Doings

Let’s see, where to begin…

• My mother’s car died.  Dead.  Cannot be rescusitated.  She has no money right now to get another car.  Meanwhile, as she weighs her options, I’ve loaned her mine.  Hey, with my back problems it’s not like I’m using it anyway; it just sits in the driveway.
• I’ve sent in the letter declining admission to Columbia.  I can’t begin to tell you how hard it was, even though I knew it was the right choice.  It’s done now, though, and I’m moving forward.
• I’ve just finished reading Warrior by Marie Brennan (not to be confused with the Warrior series by Erin Hunt, which I have also recently finished reading).  This was a real page-turner.  If you enjoy fantasy at all, I think you’ll like this.  The premise is that when a witch is born, a doppelganger is as well.  In order for the witch to receive her powers without being overwhelmed and killed by them, the doppelganger must die.  It is believed to be a soulless creature and is usually killed immediately.  When Miryo comes of age to receive her powers, however,  it is discovered that her doppelganger still lives.  Miryo is charged with the task of seeking her other half, Mirage, and killing her.  But when Miryo finds Mirage she realizes that her twin does have a soul, and she can’t follow through.  Mirage is a Hunter who also has a mission: to discover who was behind the assassination of a high-ranking witch.  The answer to that leads back to a conspiracy, one which involves the unwitting twins.  The two must unite if they are to live…
• Did I mention that while we are on vacation, our bathroom is going to be remodelled?  Well, it is.  Randy and I went to Home Depot yesterday.  I chose the new vanity, bathroom storage cabinet, and faucet.  The shower stall size and style was already determined, but I chose the glass pattern for it.  The shower is a corner unit, but the corner it should occupy in our bathroom isn’t big enough because of the placement of the window.  So we’re going to build a wall about 17″ from the window wall and turn the space in between into built-in shelving.  The shower will go into the newly formed corner created by the newly created wall.  In addition to this, the old flooring is going to be replaced with new; I picked that out yesterday as well.  I’m thinking about buying a new toilet as well, but am not sure yet.  We’ll see.  Fear not- I will take before and after shots to share.  Because I know you’re all dying to know what my bathroom looks like, right? Yeah, that’s what I thought.
• As long as we were out anyway, we stopped to buy a couple of things for our cats.  We couldn’t resist getting them a kitty tower.  I hesitated because a) a lot of them look kind of tacky and b) they’re expensive.  I wasn’t convinced our cats would use it; they’ve ignored the smaller kitty condo we bought for them years ago.  But we decided to get it anyway.  I’m glad we did!  After some initial hesitancy, they’ve come to love it.  One of the store employees told us that for some reason most cats don’t like the top shelf of these things.  I doubted that would be an issue, at least for Wheezy.  The cat has psychotic breaks and races up and down door frames, so heights aren’t really a problem for her.  Sure enough, she loves being at the top of the tower.  She’s curled up there now.  All I can see is her tail hanging down through the hole that allows access to the top; it looks like a furry snake dangling down.   As for Patches, he likes the lowest level best, but will sometimes explore the second level.  He did try to reach the top, but Wheezy was there and made it perfectly clear that it was a No Patches Zone.  Period.  He doesn’t seem to mind, though.  Both cats also like to hide in the corner behind the tower itself.  Putting the tower where we did created a nifty little hidey-hole for them.  Here they are:

Lazy Days of Summer (Unfortunately)

My back is still causing me problems, so I haven’t been doing much lately.  Just reading, watching t.v., and physical therapy.  The therapist has given me all of the exercises he can; I’m at an advanced level.  But though I’m better than when I went in, I’m still not out of the woods.  He thinks that it’s just going to be a matter of time now.  Randy and I are leaving for Tennessee in a couple of weeks, and we’ll see where I’m at when I get back.  If I’m still having trouble then it may be time to see an orthopedist.  I’m not looking forward to the drive south, but the therapist sold me one of those stimulator packs to use whenever I need to.  He says I can leave it on all day if I want (I don’t), and recommends that I use it liberally on the drive down to the Smoky Mts.

Here’s the man-made version of what we’ll see when we get to Tennessee:

You Might Think I’m Crazy

I have been accepted into Columbia University.

Wow.

That’s huge.

The prestige, the advantages, the opportunities all would be mine.  Nobel Prize winners have come out of Columbia. That’s plural. Winners.

But I’m not going.

I’ve chosen not to go.

I’d rather go to Saint Joseph College.

It is incredibly tempting to go to Columbia, but I’d be going for all the wrong reasons.  Prestige is nice, but it’s not everything.  Being able to say “I go to Columbia” would be such a stroke to the ego, and there are those to whom I would love to be able to say those words.  I have felt as though I had something to prove to certain people.  But that’s not a good enough reason to choose a school, at least not for me.

I’ve proven to myself that I can get into Columbia; that’s all that really matters.  I’m proud of who I am and what I’ve done.  I’ve proven to myself that I’m intelligent enough to get into an Ivy League school, and smart enough to choose not to go when I realize that it is the wrong choice for me.

