Reviews Archives ~ High Speed Transfer

Back To School

A bad case of the doldrums, a vicious week of politics, and a beautiful direct mail catalog has propelled me back to school. I retired from my main contract work in July and I am apparently now sufficiently rested and refreshed.

The Great Courses catalog arrived at the perfect time. It’s not too late to make a long story short, so here it is: I signed up for the Great Courses Plus unlimited option at the annual rate and then plotted a schedule for 5 courses.

My Great Courses Class Schedule

Today was Day 1. When I looked at my beautifully colored and printed schedule, I realized I was already a day late. I SCHEDULED A CLASS FOR SUNDAY?

I blocked out a schedule for 5 classes for Jan through May

Learning Italian Language

Starting from behind on a Monday morning, with my first cup of coffee, I downloaded the course PDF and started in “Learning Italian Language”. I gave myself permission to have 1st day confusion and bleary-eyed attention, which helped. I might have been overwhelmed otherwise, but I really want to learn a few basic Italian phrases and responses before Sept.

The Great Ideas of Philosophy 2nd Edition

2nd Cup of coffee and toast: “The Great Ideas of Philosophy”. This is something that has always interested me. I learned a new word right off the bat and felt extremely proud for 1/2 the 30 minute lecture. Upanishads. Go ahead, google it. I’ll wait.

I’m on a roll – feeling like a real student with a class schedule and grabbing snacks in between. What a Monday and what a feeling of accomplishment already.

How to Draw (and then lunch)

“How to Draw” is the whole reason I kept the Great Courses catalog open for so many days before signing up. I really really really want to get back to making art and I have some kind of huge block. So back to the drawing board (sorry) for me. These 30 minute classes are just right. Loving it so far.

Today is, or soon will be, a snow day. Predicted 12 inches to begin any time, so I wanted to make a mad dash to Subway for what might be my last fast food this week. It’s been several months now since I had a prescribed “lunch hour” rush so again, I was feeling a rush of normalcy.

How to Write Best-Selling Fiction

Last class of the day after lunch – I only allowed myself a mobile game until 1:00 – “How to Write Best-Selling Fiction”. This first lecture was more about outlining the course than it was any concrete start, but with my after-lunch timing, that was actually helpful.

Recorded lectures are awesome

The best part of all today’s courses was the fact that they are recorded and accessible to me 24/7. Several times today and at least once for each, I replayed a bit that I felt like I had missed by not quite paying attention. That is an awesome benefit for me, since paying attention is a fleeting talent.

All in all, I’m anxious to keep going. Tomorrow I have only one class “Guide to Essential Italy” which is also prep for my trip in September. And then Wednesday I will repeat some of the above and add “Writing Great Fiction: Storytelling Tips and Techniques”.

I’m stoked! I left college way too soon to come home and be a wife and Mother. It’s one of the biggest regrets of my life and I have attempted to learn everything that went by me ever since. Now that I’m “retired” and way less motivated than I’ve ever been to be productive – this is the perfect structure for me.

Great Courses vs Great Courses Plus

The catalog that drew me in was for Great Courses – all were on sale at an unbelievable price and I could easily find 5 or more (the limit allowed at $35 or less each). These courses are online or on DVD – your choice although the DVD price is slightly higher.

I saw a banner for Great Courses Plus and realized that the annual plan on sale was less than the 5 courses I had picked. With Great Courses Plus, I have free reign to pick and choose from hundreds. I’m trying to be smart about it and not get overwhelmed, so the schedule image above was my solution. I pretended I was constructing a semester’s work. And I took great joy in ignoring math and science (at least for now).

Review: we are never meeting in real life, by samantha irby

This was our book club choice for January and the concensus was positive. I stayed silent about my negatives because the positives are overwhelming. This b&#!h is funny!

My negatives were simple. Samantha is “uncensored” and I mean that with all my heart. While I was reading it, there were times when I twitched at the vulgarity, and I can vulgar with the best of them. If you’re unsure, start with the title essay, which is the last one. She’s funny as hell and if what she writes in that signature piece speaks to you, then you’ll love the rest of the book.

The primary reason this book is awesome (and Samantha is awesome, too) is that she is so relatable. Her life is nothing like mine, but there was a feeling of “Oh, man, I know what you mean” on every page. You’ll laugh, you’ll snort, you might tear up (near the end – the cat) and you will definitely relate.

That’s all – my book reviews are minimalist.

Beer Burger North Liberty With Friends

Beer Burger Now Open in North Liberty!

Advertising note: When I link to businesses and / or products, I make a real effort to get paid for that advertising. It doesn't change my opinion, but you should know that I might be paid for my referral.

Our group has been waiting impatiently for Beer Burger to open and now it is! We met for a dinner meeting last night to check it out.

We had a group of 7 and between us we had:

Kale Artichoke dip with garlic naan and veggies – generous portion – three of us worked on it and half the dip remained. The naan was gobbled up though – irresistable!

Various burger renditions with fries. All were yummy – the regular fries are addictive; I can only imagine how good the upgraded fries could be. One friend ordered the appetizer sliders instead of a burger because she wasn’t hungry enough for a whole burger – her three sliders combined were as big, if not bigger than our regular burgers – and the presentation was adorable (little pickle bits on picks – so sweet).

Two in our group ordered salads – they were large and looked very nice. The word was “delicious”. One only ordered a shake – watching the diet, you know. It was a regular size glass, but decorated with chocolate and sprinkles on the sides, whipped cream and a cherry on top. She said that made it a little too sweet, but it was OK. We thought the perfect dinner of the future might be a chocolate shake with no fancy trim and an order of regular fries. Could be heaven.

How’s the Beer at Beer Burger?

Beer: You’re probably wondering about the Beer, right? After all, it’s in the name and all. Beer Burger is known for their “keg room” – a glass enclosed area that can hold over 200 kegs. They have a big list of tap beers at the bar, also. Mixed drinks and cocktails are available too.

It was Happy Hour when we were there, but only certain things were included and that turned out to be none of what we ordered. The first request was for a Millstream Pale Ale and they were out. 🙁 So let’s have a Stella instead. “Out of that too, sorry” 🙁 OK, so what do we have that’s similar? Turns out the beer list is sorted by the various attributes, so if you feel like studying, you can find a sub for what you really wanted.

There are “tasting” opportunities at $ per ounce – that was the biggest thing we heard mentioned as we chatted with friends around the room. “I got this much and it was $5.40! So… lesson learned. But if you were actually on a beer adventure – this would definitely be the place!

Beer Burger is Popular!

The place is huge – their theme is a very industrial look, and within 30 minutes of opening it was full. They open at 4 and we were waiting. When we left after dinner, it was still full with a short line. That was on a Wednesday night at 7.

Two people in our group had tried to come earlier in the week. On Friday or Saturday the parking was clear out to the road and the line was too long so they left. That speaks well for support from our small town. The word is that other popular and similar establishments in town aren’t hurting, so I think we had room for more places like this.

All in all, it was a great time. A little noisy for great conversation, but perfectly fine for casual friendly chat. There were some TVs, but not a huge saturation like your typical sports bar. Service was more than excellent and the food was tasty and fun. Our food arrived pretty quickly also; but we were settled in a little ahead of the huge crowd.

I can highly recommend and I know for sure I will be back!