Here we are starting week six and we are half way through the semester already. Man where does time go? I could say that about the whole year; well I could say that about the last five years, but we are going to talk about this semester. I have enjoyed this semester as I am taking a very interest class called Communications. I wanted to update everyone as to what I have learned this far and how it truly is important in day to day life situations.

Thus far we have touch based on several topics including culture and communications, perception and the self, listening, verbal messages and nonverbal communication. Not only have I learned a lot about myself during the last few weeks of class, but I have learned a lot about others around me. We need to understand communication to help us understand our selves, but also to help us in personal relationships and employer relationships to help understand others.

Now for most of us we live in a melting pot which means we are surrounded by people from all over the world. Therefore it is important to know other cultures and how they communicate. For example we shake hands to introduce ourselves, but in China they do not shake hands. So when you shake their hand it is not natural to them and they do not have a firm handshake. We think of it as being weird; until you understand their culture and then it is no longer weird.  Also understanding how we perceive something may not be the same way you perceive something. It is also important to understand how to say things. When telling someone that they make you mad when they do something; you should change the verbiage to “I feel angry when you interrupt me.” It comes across better and allows the person to understand where you are coming from. This is very useful during work hours as we need to be careful when saying things.

So I highly recommend the Communications class to everyone as it is important to know how to communication with your loved ones, friends and co-workers. By understanding people, knowing how to communicate your thoughts and feelings, and interrupting others will add value to your life. So as I communicate with all of you on how I am doing throughout the semester; I hope all of you will reach back out to me about your accomplishments – share your stories – and communicate.      

Rasmussen unfortunately does not have a football team so I support our local University called UCF.  Also many of my friends and my boyfriend attend school there so I go to the games with them to show my support.  Not to mention I have a love for the game and watch a lot of football; both college and NFL.   Well I went to a game this past Saturday and I just had some fans really bother me so I thought I would share my experiences with all of you.

So we all know that football is a sport and sports are mostly competitive, right? And usually at a football game fans of one team with taunt fans of the playing team, right? Yes and while all of this is normal boys and girls it is just a football game. We can be completive without being rude or nasty. And that is what I experienced this weekend. And the sad part is these guys probably never even went to college or at least this college. I was watching UCF vs. Miami and some of the Miami fans were out of control. They were telling the girls how stupid they were and starting fights with the guys. These girls and guys were students of UCF trying to support their team and school.

Now this is something I might expect at a pro game, because there are a lot of rude pro football fans, but this should not be happening at a college game.  So there really needs to be game day etiquette and the visiting teams and home teams need to be aware of this proper etiquette. The visitors need to respect the home team fans and prevent from saying insulting outburst and if you act like a goof then expect to be treated the same in return. There should be no acting out against young girls and most certainly don’t get mad when one home team fan is sticking up for another fan. If you had too much to drink before the game, eat something and drink a coke cola.

 And for the home team fans… Make sure you keep your team spirits contained. It is not necessary to shout profound language to the visiting team, even if you think their team cannot play. And if your team isn’t playing well you have no room to talk about the other team. Keep the mouth closed…

 I enjoy going to football games and will continue on going and hopes that one day I can take my children to games too. I do not have a problem with being competitive, but there needs to be a fine line to draw at any game college or professional. Make sure you are aware of your surroundings and do unto others as you would want them to do unto you. What are your thoughts on game etiquette? Do you feel this way too or am I out of control? I would love to hear others and their experiences at football games.

 May your favorite team win the National Championship!!    

Yes, it’s the National Breast Cancer Awareness Month http://www.nbcam.org.  And I am amazed at the number of supporters that I have seen locally and nationally.  As you all may have read in my blogs earlier this year; I had a scare with breast cancer and many of my family members have too. It is a very scary thing to go through and many women face it throughout the year.  They say 1 in every 8 women is diagnosed with breast cancer.

The problem with breast cancer is that there are no symptoms so many women go without knowing and by the time they get diagnosed it is too late. That is why it is very important to educate the women around the world; young and old and encourage them on education so they are aware. It is all about prevention so the more people know the better off they are.

The other day I was listening to a local radio station XL 106.7 who happen to be big supporters of NBCAM and one of their callers was telling a story about a friend who she encouraged last year to go and have a lump in her chest checked. The friend did as told and got results back saying that something in the test was abnormal and they needed her to come in for further review. Well she got too busy with life, work or whatever and never went back. Finally 8 months later she found time to go and at that point it was too late and she was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. What a horrible story… if only she had been educated on the seriousness and how it was important to act quickly she could have prevented this and saved her life. And then you have another story where a lady goes to get checked and they tell her it is nothing so the next time something appears she thinks it is nothing so doesn’t get checked and it happens to be cancer.

So I am proud to see we are starting to take these things seriously and more people are promoting awareness. I was watching a NFL football game on TV this past Sunday and the players were wearing pink on different parts of their body/uniform. Some players had pink on their shoes, hats, pants, shirts and around their arm…It was all over. Also last Friday it was the day for everyone to wear pink- I would imagine people did this nationwide, but I am not sure. I know everyone in Orlando did and it was pretty cool. On Friday everywhere I went I saw men and women wearing pick to show their support.   

We are heading in the right direction with Awareness and I hope we continue on this path. Someone said to me last week that they love how we are doing this for Breast Cancer, but there should be similar things for other cancers and illness too. I do agree with them, but we have to take one step at a time.  This has been going on for years, but only recently people have been opening their eyes. Thank you to all the supports and much love to all the survivors! May we continue to fight!!!

