Things to check off my list...

I took the GRE on Friday, after driving two and a half hours up to the University of Oregon in Eugene. I took it straight through, with no breaks, adn then I took the extra little test at the end which the ETS uses to test out the new version of the GRE before they revamp the system. Did you know the new version will let you use a calculator on the quantitative section? So not fair. I also discovered I managed to take the GRE before the price went up from $115 to $130.

Anyway, overall it took me 3 hours, 20 minutes, which is nice since the practice stuff told me to expect four hours. I ended up with 610 on my verbal, 660 on my quantitative (first time I've ever done better in math than in English), so I have 1270 thus far. I'm sure I'll be in Africa before I find out my analytical scores. I didn't do as well as I had hoped, but better than I had expected, and I went online to see the national average, both of which were below my scores, so at least I'm better than average. I checked out a website that had the average scores for some of the top schools, and my scores are good enough to get me into Harvard! Woot woot! That was a nice ego booster. So, the GRE is checked off my list.

Next, I have filled out my Power of Attorney forms and figured out my Will, so after I go to the notary tomorrow with my parents to act as my witnesses I can check both of those off as well. Whew. I would like to note that within three weeks of each other, three of my friends have or will be getting married. I, meanwhile, am writing my will; I find that slightly depressing. Anyway, I have my clothes figures out, and major things I want to bring like the textbooks I hope to use, a yoga mat for stretching and ab work, along with the Peace Corps guide to Wollof that my friend Lilly gave me from her semester studying in Senegal. I don't have the small stuff like vitamins, soap, etc. And I haven't finished filling out my Peace Corps paperwork quite yet. I'm one of those "have a plan in my head but don't put it into effect until the last minute just for fun" type of people.

Things I have left to do:
~Pack up the small stuff (shampoo, contact solution)
~Go to Kailee's bridal shower (I feel very uncomfortable at those because most of the people who go are already married or are in steady relationships, and I feel pressured even thought I have no intention of getting married anytime soon, like in the next five years. I need to finish grad school first)
~Finish going through my room and doing general cleaning
~Have the mother of all yard sales to get rid of my ols books and clothes so that my room-hopefully-will stop being the storage room as it has been for the four years I spent going to college in Iowa
~Go get my second pair of glasses from Binyon's
~Convince my parents that even though I already have two crank flashlights and a mini one, I still need (or just want) a headlamp
~Close my checking account back in Iowa now that my major expenses have been paid
~End my cell phone service and pay the last bill
~Create a photo album to bring with me (I have the album, pictures, and stickers--I just have to put the darn thing together)
~Figure out little gifts to give my mom, stepdad, and younger brother to make them feel a little bit better about my leaving them (again)

Oh boy. This Friday, I'm taking the GRE. Am I fully prepared for it? Of course not. I've been studying off and on for the last six weeks, but now I'm so excited and nervous about leaving the country that I don't want to take it anymore. I just want to concentrate on the things I have yet to finish before I leave, like my will. I'm 22, and I'm writing a will, because I could very well die from disease or road accidents or snake- or spider-bites or being mugged or who knows what else. I know that I'm leaving the money in my meager savings account to my little brother so that he has some more money for college, and that I want to be cremated. That's about it.

I've gone shopping with (and without) my mom so many times to pick up small things to bring wiht me. Last time, we got ziplock bags, tupperware, rope, some cheapo burn kits, and a cutting board with a paring knife (thank you dollar section at Target) while shopping for my brother's birthday present and for Father's Day gifts. This time, I want to look at schools supplies and presents for my host family (although I already have some small things), although based on the amount of stuff I have thus far, I'm not sure how I can fit it into one large and one small bag. My books and school supplies will be shipped to me, but I'll still be in training when I get the boxes (provided they aren't stolen before they reach me), so I'll still have to figure out how to transport them in-country. This stuff is so much more fun to think about than trying to remember the formula for finding all the lengths of sides in a 30-60-90 triangle. Ah well. Just keep praying, just keep praying, just keep praying. What happens is God's will, and it happens for a reason. Remember to keep breathing....