Withdrawn.

Well. I got an e-mail from B today. My application has been officially withdrawn. But fear not! Not all is lost and I never lose hope :). Basically he said that he has been trying to find programs for me but there is a lack of spots available and many applicants have been waiting 6+ months. There is also not going to be a lot of spots opening for 2013. He also said that if I would like he would keep looking to try to find a spot for me. I told him that I understand that there aren't a lot of spots right now and that I appreciate all of his hard work. I would love for him to keep looking as this is something I have always wanted to do. I hope that this all works out. If not at the point in time, later on in life. This just gives me a chance to become a better applicant! Don't ever lose hope, if this is something you want keep fighting!

Also one of my high school friends, G, is leaving for PC in January. I wish her all the luck in the world but she won't need it.

In the words of Ellen....
Be kind to one another.

This blog will now be on hiatus until any developments occur.

The Waiting Is The Hardest Part...

Soooooo.... It's the end of October and I am still waiting for a nomination or a "So sorry Bridge, you are great but we just don't have enough programs / money right now. Thanks for your interest in the Peace Corps". Any thing would be nice at this point. Yes I am aware that this is all about patience and I am trying very hard to stay calm and keep busy. I think I'm doing a decent job at that soooo yeah.

I did speak with my recruiter a few weeks ago since he was at the job fair my school put on. It was nice to see him, get my name and face fresh in his head again. But he basically told me what I already knew. More waiting because programs closed, there is no funding, government craziness. The usual.

So for all of you out there in a similar situation, know that you're not alone and that patience really is a virtue. And stop reading those PC blogs, they are so addicting! I had to slowly ween myself off.

Hurricanes, Earthquakes and Other Earth Moving Processes...

So... in case you live under a rock there was a earthquake on the East Coast last Tuesday (I think) apparently it's national news. It was pretty funny though, my dad, sister and I were in Safeway doing the weekly grocery shopping when I heard some rumbling then heard things falling off the shelves. The I realized my feet were uneven and everything clicked.... EARTHQUAKE. I just laughed which is not the safest thing to do in the situation but oh well.

Crack in the Washington Monument from the 5.8 mag Earthquake
Picture from Washington Post

Then this past weekend they news hyped us up for hurricane Irene. This proved to be extremely uneventful. It was really windy that night and we got to close up work early but that's about it.

School started this week... I had my last first day ever yesterday. Which went well, my classes aren't too bad and I am really going to focus on bringing my GPA way up. Also I started my volunteer job! I am working at a local high school assisting in an AP Environmental Science (APES) class. So I e-mailed my recruiter to let him know what was going on and got a reply today that basically said keep up the good work and I'll let you know when we get an idea of what programs are looking like.

DO I HEAR A SEPTEMBER NOMINATION IN THERE SOME WHERE?
xX cross your fingers for me Xx

People Blow my Mind.

Things have been really weird lately... stuff just keeps happening. I won't bore you with all the details of my life but there is one thing that I do wanna let you guys know about. Let me back track here a bit...

P.S. I know this is a long post, but please read it

August 4th

I had just taken my final for my summer class and did really well so I decided to get some new clothes at Tysons Corner. I hit up my fav store, The Gap because I had a 30% off coupon. I walked around, had some food and got ready to leave. As I was walking out of Nordstroms to the parking lot I heard a lady scream and yell "STOP THAT KID! HE STOLE MY PHONE!!" Instinctively, I started running after him. Screaming along the way at people he was running by so they could stop him, but no one did. One other person started running after him and backed him in to a car but the kid got away and ran across a 6 lane highway.

I stood with the lady, we will call her London, while the guy that was helping us followed the kid. I called 911 and reported the incident and waited with her until the cops showed. The guy eventually came back with her phone but the kid was gone. We all gave our statements and waited while the helicopters, dogs and cops looked for this kid. (Yeah all that for an iPhone, crazy). As we were waiting, London asked for my address and cell phone number. I told her it was fine and she didn't owe me anything. But she insisted on writing me a thank you note so I obliged. They had found someone that matched the description we gave so we got to ride in the cop car, I got the back and looked like a criminal. We talked a little and positively identified the kid. I got a ride back to my car and had a hell of a story to tell that night at the dinner table.

