Ring Finger

Cute video (minus the creepy voice) about why we wear our wedding ring on our ring finger.

Application Essays

I'm way past the point of application essays, but I saw someone who is stuck on theirs...as was I.  I searched the internet for examples, and actually found a pretty good "outline" online. More so a list of points to hit and stuff. 

You can find it here, at Application Tips

MEDICALLY CLEARED!

I was MEDICALLY CLEARED!!!!!! I woke up to a Peace Corps e-mail saying check your ToolKit, so I did, and it said what you can see in the picture on the left. I was like WAHOO!

Later, around 9:30am, I got a phone call while I was at camp. It was my nurse, Tracy. You can't even imagine what nerves she created in  me. I thought it was a mistake, or they actually needed something else. Something!? But really she was just calling to say she got the CBCs, everything was fine, and she wanted to let me know that I was cleared! I was really excited, because not only was I cleared, but my nurse personally called to tell me! From what I hear, not only do you very rarely hear directly from nurses (usually only via your screening assistant), but its even more rare for them to call you to give you the news about being Medically Cleared!

SOOOOOO RELIEVED!!!!!!

GRE

I took the GRE this morning. Awful, just awful. I think the writing went okay because that's my strong point. (so if it comes back in the mail with a not so great score, I'll cry). I did awful on verbal and math. Verbal I got a 450, Math I got a 460. Yes, exactly, my sentiments exactly: what the holy hell? I didn't do great on my SAT, but got a 1030. So What the hell is this GRE 910 score!? I really am trying to cop it up to the fact that I've been out of school and not doing too much for a year. But seriously? I will be retaking it again. Probably before I leave, maybe also during PC if I can't seem to get a good score. Because I'm sorry, but a 910 is just absolutely unacceptable. *sigh*

1,000

Bailey found this and posted it on Facebook's "Future Peace Corps Volunteer" board. Its pretty crazy to think about. Makes us realize how lucky we are in this world.

If the world were a village of 1,000 people, it would include:

· 584 Asians
· 124 Africans
· 95 East and West Europeans
· 84 Latin Americans
· 55 Soviets (including for the moment Lithuanians, Latvians, Estonians and other national groups)
· 52 North Americans
· 6 Australians and New Zealanders

The people of the village have considerable difficulty in communicating:

· 165 people speak Mandarin
· 86 English
· 83 Hindi/Urdu
· 64 Spanish
· 58 Russian
· 37 Arabic
That list accounts for the mother tongues of only half the villagers. The other half speak (in descending order of frequency) Bengali, Portuguese, Indonesian, Japanese, German, French and 200 other languages.

In this village of 1,000 there are:

· 329 Christians (among them 187 Catholics, 84 Protestants, 31 Orthodox)
· 178 Moslems
· 167 "non-religious"
· l32 Hindus
· 60 Buddhists
· 45 atheists
· 3 Jews
· 86 all other religions

In the village of 1,000 people, there are:

· 5 soldiers
· 7 teachers
· 1 doctor
· 3 refugees driven from home by war or drought

Education
700 would be illiterate
10 would have a college education

Health and Life
500 would be malnourished
330 would not have clean, safe drinking water
10 would be near death; and 10 would be near birth
800 would live in substandard housing
890 would be heterosexual
110 would be homosexual
480 would be Male
520 would be female

Faxed

The CBCs and letter have been faxed to the nurse at the PC. When I asked my doctor's nurse, she sounded so annoyed I should be calling. Tomorrow I'm going to go pick up copies of everything that was faxed. Just to be sure.

Update: I got the copies of my CBC and the letter. The doctor wrote a really great letter. "As per your request of June 16, 2008, I did a repeat CBC on Ms. Walker today. Please find enclosed a copy of the results. You will notice that her hemoglobin, white count and platelet count are completely normal but that she has a mild lymphocytosis. That would appear to be just normal for Ms. Walker. This mild lymphocytosis has been present without any evidence of any disease since I first met her in 2002. She is a fine, bright, and hard-working young lady whom I am sure will be an asset to your organization. If there is any other information you require, please just let me know" Hopefully, it works, and I get cleared. Oh please give me clearance now!

This & That

First, I'm pretty sure the dog is behind the couch trying to catch an ant. We've recently had an unexplained rash of ants in our living room at night. They are harder to get rid of than we thought. :-/

Also, I'm scared to call back to my doctor's to see if my CBCs have been faxed off to my PC Nurse. Scared because the person I have to talk to scares me! Instead, I emailed my nurse asking if she could shoot me a line when she received those, and that I e-mailed her so she could do it just whenever she got to it. I know she's busy.

