working out for Disney

[Sans Souci]

Hello-

I did this sweaty workout that was an "8x8." It was 8 rounds of 8 exercises, 8 reps each. At the beginning of the 6th round she said, "For the final two rounds, we're doing 16 reps of each exercise." I said out loud, "Maybe you are, but I will be doing 8 reps, since this workout is called 8x8." Then I did the final two rounds with 8 reps. No guilt, no shame. I went for a walk in the drizzle, too. It is definitely not like the past two days outside.

My husband has been gone since Sunday night and won't be back until Thursday night. I started taking CBD gummies again and I feel like I slept pretty well. I usually don't sleep well when he's gone. I feel like it helped with sinus headaches, too. Maybe it's just a coincidence. lol

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

That's good you had that back up. How was your first day back? Is it common for a younger person to get pneumonia? I always see those pneumonia vaccine commercials and they target older adults.

The first day back went fairly well. I'm not as tired as I thought I might be, so that is good. I am in my mid-40's so I don't know if that qualifies as a younger person. I actually thought about getting my pneumonia vaccine in the fall but I decided against it, I regret that now. I don't know if it is super common for younger people to get pneumonia. Although one of my 7th graders, who is overall in good health and super athletic got pneumonia in the early part of December. He bounced back more quickly than I have done.

 

[Songbird76]

I wouldn't feel badly about calling in. You are legitimately unwell. I'd be more upset if someone came in with a fever and was hack-spluttering everywhere, making everyone else sick. Can you get any equivalent to NyQuil there? You might sleep a bit better with that.

Over-the-counter meds here are a joke. There are no decongestant pills whatsoever...the only option is nasal spray, which is habit forming, so every time you need it, you also then have to ween yourself off of it after a few days. I try not to use it if I don't have to, but I can not sleep if I can't breathe through my nose, so I generally end up needing it after a couple of days. Also no cough syrups like we have in the US. There's some liquid stuff with Thyme in it, but it's not really a cough suppressant. We do have expectorants. Right now, I have a glass with some honey and lemon juice by my bed to help soothe the cough, because the nasal spray dries out my throat, which makes me cough more. But I need to ween myself off the nasal spray today. You aren't supposed to use it for more than a week, and I started using it Friday night. I tried to go off of it on Monday, but apparently I wasn't recovered enough, so it didn't work. Usually, if I take my dose at night so I can sleep, then when I get up in the morning, I just don't take a dose, because if I'm awake, it doesn't matter whether I can breathe through my nose or not. When the previous dose wears off, my nose plugs up really badly, but then if I wait for a couple of hours, it starts to dissipate. I usually take the nasal spray every 4-6 hours, so if I wait for like 8, my nose starts to clear. Monday I waited for 13 hours and my nose was still completely blocked and I was coughing up a storm. So I had to use more nasal spray. But I had 9 hours between doses last night, so I think I should be ok today without it.

They also don't do childrens meds here that taste ok, because they don't want kids to WANT to take medicine and start using it recreationally. So they don't have like, grape flavored tylenol liquid, or flavored antibiotics for kids. When my kids got sick when A was 3 weeks old and E was a year and a half old, we had to hold her down and squirt the nasty antibiotics into her mouth and then shove some chocolate in after to get rid of the taste. It was so traumatizing for her, and it's absolutely ridiculous when I KNOW that there are better options in the US so that it doesn't have to be a battle when your kid is sick. Here, they assume if your kid is sick, they will be willing to take the nasty stuff to feel better, but it just doesn't work that way in reality. A 2 year old doesn't care whether they SHOULD take it. It tastes nasty, so they won't do it. You shouldn't have to torture your child. When we were at Disney in 2019, and E got Heat exhaustion in AK, we went to first aid and they gave her liquid tylenol, grape flavor. She was SO shocked that there was medicine that didn't taste bad, and she was like....WHY don't they have this in the Netherlands??? So then when A was in the hospital a year ago and he had a throat infection and they gave him antibiotics that tasted nasty, I asked them about it...because I remember being in kindergarten and having grape flavored antibiotics and I was sad that I was allergic to them and had to stop taking them. So I KNOW they exist. I was told that they don't do that here because they don't want kids to get addicted to prescription or over-the-counter meds. So we just have to suffer through cold and flu season because they are very stingy with prescriptions, and over-the-counter stuff doesn't exist like it does there.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

I'm curious....what time did your library close in college? When you said it closes early, I was thinking like 6 or 7 pm. 11pm or midnight sounds late to me. I think our library closed at 9pm. It was hard to find a computer lab open in the evening to work on papers and things, and I had classes from 8am-8:30pm straight through twice a week, and the other days until 5pm, so there was no working on it during the day. You just had to do most stuff on the weekends.

