Le Sigh….

Seriously, how hard is it for a college to make “register online” web page?

CNA-Q has been established here since 2002…and they still require students to come to college a single day before classes to stand in line until they meet with someone who does up the schedule.

Now it works, in a sense, because CNA-Q is a technical college where each program has a list of required courses…so you can’t really pick and choose your own. However, it’s a right pain in the you-know-where because there is always some kind of error going on. Here, let me relay what happened to me today:

Needless to say, it was registration day for the Intersession, also known as Spring Semester. I checked my college e-mail the night before and got two conflicting schedules. The older e-mail said that business students should come in between 8:00 and 10:00 in the morning to get their registration done. The second, and more recent, e-mail said that I should come in at 2:30 p.m.

Now, like any person with an ounce of common sense, I figured the second e-mail held the proper revised time. So I stayed up a little and set my alarm for 10:30. I hate waking up early and figured that this was pretty lucky.

At 9:06 a.m. I’m awakened by my cell phone’s incessant beeping. (The ‘reminder’ beep that tells me if I have unopened messages or missed calls). So I check…and it’s a text message. From the college. Telling me that the time for business students to register is from EIGHT to TEN.

What part of ‘”MAKE UP YOUR GODDAMN MIND” do you not understand, Registration People?!?!

Let me make something clear–there are over 1,000 students who go to CNA-Q. All of these programs: Business; Information Technology; Health Science and Engineering register on the same day. This is why they split the day up into time periods for each major. So I figured it was important for me to be on time so that they don’t move on to the next major before I got my schedule done!

Let me also add that it takes 45 minutes for me to get to school if traffic is an issue. And it usually is.

Before I even got out of bed I called my driver and told him to come pronto to get me. I jumped into my clothes, grabbed my backpack and was out the door ten minutes later. Didn’t eat or drink a single thing. Reached college at around 10 and made my way to the female gym where the registering was taking place. (I got lost on the way there too…how weird is that?!?! I guess I was a little frazzled). When I finally got there the line was spilling out the door, so I had to wait in the heat for ten or fifteen minutes until I got inside. Thankfully, they were still registering business students, so that was one worry off my back. Another thing I’m grateful for is the fact that they changed the system so you don’t have to stand up in line the entire time. (Last semester the registration took place in the Resource Center where I stood in line for over two hours….Not Fun). The gym was bigger and accommodated more computers to get people registered faster. I didn’t have to wait too long ’til it was my turn, thank God. But, as usual, when things that start off rocky start getting smooth, you get hit with another rock…namely the fact that I got three courses (you can only take a maximum of four in Spring) two of which I’ve ALREADY TAKEN. Why does this keep happening?! Guh.

(For those who may be confused: Last semester they also gave me a couple of courses I’d already taken. Thing is, a couple of them I haven’t technically taken…I wrote a challenge exam and was exempted. But for some stupid reason, whoever is in charge of student profiles is uninformed and does not include it in my papers. GAH!)

So I’ll attend my one non-repeated class tomorrow and then spend the rest of the time getting my schedule fixed. Oh CNA-Q, your efficiency and organization fills me with joy. JOY!

I’m At Home

And since I’m not feeling all that great, I’ve been generally wasting away in front of my laptop.

Actually I will gladly waste away in front of my laptop whether or not I was sick. I love my little lappy-toppy. Shut up.

Anyways. There’s this Flash game I played for a while years ago. I found it again. And I’m addicted. Again. It helps feed the side of me that wants to shoot people but can’t for three reasons:

1) I’m really a pretty peaceful person at heart (Shut up, Lebne)

2) I don’t have a gun

3) My aim leaves much to be desired

So I play this. It’s very simplistic. Kinda violent, but nothing detailed. Just start shooting.

Clicky clicky BANG BANG

Open Letter to my Immune System

Hi, it’s me Hala. I’m sure you know me quite well—-we’ve been rather inseparable since birth.

I have a question that I’d really appreciate if you’d answer honestly. You know—-since honesty’s always appreciated and since we’re going to be together for a hell of a long time still. (At least, that’s what I hope).

For a long while, spanning more than a few years actually, you have done an  excellent—–nay—-a nearly flawless job of keeping unwanted bacteria and viruses away from this little temple of mine.  While everyone around me seemed to be catching colds (severe and otherwise), I still remained vibrant and healthy. You were upholding your duties and I was eternally grateful.

So…….WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED?!?! Ever since December you have allowed at least four separate colds to enter my body and wreak their own brand of havoc. One of them was bad enough to keep me out of school for two days! (The result of which was missing out on a ton of Accounting information I could have used). This highly displeases me.

Now, c’mon. I hardly think I’m abusing you in any way! I am not constantly stressed. I eat some form of breakfast every morning—-granted it’s not the heartiest of meals, but orange juice and some toast is always at hand! I eat at school too…and I don’t think my sleeping patterns are awful, though they could be better. Besides, I’ve had worse situations to deal with and you were still good enough to not allow me to be repeatedly invaded by bacteria.

