http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/03/10/biking.google.maps/index.html?hpt=C2

This week REI Outlet had their 20% off the lowest sale price sale so I picked up a new sleeping bag with a 15 degree rating (woohoo warmth!) and since it’s from REI I will be able to return it if I end up freezing again or totally hate the bag (gotta love their guarantee!)…

So, Monday I listed my other sleeping bag, and I just sold it!!! Woo-hoo, took a $25 loss but I did get a weekend’s worth of use out of it.

Anywho, the sale got me thinking, how much have we sold on Craigslist? A lot! At least $1500 worth over the past couple of years, probably even more than that. So, if you’ve never given it a try, do it! You can score some sweet cash for pretty easy by selling your unwanted items.

Today’s sale turned out to be pretty ironic too, the guy worked in the same office complex as me! No joke, 3 doors down, how crazy is that??? Sure made the transaction a whole lot more convenient for both of us!

Happy selling!

Over the past 3 days I’ve been working on the first packet, which I’ve done pretty decent on, it’s all pre-algebra stuff. Today I got into the algebraic problems and I don’t understand ANY of it!!! This is so discouraging… I even went online to work on their problems they have posted as well. Yup, it’s all Greek. Horrible, horrible, horrible.

This leads me to the conclusion that I will need to do the summer math class, which makes me so sad. It’s a $660 course and takes 3-nights a week for 7 weeks.

But, on the up side, I will actually learn the math! I’m sure it will be helpful in my Intro to Statistics math course I have to take for college credit and it will help in the pursuit of my bachelors as well. So I guess I will just suck it up and take the class.

So, once I pass the pre-college math class I will only have 6 classes left to take next school year for my Associate of Arts w/emphasis on Psychology:
Social Psychology
Intro to Statistics
Intro to Literature
The Research Paper
Natural Geology
Creative Writing

It matched me up with the following 3 careers in this order:
1. Post Secondary Education
2. Elementary and Secondary Education
3. Clergy

I love, love, love Inver Hills. I love the learning environment, the teachers, the campus, the people. It’s been a huge learning experience just attending school there. Because of that I, very seriously, have been thinking about making my way towards a teaching position at a Community College. I was quite surprised when that’s what my number one match was.

I’ve also met a huge amount of teachers through church this past year. In the 9 months of going to River Valley I’ve met 5 teachers (all around my age too)- 2 high school/middle school and 3 elementary. This has really got me considering an elementary teaching career as well. I had never considered one before because of the $ (which the advice in the previous post really helped me to see it should never be all about $), but I’m beginning to think the trade off for career happiness and the knowledge that I’m contributing to the world through my work with young people would probably give me a level of satisfaction that no amount of $ could ever give me.

So many things to think about and consider. I’ve been praying a lot lately about what God wants me to be and do with my life. I know that if I go where he’s leading me there’s no way I could be unhappy.