1am during the regular term is ringing a bell with me and 24 hours during finals. The specialty libraries had less flexible hours. Weekends seemed to have shorter hours. I seem to remember the Sci/Tech library closing at like 10 or 11. Our class schedules were rarely early morning to evening, so it allowed for weekday library time. Most of us were taking 5-6 classes a semester (15-18 credits). Classes were either MWF or T-Th and most MWF classes were really more MW with Friday for optional things like study groups or independent work. By junior year, I didn't have a single class before 10am and 5 or 5:30 was the standard cutoff...with a few exceptions. In my 4 years, I only had two class scenarios that put me in a campus building after 5pm. My freshman year, during my music major time, we had a weekly convocation on Tuesdays from 7pm-9pm. It was more of a come-together moment each week for the music school where we mainly watched performances from students/local groups and presentations from cutting edge people in music. My second semester senior year, I had a forensic psych class taught by a city DA. It was considered an after-hours course, which was only common in upper level classes being taught by people currently working in the field during standard business hours.

I do, however, wonder if things like the internet and smart devices have pushed all schools to reduce library hours. So many research materials are now accessible online, so the biggest need for library space now seems to be the quiet.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Good morning!

Yesterday, K gave me a break from the bike. We both really wanted to walk and don't want to be afraid to go out in our neighborhood, so we used the buddy system and hit the greenbelts for a few miles. I would have liked to go a bit longer but there was a thunderstorm moving in. We didn't get any rain, but I'm always afraid when there's thunder and lightning.

The walking situation got me thinking again about something I considered back at the start of Covid. I'm seriously thinking about shifting to a standing/walking desk setup. I don't want to invest in a new desk, but I can buy a keyboard/mouse stand and raise my monitors. I'm also looking at a "walking pad." I'd have to start out slow and be mindful of my speed and positioning, so I don't fall off. It doesn't have to be a particularly fast pace, just something gentle that keeps me up and moving around more during the day. I could also use it at a faster pace when I'm not working and just want to walk while watching tv or listening to music.

 

[StarWarsGirl]

Good morning!

Yesterday, K gave me a break from the bike. We both really wanted to walk and don't want to be afraid to go out in our neighborhood, so we used the buddy system and hit the greenbelts for a few miles. I would have liked to go a bit longer but there was a thunderstorm moving in. We didn't get any rain, but I'm always afraid when there's thunder and lightning.

The walking situation got me thinking again about something I considered back at the start of Covid. I'm seriously thinking about shifting to a standing/walking desk setup. I don't want to invest in a new desk, but I can buy a keyboard/mouse stand and raise my monitors. I'm also looking at a "walking pad." I'd have to start out slow and be mindful of my speed and positioning, so I don't fall off. It doesn't have to be a particularly fast pace, just something gentle that keeps me up and moving around more during the day. I could also use it at a faster pace when I'm not working and just want to walk while watching tv or listening to music.

Let me know what you find keyboard wise. I can raise my monitors up where they need to be (short person wins, lol) but I need a solution for my keyboard other than a cardboard box.

My doctor suggested a walking pad under the desk. Unfortunately, I get horribly motion sick on any treadmill, so that's out (that was a fun conversation I had with her...). I had thought of an under the desk bike, but I'm also not sure how effectively I can work while using the thing.

 

[Songbird76]

1am during the regular term is ringing a bell with me and 24 hours during finals. The specialty libraries had less flexible hours. Weekends seemed to have shorter hours. I seem to remember the Sci/Tech library closing at like 10 or 11. Our class schedules were rarely early morning to evening, so it allowed for weekday library time. Most of us were taking 5-6 classes a semester (15-18 credits). Classes were either MWF or T-Th and most MWF classes were really more MW with Friday for optional things like study groups or independent work. By junior year, I didn't have a single class before 10am and 5 or 5:30 was the standard cutoff...with a few exceptions. In my 4 years, I only had two class scenarios that put me in a campus building after 5pm. My freshman year, during my music major time, we had a weekly convocation on Tuesdays from 7pm-9pm. It was more of a come-together moment each week for the music school where we mainly watched performances from students/local groups and presentations from cutting edge people in music. My second semester senior year, I had a forensic psych class taught by a city DA. It was considered an after-hours course, which was only common in upper level classes being taught by people currently working in the field during standard business hours.

I do, however, wonder if things like the internet and smart devices have pushed all schools to reduce library hours. So many research materials are now accessible online, so the biggest need for library space now seems to be the quiet.

Wow....yeah, your schedule sounds like most traditional student schedules. It was only because I was a music major that my schedule was so packed. Evenings were ensemble rehearsals for a lot of things. My boyfriend at the time had Orchestra on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, and I know I had Vocal Jazz and University Singers on Mondays and Wednesdays...I had Jazz from 4-5:30 maybe? And then I had like an hour and a half for dinner and I had rehearsal from 7 to 8:30. And our convocation was Thursday afternoons, and of course it was optional and there were student performers every week, but you just had to get a full stamp card before the end of the semester, and every performance you did was a stamp, and every performance you watched was another, so you didn't really HAVE to go to convocation classes most of the time to get the stamps.

