Time Flies When You're Killing Time!

Wow.  Ok.  So I haven't posted in the longest time and things have actually progressed since the last time I checked in!  A lot!  

To recap:  I bit the bullet, so to speak, and had 3, yes 3, wisdom teeth removed, thus completing and passing my dental screening.  Need I remind you that the Peace Corps did not specifically ask me to take them out. I only needed to find a dentist that would recommend me keeping them, an impossible task.  So they are out and I am in!  Right after my dental clearance I was medically cleared too-but wait!- this clearance only lasted about 2 months until the PC decided they needed a more detailed history about my left foot, which I had foolishly broken in a bunkbed-toconcrete floor accident two years ago.   I contacted my podiatrist in CA, had him fill out a form and sign his name, and I had to write a brief letter explaining the current condition of my foot (I told them that it hurts in the cold and that I need to be sent somewhere warm :) ).   I was then medically cleared a second time and this one has stuck.

Last Wednesday (Jan. 28th) I spoke to my super nice placement director, Yung-mei, and she informed that I will be moving to AFRICA!!!!!  In June....    Now, one might assume that I would be disappointed with the late departure date, since I was supposed to be leaving in February, March at the very latest, but I'm ok with it.  After all, I was starting to miss New York and I haven't even began to pack yet (too Cary Bradshaw-ish?).  So now I get to have more time go to museums, take strolls through the park, and make as much damn money as I can get my hands on.  Because now Europe is BACK ON!!  And now I have decided to throw in a month in the Caribbean: Puerto Rico, Jamaica, and Cuba.  Or maybe just Puerto Rico.  It all depends on the benjamins.  It always does.

Oh, and yeah, I did preemptively quit my job, but I can I just say that I'm actually *glad*  that I did.  *This is in no way a reflection of the JCC, really, just me...needing something new after 2 years.

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!