PC - Application Process, Part 2

To read the first part of my Peace Corps application process, click here. Now back to our story...

After being nominated for PC placement on April 5, I waited for the copious amounts of medical, dental, and eye forms to come in the mail. I received those forms in mid-April and hoped to get them all filled out by the time I left Wooster in mid-May. Oh, how naïve I was.

First, the dental examination forms are the least pressing. They can be filled out and completed up to thirty days before you actually leave. Of course, I had trouble getting this done the first time around, which I’ll tell you about a little later.

Second, the Wooster Wellness Center sucks for many reasons. My biggest gripe is the lack of an actual doctor there most of the time, especially when a doctor is only there in the morning. Too bad if all your classes are before noon. So, after calling to make an appointment, the only available time was at 8:45 AM on May 3, cutting it a little close to commencement weekend, especially because of the required blood and urinalysis tests. No problem, right?

Meanwhile, I try to get the vision form filled out (the easiest form of the bunch), but I have to wait until I get home because the doctor that prescribed your glasses has to fill it out. Apparently it’s too risky to let another professional read the numbers off your glasses. Oh, well, got that done in Kennesaw May 15.

Back to the ordeal of the actual medical exam. I go to the wellness center, get poked and prodded and stabbed. I get a call a couple days later saying I need to get another blood test. I forget why now, but the nurse told me usually only African-Americans get this particular blood test. Great.

Now, the medical exam is going smoothly, I just need to wait for my HIV and hepatitis tests to come back. I know 100% that I’m not HIV positive and don’t have hepatitis, so I’m not worried. HOWEVA (Thanks Stephen A.), the Cleveland Clinic loses my HIV test and Hepatitis test. Umm, hello??? What if you were actually worried you might have HIV or hepatitis? And, of course, I don’t find this out until the DAY I’M MOVING OUT AND HEADING HOME. Just another kick in the ass out the door from the College of Wooster.

Back at home in Kennesaw, I go to my doctor to get these blood tests done ASAP. The longer this takes, the longer my eventual departure date gets pushed back. But because I haven’t actually gone and seen the doctor in the last year or two, they don’t have my file in their office (where did it go?) and can’t get my blood test done. Now, I have to go to an independent blood work company; in this case, Any Tests, Inc., which is as sketchy as it sounds. There was some confusion over what the actual tests were (Umm, hello??? You’re a company that specializes in blood tests.), but it all got sorted out. I finally get these results back at the end of May or beginning of June, about a month later than the whole exam should have been finished.

The medical exam is sent in, and I’m medically cleared July 13. I was dentally cleared a couple weeks later on July 28 after having to go back into the office a second time because I was missing some x-rays.

There is now nothing left in between me and my invitation. It’s a relief and scary that I’ve gone through this whole process, and now it just comes down to waiting for an envelope to come in the mail. My next PC-related entry in this blog will be after I receive the invitation, whenever that may be, barring any unforeseen circumstances.

Part of the ESPN Empire

First things first, I made it onto an ESPN chat. Wow, you're thinking, who gives a crap. Well, I do. I was responding to one the Mothership's NBA dudes, Marc Stein, who is still saying the Hawks should trade for Allen Iverson. Big mistake, I think. The big surprise I had when I saw my question is that I didn't realize he would use it for a question, I was just commenting on his column last week. Since it's an ESPN Insider thing (you have to pay to see it), I'll just copy my question and his answer:

Jay (Atlanta): Do you still think AI to the Hawks is still feasible? After the Claxton signing and Josh Smith and Marvin Williams poised to have big seasons, would AI really help? I would think that the Hawks would want to have the team grow around what they already have and what they'll get for Harrington from whomever (sans AI).

Marc Stein: Feasible? Yes. Sensible, even. I've always believed Atlanta is the team that makes the most sense for Iverson, because the Hawks do need him -- on the court and at the box office -- and because they've got some interesting assets to offer. But the Sixers, by all accounts, have dramatically scaled back their efforts to trade AI in recent days. Nothing is imminent there. Sixers obviously don't like the offers they're getting.

Marc Stein: One last Hawks note: It wouldn't surprise me if this is where Magloire winds up because Atlanta has been interested in him from the start of free agency.

Go me (Despite saying "still" twice in the first sentence)!

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Even though I haven't done my favorite summer songs post yet, "Deja Vu" by Beyonce and Jay Z has skyrocketed to the top in the last two days. The reason? In the first line of the song, Jay Z makes a reference to Juan Fucking Pierre. Juan Pierre! That's easily his most random sports reference since Nick Van Exel in "Crazy In Love." Maybe he saves the strange references for Beyonce songs because she'll have no idea what he's talking about. And since he's Jay Z, she can't say anything.

