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A continuation of my journal "Almost Angelic" |
| Welcome to my life! The ups and downs, ins and outs, tos and fros. Its a crazy ride...hang on! |
| Here's how to make a mess of your taxes... 1)Be under the age of 25 and single, making you independent. 2)Be a student, making you dependent. 3)Make sure just over half the money you receive in the year is from wages, etc., making you independent. 4)Have two legal addresses, your parents' and your apartment, making you both dependent AND idependent. 5)Cash out a retirement fund, for which the state and federal government can't decide how to classify. 6)Try to complete your taxes early, so you can apply for financial aide. So in the end (I think) I'm considered independent but still living in my parent's home, though not a member of their household.  But wait, my financial joys continue. My next step is to apply for financial aide. It should be simple, right? No, no. Let me show you how THAT is complicated.1)I will be 25 before August 1, 2007(just barely) and so am independent. 2)I'm also unmarried, making me independent. 3)Because of my independent status I am the head of my household and because I have no dependents I am the only member of my household. 4)But, I'm going to medical school and if you want Perkins loans(which I not only want but will absolutely NEED) you HAVE to fill out your parents information. 5)Since I am filling out my parent's information I am required to state that I am a member of THEIR household. Conflicts a little with the requirements from #3, huh? 6)My parents file late(as in 6 months from now) because the nature of their practices is such that they won't have all their income for 2006 available until early Spring. (Yay for being an independent business owner!) 7)Loans are dispersed on a first come, first serve basis, but all applications must be in within 3 months from now. 8)My parent's infomration will be used to process my loan information despite the fact that I will be receiving no money from them. My parents make some serious money. I, however, have been unemployed since May, and will continue to be unemployed until I graduate...in 2011. The upshot of it is that I will probably still be able to get all the loans that I want. But I may get fewer subsidized loans because of my parents, which is a bad, bad thing. Also I forsee big arguments around this time each year. My parents always get loud when talking about tax returns and only calm down once their normal extension comes through. This year, and the next three for that matter, I will have to force them to do at least a rough estimate of their taxes waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay ealier than normal. Result? Arguments. Fun. The weird thing about financial aide is that there is a maximum amount of money you can get including all loans, scholarships, grants, and fellowships. It boils down to about $38,500 which covers tuition and fees and also works out to about $1300 a month in living expenses. So the thing to do is to get the maximium amount of loans by being early and then as you receive scholarships the loan amounts will automatically decrease. There are merit scholarships available. First year its based on MCAT scores and after that its based on GPA. Talk about a motivation to be in the top quartile! Lord, I'm so confused. I just want money so I can go to school and not starve to death. GoCartCherub ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
| CNN is doing a series on the "Face of America" in honor of Black History Month. Today's segment was on the "new" face of Black leadership. They mentioned well known figures such as Barak Obama, but then went on to feature other, less well known, public figures. Mayors, governors, legislators, men, and women. Imagine my suprise to look up and see Artur Davis, Alabama's 7th District Representative, my Congressman, and former supervisor. Congressman Davis is not an exciting speaker, but he is a captivating one. He's incredibly intelligent and thoughtful, and really knows and understands healthcare issues. That skill alone is extremely rare in politicians. In short, Cong. Davis is a very positive figure in Alabama and the nation. It was so refreshing to have Alabama represented in the media in a positive light. I get so sick of the media slant on Alabama. We have our problems but at least our economy is growing, unlike some supposedly enlightend parts of the country. I think that was the first positive national story I've seen about Alabama in years. It was so refreshing. May there be many more.  GoCartCherub ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
| I, like every sane person, hate filing my taxes. Honestly, its remarkable that anyone is able to makes heads or tails of those forms. I've got a college degree, almost a Master's in a statistics heavy field, and score well on all standardized tests regarding math. And I'm still confused enough to have a bad headache right now. Of course I have the fun of being employed for only part of the year, cashing out a retirement fund, and being a student to complicate my forms. But I still don't understand why everything must be so convoluted and each form is seperate etc. etc. etc. *sigh* I hate being a grownup. But at least my taxes for 2007 will be easy. No income, lots of student loans, and single. So...nothing! On an even sadder note. One of my friends from home called me. Her father-in-law is in the hospital here in the 'Ham with a heart so bad they're looking at doing a transplant.  One artery is completely blocked, 2 are 90% blocked, and they don't think he'd survive a bypass surgery. I'm going to try and get over there Thursday morning and they'll be in town this weekend so I'll catch up with the whole family then. I don't think Pearle and Larry would appreciate flowers but they might enjoy some board games, books, or even a deck of cards. Any suggestions?GoCartCherub ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
