Overwhelmed

          As I have already mentioned, I had started two classes on Labor Day this month.  One in managerial accounting and the other in financing.  My accounting class seems like a refresher course as there is some familiarity within the topics. It also feels like a prequel to my financing class and I wish I had it BEFORE my financing class and not side-by-side as I tend to get the two mixed up and have actually turned in one assignment for one class into the other.

          Fortunately I have really good instructors in both classes who have been able to give me feedback right away instead of waiting until the end of the week as was the case with my last instructor who did announce ahead of time that his grading day is Sunday and that is it.

          I am having the hardest time with the subject at hand.  Valuation principals and investments and blah, blah, blah . . . One class asks me how a manager makes a decision (no, it isn't my managerial accounting, it's the other one . . . see what I mean) and so I look up all of these references for one class and end up using them for the other class.

          Most of my accounting assignments have been in excel and so I don't have to have all those references in my back up file.  When I am asked to write about a personal finance decision (wrong again - the 300 word project about personal financing is for the accounting class; it is the second part to be handed in along with the excel assignment) I am looking at all these words and definitions trying hard to apply it to my personal life, but they're all business words and I am not a business and I have absolutely no desire to be!

          We make estimated guesses.  We cannot predict the future.  We can't control what downfall the economy may have to endure due to natural disasters.  I have so many thoughts in my head and they are spilling over.  I don't like the riled up emotion I feel when I am trying to answer the questions.  Roland has always been able to separate business from personal life.  Not me.  I cannot keep my emotions out of it!

          And then there is the scrapbook I had gone through that has triggered all sorts of thoughts.  I knew I couldn't sit down and write just one post and do my assignments.  So I broke my thoughts into several posts that still managed to beg for me to write them - and hey, why not?  I couldn't focus on my assignments anyway. I'm not worried about failing the class.  I've been getting As the entire time except for one class - with an instructor who would pass out virtual caramels - I was late turning in an assignment and so did not get full credit.  I think I was taking two classes at that time also. 

          I feel fortunate that I had only one class in July and one class last mod.  I don't know how I managed with the two classes that started on the day of Jeanie's funeral.  I felt like I had been in a coma for three weeks.  Perhaps that is the secret - have my subconscious take over.  I just felt so tired I don't think it was possible to experience emotion.  Since school started for Jenna, I've been neglecting the library also.  I find it necessary  to take a breather.

Non Traditional Return to School

Jenna LOVES to dress up in costume.  I had thought for a while that she had always wished she had blond hair, but she doesn't see it that way, though she did do chores in order to purchase a blonde wig which may look real from a distance, but the fibers themselves are polyester or some other form of plastic.  This is what she wanted to wear to school:

            We had tried another bow - partly to secure the wig, but also to keep the strands off her face.  Long hair is just too bothersome right now, which is why she's had such short hair for almost a year now.  I tied a bow in scarf that Ooki had sent but it definitely did not go with her personality, though it did seem to match her shirt well

  

            but she did end up wearing the multi-pastel colored scarf rather than the bandana.  She did keep the tutu on all day, but removed the blond wig before school had even started as it felt too hot to continue wearing.

              She cannot wait for Halloween, which is her favorite holiday, and she now has enough costumes to celebrate two weeks of Halloween without wearing the same costume twice.  Last night she dressed as a lady bug for a dress-up barbeque that she had attended.

            But I'm getting ahead of myself.  Just before she returned home from school, a package had been left at our door.  A package with her name on it.  An unexpected package from her Uncle Paul who has a talent for carving wood.  He had made several pencil boxes and had filled one and mailed it to her.  It was the highlight of her day.

Where My Discussion Post Ends and My Blog Post Begins

          When I was in my twelvth mod, I had two classes.  I would try to attend the live lecture of each class.  I think I had attended all four lectures in my algebra class - perhaps only three.  Fortunately there was no problem with the hook-up system (the school uses a program called Zoom) but the instructor in my management class would always have a problem with the system cutting out or recording only audio or video, but not both.  It generally happened whenever she played a video in addition to her lecture.  I told her to stop showing videos and just send us the links.  I don't know if it would have made any difference.

