Gotta go back, back, back to school again.

Grad school started for me last Thursday. So far I have had one Econ class and one Career and Management Effectiveness class. So far everything is going well. Mondays are going to be really tough though...of course, they are already hard being right after the weekend, but now my Mondays will consist of getting up at 5:15, being at work from 7-4 and then class from 6:30-9:30 and getting home around 10- LONG DAY!!! At least half way through the semester, my Monday class changes to 6:30-7:30 which won't be quite so bad. This whole schedule is definitely going to take some getting used to though. Yesterday after work, I had to run some errands, then I went to watch my friend's softball game and later met my friend Jess at the gym (at 9:00pm). My time at the gym was spent well...Since I am still battling what seems like the never ending cough, I rode a bike for 50 minutes while reading a book for my Career class, I felt very productive. However, I didn't leave the gym until about 10:30, so by the time I got home, got ready for work and school today, I didn't get to bed until midnight! Needless to say, when my alarm went off at 5:15 this morning, I was less than thrilled...Who am I kidding? I wanted to through my alarm clock out the window.

Despite the schedule, I am actually really excited about my classes and the program. I have already been able to implement some of what I have learned to my job- I suggested an Effective Communications training course since work has been slow and the first training class was yesterday where I was able to provide feedback that I learned in class Monday night. I am looking forward to learning more that will be beneficial to iContact as well as myself as I proceed through the program.

More soon, I'm sure.

Check that off the list

Now that I finished summer school, I have a good six weeks to get things done...make some check marks on my ever-growing to do list. Last night I was able to check off passing calculus with a C or better... After checking My Pack Portal for the umpteenth time, I finally found out I managed to get a B+ which was very exciting.

Yesterday, I also got to finally go grocery shopping...It is really nice to finally have some food in my house. I also signed up for my new gym membership at Lifestyle Family Fitness, since I was recently kicked off reject island by Peak's recent closing. Now I just need to figure out how to get out of my personal trainer contract since it is now null and void, especially since my trainer has literally gone awal, I haven't heard from him in about 2 weeks. That should be a good time (getting out of my contract). Also after working out only twice at Lifestyle, I must say I am getting the better end of the deal, even with being uprooted from my gym. Lifestyle is awesome...all of the machines have their own tvs so that I don't get stuck watching the same boring thing as everyone else and all of the weight machines are in good shape and are not falling apart. I worked out for two hours last night with my friend who has been going there (and has been trying to convert me to a Lifestyle member for quite some time).

That's another thing, I started my new shift at work yesterday now that school has ended, and I feel as though I have literally gained 3 hours of my life back each day. It is so great to get out of work and have a good three hours to run errands, meet up with friends, get in a work out, cook an actual meal not not just a tv dinner, or just relax....The world is suddenly my oyster!

I still have a lot more items to check off my list in the weeks to come but I also have a couple of vacations planned to keep me sane before my three years of school take up my life.

School's Out For The Summer...

Today was my final day of Calculus class...All I have left is my final on Monday morning...I found out though that my professor is dropping our lowest test grade which wasn't too low to begin with so I should be sitting pretty right now as long as I don't screw up on the final which is 50% of my grade. Although, I don't see how I can possibly do poorly on my final when I have done well on my midterms and the professor has also said he intends to keep the final relatively simple compared to the other tests...

After class, one of my classmates and I went to the library to work on our last MAPLE assignment, and once again MAPLE's programming was as dependable as can be expected. We both came up with the same answer on one problem and it was correct for her and not for me and then another problem, I got right and she got wrong even though we had the same input....Gotta love screwy technology. Ah well, I still got an A on my homework.

So glad summer session is over and I have the rest of the summer to relax and get acclimated to my new work schedule before my MBA program starts mid August.

I like syrup, but I am sick of MAPLE

I only have two more weeks of Calculus and I am ready for it to be over. Today I had my midterm...It was on derivatives. I either did really well or absolutely terrible. I then tried to work on my homework assignment which is done on MAPLE, the online math homework submission program that NC State uses to torture math students. Every demand, parenthesis, + , -, x, /, etc. etc., etc. have to be added in a specific way (the way Maple wants it, not necessarily the way you would write it out) or the answer will not be right. Also, it tends to remember old answers so even resetting your answer does not always work. I finally got my assignment done with mere minutes to spare before starting work, when really all I want to do after this long and exhausting week is go home, get in my pjs and hibernate in my bed this weekend...No such luck, I have another busy weekend...Maybe someday I will be able to catch up on ZZzzzzzz's.

Groundhog Day

I feel like it is Groundhog day, or month rather. Today was my second day of my summer Calculus class in preparation for grad school starting in August. For the next five weeks, I have the pleasure ( and I say pleasure very sarcastically) of waking up by 5:30am to be to NC State for Calculus from 7:30am-9:40am, heading to Durham to work from 11-8 and then getting home at around 8:30 to eat dinner and go to sleep just to wake up and do the same thing again and again. On the plus side, after June 22nd, I will have a little break before my grad school classes start in August and I definitely plan to utilize that free time with trips to the beach and my trip to California to see my friend Erin...I cannot wait for Cali, it is definitely the light at the end of my very dark math tunnel. I also get to go to NY/CT and see my friends and family in June which I am looking forward to, especially since one cousin is now engaged and another is pregnant with twins! So I guess I will just tough it out...it will be worth it some day...in three years when I am done with my Masters...I HOPE!!!

(Calculus1)2+(5 weeks of 7:30-9:40am daily)2 ≠ Jessica 2

Don't get me wrong, I am extremely excited to be going to NC State for my MBA program...I just still don't understand why I need to suffer through Calculus first. I am almost done with Pre Calculus...May 8th is my last day/final exam not that I am counting the days or anything...11 more actual class periods! I then have to take Calculus I at NCSU as the only calc class offered at Wake Tech this summer is the 10 week summer session from 1-3:30 in the afternoon which I can't do because of work....Instead I get to take the 5 week summer session M-F 7:30-9:40am and then work from 11-8! I really hope getting my MBA is worth it in the end!

Have I mentioned how much I hate Calculus?!?!?!

Back from NY, back from my mini hiatus

I was in NYC last week for my first trade show, SES NY. It was a pretty busy three days of flying in, setting up the booth, and working the trade show. The trade show was different than I expected, partially because I was so used to home shows and ID trade shows where there are tactile examples of appliances, and materials (fabric, tiles, etc.) This was definitely different but very interesting. I am so glad I got to go and have the experience of being at a trade show. It was a refreshing change, but I could definitely get used to it.


I also got to go to some of my favorite places in NY like Famous Rays Pizza and H&M and I got to have dinner with my cousin one night at a really good Mexican restaurant I had never been to before called Dos Caminos on 51st and 3rd...Really good tacos. Tuesday night, I got to see my best friend Melissa, who I rarely get to see so I was excited about that too.

Another cool thing about going to NY last week was going to see the Late Show with Jimmy Fallon. It was really cool to see, especially since it is a new show, although I wish there were cooler guests than Regis Philmon, and Kat Van D (who I didn't know but is a tattoo artist on LA INK).

...Another cool show I just saw was Greg Behrendt at Goodnight's Comedy Club this past weekend...For those of you who do not know, Greg Behrendt is the author of "He's Just Not That Into You." (book/movie) and used to be a writer on Sex and The City and he also has his own show as well. I got a picture with him afterwards but I need to upload the picture later.