile chemicals or with, say, bacterial or viral cultures that you don't want escaping. They filter the air and then vent out somewhere. Or ideally that's what happens.)
Later...
So I just got back from a whirlwind tour of the new lab building and the new-old bio faculty offices, where I got to say hello to Shawn, who was my second bio instructor--Kelly was my first. Kelly and Shawn are pretty much the reason I ended up with B.S. in biology, especially since I failed biology in high school--actually got an F at one of the 9-week marks. (Luckily I brought my grade up enough by the end of the year to pass!)
After saying hello, Kelly had to run off and I went over to the student services center to get a student ID with the crappiest picture ever. Didn't help that I was--am!--having an allergic reaction to something I ate so my face was all red and puffy. (I took some benadryl when I got home, but it hasn't taken effect yet.)
I think I'm going to lie down and wait for the benadryl to kick in. I have lots to do around the casita, but I don't feel like doing any of it while I'm still all itchy.
This evening should be fun though: We are going out to dinner with Chris and LuAnn to the Brazilian meat fest restaurant.
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4 comments:
Congrats on sizing out of your clothes! I have been working on boxing up some of my too big clothes...I got the ones done that are outside my closet...I am a bit scared to open my closet and see what is inside and needs to go!
I remember how outrageous some of the textbook prices were when I went to uni. I took an entomology class (science for non-science people class) and it was over a hundred dollars, and we only needed to use 10 chapters of it. I wasn't happy. (That was 25 years ago...so allow for inflation!)
I hope your Brazilian meat fest was fun!
Aw thanks, Helen! It's hard to let go of clothes. And I'm sure it's harder in Japan because when you're not Japanese-sized, good looking, well-fitting clothes are harder to come by. I was my smallest ever when I lived in Japan and I still had a hard time finding clothes, even in Tokyo!
I think I was pretty P.O.'d when I had to pay over $100 for a textbook back in the day. But now, paying over $100 for a paperback text is the norm--and hardback texts go for $300-$500 or more. It's gotten so bad that schools are renting textbooks to students for $100-$200 per text per semester! Another way they get you is by saying that you need a "unique code" (one to a customer) to take any online quizzes or tests for the class. And of course that code only comes with a new text. Used texts are a thing of the past.
What a racket!!
The cost of textbooks is ridiculous - someone tried to explain to me why at some point but I have forgotten.
Back in the 80s when I was in college, I also worked at Kinko's and back then, given that a lot were located near colleges and universities, there was some agreement where Kinko's would copy portions of textbooks and were allowed to sell them to the students.
I would also get to the public libraries as soon as I got my syllabus and take out textbooks if they were available - I would renew them once (I think that one was only allowed to renew a book one time?) and then I only had a few weeks left in the quarter (not semesters, quarters then) - I would pay my late fee which was like a buck. Many of those text books were old editions, but I didn't care. I had got the PELL grant and even though there was money for books in that grant, I used the money to pay rent, travel to NYC, and drink beer. :)
Hi, Carol!
Ah, the 80s! Remember when a PELL grant would pay for tuituion, beer, *and* travel? Those were the days! :D
One of the young men I used to work with a couple of years ago was getting the same degree I got and he was working 2 jobs and living at home while going to school and he still went into debt to the tune of a few tens of thousands of dollars. Books have increased 350-500% in the last fifteen years--and don't get me started on tuition! I paid $19 (community college)-$110 (uni) per credit hr, but he's paying $350/credit hr! I feel sorry for the students today. (Which suddenly includes me!! Sob!)
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