Adventures with Dr. Lady Cutie Troublemaker

I didn’t have tickets, but I wanted them. I knew I couldn’t afford full price. My friends and I were on the lookout for cheap deals. On Thursday, I actually bought some from a woman on Craigslist, but she bailed out after her boyfriend “gave them away to a friend at work”. I was PISSED! I went online and ranted about this situation. Long story short, some tickets that had been won by someone as part of a giveaway were given back, and because of my sob story, they were offered to me. I was ecstatic, and in order to get from Dedham to the Wang Center, I was RACING! I can’t believe I managed to track down Kristopher, and we all ended up making it for the 7pm show. By “all”, I must add that my friend Anna already had a ticket that she’d bought ages ago, and she happened to be sitting very close by to the seats I got.

The gig was excellent, and I’ll probably say more about that eventually, but since today is the day I start to study for this massive licensure exam, I’ll keep it short. Hell, maybe I can rope Kristopher into writing that part out.

After the gig, we stood in the upper lobby and watched the fans file out through the opulent lobby. You can tell that we’d had a mighty fine time… especially because I’m talking in my silly, excited voice. I try to sound dignified, but it just doesn’t suit me!

We headed to Dunkin’ Donuts for “dinner” (the wait at the nearby restaurants were long… plus, we are all pretty broke), then off to karaoke. We were supposed to head to Somerville to see Hugh’s band, Muck and the Mires, perform at their CD launch party. However, I was feeling kind of shitty, Somerville is far, there was a $9 cover, there were 3 other bands so we didn’t think we’d get to talk to Hugh, and we’d heard that there was going to be a marriage proposal on stage between some acquaintences of ours that night at karaoke, so we decided to stay (even though we’d said goodbye and left the venue already). We walked back in, sang some more, and watched as all the proposal friends arrived. I sang “Take My Breath Away” from Top Gun because it was playing at Dunkin’ Donuts, and I was inspired, and man… what could be more goofy fun?! I also did “She Sells Sanctuary”, which is always fun. Kristopher did “Devil Went Down to Georgia” (w00t!) and “Sit on My Face” from Monty Python. I think we each got in about 5 songs that night! It was empty before all the proposal revelers showed up.

The proposal was adorable. So fun! It happened much later than we’d expected, but it was worth the wait.

We then scuttled off to catch the last train leaving the New England Medical Center. As we were approaching the stop, I look up, and there’s Jon Stewart standing on the sidewalk. I think there was one person with him, plus two “handlers”. I said to him, “Hey, you’re Jon Stewart!” (A flippin’ Ph.D., and that was what I came up with.) And he said, “Yes, I am.” Something like that… I’m no good at recounting things like this.

I was very cautious at first, not knowing if it was cool to approach him, since not many people were around. I said something like, “Um… would it be OK if I did a little gawking?” And the female handler said it would be fine. He was right there and heard my goofiness. Because frankly, that was what I wanted to do. I felt a little silly about it, but you know, I love him. Jon Stewart was clearly expecting to meet a few fans, but we’d caught him just as he walked out the back door of the Wang Center. Being a geographical idiot, I hadn’t thought about the fact that we were essentially standing at the back of the Wang Center, and his second show had just ended.

He was great. Very accomodating. When I said we’d gone to his earlier show then to karaoke, he said that it was better that way (going to the earlier show) since if he completely sucked, there was still time to have a real evening out. I told him that he didn’t remotely suck and that we really enjoyed ourselves. I also said that I watched his show “constantly” and that my mother was going to be VERY jealous that I’d met him.

A short time after that, there was a little squeal, and then about 10 20-something women ran up. We backed up and made space for the newcomers. Not to make a REALLY bad pun, but he was a “stand up” guy.

It was definitely a nice little bit of serendipity on the sidewalk Friday night.

I wish I were more photogenic. I’m not saying I’m unattractive as a person, but my camera anxiety means that I always end up making these goofy faces. If only I could have gotten it together for this one. For some reason, the picture of Jon Stewart actually looks a little cross-eyed on the version posted on my blog. He wasn’t, and if you look at the original, it doesn’t look like that at all. Weird. Guess noone is immune.

