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Friday, July 27, 2012

A Different Kind of Challenge

I've got a new kind of challenge for today. It's a big book challenge. Sue started it, and thanks to her for the organization of it. The challenge is to read one big book (400 or more pages) during the period from Memorial Day to Labor Day. (For my overseas friends, Memorial Day is the last Monday in May, and Labor Day is the first Monday in September. Memorial Day is sort of the unofficial start of summer, and Labor Day is the unofficial end of summer.) I was immediately interested, and I went to look at my bookshelf. I have a couple of books that would qualify, although a couple of them are rereads. I have just a few that I want to read.

  • Relic by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child (474 pages, reread)
  • Water Bound by Christine Feehan (468 pages, reread but I don't remember much about it except that I liked it)
  • Renegade's Magic by Robin Hobb (662 pages, new. I read the other two books in the trilogy, but the second one ticked me off, lol, so I haven't read the third)
  • Storm Prey by John Sanford (408 pages, new. It's a Lucas Davenport book, and I've loved them all. I wanted to reread the earlier books before reading this one, but because of the challenge, I've moved it up.)
  • Stolen Prey by John Sanford (402 pages, new)
Those are the five I'm gonna read before the end of summer. I originally wanted to think about joining, but then I decided I may as well. After all, it's not like I'm gonna have a lot of time to read during the school year. Or rather, I'll be reading more textbooks than fun books. Not that I mind. School is A.) Useful to me and B.) Fun for me, so I'm okay with losing my reading time. (I can see myself soaking my poor knees and back in the bathtub with a highlighter at my side, reading a bit bulky textbook, lol. I can see it now!!!)

And an update on school, since I brought the subject up. I DID indeed find the pens I wanted. They were at Staples. I got two packs. One is darker colors, and the other is lighter. And I got some really cool two toned binders at Sam's Club. Along with a pack of paper (750 sheets) for the printer and pencils. I also got folders and notebooks for my first year. (That's five "real" classes: Introduction to Information Technology, Computer Applications, World History I, Computer Networking, and Fundamentals of Unix. Women's Chorus doesn't count cause I don't need books or notebooks or anything for that.) The folders are all so cute (or creepicute, depending on your view). I have a baby duck, a baby tiger, a baby giraffe, a blue Tarantula, and a Praying Mantis. They're all really cool. The notebooks are green, red, blue, black, and a black and white pattern. I'm considering getting a planner too. I think I'll need one to keep myself straight. I'll have concerts to do too (part of Women's Chorus, cause what fun is it to learn the songs if you don't show them off!!!) and appointments with Heather and Barbara as well as Doctor Niebur and Doctor York. So I'll need to be more organized. Hopefully, it won't be too difficult to do. (I'm not naturally organized, so it will be work.) I got my loan accepted, and then I need to follow my health insurance waiver. (It's $902.00 a semester and I can't afford that. Also, I already have Medicare, so I don't need it either.) That will free up a big chunk of loan money, which is good cause my books are EXPENSIVE!!!!! I looked them up the other day, and the books are $31.00, $149.75, and $151.25. Ouch!!! I can rent an ebook cheaper, but honestly, I want to keep them so that down the road if I need a refresher, I can look back and remember. If they have good condition used books, I may buy those instead. I'll have to see what's available. But I feel like I'm gonna be prepared, and that's a good thing. I've never felt so determined either, lol. I WILL make this work, or I'll die trying!!! (Okay, so maybe not die, but I'll be miserable.)

And one last thing before I go today. (No, it's not progress pics. Those are coming Sunday or Monday, probably.) I had to go in to the hospital the other day for some tests. My pdoc has me on Adderal (well, the generic for it) to help me wake up, stay awake, and give me more energy. It's sort of working, as it does keep me awake. It's not giving me more energy, but the lessened depression is, so it's all good. Anyways, because of the medication, she wanted me to have an EKG done. She also requested bloodwork. So I took the scripts in to my hospital, whichis about three or four blocks away. I got the tests done (and she asked me to make sure I got them done before she went on maternity leave as her baby gift, since I'm not allowed to give her anything. Stupid rules), and then headed home to get something to eat. I had a small bruise on my arm from the blood test, but not a big deal. Nice to know I DO remember things sometimes, lol. The tech was really nice. She made me feel very comfortable with the whole thing.

Anyways, that's my news for today. If any of you want to join in the Big Book Challenge, Sue's blog is Book by Book Big Book Summer Challenge. You can still sign up, obviously. Thanks again Sue, for hostessing!!!.

10 comments:

Shaunterria said...

The cost of textbooks are no joke! Good luck with your Big Books Challenge, it sounds like fun :)

--shaunterria
ca11i0pe.blogspot.com

cucki said...

Good luck deary and have fun xxx

Bea said...

Sounds like your prep is going well, and good luck finding some less expensive textbooks. And do get an organizer - I know I'd be lost without mine. I write down everything!

Kaisievic said...

So great to read about your happy preparations for going to college. So exciting!

rosey175 said...

Textbooks are such a crazy expense! If it's not too late, check the school library for a copy of any books you need; they cost nothing! But since you'd rather buy, ebay was always the cheapest for me 'cause I could get international versions for a fraction of the cost. I'd still recommend the library though because you'd get to preview the books. :D

School preps are always such fun, haha.

Topcho said...

I'm loving your Big Book list! ANd isn't preparing for school and buying all the stuff you'll need one of the best things when starting an year? :D I just love buying new notebooks with shiny covers, lol. But textbooks and manuals buying is not that fun. Library is a good option (but our uni library tends to give only books that are like from '86 or older >.> and you can't take the new ones home!), or you can search for people that just finished these classes and are selling off their textbooks. I've had some like this and sometimes it's kind of cool when all the most important parts of the lesson are underlined and with usefull tips around, lol!

mdgtjulie said...

You are so right about that, Shaunterria. They're expensive!!!! It has been so far. I love my books, lol. Thanks Cucki, I'm sure I will, all the way through. Thanks Bea. I'm really thinking I will. I'll have quite a few things to keep track of!!! It IS exciting, Kaye. I've been excited for weeks now. I'm wondering if I'll sleep the night before, lol. The problem with that, Rosey, is that I have to give them back and can't write on them. I want to keep my books for later on down the road if I need them. Huh, I hadn't thought of eBay. I'll have to check it out!!! They are sooooooo much fun. I love school too, though. I'm just the opposite, Topcho. I want the ones that are not written in, so I can decide what's important! Thanks for the suggestions though!!

merumo said...

Best luck with your school! I'm also in IT industry for the past 15 years of so and have been through all that what you are going to learn. It's not easy to catch up with all the trend in IT area, but it will worth eventually as there is a high demand for the skill. Your investment will go far and beyond once you are all done with your school!!

Julie said...

Enjoy the book challenge, i've been spending more time with my nose in a book recently than stitching.

mdgtjulie said...

Thanks for saying so, Merumo. I'm hoping it will be easy for me. I like to play with my computer, so finding study time shouldn't be an issue. It will be finding stitchy time, lol. I go in fits and spurts, Julie. Some days I read more, some days I stitch more. Just depends on my mood.