Its the most wonderful time of the year...

....with the cherrys a-blossoming, the sun a-shining, there lots of good cheer......

So its been a while, yet again, since I've posted an update on all the goings on in my life. Well, not to disappoint, much has happened.

I'll give a few brief high-lights

This week, at work, a man at the front desk pulled a knife. We had to move to a lock-down status as police responded. The back story with this is that the man had been banned from the clinic and all SOME programs for allegedly breaking a window the week prior. When the front desk informed the man that he needed to leave, he became irate, and pulled the knife. It was pretty obvious that this guy was dirranged, he didn't seem like he intended on going after someone, he just pulled the knife so people would take him seriously. When I was listening in to him, he was pretty nonsensical. I'm just glad that nothing eventful (other than that the guy drew a knife) happened.

Last weekend I played in an indoor soccer tournament in New York City, in one of the most interesting tournaments I've been in yet. Each game was 12 minutes long. Count it, 12 minutes. 12 minutes of the fastest soccer you've ever seen. Subs were run every 3 minutes. That's right, you play 3 minutes then the entire side subs out, with fresh legs coming in. However, the freshness of the legs got progressively worse the more games we played. In all, we played 6 games over the course of the day, and came in 5th place out of about 20 teams, so not so bad! While in NYC I also got the chance to just blow some cash on doing something that's been on my 'bucket list' for a while. Going to the top of the Empire State Building. Makes you wonder if the people who invented the idea of a 'bucket list' aren't in on some big capitalist conspiracy. Seriously, it costs $20 MINIMUM to go to the 86th floor of the empire state building. I think it probably costs an additional $10 to go to the observation deck that's a few floors higher.... whhhhat a rip! But despite the cost, I thought it was pretty worth it. Pictures to follow!

In other news, most of the family is coming into town for the weekend, I have two soccer games lined up, and oh my gosh, I'm supposed to run 10 miles in a week for the annual Cherry Blossom 10 mile race! I'll admit, between having my wisdom teeth pulled out, semi-injuring my knee, and being a general lazy person.... I haven't gotten around to doing a whole lot of training. I'm pretty sure I'll at least be able to finish the race, in what kind of time...who knows.

Well, I'm off to bed for now, hopefully more updates coming soon!

.......its the most wonderful time... of the year!

Back in the Big Apple

This weekend was a whirlwind, if I could use one word to describe it, I couldn't. I'd need three: On the go.

Friday I made it out to go clubbing with some friends I have made in DC, which was a first for me in quite some time. It felt great to get out of the house and just let loose for an evening. I came back fairly late, after all had retired for the evening, then got up the next day and got myself packed for the weekend away.

Backpack - check
clothes - check
interview attire - check
deodorant/antiperspirant - most definitely
cash for expenses - check
computer + iPod - check
all necessary interview materials including AMCAS and thank you notes - check

I was ready to go

With that done, I got myself ready for the afternoon soccer game, which was the first one since the beginning of the season, due to our snowmagedon. It was a perfect day for soccer, sunny and brisk. I managed to fandangle a goal by shooting from beyond the penalty box, it was the only goal our team had during the game, which isn't to say we didn't have chances to score. Oh boy, did we have chances. I think about 5 shots either hit the crossbar or barely missed the net, it was a little difficult to watch. We ended up losing the game but I had a good time.

I got back home, showered, and finalized a few things before our car headed out, for the long trip to Raleigh.

It was a long ride, I'll leave it at that.

We made it, and I forgot to mention this earlier, but the reason for the trip in the first place was another one of the infamous JVC parties. We have a soft spot at the DC house, at least I do, for the Raleigh girls. They're a ton of fun and its just such a good time when they're around, plus they're just so sweet. It was great to see everyone again, well, not everyone, but a good number of people. Raleigh is the farthest south house that the JVC has in the east, and is a bit isolated because of its location. Its hard for people to make the drive out, being that just for us going from DC, the closest city, the ride took around 6 hours (partly due to traffic, but still). Thought with the people who went, we had a blast. I by no means feel like I got to know the city, I barely got to see it during the day.

While I did have a great time there, I got a healthy dose of what reality is like for a number of people in this country. Prior to this trip, I did not know many people who had been over to Iraq, or who were in the armed forces. I thought all that I needed to know about the lives of soldiers who went to Iraq came from The Hurt Locker. I was wrong. A few of us made the walk from the house to a local club and on that walk, I heard this guy's life story. For the sake of maintaining anonymity I'm leaving him nameless.

He grew up in the foster care system, never knew his parents, doesn't have anyone to call family. He struggled growing up, barely got by in school, didn't see much of a future for himself besides the army. He may have suffered abuse, been given a rough start to his life.

He joined the army. He was shipped to Iraq and described a number of horrific scenarios that I wouldn't wish upon anyone. He saw another soldier commit suicide because he couldn't take it anymore. He saw much more, and now has PTSD. He has two children at the age of 23, he divorced his wife who he married a few years ago because she cheated on him.

