3 weeks in

This is the third week of the semester and it feels more like it should be at least midterm by now.  All four of my classes are quite intense.  I feel like I'm spending every spare second I have watching lectures, reading a textbook, taking a quiz, researching for a paper, writing a paper, or reading and participating in online discussions.  Two of my four classes are taught by the same professor.  I've had her before and she is very demanding and has very high expectations, which is a good thing but definitely makes my life a bit more busy.  She is also very big on group projects.  So, this semester I will be doing three large group projects which all include research and papers.  I've never done group work for my online or distance classes before, so this will be interesting. 
So far I'm keeping up with everything.  Let's hope I can maintain that and still get the laundry done.  =) 

Financial Aid

It's just about time for the spring semester to start and I'm faced with the same dilemma that I find myself encountering every semester.  I rely on financial aid to pay for my classes.  I mostly use federal PELL grants and student loan money to pay tuition and buy my books.  While I am immensely grateful that these programs exist and that I qualify for them (because let's face it, school is ridiculously expensive!), I get really annoyed with the timing of the distribution.  My financial aid hits my USU account one week before classes start.  Then whatever is left over after paying my tuition and fees is direct deposited into my checking account.  The problem is that it isn't deposited until around the first day of class.  So what's the problem?  Textbooks.  That's the problem.  As a distance education student it's not like I can just run to the bookstore on the first day of class and pick up what I need.  I have to order my textbooks online and wait for them to be delivered.  In order to save money, I usually rent as many textbooks as I can instead of buying them all and this means that they're usually sent from farther away than if I ordered them from the bookstore in Logan.  What does all this add up to?  Well, it usually means I'm a week or so behind on reading or assignments for my classes unless I have one of the few very understanding professors who will post the first weeks' reading online for those of us who haven't gotten our books yet. 
Why don't I just buy or rent my books before my financial aid gets here and then use that to reimburse myself?  Well, I just don't have a few hundred dollars laying around for just such an occasion.  I really wish I did. 
Anyway, so that's my frustration of the day.  I just hope I have four understanding professors who will be willing to work with me for the first week or two of class.