I don’t want to go to a school that experiments on animals.  I’m not happy about animal testing for medical reasons, so I really can’t see myself participating in animal experimentation.  As a student at Columbia (or Yale, Harvard, etc…) I would be expected to do so.   My position is that if I want to conduct research, I’ll do so with consenting humans.  Experimenting on animals to give myself bigger bragging rights is not a compromise I’m willing to make.

Then there’s the money.  It costs twice as much to attend Columbia.  As I was considering this I suddenly realized that I still have to come up with money for grad school once I’ve finished undergrad.  I’m not 20 years old.  I don’t have decades ahead of me to pay off student loans, nor do I want to spend the rest of my life trying to do so.  I’m willing to invest in my future, but there’s a limit.  I would like to be able to enjoy that future at some point, too.

Finally, there’s the time factor.  Between train and subway rides I’d be spending about 6 hours a day commuting to and from school.  I’d have to get up at 3 or 4 AM to get to NYC for any morning class I might have to take.  I’d be away from home too much.  I could do it, but I don’t really want to.  I had a bit of a wake-up call while I was in New York on Friday.  Randy’s father was diagnosed with prostate cancer that day.  His prognosis is good and we’re not overly worried.  But that got me thinking about my priorities.  What if it turns out to be more serious?  Or what if something happens to another family member?  I won’t be around for any of them.  And I want to be.

I want to be with my family, and I can’t do that if I’m in New York.

If I go to Saint Joseph, I’ll only be an hour away from home.  I won’t have to take part in animal experimentation.  It costs less, and I can take classes at 5 other schools without paying extra.  They offer evening and weekend classes in addition to the traditional day classes.  It’s an excellent school with a great reputation.  It’s a beautiful campus in West Hartford, and its proximity to the capitol allows for practical experience and cultural enrichment.  The school is small; I won’t be just a number.  I know some students, and a couple of friends from the community college are also planning to transfer in within the next couple of years.

I agonized over this decision for a few days.  I know that in making this decision I’ll be letting some people down.  There are those who won’t understand the choice I’ve made, who will think I’m nuts for turning down Columbia.   But I have to do what’s right for me, not for other people.

I will be attending Saint Joseph College in the Fall.  I’m proud of that, and know that I’ll truly be happy there.  That’s what matters.

Any other choice, even one as spectacular as Columbia, would be wrong.

Found

This morning, one week after he went missing, my cousin was found.  This will bring the family, friends and community some peace.

Still Recuperating

You know how you really look forward to something for a long time but when it finally happens, it sucks?

That wasn’t the case here.

Last Friday I met Emily, Becky and Dustin in Manhattan for the day.  I got to know Dustin and Becky through our blogs, and then I met Emily through them on Twitter.  We always have so much fun online, but I’ll admit to feeling somewhat nervous about the face-to-face meeting.  What if we didn’t like each other after all?  That would really bite.  Despite the nerves I was determined to go, have a good time, and not let my inherent shyness overwhelm me.  I believe that, if you ask them, they’ll testify to the fact that I succeeded admirably.  In fact, they probably had trouble shutting me up! *G*  This was made easier by how comfortable they made me feel from the moment I stepped through the hotel room door.

I had been unable to get a taxi at Grand Central (3 taxis out front, all of them off-duty! What was that about?) and am unfamiliar with the subway and bus routes.  So I walked from 3rd Ave. to 8th (because I turned the wrong way out of Grand Central, adding a block to my walk), and then from 42nd up to 51st.  It was a long, hot walk.  I was forced to dodge or run over fellow pedestrians who lacked the sense to get out of my way; I was a woman on a mission!  By the time I got to the hotel I was red-faced and sweaty.  Such was their good nature that they let me in anyway, and even allowed me to hug them!  These are truly rare people.  And for once I mean that in a good sense.

We spent the day walking through Times Square, Rockefeller Plaza, and in and around stores.  Becky was taking photos for her teenaged daughter who was feeling miffed because Becky hadn’t brought her along.  I told her that if she really wanted to bring Taylor a photo she’d like, Becky should let me push her in front of a bus and take a shot of her then.  For some reason, Becky didn’t think this was a good idea.  She took a picture of a pigeon instead. *G*

After meandering around for awhile, Emily (our Fearless Leader) navigated us through the subway system, taking us uptown to Serendipity for supper.  What a great restaurant!  I ordered a frozen mochacino.  I expected a tall glass.  Instead I was given a gigantic sundae dish filled to overflowing with the yummy goodness that makes up this delightful beverage.  Nobody thought I could drink it by myself (the waiter automatically brought 4 straws) but I took up the challenge and drank it all!  A cheddar burger, fries, coleslaw and part of a butterscotch sundae later, they rolled me out the door.  From there we headed to a nearby candy shop, and then took the subway back to Grand Central.  Sadly, I had to go home.  Dustin had to head out as well, thereby unleashing the two women on NYC unsupervised.  And you know what they say: What happens in Manhattan… shall be documented on their blogs, not mine.

Enchanting Emily

Beautiful Becky

Debonair Dustin

Thanks for an amazing time!