Mental Preparation

So as I enter my final, blissful year of University, I can't help but reflect on on what the last 5 have brought me. Knowledge, wisdom, personal growth and debt!! Lots and lots of debt.

My original plan was to take a year off, one year. I was going to work full time and gain some life experience, save some money. And hopefully during that time, I would figure out what I wanted to do with my life! I did manage to figure out what I didn't want to do...

1 year off turned into 6 years. I worked in retail for those 6 years, and eventually was promoted up the chain of command to manager. And what I realized it that I didn't want to be a manager. Now, do not get me wrong - there was nothing wrong with the job. I loved my co-workers, my staff, the company. But I just didn't enjoy being a manager. Some people are so amazingly suited to it and I am not one of those people. So that promoted a visit to University.

Once there, I received some great advice about a potential career choice - Museum Curator - and from there I thought I would try a spring class. A spring class (at least in Alberta) is a condensed class that is 3 hours a day, Monday though Friday, for three weeks. That went well, so I did a summer class (same time frame) and that went well too. So, with 2 weeks to spare, I registered for full time classes starting in September '08. And from there I have not looked back!! 

Now, as I have said, this will be my 6th year of University. My plan was going to be doing my BA in 5 years as opposed to the usual 4, but as you've read above - time lines are not a sticking point for me. But if I could give any freshmen who are reading this, or even if you're going into your second or third year - GET YOUR DEGREE DONE IN A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME!! If you're doing a four year degree, try to do it in four years. You sort of hit a wall after that, at least I did. But don't rush it either. If you're not a strong student, then it might be better to do fewer classes a semester, but stay focused on getting your degree done! But I haven't looked back and I'm glad things have happened the way that they did. I have met some great friends and I have had some amazing professors who have supported, and encouraged me!

And through it all, my family. I'm pretty lucky in the family department. Both my parents are amazingly supportive, and are great with everything from lending a supportive shoulder to sob on when I'm stressed about an exam, or a fresh set of eyes to proof read a paper (which would come in handy as I blog - my spelling and grammar always suffer during the summer). I always get the encouragement and cheerleading I need!! Love you all!


AS A SIDE NOTE:
I am very curious about what kind of things you, my readers, would like from my blog! I have a few ideas of my own (and they are NOT all school related, I promise). But feel free to leave a comment below about what you're curious about, or would like to see, and I'll see what I can do!! 

Essential Locker Supplies

I thought I would do a post about my locker essentials kit. Mine is perhaps a little obsessive, but I'm a believer that if you have it, you'll likely never need it! Plus it's always a good idea to at least have a few things that you use on a regular basis in your locker, and that saves you from having it hanging around in your purse or school bag taking up space and adding extra weight!!

So this is my kit:

  I keep two different kits in my locker. One for personal products and the other for school supplies. I'm first going to show you my personal kit (which is packed!)

This is the brand 'REALLY USEFUL BOX' and it's the 1.7 

  I like to keep a deodorant in case I hit the gym, or more likely am just in a rush in the morning and forget to put it on before I leave the house! It's just a travel size one that you can find at any drug store. There are also Almay oil free make up eraser sticks, which a q-tips filled with make up remover that is safe to use around your eyes. You just snap one end and the cleanser saturates the other tip and you can fix any mascara boo boo's or other smudges. For the same reason, I have Clean and Clear oil absorbing sheets and Olay wet cleansing cloths. Depending on how long my day is, I love to wash my make up off and just enjoy a nice clean face! And even though I always have them in my purse, I keep tissues and a lip balm as well. I have a tiny lip balm addiction. I always have about 4 with me.

 I have also discovered that it is a good idea to keep a few first aid items in my locker. You can track these down at most schools in various offices or at campus stores, but this way you are guaranteed to have something on hand.

I especially like to keep blister band aids in my locker. I don't know why but at some point during the school year, I seem to think that it would be a good idea to break in new shoes, which almost always results in a blister! I also have band aids in various sizes and designs, some of which have a antibiotic in them. Regardless, I also have Polysporin on hand. I like the one specifically labeled Polysporin Kids because it is a non-stinging formula and has a pain reliever. I'm a baby and I know it! Last but not least, hand sanitizer. Schools are breeding grounds for colds and flu's and they seem to attack right around midterms and finals so protect yourself!!

Because I'm a baby, I have my Hello Kitty pill case with some Advil and Aleve. These are for personal use and I recommend being careful when giving out any sort of painkiller to anybody else!

Some feminine products. Enough said...

Some other essentials are hand lotion, nail file(s), a Tide to Go pen, small hair brush, hair elastics and butterfly clips, and because I wear glasses (I'm not a fan of contacts - I don't like touching my eyes, plus I just like the way I look with glasses!), I like to have glasses cleaner, a cloth and a little tool to tighten them up if need be. I have several pairs of glasses with the same prescription, but my favorite pair are pretty old. I think I've had them since I was about 15, so they need a little love every once and a while.