Ah… yes it is that time once again. We are starting school this week and as always I am looking forward to another semester. Yes, you may laugh; however I do enjoy learning. Now if you asked, do I enjoy the massive work load I carry every day, week, month or year absolutely not, but there is a light at the other end of the tunnel.

I am only taking one class this semester because I have some other things I am studying and doing that will take some more of my time. So my class this semester is Communications and we are going to be studying on how we can use communications with our careers, families and all other aspects of life. Understanding how to communication amongst each other will really help through life situations because you will have a better understanding of different people and how each person communicates.

I know already that communication is very important when it comes to relationships, family, friends and work. So I am curious to see what I will learn throughout this semester. I am sure it will expand the knowledge I already have and make certain situations that much more clear. My friends and boyfriend make fun of me, but they thank me too because I make them express themselves more than they normally would have.

If you really think about how we communicate with one another everyday and how some people communicate a little more or better than others you will start to learn or see how important it really is to be able to talk with and understand different people.

The year is flying by and the holidays are almost here. I am sure this course will fly by too, but I am going to keep everyone posted as to what I am learning and how we can use this important information in our everyday lives.  I would like to hear from others and their thoughts on communications and what their knowledge of it or experiences has been regarding it. So until next time…Enjoy your classes and let’s keep the communications open.

This is the time of year we always go see Dave Mathews Band as they do their Summer Tour in Florida. We are huge fans and I personally have only been going to see Dave in concert for the last three years.  I am not sure what I was waiting for because this band is amazing in concert. They are all about the action and bright lights, musical instruments and pleasing the fans.  DMB puts on an amazing performance year after year.

The last few years it has rained without fail during every show we have attended. Rain or shine we are always there. There is something about getting drenched while hearing jamming music just makes it all that more entertaining. This year we decided to go to two shows; one in Tampa and one in West Palm Beach. The Tampa show was first on Wednesday and we did not get rained on during the whole show amazingly; however that caused it to be miserably hot will dancing around in the crowds. Still no stopping us… They played 19 songs and it was mostly their new songs which if you have not heard their new CD it is a must. It is called Big Whisky and the GrooGrux King, 2009.

The following Saturday morning we got up early to drive to West Palm Beach which is three hours from home and we rented a hotel room on the beach so we could spend that day and the next on the water. We made a nice little weekend getaway around the whole concert. By the way when I keep referring to “we” I am talking about my boyfriend, his brother and wife. We love going to concerts with each other as no know gets grouchy or wants to leave before anyone else.  Anyhow we arrived in West Palm and check into the hotel and then relaxed for the rest of the afternoon until it was time to get ready for Dave. During the week when we see DMB we always miss the first couple of songs because we are going right after work of course, but this time we wanted to get there early so we could see the start of the show. 

On the way to the show it starts to down pour like cats and dogs. I was getting really bummed because I did not want it to be raining as we were walking in. Not to fret little one because the rain stopped just in time for us to walk up to the show and find a nice seat on the lawn area. The night starts to fall, people are gathering in closer and closer as we all wait in anticipation… Drums…screening….guitars...and the fans go wild. This show was fantastic and extremely up beat as it was the last show in Florida for this summer. They played a combination of both new and old songs. DMB has only 5 CD’s I believe so we know every song there is and we sing right along with everyone they play.  They played 19 songs that night which is a lot for one show and we sang and danced around the whole time…until the end.  Oh and by the way we did get rained on during the show, but it was only for 5 minutes. By that time it was nice and refreshing. Well until next year…We Love you Dave!

I told you that I would keep you updated with me Real Estate schooling so here it is – I finally finished the school which was a total of 63 hours in two and a half weeks. It doesn’t seem bad when you look at it like that, but with the amount of information that gets crammed into your brain during this time is unbelievable.

So they give you a practice test to take before the first test and the practice test covers all types of random information from the text.  The questions are pretty hard and geared towards real life scenarios and the tricky part is they will have one correct answer, one answer that is partially correct and then two wrong answers. Tricky – well I didn’t do well on the practice exams so I freaked out. I had one more day left to study and needed to pass this exam so I can take the state exam which will be 10 times harder.  Needless to say…I called in sick the next day which I never do by the way, but needed this time to really study. See that was the challenging part of all this. I was attending the classes, going to work, working on my degree and trying to get sleep so I could make it through each day. What I didn’t have was time to truly study.

I spent the next 24 hours studying for the exam the following day. Once I finished my studying I was feeling much better than the day before, however I was still very nervous. They really talk up the test and scare you so you do not know what to expect. We had 3 hours to finish the test and of course the first question was difficult. I needed to get a 75% in order to pass. Now it is on…I went through the exam and the ones that I did not know right away I circled and saved for the end. By the time I got everything finished and went back over the ones I had circle there were 14 questions I was not sure about.  Out of that there was one I knew the answer to, but was a little iffy.  I finished up the exam to the best of my ability and went home for the night. I had not even passed the test yet and I just felt a huge relief of pressure release from my chest. It was like I was floating on a big white cloud. The test scores will be ready before noon the next day…the suspense sets in.