What an interesting weekend. I didn't get my FAFSA stuff done, because I didn't get my taxes done. But I was molested by several Drag Queens, danced up a storm, and learned a new dance move from a movie.  I went to a club Friday night to help "screen" a potential boyfriend. The potential's name, by the way, is Shannon, which is so NOT a boy's name. But I digress. We get to the bar at around 9:30 and do the whole "getting to know you" bit, which went reasonably well, no social lubricant needed. There was some stalkerish behavior from some guy that was as high as a kite, but otherwise we enjoyed our conversation. At 11:30 the Drag Show started in the back so we went and grabbed some seats along the dance floor. The show was only mildly interesting, the real action was watching the audience. People were mesmerized. Eyes glazed over, mouths dangling open, hands clenched in anticipation... And then there was the tipping. The most generous tipper was this man who came to my shoulder and was wider than he is tall, with copious amounts of eyeliner, and a butt crack in the front. *shudders* The tippers, generally, get the most attention, for obvious reasons. But I, apparently, screamed "Drag Bait".  Every single one of them came over and touched me at one point. *raises eyebrow* Without ever handing out a single tip. Heck, Shannon tipped one of them and she sat in my lap instead. We even moved so that I wasn't on the end anymore, and they still preferentially came to me. If I were a lesbian it would have been a dream come true. After the fifth one, however, it just became boring. This was, of course, hilarious to everyone else. Even more remarkable is that it wasn't like I was screaming "come molest me" with my clothes. I had on jeans, heels, and a black sweater, with minimal makeup. This WAS a "screening" afterall. The only thing we could figure out afterwards is that they must have liked my hair. I think I was the only natural blonde in the entire club. And I did put the hair up halfway through the show, but by that time they'd already marked me. So, the lesson of the day is, don't go to a Drag Show with loose, long, blonde, curly hair. Saturday I went to see Music & Lyrics which was actually quite sweet. Hugh Grant has aged in a bad way though. He plays a washed up '80s pop star, and is the "older man". You can probably figure out the plot just from the previews, but its sweet nonetheless. Possibly the best moments in the movie are from the opening and closing credits and various cuts where they show the music video from Grant's group, POP!. And of course there is POP!'s signature move which results in (eventual) hip replacement surgery for all but one of the original five members of the group. The movie also does an excellent job of mocking the music industry's idolization of teen queens with more hip shaking ability than musical talent.  It's light, its sweet, and it won't make you feel dirty. I'd say it appeals more to those of us who can remember the '80s, be it ever so minimally. Now...I have this strange craving to listen to some Jefferson Starship... GoCartCherub ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
| My major activity this Valentine's Day was, sadly, an exam in my Alcohol & Drug Abuse Class. (Which is a great class, by the way- everything you know about substance abuse is wrong!) Well I hadn't really prepared for this exam because of a test the day before. *sigh* So I'm sitting in the School of Public Health Lounge with my papers spread before me on the table. I'm not panicking, but I'm certainly not happy, especially with a vending machine honey bun as my only lunch for the day. (Another story.) Eww. Enter Sexual Health Awareness Peer Educators(SHAPE) with a little shopping cart of joy. They stop before my table and I am showered with condoms. Weeeeeell, suddenly my Valentine's Day is complete. Not only are the packages red, but the condoms are lubricated and ribbed for MY pleasure. Not only that but it prevents venereal disease! It gives a whole new meaning to the term "V-Day". GoCartCherub ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
| My favorite part of a cocktail is the cherry, or olive, as the case may be. It's a shame really that you have to go through the trouble of drinking the vodka(or whatever) to get to the prize. Although I am a fan of the martini. I've decided to purchase a martini shaker, just so I can feel like a true alcoholic. Maybe its my way of playing at being a grown up. Or maybe I just want an excuse to eat olives and cherries.Maybe I should get a bottle of each instead of the martini shaker. Maybe. GoCartCherub ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