          Last mod I also had two classes - two accounting classes.  I still don't understand the language, but I actually did well in both classes.  That is amazing considering what torture it was trying to get into a live lecture or (in most cases) listen to the recording . . . as it wasn't just one or two instructors having issues with Zoom;  the entire school was affected.  That is what Roland had told me anyway.  Not only is he a full time student at the same online school as I am, but is employed with them as well.

          This mod I am taking only one class (hooray) again in accounting (boo) and I don't know if Zoom has been fixed or not.  Thus far it does not look promising.  No one in the class appears to have been contacted by our instructor - usually he or she will introduce self or remind us of upcoming lecture or something.  There was supposed to be a live lecture yesterday, which starts at the same time as the children's summer reading program. I had already made a commitment to summer reading.  In addition, it seems I have been recruited to be the story lady - for the last two weeks anyway. 

          Yesterday the library (or the one in charge of the program rather) decided to celebrate SpongeBob's birthday and shared some trivia while children were coloring.  I shared Allison Jackson's "There was an old lady who swallowed a pie" - only I changed the wording a little bit and used SpongeBob as the character instead of an old lady, asking the children between each item of food, "do you think he'll die?"  they would always answer "No"  and they were right.

          I like Allison Jackson's version better than the original "There was an old lady who swallowed a fly"  because (with the exception of one item) her story deals with real food and no one dies.

          Neither Jenna nor I are avid SpongeBob fans - in fact we'd be okay with knowing that he had croaked.  But the idea of a sponge and some of Allison Jackson's rhymes gave me an opportunity to educate rather than just read or tell.

          So back to my accounting - I was hoping to watch the lecture before posting my discussion to perhaps get a better idea of what is expected.  As of now, I don't even know if my instructor tried to give the lecture or if he has started working for the university this week or is on sabbatical or what.  His discussion post was created on Saturday before the class had even started.

          Our topic is on importance of accurately accounting for costs in Job Order Cost Accounting.  Also, discuss the consequences of errors in this area. From what I understand, overhead charges and cost of labor that must be paid by the company is figured in the cost that a consumer must pay.

          The video example that had been given is building a burger and breaking down the cost of said burger.  There is the obvious cost for the meat, the bun and other ingredients, but the breakdown also includes the employee's wage.  Just suppose he was getting paid 10.00 an hour and it takes 3 minutes for him (or her) to build each burger.  That is 3 minutes to every 60 or 5% of 10.00.  and a predetermined overhead cost.

          The cost of electricity (for instance) is not figured into each burger, per se.  Utilities, indirect labor [that would be the supervisor making certain the employees are working, or the time spent cleaning (or idling) after all the customers have been served], indirect materials [someone has to pay for the cost of that grill] and property taxes or rent) are all part of that predetermined rate.  All of those costs are all added up together for the year and then more math is deducted and combined and made into a percentage that is also added to the cost of the burger.

          One of my class mates used auto labor as an example which I was actually able to understand a little more and have been trying to come up with my own examples using my false lawn care service from my former management class, or the cost of labor that we have seen (and will expect to see more) for the demolition and restoration of our floor, walls and spaces in between.  Thus far we've had to dole out checks for the plumber, the electrician and the pest control.  All with overhead costs - though we don't understand why on the electrician.

          Roland had asked for a card and wondered if he would be able to make a deal with trading services for a future project.  Wiring in the front room to put in a ceiling fan for new cards and marketing.  This area really needs to be educated in marketing. They either don't believe about it or know about it or care.  The font on the business cards was very hard to read.  Roland thought the shape of the font looked like an anchor.  I thought it looked like an open mouth - like perhaps a dentist would use.  I don't know what the overhead would be.  There is no sign on the truck.  I don't know how their pricing breaks down.  I suspect they can charge what they want as there doesn't seem to be any competition.

          I personally am not impressed with big vans and trucks bearing fancy names - especially now that I know it is part of my cost and I don't wish to support brand names when they have so many employees that the company has lost sight of them as well as the consumers.  Let me give a "for instance" which I wasn't planning to call by name, but because of my dissatisfaction, I want to warn others about why I stopped using the services of a certain company.

          Whipple Plumbing and Heating is a chain in Utah (Salt Lake/Ogden areas) which I believe has gotten too big for its breeches.  I don't know how many employees it staffs nor do I understand why we tried their services several times.  We ALWAYS had to call them to return to finish or correct a job and then ended up calling someone else to permanently fix it.

