Employed?!?

Well as the title of my post indicates, this guy (pointing 2 thumbs towards myself) is employed. Where you ask? Well it is a place called Topeka's Steakhouse 'n Saloon. I did a quick google search of Topeka's, and found that in Richmond, it is ranked below Ruth Chris, and Buckheads (understandably) yet above Outback Steakhouse. I am currently in the process of memorizing the menu (I almost have the appetizers down, I think). I start my training on Tuesday night and by the end of next week, I will be a full fledged server. Then I think you all need to come to Topeka's and have me as a server, and then tip me really well :) The best part about it (except for Grippaldi) is that you can have a bucket of peanuts at your table and just throw the shells on the ground (very similar to 5 Guys Pizza). Note: Wow. I feel very dumb. I must have been really tired when typing this because I know that 5 Guys is definetely burgers and fries, and defintely no pizza. So thank you to that person "Anonymous" who corrected the error of my ways, and many apologies.

I have also lined up a couple of other opportunities in the healthcare field (which is what I really need). On Wednesday I "interview" for a volunteer position at the CrossOver Clinic in Richmond. I should start there by the beginning of the next week (they probably have a few tests they need to do on me, ie: TB). And finally, after having an incredible meal with Kim McKnight last Tuesday night, and found out that she is working at a Hospice as the Volunteer Coordinator. So she is going to give me an "interview" (even looser than the one at CrossOver) and condense an 8 hour orientation into 4 hours and I should be starting that at the end of next week.

So basically, I am starting to get busy. I don't plan on getting excruciatingly busy, because I do want to have some fun this year. If I could truly have it the way I wanted, I would work at CrossOver for a little while, and eventually they will find a job opening for me, and I can get paid doing that job for more normal hours, and drop a few shifts at Topeka's.

Hopefully I will be busy enough to not feel like a loaf sitting around the house watching TV all day, yet not so busy that I never see my roommates or the inside of my house. (I plan on only working about 6 shifts at Topeka's -- 4 dinners and 2 lunches, so it can't be THAT bad, right?)

On the medical school front: No news. I am complete at all of my schools. I believe that Tulane is now not requiring a secondary, so that makes me complete at all of my schools. I want to call them and check for sure about the secondary, but they moved from New Orleans to, believe it or not, Houston. They actually opened the phone lines on Monday for applicants to call, but then closed them on Wednesday so that they could evacuate. I feel pretty horrible for them, however they definetely seem as upbeat as possible, all things considered.

In other news, I have been having a blast in Richmond. Tonight I went over to Rachel Burgess's house, and played Cranium with Ian, Rachel and Kristen, followed by watching Sahara. Rachel has mono, Ian is sick, I might be coming down with what Ian has, so a low key night was definetely in order.

Otherwise, I haven't been doing much, and it feels so great. Lots of people have told me to really enjoy this time, and I truly have been. It has been great to just wake up when I feel like, and not do much throughout the day. I have been starting to read more, restarting Mountains Beyond Mountains since school took over last year. I also have grand intentions to read Brave New World, HealthCare Meltdown: Confronting the Myths and fixing our failing system, Harry Potter 2-6, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, the Bourne Trilogy, and the Chronicles of Narnia. That's a lot to read, I realize, but just like this summer where I felt it necessary to catch up on some movies, I am feeling it necessary to catch up on some books.

Nick Huck comes to Richmond tomorrow, and I havent seen him since the big snow storm in January. It will be good to see him. These are the things that have been keeping me busy enough to not feel complete boredom, yet still comfortably relaxed.

That's about all I got to say for now. I realize I haven't been updating too frequently, but that's cause I haven't been doing that much. Eventually I will be busy enough to have more to post and talk about.