Just Because.... 3.9

Just because posting to the blog is part of the class, that is why I'm posting. I love writing, obviously since I now have 8 blogs to play with.
Last nights and week 1's assignment for goal setting is now below.

grades, MOS, Dean's List	review goals
2. pay off loans	set schedule
3. bus analyst consultant	*action plan
4. STC	*action plan revision
5. Kids	review steps, research methods, practice
6.portfolio	*schedule
7. Degrees	in progress
8. moving	*plans

find articles to read & add to Interesting Tid Bits blog
buy consulting for dummies
pull term papers off HD and on to flash
focus study time on MOS for Excel
review/refine plan from project mgmt for STC
additional plans for consultant
additional plans for house

Already I am working on these goals. As I was reading my favorite blogs several Tid Bits were sent to my Tid Bits blog where I will hopefully find time to comment on them. I plan to take the various term papers I've done so far and do the transfer to my flash drive this evening and I have a tab open to Amazon.com looking for "Consulting for Dummies".

The one thing I have heard and agree with:
"Find the busiest person in the building, ask them to do something and it will get done" I am one of those busy people and I get things done!

*Update--Consulting for Dummies is coming but the challenge will be to find/make the time to read it between text books and my current reading list.. I'll figure something out.

*Update 2-- Portfolio is on my flash drive now but I think I may have to put it on one of my other memory cards as with all the writing pieces I have, I filled up my flash drive! My other option might be to put the Word & Excel items on Google Docs & Spreadsheets but there have been issues with the formatting. So I might experiment with that. One more option which is less flexible is burn things to CD-RW but the problem with that is I can't burn changes on other computers. Another option is to transfer the whole portfolio to my laptop and work on it there. In fact I like that one best as I have a nice external drive I can use on other computers too. I'll figure something out.

Well you were a witness just then to my on the fly brainstorming session. Portfolio will go both on another memory card and my external drive.

Off to put it all into action. I love writing like this. I can capture thoughts.

Update #3 I have just realized something for my own career development: I am not a good Help Desk Tech Support person. I am good at teaching people software with both of us looking at the same screen at the same time but over the phone tech support is not a good career choice for me.

Note to self: Cross off all help desk or tech support type positions off my possible career path jobs list.

SQ4R Thoughts 2.4 & 2.5

SQ4R: Survey, Question, Read, Write, Recite & Review. SQ4R takes me way too long to do. I have a nice high comprehension of what I read. I use context clues for definitions and Google everything else.

This does not mean I have not used SQ4R in my studies. When I first learned to write and study for tests I used this as a great way to organize notes. Over time I refined what I do. I ditched question and just survey & write as I go in an outline type format. Most of the time I don't hand write anything if I can help it I am busy typing up whatever notes I might need. I type because my handwriting is poor and I can type as fast as my brain can think up the words. I might not necessarily spell things right but I get most of my main ideas down on screen quickly.

An example of my process:

Alaska History:

• Roots
• countries interested in finding Alaska
• Explorers
• expeditions
• the fur trade
• notes on Russia
• the fight between Spain, Russia, England and France and who gave up
• important dates
• important people
• important places
• important trade items
• important ship names

Those items come from surveying the chapter and reading quickly. Since I am not currently actively reading while posting this those are only subjects of interest to me. I already have good notes on the details of those items along with maps to show me visually where things might have been.

I am a list maker by nature, thus this method works well for me.

Free Write... Misc 2.3

Frustrations, frustrations, frustrations. Work is one, communication with George today... make that just the last couple days plus kids and a wrong book shipped for this class and you have a lot of frustrations.

First, work. I was working in Career Development doing resumes and helping others get jobs. I am burned out. I don't like resumes, am tired of cover letters, sick of thank you notes to employers and totally tired of whiny, ungrateful clients who demand your full attention even if you are currently working with someone else. On top of that a "team" that has backstabbing and back biting and sniping at each other. Hence, I got out of the CDC (no, not the center for disease control the Career Development Center). I used to enjoy helping people get jobs. Nope, not anymore. Now I'm enjoying seeing total newbies to computers learn the very beginner basics. The hard part with that is not doing things for them but sitting back and letting them practice. Things as simple as mouse skills are difficult.

