Advice for the would be grad student

Do as I say, not as I do.

Get started early. Even if you feel, as I did, that there is some task you must accomplish before you can be sure of grad school as your path, start early. Get your transcripts in october or november at the absolute latest. Start asking for letters of recommendation before november. Get everything prepared, send it, and check with the school to make sure they got it (that I am doing). Make sure that there is enough time such that if they did not get it all, you have time to get it to them before the deadline. In general, be pro- not re- active. And it doesn’t hurt to prepare everything you can as early as you can.

This is close to beating myself up, but not quite there. I may well apply to grad school in the future, and I hope I remember these suggestions. And the mindset in general.

Funkity funk funk

Well, the good news is that the recommendations finally got mailed out (today, after the 20thish email asking what was up with them), and should be here tomorrow. Yay FedEx.

The bad news is, I’m still in a funk. My digestive system hates me. My wrist’s tendons (or maybe it’s ligaments) have told me that no way is gymnastics continuing at this point. But, really, I think what I’m depressed about is Dean stopping the active campaigning. Well, that and other things. It’s like so much is resolving itself around me. I’m going to keep working on this project for the next couple months. I’m going to go to grad school, probably somewhere in the midwest, next fall. I’m going to start gymnastics again in a month to a month and a half. I’m going to vote for Kerry in November.

None of this is bad, it’s just all so… pre-determined. And wait-y. Also not looking forward to albuquerque next week. But, hey, lots of hours, and at +$10/hour, so can’t complain about that too much. =) Plus, if I do end up in hyde park, I could live off my freaking security deposit from here for a month or two. Literally. Doesn’t that put bay area housing prices in perspective.

I need to hang with people. It’d be nice if they were people I could reasonably expect to see on an ongoing basis for the next few years. If only I knew where I’ll be.

Rage at the hub

So, I sent in my transcript request stuff about a month ago. My check was cashed about 3 weeks ago. I have recieved no word of any sort from anyone associated with the hub since then. I called them up this morning to find out what the deal was, and they quite happily told me that I have an outstanding balance of about $1700. Say what? Well, apparently, I’ve been collecting $18 in monthly fees on a balance from June of ’02 which they also failed to inform me of. And where did that balance come from? Gee, can’t tell me? (lay you 10 to 1 that it’s from a complete failure on their part to handle my staff tuition benefit paperwork, because they’ve never fucked that up before, nope, not like half the times I used it, certainly not). Who do I talk to about this? Oh, sorry, she’s not in. Why don’t you send her an email?

The email

Should have been entries

I am seriously backlogged.

David and Matt’s marriage. Including pics (which I’ve downloaded, but not cropped/cleaned up, like at all). End of crush, and release of pent up sexual energy, work starting to take 3/4 time. Possible raise. Ambiguous continuation of work, with possible raise (did I mention raise?). Rejection by cornell. Still waiting on transcripts, and single recommender. Pinch recommender, and engineering recommendations that no sane person ought to ask for. Spring Carnival and the Booty Shaker Scholarship. Working on Saturday?!? ‘s housewarming. And on Sunday?!? Meeting and . (Yay!) Winetasting. I am indeed a lightweight, and I don’t like wine. But the company was good. Monday, work, cooking, eating to the point of no more food fit in belly. Tremendous rpg wankage to Arcana Unearthed.

Oh yeah. Talked with my dad. Had one of those “do you remember this” moments with him. In discussing gay marriage and related topics, he asked me “do you remember telling me ‘If it were a choice, do you think I would have chosen this?'” re: my sexuality? It’s certainly something I _would_ have said. And I believe I _did_ say it at some point. I don’t think I would honestly say it anymore, at least, not without some major caveats. And I definitely don’t remember saying it. I felt kinda bad, because it was clearly something important to my dad, and yet it was garbage collected long ago from my brain. Ah well.

In discussing my paper writing anxiety, my dad asked if I kept a journal. And I told him about this. Hrm…. To ‘tidy up before the parents arrive’ or not. I think not. I am who I am.

Today, I will contact the hub and ask where the fuck my transcripts are. Hello, you cashed my checks three weeks ago. I am not in the middle of siberia. I need those transcripts now. Then work. And I’m going to go to gymnastics tonight, dammit. But first, breakfast.