Wednesday, March 18, 2009

The End is Near

-March 11th-

Hello everyone and welcome back to the blog. A reminder once again that registration for the Spring is still going on and to clear as soon as possible. Time is running out and you don’t want to get stuck with classes you do not want or need. I personally have to clear and I intend to do that on Saturday so I will let you know how that goes.

The end of the semester is quickly approaching as students all around Berkeley are gearing up for final exams. It is going to be difficult for me as I have a lot of personal and family events that are coming up that is going to sap my strength, hopefully with proper time management I will be able to handle it all. As we begin the wind down I handed in my final 8 page paper today in Multimedia Business Presentations. The final step is to take that paper and turn it into a PowerPoint presentation that is due next week. If I get an A on the paper and the presentation that should net me an A for the class since I got nothing less than an A- on any assignment. I am still waiting to find out what I got on my midterm in Taxation but I guess that may have to wait until Friday. I still have to do homework for chapters 5 & 6 that is due next Friday, week 11.

In International Business I saw I got 29 out of 30 on my paper which makes me feel great since I worked hard on that paper. If I am able to get an 85 or better on the final I think I can come away with a B or a B+ for the semester which I am happy to take. Microeconomics I did not go to yesterday because I was physically exhausted from the hectic weekend and I also had to get up early Tuesday morning. I went to a BNI meeting at 7 am in order to promote the business that my partner and I are forming. BNI is a professional networking group that allows only one of each particular field into a chapter. For example in one chapter there can only be one tax lawyer, one graphic designer so on and so forth. This is extremely helpful in the fact that any referrals would go to you and only to you. Despite missing the class I did find out that she did move up the final to week 11 so we don’t have to show up week 12 and also take away one class to study for during week 12. I got a break out of Taxation because I found out from a classmate that the final will only be on one chapter and that is chapter 6. That makes it easier to study for and prepare for so I am hoping to knock the final out of the park.

It is now time for the Rebecca and Jose corner. Rebecca continues to surprise us with her grasp of the English language. The other day my wife and mother in law were taking Jose and Rebecca for a walk. Rebecca was already in the carriage when she saw that her brother was coming along. She turns to my mother in law and says “he’s coming to?” My mother in law replied “yep” and Rebecca goes “nnooooo.” She did not want her brother to come along and seemed to act like it was her time only with mommy and grandma. Another thing she did was on Sunday morning she woke up and saw her brother sleeping upstairs. She asks my mother in law if Jose slept there last night and when she was told yes she said, “oh” and seemed annoyed. That night he stayed upstairs again but this time Rebecca saw him and asked if he was spending the night. My mother in law said,”yes” and Rebecca gave it her ok for good measure. Makes me wonder who the boss really is upstairs? Anyway that is it for now I will see you guys next time, hopefully I will be able to post all of these back blogs this weekend.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Who watches the Watchmen?

-March 8th-

Hello everyone and welcome back to the Blog. I am still trying to find a nickname for this blog but I need some suggestions so anyone out there feel free to leave me a message. A couple of administrative announcements, reminder that registration for the spring is winding down so if you haven’t registered yet please do so as soon as possible. I would also like to welcome Lyndsay to the blogger group for Berkeley College, I am sure she will be a great read so if you haven’t checked out her blog, what are you waiting for.

This weekend was a very hectic one and it started Friday with my midterm in Federal Taxation. I studied the best I could but I don’t know if I did so well. It did not help that I did not know the format of the test which would have helped in studying. A lot of people don’t understand how knowing the format can help, it does. For example if you know that the whole exam is going to be True and False like my International Business final, you will study more facts and take notes and you may not pay too much attention to formulas. If you know the exam is going to be multiple choice, you can cut out area that you know enough about because you can always guess. Another example is if you know there are going to be short answer or short problems you will make sure you know formulas and how and when to apply them. This just goes to show you that the format of the exam is just as important as knowing what will be on it.

