I would probably like the smaller program, as well. I'm in a small program where I am, and I like the interaction. But still...Harvard...best program...yeah, tough decision.

And I've always been a fast walker. This will hopefully come in handy on my hike in...oh god...3.4 weeks. AAAH.

hola chicas

Forest - go where you are going to have the best experience and where you are going to do your absolute best. You know you are going to get a great education no matter which one you choose. But dont just go "because its Harvard" and it is "seen" as the best. With that note, Congrats on all 3 schools!!!!!

Short/Chele - you all have more will power than i do. I would have hung those kids upside down from a tree. And people wonder why i never became a school teacher...

icon - good luck on the interview. hope it went well. i am usually a nervous wreck but i am sure you did great

Stella - i agree with Jess. Do the exercise that feels right for you. But you did progress which is a positive thing. keep up the great work. But you are right (i think it was you that mentioned this), that running is a learned thing. i had to learn to run heel to toe and everything.

Jess - that feeling is what happens to me when i sprint on the treadmill. But it gets easier. i started sprinting after watching the biggest loser and saw everyone sprint. Everyone starts looking at you in the gym like what is this crazy girl doing. i'm like "running faster than you of course" Progress and not increasing the speed too much each time are key

Mary - that's my definition of a great workout. For me, if i am not pouring in sweat after cardio, i didnt work hard enough,

Feral - you are built for running. you just dont know it yet. hehe


anyone taking midterms, LSATs, etc, I will trade you if you go to work for me tomorrow. OKay I guess i should get my butt to the gym. its now or never. And i am going to attempt the stairmaster and stay on for 30 minutes. I feel like i am going to find a mechanical bull and make it my b*tch. I'll let you know who won

edit: gym tomorrow morning and tomorrow evening. There are some crazies around the 24 hour gym and i would prefer not to be seen on the news tomorrow. But make me go twice tomorrow please

Ah, the bf. He would probably move to DC to be near me, since he's originally from Germantown and has friends in the area. Boston or NYC, not so sure, but maybe. We are taking a very "cross that bridge when we come to it" approach.

Forest - Have you visited any of the schools? Like, maybe talk to some profs or sit in during some of the lectures and find out whatever they're researching on? The only reason I say this is because my friend got into Yale and Brown, Yale being the best program for her studies and gave her more money, but she hated the people at Yale (the profs and the grad students) while she loved the community at Brown. So if you haven't visited them specifically for your program and you have the means to, I'd try to do that.

I picked GW even though it's not the best school I got into because it's in DC which is great for international opportunities and has fantastic big law placement and it also gave me the most money. Money was a huge factor for me because I don't want to be working like a slave in a law firm for longer than need be.

It might also matter where you want to work. I got the **** out of California because California schools only place well in California (unless it's Stanford) but East Coast schools generally place well nationally. A lot of considerations and a lot of generally what your interests are. I realize it's public health, but most of those schools probably have specialized areas in public health or certain joint degrees (in case you're interested!) so maybe look deeper into that. GW was important for me because it has a great international and patent program, areas I have interest in. And look at each school's career centers. Not all career centers are equal, and part of the reason why you're paying tuition up the butt is for their future prospects Hope that helps. It was pretty vague but those were a lot of my considerations when deciding where to go to law school.

/end essay

Crud! No workout again today...another really late night at the office, got a late dinner and off to bed soon. I've got to get myself motivated to get up earlier and work out then because the after-work walks are not working! Hard to do when I'm late to bed and early to rise as it is but I need to get out of the non-workout mode.

Feral- Parents are something else sometimes. I'm sure it’s mostly confusion on their part on how to register, what to bring, etc. but I hope there is no one who is being super mean or aggressive about it with you.

Jess- Congrats on GW!! That is a great campus and I thought about going there as well. I am done with school; I'm 4 years into practice at a large firm in Chicago. I do corporate bankruptcy so the late nights and early mornings are getting a little much. Your post made me laugh though...I *hated* contracts. Mostly because my prof. was just, well, bad. She never taught contracts before she taught my class (and prob. never after) and never wore a bra (I went to UT where the air was cranked up ALL the time so it was a little hard not to notice). That is honestly the only thing I remember about that class. If you ever want any input on law school or the practice of law in general at a big firm, just let me know (trust me, I've got plenty of funny, scary, happy stories over the last 4 years but big-law is a lot of compromise).

Haley- Mmmmm, Mexican. Ok, back to reality...Same goes for you if you want the inside scoop into law school or the big law firm job that comes after for so many. Pace yourself on the LSAT tests, it is like getting on the scale every day and can get you down if you let it.