Stand up comedy, Bass fishing, and Betemee

I was going about my day yesterday at work, killing time by looking at CNN.com. There were the usual top headlines, "More people dead in the Middle East as the world stands by and does nothing" and the like, when something caught my eye: Lance Bass is gay. This news hit me like a ton of bricks and threw me off the rest of the day. My favorite part (it's so hard to pick just one) is when he just happens to be making a TV pilot with Joey Fatone (!!!!) based on "The Odd Couple" with one character being gay. Hmmm, how convenient. Former boy band member, failed astronaut, wannabe actor fake coming out of the closet to get some pub. for his pilot. Lance Bass, ladies and gentlemen! Keep it up, I can't get enough of this story.

Other Ramblings....

* Last Comic Standing - This is a decent summer reality show, and it's hosted by that guy who was in Boston Commons and now on a soul-sucking CBS sitcom. I like the premise of LCS and find stand-up comedy fascinating, but the mandatory standing ovations need to go. Is it to make the contestants (down to the final 4 now) look better? It's too much of an overreaction to give these people a standing O unless they really tear the roof off that motha.

Another case of overreaction is the Cerebral Palsy Guy (CPG). Okay, I get it, he's handicapped, overcoming obstacles, blah blah blah. But to paraphrase Kathy Griffin, he might be playing up the palsy. He's obviously talented, but is he really better than the other guy with crazy hair?

* Wilson Betemit - It all started innocently enough last Sunday during the ESPN telecast of the Braves-Phillies game when Jon Miller started pronouncing Wilson Betemit's name "Betemee'", the apparently correct way to say Betemit's name (Okay, the correct way. We've been ignoring the correct Spanish pronounciation of "i" this whole time.). Jon Miller is usually a stickler with pronouncing the Hispanic players' names correctly, so this is of no surprise. HOWEVA (thanks Stephan A.), Betemit's been with the Braves his entire career, and no one has ever said his name Betemee. Thanks for confusing the hell out of everyone. I can't even read "Betemit" anymore without trying to figuring out how it's supposed to be said. Remember, Wilson, on the first day of class, you're supposed to let the teacher know how to say your name.

On a side note, if you read this John Schuerholz, don't trade Betemee to the Yankees unless we can get A-Rod. Make it happen, John, and I'll forget that your bullpen strategy of not spending any money has finally caught up with you.

Traces

I associate certain periods of time with certain music. I know this is nothing new, but here are some examples:

Fall 2004 (Cordoba)
* Green Day, American Idiot - Debby bought this bootleg in Granada for me. Thanks! This album is awesome, I'm still listening to it. "Jesus of Suburbia" and "Holiday" don't get old.
* U2, How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb - I waited all semester for this to come out and bought it the day it came out at the Corte Ingles in Cordoba.
* Keane, Hopes and Fears - Bought it with the U2 CD... I wasted a lot of euros that day.
* Eminem, Encore - I know I got this one bootleg, too, but I forget where: Madrid or Granada. I'm glad I didn't pay full price.
* There was also a lot listening to Dave Chappelle and Chris Rock

Summer 2005 (Kennesaw)
Common's Be and Coldplay's X & Y came out. They remind me of driving home from Zaxby's on really humid nights after working at that hellhole. Summer is always a weird time for me for some reason. What sticks out for me is that July 4th (sorta.. a day or two before) party I went to with Ian and Alex down at some house near Georgia Tech. Remember, put the phone down when you're drunk! You can't go wrong with that lesson.

Wooster 2005-06 (The Woo)
During the fall, what really sticks with me is "Gold Digger" and listening to Late Registration a lot. I don't listen to it too much anymore, but it's still a great CD. Kanye West is a genius.

I bought a lot of CDs this last semester for some reason. A lot of that has to do with my Limewire not working at school (bastards), but I did download "Crazy" by Gnarls on a whim on spring break at home. That song still blows me away. I was disappointed by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs (maybe half the album is good), The Strokes get the shaft with critics for some reason, and Fishscale by Ghostface has some amazing tracks. And T.I. is easily the best Atlanta rapper since Outkast. "What You Know" is my favorite rap song in the last year. I felt like such a hick listening to T.I. and Ghostface driving around Wooster.

A definite plus of living next to Tim for a whole year is all the indie music. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Arcade Fire, some Modest Mouse, Bloc Party (!!), Spoon. I also copied the Sufjan Stevens CD from Smizell via Sarah Kenney, which was a good move on my part, sometime in December. Illinois is good driving music. It's long and has a big sound w/ lots of instruments. I haven't listened to it for a while, but the Little Miss Sunshine trailer (new movie w/ Steve Carell and Greg Kinnear) uses "Chicago" and reminded me how good Illinoize (Come on and feel it!) is. That Sufjan is wacky.

I still want to post what I'm listening to this summer. Let's just say one song involves a not-so-veiled reference to Steve Nash.

Chappelle follow up

Okay, here's a slightly more provocative and insightful opinion on Chappelle from Bomani Jones, an Atlanta writer who does some stuff for ESPN every once in a while. Since he's actually black, older, and understands show business from an African-American perspective better than I ever will, I got a lot from this.

Long live the Chappelle's!

