155 Days.

Or 5 months, 2 days.

That is how long it took me to go from submitting my application to recieving an invitation.  After reviewing the Timeline Page on PC Wiki, I have come to the conclusion that I lucked out massively in terms of not having to deal with RAS for too long.

I didn't seem to get some of the applicant experiences others had in regards to placement such as:

• writing a personal statement about my tattoos (I have a lot and saying that are visible a bit of an understatement)
• reviewing my current financial responsibilites (I have a car loan, credit cards, and student loans)
• a phone interview or follow up questions to my e-mailed statements!

I am quite thankful I will know so far in advance as to where and when I am going.  I won't have to sit around wondering if I should be looking for a FT job or if it was smart of me to leave Las Vegas with so much uncertainty in the air.

 My focus now will be paying off my credit cards!  My loans are deferrable and I drive a Yaris, which is pretty in demand as far as cars go due to excellent gas mileage, so I am not worried about being able to sell and still get money back on it. Oh, and my other focus is getting my mom to agree to take in my two cats ( I will succeed in this!)

Let's hope my invite is in the mailbox tomorrow! :)

This is Spaghetti:

She may look relaxed hanging out with my packed items, but she is going to be hating me this weekend as we move to Florida.  She is quite literally a "scaredy cat" when it comes to car time.  I anticipate her hiding out for a good little bit.

Cortez on the other hand...

He will assume the sleeping postion once he has worn himself out by meowing in my face at the start of our adventure.

I am quite the happy camper that I am able to keep my kitties.  It will be sad to say goodbye when the time comes.

It is official:

I own far too many clothes.    My goal is to condense it down to two of these 18 gallon storage bins:

Shouldn't be too hard right?  Let's just say I had 7 full of clothes (and I still have about a bucket worth's of clothes hanging in my closet!)  I figure if I can get it all down to two of these (plus the one I intend to house coats and fancy/special occasion clothes), then choosing clothes to take to PC out of what I have should be a bajillion times easier.  Plus, it just means I won't have to deal with moving it all to Florida with me.

So far, there is a giant duffle bag (and I do mean GIANT) full of clothes for the donating.

My overall goal for my big move is to get my life into six of these (maybe seven...) 18 gallon containers in addition to the few boxes of DVDs I have.  Not a bad thing to aspire to, and a great way to anger the slight pack rat in me.

In other good news on the moving front:  I sold my coffee table! Yay! Hopefully the guy actually buys my TV and Blu-Ray player like he said he wanted to.  He definitely seemed interested and quite enjoyed hitting on me, so let's cross our fingers that he buys it tomorrow so that I can pay off my doctor's bills and speeding ticket before I skip town.  Then it is just my couches left to sell as well as the freaking bunk beds my dad left me with.  My bed is going to a friend who LOVES my mattress and I am pretty sure getting rid of my bookcases won't be too headache inducing.

By this time in two weeks, I will be sleeping in the sunshine state and enjoying the fam! :)

PS: Thunderstorms in Vegas!  I love it!  Here's to hoping it actually lasts as long as forecasts say it will.

A leap of something..

I am making some changes despite not knowing what is going on with PC quite yet.

First thing is first: I love my job.  Like, a lot.  I have worked for Old Navy for 6.5 years and have moved up in the company to management, a position that I have been in, in one form or another, for the past 3 years.  I have been a bit bored and complacent at work for the past few months after being told I won't get promoted with PC hanging over my head like a "Don't waste your time with me light," which also meant that I couldn't get a change of scenery in a new store. In addition to this, we recently got a new general store manager, who once upon worked in my store as the assistant store manager.  Let's just say I like him as person, but he is not the greatest for morale.  I say this having worked with him before and having to correct the shitty morale of the stores shipment team after he went to work in another store and I took over his position for 4 months. 

I like to say I can adapt well to change and can get along with anyone. I would also contend that I am quite the ridiculous optimist.  With all of these things working for me, it is sad that I have come to dread going to work and feeling negativity.  A friend of mine told me that it is good to see other management styles and personalities (to which I told him that neither of those have much to do with a "I know better" complex and knack for disrespect and snap judgements).

What does this have to do with changes sparked by PC?

Well, here is the second part:  I put in a 30 day notice on my apartment so that I wouldn't have to put up with my inconsiderate roommate anymore and to pay less in rent/bills by moving in with a friend from HS to get credit cards paid down before a possible March departure. 

Two weeks into having the new store manager, I have decided that I'd much rather move to Florida to be with my family for the holidays than leave Old Navy hating my job and being unhappy for the next few months at a place I spend 40 hours a week. 