Well…I passed! Wahoo!! The funny part is I actually missed 13 questions giving me an 87%. Now I will never know if they were the 13 that I did not know or if they were a different 13, but it doesn’t matter at this point. I am now waiting for the state to approve my application so I can take the State Exam. Once I get the okay I will be on to the next one and then I will finally have my real estate license. So stay tuned…

As if attending class online for Rasmussen is not enough I signed up for the Florida Real Estate course a couple of weeks ago.  In order to obtain a real estate license in the state of Florida you have to complete a 63 hour course and pre-state exam. Well being my life is extremely busy as is with regular class and working fulltime I went with the night and weekend classes over a period of two and a half weeks.  Let’s just say I did not know what I was getting myself into.

As I am getting near the end I will say it was well worth it, but I had no idea how intense the class was going to be. I did not realize how regulated real estate is until now. I knew there was some government involvement, right because they are involved in everything, but they are all over real estate. It’s good because they are here to protect the public without a doubt and their own pocket of course.   

The class is teaching us about everything from principals, practices and the law. I thought I had a upper hand because I worked in a law real estate law firm for 7 years, but I must say the correlation was very small amounts far few and between. I did recognize some areas when talking about Fair Housing Acts and Civil Rights Act from 1866, but again very small sections. This class did provide me with a lot of history knowledge regarding laws and why the laws were developed. I also learned about financing and mortgage markets, plotting, mapping and zoning. This class also contained a lot of math which makes sense now, but I had no idea in the beginning.

I still have a few more days of class to attend and lots of studying before I take the state exam. I have had many tell me the state exam is not easy and it can take many times to pass. I however would like to pass the first time so I will be wise and utilize all the tools and resources to my advantage to make sure I am fully prepared to pass the exam. I have to get a 75% to pass so I am a bit stressed at this point. However before I can take the state exam I have the exam from the class that I have to pass first. That is the one I am worried about the most right now because I have limited time to study.

Which means I have to run for now, but I will keep you all posted as I pass exams and move along to the next event… If anyone has any stories they would like to share or pointers on preparation and passing feel free to share. I would love to hear what others went through.

 FLORIDA

As I had mention to everyone I am currently taking World Geography as an elective class and I am really learning a lot just three weeks into the course. Or should I say I am learning how much I did not know.  Let’s just start by saying the last time I opened a World Atlas was in middle school or at least that is when I can remember last looking at one. It is amazing for me now seeing where the different regions are are and all the countries within.

I have elected one of my classes to be World Geography and I am so excited to take it. There are similar subjects like History or Social Studies that I could care less about, the joys of learning about different geographical locations and cultures behind it truly excite me.

Some laugh at me and think I am crazy, but others understand my excitement.  I think it is very important for everyone to know more about World Geography and the reason behind cultures, religions and beliefs. We should be able to look at a map and point out where Iraq is or we should know what the largest country is if ever asked and what the smallest country is and where it is located on the map too. Many young Americans know none of this and it is sad.

Especially today we as American’s need to know more and more about other parts of the world so we have a better understanding of our new neighbors down the hall that just moved here from Africa or India. Or when you see someone who is brown skinned, not to assume he is Taliban. And not all people from India are Pakistan or Hindu. The entire world is one big melting pot and we need to know as much as possible about it all.

I feel I am pretty diverse in knowing more than the average young American when it comes to different cultures, religions or beliefs. I eat food from all over the world; I cook food from different parts of the country; I have been to different cultured weddings (Russian, Indian); I dress accordingly to respect their cultures during gatherings or celebrations; however I am not very good when it comes to pointing out something on the map or telling you what countries are in what continent. I don’t even know if that statement makes sense.   

Therefore I am looking forward to this class and I will absorb as much knowledge as possible from it. I will have a greater appreciation for the people around me and I will be able to hold better conversations when speaking with someone from another country. Isn’t it just so exciting!! I will keep you all posted as I sail through my class while becoming wealthier in knowledge.

Just 2 weeks left of spring classes and then spring break is here. And I cannot wait! This semester has been challenging, but yet eventful. I have learned great things in my Excel class and even in Business Ethics.  When the end of the semester is near things get really crazy because it is important to make sure you have all your homework assignments from past weeks. This is also a good time to review your grades on past projects and see if you can fix what you got wrong (this usually only works if it is an ongoing project throughout the course).

Reflecting…My professors were excellent this semester as they helped me through all of my challenges. Some more helpful than others, but that is a given considering each professor has their own way of teaching. I defiantly struggled through these classes towards the end of the semester; of course as we got further along in the semester the difficulty level got greater. I especially learned a lot in Excel and I really feel I benefited from the class. In the business world Excel is utilized for many things and formulas being the biggest use. That was one area I was always challenged in, but now the simple formulas are nothing for me. I also learned how to utilize the Analysis function which is helpful in both business and personal uses.

I also got to utilize the Mentor Center for the first time ever during this semester and that was a huge help because these last few weeks were very challenging for me, so thanks to everyone in the Mentor enter. I will continue to utilize it as I continue on with my degree. The library is a helpful tool also as I needed to find articles to research and write about. All the tools are right online to help the students get through the courses. Great resources and tools!

And as I was working my way through these difficult weeks of class; I also watched the season finales of Grey’s Anatomy and American Idol. Now that is challenging…Thank goodness for DVR (records the shows). While online school is great because you can set your own schedule; I still need every other evening to do homework which meant I could not watch my shows when they were on, but I recorded them to watched them after I finished school work. Now of course I have no favorites on TV so I will spend my break at the pool.  Fun and relaxing in the Sun!!

