(no subject)
I've become very, very boring this summer, an ailment I'm not sure I know how to correct. A confluence of forces keeps me twiddling my thumbs and wasting time in my apartment when I'd like to be hiking the appalachian trail with Malika or checking out the West Coast with Ansell. Admittedly, I could at least be using this time more constructively; I could be teaching myself Spanish, Japanese, or Latin, I could be reading classics, but somehow I just can't get into the swing of it. Life at UCF over the summer has for me become a sort of shallow stream rather than a river: it's too shallow to swim in and the current too weak to carry me along, and I suppose the solution is to stand up and walk but I'm not sure how to go about it.
I'd very much like to have a job right now, either in security or some medical something, but it doesn't seem to be going so well. The only job I really qualify for at a hospital or clinic right now is to be some sort of orderly and cart around people and bedpans, but even that would be a boon for my medical school aspirations. It seems like it should be fairly easy to get a security job, but monster.com and the Orlando Sentinel classifieds have yielded few results. I've never been especially good at job hunting, and I had better learn. I also need to start volunteering, but over the summer the "Volunteer UCF" carpools to vanish and I won't have spare money to drive around until I find a job. After next year, I will have some skills and contacts that should put me next to the doctors, which would be lovely.
This summer I'd really like to become fully certified in first aid, cpr and the like. That would really make me feel like I've gotten something done. For a while now I've also wanted to get my concealed weapons permit (not that I'd carry one, it just sort of falls in with the "martial arts" stuff), but the I think the fellow that instructed the security officer licensing class said you had to be 21 or older. Scott has offered to take me with him to the shooting range, and I'd really like to take him up on that as soon as I can. It's about time I learned how to dance, as well. There's a breakdancing club on campus; I'm not sure if they meet over the summer, but if I can get over the jitters I'll hit it up.
The instructor for that security course ("D'Andre") was an interesting guy. An ex-ranger, all-american football, wrestling, and track athlete in high school, deep sea fisherman, etc. etc. etc.... It's pretty safe to say the guy has done just about everything in life, and to cement that notion I give you this: in the army, he was an instructor for arctic survival combat downhill skiing. Apparently, you have a ski pole in one hand and an M16 in the other. Most of the time when you hear about soldiers through books and movies, they say they don't like to talk about the people they've killed or the things they've seen. In my experience, that doesn't seem to be the case at all. Perhaps it's because I've only talked to marines and rangers, perhaps it's just a 'Nam thing. I cringed when a chubby girl looking to waste time asked D'Andre if he'd ever kill someone, but without missing a beat or changing his expression he gave the tally by region and conflict. He also told us his "favorite" story on the subject. Of course, it's entirely possible that he's BSing every one, but the guy gave off this vibe that made me think I'd never fuck with him that lent it a certain shaky degree of credence.
I'd very much like to have a job right now, either in security or some medical something, but it doesn't seem to be going so well. The only job I really qualify for at a hospital or clinic right now is to be some sort of orderly and cart around people and bedpans, but even that would be a boon for my medical school aspirations. It seems like it should be fairly easy to get a security job, but monster.com and the Orlando Sentinel classifieds have yielded few results. I've never been especially good at job hunting, and I had better learn. I also need to start volunteering, but over the summer the "Volunteer UCF" carpools to vanish and I won't have spare money to drive around until I find a job. After next year, I will have some skills and contacts that should put me next to the doctors, which would be lovely.
This summer I'd really like to become fully certified in first aid, cpr and the like. That would really make me feel like I've gotten something done. For a while now I've also wanted to get my concealed weapons permit (not that I'd carry one, it just sort of falls in with the "martial arts" stuff), but the I think the fellow that instructed the security officer licensing class said you had to be 21 or older. Scott has offered to take me with him to the shooting range, and I'd really like to take him up on that as soon as I can. It's about time I learned how to dance, as well. There's a breakdancing club on campus; I'm not sure if they meet over the summer, but if I can get over the jitters I'll hit it up.
The instructor for that security course ("D'Andre") was an interesting guy. An ex-ranger, all-american football, wrestling, and track athlete in high school, deep sea fisherman, etc. etc. etc.... It's pretty safe to say the guy has done just about everything in life, and to cement that notion I give you this: in the army, he was an instructor for arctic survival combat downhill skiing. Apparently, you have a ski pole in one hand and an M16 in the other. Most of the time when you hear about soldiers through books and movies, they say they don't like to talk about the people they've killed or the things they've seen. In my experience, that doesn't seem to be the case at all. Perhaps it's because I've only talked to marines and rangers, perhaps it's just a 'Nam thing. I cringed when a chubby girl looking to waste time asked D'Andre if he'd ever kill someone, but without missing a beat or changing his expression he gave the tally by region and conflict. He also told us his "favorite" story on the subject. Of course, it's entirely possible that he's BSing every one, but the guy gave off this vibe that made me think I'd never fuck with him that lent it a certain shaky degree of credence.