Sinful Summer School

I really don't know why I do this to myself lol.

So last week I finished my Spring semester ending my first year at UNCP.  I'm happy to say that I ended with straight As once again but the best thing was I got no A minuses.  Just 5 pretty little A's.  I was ecstatic.  =)

So you'd think I'd reward myself with a nice long summer by the pool sipping lemonade right?  NOPE!  This summer I'm taking three classes, one during each summer term.  Here at UNCP we have a Maymester term, which started this past Monday, where you can take one class in just 10 days.  Seems easy right?  Yeah except you have to be in a classroom for 4 hours a day and you take a test everyday that counts for 17% of your grade.  So fun.  I'm doing well though.  It's BIO 1000 which is the most basic science course offered (can you tell I'm not a fan? haha)  I should end with an A- or an A.  I just need to study really hard for these next 7 days and I'll be right where I want to be.
The other two classes I'm doing online so it won't be too bad.  It took me a few years to really figure out how to take an online class.  One of these days I'll have to post some tips for you all that are thinking about taking one.  They can be easy but your studying techniques are a whole lot different than an classroom course.

So its been very busy lately.  I know I've been MIA since the beginning of finals week.  We had our company's commissioning ceremony this past weekend.  It went well.  I'm happy to announce that 5 new highly trained officers have entered into the ranks of our military.  I couldn't be more proud of this group.  I worked very closely with most of them this past semester to keep our company running smooth and they will be surely missed.  I wish them the best of luck on their new endeavors.  And I'd just like that say a big congrats to all the 2012 Commissionees.  You did it!

Officially Sworn In

So many of you have read about my struggles with retrieving a contract with the Army ROTC.  It has been a long and hard fought journey.  I started off doing Air Force ROTC in 2006.  I spent two years with them trying to get a scholarship.  I was getting ready for Field Training (30 day evaluation of officership) and I still hadn't gotten the scholarship, so I got out of the program and kept going to school.

My dreams of becoming an officer were a far off memory for a couple years until last summer.  We had just moved to NC and I talked to a friend who really sparked my interest in the program again so I signed up for ROTC my first semester at UNCP (Fall 2011).  I hit the ground running.  My motivation was at 200% and I performed everything to best of my ability last semester.  I started the contracting process in early September.  Lots of bad news came...first was around October, the Army was cutting officer slots for commissionees for the years 2012 through 2015.  My year was 2014 and our contracts got drastically cut.  Our battalion is made up of four universities and there were only 13 possible contracts to be split among 66 potential cadets.  Talk about slim to none.  The next bad news came in December, my medical examination came back as disqualified because of my history of psoriasis.  I thought my chances were done, but my cadre pulled together in February to send out a request to waive my disqualification.

Then the waiting began....the months dragged by as I waiting for the ultimate outcome but I continued to give my all...not just in ROTC but my classes as well.  If the ROTC plan were to fall through, I wanted to make sure I continued to be efficient in my classes striving for As in all my classes.

This past Tuesday, my Captain came to me with the best news ever.  I was going to sign my contract and ASAP.  He wanted me to go up to Battalion right away to sign the paperwork and swear in.  I think my heart literally jumped out of my chest when he told me this lol.

So yesterday, I officially swore my life to the United States Army.  Next week, I get all my paperwork together to start the SMP and from there it's a rap!  Just keep trucking until May 2014.  I can't believe I've come this far.  It seemed like such a long road but in reality time has flown by me.  It was just around this time last year I was telling myself that I had three years until graduation.  I'm coming up to the end of this semester in less than 30 days, then I start my evaluation year for ROTC, next summer I'll be going to LDAC, and then the countdown begins to graduating and commissioning.  Wow how time flies!

January Opportunities

So this week started off pretty interesting.  It started out pretty hectic and I was truly hyperventilating but things are starting to calm down.  Slowly I'm getting my thoughts and emotions and life in general in somewhat of an order.  A lot of things have happened today some good some bad.

I have received three job interviews.  One for Buckle at the Cross Creek Mall.  I'm not too excited about that one.  I wouldn't mind working weekends and getting the 40% discount but there is no way I'm driving over an hour from Pembroke to Fayetteville during the week to work.  The next two job interviews are at my school.  One is to be a Technician at our Performing Arts Center.  The other is to be a BraveTech in our Information Technology department.  I'm shooting more for the BraveTech position since that's centered more towards my degree.  Either is fine with me though.  Operating hours for both are between 8-5 Monday through Friday and they are right at my school so no need for traveling far between school and work.  I could even work in between classes.  I really hope I get one of those jobs.