After the exam on Friday I went to see Watchmen: the Movie. I went to see it with my dad and my coworker Mark. Before I get into my critique of the movie I must let people know that if you have not read the graphic novel or are not into comics may not enjoy this movie. My dad never read the comic but he is a big kid at heart and still loves comics so he enjoyed it. I did read the novel before going to see the movie and I was pleased that they stuck to the graphic novel as close as they could. There were a few minor changes but nothing that seriously changed the meaning or purpose of the movie. If you can see past the comical costumes you will hear dialogue that is not only deep but inspirational. There are no big name actors or actresses in the movie and yet they all played their roles well. Over all I will have to wait until it comes out on DVD because they cut out about 30 minutes of film and I need to see how that fits in and if they followed the book in those scenes. Overall I did enjoy the movie and it was just great to go out by myself without the misses.

That last statement would be short lived as the next night I was out again with the misses going to my reunion. I went to the Martin van Buren Leaders Soft Reunion at Dave and Busters out in Long Island. That was quite a hike when you consider I live in Queens and I have no car. So I and my wife made the hour trip out there only to be there for about an hour and then left. It was very poorly planned and organized and the two hosts showed up late. It was so packed my wife and I couldn’t even get a bite to eat, we had to wait until we got back into the city. All in all it was just good spending time with the wife since it is rare that we go out due to school and money. The focus now turns to my two 8 page papers that are due on Monday and Wednesday. Lucky for me I have done all the research and I just have to put it all on paper. Wish me luck.

Now it is time for the Rebecca and Jose corner. As stated earlier Jose is beginning to learn how to walk. He is so cute as he tries to stand up on his own. Meanwhile his crawling is getting better and he is becoming more mobile. This leads to more restful sleep and more naps throughout the day, much to the happiness of his mother. Rebecca continues to play the part of big sister and is learning more and more phrases each day. She can now count up to thirteen although she omits number 12 but at least she is learning. Anyway that is all for now and I will see you next time.

Monday, March 16, 2009

Marching into March

-The next few post may seem a bit weird because i hand wrote them since i had no time to upload. Enjoy! This one is dated March 4th-

Hello everyone and welcome back. Just a few administrative items, registration for the spring is still going on if you have not done so please register. Tax season is upon us the sooner you file the sooner you can fill out your FAFSA and NYHESC Tap form. This will also allow you to clear earlier instead of waiting for the last minute.

We have finally reached the last 4 weeks of the winter semester here at Berkeley College. I have to say by far this is the hardest semester and busiest semester I have had here at Berkeley. It is so crazy that a 2 credit class is giving me an 8-10page paper due in about a week. On top of that I need to change that paper into a PowerPoint presentation that I must do before my classmates as my final presentation. So far I am batting an A in that class and I hope that my final presentation keeps up the pace. In my taxation class I have my midterm this week in week in week 9, talk about late. The only upside to it all is that we only need to study for one chapter when it comes time for the final so I am cool with that.
In International Business I also have an 8-10 page paper due next week and I will also have to lead a small discussion on the paper the week after. Then a week after that is our final which will be 50 true or false questions which does not leave much room for error. I also have taken my second essay test in Microeconomics. It is funny because it was based on two chapters but both questions came from only one. This is one of the reasons studying is so frustrating. You think you covered everything then you get the test and half of the test you thought not to study is on it. Personally I don’t know how the student body has not united as one and cause a raucous every time a professor does that.

Now it is time for the Rebecca and Jose corner. Well in his eagerness to catch his sister Jose has mastered the art of the baby walker. He is a virtual speed demon that can change direction and speed in an instant. I still manage to not get ran over and that is a goal that I intend on keeping. His sister on the other hand has found some diabolical ways to harass her brother while he is in it, such as pushing him from behind. Other than that she continues to be a very loving and caring big sister to her brother as she grows and learns what her responsibilities are. That is all for now stay tuned for reviews on Watchman the movie, a new book by an familiar professor and many other cool events as we wind down the winter semester.