Now, B, my recruiter had emailed me earlier that week telling me about a PC event downtown. I was going to go but all of this craziness happened and by the time I was done the event was over. So I sent B an e-mail on Saturday saying I had witnessed a robbery and was unable to make it and also gave him a quick update about what was going on in my life in regards to PC.

Fast Forward to TODAY.

I got an e-mail from B.

That is crazy that you witnessed a robbery. I hope you helped solve the crime. Thank you for the update. I will definitely give you an update in September once we get an idea of how programs are going to look.

How adorable is he? But the I will definitely give you an update thing made me happy. It's the little things.

Later Today...

I left my dads and went over to my moms. She hadn't been home yet so I grabbed the mail. I noticed an amazon.com box but figured it was something my mom ordered. Upon further investigation.... it was addressed to me. I didn't order anything, weird. I opened it and saw it was a book, The Insider's Guide to the Peace Corps. Since my birthday is 2 weeks from today I figured my mom ordered it and accidentally put my name on it and not hers. I unwrapped the book and noticed a little note...

Bridge,
Thank you for your heroic actions. I really appreciate all your help. You deserve all you dream for, good luck with the Peace Corps :)
Yours,
London 'I got my iPhone stolen' Last Name xo

How crazy is that!?!!? I was in shock. I still am. That was so unbelievably nice of her. I had to thank her, but I didn't have her address or any way to get in to contact with her. But I tracked down her info with my super sweet detective skills. I just think its awesome that she was actually listing to the conversation we were having, since she was all shaken up (being robbed will do that to you). If I remember correctly she is in Paris now and I hope she is having a great time. I doubt she will read this but if she happens to find it.... You are amazing and I can't thank you enough.

Click here to get the book on amazon.

Hey Budget Cuts... I Don't Like You. (Interview)

So the interview. I freaked out about what to wear but ended up wearing a simple button up and a pair of dress pants with some flats. I thought that I would be nervous about the interview but I was more excited than anything else. I needed to take nyquil to fall asleep because of the excitement and I woke up at like 6:30 this morning. I got off the metro at 10:45 and was way early since the interview was at 12. I just hung out and had some breakfast.

Waiting for Interview

The interview went well... for the most part. I had no reason to be nervous, it was like talking to a friend. My recruiter, who we will refer to as "B", is really nice. He said that he liked me, my head is in the right place and that I had a great attitude and personality! Which makes me hopeful. Unfortunately due to budget cuts PC has become a lot more competitive. He told me "If you had applied a year ago, I would be ready to nominate you." While these are encouraging words they also sting a bit. Stupid budget cuts. He said that I am great in person and need to work on looking better on paper. He said that he was willing to fight for me and I need to get some more experience in environmental teaching. He wants to nominate me for either environmental awareness and education or community development. I also asked about forestry as I am very close to fitting the requirements for that. And he send me a skill addendum so that I can state all the experience that I have. But lets focus on the positives, B liked me and we talked about nomination options.

So I'm still in it. Waiting. Working on being better on paper and getting as much stuff done as I can. BRING IT. I am in this for the long haul.

Interview Scheduled!

Monday, June 20th at 12 noon.

Hot Days, Melted Brains & Spaghetti Legs

Alright alright alright. Layout change, simple and nice. Plus I made a new header.

Well it has been hot as hell. Stupid rapture. I knew that it would mean that we would have a hot summer. Work at the garden center is proving to be good but very hot. Like the title says melted brains but we are getting some cool stuff in... like venus flytraps! They are so awesome, I have a terrarium of all carnivorous plants and it's really neat to watch them grow.

© BridgeBarn

Anyway. I got fingerprinted on Monday which was lawlish. The police officer was telling me about all the places I shouldn't go... it was cute. And I got an e-mail from the recruiting office telling me what paper work I need to turn in. Which was mailed in today... certified so I can track it. The next contact (assuming my fingerprints are okay, they looked weird) should be about my interview!

I would also like to share a quote with you. I see it all the time. It's on a print hanging in the bathroom at work. It's nice to look at as you pee and it makes me think.

