azurite: (dancing 2k-tan)
OMG.
YAY.
SQUEE!
WAHOO!
YIPPEE!
YOWZA!
HAHAHAHAH!

But somehow, none of them quite do the situation justice. I just got accepted into the Washington Internship Institute. This is different from just being invited to the ISLP Delegation on Journalism, different from being told "how great a candidate" I am for the Target Executive Intern program (and not hearing from them in several weeks), and so on and so forth.

As a bit of reference, I was running around getting the application all filled out and finished this whole week-- reference letters, transcripts, the works. I sent it out by Priority Mail yesterday so it would make it to Washington, DC by the deadline of today. They got it by noon EST, which means around 9 a.m. here. I had a phone call to make by 10:30, so I was up by 10 a.m., and sometime around 10:30, I got that email saying "Welcome to WII!"

I was so shocked at first, I really didn't believe it. Less than an hour and a half after they receive my application and I'm in!? Damn, I'm good (and I know there could be other possibilities, but let me stroke my ego for a few minutes here, okay?).

So now I've got a new Intern Profile form to fill out, which includes two essays. That along with a $350 deposit is due within 10 days... I just got paid, so buh-bye, paycheck! I hope I get a scholarship from this and, since I'll be taking other seminars while there (according to their brochure, anyway) that I hope can count for other academic credit (not sure what department or anything, though). I can also take other online courses-- the one that I already planned to take, plus a few others, depending on their pre-reqs and GE fulfillments.

I emailed Scott yesterday, and he mentioned he thought I would graduate sooner, but the Spring 2009 date has looked like my date for a while now. This might mess that up, but then again, how's it any different from my plans for taking Winter session being dashed by the fact that they're not offering anything I need? Why pay for classes that don't mean anything to my degree? Of course, like Scott said, we're "students of life," so a few other classes hardly matter. I'll be graduating with over 120 units either way.

It's funny how now, in my junior and senior years, I'm finding so much that I want to do, even though it might not necessarily apply to my academic degree (major or minor) in any way. And of course, there are things that do pertain, but they're expensive-- this WII isn't free, but I'm hoping tuition can cover it as a sort of "study abroad" and that I can get scholarships from the Institute while I'm at it. There are scholarships for those in honor societies, and I'm in two eligible ones: NSCS and Golden Key, so yay to that.

So if all this works out, I'll be spending spring 2008 in Washington, DC and... *pray pray pray* 2 weeks of summer in Australia. THAT would be a dream come true. And now... to fundraise, pester, and find funding!

Oh, and write those essays.
azurite: (so2:bluesphere - rena)
What a weekend! Part of me doesn't think it should end yet. It wasn't exactly exciting, but there was certainly a lot going on. For starters, I finally got inducted into the NSCS (National Society of Collegiate Scholars) after about two years of actually being a member, and nearly a semester of being an officer... I'm really happy! Not only have I made friends and expanded my network, but I've gotten the opportunity to travel, meet new people, and be challenged in lots of ways. Even the little projects I undertake (like my current one, creating a postcard for the upcoming Hunger Banquet on 11/27) teach me a lot about preparedness and reading the fine print!

I was especially thrilled that Mom and Jill came out to the induction... yes, MOM from San Francisco. Dad didn't come, and there was all that drama revolving around that, but as per usual, when he called tonight, he didn't mention the ceremony at all (other than "so what's up with you lately?") and didn't mention his not coming. I'm a bit disappointed, but working is a good reason not to be able to go to places 500 miles away even if it is a once-in-a-lifetime event for your only daughter and all that jazz.

After the induction, I hung out at Jill's and had a delicious dinner of pasta and carrot cake, played "Cooking Mama" for the first time with some of my second cousins (my god, Wii games are tough... you really have to have arm strength for some of those!), and played around with their soon-to-be-fixed puppy, a Chihuahua mix named Rocky.

The next morning, Jill dropped Mom off at the house and we (along with Baba and Grandpa, of course) went to brunch at Abe's. We tried to go to Brent's, but it was a 30-45 minute wait for just 4 people, and it was already after 11 a.m. by then. :( Though the service at Abe's left a lot to be desired, the food was pretty good. Mom got the grand tour of the house when we got back, and then we headed back to Jill's so she could get ready to take the Van Nuys Flyaway bus back to LAX.

I'm thinking of trying to do that for my flight from LAX to SEA-TAC, since it's so much cheaper than a shuttle, but I'll need a way of getting from here to the Flyaway. Maybe I can ask Jill to drop me off? A taxi would be too much money, and the bus would force me to transfer (not fun with luggage) and wake up soooo early... X_X

So there's that to do, along with trying to help Baba & Grandpa figure out a way to get from here to the Westin LAX, where they'll be staying (courtesy of Mom) before their flight to SEA-TAC.

I've also got to buckle down on my project for 371. I bought two new books on video games today-- I mean serious research books. I'm just glad they were in-stock at Borders! I didn't want to have to wait to special order anything, and I already checked the school library's (pitiful) stock of books in that category...

Speaking of school, the University Student Union's website is lacking something critical: a map. Somehow last week I'd found one when I was working on the Hunger Banquet postcard, but it was a PDF file, and I deleted the original. I didn't properly optimize it for a high-res postcard though, so when I tried to find it again, every possible search came up nil. Even the maps I did find are hopelessly outdated. -_-; So I need to get the names of TWO measly rooms I don't remember off-hand, and then I can submit the postcard for printing.

