The OSI Model ;; Network+

Please Do Not Throw Sausage Pizza Away! (How I now remember the OSI model from the bottom up)

• Application ;; Layer 7
• Presentation ;; Layer 6
• Session ;; Layer 5
• Transport ;; Layer 4 
• Network ;; Layer 3 
• Data ;; Layer 2
• Physical ;; Layer 1

Bring Fresh Pizza Sauce Dork! 

• Data ;; Layers 5, 6, 7
• Segments ;; Layer 4
• Packets ;; Layer 3
• Frames ;; Layer 2
• Bits ;; Layer 1

I feel like bitching: I don’t care about Networking ; I can’t stand Hardware. AND I definitely hate CompTIA. BUT all is necessary to achieve my goal of going back to school to finish my Bachelor’s degree. Which I consider to be a stepping stone to my Masters Degree. Ph’D will be determined later but my guess is – I will be so far in student loan debt I will be living the rest of my life like <insert sad suffering story adjective here>

I’m not really worried about money. I figure I have the whole rest of my life to save and pay off debt. Getting a perfect credit store will be my new hobby. I will have a clean and tidy minimalist home some day. (Right now I live in a 6 bedroom house full of roommates, clutter and chaos)

I am trying a new strategy when it comes to homework this year. Last year I procrastinated until the last few months and became hyper focused and isolated from society, stressing I wouldn’t make it in time. I probably cut corners and didn’t retain the information like I should have, failing 5 final tests and missing out on 15 credits from those classes.

So this year I am NOT procrastinating. I am slow and steady pacing myself after work, on Wednesday (when I get paid education leave to sit home and study), and the weekends. BUT I am still saying yes to some things like volunteering. I am also doing neuroscience research to see if I can help my daughter be a better student with the same inattentive learning disability we both have (and are not diagnosed) teaching myself new skills in the process.

So far I am writing down whatever pops in my mind to research instead of stopping what I am doing and finding out I just wasted 4 hours looking up recipes on Pinterest or something. It happens as a bad escape habit like my brain will say: “Bleh- networking – I hate it – lets find out if that dress you like is on sale, or find out if zucchini can be grown in tropical climate zones.” This has really helped me out by keeping me focused. Another change I made this year is I made paper flash cards I can carry with me and study instead of using the already typed online flash cards I used last year. I also bought a new planner I found on some psychology website for people like me. “Failure to plan is planning to fail.”

My daughter will be taking her ACTs next year so I am researching strategies to help her be successful to get a great score to get into her dream college. PLUS I am teaching myself JSON, PHP, and AJAX languages so I can improve my work while trying to catch up on my projects I blew off for the month of April while I prepped myself for the A+ certification part two test I failed anyway.

On Parenting, I must have developed a dysfunctional way of being hard on my daughter from my own childhood. Being too hard on your children will  cause them to develop mental disorders and commit suicide. It is my job as a parent to be supportive of my child’s progress, like a cheerleader on the sidelines. To be more involved with her homework by asking questions and listening. Which will foster inner motivation to continue to do good academically. Instead of pushing her so hard she shuts down and does NOTHING except contemplate a way out of life via self harm.

I also feed the pets, water the plants, plan healthy meals and practice self care. In fact, I tried the Vaseline on the cuticles trick to make my nails look better than before. It prevented me from getting nail polish all over my fingers. Also, it would change the consistency of the nail polish if I would accidentally brush the Vaseline. (It made me a more cautious painter) The rapid dry top coat worked wonders when I accidentally bumped my nails. I call this color, water babies pink. (actual color is wet n wild -tickled pink)