Weight Watchers - Day#1

Daily Points:32/30
Daily Calories: 1,338/1500
Weight: 215.7lbs
Age: 36.66 years

Starting with Weight Watchers again.  Last time I was not as committed to losing weight so, even though I've had my greatest success with WW, I did not achieve my goals.  I have to remember the 50 pounds I lost when I first joined and how I was so motivated to get to my goal.  I was 28 and didn't want to be overweight at 30.  I did so well keeping it off until I went back to school and the job got more stressful.  Now, I want to be in a healthy place when I'm ready to have a kid and I don't want to be overweight at 40.  So I need to hold onto that motivation - or at the very least, I need to track everyday regardless of whether it's good or bad.

I need to consider that I might be attempting to do too much this month with starting weight watchers right before the holidays AND National Novel Writing Month.  But so far, I'm feeling positive about the experience.  Estimated my dinner points and discovered I have more than half to use at lunch time.  I've scheduled a work out time with a co-worker for tomorrow and we're committing to going at least twice a week.  Last time I only focused on changing eating habits and not on working out.  So that is also another item on my plate that could prove to be overwhelming.

Overall, I am pleased with my first day even though I dipped into my weekly points a little bit.  When I compare it with calories, I am definitely below the goal I'd set My Fitness Pal.  I'm curious to see how points compare to calories but have the feeling I'll find tracking in two apps tedious.

School Planning (Spring 2013-Semester)

I created a spreadsheet to list all of the required classes, and the estimated semesters I would take them, to see when my potential graduation date would be.  If I only take two classes a semester and give myself a break for the winter (meaning I take two classes in the Summer as well as the Fall and Spring), then I could graduate in 2017.  If I take three classes in the Spring or Fall for the undergrad requirements, I could graduate in 2015 or 2016.  I don't want to push myself to the point of breaking, but I honestly think I could have handled three classes this semester.

So, as of right now, I am registered for ACCT301 (Intermediate Accounting), ACCT341 (Cost Accounting), and PHIL371(Business Ethics).  I'm hoping the accounting classes won't be too difficult, especially since it's been over a semester since I had to think that way.  My current accounting class is Information Systems and focuses more on the processes than the recording.  My other classmates recommend taking Cost Accounting and the first Intermediate together as they are complementary, so hopefully that's true.  But I will have class on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday nights.

I think I definitely need to let Hallmark know that I need to focus on school and my day job.  I'm hoping I can get my finances in order enough that I don't need the second job at all.  It's also going to be more money for the semester and overall I'll pay more out of pocket.  But if it means I can get my degree, and a better salary, sooner it's probably worth it.  Mostly, I'm just worried about stressing myself out too much.

Question 6 in Maryland

Question 6
Referendum Petition
(Ch. 2 of the 2012 Legislative Session)
Civil Marriage Protection Act

Establishes that Maryland’s civil marriage laws allow gay and lesbian couples to obtain a civil marriage license, provided they are not otherwise prohibited from marrying; protects clergy from having to perform any particular marriage ceremony in violation of their religious beliefs; affirms that each religious faith has exclusive control over its own theological doctrine regarding who may marry within that faith; and provides that religious organizations and certain related entities are not required to provide goods, services, or benefits to an individual related to the celebration or promotion of marriage in violation of their religious beliefs.

I have had an interesting discussion about marriage today.  My sister and her girlfriend have recently moved in together and they were discussing the future.  As the mature adults they are, they've decided that they aren't going to seriously consider marriage until they see how the next year goes.  Living with someone is entirely different from dating and you learn so much more about the person when you have to work through everyday challenges and problems.  But the idea is on the table for future discussion and is not disagreeable to either of them.  However, they don't want to just have a Wedding and then think of themselves as married.  They want their marriage to be legally recognized and protected.  So I now have completely selfish reasons to want Maryland to pass the Same-Sex Marriage legislation on Tuesday.

They also discussed what happens if legislation is passed that will not recognize Same-Sex Marriages on the Federal level.  The possibility, given careers and other life events, of my sister and her girlfriend moving to another country for these legal protections is not out of the question.  I've written before about how close my sister and I are and that I wish we lived closer to each other.  So if our country fails to recognize this civil right of its citizens, they will push my sister further away from the family.  For so many people, the Same-Sex Marriage legislation is an abstract concept.  It's something that has no bearing on their lives whatsoever, except to say that it does or does not hold with their belief system.  This will directly affect my family and it makes me so nervous about the outcome of Tuesday's election. 