Our classes were the same....MWF or T/TH, and most classes were 3 credit hours....you're in class for 3 hours a week, you get 3 credit hours. But music didn't work that way. We had SOOOOOO many classes we had to take, that most of ours were only 1 credit hour classes, even though you had class for 3 hours a week. I always had the maximum number of credit hours you are allowed to take (19), but in order to even be considered a fulltime student at 12 credit hours, I had to have at least 10 classes. Convocation didn't have credit hours at all, and my senior year, I didn't even do my ensembles for credit because I would have had too many credit hours. So I did the ensembles for audit. But I didn't even have a lunch break after my freshman year because the Audition only chorale rehearsed from noon to one every single day. (1 credit hour, 5 hours a week) I had 3-4 ensembles every semester depending on the semester...sometimes there was musical theater or Opera theater, sometimes not. One year we also did a chamber choir. But I always had trouble fitting in my non-music class requirements because the music major schedule was so packed. I took some classes in the summer just to knock them out, and I took one online class, just because I could NOT ever fit the regular class into my schedule. I generally took one general non-music class per semester, maybe 2 if I could fit them in. I took a senior level class as a freshman...I was lucky, because the professor didn't usually let freshman take her class, but somehow my brother had gotten through the year before and had aced it without her even knowing he was a freshman until it was too late. He encouraged me to go to her and ask if I could take her class and at first she said no because it was too much work for freshmen, but I told her my brother had done it, and she stopped and looked at me funny, and asked who my brother was. When I said his name, she was like "Oh yeah! I forgot he was a freshman! But he was really a special case. Are you anything like him?" and I told her that we had both been at the top of our respective classes in high school. So she reluctantly agreed to let me try it, but reminded me it might be too much and gave me the drop date and told me to drop it if I couldn't handle it. But I aced it, too, thank goodness, because I really didn't have time to redo that class!!! I took 5 full years to get all my credits in, and I was pushing it, even with the summer classes, etc....I have no clue how anyone made it in less than 5 years!

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Let me know what you find keyboard wise. I can raise my monitors up where they need to be (short person wins, lol) but I need a solution for my keyboard other than a cardboard box.

My doctor suggested a walking pad under the desk. Unfortunately, I get horribly motion sick on any treadmill, so that's out (that was a fun conversation I had with her...). I had thought of an under the desk bike, but I'm also not sure how effectively I can work while using the thing.

This was what I was looking at...



If it's not high enough, I have an adjustable step aerobics bench that I can use to give it a couple more inches of height. This shows a laptop but I think it would also work for a standalone keyboard. I'd just have to raise my monitors to match. I can even use dumbbells on each leg to help weight it down.

I know the treadmill isn't a solution for all. I used to have one of these back when I was in the office all of the time. It would be great now since all of the desks now have electronic height adjustment. Back when I had it, we had traditional cube desks and I'd have to be positioned just right or my knees would smash into the top of the desk. I did take off some weight when I was using it and it kept me active through a chunk of the day. It's just a bit tough to type and pedal. That's one of my fears with the treadmill. Will it be too challenging to walk and type?

 

[Lilofan]

This was what I was looking at...

View attachment 771770

If it's not high enough, I have an adjustable step aerobics bench that I can use to give it a couple more inches of height. This shows a laptop but I think it would also work for a standalone keyboard. I'd just have to raise my monitors to match. I can even use dumbbells on each leg to help weight it down.

I know the treadmill isn't a solution for all. I used to have one of these back when I was in the office all of the time. It would be great now since all of the desks now have electronic height adjustment. Back when I had it, we had traditional cube desks and I'd have to be positioned just right or my knees would smash into the top of the desk. I did take off some weight when I was using it and it kept me active through a chunk of the day. It's just a bit tough to type and pedal. That's one of my fears with the treadmill. Will it be too challenging to walk and type?

View attachment 771771

That's a nice treadmill. Also most of my peers that worked in offices or cubicles stay hydrated throughout the day with their 32-64oz water bottles at their desks.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Wow....yeah, your schedule sounds like most traditional student schedules. It was only because I was a music major that my schedule was so packed. Evenings were ensemble rehearsals for a lot of things. My boyfriend at the time had Orchestra on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, and I know I had Vocal Jazz and University Singers on Mondays and Wednesdays...I had Jazz from 4-5:30 maybe? And then I had like an hour and a half for dinner and I had rehearsal from 7 to 8:30. And our convocation was Thursday afternoons, and of course it was optional and there were student performers every week, but you just had to get a full stamp card before the end of the semester, and every performance you did was a stamp, and every performance you watched was another, so you didn't really HAVE to go to convocation classes most of the time to get the stamps.