He asks me, why he can't seem to get a break meeting women when he tells them that he has kids. Why it seems like he can't really get anywhere. I didn't have a good response at the time, I was a bit to struck by his story to feel like I could offer any advice to him, being that I can't imagine what he's gone through. He asks me what he did wrong, where he messed up. From what he told me, I don't have an answer for him. I wish I did.

After hearing his story, it changed the tone for the rest of the evening so I headed back from the club right when I got there

Back at the house, I grabbed some blankets and a sleeping bag and slept on the floor.

The next morning, I was up pretty early. I had to catch a flight to New York City, so said my goodbyes and flew to the Big Apple, the excuse this time being another one of those medical school interviews, this one at NYMC.

After arriving and navigating the public transit from JFK International to Manhattan, I hung out with a good friend from high school, who I hadn't seen in AGES. We stopped by Columbia University, ate some amazing Gyros from a street vendor, which, despite what you may think about street vendors, was amazing and I can say that I have not had any gastrointestinal issues yet, knock on wood. We then attended an evening mass at her church, heard some of the most beautiful choral hymns I've listened to. I got goosebumps listening to them, they were that good.

I boarded the Harlem line, destination White Plains.

I arrived, was picked up by the medical student I was to stay with that night, and after picking up some much needed sustenance (Doughnuts and coffee), we drove to the campus.

I spent most of the evening watching the Oscars, then crashed on the couch.

The interview today went pretty well, I enjoyed the tour, the people, the campus. The sky was blue, the sun was out, and until I had finished my interview, I was unaware of it all. Only after, did I feel the relief.

Now, I'm on the Megabus, on my way back to DC, reflecting on my weekend. It'd been fun being on the go for the past month, but I'm getting a bit tired. Traveling is fun, and is all well and good, but after the high of meeting new people has gone, I find myself longing for the people who are back 'home.' I say 'home' because the term has changed so many times for me, as to where now I don't really associate 'home' with a physical place. Its a feeling. I have 'homes' in Washington State, Santa Clara, and now, Washington DC. In each of those places I have a network, people with whom I share a history. At each of those places, I felt (and feel) like I belonged. For better or for worse, I have many places that I call 'home.' I miss a great deal about each of the places, but mostly, I miss the people.

Like the Counting Crows say,


Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you got till it's gone
They paved paradise and put up a parkin' lot

Weekend of friends

    I write from the metro, yellow line, on the way to Greenbelt. From Greenbelt I will take the bus to BWI, then the light rail to the convention center, then will finally walk to the Hyatt Regency hotel in Baltimore. Why, you might ask, would I be making the trip to some hotel…in Baltimore? Well, its that time of year, when hundreds of EMT’s from all around the United States (primarily the east coast) congregate for the national EMS conference. We gather to network, to learn, and to party. I’m going there to meet a few good friends of mine who I spent a good amount of time with during my tenure at Santa Clara, as an EMT. The conference brings back nothing but good memories for me, the first and second years, the planner for the trip. This year I am going as a graduate, who just happens to be in the area. I’m so excited to once again see the group that meant so much to me, and still does mean a lot to me. Some of the EMT’s have already joking called me as their ‘bed mate’ but we’ll see how the sleeping arrangements shape up J. I almost feel spoiled for having such a good time these past few weeks, with the trip to Seattle last weekend, the trip to Baltimore to see the EMT’s this weekend, and next weekend I’ll be going to Raleigh for a party (to be following up with a med school interview in NY). This following picture is taken from Agua Verde in Seattle, WA on an uncharacteristically gorgeous day. 

Update: (return from B-More)

Once again, I write from public transit, as I head back to DC after spending the weekend in Baltimore. I had a blast! It was so good to see my friends who I hadn’t seen in ages (well, since last june) and to hang out a bit with them. I did attend a few lectures: Blunt Trauma, Burns, and Shooting Incident Management but did find myself passing out yesterday afternoon for a good 3 hours after taking some meds to help with my mouth pain. Oh ya, I had my wisdom teeth yanked from my mouth on Thursday. All four of them. And yes, I did it without being knocked out. Yes, I was awake for the whole thing. Yes, it sucked. Yes, I saw a lot of my own blood. Yes, I would do it again, 1: because it was cheaper, 2: because I felt like my awareness of the situation made the oral surgeon’s job a lot easier. I still am a bit swollen at this point on my left side, it seems the lower left wisdom tooth extraction was a bit more complicated than the others. For the first two days I only drank protein shakes and took pain meds every four hours, otherwise the real pain that was being masked made life pretty horrible. I hope that all the pain and swelling has resolved by next week so I don’t look like an idiot at my next interview. At least the surgeon said the procedure went well and that I should be up and ready to go in a week or so. I just find it a bit difficult to eat and to fully open my mouth. Also, I’m hesitant to move my tongue around lest it happen to find the sutures that are holding my gums together. My apologies to those of you who are squeamish.

Back to the weekend, I had a great time hanging out at the hotel, going to the aquarium, watching the hilarity of college partying that happens at these conferences, and the drama that goes along with it. I spent Friday and Saturday nights in Baltimore, sleeping on a nice ottoman (I think), it looked like a very long chair. It was actually quite comfortable, maybe I should consider one for my room…

Now as I head back to the house and get ready for the week time just seems to be slipping by so fast, before I know it I’m already doing the next thing. Who knows what the next week will bring, and hopefully I’ll be a bit better about updating. Until next time!