My Business Law professor has talked about it several times in class.  He brings it up every time we study a law that has the marriage caveat.  He doesn't give his opinion or tell us what we should think, he just offers us the facts and tells us to make up our own minds.  Right now we're studying property law.  I didn't realize that if my father were to get in a car accident and be sued for medical bills, that he and my step-father would be forced to sell their house so that dad's half of the assets would cover that debt.  If their marriage were legally recognized in the state of Maryland, their house would be protected. And there are so many instances where a marriage license provides this automatic protection or entitlement.  Yes, there are a lot of other legal protections a same-sex couple could put in place without a marriage license but there isn't an alternative for this property right.  My dad and his husband would be treated the same as if my sister and I owned a house together no matter what.

Our entire society is structured to encourage people to get married, for religious purposes or not.  A read through Samhita Mukhopadhyay's Outdated: Why Dating is Ruining Your Love Life provides excellent examples of how we're taught that one is not really an adult or successful until one is married.  Yet, as a society, we deny homosexuals the ability to do so.  How can one look at our society, with its social and legal structures, and tell me that marriage is strictly a religious thing? 

Tax Withholdings

I did a quick calculation of my tax withholdings for this year.  My new placement on the commercial side of the company means that the state and local withholdings are finally correct.  I've been playing with the idea of cancelling the additional $50 I had withheld when the California office was taking care of my payroll.  If my calculations are correct, and I seriously hope they are, I could have a tax return of about $2-3K this year.  I had extra withheld last year to compensate for cashing out my old IRA and forgot to change the withholdings for this year.

First, that's a lot of money and, whenever it looks like I'm about to get a windfall, I have to remind myself that I am fallible and have been wrong in my calculations before.  Though I am usually not that far off of the mark.  Still it's best not to count on that money or plan to spend it before I've even received my W-2's.

Second, there a number of big ticket items for which I considered taking out additional funds on my student loans.  For example, updating my computer/printer/wi-fi or a down payment on the purchase of a house.  These are practical items that will improve my financial outlook or further my educational goals.  The question is, of course, a home in what location and can I really afford a mortgage?

Third, there are the fun things I want but have to diligently save to attain.  Even when I save money, it is important to take care of the big ticket items mentioned above before the "fun" items.  When I say "Fun" what I mean is that Japanese/European vacation my sister and I talk about but never seem to have enough money to take.  If my calculations are, indeed, correct then this would solve the airfare problem very nicely - for both of us.  It would just be a matter of saving the rest of the money for the hotel/food/mementos.

Finally, there are the practical items and uses for this money.  I will undoubtedly have racked up some Christmas debt by the time tax time rolls around, though I swear I am not spending as much as I usually do.  And that should definitely be paid off/down before using the money for anything else.  Then there is the ultimate practicality of paying down the student loans I took out this fall or the remaining amounts on my undergrad loans.  Or, using the tax money to bankroll my spring semester instead of relying on student loans to front the money until my company can reimburse me.  But there really isn't anything fun about those options.

New Character Name

Kathryn on BabyNamer: Baby Names and Meanings


Just followed a link on a friend's Facebook page to see what "teasing nicknames" were associated with my name.  I've definitely heard most of them, though not in a negative way.  Katie-did, Katie-bug, Katers, Kitty, and, K-K-K-Katie.  Kind of disappointed I never got Katesie or Kit Kat.

But the point is that there is a nickname for Kathryn, I'd never thought of before:  Thryn. 

When I look-up the drawbacks for this nickname, there are none.  It's just so different sounding than the usual Katie, Kathy, or Kate.  New and old at the same time.  It also got me thinking about what an awesome character name this would be.  Of course, I don't have much time to even think about writing let alone sit down and work through something.  So I'll stash it away here until such time as I can build some kind of world for her.

Skype

My new computer arrived in the mail yesterday and I could not be more excited.  There are so many new features on this one that I realize there will be a huge learning curve.  So far, my favorite feature is the camera.  I downloaded Skype and tried to talk my mother through setting up the same on her phone.  There is only so much one can do over the phone and it may have to wait for her to visit my sister next month to get everything installed properly.  But I was able to have a Skype conversation with my sister last night.

It really makes a huge difference in how we talk to one another.  Even though she is not physically in the room, I find myself paying more attention to our conversation as if she were.  Most of us are doing five different things while talking on the phone these days and things get missed or we don't completely listen to the other person.  The result is that, even though we can talk to someone more often, we're not really communicating.  I think the video call will help us to connect more genuinely and effectively.

