Okay, let the record show that I, Laura Ann Pickart, SUCK at following self imposed rules and constraints...but this time's gonna be different.
I will be turning 25 in September, am currently unemployed, and I've been single for...over 4 years [and as much as I'll always love him--that relationship hardly counts], this is the point in my life when things have to change. I'm also attempting to go to grad school [attempting because apparently I've decided to pick the year for professors to retire]. These changes aren't completely voluntary, but they are basically forced upon me--I have to find a job unless I'm going to live in a cardboard box or win the lottery [which I've come to find out you need to play to win, and you need money to play!]; I have to move out of my parents' house--not because they're kicking me out, but because if I live here for too long at least 1 of 2 things will happen: I will become depressed or I will go crazy [I'm fairly certain depressed crazy isn't something people want to see]. Getting an advanced degree has been a goal of mine for as long, if not longer, than it has been a goal to be a thinner me.
It's time for some things in my life to change. Firstly, I need to glean through all of my crap. I am living with my parents [God Bless Them], and as my permanent address has never changed [any and all jobs I have ever had have either been temporary or at the same school where my mom works]. Not to mention that for 5 years of my life I have lived in 2 places at once: home & college/Australia/internship.
This has resulted in an enormous amount of stuff [George Carlin, anyone?]. The kicker is the number of things I have to live on my own--which I have never done. This includes a microwave, Shark vacuum, hot air popcorn popper, and iron--all of which are still in their respective boxes. Not to mention all of the things that I have bought over the last 5 years [because I expected to have a job and be living on my own] to decorate an apartment. I have luggage, I have dishes, I have 2 TVs to my name (and a VCR, DVD player, 2 video game consoles, a desktop and a laptop computer). STUFF.
Second thing that needs to change is related to the third: my diet (2) and my body (3). I eat crap, I like it, and it shows. My greatest problem is not really caring. I have lost about 60 [55 if I'm being honest] since High School, but not by my own doing. At 18 I was diagnosed with PCOS=Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome. The PCOS caused my body to not regulate insulin correctly, ergo I was rarely "full", thus I weighed 248 (at my heaviest). But doctors have the amazing ability to treat the symptoms of PCOS [its a syndrome, so there is no cure]. My first doctor in the PCOS clinic, Dr. M. Tracy Bekx, at UW Health & the American Family Children's Hospital was [and is] my own personal angel. She took a young woman and gave her confidence--not just in my appearance, but in everything that I did/do. Just by taking a pill [okay they're like giant horse pills and depending on the type of pill, either 2 or 4 of them daily], my body now regulates my insulin correctly. However, because I continue to be me, and not really care what I put into my body, I've plateaued. It's not that I'm unhappy with weighing 185 [I can now wear clothes not from the Women's or Plus Size section!], but I know I could look better. I could be healthier. I could feel better, physically and emotionally.
But I was/am not very good at discipline--you know how on shows like The Biggest Loser, Bob & Jillian have to yell and scream at those people, and their diets are controlled? That's basically what I need, because I don't have that voice on my head. But, oddly enough after hearing about Bob's book on the Revolution [to my sister, if she reads my blog, it was a segment with Tim Gunn], I feel like I might be able to follow his Skinny Rules to help me get rid of this last 20-30 pounds to make me the healthiest and skinniest I have ever been.
Now I know it won't be easy--I'll be surrounded by temptation, and I have something like 3 vacations [1 cheapo with sorority sisters, 2 with my parents=Mooch City, Unemplomentopolis] which will make his "eat 10 meals a week at home" rule a bust [and that's just one I know about from the TV interview], but that shouldn't mean I fall off the wagon and run over by the Fast Food Express Bus.
So what I'm going to do, right now [a solid 12+ hours before you read this] is to buy his Nook book [thanks to one of the teachers I worked with who gave me a Nook gift card!]. Now I have his rules, and all I have to do is read and obey...and, so help me, I'm going to keep you posted [I think that should be change number 4].
[And for the record, if there are any majorly minor grammatical errors, I apologize, I started writing this on my Nook at about 3am Sunday morning. Inspiration strikes at the oddest of times.]
Sunday, June 24, 2012
Saturday, June 2, 2012
Leaping into Unemployment
I am but a half day of school away from unemployment (By choice, of course). Now we're heading into uncharted territory for me: a plan-less life. My "plan" (because I feel like I need to have one) is to see what happens now. How terrible is that?
I have decided to leap into unemployment. The scariest thing I can think of that I have done to date. I am leaving behind my awesome school kids and a stable (though insufficient) income for nothingness. Thank God I have amazing parents who have no current plans to throw me out--they also pay for way more than normal parents do for a normal 24/25 year old. Yes, I do feel guilty about it. With their help, and a tight personal budget, I have probably a year of college loan payments saved...and about 17 months of health insurance.