| The best part of knowing where I'm going in July is being able to plan what I'm doing in May. The first few days of May will be taken up with finals. On the 4th I will attend the hooding ceremony and on the 5th I officially graduate, although I haven't decided if I'm going to that ceremony. If I decide to move(unlikely) it will be within a week, as my lease ends on May 12th. Then comes the fun stuff. I'm converting my ticket to Kansas city for next week's, now cancelled, interview into a ticket to Chicago. I'm flying up on May 17th to meet with my friend Erin, whose husband(conveniently) will be out of town that weekend. I'll stay with her until May 21st or 22nd. I will take an outbound trip from Chicago...to Europe! Right now I'm planning on flying to London and spending time there. Since (at this time) I'm planning on going alone I'm going to stay at a hostel. We're talking cheap but fun travel here. In London I'll be hitting some of the national museums(they're free!). I haven't planned the whole time yet but I'm thinking I may do some train travel away from London. I've never traveled long distance by train, just some longer commutes, so it should be an interesting experience for me. I wanted to focus on just one or two locations instead of trying to hit everywhere at once. I'd rather get to know a place than get to see a place. Not your typical version of a European Tour, but its MY trip so I get to plan it. Anyone know somewhere/someone I should visit? After two to three weeks across the Pond I'll be heading back to Chicago. Depending on how connecting flights line up I may get to meet up with Erin and Kevin(her hubby) for a day or two(or maybe just a night), and then its back to the 'Ham at the beggining of June. Of course June and July will be spent renovating the apartment, doing some prepatory studying for med school, and enjoying my last vacation until I'm 32. It will be the first(and last) summer since I turned 16 that I am not in school or employed.  This trip has been three years in the making. For my college graduation my parents gave me $2500 towards travel. This will be my first opportunity to use it since I haven't had more than a few days free at any time since I graduated in 2004. Plane tickets(right now) look to be $750-$800 so I'm assuming an even $1000 for plane travel. That leaves me $1500 for room, board, internal travel, and purchases. Stretched over 2 weeks or more I'll have to plan carefully, but I think with careful planning I can do it. So, anyone have any experience with traveling cheap in Europe? How about hostel stays? Or anything I absolutely must see or do? GoCartCherub ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
| When I was a kid I hated it when my parents turned the news on. If Mom or Dad was home at 5:30 they were sure to turn the tv to the news. Josh and I innevitably whined and whined and whined. I mean why would anyone want to bore themselves like that, and on a daily basis? And now, to my horror, I am just as stodgy as my parents. I listen to NPR in the car, I watch CNN at the gym, and every evening I watch the news while I cook dinner and then again while I get ready for bed. And not only that I go to CNN and BBC several times during the day, just to check. When did I become a news junkie? Why did I become a news junkie? And more importantly, when did I become my parents and how do I stop????? GoCartCherub ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
| I always knew Navy men were fast, I just didn't know how fast. Today I received a package from the Navy with a letter congratulating me on my Med School acceptance and giving me info about scholarship monies available. They also included a scrub cap with the word "NAVY" across the front. They give you $180,000 four four years. Given that my costs will be about $120,000 that would be an income of $15,000 a year. Which is huge for a med student. Of course it also means you're an indentured servant for several years, and would delay any other career I would consider. So while it's nice to imagine I think I will not be taking advantage of their offer, although I do appreciate the surgery cap...which I won't use for years. Heck, I'll even let them send me their DVD, but with the Dems in power student loan rates will be decreased, which is HUGE for me. I'm going to be SO poor for the next 10 years or so.  That's it, I'm taking up a collection. Want to donate to my education fund?GoCartCherub ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
I have an Embryology exam this Tuesday and so am up to my elbows in sperm, ova, and embryos. I can't tell you how many times I've written "sperm" today. No normal person should do this. Of course the studying should have been done yesterday but my med school acceptance has seemed to bring on a bout of procrastination. It did help cure me of my insomnia though, so its not a total wash.  The interesting thing about embryology, besides continuous sperm talk is the weird notions it gives you about sex and baby making. For example about 100,000,000 sperm are formed a day in human men. An ejaculation contains about 200,000,000 sperm of which approximately 200 reach an ovum and only one fertilizes the egg. From this the logical conclusion is that men should have sex every other day. What is kind of weird and squicky is that our thourougly unnatractive and unsexable professor exudes a sense of judgement if a man is having sex either more or less than every other day. Of course he also seems to judge us women. Women are born with all the eggs they'll ever have and only about 400 are ovulated in a lifetime. The interesting thing about eggs is that you start with a stem cell and through meiosis you get one ovum rather than the expected four. Of course unless you hit puberty all your eggs are arrested before the first cell division, and if you never get have an