Of course, the entire time, all I could think about was this episode of the Jetson's where Jane receives a call from a friend and has to rush to put on her morning face.  I was keenly aware of my appearance as I spoke with my sister and realized this would make a difference when calling anyone else.  Will we get to a point, with this technology, where we can make a call and not care about our appearance?  Certainly, we don't get dressed up to go on an airplane the way they did in the 50's and 60's.  And we don't have special riding clothes for the car as they did in the early 1900's.  Photographs are not the special event they once were but the invention of the digital camera has made sure almost all of our pictures meet our approval.

Like most things in our society, we are concerned with how we look or how people perceive us.  We live our lives on display with sites like Facebook and Twitter.  The mundane parts of our lives made more interesting for the consumption of others.  We run the risk of pushing ourselves to meet unrealistic standards that everyone struggles to attain yet believes they're the only ones missing the mark.  The video call will definitely help families and loved ones connect on a deeper level from greater distances, but it could also further entrench this narcissistic culture we've developed.

The Times, They Are A Changin'

I saw a post on Facebook today that made me realize I'm moving into the next phase of Hallmark life.  There was a time when the "kids" would get together after work for some much needed down/bitch time.  We would go to dinners together, or hang out at some one's house, etc.  There was a time when I was invited to those.

I completely understand the need to have fun time with one's co-workers outside of work, especially at Hallmark and especially at Christmastime.  That being said, there are certain people that wouldn't make it the cathartic experience it needs to be.   I've usually straddled that line; hanging out with the "kids" or  relaxing with the "ladies."  But I might have officially crossed over that "kid" line.  I am not upset that I wasn't invited, that's not the point.  It's just a realization that time progresses and things move on.

It's sort of a Hallmark No-man's land.   I'm not quite old enough to be part of the "ladies,"  I don't have their life experiences or worries.  And I don't have the same perspective that the "girls" have anymore.  I have more concrete worries and responsibilities; a better understanding of how things work or need to work.  Hallmark isn't my career but then it's not my until I'm finished with school job either.  All the "girls' I started with, twelve years ago, have gone off into their respective careers and started families, etc.  It was about my age when my decade buddy left Hallmark to have her first child.

I wonder if she felt the way I do about Hallmark when she was in my shoes.

Weight Watchers New Daily Points - Week#1

I had my weigh-in this week and I have to say that I was really pleased.  I am officially down 2.4 pounds from my previous weigh-in.  According to Weight Watchers this is about .4 pounds too much and they are concerned I'm losing too much too quickly.  (The average weight loss should be no more than 2 pounds a week for healthy weight loss.)   I see it as a perfect storm kind of thing; my cycle has finally ended thus shedding some water weight, I've adhered to the new point plus system as closely as possible, and I'm finally getting better from this cold.  So I'm not concerned about the extra .4.

April Fool's 2 years, 8 months, and 12 days later....

There are times when you realize that you want something too much.  It makes you vulnerable and gives others the opportunity to use that against you.  Today, I was duped by a more than two year old April Fool's joke by the BBC.  (This is the problem with the Internet, things don't die here.)

It involved the possibility of recovering lost episodes of Doctor Who from the 60's using bounce back radio waves.  All my Doctor Who fans will know exactly how elated I was at the mere mention of this.  So excited was I that I immediately shared on Facebook and e-mailed to my fellow Whovians.  Then I notice the date and, instead of feeling incredibly stupid, feel an incredible sense of loss.  I really, really wanted this to be true.

Typing it now, I realize how silly the entire concept is  I mean radio waves degrade over time and space.  That's why I have to change from NPR Baltimore to DC when I get to work.  It's the sharing with a somewhat cool guy who will hold this against me that makes me feel stupid.  Always, always check your sources!  Then, check the dates on those sources and finally, do a Google Search.  Odds are, someone else fell for it before you did and may have written about it in hopes of saving you the same fate.  And always remember: If it's too good to be true, it usually is.

Points Plus 2012

We just got our new Points Plus 2012 packets today!  I'm kind of excited about the changes, though they aren't nearly as tumultuous as last year's presentation of the Points Plus program.  I've been struggling with losing weight for the past six months or so.  It could be emotional, laziness, or some other factor. Thankfully, Weight Watchers has made a few tweaks to the Points Plus Program and they're challenging me to get back on track.