Some more good news is that today I finally signed my medical waiver for ROTC.  It shouldn't be much longer before I get contracted and hopefully I can still get the Airborne slot.  Time is cutting close though.  The school starts a month from Friday so they could've already selected someone to send without my knowledge.  I'll have to check on that tomorrow.

Bad news...I've been procrastinating.  Yes, I'm getting my assignments done on time but I'm waiting until the last minute.  If I do, by miracle, get a chance to go to Airborne school, I'm going to have to be way ahead on my assignments.  I have a homework assignment due this Friday, two quizzes, and an essay due next Tuesday.  I definitely gotta get ahead so I'm not drowning later.  The other bad news is that my student that I started tutoring last week bailed on me.  Apparently I wasn't good enough for her.  It kind of hurt me because I think I do a pretty good job of explaining things but she was an older student who looked like she was just coming back to school after several years out of school.  And jumping right into Calculus is not really the best choice in that kind of situation.  But who am I to judge?  She ended up getting matched up with the Math tutor guru whose been tutoring for over 8 years so I hope she gets the help she needs from that tutor.  For now, I'm in limbo with no student to tutor until I get called upon...meaning jobless once again.  =/  But even though I'm not getting paid to tutor, I'm volunteering my "tutoring" skills at home.  My neighbor is studying to retake the ASVAB and he asked me for help in the math sections.  I'm also helping my husband learn how to write essays for his Expository Writing class.  So all in all, I do feel like I'm being helpful even though I'm not being paid for it.  And to me...you can't put a price helping someone understand how to do things on their own.  That satisfaction is the best form of payment I can get.

Helpful and sometimes not so helpful

I have a job finally.  It doesn't pay much and I only work two hours a week but it's a start for now.  I'm a tutor...for Calculus.  I've never been a professional tutor before.  I have volunteered my time to classmates whenever asked but other than that I have no set skills in helping someone learn.  Today was my first day.  I can't say I did very well though.  The student seemed just as confused at the end of our session as she did at the beginning of it.  It was only a one hour session though and my first day working with her.  I'm going to have to find better ways to communicate the information to her so that she can better understand.  I guess I was forgetting my reasoning for being there which is to better explain the things being taught in class...not to just repeat what was taught at the very same speed of the professor who is teaching the subject.  Another thing is that the subject is math.  Yes...I'm good at math but math is tricky for me at times so even I get the wrong answer sometimes and have to retrace my steps.  I don't want to seem like I'm tutoring a subject I know nothing of.  It definitely is different trying to slow down my pace of learning and thinking to teach but I'm sure I'll get the hang of this soon enough.

It really does bother me when I can't help someone in the way they need help.  Whether it be a student seeking help in a class or a friend seeking emotional consolation.  It's like being inside a glass box and there is no way to get out to the person that needs help.  You can see their pain, confusion, distress...but your hands are bound.  It truly causes a discomfort for me because all I want to do is to reassure and soothe whatever it is that is causing so much anguish.  I have a friend who is going through a lot right now and I feel utterly helpless in the situation.  I wish I could do more as a friend who cares deeply but even I have limits to who and how I can help.  All I can do now is pray that better days will come for them and that one day that emptiness is filled with something greater than ever imagined.

Finals...almost done!

Finals weeks is coming to an end...quickly I might add.  Tomorrow I take my last final.  I can't believe that the semester flew by this quick.  I'm not complaining by all means, let these next two and half years fly by too!  I'm happy to say I've done exceptionally well this whole semester.  I hope that I can keep this same momentum the rest of my time here at UNCP.  I'm thinking my final grades will either be straight A's or all A's and one B.  I will give an update as soon as the grades are out.

Today has been a good day for me.  This whole weeks has been pretty good actually.  I think the only day I stressed a lot was yesterday.  I get very emotional when I let my mind think too much on things I can't really change.  On top of that, I was bidding farewell to Calculus last night so I spend most of the day studying for the final.  I'm happy to announce that I got a B on the final and an overall A in the class.  Hard work and studying definitely paid off.

Sometimes I think about how unperfect I am as a human being.  It really bothers me at times.  There are times where I wish I could be a better daughter, sister, wife....a better student, teacher, friend...a better athlete as well!  But no one is perfect they say...and the more I think about myself, that saying couldn't be anything but true when it comes to me!  Self-evaluation....I do this constantly throughout the day trying to figure what I can do to better myself...physically, mentally, spiritually.  And of course a list as long as California comes to mind.  I wish the thinking part was as easy as the doing part.

Wish me luck on my last exam!

Lazy yet Busy!

I have been quite lazy with my posts lately.  But only because life has been sooooo busy! So lets back track to almost two weeks ago...

