and why the hell am I here?

So, dear Aunt Amy inquired as to what the purpose of my being here is. My first thought is, "Jeeze-Louise, don't these people (ahem, my family) tell each other anything?" Immediately followed by the thought that my parents might not even know precisely what this is all about.

I'm going to put it in a nutshell for those of you not in the know:

In January, I applied for a fellowship with a big huge design firm. The prize was worth 20 thousand dollars, and I didn't really think I stood a chance. But (in keeping with my regular practice of scholarship/fellowship application) I applied in spite of the rather poor odds of winning. I submitted a portfolio, as well as an essay answering the question, "If you could go anywhere in the world to study a completely designed environment, where would you go, and why?"

I wrote them a pretty outrageous (and by that, I mean outlandish) essay about how I would go to Dubai, scuba dive, charter a helicopter, and so on--in order to better understand the Palm Islands. In case you want to know more about the islands: http://www.thepalm.ae/

I received a phone call in late February telling me I was a finalist, the week later had a phone interview...and the following week was told I didn't get it. WHAT?! It's true. and then...

Right before the end of the semester, I received another phonecall, informing me that one of the fellowship recipients had dropped out, and I was next in line!!! The rest is history! I've been working in NYC all summer for my internship with the firm, and now I am being paid full-time to be here in the UAE with a travel stipend to conduct "research." Not bad, huh?

If you want to read more, here is an article:

http://www.bsu.edu/students/admissions/article/0,1370,135131-9886-52162,00.html

Ball State loves writing articles about me:

http://www.bsu.edu/nrem/article/0,1371,300258-18490-51715,00.html

I'll stop bragging now, and get back to the Desert Safari. Next!!