Le Sigh

Prior to realizing that I may not get my invitation until January, I had been planning to spend the month of January fucking around Europe drinking beer, smoking spliffs, and generally soaking up my last few weeks of complete freedom. Not that one should think that I am in any way dreading service with Peace Corps or the massive responsibility that I will face when I am given my 2 year mission, quite the opposite really. It's just that I am really craving some time to myself without the burden of work or bills to pay or really having to do anything at all before I resigned myself to the nun-like behavior that, I'm assuming, is expected of a PC volunteer. But it has now come to my attention that if I spend those four weeks reveling in commitment-free debauchery I may miss my invitation all together and will have to delay my departure with the PC. That cannot happen. I need this chance to live, work, and travel abroad like I need air to breathe and I need it now. Or at the very least, as soon as possible.

So Europe is a no-go. Even though I had taken up a second job to pay for the trip and I have been scrimping and saving ever since. Even though I was planning to quit my job before my Christmas vacation to see my family and I will now have to stay at said boring job for another month or so. Even though I have to be out of my apartment as of Jan. 1st and I have no idea how I'm going to find a room to sublet for a month or a month and half, depending on when my departure will be. Even though I have a family friend that lives right outside of Amsterdam and I was going to stay with her, meet her new Dutch husband, and help her celebrate her birthday with a huge Dutch party. Le sigh.

At least I'll have plenty of money to travel during my PC vacations and I'll be able to afford mini-vacations in the northeast before I leave New York.

The Waiting Game...is Killing Me

So I haven't posted in about a month and a half and I wish that in that time I would have some exciting news to impart, like being medically cleared or the like, but alas the only that revelation that has come is the unwavering fact that I will not be finding out anything for quite some time. Like months.

After receiving word from the PC that they were concerned with my BMI, which frankly after coming face to face with the number I was too, I complied with their request for the lab results of my blood sugar, cholesterol, and thyroid functions. Fortunately everything came out relatively normal (my LDL is slightly "abnormal" at 112) and I sent in all the info, including my new weight, 12 lbs less than I had originally had on my paperwork. Hoping that since they had already been looking at my file, the PC would quickly come to a decision about my clearance and relieve me of the agony of not knowing if I'm in or not. This has not been the case.

I have learned from the forums at Peace Corps Folks that many people are actually not medically cleared until 2 months before they are slated to leave! Which, of course, means that they don't receive their invitations for another 3-4 weeks! The PC justifies the intense frustration and uncertainty they place on you by claiming that this is all lesson in patience and flexibility that a volunteer must have in order to be successful in their mission. That's all fine and good, but, dammit, I wanna know!!!!! If only for my sanity and the safety of those around me....

Marco Polio

In more medical/dental clearance hold news appearently the PC doesn't pay for Polio boosters like I had hoped that they would. I guess I'm not surprised. But! The good news is that Passport Health will give me the shot for $75, which a hell of a lot better than the $350 that my crock doctor wanted to charge me. And now I'm thinking that I was grossly over charged for my tetnus shot that ran me $50. I also have to either get another MMR shot or be tested to show that I have been immunized for it. Though it sucks to have placement holds put on my application because I am DYING to find out where I'll be sent, it's nice to have some sort of correspondence with the offices. To know that my files are being looked over and that I'm so close to being done with the medical clearance gives me a little peace of mind.

Pulling Teeth

So I just got word from the Peace Corps Dental Office that I will have to have my wisdom teeth taken out in accordance with my dentist's request. Now of course I think that this is BS considering that my teeth are and have always been healthy and pain free and I am trying to fight it. I called up the Dental Office HQ in D.C and they told me that I am free to get a second opinion. If said second opinion says that surgery is unnecessary I need to have them write a letter on their stationary stating exactly that and I'll be free and clear! I have already made an appointment next week with a different orthodontist and in two weeks I have an appointment with an actual dentist to have my teeth cleaned. Fingers crossed that these guys are not scalpel-happy!

The Waiting Game

I am trying to be patient. I really am. I keep trying to focus on all things that are not related to my health clearance or my unwavering desire to get out of this country. I told myself that I would check my PC toolkit (the thing that tells me when my health packet has been received and when I've been cleared) once a week, but I've already checked it yesterday and again today only to find out that my packet has not reached the PC headquarters yet. Or if it has, they haven't gotten around to updating my toolkit yet. So what can I do to occupy my mind/time? Let's make a list!