Here is some of the feedback:
-To help make your decision it might be helpful to look at job options for people with a degree in the options you are considering. Good luck!
-Try to find something you love, but don’t be afraid to take some risks. And if you give something a shot and realize it’s not for you after all, don’t be afraid to try a different direction.
-don’t major in something just because you feel like you have to. And take classes in a random area you’d never considered before (photography, art, theater, math, whatever!). I think it is rare once you’re out of school to have the chance, time, energy, and money to just tackle something totally new like that.
-Don’t rush into anything just to make a decision. I stuggle almost daily wondering if I made the right decision, wondering if I should have gone a different path etc., and I feel a lot of unnecessary pressure to make “the right decision.” Granted a lot of this pressure is self-inficted, but it is a big decision to make, so I guess what I’m trying to say don’t stress to much about not knowing yet.
-ditto pp, check out any jobs you might be interested in and see what kind of availability there is for new grads.
-Do not be afraid to try other classes and go off the path if needed. I always wanted to take an accounting class but it didn’t fit in with my program.
- work at a community college, so I will definitely advise you to… use the resources available to you – talk to career counselors at your college!
-Don’t stress out about needing to have a major right away. Take classes in the fields you are interested in and eventually it will come to you. Also, don’t worry about graduating in a certain time frame. Those were my two biggest stressors when I was in college and looking back, I realize how dumb they are.
-Don’t set limits on yourself based on your degree.
-Do what you love not what will make the most money, eventually you will figure out what is the best fit for you
-Figure out what you want to do before settling on a degree.
-What makes you happy? What is the one thing that you enjoy about your day and look forward to doing? Seek that out.
-I think you have an advantage because you have been working for awhile and just have more life experience to decide. When I was in college I thought I wanted to work in the big corporate marketing world… well I did for 5 years and now I know it is definitely not for me!! If possible, you might want to shadow someone in a career you are thinking about and just talk to people. Good luck!
-Pick a degree program that has skills that can be transferrable to other fields. Give yourself some room to grow and don’t box yourself in.
-talk to people already in the field that you’re interested in.
-My advice would be to be passionate about what you study!
-I think if you pursue your passions and find a way to make it work into a paying job you can do anything. You just have to be smart about the way you do it.
-I’d say pick a major you enjoy, but be practical.
-The majority of people I know who have a 2 or 4 year degree do not work in the area of their major. If you don’t know what you want to be when you grow up, pick something you’re interested in that isn’t too random and get a wide variety of generals in.
-Everyone seems to say, “follow your heart and do what you love” BUT, here is my advice… Choose a degree that has a direct career path. I have friends with degrees in theater, history, etc. and they just aren’t very employable degrees, especially in this market. Don’t pick a degree simply because it will make you a lot of money – you have to be satisfied with what you do with your life. BUT, income after college should definitely be a component in your degree selection.
-You can go several different directions with any degree. I would advise you to think hard about what kind of career you want. I didn’t do that after college because I just wanted a full-time job. Now I’m stuck in a profession I’m not happy in and trying to get into something different.
-Make sure it’s something you’re passionate about and not for the $$, take jobs that you feel would be interesting to find what you love and grow from there.
-No matter what you select, it’s okay to not like every single class. For example, I hate Organic Chemistry with a passion not seen in most humans. It makes my blood boil and my head hurt, but it wasn’t the end of the world. I took the class, got through it with Bs and moved on. So, don’t be deterred by an errant class or two that don’t fit your style!

If you have any advice for me please feel free to pass it on in our comments section.

Saturday:
9am-12pm- Workout and watch Psycho again and study for film class
1pm-4pm- Last day of film class
6pm- Church
8pm- Bowling with Church Lifegroup

Sunday-
11am-4pm- Polly and I are doing lunch then seeing Macbeth at the Guthrie (she has to see if for one of her classes- not that I’m not looking forward to it!)
5:30pm- Dinner with Nathan’s rents for his dad’s birthday.

Wow, now that I type it out I’m seeing I’m even busier than I thought!!! Crazy weekend fun here I come!!!

But you know what?

None of that is true. The only one expecting anything is myself. And the only person I would fail by not writing it is myself. So I am going to write a novel. I’m not sure how long it will take or when I will start. The past few weeks I have been pondering ideas and thinking things out. Once that idea hits I’m sure the words will flow.

I also am going to take a Creative Writing class next semester to really help my writing technique and creativity!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/feb/26/toilet-roll-america

Yesterday when I left for class I told him to email me some recipes/ingredient lists of what he wanted me to make for dinner and I’d pick the stuff up on the way home. So heading to the grocery store after class I realized how much food we were going to be making.

I texted Kevin before church and talked to Polly at church (she forgot her phone at home) and we had a very impromptu Mexican party starting at 8pm last night- sombrero included! We made margaritas (NUMMY!!! Don’t use Master of Mixes though Use Jose Cuervo’s mix, we had one bottle of each and strawberry M.O.M. SUCKED!), tamales (corn husk and everything!), chili rellenos, mexican rice, beans, and even Flan for dessert!!!

The food was delicious, the company fantastic, and the Margaritas effective

You have my heart
It’s forever yours
From the very start
You’ve always meant more

You fill me with your laughter
Your sunshine and your face
You keep away the demons
My sadness you erase

Adventure, laughter, love
That’s what our life is now
Forever we’ll stand together
We’ll never break that vow