November 4th was one of my best friend's birthday.  We have been friends since our first year of college.  We spent a year in Air Force ROTC together before she left me and then I eventually left the program too since I didn't have my favorite wing'woman' to motivate me anymore lol.  She lives in VA and was heading to Raleigh for her birthday to watch her favorite hockey team (Washington Capitals) please the Carolina Hurricanes so she invited me since I live in NC now.  It was awesome to get to see her.  We usually try and get together at least once or twice a year since neither of us live in Orlando anymore.  It was a good game.  She got a puck that was played in the game and even better, the Caps won!   Here's a view from the top of the arena:

The following day (Saturday) I had to participate in a detail for ROTC.  I had to be an usher for a football game at NC State in Raleigh.  It wasn't too bad though since NC State was playing their all time rivals UNC Chapel Hill.  It was an awesome game to be at being that these two schools are lifelong rivals.  And the fans here are serious!

This past weekend was Veteran's Day weekend so my husband has a nice four days off.  I had to do a color guard detail that lasted most of the day on Friday but I was able to attend a Veterans dinner that UNCP hosted.  It was awesome.  The food was great and so were the speakers.  I had no idea that we had a Student Veterans Association at UNCP until that night.  It's nice to know that my university has such a huge appreciation for our men and women in uniform.  I was happy to have had the honor to attend that dinner.

This past Saturday we hosted the Marquez vs Pacqiuao fight.  Thank goodness we actually had a good fight out of this one.  It lasted the whole 12 rounds and Pacqiuao won but it was a very close fight to the end.  I love having get togethers at my house.  I'm always having new people over and it's great to make new friends. 

Well, tomorrow is the BIG day.  The day I take an APFT that will determine my future for the next two and half years.  I'm excited and super nervous at the same time.  I've been training hard for this event.  There isn't much more that I can do at this point except hydrate and stretch well tonight.  Wish me luck everyone!  I will reveal the news as soon as I hear of it.  =)

Scholarship Nominee!

So this week started off bad but it is definitely coming to a great end!  On Monday morning during our formation after PT, one of the Senior Military Instructors from Campbell Battalion came to talk to us about the downsizing that the Army is doing.  Campbell Battalion has been producing more officers than actually needed in the Army so they wanted to let us know that the contracts were going to be limited.  On Tuesday, our Captain came to brief the MSII class about the same thing except he had even more bad news.  Campbell Battalion was only going to contract 43 MSII cadets (class of 2014).  Let me explain this a little further...Campbell Battalion is made of four companies at four universities in this area: Campbell University, Fayetteville State University, Methodist University, and lastly University of North Carolina at Pembroke.  Our Battalion has to be at least 300 hundred strong and just at UNCP we have 24 MSIIs and we are one of smaller companies in our battalion.  This had me pretty nervous because liked I've said many times before, this is my dream.  I've planned the next three years of my life around this and now I was being told my chances were going to be slim to none.  About 15 of those 43 will be green-to-gold cadets (active duty enlisted transferring to become officers).  We have no say in how many we will actually get and there really isn't a limit.  Maybe another 10-14 who are on scholarship.  So for us who aren't contracted it's like having 40-50 dogs fighting for the same bone!  I was pretty depressed for most of this week.......UNTIL TODAY.

Today I came into the ROTC house to work on some homework for another class and our Msgt came up to me about the APFT coming up.  He asked if it was possible to make it to the APFT they were holding at Fort Bragg for the contracted cadets.  He told me that he knows I'm not contracted yet but since I have my packet already submitted he wanted me to take it with them anyways.  That was a pick-me-up!  About an hour later, our Captian comes into the house and asks to see me.  I was pretty nervous since he's been having people come see him about contracting and letting people know whether they might be able to contract or not.  I was pretty nervous I'm not gonna lie.  As I'm standing at parade rest he tells me "Here's the deal Gilfranzo" (Yes that's how he says my name lol) "There's only one MSII scholarship they are giving out this year and you've been nominated for it. You're competing against one girl from FSU and she's high speed like you.  So you better be at the APFT at Fort Bragg and score a frikin 300 on that PT test you hear me!"  I felt my body go numb....a scholarship!  I was freaking out about not getting contracted and now I'm up for a scholarship!!!!  I want to hug the crap out of him LOL.  I've never felt so nervous and so proud at the same time!

