thinking
I have so much I want to do right now, and the only thing I feel like doing is curling up on the couch with a hot beverage and some Harry Potter. December looks like it is going to be packed! Just how I like it: full of good stuff! I don't think I've scheduled more than I can handle, and I like being spread just a little too thin (except on days like today when I feel a bit squashed).
The Aquarium seems to be taking up a lot of December. I teach an Aquarium 101 class Saturday the 11th. On Saturday the 4th I think I'm one of the Aquarium walkers in the Belmont Shore Christmas parade. It seems like a really fun, festive thing to do and they didn't have quite enough people, so sure, why not. I've been meaning to do it for a couple of years now and I keep having other things to deal with. I have between five hundred and one thousand volunteer hours at the AoP, which makes me feel warm and fuzzy. If time equals money, I've donated over five-thousand dollars over the last four years. Not too shabby. I still need to come up with my Colbert-approach to climate change (having a fun, entertaining answer to "why should I give a damn about the polar bears" would be a great deal more useful than "global warming bad!"), and there are some other bits and pieces I need to deal with. But I'm doing something, so if I want to continue to eat lox (and other tasty animals--in moderation) and occasionally chuck the really nasty, icky containers from the fridge instead of recycling them, so be it.
In December I really need to focus on college crap. The meeting with my adviser went extremely well last week, but it was stressful. She wanted to see my transcripts from a few life-times ago. She wanted me to send the nasty, stinky things to my home address, leave them unopened, then deliver them to her, so I had these two extremely ominous envelopes sitting on a desk for a couple of weeks as I wondered how awful the contents actually were. I was convinced that Louie's litter box was less full of crap than those envelopes. It turned out I was right-- Louie doesn't really use her litter box, and my transcripts weren't as poo-rific as I expected.
It seems both the UCs and CalStates will still honor two of my AP scores (once they blow away the dust and cobwebs). Of the forty some credits I earned my two semesters at Cal State FU, it looks like a little less than half of them are still useful. That surprised me, but the grades in several of the classes were high than I remembered them being. Neat. Not surprisingly, all my fine arts requirements have been met. I also seem to have eliminated the need for English (hahaha got them fooled). There are also a smattering of other categories that seem to have been met. Hell, even some of the garbage from L.B.C.C. is useful. Weird! But I'm not complaining. The annoying part is there is still quite a lot of bullshit classes I am required to take. I am underwhelmed by the necessity of taking a speech class. It will be an easy "A" but I can think of better things to do with my time. Provided I can get into the classes I want (the schedule is very meager due to budget concerns) it looks like I will be taking nine units next semester. Between the demands of the houses, the cafe, the Aquarium, and my creative stuff, I don't think anyone is going to see very much of me, which is just fine with me.
All that's left for the current class is a small project to finish up after Thanksgiving and a final that I really don't have to study for. I do have to be right there on the computer the first of December to see about getting into classes. Who ever thought that enrolling for college would be like purchasing concert tickets? I'm going to fill out the financial aide forms. It can't hurt, and even improvised aristocracy might be eligible for something. I also need to set up my study schedule for the winter break. I want to finally start using my birthday present to me: and rather expensive Spanish cd set I purchased off of ebay. I also need to get into a good habit in for studying math. It's soothing, and I need to ace the math placement test; I do not want to be stuck in first semester Calculus! There is no reason to put up with that.
Then there is the houses. The list for them is miles long. I need to sit down and write out a plan of attack...but not today...maybe tomorrow...possibly next Thursday...or after Christmas, or how about January?