Birthdays

Friday, one of my sisters turned 21. Today, one of my brothers turned 16. I had a ton of fun celebrating with both of them all weekend, but I also felt sad that they were growing up so fast. I can't even imagine how parents must feel when their kids get to certain ages, especially when they are milestone ages. I am the oldest of 7, and have always been the second parent, and the babysitter, and (of course) the big sister, so another influence on them all. Because of that, I permanently see them as my "little" brother or sister. For them to be at those ages is just bazaar. I miss them all being so young. I'm sure my parents say that about them, and me too. I think it's because I don't see myself as ever being a parent, so I always just expect the younger siblings to stay little. I shouldn't feel too strange about it though, because I am an aunt now, and will be many more times, I'm sure. One good thing about having three brothers and three sisters is that there is bound to be a lot of nieces and nephews. I already have two of each. So it will be nice getting to see the milestones all over again, whether I am a parent or not.

Know Your Audience

I can honestly say that I enjoy taking online classes, but that the discussion posts and responses has always been my least favorite part of taking online classes. That being said, I thoroughly enjoyed this last discussion on knowing your audience; that was the first time I had ever seen that many participants and responses on a discussion board for one topic. I loved answering all of the questions and seeing what everyone answered on mine. As far as asking the questions goes, I figured there would be some serious ones and some not so serious, so I was not surprised to see the variety. I was surprised though at some of the answers. I think that a lot of times people try to answer differently than their peers, for fear of getting less of a grade or maybe something else, but a lot of people stated that would have to agree with so and so. I liked that, because they weren't afraid to agree, and sometimes the things they were agreeing with were understandable statements. I don't think that these questions will change my style of writing, because as I have said before, I anticipated the differences. Had this been a specialized class or something, where everyone would have put similar questions or answers, I may have rethought how to write towards them as my audience. But since there is so much diversity, it allows me to write in different ways (if I could) or stay the same, which I probably will.  

NCNS

It is so frustrating having to do someone else's job because they didn't feel like showing up for work; and then having to listen to them make demands on what hours they want to work in the future. No. I am the manager, you wrote on your application that you could work any hours, any day. If I need the extra help and you can't come in on your day off or stay late, etch, that's fine, because it wasn't your scheduled shift. But do not constantly change your availability because you don't feel like working. If the schedule is already made, deal with it. I have no problem making changes every now and then if something comes up in your life that you didn't know about or forgot about, I'm not that difficult, but don't expect it all of the time, especially if you take advantage of the opportunities. You don't realize that when you call in, or just don't show up at all, without a phone call, like you did today, I'm the one that works those extra hours. Me or the assistant manager. I don't get overtime pay like you do. Neither does he. We work all of those extra hours to appease you and the rest of the staff, as well as to better serve the store. Do not take advantage of managers. Eventually we will decide that dealing with an unreliable and rude employee such as yourself is just not worth it. We will interview and hire someone to replace you. So please, next time, just come in, or at the very least, just leave a message as to why you can't be at work. Bring a doctors note... something. It's the very least you can do. Or even a thank you for covering your shift (multiple times) when you know I could be at home doing my class work or enjoying my day off too.



Fluency Journal/Blog Entry 2- 5/27/14

Online Classes

Online classes are much more time consuming than I thought they would be. I decided to take my classes online for the summer and for my last semester at OTC, which is in the fall, so that I could take the promotion offered to me at work. When asking other people who had taken online classes in the past about them, I was told that it was great when you have a busy schedule. It sounds good in theory, but I see now that it's not very good for me. I feel like I learn better in a sit- in environment. With online classes, it's easy to read the assignment, do it, and then forget what you have just learned. I have to really concentrate on what I am seeing. I can manage that though. The biggest problem I have noticed is the amount of busy work in online classes. Luckily, English classes are primarily essays, which I would rather do. Some of my other classes are just a bunch of multiple choice assignments though. That is where I get into the "look up the question in the textbook and move on" mindset. I get the good grade, but I don't necessarily learn anything. So then I have to go back and reread chapters so that I do well on exams. Sometimes there are so many of these quizzes and essays that overlap on due dates that I miss something. Since online classes are supposed to allow more freedom for the student, it is rare for a professor to take late work. I understand why they don't, but sometimes I wish they would, especially if the student is trying to keep a good grade. But I guess the professor can't always see that since it is online. I do enjoy that fact that I can do the work at any time of the day though. Hopefully the more online classes I take, the better I will be at navigating them.


