Today’s Topic of Discussion—Day 1 and Introduction

i wanted to do a 30 day challenge but could not find one that I liked so I decided to make my own list of topics and questions. As I searched the internet of list I took questions from different list and then expanded on them and added to them as I came up with my own questions. before I knew it I was up to over 60 topics and questions. As I thought about it challenges are great and fun at times but then you finish and fall back into your habits. If you are like me, I use them when I am in a rut or unmotivated to write. So I decided to keep adding to my list and skip the 30 or 60 day challenge and do a topic of discussion on Monday’s, Wednesday’s and Friday’s.

I will post a random topic or question for the day and give my take on it, then open up the floor for you all to weigh in on it. You can leave your answers in comments or make your own post and link it back to here.

Enough for the introduction lets get started with our first question/topic for the year.

Lets start with something lite and simple a get to know you kind of thing.

What do you collect?

I collect a few things, my main things are books and coins. My biggest collection so far is books. I have about 8 shelves full of books and books just randomly here and there and in boxes tucked places. I haven’t read near enough of them but one day I will. I use to read all the time before I had kids and when they were smaller and I wasn’t working had more time at home. One day I will have time to read again. Some I don’t know if I will ever read I just collect them because of the type they are or what they are. I collect biographies, auto biography’s, true crime all different ones.

My other collection is coins I use to collect all the time with my dad and even though I stopped he kept on. He left them to me when he passed. I don’t buy any or go out looking for them but I do collect change when I find old change. I collect anything from the 80’s and older. I toss it all in a jar one day I will go through it and see what I have. I have seen some things from the 40’s in there more than I would of though. I don’t know that they would be worth anything or not. I just haven’t had time to mess with it past from just dropping it in a jar.

So there you go topic of discussion Day one. So what do you collect?

Getting Ready

I am getting ready for my first day of class in over 18 years and after figuring that out just now I feel really old and like I have wasted so much of my life. My mind is going to a 100 different places right now instead of this post. Ism’t amazing how fast the mind goes through everything and brings things up from so long ago in a split second. Anyway that is another post on to what this is supposed to be about.

 

I woke up to a mini freak out because my clock had not went off. While I did wake up 45 minutes late it all turned out okay. When I wake up I call the older kids and get them up to come get the dogs and take them outside. They sleep in my room because the pup (2 yo) as soon as she walks out of the room or her crate she has to go to the bathroom. If you are not right there putting her on the leash and taking her she will pee in the floor. So they come get her walk with her through the house get her leash and take her out. She is a good dog but there is just something in her mind that as soon as she gets up she has to go and it is like she can’t hold it.

I called the kids this morning in a panic because it seemed so late, I wanted them to get the dogs so I could get up and get everything going and everyone ready. My oldest My Big Girl came right in.

She said the clothes are in the drier, lunches are made, I just woke Noah up and we are eating. She said I woke up at 7:10 and got everything ready.

I ask her why she didn’t wake me up because it was then 7:45. She said no one could get dressed or do anything to get ready until the clothes dried so I didn’t figure there was a reason I had the rest of the stuff done. I knew Little Guy would want to eat so I got him up when I got ready to eat and we are having breakfast. She said the clothes should be done in just a little bit if they aren’t all ready, I am going to check them and get everyone up after we eat.

I just said ok and snuggled back in my bed for a little bit relaxed knowing we weren’t late and got ready to start my day on a calmer note and got a few minutes more sleep. I got up got dressed took them to school and was home by 9. I have put dinner in the crock pot, made a pot of coffee, heated and ate my spaghetti and am sitting here drinking my coffee and doing this.

It hit me last night that I wasn’t even ready for class I need a pad of paper and pen and my parking permit. I can’t find the printer paper I have no clue what happen to it in all the moving of stuff. I need to print the permit out and I need paper to take notes. Everything is in such a mess from going through everything I am not sure where to look for any of it. What I know where it is I can’t get to. I am going to have to get off here and get to the school early hope that I can use part of my book voucher money for a few things at the bookstore. I hate it because its way over priced but this morning I am not caring to much as I have no money or time to be running all over town to get it when it is 10:11 and class starts at 11:50 I am not even sure what room I have to look that up too. I just know it is building 5.

I will be back and let you know how it goes. Wish me luck I am going to need all I can get right now.

College Ripoff

I went and signed up for my classes yesterday only to see that sometime after that they cancelled one that I really needed. I didn’t do good last semester out of my 5 classes so I am on warning, I had to talk to an adviser and he signed me up for them. That one class means the difference of taking classes next term or not because I have to have it before I can take most of my next classes. I was taking it at the school in a class vs on line this time. Well now I have to take it on line because it was only offered one on line and one at the school. Now I have to take it with the same teacher I had last time and I am not happy about that because I do not like the way she did things and the fact she used a different book than she told us to get and you could never keep up or just winged most things. I also gave her a bad review when we had to fill them out at the end of the class because I was not happy with her lac of help with things when there was questions about where to find the work in the book because we all had different books.

But anyway that isn’t the biggest problem. The biggest problem I have is with the price of these books we have to get for each class. The first book I ever bought was $300 and something for one book that I hardly ever used. I then found a book place off campus but still end up paying around $300 to $400 to rent my books each term.

Yesterday I went in to the school store because they say they price match. I asked how much it would be for the 4 books I needed. I just wanted to rent used no big deal. The guy looks comes back and told me $418. Needless to say I did not get them there. I just wanted an idea before I went to my place to get them. I then went to my place to get them and they came to $290 something. $10 is because I deferred payment.