Today is Friday, June 20th. With the 6 week rule on invitations, August 1st and after are the programs I could be invited to. Realistically since if I were cleared today and my PO only started working on me Monday, it could be August 4th and later. Seriously, this is getting down to the wire and I'm so not comfortable with it.

I found out my blog has been helpful in at least one instance! When I was initially applying, I read several blogs from the beginning of their application process all the way through to invitation and service. It was really amazing and beyond helpful for me to see what actually happens in the application process--technically and emotionally. I feel like it really prepared me and I haven't been too shocked by anything so far. That's why I decided to start this blog the day after I applied. I thought just in case someone who was applying saw it, maybe it'd be useful. Of course, I think sometimes I get carried away with how many posts I do, but oh well. I like it, I have fun. :) But I saw someone who borrowed part of my blog about the book "So You Want to Join the Peace Corps?" I was really glad to see that, because it let me know my blog has been helpful for at least one person!

I was also correct in my assumption about the dog and the ants.

Beh

This morning I took a little note over to the doctors basically just stating I needed my SSN on the forms and the PC now needed 2006 and 2007 CBC results in addition to the CBC results from yesterday and the doctor's note.

I just called over there. My doctor, he himself, told me to call there this afternoon to see if it had been sent off yet or the progress. The nurse who always answers seemed very put off that I was calling and was not exactly rude, but not exactly polite. Beh! I just wanted to ask if it had been faxed, in which case I could then call the PC to make sure they received it. I also wanted to make sure she received my note I took over, she said yes. She said she had everything sitting ready to fax--the 3 CBC results from yesterday, '06, and '07, but was waiting on "his dictation." "well, I don't know what you want me to do, your results are back, but his dictation isn't ready, I won't have that until tomorrow of course!" ...Sorry, I wasn't aware it took 2 days to write a dictation. I was aware that he is very busy and thus it might take until he could fit it into his schedule, but I was pretty sure it took a quick glance at the results and about 5 minutes or less to write a note of several lines and then sign his name. Sorry. Also, he was the one who told me to call today! So, sorry again.

I guess instead of calling her again tomorrow, I will call or e-mail my nurse, Tracy, to see if she's gotten them yet.

BEH!

Little Update

Well isn't today just the day of information!

I got an e-mail from Cali today 1/2way imploring me to get online. Obviously she had some PC news. She called IAP today to see if she could get any e-mails from others going to Guatemala since she has found absolutely no one else. Poor girl! Somewhere in her brilliant mind, she thought to ask what other programs are being sent to Guatemala this time around. They said the 2 programs are Municipal Development and Sustainable Agriculture. 

So looks like I most likely won't be heading to Guatemala either. Belize still seems to be the most likely option, always has. At the same time it looks more likely that I have the potential of being pushed back to September. The options there are Peru, Nicaragua, and El Salvador. I'd love any of those countries. I'm pretty sure all those have Youth programs, thought I'm not sure which are sending Youth there this time around.

Suppose you'll have to stay tuned to find out the glorious invitation information! (which by the way, I'm not too much closer, but am a little closer, to obtaining!)

More CBC

I called my doctor to tell the nurse to put my SSN on the fax so they'd know who I was. Then I started making the pasta for our neighbors next door who just had a baby boy. Then ran to Target to get them a little baby gift. While I was searching for one, my PC nurse, Tracy, called me. She said she had talked to her head-MO-person, and he still wanted me to redo my CBC and have the doctor write a note. However, in addition to that, he wanted me to also fax a 2006 and 2007 CBC in with it!!!!!!! UGH! Had I not called, I wouldn't have to do that. Granted, maybe it'll get me cleared faster than if I didn't and didn't have to send them in, but maybe its just more unnecessary work that I wouldn't of had to do otherwise! Beh. 

So since I'll be volunteering at the day camp tomorrow, I will have to go in right away at 8am to make sure they put my SSN on the fax cover letter, and include 2006, 2007 CBCs. I'm lucky, because I think most people wouldn't have that information, but I do because I have to get tested at least once a year due to my medicine. Just. Aye.