Well…I finally used the Mentor Center for one of my classes and all I have to say is “Great Job Rasmussen”! I logged in and went to the calendar to see a list of tutoring classes and who was going to be teaching each class. Once I found the Excel class, I clicked and saw my Professor was teaching the session so I notified her to let her know I will be attending the Excel tutoring class. It was that easy…

Wanting to make sure I could utilize the Wimba system, I logged in early to make sure I had everything set up and ready to go. I was worried about it not being able to work because I do not have a microphone. Well…no need to worry because if you do not have a microphone you can type comments or even better…you can call into a session (they give you the number and pin). The initial sign-in walked you through setting up your computer and downloading the Wimba software which took a total of 5 minutes.

The only thing I did have a problem with is in the calendar it doesn’t state which time zone the classes are listed as and I just assumed it was under Eastern, but it was not. Luckily my teacher told me that it was Central at the last minute which eliminated me from freaking out. That is something that can be fixed easily though. Once I started working with the professor, I told her I had to call in because I did not have a microphone so she called in too and then we were able to communicate back and forth. I just put my ear piece in and was able to work hands free. She wanted to see my screen so after a few attempts she managed to log into my screen. I guess that has some kinks that they are still trying to work out because she stated sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. It took her about 15 minutes to get logged into my computer, but once she was in it was great!

The Professor worked with me for 2 hours well minus the setup time. She assisted me in figuring out some challenges with Excel and calculating some difficult formulas.  It was as if I was right there in the same room with her and she was instructing me on what to do. Technology has come a long way and is really making the online education system stronger. So if you are a student and haven’t used Wimba in the Mentor Center yet, I highly suggest if you are having any difficulties or challenges in your classes, utilize Wimba.

I cannot believe how quickly this semester is flying by…It seems like I just started a couple of weeks ago, but in all actuality is has been 6 weeks. I am doing very well in my classes although I will admit some weeks are tougher than others. I will tell you that I seem to be having most difficulty with APA formatting and citing sources.

I have been writing papers in school for about a year and a half and while I have improved some; I have not manage to truly perfect APA formatting in all areas. There seems to be so many different rules and it is hard to learn all of them. Just when I think I am doing great…”Bam” – I get docked for citing something improperly.  Also because I am an online student most of our papers are utilizing online sources and I have not found anything that list APA formatting for online articles or pages. Is there a book or something that would give more information?

I have more and more classes wanting you to use resources to write your papers and cite the sources. I am not good at doing this because I like to read something and then put it into my words and how I interrupt what they are saying. I guess this is not what APA is all about. So I ask myself how do I combine the resource into my paper without changing the wording and then remember to cite it….Hmmm. Maybe I am making this out to be more difficult than it is, but I just get way too overwhelmed when it comes to formatting papers correctly.

Other than that school and my online classes are flowing efficiently. I cannot believe there is only 5 weeks in the semester left. My classes this semester are fundamental; Business Ethics and Excel – I love the Excel class because I am truly learning so much more with tables, pivot tables and formulas. And it is with the Microsoft Excel 2007 version which doesn’t get any better than that. I wanted to take Excel before having to take any other Math or Algebra classes. It will be a huge help! My Business Ethics class is going ok, but I will be honest in saying it is not my favorite class. We are allowed to have classes we do not like, right? I am just not all that intrigued by it.

Well I have to run, but I hope things are well on your end. And let me know if you have any suggestions on the APA Formatting because I could really use some help before going into the next semester. Maybe there is a recommend book I can buy or something?     

Today it is very important to network for both social aspects as well as business. I thought I would give everyone some ideas on how to build a Social Network. This can help many people by simply just trying to make some new relationships; to helping you find your next career opportunity. And to be honest…coming from the Employment Industry – if you are not networking it is going to be difficult and take you much longer to find a new career. There are some many qualified candidates in the market that you really need to be talking with people who can hire you directly.

First it is important to start joining social networks that interest you. There are social networks that exist for every conceivable profession, hobby or interest.  It is very easy finding social networks be going to Find A Social Network.com.  You can find many networks that are populated with the same areas of interest.

You will then need to start blogging to allow people to get to know you. You can also comment on other blogs and ask them to check out your blogs. Eventually you will start having your own network to interact with regularly. I have been blogging for a year and a half about the life of an online student. Trying to get people to interact with your blogs can be challenging, but if you search for other blogs and invite people to check out your blogs it can really help in speeding up the process on building your own social network.  It is very important to create an online portfolio so people can learn more personal information about you, which will make them feel more comfortable.  There are several different social network sites like Myspace, Facebook and LinkedIn. Remember when using sites like Myspace and Facebook; you need to make sure there is nothing offensive or discriminating on your profile page. If you are talking to an Executive and he/she checks out your Myspace to find some risky pictures, I do not think you will get the job.

Then lastly you need to Tweet. I mentioned in an earlier blog that I have recently found the world of Tweeting. I am still learning this area and I am still trying to find Tweet sites to visit. So if any of you know of any, please let me know.  Twitter has become incredibly large and everyone from movie stars, musical artist and many others just like you and me are Tweeting and building relationships. Well I hope this information has helped you getting started in building your own executive or personal network. Let me know how things work out and/or if you find out some new sites to check out. Until next week…  

As our lives get busier and the days seem to get shorter we tend to take less and less care of our bodies.  We begin to not eat as healthy because we’re always on the go; skipping the gym for the last three weeks because there is not enough time in the day and before you know it you are feeling run down.

