Goodbye September, Hello October!

Unbelievable! Where is the time going? It's starting to get so cold out and the leaves are beginning to change, which it so pretty! Even though it means winter is on its way, I still will enjoy the pretty leaves until they decide to fall and then I have to rake them, but we won't think about that right now!

Anyways, how is everyone doing? We are mid-week of Week 1 already, so hopefully everyone is all settled in or getting there at least. I was down at the bookstore again today and everyone was piled in there getting their books, which was good! I saw a lot of new faces, which is always nice as well. Hopefully everyone is making their way around ok and asking any questions they may have.

I have been doing non-stop reading for the past few days. So much information to take in, but hey someone has to do it! I have been conversing with a lot of my classmates via the discussion boards and it's nice to see some familiar names and of course its always nice to see some new names! This week is just about the introductions, but in my accelerated class, its all business! I already took a test and passed with a 90, so not so bad for my first test! Just need to keep up with the A's so that I can get an A in the end.

As I was mentioning in my last blog, my accelerated class requires a journal entry every week, so I worked on that this morning. I found an article that actually relates to the first chapter of my book, which involved the World Trade Organization (WTO) so I went ahead and used that as my article. I did not type up my report yet to share with everyone, but basically China and the United States are having a dispute about trade restrictions and China is taking advantage and breaking some rules. As the WTO's function is to correct these disputes between the members, which in this case is China and the US and make the flow of trade flow more freely. There will be a rule placed on China to stop them from acting illegally in the international trade route.

Once I type that up, I will be able to go more in depth for anyone who may be interested! I am actually about to go finish reading up a chapter in my Consumer Behavior book and then look over the notes and possibly start another test! The week is coming to an end fast, so I want to get the majority of my work out of the way!

I hope everyone is having a great first week and I'll keep everyone posted about my quarter as it progresses!

Welcome Back!

Yes, that time is here already! New quarter and many new faces! Welcome to our new students and welcome back to our returning students! I know there was a lot of confusion in regards to today's classes. The new students attended their orientation and continuing students had their day classes canceled, but the night classes are still in session! I had a few people ask me, and since I'm doing online again, I was not really sure what the deal was.

It's hard to believe that a year ago that was me, sitting at orientation, scared of what to expect from college. Time just went by way too fast and it's scary!!

I began my classes yesterday evening for online. I started to read and post my introduction for my fellow classmates and professors. That is their way of getting to know us in the online environment. Again, I have noticed there are a few students trying out online classes for the first time, so it's always good to give them a little help in terms of how to survive an online class. Like I tell everyone, it just takes knowing how to manage your time and complete assignments by the end of the week and you will be fine.

I also took a step in taking an accelerated class this quarter as I had mentioned, so I'm a little nervous about that. From the looks of it, it's reading 2 chapters a week, taking a test, writing a 2 page journal entry, and posting on the discussion board. A lot of the weight is put on the discussion board since that counts as your attendance for the class. The journal assignment is actually pretty neat. Since this accelerated course is International Business, the professor has us looking up an international event and then answering some questions in detail about the article. I will definitely be sharing some of these articles with everyone, just so you get an idea of what is going on outside of the US!

I have a lot of reading to do, so I will have to work on some of that this afternoon and get myself situated for each of my classes. I am waiting on one more book to come, which is for macroeconomics, but it's a module I'm not working with for the first few weeks, so that was lucky! It could have been the opposite and could have been the book I needed to first week and it still didn't arrive! That would have crushed me!

I hope everyone is ready for the start of a new quarter and best of luck to everyone!!

Some Say

Wondering why the title is Some Say? Well I'm listening to music and the song that's on is Some Say by the Rascal Flatts, so it works! Also, I'm going to include a few words from Symeja, like I said I would!!

Meet Symeja!




I met Symeja through the facebook page for Berkeley, since I had posted that I had books for sale and then she ended up messaging me since I had one of the books she needed. After conversing about books, I asked if she was a new student and if she would want to type something up for me about her college experience so far and what she expected it to be like before she started. She agreed and here is what she had to say!

"Starting school was at first a little nerve wrecking as it usually would be. But when I joined the Berkeley College facebook page took all the pressure of making friends off. I met one of my best friends through facebook. We both now go to the mall together and give each other advice on everything. And I also took two Jumpstart classes, in these classes I met even more amazing people. We all talk to each other on our free time. I'm so excited for classes to begin on the 28th and I cant wait to meet others who will impact me in ways I would never imagine."

Thanks for your input Symeja!

It seems like everyone's major concern before starting school is making friends. You just need to be optimistic and network yourself with people. Another thing would be to get yourself involved in clubs so that you meet a number of people. There is always something to do, and always lots of friends to make, just take the time to make them and try!!

In four days classes will resume yet again, so I can't stress enough to have your bill paid and to make sure you go out and buy all the books you need so that you are ready to go!!! Enjoy the rest of your week!!

Enjoying your vacation?

I hope everyone is enjoying their vacation so far! It's definitely been relaxing, and I officially have my new desk--Thanks for Ikea! I will post some pictures to share my excitement!

I was hoping to post a paragraph that a Berkeley Student, Symeja, had typed up for me after I had asked her to tell me about her Berkeley experience so far. Unfortunately, blackboard is down at the moment and I can't get into my email to access her picture and paragraph, so that will have to be held off. I actually meet Symeja yesterday at the Garret Mountain campus. I sold her one of my books and also had to pay my bill, so it worked out perfectly. So we will hear from her a little later when I can access my email!!

