The Trials and Tribulations of life as a Heather

After applying to three schools for graduate school, I was rejected to one, accepted to one, and waitlisted at another.  I was planning to work another year and apply again but then I got this phone call from the International Admissions Office at Cornell University’s Johnson Graduate School of Management asking me if I would like to join the class of ‘07.  Apparently I was being called off the waitlist.  Needless to say, I accpeted their offer last Friday 7/29 and am now busy packing my belongings to move to Ithaca, NY next weekend as Orientation starts 8/8/05.  I’m still bewildered and mulling over my decision but I think it’s the right one. 

So now I need to find a place to live which Gligor has been so nice in helping me with as well as figure out the whole student loan situation.  I had luckily filled out the FAFSA form so I figure I must qualify for something.  Once all that’s settled I can focus on picking classes, catching up on summer reading, and saying goodbye to friends and family yet again.  It’s only for two years though and hopefully i’ll be better for it in the end.  I’m still in disbelief.  I told my boss an hour after I accepted and am still trying to write my official resignation letter.  So much to do, so little time….

The weather’s starting to heat up here in San Francisco and my apartment, nice as it is, doesn’t have a/c.  So last night I decided to open the door to my terrace as well as the windows in the living room to let the bay breeze in. I went to bed at about 9:45pm and was awoken by what I thought was a dream of me getting pricked by a needle but when I opened my eyes I heard a buzzing sound- the tell tell sign of a mosquito. I looked down at my thumb and, sure enough, saw a new, throbbing insect bite. Severly allergic to insect bites, I turned on my bedroom light and saw a small mosquito on the wall.

I threw a shoe at it and missed. It darted to the left. I threw another shoe and missed again.  I saw it fly away.  I closed the glass door to my terrace and shut the blinds along the window. I took a benadryl in hopes of lessening any adverse reaction to the bite. I pulled my sheet tightly around my body, which, at this point, was starting to throb from the mosquito venom and turned off the light.  I slept for about 20 minutes when once again I heard the buzzing sound. I quickly sat up, turned on the light and saw the mosquito on the wall above my head.

I threw a shoe at it and missed. I threw another shoe at it as it flew to the glass door.  I saw it fly around the room. I threw off the sheets, ran out of my room, closed my bedroom door and went into the living room to try and get some sleep on the couch. By now it was 12:30 and I had to be up in 5 hours.  I tossed and turned and cursed the mosquito for making me sleep on my less comfortable couch.  Finally I went back to my bedroom.  I laid back down on the bed after scanning the room for signs of the pesky intruder. After 20 minutes I turned off the light and went back to sleep. I woke up every half hour or hour to check around for the mosquito. By 3:30 am, I was still awake.  I finally succombed to sleep until 5:30 when I had to get up for work.

Needless to say, I plan to get some mosquito repelling candles at Walgreens afterwork.

After having not seen a dentist in over a year, (due
to my move from the east to the west and the change in
my insurance) I went in for a check up a few weeks
ago. And lo and behold I had a cavity. (A first in
many years).

Being extremely fearful of drills, needles and
dentists, I opted to pay $25 extra for some N2O and
after one deep breathe, I was quickly overcome with
the wonderful feeling of euphoria and giddiness that
comes with those extra nitrogen atoms.  And to top
it off, the hygentist laid me on a chair with a back
massager.

I must say, dental procedures have come a long way
since my first cavity many moons ago. Though it’s not
an experience I’d like to repeat, the lulling, gentle
vibrations of my back massage coupled with the
soothing, happy feeling brought on by the happy gas,
made it a more pleasant one.

Guilted by a few friends of mine, who are all in training for various triathalons, I decided to give swimming a try.  I didn’t learn how to swim until I was 13 when my mom enrolled the two of us for swimming lessons at the local public high school.  She took the beginning adult course and I took the beginning children’s course. I nearly drowned that summer when the instructor forced us to all tread water in the big pool for 2 minutes. I got about 1 minute of treading before I started to sink and my head started to slip under the water. The instructor was about to dive in when I somehow got myself onto my back and floated towards the edge of the pool.  After that incident, my swimming lessons ceased.

Now, over a decade later, I’ve decided to brace the mockery of the 80 year olds who swim at the local Y daily, and have done so every day of their lives, to join them in their swimming brigade, two lanes over in what is known as the slow lane.  I donned my suit and hopped into the 4 foot deep water, slightly warmed by the few bodies swimming beside me- a Japanese man who looked to be in his late fourties, and a young woman in her 30s who eventually moved to the medium lane.

Four laps later (100m) I hopped out of the pool, exhausted but triumphant. I had managed to freestyle my way back into the swimming world (with a few breaks and a few restful backstrokes in between) where I hope to stay for the next few years (or until my trial membership expires in 39 days).

I went to the dentist the other day for my semi annual check-up.  After being x-rayed and probed for gum disease the dentist and I discussed fixing my teeth a bit. In other words, getting braces, yet again, yet again.

When I was 11 years old, I had to get braces because my over-bite seemed to have taken over my entire face.  I had braces for my eighth grade graduation photo.  When I was 17, I had to get braces again.  I didn’t wear my retainer for the entire two years and bottom teeth had shifted.  I had braces for my senior portrait, senior prom, and my sister’s wedding photos.

Now I’m 26 and have to get braces because I failed to, yet again,wear my retainer consistently.  But luckily, unlike Miranda in SATC, I get those fancy invisilign- the clear plastic kind that are placed over and around your teeth rather than front and center.

In order to make the most of this latest expense I decided to buy one of those fancy vibrating toothbrushes- the Sonic Care.  I tried tonight, for the first time, and whoa! what an experience that was.  After getting past the initial fear of electrocution, I was good to go.  The toothbrush pauses and beeps every thirty seconds to let you know to move to the next section of your mouth. After two minutes, the dentist recommended time for brushing teeth, the thing shuts off by itself. My mouth was still vibrating but my teeth were oh so sparkling. 

I highly recommend trying this vibrating toothbrush out but it ain’t for the faint of heart. Oh- and it’s probably best to turn the thing off while it’s still in your mouth because it can get a little messy if it’s still turned on after you take it out of your mouth.