Well if everyone else is doing it....
....I might as well update too. I'm putting all my update type things behind cuts. They're all pretty short, but together it's still a pretty long post.
I'm still residing in Marlow - still a substitute teacher and tedious-work doer for my Mom (this includes copious amounts of copying, with shredding and typing thrown in). Substituting is going just fine - they keep me busy. I was the elementary school nurse for a day a couple of weeks ago. A kid came in and shoved his arm under my nose and said, "My teacher thinks I have ring worm."
That was the beginning of a day in which it was intensely re-enforced that a school nurse's job (indeed, any job dealing directly with students) is both severely thankless and underpaid. It was also a day where I washed my hands about every 20 minutes. :)
This past week I spent the majority of my afternoons with an autistic boy in kindergarten. This week was his third week in school - ever. He is a very good-natured child, but is active enough and needs just enough attention and assistance that the kindergarten teacher needs a helper in her classroom just for him. He doesn't speak much, and normally when he does speak he just repeats what you say to him. But he is a phenomenal reader. He can already spell words like rhinoceros and dinosaur. He can read words he hasn't seen before right off the bat - doesn't need to sound them out or anything. After speaking with the teacher, it appears he just knows this - that he had no prior education aside from his mother spending some time with this. It's just fascinating.
The other students were wonderful with him - understood that he was different and were both sensitive to that fact and yet in complete awe that he already knew how to read. They looked out for him and told me his likes and dislikes. It was heart-warming to see, and I hope that never changes.
The numbers of autistic children are rising. Right now, about 1 child out of 150 is autistic. A pretty scary thought when no one seems to know why or how.
In terms of my future. I have applied to 3 universities, SUNY (state univ. of new york) Albany, UMD (univ. of maryland), and Duke. Duke's application was due at the beginning of this month so I don't expect to hear from them for another couple of weeks.
However. As of today, UMD and SUNY Albany have accepted me (well, the phrase being used is "recommending my acceptance to the admissions office" - but I've been told this is equal to an acceptance). This is amazing news! When I got the email from UMD today, I was too excited to read the rest of the rather lengthy email about how great their program is - which I already knew.
Both schools have invited me to come visit them soon. UMD will be March 6th and 7th, and I'm going to try to stay the 8th (Saturday) to visit the area and walk around, and come back on Sunday. Ted's interview with UMD is the same weekend, so we'll be able to do the touring thing together. Very fun!
I'm going to visit SUNY Albany the weekend before or the weekend after. The director of the program (The Biodiversity, Conservation, and Policy program) is very eager for me to come up and fall in love with his school. He asked me point blank "What will it take to get you up here?" Of course, my answer was basically "a chance to see the school in depth and money!"
My thoughts, even hours after getting the email from UMD, are completely scattered. I'm somewhere between wanting to cry from all the emotions going through me to running around screaming "Yes!" at the top of my lungs.
The point is, I have a plan for next fall. Grad school is in the cards and my life will be moving forward. As you might have guessed, I have felt like I've been in limbo for several months now - waiting for whatever was going to happen next. And now I know. Or at least have a very good idea.
YES!!! :D
That's pretty much it for my general update. This has been a phenomenal day.
Oh. I suppose I need to mention that my 24th bday has come and gone. And I had a wonderful time with my guy and my family. On Saturday the 26th (my actual birthday) my parents took Ted and I to the Stephen's County Humane Society's bi-annual Dalmatian Ball. This was a formal, black tie fundraiser. The fundraisers included a Chinese Auction, a Silent Auction, and a regular auction. My dad bought me an amazing sound system to install whenever I get to where I'm going. My mom got me a $50 gift certificate to our favorite local jewelry store. With that, and other birthday money...and also some of my own money, I bought this beautiful green quartz ring. I'm completely in love with it. It's square cut and very faceted.
So a great birthday all in all. :D
I'm going to leave you with a question. I've been reading lots of historical fiction (specifically of medieval England), and I have discovered many people I'd like to meet. So my question to you is this:
If you could pick one historical figure to bring to our time - to show him/her all the things that have changed since their time, try to explain current events to, and show him/her the books/articles/movies that have been made based on their life or what happened in their lifetime, who would it be and why?
