PA School Application – Round 2

This past month I have been working on updating my application and personal statement for submission hopefully the first week of September.  I have also been working on setting up some more shadowing opportunities that will maybe lead into either volunteering or working as a C.N.A.  My only hold up right now is waiting for a dr.’s appointment to get a varicella titer, which is scheduled for next week.    Even though I am or have never worked in the health care field, working at a university has its perks.  I work with a retired dean of students who loves to help students succeed in any way he can.  What does this mean for me?  He has taken an interest in my struggles and wants to do what he can to help me get into pa school.  Sweet!  He would often set up mock interviews for his students and he wants to do that with me and then give me some coaching/feedback.  I know I should have taken advantage of this on campus when I was a student, but I just didn’t.  Very dumb on my part – I highly recommend doing this to everyone who is going to interview for ANYTHING.  Interview skills are very important and often neglected.  This is often the only chance to sell yourself, and if you are not prepared to answer some questions – no matter how hard they are, then you are out.  It all matters – clothing, posture, hair, attitude - presenting yourself confidently but without appearing cocky even though you may be nervous as all get out.  It may all be an act on the outside, but you have to be sincere when answering questions or you will be doing no one any favors.  I have received two interviews – one for medical school and one for pa school, and I am pretty sure my interviews are part of the reason I didn’t make it in.  I prepared for them, but not well enough.  I had some doubt about my pa application and didn’t think I would make it in due to the lack of healthcare experience, but in all reality, if I would have went into it thinking “hey, I may not have the experience, but I am a damn good applicant and I deserve this spot,”   I may have had a better interview and possibly offered a seat in the class.  I’m definitely going into this application season with a newer, better and stronger attitude.  I am getting accepted this year or die trying.   

Side note:

I had planned on taking some pictures of the rest of the house, but I ended up helping a friend paint some cupboards and ran out of time.  I will see what I can do this weekend.  :o)

Progress

It's been a long 6 months, but I am finally seeing some real progress towards my fitness goals.  I buckled down and changed my diet to be healthier and really focused on working out on a regular basis.  You might not be able to tell in the photos, but I have lost an inch in my waist and thighs! This is where I like to hide my fat so I am very happy I'm finally starting to see a difference in these areas.  My arms are more defined now where I am starting to see a little bulge in my triceps, and I have gained more muscle in my legs.  Oh, and my butt is smaller and firmer, yay!  I am beginning to think I may start doing a little light body building.  I don't plan on competing or anything like that, but I would like to become as fit as I can and build a little muscle doing it.  :o)  I still have a long ways to go, but I'd say it's a good start.

The top  pictures are from last week - Aug 2013, and the bottom three are from Aug 2012.

 

House Pictures!

Finally!!!    Here are some shots of the living room/kitchen/dining area.  I will post some more this weekend after I clean house.  :o)

Wildlife

My grandparents, and at one point my parents, owned a pet store and I loved "working" when I was a kid.  I say working because I mainly ran around playing with all the animals, but I did catch a few crickets for some customers.  NO!  I did not get paid for my job and yes, my grandparents had the labor board called on them once because I actually said I "worked" there to a customer.  I was like 5 or 6, it wasn't like I really knew what I was talking about.  Anyway,  I love animals and the softer and fluffier the better.  I always had a dog and cats running around the farm growing up and when I was a junior in high school I got my "own" cat. His name was Noah and he was a cool big black and gray tiger striped cat.  When I moved to Tucson he ran away because he wasn't used to other people and my dad was looking after him.  I was pretty heartbroken and when I visited my grandparents for Thanksgiving, I came home with this.


  

 Remember when I said my grandparents owned a pet store?  Well my grandma can sell you anything!  She rescued "Sunny" from a friend who had a dog that liked to kill the barn cats, but since my grandma also had two dogs, he spent most of his time hiding under the couch.  When I came to visit for turkey day I of course had to play with him and love on him, so when I was walking out the door she handed him to me in a box and said I think you should take him home with you.  So, "Sunny" became Bubbas and has been my little buddy ever since.  It will be 14 years this November! 

The rental home we lived in for the past 6 years had a tree in the front yard and four in the backyard, so we would have squirrels and rabbits constantly running around our yard - and on our roof.  Since they are so damned cute I would love to watch them run around and play.  (Yes, I know I will hate them once I start a garden and planting flowers, but they are so soft and cute!)  Since we built a new house, we had to start from scratch with our yard and thus we had no grass and no trees and I really missed seeing the squirrels and wabbits. Every once in awhile our neighbor would have a rabbit or two in his backyard and I couldn't wait until our grass started growing enough to have some in ours.  Well after a couple of months our grass started growing and the bunnies hoped on over!   Last night they were really close to the house and I caught a few pics.      

Look at the cute little bunnies! They look so soft! I just want to reach out and pet one.

Yes, I wrote a boring long story just so I could justify posting pictures of cute bunnies on my blog.  :o)