What have I done to offend you? I’m really trying to be open here. Is there something you need from me that I’m not giving? I’m a little picky when it comes to multi-vitamin pills, though I have been taking them more often recently. Is that what you need? What do I have to do to get you to keep things that make me stuffy-headed and phlegm-throated at bay? I’m serious, Mr. Immune System. Right now, I’m going through my fourth cold. This is NOT FUN. I don’t think it’s any fun for you either, so let’s start some discussion here or I…I…well, it’s hard to threaten something that’s there to keep you alive. But. I won’t be happy. So give me a hint here, all right? Please?

Sincerely,

Hala.

*Goes to blow nose out on tissue #568.*

TALENT!

My God, people!

She’s six years old and can pull off Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You”.

I’ve seen adults butcher this song ’til it plead for mercy…and this little pootie of a kid sings it practically effortlessly. Just listen to her! Freaking wow…

I mean, even that amazing part of the chorus that Whitney belts out that ends up sending shivers…Connie manages with just as much emotion. Did I mention she’s SIX?! She was on Britain’s Got Talent and wowed everyone with her rendition of Somewhere Over the Rainbow–which she sang a cappella the first time. If this is what she’s like now, what’ll she be like when she gets older?

7 Random Things

This is something that a few of my blogroll friends have done. Some did ten random things but I’ll stick with seven because I’m not sure if I could come up with ten. You’re also, apparently, supposed to get tagged in order to do this, but no one did. So I’ll take a leaf out of Rambling Hal’s book and tag myself. Here we go!

1-)

Lately I seem to have lost the ability to sleep on one pillow. That is to say, if I’m on my back, my head is inevitably between my two pillows. One half of my skull per pillow edge. The neck pains in the morning are rather unpleasant to say the least. This has been going on for a pretty long while now, with no foreseeable change in sight. It appears that my sleeping patterns don’t seem to include being on my back and on one whole pillow. There’s no problem if I’m on my side! Or stomach! (Stomach has another problem though. My head always ends up on my arm, thus numbing it entirely). But back? Nope. Center of bed. Between pillows. Ah well, it could be worse, I suppose. Like the time I woke up from a confusing dream when I realized I was doing an amazing job of cutting off my own air supply because my neck was bent at the most awkward angle underneath my pillows. Gasping and sputtering, I straightened myself out…then promptly dozed off again. I think I ended up freaking Lana out. (We share a room, needless to say).

2-)

I’ve currently developed a fascination with making my own icons. I want to make cool ones and put them as my MSN display pictures. So far I’ve made a grand total of ONE. (Well, two, but one of them is a copy of another one, I just made it in a different easier-to-read form). I’ll post both. (Click to get the bigger picture)

This is the icon I simplified from another one:

And this is the one I made because of a random moment. What’s written isn’t original, but I figured it’d fit.

I know, they’re hilarious, right?! RIGHT?!

Oh go eat a gremlin’s gym sock, I’m new at this.

3-)

I still sleep with a light on. Not my regular ceiling lights…but like a lamp. I can’t help it. I won’t turn it off unless I wake up at some time and realize the sun’s rising a little. I used to be able to sleep in pitch darkness with no problem. Now I can’t seem to. I have a very over-active imagination…and it doesn’t help that sometimes I watch things that I was better off not seeing. It makes me feel pretty childish, but it’s a habit that’s difficult to break. Yeech.

4-)

When I asked for an iPod on my 20th birthday, I figured I’d fill it up with music in no time. Isn’t that why I wanted one in the first place? Because my 250 MB Mp3 player just wasn’t enough? Besides, I’d be able to categorize my music and stuff. And everyone knows how much Hala loves to categorize things!

I digress, however. I hadn’t planned on buying a 60 GB one. (I was opting at first for a Mini or a Nano). But when I learned you could play videos on it and stuff, I figured I’d like it more. So, it was bought. It is now nearly two years old. How many songs do I have on it, you ask? A GRAND SMACKING TOTAL OF 686! That’s including several of these 30-minute-to-nearly-an-hour podcasts I subscribe to. (‘Nobody’s Listening’ by James and David Kennison. Check them out!) Anyways. Yes. And 87 videos. And, nope, I got no music videos or anything like that—-just podcasts by National Geographic and Ask a Ninja. I used to have video podcasts from Comedy Central, but they turned me off when they stopped bringing stuff I actually liked, such as I Love the 30’s and All Access: Middle Ages. Stupid Comedy Central.

