Bring On 17 Units

I registered for next semester's classes yesterday and it looks like I will have another semester of 17 units. I had a second option of 19 units but I decided to stick with this one. So here it is. My Fall 2010 schedule of classes.

Mondays
12:00 - 1:15 Linear Algebra
1:30 - 2:45 Linear Algebra Math Lab
4:30 - 5:45 Biostatistics

Tuesdays
1:30 - 2:45 Biostatistics Math Lab
4:30 - 5:45 Modern Math Tools for Elementary Teachers I

Wednesdays
9:00 - 11:50 American Liturature
12:00 - 1:15 Linear Algebra
1:30 - 2:45 Linear Algebra Math Lab
4:30 - 5:45 Biostatistics

Thursdays
1:30 - 2:45 Biostatistics Math Lab
4:30 - 5:45 Modern Math Tools for Elementary Teachers I

Not my ideal schedule but it'll have to do. As I'm getting down to the wire, the classes I need are being offered less and less. Some of these classes are the only sections being offered this semester so I had to work around those...

Oh The Tables...

Indeed the tables have turned... The last few weeks I've been watching my grandma attempt to put together some puzzles. Nothing too difficult. All under 50 pieces. But it's so sad to see how much she struggles with them. What makes it worse is she is the one who taught me how to do puzzles. I remember coming over to her house (which is the house we are in now) when I was younger and she was always working on a puzzle. Her coffee tables in her dark, smokey living room were always covered with half worked puzzles. I remember her showing me that the best way to start a new puzzle is to find all of the flat, side pieces and put the outside together and then work your way in. Since then, that's how I have put puzzles together because that's what she taught me. I remember she finished puzzle after puzzle (all of them in the 500 -1000 piece range), paste them together and frame them (which is funny because really, who wants to keep a puzzle...). Now I watch her do a puzzle and she has no idea where to begin. Today she said she was a little stuck and couldn't remember what my dad told her to do with the puzzles. So I showed her how to find all of the flat, edge pieces to put together the outside and then work inward.

Well, today I go back to work at OVS for the home stretch of the school year (only 5 or 6 weekends I think...). I can't believe that in the last 7 days I will have worked at three different jobs. This weekend, I will be going back and forth a little from OVS and FH because some of this year's summer staffers will be here for the video shoot. So hopefully tonight I will get to hang with them for a bit. For now, I'm just getting ready for work... Semi-formal social tonight... Good thing Elementary can't go... That means I get to watch them instead of the social!

Involved

No... Not romantically... I mean in school. For the first time in my college career, I am now involved in my school. I started tutoring at the Learning Resource Center at school and now I have friends. Not really friends but I know people now. I see them walking around campus and they say hi (some of them) and it feel nice. It's nice to not be alone. Tutoring is going really well. It's been slow in the LRC the last couple of days which has been nice since I just started tutoring solo this week. We only have three (really 2 and a half) weeks of school left before finals so I imagine things will be getting busier but for now I am enjoying myself.

Yes, that's right. Only 2 and a half weeks of school left. For me it's more like 5 more class days before finals and summer! I am so excited but I have a feeling these last few weeks are going to be pretty busy.

LRC

I just got a new job at the Learning Resource Center at Cal State Channel Islands! The LRC used to be called the Math Tutoring Center but due to changes in the CSU system, we are supposed to be able to tutor multiple subjects. But anyway, in order to get a job there you have to be a student in good standing, have completed Calc II, and have a recommendation from a Math Dept faculty member. The LRC is short staffed right now so they were accepting applicants that are currently taking Calc II and were recommended by their professor. My professor recommended me and here I am. I have a meeting today for a crash course training session and I do my shadow tutoring next week. Then I start tutoring three afternoons a week for a total of 8 hours a week for the last three weeks of school (plus however many hours I want during finals week).

So now I am juggling 3 jobs, 17 units, the gym (oh yeah. I joined a gym and have been working out regularly for the first time in years), grandma, and maybe a life... It's only for a few weeks and then summer starts so I'm not too worried. I get a week off in between the two and then Outdoor Ed. and summer craziness begins. I can't wait!

What's an Offering?

Happy Easter everyone. Hope you all had a great day doing whatever it is you do on Easter Sunday. Me, I work. I was really praying for a good attitude about working on Easter and it was sort of a challenge. El offered to take some of the kids to Sunrise Service and two of my kids said yes. They came and sat next to me the whole time which I wasn't super excited about at first but as the morning went on, it turned out to be really neat. One of my kids had absolutely no idea what she was getting herself into when she came and ended up asking a ton of questions. Questions like, "Why are they singing about Christmas?", "Why do they say 'Nothing But the Blood of Jesus'?", "What's an offering?"... My first reaction was "shut up!" (No I didn't tell her to shut up... calm down), but then I took a step back and realized that I get to share about Jesus to this kid who has no idea what's going on. When else would I get an opportunity like this? So we just chatted most of the time. She was bored out of her mind and played her Nintendo DS most of the time, but I was glad she came. I was glad they both came.