Use what talents you possess: for the woods would be a very silent if no birds sang except the best.
- Henry Van Dyke

And just gonna throw this out there, but I would love for people to leave comments and subscribe. I would like to get to know people that are reading this blog. 

Reactivate

GOOD MORNING!

Hope that everyone is doing well today, I feel great much better than yesterday. It is June 1.... which meanssss I e-mailed my recruiter and asked her to reactivate my junx. My pops help me with my resume so that is sounds oh so good. I am just glad to know that I am back in the game! School has ended and I have begun working full time at the garden center which has been a good distraction. However this 3 day 95 degree heat streak has not been very fun.

Now, I get to wait some more! I hope she e-mails me back today that would be exciting.

Some of you may also noticed that I changed the name of my blog to Bug Juice. Ode to the late 1990's TV show on Disney.   

Bug juice, it doesn't come in a jar.  
Bug juice comes from who you are.

Quick Update:  E-mail from who I thought was my recruiter... saying that  I have been assigned a recruiter. COOL! (6/2) Then tool kit update the morning of 6/3 which I woke up to at 5 am cause I forgot to turn my phone off. Application officially in. There is one thing that is weird to be though. All of my recommendations have already been submitted but it is not showing up on my tool kit. Maybe they have to read them first or something.

In other news the Red Cross is pissing me off. I signed up for a class and couldn't go because it was on the same day my bro bro was graduating. So they said I could transfer to another class but it has to be the exact same one... but they don't have the same one and the lady NEVER answers her damn phone.

I will leave you with an image of a Africa Daisy cause they are pretty and I took this picture.

© BridgeBarn

I'm a detective in my spare time.

Yeah it's 6am on a Sunday and I am awake. Finals week, you know.

Any way I got up this morning to an email that said "Application Status Update". Thank you blackberry :). I was puzzled. Wait a minute I didn't get anything the in the mail telling me my toolkit user name and password, how am I supposed to check this! (not like there was anything to actually check since my app is withdrawn, and you already know how sad I am because of that). Granted I haven't been to my moms house in a few days and she doesn't check the mail so who the hell knows. After some hardcore detective work a.k.a. going to the website and clicking "forgot password" I logged in. Again not that it told me anything I didn't know but it makes me excited!

17 days until my application is reactivated!

Is it June yet?

This is how I feel.

I am sitting here trying to study for my physics final tomorrow and trying to understand quantum theory and that is just not working out for me. I know everything else, just not this quantum crap. It's stressing me out. I had a paper due tomorrow too but I got and extension on that until Friday. I'm working Thursday, Saturday and Sunday and have one more final on Monday. I am just so ready to be done with school. Plus I just want to be started with this application process. I want it to be June so my application can be reactivated. I want my application to be in the hands of someone. I want to be stalking my e-mail for news. I want my phone to be on me at all times in the case the my recruiter calls me with any kind of news. I want to be friends with the mail man because I'm sitting outside at 3 pm everyday wait to see if he has anything from PC for me. I want to have my interview, I have so many freaking questions! I want to be at doctors offices on the days I have off from work this summer filling out my med packet. I AM READY FOR THIS AND I WANT TO DO IT. I guess patience needs to be learned, but I'm just so excited!

Okay that was a nice little rant that I just needed to get out. Back to quantum theory and nuclear physics.

It's a Homer Simpson kind of day.

I feel like such a n00b. I just got an e-mail from my recruiter...

1. Since I can't leave till June 2012, I submitted my application too early and it has been withdrawn and I can reactivate in a month. Too eager for my own good. D'OH!
2. My resume was in the wrong format... It was formatted nicely I guess just not the way they wanted? It's not like there was a template on the application. D'OH!
3. I didn't submit all of information on certain legal matters. Apparently there was a form I was supposed to fill out that I couldn't find? D'OH! 

Regardless it was nice to hear from some one, she sent me an example of the format that she wanted my resume in and the forms I needed. I am also going to sign up for CPR and First Aid Certification classes so I can add that to my resume. But to sum things up D'OH! 

May the 4th be with you...

