Candidate #0000 - Post 14
53 days till graduation.
Music I’m listening to:
Billy Joel
Favorite Quote of the Day:
“I have promises to keep and miles to go before I sleep.” – Robert Frost
Okay, so I know I haven’t posted in a while. We had Spring Break, which was fortunate, because I was in desperate need of some “alone time”. So I locked myself in my apartment and let my mind do the wandering. Sometimes, I really don’t enjoy reality and then there’s no better cure to melancholy than daydreaming.
Other than that, there wasn’t much going on this week.
I meant to do all this research on institutions that I’m interviewing with and I didn’t. Oh well, I still have a couple more days before ACPA, right?
I got some of my homework done, so I won’t have to stress too much about it this week and can actually prepare for ACPA.
I had dinner with some of the other grad students from my program. We definitely all have the job search on our mind 24-7. Whenever we get together, that’s all we talk about. Some days, I enjoy the conversations. At other times, I hate it because it just causes too much stress and anxiety. I’d much rather avoid thinking about all this and just deal with it, when I absolutely have to. I know denial doesn’t solve anything, but it does make life so much more enjoyable…at least for that moment. And things always do work out in the long run.
I do have a little story to tell you from last night:
It was about 11 p.m. when I realized that I should have gotten my next Netflix movie that day (for those of you, who don’t know what Netflix is, it’s a Video Rental, where the movies are mailed to you). So I threw on a sweatshirt, got in the car and drove down to the post office to check my box. The movie hadn’t arrived yet, so slightly disappointed and shivering in the cold night air, I got back in the car and drove back. I don’t really know what made me stop, but for some reason – let’s call it female intuition – I decided to stop and check my mailbox in my apartment complex. I hardly ever check that mailbox because all my mail goes to my P.O. box. Well, this time I had mail, and it wasn’t just the usual advertisements and mail for residents, who haven’t lived there in three or four years. It was a letter from the Department of Homeland Security. I think my heart literally stopped for a second. I got back in my car like in trance. At first, I was going to open the letter right then and there, but then I figured that might not be the safest option. Depending on what the letter said, I might, in joy or shock and desperation, hit the gas pedal and crash into the garbage cans on the other side of the parking lot. Trying very hard to be sensible, I decided to park my car first, get back to my apartment and then open the letter. Any emotional outbreaks would be much safer inside.
I don’t know how I made it to my apartment. My hands were clearly shaking as I tried to turn the key. Finally inside, I ripped open the letter and….
It was a receipt just letting me know that the Dept. of Homeland Security had received my employment authorization application and will review it. Processing time: 60-90 days. I don’t know what I expected. After all, I had just sent out the application two weeks ago.
I don’t know what I’ll do when I get the actual letter either granting or denying my employment authorization. I may need someone else to open the letter for me. But then again, if my request were denied, I wouldn’t want anyone to witness the nervous breakdown that’s inevitable after that.
Okay, so you probably think I’m a total drama queen now. Maybe I am. But this is my life and there are people making decision about it, who have never even met me.
Wow, just writing this caused me a little too much stress and anxiety for my last night of break. I think I need to do some major daydreaming before going to bed and returning to reality tomorrow morning.
Music I’m listening to:
Billy Joel
Favorite Quote of the Day:
“I have promises to keep and miles to go before I sleep.” – Robert Frost
Okay, so I know I haven’t posted in a while. We had Spring Break, which was fortunate, because I was in desperate need of some “alone time”. So I locked myself in my apartment and let my mind do the wandering. Sometimes, I really don’t enjoy reality and then there’s no better cure to melancholy than daydreaming.
Other than that, there wasn’t much going on this week.
I meant to do all this research on institutions that I’m interviewing with and I didn’t. Oh well, I still have a couple more days before ACPA, right?
I got some of my homework done, so I won’t have to stress too much about it this week and can actually prepare for ACPA.
I had dinner with some of the other grad students from my program. We definitely all have the job search on our mind 24-7. Whenever we get together, that’s all we talk about. Some days, I enjoy the conversations. At other times, I hate it because it just causes too much stress and anxiety. I’d much rather avoid thinking about all this and just deal with it, when I absolutely have to. I know denial doesn’t solve anything, but it does make life so much more enjoyable…at least for that moment. And things always do work out in the long run.
I do have a little story to tell you from last night:
It was about 11 p.m. when I realized that I should have gotten my next Netflix movie that day (for those of you, who don’t know what Netflix is, it’s a Video Rental, where the movies are mailed to you). So I threw on a sweatshirt, got in the car and drove down to the post office to check my box. The movie hadn’t arrived yet, so slightly disappointed and shivering in the cold night air, I got back in the car and drove back. I don’t really know what made me stop, but for some reason – let’s call it female intuition – I decided to stop and check my mailbox in my apartment complex. I hardly ever check that mailbox because all my mail goes to my P.O. box. Well, this time I had mail, and it wasn’t just the usual advertisements and mail for residents, who haven’t lived there in three or four years. It was a letter from the Department of Homeland Security. I think my heart literally stopped for a second. I got back in my car like in trance. At first, I was going to open the letter right then and there, but then I figured that might not be the safest option. Depending on what the letter said, I might, in joy or shock and desperation, hit the gas pedal and crash into the garbage cans on the other side of the parking lot. Trying very hard to be sensible, I decided to park my car first, get back to my apartment and then open the letter. Any emotional outbreaks would be much safer inside.
I don’t know how I made it to my apartment. My hands were clearly shaking as I tried to turn the key. Finally inside, I ripped open the letter and….
It was a receipt just letting me know that the Dept. of Homeland Security had received my employment authorization application and will review it. Processing time: 60-90 days. I don’t know what I expected. After all, I had just sent out the application two weeks ago.
I don’t know what I’ll do when I get the actual letter either granting or denying my employment authorization. I may need someone else to open the letter for me. But then again, if my request were denied, I wouldn’t want anyone to witness the nervous breakdown that’s inevitable after that.
Okay, so you probably think I’m a total drama queen now. Maybe I am. But this is my life and there are people making decision about it, who have never even met me.
Wow, just writing this caused me a little too much stress and anxiety for my last night of break. I think I need to do some major daydreaming before going to bed and returning to reality tomorrow morning.
posted by StudentAffairs.com at 12:11 AM
1 Comments:
Hi #0000 - I know the feeling - those letters ARE scary. But, the majority of the ones you get are receipts of one sort or another... Your OPT is almost guaranteed, so don't expend too much energy stressing about it!
Good luck at ACPA,
A.
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