Waiting and Phone Calls

So there's a rather funny and interesting story I'd like to relay. I did almost nothing at work yesterday due to the fact that I put in an order for some stuff that hasn't come in yet, so that was a refreshing break from my normal schedule. I ran 4 miles and was very proud of myself for doing so in 30 min. I left early enough so that there was little to no traffic on the Tollway, and went home to shower before going off to the tailors' to pick up my suit. The suit fits quite nicely and I feel very comfortable in it, so nice job there. Some of my SURF friends (the non-lame ones) wanted to go get some beers so that too was nice! Maggy Potts called me and wanted to know if I wanted to hang out tomorrow(that being today) as she just got back from Mexico and wanted to see me to talk about the trip. However, as I was driving Downtown, I get a phone call from an Austin number I don't know. I pick it up and a woman asks for William Yarbrough. That being me, and as only friends really call me "Will" I think it's something important. It turns out to be Dr. Field, one of the people from whom I'm getting a Medical School letter of recommendation.

Here's some back story. So far I asked 3 UT Austin professors to write letters for me, and 2 UTSouthwestern M.D.s to write letters for me. I was only waiting on her letter to have the full set of 5 letters sent out. All but Dr. Field wanted just my resume, my personal statement (a small paper of intent of your philosophy and reasons for going into medicine) and the cover letter supplied by the Health Professions Office at UT Austin. Dr. Field wanted all that, plus a transcript (those are not free), a paper detailing my work in research as an undergraduate, a paper to outline 3 character traits about myself, my MCAT scores, and it needed to be in a binder. I took care of all of that for her and she said she would be happy to write me the letter. I have taken Dr. Field for a full year, having made an A in Microbiology II and a B in Human Infectious Diseases. She most certainly knows who I am, we have talked about subjects other than her class, and I go to her office hours: we've met.

Back to the story: So she calls me and says that she was working on writing letters when she came to mine and found that she couldn't write one for me because I've lied on my resume. As I do my best to regain control of my car because of the shock from that, I ask her what she means. She said that I had put under my awards that I was on the Dean's List for 2002-2003 academic year. She said that I was only on the Dean's List for one semester of that year. That bit of info was correct, but with all the awards, etc. I only put down the years in which I won/ got them, not the semester given. I told her this and she said that it was something which I should have caught and that people do check up on things I write down (no shit? really?). She said that because this was tantamount to a false resume she couldn't write me the letter. Now, keep in mind that Medical School applications need to be in ASAP, she leaves me in the lurch with no letter and a lot of work wasted already. This is not a good thing, but I've been doing my best to be Zen about the little roadbumps in life, so I don't get angry, I simply go out and have a few drinks with friends, drive home and go to sleep.

This morning I called the HPO office to see if I even need the 5th letter, and it turns out I don't because I need at least 3 and at least one of the three must be UT Austin faculty. I have 4 and to of those are UT Austin faculty, so I'm set. The way I see it, I almost don't want a letter from someone that is quite that anal retentive about that sort of thing anyway. So, Dr. Field, thanks but no thanks and that pretty much ends our business together. In other news, I'm getting Nick a jacket for the wedding so he can keep up the metro-sexual image that everyone attributes to him (poor chap didn't have a proper jacket) so I think together we are more metrosexual than either of us alone. We're like the goddamned metrosexual-wondertwins or something, except he's better looking and we're not twins. The wedding sounds great at this point and I can't wait to get down to Austin again.

I hope to have a mixer by the end of the week, and I'm looking into this one for a c-note at Guitar Center. I am also getting a few books (yes I'm a dork) on Digital DJ techniques and tips so hopefully I will get good through practice, much to my houseguests and roommate's chagrin. I got the new White Stripes album (I hate the group but I think their music is grand), the new Daft Punk album (takes a few listens but it comes out very beat-saturated), and the new Chemical Brothers (I was not happy with "It Began In Afrika" but this restored my faith). All these albums are great and if you're looking for some fun music, check it out.

One final note, I promise to cut out the science almost all together for my readership as only a few people are even very interested and those people don't read this as much as the people who are confused. So take heart, non-science types, I'm trying to not say anything about it!


Last night a DJ saved my life