egg fertilized your eggs never go through the second division to create a mature ovum. That's right, the signal to finish maturing is fertilization. Weird, right? What's weirder is that the professor harps on this point, suggesting that I'm not a true female because I have yet to produce a mature ovum, by virtue of never being pregnant. Embryologists are weird. Its fascinating stuff, but the people are weird. I mean I've never met a group so obsessed with sodium and calcium ions. And of course the constant suggestion that you aren't fufilling your role as a human being if you're not reproducing right now is just a bit creepy. Alright, time to stop procrastinating. On the test, not the reproducing thing. I work hard at not reproducing, especially right now. Heck I won't even be out of school until about a month before my 29th birthday. Damn that will be 25 years of education I'll have under my belt. Talk about procratinating! I'll have the longest adolescence ever! Good thing both sides of my families have long generation times. Both my grandmothers were in their mid-30s before having kids and my mom was "young" at 29 and a half when she had my brother. Here's to putting off childbirth! *raises a stack of embryology notes* Okay, really now, I'm back to studying. GoCartCherub ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
| One of my best memories is the official med school acceptance letter coming in the mail...for my roommate Nina. Spring had finally come to Chicago and I was enjoying the pleasant weather. I returned to my apartment after a long day of classes and work, prepared for the weekend, and checked the mail. We only had one mail key so we switched every month and this just happened to be my month. Well squeezed into our very small mailbox was a large envelope with a Drexel Medical School return address. I glanced at the address window and realized the letter had slipped in the envelope and could read the words "Congratulations!" I nearly broke my key off in the box as I slammed it shut and raced my way up the stairs to our apartment. I burst through the door calling Nina's name and found her cleaning our front room while talking on the phone. I thrust the envelope in her hand and, after a brief moment of confusion, she ripped it open to reveal the letter in toto. She started shrieking and hopping up and down while we hugged. She hung up with her(now informed) friend and called her parents. We had a repeat performance of the shrieking with a few happy tears thrown in. It was a very happy afternoon. That evening Nina and I went to seperate parties for different organizations, but the next evening we cooked dinner together and talked about the future. Her future. The euphoria and optimism was such that you could drown in it. Its funny that one of my best memories isn't even really my memory, its Nina's memory. She told me later that when I burst through the door shouting her name I sounded like her mom when she's angry. Until I gave her the mail Nina though she was in trouble. Its a memory that I still cherish because of the pure happiness in those moments, happiness that had nothing to do with me, but happy all the same. GoCartCherub ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
| Yesterday I sent out a few e-mails and phone calls telling former mentors, friends, family, and rec letter writers about my med school acceptance. The general composition of the e-mails was something like "I wanted to let you know...Thanks for all your help..." So, it was fairly generic. Predictably people responded with various forms of congratulations and good luck. My former place of work even sent out an announcement to the entire committee(200+ people) telling everyone. I received a dozen e-mails in 30 minutes congratulating me. Its all a bit ego inflating and heartwarming to say the least. YOu never realize how many friends you have until they descend upon you in force! If people keep this up my head might not fit through the door and I'll be trapped in this apartment forever! What's been amazing and rather unexpected have been the plethora of kind words people have said. Its not the generic words, but specific praise. Delightful, but suprising. I like to think of myself as a kind and competent person that people think well of. I think a lot of us like to be well thought of by our peers and colleagues. And so long as nothing goes horribly wrong we just assume that its true, but rarely are we affirmed in that. Right now I have affirmation coming out the wazoo. Its fantastic, but only because it is so rare. Seriously, with all the nice things people have said I would grow an ego the size of a small state. I'm one of those people that could practically live off of praise. I tend to replay praise, real praise, in my head over and over and over. Not because I need my ego stroked, but because it makes me feel loved, cherished, appreciated, wanted. Its funny what strange things we need in order to feel loved. A few years ago I joked that the reason I pursued higher education was the constant evaluations you're given, and the opportunity that presents for praise. It puts you at the risk for rejection, but the risk is worth the rewards. The last few days have been heady days for me. Which is why its probably a good thing that stuff like this doesn't happen very frequently. But its such an amazing feeling to get an e-mail or phone call from someone you love and respect and have them tell you exactly why they love and respect you right back. GoCartCherub ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