I was thinking about Dave Chappelle last night after watching one of his "lost episodes" (I obviously have too much time on my hands). Here's a guy who skyrocketed into becoming the second-coming of Chris Rock (or the third-coming of Richard Pryor... black comedians can only be compared to these two, apparently it's a rule) with his show and the classic "Killin' Them Softly" comedy special (Chip, no! Don't do it!). He signs this huge contract for two more seasons of his show, buckles under the pressure (imagined, from himself, caused by Comedy Central), has a mini-breakdown, and comes back to the States thinking he can just wash himself clean of all the speculation for leaving the show.

Now, my big lightbulb of a thought I had last night is that Chappelle needs to stop doing interviews talking about the show and is starting to pull a woe-is-me routine with the media. There was Oprah (the only episode I've seen in probably the last 10 years), Rolling Stone, Conan, more magazines, and most recently, Anderson Cooper 360 (AC 360, bitch. I freaking love AC, I can't tell if he is a joke, a throwback to Vietnam-era reporters, or too intense. I do have to say, though, he's pretty and he did a great job with Katrina.). What really got me was during the "lost episode." Charlie Murphy and that other dude has a lame-ass discussion about the pixie sketch and quoted Dave in a magazine saying he was unsure he wanted the sketch to be seen. Dave's also been quoted saying he doesn't think Comedy Central should air the sketches he made before he left. Uhh, dude, you're the one the left them hanging in the breeze with their pants down. What do you expect them to do? Just let you go on your merry way, parlaying your return to the limelight into free advertising for your stand-up act?

I don't think you can pick sides in the Chappelle Show saga. How can you root for Viacom? Maybe Dave figured he was going to get chewed up and spat out if his show didn't do as well in the third season or his DVD revenues started to dry up. Who knows? But his lost episodes are decent (my favorite so far is the Tupac sketch), the show isn't coming back, and he's still funny as shit.

PC - Application Process, Part 1

Once upon a time.... I think the idea of the PC really hit me in the Summer of 2005 when having one of many conversations about post-graduation plans with my then-gf Debby. She was actually talking about it more seriously than I was. Sometime later that summer, I want to say August before heading back to Wooster, after talking again with my now ex-gf Debby about next summer, it really hit me that I could do the Peace Corps, and immediately I began taking it more seriously than Debby. After having one of my insomnia-lite nights, I hastily began the PC application online.

When I got back to Wooster for my senior year, the PC went to the backburner. Two years?? I have an IS to do?!? Maybe, if anything, one year in the Americorps would be better. Well, fast forward to the beginning of spring semester. After a winter break of life reassessment, a successful IS so far, and being able to see the light at the end of the tunnel, the question of WTF am I going to do after May 15th started to resurface (Obviously, I was going to take a summer class at Georgia State after being jerked around by those bastards at Wooster, but that's another story for another time.). Either a poster in Lowry caught my eye or an announcement in a WHN, but a Peace Corps recruiter was going to be on campus in early February 2006 for interviews with potential candidates. Well, shoot, that sounds like a good idea! I scrambled to finish my application I started five months ago.

The interview took two parts because of time constraints at Wooster due to the number of interviewees. The first part was in person on 06 February 2006, and the second by phone a couple week later on 23 February 2006. Because I was dating Emma at the time, I also had to fill out a Romantic Involvement Questionnaire, which is basically trying to figure out if I was going to wimp out of a potential assignment because of a girl (It happens more than you'd think.). Here are some of the questions:

** How significant do you consider your relationship?
** Have you discussed the decision to serve as a Volunteer with your significant other? Does your significant other support your decision to serve in the Peace Corps? If no, why not?
** What are your future expectations for this relationship? What impact do you think Peace Corps service might have on your relationship?

There are only a few more additional questions along the same line. Honestly, I should of just told my intervieweer that I wasn't dating anyone. It was also fun to act like this whole PC thing wasn't a big deal with Emma. Good times all around. I finished that form 17 February 2006.

I also had to get three personal recommendations (See why this process takes so long... there's always something more to fill out). I chose my boss from the summer before, Billy Jones, at Woodfinisher's Supply (thanks for the job Dad!), Jessi (some girl I know), and my IS advisor, Boubacar N'Diaye. Those were all completed by 21 February 2006.

I'm getting tired just writing about all this stuff. I had to give permission for a background check, and also had to get my fingerprints, which was really cool. I had to wait until I went home for spring break to get my prints done because the guy in charge at the Wayne County sheriff's office was sick and he was the only one that could do it. In the movie of my life, I will use the set of Mayberry from the Andy Griffith Show to portray Wooster. Anyways, I got the fingerprints done in Kennesaw, where the lady that did them waved the $20 fee for me because I was doing good deeds. Karma, people, karma. Thanks, ma'am! That was March 13.

Yada yada yada... I was officially nominated by my recruiter Hazel Domangue, a nice woman from the Chicago PC office, 05 April 2006. A nomination is a good step, but it is not an actual invitation to a program. It's merely a recommendation to the Washington office. I won't officially know what I'm doing or where I'm going until the invitation arrives in my mailbox. Meanwhile, more forms are needed.