The next chapter...

I'm creating this blog so I will have an easy way to update friends and family as to what's going on with me as I start a new chapter in my life.

As you all know, I lost my job last September. I was working for a small Denver based home builder. I had been with FrontierLiving for several years and things were going great until the housing market took a downturn. Anyone that has watched the news knows about the national foreclosure rate and the credit crunch, and how the housing market has been affected as a result. Unfortunately, FrontierLiving was not immune and had to take drastic measures in order to survive, including lay offs. Hence my current state of unemployment. There are no hard feelings, as it was a business decision. FrontierLiving continues their struggle and I wish them the best of luck. In fact, I'm continuing to help them out by working for them on a contract basis.

Now, what to do with the rest of my life? After a few months of exploring various employment opportunities, including being an plus sized stripper, I have decided to go back to school. That's right; I will soon be matriculating at the ripe old age of 36. If all goes well, I will start classes on January 22nd.

I will be studying Radiology. The course itself takes a full two years (including a summer session). In addition I will also need to get several prerequisite classes out of the way, such as biology, chemistry, and several math classes. Apparently I’m farley stupid in the math department. Let me explain…

Even though I’m returning to academia as an adult, I still requested and assessment test (which wasn't required, and I now regret taking), just to gage where I was at as far as becoming a student again. My test results were mixed. The test score range was from 0 to 200. Here are the results:

Reading Comprehension: 195 (college junior level)
Sentence Skills: 192 (college junior level)
Analyzing and Interpreting Literature: 189 (barely college junior level)
IT Systems & Computer Applications: 184 (college sophomore level)
Arithmetic: 79 (stupid on many levels)
Elementary Algebra: 26 (flat out retarded)

Due to the test results, I am able to skip one of the prerequisite English classes. However, because of the math scores, I have to retake 8th grade math (being Pre-Algebra). No shit, 8th grade math. And that 8th grade standard is based on what I had to take in the 8th grade. By today’s standard, it’s probably 6th grade math! I will need to complete the required classes before being able to begin the actual Radiology course load (this will include a summer session as well).

Regardless of my scholastic challenges, I will continue to move forward in this educational endeavor. I will most likely need to hire a math tutor. I will provide more specific details as “Back to School” draws near.