The Beginning of Progress

Over the past few days I have spent quite a bit of time at Caribou coffee. Most of my time there I have spent researching jobs on Monster.com and careerbuilder.com. Both sites that have become very resourceful! I have applied to about 3 corporations with varying positions but primarily located in California. I don't know how my mother feels about that. She seems to enjoy my presence at home even though she works long hours and I spend my nights out she wants me to be close to home. One company, located in San Diego, has requested more information on my course work at school and wants a phone interview sometime this week. The company is called Oerlikon and deals with various coatings on materials. It is exciting to know that there are opportunities out there that might fit my needs!

I am a little nervous about tomorrow for I have an interview at 2pm in Saint Paul with a work agency. I know that I shouldn't be nervous but I want to take it as an opportunity to practice my interview skills and make a good impression.

I also found a company looking for an intern. The company is called N Spine and has a lot to do with my major. I am going to be applying for this position tomorrow before my interview. It will be fun applying to a position that I really would like to pursue.

I have recently taken part in discussion with my mother about the order of events for the next year and a half before medical school. Much to my dismay it might make more sense to be looking for a full time job for a year right now and push back my bike tour a year. I am still in contemplation of this scenario but will not jump to any conclusions about what is best until I start getting offers. Until then I will continue to explore what is in this unknown world.

I currently received an e-mail asking if I will be able to attend Camp Avanti this year. It saddens me to think that I might not be able to partake in something so important to my life and determinant of my personality. I am trying to figure out a way to prevent this from happening. If this means pushing back my bike trip even longer, then so be it.

I have also been able to reconect with a highschool friend and foresee spending more quality time with her. It is promissing to know that there are other people that I know still in Hudson of which I can hang out with.

As people are tending to find their way back to college and being drawn back into the life of online chatting I have recently been able to connect up with a couple more people. One of which I am now going to be spending my/her spring break with. I have been privilaged enough to be asked to go out to Steamboat and stay at a friends condo that her father graciously is letting her use. I have been dying to get out to CO and go skiing and this is a prime opportunity!

One End Leads to Anothers Beginning

Graduation has come and gone, the beginning of the future is here. I am expected to take on the world and figure out my place. There is no more avoiding reality. How do I do this? Living at home is my answer!

There are many things on my plate and since the new year is over and all my family has left there is no more putting it off. The order of operations for the next few months is as follows:
1) Find an internship or a job. Since moving home I have been jobless. Over the past couple weeks my delayed paychecks from Maggiano's have come in very handy. They have given me some hope on surviving until I can locate and apply for the jobs I want and will enjoy doing. As of right now I am thinking that an internship is the most logical choice because I can then continue planning my bike trip and make that a reality. I am not saying that I will not actually accept a job if offered to me but then my bike trip may be delayed for a year until Spring 2009.
2) Study for the MCAT. In mid-late March I will attempt round two of the MCAT. The first round did not go as well as I had hoped so I am enthusiastic about now being familiar with the format and test prep. I plan on beginning a 4-5 hours per day/6 days per week starting on January 22nd when I come back from Saint Louis. Until then I will spend about 2 hours per day studying, although this will not happen until I feel confident that I can find or have a job.
3) Planning and training for the bike tour. In May I am going to be embarking on a 9000-mile tour of the United States of America. The trip will last approximately 3 ½ months. The goal is to average 100 miles a day for the duration of the trip but there are some places that I will be wanting to stop at and spend some extra time with friends. I started planning this last summer but the planning process was interrupted by my last semester of school. I have spent numerous hours planning this out but there is still so much more to be done because it is a philanthropy event. I am going to be raising money for Cancer Research and Autism. The fine details of the planning will of course be discussed later on. Training begins on Saturday January 12. Friday the 11th will be spend deciding a training regimen which will allow me to ride 100 miles a day for 90 days.
4) On January 17th-22nd I will be on a road trip to Chicago and Saint Louis. This was originally going to be only stopping in STL for a trivia night and to see my friends again but Chicago was quickly added because I have been dying to see Wicked and see my friends in CHI town. Sadly, one Molly Oliver will not be in town because of her Boyfriend. Damn you Andrew Millard, I knew her first!
5) Start planning for my trip to Europe. I am so excited to have the chance to go to Europe. There has been little planned with this trip besides the possibility of going over with a friend from college. I need to get in contact with her to see what is going on with that. The big issue here will be money and how much I will be able to spend which is dependant on a finding a job.

That is what is on my plate at the moment. I know it is not much but what can I do... I am no longer in college allowing all the time in the world to do any extracurricular that I desire. I have found that since moving home I have lost much of my physical endurance. I brought my brother to a soccer camp today and was dribbling around kicking the ball and got winded just with a small little run to the end of the field and back while kicking a soccer ball. This makes me a little worried about how long it is going to take me to get into good enough shape to do the bike trip. Surely 5 months of training will suffice!