Classes Really Suck ........

WHEN YOU CAN'T TAKE THEM!!!!!!!

So, I miss being in school. I know it’s crazy. Four years of full time school and full time work should have been enough to burn me out, but I’m yearning for academia. I looked into taking a class at the local community college here in SLO, and I even found a class that would not only be helpful for my job, but could have furthered my desire to get a degree in Library Sciences (which is what I wanted to do at UNR, but they didn’t offer it).  I have a B.A., but this was going to be fun.

I enrolled, and went to sign up for my class (just one, just to get back into it). After I hit the button, the fees came up. Not bad, $170 for the class. But then the rest of it came up. Out of state tuition……$597!!!! It was going to cost me $767 to take one class at a community college. I could take a class at the university for that. And, it wasn’t even a face-to-face class. It was all online….

Guess I won’t be doing that.  

I found a similar class through the school district’s adult education program for $60. I signed up for it, but it didn’t go because there wasn’t enough interest in it.

I JUST WANNA TAKE A CLASS IN BUILDING WEB PAGES!!!!!!!

Party Like It's 1999.....Or not

So we had a busy week.

Between our lazy Christmas and today there has been visitors from Reno, horses, track and field, bowling, movies, and food, food, and more food.

Annie came to visit us from Reno on Wednesday night. She and her friend Connie took Amtrak down, so they had to switch between train and bus for about 12 hours. We loved having Annie here and when we put her back on the bus this morning there were almost tears. Andrew said that he felt like he was living in a sewing circle because whenever we all sat down on the couch, Annie would pull out her knitting and I would pull out my cross stitch (I will finish this project! I have to because I have another one I really want to start). The two of us would sit there and watch TV and our needles would be flashing.

On Thursday, Andrew and I had to work, so Annie and Connie used the car and explored Morro Bay. I finished work early, so they came into SLO and the three of us walked down to see a movie. I love me some Robert Downey, Jr. (I just found a movie called “Restoration” on Hulu—not a great movie, but soooooo Robert Downey, Jr.) so we went and saw Sherlock Holmes. Mmmmmmmm bloody Robert Downey, Jr. He gets my heart pumping…….

Also on Thursday, Andrew came home with a Kinect for the Xbox. After he got it hooked up on New Year’s Eve, we were bowling at home. 

STEEEEEEERIKE!

Hurdles!

We also tried the Track and Field. We ran a sprint, threw both discus and javelin, long jumped, and jumped hurdles. I kicked Andrew’s ass in boxing. He kicked mine in beach volleyball. The console came with Fruit Ninja, and I think I like that one. Last night we bowled and ate pizza and wings, and it didn’t matter if our fingers were saucy… Gotta love technology!

It's bowling, not yoga......

On Friday, Andrew had to work, but we three girls decided to go horseback riding on the beach. Now, I had not been on a horse in over 20 years and was a little nervous. Until I actually got on the horse. His name was Trigger, and when I first saw him I thought “but, he’s so small…..” (my horse Della was 18.5 hands high—which just means big); I could see over Trigger’s shoulders. But I got up on him and he was so sweet. We had a 90 minute ride, and the first half hour was on a trail out to the beach. This let me get comfortable on Trigger and learn some of his quirks. He kept trying to brush me off against the gates and bushes, and he didn’t want to lead, but he had to be right next to the lead horse. 

Connie, me and Annie on the beach December 30, 2011

Once we were on the beach, Annie, Connie and I decided to run, and that was a blast. I have to say that I was scared at first, I hadn’t had a chance to find my balance yet, but after a while I was having soooo much fun. The beach ride didn’t last long enough for me, but the horses were tired and they had two more trips to make that day. The one thing that Trigger did on the beach that was driving me crazy was that he kept trying to run between the fishing poles and the water instead of around them on the beach side.  It is a memory that I will cherish, and it is definitely something Andrew and I will have to do together.

Saturday, we all hopped in the car and went north. We drove up to Hearst’s Castle to see if we could spot the zebras, but they must have been hiding. I’ve seen them before, but not this day.

Nap Time!

 We drove a little further north and found the Elephant Seal nursery instead. They are huge. The females can get up to 1,600 pounds and the males can reach 5,000 pounds. They look like rocks (especially the ones lying in the water).

All those lumps on the beach are elephant seals

 Big can be beautiful! We stayed in for New Year’s and bowled and watched Dick Clark (he’s getting a little scary). At midnight we toasted with champagne, popped our poppers, and watched the fireworks over the bay.

Andrew and I started watching all the Harry Potter movies at the beginning of the week. We only have “The Deathly Hallows…pt 2” left to watch. We filled in Sunday and Monday with two Harry Potters each.  I was kinda lost in the last one—I guess that I never finished that book….. One more to go. Pizza and bowling for dinner again. I think I need a vacation…….