| Monday, May 19, 2008 |
| More Contruction Pics! |
I've had to get my head back into school mode today because I have the wonderful opportunity of requesting credits for all my crisis centre training, so I've been working on putting together an essay basically proving that my training and experience covers as much as a class would. It's been kind of neat going through my old materials and looking at all that stuff again - I can remember writing posts on here about hearing my first call on speaker phone and how I cried through the whole thing while another volunteer talked...and writing about actually taking my first call and getting reamed out by the caller who said "what are you, like 16??".... ahh those were the days :) And if I'm lucky, I will be able to communicate all that I learned over the phone in a 1 hour interview that will allow me to basically take out an entire class (4 credits) that I would've had to take! I am also going to try and get some credit (2 credits) for leading my outreaches while in YWAM, though that topic is a little harder to narrow down into a subject and essay. We'll see though.
The house is coming along nicely, Craig and his dad are down in the basement right now putting the rest of the dry wall up. In a few days the cabinets will get here and it really start to look like a furnished basement. It will be nice when it's all done - the guys have really been working hard and I'm sure are ready to be done with it all. I'll post more pictures of our floor once we've been able to paint and get all the pretty (ugly) wall paper off the walls.
Other than that, not too much is happening. Last weekend I sang on the church worship team which went really well, and then afterwards went out for sushi with 2 girls. That was so great to have some girl time and I am really hoping some good friendships will develop from that. Also this Tuesday softball starts, which I am really looking forward to. And I have to go to the dentist tomorrow which I am really NOT looking forward to :(
   Labels: Empire State College, Vancouver Crisis Centre |
posted by jamie @ 3:08 PM  |
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| Thursday, April 10, 2008 |
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There was a new ER on tonight! YAY! Shows are back!
We move to our new home in 3 weeks from today ---- I can't wait!! And then I don't have to move again for like 3 or 4 years..I can't believe it.... I haven't lived someplace longer than 1.25 years since Tomahawk Wisconsin, back in in 2001. Seriously...so yeah, I'm excited.
Oh and great news, Craig got an awesome summer job with a really nice golf course in Niagara Falls. I'm really happy for him because it's going to be doing something that he loves, and he gets to play free golf at a really nice course that we would never be able to afford. I was thinking about picking up a second job but I am really hoping I can just keep picking up enough shifts at Old Navy to make it around 30 - 35 hours a week. If i can do that, I don't think I'll need a second job but if not, I'll have to find something. We're both excited to have our first full year of school completed...only 3 more to go now, although that seems like a lot. I love my online classes and would highly recommend it to anyone whose not 18 and wants to go back to school. It's a great learning environment for adults. And check out what I learned how to do in photoshop - who knew it had animation capabilities? Not me!! This was my assignment for this week... we had to use our logos we made last week and turn them into an animation :)Labels: Empire State College, ER, old navy |
| posted by jamie @ 8:48 PM |
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| Friday, January 25, 2008 |
| First Week |
Well it's the end of the first week of classes, and so far so good. I haven't gotten all my textbooks in the mail yet though so I'm a little behind on the readings. Hopefully they'll all be in by next week. I got my grades back finally from last semester and I'm happy to report that I'm starting off my education with a 4.0! Yay... staight A's for me! Let's see if I can keep that up (until I have to take math next year...ugh!)
I thought I'd share my first project for my photoshop class. I learned about replacing backgrounds, so here's a pic of my brother looking out over the water.
Orginial:  New Background:  Labels: Empire State College, photoshop |
| posted by jamie @ 1:22 PM |
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| Monday, December 03, 2007 |
| a lil' update |
 I had my first shift at Old Navy yesterday. It went pretty well, it was mostly just training, watching videos on how The Gap started (Gap owns Old navy and Banana Republic) and learning how to fold things. I work this week on Tuesday and Wednesday from 7am - 4pm where I'll be unloading boxes and setting up displays from 7 am - 10 am , then at 10 when the store opens I'll work on the floor doing random things. I think I am going to like it!
