in medias res

Bow-wow-wow yippee-yo yippee-yay

Updates: I have officially heard back from 9/12 of my schools.
I've been accepted at FSU, UF, and UK - all of which are decent programs with unique specialties. Gainesville sounds a little more appealing than Lexington, and it's a much better deal. I'm waitlisted at Emory, but I'd be shocked if that changes. Just being waitlisted is enough for me right now. Every day, I make a different, passionate resolve about the next year of my life. I've been asking everyone, "If you had it to do all over again, would you?" But I don't think that's a fair question. It's like me telling them to actively regret or praise their lives - with a slant towards the former. All of this analysis is starting to bore me into actually making a decision. I just have to trust that all things will turn out for good.

Speaking of trust, (Sorry, I couldn't think of a good transition)...
Two weeks ago, my parents' house was ransacked. The thieves, not realizing that we are the kind of people who trust banks and still have our first color tv, dumped every drawer and overturned every mattress. They took my father's laptop, printer, and over $100 in quarters my brother was collecting. We've lived there for over twenty-five years, and this is the first problem we've had. I suggested that we invest in a security system. My mom got a dog.

My mom blames our lack of canine representation on the recent break-in; our dog just died a couple of months ago. It's not that she was especially fond of Pooch - she just doesn't form emotional attachments to animals. But she did memorialize his death with a wooden cross and a typed eulogy. To cheer her up, I sent her twenty pages of information on dog breeds and pictures, but she "wasn't ready yet." However, the Saturday after our break-in, my parents went to the SPCA and got a new "security system." Dad didn't want anything that could possibly wear a sweater. They brought home a chocolate lab named "Edisto."

At first, my parents were enamored with the pup. My dad took him to work a few times; my mom would walk him in the park that is a twenty minute drive. But his shyness quickly wore off and now my parents have to puppy-proof their lives. With a baby, you have to make adjustments in the house so the baby will be safe. With a puppy, you have to make adjustments so the house won't get ruined. He ate through his bottle of antibiotics and the bed my mom bought him. The world is his chew toy. I can't wait to meet him.

However, the death of Pooch caused my four year-old cousin to ask big questions about death. After giving it some thought, he has decided that he would prefer not to go to heaven. For one thing, heaven sounds boring. It's too full of pretty stuff. "But South Carolina has the beach and 'quarium", so he has decided he'd just like to stay there. Another day when they were out running errands, he asked his mother if cars go to heaven. When she told him "no", he grumbled, "I wish I was a car."

In our next issue of "Tara's Adventures of Naught," I will discuss my trip to Maryland and my week with Mike. Until then...you stay classy, planet earth.

posted by tara @ 12:03 AM