It is very important to take good care of your body. As we get older our muscle start to diminish and our bones get weaker. This is a normal act of aging; however if you maintain minimal weight training and cardio along with eating healthy we can slow done the aging process.  It is important to eat foods that carry lots of antioxidants, proteins and vitamins. There is a book called South Beach Diet which talks about eating healthy and it gives some great recipes too. It is a great source and it can help anyone get on the right track.

As for exercising we can work out to help maintain good muscles and stay physically fit. All of this can be done in 15-25 minutes a day. As for cardio it is good to change it up here and there so one day you can walk briskly, another day jog or ride a bike. A mile will generally burn 100 calories which is good for maintaining good weight. Obviously is you are wanting to lose weight then you will need to burn more calories based on your age and how much weight your trying to lose. As for weight training there are many different exercises we can do right in our own home. I like Self.com because they have a program each month giving you different ideas on exercises you can do. Keep mind that you always want to switch up your workout because your muscles become used to your workout and then you will hit plateau.  Self.com always has great recipes and they share examples of different meal ideas to help you maintain a good healthy diet too.

By maintaining a healthy balance diet and spending 15-25 minutes a day you will feel better and live longer, strong and happier.  May we all live a happy beautiful life!!

Two weeks of relaxation from school work and now back to the grind. It did not even seem as if I had a two break because it went by so fast. It really makes you think about life within its self.  I have been in school now for a year and 3 semesters and I still have a ways to go.  So I spent a few hours this week trying to figure out how many classes I can take at a time and how much longer do I have in school.

The results: Keep in mind that I am working 50 hours a week, but if I can take 2 to 3 classes a week; I can finish school within the next year and a half.  I am 62 credits away from having my AS degree in Business Management with a minor in Business Administration. So if I pack on a couple extra classes per semester I can get through this much quicker and relive myself.  Yes, I know it is kind of sad knowing it took me 3.5 years to get my AS degree, but at least I have it and it will hopefully take me a little further in my career. Who knows I may not stop here; the great thing about getting my degree from Rasmussen is the credits are regionally accredited. This means I can transfer them to just about any major University and continue my education towards my bachelor degree.

So for this semester I am taking Business Ethic, Ethics and Excel. They are all pretty easy classes and should be able to breeze through the semester. Now that they have to Student mentor section in the online portal I can have assistance at my finger tips. As for Excel I am pretty good already, but need to learn the formulas better because I will need that for my Accounting II course. As for the Ethic classes; this should be pretty easy for me since I have been in the workforce for some time now dealing with it day in and day out.

Oh and I almost forgot, we also have Wimba now too. The teacher can record a lecture or assist with a project and we can hear it on our own desk top. I am still learning how to use it, but I believe we can record questions about our studies for the teacher, but I need to get a microphone on my computer first. This is going to be pretty great and really take online courses to a whole other level.

Well I look forward to a great semester and I hope to have you along the whole way to share my student experiences.   Please feel free to share your thoughts and opinions as I discuss my student life experience, current events and school.

Okay I know I can not call myself a superstar, but that is what I feel like after this last semester. As you read previously in my blogs; this Accounting Payroll class was defiantly challenging and really took a lot of hard work and dedication. Not to mention the computer nightmare at the end of the semester that drove me bananas.

I spent many of long nights on the computer scratching my head and really trying to understand payroll and all the laws, codes and taxes that come along with it. Not to mention how confusing the test questions were which really brought my grades down.  I do not know what it was, but I was having difficulty really understanding this class. As I had mentioned before; thank goodness for the teacher and her patience with me. The one good thing was I got to write a paper in this class, the paper was about the Family Medical Leave Act. I am pretty good at writing about something once I have the topic of choice so that was a relief. The downside of that was the APA formatting as I am still having difficultly with this. I try to use sites online that help with this, but the citing that I had trouble with was citing internet sources. Still have a lot to learn I guess. 

The Payroll class was great overall and I say this because I learned a lot of great things regarding taxes and how they are figured out. I learned how laws differ from state to state, I learned about what companies have to pay towards your taxes and I learned the break down by city, state and federal. Along with much, much more so if you ever have to take this class I will say it is not easy, but you will learn a lot through out which makes it all worth while at the end of the day.

Here is a funny one for you just to show how learning this stuff can be helpful. I had a meeting with an Insurance person as work the other day. They are now hiring companies from the outside to come in and handle all this insurance. So I meet with this lady and she proceeds to tell me about the hidden paycheck I get from my company. As she asked if I knew what this was I stated no and please explain; she began to tell me what my company contributes for me to Social Security, Taxes that are matched (both state and federal) and the matching of Medicare. Well if it wasn’t for this class I would not have known that all of the above mentioned things are not the employer doing that out of good faith, but they pay or match those things because the law requires it. It kind of upset me because they were making it seem as if they are doing a great thing and I should feel lucky. The audacity of people…

 None the less this was an interesting semester and I am please to announce that I recovered my near failing grade of a D- at mid terms and brought it to a high C. Yes that is right I passed the class and passed it with pride on my back. It was so difficult for me and I ran into so many challenges along the way with getting laid off from work, searching for new employment, computer failing on me three weeks before finals and I had to redo do three weeks of homework to finish the remaining three weeks, but at the end of the day it was all worth it. I Passed and Passed with a C.

Do not let yourself get into the situation I did this past month.  Computers are technical pieces of equipment and they will break down. And that is what happened to me around the first of March. Three weeks left in the semester and I need to do every assignment, quiz and post to make sure I get a good grade and pass this class. Remember in my last blog I told you I had a low C. So I was in panic mode and was not sure what I was going to do.

