Adventures with Dr. Lady Cutie Troublemaker

I’ve met some really fine photographers through Flickr since I’ve moved here. Chris’s pictures consistently impress me, especially his portraits. I keep looking at the one of me above and wonder if he retouched my skin, or if it really has gotten that much better since I moved here. Chris, his wife Taryn, Brian and Shannon (another married couple in the group who like going to gigs like me), plus a whole host of other Flickr folks are very social. When I’m out with them, I can ask them how they have their camera set for different light. It’s ideal for me: I’m learning how to do something better while I’m meeting great people. I love it! What was really cool was that I went to Sunday’s bout with Xopher, ran into Drew who was filming, and also saw all these Flickr people I know. The world here is starting to get smaller and more manageable. It’s what I was hoping for. I had so much fear before I left Boston, but now I really think moving here was the right thing to do.

While my social life here is going very well, I’m still not making enough progress in the job hunt/unpacking area. To that end, my mother has come to visit. For the next several days, we will be running important errands, prioritizing, making plans, and generally getting things done. I’m happy to have the structure of another person who knows me well. I need it. I get pretty overwhelmed when I look at the big picture. This is one of those times I need help, and SUPERMOM is here to do just that!

A little rollerderby for those who’ve never seen it. Not my greatest work, but it’s interesting if you’ve never been:

Carolina Rollergirls, Opening Night 2007 Bout on Vimeo

• "New Year’s Resolutions" from Sex and the Ivy (thanks, Jon)
• "Qualia" from Mynxie. Here’s the best bit, a quote from Pooh:

When you are a Bear of Very Little Brain, and you Think of Things, you find sometimes that a Thing which seemed very Thingish inside you is quite different when it gets out into the open and has other people looking at it.

Time to ramble!

I was feeling just fine a few hours ago, but now I have a stomachache, a headache, and a toothache. None severe, but all annoying. The toothache has been brewing, and I’ve been hoping that it might go away on its own, but I’m afraid it is not to be. Usually when I go to the dentist, my parents are out a couple thou!

Yesterday, everything I own arrived at my apartment. I unpacked several boxes today. As a result, I just ate pasta from a REAL BOWL! I mean, I guess the other bowl I bought it real, but it’s not ceramic. It’s some plasticky substance you can throw at the floor, and it doesn’t break. Having one bowl, one plate, one glass, and one mug is not as fun as you might think.

I’ve decided that jewel cases take up too much space, and since I have probably about a thousand CD’s to house, I’ve decided to throw all these unnecessary jewel cases away. I’m jettisoning the part of the paper that is encased in the back of the case – takes too long to take the case apart. Anyway, nowadays, the pyooter just tells me which track is which. Honestly, for the discs I really love, either I know which tracks I like OR I like the whole thing beginning to end. Over the years, I have gotten rid of many of the discs that had only one song I liked. My solution: I’ve ordered a pack of 1,000 ricepaper sleeves for $40 and 4 heavy cardboard CD boxes for $3.20 each. Not bad, huh?

I know this is dull, but I’m usually such a regular blogger, and I’ve been a little “off” lately, not sleeping well, and not exactly sure what to do next. That said, I’m pretty happy socially. I’m meeting new people and am remaining in touch with the old favorites in Boston. That’s what I was hoping for, and so far, so good. I just wanted to stay in touch with my readers and satisfy those who have been whining about the excessive number of tech posts. You know who you are, LOOZAHS!!!

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.