Honestly, if it weren't for Peace Corps, I would be looking for another job in town to work for the next few months before making a move to Oregon with a friend who graduates in December. 

I really am quite excited to be near my family though!  I am going to live with my Meme and transfer to the nearby ON as a part time associate.  It will be SO FREAKING NICE not to be stressed by holiday in retail management. :)

Basically, I have no clue as to what my plan will be if I don't get in! Keeping my fingers crossed for two things:
      1) OMS gets back to be ASAP on my medical so I can get stuff taken care of before I don't have insurance anymore
      2) Invite!



**I didn't feel like proof reading.  Don't judge me.

The Competitive Applicant.

I tend to worry, which is a bit odd for an eternal optimist.  As far as the Peace Corps is concerned, I worry about not being competitive enough as a nominee.  I updated my PC resume yesterday to include my current volunteering and just felt under-qualified!  I went to school full time while working 40 hours a week to support myself, so I had little time for volunteer work in college.  I did little random bits here and there, usually by helping the local We the People class prepare for competition, planning drives, or doing the here or there day of random volunteer helping, but never anything on-going. 

I have noticed most people's recruiters tell them to get some volunteer experience in this field or that, but not mine.  I took the initiative to find something regarding ESL to get experience in my nomination field.  This whole thing got me wondering if I was already considered competitive (for whatever reason.)  The verdict? I just discovered via PC Wiki that my degree is considered a nice plus for Secondary English Education assignments!  So that has me feeling a bit better and less worrisome about my qualifications.

After my tutoring session today with Jodi (my Chinese ESL student), I definitely realized how helpful it is to have a linguistics background when teaching someone to read and pronounce a language, so that too eased my mind on where I stand with PC.

In other news:
In preparation for my move to Florida at the end of this month (which I am 80% sure will happen), I discovered a new place to volunteer in the middle of the forest!  I need to start packing soon, so thank goodness my dryer is getting fixed this week so I can begin going through the millions of pieces of clothes I own to figure what to donate and what to keep.  Selling furniture, on the other hand, is a pain in the ass.  Le sigh.

An optimist says the glass is half full. A pessimist says the glass is half empty. A Peace Corps Volunteer says, "I can take a bath in that!"

This is a nice little thing put together on the MSNBC website.

The title of this blog was kidnapped from a comment left by a RPCV on the series.  I loved it.

My First PC Event.

I received an e-mail last week that my recruiter would be in town and doing multiple info sessions.  I went to the only one I was free for- the 6:30 session at Green Valley Library.  I hadn't met my recruiter until tonight, but her southern accent and voice made her incredibly recognizable.  I, being the overly punctual being that I am, arrived at the session a half hour early but, thankfully, I was not the first person there.  I introduced myself to Elene the recruiter and informed her that she nominated and that I was on the brink of submitting my medical kit.  Upon learning these two tidbits of information, she asked that I talk about the nominee/applicant side of the process, to which I agreed. 

During my mini-speech, I let the room know about the PC Journals and PC Wiki sites since I know that PC isn't supposed to tell people about the sites.  I let them know how incredibly helpful reading the journals are to the process and learning about being a volunteer.  It was nice to see everyone bust out their new PC pens and jot down the sites I mentioned.

I don't feel that I learned much new information regarding PC, but I did learn that there is a RPCV group in town (which quite surprised me).  Plus, I got a little book full of stories and anecdotes from volunteers which I am excited to read.

And now for something completely different:
Titers came back today! I am picking that shit up tomorrow and getting my medical mailed before work!!  I have my excited face on.

Getting Anxious.

I have officially finished my dental stuff as of today and I have what will hopefully be my final doctor's visit next week for my colposcopy.  I am hoping the results are such that I can get away with being signed off for a full HPV screening in 15 months (which the doctor seemed okay with doing when I told her 6 month paps would get me deferred).  Fingers crossed I can get this packet out by the end of the month.  I also need two booster shots.  Fun stuff.

The closer I get to finsishing, the more anxious I am becoming about getting invited *fingers crossed* and leaving for the fatastic adventure that is the Peace Corps.  Seeing people getting medically cleared and invited for the first quarter of next year, only makes me think "That could be me!"

I enjoy photography massively.

