Yum....Bacon

Well things have definitely flipped around a bit since my last post. I decided to decline the job offer and really looked at community colleges that offered what I was looking for. I refuse to pay an insane amount of money for the same knowledge and experience I'd get at someplace cheaper. 


To my surprise there is a community college in Iowa that looks absolutely amazing. It has everything I want in every aspect and non-residents only pay $10 more per credit hour, which is crazily cheap compared to a lot of the colleges and universities I looked at. It even has on campus housing. There are two other community colleges that I wrote down to keep looking at. One is also in Iowa and the other is in Wyoming. They both appear to be very good, but I really fell in love with the first one. What sucks though is that I'll probably have to wait until next fall to attend due to housing most likely being full. I am definitely going to email them though to make sure and ask whatever other questions I have. 


I am definitely pleased that I have decided to pursue what I love. The main issue is getting to the college and adjusting to not living at home or being near family. It will probably be a major shock, but hopefully I'll be fine. Another problem is paying for it all. The Pell Grant will be able to pay for the classes and books and things like that, but as for housing, that's almost the cost of the classes so I'll have to apply to as many scholarships as I possibly can. 


I've also received two postcards since my last post. This one is from the Netherlands for Postcrossing:





And this one is from Finland for the site Sendsomething.net:





There really isn't much else that has happened. I am actually enjoying Calculus, which blows my mind since all throughout school I absolutely loathed any type of math class. However, I have to take the first test within a week, so we'll see how I'm doing then. I'm in a few postcard swaps right now, so I should have more PC's to post here soon. 


Oh, I've also been playing Pokemon HeartGold and Castlevania for the N64. I am on such a Nintendo kick right now it's ridiculous. Castlevania is surprisingly really fun, but stupidly hard. "HAVE FUN WITH THE INVISIBLE BRIDGE" is pretty much what you can hear the creators saying at one point in the game. With Pokemon I get completely addicted to it and will end up putting way too many hours on it. I just do not know when to put it down, but my lack of a charge cord has already interfered with that. It feels really good to start playing games again.


 Now I just need to start reading all the books I have...

Terrible Day

Today has been an absolutely awful day. I spent at least 4 hours this morning trying to figure out classes and stuff for college. I'm really trying not to overload myself, but I'm also going out on a limb by taking Calculus 1. I actually shouldn't be able to take the class since I haven't taken the ones that come before it, but apparently my ACT scores in math were high enough to allow me to skip the other math classes and head straight into Calculus. I'm not a fan of math at all, but I'd eventually need to take it since it's a basic requirement and I would like to challenge myself a little bit. If I hate it within the first few days I can always drop it and take a lower course.

After I finally registered and what not for college I then did an online application for a job at the hospital here. That was the WORST application I have ever had to fill out. It had my put in just about everything, including my drivers license number and the license plate number on my car. It then had me put a cover letter and my resume on it as well even though I had already filled in the exact same information. After I submitted it, it had me answer even more questions before it finally freed me from its clutches.

I actually got to relax a little bit after that. Made a run to the post office to mail off a book and a DVD. Then I headed over to the college to pick up the Calculus textbook I need. Turns out they are currently out of stock, so I'll have to call the bookstore in a few days to see if they have any. I really don't understand why they wouldn't have any books considering the class is only about half full at the moment.

After that annoyance I headed over to a little fast food restaurant by my house called Mr. Goody's to get a smoothie. I was told by the cashier that they don't have them today...I have no idea how that is possible.

I finally get home and see that I have some books from Paperbackswap. One of the packages was ripped, but luckily the books inside were fine. Can't say the same for the other book. The wrapping on the hardcover book was completely fine, but when I opened it there was clearly water damage, and the inside of the dust jacket had obvious water stains and looked like it had mold growing on it. This is definitely against the rules of PBS, so I'll have to mark the book as "received with a problem."

Hopefully things will turn out ok in the sense that I'll finally have a job again. I swear it's nearly impossible to find a job in this town. Even Burger King isn't hiring; trust me, I've tried.

First Swaps

I have completed and received a few swaps in the past few days. Two have been electronic swaps, and two have been a mail swap. One was a coloring swap where we had to color one page and send it with an uncolored page to our partner. Each person had two partners. I also received a postcard today from my Basic Postcard Swap partner. Since today was cooled off enough I was able to scan the pictures. 



This is the colored picture I received from a member of the Character Coloring Swap.



This is another colored picture I received from the same swap as above. 



This is the uncolored picture I received from the same person that colored the one above. 



This is the PC I received for the Basic Postcard Swap.


