So, I'm thinking about getting a fringe. Hey, I know it's superficial, but pondering the trivialities keeps my mind of the trillion things I need to have done for yesterday. I'm missing a friend's 21st tonight because of those trillion things. When did my priorities get so screwed up? Oh yeah, that's right, I've ALWAYS been over-committed. Great.
The boy's away this weekend, and I find myself missing him an amount that seems largely disproportionate due to the fact he's only gone for four days. Sure, it means I've probably got more done, but it's a bit lonely going to bed by myself when I'm used to snuggling up to him every night. Well, he'll be back tomorrow, and I know I'll get big hugs then!
Offers for Griffith med have come out ALREADY! Ha ha, kind of has me thinking that if I don't get in this year, next year I'll apply for Griffith for the simple reason that it has the least agonising wait period. That's a fair enough reason to choose one reason over another, right? Our offers aren't meant to come out til December, but rumour has it that mid-November is really the time to wait for. I sure hope so!
Sunday, September 30
Sunday, September 23
Try Harder
Okay, so I have been a bad blogger. I barely ever update. I'm sorry! A few times over the last month I've sat down to blog, and thought a bit about what's been happening in my life, and realised that even though I'm really busy and there's lots going on, I can't really blog about it. I'm currenty in the middle of Union elections, coordinating a campaign, and while this is a huge and exciting task that someone should really blog about someday, I really can't do it. I know it's not exactly as though my blog has some huge following or anything, but elections stuff is really sensitive. And elections are a BIG deal. And student politicians get leaked info from EVERYWHERE. I really can't go giving things to people by posting stuff about our campaign on my blog. Other than that our team is going really well, we have an awesome group of people, and now that we're working on learning campaign skills and doing hand-on workshops, everyone is super-excited!
So I will just have to blog about the other things in my life - which is probably good, because it forces me to try harder to remember there ARE other things in my life! Like the boy - who is feeling very neglected of late. We have fought several times, even just in the last week, about how I never have time for him anymore. I tell him I'm sorry, and I actually do make a huge effort to make time for us to spend together. The main difference is that this year, we have to plan to any time we have together, whereas last year there was some freedom to be spontaneous. I've asked him please to wait for me - we've come so far together, and been through so much; it's only a few short months until my term in office is over, and then things will settle down somewhat.
I only hope that by saying this, I'm not lying unintentionally. I don't really know how busy next year will be (if I get into med school), and my free time is only going to become more limited as the years progress. I love him so much, I only hope he can understand. I will always do whatever I can to show him how much he means to me, and I hope this is enough.
We have spent some time together this weekend, which is good. I think he is feeling somewhat reassured now. I hope this lasts - the next month is going to be really tough.
So I will just have to blog about the other things in my life - which is probably good, because it forces me to try harder to remember there ARE other things in my life! Like the boy - who is feeling very neglected of late. We have fought several times, even just in the last week, about how I never have time for him anymore. I tell him I'm sorry, and I actually do make a huge effort to make time for us to spend together. The main difference is that this year, we have to plan to any time we have together, whereas last year there was some freedom to be spontaneous. I've asked him please to wait for me - we've come so far together, and been through so much; it's only a few short months until my term in office is over, and then things will settle down somewhat.
I only hope that by saying this, I'm not lying unintentionally. I don't really know how busy next year will be (if I get into med school), and my free time is only going to become more limited as the years progress. I love him so much, I only hope he can understand. I will always do whatever I can to show him how much he means to me, and I hope this is enough.
We have spent some time together this weekend, which is good. I think he is feeling somewhat reassured now. I hope this lasts - the next month is going to be really tough.
Monday, September 17
The Interview
I had my interview for med school last week - thank god that's over!! I would have posted about it much sooner, but there is currently no internet access at our house, as we need a new router, so I've had to wait until I had a spare moment at work to write about it.
I spent the days leading up to the interview getting more and more anxious. I was haunted by the feeling that I really should be doing more to prepare, but WHAT? What more could I do? I'd thought about answers to all of the questions, had practiced over and over again, had chosen my outfit and thought about how to present myself on the day - but in the end, I can never actually re-create an interview at home, so no matter how much preparation I'd done, I still felt unprepared. I feel sorry for the boy; the poor thing had to put up with all of my stress! I'm very lucky to have someone so patient around.
I managed to work myself up into such a state as we arrived at the interview venue (the boy played chauffeur for the afternoon) that I would have honestly preferred to just sit in the car and cry rather than get out and knock the interviewers' socks off. But I took a few minutes to compose myself, and then headed into the waiting room. From that point, I calmed down immensely. I guess you could call it 'entering the zone' or something...
I was summoned to the interview room. There was one male and one female interviewer, both doctors. They didn't elaborate as to their area of specialisation. They started off by asking general questions about myself, such as what are my hobbies, when have I been in a leadership role, why do I want to be a doctor, etc, etc. They were quite cordial (I wouldn't go so far as to say 'friendly'), and I found it easy as the interview progressed to open up and answer their questions. By the time we reached the next section of the interview, I was feeling quite calm and confident.