| You know when you were a kid and you would throw any old paint down, call it art, and post it (proudly) on the refrigerator. When you were a little older you'd have a great spelling test posted. And older still the fridge was taken over with important notices, like the cat needs to be taken to the vet. Well, its been years since I had anything to display on the fridge, until Wednesday. That silly e-mail that I printed at the spur of the moment is currently in a very central location on my parent's fridge. And for some strange reason I am innordinatly proud of that printed piece of paper. I'm not even there to see it, but I'm pretty happy about it being there. I'll let them take it down in a week or two but for now it's helping to ground me in the reality of my life. For now I'm still floating on (more) champagne bubbles. GoCartCherub ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
| I ran out of my apartment in a bit of a hurry, managing to forget pajamas, but not my computer. These are my priorities. In the car I did something I never do...I started calling people. In rush hour traffic.  Apparently I wanted to kill myself before I even started med school! I did call my Dad, oh so casually, who mentioned that he was at church. I (using my excellent acting skills) asked him oh-so-innocently when activities would be finished and promised to call him then. After driving and chattering I got close to home(and my parent's church) and called Dad again since activities had ended 15 or so minutes earlier. Shocker of all shockers he was still at church so I told him to finish up and I'd call him in 15 or so minutes.I lied. I walked through the doors of the church 5 minutes later with my acceptance e-mail printed out and in my hand. My normally unflappable dad saw me and started chuckling when I told him "I got too impatient to wait 15 minutes." After a brief hug I showed him my letter which he read approximately two lines of before there were many hugs and "Wonderful!"s and "I'm so proud of you!" After he let go he then turned to every single person around him(most of him I've never seen, let alone met) and told them "My daughter got into medical school!" Next I ran into my mother's business partner, Susan, who had written me a letter of recommendation. I told her the good news and let her read the letter. At which point there were more hugs, some tears of joy, and some very heartfelt words of encouragement. Which I will keep to myself as precious. Thus proceeds about 20 more minutes of running into friends, telling them my news, and being hugged, congratulated, and questioned. Talk about an ego boost!I headed home where Dad was waiting, under a strict code of silence. While waiting for Mom to show up I ate some pasta since I'd completely forgotten about food and opened a bottle of wine. Mom showed up and I greeted her at the door with a glass of wine and my letter. At which point she screamed. Shrieked, actually. Her voice is still hoarse because of it. We all sat down to toast with the wine and talk and talk and talk. Mom then made a few calls to her other partners(their normal baby/hospital finaglings) and she took every opportunity to tell them about my news. We were then invited out by two of her partners(who happened to be at dinner already) for dessert. We got there(more hugs) and were presented with not only caramel cheesecake(drool) but a bottle of champagne. Another toast! And I was a bit toasted... Three glasses of wine and only minimal food over the last seven hours left me pleasantly buzzed. Time to come back to the parental home and collapse into bed! I haven't stopped moving since 5:17pm, when I opened my e-mail! And of course through all of these hugs and seeing friends I haven't seen in months and going to upscale restaraunts I am dressed in my University of Chicago hoodie, jeans, minimal make up, and my hair is in some kind of weird not that is vaguely damp from my morning shower. I couldn't go crazy on one of my polished looking days now could I? GoCartCherub ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
| I just checked my e-mail. And that decision that might have been made last Thursday after my interview and should have been told to me on Monday. Well apparently they're just a bit slow on the uptake... Behold! February 7, 2007 Congratulations! You are accepted to matriculate in the Regular MD Program for the 2007 University of Alabama School of Medicine entering class. We will mail your official letter of acceptance as soon as we are able to make a campus assignment. Please be patient as this may require up to four weeks from the time of this email. No deposit is required at this time. You will have two weeks to complete the Acceptance Offer of Admissions and submit a deposit to reserve your place in the class after you receive the letter containing your campus assignment. Remember to make sure you meet all the requirements as outlined in our Guidelines for the Admissions Process and please keep your contact information current with AMCAS. For your information: A required orientation will be held in late July. Details on orientation and matriculation will be available on your Class Web Page at: www.uab.edu/uasom/2011 soon. Please contact me if you need to discuss any aspect of your acceptance. On Behalf of the Admissions Committee, Nathan B. Smith, M.D. Assistant Dean for Admissions OMG! OMG! OMG! I'm gonna be a doctor!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! *breathes* !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm going to do an impromptu visit home to tell Mom & Dad in person. GoCartCherub ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
