We got the scores from our second test in biology today.... I scored above the adjustment which means I came away with 103% brining my grade to a 97.6%... aka a 4.0! I'm the second highest in my class and it feels great! I am prepared for my percentage to drop a little next week due to my lab partner issues. I'm basking in the glow while it's available. Now, if someone in my life would actually congratulate me instead of going, "oh, well, keep in mind that you are only 4 weeks in." Gee thanks, you are right, it must just be a fluke.

I'm contemplating my options for nursing programs right now. I wish there was a clear "this is the right path" answer. My plan has been to do my pre-reqs and apply to the Pierce ADN program next spring, to start the program for winter 2010. Though this option gets me where I want to be, it is placing a lot of pressure and taking a big risk. Pierce requires slightly different pre-reqs than Highline, which is the other close ADN program. Tacoma Community College is also an option, though I haven't spent too much time looking at their requirements. Pierce only accepts 20 students a year and it is very competitive.

Another option I have been giving a lot of consideration is taking the LPN program at Green River. The college is slightly further away than Pierce, but closer than Highline. The positives of this option would be that I could have my pre-reqs for this program done in one quarter and would for sure be eligble for the program that starts fall 09, they accept on a first come first served. Plus, they are contracted with the huge medical group in this area and a lot of the graduating LPN's are hired on with the medical group which then pays them to complete their ADN. I could complete this program and be working as an LNP while completing my schooling, which pays better than working as a CNA. The downside is that none of the pre-reqs for the LPN program are pre-reqs for the ADN and I would still have to complete all the ADN requirements to be eligible for the LPN-RN bridge. I know I will not be happy staying with just a LPN so getting the RN would be a must for me. Ugh. I'm flip flopping back and forth on this and I really need to make a decision. If I do the LPN program I loose my Opportunity Grant, it is only available at Pierce, though there may be a similar program at GRCC that I don't know about yet. It is much easier to get into the LPN-Rn bridge at Pierce than accepted to the ADN program.... Total time to get my RN would be longer if I did the LPN....

And back and forth I go. I think I'll email the nursing adviser and ask if I can apply for my LPN license after the first year of the RN program at Pierce.

I'm 4 weeks into my classes now and I think I've definitely hit a slump. I spent all day yesterday doing nothing involving school. I still have to finish up my lab report for biology for tomorrow morning and print off a bunch of stuff for lab tomorrow. We had a test in bio on Wednesday, no class on Friday so I'm looking forward to finding out how I did tomorrow. I think I did pretty well, but everyone else was saying it was a really hard test so I wonder if I really bombed it and just didn't realize how badly I was doing.

Psychology still feels like just a ton of busy work. I don't feel like I've really learned anything I didn't know before. My grade is above 98% this week, and I got in my first online disagreement with a fresh out of high school know-it-all... that was kinda fun!

English.... I know in theory why they want us to take this class, however I really dislike it. I am really not big on writing essays just for the heck of it, and we are in week 4 and I have not gotten one bit of feedback from the instructor. I have not gotten grades from the first week of class. It's making me really nervous about going into yet another big project without knowing how I scored on the others. Writing is a lot about style, one instructor will really like what you have to say and it wont do anything for another. I would like to know how I'm doing while there is a chance to change something.

My only complaint with biology is lab partners... enough said.

So, the 4 week update is a bunch of pissy-ness.

I am not loving the english class. It really feels like busy work that I wont really get a whole lot out of. Writing essays on topics I don't particularly care about... blah.

I have an idea that I've been kicking around for a while now. I would like to find a way to put up some of my papers, homework, projects. There has got to be a way to link documents to the blog....

After another week my psychology grade is now above 97%, still holding my own in english and biology has come up a little. There's another biology test this week and I'm really hoping to do quite well on it. Also coming up this week is an appointment with the nursing adviser to look over my planned classes for the next couple quarters. I want to be extra sure I'm getting all the right classes to be ready to apply next year.

I'm starting to get grades back on my first assignments, and the news is mixed.

In English 101 we have had a few assignments due already, though have only received grades for one.... and it was a small one at that. I received 10 out of 10. I have not heard any feedback on my first essay so far. Currently we are working on an essay worth 300 points. I wish this instructor gave a better idea of a class calendar. I have no idea how many or what kind of writing projects I am going to have in this class, this is frustrating since I would like to start being able to get ahead sometimes.

Psychology... doing well in this class. My overall grade is a 96% I believe. We have done 2 tests already and I just turned in my first project. This class is not overly challenging for me, but I feel like there is a lot of busy work.

And then there is Bio. Ugh! I so wish I was doing better in this class. I have a 86% after the first test, one lab and homework, in this class that is a 3.1 and I must have at least a 3.0 to qualify for nursing at this school. Good news is that the lowest test score before the midterm is dropped. Another hopeful bit of good news is that the first 2 weeks are supposed to be the hardest in this class. He claims to basically be forcing a full quarter of organic chemistry in the first 2 weeks. I am definitely having a much easier time with the homework in the second unit. Tomorrow is our 3rd lab and I am really looking forward to it. This is definitely my favorite class.

I survived the first week of classes, now the homework assignments are starting to roll in. Since I'm already getting a bit nervous about some of my to-do list I thought I'd plan it out here.

• Mon (today)- Bio 9am-noon, turn in lab 1. Take a nap in hopes of getting illness under control. Review Essay for Eng, due tues. Work on Psych test, due Wed at noon.
• Tues- Finish Psych test, submit. Finish discussion responses, due Wed. Finish Bio homework. Read lab 2. Eng start outline for essay, due thurs. Pick up financial aid check. Shopping for work outfit/shoes/retainer.
• Wed- bio 9am-noon, turn in homework. Work 2:30pm-11pm.
• Thurs- Study for Bio test on Fri. Finish outline for essay. Psych, work on week 2 reading, start discussion questions. Start week 2 psych project. Work 3pm-11pm.
• Fri- Bio 9am-10am test. Finish psych discussion questions, due Sun. Get some sleep. Work 11pm-7am
• Sat- Sleep. Start rough draft essay. Work 11pm-7am
• Sun- Sleep. Start psych discussion responses. Bio lab 2, due Mon.

And then it starts all over again. I'm keeping my head up, hopefully it will only be this crazy for the next 2 weeks. After that I'm going to be on a regular work schedule, and hopefully 3 days instead of 4. I should have gotten more school work done today, but the whole family is having a bit of an intestinal illness and fever so I decided a bit of rest may help me get well sooner.

My Bio class is down from 52 in lecture and 26 in lab to 30 ish in lecture and 15 in lab. Intense? Yeah it is. But not undo-able. I guess it's just a matter of who wants it most. I think all of the non-medical field people are gone, plus a few more.

Must go finish my work....

Classes have started! I made it to the biology class Monday morning, however the instructor didn't know if there was going to be room for me yet. His advice was to attend lab on Monday and lecture and lab again on Wednesday and go from there. Which meant I also had to attend the statistics class Monday night, since I didn't want to be behind in there if I didn't get the biology. It made for a very long day. This morning the professor let me know that I had a slot! Yippee! We had our first lab project today and I am loving it! Today we looked at Daphnia under the microscope. After counting their heartrate we switched the water with alcohol of increasing amounts. Again, we counted the heartrate. Next we removed the alcohol and added caffeine. I really enjoyed being behind the microscope and being back in class again.

Tonight I need to write the rough draft for my first english paper. I've already tried working on it, but erased everything I had written as I didn't like the way it turned out. I also plan to read 2 chapters in Psychology and get started on the assignment due on Sunday.