De Anza Week Mar 7, 2011

Mon Mar 7

I skipped classes because I got the flu yesterday. Today’s blog I share my treatments and my past experiences being sick and attending college.

The fatigue got the best of me resulting in flu sickness. The last time I got the flu was in April 1999. Most of my adult life sickness started with a sore throat and then a cough with mucus or phlegm running down my throat. I took different medications including Sudafed, Tylenol Cold & Allergy, and Actifed. I took NyQuil for the first time Saturday night and all day Sunday. I realized my recovery is faster after I stop taking medications. It was better to “tough it out” by taking Vitamin C, drinking green tea, eat chocolate, drink orange juice, and eat fruits. The last time I got a sore throat and cough with mucus in January 2009, I took Tylenol for a few days. I stopped taking Tylenol and continued Vitamin C, green tea, chocolate, orange juice, and fruits. My recovery went faster.

Moreover, mucus or phlegm is good. The mucus is the body’s way to move the bad stuff away from your body. I considered taking Mucinex. I did research that mucus helps a body recover from sickness. I didn’t take Mucinex and I tough it out.

The last time I skipped classes due to illness was Fall Semester 1996 at San Jose State. I went home after attending Macroeconomic Analysis. Today was the first time I skipped classes at De Anza due to illness. Technically, it was the second time. The first time happened in Spring ’09 taking Beginning Weight Lifting. It was a PE class and I don’t count it.

The fatigue bug, fatigue sickness, stress, crabby and down days, resulted in the flu. My feeling was I could have gotten sick anytime since the beginning of February. I was able to delay getting the flu. Perhaps, the timing was perfect this is the time to get the flu. Finals are three weeks away. I have an Intro to Bus mid-term on Wed I don’t need to pass because I already earned my two good scores out of three. I can’t wait to fully recover.

Tue Mar 8

I had trouble sleeping last night, yet I felt much better than Sunday. I felt more focused today since the beginning of February. No sickness, no stress, no crabby, not feeling down. I felt some fatigue obviously because I didn’t sleep well last night. The timing was in my favor getting the flu now instead of during finals.

Getting sick was inevitable. The weeks of survival delayed getting the flu, and the rest of the quarter is survival. All I care is passing my classes.

My classmate emailed me earlier today telling me I missed nothing in Intermediate Acct. I don’t care about Intro to Bus class. I just want to pass my classes and start fresh for Spring ’11. A, B, or C doesn’t matter.

It was another relaxing day in Quickbooks. We finished most of Chap 4 and the homework assignment was easy.

Wed Mar 9

From worse to getting better now, today was a real experience of turning 180 degrees. I woke up in the worse condition possible. I felt this week’s sickness was the worse sickness in my life. My eyes were red and watery, my mucus or phlegm had some blood, and my throat felt rough like sandpaper when I swallow. Unrelated to my sickness, I’m having minor gum problems. I rinse my mouth with hydrogen peroxide. I couldn’t sleep because my coughing kept me awake.

Then I realized I forgot the most important fluid one drinks when a person is sick. It was water. I forgot to drink water yesterday. I started drinking water in the morning. Hours later, my eyes and throat improved. I coughed less. I was able to take short periods of sleeps. There was no more blood in my mucus.

I thought about making an appointment to see my doctor at 10am. The last time I saw my doctor was March 2008. I emailed my classmate in Intermediate Acct and the instructor in Intro To Business I’m staying home. The rest of the day I drank water and stayed in bed. I also took 1,000mg of vitamin C and I drink a cup of green tea. I stopped eating chocolate, drinking coke, and orange juice.

The Personal Side Of Me Finding Raymond Mar

De Anza Week Feb 28, 2011

Mon Feb 28

I experienced fatigue for the past four weeks. Perhaps the fatigue is not stress related and not being overwhelmed. Stress may be health related. I know people who had the flu, been sick, or felt tired. It’s better to be fatigued than being sick and bedridden.

