Interview!

I just got the letter I have been waiting for: you are invited to an interview Thursday May 22 at 8:30 am. Wheeeeee!

Now I get the chance to wow them so much that they will forget how dumb I am. :-) It’s such a relief. I realise it’s still a long shot, but at least it means I’m still in the game.

I called my mother to tell her the good news and this was our conversation:

Me: Mom! I got my interview! It’s on May 22.

Mom: That’s the same day as my colonoscopy

Me: urr... ok

Mom: Well, they wanted me to go in on May 12 but I told them it was the day after mother’s day and I couldn’t possibly do that. I mean, I know my kids likely won’t do anything for me, but still, it’s mother’s day. That’s why they scheduled me for the 22nd.

Me: ummm... sure

Mom: Well, I better get going I have things to do

*sigh* I can tell she’s really excited.

I calculate; it’s what I do

I’ve been calculating and recalculating my GPA again. As it currently stands, my GPA is 2.46 for all my required first year classes (excluding math). I need a 2.5 so I’m going to round up and say I’m good. With all the other classes I’ve taken (which are credited to my fourth year), my GPA is 2.8. I guess that’s not too bad.

I’ve decided to redo my math classes this summer and hope for the best. If I don’t get in, it just means I’ll have that much less to take in September. I can do 2 classes per semester and hopefully work part-time at the hospital. If I pretend I pass both math classes with flying colours this summer, I can redo physics and chemistry (my lowest scores), English and one optional credit and my first and fourth years will be done.

The interviews for the program are being held from May 20 to 23. I haven’t received my invitation yet, but I’m hoping it was sent out before they got a look at my GPA! Maybe then I’ll have a chance to wow them at the interview.

I’ll keep you posted.

So… now what?

My final marks have been trickling in and the news isn’t good. My expectations versus reality looked a little like this:

French hoping for a B+ got a C
Physics hoping for a B got a C
Physics lab hoping for a B+ or A got a B

I’m still waiting on others. Last night I checked to see if any new marks were posted and was floored by what I saw… Math: F. Yeah F, for FUUUUUUCK! This is my freaking second attempt at the class. I was actually getting it this time, but the prof’s exams are notoriously difficult. I only needed a 45% on the finale to pass so I never really expected to fail. I emailed the prof and he’ll be in his office this afternoon so I can go check out my final.

I guess this means goodbye to getting into the program. Well, at least for another year anyway. That means an extra year of sorry salaries… an extra year of stressing over money… an extra year of roommates. UGH.

Last night I woke up in the middle of the night realizing that it might still be possible to fix this. There’s a spring class for Calculus 1 starting May 5 and then Calculus 2 (which I was planning on taking) starts 2 days after the first one ends. It would mean another 12 weeks of school while working full-time. I’m trying to decide if this is really what I should do. I tired out as it is… will this make it even worse? I would end up with about a month (August) with only having to work full-time. I have one more week off before school/work would start and I’ll also get a week off in July because I’ll be switching departments at the hospital. Is that enough?

It also comes with a huge risk. I won’t know until at least June if I get into the program or not. I’ve heard of exceptions being made in special cases and I might be a special case given that I’m a mature student. It’ll cost me $1,000+ for the 2 classes this summer and if I do them and don’t get in, then what will I do?

This sucks.

The downfall of Barbecue season…

I love to barbecue! I think my favourite thing about it is the lack of dishes to do after the meal! However, I"ve discovered a slight problem with barbecuing: having your roommate forget to turn off the burner and you throwing in a match… thinking you will throw in the match and THEN turn on the burner… only to realize seconds later that you’ve burnt off all your forearm hair!

It’s all stubbly and feels like I shaved my forearm! Bah!

Happy barbecue season everyone!! :-)

Stick a Fork in Me; I’m Done!

To Do List:
1 – Complete all University exams (check)
2 – Yawn from exhaustion after the most stressful exams of your life (check)
4 – Revel in the fact that you’ve completed half your degree (check)
5 – Pray to the Gods that you passed all your classes (double-check)
6 – Find a wonderful summer job at a local hospital starting May 5 (check)
7 – Enjoy 5 complete days of vacation (check)
8 – Work two days and enjoy 5 more days of blissful nothingness (check)
9 – Stare at your computer screen blurry-eyed (check)

Yay Me!

Are you freakin' kidding me!

I just got an email informing me that I didn’t get the summer job with the federal government. All I can say is: What. The. Fuck. It indicated that the job went to the most qualified candidate. They are telling me that 9 years in public relations, communications and marketing, managing a communications team, working with a budget of half a million, writing speeches for government officials and being interviewed by the freaking New York Times is not enough qualifications for a measly summer job? Jesus! I’d be curious to find out who else applied for the job.

Whatever. I would prefer the job at the hospital, anyway.
----------------------------------------

A few hours later…

Now that I’ve calmed down and rationalised the situation, I can see that the job likely went to a student who really needed the experience. It is a government program after all, and most likely about giving a student experience in his/her field of study rather than about paying Changa’s mortgage. The job is as far away from my current field of study so, yes; it should go to the kid who will one day be working in that field. However, they shouldn’t say the job went to the most qualified person because I don’t think that’s accurate. It's insulting.