CBC-Done

Today at 2:30 I went to see the doctor. He was absolutely clueless as to why the Medical Office for the PC was finding my CBC abnormal, especially with his note stating that it was not abnormal due to my medicine.  It looked like it really frustrated him, because it was adding more work to his busy schedule for no reason.  He ordered the 2nd CBC, and said that he would look at it tomorrow afternoon, write the note to the PC, and fax it off. He told me to call him in a few days to make sure it got sent. When I got my blood drawn, I told them it needed to be faxed to him as soon as it was done, and they said that they would have the results and fax it to him with in the half hour! Woohoo! I hope. I will call back tomorrow.

Medical Hold!

YAY!

No, this doesn't mean I'm cleared, and while "HOLD" in bright red, bold letters seems indescribably scary, it really means that they have just started to actively review my file. It may mean they've opened it, it may mean they'll clear me tomorrow, they may have just simply moved it from the left side of the desk to the right side! But it means my medical file has advanced. Sometimes during this hold, they request you to send something else in--and I'm praying they don't; sometimes they just clear you the next day! That's what we are hoping for, the later. Anyway, I'm just glad it had progressed! WOOHOO!

UPDATE: Immediately after writing this, I received a visit from FedEx baring an envelope from the PC. It said:

Dear Ms. Walker
Thank you for submitting your medical information. During the review of your medical kit, we find the submitted information to be incomplete. To continue your medical review process, please provide the requested documentation below.
1. The results of your CBC revealed an abnormal finding. You must have a repeat CBC and submit report. If abnormalities persist, your physician must evaluate your condition and submit documentation that includes a diagnosis, etiology, and treatment plan.
In order to keep your file active, we need the above documentation. Fax all the information together to the Office of Medical Services. We look forward to hearing from you soon.
Sincerely,
Tracy
Office of Medical Services

So...while I naturally didn't want this, its an easy quick fix. I went to the doctor's office and asked for my nurse practitioner...she's apparently out of town for 3 weeks...whaaaaaaa? So I ask for the doctor, and they asked me to come in tomorrow at 2:30 so he could actually talk to me. That's good I guess, tho I rather would've gotten it out of the way today, but I understand. I showed the nurse at the front desk, and while she was confused about the whole process, she was especially confused about why they didn't accept the letter from Dr. Hambidge that said "This is a clarification of the lab values of Jenna Walker. Her Complete Blood Count is within normal limits and as expected for an individual whom is receiving dialproex." I already knew before hand my Depakote ER could make my levels slightly abnormal. I looked at the test results I have copies of, and literally, one is too high by .1, another is too low by 1. Wow.
I called my screening assistant, Lisa, to ask about this, only to find out that she's out of town for a week (is everyone?). There was a number to forward me onto the nurses office, so I did that and they forward me onto my screeening nurse, Tracy. They told me ahead of time that Tracy is out for the day, but I left a message and hopefully she calls me back. I asked about if this was really necessary since, as my doctor stated, even tho the CBC levels are abnormal for a normal person, the fact that I'm taking dialproex makes them normal. I said that I had an appointment with the doctor tomorrow, and if I didn't hear back from her about it, I would go ahead and get it done since I understand. Nearly hung up without leaving my number! Woops! Good thing I caught that! So that's the update for now.

Blah!

Seriously, I know everyone takes their turn waiting for medical, but it is frustrating when I see someone say "I got medically cleared! When should I hear about a September/October/November invite?" It just makes me stop and think...if you can clear someone for one of those months, after August...why can't you clear me now. They've had my medical kit for over a month...I leave in August. They said mid-August, but it is August. 2 months away. I know they only have to give me 6-weeks notice. But if she told me they can't clear me yet because they are still working on people leaving before me...but then they go clear Sept/Oct/Nov people...what gives!? Seriously? I haven't even heard anything about them glancing at it. All I've heard is "we have it, but your nurse hasn't even looked at it yet" ....if my nurse is the nurse Melissa had, I'm in for a real treat. Basically, I had everything done correctly, I had doctor's write notes, I even supplied an extra personal statement. The only 2 questionable things would be the "asthma" from last summer which turned out to not be asthma and just needed a tonsillectomy and now I'm fine, and of course the epilepsy...and I haven't had a seizure in 5 years. I'm also half concerned that since the Kiribati program got canceled, the programs I'm qualified for will get filled up and then I won't have a place.

One question. Should I get my tonsillectomy record and send it into the PC? They didn't request it, but what if they put me on hold because they want to see it and then I'll have to wait longer. Should I just go ahead and get it and fax it in now? Or just cross my fingers that they won't question a tonsillectomy that many people seem to get at some point.

