A quick breather
March 15th, 2005 by Sarin
It is Tuesday night of Spring Break. I am bored, still tired, lonely, enjoying the time off, but I still can’t believe it will be Wednesday soon. Maybe because all of what I have been doing the past 4 days is sleeping. And sleeping a good portion.
Before coming into spring break (which now consists of me wasting space at my mom’s house while I spend hours on MySpace), I was experiencing a little bit of calm back at school. It was heading close to the middle of the semester and I was finding I was having a bit more time to myself than usual. From what it felt like, it was if I was getting much better at planning my spare time, and setting time for leisure. I was planning homework, group meetings, time to work on weekends, etc etc way more efficiently than I have ever been. Way much more different than how I began the semester. But considering everything I was doing, it was only one thing that was out of my way. I no longer had to visit or talk to a doctor like I was doing 5 times a week, of the weeks prior.
As the semester began, I was beginning to get swamped. It was directly after my winter break of zero productivity, and now I was expected to pick up my ball and juggle 6 acts (3 group projects, classes, work, and my Peace Corps medical clearance) and still have a social life. I came from doing nothing in one week, to almost doing everything I could do. Soon, meetings and appointments were conflicting with one another, and there were times when I had to drop work. I believe I called work everytime I was at the dentist’s office to make sure I could get the day off (but I would rather have the money, damn it).
However, I did make the most out of it, and I kept an online calendar to help me plan my times (no, you may not see it). It helped when there were times when I had a couple of group meetings in one day, or even two doctor’s appointments in one day. Any signs of stress at the doctor’s office, or coming out of class was fixed when I reassured myself that I could do it. Just a little time to plan, and then I would remind myself more time for everything else a bit later.
This ‘calm’ is little eerie considering I almost wanted to freak out a few weeks ago. My only clue to this peace is the fact that I finished my appointments and forms for my Peace Corps medical clearance. It definitely took alot of time away from me, having about 4 doctor or dentist appointments in one week. I finally sent it away at the end of February. At most times I was considering delaying everything, but I stuck through considering I had schoolwork to do if I gave this up.
In total, I visited Health Services 5 times (and called them one too many), my dentist 4 times (including the visit of my wisdom teeth extraction, which btw I HAD to do to get my dentist to clear me), an optometrist once, and plenty of phone calls to various medical facilities in Rhode Island. Once everything was done, everything took a step back and it felt like everything slowed to a snail’s pace. It was this whole process that was stressing me out the most.
This weight off my shoulders feels good to get out of the way. As some people who have applied to the Peace Corps say, this is the make it or break it phase. Simply because applicants get frustrated, get discouraged, get skeptical, and self select themselves out. And I could see why it gets frustrating to some people. The Peace Corps does not cover all lab tests and any of the dental work that you need to get done, which frustrated me the most. I can imagine how underprivelidged applicants might just quit at this point, as it feels like the Peace Corps is asking for too much.
Looking back on the process, it has been a good experience. I was suprised at how much of this I got done alone; I suprisingly only called my mom once. There were moments of doubt but its these moments that help shape us as determined applicants.
The doctors that I have been working with were very helpful in the process and were very encouraging at every visit. I became a familiar face, and at check ins they would call me by my first names as if I was getting first class treatments. Doctors, nurses and everyone involved, get alot more friendly when they perform procedures that aren’t routine. Whereas other times I would be at the doctor they wouldn’t say a word to me, the ones who worked with me in getting this done asked me questions to get to know me better. “So why do you want to join?”, “Where do you want to go?” were all familiar questions that I have answered many times. An immediate bond was formed between me and my nurses/doctors, and the smiles on their faces were an indication that I was the highlight of their day.
As this breather gets over soon, it will be the rest that will pick up the weight. The hard and heavy stuff of the semester comes pretty soon, and I should enjoy this break while I can. I should hear back from the medical office sometime in May, so I will fill you in on that. For now, enjoy the quiet time before the end of the semester blues.
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