          I think they were called three times while we lived in Kearns and twice in West Valley.  For the poor plumbing issues (one project, never resolved by Whipple) we had three different guys, none which corrected the mistake of the other, we finally called an elderly man that Roland had been in contact through some clients of his. 

          Elwin Shipley arrived in his unmarked truck and fixed the problem.  He was awesome!  He fixed problems one time.  If you were to contact him again, it would be for a different problem.  Unlike Whipple, who got it right only one time (which will be my next paragraph), Elwin didn't charge an arm and a leg.  He didn't need to.  He didn't have the extra overhead cost.  I wasn't paying for the logo on his truck.  (Whipple had definitely figured a LOT of overhead expenses - had I continued to use them, I would have probably ended up paying for an entire fleet of trucks)

          Whipple had a promotion on toilets and as ours had to be replaced, we gave them another try (first one in WV).  The plumber who came out was very friendly toward Jenna and the dog and just a down to earth wholesome guy - or so it appeared.  He said that when I called, I could ask for a specific plumber.  That was our exception.  That was the only thing that we didn't have to have work redone on.

          Because I had liked the plumber, when another situation we had required plumbing services, I called Whipple with another opportunity and the name of the plumber who seemed to have the attitude "I've got you in my snare now, I don't have to be nice to you."

          Perhaps he was just having a bad day - perhaps there had been a recent death in the family or someone in his flipped him off on his way to work . . .  who knows.  The point is he just rubbed me the wrong way.  That was the last time we used Whipple.

          My discussion post was about Gil's heating and air conditioning - a business that relies on word of mouth.  I just thought of another.  Remarkable Rooter also gets the job done.  WITHOUT THE OVERHEAD!  Why pay more?  Really?  Because the competition has a brand name and drive a fancy van?  My consumer attitude may get me into trouble with my classes . . . although they haven't so far.  Did I mention that I LOVE living in a small town with an ignorance to marketing?  Well, I do.

Learning Excel

When I was working at Swire Coca Cola

Roland and I felt I should be staying home
with the boys.
In February, I said I would be leaving in April
My last day would be April 15th.

In March I was asked to take a class in

Excel.  It didn't seem to matter that I
was leaving. 
It was a fun class - different program than what
I had at home, but I could adjust.
It was nice.

I was grateful that I had been given that opportunity

and keep notebook as well.
though there were many things I learned
that I would never use personally
there seemed to be some that would benefit me
at the time.

Now I am taking an Excel class
again.
I am floored at how much information
can be created in
Excel. 
We are barely just touching surface with
this class.

It is fun to learn and create.

Next week will be my last week for 
these two accounting classes and 
then I will be starting something new

Enjoying Riddle

       The school library will be open three times during this summer.  Yesterday morning was the first day and I took Jenna to return the books we already had and trade them for something else. We had also stopped by Soco to have a meeting with the committee for the  Children's Summer Reading Program.  Jenna asked me if I'd take her to the library in Riddle which was also on my agenda, but it does not open until 3:00 on Tuesdays.  We returned home before we went to Riddle.  I took care of some school work.
       Jenna had wanted me to present my Costco card at the library for identification.  I've had it for over seven years.  The picture is of both Jenna and me.  She had really wanted to be in the picture that day, and I was just going to have her stand in front of me, but the man who'd been waiting to take my picture said that we could both be in it.  I like the picture so I keep the card.  Jenna and I both look very different now in real life.

      After we arrived in Riddle and went inside the library, the librarian told us that there was an activity outside.  We went to the pavilion where the drama coach of Riddle High was conducting a session for eight teenagers who had shown for the activity.  Jenna found one of her friends at the activity.  They both seemed to enjoy themselves.  I took a few pictures with my cell phone.  I have cropped out the other kids as I did not ask permission to post them.

pretending to brush her teeth

the instructor had teens pretend they were walking

in various situations

the last two are mirror mirror.  

Jenna had so much fun hanging with her friend after the activity, she forgot about the library or reporting the other books she read.  We may return tomorrow.

Another Kind of "Road Trip"

          During our winter break from school, students had the option of participating in a discussion on a Winter-what-you-doin' course - I guess you could call it that.  Students were not required to participate -  it was just an option to earn prizes.  I participated just for fun.  I didn't have any other classes.

