Gary does Japan

Dum da da dum....drum roll please...

So for those of you amazingly excited about what Debra Goodman's future holds in store for her (hi, mom and Gary), here's a list of the schools that came through (and the ones that fell flat on their face)...

Acceptances

Buffalo
Maryland (just found out!)
Tufts
Amherst
Rochester

Waitlist

Brandeis

Rejections (try any school in the top 20!)

Washington
Cornell
Illinois
Michigan
Rutgers

School that has not yet let me know (so probably a reject)
Penn State

I feel pretty damn good about myself now. Getting into Maryland was an amazing coup, as they have one of the top programs in the country for the areas I am going into. However, I am almost 100% sure that I am still headed to Buffalo. Maryland's financial aid package isn't competitive (for that matter, neither is Buffalo's, but it's so damn cheap to live in Buffalo as compared to Maryland) and I have really grown excited about the UB English Department in a way that I am not as excited about the Maryland program. So, staying in Buffalo, folks, call me when its spring.

On a side note, I am officially ADDICTED to Spooks, this British show that is kinda like 24. Ossian burned them for me, and needless to say, in between reading about phenemonology and hermeneutics, I have been glued to my laptop screen. I am in LOVE.

And then there were none...

Top ten best things about Gary's trip to Japan

10. Raj Mahal, it might have taken us an hour traipsing through Shinjuku to get there, but the mulag mahal was oishi, ne?
9. Inwardly gagging as Yoshi and Tomomi ate fish...with heads! They say kawaii, we say KOWAI!
8. Being the sugar mama for a week (what, you think yen grows on trees!) and making my baby look all sexy in new Japanese gear
7. Onsens with starry bottoms, snow glittering all around, and fresh night air
6. Nikko walks and late night talks...
5. Observing the genius of a chopstick master, level 15
4. The Ramen restaurant on the way to Minikami that is alternately dedicated to Japanese popular culture and the phallus (there was an actual penis room!)
3. "This kind of certainty comes once in a lifetime." Ugh. I prefer Trey and Matt
2. Gary in a yucata - SEGOY!
1. The entire week, complete with shinkansen meltdowns, testy karaoke, chicken sandwiches aplenty, and so many little moments that will keep me going for the next three months.

I carry your heart. I carry it in my heart.

Update, update!

For now this will have to do...