Here's what I've learned so far:

1. Weight Watchers has recalculated daily points values for a lot of the people who were at low end of that spectrum.
2. Wine is now 3 points plus for 4 oz, instead of the 4 I've been calculating.
3. Beer is now 5 points plus for 12 oz, instead of the 4 I've been calculating.  (sad face)
4. There will now be activity goals.

I will return with updates as soon as I've lived with this newish plan a little bit.

December

I'm starting off December with a cold I caught from my sister while visiting her for Thanksgiving.  After a week of progressively worse symptoms, despite my attempts to self-medicate with DayQuil/NyQuil/Mucinex, I finally went to the Target Clinic this past weekend.  It was actually a pleasant experience.

I had some free time before my Hallmark shift and knew I had very limited PTO at my day job, so I got out of bed earlier than I felt like it and went to the Target near my Hallmark job.  I figured even if the wait for the Clinic was ridiculous at least I would already be in the area for work.  The wait was exactly half an hour and they gave me a pager so I could walk around the store or go get some tea in the café.  This proved to be the best part of the service they offered, simply because walking around kept my sinuses clearer and allowed me to feel a little less miserable.

It was determined that I should have anti-biotics.  Now, I hate to take anti-biotics unless absolutely necessary.  They are over prescribed, pumped into our farm animals, and we're in danger of letting the bacteria evolve past our ability to treat it.  But having gone more than a week with my usual cold medicines and developing a nagging hacking cough after about a week of trying to treat this, I realized that maybe there is more going on than the common cold.  So I surrendered and started the anti-biotic yesterday.  Fortunately, I can already say things are looking up.  I don't think I'm quite back to singing ability, but my voice doesn't sound like my smoker grandmother's either.

Now, I am sitting at my desk trying not to cough as often as I need to.  I know how annoying it is for everyone else in the office and I've even had one girl ban me from her area entirely.  Apparently, when I get sick even if it's only for a couple of days, because I have the immune system of steel, it's really bad and it takes everyone else several weeks to recover.  Most of us have used our PTO and are just trying to make it through these next three weeks as quickly and as healthy as possible, so I understand her paranoia.  But it still hurts my feelings a little bit.

Elephants

Have you ever sat down and realized that maybe you know too much about Elephants?

I'm going to guess the answer is, "no," for most people.  But I had that moment this weekend, visiting my sister and mother for Thanksgiving.  We were having dinner with my sister, her girlfriend, and her girlfriend's uncle when the conversation turned to Elephants as it naturally would.  Like, did you realize that Elephants walk on their tiptoes?  They have a cushion under the toes to help support them, but it means that they can sneak up on you if they want.  Which makes my mom's joke about elephants wearing sneakers irrelevant.

For me, the obsession with this Pachyderm really started with the free copy of Zoobooks that came in the mail.  It was always the one about the Elephant and my parents never subscribed for the others.  This was the source of most of my knowledge about Elephants and I remember it very fondly.

My favorite part about the Zoobook was the poster of all the extinct varieties of Elephants.  It told me that there was an extinct type of Elephant that was no bigger than a dog.  And part of me really wants a Bichon-sized Elephant to take on car trips with me.  Think about how awesome that would be.

My most recent information binge about the animal was a documentary about Elephants suffering from PTSD.  The elephants in zoos and circuses killing their trainers out of the blue is because of the PTSD they suffer from witnessing their parents getting shot by poachers.  The baby elephants are left with the corpse until a rescue organization whisks them away to protective shelters.  All seems fine and dandy until something causes them to snap and then they go on a killing rampage.  They method used most often to kill a human being: crush a person's chest with your massive skull.

Except for poachers and dwindling habitat, the adult Elephant has no natural predators.  The elephant's trunk can uproot a tree or pluck a single flower.   They are also considered as intelligent as dolphins and there's a zoo elephant that creates artwork. 

Counting Down to the GMAT

In exactly one month, I will take the GMAT.

I'm starting to get a little concerned about it.  I've signed up for grockit.com and the more math problems I do on there, the more my projected score goes down.

I saw the amount of work my sister is doing for school and I'm starting to worry that I will be biting off more than I can chew. 

Panic is good at this point, right?

Dad's 59th

My father's 59th birthday was this weekend and it amazes me how my parents seem so much younger than my grandparents did at the same age.  It could be because the pictures of my grandparents at that age were taken in the 80's, or it could be their behaviors.  Of course, I would never have seen the side of my grandparents that I see of my dad simply because of my age at the time.


