Wanted: New Roomate

I find myself in the same place I was a couple months ago. And a couple months before that. I need a roomate. Honestly, I'm not horrible to live with (withold your comments brothers). My past roomates have just moved on to bigger and better things. As a result, I am sending out a search for another roomate. If you match the profile below, let me know.

Roomate Profile:
Age: Not 42 year old men
Sex: Not a problem


That's really all I'm asking for. Now, a little about me.

Age: 23
Sex: Let's be serious now
Location: Vail
Hobbies: Skiing, giving away shifts at work, saying I'm applying to Grad Schools, beer pong on the front porch, etc. (leather, whips, and chains may be involved in any and all activities)


If interested, let me know. Until then, I will be walking around naked...again.

Practi-cation

I'm getting better and better at getting my ass in gear and actually applying for schools next year. A few doubles in a row at the Brewery and I find I'm up until 3 in the morning punching out banging essays. I wonder why.

I've sent in a few inquiries to a few different schools attempting to learn more about their programs. (I know, I should've been doing this two years ago) One state school in a particular state I am currently residing sent me back a nice little nasty "fuck you" email. The form I filled out consisted of my name, my GPA, my GRE scores, and what areas of Science I may be interested in pursuing. I'll spare you the exact citations of some of the gruesome put-downs, but "clearly I need to move from Avon, CO to pursue some sort of research position if I want a chance in this graduate program." I lied. (The most amusing part of this email was that he described a 3-lined attack for me to make me look more impressive.....prongs anyone?? anyone???? o ems.)

Is he telling me that a ski bum isn't a well-respected profession? Is there nothing to learn out here? I beg to disagree. For instance, helmets are good....they protect heads. You only have one and it's not like a tire. (Yes, it may go bald, but there are no spares....and only a few are specifically designed for snow) Powder days are a reason to get up early in the morning. Your legs and knees will ache afterward, due to the build-up of lactic acid in the surrounding muscles (look at me applying my education in physiology -- fuck you certain penn state science professors). Hot showers/baths/tubs will remedy the situation. People with money will spend it. And a lot of it. And they'll spend it on you if you have what they want. (No, I am not whoring myself out kids) Hell, I make more at the goddamn brewery per hour than many professionals do out here - i.e. teachers, EMTs/paramedics/firefighters, assistants in medical offices, occupational therapists, etc. I've confirmed this with several friends who have these professions.

I've learned practical things in life (much more than the mundane ones I described above). None of the organic chemstry-biology-blow up-shit you learn standing behinding a lab bench 12 hours/day. And from what I've heard, I'm doing the right thing. Surprise surprise, I run into doctors on the ski lifts here in Vail. (What, do they own houses out here or something??) Every single doc I've talked to tells me not to let the admissions bullshit get the best of me. I should be taking a year off to be a bum. Everyone should. I have another 8 years (give or take) of hell after this, consisting of class, labs, intense rounds, and my free time eaten up by studying. Why would you spend your "year off" in some deep dark basement of some University distilling crap so said University can make a couple more bucks off of your 80hrs/wk research work. Sorry, but I'm no one's bitch. (Kiss my ass CPR)

Now how to explain this to a grad admissions committee, all the while conveying my reasoning for being a total waste of space this year, but in the words that convince them I'll be their number one student in whatever program next year. If anyone has the solution to this dilemna, please share with me. (Sharpie, you were on a really good start)

I'm in a pissed-off mood which partially describes my rantings and ravings. In fact, it wholly describes it. You can't help but feel down in this whole process. It's no ego-boost getting nasty emails as to why you're inadequate (actually, I'm very adequate in other areas - they just don't know about those areas, yet) What makes it worse, you pay to get rejected. Applications will run anywhere from $50 - $150 ea. Bastards.

Someday, I'm going to annihilate the sickos that get their kicks from being on admissions committees and rejecting poor qualified individuals like myself. Anyone that wants to partake in this mission with me, let me know. I'm thinking we can be called the rejapplicants. (The name needs a little work)

Alright, I've rambled on enough and am currently making absolutely no sense. You shouldn't be reading this either. You should be coming up with ways to get me into some sort of Graduate School. Chop chop.

You're only screwing yourself

Procrastination is probably one of my biggest downfalls. Why do I lack the motivation to do simple tasks like paying bills or going to the bank or even getting myself up and moving in the morning (if I don't have to be somewhere)? And then there's the major tasks, like my Grad School applications. They're not difficult, it's just a matter of doing them. I'll open up the schools' websites, get out my started Word documents, and reread several of the essay questions. Someone IMs me, we get to talking, I play a game of Solitaire or two (or 5000), VH1 has some top 100 celebrity spending show on and all of a sudden, it's 5 hours later. I've gotten nothing accomplished and feel crappy as a result. I've wasted 5 hours on the couch staring at my computer screen and the TV.

I've tried eliminating some of the distractions: signing off online, turning off the TV (and moving the remote far away), keeping my cell phone on silent, etc. Nothing seems to work, I always find something to amuse me (such as this blog). My latest amusement though, I took a practice GRE exam just to see if I would do better than when I took the real thing last year. Taking the math portions was more entertaining than typing up essays.

And for those who are curious, I got the EXACT same score on the GRE I took today as the GRE I took more than a year ago.

My name is Jennifer and I have a problem.

Weekend Update (and so much more)

So it's been a while. Work's been busy and the mountain's been calling my name. Christmas was good. Not the same of course, but still had a good time. I rang in the New Year and ended my Birthday with my annual ode to the porcelain god.

Penn State went to the Orange Bowl and won in a gruesome triple overtime. I got to watch the game with a fellow PennStater which is few and hard to find in this area. A few drunk phone calls were exchanged with several of my friends who were actually in Miami. Jealous? Sure. But I live in Vail.

I'm pretty ready for a trip back East. If anything, to see some familiar faces and be near a real city again. The High Country is great, but it gets a little "red-necky" for me sometimes. I might have a couple friends come out in the next month or two which would be wicked cool. (Shout out to the peeps in Boston)

My New Years Resolution is to get my ass in gear and apply to a damn school next year. My motivation: I can't work at a Brewery for the rest of my life. And I don't like my job opportunities based on the degree I have. Back East, farther West, somewhere in the middle, who knows? But it will be somewhere. I found I enjoy school, even though I'm not the most stellar student. But a year of nothing has made me appreciate the value of education.

Pictured is me on New Years, pre-porcelain-bus-driving. I'm thinking of using it as my photo for grad apps.