Shop Talk

I finished my internship with The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society on Friday. It was weird, in that, it totally did not feel like it was over. I was working right up until the end of the day, mostly by choice. Yet, here it is Sunday and I won’t have to wake up as early tomorrow. How sweet and strange it shall be.

It was a great learning experience and wonderful to work with everyone at the chapter. Their commitment toward raising awareness and funds for blood cancers is evident in their work. You definitely don’t know what it’s like and how much of an effort it truly takes, until you’ve worked on the inside. I can say, however, that it is all worth it.

Now, I’m back to figuring out where I go from here. I have various things on my mind and I’m still trying to sort out everything. I know what I want ultimately, it’s just a matter of choosing the path that’s right for me.

Please keep the students, faculty and staff of Virginia Tech in your thoughts …

Instead of the usual PR/news/whatever post, I’m saying something of great importance. Something that has now affected me personally.

It’s dangerous for a single woman to live in a large city. She always has to watch her back, keep alert and never let her guard down.

Well, tonight, the inevitable happened to me …. I was the victim of a robbery.

 I won’t go into much detail other than to say it happened in an area I walk through almost every day. I should have known better than to think walking through that area close to 9 p.m. would be OK. I disregarded the fact that lowlifes are a problem and loiter in the square constantly. I didn’t even think.

When I was approached from behind, my mind went blank. It all happened so fast that I didn’t know what to do. I handed over my wallet and my pin number to my ATM card. I didn’t see a weapon, but he ordered me not to turn around. The object that initially poked me in the back could have even been his hand, but I don’t even know. I walked away unscathed and reported the incident to the security guard at the parking garage across the plaza. We cancelled my card after a police officer showed up and I filed a report.

I’m lucky to be alive. I think a higher being was definitely with me tonight and it makes me appreciative of life. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to walk alone again during the nighttime hours.

I felt the need to share my story while it’s still fresh in my mind. I’m still in shock, as you would probably guess. I never dreamt that I would be in this situation … not in a million years. If there’s anything I want anyone to get from all of this, it’s to please be careful. Even when you think you’re safe and nothing could happen, you’re really not. So please, single women (and men in cases because you guys get robbed too), always make sure that if you’re going to be out at night, be out with someone else. Never let your guard down. If you ever find yourself in this situation (and I hope to God not), don’t try to be a hero. It’s better to lose something as trivial as a piece of plastic rather than lose your life.

The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity. The fears are paper tigers. You can do anything you decide to do. You can act to change and control your life; and the procedure, the process is its own reward. Amelia Earhart

My boys didn’t make it into the playoffs this year - for the first time since moving from Quebec in 1995.

 … And I die a little inside.

(Awesome seat, eh?)