Our classes were the same....MWF or T/TH, and most classes were 3 credit hours....you're in class for 3 hours a week, you get 3 credit hours. But music didn't work that way. We had SOOOOOO many classes we had to take, that most of ours were only 1 credit hour classes, even though you had class for 3 hours a week. I always had the maximum number of credit hours you are allowed to take (19), but in order to even be considered a fulltime student at 12 credit hours, I had to have at least 10 classes. Convocation didn't have credit hours at all, and my senior year, I didn't even do my ensembles for credit because I would have had too many credit hours. So I did the ensembles for audit. But I didn't even have a lunch break after my freshman year because the Audition only chorale rehearsed from noon to one every single day. (1 credit hour, 5 hours a week) I had 3-4 ensembles every semester depending on the semester...sometimes there was musical theater or Opera theater, sometimes not. One year we also did a chamber choir. But I always had trouble fitting in my non-music class requirements because the music major schedule was so packed. I took some classes in the summer just to knock them out, and I took one online class, just because I could NOT ever fit the regular class into my schedule. I generally took one general non-music class per semester, maybe 2 if I could fit them in. I took a senior level class as a freshman...I was lucky, because the professor didn't usually let freshman take her class, but somehow my brother had gotten through the year before and had aced it without her even knowing he was a freshman until it was too late. He encouraged me to go to her and ask if I could take her class and at first she said no because it was too much work for freshmen, but I told her my brother had done it, and she stopped and looked at me funny, and asked who my brother was. When I said his name, she was like "Oh yeah! I forgot he was a freshman! But he was really a special case. Are you anything like him?" and I told her that we had both been at the top of our respective classes in high school. So she reluctantly agreed to let me try it, but reminded me it might be too much and gave me the drop date and told me to drop it if I couldn't handle it. But I aced it, too, thank goodness, because I really didn't have time to redo that class!!! I took 5 full years to get all my credits in, and I was pushing it, even with the summer classes, etc....I have no clue how anyone made it in less than 5 years!

That must be true of most music majors. Although, mine wasn't quite as jam packed. I was a music major my freshman year and I felt like my schedule was more overloaded than non-music friends. MWF classes started at 8:30...Theory, Sight Singing, Music History, and then Writing. I was usually done around 4 something. T-Th started at 8am with piano and then I had a big break until the afternoon. I had choral union both Tue and Thurs until 5 something, Convocation on Tues until 9 something, and voice lessons were on Thursdays before choral union. I carried 21 credits each semester of my freshman year as a result. There had to be some other stuff in the mix that I'm forgetting because like you, I think things like convocation were a 1 credit requirement. All of those credits shifted to electives when I changed majors, so I never really got to take anything fun in college.

It's one thing to be in a degree where you are required 5 years, but that's just absurd to overload the requirements and think people can do it in just 4. I know some people that took summer classes...myself included, but it was usually to graduate in under 4 years OR take those classes at a savings someplace cheaper. I know I took some classes at University of Florida and our local community college to save some money. I could take nearly 12 three-credit classes at UF for the price of one at Syracuse. That's good that you were allowed into that class. I know some things have upperclassmen requirements, but sometimes it's good to let kids in so they can show what they can do...and also get the classes accomplished in a more timely manner.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

That's a nice treadmill. Also most of my peers that worked in offices or cubicles stay hydrated throughout the day with their 32-64oz water bottles at their desks.

I have been keeping my 40oz mug at my desk to try and stay hydrated. It definitely has me up from my desk more than I'd be if I weren't drinking all that water.

 

[Lilofan]

I have been keeping my 40oz mug at my desk to try and stay hydrated. It definitely has me up from my desk more than I'd be if I weren't drinking all that water.

Water has so many benefits. Even though it sends me to the bathroom throughout the day water helps keep my skin fresh and young , good for kidneys and digestion , etc and its calorie free.

 

[Songbird76]

That must be true of most music majors. Although, mine wasn't quite as jam packed. I was a music major my freshman year and I felt like my schedule was more overloaded than non-music friends. MWF classes started at 8:30...Theory, Sight Singing, Music History, and then Writing. I was usually done around 4 something. T-Th started at 8am with piano and then I had a big break until the afternoon. I had choral union both Tue and Thurs until 5 something, Convocation on Tues until 9 something, and voice lessons were on Thursdays before choral union. I carried 21 credits each semester of my freshman year as a result. There had to be some other stuff in the mix that I'm forgetting because like you, I think things like convocation were a 1 credit requirement. All of those credits shifted to electives when I changed majors, so I never really got to take anything fun in college.

It's one thing to be in a degree where you are required 5 years, but that's just absurd to overload the requirements and think people can do it in just 4. I know some people that took summer classes...myself included, but it was usually to graduate in under 4 years OR take those classes at a savings someplace cheaper. I know I took some classes at University of Florida and our local community college to save some money. I could take nearly 12 three-credit classes at UF for the price of one at Syracuse. That's good that you were allowed into that class. I know some things have upperclassmen requirements, but sometimes it's good to let kids in so they can show what they can do...and also get the classes accomplished in a more timely manner.

Yeah, we had Written Theory for 2 years, from 8-9 on M-W-F, but that was the only time it was offered and it was cumulative. Written Theory I the first semester, II the second semester, III in the fall of the second year, IV in the Spring. But if you failed one, you had to wait a whole year before you could try again. It was considered a "Weed-out course" because a lot of people majored in music thinking it would be easy. When I got straight As my first semester, my high school English teacher was very excited for me, and commented that I had finally gotten better grades than my brother. (He had gotten a B in something. He was an English major) And my brother said that it didn't count because I was a music major and all I had to do was sing all day. I'd have liked to see HIM do my aural theory class! But anyway, a lot of people think it's easy and then fail Written Theory and end up changing their majors because they find out it was harder than they expected. Then we had Aural theory on the Tuesday Thursday spot for 2 years, and we had Historical survey for 2 years....that's another weed out course, but that one was actually pretty easy IF you went to class and took notes, but a lot of kids didn't. There were kids who were in their 3rd year, still taking Written Theory and Historical Survey I.

