Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Week 25 - Day 3

New Years Eve. Still on vacation. May you all have a Happy New Years.

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Week 24 - Day 3

Xmas Eve today.

I hope you all have a Very Merry Xmas and a Happy New Year.

I am on vacation this week and next week.

Friday, December 19, 2008

Week 23 - Day 5

School is over for the semester. I am on my last Friday off. Next year - starting January 5th - all classes will be held 5 half-days a week instead of 4 half-days.

Yesterday I did the exam for the MS office Word. I did pretty well. But the quizzes during the classes were not so good. My scores varied from 40 to 70% and one 90% score. I am now waiting for my final results of both MS Word and Business Practices.

Today is Friday December 19th. It is not yet officially winter. But right now there is a HOWLING snow storm outside the window, stretching from Minnesota (thats north of Chicago) to New Jersey (just before you get to NYC) according the US TV channels.

Schools in Toronto are still on - mainly because today is the LAST day of school for the kids for this year. They too return to school on January 5th. But there are numerous schools around the GTA that have closed for the day.

I hope everyone who reads this has a very merry Xmas and a happy new year.

Monday, December 15, 2008

Week 23 - Day 1

The second week of Applications - MS Word.

Everyone around me has a cough, a cold or is sneezing. Both my husband and son are sneezing, as is the Word instructor and BOTH students sitting on either side of me.

I am keeping my fingers crossed that my healthy eating will prevent me from succumbing.

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Week 22 - Day 3

Well I have now had 3 days of Microsoft Applications - specifically Word. This is the basics/intermediate class. I did do a computer applications basic class back in July when I first started at Trios. However the instructor for that class has now transferred to a new Trios campus that opened up in Oshawa this year.

The new instructor for Applications is teaching Applications at two levels - intermediate and advanced. Applications includes Excel, Outlook, Powerpoint and Word. He also teaches Business Communications and Access.

So far there have been no assignments for WORD. He just gives us quizzes every day for the previous days lesson.

I am in a large class. In this class there are students from the paralegal program, the social work program, the medical program and the payroll program. There are probably also students from the police foundations and computer programs as well. So far I know of only myself and D from Switzerland who are doing Business Administration in this class.

I have 2 weeks of Word - this week and next week. Then 2 weeks off for Xmas. In January I go back for 5 more weeks to do Excel for 2 weeks and then one week each of Outlook, Powerpoint and Business Communications.

In February I will start a morning schedule, and I will have 4 months back with S doing 2 week blocks of Bookkeeping, Simply Accounting, Accounting Fundamnentals, Quickbooks, and then 4 weeks each of Advanced Accouting and ACCPCC.

Then in June I go back to the Applications Instructor for advanced Applications - Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Outlook, and finally ACCESS. I am due to graduate in August.

Saturday, December 6, 2008

Week 21 - Day 6

Saturday today. Thursday was the last day. We did our presentation and the exam. Now I am waiting for result. I dont think I did too well on the exam. I didnt have time to do much study because I had to work on the project.

The other girl showed up on Thursday - the last day of class. All I said to her when she left was good luck. She said thank you.

Next week I will start a new class - Microsoft Applications - Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Outlook and also Business Communications. Our instructors name is Jose (hoe-say) - and yes he is spanish. We have a huge big fat book produced by Microsoft about the Applications. It has over 900 pages.

Now the trouble is that most students have Office 2007 on their home computers as do I. So we have to save our homework as 2003 on the memory sticks if they are to work on the PCs at school. So why is Trios College still teaching Office 2003?

Two reasons.
One is that Trios still uses old computers with Windows XP and Office 2003 on them. Some of these computers are being changed for new ones over the Xmas holiday period. The rest will be upgraded next year.

And two is that most businesses have licences for Office 2003 and they often cant afford to upgrade until the license expires. Some have 5 years licenses and others have 10 year licences.

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Week 21 Day 3

Well its been a quiet week. The girl from Trinidad was away all last week after the blowup, and so far I have only seen her once this week. On Monday she showed up to class saying something about having a really bad cold. S was not in class on monday, (due to family arrangements and the funeral) so this girl left the classroom within an hour. As did the rest of the class except me and my team. We still had a Business plan to finish. It must be done and presented to the class tomorrow - Thursday. The final exam is also tomorrow as well.

After tomorrow, this girl will have finished school, and I dont need to see her ever again - unless we happen to apply for the same job at the same time and be given interviews on the same day. Since she already has a job, this should not be a problem.

I also wonder how she will get on in the business world if she ever has a fight with someone else. I mean we are all entitled to our opinions. But to be told that we are wrong, without an explanation, is just not right. Usually we are told that we are wrong, because our opinions clashes with their opinion and they have no understanding of why they support their opinion. The most common reason is that they grew up being told that the specific view is what they must accept, without being given any proof or support for that view. So will she go out of her way to avoid her fellow workmates so she doesnt have to work with them, or will she quit?