grad school

there are a few things that i've been preoccupied with lately.  one is grad school. or doing research for it, anyway. i know i won't be applying for the next school year. definitely not ready yet. all the programs i like belong to prestigious schools: columbia university, syracuse university, george washington university, uc berkeley. my top choice right now is columbia. the only problem is i'm not sure i can handle their coursework. columbia only has a full-time program. i'm not someone who can read through text quickly and retain all that information. sigh. i really like their program.  it's very thorough. plus it's in nyc where one can find many big non-governmental agencies, the united nations, and the like.  very convenient and i'm sure the rent is also very convenient.

columbia and a few other schools have a foreign language requirement.  at columbia one must pass up to second year with a B or better. feels like undergrad allover again. i remember what studying foreign language in college is like. i might have passed it with a B but i know i was still pretty weak at it. the two years spent studying french in college i would rank myself at closer to a beginning level.  comprehension was just not there. still at another school, it requires three years of foreign language study with a B or better. to me, studying a foreign language outside of its native country is a waste of time unless you are really good at studying foreign languages like my college best friend. she learned to speak spanish very well from her high school spanish classes. i wish i could do that. unfortunately for everyone else, our level of fluency is not functional if you found yourself at work around native speakers of a foreign language. what exactly do i plan to do? :) if i get into a school with a foreign language requirement (and even if i get into a school with no foreign language requirement), i am going to go back to france. then i will attain the level of french that i need and i will get it done in under a year. another plus is that i will have four classes out of the way and i can take other courses. however i may have to defer enrollment by a year to do so, too.

why am i even looking into grad school? i don't want to be stuck at entry-level forever. my other option is the peace corps but that's not for me. though it is amazing how the peace corps has been able to boost a lot of its participants' careers. i even came across one university program that incorporates the peace corps into its curriculum. i believe you do the first year at home, then take off for peace corps (2 years), and then come home to finish the last year. amazing. maybe a bit overachieving.

so that's where my plans are at now.

my life is on loop

there is not much going on in my life.  i am still trying to find a second job.  had an interview the other day at macy's but did not get it. i have emailed another nonprofit to see if i can volunteer in their office doing the same thing there as i do at my current job.  i hope to do that for a few months and then transition into their operations internship.  ultimately hoping that i will get a part-time job offer from them as well.  that would be awesome.

the part of my life that is playing on loop right now is regarding a guy at work.  he likes me. i like him (though he doesn't know that--that's where the problem lies). anyway, we don't work in the same part of the building and we especially don't work together.  we just don't have many opportunities to talk. most of the time, i have the hardest time saying anything to him. this is what each day is like:  everyday that i work he comes in to work in the afternoon, makes his phone call and we exchange a "hi."  he hasn't tried to start a conversation with me. again, not much opportunity for that.  sometimes he finds an excuse to come into the office (make photocopies, print something, etc) but says nothing (maybe i intimidate him?).

i've told my cousin about the situation. she says maybe he would say more if i asked him, "how are you?", too.  (i am somewhat socially awkward). i'm thinking he may be afraid of rejection which is why he hasn't asked me out yet. i really wish i could talk to him as easily as i do everybody else but unfortunately that is not happening.

this part of my life has been going on since february.  i have an idea of when it could happen though.  according to one annual horoscope i found, it says nothing significant will happen regarding love, until this autumn. sigh.

public bike sharing is coming to l.a.!

digital rendering of a bike sharing station in l.a. - love the design of the bike.  image by bike nation

a velo'v bike sharing station in lyon, france.

i can't believe it.  i've only heard how the city wants to do this but i didn't think it would be happening this soon.  we just don't have the money for it.  now it is happening thanks to a private company, bike nation.  i just hope the bikes look better than the velib of paris.  unfortunately this is not county-wide, yet.  they are only concentrating on four areas right now: hollywood, westwood, venice, and downtown.  4,ooo bikes.  their rates are similar to other bike sharing systems around the world:  $6 for the day, $1.50 for an hour or $4.50 for 90 minutes. Trips shorter than 30 minutes will be free; one-year passes will run $75.  yes, i know these bike sharing systems also have to worry about theft which is why there is a tracking device built in each bike and a registration fee involved for each bike rider -- just like in other cities that implement this bike sharing system.  even if you just want to ride it for a few hours you have to register first and the registration fee is around $300 (the price of one good bike).

here's the whole story.

they laugh...

went to my cousin's house yesterday.  our older cousin then stopped by.  we all went out to grab a snack.  before leaving i asked my cousin if he could teach me to drive his car (it has a manual transmission).

he sort of chuckled and then asked my other cousin, "remember what she [I] told me about why she wants to learn to drive a stick shift?"

my younger cousin then responded with a laugh and said "because she wants to work in africa and they have to drive stick there." 

um...yes, it sounds far-fetched in a world they live in - in the suburb or major city.  however, i didn't imagine any of this up.  i was serious about that.  i did my research.  many people who work in international development or humanitarian aid, if they live and work in a developing country, drive a stick shift.  at usaid, all new employees are trained to drive a stick shift if they don't already know how. 

my younger cousin then added, "it's probably because the roads there are unpaved."  duh.

can't believe they laughed at my dream. [shakes head in disappointment.]