Essays

I thought it would be helpful to people applying to JVC or people considering it, if they read a bit about my application for a second year. The application itself was very helpful in figuring out what I would like to do next year. Below are two of my essay responses for the second year application.

If you're in a rush, and only read one thing, read the section about spirituality in BOLD found in Essay #2

Essay #1

 This year has been a year of transformations. I look back at where I was a year ago and it’s startling to see how far I have come. About this time last year I was clueless, lacked direction, was scared of the ‘real world,’ and in utter disbelief that my college experience was coming to a close. I didn’t want it to end, and I didn’t feel prepared to go out into the world. While I had been pre-med my entire life, I was still unsure if medicine was what I wanted to do with my life. From hearing about others positive experiences in JVC, I was led to apply to the program. With that pretext, I semi-blindly stepped out from college, hoping that JVC would catch me. More realistically, I was hoping that JVC would open my eyes and I would be able to have a better vision of the path ahead. Today, I can say that JVC has not disappointed me, for my vision is much clearer than at my graduation.
      As a Jesuit Volunteer I’ve been encouraged to continue questioning the status quo. With living a simple lifestyle I have realized that it is possible to live simply and in solidarity. Our house has successfully survived off $75 a month for each person for food. When I tell my coworkers about our style of living, they are amazed. It seems so ‘counter culture’ for six people to be living in an intentional community, making the decision to live simply, to live in solidarity, to live with a sense of spiritual direction. I have found myself continuing to find solace in my housemates, in the feeling that this year I have stepped through a door, challenged myself to feel uncomfortable and to do something about it. My year has solidified my commitment to pursuing a career in medicine, and I say this in a different way that I have said it before in years past. When I say that I want to be a doctor, I say it with confidence, knowing that I am excited to go to work every day in the clinic, that I’m having a direct impact on the well-being of others, and that I’m working to change a broken system.
      I’ve seen the impact my work has had, and want to do more. I’ve seen myself grow in my spirituality, and want to grow more. I’ve given myself to my community and want to give more. I have challenged myself in living a simple lifestyle and want to challenge myself more. This year has been one of my most formative years and I’m excited to see what the next year brings.