The interviewers then read a short story to me, and asked me to summarise the story back to them, identifying the key issues. I also answered some further questions about the story. Piece of cake, bring it on! Then I was asked to explain a scientific term (virus) in layman's terms. Hmmm, this was a little more difficult. I took a moment to think, and then began a rather fumbly response. I think I rambled a lot on this one, but eventually got there in the end, and at least didn't say anything that was incorrect. Then I explained a social science term (autonomy) and did MUCH better - after giving a basic outline of what the term means, I used autonomy in the women's movement as an example. The female doctor clearly loved that, giving me a big smile and nod. This was the only time during the entire interview that I got any indication of how I was going.
After this came the debate. Oh dear. This was certainly NOT my strong point. The topic I debated was "That assisted reproductive technologies should be restricted to married heterosexual couples." Of course, I argued against this, stating that, "I think it's wrong to discriminate against homosexuals or any other queer people."
Oh. My. God. I just said the word queer. To the interviewers. Who are in their fifties (at least) and most likely quite conservative. I don't think they'll have the same understanding of the term as I do! Now I've blown it!
All I can say is, my confidence really suffered a battering at that point, and it all went downhill from there. I did my best, but I was certainly not strong at rebutting their arguments against me.
There were a few more general questions after that (what are your strengths? weaknesses? how will you support yourself while studying?), and while I think I answered them alright, I was worried that I'd already blown it.
The entire interview took about 40 minutes. I kept my cool as I left the building, and then got in the car and let out all of my stress and frustration with a great big cry! I can tell you, that sure felt good. As the days go by, I feel better and better about it - maybe I did make a mistake, but hopefully everyone is allowed a mistake or two? I also got an excellent GAMSAT score, so before the interview was in the top cohort of applicants. And I tried my best - there's no such thing as a perfect response, I did the best I could and if that's not good enough, I guess it's just not meant to be this year. But that won't stop me trying again next year!
So for now, no more worrying about what I could have or should have said - I'm just settling in for the long wait til December (I know! December?!) when offers come out...
I spent the days leading up to the interview getting more and more anxious. I was haunted by the feeling that I really should be doing more to prepare, but WHAT? What more could I do? I'd thought about answers to all of the questions, had practiced over and over again, had chosen my outfit and thought about how to present myself on the day - but in the end, I can never actually re-create an interview at home, so no matter how much preparation I'd done, I still felt unprepared. I feel sorry for the boy; the poor thing had to put up with all of my stress! I'm very lucky to have someone so patient around.
I managed to work myself up into such a state as we arrived at the interview venue (the boy played chauffeur for the afternoon) that I would have honestly preferred to just sit in the car and cry rather than get out and knock the interviewers' socks off. But I took a few minutes to compose myself, and then headed into the waiting room. From that point, I calmed down immensely. I guess you could call it 'entering the zone' or something...
I was summoned to the interview room. There was one male and one female interviewer, both doctors. They didn't elaborate as to their area of specialisation. They started off by asking general questions about myself, such as what are my hobbies, when have I been in a leadership role, why do I want to be a doctor, etc, etc. They were quite cordial (I wouldn't go so far as to say 'friendly'), and I found it easy as the interview progressed to open up and answer their questions. By the time we reached the next section of the interview, I was feeling quite calm and confident.
The interviewers then read a short story to me, and asked me to summarise the story back to them, identifying the key issues. I also answered some further questions about the story. Piece of cake, bring it on! Then I was asked to explain a scientific term (virus) in layman's terms. Hmmm, this was a little more difficult. I took a moment to think, and then began a rather fumbly response. I think I rambled a lot on this one, but eventually got there in the end, and at least didn't say anything that was incorrect. Then I explained a social science term (autonomy) and did MUCH better - after giving a basic outline of what the term means, I used autonomy in the women's movement as an example. The female doctor clearly loved that, giving me a big smile and nod. This was the only time during the entire interview that I got any indication of how I was going.
After this came the debate. Oh dear. This was certainly NOT my strong point. The topic I debated was "That assisted reproductive technologies should be restricted to married heterosexual couples." Of course, I argued against this, stating that, "I think it's wrong to discriminate against homosexuals or any other queer people."
Oh. My. God. I just said the word queer. To the interviewers. Who are in their fifties (at least) and most likely quite conservative. I don't think they'll have the same understanding of the term as I do! Now I've blown it!
All I can say is, my confidence really suffered a battering at that point, and it all went downhill from there. I did my best, but I was certainly not strong at rebutting their arguments against me.
There were a few more general questions after that (what are your strengths? weaknesses? how will you support yourself while studying?), and while I think I answered them alright, I was worried that I'd already blown it.