Well I had to figure something out and something quick. My boyfriend is an IT Support person who would know what to do, but guess where he is…London, England for 3 weeks. And because it is International we can not talk on the phone because of crazy charges. Needless to say it is not getting fixed right now and the Payroll Software that I have been working in for three weeks and adding payroll disbursements for the next few assignments is stuck on the computer and I can not get it to turn on so I can generate reports to continue my homework assignments. Guess who is in big trouble? Yep, me… What am I going to do? Well I use to have a laptop that I kept for back-up when my computer was done but that thing died and if my boyfriend was home I could go to his place, but I can not do that so I decided to reach out to a few friends to see who would allow me to use their computer, This is when you can really test who your true friends are.

I found one of my friends to let me use their computer and not only was I using it, but I needed to download this Payroll Software and redo three weeks of work which is several hours worth, mind you not. This had to be done before I could even start working on my home work assignments. And because I was at someone’s  home I did not have hours at night to stay up and work on this  because people needed to go to bed, so on days when I could use it I would work for a few hours and save. It took much longer to do it this way but it was my only option.

Needless to say several days and many of sleepless hours I managed to redo three weeks of homework and do three new weeks of homework. It was a relief when I completed my last assignment, that’s four sure.  My teacher was aware of my situation and was as flexible as only one can be, but deadlines are deadlines and nothing could be done about that. I managed to complete my homework assignments and exams and get them in on time which made all the headaches and stress I went through results worth my while.   Now let’s keep our fingers crossed to see what the end results will be. Moral to the story is having a back up computer near you at all times is important, especially when taking online classes. Also I recommend backing up your files on a regular basis. I recently bought a external hard drive with 80GB at Cheap Guys Computers, but you can find one any where like Amazon and Comp USA  to just name a few. Also we have a local company that teaches you how to protect your computer from viruses and how to do recoveries for free www.lakemarycomputerdoctor.com. The backing up of the Payroll software is not as easy of a solution, but there has to be some way to back that up for school. Any ideas would be great.

Stay tuned… for results from school and my final grade for the Payroll Class.

I have been taking online classes with Rasmussen College for almost two years now. While all of my classes have been challenging and really require your focus and attention; I will say there are few classes that are really challenging and wish I had more one on one time with a face to face teacher during these times. Not saying classes should be easy, but some things you really need to have a clear understanding.

My classes that have been the most challenging are Accounting I and Payroll Accounting. Accounting one I had to take twice because the first time I just didn’t get it. Then the second time I barely passed. However I passed and that is what really matters. I was studying hard and asking the teacher questions and genuinely trying to get a B or higher, but there is just so much to learn and accounting in general is a hard/confusing subject. The whole aspect of debits and credits are just the beginning of how the process works. The funny thing is I have been in accounting and finance for several years of my working career, but never really dealing with bookkeeping and general ledgers.

Then there is Payroll Accounting which is another difficult subject. I have a new found respect for payroll and human resources managers. Keep in mind when you learn a subject like accounting in college they teach you have to calculate everything manually without the use of a software database. This is a great thing, but it really shows the complexity behind it. Payroll has so many taxes, codes and a guideline that has to be followed it is very complex. There are Federal laws, state laws and city laws. You have different Federal Acts to follow and you must always stay updated because additions to the Acts can take place at any time. One wrong file or late payment to the government can cost you money.

I am currently in the Payroll Accounting class and I had a D mid semester.  This class has been very challenging, but I have been hanging in there and my teacher has been amazing. I have probably spoken with this teacher more then any of my other teachers in the last 2 years. She doesn’t mind and loves trying to help which has made a difference. I have a few weeks left but my grade has increased to a low C and I am finishing the semester strong. If the teacher wasn’t so helpful, I would probably be facing the problems I had with my accounting I class.

Rasmussen offers free tutoring which I wish badly that I could take advantage of, but I am not near a campus. The closest campus to me is Ocala, but for many of you the campuses are near. I recommend if you are having trouble with a class, please reach out to the school tutor. There is online help too through Smarthinking, but that is more for a specific question or paper needs you might have. Great to have...I used it after midnight one night. Tutoring is expensive so having Rasmussen include that in our tuition is great!

Well I will keep you posted as I get to the end of my payroll class. Wish me the best in luck as I near the end of this semester and as always if you ever have any ideas, suggestions or feedback; please feel free to comment.    

Hello everyone! I hope this New Year is treating all of you well. My last blog I shared with you that I had found a job and I told you I would follow up to let you know how things are coming along. I also want to let all you how school is and catch everyone up.

The new company I am working for is Fabulous! I love everyone there from the top, right down to the bottom. I am also doing very well. I learned the processes quickly and have already been helping private clients. This job allows me to help others and I love helping others. I have worked for small, medium and large companies in my past and I have come to realize the bigger the company the more stresses you endure. The larger companies are in your face all the time wondering what is going on, when the smaller companies are only in your face if the work is not getting done. And that is more my style because I am motivated by working for good people/companies. If you are good to me, I will work that much harder for you, but if you are stressing me out and breathing down my next I loose all self motivation. I know there are people out there who need a drill sergeant to stay on their back or else they do not work, but that is not me.  Company’s loose sight of the real workers out there and at the end of the day they drive them away.

I am only in my first month with the company; however things are going really well. I am going to do everything in my power to make sure this works out for me 100%. I will keep all of you posted along the way to let you know how I am progressing.