I will be spending the next 8 days dog-sitting for a retired teacher. After which there is even less of a plan. I will become a professional job hunter. The thing with me is I know what I want and I don't want to settle for less. A coworker suggested applying at a local factory. I informed her that I won't be taking any job until it's THE job (at least until I'm too poor to afford my loan payments). The entire point of not signing my contract for the next school year was to take away the security blanket. Having a steady job is like having a safety net--why leap if you know there's a safety net? There's no point and no fun.
I've noticed that I enjoy security and safety. This has caused me to be lax when it comes to applying for jobs and pushing myself into a change. So now I have to do my best to fight off any sort of depression--which I'm hoping will be helped by the dog-sitting and the multiple crafts that I need to get done within the next month. I need to keep searching and applying for jobs, and if nothing happens by fall, I will be remaining on the local school district's substitute list and applying for graduate school to start winter/spring 2013. (See I have to have a plan)
So if anybody knows of a zoo or a nature center in the Midwest (preferably WI, MN, MI, IL) that is looking for an environmental educator with a biology degree, 16+ months of experience working in a school and a total of 15 months in internships in education and aviculture, let me know :)
The other thing I hope to use to keep my mind focused: Football. Packers last OTA practice open to the public is this Tuesday, June 5th. I shall be there. Nothing can make this girl feel better than a little Packers Football--Remember the "G" stands for Greatness.
I have decided to leap into unemployment. The scariest thing I can think of that I have done to date. I am leaving behind my awesome school kids and a stable (though insufficient) income for nothingness. Thank God I have amazing parents who have no current plans to throw me out--they also pay for way more than normal parents do for a normal 24/25 year old. Yes, I do feel guilty about it. With their help, and a tight personal budget, I have probably a year of college loan payments saved...and about 17 months of health insurance.
I will be spending the next 8 days dog-sitting for a retired teacher. After which there is even less of a plan. I will become a professional job hunter. The thing with me is I know what I want and I don't want to settle for less. A coworker suggested applying at a local factory. I informed her that I won't be taking any job until it's THE job (at least until I'm too poor to afford my loan payments). The entire point of not signing my contract for the next school year was to take away the security blanket. Having a steady job is like having a safety net--why leap if you know there's a safety net? There's no point and no fun.
I've noticed that I enjoy security and safety. This has caused me to be lax when it comes to applying for jobs and pushing myself into a change. So now I have to do my best to fight off any sort of depression--which I'm hoping will be helped by the dog-sitting and the multiple crafts that I need to get done within the next month. I need to keep searching and applying for jobs, and if nothing happens by fall, I will be remaining on the local school district's substitute list and applying for graduate school to start winter/spring 2013. (See I have to have a plan)
So if anybody knows of a zoo or a nature center in the Midwest (preferably WI, MN, MI, IL) that is looking for an environmental educator with a biology degree, 16+ months of experience working in a school and a total of 15 months in internships in education and aviculture, let me know :)
The other thing I hope to use to keep my mind focused: Football. Packers last OTA practice open to the public is this Tuesday, June 5th. I shall be there. Nothing can make this girl feel better than a little Packers Football--Remember the "G" stands for Greatness.
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
So I Had This Thought The Other Day...
So the other day it occurred to me. I will shortly be out of a job--my choice--without any realistic new opportunities. So I will be spending my summer, cheaply, filling out job applications, and as always keeping tabs on my Green Bay Packers.
And just like that I had an idea...a football blog, all Packers, all the time. TADA! Isn't this a great idea? I mean, who knows, maybe I could be one of those awesome "blogger." Maybe ESPN or the NFL will find my blog and realize how great I am and pay me to stalk...I mean research my team! (To be clear, I don't have the funds to actually stalk the Packers, I would merely give my opinion on all the information I can attain from an hour and a half away from the team facility).
So there's a thought. And maybe in unemployment, with the impending excitement of the playing season right around the corner, I might be able to be a consistent blogger. My biggest problem--I'm not a strong writer (hence the lack of any writing intensive classes while in college--and my complete excitement when I passed the Advanced Placement test for English in High School). So I definitely don't promise a very good blog. I write as I speak, so it'll be hard for you if you don't know me, to always understand me--my life heavily depends on tone and sarcasm and the voices in my head (they're nice).
So feel free to let me know how you feel about this. Keep in mind that I probably won't actually take your feelings into account and write whatever I want--that's the point of a blog. Also remember that Clay Matthews is my guy. Thus much of my opinions & analysis will likely revolve around him. However I have an attachment to all my guys--which makes this time of year so hard. And this year the team will have to cut down from 90 to 53 guys on the roster (very uncool, I'm going to start liking almost 90 guys, and then they'll take like 40 of them away=not cool).