          This summer the school is offering another "fun" participation with a course called "Road Trip" which I thought I'd be interested in learning more about, but had totally put it out of my head the week we had returned to Salt Lake City.  On the day of the funeral my alarm went off.  "Road Trip" appeared on my screen.  I didn't understand why my alarm had gone off to remind me that I was on a road trip (keep in mind  that I had lost a tremendous amount of sleep by then)

          Before we got on the road the next day to head home (to Oregon) I notice there was an email from one of the instructors reminding us of the "Road Trip" activity through the school.  OOOOhhhh . . . that is why my alarm had gone off.  It hadn't anything to do with our physical road trip.  Okay.  That makes sense . . .

          I had to ask to participate in the Winter-what-you-doin' course as it did not come up automatically.  "Road Trip" did not appear in my curriculum feed and I was okay with it.  I now have two accounting classes and oodles upon oodles of thoughts which I need to record (even if they never get posted) and decided just to forego the schoool "Road Trip" as it would not be a priority for my time.

          While cramming for both of my classes on Thursday, I noticed the "Road Trip"  course had been added to my agenda.  Well, I definitely don't have time for it right now.  I am taking two accounting classes AGAIN - I am still not understanding the language - especially in this frame of mind.  I am still feeling the fatigue.  It's as though my mind has disconnected itself from the rest of my body.  Why doesn't the fat take a hike?  I wouldn't even care to see the fat go permanently.  But I need my mind.  I don't like being this tired.

          I went ahead and clicked on road trip just to see what my options are.  Students have the opportunity for writing assignments between June 11 and July 8.  There are four activities to choose from.  We can write about them all or we can forego participating. 

          Activity #1 option:        Like any great road trip, school is an adventure that requires planning, preparation, and not stopping until you have reached your destination. 

Let's jump forward to a time when you are finished with all your college courses. You have worked hard and graduated. Yay!!! You've been hired to the job you have always wanted, and you are on the road to having everything you waited, worked, and planned for. It's time for a little rest and relaxation. 

Activity #2 option:        You are in school working hard to learn the skills and expertise to get that dream job. Have you thought about what it looks like? Is there a specific company that you want to work for so bad you would do almost anything? Is it close to home, a pretty good commute, or clear across the country?

 Activity #3 option:        The United States is an amazing place. There is not a single state that does not have a historical or natural wonder to enjoy. National and State Monuments and Parks are great opportunities to learn more about our country's heritage or enjoy the beauty and majesty of nature.

What is in your backyard? 

 Activity #4 option:        We have amazing instructors at Independence University. They care about their students and their success. Their goal for each and every course is to help students understand and become proficient in the course material. That way, each student will be successful in the career they have chosen. 

So what do you know about your Instructor?

           I'm certain I could write about my dream vacation much better than my dream job (I don't think a dream job exists in accounting) but I decided to go with activity #3 option.  I've pretty much have written much about the subject in my blog already, so why not condence it into just one assignment.  I came up with over 750 words (not counting title page or references).  I turned that in on Friday.

           "Oregon is My Backyard" has already been "graded".  I will also be submitting an assignment for activity #4, but I will be doing it on one of my former instructors.  I think those are the only two assignments I will be turning in for "Road Trip" this mod.  I haven't looked ahead to see what the subjects are for the next  two mods.  In July and August I will be involved in the Summer Reading program through the Friends of Myrtle Creek Library - and hopefully we'll have our library up and running by then.

The Drive To and Return

                As mentioned in this post,  I thought Highway 140 was quite beautiful at some parts and quite scary at others.  The idea of a 50 foot drop and no guard rails is rather creepy.  But that is the way Roland wanted to go - and he was driving.

                I thought 140 seemed scarier driving north than it did driving south - which is ironic, as the drop is on the south/west side.  The drive didn't seem quite as long, either.  But Denise and I had taken I5 through Medford because she wanted to see the temple.  I just  had Roland go by way of Highway 138 to Highway 97 where you can choose to go north up through Bend and over through Boise, or you can drive down south to Lake View and Winnemucca.  

                The Nevada route is only about 30 minutes faster than going through Idaho - provided there isn't any construction or other barriers that might interfere with the normal route, but going south requires a lot more traction and winding - which I somehow didn't believe our car could handle.  But it did.  There were many who'd been praying for our safety and we made good timing, I think.