 SCHOOL…

School is coming along as I complete courses and gain more credits. It is defiantly a journey, but well worth it. This semester I am having some struggles, but my teacher has been working with me the last couple of weeks. The class is Accounting Payroll and I do not know what it is, but I have so much trouble with Accounting. Since the teacher has reached out and assisted me I have increased on certain areas, but I have a ways to go. We are in the middle of the semester so I have to really focus and dedicate more time to learning it. The funny part is I actually want to learn this class and I want to do well in it. Accounting Payroll is a great skill to have for any management role in an organization.

Recently, I used Smarthinking, which is an online tutoring tool that Rasmussen provides to all of their students. It is a great resource to have. It was late one night and I was working on some payroll problems. I sent in a question and a student started instant messaging me within 5 minutes. He coached me through the problem and it worked out great. Where else can you get that kind of help at 1:30 a.m.? For me I live alone so there is know one to consult, especially at that time.

Well if anyone can recommend some tips on Payroll Accounting I would love to hear your thoughts on what helped you. In the meantime I will continue to plug along and push for a great grade.

Take care for now and will talk with you next week.   

Day 22 and still unemployed… Wow when I put it in to that perspective it really hits me in the stomach. I am religiously looking for a new job every day. I sit at my home computer desk and actively search many websites and apply any where between 35 to 50 jobs per day. This keeps me busy for 7 to 8 hrs a day between filling out applications, answering personality surveys, weeding through the junk and fraudulent jobs. I have also gone on some interviews; some were good and some were scams; where they wanted money from me to start something. Needless to say searching for a job is a fulltime job…of course with out the pay. There are good and bad things to go with being unemployed now a day’s. The good side of it is the internet. Back in the day before everyone was on the internet you had to go to your local businesses to apply for a job, read the local help wanted ads and fax your resume. I couldn’t imagine my gas bill if I had to do that. I would also not be able to get out there to as many companies and it would lower my chances of finding that perfect fit. Therefore I am very thankful for the internet and the services that are provided to assist people in finding employment!

There are so many services and tools online to help each and every person find a job without ever having to leave their home. The key is to be creative and use your search engines to find all job postings from the big companies and the small companies. It is free to register with CareerBuilder, Monster and OrlandoJobs. So that was a given to register with all three of them. I also search the local news paper online, craigslist and all government websites. I have a friend who has sent out a mass email letting people know I am searching and needing job. I also have Facebook and Myspace where I have posted and emailed people letting them know my situation and would love any information people could pass along.

These service  companies such as CareerBuilder do not only list job posting, but they provide FREE services to help you write a great resume, cover letter and guide you on how to perform a great interview. That was never provided back in the day…And for those that choose to pay there are companies out there such as Allen and Associates who will help guide you in the right direction to get the right job.

Now you think all of this would defiantly guarantee you a job, but unfortunately in today’s market it is not that easy. Every place I have gone for an interview, there have been 10-15 other people there within that hour interviewing for the same position.  That is the scary part for me because I have no idea what I am up against.

Friends it’s about time that someone mentions the overuse of the word "friend." It seems that people today have become nearly as obsessed with this word, as they have with the word "love."

I finished the summer semester courses and my two week break seemed as if I blinked and it was here and left before I could enjoy it. I guess that stems from working to much and everyday life stresses.  This semester I am adopting another class as I am trying to expedite my time attending school. I try to take additional classes when I can. However; working 60 plus hours a week doesn’t leave to much room for those extra classes. So I will take two for know and see how things go.

My classes this semester at Rasmussen are E-commerce and Customer Service. The E-commerce class is going to help me a lot in my working career now because I do a lot of online recruiting, marketing and searching for new business. Therefore I am actually excited about this class and anxious to learn a lot. The Customer Service I am not real sure about because I did not know they even had this type of course. It makes sense when you think about it because it is great for everyone to learn how to deal with customers whether they are outside of your company or inside. Inside meaning co-workers because we need to learn how to treat one another too.

Of course as I decide to take on more challenges with school, work wants to give me more challenges too. In Orlando we are really struggling with the economy and businesses are laying people off left and right. It has been addressed that I could be one of these people next. These are the times when I wish I could blink my eyes and be finished with my degree.

I was searching for jobs on CareerBuilder.com the other day with my boyfriend. He has his Bachelors degree from University of Central Florida and I am earning my degree now. The difference and stress levels from his search and mine are completely different. He is searching for areas of knowledge and compensation and looking in one field while I am searching for all of those plus education requirements and looking under several different fields. While there are companies out there searching for people with my experience they are requiring a four year degree. Even the sales positions were requiring a degree. What the heck… He was finding things left and right while I kept running into road blocks. This really scares me and I can only pray that I am not put into this difficult situation again.   

If only I had gone to College right after high school things in my life would be so different; however I did not so I have to move on. Thank goodness for the resources we have now which allow me to earn my degree online and work to pay my bills at the same time. Stay with me this semester as I journey through these courses and hope to learn lots – who knows, maybe I can share some things with all of you.

ewarding

Do you ever feel stressed and exhausted around the holidays and breaks that come with work and school? Well I most defiantly do and I have been attending school for a year and a half and working for the last 11 years. You might ask what makes you feel this way…

When a holiday is near work becomes crazy with deadlines, pressure and everyone else around gets crazy too. You have to get certain things done before the day off arrives and when you get back to work you have to work over time to get caught back up. Then you have school which creates the same type of functional roles. You must get the homework completed, turned in and perhaps even the following week depending on the time and length of the holiday. All of this together is exhausting and stressful, but I will say the holiday is that much more appreciated.