Essay #2
      Going into this application, I am not certain that another year of JVC is the right path for me. Earlier this year I was accepted into medical school and these past few weeks have been a struggle. I’ve discussed this on many occasions with my support people, my house, and my family. The reasons why I struggle over this are my apprehensions about next year being a JV as well as my excitement for beginning my career in medicine.
      I fear that given another year in the Jesuit Volunteer Corps, my mind could change about medicine, though I doubt it will. I fear that another year of being out of school will make it more difficult when I return (assuming I defer acceptance). College is still fresh in my mind and I feel that I am still at the top of my academic game. I think what I fear the most is losing the drive that I feel at this moment, the excitement that I feel about being accepted into medical school, and the enthusiasm which I have for being a doctor. Before reorientation, another year of JVC wasn’t on my radar, I was expecting that if I got into medical school, the decision would be easy: I would simply enroll that fall and that would be the end of it. What I am realizing now is that this decision has been anything but easy. I am constantly grappling with it, questioning my motives, trying to envision what path would be in my best interests.
      I don’t know a lot about what the next year will bring in terms of community, whether or not we’ll be able to get along as well as our community has this year. Like a few of the second year Jesuit volunteers said at reorientation, a big challenge is how to approach the year. Is it a continuation of this year or a whole new experience? It seems that it is a mix of the two, that in some ways I am continuing to commit myself to the four tenants, to community, to the program, and to my work. In other ways, it is an entirely new experience. The community will be different, the people that make up our house will be replaced by new ones. The tough discussions that we had this year will need to be brought up once again, and throughout it all, I will need to be open to letting things be different. I see a great challenge in keeping myself from assuming that the next year will be the same as this year, ie, having expectations about how next year should be. I also see a challenge in the transition from this year to the next. When we pack our belongings, say our goodbyes to our community members, and then are thrust into Orientation where there are new faces, how am I going to react? It will be very difficult to let go of this year so quickly and to begin a new one.
      This year, in living a simple lifestyle, I have come a long way. Simple living was one of the areas of JVC which concerned me the most. I’ve been a pretty technology oriented person my whole life, buying the new gadget as soon as it comes out or spending a lot of time on the computer. Technology has always been a part of my life I haven’t lived without. As a house, we came up with rules early on to answer the questions of how much technology we wanted in the house. We ended up coming to a resolution that everyone was comfortable with, we chose to get Internet access but to try to limit our use and to hold each other accountable. The transition to using the internet less was a difficult one for me and I saw that sometimes I would find myself going up to my room and checking email instead of spending time with the community. I wasn’t completely aware of how my habits were affecting those around me until the issues were brought up and since then, have been much more sparing with my internet use. In regards to the other area of simple living (simple fiscal living), I struggled at first staying on stipend. A few occasions during the first couple months I would use personal savings to supplement my income when there was something I felt that I needed to have, or do.  While today I can’t say that I am perfect when it comes to staying on stipend, I have come a long ways in being honest with myself and questioning my purchasing decisions. I feel that I have benefited from my changes in lifestyle, I feel connected with those that I live with, and have continued to maintain relationships with friends from college along with family. This Christmas I hand made Christmas cards for the first time and sent them out to 40 of my friends and it was so rewarding to get mail back from my friends with updates on how they were doing. I wasn’t sure if I would be able to handle maintaining relationship with friends before JVC but I have found that if I am intentional about staying in contact, it will happen. My efforts to living simply have made my time spent with the community all the more meaningful. I can now say with absolute certainty that I have made friends for a lifetime.
      Spirituality, I’ll be honest, was the one tenant I was not excited about when I decided to join JVC. I have a complicated history that has led me away from being a spiritual person. The churches that I was a part of going up did not preach a message of acceptance. Through college I found that I was content without spirituality. However, this year has led me to question my stance on spirituality and its value in my own life. My community has been understanding of my views and has allowed me to grow at my own pace. One conversation I remember having with another JV helped me discern spirituality and made me think in a new way. My argument to her was, how can we truly know if there is a God out there. We say that God is responsible for all these things, but where is he? Where is God in natural disasters, where is he in injustice, where is he in the wrong, where is he? How can you prove the existence of a God you can’t see, that only truly exists in your mind and in the mind of others who also believe the same thing? My feeling was that believing in a God is a cop out, giving up on truly discovering the reason for why things are the way they are. We can just say to anything, “Well, God made it that way, it is God’s will.” This was the reason given for so many things in history, until we found out how it works, through logic and science. I have seen people use religion as a justification for hate, justification for continuing a trend of injustice, justification for immorality. “God” was the justification for the Crusades, for terrorist attacks, for oppression, and so many other bleak spots on our history as a human race. I found it hard to get behind a God who had been used as an excuse. Her response was fairly simple. Believing in a God isn’t being absolutely sure. It’s about acknowledging that there will always be .1% of life that is unexplainable. That fraction of a percent of things we don’t know, that we can’t explain, is where God exists. Faith, is about having hope, because if you don’t believe in something, life can be very bleak. Faith is about how you want to live your life, how you see yourself fitting into this world. Her words have resonated with me and I’ve realized that there is a place for spirituality in my life.
      My work has also been a growing experience for me. When I came in, I was fairly confident that I would quickly get accustomed to working in a clinic because of my prior experience as an EMT. However, on my first day and during my first week, I felt like a fish out of water. While I did know how to take vitals, I had never used an electronic medical records system. I had never had a 7:30 to 4:00pm job. I had little experience with the homeless population. I had no idea how to order diabetic supplies. I could go on with all the things that I didn’t know how to do, but was expected to do. I’ve found that now, I am very successful in my job. I have a great relationship with my boss as well as all my coworkers. I feel like a part of a team. In addition, I have come to have a greater appreciation for work in the medical field and this year has been extremely formative in my decision to pursue medicine as a career. I know patients by name, I know their stories, their histories, the injustice that they have felt. I see that not all are treated equally by our medical system. There are those who have and those who have not. I see there is much work to be done and want to be a part of that change. The work that I do is work that gets me up in the morning. It is work that I feel is necessary and that I am called to do. I would love to have the opportunity to continue serving.

A Winter Wonderland: It's getting old.

So as you probably already know. It has snowed yet again in the DC area along with the entire north east.

While in the past, I've enjoyed the snow, loved it, cherished it, smiled as I watched snowflakes descend from on high, that is no longer the case. This is the second major snowstorm to hit DC this year, and my third in the past 14 months. These snowstorms have wrecked havoc on my life, altered plans, trapped me in my own home.

With that said, snow can go [profane verb] itself.

To be fair, snow can be beautiful. It makes what was a dirty city a white-washed winter wonderland. Yesterday I went on a walk around the block after the snow had stopped, and marveled at just how much of the white stuff had fallen. People were out and about, there were few cars attempting to make their way through it, and everyone seemed to be in a good mood, dressed up in their warmest clothes, making the best of a sticky situation. I took a lot of pictures which you can see.

In other updates, I was finally accepted into medical school! One of the two schools in Chicago gave me the green light, while the other gave me a yellow (I'm an alternate). Either way, its a huge relief and affirmation of all the work I've put in the past year. With that said, I'm still unsure what I will decide on doing this next year. The Jesuit Volunteer Corps has the option of doing a second year and since the re-orientation I've been heavily considering doing another year, as a volunteer in Washington DC. In many ways I am torn. The feeling of excitement that I have of beginning medical school is something indescribable. I just feel 'ready' to do it.

On the other hand I've had such an amazing experience this year, love DC, love my work, love having time to kick it on the weekend, and love being challenged to live in a way that I am allowed to grow as a person. I've been told that I have the rest of my life to work, and only one time in my life to do programs like this, to live as a volunteer and to be in a community. We'll see where I'm at in 6 months.

