<p>Oh…I have also restarted my “Shedding for the wedding” weight loss program in earnest! ;)</p>
<p>Too much going on! I am going to have to respond in multiple posts just to keep track.</p>
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<p>I have observed from who makes it in college and who doesn’t that, other than at the top top schools (where everything is important), good organizational skills and study habits trump IQ points every time. These boys were bright enough to get by just fine without good organizational skills and study habits, even in AP classes, even at a “very good suburban high school.” </p>
<p>Another point is that our particular HS population is pretty much at the “too wealthy to get financial aid and too poor to pay for college out of pocket” level. So these kids get nice merit aid packages, go away and don’t maintain their GPAs, then have to come back home. Parents really need to watch it if their kids accept a merit aid package that requires a GPA much above 3.0.</p>
<p>Boysx3, congrats on the 2 graduations and good luck to them on the job hunt!</p>
<h1>theory, thanks for checking in. I remain impressed at your grad school efforts!</h1>
<p>c_q, you have such power at your job!</p>
<p>FallGirl, hope you are having a terrific birthday!</p>
<p>Woody, hope you have a delightful and stress free grad weekend!</p>
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<p>I always say that planning a wedding consumes all of the time between the engagement and the wedding. If you have two months to plan, it takes two months. If you have two years to plan, it takes two years.</p>
<p>Congrats to NM. Congrats to #TM on the thesis and to #TS on doing well. I really have a hard time keeping track of who has who. I had to go look up the spreadsheet as I was thinking about woody’s son and then she had a daughter too. </p>
<p>ShawD was formally admitted to the accelerated BSN/MSN program to be a Family Nurse Practitioner. If she doesn’t take time off to work, she’d have her NP degree at age in three years, probably just before she turns 23. </p>
<p>RochesterMom, ShawSon is working on his take-home final in math rather than riding on a roller-coaster. He says he’s burned out after his thesis and having a hard time focusing. I told him to turn on the after-burners for 24 hours and then relax. He’s going to take a few kids up to our house in Canada. But, in between, he’s already back to work on the startup.</p>
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<p>Because younger D’s cheer competitions are held at the same large arenas that host the local grad ceremonies, I am familiar with all of the venues. When my parents balked at attending older D’s HS graduation, I didn’t try to convince them. I knew how much walking and stair climbing and crowd pushing would be involved, even under optimal circumstances.</p>
<p>APUSH exam today. Total younger D study time: 0 hours 0 minutes. She said they reviewed in class. Whatever. She does have a job interview today. She picked out one store that she wants to work at. Has gone in in person three times. I really hope she gets the job so it will be a good lesson in tenacity paying off.</p>
<p>I am pretty sure that I drove home from work on a flat tire last night…felt a little odd but I had no idea it was flat until later last evening. I drove Son’s car in this morning. Even with clearing it out and Febreeze it was just gross. Even if I can’t control a lot of things about him, I have a new goal that before he gets married - whenever that may be - he will learn to keep his car in “not disgusting” condition.</p>
<p>NM, I can so identify with your D. My first wedding was on Crete in a garden with groom, myself, minister and two witnesses (my best friend and groom’s best friend). I wore a sundress and hat. Reception was dancing at a village disco. The second was in a chapel by a lake with about 20 guests. I wore a fabulous dress I found in NYC that fit right off the rack with no alterations, so a great price. Flowers were cut from my mother’s garden. Talented relatives supplied the music and reception was dinner at a nearby restaurant. I’m not a crowd person so would find a large wedding to be very stressful.</p>
<p>S2’s grades post today but I don’t think he will have time to check until he gets home. He called when he got to the hotel and was in a great mood. I doubt we will hear from him today.</p>
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<p>Great news! The world needs a bunch of people like her!!!</p>
<p>Shaw - D did her math thesis last semester – that took a lot of her time. I think she basically told her advisor at the end that here it is. I’m done with changes. She got an A.</p>
<p>Interviewing for Woody’s D, I think. Does the hiring person she talked with have an assistant? If so, I would consider calling the assistant to find out what is happening. Often, the assistant will have some compassion and will give a hint to as to what is going on.</p>
<p>Other than that, I would email nicely just to follow up and ask about next steps, if any. If she has any new news to present, I’d do so.</p>
<p>I find that I have to follow up with prospective clients regularly. We don’t do sales. They call us. We’re very expensive and sometimes there is sticker shock. And, sometimes they’ll have to massage internal processes. So, I need to keep following up, asking nicely, sometimes sending new information. Frequently, weeks or even months later I get a positive response.</p>
<p>TA…you have always understood D2. You would be a great mentor for her!</p>