What I'm saying, is that, I'm just frustrated. They can't get to my medical clearance for August because they are clearing people leaving before me, but they can clear people for months leaving after me? Really? Just the way of the PC I guess.

Ayeeeeeee

I'm sure everyone joining the PC has the emotions of: (1) I absolutely can't wait to get there and do all these great things and learn so much, and (2) I can't leave, I can't leave my family, I can't, I can't, I don't know what I'll do with out them. And I'm sure people have them to varying degrees! With me, I can't wait to find out my country, meet my fellow PCVs, meet the HCNs, and do the work that's expected of me. Then, I will also have the deep feeling that I absolutely can't go and be away from Justin and not have him around me. When I feel like that, I have just the deepest ache throughout my whole body. But when I'm excited about the PC, I absolutely am excited, overjoyed, and completely impatient! And I hate that I have the pull of two extremes like that. Bleh.

Kiribati--Canceled?

I was reading a girl's PC website. She had received an invitation to serve in Kiribati, a group of islands the PC serves in the Pacific, very near Australia. Apparently, she received a call yesterday, naturally Friday the 13th, and was told that the Kiribati program was canceled.  Apparently, flights to the islands have become so infrequent that PC can't assure medical care if necessary. The country director thought that since this is quite important, it would be best to suspend the program. I think last time they send a group to kiribati, they got pulled after a few days and ended up being placed elsewhere. The girl put it this way on her blog:

All programs in Kiribati have been indefinitely suspended due to the infrequency of flights to the outer islands - they could not guarantee prompt medical care in an emergency so the country director decided this was best.

What's more, I had just seen lots of people get invitations to Kiribati in the last few weeks. Sad day.

Update: I have read 2 more blogs also stating the Kiribati program is suspended...sad but true. I can't even imagine if I were those people. 

Calm

I've been trying to calm down. :) Today was much needed I think. I worked out, tried to tackle the crazy animals again, and went to my grandpa's to swim and sunbathe. Of course, if you know me I don't tan or burn so I'm just as pale as when I started.

Last night I tried to refocus and get excited again. Looked at some more things I may need for the Peace Corps, which I've been putting on my Amazon Wish List. You may notice a new found collection of Pink Ribbon stuff I'm putting on there. A very good friend of the family that I've known nearly my whole life has a rare type of breast cancer that she found out about around this time last year. She's doing all right. But my family has since taken to whole-heartedly buying anything Pink Ribbon.

I also updated the country list that Bailey and I did. I'm glad to see some new countries in September like Nicaragua and El Salvador! At this point, any country seems so beyond great. My most likely regions still are probably Latin America and Europe and both of those are great with me. Both are extremely different and both have amazing perks. We will have to see. The August/September Latin America countries I could go to are: Belize, Guatemala, Panama, Peru, El Salvador, and Nicaragua! WOW. The August/September Europe countries I could go to are Macedonia and the Ukraine. Countries in July that I still could ever so slightly possibly get are Bulgaria and South Africa.

Little things of note:

• My Justin is out in San Francisco for some WWDC action. I wasn't able to make it out this year :( I miss him!
• My mom said she might pay for a plane ticket for me to fly to NY to visit my friend Reena whom I haven't seen since June 21st last year.
• The dog was standing on the side of the couch, super excited, when suddenly she plummeted off. THUD. It sounded like a dictionary dropping on our wood floors. She was completely stunned for a second and when she finally moved she came over to me and whimpered.
• Shoot, better go dry my bangs since my sister is coming back in for the shower

So really, I'm trying to calm down about medical a little. It'll happen when it happens, I'll go where I go. It may be August but it could be July or September. Yeah? So while I'm still slightly constantly thinking about medical, I've tried to breathe deep and relax. It'll happen.

You Have GOT TO BE KIDDING ME

My medical screening assistant replied to my e-mail at 7:30 am her time.

Jenna,

We received your kit at the end of May. Your nurse has not yet had a chance to begin the review. This is our busiest time of year and we’re currently working to clear applicants that are leaving with earlier programs. We’re aware of your timeline and will do our best to help you make your program.

Thanks for your patience and let me know if there’s anything else I can do to help you out.

