Options within Options

I am getting much closer to figuring out this grad school thing.  

I found a program at UW, Human Centered Design and Engineering, that is exactly what I want to do.  It is multi-disciplinary so I could take courses in computer science and school of information.  I can combine my background to do usability testing/interface design in a health-related field.  or maybe not.  Maybe in any field.

Anyway, I found out that not only is this exactly what I want to do, but I can apply to start in the winter.  There is also an evening option, which is funded differently so I don't have to worry about getting residency (which I don't have).  I can save lots of $$ and start school SOON if all goes according to plan. :)

I got an MRI today, so I am waiting to find out what is wrong with my hip.  I think it is a tear of some form, but we will see on Thursday.  I came really close to passing out when they injected the dye.

This has been a busy week.  Erin's mom and step dad were in town for a wedding, so we were busy doing the family/wedding thing.  Erin's step dad is from Seattle, and his family all lives out here (they are a big family!).  They have been our sort of adopted family since we moved here.  It was a big, Greek orthodox wedding; an interesting mesh of cultures since the bride (Erin's step cousin) is Irish/Catholic.   In the mean time, Erin's step-uncle has been battling pancreatic cancer for the last 2.5 years.  He is going through a rough patch, and Erin is with his family in Portland now visiting him in the ICU.   There are a lot of unknowns at this point, but there is still hope.  My thoughts are with him.

It is very moving to be near their family at a time like this.  So many different kinds of love, with the weddings and the sickness.   It really puts life in perspective, and it makes me want to move closer to home one of these days.

A Dress for a Wedding

Finding a dress to wear to a wedding is very complicated.

You can't wear white, and you can't wear black because you don't want to look morbid.  You can't wear a bright solid color because you don't want to look like a bridesmaid (what if it turned out to be the same color?!).  It can't be too short or too skimpy because you will feel awkward in the church (even more so than someone like me normally would).  It can't be too long because it is hot and you don't want to look frumpy.

Thus, it took me approx 4 hours to find a dress to wear to this wedding.  I am still not even sure if it is appropriate.

Keep Pushing

It's been awhile since I've updated.  My class is very time consuming.  I've spent long hours in the studio already, and we are only about 3 weeks in.

I am learning a lot, and it is weird to do something that I am not very good at.  I struggle with making models because I am not very precise, and I have difficulty cutting straight lines.  This is why my 2nd grade teacher thought I was retarded.

I'm not sure that architecture is the real path that I want to take, but I am getting closer to where I want to be.  I know that I want to be on the design spectrum on some level, somewhere between engineer and artist, but I'm finding that architecture is a little too far on the artist side.  I'm now looking into other things like human-centered design/engineering, which I think would be a great fit for me.  I will still give architecture a chance.  It has been good to explore and be humbled.

On the injury front, not much progress has been made.  Still no formal diagnosis.  I am feeling better at rest, but things start to hurt again when I start moving.  

I find myself constantly pushing in every aspect of my life.  Pushing to figure out what I want.  Pushing to get back on my bike.  In the mean time, it feels like life is changing and moving on without me.  If I were a psychic, I would sense a coup d'etat in the near future.  I am anxious to see what happens, a little scared, but mostly excited because change would be fantastic.