Rachel K. Blergh

I've been terrible about posting since I started camp... but now that I'm done with camp I can get back into blogging and trying to fill up my free hours of time and sadness. Hooray!

Camp was awesome. I worked there for eight straight weeks as an assistant director, which had me busy learning how to be managerial and to create order out of chaos. I also had to learn how to balance my newly acclaimed power with NOT being the director, which sucked. I'll probably apply for director next year since I think it'd be sweet to have LIMITLESS POWER AND INTRIGUE. And y'know because it's good money and good fun and it's the only decent job I've had in over a year now.

So now I'm back to not being in a graduate school program and to not having a job or job offer. It sucks. I've been enjoying these last warm days of Seattle summer and have been applying to the odd evening-friendly job like at hotels or costplus world market or the elusive apple store. Hopefully one of them will hire me and I'll have some kind of source of income to pay for my ridiculous pre-requisite classes for the graduate programs I seek to join.

I've taken one of the teacher exams, the WEST-B, which I passed with gusto! It was a four hour exam testing me on the basics of reading, writing and math. It was brutal simply because it was SO LONG. The next one is the WEST-E test, which has more specific questions aimed at elementary school endorsements. I need to study up on all the little modules such as the properties of light and color, elementary level physical education, language arts, history etc. I'm having fun studying for it (it's not like the GRE where it's difficult for no particular reason,) and I'm hoping to pass the test with flying colors come September 11th.

The next important date will be September 17th, which is the date that my application to the University of Washington is due.

Aside from the WEST-E test, I'm working on planning out and completing my pre-requisite courses for UW and Seattle U. I'm on standby as a non-matriculated student for a Geology 101 class and I'm hoping to take a geography one at the University of Washington as well. The only downside is that the classes are $1500 a piece and I have almost no money because I have almost no job. So, I'm hoping to take the rest of the classes I need to be considered for the grad programs at a community college because truly that is how dreams are made.

Until then I keep working part-time at Kumon and praying for some more employment, even if it's not a fulfilling or interesting job. I will sell chocolate or computers. Somebody hire me for the love of God.

On the plus side, Ian is getting back on Wednesday from Japan and I will have someone to commiserate with and go to art museums with!

Rachel K. Standardized Testing

I continue to be the busiest person on earth, but in a totally wonderful way.

First and foremost : GRE - CHECK. DONE. VANQUISHED!!!!

The GRE is finally over and I have a majority of my life back! WahooOOoooo! After a week of hardcore crunching for the math and verbal sections and a quickie crash course in the writing sections, I took the test. I borrowed my grandfather's trusty vehicle and drove (the hell) up to Montlake Terrace where the test was held at some strange computer testing center. It was hella sketchy. The testing people made me empty my pockets and they checked up my pant legs for CHEATING STRATEGEMS (maybe). Anyway it hadn't occurred to me to hide answers up my pant legs, so I was allowed in and took the test.

Nothing more interesting about it really, but it's over and my score was about 140 points over what I wanted it to be, which is turbo awesome. I'll have to wait and see about my essay scores, but at this point I just don't have the energy left to care. I'm done and that's all there is to it!

Having my life back, I rejoined society spent some time with the roommate, the boyfriend and my roommate's new kitten, Yogurt. Yogurt is a wonderful distraction to all the things I should be doing. I could be studying for my up-and-coming teacher exams (the WEST-E and WEST-B exams for Washington State), but there's a KITTEN now and instead I can just wiggle a string in front of her for hours and hours. And I do.

Now it's crunch time for iD Tech Camps, where I'm assistant directing all summer long. I'm in San Francisco currently for camp training at UC Berkeley and am visiting with friends Natanya and Amy (former JET members like me) while I'm down in California. I had an online meeting for admin stuff today and I feel really good about the position; I think it'll have enough responsibilities to keep me busy, but it's a job I'm very qualified for. It feels nice to be counted on once in awhile, especially because I'm waiting to hear back from my UCDS job interview and the more I have to wait, the more I assume I don't have the job and start to panic.

I just have to keep a cool head about all this. If I don't get the job, it will be crummy. I'll have to find some other source of income for next year, which won't be easy and I really don't want to have to take a bunch of steps backwards and work somewhere at a coffee shop or retail store again; but if that's what it comes to, I guess I'll have to swallow my pride. Anyway I can't do anything about it until I hear back, and I haven't heard back so that's that for now.

I've heard from one person on my craigs list ad for private tutoring, which I'm trying to fill up my Saturdays with before climbing. I figured if I charge $25 an hour I can make some quick money doing something I like doing and have a bit of experience doing! We'll see if this works out, but I am hoping to hone in on this skill that I have been practicing since I was hired at Kumon last summer.

[ooh they're playing Soulja Boy on the radio! San Francisco coffee shops have earned new respect from me]

Other than that there's still the matter of getting my UW application together since that's due in mid-September and I'd best finish up most of it as quickly as I can. I still need a second letter of recommendation, which is proving arduous since none of my RIT professors are getting back to me... boo. I will persevere! I also have to investigate where and when to take these multiple pre-requisite courses like lab science, math, US history and early child development... that might actually end up being a lot easier if I DON'T get the UCDS job, which would really be the only good thing to come out of that.

For now, I'm going back to enjoy my time in San Francisco. Today I went to the Asian Art Museum downtown and saw some beautiful government buildings and sculptures. Tomorrow -- Golden Gate Park with Amy? I should also mention that I'm staying with Natanya and her wonderful parents who have a beautiful blue home in Daly City! San Francisco does not shy away from color. I thought Seattle was crazy!

Stay tuned for the next entry:

UCDS Spells Success OR Job Rejection Leads to Jumping from Golden Gate Bridge