legan

I've never had blood drawn. I had my fingers pricked every so often at the pediatrician's office because I went to public school, but I've never donated blood or had a doctor have to draw blood.

That's really interesting. I'm not particularly annoyed by the smell of skunk, having grown up with a lot of skunk cabbage in my backyard. But I wouldn't say I'm fond of it. I do, however, LOATHE anything lemon scented or flavored. I just associate it with cleaning products and chemicals.

Waking up early! I love getting up around 7 or 7:30 on the weekends, hours before my boyfriend. I really enjoy the quiet time alone. When I go outside to walk to the gym, I feel like the only person alive. I get it from my parents, who are morning people too. About a year ago on a visit home, I slept until about 8:30 and my dad accused me of wasting the day.

There definitely wasn't any funding, and it felt so unceremonious. School #2 just sent me a very casual-sounding email, and I was all, "Yeah, okay". But School Choice #1 was all, WELCOME HERE IS A PARADE AND YOUR OFFICIAL EMAIL ADDRESS, which is more official-feeling all around. At this point, I'm not really sure what there is to be released from. What should I say? "Circumstances have changed, and I am sorry to say I will not be attending this school"?

I had a terrible interview at my top school last month, and a decent interview at my second choice school. My second choice school accepted me the very next business day (interview on a Friday, acceptance on a Monday), and I waited a couple days and then accepted their offer. Just yesterday, I received the big envelope from my first choice school, and I'm SUPER EXCITED!!! to have gotten in to both schools, as they're both good fits for me. But how do I tell school #2, whose offer I've already accepted, that I'm going to have to rescind it? Is that bad form? Will the schools talk to each other, and black list me? Is that paranoid? I honestly didn't think I'd be hearing good news from the other school. People tell me that nothing is official until I write them a check. But what say you, commentariat?

The Paper Chase is the only one I can come up with. My boyfriend is in law school, and he is so sick of hearing about this movie. We watched it last year, and it was honestly the dullest movie I've ever seen.

Sleeping late Cheese Camping Sandwiches Kombucha Retrievers and labs Ancient Egypt

http://www.uwgb.edu/careers/skills/interviewing-graduate-school.asp That is a great list of interview questions. I tried to think of the absolute best, and most honest answer I could to each and every question, and then just practiced them aloud. I went down the list, one by one.

This school is not in the CT suburbs. It's in downtown New Haven. It's an extremely safe, well-lit, and fun area of the city, but by no stretch of the imagination is it "suburban". The areas around Yale are really safe, but they do call it Gun Wavin' New Haven. WashU is an underrated school and is in a safe part of St. Louis. The bad part of St. Louis is in Illinois which is far away from campus.

Ohh! Forgot to add Angel. I am so annoyed by Buffy Summers that I can't get behind Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but Angel is fantastic. Also, I'm really surprised at how good White Collar is. It's filmed around where I used to work. They were always closing off 54th street near Park and Madison to film, and I just know I have to be in the background somewhere!

I've been stress eating like crazy since my interviews. I've calmed down since finally getting accepted somewhere, but the waiting has given me too much nervous energy, and all I want is junk food. Also, I sit at a desk all day, and don't move. I like to think that when I'm in school again and not working, I'll have more time during the day to go to the gym. I like reading on the ellipticals and stationary bikes, so I hope to get homework done that way, too.

I watch waaaay too much TV. But recent Netflix binges include: Bones, Law & Order (I prefer the original), Chuck, House of Cards, and Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries. My boyfriend can never remember the name of the last one, so we just call it Old Sheila Solves Obvious Murders. It's so campy, it's hard not to enjoy it. And for DVDs, I plan to be buried with my Arrested Development, Gilmore Girls, and Sex and the City box sets.

My best friend had just texted to ask me how my interview last week had gone. I just happened to refresh my email at that moment, and THERE IT WAS. She is amazing, and obviously my good luck charm.

I think the idea of a graduation announcement combined with a "we've moved!" type of announcement is a really nice idea. But I would leave it at that. Just update people on your plans and new address, and that should be it. I think even hinting at money or gifts would be really gauche. If people want to send you money, they know where to send it now, no need to ask for it. But then again, I come from WASPs, so.

Puppy love

I appreciate the solidarity, but it was one of my school interviews. Ugh.

In my interview today, I think I accidentally advocated for underage drinking. I recovered well, but oh god was it ever embarrassing. The torture of waiting is making me want to tear my hair out.

WIth such a deliberately limited perspective of the world, and extreme prejudices, I'm genuinely curious: what is it that makes you think you could be a social worker? I know this is harsh, but how the hell do you think you could fix someone else's problems, when you are completely refusing help (HELP YOU SOUGHT OUT) yourself?

For my interview yesterday, I wore my hair down (because I have fantastic hair and should be accepted on that fact alone!) and wore my glasses, because I don't do contacts. I have heard that women are sometimes perceived as more mature when they wear their hair back. So, if that's what you're going for, that might be something to keep in mind.

They definitely can cancel on the day of the interview. It seems like snow day decisions are always made at the last minute. I would send them an email or give them a call explaining your particular situation, and ask if they can update you as early as possible. ( I applied to the same school! Neat!)

I believe some waitlists can be ranked. If people who were accepted turn down some offers, and they have 3 spots open, I imagine they would offer those spots to their top 3 waitlist candidates. Did you get a number? I was once #2 on a waitlist I was accepted from, but it was for high school. (I wound up not even going there, so...)

Everyone is faking it. EVERYONE. That said, it happens in stages. Yesterday, I was bemoaning the fact that I'm no longer a recent graduate (I'm 26), and I'll be older than everyone in my program, and I won't be out of school until I'm 30, and my 401(k) is just sitting there and won't really be growing while I'm going back to school, et cetera. And literally five minutes ago I was Facebook-stalking some people from high school who are now producers and architects and lawyers, and I'm thinking, my parents still buy me groceries? You just filled out your W-4. In three months, you might sign up for health insurance. Then your parents might pay your parking tickets, and you have to hand-make everyone's Christmas gifts that year. And then before you know it, you're hiring your own interns at work, but still eating cereal for dinner because you're lazy. I guess everyone just grows up at different times. And what really is growing up, anyway? What did we expect from adulthood? When I was a kid, I was looking forward to total independence, and the ability to make my own decisions. Currently there are 7 types of ice cream in my freezer. If that's not adulthood, I don't know what is. My dad always says that when he was dating my mom, that's how he knew he'd get along with her family.

I'm actually probably taller than that model, but for some reason the dress hits me much lower, like at the middle of the knee. I bought it a couple years ago, and I'm guessing they changed the design a bit, or just photoshopped it somehow for this picture. Either way, I might rethink it.

I have a couple interviews coming up for my school counseling programs. I am way into clothes, and tend to over-think how to dress for lots of occasions. I own suits, but I'm not at my most "me" in a suit, and want to interview at my very best, outfit be damned. http://bananarepublic.gap.com/browse/product.do?vid=1&pid=949935002 This black wrap dress is sort of my "lucky dress" (also referred to by one friend as my "sexy funeral dress") and has gotten me through my best interviews. Would this, with black tights, appropriate footwear, and tasteful jewelry be an acceptable option for school counseling interviews? Or should I stay traditional?

I have a really picky palate, and expensive tastes. Lobster is probably my favorite meal-food (obviously desserts go in a separate category), and that's not exactly grad-budget-friendly. I'd raise my own lobsters for food, if it weren't so absurd. But if I did that, I'd probably wind up naming them or something. And I still wouldn't be able to eat lobster.