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[Sunday
September 9th, at 9:39pm] |
I’ll call this Chapter 6.
Chapter 1: Birth-Toddlerhood; the forgotten years
Chapter 2: Pre-School – 5th grade; the innocent years
Chapter 3: Junior High School; the awkward years
Chapter 4: High School; the slightly less awkward years
Chapter 5: College; the defining years
Chapter 5 ½ : Blue Camp; the amazing summer sessions
Chapter 6: The Peace Corps
I think my 22 years of life can be divided into five chapters and I’m about to start my sixth. My livejournal entries, however sparse they may be, will now be here: ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) pcmaryam. I’m leaving tomorrow for Washington D.C., where I’ll be for 3 days, and then I am off to the Dominican Republic. Have an amazing 27 months, please keep this journal on your friends lists while I am away. I’ll be back in this journal on or around November 20, 2009.
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[Friday
August 31st, at 5:17pm] |
almost falling on my face; indian rock, berkeley, california.
falling, in love.
everytime i come back to berkeley i begin to fall in love with it again. i drive down the tree lined streets in the perfect microclimate. i sit on random large boulders looking over the san francisco bay into the financial district as the fog rolls in. i sit in cafes, using their internet, listening to obsurdly intelligent conversations between unpretentious genius minds. two days ago i was sitting across the way from where i am sitting now and two men were talking about michael vick. i can't seem to put into ornate words, like they did, what metaphors they attributed to vick. but it was something along the lines of how black men tend to call eachother "dawg" and they are always in competition to be the "biggest" or the "best" dog in the pack. one of the men went on to say that vick was just reflecting society's mold of the black male construct into dog fighting. he had to kill his competition, and since he couldn't do that amongst his peers he reflected this desire and acted it out among his animals. so intensely intellectual. my brain almost exploded.
everything that is my life right now is going to change in less than two weeks. i'm uprooting myself from what is familiar, what is safe, what is my entire concept of the world and living and moving into uncharted territory. i am voluntarily exposing myself to something that i know nothing about. the peace corps says that "it's the hardest job you'll ever love". and i have no doubt that it'll be my hardest job... and i'm hoping that they are right about me loving it. there is a self-expectation about what i think i can handle; i hope that reality and my expectations end up meeing eye to eye. i really can't believe such a big change is going to happen so soon.
(itinerary: sept.10: fly to washington d.c. for staging; sept. 13: fly to santo domingo, republica dominicana for in-country training; approx. 3 months later: move to my site where i'll be spending the next 24 months)
if it wasn't real before, it's certainly real now. i have to think about packing. how do you pack for 27 months? meghag, help me! any words of wisdom? anything, anything would be appreciated.
i think those little things called cold feet are kicking in. not the best thing to have at this moment. oh, life.
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[Thursday
August 30th, at 3:54pm] |
synopsis
t-minus 10 days left in berkeley. t-minus 13 days left in the united states. my status on facebook went from "UCLA '07" to "UCLA Alum '07" recently. and, you know, if it's on facebook it means that it's official. my college life is over. i'm an old lady.
i spent 6 weeks of my summer getting paid double-digits per hour to run amuck with kids. it was amazing. i can honestly say that this last summer is vying for the no.1 best blue camp summer. i really enjoyed the people that entered my life and i hope that they end up staying in my life after my hiatus from the united states of america.
i've got letters of recommendations from professors/tas ready to go once i get back and enter the world of law school applications. i think i know what i'm going to write about for my personal statement.
i've been chauffeuring my mom around because of her hand surgery. and, honestly, it's making me really frustrated in life. but, i will suck it up because she is my mom and i love her? haha. i'm also debating whether or not living at home after the peace corps will be a viable option. it'd be the most financially intelligent option, but it just might be too mentally taxing. i mean, i love my mom but she can love me too much sometimes.
i'm sad that i'll be leaving without seeing some of my favorite people in the world. i'm sad that the soonest that i'll see them will be in november of 2009.
lots of packing to be done. some good byes to be said. and then it's time to rock out of this joint.
explosion!
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[Sunday
August 12th, at 11:13am] |
updates.
still no internet.
10 working days of camp left.
i officially need to be in washington d.c. at 1pm (eastern time) on sept. 11, 2007 for pre-departure training.
i officially leave for the DR on sept. 13, 2007 and i won't be back until november 20, 2009.
yowwwza.
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[Sunday
July 22nd, at 11:05pm] |
one step forward
i just emailed the dominican republic desk my updated resume and my aspiration statement. step two of the post-invitation cycle complete.