Of course I will throw in bits and pieces from my life...for instance, I went to Germany to see Maik & Claudia get married in April...I should really blog about that--and I probably will...but first I have to finish this school year before--it's more likely I'll get it done without being sleep deprived.
There you have it. My future plans in a nutshell...because I have so few plans and zero prospects that they can fit in a nutshell (and still have room).
And just like that I had an idea...a football blog, all Packers, all the time. TADA! Isn't this a great idea? I mean, who knows, maybe I could be one of those awesome "blogger." Maybe ESPN or the NFL will find my blog and realize how great I am and pay me to stalk...I mean research my team! (To be clear, I don't have the funds to actually stalk the Packers, I would merely give my opinion on all the information I can attain from an hour and a half away from the team facility).
So there's a thought. And maybe in unemployment, with the impending excitement of the playing season right around the corner, I might be able to be a consistent blogger. My biggest problem--I'm not a strong writer (hence the lack of any writing intensive classes while in college--and my complete excitement when I passed the Advanced Placement test for English in High School). So I definitely don't promise a very good blog. I write as I speak, so it'll be hard for you if you don't know me, to always understand me--my life heavily depends on tone and sarcasm and the voices in my head (they're nice).
So feel free to let me know how you feel about this. Keep in mind that I probably won't actually take your feelings into account and write whatever I want--that's the point of a blog. Also remember that Clay Matthews is my guy. Thus much of my opinions & analysis will likely revolve around him. However I have an attachment to all my guys--which makes this time of year so hard. And this year the team will have to cut down from 90 to 53 guys on the roster (very uncool, I'm going to start liking almost 90 guys, and then they'll take like 40 of them away=not cool).
Of course I will throw in bits and pieces from my life...for instance, I went to Germany to see Maik & Claudia get married in April...I should really blog about that--and I probably will...but first I have to finish this school year before--it's more likely I'll get it done without being sleep deprived.
There you have it. My future plans in a nutshell...because I have so few plans and zero prospects that they can fit in a nutshell (and still have room).
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Graduate Record Examination
Now, I didn't look over my last few posts, like I usually do when I post because I never remember what I say, so I apologize in advance if I repeat myself.
I'm currently working at an elementary school with 3-5 graders doing recess duty and helping in 6 different classrooms. But it's a job, not a career. Therefore, I'm currently working on applying to graduate school!
SURPRISE!!! I am applying to the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point (UW-SP) for an Masters degree in Environmental Education. This should help me not only get a job, but be better at it when I get one. Being a biology major at St. Norbert College (SNC), I never learned things like how to teach, or how to write curricula. Getting an advanced degree from UW-SP will not only teach me these things, but even more, AND it will show to others that I've been formally trained, and had informal practice.
Applying to grad school is really kind of a pain, though, I'm finding. It's not like applying to college--here are my grades, my money, my community service, my AP test results=welcome to college. For UW-SP, I not only need to apply to the university, but also to the College of Natural Resources. They need my transcripts, which is easy enough, but that means I need to track down my ID number from the University of the Sunshine Coast, so I can get my transcripts from my semester abroad. I need to pick out the perfect collegiate paper for a writing sample. I needed 2 letters of recommendation--luckily I knew exactly who to choose: my supervisor from my 9 months of interning in the education department at the Northeastern Wisconsin (N.E.W.) Zoo my senior year of college, and my favorite professor from SNC, who also happened to be my faculty advisor for my internship. I still have to write my personal essay/letter of intent, among a few other little things, but the one aspect that was causing me the most stress was covered this weekend: I had to take the Graduate Record Examination (GRE).
Surprisingly a lot of people have no idea what the GRE is. The GRE is basically the ACT or SAT for grad school. Except that there is no calculus and no trigonometry on the GRE. Essentially the GRE makes sure you can take a test. And I can take a test :) This year the powers that be (who create and administer the GRE) changed the test dramatically. The test still has 3 sections: Analytical Writing, in which you must write 2 essays-Analysis of an Issue & Analysis of an Argument; Quantitative Reasoning=Math; Verbal. The test is almost 4 hours long, I spent a total time of about 4 hours 10 minutes in the testing center. The GRE used to be scored on a 200-800 scale. In 2012 (actually as of Fall 2011) the test is scored on a 1-point per question scale, with a perfect score being 170. The way the test is administered was even changed. The test is what is called a Computer Adaptive Test (CAT). The old test would give you a question, if you got that question right, your next question was harder, if you got that question wrong, you got an easier question. Now the test still adjusts to how you do, but instead of deciding the next question, now the test gives you a harder or easier next section of the test. The test has 3-ish sections of math & verbal questions. If you do well on the first math section, you get a harder 2nd math section. Changing this aspect of the test allows the test taker to skip questions (instead of being forced to guess) and review questions (to me, this was super awesome). The Verbal section of the test no longer is mainly vocabulary based--not just big words, but big words no one knows or has ever heard of. Now the test focuses more on reading comprehension--way more important than big words, if you ask me. They also changed the way certain questions are asked.
