Towson University

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Working and going to school has really been taking too much out of me lately. I talked it over with a friend of mine and had considered going back to a community college near my home in the fall. It would greatly cut back on my expenses and mean that I could fit a little bit of fun in between work and school. This would be really nice, but I hated the idea of leaving all my friends here. I finally got settled in and met a nice group of people here. I met a guy and my best friend and I were fixing to move in together next semester. Everything seemed to be on a good path, but money kept getting tighter, so I picked up a few more hours and then a few more, and when a girl at the bar quit, I picked up her shifts as well. Now, I am working about 50-60 hours a week, plus going to classes and doing work. It is all just putting too much pressure on me. Now this guy I have been seeing has been pressuring me to stay because he really doesn't want to have a long distance relationship.

Anyway, finally a guy at work suggested that I take classes online and get my online degree. He said it will still take a lot of work, however the classes are more condensed, have a flexibility of scheduling, and cost less than a traditional college. He said it is a way for me to stay with my friends, get me degree and still find some serious room to breathe, which is exactly what I need. He even said that they will offer me financial aid which will help me pay for my classes and books and stuff, and that it is less expensive and takes less time than the school I am at right now. He said you can do all your work for a class in just a week or two and then you can be on to the next class.

Well, finally I can get my degree online, and still have the flexibility to work and have a life. I can't wait to get signed up, this is the answer to my prayers!!

Everyone knows that one of the biggest parts of watching the super bowl on TV is seeing the commercials. We look at all of the beer commercials and the new ideas that advertising companies have come up with.

So this year at our super bowl party we were excited to see what was new. But when the commercials came on we were less than impressed to see. I don't think I found any to be extremely interesting or funny. There were a few, like the Mr./ Potato head one where he is driving with his wife (Mrs. Potato head) and she is annoying him and they stop fast and her lips come off. I thought that one was really cute and funny, however I have no idea what the commercial was for or what it was advertising and trying to sell.

Another commercial that caught our eye (and not really in a good way) was the Go Daddy commercials. While this web hosting service had an eye catching commercial, we had no idea what it was. A few days later we ended up going online and looking at it and found that it was a web host service and it was clear from the website that that was what it was. However while I am sure that this web hosting choice is a great one, I didn't know what this company even was form their commercial.

I think that maybe companies are trying so hard to be funny and eye catching with their ads in the super bowl commercials that they really are getting off topic and losing the product that they are trying to sell and get across in all of the hype. Sure some of the commercials I saw were funny and I thought that they were interesting. The problem is that I have no idea what they were for or trying to sell. What is the point of spending all of that time, creativity and money on a commercial that isn't doing anything for your company in return? If I don't know what it is selling, I can't buy it obviously. So I think that maybe we should go back to the old school commercials and maybe that really is just what we need right now. Some of the best and funniest things come out by accident or when you aren't trying so hard to produce them.

Recently one of my roommates Kayla, who is an interior design major had a project to do where she had to shadow someone in her field. She ended up finding someone who was redecorating a home for clients near our school and was able to spend time helping out and even giving her input.

She would come home every day when she was done and tell us all about it. It was actually pretty cool to hear about (I am a pre-pharmacy major so I am really out of that loop ha) and see the samples.

So she would come home and we would go through her box of rug samples and tile and magazines of designer lamps which were really cool. The family that she was working with were newlyweds (which is so exciting and fun) and they just built a home so they got to start fresh and new and it seemed like such a great experience for her. She said she learned a lot and that this really helped her to know for sure that this was the major and career path that she wanted to pursue.

Last week the women whose home that she had helped with invited us to come over and see it and all of the hard work Kayla had put into it. So we stopped by and took the grand tour. It was so amazing. The house was gorgeous (and so was one of the Pendant lamps that I helped Kayla pick out). It was so cool to see that she had helped out with this and helped to change this couples lives. She decorated and helped design everything from woodwork to rugs to colors on the wall and even a playroom for the kids that they will have one day.

It is so cool to see what decorating a home can do for a family. They are so excited to start their lives together in this wonderful home (she even helped with the landscaping and flowers outside and by the deck). Kayla made such an impact on them and I am starting to see her major and why she likes it and wants to do this in the future. It is no longer silly measuring and cutting and gluing to me, she is actually seeing the big picture and helping families put it together and change their lives.

