Owen is screaming at the top of his lungs about not wanting to go out.

I'm going to try that next time my alarm goes off.

Ok, wrong Owen.

Hah!

The thing about "The Fall of the House of Usher," for me -- and actually this is true of several of Poe's most famous works -- is that it was first published in Godey's Lady's Book, which was a periodical of the time, which was very tall and fairly narrow. Something like 12" x 7", or anyway, a trim size very odd to the modern eye. And then?

Teeny tiny little itty bitty type! Almost the whole of "Usher" fits on a single two-column page in its original printing. I blew it up 100% on aq copier just to be able to make it out.

I swear, like bright lighting and good eyesight were commoner then than now! WTF!

Because the universe knows I had to go to bed before Torchwood finished ahemming last night

Are you sending the universe positive thoughts?

I seem to have a cold. I wish I'd called in sick - however, I have tomorrow off and that seemed like a bad idea.

And it's snowing. And we're under a wind chill warning for most of the weekend.

Must get more coffee.

Sophia - I think I'd like a certificate or something, but do not necessarily need credit towards a degree. I do not plan on taking enough to get a second BA, so credit seems unecessary. And no, nursing wouldn't help. I am thinking intro bookkeeping and accounting stuff, maybe some intermediate MS Office application classes at some point. It wouldnt be until the summer, but my work has tuition reimbursement and I'd like to take advantage of it in a way that would actually expand job skills.

I am with ita on "Fall of the House of Usher", there was not much there there. But Poe was something of a pioneer of the short-story, wasn't he, with that whole each story having one overriding effect on the reader thing? So, I'll cut him some slack.

Well, kiss another PTO day goodbye. No way I can take tomorrow off as planned, though I will have to cut out early to take my sis to the airport.

This is what sucks about PTO that doesn't roll over. In theory, I kind of like that it encourages you to, you know, actually take time off. But when half the time you end up having to cancel it because of workload, it's really fucking annoying. Because I don't get that time back, you know, or any compensation if I don't manage to use it by the end of the year. As it is, tomorrow was supposed to be unofficially burning off one of my several remaining 07 days that I didn't get to use, which my manager is allowing us to do as long as it doesn't go past January. Feh.

msbelle:

The only advice I can give is that credit courses cost a LOT more than non-credit ones, but sometimes workplaces only reimburse for credit courses, so you should check out your policy. For example, a 3 credit course at my university costs $2750, and a similar length non-credit course costs $399. However most people with tuition reimbursement will get only part of the $399 back.

You also want to check out the accreditation of the institute.

Most of our students are very happy, but we have a lot of instructor contact, plus our classes include taped instruction, interactive computer activities, message boards, etc. Again, we are teaching anatomy and not accounting, but I think looking for on-line classes where you can get instructor help or advertise a variety of different activities rather than reading and doing might be helpful. Most of our activities are optional-- that is, if you just want to read the book and take the test, you can, but we try to provide all different types of learning methods for all different types of learners.

Ok, wrong Owen.

Hee! I had the same reaction. Although, Torchwood Owen is known for screaming his head off about something or other, so at first I was fooled.

Brenda, I have the same issue about unused PTO not rolling over and was scrambling at the end of the year to squeeze in all my days. This year might be a bit less of a problem because I'm taking two weeks in April. Usually, I rarely take any time off the first half of the year other than the occasional sick day, and am therefore trying to get them all in the last few months.