So while the Princeton Review book that was withdrawn from the SNC library (the James J. & Miriam B. Mulva Library, for those of you keeping score at home) was helpful to my studying (strategizing the essays), the first 1/3 of the book was obsolete because of the changes. I also didn't have a target score because of the scoring changes--UW-SP's old GRE requirement was 1000 total points.
I had this whole study schedule that I got off the Internet, and I made these giant calendars, and got all organized--color coordinating each section (math, verbal, essay) with a color; i.e. math was blue, thus I had a blue highlighter, blue post-its, and purple (there wasn't blue in the package) flags for my studies. However, my brain had different plans...like anything that wasn't studying. Even over Christmas break--I wanted to cram; my brain wanted to chill out. This was stress inducing. I just couldn't make myself study. I'd try to read a section, and it was like my brain shut down. I just didn't care. (In case you're wondering, the GRE costs $160. I make $8.00/hr. If you do the math, before taxes, it took me 20 hours to pay for this test.) I had to care and didn't want to. And then to top it off, I'd talk to people (who care about me very much) and they'd tell me I would do great. My friend Steven had taken the GRE, and he was like, "You're smarter than me and I did okay, so you'll do great." I appreciated all of it, but it made my brain go, "SEEEEEEEEE, you don't need to study. Go watch something on Hulu, play with your new NOOK Tablet, and plant something in Farmville" (you'll see I don't have much going in the way of a social life).
I scheduled my GRE for Saturday 1/8/12. So when it came to last week Thursday (1/5/12) I was like, "You know, Brain, we haven't read ANYTHING about the essay section...which I really need to work on based on the 1 practice test I took when I was supposed to start studying" (back in October/November).
[Side Note: the essay section of the GRE is graded on a 6 point scale. When I took the original practice test, I got a 151 on both the math & verbal sections, but only got like a 2 on the essays...out of 6...FAIL]
So here's Thursday night, and I start reading about the Analysis of an Issue essay. I figure out the strategy, and do my best to remember it. We (the parentals & myself--they're great people if you don't know my parents) packed Thursday night, so we could travel to Madison Friday right after work. They were gracious enough to pay for a hotel room for Friday night, since my test was at 8am, I had to be there by 7:30am, we live about 1 1/2 hours from the east side of Madison and my test was on the west side of Madison. We left for Madison around 4pm Friday, checked into the hotel, went to dinner, and by about 7:30 or 8pm Friday night, I finished studying the Analysis of an Issue and crammed the Analysis of an Argument. I made note cards with the strategical outlines suggested by the book I was studying with and went to bed at about 11pm, Friday night.
And of course, I slept terribly. I was so concerned with being late to the testing center, and nervous about not studying as much as I would've liked, I woke up every 2 1/2-3 hours until 6am. I got up and dressed in the dark hotel room, went down & got breakfast, and was off to the testing center!
The testing center was filled with more people taking the CPA than the GRE. I emptied my pockets, shoved my coat into a little 1' locker, got my picture taken, got wanded for metal (or whatever) on my person, showed my ID, and was shown to my computer (#19). It was basically a computer lab in a basement. There were a total of about 25 computers, which were between 1/3-1/2 full. I utilized my time and my scratch paper and went to town on the GRE.
I feel pretty good about my scores. Because it is a CAT test, you get to see your "unofficial" scores immediately after the test (awesome!), except for your essay scores, since they are read by humans (bummer!). I figure my essays are far superior to the essays I wrote on my original practice test: I was organized, used specific examples, used transition/key words, and had paragraphs of decent to respectable length. I'll have to wait like 2 weeks to get those scores. BUT I did get my "unofficial" math and verbal scores. I got a 155 math and a 156 verbal (WHOOT)! If these scores correlate directly to the old scoring scale, that's somewhere between 729 and 734, which is a pretty great score. This is also a score I didn't really expect. It was a great unexpected surprise, however it did make me wonder what my score would have been if I had actually stuck to my study plan (it's like how many licks will it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop...The world may never know). Hopefully UW-SP will be as impressed with my scores as everyone I know seems to be.
Next up in my life: finish my UW-SP application; hopefully get accepted to the Environmental Education graduate program for Fall 2012 at UW-SP; go to grad school for 2 years (and hopefully rock that like the GRE); get a job that can be a CAREER; be able to move out of my parents' house.