I could blame my classes. My Intermediate Acct and Intro to Business reached the most boring peak in the quarter. Boringness equals tiredness, not fatigue. The professor in Intermediate Acct confirmed he removed Chap 17 for the final. The instructor skipped some slides because he felt the class was bored. We were. The class was dismissed 15 minutes early.

I arrived in Intermediate Acct five minutes late. I missed nothing. I rushed getting to school. Rushing a wet shave was not worth it. I cut myself twice. I planned to skip Mon night’s dance class. I parked at Sterling parking garage instead of Flint. The drive inside campus took more time than I thought. One car blocked me making a left turn to Sterling garage. It could have been longer because there was one way traffic due to paramedics blocking one lane.

Tue Mar 1

It is March already. This quarter is faster than Fall ’10. In a blink of an eye it’s finals which is the third full week of March.

I ate an early dinner at the Mission College cafeteria. The price was reasonable $6 for a burger, fries, and Pepsi. The burger tasted plain. I saw three students talking about accounting. I looked at their textbook. It was intermediate accounting.

Tonight’s Quickbooks lecture was easygoing. I listened and followed the lecture. I completed next week’s homework assignment. The instructor posted solutions to Chap 1-3 to help us prepare for the in-class mid term.

Wed Mar 2

I got the fatigued sickness. I felt weak and fatigue throughout the day. Today was the day for the lectures to go by fast. It went by fast or at least faster than my past boring lecture. In Intermediate Accounting, we reviewed the Chap 16 CPA questions and started learning Chap 18. My instructor for Computer Acct. Systems walked in the classroom to get calculators from the storage. The students who knew her gave her cheers.

I submitted the extra credit time value of money exercises for Intro To Business. The instructor emails me a code to complete the extra credit. I can use the extra points because it looks like I’m not going to be ready for the third mid-term if my fatigue sickness gets worse. I found out Grubb & Ellis, a commercial real estate company I worked for, issued a REIT mutual fund. Interesting.

I went home to eat lunch instead of staying on campus. There were no leftovers. I cooked lunch and took a nap. Then I went to dance class. We reviewed the West Coast Swing. I need to practice at home. Then we learned the Salsa. The Salsa substitute teacher appeared. The instructor actually ran the class. I had trouble concentrating because I was really tired. I needed to get strength and energy fast because the Intermediate Acct Chap 16 homework was due tonight a midnight.

The weekend movie is Singin’ In The Rain.

The Personal Side Of Me Finding Raymond Mar

Streaks Of Imperfection

2011 started off good. My feeling was many people looked forward to 2011 because their 2010 was a bad year. People were upbeat. 2011 started upbeat and positive. Today, it seems the feeling died down. I see and experienced people with an attitude problem such that they’re taking out their problems on others or they live life without care. That’s just me.

My 2011 remains upbeat and positive; however, I have experienced streaks of bad luck, bad timing, bad circumstances . . . being at the wrong place at the wrong time. One example of bad timing is the many green lights that turn red before I pass the intersection and I have to stop. One example of bad timing is I’m next in line to pay at the cashier and the customer in front of me has a conflict with something. That happened multiple times. The bad circumstance is my house was almost robbed. And I’m experiencing fatigue sickness. I feel sick tired, yet I’m not sick and bedridden. The fatigue sickness is an accumulation of the streaks of imperfection.

I feel great when life is good, life is perfect, life flows with me. Everyone feels great when life is good. Life is perfect. Nothing holds you back. Life is never perfect. Life continues on whether a person has good times and bad times. My current streak of imperfection is just a streak. There is a moment in time the streak ends and a consistent good times come back to me. Moreover, the streak of imperfection reminds me everyone in life goes through slumps, off days, and frustrations. If we use strength, patience, persistence, and an open mind seeking ways to get out of the streak of imperfection, then life is really not that bad. The next time we experience a streak, we have the wisdom and knowledge to deal with the streak and hope the streak is shorter than that last.

The Personal Side Of Me Finding Raymond Mar

De Anza Week Feb 21, 2011

Mon Feb 21

President’s Day holiday. Campus closed. I needed the break after three weeks of fatigue and stress. The three day weekend gave me time to refocus as the Winter ’11 quarter enters March next week.

