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There were a lot of cool things about going back to college in my 30s. When I got my first couple of undergrad degrees back in 1992, life was about dorm living, part-time jobs, late night studying, and the mythical time ahead of me when I would be 100% responsible for myself financially.

I recently went back to earn my teaching certification and college was harder in some ways. I had to juggle running a household and raising my daughter with a LOT of studying. On the other hand, the tests and papers seemed easier for me this time. Keeping a 4.0 GPA was almost simple.

One of the best things about being a college student again is the student discount I get allover the place. I just really remember using it the fist time around. Now I get a discount at movie theaters and at the gym and best of all – on software purchases.

Hello, educational software.

Cost Captain sells all kinds of brand new major software titles to students and staff of schools, libraries and research facilities. Home schoolers can even get academic pricing. For example, if you buy Microsoft Office 2007 Standard on the Microsoft website, it will run $399.95, but Cost Captain sells it for $129.99 for authorized buyers. They sell all manner of software to all buyers, but if you want to purchase any of their products that have academic pricing, you’ll need to provide proof you are a student or buying for an institution.

Today in Clearwater, Florida Nick Bollea (son of wrestler Hulk Hogan) pleaded no contest to reckless driving relating to the August 2007 accident that left his passenger John Graziano incapacitated. He was sentenced to eight months in county jail, five years probation, 500 hours of community service (though that service may not include public speaking), and a revoked drivers license for three years.

“Something has to be done to show this is not acceptable,” the judge said.

During his five years of probation, Bollea is not allowed to drink alcohol and he must undergo an alcohol evaluation and treatment. Within the next year, he is expected to attend DUI and advanced driving school.

Graziano’s father urged the judge to consider jail time. He commented that, “This has gone on long enough and needs to be stopped.” Members of Graziano’s family claim Bollea has not shown remorse or apologized for the crash.

There is still civil suit in the future, because Graziano’s legal guardian Peter Musante is suing Terry Bollea (Hulk Hogan), Bollea’s estranged wife, Linda, and Nick Bollea. Reports say that millions of dollars are needed to care for Graziano, who resides at James A. Haley VA Medical Center in Tampa.

My daughter has eczema and I have been able to keep it under control by making sure her allergies don’t flare up, watching her diet, and using a couple of different standard prescription lotions.

However, her father has a cat in his house now and every time my daughter has come home from a weekend at her father’s her skin has been worse and worse, until this week I finally broke down and took her to my dermatologist. Of course, she told me what I already know, that the cat is taxing her immune system and everything else is going by the wayside while she is in that environment. She set up a new regime and that means a new antihistamine and two new skin medications. And, all of them have outrageous $45 co-pays on her insurance plan. I went ahead and filled them for one month, but I promptly began to research the generic options, as well as websites that might offer the medications for cheaper than the pharmacies around here.

It’s amazing the medications you can find online from companies who will not ask for a prescription. I mean, it’s pretty common knowledge that you can get Viagra and Phentermine without prescription, but I was amazed at what else people are selling. I am still more comfortable going through a local pharmacy for the medications that were prescribed yesterday, but as I said – we are definitely going with generics the next time. I have no idea why I didn’t tell them that at the pharmacy when I dropped off the prescriptions that I wanted generics. Shopping with my daughter makes me lose all focus.

Of course, without the prescription insurance, the 2 creams would have been $202.99 and $247.99 – pretty much making it a sure thing that nobody at all can afford to buy most medications without insurance. And, that, my friends leads us to a whole other topic I will address at another time, which is the reform of our medical and pharmaceutical industries.

“Florida leads nation in boating deaths” screams a headline on one of the local news station’s website.