Today, as a brief recap, I woke up, finished my JVC Second Year application, checked my email, went to Starbucks with my house mate Kristina, made Mac&Cheese, and read a bit. Yesterday, I read The Perfect Storm, the first full book I've read in months, and I got through all 300 pages in a day. That's what happens when you get snowed in.

We'll see if I have work tomorrow, if the Federal Government is closed, than SOME is closed, and then, it will be another lazy day! Until next time.

A new perspective

Once again, it has been a bit of time since I've updated, and tonight was an occasion that I wanted to write down, to be cemented on the internet for all eternity, to be whisked off into binary code, stored on some server farm in god-knows-where, and then fetched by you (or me) as you read this.

I sit/lie in my bed, challenged, confused, angered, saddened, and a torrent of other emotions which continue to pervade my thinking.

I say this, coming from my first week back on the job after our JVC retreat, after a few days at work realizing that I'm one of those people who likes their job because I miss it sometimes, and when I get back I feel a sense of belonging. If you'd asked me one year ago: how do you see yourself in a year, I would have been too scared about moving into the "real world" to answer. I'd have said something to the effect of, I'll be missing college, friends, California, and then might have burst into tears (again, just to sweeten the story, its not like I'd ACTUALLY cry or anything, I'm kind of a BA). In all reality, I'm a bit too content with the way things are right now which is where tonight's story comes in which kind of threw me for a loop and really altered my perspective on an issue that I don't think about a lot.

Be forewarned, if you're not wary to controversial topics, then you should stop here, because you might actually learn something, and might do something about it if you read on. Consider yourself warned.

Of all the controversial topics on the market right now, the death penalty wasn't quite at the top of my list of ones that I cared about, or even gave much thought to. While I did struggle a bit with what this issue meant, I could see both sides of the story. From the "eye for an eye" school of thought, if you intentionally, with premeditation, commit murder you should be killed, simple as that. The other arguments of proponents of the death penalty include that it reduces the amount that taxpayers have to pay to house an inmate for life, it gives the victim's family restitution in a sense, a feeling that justice has been served. It keeps that individual who committed the horrific act from ever committing it to another person again.

This is all well and good, in my opinion, ONLY if we lived in a perfect world, which for all arguments sake wouldn't make sense, being that if we lived in a perfect world, we wouldn't have people committing murder. This being said, for arguments sake, lets say that murder still happens in this hypothetical world of ours. Murder happens, but the justice system works perfectly every time. The perpetrator is always brought to justice. In that world, where we know absolutely, that the convicted is guilty, we are able to serve a penalty that is equal to the crime committed.

What I learned today, was the face of how the justice system fails, even in the case where someone's life is on the line.

One of our fellow JV's who works for a non-profit who bring exonerated inmates to do speaking events around the US was in town for a few days working to set up future talks, and had brought one of the speakers with her. We had arranged to have a dinner with this fellow, we'll call him Dave, and to hear about his story.

Dave was convicted of rape-murder. Going into the case, he didn't exactly have a clean slate. He had been in the drug scene for a while and was an easy target for the prosecution. In short, he was convicted of murder and rape in the state of Oklahoma and was put on death row, where he stayed there for 17 years. He didn't know when he would be killed, but he had seen many fellow inmates die during that time and he knew that his time was short. One glaring fact remained, however, he knew he didn't kill the woman he was said to have killed.

The short version of the story is this. While acting on a tip, a police captain was looking through the office of a forensics scientist. This particular scientist was known to be able to do the impossible, to get convictions where others failed. This is why prosecutors flocked to her, and why she had such great success in her field. However, when the captain went through her office, he found a box of evidence, with the court seals broken (it is these seals which prevent evidence from being tampered with and make sure that evidence is adequate to use in the court of law). He opened the box and found the seals on each piece of evidence to be broken as well. He looked to see the case which the evidence pertained to, and it happened to be from Dave's. With that, the process of exoneration began, and 4-5 years later, Dave was finally released.

He told us that that he gets asked a lot if on that day, the day he was released, if he considers that the happiest day of his life. "**** no," he replies. During the two decades he was in jail he missed out on so many things including being near his mother who was terminally ill.

How would you feel if 20 years of you life was taken from you? I don't know if I would be able to handle myself as well as Dave has been handling himself. Taking the anger that he feels towards the system that stole his life from him and putting it to making positive and constructive changes, by getting his story out. I can see how others in his situation would be overcome with bitterness, anger, frustration, and allow it to manifest in ways most of us would look down on. However, how can any of us really judge them if we can hardly taste the indecency which they had been served?

Questions to think about.

http://www.witnesstoinnocence.org/view_news.php?Curtis-McCarty-Speaks-5

A break from it all

Sometimes, I find a time to listen to the silence. These times are rare, and most commonly occur when I'm writing, blogging, singing/playing the piano and just contemplating stuff. Though right now there are voices, sounds of shuffling, people's feet making muffled noises over the carpet, and the presence of hundreds of people around me, but while I'm writing, I feel like I'm in a bubble. 