So for the next week and half I will be training hardcore for this PT test.  I need to be in the best shape of my life and run the fastest I've ever ran in my life if I want this scholarship.  Which I do!  I want it more than anything else!  I really do hope I get this, it would seriously make my year official. So I'm asking ALL my friends and family to keep me in your prayers while I train hard for this and the pray REALLY hard for me at 0600 on the 16th of November LOL.  Tomorrow is Friday! Yay!  Have a great weekend ya'll. =)

High speed short girl in the middle?  Yeah that's me lol

Army vs. Air Force

My first full week of school is over and I have to be honest, it sure has taken a toll on me!  Between classes and my ROTC schedule I am crazy busy.  I get up at 4 every morning and have barely enough energy to do my wifely duties around the house before climbing into bed around 8:30-9 exhausting.  I had a headache three days in a row and I do believe it's because of how my daily routine has changed so drastically.  Nevertheless, I'm extremely happy about the change.  My life is back on the move again, doing bigger and better things than before.

My classes have gotten off on a great start.  I have some programming homework to finish today but other than that, I'm scotch free the rest of the weekend which means...time to catch up on cleaning this house!  (Which I've already started on early this morning lol)  ROTC has been going great too.  I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to keep up in PT but I've been doing better than I expected.  I love the fact that I'm back to being active mentally and physically.  I believe both of these are needed in order to maintain a balanced life.  PT is really a love/hate relationship.  I hate waking up so early and working out beyond exhaustion but after it's all said and done I feel awesome and proud of myself.  Yesterday we did a  company run around the school about 2.5 miles total.  Mind you, this is my first "long" run in over three years.  Believe or not I didn't fall out and I was actually ahead of the company since I was doing road guard duty.  Now I'm not gonna lie, my lungs were on the floor by the end of the run but the important thing is I didn't give up.  =)

This makes me feel pretty confident because Monday we have our APFD which pretty much means practice PT test.  I know I'm not at the point of maxing out on points but I'm at least confident that I will pass each section just fine.  I have plenty of time to work my way up to a 300 since our real APFT isn't until Sept 27.  I will admit the Army is more strenuous with PT than the Air Force.  In the Air Force ROTC we only have to complete one PFT a semester.  In the Army ROTC, we do one once a month.  Also, the Air Force is only 1.5 miles, 1 minute situps, 1 minute push-ups.  The Army is 2 miles, 2 minutes situps, and 2 minute pushups.  Oh and another thing...the Army situps are different than Air Force.  In the Air Force, we did our situps with our hands crossed in front of us.  The Army does them with your hands behind your head.  I don't really understand this concept because to me it just puts more stress on your neck but oh well...rules are rules right?

Well wish me luck everyone!  I will break the news of my APFD scores Monday.  Hopefully I do well.  =)

Jitters are back!

So tomorrow I am officially back in the game!  Education game that is!  My stomach is all in knots and I have no idea why!  I mean it's not like this is my first time going to a different school or even a different college.  And it's not like I don't already have a feel of what my classes will be like so what is the fuss Beba!

It could be that it's my first time going out-of-state (Florida I mean) and on my own....plus the husby of course!  Since I left the "nest", everything has been a new adventure.  Which I guess jitters do go hand in hand with trying new things even if the actual adventure isn't really that new.  UNCP is a bit different from UCF and even Valencia.  It's way smaller than either and I've never had to drive through two whole towns to get to school either lol.  But with jitters or not, I know I'm ready to get back to the books.  I love learning and doing new things.  My two semester vacation has been great and all but I need more than just sleeping in and being lazy all day.

I've decided to not take a light load this semester.  By all means, I'm not working so why should I right?  A total of 17 credits.  Here are the classes on this semesters schedule.  Wish me luck everyone!

-Intro to Programming (This should be easy)

- Intro to Algorithms

- Website Development

- Calculus with Applications

- Military Science II (Army ROTC)

Something old...Something new!