Happy Easter Everyone!

Forevermore

This Katie Herzig song has been stuck in my head the last two days. But it's fun and reminds me of when I was young and things were simple.

You could be my white night
And I could be your fairy tale
And you could come and save me
But that is not the end

I will wear will wear a white dress
You will paint a sunset
Life will be a love fest
That’s how it all begins

Say say, oh playmate
Come out and play with me
And bring your dollies three
Climb up my apple tree
Slide down my rainbow
Into my cellar door
And we’ll be jolly friends
Forever more

But the world can spin so madly
And love can hurt so badly
And stories end so sadly
But this is not the end

You still have my heartache
I still have your sweater
Things they will get better
Oh, but not today

Say say oh playmate
I cannot play with you
My dolly’s got the flue
Boo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo
Aint got no rainbow
Aint got no cellar door
But we’ll be jolly friends
Forever more

Say say, oh playmate
Come out and play with me
And bring your dollies three
Climb up my apple tree
Slide down my rainbow
Into my cellar door
And we’ll be jolly friends
Forever more

Really?

Yesterday I was driving home from school and saw a poster advertising a church's Easter Service. It had a picture of a cross and a Picture of an Easter egg... Really? Can a church promote Easter eggs? I dunno. It's probably not a big deal. I just thought it was strange.

Unfortunately I am working this weekend. But I have really been praying about this weekend that I can just love these kids no matter how bratty they are. I have been really struggling these last few weekends to just love my kids and have patience with them. Maybe I'm using up all the patience I have during the week and I'm just running on empty. But this weekend I really just want to have compassion for these kids who are stuck at school on Easter weekend.

Hello! My name is Michelle..

This last weekend was pretty rough. Friday was a hard day with grandma. Her mental status is declining at a rate faster then what we originally thought which is hard to keep up with not only physically, but also mentally and emotionally. We can't tell her about anything ahead of time anymore (like people coming to visit or appointments) because she obsesses over them and asks a million questions (usually they are ones that she already asked and forgot that she asked and what the answer was). The hardest part of the day is probably the mornings although meal times are quickly catching up. Getting dressed is her biggest challenge mentally while her biggest challenge physically is probably eating. It's so hard to stand by and try and help when there's not a whole lot you can do. Some days (like Friday and, from what I hear, Saturday) she gets very angry and defiant. It's days like that when I can't help but feel annoyed which is usually quickly followed with extreme guilt. Friday I was impatient and it showed. Grandma even asked my if I was angry with her. I wanted to cry for making her feel that way and for not having enough patience. My name is now Michelle (according to grandma) because she can't remember Michaela. I've heard of other people's grandparents forgetting names and stuff but it's pretty heartbreaking when it happens to you.

I am really struggling with this but I know I'm not alone. We are having someone come in three days a week to help alleviate some of the added stress. And I am happy to see my family getting closer because of this. Please continue to pray for answers and wisdom from the doctors. And please pray for added patience for others both in my own life and in my family's lives.

And So It Begins

So it's been about a month since my grandma moved in and we are still trying to adjust our lives to her needs which has become increasingly difficult these last couple of weeks. We have definitely seen a decline in her memory and just overall well being since she moved in. But we were able to get her into UCLA for some tests. I won't go into the details of the actual tests but the tentative diagnosis is Alzheimer's. This diagnosis will be pending until some more tests can be run including a 4 hour neuro-psychiatric exam. Grandma is in a bit of denial about the diagnosis and really doesn't want to talk about it ever. It's definitely a hard diagnosis to hear for us so I can't really imagine how she is feeling about it. She also went to the optometrist yesterday and he took a scan of her field of vision which has significantly changed in the last few months since the last scan. She now has to retrain her eyes to use a minimal portion of her eye to see. Please be in prayer for my grandma. It's hard to continue to hear all of this bad news and she is already pretty depressed as it is. Pray that we can get in and get the necessary tests done as soon as possible (right now the 4 hour test is scheduled for June but my aunt is calling UCLA everyday checking for cancellations so we can get her in sooner). We are really hoping that it's not Alzheimer's but from what we have been seeing, it's not likely. But God is in control and His plan is better then mine so I trust that He will give us the strength to do this.

Sewing Snob

This week, I decided to get started on my T-Shirt quilt that I have been wanting to make for awhile now. I started it Monday and due to my ever growing OCD, I finished it last night. I am super happy with it but my body hates me for spending the majority of the week sewing...

My favorite pieces...

My new machine that was given to me... I love it!

The early stages of the project...