Tue Feb 22

It was another easy day in Quickbooks. The instructor continued his detailed lectures and tells us what to read and what not to read. The homework assignments have been easy. Today’s lesson I completed the homework assignment due next week.

Parking was easier because I have plenty of $1 bills to pay for parking.

Wed Feb 23

I scored an 82% on the Intermediate Acct mid-term. I take it. The professor said the overall scores were better than his past classes. He didn’t comment on the class average and he didn’t announce the curve. I talked to a few classmates. We agreed the mid-term was not hard. There was too much to know.

The professor explained the written portion. Most of the students ignored his explanation as we conversed with each other and compared our answers. Sorry, professor. We were worried and most of us were relieved we passed.

My changes reading, doing homework, and studying a little each day has worked. I followed the professor lecture for Chapter 16. There has been no stress for Intermediate Acct and Intro to Business.

We discussed the Libya unrest and oil stocks in Intro to Business. The class was focused and attentive. The second part of the lecture we talked about Chapter 14. The class was unfocused and inattentive, lol.

I ate out for the second time in a row. There were no leftovers from home. I ordered a crispy chicken bento box at Tapioca Express. The bento was delicious.

There was a substitute teacher for dance class. The instructor had a performance. The substitute taught Salsa. I didn’t like him because he taught patterns too difficult for beginners in past classes. I was surprised tonight’s lesson was easier; however, he still failed to engage the students like our dance instructor. I gave him kudos he improved.

The weekend movie is King Kong (1933).

The Personal Side Of Me Finding Raymond Mar

De Anza Week Feb 14, 2011

Mon Feb 14

The past three weeks feeling fatigued, unfocused, and frustrated are summed up by the little things. I believe in the little things add up to big things. The little stress out instances and moments, the small uncontrollable events, and bad timing add up to bad luck, bad feelings, bad attitude, and my face frowning. For example, too many red signal lights, rude customers in front of me at the checkout line, slow thinking people, product out of stock, and bad dinners. Time moves on and my life turns around in time.

The professor passed out the practice mid-term in Intermediate Acct. In 40 minutes, I managed to answer 50% of the mid-term. The class anticipated Wed’s mid-term is very similar. There were lots of CPA questions. The professor mentioned some students asked for the mid-term to be delayed again. I disagreed.

In Intro to Business, we took the second mid-term. Almost all of the questions were from the lecture
Powerpoint notes. I wasted my time if I read the book. The flash cards memorizing the researches on motivating employees helped.

The practice mid-term gave me the impression Wed’s mid-term is harder than I thought. I went home after Intro to Business and skipped Mon night’s dance class. I spent tonight and tomorrow studying.

Tue Feb 15

Tomorrow’s Intermediate Acct mid-term is like real life working in a company. I have a better understanding working as a staff in a commercial real estate company. The brokers experienced last minute changes, a final push to prepare for their presentation, cramming research information and facts, and focusing on closing the deal thereby the client signs the contract. It was hard to hate the brokers when I worked in commercial real estate. I focused all day on the mid-term as if I’m making a presentation involving millions of commission revenue for my company. Nothing else bothered me.

It was another kickback day in Quickbooks class. The instructor assigned another homework assignment in Chapter 2 we completed in class. I followed the lecture on my laptop. I printed the homework in .pdf ready to submit next week.

I must make changes how I study Intermediate Acct and Intro to Business after the mid-term. I don’t want to overstudy like I have been doing the last week. Intermediate Acct is getting harder. The last two homework assignments I scored 70s and 80s in Intro to Business class. Changes and new priorities are going to be done starting on Thur. One idea is spread the reading and homework assignments in Intermediate Acct over two days instead of cramming reading and homework in one day. Three days is acceptable. I read the chapter a second time, write notes, and analyze the illustrations and examples to better comprehend the concepts.