Spring Méli-Mélo

Here’s the latest update on my life:

- I have 5 days left until I’m done my first year of University (version 2.0)

- It’s crunch time for exams as I have 3 left. So far the studying has been going well. Let’s hope I can keep it up.

- I applied for re-entry into the radiology program (only 9 are accepted in the second year) and I received a letter confirming my request has been acknowledged. Interviews will be help in May or June.

- I’m preparing for the worst when it comes to the program. I’ve finally accepted that if I don’t get in, it’s ok. I’ve been going 7 days a week for over a year now and not getting in would mean upgrading some of my classes and maybe slowing down a little. In would set me back a year, but maybe I need the break.

- I haven’t heard back from the federal job… but the federal government is notoriously slow.

- I had an interview for a summer position with the hospital last week and that’s the job I really want! It’s just admin work, but the pay is better and I would be working in a variety of departments, which would be really cool. One of my references informed me that they’ve checked with her – always a good sign.

- I’m running again (it’s been about a month) and my last two runs felt really good! It almost made me look forward to the next one.

- I’m slowly attempting the online dating thing with much caution.

- One of my roommates attempted to toast cheese in the toaster the other day... thank goodness my other roommate noticed before my toaster became an ooey-gooey mess! I seriously don't get them sometimes!

I guess that’s it for now. Back to the books!

The Frenchy’s Comparative

If you’re not from the Maritimes you’ve probably never heard of Frenchy's. Frenchy’s is a chain or used clothing stores. They are quite popular and sometimes you can discover some really great finds. Generally, I like shopping at Frenchy’s but it can be tiresome and you kinda have to be in a certain mood to really enjoy it.

This week I realised that dating is much like shopping at Frenchy’s. You have to sort through bins of clothing in the hopes of coming across even one great item. Plus, like dating, the searching gets tiring, your hands end up grimy and eventually the smell just makes you nauseous.

When I first became single I spent a good two years trying on pretty much everything in the hopes that quantity would eventually lead me to a gem – no such luck. Then, I became very selective about my searches and didn’t try on anything that wasn’t even close to a perfect piece of clothing. That didn’t work either. About a year ago I gave up and opted to purchase a brand new pair of jeans. I looked like it was exactly my style and appeared to be a perfect fit but I soon realize that it was so new that it had never even been taken for a spin. Like not even once! Have you ever tried breaking in a stiff pair of jeans? Ugh. It feels like you’ll never get to the comfortable part... and in the end I gave up.

So I guess my venture into dating as a Frenchy’s store has been a learning experience. Right now, I’m trying to find a balance. I’m making an effort and trying not to turn my nose up at anything that isn’t a brand name. I’ve realised that sometimes, like in makeover shows, the piece that doesn’t look that great on the hanger, looks like a million bucks once you put it on. I’m also being realistic. I’m not wasting my time trying to fit into a size 2 when I’m clearly a size 6 (humour me).

It’s all about balance – my life needs more balance.

Square Peg Moments

As my blog implies, my life is made up of what I like to call Square Peg Moments. What is a Square Peg Moment? Well, it’s a moment when I stand out like a sore thumb. I’m the proverbial square peg trying to fit into a round hole. I don’t fit in with my classmates because of the age difference, but I don’t fit in with my peers either because I have a completely different lifestyle. For the most part, it puts me in some pretty humourous situations. Here are a few examples:

Moment 1
Earlier this year I interviewed for summer job. Obviously my competition were all students, most of them under 20. Things went very well, but near the end of the interview the interviewer asked me the following question: “Tell me about your last summer job, or, if you’ve never had a summer job, tell me about your favourite hobby”. It caught me off guard for a moment… I mean, my last summer job was 11 years ago!
***Square Peg Moment***

Moment 2
I’m having dinner with some friends from high school. We meet on a regular basis to catch up. All are married (or the equivalent off being married) and most have kids. We’re discussing the usual stuff: husbands, kids, homes when Daisy* pipes up: did you hear Jessica* (mutual friend) bought a new house? Well, it’s so not new. It’s actually really, really old. Having an older house myself I inquire about the age of the house. “Oh, it’s like 12 years old or something”. My house is 70+ years old, while everyone at the table has new homes they had built.
***Square Peg Moment***

Moment 3
As I’ve mentioned before, my French professor is a bit of a dud. She had missed 4 classes and was planning on missing another 4 classes right before finals. Of course, everyone complained so we ended up getting a replacement prof while she was away. It turned out to be really great because the new professor is an awesome teacher. In fact, he was my French teacher while I was in high school. The first day, while waiting for the professor, I turned to another student who I knew had attended my high school (although years after me). I told her I was excited about the new prof since I had him in high school and asked if she knew him. She said no… but he taught her parents.
***Square Peg Moment***



*not actual names