Fun with holidays
Wow! What an epic this holiday season has been!
I came down with a respiratory infection and a cold on the 19th of December. That pretty much killed traveling to Hampton, Va for the holidays. I felt somewhat better close to the new year, but then, this past Monday, I began to feel hot and disoriented. I drove to Kirkwood to pay for the semester and on the way home, I stopped to see my doctor. After being diagnosed with walking pneumonia, I was provided with a prescription for yet more antibiotics and told to rest.
While that was good advice, I was unable to comply. I had to take the CLEP tests for Human Growth and Development ( also known as Developmental Psychology or "dev-psych") on Wednesday. I was in a quandary because I had paid for both courses at Kirkwood( insurance. In case I was unable to score high enough on the CLEP tests) and since the first day of class was Wednesday...
Either I took the tests Wednesday or I waited another week to take them ( on Wednesday. What is it about Wednesdays?). If I had waited until next week, I would have lost half the tuition refund. At Kirkwood, it's 100% during the first week, but only 50% the second.
So, on Wednesday, sniffling, coughing, and imbued with a mild malaise, I drove to Iowa City and commenced the ordeal. 90 minutes is allocated for each test. The minimum score to pass each is 50 ( that's the A.C.E Score - don't ask because you really don't want to know), and the test is entirely multiple choice. I finished the Sociology test with 48 minutes to spare, took a 10 minute break and took the dev-psych. I made the final mouse click with 28 minutes left on the countdown timer. I passed both of them! The scores weren't stellar, but they were respectable for someone who could barely breathe, much less think: 69 for sociology and 65 for dev-psych. I suspect the scores are roughly the same since sociology was comprised of 100 questions and the other only 90. At any rate, those two, coupled with the History CLEP I took in November, relieves me from having to sit through 4 classes this semester. Now I'm down to a single humanities class and piano lessons.
I slept like the dead that night.
The antibiotics began working their magic by Thursday night and Friday I attended my single class. It's easy, but should be enjoyable and informative.
A quick update on my last post: the final grades for fall semester were all 4.0. Now I get another postcard from the dean. It's so exciting to think that with that postcard and four dollars, I can actually purchase a caramel macchiatto at a coffee bar!
I did say epic, though, at the start of this. My wife began the symptoms of a cold on Monday, but by Thursday she was complaining of abdominal pain. She saw our doctor on Friday. That visit resulted in a trip to Mercy hospital yesterday for an ultrasound. Our doctor suspected gall bladder issues and we weren't terribly surprised when the radiology folks sent us on over to the ER.
My wife received some Dilaudid via an IV and a surgeon spoke with her about removing the gall bladder. Considering the final diagnosis ( gallstones and inflammation) and the fact that these attacks typical recur with no warning signs), she's decided to have it removed next week. It's outpatient, laparoscopic surgery and she should actually feel better than she's felt in some time.
In the meantime, Mary is enjoying some rest with Lortab 5 as well as hand and foot service by yours truly.
It's probably a good indication that taking those CLEP tests was a wise course of action. My current schedule is Mondays at 11am and Wednesdays and Fridays at 9am ( for piano lessons) an 11am. That's not a heavy schedule and it shoudl provide the necessary free time to take care of Mary. She should only be "down" about 2 days and then she'll be able to work from home and fend for herself.
I came down with a respiratory infection and a cold on the 19th of December. That pretty much killed traveling to Hampton, Va for the holidays. I felt somewhat better close to the new year, but then, this past Monday, I began to feel hot and disoriented. I drove to Kirkwood to pay for the semester and on the way home, I stopped to see my doctor. After being diagnosed with walking pneumonia, I was provided with a prescription for yet more antibiotics and told to rest.
While that was good advice, I was unable to comply. I had to take the CLEP tests for Human Growth and Development ( also known as Developmental Psychology or "dev-psych") on Wednesday. I was in a quandary because I had paid for both courses at Kirkwood( insurance. In case I was unable to score high enough on the CLEP tests) and since the first day of class was Wednesday...
Either I took the tests Wednesday or I waited another week to take them ( on Wednesday. What is it about Wednesdays?). If I had waited until next week, I would have lost half the tuition refund. At Kirkwood, it's 100% during the first week, but only 50% the second.
So, on Wednesday, sniffling, coughing, and imbued with a mild malaise, I drove to Iowa City and commenced the ordeal. 90 minutes is allocated for each test. The minimum score to pass each is 50 ( that's the A.C.E Score - don't ask because you really don't want to know), and the test is entirely multiple choice. I finished the Sociology test with 48 minutes to spare, took a 10 minute break and took the dev-psych. I made the final mouse click with 28 minutes left on the countdown timer. I passed both of them! The scores weren't stellar, but they were respectable for someone who could barely breathe, much less think: 69 for sociology and 65 for dev-psych. I suspect the scores are roughly the same since sociology was comprised of 100 questions and the other only 90. At any rate, those two, coupled with the History CLEP I took in November, relieves me from having to sit through 4 classes this semester. Now I'm down to a single humanities class and piano lessons.
I slept like the dead that night.
The antibiotics began working their magic by Thursday night and Friday I attended my single class. It's easy, but should be enjoyable and informative.
A quick update on my last post: the final grades for fall semester were all 4.0. Now I get another postcard from the dean. It's so exciting to think that with that postcard and four dollars, I can actually purchase a caramel macchiatto at a coffee bar!
I did say epic, though, at the start of this. My wife began the symptoms of a cold on Monday, but by Thursday she was complaining of abdominal pain. She saw our doctor on Friday. That visit resulted in a trip to Mercy hospital yesterday for an ultrasound. Our doctor suspected gall bladder issues and we weren't terribly surprised when the radiology folks sent us on over to the ER.
My wife received some Dilaudid via an IV and a surgeon spoke with her about removing the gall bladder. Considering the final diagnosis ( gallstones and inflammation) and the fact that these attacks typical recur with no warning signs), she's decided to have it removed next week. It's outpatient, laparoscopic surgery and she should actually feel better than she's felt in some time.
In the meantime, Mary is enjoying some rest with Lortab 5 as well as hand and foot service by yours truly.
It's probably a good indication that taking those CLEP tests was a wise course of action. My current schedule is Mondays at 11am and Wednesdays and Fridays at 9am ( for piano lessons) an 11am. That's not a heavy schedule and it shoudl provide the necessary free time to take care of Mary. She should only be "down" about 2 days and then she'll be able to work from home and fend for herself.