Stella- you sound a lot like me (I have exercise induced asthma, as well as daily asthma in general). I literally cannot run for more than a few minutes, my lungs burn and I cannot get in enough air. It was that way when I was a size 2/4 and working out daily to now. I've been thinking about talking to a doctor about it but I'm not sure what they can do as I'm on all the modern meds they have. I'm good at fast walking at high inclines, however...sounds like you can do the same.

Aliquot- I'm sorry you are feeling so sad. You will get there, school is super stressful and the scale doesn't help sometimes, does it? What Metallica songs do you listen to? I could use some new music.

Forest- Sorry, are you seeking an undergrad or grad degree for social policy? I think it makes a huge difference what school you pick for undergrad vs. grad school. I would narrow in on the professors if it is grad school (at least 2-3 per school that you think could mentor you...professors, especially in-demand ones, switch jobs often).

Chele- I have the utmost respect for educators for that exact reason. Bless you for your patience.

sweetchica - Thanks. Trying to graduate sucks and I'm trying to get my phd and blah! Stress! Lately I've been obsessed with the song "...And Justice for All". Pretty much everything off of the black album is good, and the stuff off their newest album Death Magnetic. If I had to pick a few...I'd say I really like Judas Kiss, Until it Sleeps, Sad but True...and too many others lol

To make matters more complicated...I just scheduled a trip up to NJ from the 21-25. The 20th is our one year anniversary and the 25th is my birthday, so that week is kind of a big deal, haha. But it will be a few days of relaxation, hopefully.

Forest are you doing public health or public policy?

Seriously, it's April, I shouldn't be sweating at night. This I'd friggin terrible. Ugh.

morning everyone

i got up and did my first workout of the day. i made it 20 minutes on the stairmaster. next time i will try for 22 minutes. then i finished with the elliptical. this afternoon there is a free women's bootcamp so i will go to that for workout #2

time to finish my omelet and oatmeal before i have to leave in 5 minutes. have a wonderday

I'm about to leave for spinning, and when I get back I'm heading down the shore for a beach day - personals when I come back!

But not a perfect morning - there is something very wrong with my damn scale Every time I step on to weigh myself it starts to show me numbers (it starts from 0.0 and gains and gains until it gets to my weight) and then goes back to 0.0! There's no tare button on the scale, so this isn't making any sense to me! I've tried to weigh myself in three different rooms, and changed the battery, and it's still on the fritz. My mom's scale says I'm down a few lbs so hopefully the water weight is on its way out. The only problem is when I first got my scale, the difference between mine and my mom's was only like 2-4lbs. Now it's like 10lbs. I don't know how this happened. And I can never trust my basement scale. Should I buy a new scale, go back to my mom's scale (and wait for my parents to get up and out of their bathroom every morning) or should I just wait and hope my scale quits being a d-bag?

Stupid thai food, up 1 lb. And today is supposed to be my rest day. Grr.

I'm really hoping it cools off tonight so I can get some darn sleep, I really want to exercise tomorrow morning.

I really feel for you guys that are going to school.. and doing the grad school thing and even getting a phd. I changed my major a few times and it put me in school way longer than it should have. I have my bachelors and I am NEVER going back. Although I am a teacher so I am still in school pretty much, but the college thing was rough. I think yall are amazing for doing what you are doing.

Platform - I say get a new scale! My parents have one of those scales like they have in a doctor's office.. its awesome. I always weigh when I go to their house for curiosity. But it was really expensive. They bought it YEARS ago when my mom went on her first WW kick. I usually weigh a few lbs. less on it than I do at home.

Haley!! aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhh CONGRATULATIONS!! yay!!!!!

Haley!!!!: YAAAYYY! You've made a giant step! Hope to meet you there on my WI this weekend!!!

Platform: I'd say wait a little bit, but then that's me going on paycheck to paycheck just budgeting for food and rent basically. If you definitely need the scale to keep you on track daily, go for a new one.

Shortandfluffy: I'm going to be going on 5 1/2 years once I finally graduate with just my bachelors, and even then I won't have a career laid out for me. I don't want to do more school but I probably will eventually. Teachers earn high stars in my books though, what do you teach?

Stella: I know what you mean. Last night my friends were like, "We're making dinner together!" So I went over for supper, and thankfully I had eaten light meals throughout the day and had 500 calories to spare. They made NACHOS. Okay, yeah, it was good, but cheese and tortillas and beef... yeah, I ate a small portion, and didn't weigh this morning, but I just FEEL dehydrated from all the sodium in my system. It's a new day though, eh?

Everlasting - yes, it is a new day. Thankfully

Haley - Woo hoo Welcome!!!

Okay, so I just deleted all of the work that I did yesterday.