Success !

[Poseidon]

Kim said the sum of the three numbers is 51. Now go with me just a little bit here. The first page, on the left had some number. We dont know the number yet so we will give it a symbolic name. Lets use X to represent the unknown number. OK so far?  The second page, the one on the right side has a page number that is one larger than the first one, so that would be X+1. You guessed it, the third page has a number that is two larger than the first page. If we add all those numbers up we have something that looks like this......X + (X+1) + (X+2) all that equals 51.  We have three Xs and a one and a two. We have to add all that up in some way that makes sense. We could correcty say that if we add 3 to whatever three times X  is, it would equal 51...  In the usual math format it would look like this......3X+3= 51  The solution is easy now. subtract three from both sides of the equation. We need to get the digits out of the way so that the unknown is all alone one one side of the equation.  That leaves us with 3X=48  Three times what number equals 48?  The answer of course is 16. If that number is not intuitive then just divide the 48 by 3 on your calculator. Kim added 16+17+18. because 16 plus one is 17 and 16 plus 2 is 18.

You can do this with any number of pages. If you want to make it look really difficult you could have someone add five consecutive pages. Say they came up with a number like 90. Then you could write the simple equation 5X +1+2+3+4+5=90 Add up all the digits and they will equal 15 subtract 15 from 90 and divide by 5. The first page was 15 and the next page is16 and so on.

OK here is another stunt that you can do with your friends. You can do this by telephone if you want to.  Have them get out their calculator.  Tell them to enter any three digits perhaps something like 246 or whatever they might think of. Instruct them to repeat those same numbers such that the calculator is showng a six digit number....246246 or whatever. You will not know what the number is and you will not need to know.  Place your hand on your forehead and assume a facial expression that implies deep thought.. Tell them that you can foretell that the number that they have written is evenly divisible by the evil number 13. Have them press the divide key and enter 13. AHA! you were correct. 246246 divided by 13 yields exactly 18942 with no remainder. Once again do the wizard routine and tell them that you prophesy that when that number is divided by the number 11 the result will also be a whole number with no remainder. Have them key the divide button and then the 11 to yield a whole number answer.  Using our number 18942 divided by 11 we get 1722. Hot ziggity we are correct again. Now the Coup de Gras....Tell them to divide the remaining number by the number 7.  You are really a wizard because the answer will be the original three digits.    1722 divided by 7 equals the original number 246.

You can trust the outcome of this little stunt. It will work every time if the other person will just key the calculator correctly. It does not matter which three numbers or which order of the three numbers that they choose.  It works....It is another fun with math thingy.

[ParkingPlaces]

Do you have any specific "looks good on paper" degree choices? I work in admin, data entry, and customer service with no desire to supervise.
[/quote]

I'm no expert so consider these two ideas with a grain of salt.

A business degree, either two year via a community college, or a four year degree, never hurt anyone working in any business.

And if you enjoy computers, a CS degree and some programming experience will open up your opportunities.

However, if you are going to spend the money to go to college, you might aim a little higher than just a promotion in your current company. Unless you can get into a six figure income (or at least high-five figure) in a reasonable amount of time, I don't know that the cost/benefit ratio is worth it.

But a two year degree, either in business or something computer oriented, would probably be a good investment. Since such schools are usually less expensive. Even a 2 year program in database development would probably open a lot of doors for you.

All schools have counselors that you can talk to before you enroll that can give you far more info that I can.  The thing I'm best as is providing encouragement.

You go girl! 

[Poseidon]

Virtual education may be a viable option. A while back a PBS program described a system of credit courses that one could take via the internet. The prime mover of the program is a prof at UC Berkley. His idea, which is already implemented to some extent, is that the best professors in the country can be reaching hundreds of thousands of students on line, in preference to a hundred or so students in a real classroom or lecture hall. This is said to be well enough along that transferrable credits are a matter of fact.

I do hope that this idea takes wing and provides widespread educational opportunities that this nation so desperately needs.  This is not a profit making scheme like some of the online universities such as Phoenix.  This might be worth some research to discover the details. Somehow I got the impression that the Gates foundation had something to do with this. Oh, and the head of the program had a distinctly Asian name that I have promptly forgotten.

[Kimberly]

I've been told someone with a similar pay and dependants as myself got a grant to cover all of her education but book cost. So I'm going to look in to that first. If that fails my job has a tuition reimbursement program, but I've been told they don't pay for online only courses.[1]The only draw back to using my job to pay for school is you have to commit two years after graduation to them and it has to be relevant to my job[2]. But since I just got this promotion I don't plan on leaving w/ in the next 5-7 years any ways.

I basically need to research my financial aid options first. If I can do it with out my job paying that would be ideal, since I can pick any field I want. I've thought about becoming a clinical therapist or some kind of rehab counselor. But I'm not sure about the emotional burn out. It's kinda one of those jobs you start to suck at the minute you quit caring, but caring can suck the life out of you. It is however the only job that I can imagine waking up to everyday and not hating the hell out of it.

If I don't do that then I also may enjoy sound kinda web development, or maybe something do to with computer graphics. But I see less opportunity for career advancement in those. I'd prob just study those to make my hobbies more enjoyable.

So my three main ideas vary a lot. Hence why I said I lack direction. It's either something is counselling, business, or graphics/web.

1.	I need to fact check this.
2.	Not that big of a deal

[ParkingPlaces]

Hey, I'm over 60 and I still don't know what I want to do with my life. That's what happens when you can't make up your mind.

If you like computer graphics, you might start looking at 3D work. Because the next big wave in the computer world will be 3D printing, and people will want to hire folks who know how to do the 3D drawings required to print stuff in 3D. And that is going to be big. No, I'm wrong. It's going to be huge!

Also, if you like computer graphics, knowing how to turn 3D drawings into photorealistic renderings is an art form, and it can all be done with free programs. Even if the computer stuff isn't your main job, it can be a lucrative second career.

The best kept secret to life? Get good at something, and you'll enjoy doing it almost no matter what it is. Later in life I actually got pretty good at something construction related, and I did enjoy doing it. Even though it was boring and tedious. But it was something  most people did poorly, so I was very appreciated. That's always nice.

The part where I ruined my knees running up and down ladders all day: not so much.

So probably the advice I'm most qualified to give is  "Stay away from construction work".

[Traveler]

Hey, I'm over 60 and I still don't know what I want to do with my life. That's what happens when you can't make up your mind...

LOL! I just turned 55 and I'm in exactly the same boat. If I could only make up my mind, I could commit 100% to something, and then I could be as successful at that as I was at computers. Right now I'm an artist, but although I love it, I don't feel that I'm putting my whole effort into it because I keep getting distracted by other ideas. Sometimes creativity is not a good thing. Too many ideas to settle down.