To get my mind away from Peace Corps related things, I delved into some photo editing.  It had the ability to keep me occupied for HOURS.  Here are some of my favorites as of late:

A bit of color-

 

 And some black and white-

     

One of the things I am most excited about when it comes to the possibility of getting into PC is the amazing opportunities I will have to take pictures.  Anytime I go out shooting, I call it a "photo adventure."  The girl walking the highway in the first picture is my best friend and fellow photographer (and let me tell you, she was awesome for agreeing to look naked with the help of a sheet I happened to have in my backseat while walking barefoot on the side of the highway for some pics!)  I will totally miss her and our photo adventures and I am positive they will not be the same without her.

Now I am just saying...

I am so glad I am not the only crazy, semi-obsessive PC applicant.  I kind of feel like I bore my friends talking about it, haha.

So to fellow applicants who may come across this: thanks for hanging out in the same boat as me :)

In other news-
My first dentist visist in probably eight years or so is next Tuesday at 3.   If the helpfulness and chipper tone of the receptionist is any indication of the dentist, I will be pretty stoked.  I am not going to lie though, I am a bit freaked out at what I feel like is the inevitability of having to get dental work done.  At least the exam and x-rays are free and the office takes my insurance if  when I need work done.

Tomorrow is phone call day.  Let's hope I can get some doctors' visits scheduled sooner rather than later.  I also plan on continuing my search for volunteering in the ESL field.  I am having a difficult time finding much of anything in Las Vegas!  A-Nnoying! 

At least I got in some volunteering today with special needs kids.  They had a great time learning about working in retail and being treated like "normal" people.  It was also nice to see how much the parents appreciated us working with them.  It was "thank you"s all around.

Las Vegas to Who-Knows-Where

I feel like I have been spoiled having grown up in a 24 hour town like Las Vegas.  3AM sushi is a possibility here, even off of the Las Vegas Strip.  I am in for quite the culture shock if I get invited to serve in the Peace Corps:

No driving.
No long time friends.
No late nights out drinking.
No Spaghetti and Cortez (kitties!)
No 3AM restaurant meals.
No best bed ever created.
No easy phone calls to my mom.
No 24 hour conveniences.

Why is it I am so stoked to go?  Perhaps I am a masochist of sorts, but at least I am one that is willing to do away with the comforts of home in favor of doing something good.  Plus, I am down for "roughing" it, trying and experiencing new things, traveling somewhere new, and being immersed in a foreign language and culture while impacting the lives of even a few others.

\end randomness. Bed time!

Yet another first!

I have this crazy tendency to create blogs of various kinds on varied sites for random purposes that fade fairly quickly. So let's drink to me keeping up with this one! It is after all going to concern some possible life changing things; well, that is IF I make it in to the Peace Corps. If I don't, hopefully this won't be waste of words never to be seen or heard from again and someone, maybe you, will learn something new about the process or discover you aren't the only one to lose your mind about what can only be described as an agonizingly long test of patience :)

Here is where I currently stand with things:
I finally submitted my application and health review on June 7, 2010. I say finally because I semi- started the application in October for 2009, and then worked on it a little bit more come January of this year, but paused yet again. Why you ask? Essays. The first one was easy enough to write, but the second really made me think! I didn't feel like I had much cross-cultural experience having never left the country, so I put off my application yet again. I battled with even completing the darn thing for fear of not getting accepted for months (and I will discuss that particular fear in a later post). I finally sucked it up in the weekend prior to June 7th and wrote about interacting with customers at my job where I frequently encounter a language barrier that has the ability to impact my job and customers' shopping experiences.

Skip ahead to the next day where I get an e-mail from my recruiter telling me she is sending me my interview kit and will be needing my college transcripts and my references submitted and to give her a call or e-mail to set up a phone interview (which, for the record is next Monday on the 28th at 10AM!) As soon as I found out I needed transcripts with my SS# on them I was bummed to discover unofficial ones do not carry that little tidbit in Nevada. Alas, this meant I had to pay over $20 to acquire my CSN ($2), UNR ($15), and UNLV ($5) transcripts. Annoying.

Next was the references: a good friend of mine, an old manager, and my current store manager were my list since I don't have consistent volunteering under my belt to include a volunteer supervisor. I felt like I waited forever to get the last one in from my store manager and did my best not to bug her, but I had to little bit and it finally got done!

All I have left to do is fingerprinting. Here is some advice: DO NOT FILL IN THE INFORMATION ON THE CARD. I learned this after calling the police department and was told that they print the information for you with the fingerprints. I am sure it is not like this everywhere, but better safe than sorry. This ordeal means waiting for a new set to get sent to me or going to another place to have them done at a steeper rate. Ick.

Hope you enjoyed this book? Haha.