[Side Note: It's not that I want to move out of my parents' house because I don't like living here. It's more that I have soooo much stuff from living in 2 locations for the last 5+ years I can't even sleep in my own bedroom right now & I don't even know where all my stuff is :( So when I get to move into an apartment or whatever of my own, I'm so excited to, hopefully, find stuff that's been missing since I moved home from college after graduation.]
Okay, that's too long for me to re-read, so if anything in here doesn't make sense, comment and ask me to clarify, and I'll do my best. If you know me, you know my brain doesn't usually make sense, so to write like this, things happen :)
Hopefully wherever you are, you're enjoying the weather--today we had about 50 degrees Fahrenheit & sun, tomorrow we'll be having a snowstorm, wind, and about 25 degrees. And I can't wait for the snow!!!
I'm currently working at an elementary school with 3-5 graders doing recess duty and helping in 6 different classrooms. But it's a job, not a career. Therefore, I'm currently working on applying to graduate school!
SURPRISE!!! I am applying to the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point (UW-SP) for an Masters degree in Environmental Education. This should help me not only get a job, but be better at it when I get one. Being a biology major at St. Norbert College (SNC), I never learned things like how to teach, or how to write curricula. Getting an advanced degree from UW-SP will not only teach me these things, but even more, AND it will show to others that I've been formally trained, and had informal practice.
Applying to grad school is really kind of a pain, though, I'm finding. It's not like applying to college--here are my grades, my money, my community service, my AP test results=welcome to college. For UW-SP, I not only need to apply to the university, but also to the College of Natural Resources. They need my transcripts, which is easy enough, but that means I need to track down my ID number from the University of the Sunshine Coast, so I can get my transcripts from my semester abroad. I need to pick out the perfect collegiate paper for a writing sample. I needed 2 letters of recommendation--luckily I knew exactly who to choose: my supervisor from my 9 months of interning in the education department at the Northeastern Wisconsin (N.E.W.) Zoo my senior year of college, and my favorite professor from SNC, who also happened to be my faculty advisor for my internship. I still have to write my personal essay/letter of intent, among a few other little things, but the one aspect that was causing me the most stress was covered this weekend: I had to take the Graduate Record Examination (GRE).
Surprisingly a lot of people have no idea what the GRE is. The GRE is basically the ACT or SAT for grad school. Except that there is no calculus and no trigonometry on the GRE. Essentially the GRE makes sure you can take a test. And I can take a test :) This year the powers that be (who create and administer the GRE) changed the test dramatically. The test still has 3 sections: Analytical Writing, in which you must write 2 essays-Analysis of an Issue & Analysis of an Argument; Quantitative Reasoning=Math; Verbal. The test is almost 4 hours long, I spent a total time of about 4 hours 10 minutes in the testing center. The GRE used to be scored on a 200-800 scale. In 2012 (actually as of Fall 2011) the test is scored on a 1-point per question scale, with a perfect score being 170. The way the test is administered was even changed. The test is what is called a Computer Adaptive Test (CAT). The old test would give you a question, if you got that question right, your next question was harder, if you got that question wrong, you got an easier question. Now the test still adjusts to how you do, but instead of deciding the next question, now the test gives you a harder or easier next section of the test. The test has 3-ish sections of math & verbal questions. If you do well on the first math section, you get a harder 2nd math section. Changing this aspect of the test allows the test taker to skip questions (instead of being forced to guess) and review questions (to me, this was super awesome). The Verbal section of the test no longer is mainly vocabulary based--not just big words, but big words no one knows or has ever heard of. Now the test focuses more on reading comprehension--way more important than big words, if you ask me. They also changed the way certain questions are asked.
So while the Princeton Review book that was withdrawn from the SNC library (the James J. & Miriam B. Mulva Library, for those of you keeping score at home) was helpful to my studying (strategizing the essays), the first 1/3 of the book was obsolete because of the changes. I also didn't have a target score because of the scoring changes--UW-SP's old GRE requirement was 1000 total points.
I had this whole study schedule that I got off the Internet, and I made these giant calendars, and got all organized--color coordinating each section (math, verbal, essay) with a color; i.e. math was blue, thus I had a blue highlighter, blue post-its, and purple (there wasn't blue in the package) flags for my studies. However, my brain had different plans...like anything that wasn't studying. Even over Christmas break--I wanted to cram; my brain wanted to chill out. This was stress inducing. I just couldn't make myself study. I'd try to read a section, and it was like my brain shut down. I just didn't care. (In case you're wondering, the GRE costs $160. I make $8.00/hr. If you do the math, before taxes, it took me 20 hours to pay for this test.) I had to care and didn't want to. And then to top it off, I'd talk to people (who care about me very much) and they'd tell me I would do great. My friend Steven had taken the GRE, and he was like, "You're smarter than me and I did okay, so you'll do great." I appreciated all of it, but it made my brain go, "SEEEEEEEEE, you don't need to study. Go watch something on Hulu, play with your new NOOK Tablet, and plant something in Farmville" (you'll see I don't have much going in the way of a social life).