Other than that, not too much has been going on. I received some of my books in the mail today for the upcoming quarter. When I was in the post office and received one of those yellow cards that there is a package waiting, the mail man handed it to me and I sighed and said, "Oh joy, my book is here!" He laughed since he knew I really just want to not worry about books! Ok, so it's not that bad, but these books are a little too expensive, but luckily I managed to shop around and save over $200, which was happy news to my ears!

Hopefully everyone has started to look into which books they will need. If you want to shop around for the best price, get the ISBN numbers for the books you need which makes the search ten times easier! Make sure you give yourself enough time to receive the book though. I know my online classes require the book right away, so I'm really hoping the next two days, all my books will come!

Ok, so time for some pictures! I have some pictures I took from my car of the Garret Mountain campus. I wanted to walk around, but I was pushed for time, so I snapped a few real quick. After those, I will post the picture of my desk! There are no pictures of the building process unfortunately, even though it was quite humorous! Enjoy!

Ready for our mini vacation?

I know I am! Grades have been posted and I am extremely happy with my grades yet again! Hopefully everyone did well! It's now time to relax and make the week go by as slow as possible, since a week from today, classes will be back in session!!

So what is everyone doing this week? I started my week off by taking apart my desk and preparing for my new one! My room looks so empty, but by next week I'll be on track and have a brandy new desk for a brandy new quarter!

Next quarter I will be taking Macroeconomics, International Business, Consumer Behavior, and Advertising and Promotion! I finally ordered all my books the other day, so they better come by the end of this week!! Like I mentioned a few blogs ago, I am taking International Business as an accelerated course, which means 12 weeks of work pushed into 6 weeks...So that will begin September 28th and run till November 7th. Then after that date, I only need to keep track of 3 classes. I will need a break after that accelerated course that's for sure!

Anyways, tomorrow it's back down to Berkeley to pay my bill! For those who still need to pay, the deadline is September 25th at 1:00 P.M so please make sure you are paid and ready to go for next Monday. If you do not pay, you will not be able to attend your classes!!



I hope everyone enjoys their week off! I'll put some pics up later in the week with my desk progress!

Happy Friday!!!

By now, most of everyone's classes are over and done with! 11 weeks wasn't all that bad! It went by so fast that's for sure! Hopefully everyone did good on their finals! I found out last night that I got a 100 on my business proposal, which I was not expecting at all! So that made my night for sure!!!





Last night, I actually attended a benefit dinner for the Children's Miracle Network! My mom works for RE/MAX, and each year they arrange a dinner and do auctions to help raise money for these children in need. In high school, I actually worked with one of the ladies and helped to raise money within the school. I met another woman last night who actually works with the lady I worked with, so it was nice to converse with her about what I had done previously. I ended up working at the front door for the first hour of the night, greeting people, and letting them know what was going on. They set up a tricky tray with lots of items. There were Yankees and Red Sox tickets that I really really really really wanted, but my ticket number wasn't called! BUMMER! But other than that, there were a lot of baskets that local community businesses had donated and it was an overall great night! It's always a rewarding experience when you do something for a charity. I designed a brochure to be handed out and did all I could to help, and at the end of the night, they rewarded me with flowers for all my help, which was very nice of them. I wish I had pictures to share, but I forgot my camera! I'll try to find someone who took some though to post later!

Other than that, IT'S FRIDAY!!!!!! This means our vacation starts for a whole, school free week. I'm pretty psyched about that! I do have to run down to campus next week to sell one of my books to someone who had messaged me, but hey at least I don't have to do any work!





I hope everyone has a great weekend and week off! I'll still keep everyone up to date! I am working on interviewing another person, so look forward to that!

Today's Adventure: Garret Mountain Campus

Week 11! Wow, the end is finally here! Time for a full, whole week of vacation and then back to work once again! I was pretty lucky this quarter and did not have any big finals, just final essays for the course, which I did well on so I can't complain.

As my title states, I am Garret Mountain Bound today! Book Buyback is currently taking place, so I am going to sell a few books to a friend of mine and the rest is going to the Book Buyback! I'm not expecting to make a lot, but hey, the little bit will be ok!

The schedule for Book Buyback is the following:

Monday through Thursday (September 14th-September 17th)
10:30 A.M until 6:30 P.M
Location: Bookstore




I'm sure many of you have books laying around that you never got to selling on your own, or just forgot about the book buyback and are waiting for the next one to roll around, so here is your opportunity!!! I did this last quarter as well, and there were only a few books I could not sell back, so when they tell you no, don't take it to heart!!!

My best advice to give you about selling back books is to try and see if you have any friends who will be taking the same courses you have in the past and try to sell the books to them first. You can make more money if you use that approach. If not, posting what books you have on the Berkeley Facebook or Myspace page is another approach you can use.

There is always someone in the need of a book, so just put yourself out there and let them know what you need!! I'm hoping to snap some photos on the campus today as well, so check back in the next few days or I'll add them later on! I'm not expecting much activity on campus, but I think it will be helpful for the newer students to see the buildings again before they start in 2 weeks!!

Have a great day!!! :)