Ding, Ding, Ding, Ding!

Monday, June 26, 2006

Yeah! My grade for Chem Lab has finally been posted with my 4.0 still intact. So, that is great news.

Today, Zoey turned 3 1/2. I threw a "half birthday" party for her. She loved it (well, what child doesn't love being the center of attention)! People today asked me "why a half birthday". Well, 6 months from now is Christmas. It's pretty tough when Jesus's birthday overshadows your own every year.

In the Catch 22 (where no good does not happen without a bad), I went to the city council meeting tonight. 0I could not get in due to the room was already filled to capacity. However, I am trying to spin this as positive if we can go after the mayor for violating Missouri Sunshine Law.
posted by suzyjax on 6/26/2006 05:48:00 PM > 0 comments

Bad News that always accompanies Good News

Sunday, June 25, 2006

Some good news in the education sector lately. I did get an "A" in my Chemistry lecture class. Also, I received a letter saying I made the Dean's List last semester (well, not really much "news" in that but is a positive).

I am still waiting on my Chemistry lab grade. This is the one I am worried about. If I get an "A" it will be by the skin of my teeth. But, I won't turn it down because I would hate for this one little class to ruin my 4.0 GPA.

But, why is there always bad things that come with the good things? Is it that the fates think everything has to have some sort of balance? Is life a series of two steps forward and three steps back?

One bad thing is that I am going to need a new tire for my car. It has a slow leak and I've been putting it off by filling it with air every other day. I've never had any luck with asking if a tire can just be repaired. I am not sure if I am always being told the truth or seem like a sucker for a sale. Anyway, this is not an expense I was planning on at this time.

Another bad thing has more to do with not getting something I really wanted. That sounds like I am two years old, huh? But, there was something I wanted badly and through a misunderstanding (a small part) and my own stupid actions (a huge part), it will not be. It makes me sad, frustrated, and wanting to kick myself. I try to be a relatively happy person, so I don't like the sad part. But, the frustration and "kicking myself" might just be what I need to learn something from the whole scenario.
posted by suzyjax on 6/25/2006 10:24:00 AM > 0 comments

Springfield: As in Abraham Lincoln, not The Simpsons

Wednesday, June 21, 2006

Oh, I should be taking a trip to Springfield, Illinois in a few weeks. It's a history group thing and we are taking the train. I love Amtrak, but haven't taken the train since I lived in Jeff City. No--wait. I have done the Amtrak thing when in Philadelphia or Boston and want to get to NYC or DC quickly and without the total BS of a flight.

I would also like to take a fun weekend trip to Springfield at some point during a summer. They have a great waterpark there. The guy who owns the waterpark also owns a drive-in theatre. Unfortunately, all the drive-ins near me in St. Louis are long gone. A shame, since there used to be three near us in northwest county. I digress--the Springfield trip could be a fun activity. Now, I just have to find someone that thinks the same and would be willing to come along.
posted by suzyjax on 6/21/2006 01:55:00 PM > 0 comments

School's Out-again

Alas, my five-week Chemistry tour is over. Now, I can begin obsessing on my grade. Of course, that will only last until Monday at the most (when grades are due). Not having homework has left me with a very boring work day today. Only 3 people came in the library all day. Hard to stay awake at that pace.

Ahh, summer! What's a girl to do with herself? I have my summer reading list together and have started on two of the books. One is fun, comic novel. The other a more serious topic.
posted by suzyjax on 6/21/2006 01:48:00 PM > 0 comments

Eyes Wide Shut

Monday, June 19, 2006

For some reason, I am awfully tired this afternoon. I've been busy, busy, busy studying for my final tomorrow. That could be the cause for this exhaustion since I got plenty of sleep last night.

Although I am ready for this class to be over, I am so not ready for this final. Luckily, it has been rescheduled from 8:00 to 10:00 tomorrow.

Don't be jealous of my great life, but I will be spending my evening the library. I can't decide what branch though. The Indian Trails is on my way home and I can get there in a half hour. The HQ is just as close to my house, however its not easy to get to in rush hour traffic. And, I would probably get more studying done at HQ. Indian Trails always seems overrun by the teen scene. Hmmm...what to do? I think I will go to Indian Trails since it has less traffic overall. I usually run into someone I know at HQ which wouldn't facilitate studying.

Wish me luck on my final! Then watch out summer--here I come!
posted by suzyjax on 6/19/2006 02:37:00 PM > 0 comments

Rainy Days and Sundays Always Get Me Down

Sunday, June 18, 2006

That KLUNK you heard was my head hitting my desk. Oh man! There is nothing worse than a cloudy day on a Sunday at work. I am trying to work on cataloging, made me tired. Tried to work on some Chemistry homework, just about died.

So, play on the internet may keep me awake for a moment. The good news is that my work day is almost over. I think I will just go home and veg on the couch. (Not that it means turning down hundreds of exciting offers.)
posted by suzyjax on 6/18/2006 01:10:00 PM > 0 comments

Mondays

Monday, June 12, 2006

Today should be a boring Monday. My boss is taking the next few days off, I am caught up on any homework, and am ready for all my groups this week. I guess I could catalog some books that were just donated. That will even give my patient-worker something to do.