Kristopher Gets His Turn

Oh well, it was still very cool to meet him. And totally by chance. On further speculation, it occurred to me that he is one of the only famous people I would be really interested in meeting. The other ones I thought of right away were Billy Bragg and Janeane Garofolo. These are egos that don’t seem to need too much feeding. They seem to know who they are, have strong opinions, and they are smart, engaging, and funny. Meeting someone like that is always something I want, even with that weird “I know much more about you than you know about me” aspect of celebrity, which I find to be fairly offputting – in either direction.

One of my favorite YouTube vloggers, geriatric1927, on the acquisition:

More here. Or just listen.

I’m conconcting a potential plan in my head. Despite a relatively unproductive day today, yesterday was insanely productive. I got a lot of details worked out. I can apply for licensure in North Carolina right now, and the application form isn’t that big of a deal (at least I don’t think so). The materials should be here tomorrow, and I’m hoping to get the application submitted right away. Once it is submitted, they have to review and approve it, and then I can practice in NC with supervision.

The only things that will remain in order for me to practice without supervision are the national and state licensure exams. I’ve heard the state ones aren’t a big deal, but the national one is a huge deal. These exams are offered at centers all over the country 6 days a week. There’s one in Brookline!

Most people tend to set aside a summer or cut back their schedules considerably when studying for this exam (called the EPPP or “E triple-P” by most). It’s a biggie, like the medical board exams or the bar. Yesterday, I started thinking about just taking the plunge and studying now. Once my application is accepted, I have to take the exams within 4 months, so why would I start working, only to cut back a few months later so I can take this exam?

Anyway, so I’ve joined the EPPP Yahoo group and have started checking things out. My big present last Christmas was the study materials for this exam. They cost a hell of a lot, but mom and I located a good price for a set on eBay. They are right here in my lap.

The other thing in my lap is a printout of October and November calendars. I’m making a plan. On the Yahoo group, there are polls. When asked the question, “How many hours did you study for the EPPP exam before you took the exam AND passed?” the majority of respondents (there were approximately 200 of them) reported “More than 200 hours, Less than 250 hours”. Hmm… Looking at the schedule, I could allow 5 weeks to study and get it over with before my birthday. Yes, that does mean I’m only studying for (let’s see… 5 days a week and about 4 hours a day) 100 hours… But I’m REALLY good at test-taking. Always have been. If I could get in 5 hours a day, I could bump that number up to 125 hours.

Is this an insane plan? Would there still be enough time to make calls about jobs? My gut says yes. I like having a plan.

You might think that once again my intellectual plans are being driven by my heart, and that would be a problem if this weren’t a great plan, but it’s a great plan! It means that I could conceivably hang out my very own unsupervised shingle as early as the beginning of 2007. Can you even imagine?

As with all plans, this one could be scrapped at any time, and as I gather more information, that may, in fact, occur. For now, it seems logical to me. I’m sick of hoops. I want these flipping hoops behind me. 

Post-script – Looks like yesterday was the productive day, and today was a day of marinating thoughts and hatching plans. Oh, and waking up at 11am and never changing out of my jammies. That, and buying Jon Stewart tickets from a person online, only for her to contact me later saying that her boyfriend had given them away to a friend at work.

Winnie died last night. She was 18 years old and pretty damn healthy. Since my parents moved to their cabin, she has spent most of her time in the room upstairs. We’ve been trying so hard to get her to venture out. The other cat, “Kitty”, died about a year ago. Since then, Winnie has become more and more brave about venturing into the rest of the house. Last night, she actually ventured down the stairs and out the front door, something she normally doesn’t do. My mother was watching TV and heard the dogs (Annie, Wolfie, and the visiting Studly) barking, and then a loud cat meow. Mom ran outside, and the three dogs had surrounded Winnie and were pawing at her. Mom got them away and scooped Winnie up in her arms and brought her to the vet, but she didn’t make it.

What a hard position for mom to be in. She’s so sad, and yet, she’s living with the dogs who killed Winnie. It was instinct, of course. I’m sure Winnie seemed like prey… or like another animal to play with, but she was very old, very frail. I hope it was quick and she didn’t feel much pain. She was one of the sweetest cats I’ve ever met.

She was saying that she didn’t want to talk about what happened because she loves Annie and Wolfie and doesn’t want people to think they are dangerous (they aren’t), but she’s mad, too. What a sad ending to a sweetheart of a kitty.

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Update: Mom has written a long post on my dad’s blog. Please go read it. I’m so sad about this. I feel so bad for her.