September 3rd 2007
I just finished my first real homework assignment for the semester. Guess which class? English. I wrote a two page paper that’s the start of my autobiography. When I get assigned an essay or even a fictional piece of writing, I always groan. Two pages, four pages, eight pages. It’s not just the length I’m afraid of, it’s the topic. I do like to write, but I don’t like to be told how to write or what to write about. Since this is going to be an autobiography, it’s all about me. Well, that’s pretty easy to write about. To make things better, my teacher told us to, in essence, throw up on the paper. Just write. Now that, I can do.
But what happens when you don’t just get to barf your essay and there’s a topic you have to write about. Inspiration is what you need. A mind block can come at any time, whether you’re trying to write a paper, a song or even design a website. To overcome it, you can do many things. Listen to music, take a break, take a walk. All great things to do to get you relaxed.
Purdue’s online writing lab (OWL) has some great tips to overcome writer’s block. World of Inspiration has quotes, some meaningful, some famous, some stupid, that can help. Writer’s Block is a great resource with a lot of articles, essays and letters.
My strategy is to go play a few addicting games and then try again.
Posted in Academic with 3 comments
August 24th 2007
This is only my first semester, but I already had to buy seven books. I found a great way to save some money and still end up with all the books needed.
Which edition?
First step is to ask your professor, when they’re going over the syllabus is the best time, if the newest edition is necessary. Most professors, my mom included, don’t necessarily need or want you to have the newest, most expensive edition unless whatever changed is exactly what is needed for the class. Usually the new edition has a few grammatical fixes and a fancy new cover and that’s all.
Bookstore prices
Go to the official campus bookstore and go to the unofficial bookstore(s). My school is smaller, but still has both of these. My mom teaches at a larger university with 30,000 students and they have three off-campus bookstores. Go to each and check the prices on the books you need, make a nice comparison chart that will save your life.
Online prices
Now, go home and check Amazon, Ebay, Half.com, and do a Google search. Add these prices to your chart. Make sure you have the correct edition! I can’t stress that enough. Also, find out what shipping costs and when you will get the books. Find out if the company/person doesn’t ship for up to one week or whatever else their policy is. Find out the return policy, just in case.
Compare
Now that you have your nice chart comparing prices/shipping charges, do a little math see which deal is best. Do you actually need these books tomorrow or can you wait until Monday? If you need them now, see about applying for a free trial with Amazon Prime (I got one) or see if your aunt has an account. If it’s cheaper or necessary to get them in the bookstore, go for it. If it’s a better deal to get them online, do that.
This way you get the best deal you can no matter what. All it takes is a little work. It took me an hour total to track down seven books and start the process. Not so bad to save nearly $200. Five books were much cheaper online, one was about $20 less in the bookstore. One book I had to get at the store because it’s one of those ridiculous “customized textbooks” just for my school. What a scam.
Posted in Academic, Money with 11 comments