| This month I've had serious stamp shortage problems. I can't seem to keep them around. I've just run into another one. I have 4 thank you notes to send out and no stamps to send them. *sigh* Off to the post office...again. As for thank you notes...am I the only one who feels stupid sending them? Especially after an interview. And its so formulaic. "Thank you for... I enjoyed our talk about... I hope to meet again...Sincerely" And I hate that following the formula really is the best way to write those notes. Otherwise you just spend hours looking at a blank card wondering what the hell to write. I only had trouble with one of them since I didn't want to write "thanks for letting me talk about my family and my experiences and my hopes and my desire to practice medicine." Instead I pseudo quoted her and thanked her for giving the opprotunity to share my "journey to medical school". So cheesy. The real problem with thank you cards is that there isn't enough room to really say something intelligent or witty or charming. I hope the mere fact that I sent a thank you card says all those things for me. Time to get envelope paste aftertaste out of my mouth.  GoCartCherub ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
| The thing I really hate about applications is the sense of helplessness. You do everything you can to encourage people that you're the one they want but, in the end, you just have to sit back and wait. I had waiting issues this weekend. I was fairly well distracted Friday evening. But Saturday, Sunday, and Monday I was literally obsessed. I checked my applications obsessively. I actually skipped my class on Monday in case I got an important e-mail. No such luck. I'm being stupid and I know it. Fortunatly I seem to be doing better this morning. I got up and reorganized my office, and am obsessively cleaning. I suppose its my way of exerting control in my life, but if its the only thing I can control then I'm taking full advantage of it. And if alphabatizing my DVDs does that, then who am I to argue? I think I may have deep, deep psychological problems. GoCartCherub ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
| I knew they were the underdogs, but I was really hoping "Da Bears" would get a win tonight. I know a whole bunch of people tonight from school that will be in mourning tomorrow. I really had some high hopes after that initial Bears touchdown just seconds into the game. Ah well, at least I enjoyed my beer tonight. I don't know what it is, but I can only enjoy beer really in a sports related atmosphere. Since I watch two football games a year(when in Alabama you MUST watch the Iron Bowl) and the World Series(usually) that amounts to a very very small amount of beer. Speaking of Da Bears I really need to get my own personal copy of "The Blues Brothers". I know consider myself On a Mission From God to obtain that movie. GoCartCherub ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
| Last night was serious fun, but a strange evening all together. First we began with cocktails and sushi at a local restaurant. THe food and drink was excellent, but it was some of the worst service I've ever had. One of our drink orders never came, we didn't get water refills, two of the three appetizers came- with the dinner, and the third never made it to us. So needless to say that the waitress was lucky to get the 12% tip we left. Extremely lucky. After dinner we headed to the Alabama Symphony Orchestra to listen to Verdi's Requiem. Overall it was quite good, the choir was in fact excellent. BUt the soloists left much to be desired. The alto was flat for most of it. YOu would think with so many people and intruments on pitch around her she could fix it, but nooooo. The tenor was quite good, and the soprano was nice. After that we went to a club...a gay club. This weekend is the Apollo Ball, which is the Draq Queen beauty contest. So we went to the bar ffor the Drag Show, since they had a bunch of "special quests" this weekend. It was interesting, to say the least. Think of a stip show, but without the removal of clothing. The "ladies" had fairly feminine figures, but their faces were just wrong. Of course stage makeup that close never looks good. Needless to say it was an interesting evening. GoCartCherub ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
| Last night I had a dream. Not a suprising one given my day yesterday, but I hate that I let myself get wound up like this. I suppose its natural, but it just means I'll be even more dissapointed than ever on Monday. The dream: Its Monday. I check my e-mail and UAB has e-mailed me and I've been accepted to their Medical School! After a quick stop at the bookstore to pick up a UAB Med School static sticker(for your car) I drive the hour and a half home. I go to my Mom's office and suprise her with the sticker, proudly announcing my acceptance. I then head home and make the same announcement to my dad. Gee, go ahead and try and interpret that dream. I can't imagine what that dream means... Like I said, its not good for my sanity to have dreams like this. Of course if it happens to come true I will totally do it. How often do we literally get a chance to live out our dreams? GoCartCherub ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
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