Medical procedures are over, hopefully.

I had all my appointments last week. I got two shots, had a tb skin test, had blood drawn, etc. etc. etc. I almost (almost!) got duped into spending $1200 on two pairs of glasses (wtf?!)...but my vision prescription is still the same, thankfully. I went to the dentist and found out that my wisdom teeth are in and look fine (YAY!) but ten minutes later found out I have to get at least one of them pulled anyway (BOO!!). I spent lots of money last week, money which I don't actually have. Yay for the credit cards. It's the American way.

So I get my wisdom teeth pulled three days after graduation. And I still have to wait on lab reports for my...um...female checkups. But other than that I think I'm good, and when I get the lab reports I'm sending everything in and crossing my fingers for that official invite!

Inspected, injected, and hopefully not rejected.

I got my medical packet a couple days ago. It doesn't seem as bad as I thought it would be. I have THREE checkups next week - medical, dental and vision. I only have to get two shots for the medical portion (but I'll get more immunizations at orientation). My two biggest concerns are that a) my vision prescription will change, which would super suck because I just ordered a year's worth of contacts and they are not cheap; and b) I might have to get my wisdom teeth pulled!!! I remember the dentist saying something about it when I was a kid...hopefully the teeth have receded into the back of my head, or disappeared magically altogether. Yeah, that would be great. In the case of that not happening, please pray to whatever gods you worship that the dentist won't want to pull them. Thank you and amen.

Feeling good.

It has been a little over a week since I was nominated, and now I know that the Peace Corps is the right thing for me. I've learned a lot about myself over the past few months, what with trying to decide what the heck to do with my life in the immediate future, and this just feels right. I'm so glad and so proud of myself, not to mention grateful to the people who helped me realize this. How do I know it's right? Because I'll be making a real, honest, sustainable difference. In the end, that's all I really want to do (with a little bit of adventure thrown in).

Now with that said, maybe I shouldn't be so happy quite yet because I haven't officially been nominated yet. I still have to get medical clearance and all that jazz. But assuming I'm healthy as a whistle (is that even a saying?...oh, I mean healthy as a horse), I'm going! I'm glad I was rejected to Fulbright Korea and JET. I never thought I'd be saying that, but it was a sign. A blessing in disguise, if you will. China? Vietnam? Nicaragua? All beautiful places, yes, but it's yet not their turn to have me. They'll get their chance.

I know this is a boring blog so far, but I'll keep you updated on my medical clearance progress. Supposedly, it is a big pain in the rear. That should be fun.

If you're interested in reading some great blogs by previous and current Peace Corps Volunteers, check out www. PeaceCorpsJournals.com. It has been my current obsession.