which way does the wind blow?

it may look like i've been w/o a computer for a few weeks, but actually no. my imac g5 simply had a power supply unit gone bad. it was replaced in only a few days. best of all, it didn't cost me a cent. the bad power supply part is common in many imac g5's sold in late '04 and early '05. since my computer serial number matches those listed by apple as having this potential problem, i made sure to give the repair shop a heads-up. sure enough, that was the issue and it was covered by apple.

i have been incredibly busy and incredibly stressed out. in the next week or so, i should know (i.e. have decided) whether i'm staying in virginia or whether arnold schwarzenneger will become my governor later this year. at the moment, the odds seem to favor virginia, but you never know. lots of good things have happened to me in the past several weeks/months, but i am really, really, just not ready to talk yet quite yet.

i'd been through the grad school admissions process once before for my master's degree, but little did i know how stressful it would be this time around for ph.d. programs. i've been accepted to multiple schools. on the face of it, that's happy news and i was pleasantly surprised by all of the acceptances.

but what has really stressed me out beyond belief is how there is no uniformity in the process: different schools accept you at different times (some in february, some in april). different schools want to know by different dates whether or not you are coming. april 15th is the traditional "common reply date" for grad schools, but there has been a trend where many doctoral programs are moving away from it, and setting their own deadlines for you to commit to them or decline their offer. furthermore, each school handles financial aid differently. some schools give an upfront package along w/ their admissions letter. other schools dangle enticing fellowship packages to their top candidates to sweeten the pot (this happened to me w/ a couple of places). other schools want you to say yes to their admissions offer before they offer financial aid, thereby making it impossible to shop around and compare & contrast different schools and their offers.

anyway. the big question is which way the wind blows. i've had a mouthful to say about all of this, just not here. plus by now i've cried a river of PMS-fueled tears. lately i've felt happy and lucky, and yet tense, uptight, irritable, sad, and anxious. all in one. to top it off, here's a little bit of TMI: i don't know what it is about the week before my period, but my GI system seems to go haywire, thereby leaving me physically uncomfortable as well. i consider myself pretty "body aware", but i only recently put 2 + 2 together and linked the GI stuff to my menstrual cycle.

anyway... i guess...i'll be back when i'm ready to be back here. for now, it's friday and 84 degrees outside.