Bill's book is officially in our hands . It was pretty exciting to get the copies in the mail and see all of the hard work that we did in print. Kind of weird, but really cool.
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Well, I guess it's actually happening that my brother is moving to Nevada with his girlfriend. They're leaving tomorrow to start the drive and he just came to say goodbye to Dad and me. It's pretty sad. I couldn't believe it until I saw it, but now I've seen it. It's very strange to think that in the future I can only see him if I plan it well in advance and get on a plane to get there. With all of the shit that has happened in the past two years for him, this really seems like the culmination of change. It could go either way--extremely good or extremely bad. I hope it turns him around; I hope they're able to work on their relationship in a healthy way and I hope he's able to get a decent job and start to rebuild his life legitimately. He can always come back if it doesn't work out. I was surprised how emotional I got when he was walking out the door. It's not like we hung out all the time, but it's just knowing that he's not within
Christmas is in two days. It doesn't feel like it at all. It's raining heavily today. I wish it were colder so that this would all be snow. I really just kind of want tomorrow to be overwith so that I can be with my family on Christmas. Tomorrow I'm meeting the girls to eat lunch, but really what I'm not looking forward to at all is going to Philip's parents' house. Under normal circumstances, I think I would be excited about it but after the phone call from his mom about switching the gathering date/time with his family, I have a bad taste in my mouth. It basically turned into a nonissue even though it started out as a major issue, and I'm still confused by that. (Though I may have turned it into more of an issue than it actually was to begin with... but not in vain. I was feeling the effects of the issue months ago and then it all came to head with the phone call.) I think I'll always feel like the bad guy here while at the same time feeling like I h
Well, GOOD news (mostly)! I was offered an internship at the University of Liverpool with the Centre for Lifelong Learning! My huge excitement was quickly shot down by the realization that I'll need a visa. Obtaining one is a terrible pain in the ass. All day on Friday at work I was researching information on what I'll need and it is a TON of very confusing hoops to jump through. My concern was doubled when the person who will be my supervisor (Tricia) says that two interns in the past were denied their visas and had to come a month late. (I'm assuming they were able to come after they appealed the denial and were then granted.) The thing that is so urk-some to me is that Heather did not need a visa when she interned at Cambridge. Granted, that was a few years ago and I'm sure regulations have changed since then. Currently there are about seven different types of visas and I probably fall into one of two categories--student or worker. My confusion lies in that I feel
Sometimes I wonder if I'm setting myself up for a very lonely life. At Thanksgiving, my aunt said that my cousin Adam was concerned about what the holidays are going to be like once my dad and my aunt and uncle are gone. She brought it up in a way that made it seem as though, since I'm the only girl in our family, that I should be the one to continue our traditions and get-togethers. I've wondered the same thing myself, though. Really it will only be the three of us--my brother, my cousin, and I and whatever family we've made for ourselves by then. My feeling is that, if we're still close, that we'll still get together at the holidays. You make time and room in your life for the people you're close to. Beyond that, if I'm not planning on getting married or having kids, what will I have besides my family? And when my family is gone or when I no longer have much in common with them, who will I have then? In this way, I feel like I've slightly damne
Sending off these care packages to my soldiers before Christmas has been a pain in the ass. I know once I've done it the first time that I'll know how to do it for next time, but it's a lot of hoops to jump through. It's been quite expensive too, because I want to make it worth my while. I think I've spent close to $75 for each one, and it's $12 to send the package. I mean, it's my choice to buy whatever and put it in there--I want them to be excited about it, so I don't want it to be crappy. I think I'll only be able to do that once every 3 or 4 months though. Sending letters should be easier, so maybe I'll do that next time instead. Anyhow, I now have to go to the post office to weigh each individual item for customs. (I have 19 items per box.) I'm just scared of doing something wrong and then all of that money and time will be wasted. I also hope that it actually does get there on or before Christmas, though nothing inside of it is super-C
Finally an email back from the DRC. Pretty brief, though--just to say that he's waiting to hear back from HR about next steps, I'm assuming for filing paperwork for me to get payment of some type. I'm sure he knows what he's doing, but I wish we could talk about dates and projects in the meantime. He did say that they would need a background check, so I'll work on that as soon as possible. At least it's still good news from them. I finally broke down and at the end of the week last week sent out a couple emails to Canterbury Christ Church University. I feel like I need to cover my bases now in case none of this works out. I do feel better/less pressure about the whole trip planning with Pam thing. I saw her over the weekend and let her know that I still don't have any information but once I do, I will let her know as soon as possible. She understands and gave me some info on what other trips she has planned for next summer, so I know now what else is going
I am at the Normal Public Library and I am surrounding by racial/ethnic minorities. (Did we ever actually assert what the difference is?) Within 20 feet of me there are two Hispanic people, two people of African descent, one person of Middle-Eastern descent, and one Asian person. I see a family of Hispanics walking toward me. It's kind of sad to say that I think the reason this has happened is because those of us with privilege don't necessarily need to use the services of a public library. That is so unfortunate. I like being the minority in a room. It really turns the tables, even though I feel no different and it makes no impact on the injustices. I like being here; I've come to realize that the library is a great resource and I intend on using it more fully in the future. It brings back such great memories for me. I hope this library always stays the same because I think if I ever move away, I will come back here and automatically be in 5th grade super excited to re
Well... Tom Levinson from Admissions emailed me back. He's concerned that they don't have a student affairs structure at Cambridge (which I knew) and that I won't have experience with the projects that will be going on in May and June (which I was wondering about too). Sigh. I think it would still be good for me to do something with assessment and planning--anything really. I tried to convey to him that it doesn't need to be overly student affairs-y. Hopefully he gets that, but at the same time, I do want to be working on a project that is relative and interesting to me. Perhaps he'll come back with project ideas in the next email or perhaps he'll just say no thanks and then I can move on. He did offer to give my information to some of his colleagues at different universities, so that might be good.
It feels so great to know that I don't have class for about 1.5 months. All that's left now is the philosophy paper, which I will be busting my butt all day today and tomorrow to finish. Everything will be okay though. Everyone else in my class has left this to the last minute too, and the good thing is that I work well under pressure. And then it's party time. Woohoo!!!!!
Life is so much better when you don't have to think about giving a presentation. I don't know why, but the older I get the more scared I become of speaking in public. The nerves started over a week ago and the past two nights I literally could not sleep because I was going over it in my head again and again. I think all day yesterday and today my heart rate was not normal. By the end of the day today my hands were already sweaty in anticipation and I swear while sitting in class waiting for my turn you could see my heart beat on my chest from across the room. The thing is, once I get going... I actually kind of like it. It's just mulling over it and waiting for it that gets me. I have been repeatedly taking deep breaths of relief since it's been over. Thank. God! In other news, I have one paper due tomorrow which is 95% done and another due on Friday which is still in the outline stage. I'm not sure how I can get 10 pages out of a philosophy, but I will try my h