Wed Feb 16

I felt relieve. Studying for the Intermediate Acct mid-term was like studying for a final. The mid-term is over. The mid-term was the hardest I ever took at De Anza. The mid-term was harder than many of my Economic mid-term at San Jose State. I’m free. I’m relaxed. It’s time to catch up on other activities and commitments. First, get lots of sleep.

I scored a 90% on my Intro to Business mid-term #2. My two 90% scores satisfy the mid-term criteria. We take three mid-terms, and the instructor drops the lowest score. Two 90% scores are not too shabby. I felt the second mid-term was harder than the first. The instructor said more people did better on mid-term #2 compared to mid-term #1. I start reviewing the Powerpoint lecture notes before completing the homework assignment and study at least 10 days before the mid-term.

I ate at McDonalds because there was no left over dinner at home. It was the first time I ate out in Winter ’11. The two mid-terms are completed. I have free time to cook again instead of eating the same lunch and dinner three days straight.

It was another small turnout in dance class. We reviewed the West Coast Swing and then we danced the Waltz. I chatted with two classmates and the assistant. One topic was the GRE. All of us had bachelors degrees and we talked about going back to school and people having jobs are lucky.

Another activity I catch up is watching another classic movie. The next movie is Jaws.

The Personal Side Of Me Finding Raymond Mar

De Anza Week Feb 7, 2011

Mon Feb 7

Intermediate Acct and Intro to Business are almost guarantees I fall asleep regardless how much I sleep the night before. Today’s lectures were boring and I almost feel to sleep in both classes. The instructor for Intro to Business let class out early because it was really getting boring. He’s a good lecturer and communicator. He needs to make his content more interesting.

Going back to Intermediate Acct, the professor lectured Chap 15 which is the last chapter for the mid-term on Mon Feb 14. The class mood seemed concerned the professor Chap 15 lecture is incomplete and there is no time for questions on the mid-term for Wed’s class. My classmates and I agreed Chap 14 is easier than Chap 13 even though Chap 13 talked about liabilities and contingencies which are easy to understand.

I reviewed Chap 13 and Chap 14 in the library after my late lunch. I made the choice to skip studying the CPA questions. I feel CPA questions are not asked on the mid-term, and if CPA questions are included, it’s a small percentage of the points. The CPA questions are not worth my studying time. Studying Chap 13 and 14 was boring. It must be I’m ready for the mid-term for those two chapters.

We were terrible reviewing the Nite-Club Two Step. I was off timing myself. We need more practice. I hope we improve significantly before the Dance Demonstration. We learned more Rumba afterwards. I reviewed the Fall ’10 Rumba by looking at my notes when I got home.

Side note: My Intermediate Acct is also used in San Jose State.

Tue Feb 8

Another terrible Tuesday. Today and last Tuesday I was fatigued I took a nap after 12:30pm. The positive were I started studying Bus 10 mid-term #2 and started the Chap 15 homework. There were stress and rush towards Quickbooks. Installing Quickbooks and downloading the classroom files took longer than I thought. I had no clean socks. Lucky I found a pair near my bed, lol. I didn’t have time to eat lunch at home or at the cafeteria. I purchased Pop Tarts and Twix. Lots of cars rushed into the parking lot. If I arrived ten minutes earlier, then there were fewer cars entering the parking lot, smaller line paying for parking, and less stress felt along my back.

The lecture discussed Chap 1 and Chap 2. The instructor went through the homework assignment due next week. I followed his lecture on my laptop. The end of the class we completed the homework assignment. I printed the required assignments in .pdf I print next Tue.

Wed Feb 9

One of Murphy’s Law states anything that can go wrong will. Today was an example of that Murphy’s Law. From the little things such as shaving, the middle such as rushing broiling chicken, and to the big things such as misreading my homework assignment, it was a stressful day. Today was a day there was nothing positive to cheer me up. It was a crabby, down day. The college workload begins this week. I need to find time getting information to complete my AA degree requirements papers.

There was one positive. The Intermediate Acct mid-term is delayed to next Wed. The class felt a little relief. My feeling was the class overall is still worried despite an extra two days.