The entire interview took about 40 minutes. I kept my cool as I left the building, and then got in the car and let out all of my stress and frustration with a great big cry! I can tell you, that sure felt good. As the days go by, I feel better and better about it - maybe I did make a mistake, but hopefully everyone is allowed a mistake or two? I also got an excellent GAMSAT score, so before the interview was in the top cohort of applicants. And I tried my best - there's no such thing as a perfect response, I did the best I could and if that's not good enough, I guess it's just not meant to be this year. But that won't stop me trying again next year!
So for now, no more worrying about what I could have or should have said - I'm just settling in for the long wait til December (I know! December?!) when offers come out...
Friday, September 7
We were raided!
Readers living in Oz may have seen on the news last night or read on the front page this morning that a major police operation, Taskforce Argos, raided a whole lot of homes yesterday for child porn. Including ours! I have to say, having five police officers tramping up the stairs of your home at 6am, declaring, "Police! This is a raid! Everyone to the lounge room!" is rather a rude awakening. The boy went downstairs to answer the doorbell, and had just pulled on boxer shorts and then was directed to sit in the lounge, so had to sit there shivering until he was allowed to get some more clothes. As I heard them yelling at him that they were the police, I thought, "Goddammit! I'm never sharing a house with people who do drugs ever again!" Little did I know what the warrant was really for... When an officer knocked on my bedroom door and told me to get up, I asked if I could put some clothes on first. He said okay, but then proceeded to stand there, watching and waiting for me to get out of bed. After several seconds of stare-off, I said, "I'm totally naked, can you close the door please?!" "Ooooooh," he responded, finally shutting the door and giving me some privacy. Pervert!
Once all housemates were in the lounge, they proceeded to tell us they were here because they had a warrant to search for child porn. We could NOT believe it - once we knew the allegations, things became extremely surreal. They took us off one at a time to scan through all of the images on our computers with their software. As they took people away, the rest of us would wait in the lounge, being babysat by the most junior officer. He turned out to be a nice enough guy, asking questions about what we study, and looking around and asking about the posters on our walls. We needed to be escorted to the bathroom, though - no wandering around the house or contacting anyone while they were doing the search. It turned out that they're software only worked on one of our computers, and they had to seize the rest of them (that's 6 computers) to be analysed at the forensics lab. They were here in the morning for about two and a half hours.
We all wandered around the house in a weird limbo, not quite knowing what to do for a while. It was such a strange feeling - they obviously couldn't have gotten a warrant to raid our house if they didn't have some fairly solid evidence. This then raised the scary realisation for each of us: Wow, maybe one of my housemates is going to be arrested this afternoon, for possessing child porn. There was nothing accusatory about the thought, and I'm quite sure that none of us ever got to wondering, "Oooooh, who could it be?", but it did raise interesting discussions around how well you ever really know someone, no matter how close you feel you are to them. Everyone has their little secrets, and jesus, if your secret is that you get off on kiddy porn, you're not exactly going to be spreading that around, are you?
The good news is, a few hours later the police brought all of our computers back, and told us that they had checked them and hadn't found anything. They did give us quite a stern warning, though, about ensuring our router is secure, and being careful as to what friends we let use our internet. It was a huge relief - hooray, none of my housemates are in jail! At least, not yet...
Once all housemates were in the lounge, they proceeded to tell us they were here because they had a warrant to search for child porn. We could NOT believe it - once we knew the allegations, things became extremely surreal. They took us off one at a time to scan through all of the images on our computers with their software. As they took people away, the rest of us would wait in the lounge, being babysat by the most junior officer. He turned out to be a nice enough guy, asking questions about what we study, and looking around and asking about the posters on our walls. We needed to be escorted to the bathroom, though - no wandering around the house or contacting anyone while they were doing the search. It turned out that they're software only worked on one of our computers, and they had to seize the rest of them (that's 6 computers) to be analysed at the forensics lab. They were here in the morning for about two and a half hours.
We all wandered around the house in a weird limbo, not quite knowing what to do for a while. It was such a strange feeling - they obviously couldn't have gotten a warrant to raid our house if they didn't have some fairly solid evidence. This then raised the scary realisation for each of us: Wow, maybe one of my housemates is going to be arrested this afternoon, for possessing child porn. There was nothing accusatory about the thought, and I'm quite sure that none of us ever got to wondering, "Oooooh, who could it be?", but it did raise interesting discussions around how well you ever really know someone, no matter how close you feel you are to them. Everyone has their little secrets, and jesus, if your secret is that you get off on kiddy porn, you're not exactly going to be spreading that around, are you?
The good news is, a few hours later the police brought all of our computers back, and told us that they had checked them and hadn't found anything. They did give us quite a stern warning, though, about ensuring our router is secure, and being careful as to what friends we let use our internet. It was a huge relief - hooray, none of my housemates are in jail! At least, not yet...
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