Catching up

I offer the following excuses for why I have neglected to update in recent weeks:

1. Got accepted to GWU and *squeeee!!!*'d my way through life for several days. I'm still recovering.
2. Lost attempted bid on a house (someone else threw down as we were signing the bid paperwork).
3. Went to St. Louis for several days during massive flooding. Reconfirmed my theory that people who drive into areas marked "Do not enter when flooded" are continuing to reproduce at record rates and must be stopped through innovative sterilization program. Still working out the kinks in my plan.
4. Put in for a new job (which would mean a promotion).
5. Consoled buddy who didn't get job he applied for when office politics took over and the least qualified person got the job.
6. Worked two conferences with long hours, including a last-minute show up in Baltimore on a Saturday. Blergh.
7. Put in bid on another house.
8. Countered the counter bid (same price, earlier close date requested by sellers).
9. Worked another conference that was a total waste of time. Confirmed belief that conferences are merely an excuse for slackers to scam out of work for free swag.
10. Found out that aforementioned counter bid was accepted. We will soon own a house worth half a million dollars. *faints*
11. Interviewed for aforementioned job that I applied for. Hauled arse home to fetch children after hubby left for FL.
12. Took Friday off to attend open house at GWU. Missed out on free cocktail reception to fetch children while hubby is in FL.
13. Still wondering how it's fair that hubby gets to party at Walt Disney World for 6 days while I get to wrangle three children, work full-time and plan for next St. Louis trip.

So.... yeah. Those are my excuses. Take 'em or leave 'em.

Must go deal with whining/crying/hungry children. Hope no one else is having as many problems with their brood as I seem to be having today.

Blergh.

Final Score: 1-1

Ok, so I didn't get accepted to Georgetown. Honestly, it was a long shot - my GRE scores were abysmal at best, so I really wasn't holding out much hope of competing against thousands of applicants. Hey, at least I can say I tried, right?

The good news is that I did get accepted at GWU, which really does have a great program. I've been looking over the course offerings (many of which I knew I wanted before I even applied), and I feel good about the coursework opportunities. I sent back my "Declaration of Intent" yesterday, along with the $500 deposit (OUCH!). Guess that clinches it.

Eeeeek!

I can't quite wrap my brain around the fact that I'm going to grad school. It really is very exciting. I suppose it will sink in sometime next week while I'm in St. Louis on TDY.

Eeeeek!!

In other news, house hunting is not going well. I'm frustrated at the current house prices and the lack of offerings. My Realtor says that we're entering prime house shopping season, so we should see the available inventory grow exponentially soon. (Come on, be impressed I can use the word "exponentially"!) As soon as the weather started warming up a bit this past week, we saw no less than 5 "For Sale" signs pop up on our street. Here's hoping that more people put their places up for sale in the neighborhood we like!

How are you today? ;)

1-0-1

After many days and hours of shaking fists in frustration at the unyielding mailbox, the following arrived in today's mail:

"Dear ___:

Congratulations on your admission to the Master of Arts program in Security Policy Studies, effective fall semester, 2008, at The George Washington University's Elliott School of International Affairs."

**SQUEEE!**

No funding, but that's ok - my GI Bill will help cover my costs. I finally discovered something good about serving in the Navy. ;)

So - one down, one to go. Wish me luck!!

Blergh to the mailbox

Still nothing.

Nada.

没有。

Toooooootally empty.



ARGH!

I am not a patient woman.

I somehow managed to last 7 hours in labor before asking for an epidural.

I waited until our daughter was three before finally getting a proposal from the hubby.

I even lasted 8 YEARS in the Navy before returning to the real world.

So why is it that I can't wait 2 measly months between submitting my graduate school applications and receiving decision letters?

:|

It's Friday and I still haven't heard anything about my apps. I've had a very busy week at work, during which many props were received for doing good things. I also applied for a promotion at work (it would be a new job in a different office, hence the need to "apply"). I even booked my hotel and plane tickets for the TDY that (sort of) starts next week. I feel rather proud of myself for being so productive.

So why is it that I'm so wigged out about not receiving letters?

ARGH!!

And thus it begins...

Someone (not me) got their rejection letter for the SPS program at GWU this week. That means that the letters have been released...


Why do I hear "Jaws" music in the background?

