snowpocalypse/ snowmageddon/ hothlanta/ atlantarctica 2014 and then some...

At least two inches of snow fell, which isn't much at all in Tahoe or in any city that is used to snow, but Atlanta is (even after a similar debacle in 2011) not prepared to handle it.  I spent Tuesday afternoon after Emory shut down in expectation of the snow and a few hours the next day walking around with Anika and a couple of other undergrads since the school was closed.  We took photos of the snow and were people-watching - it's fun to watch the reactions of people from different places to the snow.  Atlanta is beautiful with a blanket of snow, just close to nonfunctional.  Unfortunately, Emory closed on Thursday also, despite the fact that most roads were completely dry again, so that put me way behind on work, since the next interview day was Friday.  By Thursday evening, I was going stir-crazy, so I invited a bunch of friends from Graduate Christian Fellowship to come hang out.  That was a good few hours of "friend time" before the next day's hectic start, complete with snacks, hot chocolate and tea, and music.

just the beginning of the crowds gathering to take the shuttles

group of east indians in a snowball fight tuesday afternoon

i'm so thankful i didn't have to be part of that traffic!!

this bench is even nicer with snow on it

"sledding" on grass with a little snow in lullwater estate

me, anika, and rachel at the downstream end of candler lake

funny little snowmen

my street wednesday morning, it really was very slick

school of medicine wednesday mid-morning

Friday was the second and final interview day.  I arrived just before 7 am to find the plaza in Woodruff Health Sciences Center Administration Building (WHSCAB) empty and the lights off - not a single table or a single chair in the space that was supposed to serve breakfast and receive 100 applicants plus about 100 guests, faculty, staff, and current students.  I was about to head over to the PT office to help bring supplies when the first applicant showed up, looking understandably confused.  After I reassured her she was in the right place, and the interview was indeed happening, I texted Monica, my supervisor, to let her know I was there and would remain there until others arrived.  In the meantime, breakfast arrived with Emory Catering.  I discovered a long table downstairs by the WHSCAB auditorium entrance and dragged it up the stairs to give them something on which to set up - the catering folks had to do some rearranging since they usually used two tables, but they made it work admirably.

Monica arrived with loads of paperwork and her three sons, who were still out of school due to the weather.  She had answered many emails the previous two days from applicants concerned about travel and whether the interview would actually take place.  Her three sons (two high school age, one elementary) dove in with a will and helped me collate the papers and assemble informational folders in time to get them to each interviewee before the day officially began.  I set student volunteers assembling name tags - they were then able to pass them out as interviewees arrived, handing out the folders as we completed them.

Chairs and tables arrived after the morning's activities were well under way, including giving my part of a presentation on our research project.  The research presentations were given on the previous interview day as well.  I came back to WHSCAB plaza to help set up the tables so it was ready before lunchtime when the interviewees were brought back by their tour guides.  I did my lunch order and delivery run like the previous interview day with a little less running around - I brought a cart this time and was able to deliver in one long trip rather than four short ones.  In the afternoon I filled in for a bit answering questions at a poster for Service Learning, which is an important part of Emory's DPT program.  I was finally able to leave at 5:30.  96 of the 100 interviewees made it, despite delays, cancelled flights, and other problems.

One thing that we also managed to get done during the day was an Indiegogo crowdfunding page for the Service Learning trips we will be taking.  8 of us are going to the Dominican Republic during the first week of March, and a group of 14 will head to Jamaica the following week.  Two of the students going to the Dominican Republic will head straight to Jamaica.  The campaign is only on through February 14, and we are hoping to raise as much money as we can to defray costs associated with the trips.  We have met our official goal, but that goal is only a small portion of the costs of the trips.  For more information and if you're interested in donating to help us lend a hand in the Caribbean, here's the link: http://igg.me/p/665024.

I was pretty exhausted by the time I got home that evening, but knew that I'd be spending the next day travelling to Las Vegas and probably not getting a whole lot of exercise aside from walking for the next week, so I joined a group to climb at Wall Crawlers for their $6 student night.  It was good to climb, especially since the Emory wall had been closed along with the rest of the university Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday (meaning I still haven't gone back to work yet, as I am scheduled for Wednesdays).  Once I got back home, I still had to pack for the upcoming week.

I woke up early the next morning to get a ride to the airport, and off I went to Las Vegas, Nevada for the APTA CSM (American Physical Therapy Association's Combined Sections Meeting) - the biggest convention of the year for Physical Therapists.