Sleep, TV, Games, all return to house of Pate!

WWWheeeeewwwww. Okay, so, where to start. I guess with a qualifier to the following post, that this will be the abbreviated version of the past however long of my life.

I have officially finished the biggest two parts of my year (of just about any year for that matter): internship applications and Professional Qualifying Examination. The internship applications have been a thorn (katana blade) in my side the past three months. I am applying to 19 sites in southern California (because Kira is still attending UCI to complete her PhD in the next couple years) for psychology internships. I have spent a great deal of my time at home writing cover letters, counting hours, and finding new ways to make people impressed with my curriculum vita (resume).

I think this has been one of the more expensive months I can remember in a long time. I really think that Kira and I kept the USPS afloat during the recent recession trend. Fortunately that's all over for now and I just have to wait to hear back from the site directors as to whether I get interviews or not. I anticipate that I'll get between 5 and 10 interviews (most likely around 7). This makes any rejections easier to receive and anything beyond 7 just seem like gravy on my internship mashed potatoes (okay, that's a bit of a wierd analogy, but it's late and I'm a bit hungry...). I'll keep everybody posted as to the interviews I get.

On the Pro Qual side of things, I have also had much stress added daily in the past 4 weeks because of needing to put together a worthy intake report and ongoing therapy case presentation for a committee of three faculty members at Rosemead. The oral exam went well; I felt pretty comfortable after some initial comments by my Chair and getting good responses to my comments and answers in the first half hour or so (the whole meeting was about 1 hour, 50 minutes).

So, apparently, despite occasional goofiness in person, online, on stage, etc., I seem to be able to put together a good body of work and be helpful to clients to the satisfaction of my committee (Thank you to all of you who support me in my professional and sometimes silly personal endeavors :)).

Since I passed my exam without qualifications, I can now graduate after I secure and complete an internship next year and complete my doctoral literature review paper. Basically, passing this exam means that someday I get to be Dr. Pate. (Big sigh of relief). I dreaded that exam for a long time, but it turns out there wasn't much to be scared of. I look forward to lots more fun time with family and friends in the near future, more singing at church (starting this weekend), and MORE SLEEP!!!!!!!

My apologies for the lengthy ramblingness (yes, I will be Dr. pate someday) that was this blog, but I felt obligated to explain my absence from the blogosphere. I look forward to catching up reading all of your blogs and commenting like crazy! See you all soon. I'm coming out of grad school hibernation now...