I scheduled my GRE for Saturday 1/8/12. So when it came to last week Thursday (1/5/12) I was like, "You know, Brain, we haven't read ANYTHING about the essay section...which I really need to work on based on the 1 practice test I took when I was supposed to start studying" (back in October/November).
[Side Note: the essay section of the GRE is graded on a 6 point scale. When I took the original practice test, I got a 151 on both the math & verbal sections, but only got like a 2 on the essays...out of 6...FAIL]
So here's Thursday night, and I start reading about the Analysis of an Issue essay. I figure out the strategy, and do my best to remember it. We (the parentals & myself--they're great people if you don't know my parents) packed Thursday night, so we could travel to Madison Friday right after work. They were gracious enough to pay for a hotel room for Friday night, since my test was at 8am, I had to be there by 7:30am, we live about 1 1/2 hours from the east side of Madison and my test was on the west side of Madison. We left for Madison around 4pm Friday, checked into the hotel, went to dinner, and by about 7:30 or 8pm Friday night, I finished studying the Analysis of an Issue and crammed the Analysis of an Argument. I made note cards with the strategical outlines suggested by the book I was studying with and went to bed at about 11pm, Friday night.
And of course, I slept terribly. I was so concerned with being late to the testing center, and nervous about not studying as much as I would've liked, I woke up every 2 1/2-3 hours until 6am. I got up and dressed in the dark hotel room, went down & got breakfast, and was off to the testing center!
The testing center was filled with more people taking the CPA than the GRE. I emptied my pockets, shoved my coat into a little 1' locker, got my picture taken, got wanded for metal (or whatever) on my person, showed my ID, and was shown to my computer (#19). It was basically a computer lab in a basement. There were a total of about 25 computers, which were between 1/3-1/2 full. I utilized my time and my scratch paper and went to town on the GRE.
I feel pretty good about my scores. Because it is a CAT test, you get to see your "unofficial" scores immediately after the test (awesome!), except for your essay scores, since they are read by humans (bummer!). I figure my essays are far superior to the essays I wrote on my original practice test: I was organized, used specific examples, used transition/key words, and had paragraphs of decent to respectable length. I'll have to wait like 2 weeks to get those scores. BUT I did get my "unofficial" math and verbal scores. I got a 155 math and a 156 verbal (WHOOT)! If these scores correlate directly to the old scoring scale, that's somewhere between 729 and 734, which is a pretty great score. This is also a score I didn't really expect. It was a great unexpected surprise, however it did make me wonder what my score would have been if I had actually stuck to my study plan (it's like how many licks will it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop...The world may never know). Hopefully UW-SP will be as impressed with my scores as everyone I know seems to be.
Next up in my life: finish my UW-SP application; hopefully get accepted to the Environmental Education graduate program for Fall 2012 at UW-SP; go to grad school for 2 years (and hopefully rock that like the GRE); get a job that can be a CAREER; be able to move out of my parents' house.
[Side Note: It's not that I want to move out of my parents' house because I don't like living here. It's more that I have soooo much stuff from living in 2 locations for the last 5+ years I can't even sleep in my own bedroom right now & I don't even know where all my stuff is :( So when I get to move into an apartment or whatever of my own, I'm so excited to, hopefully, find stuff that's been missing since I moved home from college after graduation.]
Okay, that's too long for me to re-read, so if anything in here doesn't make sense, comment and ask me to clarify, and I'll do my best. If you know me, you know my brain doesn't usually make sense, so to write like this, things happen :)
Hopefully wherever you are, you're enjoying the weather--today we had about 50 degrees Fahrenheit & sun, tomorrow we'll be having a snowstorm, wind, and about 25 degrees. And I can't wait for the snow!!!
Friday, October 28, 2011
Here We Go Again
In true form, it's been 7 months since my last post. I didn't get a job this summer at a zoo, but I'm back working at school in the same job I had last year as a sub. I have a contract for this school year, so I'm saving money living at home, carpooling with mom every day.