Even though I obsessed on my Chemistry exam grade this weekend, it was never posted. However, Dr. Bookstaver posted our grades this morning. Another 100! Yippee. I would like to say that I am so smart, or that I studied really hard. It is more that this was our test over Stochiometry. It is really just word problems in a scientific setting. And, the geek that I am, loves Algebra and especially word problems. Can you get vanity license plates that say "X="? I was thinking that or "SUDOKU" which is the perfect 6-letter length of Missouri license plates.
posted by suzyjax on 6/12/2006 06:07:00 AM > 0 comments

Chemistry and Obsessive Behavior

Sunday, June 11, 2006

You would think that this 5-week Chemistry class would take 100% of any free time I might have. However, I am totally caught up on the homework in both lab and lecture. This leaves me to obsess about the grade on the test we had on Thursday.
I only checked every 2-3 hours to see if grades had been posted online during my day on Friday. I managed to leave it completely alone yesterday. Today, I am upping my checks to every hour or so. I am not sure why I am obsessing on it. Maybe it's a boring, rainy Sunday. Maybe it's because I cannot put that energy into actual homework for the class. I could be working on planning that trip to Springfield. But, that so NOT exciting that I don't want to and you can't make me (channeling my inner three year old)!
Good News: Only 3 more classes. And one of those is our final exam. So, really only two. It's obsess now, for tomorrow the grades are final and on your permanent transcript.
posted by suzyjax on 6/11/2006 09:09:00 AM > 0 comments

Things are going relatively well

Thursday, June 08, 2006

I almost hate to write about it, as I might jinx my latest good fortune. I might just have to hug the letter carrier if he continues to bring me good news. Or maybe it will be the Publishers Clearinghouse Prize Patrol that will be next. (One can dream.)

In the middle of this Chemistry-is-kicking-my-butt class, I have been stressing over paying for the Fall semester. Money is tight so it would be hard to find the extra cash for school. Well, problem solved. Tuesday, I get notice about two scholarships I have won. Then, on Wednesday I get check for another scholarship I have received. Whew! Now, I can go back to stressing about other things.

Chemistry grade is improving. My lab grade is at the high B/low A range. My last two experiments haven't been great, so there is no way to get A's on those assignments. Good news on the lecture side, though. I receive a 100 on the first test. Today, we took Exam#2 and I think I did well. Maybe not a 100, but definitely an A.

Also on Tuesday, I received something else that was wonderful in the mail. Jury duty notice!!! I've always wanted to be on a jury, and I am finally getting my chance. I was just praying that the date would be after my class is over. And it is! So, in July I will be off to Clayton with a bag of puzzles and books to kill the time.

Now, if I can just find my cell phone this week it will be near perfect. On a related note, I did find my old Verizon phone (which when I lost was the reason for me to get a new phone and switch to T-Mobil). Oh, me and my lost cell phones.
posted by suzyjax on 6/08/2006 07:41:00 AM > 0 comments

Naming Names

Friday, June 02, 2006

Someone gave me an interesting tidbit to check out. However, to do real research to confirm I need a name. I have lots of details so can probably work backwards. But, then again, I wouldn't have verification from the front. And, Lord knows, I check and recheck my sources (the rule of thumb for any researcher/reference librarian).

So, if that same person can e-mail me further details, I have setup an e-mail account for this and any other Overland related inquiries.

suzanne@jacksonforoverland.com

I set that domain up when I was pondering a run for city council. I am not sure if I will use it for anything else again.

Now, back to finding a lawyer who will handle our Sunshine Law case against the Mayor.
posted by suzyjax on 6/02/2006 12:10:00 PM > 0 comments

Chemistry: 4 Credit Hours in 5 Weeks

My 5-week class reached the midway point yesterday. We have already taken one test. I got a 100!!! Yeah!
Unfortunately, I am getting a high C / low B in the lab. Might have to take the lab portion over again in the Fall if it ruins my 4.0.

I forgot how much I like Chemistry until taking this class. It's like science with a bunch of math. Not being a science girl--but lovin' the math--this is right up my alley to fill that science lecture/lab credit I was still needing.

I am not sure what goes wrong in lab. Yesterday, we had this pretty straight forward experiment. We did it twice. Both times our numbers were way off. However, on the more complicated experiment, our numbers were perfect. My lab partner is a Science major, so it's not like he doesn't know what he is doing. Everyone else in the class had similar whacky numbers.

My theory: The humidity in the room through off the experiment. Dr. Bookstaver thought we hadn't cooked out the water enough in our crucibles. However, we overcooked and had to let it sit and cool. While cooling, moisture in the air could have contaminated. In addition, the second experiment required sulfur. The sulfur was clumping in the jars we were taking it from. If that doesn't say "high humidity classroom", I am not sure what does.

I got to pull this grade up. Aargh.
posted by suzyjax on 6/02/2006 05:00:00 AM > 0 comments

My Blog

Someone wanted to contact me and they posted a comment to my blog. This works very well, as this blog is setup to e-mail notify me whenever there is a comment posted (along with the comment). As requested by the commentor, I deleted (and deleted forever) this persons comment.

I guess I could put an e-mail link on here. I just am concerned that web crawlers will pick it up and then I am Lady Spam-A-Lot. I'll have to check into that. Maybe just create an e-mail for that.
posted by suzyjax on 6/02/2006 04:58:00 AM > 0 comments

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