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[Sunday
July 15th, at 6:16pm] |
good karma
the amazingness of people in this world never cease to amaze me. i think it's partially why i'm not so disillusioned with the world. it's the little things, you know? so, here's my story.
on thursday, the 12th, my friend sophia, who i went to UCLA with, came up to Berkeley to hang out. because she was coming i decided to bring my camera to work that day. we met up, did things, went up to the lawrence hall of science and took photos of the amazing bay area view. then i went to a IM softball game on maxwell field, on the uc berkeley campus, and went home. the next morning, friday the thirteenth, i was in a rush to get out of the house so i consciously left my camera in my bag. upon looking for it on saturday it was no where to be found. i thought it had dropped out of my bag at camp. i looked frantically all around the house, emailed my boss and asked if anyone had turned it in (which they hadn't) and i came to accept the fact that my camera was gone. and so were the photos from my graduation with my mom.
so, today, on a whim, i decided to check craigslist to see if anyone had found my camera. and i found a posting titled "Found camera near Maxwell Field (UC Berkeley)" (http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/laf/373247574.html) it was too much of a coincidence to not have been my camera but i was playing it safe and not getting my hopes up. i went to UCPD today and, low and behold, it was my camera! i searched through the photos and found one of me and my mom and showed the police officer. i signed a form and i had my camera back.
i guess friday the 13th wasn't so unlucky afterall. thank you mr. chris bartlow.
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[Friday
June 29th, at 5:16pm] |
i'm one of those people
the last few times that i have been home i'd sit in the living room and meander about until i could find a wireless signal. i would usually connect to one called "da hood" which is a bit of comedy in itself. but, i came home thursday night to find that "da hood" was no longer appearing in my list of available networks. and, today, a miracle happened. i found another network on my balcony. it's kind of nice to be forced to go outside to use the internet. i am always one of those people when i come home because my mom doesn't 1) need or 2) really know how to navigate through the world wide web.
today i called into the peace corps office to accept my invitation to the dominican republic. the placement assistant, maria, asked me if i had any concerns regarding the sector that i have been nominated for. my job will be to educate mothers, children, and youth on good health practices -- good nutrition, hygiene, sexual health, HIV/AIDS prevention, ect. after reading peace corps journals of people in my sector of work i felt highly under-qualified and not trained at all. i told maria this and she said that my placement officer, suzanne, is very thorough about going through people's resumes and qualifications and that she would not have placed me here if she didn't feel like i could handle it. i guess i have to believe her.
in a couple weeks i'll be getting more information from the peacecorps. i'm supposed to update my resume and write an aspiration statement within the next two weeks. i also have to apply for a special peace corps passport since you can't travel on official government business on a civilian passport.
in other news, i had a minor freak-out today because i thought that i hadn't graduated. my degree progress report didn't show that i had completed my scientific inquiry requirement because the physical lab that i took was 3.0 units and the physical science i took was 4.0 units. they needed to be at least 4.5 units each. i called the registrar in a panic but she told me that everything was fine and i had a "whew" moment.
hopefully this wireless signal is pretty stable and i'll be able to keep up with everyone's lives. i'm already missing my friends from UCLA and it's been two days. but, there are new adventures ahead, and a lot of unpacking to do before i have to pack again.
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[Tuesday
June 26th, at 3:21pm] |
it's official
My assignment was recieved this morning via Fed Ex.
I'm going to the Dominican Republic!!!
I will be a community health/ health nutrition extensionist.
I'll be in Miami for orientation from September 11-13.
Off to orientation in country until November 20th.
I'll return on November 19, 2009.
This'll be home for 2 years:
Crazy Times.
eventually i'll be housed here: pcmaryam if you would like to add that journal.
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[Monday
June 25th, at 2:46am] |
Application Update.
2:00 am pacific time.
officially invited to join the peace corps.
invitation kit sent out on june 24, 2006.
awaiting receipt of mail.
ps.
holy crap x2
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[Friday
June 15th, at 1:12am] |
my most recent entries will be public.
all past entries will be kept under friends lock.
i do like compromise.
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[Thursday
June 14th, at 2:16am] |
oh the places you'll go...
my mom's boss gave me that book, by dr. seuss, nearly four years ago (give a take a couple of days) when i graduated from high school. and, now, it's been four years and man, the places i've gone. not only physically or mentally but spiritually also. i outgrew my skin and found a new one. i've travelled to exotic places the new york times writes about. i've seen that very oven and walked on that very street. i went to that very bridge and looked out that very faux gate. i've done all that.
i found amazing people to be my friends, i've found professors i admire, respect, and love. i experienced loss and i experienced strenght and bravery. i've seen the very souls of my friends through hardship and i've drank one too few nights away with them. i've gone places and i am going to continue to go places. dr. seuss speaks some sort of genius truth through his lyrical rhymes.
i also have no doubt that all the amazing people i've managed to trick into being my friends in college are going to do amazing things also. they'll become scientists and doctors and lawyers and scholars and teachers and coaches and husbands and wives and mothers and fathers, and they will continue to be amazing people -- which is the most important thing of all. at 11am today i will officially be done and it's approaching much too quickly.
i'm going to miss the people here the most... the likelihood of seeing them again any time soon isn't very high. a scary thought is that i might have to wait until someone gets married and decides to invite me to their wedding... we're all growing up and doing grown-up things.
despite all this forward progression, i am spending my last night at UCLA the way i've spent all my other last nights of the school year at UCLA -- procrastinating and reading things that should have been read long ago.