                Jeanie passed away on the 6th and our plan was to leave on the 7th.  It was Jenna's final week of school and she'd been planning on dressing up for each day.  She'd been looking forward to her final week of school this year and to watch her 8th grade friends graduate.  She cried when Roland told her that she would not return to school.  

                I was appalled at Jenna's behavior - obviously thinking more about the inconvenience of her own plans than for thinking about her brother and the grief that he may be suffering.  Death is rarely convenient for any of us.  I did talk Roland into allowing her to go to school one last time.  We still needed to go to Roseburg to get a rental car and bring it back to the house in order to pack it up.  There is ALWAYS a delay when Roland plans things.  Wednesday was an early day, and we could check her out even earlier if we needed to.  There was no sense for ALL of us to go to Roseburg, and I didn't want to watch Jenna idling any time that she could have spent at school.

                We had made arrangements to pick the car up between 8:00 and 8:30.  We were contacted by the rental company just before we left the house.  We were told the car would not be available until later and that they would contact us.  We had planned to go to Roseburg on some other errands - the delay of the rental would make things easier - I thought.  Roland could do all the driving and we wouldn't have to worry about the second car. 

                The rental company never called back, and so we decided to just go there.  There had been five people waiting for rental cars.  All the cars that were supposed to be available were still out - all the cars that were on the lot that looked like they might be available had expired tags.  We had tried other options, but are actually limited in Roseburg and didn't want to gamble on driving another 90 miles to a larger city if we might encounter the same problem with another rental car company. We still didn't have a car when Jenna returned home from school and so said a major prayer and ended up taking our own.

                The GPS was taking us through Sutherlin, but I knew we could get through on 138 which was in the opposite direction.  We probably wasted a half hour driving back and forth before we finally got on route.  Our daughter-in-law, Carrie, commented that our disability of getting out of Oregon sounded like the makings for a sitcom.

                Roland said he would return through Boise and Bend. 

  
                We passed many orange barrells. 

No workers or slowdowns - probably due to the wind - except for after crossing the border from Idaho into Oregon.  Loose gravel caused us to slow down.   Tar was being poured ahead.  There was actually a utility truck  with its flashing lights that led the cars in either direction - I think it was at least a mile long.  I'm not exaggerating.  It wasn't bad.  It had been the only slow down of the entire trip. 

                Once we got to Hines, we stopped at a Dairy Queen to have lunch.

Lots and Lots of Thoughts

     My head is so full right now.
I'm tired.
My fingers will never catch'
up to my brain.
I've written thoughts about
the library but have not
posted them.  I've taken countless
amount of pictures that
I still haven't viewed.
I finished my algebra and
entrepreneurship on Saturday.
Two more classes started Monday
but I haven't . . .
still . . .

I've done the daily checkpoints
and started a research for my posts
which will need references.
Right now I am just way too tired to
comprehend anything more.
We returned to Myrtle Creek about
three hours ago.  I feel the tiredest that
I have ever felt in my life.

For those who read my post on a regular basis,
you know that it contains a hodgepodge
of thoughts and posts.
You ain't seen nothing yet . . .
  I've got more
tucked away in my brain.
I would like to write and post them all.
They will not be chronological.
I can guarantee you that.

Numbers and Nightmares

I've turned in the math assignment for this week and have taken the assessment.  One more week and assessment to go.  This is how I truly understand math:

If Bob is waiting for his bus at the corner of Lupis and Vine on a Tuesday and he is eating Strawberry ice cream, but not quickly, and his melted ice cream is dripping onto the sidewalk before the bus comes;  meanwhile, three cars have passed and none have bothered to offer Bob a ride, how far is the sun?

 If Lisa has agreed to babysit for Mrs. Brown, and walk the dog for Mrs. Green and water plants for Mrs. Plumb, what color is Lisa's shirt?

 If Hector collects rocks and balloons and gives one balloon to Kathy for nine seashells, what day of the week is it?

I do like my instructor.  I wish I had just one ounce of her passion.  But I don't.  It's math.  I've found some videos that have been helpful.  Others are . . . what??????  I came across one video in which the Berstein Bear was showing me how NOT to do the math - okay it wasn't the actual  Berstein Bear - itt just felt that way as he demonstrated at least six ways not to do it before he demonstrating the correct way.  IF he shows me the correct way.  He pretty much lost me at polyominols and what this letter could be and what this figure could represent . . . huh?