Dad and his friend, Ona, circa Friday night



Mommom and Poppop, circa 1980's



Barbie

A friend of my sister's posted a link on Facebook today that really got my ire up.  She posted about how the Barbie Doll's measurements were unrealistic and included this photo.

First of all, let me say that the Barbie Doll measurements are in no way meant to be an indication of what a real life, full size, woman's measurement should be.  It's the nature of working with scale models.  When scaling something down, ratios have to be adjusted so that the miniature looks more realistic.  You can see from the photo that trying to take the miniature's ratios and apply them to a full size model creates a ridiculous image.  If you were to compare this full size model to an actual pre-1997 Barbie doll, you wouldn't think they were proportioned the same at all.  (I say pre-1997 Barbie Doll because she was changed in 1997 to give her fuller hips, a thicker waist, and a smaller bust.  The measurements quoted in this post were the ratios used on the pre-1997 Barbie Doll.)

Second, the post goes on to say that "Slumber Party Barbie was introduced in 1965 and came with a bathroom scale permanently set at 110 pounds with a book entitled 'How to Lose Weight' with directions inside stating, simply: 'Don’t eat.'"  People commented about how that fact takes everything that Mattel says to defend Barbie Doll and throws it out the window.  I would like to point out that this particular fact happened in 1965 and that no current Barbie Doll or any Barbie Doll introduced in the last twenty years has attempted to recreate that "dieting" tip.  (It could very easily say, "don't OVER eat," in a current incarnation, however.)   Any defense that Mattel has put up about Barbie Doll and creating unrealistic expectations has happened more recently than its 1965 Slumber Party Barbie.  Am I saying that I agree with the "dieting tip" presented in the 1965 set? No.  Do I think it's terrible that a children's toy ever had that on it?  Yes.  Do I think we can use that as evidence for why Barbie Doll is a poor toy choice for current boys and girls? Absolutely not.  Every brand is allowed to grow and change with the times, even Cookie Monster now tells kids that cookies are a sometimes food. 

In 1992, Mattel created a doll that would say 4 of 270 phrases.  One of those phrases was "math class is tough."  The American Association of University Women took offense at this and demanded it be removed from one of the possible phrases.  (FYI - this phrase is often misquoted as "Math is hard.")  Did she say she couldn't do math, or that girls in general couldn't or shouldn't do math?  I could understand demanding the removal of those phrases.  But, let me tell you, I'm studying for the GMAT right now and the part that's the toughest for me is the Quantitative, a.k.a Math.  We all have challenges we face and, yes, they are tough.  It's important to acknowledge when something is difficult and then challenge ourselves to improve.  Not every girl, or every person for matter, is inherently good at Math, or Languages, or Sports, or Cooking, or Artistry, or Computer Programming.  But you know who has done all of these things and more, successfully?  Barbie Doll.

Yes, in 1965, she was given bad dieting advice and shared it with her girlfriends.  Who hasn't?  When we focus on this one aspect of Barbie Doll, we forget all the other things she's done to inspire and empower girls.  A key phrase I remember from Barbie Doll commercials in the 80's was, "We girls can do anything."  She was the President of the United States, an Ambassador for World Peace, and a UNICEF Summit Diplomat.  She's had humble beginnings as a McDonald's Cashier, then worked her way from a Secretary to a Business Executive.  She may have found Math to be tough, but she was still able to be a Pilot, an Astronaut (twice), and a Computer Engineer.  She's been a Firefighter, a Police Officer, a Life Guard, a Military Service Member of four United States Branches of Service, and a Canadian Mountie. Barbie Doll is a blank slate onto which we project our hopes, our dreams, and our fears.  She is a reflection of our culture through the last 50+ years.  The things we don't like about the Barbie Doll are the things we don't like about ourselves, as individuals and as a culture.

7 Years Ago . . .

Guppy Gulch SCUBA Diving Quarry from Flickr.com member hergen family

Seven years ago today, I was on my way up to Guppy Gulch for my SCUBA diving class checkout.  My dad didn't want me to go and I was determined to overcome fear.  It was a beautiful place and the water was ice cold.  I'll just say it didn't end well and leave it at that.  I swore I would return within 5 years and successfully complete the checkout, thereby earning my SCUBA certification, but the very thought of putting on a wet suit still initiates a fight or flight response from me.