I also noticed that the Golden Key (International Honour Society)'s website is also lacking-- despite many states being classified into "regions," I failed to find anything that indicated which states are in which regions. Finally, a UCLA site gave me a clue: CA is in Region 9, along with Nevada, New Mexico, Hawaii, and Texas. So I guess that means "Southwestern" states. I joined the new myGK, which is semi-social networking-- it's pretty easy to use. It'll be nice when both it and the new NSCS.org websites get up and running.

Speaking of NSCS again, my postcard that I worked on so laboriously is in the running for the official NSCS holiday postcard! I'm up against some pretty beautiful designs (the kind that make you go "Now why didn't I think of that!?"... I had another one of those moments today at Borders when I spotted their cute polar bear-and-fairy pair for their new ads... so cute!), but I was in the top 5 when I last checked! I told all the members at the induction to vote for me, so hopefully that'll swing some more votes my way. :)

I've also registered for my classes for next semester. They are:
* SCENE Magazine (FINALLY!)
* Women and Leisure (online!)
* Advanced Narrative Writing
* Pop Culture (not with the professor I wanted, but supposedly a really good one)
* Writing About Literature

I'm still hoping to get an internship (gotta get my rec letter back from Mel for the Washington Internship Institute, due by the 16th!), but it might end up being a summer internship, and depending on where it is and whom it's sponsored by, it might not count for Journalism credit. If that doesn't work out, I've applied to be a copy editor at the Sundial. It's only one unit, and copy editors don't have to meet in the early mornings twice a week like the other editors do. (I'm more of a correction-editor than an assignment-editor, anyway.) So we'll see how that works out. Even if it can't count for Journalism credit, part of me is hoping to get the Target internship, because it sounds fun, good experience, and of course, pays really well.

Lastly and not leastly, I've gotten addicted to a new semi-crack-worthy pairing-- this time from Star Ocean 3: Till The End of Time. Anyone like some Albel Nox x Nel Zelpher? Because yeah, for some reason I really started to like them together, and now I've started reading fic for them and I joined their fanlisting. :P Gah, and I have yet to build the Sailor V x Kaitou Ace fanlisting! I gotta get on that...
azurite: (csi: gsr wall)
WOW. So as if getting to hang out on the set of CSI wasn't cool enough (all right, it would have been cooler if I got to talk with Jorja Fox and George Eads, or see William Petersen), the day before yesterday I got a very nice, vaguely familiar envelope in the mail...

I got invited to the Delegation on Communication in Journalism in AUSTRALIA! AGAIN! This is the second year I've been invited, but because last year I was in Japan, I missed the deadline for turning the application in. The fact that I got invited again despite the drama that happened last semester means I'm still gold to somebody out there, and I don't want to pass this opportunity up.

Of course, there's always a catch. Just like the coolest media internship programs, this delegation costs money. It covers airfare, travel insurance, accommodations, food, and, if I want, an extra few days touring around the most exotic parts of Australia. HOW COOL IS THAT!? *squeeballs*

Anyway, it's $6789 total, which is... a lot, of course. The first deposit of $649 has to be made before December 17th, which is not a bad thing-- I mean, I could easily put that amount on my credit card and pay it back in 2-3 chunks over the next few months. But then in January, $2000 would be due, with the remainder due in February. That's the money I'm not so sure about, because my highest credit limit is on my Macy*s Visa (which I never intend to use outside of Macy*s *AS* a Visa), and I don't see any way of my job (or even my Spring Semester financial aid check, really) covering that.

But there's no way I'm just going to give up hope now. I have to look into things-- scholarships, other financial aid. My dad would probably tell me to ask the Journalism department here at CSUN to fund it so I could write some sort of story, but I doubt that they'd do that. I always doubt that sort of generosity from this department... -_- (Then again, this department seems pretty broke half the time, so...) Anyone have any ideas? It's power fundraising time-- not just for DonorsChoose and AIDS Walk, but Mer, too! :O!!!

(Did I also mention I got invited into another honor society, the Golden Key? DAMN. I feel... smart, like there's another me out there faking everyone out, and I'm basking in this. I don't feel like I deserve it, but on the flip side, I'm really excited, happy, and proud.)

Also:
* WDKY IS FOUR YEARS OLD AS OF YESTERDAY (10/9). Someone hit me upside the head with an inspiration-motivation-mallet, please. the last time I let a fanfiction fester for this long was Only 16, and that... didn't turn out so well. It wasn't even as long as WDKY!
* Updated my online portfolio/resume with my latest articles. Also added them to Facebook, including the CSI article. Headline sucks, but I didn't make it up. Read the article if you like, though, and tell me what you think!
* Damn, I feel busy all the time. I'm glad the weekend's coming up, though-- I mean, I'll be busy anyway, with the NSCS garage sale (and the weekend after that, the AIDS Walk-- squee, already raised $275!), but maybe I'll use the sale as a chance to clean my room or something. And maybe get some computer stuff done, too.

...I wanna read more CSI fic. I've read 2 60+ chapter fics (yesterday's was 81 and COUNTING) in the past week or so, and... I'm hooked! More GSR plz!

January 2016

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