I went back to MEPS today; not for a physical but for a consult. So i dragged my ass out of bed at 3:30 in the morning, was out of the house by a quarter past 4, and an hour later i began the whole horrible process. I wore my lucky Habs socks, and I didnt think they were working at first, because true to form, I went in and got yelled at to sit and wait, since they were only processing people who were shipping out first. No problem - i expected it and had brought a book. Then I got yelled at for not joining the other girls (who were shipping) in the inspection room, which apparently I was supposed to get in on despite not shipping out today. Got my happy butt inspected (got naked, showed my hands and feet, got my height and weight taken, got dressed again) and then waited for an hour while they figured out where their own asses were. I got taken down to the Naval Hospital by the duty driver, where I had my endocrinology appointment. Doc was cool, i felt very comfortable with him and he was able to be straight with me and didn't seem to think what he's thinking I have (Late onset nonclassical CAH) is going to prevent me from going in, so there's no issue, they just have to make sure thats what it is. So to blood-sucking I went.
Naturally I got the phlebotomy intern, who, while very cute and sweet, managed to miss my veins twice (once in each arm), and then called for back-up and apologized to me for all the stabbing and kept asking me if i was feeling alright. Back up, a very serious filipina phlebotomist, showed up, stabbed me unceremoniously (and unlike cute guys stabbings, hers hurt), and filled my vials with no problem.
I tried to make the guy feel better by telling him my veins were shy, but he was just a little horrified that my vein was just a little lower than he'd stabbed. Poor kid.
At any rate, I was in and out of MEPS by 11, and everyone was nice to me over the course of the day, and there were no major complications (with the exception of the stabbings and getting a bit lost at the hospital on my way to the appointment) so im blaming the socks and a good attitude.
now i am having a cup of coffee, y'all.
Showing posts with label coast guard. Show all posts
Showing posts with label coast guard. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
oh yeah you betcha
Happy New Year.
Things are moving along at a snails pace; stories trickle in from the academy and you hear from folks every so often, but the reality has hit that im really truly out of the loop now - one of those alumni who ask how things are going down at camp keema and trying to figure out how the new things fit with the memories in my head. Things change, life goes on, and its constant.
On the Coast Guard front, my packet is in, i'm now waiting on the interview - and then the real wait happens. And then, the frantic preperations. I cant wait - i've feel like a caterpillar thats been in a coccoon, like i've been in stasis, and i can feel my butterfly wings itching to come out.
Obama took off running since the inauguration a week ago. He's a whirlwind get-it-done machine and I feel like he's done more in a week than Bush did in 8 years. I dont know whether the changes will be good or bad, but the changes are here and more are coming and I cant wait.
On the knitting front, projects are coming along. I finished a Ravenclaw Fair Isle bag which is lovely but still needs to be lined, and am working on my brothers Charlie Brown Sweater, a pair of socks, and a fish hat. I am a busy girl.
Work sucks. Go read James Powlik.
Things are moving along at a snails pace; stories trickle in from the academy and you hear from folks every so often, but the reality has hit that im really truly out of the loop now - one of those alumni who ask how things are going down at camp keema and trying to figure out how the new things fit with the memories in my head. Things change, life goes on, and its constant.
On the Coast Guard front, my packet is in, i'm now waiting on the interview - and then the real wait happens. And then, the frantic preperations. I cant wait - i've feel like a caterpillar thats been in a coccoon, like i've been in stasis, and i can feel my butterfly wings itching to come out.
Obama took off running since the inauguration a week ago. He's a whirlwind get-it-done machine and I feel like he's done more in a week than Bush did in 8 years. I dont know whether the changes will be good or bad, but the changes are here and more are coming and I cant wait.
On the knitting front, projects are coming along. I finished a Ravenclaw Fair Isle bag which is lovely but still needs to be lined, and am working on my brothers Charlie Brown Sweater, a pair of socks, and a fish hat. I am a busy girl.
Work sucks. Go read James Powlik.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Getting Closer
The wonderful proseknitic from Ravelry let me know I hadn't updated in a while, particularly in regards to my Coast Guard stuff, and there has been quite a bit going on!
First of all, my paperwork is almost done. This is a big deal, and probably the most time consuming process- it's taken months to get it all done, and i feel like it should have gotten done sooner, but it is a lengthy and redundant process. I'm only missing a few pieces now; some letters and one transcript from a junior college. My recruiter was pleased I came in with almost the entire thing finished, apparently people come in with packets missing half the paperwork all the time. She loved my narrative, and I cannot express how relieved I was to hear that!
I do not have a hard time writing; I can be terribly verbose about any number of subjects, but when it comes to those "Why You Want To Do ________" essays where you basically have to sell yourself, I panic. Its hard to write something without coming off as an arrogant bastard, especially when you are imminently qualified for a position. It's a balance thing which I feel can be difficult to achieve. Naturally, I was worried about my paper; the original was nearly four pages double spaced and cutting it in half was very difficult! Lucky for me, I had the benefit of running my paper by some friends and my father, who were all more than happy to cut the fluff out and make suggestions. The result? "The best narrative [she'd] read all year." I feel thats worth bragging about, but we'll see how my interview panel likes it. Here's crossing my fingers!