My second kit is the school supplies! This is also a 'Really Useful Box' and it's a 0.9 liter pencil box.

So in here I keep the obvious pens, white out tape, pencils and an eraser. Sometimes my pencil case does not always make it back into my school bag, or I forget it somewhere, so it's a good idea to have back ups handy so I you don't have to bum off of friends. This is especially true if you're me, and am kind of a pen snob!

Highlighters! My favorite ones are the Sharpie Gel highlighters. They don't smear like some other gel highlighters do and because they are gel. they don't bleed through the paper and look messy!

I also like the Staedtler triplus textsurfer. These ones are super thin and perfect for highlighting in textbooks or underlining notes.

Also kept it here are: a hole punch, stapler and staples, scissors, and a spare USB drive. Again, most of these things can be found somewhere on campus, such as the library, but I like to have them handy to save me the running around, or again, hoping a friend has them!

And last but not least, post it notes and reinforcements!! Nothing is worse then having a page of notes you've just madly written, be ripped out of your binder! And post its are just an organizational essential!!














And the last thing I keep in my locker is a charger with USB cables for both my iPhone and iPod!

There is nothing worse then trying to kill time, or text message a friend between classes about meeting up for coffee or a notes exchange and your battery is dead!

Back to school supplies!!

So here are some of my Back to School supplies!! I know it's a bit early, but I love school, and I love school supplies!! And I love exclamation points... sorry.

So here is my new school bag! I love it!! It's a Coach tote bag that my mom treated me too. She bought it on an amazing sale from CrossIron Mills Coach Outlet last weekend while we were on our way to Banff, and I think she paid $85 for it.

And it's big enough to hold everything and then some!

So here is my binder! It is from Target and it is there Up brand. I can't remember exactly how much it was but it was, but it comes with 5 dividers, and ruler and a pocket that snaps closed. It's really durable and they have tons of cute colors! The band around it is also Up brand from Target and it's called a File Band. It comes in a three pack and I love it because it will stop my binder from falling open (which always happens in a tote bag) and it will stop my notes from getting smooshed!

Here's the inside of the binder

I also got this from Five Star at Target. I love in because it has 5 divided areas with two pockets in the front and one in the back (see post it notes). I love it because if I'm having a lazy day and i don't want to carry my binder everywhere I can just put in some paper and still keep my notes organized.

Here are some notebooks, the two on the left are from Target, the two on the right are from Staples (I got them last year). I like to write my notes on loose leaf paper in class, and then depending on how clear my notes are or how organized they are (some professors bounce around which makes it hard to study), I will re-write them in a coil note book so that I can better organize them, and re-writing them helps me remember the information. It also forces me to re read every word and check to make sure that I understand what was covered in class and can follow up with my professor if I don't.

Here's my planner! This one is mostly for personal use, but I will be recording my due dates in here as well. It is a Blueline day timer and I got it at Staples.

This is going to be my school planner. It is from Target and I found it in the One Spot so it was only $1! I really like it because it has each month laid out at the beginning, the one week on the left side and the right side has a page for assignments and a small section of To Do. Hopefully, this will help keep my reading assignments and smaller homework assignments that may come up more organized and they won't get lost or forgotten about in my other planner.

And both organizers are purple which is my favorite color!!

My Casio calculator which I need for my Statistics class in first term. Wish me luck! because anything math related is not my strong suit.

My cute little pencil case! I really didn't need to get a new one since I have about 20 (it's an addiction, I'm aware). But it was sooooo cute! It's from Target, and is a tin shell with a zipper closer. The purple ruler is also from Target and folds in half to fit inside the case. 

The last thing I got (at least for now) are these post it notes and flags from Superstore. The computer disk post its were $1 and the flags were $2!! Soo cute and I love the ninjas!

So that's what I have organized so far for school. I'm sure I'll have a few more things and I'll make sure to post about my locker supply kit and all of it's goodies!! Happy shopping!!

Introduction to me!

Well, here I sit impatiently waiting for my first YouTube video to download. My technology has decided to up and be crappy today so I'm epically frustrated (which, if you know me, happens more often then not.) So I thought I would introduce my blog at least!!

So here's the deal,
I'm Christie,
I'm 29 (Birthday - March 21),
I'm about to start my last year of University!! Yay!! (This will be my 6th year)
I'm working on my Bachelor of Arts with a major in History and minor in Anthropology.
I want to go on to do graduate work in Museum Studies, and I hope to do this in Europe!

So that is pretty much me in a nutshell! On this blog, I will be writing about me (naturally), my adventures (there are so few right now), school, life, lifestyle... All sorts of goodies! I will have a YouTube channel as well, but as you read above, that is slow going... *hrumph*

I'm sorry it's sort of basic and bare right now. I will be improving upon it soon, but I wanted to get it up and running before school starts in a month and my time becomes consumed with reading and homework and all that jazz. But I promise there will be plenty to look forward to!