Thoughts from Wks. 1 & 2 of Semester 8

I don't think I've had actual homework in over a year, and getting used to it again is not coming quickly. Term projects and midterms are the only things thatI've had to worry about for the last three semesters. Daily busy work is just not something I'm remembering with ease.

The Huston Huffman Center (Slash Sarkeys Center now? #namechangeconfusion) is a really strange place. Some days it is swarming with people. People sign up and come to these group fitness classes in hordes and droves. There are more people in my yoga class than in my history class. Some people just run around and around and around and around that running track. People pay to take a "spinning" class, which is really just biking except you don't go anywhere. People choose to run or walk on "treadmills," which is really just running or walking except you don't go anywhere and you get to watch '60 Minutes' at the same time. Basketball teams arise out of nowhere and just play game after game against one another. Don't even get me started on locker rooms - the only place in the entire world where it's "normal" for people to just be naked in front of one another. It is all just very strange.

I think that our standards for snow days are gradually lowering until they will eventually cancel school anytime it is simultaneously raining and cold outside. I'm all for days out of school for no reason, obviously, but it seems like we've got to have standards somewhere, and this doesn't seem the best place to be letting loose entirely. What are we teaching our children?

I went to StarSkate on a Friday night with about 40 of the girls we work with in our after school program. Unbeknownst to me in my college-age bubble, it is a TWEEN HOT SPOT. I've never seen anything like it. Hundreds of pre-pubescent, unchaperoned pre-teens in their own little kingdom - demanding in-line skates rather than roller skates, waiting forty-five minutes in line at the refreshments counter for an icee, unsatisfied that we weren't planning to remain there until the rink's closing moments (midnight, by the way. It was a big deal); flirting, cuddling, pushing, trash-talking, speeding around the rink. You name the destructive behavior - they had it. It was a mad house. I really cannot describe in words what sort of monsters are being created in this petrie dish of uncontrolled hormones and nonexistent parental supervision.

The College Student's Guide to Saving the Most Money Possible when Buying Textbooks

My first semester of classes at OU, I spent upwards of $400 on textbooks. This cost seemed extravagant, even at the time, but it seemed a financial burden that had to be borne, regardless of my desires against it.

What became even more troublesome, however, was selling books at the end of the semester in an attempt to regain back some of the lost capital that had been spent for these books. "I bought this book for $140, you want to give me how much back for it?"

Unsettled and unsatisfied by the bookstore's feeble attempt at making it seem as though they were not committing robbery and extortion, I began to explore some other options. Ebay seemed a good route to go, but sometimes auction prices did not quite reach the amount I felt the books should be valued at, and so I continued to search.

Lo and Behold, it was sometime during that sophomore year that I finally began to employ Amazon as my primary book source. While comparing textbook prices with those at the bookstore I was astonished to see how much money I could save -- and even better, how much money I could earn selling books after the semester ended!

I have stuck by this method (while experimenting with others: such as rentals, library reserves, sharing with friends in the same class, etc) over the last two years, and think that this semester I have hit the jackpot in regards to the amount of books I am receiving for the amount of money I will be paying. I am so proud.

"This must be shared!" I exclaimed to myself, "That others might know there is another way!"

So here is the research and the results that I had this semester in book shopping. I hope it inspires you to spend a little more time to save a lot more money!

By exploring options such as comparing Amazon prices, using the OU library reserves, checking out OU library books early in the semester, and comparing publisher's prices with those that the bookstore offers, I was able to save a significant amount of money on the formidable cost of books that the bookstore would have given me. Here's the savings breakdown:

It's definitely worth the extra time -- I'd love to help you out with this if you're interested in getting the most money for your purchases as possible!

Sticking it to the man FTW.