A little diddy…not P
Twas’ the first day of school
COVID’s not in our house
Nor even the hantavirus
For there is no mouse.
I in my gym shirt and shorts
Carly at work
Carol at Facet’s
Perhaps I should twerk
Start of school
I think I will stick to research. It is the first day of school at our domicile. Three students. Being an introvert, the virtual/online/non-trad/distance learning model is not new to me. I rather enjoy the no-hands-raised atmosphere. For a couple of extroverts…let us just say they have a slightly different take. For those whom judge the non-trad version of college…well…ironical, ain’t it? Now, oodles are doing it. At the age of 50+, I am setting educational trends. Woohoo.
Intro
It has been a hot-minute since last I wrote something other than a paper, application, cover letter, or the like…and yes…I am abundantly aware of my absence from as well as the absence of others in my life…for those who may have been wondering or think otherwise. I am not a fear-driven nor worry-driven person. I am a bit logical, thoughtful, analytical…I suppose I could have gone alphabetically there…alas, nay. I do not pace the house, nor sit at my desk, fretting the COVID. We do not watch TV for the news…duh…we binge watch all the Marvel movies sequentially, and the NetFlix. I prefer less-biased news. In that vein, I will spout on the COVID for a brief moment, and then drop it.
The COVID…(-)
It is real. A few colleges who accepted kids back to campus have had an increase in positive cases…one had over 560. For those who believe it is just a flu…that you cannot ‘catch it’ twice…there is now a documented case of someone having it twice…and it is in the SARS family…not a flu. So what, right? Perhaps. Since it can be carried, lay dormant, etcetera, there is no telling how long it could do so, nor the long-term effects it can ultimately have on both the immune and respiratory systems. It is a creeper…and potentially a keeper. So…I am gonna take a hard pass on inviting it to the door…allowing it to gain entry…linger and mingle. Let us move on.
The COVID…(+)
What’s that you say? Positivity from COVID? Absolutely. While the announcement was made just days after I completed my BS in BA with I/O, lockdown proved to be…productive. Though employed, my ongoing brain fun has kept me tethered. With limited funds, we have managed to stay current on the mortgage and bills…I know…right? Medical treatment has been somewhat easier to navigate. House projects completed. Sourdough starter…started. There are likely other, more earth-shattering positives, but it is still early, and my brain says no Bueno.
Past
With the end of school, resume and CV updated…there was a plan. Plans change. Along with collecting data for my research on generational communication, it became painfully clear as mud, that more school could happen. A year ago, I had started researching schools for a potential graduate program. I set it aside to focus on the then, present school. So…no better time than lockdown, to reopen the file. Part of my Summer was spent narrowing the options to a couple. I collected the transcripts, letters of recommendation (which the applying student is apparently not allowed to see…unless they ask the person recommending, to send it), FAFSA, and the like. I sent off the applications to The Chicago School of Professional Psychology (TCSPP), and NYU Steinhardt. Then waited.
Webinars, virtual conventions, Zooms…filled parts of most days as well. Auditory hallucinations filled the rest, and then some. Sounds bad…it was just music…bad…elevator music. 24/7. We narrowed it down to certain noises. As in…continuous fan-type noises…Say the neighbor’s A/C unit kicked on. Yep…sounded like elevator music. Exhaust fan in the bathroom? Same. Floor fan? Yep. Good times. All that to say that the snail toxin is the issue. So, the pain pump may go toot-a-loo. Regardless, the dosage is cut back to nothing, and the pain is up to something. Enough of the past.
Future
I was scheduled for the final interview, on the final day, at the last available time, with a chair from the graduate program. That was with TCSPP. NYU’s test of my resolve was to continue submitting the same transcripts over and over and over and…well…you get the point. With the interview at the end of July, I opted to study and test for some street cred. The SHRM-CP test. For the first time in its history, the test was to be administered online with a proctor watching through the computer camera. 4 hours and a short break. At the beginning and break, I had to stand in front of my camera, turning and showing skin. This was followed by panning the camera around the room, ceiling, floor, and finally…under my desk. It stopped short of turn my head and cough. I was also not selected to meet Drs. Ben Dover or Jel E. Finger. Not sure I would have passed either of those testies…er…tests.
The pain pump issue remains a pain. Talk of switching to a different med. No thank you. Most likely response will be to remove and fuse a little more spine, to see if we can get rid of the bigger pain…not me…my back. The head will have to wait. As for the rest of the future…well…the plan has adjusted. School is imminent. Surgery is as well. Business is good for Carol. Carly is stuck home with us to attend…virtually.
Present
Toward the end of my undergraduate degree, I had the opportunity to study my heritage a bit. The largest population of Filipinos outside the Philippines? California. Top five of the population of California as well. My college journey started with business management, ended with I/O psychology, but has led to international/cross-cultural mental health. The niche, as it were. Both NYU and TCSPP accepted me…I suspect they do not know that I am a male/he/him…and 50+.
As of this morning, I am attending The Chicago School of Professional Psychology, for my graduate degree and ultimately licensure in Clinical Mental Health Counseling…with an international flair. There is more to come, so stay tuned. As is the way of the future, resumes and CV’s will be expected to be on personal websites. So…I spent a little bit of Summer getting ahead of that curve.
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