Other than waiting on other people for paperwork, I have to report to MEPS this week for my physical. There, I will be poked, prodded, and examined and with luck they will find me physically fit enough for service. Weight isn't an issue (although I'm still watching it); my max weight is 157 and at worst I am a solid 10 lbs under that, which is a relief. I may have written it before, but I was almost 180 lbs when I came home from college, and I've been working my tail off to get to weight!
Once my paper work is done and I get my physical and security clearances, at the point I have to wait for three officers to get together, and then I have the dreaded interview. Post interview? It's a waiting game, really. My interview will be in sometime between now and the last week of January. Hurry up and wait.
First of all, my paperwork is almost done. This is a big deal, and probably the most time consuming process- it's taken months to get it all done, and i feel like it should have gotten done sooner, but it is a lengthy and redundant process. I'm only missing a few pieces now; some letters and one transcript from a junior college. My recruiter was pleased I came in with almost the entire thing finished, apparently people come in with packets missing half the paperwork all the time. She loved my narrative, and I cannot express how relieved I was to hear that!
I do not have a hard time writing; I can be terribly verbose about any number of subjects, but when it comes to those "Why You Want To Do ________" essays where you basically have to sell yourself, I panic. Its hard to write something without coming off as an arrogant bastard, especially when you are imminently qualified for a position. It's a balance thing which I feel can be difficult to achieve. Naturally, I was worried about my paper; the original was nearly four pages double spaced and cutting it in half was very difficult! Lucky for me, I had the benefit of running my paper by some friends and my father, who were all more than happy to cut the fluff out and make suggestions. The result? "The best narrative [she'd] read all year." I feel thats worth bragging about, but we'll see how my interview panel likes it. Here's crossing my fingers!
Other than waiting on other people for paperwork, I have to report to MEPS this week for my physical. There, I will be poked, prodded, and examined and with luck they will find me physically fit enough for service. Weight isn't an issue (although I'm still watching it); my max weight is 157 and at worst I am a solid 10 lbs under that, which is a relief. I may have written it before, but I was almost 180 lbs when I came home from college, and I've been working my tail off to get to weight!
Once my paper work is done and I get my physical and security clearances, at the point I have to wait for three officers to get together, and then I have the dreaded interview. Post interview? It's a waiting game, really. My interview will be in sometime between now and the last week of January. Hurry up and wait.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
I'm in the walk stage of crawl, walk, run.
I'll be honest; I haven't been keeping up too closely with goings on at the academy. I've been busy in my post-academy life. I try not to talk about too much extremely personal stuff here; I like to keep confined to posts about things which are useful or interesting to read to people who are not me. As a result... maybe not so much with the posting lately. What's been going on?
I came home from college, sat on my duff for a few months getting complacent, split with my long-time boyfriend, moped around for a little while, visited my sister in Arizona, got a job as a bookseller, started seeing someone new, spent some time with my brother while he was home on leave, started up a knitting group in the area, and have begun a new, stressful period in my life.
I am going through the process of applying to the U.S. Coast Guard OCS. This has proven to be much more time consuming and more stressful than I had thought it would be. This is in no way a bad thing - it's the push I needed, and I don't like anything easy. This is proving to be difficult for me to do all on my own (and make no mistake, you are on your own for much of it. This where being a 'self-starter' comes in handy!) but I am enjoying it. I've been getting "down to fighting weight" as they say, working on the paperwork, and reading up on all the required and suggested books and subjects.
I've still got a ways to go in terms of paperwork (my narrative, in particular.), but i'm at weight, focused and determined. I may not get in, but i'm doing what I can to make sure that I am competitive with other applicants.
I'm ready to go, I'm just waiting for the call.
I came home from college, sat on my duff for a few months getting complacent, split with my long-time boyfriend, moped around for a little while, visited my sister in Arizona, got a job as a bookseller, started seeing someone new, spent some time with my brother while he was home on leave, started up a knitting group in the area, and have begun a new, stressful period in my life.
I am going through the process of applying to the U.S. Coast Guard OCS. This has proven to be much more time consuming and more stressful than I had thought it would be. This is in no way a bad thing - it's the push I needed, and I don't like anything easy. This is proving to be difficult for me to do all on my own (and make no mistake, you are on your own for much of it. This where being a 'self-starter' comes in handy!) but I am enjoying it. I've been getting "down to fighting weight" as they say, working on the paperwork, and reading up on all the required and suggested books and subjects.
I've still got a ways to go in terms of paperwork (my narrative, in particular.), but i'm at weight, focused and determined. I may not get in, but i'm doing what I can to make sure that I am competitive with other applicants.
I'm ready to go, I'm just waiting for the call.
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