I think the professor of the Early Childhood development class was probably right about MOST freshman, but only because most freshman weren't particularly motivated. It was one of those classes that filled up very quickly because it knocked out a LOT of different requirements with just the one class. It was a Writing class, a humanities, a research or something....I don't even remember all the requirements it covered, but it was 3 or 4 credit hours and then you didn't have to take a Writing course AND a humanities class or whatever the requirements were. It credited for like 4 different things. With music, we weren't at all short on humanities credits, but anyone who was undecided on a major would just knock out as many credits as they could. But anyone who was in education had to take THAT specific class. Class registration was tiered, so I think seniors got first pick of classes, because they only had the one year left to get everything in. But if you didn't sign up right away, certain classes might be full before you got the chance to sign up for them. So this particular professor did not accept freshman in her class as a general rule, because the juniors and seniors needed it more, and because most freshman weren't taking it because it was required, but because they wanted to knock out a bunch of credits. But most freshman also had no clue how much work was involved in that class. Again, they think it's an easy class because they think it's just watching kids play. She didn't want people taking up space in her class that someone else actually needed when they weren't going to apply themselves. She was quite happy to be wrong in the case of my brother and in me. She WANTED us to succeed, she just knew the average freshman wasn't taking their college education seriously at that point. UW is known for being a party school....ANYONE in Wyoming can get in there. As long as you graduate from high school in Wyoming, they HAVE to accept you, even if your GPA is super low. Most kids who go there only go to college because it's what you do after high school and it's what their parents want. And their parents pay for it. If they fail a class, they take it over and mommy and daddy pay for it again. I was there on academic scholarship and had to maintain like a 3.5 GPA or something? I couldn't afford to fail a class. If I did, I lost my scholarship and couldn't afford school and there was no one to pay for it for me because Dad didn't believe that girls should go to college, and didn't think anyone really NEEDED college....HE didn't go, and he turned out fine. Not that he had much money anyway. And mom's income was below poverty level....she didn't contribute a penny to my college education. So if I failed a class, there was no fallback for me, I was done. And I think that's part of what made a difference. The average college student, at least at UW, was lucky enough to have their parents paying, and didn't even know what they wanted to do yet....they weren't ready to settle into adulting. They were just having fun partying and hopefully getting a few classes in while doing it.

As for 4 years instead of 5, there were people who managed it, but I really don't understand how. There were 2 girls in my senior year pedagogy class and Student teaching group with me who were freshmen the year after me. So I know they DID it in 4 years, and one of them is really amazing...she's got her doctorate now and has gone all over the world doing field research in music. She went to Africa somewhere, and she was supposed to be in Spain for a year, but they had JUST moved there when the pandemic hit and they were sent home. She's written books and developed materials....it doesn't really suprise me that she kicked some tail. But I don't know how she fit everything in! And there were more people who took more than the 5 years even. Her husband was a Junior when I was a freshman, and he finished the year before we did. And now he isn't even teaching music....He taught Spanish I think? (He's a native speaker) and when I went back a few years ago to our choir director's memorial, he was working on becoming a principal, or he WAS a principal or something. But I remember my first quiz in Written Theory...I had never had theory before really....well, I had the basics in 5th grade band, but it was sporadic and not great. I arrived at college not knowing my key signatures, not understanding time signatures, etc. It was tough. I got a C on my first quiz, and I had always been a mostly A student. I was in tears. Carlos saw me (the girl's now husband), and knew I was a freshman. He says "Just got your first Written Theory quiz back?" And he was really nice and said EVERYONE does poorly on the first one. And when he found out that I got a C, he was like "Oh wow! You're golden then!! Most people fail the first one completely!" And he gave me the advice to give myself a break on the first test in any class because you don't know what the teacher's expectations are yet. But he took 6 or 7 years to get through, And my friend Becky took at least 6, though she also had a baby when I was a freshman, so she had more to deal with than most people. But I don't think you could do it in four years without taking some summer classes at least, and taking the max credit hours every semester.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Yeah, we had Written Theory for 2 years, from 8-9 on M-W-F, but that was the only time it was offered and it was cumulative. Written Theory I the first semester, II the second semester, III in the fall of the second year, IV in the Spring. But if you failed one, you had to wait a whole year before you could try again. It was considered a "Weed-out course" because a lot of people majored in music thinking it would be easy. When I got straight As my first semester, my high school English teacher was very excited for me, and commented that I had finally gotten better grades than my brother. (He had gotten a B in something. He was an English major) And my brother said that it didn't count because I was a music major and all I had to do was sing all day. I'd have liked to see HIM do my aural theory class! But anyway, a lot of people think it's easy and then fail Written Theory and end up changing their majors because they find out it was harder than they expected. Then we had Aural theory on the Tuesday Thursday spot for 2 years, and we had Historical survey for 2 years....that's another weed out course, but that one was actually pretty easy IF you went to class and took notes, but a lot of kids didn't. There were kids who were in their 3rd year, still taking Written Theory and Historical Survey I.

