In the end, I got into one top-20 school, waitlisted at two others, and shot down by a fourth and a top-five school. Not a bad outcome, especially given that I did the whole thing at the last minute. Would I do it all the same again? Mostly.
« Archives in May, 2004
Bad Driver
The dream started out in the hardware store. I don’t remember anything about what I shopped for, because the important part came after I left the store and went to my car in the parking lot. I put my Lexus in drive but went nowhere. More gas, still nothing. Again, and I started rolling. I pulled out of my parking spot, and started to break, but, again, nothing — I kept rolling, into a little hatchback, pushing that car through the front of the hardware store. After offering my apologies to the Latino driving the hatchback, I got into my car to back it out of the mess I’d just made. But I couldn’t see past the water truck parked next to my accident site; I decided to back up slowly. As I pulled out, a black Toyota pickup suddenly appeared from behind the Sparkletts truck; I lay on my brakes but, of course, they didn’t work, and I hit the Toyota. I rolled forward and, somehow, stopped, then got to look at the damage to the back of my car. You could see sunlight poking through the holes in my smashed trunk lid (a lid that, incidentally, looked like the lid of my old real-life Taurus. What a mess!
Of course, it was hard to drive today, and I expected disaster at every moment.
Friends Finale
Like about one out of five Americans, I watched the finale of Friends. And it was just awful! Truly unpleasant. Filled with uninteresting and distracting content, condescension, unnecessary titillation, and unfunny punch lines. You guessed it, I had to watch it _live_, not on TiVo, and sit through the ads.
I don’t know how I watched TV before TiVo. Sure, I occasionally find things on live TV that I want to watch (umm, mostly NASCAR), but usually it’s the wonderful shows Now Playing On TiVo that are worth watching. Even when I want to watch a TV show, I usually don’t want to watch it when it’s on; I’d rather watch a late show the next day, or an early show while I eat dinner, or do the dishes first (ok, I wouldn’t rather, but I have to).
I honestly don’t know how advertisers will survive now that I can fast-forward through their boredom. All I know is, from now on I’m waiting until five minutes into any live show to start watching so that I can fast-forward through the ads.
Mmmm Mayo
I’m never buying mayonnaise again. Not that I buy it much, what with the artery-clogging side effects and all, but never again am I spending my money on the jarred variety again. Because, on a lark, I made my own, and it was easy, tasty and cheap.
Response: Rejected by UCLA
“Somewhat belatedly”:http://wadearmstrong.com/archives/000442.html, the Anderson School has responded in the negative to my application. Of course, now that they won’t have me, I have more interest in getting in! But still not nearly enough to change my mind about Marshall, given the option. Although there are moments when I think I might take an offer from Stern, if it came.
Finis
So I thought about it for a while. I know I’d enjoy NYU. But I’ve got the offer from USC, and I know I’d enjoy USC a lot. And I’m happy in my friendships and my relationships and even happy with my little home here in LA. So I sent in my acceptance of USC’s offer of admissions today. So that’s it. I’m in! We’ll see how it goes in the fall. And I am excited!
Dear Potential Vendor
Thank you for sending me the e-mail telling me about your product. However, when I responded to the e-mail suggesting that you call me at a certain time on a certain date, it would have been best had you called me at said certain time on said certain date. When I was then nice enough to take the initiative the next day to reschedule our phone call — even though you had in no way contacted me — it would probably have helped your cause had you then kept that scheduled phone call.
Also, it would have been nice if, after missing the second scheduled phone call you’d made that third re-scheduled phone call. Or at least if you’d been in your office when I called you ten minutes after the scheduled time for our third phone call.
But it should not surprise you that when you call me at a random time in the afternoon, two business days and a weekend after the third scheduled call, I might not be inclined to take your call.
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