Holy crap!
I just noticed I haven't posted anything since August 3. Wow.
Okay. So there were a ton of issues with the last three weeks of my medical terminology class. There were problems with when the testing center was open, when the test was actually available, etc. However, I was able to get it all done and finished the class with a 96. HELL YES. You read that right. A 96. WOO.
I started my fall classes (I've written Fall '012 on everything a la Colbert) last week. I'm taking two prereqs - English Comp (boring) and Intro to Computers (even more boring). Both are online, since driving is still a massive hassle. I'm spending all of my time online doing these classes now. I kind of like being busy, but how the classes are set up are annoying. English requires me to spend a ton of time on the discussion boards talking about the readings -- basically what we'd do in class verbally, but we are instead forced to write two posts with at least 5 sentences and reply to two other people with another 5 sentences. LAME. At least my grammar and spelling isn't as atrocious as some of the others. We actually had an Alot sighting this week.
And the Intro to Computers class.... oy. I had to buy a ton of software including the stuff to get my eTextbooks and I had to fork out $90 for Office, since the whole course is Microsoft-based. It only works in IE 9, and it forced me to change my default browser from Chrome to IE. Ugh. It's so completely inferior to Chrome (or even Firefox) that I just want to bang my head on the keyboard. The ebook uses embedded adobe to look at it, but the text wasn't opening where you could see the entire page. I spent an hour talking to Sendil from wherever trying to figure out how to fix my settings so that I could see the whole page. Finally, I gave up after he spent all of his time saying "I will need a moment to research your problem. One moment." I spent another out on the FAQ site and finally found a link that said the teacher had to change the settings. So I emailed the teacher--she calls herself Professor Roz--and told her of the problem and that I didn't want my assignment to be late because I couldn't get the book to work. She gave me a snotty reply that said all of the settings were already correct and to contact the support people. However, she actually DID change the settings and it ended up working just fine. But the new annoyance: my book was designed by a scrapbooker. Seriously.
At least there isn't much actual text to work through and she has provided us with access to all of the powerpoint presentations that we would get in class, so there isn't much of an issue when trying to do the quizzes and worksheets.
Of course, after fighting with this program for DAYS, the main student site is down completely. This means that I can't log on to do my English work which SUCKS. I guess I'll just have to trudge through more Intro to Computers boringness. I just keep telling myself that it's a means to an end and I'll get through it in another few months.
In "ankles kaput" news... After the MRI results, I stuck the walking boot on my left foot and used it around town, but didn't wear it at home because it's ridiculously cumbersome. My left foot is actually healing just fine. My right one, however, not so much. It's mainly because it's getting strained a lot. Sis had an appointment with a doctor in Austin a couple of weeks ago. She drove us there, but I ended up having to drive us back to Houston. That was an interesting experiment. Since then, I've only driven by myself a couple of times, but it's totally worth it if for nothing more than to be able to play my music and sing aloud without driving Sis crazy. Also, last week, I finally forced myself to tackle the stairs. I just couldn't take living on the couch anymore. I felt like I was totally without privacy, and having to deal with all of the cats (Bob realized he could get up on the top cabinets and I would have to talk him down practically every night because, while he could get up there just fine, his cataracts prevented him from being able to gauge the way down). And Mom was horrible about slamming cabinets and the microwave door when she fixed her coffee for work. So I've been back in my room, on my comfy bed, cat-free for about a week. It's a strain on my ankles and my knees are grinding like mad, but it's totally totally worth it. I missed my space and I am so glad to have it back.
What else... Oh yeah. Mom did her first teaching semester for Chamberlain School of Nursing (a division of DeVry) this month! She's an adjunct professor in the psych department. She got to wear scrubs and a monogrammed lab coat--saying "visiting professor, Chamberlain School of Nursing, [mom's name] RN-BC, MSN." It was so neat. She really enjoyed teaching, which I knew she would. However, the hours were HORRIBLE. She works the 3-11pm shift at the hospital most days. Then, on Wednesdays, she'd have to try and get a little sleep as soon as she got home and before she had to get up at 4 to do a 6am-3pm shift at the local psychiatric emergency room. On Thursday, the shift was 8-5. And then Friday, she'd go back to 3-11. Her normal days off rotate as Tuesday, saturday, Sunday, and then the following Thursday. She'd get a Tuesday off, work the weird hours Weds, Thurs, and Friday, have the weekend, and then work until the following Tuesday because she'd have to use her normal Thursday off to work. My mother's a beast and a fantastic woman. I know of very few other moms in their early 60s working two jobs to help out her kids while they're screwed up and trying to fix/find themselves. The plus side is that, for 6 weeks of work, she got paid an extra $4000. That's pretty sweet. She'll have to do this all again later this fall, though.
Two words: Doctor Who. Two other words: Holy shitballs. I think that's all that needs to be said about that. Well, also that rewatching the past season from "The Impossible Astronaut" on during the BBCAmerica marathon really helped. This show is one of the very few I think just get better the more times you watch an episode. I see things, connections, nuances, etc. on the second or third watchings that I just don't pick up the first time. Like the threads that ran from Eleven's first season of noticing the Silence and hearing the predictions of it, through the first couple of episodes of this recent season. And all of the hints about Amy's location and River's real identity. So amazing.
IMPORTANT: The Longhorns won their first game this past Saturday!! And we were actually able to watch it at home because, a day before the game, AT&T Uverse signed their deal with The Longhorn Network. The first couple of games, and maybe another one down the season will be aired exclusively on the network. It's all UT all the time. And it's FANTASTIC. They show the band on the field during pre-game, and stop their commentary for the alma mater at both the end of the pre-game discussions and at the end of the game when the whole team gathers at the end zone in front of the band to sing "The Eyes of Texas." Awesome. God, I love my school and my team.
Megan had her baby girl! Her name is Vivan June and she's so cute. I'm going up to Conroe (about an hour drive) next Friday to meet her and get the blanket I knitted back for a little so I can monogram it with her name.
I think that's the main goings-on right now. I'm not going to get into all of the political ridiculousness about rape and the unbelievably uninformed ignorant dumbass-y comments about how the female body works. Y'all know my position on stuff like this. So I'm not going to re-hash it.