Finally Home!

and hardly any time to update. Taking Paulie in to school today with his science fair project (they had a two hour delay), and then picking both Matt & Paul up after school. Then around 5 or 5:30 Eric and I are heading down to the Baltimore area to Kelley's house, where we'll spend the night for easy heading-in-to-DC. I'm so excited! I just wish I'd remembered my winter coat. Though, I guess I'll check the weather. It's always like 10 degrees warmer in Maryland than it is here. I was thinking of inviting a friend to lunch I met while in Germany who's recently moved to DC, but that was when I was expecting to be there for two days or so, which isn't happening now. So i think I'll just send her an email and say sorry. It'll be too much to try to do.

Yesterday was really nice. Everyone had a snow day, including my mom and dad, since they couldn't get out our enormous, dangerous-when-icy driveway. lol. It was a really nice time with the whole family - a nice surprise. We played UNO together at one point. Oh my God, my brothers are INSANE. It finally got a point where my mom had to sit in between Matt & Paul, who were starting to get carried away. Then after three rounds (my dad won all three!!!) my mom was like, ALRIGHT THAT'S ENOUGH! They were getting rambunctious and very annoying with their noises. Eric was like, "Yea, give us some peace and quiet and go play your pipes and drums!" OMG we laughed so hard our stomachs hurt! It was so funny. At least when they play their pipes and drums there's a rythm involved that makes it not so horrible to stand. hahaha, it was a good time.

Though once dinner came, we all started to get a little annoyed with each other. My dad said, "Oh my God, now I know why I go to work everyday!" lol. I got a bit of grading done, too. We watched No Country for Old Men and then Apollo 13. My mom didn't really like No Country for Old Men, which I expected. It is a strange movie, but I think it's a really nice movie, too. Pretty.

Apparently I slept really well last night. My dad woke me up at 7 and I bolted up. I didn't even hear him come in and sit down on my bed until he said something to me. He was like, "Ooo! You were out cold!" That was to tell me that I had to take Paul in to school and that they had a two hour delay. So I went back to sleep for another hour and a half and woke up to the sound of a mouse scurrying up the wall. Man that gave me the shivers!

Oh, walls remind me - I finally got my birthday present from Grammom! She said she had something special for me this year. And it was! It was this huge world map in a beautiful frame! It came with PINS! Red pins for everywhere I've been, Blue pins for my dream locations, Yellow for my next trip, and Green for my favorite place. There's even a little plaque (not plague! lol) in the corner that says, "The World Travels of Allison Davis"! It's the best present I ever got!

Oh, time to take Paul to school!!!!! WANT COFFEE!!!!

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Update: I forgot to mention this since it happened. Friday before I left I got my letter from Johns Hopkins. Well, I didn't get in, but it was at least a nice rejection letter. I'll copy it exactly as they wrote it:

"Dear Ms. Davis,

"I regret to inform you that we are unable to approve your application for admission to doctoral study in our department. Each year we receive applications from many more qualified candidates than the number we are able to fund (only a few actually). This year our application pool was extremely strong and the economic climate somewhat dire.

"I realize that letters such as this are tortuous to receive. Please do not interpret this letter in an overly negative light. You have amazing skills and abilities, and the department that is able to secure your admission will be fortunate indeed.

"We are grateful for your interest in our department, and we wish you every success in finding a congenial setting in which to pursue advanced study.

"Please accept my best personal wishes for your future endeavors.

"Sincerely,

Ted Lewis, etc..."

~~~~~

At least they made it sound like they wanted to accept me. But now I'm feeling desperate to find something to do after graduation. My chances of getting in to UPenn are looking slimmer and I did not properly plan for something like this to happen. Now I'm panicking about what my life is going to do. One thing that I've been thinking about is something like the Peace Corps. I've always thought about on a mission or doing something to help the people in third world countries first-hand, but I never thought I'd have the time to spend on it because my life plans were always pretty immediate. Now it looks like I may have the time to do this. Best part is that my loans will continue in deferment for time spent in the Peace Corps! woop! I think I'm also going to start looking in on teaching English somewhere. Denise said she found a government funded something where they send you somewhere (you sort of have a choice, but not entirely) to teach English. They find a way for you to learn the language there, pay your airfare and apartment, and will even give you a bit of a stipend along with your pay for teaching English. If it's government funded, then I expect I'd also get loan deferments.

Just something that's been running through my mind since coming home.

Tonight Eric and I leave for DC and I might try talking to Denise about what she's found so far for teaching English. As for now i think I'm going to get some grading done.