The Personal Side Of Me Finding Raymond Mar

De Anza Week Jan 31, 2011

Mon Jan 31

Yesterday one of my friends and I talked about grades and classes. He approaches his semester by concentrating on learning the concepts instead of worrying about mid-terms and grades. I’m going to try his approach. I was raised to study hard and get A’s. I worry about failing on my mid-terms. Starting today, I focus on just learning and understanding the concepts. Whatever grade I earn on my mid-term, I earn it.

That approach came at good timing. Intermediate Acct is getting boring. The material is not hard. It takes time to understand. I concentrate on learning and understanding. Worrying about the mid-term is secondary. I hope focusing on the learning objectives make Intermediate Acct less boring and more exciting.

Today’s Intro to Bus lecture was long and boring. The instructor finished his lecture ten minutes early. Thank goodness. One concept he lecture was the SWOT analysis or Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. I learned SWOT when I took a business plan class in Winter ’06.

We spent half of the class reviewing the Nite Club Two Step. The review was needed badly. Many students including me forgot the final routine. The last 45 minutes we started to learn the Rumba. The basic was review. Then we learned a new move that was difficult for me.

Tomorrow is my first day at Mission College. I’m taking Quickbooks. I include my Tuesdays at Mission College in the De Anza blog.

Tue Feb 1

My first day at Mission College. I arrived 40 minutes before class started. I walked around the small campus. First, I found my lecture room. Second, I got my student ID card. Third, I walked inside the cafeteria. The food prices are cheaper than De Anza. Pepsi is the fountain soda; however, there is Coke in a can next to the deli sandwiches. My favorite was the grill serves breakfast all day. Great! I try their grill food one of these days. I purchased a bag of Lays BBQ chips. The campus center has a modern look.

There is a grace period for parking. Parking enforcement allows students to park free of charge. I did the math. It’s cheaper for me to pay the daily rate instead of purchasing a semester parking permit.

I walked inside the classroom 10 minutes before class started. The classroom is a lecture room. There are no computers. The teacher was calling tech support because Quickbooks was not installed in the classroom PC. The tech staff arrived with Quickbooks 10 minutes after class started to install Quickbooks. In the meantime, the teacher explained the green sheet including the classroom hours. The class is actually two hours lecture and one hour homework time where students can ask the teacher for help. Initially, I thought the class was three hours lecture. The teacher explained because of budget cuts, he was able to add an extra hour for each class meeting to help students.

Next week, I bring my laptop installed with Quickbooks. There are outlets along the right side and back of the room. I follow his lecture on my laptop. I purchased the textbook at Amazon.

Side note: Winter ’10 is the second time I attended two colleges. The first time was in Fall 1994 where I attended San Jose State Mon, Wed, and Fri and West Valley College Tue and Thur.

Wed Feb 2

The fatigue bug must be spreading this week. I took a long nap Tue afternoon after I ate lunch. Today, I was half fatigued. I almost went to sleep in Intro to Bus class. I kept awake because I walked around campus for ten minutes to get fresh air. I was half focused reading Chapter 15 in accounting in the library. I noticed some students were fatigued.

I was tired of eating the same breakfast I wanted something different. I went to Safeway and purchased English muffins and sausage. I went home and ate them plus apples for breakfast. I drove to school at 12:15pm. I arrived in Intermediate Acct at 12:45pm. The signal lights were against me. I managed to sign the attendance sheet after class. The professor announced the mid-term Mon Feb 14 which is also the same day as my second Intro to Bus mid-term.

I had a small reunion with four classmates from Integrated Computer Acct. I talked to two of them before Intro to Bus and the other two when I ate lunch inside the campus center.

Today’s dance class attendance was the smallest since the first day. I recognize a few missing students. It must have been the fatigue bug. We continued practicing the West Coast Swing and then we learned the Cha Cha Cha. The teacher and the assistant corrected me on my West Coast Swing mistakes.

No weekend movie because of Super Bowl.

The Personal Side Of Me Finding Raymond Mar