Thursday, March 31, 2011

Balance! Find the good in things.

Bad thing: I thought I would call LaSalle about their admissions process and mailing my recommendations in, then finish my emails to my professors and bosses and send that out, but they apparently ALL leave at 4:30pm.
Good thing about that: I learned my lesson?

Bad thing: More like a minor inconvenience, had to take the several shuttle buses and waited a while in the cold for the small shuttle.
Good thing: I had a covered bus stop to wait under, I was well dressed for the weather (good water resistant coat and shoes, I mean), and I talked to the bus driver about jazz. He was listening to Freddie Hubbard. He dropped me off in front of my house! saving me a several-block walk! and he told me, if I could tell them ahead of time, they could pick me up in front of my house! Though Dan drives me in the morning.. but it's very good to know. and kind of them.
Also, I finished my book! that took about.. two days. It was "The Stupidest Angel" by Christopher Moore. I read his "Fool" and really liked it so I've gotten a stack out from the library. His humor reminds me of Terry Pratchett. I prefer Pratchett, but Moore holds his own.
I wanted a more lighthearted book after finishing Alice Munroe's "Too Much Happiness".

Bad thing: Need some kind of closing sentence on one of my essays.
Good thing: I think I wrote decent essays... I sure hope so.

Bad thing: I've procrastinated.
Good thing: I have a clearer plan.

ummm

Good things!
I am trying out a new recipe I found online for the slow cooker- a take on chicken korma. We will see how it turns out... It says to mix in yogurt or sour cream though, and we have neither, so I'm about to head over to the CVS next door and see what they have. We have some neufchatel but I don't think it will mix in well and the last thing I want is clumpy cheese sauce XP That is not a happy face, it is more of a "bleagh" face like the Poison Control Center logo. Tricky Philadelphia brand just labels neufchatel as lower fat, but doesn't actually say cream cheese- it says neufchatel in little letters in a corner- are people really so clueless/brand-oriented/distrusting of words that aren't so easy to pronounce?
Update: It wasn't so good.. it was runny and we've decided neither of us really likes cloves. Cloves remind Dan of his grandmother's bedroom! I just thought it was too strong- I'm inexperienced with cloves. I actually liked the sour cream and spicy curry-like mixture on my rice, though, which surprised me. I'd cut down on the potato, possibly amp up the chicken if I could, and cook the onions down separately, in a pan. By the time it was ready Dan and I were pretty hungry so that probably helped! He took some to work (minus sour cream) and said it didn't reheat well.

Monday, March 28, 2011

Swap-bot answers

I'm on swapbot.com which is a website about swapping stuff in the mail, although there are also email swaps. I signed up for a bunch of 'random questionnaire' swaps since I think postage is a bit of a splurge for me right now and they usually let in newbies, so I thought I'd up my rating. Most of the answers were pretty forgettable  but I wanted to post some of the ones I liked:

From a woman in Denmark:
15.Tell me an inside joke. Feel free to skip right to the punch line and leave out explanations Sorry,it`s in danish...hva` det? Det er sgu da en panda bjørn!

From a woman living in New Zealand:
60. Do you believe in a soul mate?
No, that is an excuse for people to wriggle out of a relationship without working on it. "It didn't work out because he wasn't my real soul mate" when really "It didn't work out because I was a complete cow".

76.What do you think is the best place in this world for a honeymoon?
 I had it, at home. We told everyone we had left town but stayed, it was fantastic, no interuptions. We went to some of the best restaurants, went to places we had always meant to go and didn't answer the phone once.
 Also, I noticed a lot of people say one of their pet peeves/something that annoys them is people who chew with their mouth open and makes lots of mouth-noises or eating noise. I agree, but I also want to ask all those people: are you always certain you do not make noise yourself? I think a lot of people aren't aware of it. I think they just don't keep it in mind.

This week has been okay, not much really happened. One of my professors has been pregnant, and she was unexpectedly induced! so one of my classes was canceled. It's canceled tomorrow too. I had a job interview which I was really excited for, but when I got there she had already left and she wasn't answering her phone! So I guess no job for me.. I am really surprised she wouldn't answer my calls. I did make a little spending-splurge and go into the city for Scrapplefest and to hang out a bit. I saw my friend Jenn which was nice but I'm afraid that my friends don't want to hang out with me as much as before. It might be due to me not hiding the fact that I didn't much care for one of their new friends (which they said they weren't particularly surprised at), and I am further away and such.
Mostly I am just really concentrating on getting a job and finishing a few applications that I'm terribly late on. I think I am going to apply to USP and LaSalle (because their apps are free) and if I don't get into either I will apply to Temple and Drexel.. I think that the last two might be more prestigious but I have nothing against the first two, and Drexel's app is SUPER EXPENSIVE. Temple's is moderately expensive and I have no income right now. I missed the Temple-Fall 2011 deadline anyways so I wouldn't start until Spring, while Drexel's is rolling. I hate app fees- it's like paying a cover charge, that might not work. I am paying this school for the priveledge of having you read my app? I could spend almost $200 just to get two rejection letters? I think not.

This is yet another break from writing my statement of purpose.. that has been the hardest part. I was feeling really down a few weeks ago and, like I said,  it's so hard to write about how awesome you are when you just plain aren't feeling awesome. But I feel better! Haha!

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Today

Roommate is cleaning up her crap, & it's unfair how excited I am. haha :) I hope she gets all of it though... I think she finished way too soon...

I just told another friend of ours about it though but I also said, if it comes down to it, I wouldn't discourage you living with her. I don't want to just be going around talking smack on this girl and spreading her (however deserved) reputation for being an inconsiderate slob. Maybe she'd make a great roommate for someone who.. wasn't like me.

Also I have learned: When you are a redheaded white girl and you wear a very short black sweaterdress with pinkish tights and black flats, and your roommate at first glance says you aren't wearing pants, and then you look in the mirror and can see what she means, perhaps it is immodest for you to continue the illusion that you are NOT WEARING PANTS.

Friday, March 11, 2011

Application Fee drama

Drexel app fee: $115 using SOPHAS. For a fee waiver I need to submit a tax return. I didn't last year so this year I have to file. Luckily Drexel's app is rolling. I considered applying to GWU mostly because it's a good school, not far away, and it's only $40 more to file another app with SOPHAS. But now I might cut GWU out- they have eliminated spring entry so I need to file by April 15 or wait until September to apply for fall 2012. I want to be in school before that. I could have gotten a fee waiver if I still lived in Cambodia, but that would not be worth it.
To file a tax return I need a W2 from Arcadia that I never got. I've emailed Arcadia. I might need to pick it up.
By the time I get a tax return I would hope I have a job and a paycheck and be able to afford the application fee.

Temple app fee: $60 online. I've passed the Fall 2011 deadline but I got an email saying they were unofficially rolling. Also they have spring entry: August 15 deadline.


LaSalle: rolling, and free.

USP: Online, free, Fall admission by April 15.

*deep breath* This statement of purpose/personal statement is the hardest. It's difficult to write about how awesome you are when you aren't feeling awesome.