Fluency Journal/Blog: Entry One- 6/26/13

This I believe

- I believe I am a kind person.
-I believe I can do well in my life.
- I believe Jackson and I will last longer than I could have ever expected.
-I believe I try to be a good student.
- I believe I am not very good at being an online student.
-I believe I pay more attention to being a manager than a student.
-I believe that I try too hard to please my family.
-I believe that my vacation to Jersey this summer will be amazing and much needed.
-I believe I can do better at managing my time to do homework and work.
-I believe books are better than movies.
-I believe traveling is a wonderful way to get "cultured".
-I believe everyone should have an open mind.
-I believe everyone should have the right to marry whom they choose.
-I believe cats are better than dogs! (I do love my dog, though)
-I believe Sonic's nerd slushy drinks are the best beverage of the summer.
-I believe hiking is a great way to get away from stress.
- I believe that everyone is capable of working out, they just make excuses to stay unhealthy.
-I believe thinking of these statements when "put on the spot", so to speak, is harder than I expected it to be.
-I believe in community enrichment and support.
-I believe choices are what get you to a certain point in your life, not fate.
-I believe putting yourself first sometimes will make you a happier person.
-I believe that orchestral instruments in rock music sound wonderful.
- I believe my ten minutes is up! Now on to the freewriting for ten minutes.

Statements done from 7:07 pm to 7:17 pm

Freewriting: I believe I pay more attention to being a manager than a student.

This is ironic. I love going to school and I love learning. I always said that school was one of the most important things to me in my life. Certainly more important than working. I moved out young and relied to heavily on a manager's paycheck though, so now I am tied to the job. Sure, I can cut more bills, but if I do that then I am stuck living in a neighborhood that looks crummy and could be dangerous. I am not brave in those situations, plus I don't think. I could handle some of the filth that comes with cheaper housing. I need to step down though. I work so many hours, and sometimes I don't get to my homework. This should never be a problem for me since I always said school was more important. What happened??? I hate working this much, though I do have an awesome work ethic; that is something I pride myself on. I just wish that carried over to homework. I always enjoy the lesson plans and readings, but when it comes down to actually doing the assignments, I get so tired and decide to finish laundry and go to bed. I can do it later, but then it's too late. It's so frustrating because I know my professors think I'm mediocre or average, maybe even below average. I used to do so well in school. High school was amazing in regards to my grades. And other things. I miss high school. I miss my old friends and all of the clubs and organizations I was involved in. That's another reason I don't like working so many hours. Fifty plus hours a week on top of classes does not leave room for any type of socialization or volunteering. If only I got paid to read books. I could do that job. The library requires a degree though... which I'm obviously still working on. Catch 22 here. Thank goodness for Jackson. He is a huge stress reliever. He always keeps me motivated and on track. I seriously don't know how I would stay sane without him. This feels like a journal entry. A really badly thought out entry with no filter. I really hope this blog stays private... I have never blogged before though, so I have no idea what it all consists of or how to make it private. Oh well, I suppose I'll find out soon enough. Two more minutes. I really have written a lot more than I thought I would. Getting back on topic, I really wish more jobs worked around school, or paid more so that I wouldn't have to rely on manager's pay or working two jobs to live on my own. Hopefully someday soon Jackson and I can make plans to move in together, that way we can split all of the bills and neither of us will have to work as much. It has come up in discussion before, hopefully it becomes a more serious discussion soon. I could use the assistance and we would have so much fun together. And like I said, he's a good motivator to do well. Over my ten minutes now.