I did come across one over twelve minutes long and for the most part was easy to follow.  But what are you supposed to think when the instructor of the video starts yawning?  I'm with you Pal.  I was there before the video even started.  I know I'm not the only person who hates or doesn't get math.  My class is full of lost individuals.

Sometime between 3 and 5 this morning there were numbers and factors taunting me.  They were laughing at me while I slept.  Some were dancing to the soundtrack of La La Land.  That was weird.  I don't appreciate these numbers haunting me, bullying me.  Gosh, just let me sleep! It's bad enough I have to deal with algebra when I'm awake (actually I did take a nap before completing my assignment as the equations really did put me to sleep. 

 I HATE Algebra.  I still have two more weeks of "What the heck?"  I finally posted my discussion - which I normally try to do on Monday or Tuesday, but not with this class. My brain has a major cramp.  We're supposed to solve  - or rather break down the simplified so that it reads with complication and I can't do that if I don't understand it.  That's only part one.  In part two the class is supposed to explain why we need Quantitative literacy . . .  wha-wha-what?  Quantitative whatnow? 

I did a copy and paste for a reference I might consider using later on.  It came out like this:

Quantitativeliteracyistheabilitytoidentify,understand,andusequantitativeargumentsineverydaycontexts.Anessentialcomponentistheabilitytoadaptaquantitativeargumentfromafamiliar

that reads pretty much to my understanding.  Now onto my other class - which surprisingly I am doing quite well in.

We've Been Down This Road Before

If x  times 3 = 3x and you subtract 12 = y over 3x squared, what are y and x?  We will never know.  Apparently it doesn't matter. Order of operation matters. Order of operations is a way of thinking logically - so says the mathematician.  Do you know how boring you sound?  Only math nerds understand the numbers game and the results of getting there - though most of the problems are never completely finished - they are written down as far as they can go.  So an acceptable answer could look like this: 4x+3q+8-7n=y^12  What????? 

If we don't ever know what q or y or the rest of the letters are - what's the point???  Roland says it's to learn logic.  I don't learn logic!  I am too dang frustrated to be logical.  I want to scream, swear, pull out my hair, and hurt whoever it is that came up with x(3-6)+[6*(n-q)4]-12x in the first place. Give me a break!  I was not put on this planet to answer mixed up number/letter riddles.  This is NOT my lot in life.  On top of that I'm I have to have dictionary just to translate words such as "Polynomial" and "Monomial" Is this a math class or an English class?  Make up your mind.  Or maybe "algebra" means "a combination of letters and numbers that will either a) have a person so confused that they may end up hating all forms or math or b) you will be able to relate to this subject better than people and math will therefore become your best friend"

I don't know how many students are in my math class.  I'm guessing thirty.  It appears that there are a couple of math nerds, but overall, the majority of us despise math, don't speak math, get lost in math, are confused by math, are taking the course because it's required and pray that we may pass the course just to get it over with, hate math, just don't get it, don't really care.  Guess which group I fall into?

Recently my instructor posted the following:  One of the big topics for this week was simplifying a problem using the correct order of operations.  Why is this so important?  Take the following problem for example: 

2(8=7) - 3 x 4 + 2

Let's say two students are working together to simplify this problem.  Student A chooses to work the problem in the following manner:

2(8 + 7) – 3 x 4 + 2 

2(15) – 3 x 4 + 2  Parenthesis first

30 – 12 + 2  Multiplying in order from left to right second

20  Adding and subtracting in order from left to right last

Student A got a final answer of 20

Now let's say Student B chooses to work the problem in the following manner:

 2(8 + 7) – 3 x 4 + 2 

2(15) – 3 x 4 + 2  Parenthesis first

30 – 3 x 4 + 2  Multiply starting at the left

27 x 4 + 2  Continue from left to right with subtraction next

108 + 2  Continue from left to right with multiplication next

110  Addition last

Student B got a final answer of 110.

Which student is correct? 

This would be my answer:

          Student A would be the correct answer because he/she is using the correct order of operations (PEMDAS) but I understand how Student B would come up with his/her answer - IT FEELS LOGICAL to do it that way.

          Simplified?  In math?  Unless we are doing basic addition or subtraction, for me personally, the word "simple" can be associated with anything math related.  It's an oxymoron.

I think algebra is an oxymoron.