I think almost everyone who knows me knows that I'm pretty left-leaning in terms of my political beliefs. To put it frankly, I'm a bleeding-heart liberal, on almost every social policy and I use reproductive choice as a litmus test in voting for national political candidates. So I was quite obviously going to vote for the Democratic candidate no matter who it was, and although I was really pulling for Hillary to win the nomination, I was an Obama supporter this past fall. It was a happy day for me to see George Bush ride off into the sunset with his cowboy foreign policy and to see a democrat back in the White House.
But putting aside my own personal political views, I was especially happy that the first inauguration of Rebecca's life was such a historic one. Of course, she won't remember the day (although, have I told you all that she knows Obama at sight and that when she sees him on television or in pictures, she points and proudly announces, "O-ba-ba!"?), but I have kept memorabilia of the election and inauguration for her to have sometime in the future. I also kept the letter published in last week's Parade publication that was from Obama to his daughters about what he wanted for them and for all America's children. It pleases me to know Rebecca will grow up in a time where she really sees that there is no glass ceiling for her, that there is nothing she doesn't have the ability to achieve, and that no dream is too unrealistic.
I'll admit that issues of diversity had never really been something I considered much in my personal life until I moved to California (hell, I was a senior in high school senior before I realized there were more than 2 races!). I think we're all guilty of not thinking of things like that when we're a member of the majority. After moving to Southern California and experiencing a few occasions when I was in the minority, I realize the feeling of comfort associated with seeing people who are similar to you. My first taste of that was when we went to celebrate Ramy's dad's birthday at a restaurant called Sam Woo. I was confronted with not only an array of "food" that resembled things I would have thrown out in the trash because they'd grown new lifeforms in the back of my refrigerator, but also with the awareness that of the probably 150 people in the restaurant, I was the only white person in the whole establishment. I'm not sure which caused me more discomfort. Obviously, it was a small thing that in no way compares with the real discrimination many people have faced, but it was a tiny little wakeup call to me. I've been even more aware of the importance of seeing people like yourself since Rebecca was born. She certainly looks different than most little white girls, and the fact that I've been so often asked if she was adopted is a pretty good indication that she doesn't look like me. I feel weird buying her a blonde doll, for some reason, and I want to be sure she sees things that are like her, while also having an appreciation for the richness that comes with diversity.
But anyway, enough of my waxing philosophic...how about a couple of goofy looking pics of me and Ramy with Rebecca on Sunday?
I interviewed at Santa Ana College this afternoon. It's a small site, but if it were accredited, it would be a good site. I'm ranking the non-accredited sites lower on my ranking list than the accredited ones, but I'd certainly rather get a non-accredited site than none at all or to go through Clearinghouse! It was a good interview. It kind of sucks that my most competitive site interviews were my first ones, because now I feel like I've gotten really warmed up on the whole interview thing! Oh well, what can you do. I also got notification today that I had been selected for a second and final phone interview at USC's counseling center. Most sites only do one interview and do their rankings based on it, but USC apparently thinks it needs multiple rounds of interviews to make their selections. So I made it to the last round with them and have to set up another phone interview with them later this week. On Thursday, I'll be doing my interview at Kaiser Permanente, and then next Tuesday, I'm interviewing with Cal State Long Beach. Then that's it for the interviews! I've tried to put off ranking my sites, because each time I would interview at one, it would suddenly shoot to the top of the list. At all but one of the sites, I could easily imagine doing my internship there and loving it. So I think it is best to wait until the end when I can more objectively think about each of the sites and rank them. The sites themselves are hard to compare, because they're such different places - how do you compare USC's counseling center with Patton State Hospital? The salaries are also quite disparate, and then there are considerations for the length of the commute, flexibility with time (many of the university counseling centers have 4-day work weeks in the summer and significant time off during the holidays, for example), and different avenues for doors they could open for me for future employment. So it's a lot to weigh and to pray about. Of course, the decision isn't completely in my hands, because all of the sites will be ranking me on their lists of preferences for interns as well. If none of them want me, then it doesn't really matter how I ranked any of them!
Rebecca had a fun day today. She and Nanny Rebecca went on a playdate. They went to hang out with a cousin of Nanny Rebecca's and her little girl, who is a month older than Rebecca. From the pic messages I received from them, they had a blast! They have plans to set up weekly playdates from now on, because the girls play so well together. Awesome!
It's a 3 day week for us, bookended by two three-day weekends! What a great life! Ramy's 9/80 day is this Friday, and although I contemplated going to a site visit/open house that day, I'm thinking that I probably won't, although I may try to schedule my USC phone interview for that day.
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