But with no real job prospects on the horizon, I'm planning on taking the GRE (Graduate Record Examination) in January or February, so I can attend Graduate School in Fall 2012. My goal school is the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point (UWSP), for environmental education. There are a lot of steps for an application for grad school, though. It's a bit daunting. There's the application to the university, then the application to the department, then the GRE, then the essay, letters of recommendation, resume, and a few other things (and then add in any financial aid forms/procedures, or applications and hoops for possible assistantships or fellowships). So I'm seeing the little life I had going away fast. The application deadline for UWSP is March 1, so at least I'll be done with the laundry list of things by the time I head to Germany for Claudia & Maik's wedding! In addition to all that time, I'm at a loss for money too (so I'll take donations!). It looks like grad school tuition at Point is around $19,000...which on top of my undergrad loans, could really bury me for a long time...so hopefully President Obama will save me from the suffocating loans.
But for now, I've got the 2011 GRE Prep book, and all the online prep stuff that comes with it. So I'm working on a schedule, and reading the book, and pacing myself, so that I can learn & remember everything that I need to know for the test. Not to mention scheduling my time so that I can get all the application materials finished, in time, in an orderly fashion.
So I guess don't plan on hearing from me socially until Summer 2014--with a Master's in Environmental Education and hopefully a job under my belt!
But with no real job prospects on the horizon, I'm planning on taking the GRE (Graduate Record Examination) in January or February, so I can attend Graduate School in Fall 2012. My goal school is the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point (UWSP), for environmental education. There are a lot of steps for an application for grad school, though. It's a bit daunting. There's the application to the university, then the application to the department, then the GRE, then the essay, letters of recommendation, resume, and a few other things (and then add in any financial aid forms/procedures, or applications and hoops for possible assistantships or fellowships). So I'm seeing the little life I had going away fast. The application deadline for UWSP is March 1, so at least I'll be done with the laundry list of things by the time I head to Germany for Claudia & Maik's wedding! In addition to all that time, I'm at a loss for money too (so I'll take donations!). It looks like grad school tuition at Point is around $19,000...which on top of my undergrad loans, could really bury me for a long time...so hopefully President Obama will save me from the suffocating loans.
But for now, I've got the 2011 GRE Prep book, and all the online prep stuff that comes with it. So I'm working on a schedule, and reading the book, and pacing myself, so that I can learn & remember everything that I need to know for the test. Not to mention scheduling my time so that I can get all the application materials finished, in time, in an orderly fashion.
So I guess don't plan on hearing from me socially until Summer 2014--with a Master's in Environmental Education and hopefully a job under my belt!
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Creative Title :)
Well, there's not tons to report. I'm still working at school in Lomira as a long-term substitute paraeducator, working with 3-5th graders all day. Except I haven't been to work the last 2 days because I haven't been feeling well. Went to the doctor on Friday and they're running a bunch of tests, so hopefully they'll know why I've been feeling so crappy lately & be able to do something about it.
I am working on a couple job applications--one for an outdoor education coordinator at Northern Illinois University, and the other is a program assistant/volunteer coordinator at Heckrodt Wetland Reserve in Menasha, WI. So hopefully one of those will work out.
I had a phone interview for a job at the Kansas City Zoo last week that I would've been perfect for. But it was only 25 hours a week, $8.50 an hour, no benefits, and only from late March to early June. So I just couldn't afford to move to Kansas City for that job. Especially since it would be $50 less per week than what I'm making subbing--and with my college loan payments every month, $50 is a lot of money. If I had no expenses I probably could've swung it, but realistically it wasn't the right choice for me. But the guy I interviewed with was very nice and encouraged me, if I'm closer to Kansas City, or can move there, next year to apply (because the job was PERFECT for me). So that was a downer.
But at the same time, the fact that they contacted me (and did so pretty quickly) made me feel better. I was starting to feel like I'd never find a job and getting really kind of depressed. But hearing from them has helped.
I'd brainstorm more, but I'm gonna go eat dinner, so I will again leave you in suspense of what is going on in my life. Trust me, it's not much.
I am working on a couple job applications--one for an outdoor education coordinator at Northern Illinois University, and the other is a program assistant/volunteer coordinator at Heckrodt Wetland Reserve in Menasha, WI. So hopefully one of those will work out.
I had a phone interview for a job at the Kansas City Zoo last week that I would've been perfect for. But it was only 25 hours a week, $8.50 an hour, no benefits, and only from late March to early June. So I just couldn't afford to move to Kansas City for that job. Especially since it would be $50 less per week than what I'm making subbing--and with my college loan payments every month, $50 is a lot of money. If I had no expenses I probably could've swung it, but realistically it wasn't the right choice for me. But the guy I interviewed with was very nice and encouraged me, if I'm closer to Kansas City, or can move there, next year to apply (because the job was PERFECT for me). So that was a downer.
But at the same time, the fact that they contacted me (and did so pretty quickly) made me feel better. I was starting to feel like I'd never find a job and getting really kind of depressed. But hearing from them has helped.
