To Whom It May Concern: It’s Eighty Degrees and Sunny. A Lovely Richmond Afternoon

And I’m happily complacent like I haven’t been in a while.

My meeting with people at Econ department at VCU a couple of days ago went very extremely well. While sitting down with the admissions people to discuss the application process and all my related questions was very informative, the highlight of my visit was an “informal” interview with the department head who apparently has a lot of say in the admissions process.

The department head turned out to be a pretty cool guy. He straightforwardly informed me that one thing the program doesn’t teach is how to write policies. “It’s a highly political and speculative process that we don’t get involved in” he said. “Brandeis would be a much better fit for you – they’re really good at it up there.” I told him that despite the fact that I find policies extremely interesting, it is not what I am looking to learn or else I would be applying to policy programs. “It’s mushy science,” I said. “I think I have had enough of that already.” What I would like to do is to be involved in research on the impact of such policies and if I want to as much as get close to that sort of stuff, I will need a background in economics with very strong quantitative skills. “We can teach you that” he smiled. “You’ll get more training in econometrics and mathematical modeling than you could ever dream about. And some theory, of course.” I told him that it was exactly what I was looking for.

Needless to say, I truly liked the guy. There is something about middle aged Southern men that I am helplessly attracted to – must be the Southern drawl and the sense of humor that I find easy to play along with. They usually end up liking me back. I tend to think that there is more to it than my pretty eyes. Whatever it is, the guy told me that my chances of getting admitted were pretty high and even hinted that if I hurried up and got my stuff in soon enough, there would be a good possibility that I’d receive funding. I left his office giddy with excitement. And a mental list of stuff that I need to do to get the application processes started.

In a few more days my extended Passover break will be over and I will be heading back to the Bean Town for the last time. The following two weeks will be insanely busy. Besides the load of assignments that need to be turned in by the end of the semester, I will need to submit the application to VCU, fill out the paperwork related to taking a leave of absence at Brandeis, take care of bunch of bureaucratic procedures necessary for my summer trip, as well as clean and pack my belongings and move them back to Richmond. I will be leaving the States in the end of May. There is a week long training that I need to attend in D.C., adding an extra task of finding accommodation in D.C. On top of that, since the boy and I decided to share a roof together after I get back, there will be a need to search for the said roof as well.

Despite the overwhelmingly long list of stuff that must be taken care of within the next month, I am pretty happy. After all, these are tasks to get excited about. I’ll be finally done with Brandeis, get to go home, and come back to Richmond to start a new and exhilarating learning experience, move in with the boy. All in all, things are playing themselves out pretty darn well. For now all I can do is enjoy the few free days and the gorgeous weather in Richmond and bask in this feeling of utter complacency, since there is not a single thing that I can think of to be complaining about.