Best,

Lisa, Medical Assistant
Peace Corps Office of Medical Services

Again...you have got to be royally kidding me with a big f.u. They haven't even opened my medical file! What the holy hell! Ummm AUGUST PEOPLE! Its almost the beginning of JUNE! Like 2 months before I am leaving. Please, seriously, are they still clearing people for July? BECAUSE I DOUBT IT! Maybe a few here or there. But please, seriously!? That was just a big smack in the face for me to wake up to at 6:30am. Just ...ugh.

Several Things!

So I e-mailed my screening assistant today. I didn't get a chance to until late, unfortunately, because I was hoping for a response today, but I'll be waiting until at least tomorrow now. Oh well, right? Well, hope to hear something from her tomorrow. This is what I wrote, trying to be polite and concise:

Lisa,

Hi, I know you are probably swamped with work, but I wanted to touch base with you about the status of my medical kit clearance. I have received dental clearance, and am waiting on medical clearance.

It is possible that I will have a restriction, so I'm just hoping to be cleared sooner rather than later in case my nomination can't support the restriction. That way I would have as many departure dates as possible still open for my placement officer to work with.

Also, I wanted to see if your office needed any thing else from me for medical; I haven't heard of the need for any more forms or updates from me yet, so I hope I am good on that end! :)


Thanks for your time Lisa!
I appreciate it!

Jenna E Walker
SSN: ***-**-****

So that's it, nothing special, but I think it works.

Also, today I went to the bank because my CD (certificate of deposit) was up and I needed to do something with it. This holds it in the bank for a set period of time with a monthly percentage increase. I took some money out so I can get a new computer this weekend when I go to Indy. I put the rest back in for a 3.5% monthly interest rate. The big thing though is that I put it back in the bank, into the CD for TWO YEARS. It sorta hit me that yes it is going to happen and I've sorta already started doing stuff even before my medical clearance and invitation.

The other day, Wednesday, Thursday maybe? My sister, her fiance Cory, and I were at the mall...really just looking for pants for him and my Justin. Well, we got those. But then we fell into a shoe store. I found both Chacos and Keens at this place and decided to try them on to decide what I liked best. I really liked them both, but liked the Chacos better because their was more freedom and less chance of blisters. Then they asked what I'd be using them for. When I replied Peace Corps, probably in Latin America, they immediately got excited about Eccos and said I must try them on, they are the most comfortable shoe with great support and will last for years. They brought them out in my size and I thought "ehhh...no....I don't like what they look like really" but tried them on. As soon as I started to put my foot in I thought "oh shit, its over, its completely over, I'm done in." and couldn't help but buy them. I'm going to contact Ecco before I wear them to see if I can get a discount from them, if so I'll return them, if not I'll start wearing them ASAP. They are more comfortable than you could ever wildly imagine. They fit perfectly--even my wide flat feet--and had a great amount of support. 

If you are thinking about Chacos, Keens, or Tevas....definitely try Eccos on. They are pretty expensive, but insanely worth it, more than I could ever describe. Only your feet can describe how perfect they are!

Time

I think if I don't get an e-mail indicating Medical Clearance tomorrow, I'll send Lisa, my screening assistant an e-mail. I guess I'll quickly/politely ask about my status with everything and if I need to supply them with any more information. I'll state I'm anxious about it because it is possibly I'll have a restriction and if my nomination doesn't support that restriction, I want to have as many country departure dates as open as possible to work with. I think that pretty much sums it up briefly and nicely! I'm just anxious! If I didn't have a restriction, I'd still be anxious. How nice would it be for me to be cleared and they tell me I DON'T have an epileptic restriction!?!? Dream on, Jenna, dream on.

Okay, Seriously.

I know that most people have to wait months on end for Medical Clearance, but the fact remains that my departure month is set for August.  That said, I won't be waiting too long for medical clearance. They've been "reviewing" (according to the ToolKit) my medical for over 2 weeks now. I really really did think it would be cleared this week. I am going to have a medical restriction that dramatically reduces the amount of countries I can go to, not to mention that gets cut down even further when you take into account that I can only work in certain work areas.

I truly hope to have as many options open as I can in case my nomination must be moved around, as is very likely. A lot of July is already not an option due to the 6-week rule, and of course not all those are epileptic countries! There is August, and of course September, but after that they send very very few people out until Jan/Feb...and I must leave before December. I want to get cleared ASAP. 

That said, for my actual nomination and looking at a couple of the dates, I must get invited by about July 6th. That's exactly a month from now. So really!? Where is my medical clearance!?!? I need it badly! I need options open!!!! I NEED TO GET IT AND FIND OUT WHERE I AM GOING! Please medical office please god clear me!!!!

