Life is Pickin' Up

Life is start to pick up around the haemisphere. The past week has been filled with trying to get my act straight in applying to colleges. Apparently, I am an old dog and can't learn new tricks. I am still extremely skeptical of applying on-line. Applying just for an undergraduate status would be enough of a challenge -- but I have a few more steps as a transfer student who is also an international student. I have to jump through many hoops people, and jumping I have been. In a way, I am exhiliarated; I've been preparing for this all my life. Academia is where I've always belonged -- applying to colleges is an integral part to ensure that my stay in academia continues. I don't want to say that I've studied hard and long to transfer, or to get a bachelor's degree, or to become a nurse to become a bona fide US permanent resident. I have studied because I have learned the true value of learning -- I have not only become appreciative of it, but I cherish it. Learning is one of my highest priorities. It really is. So I've been busy, to say the least. I've been running from banks to school to my lawyer, hopping around town. My second attempt at a visa (I know, it feels like my 9th attempt for all the yapping I do about it, but this is just round 2) has been submitted. Everything was in order, this time, my lawyer is handling the whole thing. I have entrusted him with my life. He's trustworthy -- he's worked with my own family and my extended family for over twenty years. He's an old man now -- once a young, dark-haired man in his thirties -- now an overweight, retired champion, with a mane, lightly peppered with silvery strands. My applications are still in process. I have dinner with the boss on Wednesday, and school starts on Thursday. Yippee kai-yay (sp?). On Friday morning, I am going to get on a plane and head for the nation's capitol -- I am hoping not to meet too much rain while I am there, but maybe that is inevitable. I am just thankful that Hurrican Charley has come and gone. I will return Tuesday afternoon, and rush to my night class soon after arrival. And starting from there, I will officially begin another semester-long stretch of schooling -- I will be excited and all geared up to go in September -- in October, I will remind myself how lucky I am to be in such a great environment and dream of the endless possibilities of the future. In November, I will be a bit tired, and tell myself just. one. more. month to go, and prepare for finals and turn in last minute, procrastinated projects. The first part of December will hit me like a brick wall -- final exams will be inevitable, but will creep up unnoticed, causing an adrenaline rush. I will be pulling all-nighters, cramming extra things in my head at the last moment. In mid-December, I will let out a sigh of relief, and think, hey, that wasn't so bad. And I'l' wonder why I spent November feeling so stressed. On a lighter note -- I got a new phone today. My boss is still going to pay for it like he has been for the last two years. He even let me have the phone free of charge, although it is one pricey gem. It is the Samsung D415 -- a color screen phone with polyphonic ringtones, complete with a digital camera that can also record short videos. Lovely piece of gadgetry. After hauling a brick-like phone that wasn't color, didn't have a camera, had sorry reception -- I am in love with this new silvery thing. My second most expensive piece of portable machinery after my Canon digital camera. It will go everywhere with me, including Washington DC -- I hope to bring back lots of pictures. All the more reason why it should not rain! I am also busy at work, so please forgive me for not blogging. Tinka invited me to be sort of an author at a web project she and her cousin created -- I am extremely flattered, and I've also been thinking about ideas to write about. I spent a lot of time watching movies, and gotten a whole new perspective these days with all the incredible things going on in my life -- school, plane trip to DC, another round of visa petitions, plethora of DVD's from Netflix -- I've gotten quite a bit of inspiration. I just need some time to actually sit and write -- so far, work hasn't given me much time. It is the end of the month again, where I have to be stuck with truckloads of paperwork. Also, coincidentally, we are closing our corporation and creating a new one, and the website still needs work, so I'm awfully busy. For example, today, I showed up for work at 10AM and before I knew it, it was 6:30PM, and I was doing last minute follow-ups with clients' requests. So I finally went to the bathroom at 6:30PM and finally breathed, for the first time today. Whew. Life is finally pickin' up its pace after a long languid summer.