Mailbox anxiety

Every day (except Sunday, so at least I get a break), I walk to the mailbox with a combination of dread and excitement.

Will it arrive today?

Will it be an acceptance letter? (Yay!!)

Will it be a rejection letter? (Ok, don't cry in public...)
.
.
.
.

As of today, my mailbox remains, as always, full of junk mail, bills and letters from family. It remains empty of the two items I so anxiously await.

Blergh.


In other news, we might buy a house.

Is no news really good news?

My mailbox continues to refuse to spit out any notifications from Georgetown or George Washington. I am greatly annoyed at it's insolence.

At least I can generally take comfort in the knowledge that no one else appears to have heard anything either. Ok, I take that back - lots of people have received the dreaded "letter", but no one with my academic focus. At least, as far as I know.

*squirms nervously*

Date Night Review

Hubby and I went out to dinner in DC last night.

We had planned on taking the Metro, but that fell through when we discovered (online, thankfully) that Metro Center was experiencing serious delays for maintenance. Blergh. Good thing it's only $10 to park at the Ronald Reagan Building on the weekends.

The restaurant wasn't bad, but frankly, it was overpriced. The server was nice enough, but you could tell that he wasn't terribly interested in us (we weren't dressed to the nines like some of the clientèle). Hubby's lamb loin was pretty yummy, but my risotto was somehow over- and under-cooked at the same time. Don't ask how that happened, because I don't seem to have that problem with my risotto. In any case, dessert was the highlight of the meal - I had a "modernized" tiramisu that was fabulous! I enjoyed my toscana, but hubby was less impressed with his chianti. As we were leaving, we had to make our way through a packed bar populated with a bunch of sorority/fraternity alumni that clearly needed to learn that choosing fashion over survival (it was 20-something degrees outside!) is simply not attractive. Watching two scantily clad blondes try to defrost by the bathrooms was mildly entertaining.

Following dinner, we went for a walk outside. We were only a couple of blocks from the Mall, and I had hoped to see the various monuments romantically lit up. Unfortunately, poor hubby is still recovering from the flu and it was just too dang cold outside to do much walking. We ended up getting in the car and attempting to find a parking spot close to the Lincoln Memorial.

What a total bust that was.

Washington Monument parking? Bust.

WWII Memorial parking? Bust.

Jefferson Memorial parking? Nice view across the water, but too dang far to walk. Bust.

We did get good (probably illegal) parking outside the US Capitol, but the digital camera kept trying to focus on the closest source of light (nearby lamp post). So decent pictures? Yeah, that was a bust too.

The monuments were beautiful, and I'm really sorry that we couldn't see them up close. My hoped-for night of romantic walks in the moonlight didn't turn out as planned.

Sigh.

On the upside, we came home to discover two out of three children asleep on the couch. The babysitter, hubby's cousin, got handsomely rewarded for that amazing feat.

Maybe I'll get a chance to try this again next month when it's a bit warmer. However, notes for next time:

- don't waste time at "highly reviewed" but completely overrated restaurants - we're hittin' the pubs
- wait until the Metro isn't experiencing delays so we don't have to drive (but thank heavens for GPS!)
- screw dressing up, I'm wearing jeans and sneakers
- think about buying cheap disposable camera that won't try to auto-focus

Sigh.

Waiting for graduate school rejection letters = stress

I know it's only 21 Feb, and technically notifications aren't sent out until mid-March, but I'm starting to feel like I'm in a constant state of anxiety about my graduate school applications. Why? Here are a few reasons:

1. My GRE scores were atrocious.
2. I still worry about my personal statement.
3. Reading about other people and their qualifications makes me feel horribly inadequate.

I haven't heard anything yet, but neither have many of the other folks I've chatted with on various forums. I don't feel so alone, but I'm still neurotic about the whole blasted thing. I think I'd feel better if I just got the rejections in the mail and it was over with. This waiting is horrible - it's like being pregnant and waiting to go into labor. You know this painful, miserable thing is going to happen, and you can't wait for it to be over. Still, there's that bit of hope that it will all go smoothly and the 40-billion complications that might pop up never will materialize.

So just tell me already! Quit messing with my head!

*shakes fist at The Man*

However, looking at the list of things "to do" from my last post makes me feel ever so slightly better about myself. I've actually accomplished most of them.

Go me!