I think the professor of the Early Childhood development class was probably right about MOST freshman, but only because most freshman weren't particularly motivated. It was one of those classes that filled up very quickly because it knocked out a LOT of different requirements with just the one class. It was a Writing class, a humanities, a research or something....I don't even remember all the requirements it covered, but it was 3 or 4 credit hours and then you didn't have to take a Writing course AND a humanities class or whatever the requirements were. It credited for like 4 different things. With music, we weren't at all short on humanities credits, but anyone who was undecided on a major would just knock out as many credits as they could. But anyone who was in education had to take THAT specific class. Class registration was tiered, so I think seniors got first pick of classes, because they only had the one year left to get everything in. But if you didn't sign up right away, certain classes might be full before you got the chance to sign up for them. So this particular professor did not accept freshman in her class as a general rule, because the juniors and seniors needed it more, and because most freshman weren't taking it because it was required, but because they wanted to knock out a bunch of credits. But most freshman also had no clue how much work was involved in that class. Again, they think it's an easy class because they think it's just watching kids play. She didn't want people taking up space in her class that someone else actually needed when they weren't going to apply themselves. She was quite happy to be wrong in the case of my brother and in me. She WANTED us to succeed, she just knew the average freshman wasn't taking their college education seriously at that point. UW is known for being a party school....ANYONE in Wyoming can get in there. As long as you graduate from high school in Wyoming, they HAVE to accept you, even if your GPA is super low. Most kids who go there only go to college because it's what you do after high school and it's what their parents want. And their parents pay for it. If they fail a class, they take it over and mommy and daddy pay for it again. I was there on academic scholarship and had to maintain like a 3.5 GPA or something? I couldn't afford to fail a class. If I did, I lost my scholarship and couldn't afford school and there was no one to pay for it for me because Dad didn't believe that girls should go to college, and didn't think anyone really NEEDED college....HE didn't go, and he turned out fine. Not that he had much money anyway. And mom's income was below poverty level....she didn't contribute a penny to my college education. So if I failed a class, there was no fallback for me, I was done. And I think that's part of what made a difference. The average college student, at least at UW, was lucky enough to have their parents paying, and didn't even know what they wanted to do yet....they weren't ready to settle into adulting. They were just having fun partying and hopefully getting a few classes in while doing it.

As for 4 years instead of 5, there were people who managed it, but I really don't understand how. There were 2 girls in my senior year pedagogy class and Student teaching group with me who were freshmen the year after me. So I know they DID it in 4 years, and one of them is really amazing...she's got her doctorate now and has gone all over the world doing field research in music. She went to Africa somewhere, and she was supposed to be in Spain for a year, but they had JUST moved there when the pandemic hit and they were sent home. She's written books and developed materials....it doesn't really suprise me that she kicked some tail. But I don't know how she fit everything in! And there were more people who took more than the 5 years even. Her husband was a Junior when I was a freshman, and he finished the year before we did. And now he isn't even teaching music....He taught Spanish I think? (He's a native speaker) and when I went back a few years ago to our choir director's memorial, he was working on becoming a principal, or he WAS a principal or something. But I remember my first quiz in Written Theory...I had never had theory before really....well, I had the basics in 5th grade band, but it was sporadic and not great. I arrived at college not knowing my key signatures, not understanding time signatures, etc. It was tough. I got a C on my first quiz, and I had always been a mostly A student. I was in tears. Carlos saw me (the girl's now husband), and knew I was a freshman. He says "Just got your first Written Theory quiz back?" And he was really nice and said EVERYONE does poorly on the first one. And when he found out that I got a C, he was like "Oh wow! You're golden then!! Most people fail the first one completely!" And he gave me the advice to give myself a break on the first test in any class because you don't know what the teacher's expectations are yet. But he took 6 or 7 years to get through, And my friend Becky took at least 6, though she also had a baby when I was a freshman, so she had more to deal with than most people. But I don't think you could do it in four years without taking some summer classes at least, and taking the max credit hours every semester.

Theory definitely ruined me. I didn't go in thinking it was going to be easy, but I went in grossly unprepared. I was never exposed to anything remotely theory related until I stepped into that classroom. As one friend put it...it was like I was being asked to take college calculus with nothing more than an elementary school math background. Meanwhile, many around me came from music programs where they'd been receiving some level of theory since at least the beginning of high school. That's not to say that someone couldn't pick it up and thrive, but the only people I knew that were passing had several years of theory under their belts. The professor was supposedly brilliant and gifted https://danielsgodfrey.com/ ... and he probably is in many regards. It just took him a long time to realize that a third of his class was struggling. By the time he started offering tutoring, it was too late. What's funny is that Sight Singing was dubbed as the more challenging course. The differences...more personable professor that was quick to recognize when students needed help. He had his lead TA start offering tutoring pretty early on in our first semester. The ones that needed it were the same kids failing in theory. Unlike theory, we all got our grades up in sight singing as a result of the timely and well-designed tutoring.