Yeah. The point? My iPod is nearly two years old and I only used 5.9 of it’s 55.9 gigabytes. (That’s right, they advertise it as a 60GB but it’s about 4 or 5 less. Not that I’m using the space anyways). I feel like I’m wasting it. But I don’t have enough songs! It can hold 15,000! Guh…

5-)

I have been known to spend six hours, straight, speaking with Kris online. Sometimes more. The weird thing about it is that my bottom wouldn’t even be numb from all that sitting. That can’t be good, right? Damned if she isn’t addictive…

6-)

I’ve been learning French every year from ages 12-19. I still can’t speak to save my life. I can read decently though—-but nothing technical or too official. And writing’s okay so long as I have a bilingual dictionary and a bescherelle. (That’s a book full of conjugated verbs). I wish I was more fluent. I can lord it over my friends, sounding so French and sophis. But I can only make do with short sentences…*sigh*

7-)

For some very odd reason…I never think to take painkillers (like Advil or Panadol) unless my stomach hurts. *Touches wood* I rarely get any other kinds of pain, but when I do—-like a headache—-I don’t even think about taking anything for it. I just lie there and wait for it to go away…or possibly sleep it off. But, in my weird mind, painkillers are reserved for stomach pains. How or why I think like this is wholly unknown to me.

D’accord. J’ai fini la liste et je ne peux penser plus parce que c’est presque 3:00 a.m. et je suis un peu fatiguee. Donc, pour maintenant, je dirai “au revoir” et “bon nuit!”

Hope you enjoyed that!

*Glares*

My throat hurts.

I’ll be damned if I’m getting sick again. DAMNED, I tell you!

Yech…

Got my Grades Back!

They’re hardly as good as they were last term…then again I had tougher courses to deal with. Mainly Accounting II, which was hell taught by Satan. Or Satan’s older son. Not sure. Satan was definitely involved though.

But! I! PASSED! It!

I know a lot of people reading this would go, “Well, duh, Hala, you’re a very good student”. I know. But I know that when it comes to courses that deal with NUMBERS I’m not really all that good. Especially if it’s a course that deals with NUMBERS taught by an INCOMPETENT teacher with ties to Lucifer. It’s one of those things I really suffered through this term. It also didn’t help that I got sick several times and ended up missing an entire chapter taught in that class. This particular chapter, though I tried to review it with friends, ended up encompassing FIVE out of TWENTY multiple-choice questions on the test. And? And? A long-answer question worth THIRTEEN PERCENT! I had to skip the entire question. Seriously. I didn’t know what else to do. Accounting is not something you can use your BS skills on. (Well, with the MCQ, I used the ever-precise method of eenie-meenie-mynie-moe. I figured ONE of them had to be right…)

But now I don’t have to worry about it anymore! I passed the damn course! I passed it! The grade is a terrible one. Let me say I barely passed it. Completely borderline passed it. But I passed! Thank God Almighty, ’cause if I had to repeat that course it would be…well…words couldn’t describe what that would be like.

All in all, this is what I got:

• Recruitment and Selection: 90 (That’s an A)
• Marketing II: 80 (That’s also an A)
• Business Communications II: 70 (That’s a B. I could have easily managed an A but I missed handing in an assignment…blech)
  
• Microeconomics: 65 (That’s a C)

It’s not as good as it could have been, but I’m happy. Microeconomics was all right at the beginning, but the exam was long and tough. I studied as well as I could but didn’t get the hang of graphing Total Costs and Variable Costs and stuff like that. My teacher was a really sweet dude, but his main goal wasn’t really to teach us as much as it was to let the class go early. (I don’t think he liked being in school anymore than some of his students did).

In any case, this is a good motivator to get me to buckle down a little bit more this upcoming semester. My first semester was pretty easy–I didn’t have to do much to get A’s. This was tougher and that, combined with my body being flypaper for bacteria, didn’t help. But I got through! And Intersession should be good. Wonder what I’ll be taking?

Anyways, ’til next time! Right now, I’m officially ON BREAK! (That is to say, I don’t have to worry about my grades while trying to enjoy some semblance of freedom). Woot!

*Jigs*

I’m officially finished! *Dances some more*

I had my Marketing II final today…it went pretty well I think. What’s funny was that my friends managed to get a copy of the final from last semester and I studied from that. I looked over the long-answer questions and figured I could review those using the lecture PowerPoint slides.

But…they weren’t in my binder. I didn’t even check to see if they were in there before I left school because, well, why wouldn’t they be in there? Unfortunately, it seems that I took them out and shoved them somewhere else…and even now I’m not sure where they are. We’re talking seven or eight chapters’ worth of PowerPoint slides!!! AND NONE WERE IN MY OVER-STUFFED BINDER!

You know what that meant?

I spewed unadulterated BS on every one of the short-answer questions. There were nine. I answered seven. I didn’t have enough BS to cover all of them. The thing I’m depending on is part marks for whatever I managed to get right. *Crosses fingers*

All in all, this was not a good examination term for me. But at least it’s over! OVER OVER OVER!

*Is joyful*

GAH!

Two final exams.

One day.

Got badly beaten by both.

*Goes to nurse wounds*

Two Days…Two Days…

That’s something I’m repeating to myself a lot. Two days and exams will be over! And I will be free! For two whole weeks! That’s a week of freedom per day of stress! It’s a great deal! An awesome deal! IT’S ALL AWESOMECAKES ON THAT FRONT!

Too bad these two days can’t be over fast enough…