I got my final grade in my first class late last night.  I got 98 out of 100 points, which means I got an...........     A !!!!!   Yeah my first A, in  a very long time.  I think that is only my second or thrid A in my whole college career.  So far my new class is going well.  I really like it, but didn't realize that each instructor would have a unique way of running the online class room.  I actually thought that the way my first class was run, was how each of them would be.  Well, surprise, surprise.  It isn't.  Each instructor can set up due dates for DQ (discussion questions) whenever during the week that they want.  The only thing it seems they can't or don't want to change is when assignments are due, which is the last day of each week.  This happens to be a monday, which is totally weird.  Our School week runs Tuesday through Monday, I am still not used to it, don't know if i ever will be, but hey, at least I got an A.

So today is the last day of my first class. All my assignments have been posted, now all I have to do is patiently wait for my grade. Yeah right, me patient, not gonna happen. So instead I will sit here and worry about it. Even though right now I have an A, I am still going to worry. I had to write a five paragraph essay as one of the assignments last week, I got 4.5 out of 5, but the professor didn't think what it was about fit the topic, so now I am worried about my research paper and if what I wrote about will be OK. My Dad read the paper and thinks it is wonderful and that I grasped the topic and expressed the topic extremely well, considering I only have about 4 weeks of working knowledge on it. My paper was about communication dynamics of a virtual work team. Since I only have experience with a virtual learning team, and only four weeks at that, it was kind of difficult. But I did a lot of research and got it done. Now I just cross my fingers and pray to the Goddess that it will get full marks. I am not used to a point grading system, but I think I like it. No Curve. The grade you get is based on your work, not on what someone else has done. YEAH!

Well, gotta go just got an IM from a friend in the middle of a crisis!, Geez I wish he lived closer than Paris, France.

At least I can put my anxiety on here and hopefully get rid of some of it. As soon as I get my final grade I will post another blog.

One of my beloved cats died this morning. I am not even really sure why. His name is Arthur. He was actually my mom's cat, but when she couldn't keep him anymore, I took him in. My husband wasn't real happy about it, but Arthur was a sweet kitty, just wanted to be loved and fit in well with the other cats. Last month he was bitten by a spider/s, he had three bites but aren't sure if just one spider bit him or more. He healed well from them, even with losing all his hair, but was very thin. He started eating well and his hair was growing back. Saturday, I noticed that he wasn't wanting to eat the dry food that we feed them. I thought that maybe he was having problems with his teeth or maybe swallowing it and started soaking the dry food to make it soft and mixing it with some of the moist food that we feed our 16 year old cat. He wasn't sure about it at first, but last night for the first time he really ate. He seemed fine, but when I picked him up to love on him a little before bedtime, he whimpered when I touched his abdomen. I didn't think anything about it since he had just finished eating. When I got up this morning, I found him on the floor of the bathroom (it's a morning ritual, when I go to use the bathroom in the morning, he comes and rares up on my legs for me to pick him up.), he was laying on his side with his eyes open and was breathing very shallow. He had no control of his head and could only move two of his legs. When I picked him up he cried out like it hurt, but snuggled into my arms. Then about two minutes later, he had a seizure and died.

I am at a total loss. He was fine, running around last night, not like a kitten, but as if he felt fine. He was asleep on the side of the bathtub ( his favorite place) when I went to bed. I tried to love him the best that I could, even though my husband made it clear that he didn't want him here. I feel guilty like I should have been able to do something. We couldn't afford to take him to the vet when he got bit by the spider, but our vet was kind enough to tell us what to do for Arthur over the phone. Arthur responded to everything we did, he never quit eating or drinking, until the last few days. I still feel like I should have paid more attention to him, loved on him more, done something. What did I miss?

I didn't realize exactly how much I love him until now. I walk out of my office and expect to see him come running, crying at me to pick him up. I have seven other cats to love, but I think I will always feel that I didn't do enough for Arthur.

    I am enjoying my first class.  We just got team assignments today.  I am stll unsure about the Learning Team thing, but I am willing to give it a try.  University of Phoenix uses them to help you learn how to manage working in teams when you graduate and move out into the work force. 

    Other than the uncertainty about the Learning Teams, I am loving going to school online.  The only other issue is using online books.  I have never really liked reading a book on the computer so this is causing a bit of difficulty.  Right now I am resorting to printing up each chapter as I need it so that I can move away from the computer to read.  I have always been a hands on type of person, sitting reading a text with highlighter in hand to capture the key points and definitions.  Using a text online makes that very difficult.  Supposedly, there are text that are in a format where you can highlight it just like you would with a hard copy, but the one for this class is not.  Hence the printing, also by printing I am saving a little money considering the book is 50 dollars plus tax and shipping and printer ink is only 20 dollars.  Well, off to go read.

Thank you to everyone who has shown their support, It means a great deal to me.

Blessed Be and Happy Litha!!

Today is my first day of class.  I seem to be the first one, other than the professor, to be on the website and posting.  Since I get up, or try to, with my husband, I will probably always be the first one to post.  I am really looking forward to working on the assignments and "meeting" the other people in my class.  Another advantage to going to school online is the class size.  There are only 15 people in my class, compared to sometimes over 50 at a traditional college.

Our first assignment asks some discussion questions that we have to answer.  All of the questions are things that I have been thinking about a lot since I decided to return to school.  The only thing I am a little worried about is the Learning Teams.  I have never worked in setting like that and I am unsure about how things will work.  I am the kind of person that believes, If you want it done right and on time do it yourself.  With the Learning Teams, I am going to have to give up that control.  I think part of the problem is the fact that my grade depends on the other people on the team as well as myself and I am not sure how I feel about it.  Oh Well, we don't get assinged to our teams until next week so I guess I will worry about it then.