My legs look like I've been beaten by a sack of oranges. Besides vitamin C, does anyone know anything that helps with easy bruising? I'm tired of looking like I fell down sixty flights of stairs and then was kicked in the shins while I was dazed by a pack of rabid children. The weather is so nice this week, I'm wearing Capri’s, but...my legs are a disgrace!

I'm trying to work the entire 116 hours I'm allotted for Work Study into four weeks, so I'm spending the majority of my time in the Student Life office, where I'm part of the Student Leadership & Community Service Team. This is why I haven't posted. Working two full time jobs (for the time being) and going to classes full time has really laid waste to my already sad posting skills.

What's funny, is where I am now is where I wanted to work in the first place, but I ended up in Financial Aid instead. Basically we organize all the Community Service and Leadership projects and events that happen on campus. Lately I've been working on two other peoples projects: a hygiene drive for Northwest Medical Teams (I've been doing all the calling to local businesses pretty much sweet-talking donations out of them) and Project Page Turner, where they're having local grade schools come in for students at the college to read to them, and they get a free book. I've been doing PR for that one; my hands are covered in paint.

I get to work, where I can paint for hours, and nobody cares, because it's part of the job. I think I'm in love.

I am really enjoying it, and all the staff who works in there are fantastic. It's a lot more relaxed then where I was working before as well, I don't feel like I am just doing someone else's grunt work, I feel like I am actually doing something important. It's nice. Plus, it's all community service work, which just really floats my boat.

Sadder news, CCC has undergone major budget cuts because our Governor made a 32 some odd million mistake in the budget for community colleges and is only going to fix 3 million of it. This means that they've cut a ton of things from the college...all sports but men’s and women's basketball, a bunch of tutoring and literacy programs, and...the Early Childhood Education program.

Yeah, that's right. The cut the entire program. This means that all of the licensed providers will have a harder time getting their yearly trainings to keep their licenses because CCC is (besides...PST) the only place in the area offering classes that count. It means that people who are working in Head Start on the contingency that they'll have their degrees are going to lose their jobs. It means that the only place you can get associates in ECE is in Portland or Eugene now. It also means that they'll have to close the center they have on campus. It's a shame, and it affects more then just the college, it's a major blow to the community as well.

It came as a big shock; they just called everyone in and gave them their termination letters.

Since this bothered me (and I do need the degree, since it is one of my majors) I started working with the Student Reps on campus to try and convince the legislators to give us more money. So far I've been trying to do as much publicity on it as possible, and have students fill out cards they'll give to the legislators at the next meeting. There is a board meeting on Wednesday I'm going to, and then another one next month. I'm hoping that something positive will come around, and they won't have to close the program.

I should go in to the meeting tomorrow and toss myself down on the floor and wail, "Oh, won't someone think of the children??". Think it'll do any good?

HotD:

Mid-Term is due soon.

I really need to finish it,

But oh, the lazy.