Does anyone think I should send Lisa Backstrom, my medical screening assistant, an e-mail like hey hey, where is that clearance? If so what should I say!?

6 Week Rule

The rule with the Peace Corps is that you must be invited 6 weeks before the country departure date. Today is Wednesday the 4th, so assuming I get cleared this week and invited next week (this is just ever hopeful) That would put me up to the very middle of July, the week of July 13-19 as the "earliest" July programs I could be invited to if that were to be the case.  Those last July programs I could possibly be invited to are Cape Verde, South Africa, Bulgaria, and Zambia. While I'd naturally be loving any one of them....I know S. Africa accepts epileptics, but I'm actually not to keen on going there. I don't know if Bulgaria does, but since its in Europe, it is more likely to accept epileptics. So out of the last July possibilities, sadly Honduras is now out of the running most likely, I'd hope for Bulgaria--there ARE Youth and Community Dev projects there, which are the 2 I'm most qualified for.

Next up comes the month of August. Time wise, I could still be invited to any of those countries. Panama, Uganda, Guatemala, Philippines, Kazakhstan, Belize, Dominican Republic, Eastern Caribbean, Kiribati. Again, any would be great! Panama seems out because it seems to be business, not youth (or community)...I doubt they accept epileptics in Uganda, Kazakhstan, or Kiribati. But Guate, Belize, Dom Rep, E. Caribbean are all likely epileptic candidate countries, and Philippines, tho I'm not sure, is a possibility. Dom Rep doesn't seem likely b/c of the work areas, E. Caribbean is possible but less likely. Assuming Guatemala, Belize, and Philippines all accept epileptic, they all have Youth. Belize is most likely, but I'd LOVE to go to Guatemala to work in their brand new Youth program. 

If I can't get in for August, then comes September. The only countries that could possibly accept epileptics (just off my guesses usually) are: Peru, Macedonia, Azerbaijan (maybe), & Ukraine. I know for a fact Macedonia accepts epileptics, and while they don't have Youth, they do have Community which I could do, or possibly education since I'll have a TEFL certificate by the time I leave (but no classroom experience :-/ ). Peru, Azerbaijan, and Ukraine are all maybes as far as I can see on the epilepsy end. The only "possibility" I'd have in Azerbaijan is TEFL, Ukraine has TEFL and Youth...and Peru has Community Health Promotion & Youth.

Okay, so basically...to sum it up...I cannot be invited to a program less than 6 weeks away from departure. In July this leaves South Africa & Bulgaria. In August, the possible countries are Guatemala, Belize, Eastern Caribbean, & maybe Philippines.  Finally, in September, most likely possibilities are Macedonia, Peru, and Ukraine. Of course I have my favorites, but I can't get my hopes up for anything.

I predict that tomorrow morning I awake to find a ToolKit update stating that I'm medically cleared.

Dream #5 Billion

God only knows how many Peace Corps dreams I've had, but I had a dream that I received my letter that I was medically cleared! I predict that I get cleared today and find out tomorrow. Fingers crossed all!

etjeaohtyeaktya

Really, medical clearance...its about time, where where are you??? :(

Update

No, sorry, nothing interesting. Still no update from the MO. So far I haven't heard that I'm cleared :( But I haven't heard that they need more from me :-D

A girl with a similar nomination, same region/month...we have been following each others medical progress. We sent our medkits in about a week apart from each other. She got dentally cleared, 2 days later I got dentally  & legally cleared and she also got legally cleared. Two thursdays ago I got an update they they received and began looking through my medkit, and 2-3 days later she got that update. However, today she got a letter in the mail requesting additional information. Scared me because so far we've been pretty on par with each other! However, my hope is that since they started with my medical a few days before hers, that I might be out of the clear for that. Yet, unfortunately, its entirely possible I'm not. But lets keep optimistic! 

I sent a couple doctors who were handling my medkits thank you notes for everything they did. (the ones who did a lot of work for it and weren't jerk-offs about it like certain neurologists) A few days ago I was in Target and decided that if I get invited, I want to send the people who recommended me, and all the doctors who wrote anything for me thank you notes and information about my country and work. So I bought a pretty pack of thank you notes for them. Just something so simple, but sort of reaffirmed in my head that yes I'm doing this and am so close to it!

Oh, medical clearance, medical clearance...come out come out where ever you are!