The sad part was that I really enjoyed the classes while I was taking them and I found SCUBA diving to be very relaxing.  There was something, at the time, very comforting about the silence being underwater offered.  Now, I go to sleep with the TV on to fill that kind of sound void.

This is what I thought of this morning.  There are things that never quite leave you no matter how much time passes.

Halloween Weekend in Baltimore

I was finally able to visit Westminster Hall Burying Ground and Catacombs, where Edgar Allan Poe is buried.  Every Halloween, Westminster Hall holds a celebration that allows visitors to tour the church, catacombs, and graveyard after dark.  This year it happened to be on Sunday, October 30th from 6 - 9pm and I was lucky enough to attend.

My friend, N, went with me and we stood in line for about an hour and a half before we were able to gain entrance.  I wasn't very impressed by the entertainment inside the church and we missed a lot of the other events (i.e. a reading of the Tell-Tale Heart in the Graveyard) while we were in line.  But occasionally an Edgar Allan Poe impersonator would entertain the people in line (he also gave a reading inside the hall).  The tour guides gave a lot of detailed information and entertaining stories about the residents.  I didn't realize that the church had been built after the fact, which is how the "catacombs" were created. I've driven by Poe's grave several times and I always note it to visitors, but I hadn't actually gone to the church or the site.

There was something very thrilling about being in the graveyard.  People were waiting in line while we roamed amongst the dead under the stars.  "Edgar" would walk around the graveyard, from time to time, and talk to people gawking at his grave.  It was a little bit spooky, a lot of fun, and absolutely perfect for Halloween.

Down

I've been trying to pull myself up and for the most part I'm doing very well.  Things have improved in the last few months and I feel like I am getting back to normal for the most part.  But this past week I've felt really sad and down.  I don't know if it's recent events or my own negative head space or the fact that it's almost pitch black when I get out of work or some combination thereof.  I just know that pretty much every day this past week I've been about three steps from crying.  Mostly a similar thought pattern takes me there, but I'm not 100% sure what has unearthed that particular strain. 

It just feels like a wave has come along and shifted the sand beneath me when I felt like I'd just gotten some solid footing.  It's okay, I always get back up again.  It's just annoying when I find myself knocked down with a mouth full of saltwater and another wave fast approaching.  But I'll get up and eventually ride one of those in to safety.

GMAT - Practice Test the First

According to the preliminary GMAT test I took on http://www.grockit.com/ this weekend, my projected score is between 550-650.  The actual score I received on this weekend's practice test was a 630.  Though, this was due, mostly, to my verbal and reading comprehension skills.  Out of a total 38 math questions, I got 9 correct.  It seems that I have forgotten everything from high school Algebra, Geometry and Pre-Calculus.  Yes, I transferred from a school that didn't start Geometry until 10th grade so I was somewhat behind my peers at my new school and never even got a whiff of a Trig textbook.

Taking this test, reminded me how much I'd forgotten.  There were things I used to use at my DTB job, like finding the area of a room so we could estimate how much to charge for carpet, etc.  But those things don't jump immediately to my mind.  And things like SAS (Side, Angle, Side) are familiar and I know I need them to help me solve a problem but I can't remember how or what it even means.  It makes me feel old and rusty, with just a little bit of stupid.

My sister said that the first practice test is supposed to make me feel this way.  That this is where I figure out how to improve for the actual test and that in a couple of months, after focusing on these problem areas, I will much better.  She also promised that the questions in the prep books are harder than the actual test.  I'm not sure how I feel about this, but I bought an entire workbook of GMAT "Quantitative" problems to help me.  I have $250 riding on this, not to mention possible B-school, I can't fuck it up now.

Side Note:  http://www.grockit.com/ seems to be a pretty cool site.  It helps people get ready for the SAT, GMAT, GRE, LSAT, AP Test, etc.  And it's at least one study resource that will let me work on things no matter where I am as long as I have a computer.  No need to lug all my books with me when I go to work or hang out at my dad's.  It also keeps track of my work and lets me know my strengths and weaknesses so I can work effectively.  I was also pleased to learn that for every subscription purchased, they donate a subscription to an underprivileged students program for those that didn't have a Ms. Hastings to get them through the SAT.  So I am helping myself get to a better future and helping someone else get to theirs.  It makes me feel better about the $29.99 a month I'll be paying for the subscription.

In Case You Didn't Believe Me....



Mom and Dad 1977




Annette and Frankie


They could be body doubles....