Really? How terribly shocking. Florida, which is almost completely surrounded by water, leads the nation in boat deaths? Florida, the state that is warm enough for water recreation all year around? This information is just so very perplexing that I do believe I have a headache.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission says there were 77 people killed on Florida’s waters in 2007, making it the 16th time in 20 years our state has had the highest number of fatalities in the nation. I don’t want to make light of the deaths. In fact, I feel terrible for each one that happened. Certainly, nobody goes out to play in our lovely waters thinking they won’t go back home afterwards.

My dismay is that this information would be considered out of the ordinary. Have you looked at a map of Florida? It’s like running an article now that says mortgage lenders are losing their jobs or the Democratic party is deeply divided and expecting people to see the headline as fresh and interesting. It’s just plain obvious.

I saw a photo contest at one of our local Tampa news websites to win a Mother’s Day Getaway at the Omni Orlando Resort at Championsgate. I could use a weekend with my daughter in Orlando. Plus, we could bring along a couple of other people and have a relaxing Florida jaunt.

All I had to do was upload a photo to the public Mother’s Day gallery, but I have to tell you that the directions did not say that specifically. I had to figure it out through trial and error. I just knew I had to have an account and I had to upload a photo. That’s pretty much all the article explained.

I would almost rather go back and reconcile the records for all of my savings accounts since I was 15 than go through that loop of technical oddness again anytime soon. I’m pretty sure I uploaded the same photo to more galleries than any one person would be allowed to do.

But, I really do want a shot at that Getaway. Yes, I live in Florida and I theoretically get to enjoy a vacation-like setting 365 days a year (and 366 this year), but home is home and it’s just healthy to get away from time to time.

Anyway, I’m pretty tech savvy. I pick up on things quickly and seem to retain knowledge. This tripped me up, though, and made me feel like I was 88 and just exploring that witchcraft called the internet for the first time. *sigh*

The 2008 Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) scores are beginning to come in and Hillsborough County (which includes the city of Tampa) saw some happy results. Their eighth-graders got the best average writing score in the state on the essay portion of the test – 4.6 out of 6 points.

This is the seventh time since 2007 that Hillsborough eighth-graders have brought home the top writing scores in the state. Officials credit teacher training.

FCAT scores help parents to see where their children improved in various subjects. They can also determine whether or not a student will advance to the next grade level the following year. FCAT scores also determine school grades, or ratings. A grade of “A” or an improved score means money and status for a school.

Parents, you can see your child’s scores beginning at 6 a.m. Tuesday, May 13 on the FCAT Parent Network (www.fcat parentnetwork.com). Just use the secure login and password provided by your school.

With exception of just a very few things, you can find a buyer for nearly anything on eBay. I am constantly amazed. In fact, tonight I ran across an auction for an ice cube. Seriously, the auction appears to simply be for an ice cube, unless there is some sort of underground meaning that is going right over my head. You do have to remember that this once very street-smart girl is getting old.

The bidding is up to $27.94 (shipping is free) and the auction has nearly two days left. The same seller old a box of Lucky Charms for $36 and a wad of crumpled newspaper for $26.09, so I am assuming I really am missing something. Either way, it seems like anything goes on eBay and you can always find a buyer.

My problem is more with finding the time to ready the items and prepare the auctions. I have bins and bins of Gymboree clothes I meant to sell on eBay and finally ended up giving away before my last move. I love I missed out on a LOT of money and I wish now I had just walked the bins into the iSold It store up in Palm Harbor. They do the whole thing for you for a fee. You just drop off the items along with some info about your expectation for the auction content and you are good to go. They will let you know when you have a check ready to claim. If you have items that will turn a tidy profit and no time to deal with getting them online, this is the handiest solution.

It’s coming up on nine months since Nick Bollea, son of wrestler Hulk Hogan (Terry Bollea) was a Toyota Supra on Court Street in Clearwater, Florida and lost control. He crashed into a palm tree in the median and his passenger, John Graziano, was grievously injured. He has been unresponsive and in the hospital since. He may never be able to care for himself again.

Multiple witnesses have come forward to say that Bollea was racing with Danny Jacobs. Both Bollea and Jacobs were charged.