I'd brainstorm more, but I'm gonna go eat dinner, so I will again leave you in suspense of what is going on in my life. Trust me, it's not much.
Sunday, March 6, 2011
This Time I Have An Excuse
So it's been about a month since my last post (surprise, surprise), but this time it's because I've been busy (instead of lazy).
In February, I filed to substitute teach in our local school district. I now have a three-year substitute teacher license. But the calls I was getting were all for paraeducators. (For those of you who don't know what a paraeducator is, they are teacher's assistants who usually work in different classrooms through the day.) The district had one paraeducator leave her position, and I was offered the long-term substitute position.
This last week was my third full week of working this job. It is completely exhausting. I work in 6 different classrooms, at 3 different grade levels, and I also have recess duty with an additional 3 grades. It's a lot of names to know, and rules to keep straight. But it's good. And it's a paycheck, which is good seeing as my college loan payments are due each month (one week of this job=almost an entire loan payment). So at least it's keeping me fiscally sound. Not to mention, I'm helping the district--I'm sure they could've found someone to take the position, but my schedule was flexible enough (read: I had no obligations) that I can be at school 5 days a week.
There's definitely a learning curve. I didn't go to the public elementary school, so there are different rules. I mean, there were 40-50 kids in my whole elementary school. There are 16-20+ kids in each of the classrooms I work in, so there are more rules. It also isn't easy working in so many classrooms--each teacher has their own classroom rules, and ways they want things corrected (my brain sometimes has trouble keeping things straight).
But I enjoy it. It is fun--I like the kids, and they seem to like me. Like I said, this last week was my third on the job, so names and rules and everything is getting easier and more normal/natural. But it's definitely not what I thought I'd be doing at this point in my life. And it's not what I went to school for--I never took any classes that revolved around instruction or conflict resolution, or anything to do with teaching. So a lot of what I've had to do the last 3 weeks has been to rely on my intuition, what I've observed in the years I helped in the elementary school, or hold off issues until I can ask one of the teachers what the rules are.
So I'm learning. Which is good, because don't they say if you stop learning, you're dead? Isn't that a thing? I think it is. But I keep applying for jobs, because even though I have a job through the beginning of June (the end of the school year) I definitely don't want to keep doing this. It is a temporary job. And after a temporary job comes another job, hopefully one that is not so temporary.
So keep your fingers crossed (and thumbs pressed) that I find a "real" job, or as I like to call them a "big girl" job. And I will hopefully keep you posted.
In February, I filed to substitute teach in our local school district. I now have a three-year substitute teacher license. But the calls I was getting were all for paraeducators. (For those of you who don't know what a paraeducator is, they are teacher's assistants who usually work in different classrooms through the day.) The district had one paraeducator leave her position, and I was offered the long-term substitute position.
This last week was my third full week of working this job. It is completely exhausting. I work in 6 different classrooms, at 3 different grade levels, and I also have recess duty with an additional 3 grades. It's a lot of names to know, and rules to keep straight. But it's good. And it's a paycheck, which is good seeing as my college loan payments are due each month (one week of this job=almost an entire loan payment). So at least it's keeping me fiscally sound. Not to mention, I'm helping the district--I'm sure they could've found someone to take the position, but my schedule was flexible enough (read: I had no obligations) that I can be at school 5 days a week.
There's definitely a learning curve. I didn't go to the public elementary school, so there are different rules. I mean, there were 40-50 kids in my whole elementary school. There are 16-20+ kids in each of the classrooms I work in, so there are more rules. It also isn't easy working in so many classrooms--each teacher has their own classroom rules, and ways they want things corrected (my brain sometimes has trouble keeping things straight).
But I enjoy it. It is fun--I like the kids, and they seem to like me. Like I said, this last week was my third on the job, so names and rules and everything is getting easier and more normal/natural. But it's definitely not what I thought I'd be doing at this point in my life. And it's not what I went to school for--I never took any classes that revolved around instruction or conflict resolution, or anything to do with teaching. So a lot of what I've had to do the last 3 weeks has been to rely on my intuition, what I've observed in the years I helped in the elementary school, or hold off issues until I can ask one of the teachers what the rules are.
So I'm learning. Which is good, because don't they say if you stop learning, you're dead? Isn't that a thing? I think it is. But I keep applying for jobs, because even though I have a job through the beginning of June (the end of the school year) I definitely don't want to keep doing this. It is a temporary job. And after a temporary job comes another job, hopefully one that is not so temporary.
So keep your fingers crossed (and thumbs pressed) that I find a "real" job, or as I like to call them a "big girl" job. And I will hopefully keep you posted.
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