Random odds and ends

I think my friend Josh is right is saying that the little I have been reporting on doesn't accurately portray all that is happening here.....but it does pretty much accurately represent all that has been going on with school. My group is done with the PI project for Management. We had a poster presentation yesterday which, for the most part, was eerily similar to being at an elementary school science fair. All that was missing were the volcanoes that spewed forth 'lava' made of vinegar, baking soda, and dye and Styrofoam representations of the solar system. We all dressed up in our niceties and stood in front of our tri-fold carbboard displays outlining some plan or another that we wanted (the term wanted could be replaced with were required to) to implement on this unit or that one. We followed this up with a 1-hour reception and a 2 hour mandatory 'role panel discussion' that consisted primarily of nothing important or even remotely interesting. Everyone was there out of fear that I spoke with, concerned that they would lose points by not attending. The calculated gamble did not pay off, there was no attendance sheet circulated. Damn!

Speaking of Management, the class continues to remind me of a class I had in undergrad, theater appreciation. In theater appreciation, the professor sold his notes to a store across the street which turned around and made copies to sell to the students (somehow this circumvented the professor selling his own notes directly I guess.....how that makes it any more or less wrong is beyond me). I attended that course a sum total of three times. Day 1 to get the syllabus, the midterm, and the final. I got an 'A' for my troubles (or lack thereof) boosting my GPA while checking off 3 credits of humanities. I have been to Management a few more times than that, but only a few. I went to the first class, the second where we signed up for our PI projects, the midterm, the mandatory role panel last night, and I will attend the final. Thus far, I have a solid 'A' in that course as well, only this time I study by picking the most textbook sounding answer and not studying at all. Ethics is just as bad only they require us to sign in each class period or we lose points. We have an instructor for small group that I refer to as 'the substitute' because she always comes to class ill-prepared to teach, like a substitute who just got the lesson plan a few minutes ago. We tend to get out of group discussion 45 minutes to an hour before any other group. On one hand, these classes will only serve to increase my GPA, and on the other hand I am paying about $1K per credit hour for jack-squat.

Since Tia is always peeved that I don't talk about wedding stuff, I thought I would try to appease her. Her website has the countdown, but it is roughly three weeks off. We have been trying to tie up all the little loose ends that even a small wedding seems to have. Making matters infinitely more difficult are the facts that we are in NY, her parents are in Portland, and mine are in Florida. It should come together since there aren't too many stray pieces with so small an affair.

All things related to moving are still messy. We are presently in process of trying to find a place to land out West. Tia has been in contact with some people who are renting out furnished places for the summer, hopefully allowing for enough time for me to find a job so we can pick a more permanent residence (and not having to purchase furniture right off the bat would be excellent). We are still selling off things, and have done better than I had hoped for the most part. We still have more to go of course.....and it never ceases to amaze me just how much of it there is. We still need to get a hitch put on Tia's car and book the trailer as well. Big fun.

Other than those things, most of our time has been spent practicing NCLEX questions, reading, and watching TV. Have seen quite a few 'bad' movies lately as well. As critically acclaimed as they were, I really did not like No Country for Old Men (a torpid affair with an abrupt and unsatisfying ending) or Michael Clayton (stopped it before it finished). I have There Will be Blood in my mail box right now and I am not sure if I even want to watch it. Also saw American Gangster (decent), American Psycho (also decent), and a number of other films that I can't recall because of what little impact they made upon me. I am happy the Office is back at least.

I better get to work on my Ethics paper now. It is one of the few things I have left to complete. Between now and May 2nd, I have the Ethics paper, a presentation on policy, a final exam in Management, and the exit exam to get through. Plus, the 4 day 8:30-4:30 NCLEX training Wednesday-Friday of next week. Sounds action packed doesn't it.