Rising Costs

Not groceries or gas but school.

I started looking into PhD programs this month, seriously looking into them and I know I shouldn't, but I keep looking at what it is going to cost me. California has one of the lowest costs to attend college and since I am a residence, I am in an even lower cost bracket.

By attending Cal State Universities for both my B.A. and M.A., I figure that each of my degrees cost about $10,000.

Now in contrast, for one year at a couple of the universities I have been looking at:

$9,481 UC Irvine
$9,670 UCLA
$10,178/$14,336 UT Austin (depends on number of units)
$11,198 UC Santa Cruz
$21,714 Univ. of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
$29,661 Northwestern University
$33,836 USC

Most PhD programs offer full funding for their students, which is part of the reason it is so competitive but still....jeez a lou!

So that is part of the reason I have been so distracted and not posting lately. I have a lot on my mind.

How I Have Been Spending My Time

I am having a blast in NV. Here is what the last few days have been like, in no particular order:Lots of Napping
A trip to Sonic
Slowly, very slowly reading for my class this summer. Should finish article #3 tonight and that means I have to/want to finish 4 tomorrow. I plan to get up at my regular time and read my heart out. It is getting a little better with each article. Now I just have to write up everything I have read as well...
An afternoon movie
Rock Band! My new obsession! For this game alone I would buy a playstation 3.
I sang, played the drums (horribly - not my strong suit) and played the bass guitar.
No actual pics from our game but the above one is a bit like our drummer, Quinn. My bass player had a bright pink Joan jet cut for the majority of the game until I mixed it up and ended up with a shag cut that was half bright teal and half moss green, very fetching. So much fun and so much harder than it looks. Especially when I realize that I don't know the majority of the songs and the ones I do know, I don't know as well as I think I did. although I have to say, this game is easier than the Magic mic that I used Wednesday night at work.

Speaking of, I better get to bed, er...read some more before I settle in for the night. One more day, que triste! I am a little nervous about the flight home but bought some less drowsy(WTF!) Dramamine to be on the safe side. Fingers Crossed!

Nevada

Well, I made it to sin city to visit with Ms S. The flight was horrible, I got sick as we were descending but they didn't have any airsickness bags so, well.... let's just say that it was an unpleasant flight. I felt like crap when I finally got off the plane but was soon cheered up by the sight of my dear friend heading towards me.

Long story short cuz it is time for me to go to bed, the last 24 hours have been filled with new friends - finally met Titan, good food, Mr S(for lack of a better name) is a fantastic cook and we hit a great Indian buffet for lunch, (and Sonic! it did not disappoint for a great drink damn it!). I also slept like a log last night, slept in this morning and took a long nap this afternoon. I think I am making up for entire past semester. I am also getting homework done, believe it or not. I am finally on page 20 of 24 for my second article. Also reading Nickle and Dimed since the author will be speaking on campus this coming semester.

Life is good. I am enjoying this trip and may even return feeling refreshed, a change from my usual out of town sojourns. Helps that I am not running between lectures like at conferences. Any who, will hopefully get some pictures to post, got to get to be so I can go out on the town manana.

Bon Noche!

WooHoo!

With 30+ days to my B-day, I got to pick out the below item. I had just put it on my Amazon wish list but on a Costco run, they had it for less. So on August 24, I get to open my very first food processor!



Counting down the days.

Soundtrack of my life

So, here's how it works:

1. Open your music library (iTunes, Winamp, Media Player, iPod, etc)
2. Put it on shuffle
3. Press play
4. For every question, type the song that's playing
5. When you go to a new question, press the next button
6. Don't lie and try to pretend you're cool

1. Opening Credits: Rehab/ Amy Winehouse

2. Waking Up: mother Revolution/ Tori Amos

3.First Day At School: Then We Are Decided/ Jesus Chris Superstar Soundtrack

4.Falling In Love: Blue Skies/ BT feat. ori Amos

5.Fight Song: Bullets/ Creed

6.Breaking Up: Jarhead/ Immaculate Machine

7.Prom: Agent Orange/ Tori Amos

8.Life: Fotografia/ Juanes & Nelly Furtado

9.Mental breakdown: Both Hands/ Ani DiFranco

10.Driving: Let It Roll/ Train

11.Flashback: GirlTalk/ TLC

12.Getting back together: O Morro Nao Tem Vez/ Stan Getz

13.Wedding: Waiting for You/ Seal

14.Birth of Child: General Joy/ Tori Amos

15.Final Battle: Complication/ NIN

16.Death Scene: Scarlet’s Walk/ Tori Amos

17.Funeral Song: Break It Down Again/ Tears for Fears

18.End Credits: I Like Dirt/ Red Hot Chili Peppers