We are going to my parents' place in Ohio from the 8th - 13th and I can't wait. My brother waited in the parking lot of Best Buy from midnight - 4 am on Saturday night, and then stood outside the store in the rain and cold from 4 am - 8am to wait in line for a Nintendo wii. He was one of the lucky ones to get one of the 27 available for the week and I am soooo excited to play it when we get there! Mario party here I come :)
Well not too much else is going on. I am soo ready for this semester to be over with but I still have another 2.5 weeks to go.... I've got 2 papers for my religion class to write still, 1 paper for sex/gender class, and a 300 word essay in Spanish. Ugh! I just want to be on christmas break and not think about it. I registered for my January semester classes, and I'm taking:
Human Nutrition
Digital Art and Design (photoshop)
American History 1
Finalizing and Planning my Degree (this is an actual class where I'll work with my advisor to plan out the rest of my 3 years of school and make sure I get all the requirements for my degree).
I'm looking forward to the change! Especially the digital art class.
Well, gotta get back to work. I'm learning about direct/indirect objects in Spanish.. I can't even remember what they are in English! Adios amigos, hasta luego.Labels: Empire State College, old navy |
| posted by jamie @ 1:39 PM |
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| Saturday, October 06, 2007 |
| Makin' Progress |
Well I am happy to report that I have lost 14 lbs as of today. It's been a great start, but a lot of weight loss in the beginning is water weight so I know that it will slow down after this week. My goal is to lose around 2 lbs a week now, which is hopefully the healthy kind of weight loss that doesn't come right back in a month.
Other than that, things are going well. I'm settling into the routine of school and keeping up with my assignments. I really like the online environment and I think it really works well for me. I've handed in 4 papers already and so far have A's in each class, going into week 5. Not too shabby! Here's a screen shot of what my spanish classes are like. I sit there looking at this screen with a headset on while talking with around 15 other people plus my professor. The screen changes like a power point presentation and he has some sort of device that allows him to draw on the screen and it shows up on mine. Pretty neat, huh?
Still loving Sparkpeople - it's been a huge help in gaining control of eating. I knew it would be a big commitment, but so far the time spent on that site has been wonderful. I just can't believe that kind of service is free! It really is amazing... I got my mom all set up on there now so we're going to be working on this weight loss together. It always helps to have people "around" you that are working at it too.
Well that's it for me these days. Hope all is well out there in blogland!Labels: Empire State College, sparkpeople, weight loss |
| posted by jamie @ 7:36 PM |
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| Wednesday, September 05, 2007 |
| Theeeyy're Heeere |
The last of my school books arrived today! I'm all set now to start classes on the 10th. Actually, my classes opened up yesterday so I've been able to read all my syllabuses (syllaby?) and find out the course schedules. Wow... pretty crazy. In my writing class it looks like I've got a different kind of paper due every 2 weeks, and in my Spanish book even the directions are written in Spanish! Yikes..!Labels: Empire State College |
| posted by jamie @ 12:14 AM |
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| Tuesday, June 05, 2007 |
| I'm Home |
Craig and I got home this morning from Ohio. It was a great visit but way to short.. I can't wait till I can drive to my parent's place in a reasonable amount of time (will be around 6.5 hours!).
While I was home, I registered for my classes. This September I will be taking:
Intro to Religion
Sex & Gender in a Cross Cultural Society
Spanish
College Writing
4 little classes! I'm excited.. not sure how much work it will be, but I imagine it will definitely keep me busy! I was shocked though that one of the classes I really wanted to take was already filled by the 4th day that it was open (you can register over a 2 month period..I thought I was on top of things by registering 4 days after it opened!). I really wanted to take digital art and design, but I think I will jump right on that next semester. The first 2 years of school will be a majority of general education classes, so might as well get some of them out of the way anyway.
That's all for now, I've been up since 4:30 am eastern time... (1:30 am Vancouver time!)Labels: Empire State College |
| posted by jamie @ 5:23 PM |
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| Thursday, May 03, 2007 |
| What's it Worth? |
This is how I know I am ready to go back to school.
