Midterm Creeping Up Fast.

 Exams Make Me Nervous.

    This is already an extremely stressful week for me.  I have my first midterm for Business Law I (MGT 273) this coming Tuesday, September 27, 2022.  On top of that, I still have to manage my other three class assignments, another midterm for Letters and Reports (BUS 108) on Monday the following week and a quiz due on Wednesday of that same week.  I'm asking myself, how am I going to get through the next two weeks?  It is overwhelming!  My schedule is a little above my physical and mental capacity; therefore, I have to use caution with my time management in order to accomplish all my tasks in a timely manner.

    Exams give me anxiety because I can literally study for several days and still feel as if I didn't study at all.

For example: How I prepared for BQ4

• Studied the material
• Looked through the online material in Mr. Wu's website
  
• Reviewed the material
• Wrote down all the information with additional notes
• Practiced the exercises that were mentioned and took more notes
  
• Reviewed the material again the night before.
• Reviewed the material prior to going to class.

    Personally, I felt confident that I was prepared enough for the quiz, but my brain blanked out and I forgot some of the information during the quiz.  I know I didn't get everything wrong, but I also know I could have done much better.  I will be honest, even though I did prepare for the quiz, I understand what went wrong.  The last few days prior to Saturday's quiz, I'd been staying up late completing assignments due to working later than I expected, so I feel that I can ascertain that my lack of proper rest was part of the problem.  

    As we all know, rest may be the most important part of one's day.  Many of us accomplish so many tasks throughout the day, work, study, homework, family, chores, errands, and anything life throws our way, that sometimes, we do not have enough time in the day to finish everything.  Ultimately, we tend to shorten our rest requirement, which overtime, affects our thinking capacity.  A tired brain leads to faulty outcomes.  I neglected my sleeping routine for four days.

    I made this for my bedroom closet door when I first moved to Las Vegas.  It's always been one of my favorite quotes.

    Now, this midterm has me on edge because it is a two part exam.  The first part is in person which is the essay portion.  The second part is online and will take about two hours to complete.  The entire exam from beginning to end is a total of approximately 3-4 hours long.

For this exam, I've been practicing better study habits to make sure I pass.  

For example: Preparing for this midterm

• Study the material in sections (this helps break down the understanding of certain topics)
• Manage how much time is being spent on studying a certain topic (usually between 1-2 hours/chapter)
  
• Make notes on material I don't understand or is difficult to remember and go back to it after a break
• Make sure to take breaks between study sessions ( between 30 minutes to 1 hour)
  
• Use meditation during my breaks to help me relax (it is refreshing and helps clear the mind after a study session)
  
• Have healthy meals to properly fuel my brain and body
• After a long day of studying, get a good nights rest
• Keep a positive mental attitude no matter the outcome (this one is very important to boost self-confidence)

    Once all is said and done, I'll know I did the best I could no matter the outcome. I will keep telling myself that I CAN AND WILL pass this exam.

Chapter 3.1.8 Desktop vs. Web Applications and Chapter 4.3 Modifying Fonts

There is no right or wrong, just preference.

Chapter 3 Topic:

    3.1.8 Desktop vs. Web Applications

Web applications are good for when people are traveling.  Personally, I prefer desktop applications because they have better working features than web applications do.  Web applications are a temporary solution because they can’t be used when there is no internet available, such as on planes.  That can be difficult if someone has a deadline.  Desktop applications can literally be used anywhere as long as they are installed on a portable device; they don’t need to be constantly connected to the internet, except when saving to the cloud.

Chapter 4 Topic:

    4.3 Modifying Fonts

I think you can agree with me when I say that fonts are so much fun to work with, if you are a creative soul like me.  Customized invitations for all kinds of events were one of my specialties while my kids were growing up so fonts were and still are my favorite thing to work with.  For this blog, I’ve had to tone down my creativity to reflect a more professional look.  As can be seen, my posts are now uniform and not all mixed with many fonts. All in all, I am still being creative here and I am enjoying the freedom to explore different options.

LabSim Chapter 2.1.4 PC Hardware

New Hardware!

    I use an HP Envy 17" touch screen laptop for everything I do.  Last year I purchased a Chromebook just for studies and research, but ended up not using it much, mainly because it is not a touch screen laptop.  Boy, do I love my touch screen laptop.  I can convert it to a tablet and use it as a regular laptop. 

    This semester, my laptop just isn't enough because I need multiple opened windows to perform different tasks on different applications.  I feel that my screen is big enough, but it is strenuous on my eyes after a while. I noticed that now I have to upgrade my reading glasses.

    On Sunday, I decided it was time to get an extra monitor to help me with my computer multi-tasking.  I purchased a new piece of hardware and it is working just as I expected.  For the past week, my eyes haven't felt over strained and I can see clearer with my larger monitor.  I am so happy that I was able to connect and configure my new monitor to my laptop all by myself. 

Here is my upgraded home office workstation.

I really like that both screens have individual backgrounds.  I set them up to run a series of photos at one minute intervals, so both screens are always different. 

I am happy with my new hardware.

Discussed in LabSim Chapter 1.4.10, Ecommerce Safety

Passwords, Passwords, Passwords 

    This past week, many topics were covered, but my favorite one was from TD01 Part 1: Single Sign-On (SSO) = Single Point of Failure (SOF). The question was, how do we manage our "many accounts' addresses, usernames, passwords...”? All accounts to be exact. Everyone has their own unique way of managing their accounts and sometimes it may become difficult to remember all the information, so we save them, use password management apps, store them, keep a password journal or whatever means works best for us. 

    I found this article on leapfrog services titled Why Usernames Are Important and How to Choose Good Ones, posted on August 28, 2020. I found it to be a good read and a quick study as to what is safe and not safe to use for passwords and it includes links to username generators as well as password generators. I hope you all enjoy it.

https://leapfrogservices.com/why-usernames-are-important-and-how-to-choose-good-ones/ 

At one point in time, I literally considered this idea.

First In-Person Class

THE SCRIPT

    There you have it, the class script has been preached and taught to all of us by Instructor Wu.  Now that everyone, except one person that didn't show up for the first day of in person class, knows exactly what is expected of us and what we as students can expect from our instructor.  My opinion is that there is no excuse for not doing the work.  I think all of you, if not, most of you can agree with me when I say, failure is not an option here.

    Today marked a great milestone for all of us and we are all one day closer to obtaining our Microsoft Office certificate(s).

    Thank you Instructor Wu for being a dedicated teacher.  I personally am grateful for the opportunity you gave us today to correct our errors and resubmit our work as well as answering all our questions.  Most instructors will not go that extra step to ensure their student's success.  Don't get me wrong, I don't mean to say that those instructors are not good at their jobs.  All of my instructors have been great, but depending on the class, they are not all able to do what you have done for us so far and what you will do for us throughout the course of this semester.

I look forward to seeing you all next week.  Enjoy your Labor Day weekend and stay safe!