Initially, Bollea pleaded not guilty to his charges of reckless driving with serious bodily injury. However, in a risky move, he is expected to make an open plea in court tomorrow during a 1: 30 p.m. pre-trial hearing Friday. Circuit Judge Philip Federico will then conduct a sentencing hearing.

Speculation is all over the map as to what sort of sentence Bollea will receive. He could get merely probation or as much as five years in prison.

Identity theft is on the rise. Year after the year, the numbers rise dramatically. If you think you won’t find your own identity stolen one day, you really need to have a reality check. It happened to me about 4 years ago and it was more than likely an inside job that originated at my multi-state bank.

Anyway, my point is that with identity theft becoming more and more prevalent, the industry around it is also growing and what that means is more new jobs. Lifelock is advertising position is all kinds of fields, including marketing, accounting, public relations, compliance, human resources, and information technology.

Lifelock is becoming a popular service. Auto clubs, banks, and other industries are recommending the service to their members. In fact, NextAdvisor just gave Lifelock their highest rating for identity theft protection, which is only serving to heighten the confidence consumers and other businesses have in the company.

So, check out their job listings. I think it is encouraging to see a company expanding in these tough financial times.

If you live in the Tampa Bay area, you can see “American Idol” finalist Syesha Mercado perform at 3:30 p.m. Friday at Ca d’Zan Mansion at the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art in Sarasota. She will also be doing a meet and greet.

In between the frenetic pace of the “American Idol” competition, Mercado is finding the time to come home to Sarasota on Friday. She will give a free concert, visit local radio and TV stations, and to sing the national anthem at a Tampa Bay Rays baseball game.

Of course, the visit is not without its publicity merit. A production crew from the reality show will follow her in order to air the footage next week.

Mercado will appear on the MJ Kelli morning radio show on WFLZ, 93.3 FM, just after 7 a.m. Friday. She will also be on with Nancy Alexander on WMTX, 100.7 FM. Also, she will perform live between 9 to 9 a.m. Friday “Good Day Tampa Bay” on Channel 13.

Then she is off to Bradenton for a celebration downtown at 10:30 a.m., followed by a visit her alma mater, Sarasota’s Booker High School, where a parade at 12:30 p.m. will precede a private concert for teachers and students. That performance will be streamed on MyFoxTampaBay.com.

Mercado will top off her day in St. Petersburg, where will sing the national anthem at a Tampa Bay Rays game against the Los Angeles Angels at 7 p.m.

Personally, I stopped watching “American Idol” years ago. I find the competition repetitive and mind-numbingly boring. But, this is big news around here and Mercado is now considered a local celebrity. Of course, she should not be confused with the other Sarasota-native reality TV celebrity James Zinkland, he of the gay porn career.

The stock market used to be one of the biggest mysteries of the universe to me. It took me years to ferret out the information that would be most useful to me to get a solid handle on the world of trading. My ex-husband tried to help, but he was as much of a layman as me. I sought out articles in major magazines, websites, friends who were either in the business or had been successful in the stock market, and also did a lot of trial and error trading.

I feel a lot more confident now, but if I could go back in time and have a social community like JUSTtrade available to me, I can only imagine how much easier that learning curve would have been. JUSTtrade is an interactive community where people discuss stocks. The twist, though, is the ability to quantify the value of each post. That leads to a level of integrity foreign to many communities online.

Some members come to the site with questions. Others come with answers. In the end, everyone ends up more enriched. The exchange of information is beneficial to everyone, and the rating system keeps things honest.

It’s free to use JUSTtrade and while they will eventually implement some fees for premium services, they promise that posting on the site will always be free.