<p>Congrats to shawD! What a wonderful opportunity!</p>
<p>missy…my neighbor called last night and was asking me questions about AP test protocol. Her D came home from school yesterday with a fever, chills and body aches and was freaking out about the APUSH test today. Her mom had no idea there was no make up date for the test. Her D thought it was the end of the world and her mom, who owns and runs her own company, thought it was just silly that a test scheduled for one day influenced a whole year of hard work. So glad we are past that!</p>
<p>Sabaray - Odessagirl will graduate on Saturday morning. It was just going to be hubby and I in attendance because my parents have limited mobility and so does hubby’s Mom. Between them they have: stroke, neuropathy, Parkinson’s disease. It’s sad. Anyway, a couple weeks ago Odessagirl texted me that her old HS boyfriend wants to attend her graduation, so I guess he is coming also. We are not offering to drive him at this point. If he asks us to, we will. I made lunch reservations at a local (to her college) historical tavern. She has to “check out” of her apartment after 4:00 on graduation day, so after lunch I guess we drop her off and she will wait for the assigned time. Then she will drive home. I can’t wait. But, I must say, by July she and I will be getting on each other’s every last nerve. I have to tell you all about her progress (LACK OF) in applying for teaching positions. But that’s another day.</p>
<p>All you folks trying to shed for upcoming events - good luck. NM, I started WW 2 weeks ago and immediately lost 4 lbs only to gain it back while still following the program. Just wanted to drop about 10 of the 40 I need to drop before my graduation so I could feel comfortable giving my thesis presentation at the end of June. Doesn’t look like I’ll make it at this rate.
Heading to Utah today for a dog show weekend. Another reason I would like to lose some weight - so I can move around the ring better with my very fit (and fast) dogs.
Happy B’day FG
Have a good weekend everyone.
Moda hope your stress level eases out soon.</p>
<h1>theorymom…are you publishing any poems you wrote while in the program? Send us a link so we can enjoy them! I loved listening to your reading a while back.</h1>
<p>Thanks for the birthday wishes!</p>
<p>Am proposing that the bus make a stop at Cedar Point.</p>
<p>Congrats to ShawD on her acceptance.</p>
<p>Re G & T programs, so many folks here stress if their child doesn’t get in. I keep telling them llots of kids who don’t get in do just fine and being in the program guarantees nothing. Interesting point missy about the kids who were able to just sort os skate through HS. That might very well have been S if he had attended our local public, but the school that he attends is quite rigorous. He complains but I tell him he will be glad someday. This totally sounds like I am contradicting myself, though.</p>
<p>Congrats to ShawD!</p>
<p>Woo hoo ShawD… Funny how we’ve managed to spread this thread to not just our '13’s or 09’s… whichever school we’re talking about.</p>
<p>NMN - I think your D is Beautiful AND Smart for not rushing any of it. And Missy you are correct about wedding planning and I can also add it probably all comes down the last 6 weeks once you’ve got all the big stuff down! :)</p>
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<p>Insanely busy day, but I have to comment on the idea of “skating through.” Many (including both of my Ds) would consider our HS quite rigorous. But there are always people bright enough to skate through. I had a law partner who said he skated through all of school until law school…which means he skated through Dallas’ most rigorous private HS school and MIT. [He was also a person who waited until the last minute to do everything and drove the rest of us crazy!] I had a law school classmate who almost never came to class, drank very heavily, and still had one of the hightest GPAs at graduation. (I always wondered what happened to him when he hit the world of law firms and billable hours mattered.)</p>
<p>Anyway, the other major factor, besides hard work, is organzational ability. The plodding, mundane weekly essays of a very average college freshman are certainly worth more points than the one brilliant essay that the brightest but most disorganized student remembers to turn in. </p>
<p>Off to manage mulitiple crises.</p>
<p>Younger D got her job…minimum wage, retail, at the mall, but it’s what she wanted. :)</p>
<p>Congrats to missypie’s D2 and Shaw’s D!!</p>
<p>On organizational abilities, I wonder whether the advent of the computer has made these even more crucial for success in college. My organizational skills were good enough that I graduated from college with honors, but today I don’t think those same skills would be enough. It wasn’t until I got to law school that my time management skills were more than just barely adequate.</p>
<p>Happy b-day to fallgirl!
Congrats to missypie’s D2 and Shaw’s D.</p>
<p>RE: the gifted programs…when D was in MS, there were 3, count 'em 3, students in the gifted program. Definitely smart kids…one is entering MIT for grad school this fall, the other will graduate from a UMich engineering and the other got a dual degree from Wharton and UPenn’s nursing school. My point is that a few kids here and a few kids there are just random data points and we shouldn’t infer anything from such a small sample.
That being said, I think organizational skills trump a lot when in college .</p>