The end of week 21

Moving on to my 22nd week of pregnancy.

Slept in this a.m. (again!) and ended up with a short day at work. (p.s. If you've missed it I'm a contractor and paid by the hour, so I'm not shortchanging my employer ... if you were starting to wonder ;) As it turns out, since the company is running out of desks, I've been asked to start sharing a desk with another contractor, working there just 5 hours in the a.m. I said I'd prefer to try telecommuting more than making the terrible commute for a shorter day. But spending all day in my apartment doesn't sound like much fun either. Allegedly they are going to move to a new building in a month or so and should have more room then. But a month is a long time to share a desk with someone. Especially since the office layout is such that we have absolutely no personal space whatsoever, not even cubicles. I didn't realize I was so spoiled to have gotten my own office with a door in my other jobs.

I was trying to find other applicant blogs of folks who are applying to Chicago, without much success. I did find one woman who apparently has applied to 9 schools in 3 weeks. Seemed like she took about 3 weeks to study for the GMAT too and scored well above what I did. She must be doing something right because she's getting interviews at top programs. Damn, that was humbling.

My thoughts are always so much saner in the daylight. I was thinking about the interview today and decided that I am not going to try to hide the fact that I'm pregnant. If my interviewer has a problem with that, so be it. And frankly, I would be really suprised if he did. There is all this never ending discussion of why top programs can't get more women in their programs. Well, it has a lot to do with ye olde ovaries, folks (and they do know that I think). And if you want to get more women in your programs you can't starting dinging them because they show up for the interview with a big belly. I made a very specific decision to get have my first child before starting a program. This was not an accident but carefully planned and, so far, going according to schedule. I wanted to the baby to be about 2-3 months old before starting the program and, if I'm admitted, that will be the case.

I was surprised to get a response from my interviewer first thing this a.m. suggesting we meet on Monday. Whoa! I was expecting a longer scheduling process and asked if the week after might work for him. I need some time to prepare but I'm happy to get this over with.

Midwife appointment tomorrow. I'm so curious to see what I weigh now. I am feeling very tubby. Have also been trying to find a doula. Need to schedule an appointment to see the birth center. Have scheduled a tour of the hospital that my midwife also works out, just as backup. I'm thinking I might not buy a new suit but just try to improvise with what I have already.

I keep thinking that I need to write about something other than the MBA and babies but once I get my MBA/baby thoughts down, I don't have any energy to write about anything else. I get through the day at my job by listening to lots of radio online. I start with that morning's Morning Edition, then catch whatever I missed from last night's All Things Considered and by noon the new Fresh Air is available. So I'm probably as informed about current events as I could possibly be. I intersperse my spreadsheets with glances at The Economist, BBC.com, The New York Times, WSJ and The Washington Post. The problem is that I'm getting so much information that it all just runs together. I'm rooting for Libby to get the punishment that he deserves, the Senate to get it together and tell Bush enough - pass the silly, meaningless resolution already. I was horrified to hear about this fellow who moved to Peoria from somewhere in the Middle East for a Master's program who has been held in confinement for 5 years now, barely able to see his family. Apparently, as an enemy combatant, the administration maintains that they can detain him until the 'war on terror' is over. Ummm, I don't think that's going to be any time soon. Look, I know there are dangers and dangerous folk out there, but I think it's too easy to make mistakes and too dangerous to just refuse to put folks through a proper legal process in order to determine their guilt.

Actually, the reason I write mostly about MBA and babies is because if I get started on the other thoughts in my head, these posts would get waaaaay too long. Plus, I feel little cautious posting my views on politics and religion here. Aside from babies and MBA, politics and religion occupies most of my available brainspace.

p.s. Watched JesusCamp this weekend which horrified my husband. Having grown up around more than a few ill-educated, rural, white-trash Christians, I didn't find it too alarming. But I tend to be too optimistic that common-sense and compassion will reign in the end. I have been proven wrong in the past.