My friend has told me she got them on amazon really cheap. I figured she just had cheaper books or whatever I would have to have the money upfront and I never did. Well last night the kids talked me into giving them cash for all their amazon gift cards they have laying around here. I put them all in and there was over $200 in gift cards. I bought toilet paper because we are going to be out here soon and I do not have enough to buy any and I found some good priced decent mattress bags for our little problem we are fighting. I ordered 5 bags and the toilet paper came to just over $100, I didn’t think that was bad for a king, full and three twin and 27 rolls of tp.  That will last us months.

Back to my point. When I was looking at things on my account with amazon and placing my order I seen the book rental thing. I wasn’t able to look at it last night because I was falling a sleep while sitting at my computer trying to type. I just now got on there looked up all my books and they come to $142 to rent all 4. Now that is a pretty decent price for 4 books. That is around $35 a book with free shipping each way. Great price really. The book place I go to wanted twice the price of the book and the school store wanted 3 times that price. If they can sell it at a decent price and ship it two ways then why can’t these stores sell them for a decent price when we are walking in and picking them up no shipping either way? I would still be willing to pay the $35 a book even though they are not paying shipping because I know they have overhead and things and really $35 is a lot for a book but at the same time it isn’t.

I just don’t understand why the schools and these places have to charge so much for things and rip people off because that is just what they are doing. It isn’t even like oh the students live on campus they are charging them or something. No one lives on campus and there are a bunch of stores around to buy stuff at without paying an arm and leg. But the book store at the school charges like it is a little store or gas station and they are the only place around for 100 miles to get anything. I do not know how they stay in business other than they are in the college their-self and they just keep them there.

I am going to ask the other stores if they can price match it if not I am just going to order off line. Well a couple of them any way. the ones I can. I can’t order all of them off line because I am $53 short of ordering all of them off line. I will just get what is cheapest off amazon and then get what is cheapest at the book store. Hopefully they will price match and I won’t have to worry about it. Just going to aid to get them to put my book voucher on so I can buy them.

Campus Book-Store

I was finally able to go to the college book store and pick up my books for class today. I had all 4 kids with me but wasn’t worried, figured it would be pretty empty the time we went and we would be in and out.

I took the page of the syllabus with me to show what three books I needed so there were no mistakes. The lady came over went got all three books and said to get in line to pay for them. I checked to make sure the one had some code I needed and all that. We finally get up to the counter to pay, He scans the two books for my comp 1 class no problem. Then he scans my book for Personal Finances and it wouldn’t scan. He goes back looks at something the women looks something up on the computer he finally just puts it in. Then he put in my book voucher and says that I owe $162. I just looked at him stunned for a minute.

I said how much was the finance book?

He said oh it was $316.

I don’t know the look on my face must have said it all, because he said I can give you these two and you can go back to aid and tell them you need more money to cover books. Then he told me to go on line to their store look up the books I need and print something showing how much they all are or they wouldn’t help me.

Here I am at the campus that is 2 minutes from my house because I figured I’m just getting my books they should be able to at least do that for me. Now I have to go deal with aid and from dealing with aid and other offices on this campus more than a few times before I know it is a long wait and the people are not very friendly nor helpful. Bounce I still have all 4 kids to take with me. They are going to be even less friendly or helpful at the site of that I figure.

I went home to look up the books on their site and print them up. I called on the way home and the lady informed me I had to do it today because Tuesday was the last day to use our book vouchers and it takes them 24 hours to get the money moved around so I probably wouldn’t get it if I waited. I called my friend to see if she could watch the kids for a hour why I ran up there and took care of it. I text her and sent her a message on facebook since she was showing on line. I got no response. Really not surprised to be honest. Anyway I decided to just drive the 2 minutes across the street and try my luck at the campus right here by me and to take all 4 kids with me.

I was happy to find there was no one there to do anything but one other guy who walked in with us and he was going to a different office on that floor. I signed in and was taken back in about 5 minutes or less. I told the guy my problem and showed him the paper where I printed off showing what the book I needed cost and how much one I just bought was. I couldn’t find the second one I bought so I just took the paperwork showing I had just bought it and how much it was in. He said oh ok there it’s done I moved $300 something over to your voucher you can go get it tomorrow. I about fell over because I have never had anything done that quick and easy on this campus. He said he moved to much over he didn’t notice I had $173 still left on it there was $10 extra or something. Then he said he fixed it. I don’t know I just hope it is all right and I can get my book. He said there still should be $490 on my voucher. If so that will be good then I can pick up a few things I need why I am there so that I don’t have to take money out of my pocket to get them right now. I don’t really need much I don’t think some highlighters and folders or binders maybe that’s about it.

I really hope I am able to get them I have papers due Sunday, Monday and I think Tuesday. Plus my discussion boards Wednesday. I just can’t believe one book cost so much. My classes cost $804 then I need $500 worth of books to take the class. That is outrages, They are making some money that is for sure. I didn’t have a choice really this time around since I started out a day behind since I couldn’t sign up until the first day of classes. I have been asking around and going to start looking a head of time to try and get them as cheap as possible in the future. Man figure 8 years at 8 classes a year that is 64 books I am going to need. That is if I only need one book per a class. Like today I needed two for one class. By the time I am done I will have as much spent on books or more than what it cost to take the classes. Just seems like something is very wrong with that.