This is an interesting time for me, a time that I have been thinking about for a while, a time where I'm putting myself out there and hoping that someone or something will be there to catch me when I walk the plank. Tomorrow is my first interview for medical school and though I've thought out most of what I want to say, gotten tips and pointers from those who have gone through the process, I don't really know what to expect. Yes, what I do know is that the format will be as such.


Wake up, early, at 7:00ish


Respond to nature's call


Shower


Shave if necessary


Get dressed up all shmancy in my new suit, make any adjustments or changes to the tie. 


Walk a few blocks from where I'll be staying to the building on campus where my interview will start


Put my best foot forward.


I'll repeat this again the following day with a different school, hoping that I haven't sweat too much from the day before to make buying a new dress shirt necessary. 


I think the best advice that I've gotten from someone is this, which I got in an email and was told to me before when I met with him. Let's call him Tom. Tom was introduced to me by a mutual friend who knew that I was applying this year. Tom is currently a practicing radiologist in DC and went to one of the schools that is near the top of my list. I met with him a few times, first just for lunch and to chat, and another time for him to give me a bit of a mock interview so that he could write a kind letter on my behalf, which going back to the previous post, is one of those gifts that doesn't come on Christmas or on my birthday. 

Listen - don't be nervous, be confident, you have a remarkable story which you should not forget. This is the time to think very highly of yourself, but not arrogant.

Make sure to show your personality and be charismatic! Really shine and be upbeat and smiley. Good eye contact, mimic your interviewers body language. Don't be awkward or fake. Strike the right balance. Show energy. when all else fails, ask the interviewer questions about their life.

I think this about sums up what will be going through my head during my interview, as I'm sweating under my hopefully composed exterior. 

Right now I'm about to board my flight, watching planes take off, people watching (but making sure never to hold eye contact - creeeeeepy) and letting my fingers and mind do a little exercise.

Overall I would say that I had an amazing break, both Christmas and New Years. For a change, I threw out the plans that I had to go to New York and had an amazing time with some new friends as well as with someone who means a lot to me. It was so last minute but ended up being all the better. I enjoyed the time that I spent with family and friends in Woodinville, and probably drank more coffee in the one week I was home than the two months prior. Starbucks, I'm sure, enjoyed the business.

In the New Years, it makes you think, or at least makes me think, where I was 10 years ago. 2000. It was the year of Bush's election, it was the year that Y2K was thought to bring our civilization back to the stone ages. I was in Junior High, an awkward ginger kid who was inspired by a teacher, Mrs. Vincent, or V, to pursue science. I played soccer for a select team and made the switch from the clarinet to the French Horn. All these things which I'm able to remember, after not thinking about them for God knows how long.  I feel like I'm dusting off those old neurons and firing them up all over again. I was confused with life, thought that if I just thought hard enough and used "the force" i could levitate objects. I didn't want to grow up. I stressed over what would happen after junior high. I didn't want to go do senior high, and be the little kid all over again. Junior high was bad enough socially for me, I literally had nightmares over this stuff. All these things, and more, happened a decade ago. What will I think in another 10 years, what lessons will I have learned?

Who knows, but I'm ready to dive in head first.

My Dad's Dog...

It's a Mastiff.

I know what you're thinking.

Death. Destruction. Jaws. Brute Force. Killer Dog.

Well, I'm happy to report that I'm still alive and that he's actually pretty adorable, well, not as adorable as he was when he was a puppy. He's big now but still acts like a puppy, one that's a bit more well behaved...anyhoo, the pic says it all..

December Snow... it happened, again.

So a brief update, first, about the title, last year if you are from the Northwest, you would remember how we had the snowstorm of the decade. Well, apparently this 'snowiness' followed me to Washington DC, where I thought I could most certainly escape it. Well, read on...

I'm writing right now from my dad's house in Monroe, WA, the picture to the left is a shot from my Dad's porch, it almost makes living in the boonies tempting... Now I'm about to open some presents and eat some delicious food, all the while celebrating my grandmother's 94th birthday, aka, Birthmas. This is my fifth day here in the hometowns of Woodinville and Monroe, towns not so far apart. Monroe is a lot like how Woodinville used to be, before all the development came in. Now, I want you to know that I won't claim to be that old, to have been here way back when the family used to hop in the 'ol pickup and drive down the dusty road to the general store... but I thought I'd draw a picture of some of the similarities that exist between these two towns.

I arrived.

But just barely.

The wednesday before, some of my coworkers were talking about the 'big snow' that was predicted to hit that weekend. "Whhhhhhaaatt?"

My heart sank.

I couldn't believe it.

I immediately checked all the local news stations, finally going to the National Weather Service and seeing that they had a 'conservative estimate' of 1-2 feet of snow. My flight was to leave on Sunday.

Balls.

My coworkers tried to reassure me that the weather people we probably overestimating, and that the snow storm wouldn't even hit at all.

"Bull," I thought, the National Weather Service isn't an organization that tends to try to freak people out just to get good ratings, like the local weather folks, (nothing against them, though). I knew in the back of my mind that it was going to be an interesting weekend. I prayed for the best but assumed the worst.

Friday: Time, 7:30pm.