I can barely remember when the mouse was a challenge for me. I think sometimes I was born with a computer in front of me but I know it's not true... I was 6 almost 7 when we got the TI-99 4A which had math programs and reading programs. My parents went to the store for milk and came home with the TI. I thought it was the best thing and my grades steadily improved through the fun programs. By the time I was 8 I was programming the thing in BASIC. I love computers. I guess that is why I now teach basic computers full time.

Back to frustrations. Communication is the cornerstone or should be to any relationship from acquaintance to serious romantic interests. This week has been a lesson in communication. Normally George (my sweetie), and I communicate perfectly well. This week.... not true. We needed to do some maintenance to the car and figuring we needed supplies for said maintenance I proposed a Wal-Mart trip. I needed to get to the bank and we ended up at Fred Meyer (grocery, etc. retailer for west coast) since my bank is also in the store. I made a leap of logic when requested to pick up food items that we'd be eating as we went across town to WM and also figured that the non-food items which are generally less expensive at WM would be bought there. Nope, George had other ideas. We'd go home, eat and go back out.

We got home, ate and then he played a game and some videos of wolverines and wolves and bears fighting and then we headed to the car. Just as everyone gets in the car he remembers that he possibly has what he needs for the car maintenance in the trunk, gets out to check and lo and behold there the stuff is... he just hadn't used it recently. He proceeds to do the maintenance getting all oily and having to go back inside to clean up. At this point it's getting late and I'm not about to start dragging kids out and I have this post to make along with homework to read. You see, my intention was to do the banking, get to WM and then get homework done. We totally did not communicate what we wanted to accomplish tonight.

We sat and talked about the miscommunication, realized it and he's making chocolate, chocolate, chocolate sourdough brownies from scratch which was what he wanted to do tonight. I'm happy.. I guess as I get brownies.

Kid frustrations.... my eldest child has been on a lying jag recently and is finally starting to snap out of it but now her younger brother has picked up the problem. Just parenting woes there as they will both outgrow the phase but it's still frustrating.

Last frustration, I promise, was getting home today to find my school books I'd ordered sitting on my porch. One is a wonderful copy of a much needed book for Alaska History and the other is the assigned reading for this class. Unfortunately for me the company that was supposed to send my book for this class gave me a nice book on Radiographic Imaging. Now if I were a medical student I would probably gladly sit and thumb through it but I happen to be a Business Management major and thus have to spend the shipping money to send it back and get the (hopefully) correct book. How long that will take, I'm unsure but hopefully only another week and not more.

Enough frustrations for now. I'll be adding to my other blogs as well in the next couple days as I have updated only 5 of the 7 I currently have in the last week. When I start writing I really get rolling.

Introduction and Random Ramblings 2.2

This is simply something quick and easy to see if I really like my template. I'm very likely to delete this post later on but you never know it might be fun to see my beginning of the semester writing style versus the end of this semester. I am hopeful that my style will move more towards a professional style due to where I seem to want to go with my career path.

Currently I am in career development. Well let me back up a moment, I am an Americorps member who works in the Career Development Lab along with teaching computer skills to low income individuals who are looking to move up in the world. I also help various felons and ex-offenders improve their work skills and re-enter society.

I generally love what I do on a day to day basis. I help people write resumes, cover letters and research companies and careers. A year ago I would not have known who to contact to get someone a job on the Slope. Hey, a year ago I didn't really know what was on the Slope or that there were really jobs up there.

I am a helper by nature and I will help anyone do just about anything or figure out how to do it and teach them how to do something. Pick a subject... if I don't know I start researching and will get back to you on how to do it.

I am also a prolific writer when I choose to be. I haven't touched any of my other blogs in over a year but I will likely renew my interest this summer in those as well as starting an Alaskan Blog.

The Alaskan blog will likely be about various places in Alaska that will relate to my Alaska History class. This will make my children delighted as my youngest, Justice adores anything with the shape of the state of Alaska on it and wants copies of all the maps I'll be using for class. I encourage his interest by buying him globes and puzzles with maps on them.

Justice's other interest is in Australia. The reason for this is my sweetie, George's step-brother Justice is currently is in Melbourne seeking a Masters Degree in Urban Planning or something along those lines.

I think I'll end this random line of thought for now and move on to other things.