December 29, 2006

Food

Quick summary of what I've eaten since Christmas day.
Tuesday: Tuna salad with some crackers.
Wednesday: Two hamburger patties with cheese.
Thursday: Two paper cups full of potato chips.
Friday (today): Some week old potato salad, I hope I don't die from it.

The reasoning for my poor eating habits? Work. I've worked a lot lately. So much so that I've little time to eat. Sure I could eat lunch but why spend the money on it? Sure I could eat breakfast but I'd rather sleep the extra half hour. Sure I could spend my fifteen minute break at the mall scrambling to the food court to devour some unhealthy concoction. But I don't do those.

Today I checked out the cuisine for Azerbaijan. If I end up there, I will eat rather healthy and more often than now. That will be a cultural change for me.

December 28, 2006

Strung Out

Thanks to the mysterious B, formerly known as anonymous?, for the words of encouragement and giving me the feeling that I am not alone in the quest for an invitation to join the Peace Corps.

All the waiting for me makes me wonder if I'll even get an invitation. I assumed that since I made it past nomination, medical/dental clearance, and came out unscathed I'd be guranteed an invite. Who knows I might be. But I'll have to wait to find out.

In the mean time I'll discuss my emotional lagging a bit, or a lot..whichever. I'm not really depressed or malcontent just...unsatisfied and overly bored. This happens to me every year after Christmas. Yay Christmas. Get the great gifts and its good for the day. Then the 26th comes and its like...wow 364 days left until that feeling of anxiety. I found myself thinking about that the other day at work. I was doing a bunch of busy work when someone asked how my Christmas was. I thought of all the gifts I got, can't complain other than the fact that I've not had the time to REALLY enjoy any of them, and thought "what I really wanted is to not be here this time next year". Sound weird? Yeah. But if you look at the gifts I asked for, and got, you'd understand it.

I asked for a few video games (Gears of War, Call of Duty 3, NCAA Football) to help pass the time till June. Requested an acoustic guitar, which I got. Fender, left-handed (take that Hendrix!). Wanted that so I could learn how to play during the 2 years away. And a couple of big books to read while I'm gone. Complete work of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Cultural Literacy should do the work.

Its like being stuck in second gear. Which is a HORRIBLE analogy seeing as even I don't get that. How about no-man's land or stuck between the screen door and the main door? Thats better. I'm just waiting on word before I can make any movement but at the same time I feel as though times taking too long.

Plus I've yet to wrap my mind around the invites. Some people are now receiving invitations for February, to be honest I'd love a bump to February because I know I'd be going to Ukraine or Romania, and others are getting theirs now for June, blast you B! Makes me wonder about the Azerbaijan. Maybe I'll get Georgia...or Armenia. I don't know but I wish I'd get a clue.

If I received my invite tomorrow would things change? Not really. I mean I'd be elated and excited to the Nth degree. Everyone and their brother would know, minus my work (DOE not GAP and probably my mom). I'd start doing massive amounts of research online at work. I'd buy a few books about said location. I'd study the history, cultural norms, holidays, traditions, practice making their food, and see about finding a great dictionary. By the middle of January I'd just be waiting for June to come. That feeling would last until I don't know....May 25th or so. Maybe not knowing for a bit longer and just anticipating is best. But I check my email every hour for an email saying "Your toolkit has been updated". Of course once that happens I'll be calling home every hour to see if my mail came.

I guess that anticipation of an email has me a little strung out, hence the title. There's only so much reading of other blogs you can do until you feel wanting for more. Which by the way, I really do appreciate the people that actually read my random writings, complaining, and overly eager anticipation of receiving an email/letter. Really, any person that consistently keeps up with my ramblings is all right by me. I try to comment back with every person because I know when I comment to someone else's blog/email I'm secretly hoping for another comment. By the way, still waiting on an email back from someone else. Just threw that out there.

Time to day dream while at work.

December 18, 2006

I can see you

About 10 years ago my mom told me of my great aunt that refused to watch tv or listen to the radio. Her thinking was that people could hear/see you. I thought this was marvelous fun and wanted to meet her. Anyone remember the tv show Freakazoid! ? Loved that show. It was so completely random. In one episode it stops and the screen goes blue and white letters pop that says "We can see you". Oh how I wanted to show that to my wacked out great aunt.

Little did I know she was dead. No need to apologize or show sympathy. I never met her and she passed away long before I was told about her. But how much fun I would've had...

Anyway, I'm here at work, still sick, and get an email from anonymous. I wish blogger wouldn't allow just "anonymous"...put a name out there people!!! Turns out they find me by typing into google "Azerbaijan Peace Corps blogs". Hmm...so I tried it. Yup. I'm on the fourth page. That means Big Brother can see me. Yay? I don't know...it's only the fourth page. But anonymous filled me in that they'd be heading out in June as well to Azerbaijan and already received their invite.

Let it be known that I do not like anonymous. Mainly because they didn't give me a name to mock and proclaim "why them and not me?!?!" Just kidding anonymous.

I asked a PC group about invitations and received three rather varying answers. One received theirs in two weeks, one in two months, and one six weeks prior. Seriously...no consistency. Whatever works I guess. But even if I got my invite tomorrow I'd still have six months to wait. Though I could seriously alter what I wanted for Christmas...ehhh...

Time to practice patience.

December 12, 2006

An ol' fashion whining

I now understand why the Peace Corps wanted me to type up a summary of my seasonal allergies. How did I get to that conclusion? Lets take a look at the past week for me shall we?

I started to feel the affects of the weather changing. It dropped to roughly 15 for most of the week with the week prior being that of like 40. The drastic weather change caused me to feel weak and oh so irritable. I was never comfortable sitting at work, walking around at the other work, or doing any form of exercise. And then WHAM my sinuses kicked in. Massive massive sinus drainage. I've tried several means to deal with sinus drainage. Mucines, sinufed, nyquil/dayquil, benadryl, tylenol, alka-seltzer, or a combination of the previous. The only real affect came from nyquil as it helped me sleep and upon my awakening I was fine for the next couple hours.

However the drainage has ceased and a new problem has arrived. Sore throat, coughing, and what was once drainage is now pain when I swallow. Oh and I'm extremely tired. I think I may just have the flu. For the sake of everyone I work with they best hope not. I licked all the cups down in the break room.


Kidding.


But I'm tempted for the sake of having a good story to tell.

Alas, me not feeling well led me to think about why the PC cares about medical stuff, even the trivial stuff. People get to feeling crummy and that can affect their work. I should know cause I'm not really doing much at work. Heck halfway through this, while at work, I nodded off for a bit. I need some cough syrup with codeine.

December 9, 2006

A phone call

So I decided to call my recruiter to find out more about the invitation process. Basically I got "it depends". Somehow I knew that was going to be the outcome. He gave me a phone number, in which I didn't write down, and told me that they really don't like being bugged but if I wanted to I could call. I didn't want to be a butt, ergo I didn't write it down.

Apparently I should hear only hear something soon if they need me to do anything else. If all else I should hear something in a couple months or so. Yay?

December 8, 2006

Random quote

Still haven't heard anything from placement, which I'm guessing will be awhile before I hear anything. So thats okay. But a friend has this up in her away message and I thought it fit with the Peace Corps.

"To laugh often, to win the affection of children, to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends, to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others, to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch ... to know even one life has breathed easier becase you have lived, this is to have succeeded."
Ralph Waldo Emerson