The air is crisp, as what remains of my house (Tricia, Emily, Pat, and I) walk through the neighborhood of Dupont Circle, to a holiday party at a friends'. Our breath is instantly cloudified and rises up from the  bright streets towards the orange sky. The moon isn't visible, just the greyish orange reflection of the clouds overhead. It just looks like snow, minus any of the white stuff actually precipitating.

We arrive to the house, well, basement, where Lourds (our friend) lives. It's a very cute setup, with plenty of 'hang-out' space, a table of beautifully organized holiday desserts, and a interesting walkway to the kitchen where alcoholic beaverages await. A keyboard sits in the 'hang' area and I looked longingly at it for a moment, before being offered baileys coffee and almost forgetting about it completely. My friend Carl arrives and as we start talking, people start yelling. I look outside and see the first flakes of snow coming down. It is beautiful, but I just hope that it stops just as soon as it started so I can get to where I need to go.

As we get ready to leave, the snow has continued to accumulate and there is more than a heavy dusting on the ground and it doesn't look like it is going to end any time soon. In the time it takes us to walk two blocks, my hair has gone from red to white. We hop in the car and head home, driving extra carefully.

Saturday comes, and I wake up to snow surrounding my room on three sides, filling the windows and stacking on top of the branches outside.

Balls.

It looks nice, but I can't help but thinking about how screwed I am when it comes to me trying to get places, IE out of DC. I walk downstairs and open the door: 1 foot of snow.

Ungh.

I shovel the porch, which takes about 10 minutes, the come back inside and work on an essay for an application. The snow continues outside and before long, I'm back outside shoveling another foot of snow. I decide that it is more prudent to just stay inside today, I make one attempt at venturing outside to send off a xmas card, and come back cold and wet.

The snow continues to pour, and pour.

I finish the rest of my Christmas cards.

I play a few tunes on the keyboard.

I also sign up for updates from the wmata, as I read that all the bus lines have shut down along with all the above ground metro stations, effectively cutting me off from where I need to go. It would make a good story to say that at this point, I just broke down and cried, but I didn't. Not my style, or I just wasn't feeling emotional enough. I just thought through a few choice four letter words.

Here is the breakdown of what happened the day of my departure.

1. I woke up
2. I checked the weather, and WMATA, and was assured that nothing had changed, the bus was still shut down along with all above ground metro rail stations.
3. Balls
4. I call the Super Shuttle, well, I go to their website and make a reservation. At no time did it say that they would not be able to pick me up.
5. I rejoice, that I will be able to make it out.
6. I pack my things.
7. At 2:00pm, 4 hours before my scheduled departure, I get a call from a Super Shuttle Representative. They inform me that they will not be able to make the pick up and that my best bet is a cab, (to Baltimore.... yeah, um, how about a 80 dollar cab ride?) even though there is a 4 hour wait for cabs in the city.
8. I scream bloody murder.
9. My housemates hear me, and ask what's up. I inform them of the situation, and Tricia and her BF, Pat, save my Christmas single handedly. They tell me that they will be able to drive me to the airport and that we are leaving ASAP.
10. We dig out the jeep, and drive to BWI. I make my flight, all is good, and I arrive in Seattle around 11:35pm.

It was so crazy once I got to BWI, there were lines of people who had had their flights cancelled the day before and earlier on Sunday. To me, it was surreal as I just stepped to the E-Check-in, and printed my boarding pass and made it past security without a hitch, 3 hours early.

I got out, but it wasn't by skill, or smarts, or anything that I intentionally did, it was luck and by the grace of others that I was able to make it home.

This week has been a whirlwind, of seeing friends I haven't seen in ages, and realizing there just isn't enough time. There's just not enough time, with each coffee date, an hour passes by faster than ever before, and we are left wondering where the time went, and part our ways, until our next meeting. In each coffee date, I'm halfway brought up to speed on their lives, I feel like I've missed out on so much.

Christmas thus far has been great, the presents, of course, because they're unexpected, and it isn't the gift as much as the generocity of others that surprises me and delights me each time that someone has thought of me and gone through the process of finding a present, wrapping it (especially wrapping it, its a pretty long process for me, at least), and giving it. I don't feel that the price of a gift should mean that much, it should be about the feeling of affirmation, the knowledge that there are people out that care. While I don't want to get to wrapped up in this (pun intended), I feel that presents themselves can be a physical manifestation of love or appreciation or friendship but really shouldn't by any means be the only way that a person feels loved. There are signs all around us that there are people who care for us, its just a little more apparent at Christmas because you "get" things, but in all other times in life, there are gifts we are given that arn't wrapped in paper, and sometimes it is hard to realize just how much of a gift they are.

Rain and Snow

Last night I went to bed to the pitter-patter of rain on the roof, looking out into the darkness, past the trees, long since stripped of their ruby red leaves. Against the silhouette of barren branches, and rain drops, i could make out the glowing capitol building and the washington monument. There was something comforting about being in my warm bed, wrapped in fleece blankets, looking out at the city, while outside it poured, and poured. Speaking of rain, I've recently been introduced to a song which has topped my charts, and has remained at the #1 spot for the past few days. If you haven't listened to this song, get ready, its beautiful.