So yesterday was a very filled schedule for me.  I had my student orientation in the morning for UNCP and it went very well aside from not being able to sign up for a few classes.  The first couple of hours they introduced all us transfer students to the services available to us and then we moved on to speaking with an adviser.  I only had to spend less than 5 minutes with my adviser though.  She was so shocked and awed at how prepared I was, I had already had my desired schedule written down and taken care of the few overrides I knew I needed for the classes I wanted.  After my little chat with the adviser I went and registered for my classes.  I was able to register for 4 of my classes except the two main classes I need this semester.  They are have a co-enrollment requirement which means I can't sign up for one without the other.  One of the classes is already filled so I can't sign up for the other class which still has seats available.  =/  I emailed my Department Chair though so I'm crossing my fingers that he can send an override to get me into the class that's closed.
Oh yes!  And an update from my meeting with the Department Chair last week...I was able to transfer two of the four classes I had asked for which is a miracle!  I'm glad because that's two less major requirement classes that I have to take.  I'm still missing too many classes to graduate in two years but at least I have 60 credits total that transferred over so I don't need to do any electives.  =)
After registration, I headed off to the cafeteria to eat lunch and then got stuck in that building because it was raining MRAPs and Humvees outside lol.  They had a bunch of tables set up from different organizations and Greeks trying to recruit.  One of the tables was the Army ROTC table.  As I walked by the guy at the table asked if I wanted to join the Army.  LOL  I looked at him and said "I'm already signed up and I'll be started this Wednesday."  We got to talking about the class and how I ended up in North Carolina.  I mentioned my husband moving from the 173rd in Bamberg and he immediately yelled out "No way!" and showed me his combat patch.  Well I'll be damned he was a Sky Soldier!  Our conversation lasted another 15 minutes or so lol.  God knows I can brag about my Sky Soldiers until the lights go out haha.  It was nice to meet someone though.  At least I won't be totally nervous my first day of class because I'll know someone.  =)
NEXT my husband and I were off with our lovely neighbors Bexaida and Destiny to welcome home Bexi's husband from Afghanistan.  It was a great homecoming and it gave me a chance to practice my photo shooting.  I can't say I'll ever be a professional photographer but it sure was fun.  Here are a couple pics from this emotional and exciting moment for all of us.  (My editing is pretty cheap but I don't have a professional photo editor....yet!)  =P  Enjoy!

Praying for a Miracle...

So these last couple of days have been a bit discouraging but I'm determined to try my best to beat the situation.  Turns out that only 54 credits transferred over instead of the 70 that I was originally told would transfer.  Not that those 70 even mattered now that I think of it because they didn't even count for anything more than electives under UNCP's curriculum.  =(

The only thing that has been giving me hope right now is the conversation I had with one of the admissions advisers.  He told me that I could talk to the department chair of the school of Math and Computer Science and present to him my argument that certain classes I took at Valencia and UCF should qualify as transferable credits for some of the classes I'm required to take.  Well today I have a fully prepped argument ready to take to the department chair but it's been impossible to get a hold of this guy.  The crazy thing is that this department chair is only going to be in my department area until tomorrow and the new chair won't be taking over until the 15th.  It's so frustrating because I need to know what classes I should be signing up for and class starts on the 17th (next Wednesday)!

I'm seriously needing a miracle because if I can get these four classes to transfer I will be able to graduate in two years exactly instead of dragging it out to three years.  God knows I just want to be finished with this milestone in my life!

A Brighter Day Indeed

Today turned out to be very productive.  My financial aid paperwork came in the mail today.  (Thank goodness for USPS address forwarding lol)  I got awarded a Pell Grant and a Subsidized loan which will cover everything! My admission packet didn't come in though so I decided to drive out to Pembroke today and get some things done and request my admission paperwork as well.

After paying for my orientation fee and getting my BID number, I sat down with one of the ladies in the Admissions office to go over my transfer evaluation.  Turns out over 70 credit transfer over making me a Junior....YAYYYYY!!!!  I was sooo exicted to hear that.  It was the light towards the end of the tunnel for me.  A lot of my friends are already graduated with their Bachelors and sometimes I feel like these last four....wait five years of school....have been wasted away.  But seeing that atleast 70 of my 90+ credits transferred over was a lovely surprise for me. 

Monday I'll meet up with the ROTC secretary to go over my education plan based off my transfer eval.  I guess I can officially say I'm a UNC Pembroke student!  Wish me luck!

Beyond Frustrated....

So school starts in three weeks and nothing is going smoothly!  I STILL haven't gotten my application packet.  I called today and they said it was going to get sent out today.....to FLORIDA!!!  So I told them that is the wrong address...they put me on hold to see if they could pull it out of the mail bin for today....oh wait...apparently it got mailed out yesterday!  Ughhh....so they are hopefully going to get another packet out today to my correct address here in North Carolina.  My next call was to Financial Aid to check my award status.  Good news is I did get awarded...Bad news is that they won't tell me how much I got awarded!  I have to find out in the mail...oh wait more bad news!  They are mailing my award letter to Florida too!  Can you say....AHHHHHHHHHH!!!  Yes I really feel like screaming...they said I MIGHT be able to get it fixed before the letter goes out if I fax in an address change request today but still...By the time it gets here I will be signing up for my classes and I won't even know how much money I have to use and if/what I will be owing  for my classes.  I really want to cry.

My next battle is to find out how many of my classes transfer so I can sign up for only the classes I need. Tomorrow I'm going to go to the registrar office and see if I can get a glimpse of hope....hope that they will take a majority of my classes so I don't need more than two years.    :sigh:  I hope something goes right tomorrow.  =(