What words, for the life of you, can you never spell correctly?
Submitted by Byrne.
resource and license. grarrar.
I think bad things happen in clumps of three because the universe is a jerk and likes to kick you when you're down.
Last Monday pretty much devastated everyone, and that whole week was surreal and strange. This past Monday (the 23rd) two friends and I drove to Augusta, Georgia (which is about a 5.5 hour drive from Blacksburg) for my friend Ryan Clark's funeral. The service was wonderful and I think we all got some closure from going which was good. However, we didn't really know what to do after the service, none of us know anyone in Augusta so we decided to drive back. To summarize, it was a good roadtrip (my car companions were fantastic) but physically and emotionally draining. I don't know if I've ever been so tired in my life. When we finally got back I came back to my room and checked my email only to receive this:
Dear
Ms. Whalen, Thank you for applying for an internship
position with the National Center for Ethics in Health Care. Due to the large number of highly
qualified applicants and the limited number of positions available, we are not
able to offer you an internship this summer. We thank you for your interest in our
program. Best wishes in your future
endeavors. So I've been banking on an internship that I got turned down for. Super. Looks like I'll have to go home and find something to do in Virginia Beach this summer which is the LAST thing on the PLANET that I want to do. Everything is still in the air for grad school too so pretty much I'm screwed. I don't know how to get out, get better and get a job. The mom keeps harassing me to find an "adult job" which is stupid because her definition of "adult job" is something that makes a lot of money but you probably don't enjoy, but you keep the job because you make money. Bump that Pretty much I'm just waiting for the third thing to happen. I hope it doesn't suck too hard because if it does I might just get into bed and not get back out. Also, if anyone wants to let me live on their couch or knows where I can get a job this summer let me know.
we're still awaiting the announcement of the full list of all those who were killed and wounded. but i have found out already that two of my friends were victims in the shooting here at Virginia Tech.
he was amazing, smart and hilarious. his smile was amazing and his laugh could capture entire rooms. i was just hanging out with him this past Saturday. i still can't believe he's really gone.
also, one of the girls on my staff, caitlin, was a victim as well. she was one of the sweetest, kindest people i know. i wish i could say more but the words are just escaping me right now. all i want to get across really is that these two people were amazing, brilliant and had so much life in them it is hard to understand why they were taken.
like a lot of people here i'm still trying to process everything that's going on. i am so sad that these two amazing people were taken. and my heart aches because i know that there are thirty other families who have lost wonderful sons, daughters, brothers, sisters and parents.
please pray for virginia tech, everyone here and everyone who has been affected by this tragedy.
thank you for your kindness, your concern and most especially your prayers.
don't worry i'm still alive.
i'm staying inside with my doors locked.
my cell phone isn't really working because everyone and their mom is calling in/out.
i really don't know what's going on here specifically.
it's freezing and flurrying and people are getting shot.
check cnn or the vt homepage for updates.
i love you all.
What's in a screen/user name? Tell us how you found yours.
Submitted by Bill.
well my username for vox is different from all my other usernames because i like variety. but also because i like pirates. anne bonny is one of the few and best known female pirates. she was ruthless and fearless in battles and pretty much did what she wanted to do. back in the day it was believed that having a woman on board a ship at all was bad luck...anne bonny pretty much proved them all wrong and was a really good pirate on top of all that. as a child i aspired to be a pirate and i'm kind of sad that it isn't really a profession any more...so i aspire to be like anne bonny, not so much in the killing people way but more in the fearless and strong way.
my username for everything else is sharpieincluded. it comes from this strongbad email. you have to watch the whole thing to really get the joke. at the end of the "infomercial" for the Ab-Abber 2000 you see the box for the product. if you click on it it says "sharpie not included." well since my name is abigail, i had a good friend who thought it would be a great idea to call me the Ab-Abber. but since i am a much improved model i come with the sharpie. haha. get it?
my screenname is an even lamer internet story. so everyone assumes that HxC stands for hardcore. wellllll i go to virginia tech and our mascot is the hokie bird. and every good hokie knows that HxC really stands for HOKIEcore. haha. so now you all know how big of a nerd i am. i hope you're happy.
in other, not qotd news, i had a pretty good weekend. curtis came up to visit so there were lots of fun hangouts to be had. also i got a new camera! it's a sony cybershot and i got an amazing deal on it. unfortunately i don't have a way to get my pictures off the camera/memory stick and onto my computer yet so once i do i will definitely be posting several amazing photos in 7.2 megapixel glory!
but now it is time for paper writing and juice drinking.
Hi Abigail.
We hope to make a decision by the end of the month. Thank you for your patience.
you are certainly testing my patience National Center for Ethics in Healthcare.
*hopes they don't read this and then decide to not offer me the internship*
in other news. jeffrey and i are taking a road trip to Chicago this weekend.
i'm excited!
i'm supposed to be starting to pack up things i won't be needing for my last few weeks here at Tech. so of course i'm taking the time to answer emails, find and read new blogs etc.
i think i'm going to be heading out early early tomorrow morning (hopefully around 6am), swinging by that school down the road to pick up emily and hopefully getting back to the beach by early afternoon. the forecast is saying it's going to snow tonight, so i'm crossing my fingers that it's not too much. i really don't feel like trying to drive down all these twisty mountain roads in ice and snow.
i'm really indignant about this snow though. on tuesday it was about 80F here. everyone was in shorts and skirts and tank tops. now it's freaking freezing and i have to get all bundled up to ward off the freezing wind. grar.
in other news, i got halfway into grad school. i applied to Catholic University for a masters in moral theology/ethics, despite my undergrad being in biology with a minor in literature. they said i'm accepted but i need to take 12 credits of religion or theology classes and 9 credits of philosophy classes as prerequisites to my MA. so i'm not exactly sure what i'm going to be doing, i'm probably going to defer for a year (there are more scholarship opportunities during the fall semester) and take a semester's worth of classes at Tech. but that's still all up in the air. plus, if i stay here i need to find somewhere to live and a job kind of soon. it's frustrating and i sometimes wish they had just rejected me because then there would be less stress...more disappointment but definitely less stress because it would be much clearer what i could/couldn't do.
i still haven't heard any more from the internship people but i'm keeping my fingers crossed for the summer in Seattle (not that i have anywhere to live there either).
ah jeez. why must everything be so complicated?!
