My oh-so-optimistic schedule, as laid out last night, had to do with me making it to the gym today by roughly 11am. That didn't happen. It had me at Brunch and working through my essays the remainder of the day. That did happen, but it also had me finishing these revisions and finalizing my essays before tonight. And that, also, didn't happen.
But I did spend the bulk of my day making revisions, and that was no small feat: when I began, my 1,000 word personal statement was closer to 1,200 words, and didn't have everything in it that it needed; my 500 word essay on choosing the UK was 650 words long and also didn't have everything in; ditto for my 500 word essay on my academic program. So, all told, today I cut roughly 500 words and somehow managed to fit multiple complicated ideas back in. But I'm still not done.
One of the most frustrating aspects of being a writer, or just of the writing process in general, is that it can never truly be done. This is especially true for things like applications, since they are all voluntary writings with high stakes involved--meaning you are highly, highly invested in getting each word and sentence transition down perfectly. If it weren't for institutions' graceful granting of strict deadlines, I'm convinced no application would ever get turned in--or maybe a lack of caring or over-the-top self-confidence would become the new determining factor for who won every competition.
All that to say, I'm still working. John, a former Kaohsiung ETA and current Marshall scholar whom I contacted a while ago, was gracious enough to look over my personal statement and give me a few pointers, which I devoured like a starving man in a desert (sorry for the tired cliche--I've used up my creative juices allowance for the day). Now I'm busy reworking my essay after his suggestions; tomorrow after school, it'll be more of the same. The deadline is technically tomorrow, Sept. 23, but it's due on Seattle time, so I actually have another night with my application if I want it--and, knowing me, I will. Ah, the (occasional) joys of the time difference.
So that was my day. Tonight Fonda and Alex (who's in town for classroom observations) came out to dinner with Karina, Lydia, Emily, Samia and I, and took us to a quite delicious stir fry place on Guanghua, about 3 blocks from here. I've walked past/through (sidewalks are extensions of the inside here, always) it dozens of times, but had never tried it. But we will be back! Absolutely wonderful veggies, fish, chicken and fried rice.
On a final, unrelated note (and because my blog has been sorely missing in photos lately), here's a shot I took yesterday walking towards Guanghua--I think it's adorable. If I submitted it for a photo contest, I'd call it "Training Wheels." Of course, it wouldn't win, but maybe you'll still like it:
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