A friend of mine who is really into computers introduced me to blogging. I love to ramble and have many words and thoughts about anything and everything, so I thought I would give it a shot. He showed me this Blog Hosting site and how to set up my own blog and I decided that it was so much fun that I started doing it, and I have some really funny life type blogs and some that are about more serious issues like the government and the economy. He hangs his car up on the bulletin boards all around the campus, and he helps everyone with their computers for free, well, if they need a part or something then they pay just cost for the part, but still, this is an incredible service. I keep telling him that he needs to start charging people, even if it is just a small fee, or taking donations or something. He won't hear of it, he enjoys doing this kind of stuff, plus he knows that most students don't have any extra money lying around. People are really nice to him, and pay him not with money, but with stuff. Either they buy him something he needs or take him to dinner or something just to say thanks.

Now he is doing some seminars on campus to teach people about web hosting and about blogging, SEO marketing, and so much more. He is doing it as a series once a month and the first one is on Choosing a Good Web Hosting Company. This information is important for everyone no matter what field they are going into. After all, computers are the center of the universe these days, and no matter what business you are in you will have to have some involvement with computers and the online world, whether that is placing orders online, running a website or website design and creation. Knowledge of computers is going to be necessary for all of us, and even though we have grown up around them, there is always more to learn, and things that are changing. I think that is why he has over a hundred people coming to his first lecture, that and the fact that he is so well liked.

Last semester in my finance class we learned a lot about government health plan (especially since the election was coming up at the time we got to hear about how each of the candidates felt about the issue). We learned all about insurance and different plans (like car insurance and life insurance) but mainly we focused on health insurance because it is the most important (basically) and almost everyone will have it.

One thing we talked about in the class was low cost family health plans. We had to get into groups and talk about the different plans and benefits and see what fit each made up family the best. The activity about the low cost family health plans probably hit me the most because health care is so expensive now and it is something that everyone should have. It is weird to think that there a lot of people and families (especially with kids) that do not have health care plans because they can't afford it or their jobs don't offer it and they can't get it on their own. I feel like a lot of people (myself included) take health care and overall insurance plans for granted).

With the economy the way it is now, it is hard for families to afford the basic needs let alone extras and to some families, health care may be considered an extra and they just have to hope and pray that no one in their family gets sick. Other families may have someone already sick and their healthcare payments are just so high that they can't afford them anymore. I know that when my dad had cancer (he is in remission now thankfully) that the treatments are very expensive (like hundreds of thousands of dollars) and thank God we had insurance and could afford it, but it makes me sad for all of the families that don't.

I am glad that we got to learn about these things in school so that we are prepared for the future. It is scary to think, but we need to be saving money now (as students) realistically speaking. We need to prepare ourselves for what will happen what we get out of our little bubbles after graduation and walk out into the real world and have to pay for a home and food and insurance all on our own. We need to plan now for the future.

This is a test post.

I love to travel, and thank goodness so does my husband. We used to travel all the time before he had surgery, but since his operation, he can't stand or walk for long periods and we actually had to get a mobility sales rep in to show us some of our options for just getting him around the house. We have been able to adapt some things on our own, however we got him a power chair that has really helped him to be more independent again. I have been expressing to him that I would like to take a trip, however, he doesn't feel that the handicapped van that we have will make it on a road trip. He said we would probably have to rent a vehicle to travel in, however, neither of us were really sure if that was a possibility. I contacted a company called handicapped vans direct, and they let me know that they did have vans to rent for travel and such. I was relieved to hear that this was an option and I think that when I told my husband about hanicap vans direct, he was happy about it. We are really trying, both of us, to live a relatively "normal" life, like we used to before the surgery, but it hasn't been easy. I know that he really wants to be able to travel again and this wonderful company will afford us the opportunity to have some fun again. It has been a while. When a loved one is sick, you go through a lot, and now perhaps finally we are beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. It would be really nice to cut a break and be able to get away for a while.

I think that it will serve us both to get out and have some fun. I am hoping that if our first few smaller trips go well, then in a year or so maybe we can take that big trip to Disney that we have been looking forward to doing. I know that at least they will have handicapped access to their parks, and will be able to accommodate my hubby, even with his wheel chair.