I'm still residing in Marlow - still a substitute teacher and tedious-work doer for my Mom (this includes copious amounts of copying, with shredding and typing thrown in). Substituting is going just fine - they keep me busy. I was the elementary school nurse for a day a couple of weeks ago. A kid came in and shoved his arm under my nose and said, "My teacher thinks I have ring worm."
That was the beginning of a day in which it was intensely re-enforced that a school nurse's job (indeed, any job dealing directly with students) is both severely thankless and underpaid. It was also a day where I washed my hands about every 20 minutes. :)
This past week I spent the majority of my afternoons with an autistic boy in kindergarten. This week was his third week in school - ever. He is a very good-natured child, but is active enough and needs just enough attention and assistance that the kindergarten teacher needs a helper in her classroom just for him. He doesn't speak much, and normally when he does speak he just repeats what you say to him. But he is a phenomenal reader. He can already spell words like rhinoceros and dinosaur. He can read words he hasn't seen before right off the bat - doesn't need to sound them out or anything. After speaking with the teacher, it appears he just knows this - that he had no prior education aside from his mother spending some time with this. It's just fascinating.
The other students were wonderful with him - understood that he was different and were both sensitive to that fact and yet in complete awe that he already knew how to read. They looked out for him and told me his likes and dislikes. It was heart-warming to see, and I hope that never changes.
The numbers of autistic children are rising. Right now, about 1 child out of 150 is autistic. A pretty scary thought when no one seems to know why or how.
In terms of my future. I have applied to 3 universities, SUNY (state univ. of new york) Albany, UMD (univ. of maryland), and Duke. Duke's application was due at the beginning of this month so I don't expect to hear from them for another couple of weeks.
However. As of today, UMD and SUNY Albany have accepted me (well, the phrase being used is "recommending my acceptance to the admissions office" - but I've been told this is equal to an acceptance). This is amazing news! When I got the email from UMD today, I was too excited to read the rest of the rather lengthy email about how great their program is - which I already knew.
Both schools have invited me to come visit them soon. UMD will be March 6th and 7th, and I'm going to try to stay the 8th (Saturday) to visit the area and walk around, and come back on Sunday. Ted's interview with UMD is the same weekend, so we'll be able to do the touring thing together. Very fun!
I'm going to visit SUNY Albany the weekend before or the weekend after. The director of the program (The Biodiversity, Conservation, and Policy program) is very eager for me to come up and fall in love with his school. He asked me point blank "What will it take to get you up here?" Of course, my answer was basically "a chance to see the school in depth and money!"
My thoughts, even hours after getting the email from UMD, are completely scattered. I'm somewhere between wanting to cry from all the emotions going through me to running around screaming "Yes!" at the top of my lungs.
The point is, I have a plan for next fall. Grad school is in the cards and my life will be moving forward. As you might have guessed, I have felt like I've been in limbo for several months now - waiting for whatever was going to happen next. And now I know. Or at least have a very good idea.
YES!!! :D
That's pretty much it for my general update. This has been a phenomenal day.
Oh. I suppose I need to mention that my 24th bday has come and gone. And I had a wonderful time with my guy and my family. On Saturday the 26th (my actual birthday) my parents took Ted and I to the Stephen's County Humane Society's bi-annual Dalmatian Ball. This was a formal, black tie fundraiser. The fundraisers included a Chinese Auction, a Silent Auction, and a regular auction. My dad bought me an amazing sound system to install whenever I get to where I'm going. My mom got me a $50 gift certificate to our favorite local jewelry store. With that, and other birthday money...and also some of my own money, I bought this beautiful green quartz ring. I'm completely in love with it. It's square cut and very faceted.
So a great birthday all in all. :D
I'm going to leave you with a question. I've been reading lots of historical fiction (specifically of medieval England), and I have discovered many people I'd like to meet. So my question to you is this:
If you could pick one historical figure to bring to our time - to show him/her all the things that have changed since their time, try to explain current events to, and show him/her the books/articles/movies that have been made based on their life or what happened in their lifetime, who would it be and why?