So I hope that I have something to update today because it is Star Wars day and that's pretty freaking sweet. And I feel that the force is with me today so maybe I'll get my application packet in the mail today! Hey-yo! Another cool thing about submitting my application... I did it at the beginning of my GRAND DADDY POWER PERIOD with out even knowing it. Haha! Don't know what that is? Well you should. Basically it's a time during the year, every year, when something big happens in your life. It could be something awesome or something not so awesome. To find out when yours is click here.

Whether anything happens today or not.... it deserves a post.

I have been reading a lot of application timelines to try to get an idea of when to expect but they vary... a lot. Most people seem to get their application packet with in a week. The packet has a background check thing and a finger printing doohickey (yep that is a technical term). Also when reading other peoples timelines their references weren't done when they submitted their app... and all mine were. Plus I sent my transcripts in on Monday and it seems like a lot of people did that way later. I hope this works in my favor, it was not intentional but it can't hurt right? Maybe I'll get an interview faster? I know that I am going to have to do a lot of waiting... they haven't released their positions for June 2012 yet (which is when I am able to leave). So I guess that is just something I will have to get used to. It's just sad that it's only been 5 1/2 days and I expect something to be happening. I'm just excited!

Update 1: looks like they added my blog to Peace Corps Journals, check the link to read blogs of people applying (like me) and those already serving. This site has been a lot of help for me and I hope it will allow people who don't know much about the Corps to get an inside look.

Update 2: Nothing in the mail today. Keep it positive and focus on finals :)

"Submission Complete"

Between the nerves, excitement and torrential downpours I couldn't sleep last night. The butterflies stayed all day and have still failed to leave my stomach. But it is done. I have officially submitted my application and my health status review. 

Check the video! Had to blank out my middle and last name just in case, this is public after all :) And sorry about my glasses, it was a sunny day (after all the storms passed this morning). My dad said I looked like a goob with them on.

Screen shot:

I didn't know that we had to do a health review and some of the questions were a little goofy. "Do you loose your breath when walking 2 blocks on level terrain?" or something like that haha. It was pretty in depth. Good thing I have no major health concerns. So excited! Some one should be in contact with me within the next two weeks and I may receive some e-mails. With in the next 10 days I'll get something via snail mail for "My Toolkit" where I can see the status of my application. I'll let you know when I know!

Apply

Tomorrow I am going to submit my Peace Corps application. I started it over a year ago and I kept psyching myself out and putting it off for another day. The only thing I have left to do is finish up my essays, certify it, and click submit. Just one click is all it takes to change your life.

I spent the day on the phone with Sallie Mae, my student loan company. Boy was that frustrating. I just wanted to find out what I needed to do in order to defer my loans in the event that I get selected to serve in the corps. The first person I talked to told me that there was no way to defer them and that I should have my co-signer pay it for me while I was away. Seriously? Like I'm going to ask my Nana to pay my loans for me, sike. She has done so much for me already that I could never ask her to do that. So I let it go and decided to call again 7 hours later. The next person I talked to put me on hold for 15 min. but it seemed like forever. She informed me that I could file a military deferment. Point blank I told her that the Peace Corps was not a military organization but a government organization. She said that was fine and I just had to return the paper work. SWEET!

Once all that was sorted out, it became so much more real. I have had butterflies in my stomach all day long and I just can't shake the feeling. I'm very nervous. This is something that I have wanted for so long and I just want to make sure that it happens. Plus it is such a big change. I think the hardest part is going to be being away from my family. But I know that I am great at making friends in situations where I don't know anyone. Take my winter break trip to Costa Rica for example (Shout Out L.B.F.s) none of us really knew each other but we became pretty close in just two weeks. Because of this I feel that I will be able to build my own support system if I get selected.

There are a few things on my application that I am worried about... 1) I only speak English (besides the very miniscule amount of Spanish that I retained from high school). 2) I don't have any volunteer experience since I have been in college. But I am more than willing to learn a new language and between classes, commuting from MD to VA and working I literally didn't have time to volunteer. But I think that there are some strong points on my application as well. I had a teacher, one of my bosses and a family friend write recommendations for me. They all seemed to be behind me so I'm hoping that their recommendations were positive. I have great work experience and I feel the classes I have taken in school will help as well.

Once the application is submitted it's on the the interview...

Peace and Love