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[Monday
June 11th, at 12:35am] |
long, lost college nights
this listless sitting, reading, procrastinating is shared by so many this night. as my final finals week at ucla approaches i sit in the kerckhoff study lounge surrounded by racing minds, racing eyes, and racing hearts as the week that determines our grades in meaningless classes approaches. this sitting, this reading, this procrastinating takes over the lives of thousands of 18 to 22 year olds on campus and we submit to its power. we think of only the moment and nothing else. we have no real responsibility except to make our tution for the year worthy by producing some abstract percentage in some abstract class. we submit with little to no questions.
the tapping of keyboards form a rhythm to a sonata of whispers, chewing, and shuffling of papers. heads bob from side to side as the eyes try and take in as much as they can and hand it to the brain. butts shift in their seats in order to find a more comfortable position -- perhaps a position that'll make you smarter. backpacks zip and unzip and ears are plugged with earbuds and music from ipods. occasionally there is a giggle in this sonata of shuffling, but not very often. the mind is too focused, and too caffinated.
as much as this time of year is filled with red eyes and sleep deprivation and complaints of ruthlessness due to our professors, i'm going to miss this. this communal cramming, this communal stress, and this communal lack of responsibility. they say the best years of your life are in college. i'm not quite sure i believe it yet -- seeing as i've only lived for twenty-one years. but i can see how i would believe it one day. the day i'm drowning in credit card debt, with a large morgage, and a job that doesn't appreciate me -- maybe i will look back to this final week and wish it hadn't passed so quickly.
on thursday at noon i will be done with my undergraduate experience. four years will have gone by and my "college experience" will have a period behind it and my new life will begin. i'll probably write a more nostalgic (if that is possible) entry then. but, for now, i write to bask myself in the warmth of listlessness.
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[Thursday
June 7th, at 1:43am] |
The Beginning of the End
My last college paper is due tomorrow. It's all coming to an end. I'd like to give three cheers to the guy who served me at starbucks today when I was diligently doing the work that I should have been doing for the past 5 weeks. He let me have a large tea for the price of a small tea and he gave me 2 extra shots of espresso in my Americano as the shop was closing because he felt generous.
And, I for one, appreciate your generosity.
Hip-hip-hooray! (I'm already going crazy with this excessive amount of caffeine.)
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[Tuesday
June 5th, at 2:01am] |
2 days of class left in college.
2 finals and 1 final paper left in college.
2 weeks left in college.
scared. excited. lazy. ready. not ready.
really, just confused.
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[Friday
June 1st, at 7:57pm] |
The Getty Villa on a Cloudy Day
yay for macro lens! there were so many bees!
( +3 )
my photos were kind of crap of the outside. i really would like to go back when it's sunny. maybe when my momma comes down for my graduation.
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[Friday
June 1st, at 2:39am] |
2:00 am Pacific Time:
Medically Cleared for the Peace Corps.
Awaiting Placement.
p.s.
holy shit
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[Sunday
May 20th, at 12:38pm] |
music, please
we're having a down 'n dirty party this thursday and we need a playlist. about 3hrs of music would be good -- 50 songs. please leave your suggestions of music to get nasty with. thanks.
to get your brains going:
1-2 step - ciara
goodies - ciara
in da club - 50 cent
sexy back - j-tim
what goes around comes around - j-tim
hey ya! - outcast
wind it up - gwen stefani
london bridge - fergie
fergilicious - fergie
don't matter - akon
pop, lock & drop it - huey
this is why i'm hot - mims
2-step - UNK
walk it out - UNK
... blah blah blah. help us!
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[Saturday
May 19th, at 1:44am] |
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every once in a while, when i am thinking about my future (aka always) i want to call the peace corps office and say, "damnit, where am i going already?" but, i'm pretty sure that's not okay. so i wait. i just wait and i wait.
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[Thursday
May 17th, at 9:40pm] |
a little humility never hurt anyone.
i might be on the verge of withdrawing from my 1st class ever at UCLA. at this point i need to rock the final to get a grade that i would be happy with -- that law schools would be happy with. but, in all honesty, i'm not sure i have the energy to rock it. so, well, W here i come... probably. tomorrow will be a trip to the career center to ask their opinion.
but, with a total ego shatter of one midterm came a total ego boost of another-- i probably did better on this midterm than any other midterm at UCLA. how can i do so well in one class but well, disappoint in another. i guess those are the woes of a senior year in college.
well, today, i took my very last midterm at UCLA and officially marked my downhill stroll to the graduation podium. oh how we grow up so fast...
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