Your Early Childhood Development class sounds like some of our Psych classes. Freshman weren't allowed into anything but basic Psych I and II. Once you got past those prerequisites, your options really opened up. Nearly every major had some writing requirements. As a music major, I would have been required to take 12 writing credits. I can't remember what it jumped to when I switched to Psych, but I had enough writing credits at graduation to have a minor in writing. We also had classes like yours that had an extra credit attached because there was a writing component in addition to the basic course coverage. Most of those had multiple tiers of prerequisites making it impossible to qualify for the class until at least junior year. Some of them also doubled as graduate level courses, so by junior year, it wasn't uncommon for me to have grad students in my classes going towards my undergrad degree. I'm hoping K takes the same mindset towards her education as you had, since she will lose her scholarship money if she doesn't maintain a certain GPA... meaning she'll be coming back to TX and going to a school she didn't like as much to finish her degree. She did get into several schools with admissions criteria like you noted. I wanted her to target them because I knew she's see some money.

I don't know if it's governed at the state or national level, but I remember that there was close attention paid to degree requirements and 4-year feasibility. It was legally mandated that degrees like architecture provide full disclosure that it is a 5-year program. I know they were routinely evaluating how long it took for the average full-time student to complete their undergraduate requirements in other areas because I recall a couple of degrees where requirements changed to ensure that 4 years was widely attainable completion window. It may have been scrutinized more heavily since we were private and the probability of legal action was a concern. When you're already paying an arm and a leg, peole are likely to lose it when you make a 4-year degree impossible to complete in 4 years. Even recently, I'd heard that a couple of the 5-year programs had changes because there was too much in the way of overnight work expectations. I had a couple of Surface Pattern Design majors that often slept in their studios (which had cots or lofts provided) because it was too much work to come home at the end of the day. I guess at least you guys got it done!

 

[Sans Souci]

Over-the-counter meds here are a joke. There are no decongestant pills whatsoever...the only option is nasal spray, which is habit forming, so every time you need it, you also then have to ween yourself off of it after a few days. I try not to use it if I don't have to, but I can not sleep if I can't breathe through my nose, so I generally end up needing it after a couple of days. Also no cough syrups like we have in the US. There's some liquid stuff with Thyme in it, but it's not really a cough suppressant. We do have expectorants. Right now, I have a glass with some honey and lemon juice by my bed to help soothe the cough, because the nasal spray dries out my throat, which makes me cough more. But I need to ween myself off the nasal spray today. You aren't supposed to use it for more than a week, and I started using it Friday night. I tried to go off of it on Monday, but apparently I wasn't recovered enough, so it didn't work. Usually, if I take my dose at night so I can sleep, then when I get up in the morning, I just don't take a dose, because if I'm awake, it doesn't matter whether I can breathe through my nose or not. When the previous dose wears off, my nose plugs up really badly, but then if I wait for a couple of hours, it starts to dissipate. I usually take the nasal spray every 4-6 hours, so if I wait for like 8, my nose starts to clear. Monday I waited for 13 hours and my nose was still completely blocked and I was coughing up a storm. So I had to use more nasal spray. But I had 9 hours between doses last night, so I think I should be ok today without it.

They also don't do childrens meds here that taste ok, because they don't want kids to WANT to take medicine and start using it recreationally. So they don't have like, grape flavored tylenol liquid, or flavored antibiotics for kids. When my kids got sick when A was 3 weeks old and E was a year and a half old, we had to hold her down and squirt the nasty antibiotics into her mouth and then shove some chocolate in after to get rid of the taste. It was so traumatizing for her, and it's absolutely ridiculous when I KNOW that there are better options in the US so that it doesn't have to be a battle when your kid is sick. Here, they assume if your kid is sick, they will be willing to take the nasty stuff to feel better, but it just doesn't work that way in reality. A 2 year old doesn't care whether they SHOULD take it. It tastes nasty, so they won't do it. You shouldn't have to torture your child. When we were at Disney in 2019, and E got Heat exhaustion in AK, we went to first aid and they gave her liquid tylenol, grape flavor. She was SO shocked that there was medicine that didn't taste bad, and she was like....WHY don't they have this in the Netherlands??? So then when A was in the hospital a year ago and he had a throat infection and they gave him antibiotics that tasted nasty, I asked them about it...because I remember being in kindergarten and having grape flavored antibiotics and I was sad that I was allergic to them and had to stop taking them. So I KNOW they exist. I was told that they don't do that here because they don't want kids to get addicted to prescription or over-the-counter meds. So we just have to suffer through cold and flu season because they are very stingy with prescriptions, and over-the-counter stuff doesn't exist like it does there.

Paracetamol/acetaminophen isn't habit causing, so I don't understand why there is concern for it to be abused. Even the flavored meds still taste a bit bitter. When we were living in England, we came back for Easter one year. Someone my husband worked with asked him if he could go to Costco and bring back a large bottle of ibuprofen. Things like ibuprofen and acetaminophen are sold in blister packs and in a small number like 24 or something like that.

Who is going to get addicted to flavored penicillin? Nobody, that's who, because it's not addictive. I understand the reasoning, but kids aren't getting addicted to Tylenol and antibiotics.

I have no proof, but I suspect the reason we have so many OTC cold-flu meds is because we don't have a lot of sick time, so people dose themselves up, go to work and try to function.

 

[StarWarsGirl]

They also don't do childrens meds here that taste ok, because they don't want kids to WANT to take medicine and start using it recreationally.

