After not hearing a damn thing from the Human-Centered Computing Ph.D. Program for months, I emailed them to ask if there was some problem. All my documents show as being in, all letters of recommendation done months ago, etc. The response? “A first round of offers was made, and all other applicants were placed on a waiting list. Unfortunately, it appears that the class will fill up and no offers will be made to applicants on the waiting list.” So presumably, I’m on that waiting list. Which is really a rejection list, since no offers are being made to them. Regardless, I’m questioning further, just in case I was offered…

What if helping someone you love means going against some of your core values? What if it means encouraging behavior you believe is damaging in the long-term? What if it means giving up your freedom? How much of yourself do you give up for a friend’s benefit? The only words I can use to describe my current predicament are scary, sad, disappointing, frustrating, and painful. I don’t respond well to feeling trapped, and I’m angry at myself for letting myself be outmaneuvered into this position. Now I just need to figure out how to fix it.

I’m not feeling blogging lately, but I figured I should write some stuff down. My visit to Charlotte and Atlanta were awesome, but expensive. I got to see many of my people while in Charlotte, and WO got to see many of my old stomping grounds. Plus, the weather was amazing; I even went to a park. Atlanta was hot. I could definitely live there, and want to. Of course, I’m also strangely drawn back to Charlotte. It’s funny, because I hated Charlotte immensely when I lived there in high school; I miss it now: the culture, the amenitites, the familiarity, the opportunities. The people (Michael, Chris, etc.). While I…

No Teach for America for me.

So I’m doing a bit of Internet stalking of old high school peeps, and I just found out that one of my old buddies seems to be a fireman. If you look closely at the photo on page 7 of this report, you’ll totally see old P. fighting fire (and in the Navy). Dude was always a foot taller than anyone else. Naval firefighter. That’s so cool.