(no subject)
Nov. 26th, 2010 12:46 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
stormdogFamily dinner with my parents and my brothers was nice tonight. I see them fairly regularly anyway, living as close as I do, but it was nice to all sit down and share a meal, which doesn't happen that often. I got to show off my New Orleans pictures too. I had to show them the ones on my laptop though because my external drive seemed to die on me while I was over visiting ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
serinthia and todd_riverden. Fortunately, further investigation seems to have shown the drive is ok and the enclosure is bad. This is a relief. Most of the stuff on that drive is backed up on my other external, but there was some new stuff that hadn't been quite yet.
Seeing Todd and Serin was really nice too; we used to get together rather more often before I moved to Chicago. Understandably so I suppose, but I do miss them. I feel a little bad that I got all anxious over my hard drive before leaving there. I would have liked to sit and watch some Hell's Kitchen or something with them. Thanks for inviting me over both of you!
I've missed Japanese class the last two weeks. The first week because I had to get to Kenosha to deal with my car, and the second week because I was in New Orleans. I'd told なかむら せんせい (Nakamura Sensei) that I wouldn't be there for the second one and she mailed the handouts for that class to me, but I don't have the ones for the first class. That's ok; I'll go through the book up to the point it looks like we're at and do my best! It was a little bit scary how quickly the characters of the ひらがな (hiragana) fell out of my head, but they seem to be coming back just as quickly as I go through the workbook tonight.
I've talked to the University of Illinois: Chicago about admissions. I explained my situation and asked about enrollment. I went over the records I have with the representative I talked to and found that I do not meet their minimum GPA for a transfer student. By a good margin. I'm a bit embarrassed about my existing records. I've been thinking about posting my high school and college transcripts (along with my more respectable ACT scores) just to sort of...take ownership of them, I suppose. I get more than a little self-conscious when I think about my academic history, and maybe not feeling like it's quite so much of a secret would reduce that a little. I know that it's more representative of my past situation and my inability to deal with it than it is of me or of the present.
But anyway, it seems that I'll need to go somewhere with less stringent standards and work my way back into the good graces of the academic world. There may be places in Chicago that would work for me, and I do so love the city. On the other hand, a lot of factors lead me to considering UW-Parkside in Kenosha. I could live very cheaply, either renting a room in the communal house my brother lives in if one is available at that point, or with my parents. And it would be an easy transfer from there to UW-Madison, which it seems has a very well regarded anthropology program, both undergraduate and post-graduate.
The reasons I hesitate about going that route are twofold. First, I would lose the opportunity I have in Chicago for a huge variety of cultural and educational experiences, like visiting the zoo and museums on a whim, or taking Japanese classes at the Japan-American Society. Secondly, my opportunities for social interaction would be rather reduced. In the last while, I've been seeing and connecting with a number of people, both new and old, who live in the western suburbs. Living in Wisconsin would make it notably more difficult to see them, though of course, not to an insurmountable extent.
It's the latter of those concerns that is most important to me. I've been making connections with people in a way that's remarkable to me, and that has made me deeply happy lately. Giving some of that up would be difficult for me. I already have too many people in my life who are too far away. I'll have to do some thinking. I have a while to decide for sure which way I want to go, though I do at least have to decide for sure where I'm going to try applying before deadlines pass.
I also have to figure out how to pay for this, though that's a subject that I'm sure will come up with the advisor at Parkside I have an appointment with next Friday. Andimandunewen, if you're still willing to help me out with some financial aid info, that would be greatly appreciated.
On a less introspective note, the locking mechanism in the front driver's side door of my car has jammed in some way and the door will not open. I'm kind of amused that both doors on that side are now stuck. At least it isn't the passenger side; I feel better about having to climb over everything myself than about making someone else do it.
Well, I think I'm going to get back to Japanese studying. That, or go to bed. *yawns* Dog has a tired.
serinthia and todd_riverden. Fortunately, further investigation seems to have shown the drive is ok and the enclosure is bad. This is a relief. Most of the stuff on that drive is backed up on my other external, but there was some new stuff that hadn't been quite yet.Seeing Todd and Serin was really nice too; we used to get together rather more often before I moved to Chicago. Understandably so I suppose, but I do miss them. I feel a little bad that I got all anxious over my hard drive before leaving there. I would have liked to sit and watch some Hell's Kitchen or something with them. Thanks for inviting me over both of you!
I've missed Japanese class the last two weeks. The first week because I had to get to Kenosha to deal with my car, and the second week because I was in New Orleans. I'd told なかむら せんせい (Nakamura Sensei) that I wouldn't be there for the second one and she mailed the handouts for that class to me, but I don't have the ones for the first class. That's ok; I'll go through the book up to the point it looks like we're at and do my best! It was a little bit scary how quickly the characters of the ひらがな (hiragana) fell out of my head, but they seem to be coming back just as quickly as I go through the workbook tonight.
I've talked to the University of Illinois: Chicago about admissions. I explained my situation and asked about enrollment. I went over the records I have with the representative I talked to and found that I do not meet their minimum GPA for a transfer student. By a good margin. I'm a bit embarrassed about my existing records. I've been thinking about posting my high school and college transcripts (along with my more respectable ACT scores) just to sort of...take ownership of them, I suppose. I get more than a little self-conscious when I think about my academic history, and maybe not feeling like it's quite so much of a secret would reduce that a little. I know that it's more representative of my past situation and my inability to deal with it than it is of me or of the present.
But anyway, it seems that I'll need to go somewhere with less stringent standards and work my way back into the good graces of the academic world. There may be places in Chicago that would work for me, and I do so love the city. On the other hand, a lot of factors lead me to considering UW-Parkside in Kenosha. I could live very cheaply, either renting a room in the communal house my brother lives in if one is available at that point, or with my parents. And it would be an easy transfer from there to UW-Madison, which it seems has a very well regarded anthropology program, both undergraduate and post-graduate.
The reasons I hesitate about going that route are twofold. First, I would lose the opportunity I have in Chicago for a huge variety of cultural and educational experiences, like visiting the zoo and museums on a whim, or taking Japanese classes at the Japan-American Society. Secondly, my opportunities for social interaction would be rather reduced. In the last while, I've been seeing and connecting with a number of people, both new and old, who live in the western suburbs. Living in Wisconsin would make it notably more difficult to see them, though of course, not to an insurmountable extent.
It's the latter of those concerns that is most important to me. I've been making connections with people in a way that's remarkable to me, and that has made me deeply happy lately. Giving some of that up would be difficult for me. I already have too many people in my life who are too far away. I'll have to do some thinking. I have a while to decide for sure which way I want to go, though I do at least have to decide for sure where I'm going to try applying before deadlines pass.
I also have to figure out how to pay for this, though that's a subject that I'm sure will come up with the advisor at Parkside I have an appointment with next Friday. And
imandunewen, if you're still willing to help me out with some financial aid info, that would be greatly appreciated.On a less introspective note, the locking mechanism in the front driver's side door of my car has jammed in some way and the door will not open. I'm kind of amused that both doors on that side are now stuck. At least it isn't the passenger side; I feel better about having to climb over everything myself than about making someone else do it.
Well, I think I'm going to get back to Japanese studying. That, or go to bed. *yawns* Dog has a tired.