I have to say that I am satisfied with the odd little assortment of celebrities that live in the Tampa Bay area. The Hogan Family is good for endless entertainment value around here. The Scientologists attract quite a few more. We are home to washed-up wrestlers (actually, not Hulk Hogan, but many others), a number of troubled reality TV celebs, and more very cool tennis pros than you can shake a stick at, if you were so inclined to shake a stick. Plus, you have to remember we have a LOT of pro sports teams here as well as several baseball teams that call us home during Spring Training ( I can hear the post-game fireworks from my bedroom after the Phillies play).

Anyway, all of this is to say that the Tampa Bay area does just fine without the flashier tabloid celebrities. So, it’s not with open arms, but rather some ill-concealed snickering, that locals noticed Paris Hilton slinking in behind her boyfriend Benji Madden as he stopped by Push Ultra Lounge in St. Pete Saturday to man the turntables. Thankfully, it looks like they were in and out, moving onto Disney (where they had dinner at Epcot’s Bistro De Paris – is that cliché enough for you?) by Sunday. First, though, they stopped at the Cracker Barrel off 1-4 in Brandon Sunday morning to gross out fellow diners with some public groping and pawing.

First of all, just try and tell me that the video I imbedded isn’t making you laugh so hard that if you were drinking milk it might indeed shoot out of your nose. (The technical term for that, by the way, is to splurf.) Just try. I get SUCH a kick out of listening to people wearing headphones sing along to the music the rest us cannot hear.

Anyway, I did not log on tonight to talk about milk shooting out of your nose. I promise. I wanted to tell you about the Pop Star Challenge. Singer Alisa Apps is asking you, my readers, to watch two videos and comment on both of them. One is Alisa’s video “Confusion” and the other will be another famous pop star. Take the challenge and tell everyone who you think is better. Or, just tell people what you think in general.

I love the Pop Star Challenge, because it is using viral video at its absolute best. You can’t lose when you combine great music, YouTube, and some wacky humor. Plus, this is a ballsey move and I like that. I already took the challenge. Now it’s your turn.

I read something on a forum tonight that made me think of the Looney Tunes character Marvin the Martian. That, in turn, reminded me of my favorite Marvin the Martian quote, which reminded me of why I love that zany character so much.

“Oh drat these computers, they’re so naughty and so complex. I could pinch them!”

I used to have this quote in a sound clip that my old Mac would play every time I made an error. That was back in maybe 1995. That quote, alone, is enough to make my love for the little guy burn strong even all these years later. Were truer words ever proclaimed?

I went on a little tangent looking for some Marvin related sites and found an entire fan site dedicated to Marvin. It is certainly worth a click. It’s where I realized Marvin will be 60-years-old on July 24.

Holy cow! Happy Birthday, you old fart.

I was always taken by the character of Don Juan’s mother in Lord Byron’s epic version Don Juan. She was portrayed as a woman who knew just enough about everything to be charming and interesting at parties, yet there were no topics at all where she had deep knowledge.

Use Your Knowledge
I’m sure you could have done without the literary reference, but what I’m saying is that it’s great to be an expert about something. When you have a lot of useful knowledge about any given topic, people will generally look to you as an authority in that area. Why should you let that be something that only happens when your friends and family come to you for advice? You may as well capitalize on it.

“Bee” an Expert
The internet gives you the entire world as your audience. Take your expertise and write articles that will educate and assist others. eBuzz is an appealing little website (with the fun motto “Bee an Expert”) that gives people everywhere a platform for their expert status. It doubles as a social networking site, allowing writers to connect with one another, find peers in your interest area, send and receive private messages, ask other users questions, and much more.

If your articles become popular enough, you can even win prize money. How’s that for an incentive?

All Topics are Fair Game
eBuzz.com is easy to navigate. Topics and subtopics are clearly labeled and you can even browse articles according to their popularity and usefulness. The subject areas are boundless. I’ve read great articles like “What Vitamins Help in Acne Problems and Treatment,” “How to Find a Good Dog Trainer,” and “Choosing a Bicycle Rack for Your SUV Vacation.” Seriously, there is an expert out there for almost anything you can imagine.