eating time and changing minds.

yeah yeah yeah... we all know i get a bit gung-ho about things without really thinking them over. for those unaware, click on the picture above for a history, but i was planning on joining the air force rotc for reasons listed already in that post, so i won't bother repeating them.

well, as part of my prep for applying, i needed to create a graduation plan. whether or not i join the rotc, i'll realistically be graduating in the year 2012. which is sort of depressing in a way seeing as it's 2009, but we'll let that slide. especially since i plan on a lot more schooling past my undergrad. so here's the deal. with the rotc, i'd be able to do so sometime during that summer, and i'd be scraping by with the very minimum of my science credits. also, i wouldn't actually be finishing them until after i took the mcat, which is basically a sort of act for med school. now, i don't mean to sound like a pessimist, but i cannot realistically think that after no science courses really and minimal experience with algebra and physics that i would stand a breath of a chance at that exam.

so.

i went in and spoke to the pre-med advisers who backed up my thinking that it's not worth putting prep for mcat on the chopping block for rotc credentials, but to instead use all the classes to my prep and get my experience for applications elsewhere where they won't take up class hours. that's what i'll be doing.

it should be noted that i still want to join the air force one day. i still want to go through the air force for med school. this is still very possible. from what i understand you basically need to be competitive for med school in general, and you'll have a good shot for getting in to the air force program.


and in addition to all of this, my gpa was rooting me on as it will be easier to keep up good grades when i have classes to worry about that go towards the mcat as opposed to classes that have me studying air force business and then having to study mcat stuff separately.

so there. i know you're probably disappointed i won't have to keep my hair even shorter than byu standards (which, let's be honest, i could really work on), and believe me i'll miss not getting to twirl around guns like on the armed forces commercials. you're probably also disappointed this post wasn't very entertaining, but it seems my posts are getting more and more like that. you can excuse them being such by focusing on the graphics at the top.

placebos and comfort blankets.

as i've begun my trek into the next semester by beginning my studies and trying to fill out all my rotc paperwork including a comprehensive graduation plan for my degree in psychology, minor in chemistry, and requisites for rotc. so, jumping in with both feet, i've once again broken out the school year's glasses and backpack and am gearing up for battle.

many of you know and adore linus from the classic comic strip 'peanuts' (and many of you also adore my nephew, linus, who is all the more adorable). he's famous for always carrying his blue blanket, despite infinite encouragement from the other characters and numerous attempts to do so. whatever the reason, he can't seem to operate properly without it.

for a period of time, he also had a pair of glasses which he wore because he found that his eyes would water whenever he read and ate potato chips at the same time. they were eventually phased from the comic strip, but he did have them for a time to ensure he could enjoy his reading and eating potato chips.

me and linus have a bit in common.

for me, i have a sort of matching set of comfort blanket and glasses. my backpack is my comfort blanket during my studies. even when i've no intention to study, it comes with me. whether at a computer, desk, or on a lawn i for some reason require my beat-up old puma bag. and "glasses is glasses" here. i may be able to study a bit without glasses, but when the frames come out it's business time. time to eat chips and read, so to speak.

all in all, they're both basically serving the functions of a) making me more comfortable to study, or 'getting me in the zone' and b)somehow convincing me that i'm more effective than i may actually be. that's where the placebo part of the title comes in. do these things actually make a difference? maybe. m&ms may also help a cold a bit, but really the difference is made in the fact that your brain is convinced that those m&ms will make a difference. likewise, over time these glasses and this bag have driven their way deep enough into my sulci to make that sort of difference. and yes, i realize that me considering them as placebos sort of ruins the whole thing. whatever.

so. glasses on, backpack at side.

let's rumble.

facing books and rotcen meat.

hello again. this post is meant as an explanation as well as a brief update. as you may have noted from other sources, i have for the time being, closed (or soon will) my facebook account. i'll be taking a sabbatical for a yet undecided period of time. it may last until the beginning of the new fall semester, the end of it, perhaps the end of march 2010, or maybe it will never be opened again. the last is doubtful, but possible just the same.

there are several reasons for this, but the only one i'll mention for now is the fact that i've decided to enroll in the air force rotc program here at byu. this normally wouldn't have much of an effect (at least the effect it does now) because it's intended to be done over a time span that would grant two years of preparation before your fate is decided by a board as to whether or not you'll be endorsed as a pre-med and eventual med school student (which is my objective). but i, being a late bloomer, have started later than most, and as a result, must take all of the required courses in one semester, ace my classes, up my personal fitness level substantially, get to know my commanding officers in six months to make up for a year and a half, and prepare like mad for the entry exams (i'll only have one shot at them before i'm reviewed) before the end of fall semester. and facebook is problematic in the amount of time i use it. and for those of you who may whine at this, take comfort in knowing that facebook isn't the only thing on the chopping block.

so, what remains to be done before fall's beginning is complete the application, study for the entrance exam, as well as prepare for the semester ahead by beginning on my chem/anatomy studies to ensure my gpa is raised. likewise raising my personal fitness to meet and hopefully exceed standards set by my peers. which makes me wish to note that if there is one thing that i'm not looking forward to with the program, it's being ranked against my peers. i know it's how things work in the world, but it's still not as pleasant to realize your buddy from class and so on is potentially your reason you didn't get in, or that you're likewise his reason. but oh well, if i don't sabotage anyone's plans or efforts i can't say i'll have a heavy conscience if i proceed while they do not. anyway, that's the big reason. if you're reading this, chances are you already have another way to contact me. if not, check my profile and you'll find a link to my e-mail address. feel free to use it.