Here at Rasmussen we have 11 week courses which I think helps a lot because it gives the professors more time to cover all the material as well as give you more time to digest it. I have a lot of friends who attend other online programs and they had 5 week courses. They did not feel as if they really learned the material because professors had to cram the information just so they could cover the material. Could you imagine having 5 week courses and trying to work 60-70 hours a week, do school work and take a holiday or vacation? I really would be stressed and exhausted and probably not make it.

I am in week 9 of my 11 week courses for my Accounting class. I especially need the whole 11 weeks to learn this material. This class has been one of my most challenging courses in the last year and a half of college. This is when time, a good professor and patience really take ownership.  My next semester gets even more struggling and stressful with holidays, but I have to take it in strides and just keep moving. I will need all of your support as I head through these next few months – Counting on each other for support is great strength.      

 The Olympics are over and lots of medals have been handed out. During the Summer Olympics 2008 we have seen people from all around the world beat world records. These amazing athletes surpassed athletes from years of history since the beginning of Olympic times. Why do you think this is?

I have heard some say things like athletes are taking illegal stimulants to increase endurance and strengthen their bodies. I was at work one day and people were stating that they were waiting for someone to find evidence that Phelps is taking illegal enhancements. What about Bolt and all the world records he beat during the Olympics this year? Do you think he is on something too? Well I don’t think so; I think we as people are more educated and stronger.

When it came to being an athlete, I was not in the picture. It wasn’t that I hated sports, but I never learned how to play anything. Let’s just say my family was not very active when it came to sports; therefore I had no one to teach me. If you don’t know how to play the sport, then how are you supposed to like it and achieve success with it?

I remember in middle school playing basketball and enjoying it, but didn’t understand it enough to compete with the big dogs so I just stayed off the porch. Since the Olympics have been on I have watched it everyday. I see these amazing athletes who strive to achieve success and be the best they can be at it. That is a true dedication and love for the sport. That is what I lacked. Now I sit here all grown up and wish I had that love. For example I never really learned how to swim well. I know enough to get stay afloat, but nothing like these swimmers we have been watching. Michael Phelps amazes me with his determination. To be honest…I want to go to the YMCA and take lessons tomorrow.

This is the dedication I need to get me through school. The love and dedication to learn and be the best I can be. I proved to myself today while doing a homework assignment that if you have the drive to do it – nothing can stand in your way. I have been having difficulty with my accounting class and I was determined that I was going to figure this out, no matter what it took. I want to learn more accounting and perhaps go in that direction with school to have an Accounting degree instead of a Marketing degree. So if I want to go down that road, I just can not skate by accounting- I need to conquer it with success.

So I will continue to watch the Olympics and as I do I will gain more and more strength from these athletes and in return I am going to use that strength to get me through this accounting class and the others classes to come. 

I watched the opening for the Beijing Olympics on Friday night and I can not even begin to explain how much I was in awe. For those of you that watched it can understand my appreciation for the Chinese. They didn’t just use the technology of the century. They used thousands and thousands of people to put on this spectacular show. It was filled with lots of beautiful colors, talent and history.

The Olympics is much like school because you practice and practice to make perfection and hope to win the gold medal at the end of the road. That is my school life in a nut shell. I study and study to learn as much as I can and hope that I receive the best grades while doing it; which in return allows me to have the gold medal (diploma) at the end of the road. 

 
These athletes train for years to have a chance to make it to the Olympics and some still don’t make it when the time has come. It is a once in a life time opportunity that couldn’t add up to anything else in the world for these people. If you think about it, they are becoming a part of history and they will never be forgotten. How many people in life can say that…not many.

While school may not make you apart of history in this way, it does make you a part of history in the fact that you will feel better about yourself and your accomplishments. In return will help you become smarter, stronger and happier.   This will allow you to have a great career whether you are working for yourself or for someone else. No matter what you will be making a difference which will make history.
What is your favorite part about the Olympics?

Just when I thought I would take a class that I could breeze through…it hit me. Accounting I is very difficult to me. I am not sure if it is the actual teacher or what, but everyone in the class is struggling. I have plenty of experience in Accounting, but it is not general accounting and bookkeeping.

For those if you that have not had accounting classes yet, accounting is backwards. What I mean by this is when you have a credit or deposit; it goes under the debit side in stead of credit. It is backwards compared to your normal banking system.

Then on top of all that, I had trouble getting the correct book. This first book I order was a study guide and not the actual book. I just finally got the appropriate book, which has put me behind 2 weeks. I am really struggling this semester. Is anyone hading out pep-talks because I need one.

Has anyone used the tutoring that Rasmussen provides? I think it would be a great time for me to utilize it, but I am not sure on how to get started. If anyone has utilized it and has some insight on tutoring I would love to hear about it.

On top of all this, I am still getting use to my new job. It has been tough because there is so much to learn and little time to do it. I have been overwhelmed with training and how to projects, it makes my head hurt. On top of it I have been working 12 hour days. I am hoping once I get use to everything, I will be quicker at the processes and perhaps be able to get out office the office on time.

I hope everyone else is having better luck than me. If you know anything about tutoring don’t forget to comment and give me detail. Or if you have any helpful tips on Accounting please let me know…I will take anything.