Well,  I should get to some good stuff, I mean, I expect you'd like to hear some good stuff about what I've been up to this week, the notable events, the good and bad ones, etc. Well, the week was extremely busy, I'll start off with that, there were not many evenings that I had free to just chillax, put what little hair I have down, and just sit down on a couch and drink some hot chocolate.

Let me see, a couple of the highlights:

I wore a suit to a fund-raising dinner.
I ate some amazing appetizers
I "met" Joe Biden.
I learned how to call "AAA" in the event I need to be towed.
I heard about the "Yes-Men"
I spent a few hours practicing "I miss you" by Incubus on the piano
Ate dinner with some Jesuits
Went to an urgent care
Watched Good Will Hunting (one of the best movies I've ever seen, period)

I might update this tomorrow and add specifics, but we'll see..

Alright, I found a bit of time to continue and elaborate a bit on a few of the highlights. Tuesday we spent an evening at the "Ritz-Carleton" of Jesuit residences, Georgetown. Jeremy, our Jesuit Liaison, had already spent time showing us around the Dupont Circle Jesuit Residence, but had raved extensively about Georgetown, and had brought us to meet an accomplished Jesuit, Fr. Curry. Dinner was amazing, as usual, with a nice smorgasbord or dinner items including mussel pasta in a buttery cream sauce, strawberry cake, fresh chocolate chip cookies, ice cream, phenomenal bread, mmm, i'm beginning to salivate just thinking about it. It was nice to just sit around a table and talk about the work we were doing and hear from Fr. Curry about the number of projects he has been working on, including a theatrical program for Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans to help them cope with PTSD and other war-related mental illnesses. Georgetown is also a fun place to just walk around. Being an institution founded in 1789, the architecture is stunning: Gothic and Georgian in style. I might have gotten a few chills looking up at the iconic Healy Hall, though it might have been caused by the 40 degree weather...

Wednesday was the night of our JVC fund-raising dinner. We might not have, as a house, been totally thrilled with going, as we were very tired, and usually our Tuesdays are low key, just hanging around, working to recoup all the energy lost during the first two days of work. But, we went, and did get a bit excited about dressing up. However, it was raining quite hard. Some of us went directly from work, while some came back home to get ready then took a bus. We all did end up on the same bus, and a little water-logged, got to the final stop and trudged the final two blocks to the hall. As we got there, we were greeted by the other DC house, and the JVC staff, we were given instructions on where to be, the format of the evening, and decided on a rotation so that some of us could eat while others took coats. I started talking with a few of the volunteers from the other DC house when we heard the buzz going around the room, Joe Biden was coming last minuted to the dinner to give a speech. Everyone was beside themselves. Well, he finally arrived with Secret Service in tow, all smiles, shaking hands, I may have been in a picture with him (he was facing away from me.) Everyone was getting so worked up about it that I just didn't care that much to get a picture with him, so I just carried on my other conversations and ate some delicious food, watching from afar the circle of people huddled around Joe move slowly around the room. I likened it to honey bees surrounding the queen, as she moves, everyone else moves with her.


So, that was the jist of the week. Briefly, I was able to meet up with a friend Zach that I had worked with the past two summers at CTY. It was so refreshing to catch up with him again and hear about all that has happened since we last saw each other. He's now looking forward to pilot school, as it has always been a life dream of his to be a pilot. He has this ridiculous attraction to planes, like he stares up the sky like a dog looks at a Frisbee. I'm just so glad for him that he's found his true calling, to be doing something that I know he will be happy doing.

Today has been pretty relaxing, I did a 8.5 mile run around town, and happened to run by the boathouse of Georgetown, George Washington, and like 3 other schools. I stopped to chat up a guy who looked like he was about to row in his single (crew speak for a 1 person boat), and learned about the place and that they were closing up shop for the season in a few days. Today was really beautiful though, sunny and incredibly brisk, like, REAL brisk. Like 32 degrees brisk. My route took me down to Mt. Vernon Square, down K street until I hit George Washington University, then down to Watergate and the Potomac. I wish I had brought a camera, the view from the boathouse was absolutely breathtaking as I looked up and down the river, from Georgetown down to Arlington. I could make out Theodore Roosevelt Island, where I had visited a few weeks before. I was a bit sore from my indoor soccer game yesterday and the cold weather didn't really help that much, but I made it all the way around and back, taking solace in a hot shower to bring some color back to my skin.

In the moment, I started thinking about how beautiful it is here (while at the same time, acknowledging the bitter cold) and wondered if I could see myself living here. The funny thing is, I think I could. Give me people I can spend time with, a group of friends, I can survive anywhere. I think that's what I learned from my experience in college, going to a place that I'd never lived before, and now I'm learning it once again here in DC. Some of the relationships I've formed here I know I will still have years from now, whether I stay here or not.

Oh ya, about the snow....it snowed yesterday (didn't really stick), as watched it from my room. (and that's my dog in some snow, I am kicking myself now for not taking any pictures of the white stuff yesterday, DOH)