Since I have completed five swaps and have a good rating I was able to host my first swap. It's called What's Your Favorite Animal? and in it you draw your favorite animal with whatever you want, however you like. You also write a note/letter about why you like that animal so much. I also made an optional thing where you can include some information about the animal as well. I figured I could make it a little educational...especially since I'm allowing people's children to be involved. So far 6 people have joined the swap and 18 people are watching it, which is more than I thought already. 


So far four of the five postcards I sent out about two weeks ago have made it to their destinations. The ones that have been received so far went to: Taiwan, Netherlands, Germany, and Finland. The one to Australia has yet to arrive, but I bet it will within the next few days. Four more people have been assigned to me from: USA, Taiwan, Netherlands, and Spain. Hopefully the next country I'm assigned will be Italy. Since my cards have been received I was put into the system to be sent a card. So hopefully I'll be getting a few in the mail within the next few weeks. 


I mailed out a few things today as well. I had to wrap five books, which took forever. Three of them are going to the same person so I was able to wrap them as a group instead of individually. I ended up not having an envelope big enough for them though so I had to wrap them in the brown wrapping paper type stuff. I also mailed two envelopes; one was for Swap-bot, while the other is to a personal friend. 


I also received several things today. Three were books; two from the same person. There was also a letter swap and then the postcard. The two books were wrapped in a plastic bag and then printer paper. The paper was half ripped and just hanging there when I got the package. Good thing they had used the plastic or else the books probably would have been damaged. 


Updated on 8/15/10 with pictures. 

Sites That I've Been a Part Of

These are several of the sites that I have been a part of longer than the ones in my last post. The first two sites I have been a part of for around a year and a half, while the last one I have only been a part of for three and a half months. 


Paperbackswap.com





This is definitely the site that I have used the most. Basically you post the books that you would like to get rid off onto your "Bookshelf." Members of the site are then able to order your books. If your book has been wishlisted by someone it will be put on hold so that the member can accept it. They have a certain amount of time to accept before it either goes to the next person in line or back to your "bookshelf." 


When someone requests one or more of your books you are then prompted to accept or reject the order. The normal amount of time given to mail a book is two days, but there is an option to extend that date. If you accept the order you are then able print off a label with the recipients address on it. After you mail the book you then have to click a button indicating that you have done so. It is your responsibility to pay postage for the books you send. Most books are mailed media mail, which costs $2.38 unless the package weighs past a pound; then it will cost $2.77 and so on and so forth. 


When your book is received the member will mark it as such and one credit will be added to your account. With that credit you are able to order any book you like. If it is on someone's shelf you may order it immediately, if not you can then wishlist it. There is also a "reminder list" for books that are in the system that you want to keep track off, but do not currently wish to order. 


So far, I have received 97 books and have mailed out 73. There are also forums and a chat on this site so that you can interact with other members. This site is only available to people in the United States.

Swaptree.com





On this site you can trade more than just books. You are also able to trade movies, video games, and music CD's. Just like with the other site, you list what you would like to get rid off. However, with this site you must create a "wishlist" of things that you would like to own. If a person posts something that you would like to have and they have something that you posted on their wishlist, then you may swap with them. When you receive your item you must then rate the other member either as "postitive," "neutral," or "negative." You are also able to leave a comment at this point. 


The system also sets up three-way trades where the person you are sending to is not the same person you are receiving from. Also, all parties involved in the swap must accept it before addresses are visible. If everyone accepts then you may print out a label. Once you accept a swap you CAN NOT cancel it, so make sure that you have the item. 


When you first join you are limited to the number of swaps that you can become involved in, but the more you swap, the higher that number climbs. I have completed 38 swaps using this site.


King.com





This site is all about playing games. Currently there are 119 games, with more being added frequently. When you first join you create an avatar and have a mini-profile type page. You can play whatever game you wish; some are single player, while others include multiple members. Each game gives you "jewels" which are basically experience points. If you are playing a multi-player game the winner is usually awarded the most jewels. Whenever your jewels reach a certain number you basically level up. This unlocks avatar items, website functions, and profile items. 


With your profile you are able to build a "castle" with stars that you acquire from getting certain scores in single player games. The rest you have to unlock, but when you do you are given a guestbook that people can leave comments in, able to send "gifts" and challenges (basically a bunch of people that play a single player game trying to get the highest score), send messages to members, and register yourself with a town. 


My top three games that I play are Dice King, Quiz Queen, and Pool. The first is Yahtzee, but with a different name that can have up to four players. The second is a quiz game where your score is based on how fast you answer a question correctly. This game also goes up to four players. The last one can only have two players and is self explanatory. 


Some games you can not play based on the laws of your state. For example: I live in Michigan and am not allowed to play any of the card games.  


Here are my usernames for each site:


PBS = Apollyn
Swaptree = Caligistic
King = Aryce_72