Oh for god's sake, it doesn't make it taste good, it just makes it taste not completely nasty...

 

[Sans Souci]

Hello-

Checking in with a back and jump rope workout (yesterday) and a leg workout (today).

My husband's birthday is this weekend, so I am baking a cannoli cake. He was going to order one from a local bakery, but I got one from this bakery for my birthday. While the cake itself was delicious, the frosting was made shortening, instead of butter. It had the most disgusting mouth feel. On top of it, it was an American buttercream, so it was gritty from the powdered sugar. I found a recipe that has a ricotta-choc chip filling and the frosting is made with mascarpone and choc chips. I hope it's good.

 

[StarWarsGirl]

Over-the-counter meds here are a joke. There are no decongestant pills whatsoever...the only option is nasal spray, which is habit forming, so every time you need it, you also then have to ween yourself off of it after a few days. I try not to use it if I don't have to, but I can not sleep if I can't breathe through my nose, so I generally end up needing it after a couple of days. Also no cough syrups like we have in the US. There's some liquid stuff with Thyme in it, but it's not really a cough suppressant. We do have expectorants. Right now, I have a glass with some honey and lemon juice by my bed to help soothe the cough, because the nasal spray dries out my throat, which makes me cough more. But I need to ween myself off the nasal spray today. You aren't supposed to use it for more than a week, and I started using it Friday night. I tried to go off of it on Monday, but apparently I wasn't recovered enough, so it didn't work. Usually, if I take my dose at night so I can sleep, then when I get up in the morning, I just don't take a dose, because if I'm awake, it doesn't matter whether I can breathe through my nose or not. When the previous dose wears off, my nose plugs up really badly, but then if I wait for a couple of hours, it starts to dissipate. I usually take the nasal spray every 4-6 hours, so if I wait for like 8, my nose starts to clear. Monday I waited for 13 hours and my nose was still completely blocked and I was coughing up a storm. So I had to use more nasal spray. But I had 9 hours between doses last night, so I think I should be ok today without it.

They also don't do childrens meds here that taste ok, because they don't want kids to WANT to take medicine and start using it recreationally. So they don't have like, grape flavored tylenol liquid, or flavored antibiotics for kids. When my kids got sick when A was 3 weeks old and E was a year and a half old, we had to hold her down and squirt the nasty antibiotics into her mouth and then shove some chocolate in after to get rid of the taste. It was so traumatizing for her, and it's absolutely ridiculous when I KNOW that there are better options in the US so that it doesn't have to be a battle when your kid is sick. Here, they assume if your kid is sick, they will be willing to take the nasty stuff to feel better, but it just doesn't work that way in reality. A 2 year old doesn't care whether they SHOULD take it. It tastes nasty, so they won't do it. You shouldn't have to torture your child. When we were at Disney in 2019, and E got Heat exhaustion in AK, we went to first aid and they gave her liquid tylenol, grape flavor. She was SO shocked that there was medicine that didn't taste bad, and she was like....WHY don't they have this in the Netherlands??? So then when A was in the hospital a year ago and he had a throat infection and they gave him antibiotics that tasted nasty, I asked them about it...because I remember being in kindergarten and having grape flavored antibiotics and I was sad that I was allergic to them and had to stop taking them. So I KNOW they exist. I was told that they don't do that here because they don't want kids to get addicted to prescription or over-the-counter meds. So we just have to suffer through cold and flu season because they are very stingy with prescriptions, and over-the-counter stuff doesn't exist like it does there.

Do they have Flonase over the counter there? Afrin you shouldn't take long term (I think a week is pushing it; three days is what they normally tell you here) but Flonase you can take long term. It's an antihistamine, not a decongestant, but it should still help clear you up. You can also try a rinse or you can try a saline spray if they have those. Also, a warm washcloth on the sinuses can help relieve pressure.

As for the cough/sore throat, when I had COVID, I just ate honey by the spoonful. Went through an entire bottle in like a week, but it did help.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Oh for god's sake, it doesn't make it taste good, it just makes it taste not completely nasty...

So true!!!!!!!!! I remember Kendall was on some AWFUL antibiotic when she was about 6 mos. I had a choice of 15 different flavors. Round 1, we tried banana. Round 2, we tried something tropical. Round 3, we opted for berries. It all tasted like a toxic cleaning solution with a hint of fruit.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Hello-

Checking in with a back and jump rope workout (yesterday) and a leg workout (today).

My husband's birthday is this weekend, so I am baking a cannoli cake. He was going to order one from a local bakery, but I got one from this bakery for my birthday. While the cake itself was delicious, the frosting was made shortening, instead of butter. It had the most disgusting mouth feel. On top of it, it was an American buttercream, so it was gritty from the powdered sugar. I found a recipe that has a ricotta-choc chip filling and the frosting is made with mascarpone and choc chips. I hope it's good.

That sounds delicious! When we were in Arizona, I had cannoli filled French toast at breakfast one morning. While I like American buttercream (when it's actually made with butter), it has no place in cannoli. Straight ricotta can also make the texture a little funky, but a lot of people smooth it out with mascarpone. DH's bday is next month...maybe I can use this as inspiration!