-study for and take the GRE

-train for and run the Staten Island Half Marathon

-work as much as possible so I can save as much as possible

-ride my new crappy bike around the city

-spend more time exploring New York, going to museums, galleries, ect.

-chilling out and watching a lot tv and movies!

Medical Package: Sent!

I FINALLY  sent in my medical clearance package yesterday!!!  It took me so long to get it all filled out between the half a dozen appointments with four doctors of different specialties, vacations, and an already full schedule.  Now I'm just praying that I won't have to have my totally benign wisdom teeth taken out or pay for incredibly expensive polio booster (it's $350, so says my doctor and my insurance doesn't cover it.  how do you like that ?!)   Providing that everything goes well I should be able to find out where I'll be living and when I'll be leaving in about a month!  Fingers crossed!

I'm IN!!!!

So I know I'm terrible at updating this as often as it should be, but the Peace Corps interview went great, to say the least. After sitting down for an hour in a small, unadorned room save for a table and two chairs and having every one of my answered being typed out on a laptop as though I was dictating the interview, I was told immediately that I would make an excellent volunteer and that my Placement Officer (PO), Damian, would be writing my nomination letter that day! He has nominated me for Central/South America leaving February '09, but since I used to volunteer at an AIDS clinic in Santa Cruz I may be sent to Africa. I don't really care which place I'm sent to, I'm sooooo excited to go! I'm amazed at how quickly I received my nomination, I was under the impression that I would have to wait a few days until I heard an official answer. So glad that was not the case!!

So what do I have to do now? I had gotten my letters of rec. in weeks ago, Damian was kind enough to allow me to take my fingerprints in the PC office, and I finally got my UCSC transcript sent in. And now it is time for the medical clearance! I have to get my eyes, teeth, and general body/well being checked out. I feel like I'm pretty healthy, so hopefully everything checks out. I haven't been to either a dentist or an optometrist or even a doctor really in a long time and for some reason I'm slightly nervous about it. Thank God that I have health insurance!

Application In!

This post is a little late, but as of March 2nd my letters of rec. were finally completed (thank you to all who helped!!), I filled out the quick health survey, edited and retouched my essays to my satisfaction and turned in my application!!!!! Yea!!  I've only been waiting to do this pretty much my entire life and actively trying to do this for the past 2 months.  But I'm not in just yet.  I have to interview, next Wednesday 3/26, and then I find out whether I'm nominated to serve.  

For some reason I'm a little nervous about the interview.  Even though I think I'm as good as in right now, a small part of me is harboring the fear that they will find something about me that's unsuitable for the Peace Corps.  But that's bullocks, I'm great at interviews, especially when it's for something that I desperately want.  Besides the Peace Corps placement officer, Damian, said that if I wanted to leave by September he could make that happen, as if I am already good to go and this interview is just another hoop that one must jump through in order to serve.  We shall see!

Two Down, One to Go!!

I'm so glad I trusted my instincts and asked another friend to write me a letter of rec. as a back up for my other delinquent friend who has been taking her sweet time with hers (over a month!). So now I'm just waiting on my boss who had promised to have it done by this past Friday, and if she had kept her promise I would have been able to send in the app today. But....deep breath...oh well. It will be done next week. I will make sure of that. The fear of feeling like a pest has past and I am prepared to do some serious bugging-the-shit out of her this week.

Ok, This is For Real This Time

Sure a year has gone by since I first started to fill out the PC application, but although my devotion to completing the paper work waned, my interest in volunteering never did. Really. Life has a way of sweeping you away and it's very easy to get caught up in living your current life and forget about planning for your future endeavors. And sometimes that's a good thing. My brother just got married, I got offered to take a trip to Israel, and I've had some family members come and visit me in New York. If I had applied last year I probably would have been out of the country and missed out on these awesome things.

This time around my devotion is strong, as I am tiring of my office job and really have no desire to look for a better paying job. I'm starting to feel claustrophobic, as will happen with me, and I need to get out the country and do something brand new before my natural mild psychosis becomes a full blown case certifiable craziness. That being said, I am trying to keep my cool while the people I ask to write my letters of rec. are taking their sweet time. Seriously it's been a month, is it that difficult to write something nice about me? Meanwhile the one that knew me the least wrote his letter in two days, go figure. But I will bide my time studying the world map on my wall and reading the blogs of other PC volunteers. Hopefully (before) this time next year I will living and working abroad!