My $1700 tax return is coming at just the right time. The perfect amount too--just exactly enough to cover the cost of the 2 week trip in England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales. Spectacular! I'm nervous about the meeting on February 12 to get biometics taken in Naperville for my visa. I still don't quite understand the process; is this meeting when I get approved/denied or am I only getting my fingerprints and eyeball scanned? I know that I have to send everything to the British Consulate in Chicago after I'm done, but I'm not sure what that means. Will they then approve/deny me? My feeling is once I send everything in, I will get approved/denied. So if that's the case, I guess I'll have the visa by the end of February. There's no reason I wouldn't be approved, I know that. But it's still nerve-racking! Still not in the mood to do homework. As if I ever am, but I just really cannot get motivated to do work. It's probably because the content i
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I'm wondering what the heck is up with all of my health problems lately. I mean, none of them are serious enough probably to even be considered "problems," but they bug me enough to need to do something about them and it's annoying. I feel like in the past two years I've gotten to be like 40 years old or something. I hope this isn't a taste of aging disgracefully. :(
So the date is set. FINALLY. Pam, Paul, Peggy, and I (possibly also Donna and Wally) will be going on the 16-day trip of a lifetime together beginning on July 10. It is very exciting! I've begun looking for accommodation in Cambridge and it might actually be a challenge. I'm hoping this Link House Trust will work out--it's a house (two, actually) for international graduate students in Cambridge. It sounds like the minimum stay is 2 months (perfect), but I'm unsure given the lingo. It might more of a long-term thing. I have an email out to them, but haven't heard back yet. There is also a house on Stanley Road that I'm interested in that is right across from the River Cam. The landlady of the one house that looked to be so perfect wants someone with a 3+ month let. I'm sure more places will open up as time progresses, but we all know that I like to have things planned out well in advance! I sent my background check out on Monday and am in the middle of th
I am so incredibly saddened by the devastating earthquake in Haiti. I think I have the best intentions to try to help, for what it's worth... which, really it's only worth about $25 or $50. But at least it's something, I guess. I try to think about what it's like down there as much as possible. Not that thinking helps anything. And then that's where I get frustrated. So, I'm thinking about how terrible the situation is. I'm empathizing with people I don't know and never will know, but care about because we are fellow humans and it could very easily be me in their situation. I love them and I have their best interests at heart. I wish them well. I think them well. I pray them well, in whatever way I "pray." I wish I could do more and it makes me feel selfish that I can't, don't, won't. What can I do besides give money and think them well? Nothing. Or at least it feels like it.
I really hope this week produces something. I hope that by Friday I can say, "I am going to the University of Cambridge to work in the Disability Resource Center from May 24-July 9 and I will be working on benchmarking for international students with disabilities. And then I will leave for a two week trip in England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales with family friends from July 11-25. And then I'll be coming home!" That would be nice. This week starts class up again. I'm not quite ready. This time I've realized that I'm ready to be done with grad school, minus the practical experiences. My internships, practicums, and graduate assistantships will be very important, but I'm so over writing huge papers and worrying about class presentations. Perhaps I'll feel differently when it's my full-time job to do so and not in addition to my full-time job. I do love learning and enjoy class time. By the looks of the syllabus, this class will be a little bit les
I feel as though I want to make some very elaborate New Year's resolutions, but I know that's silly. There are a lot of things that I want to continue to change about myself and consider throughout the next year. I know 2010 will be filled with adventure and new experiences that will require me to step out of my comfort zone in order to do what I want to do and become the person I want to become. My obsessive-compulsive tendencies tell me to make a list about my personal growth goals, but I realize how stupid that is. I just need to make a conscious effort to reflect and record it, whatever it may be because I'm not even sure if I know. Happy 2010! Good things will happen this year. I've been looking forward to it for a long time.