I read this entire manual, cover to cover, for Empire State University. I never would've done that before.
My choice is becoming more easy by the day. Let me tell you the pros of Empire State:
1. I don't have to commute at all, I can take my entire degree from the comforts of my own home, or just do the first year and then transfer to a Canadian school if I want.
2. it would save a lot on gas money
3. it wouldn't put my permanent residency application in jeopardy by the border crossings
4. it's way cheaper
For those of you concerned about the whole 'online' thing, this is how it works and why it would be okay:
Each class is designed for around 15-20 students to be taking it at the same time. You 'take the class' by going to it's own web page, where you watch and listen to lectures, get your assignments, talk with the professor and other students taking the class, take tests and quizzes, participate in discussions, hand in your work, etc. Some classes require you to all take the class at the same time, especially in the case of foreign language, so you can practice speaking it with each other. (And by the way I am soo excited to take Spanish again!) Other classes just require you to participate on a discussion board a minimum of 4 times a week. You are graded on not only your assignment scores and grades, but your class participation as well. You are very accountable as each student has their own advisor who is their main contact with the school. So there wouldn't be the issue of just not reading the material or anything - you actually have to 'show up'.
I have also really enjoyed going through the list of classes offered to me. I am so excited at the thought of learning and lecture again. Also, I was looking at the cost and it got me thinking. It's approximately $725 per class... and I thought, "wow that's a lot of money just for education" but then I had a mini revelation - I am so lucky to even have the opportunity for an education. Some people in countries where it's not available to everyone, would give anything to be able to learn. So I think $725 is worth it.
Well that's all for now. I have to give my final decision in about a week but I feel pretty good with this right now.Labels: Brock University, center for distance learning, Empire State College |
| posted by jamie @ 1:15 AM |
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| Friday, April 27, 2007 |
| School Update and other things |
Thought I'd give you an update on school. The other day I got my 'financial package' in the mail for Niagara University. It was a pretty good offer, essentially cutting my tuition in half, and then offering the rest in loans. I am still waiting to hear back from the online school though... I just don't know if I can make the commute across the border everyday... I only have till May 7th to decide.. yikes...
Well I can't think of anything intelligent to say so that's all for now.
except that here's some designs i've been working on.. if I owned a graphic design company this is what I would call it. Maybe someday...?  and of course I could never get sick of sticking the words 'chaos' and 'order' into things..  Labels: Empire State College, Niagara University |
| posted by jamie @ 8:35 PM |
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| Friday, March 30, 2007 |
| I am wanted |
 Well I got in to both universities that I applied at! Niagara Univeristy, in Niagara Falls, NY, and Empire State College in Saratoga Springs, NY, but classes can be taken online from the comfort of my own home in Canada. So, next I am just waiting to hear about what kind of financial aid I will qualify for..and then I have to make my decision as to which school I will go to by May 1st..yikes..!
Am I really ready for this massive life change? I hope so... I think so..!
The past couple nights I have felt like doing absolutely nothing. I don't know why, but I used to love going out in the evenings and now all I want to do is stay home. We've skipped our church small group like 3 weeks in a row.... oh well.
Anyway, I saw this poem at work today and wanted to post it on my blog. It gave me goosebumps. Enjoy.
The Nail Man, by Steve Turner
Which one was it that held the nails
and then hammered them into place?
Did he hit them out of anger,
or a simple sense of duty?
Was it a job that had to be done,
or a good day's work in the open air?
And when they clawed past bone
and bit into wood, was it like all the others,
or did history shudder a little
beneath the head of that hammer?
Was he still there, packing away his tools,
when 'It is finished' was uttered to the throng,
or was he at home washing his hands
and getting ready for the night?
Will he be among the forgiven
on that Day of Days, his sin having been slain
by his own savage spike?Labels: Empire State College, Niagara University, Steve Turner, The Nail Man |
| posted by jamie @ 12:35 AM |
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