killing time

<p>anyone have advice for how to stay sane after everything is submitted?
I have ...a nom, med-waiverable, physically fit, scholastically qualified, good interview,
...but no patience (nor appointment for that matter ;)).</p>

<p>LOL!!!</p>

<p>Well if you were old enough, I would suggest Merlot and chocolate....</p>

<p>but then again, I don't want to be acused of contributing to the deliquency of a minor....</p>

<p>so just stick to chocolate...</p>

<p>and have fun....safe fun, nothing over the top or outrageous...
but this is your senior year....
stay out of trouble, keep up your grades, and concentrate on enjoying what you have left of senior year....</p>

<p>before you know it, you will be graduating and leaving just a few days later for I-Day and "the best summer of your life" :eek: so enjoy your freedom while you still have some! </p>

<p>Patience is a virtue....
and you are gonna need lots of that come I-Day too, so might as well start practicing that too...</p>

<p>at this point in time, you have done everything that is in your control to do- now you have to have faith that the USNA knows how to do their job- and you might as well, 'cause the rest of it from here on out is not in your control!</p>

<p>chocolate..
running...great to release those endorphins....</p>

<p>hang in!!!!</p>

<p>im in the same boat. waiting is killing me.</p>

<p>BTW i second that running idea. if your ever feeling stressed about getting accepted or just anything else, bust out with 5 mile run and it all goes away.</p>

<p>I know that the waiting can be torture. My son did not receive his appointment until the middle of April. Do not give up. Stay in communication with your B&G Officer. Make sure to update the Academy with any accomplishments/awards that you might receive. My son received a number of honors and athletic awards in the spring and he sent every one of them. I have little doubt that his file must have been quite thick in the end. Also, make sure that your B&G Officer knows if you would be willing to accept either a Foundation or NAPS offer if it were given to you. Rest assured that most of those attending a prep school are also highly qualified but may not be in position to receive an appointment due to their status within their congressional districts. Hang in there. Enjoy your senior year.</p>

<p>Welcome to the Navy: Hurry up and wait. :)</p>

<p>thats what my plebe told me a lot during my CVW^^^^</p>

<p>ex. we were getting in line so he could get a flu shot and people were yelling for everyone to move faster and hurry up. after that we waited another ten minutes before he finally got it.</p>

<p>Thought that "hurry up and wait" was strictly a Marine Corps motto" I have a patch on my U's with it. Also don't forget to "break it down over here and put it back together over there." :p ;) :D</p>

<p>Semper Fi</p>

<p>Don't forget to log the obligatory "clean and inspect" between those two steps. :D</p>

<p>The boy had his congressional interview today. VERY glad that's over. He said it wasn't as bad as he thought it would be, but VERY good advice on dress and deportment from this site. ALL of the young men we saw (sadly, I saw no young ladies there...hmmm) were in jackets and ties, some in expensive suits. The questions that were posted were some of the very same he was asked. The big one, and everyone laughed, was, "For an Air Force kid, EVERYONE wants to know, why the Navy?" The boy stated his reasons and the Navy representative just sat there, smiling, nodding his head. </p>

<p>Thanks to everyone here and like Zaphod says, we'll hurry up and wait.</p>

<p>nurseypoo - Where in CA are you? My d had hers today too. Glad it's over too. It went very well. We are in Northern CA, outside of Sacramento. What area are you? Did they specifically say they'd announce by end of Dec? Hers told her they don't plan to send it in until the last week of January (UUGH). Wonder why they'll wait so long. Any ideas? </p>

<p>She had 9 people on the panel plus two non-participating but still seated at the table (don't know why - no questions or notes, and d was told they are "non-participating" panel members without a vote). She was prepared for the quesitons (thanks everyone) and only had two questions that she had not at least considered previously & thus had to "wing it" but they were easy for her to answer. Once or twice she was asked to clarify or expand on things, which she did easily. She got through them fine, even got a laugh or two out of the panel. By the time she got home she couldn't remember what questions were asked though. However, she was given a "thumbs up" from one of the non-participating members, which we'll take to be a positive thing.</p>

<p>The waiting was without a doubt the toughest part of the process for my son. He had a medical waiver that he had to obtain and those don't come very quickly. Even after he received a LOA in early February that didn't ease his pain. Every day he checked the DODMERB website to see if the waiver was posted. Finally March 28,2006 the waiver was posted and two days later his Appointment came in the mail. He has said that all the waiting and patience he had to learn was a good introduction of what to expect at the Naval Academy. He is doing well in his first year at the Academy and says it was definitely worth all the agony he endured last year with waiting and wondering if he was going to get that appointment.</p>

<p>Good luck to you and your family. I know how trying and difficult it can be. I have confidence you will be there on I Day with the rest of the class of 2011.</p>

<p>MOH2011-</p>

<p>We are in southern California, north of Los Angeles, near Santa Clarita. Yes, they specifically announced that they'd make their selection after Christmas and they'd be notified by the end of December. I don't know why your area is waiting so long. Two weeks for the boy. Not too bad, I think. STIFF competition. He's hoping for an alternate position. </p>

<p>He had nine on his board, also. The event took place at the City Hall in a very large meeting room. They asked the usual, "why do you want to go to the academy," "would you accept an appointment from the Air Force," and others. Even the guy who greeted him knew his name (probably from the photo. we had to send), which spooked him, a bit. I think he did it to make him feel relaxed, or maybe to see if it would spook him. Who knows? He did get receive good feedback at the end of the interview. </p>

<p>Anyway, it's over and I am glad. More so because the boy is relieved. One of his good friends from school had his interview two hours previously and called to let him know that it wasn't so bad. I hope he and the boy both get in. </p>

<p>The only thing that annoyed me about the whole process is during the waiting process, before the interview, the other parents are talking about their military "connections," trying to unnerve the poor kids and parents around them. Too cruel. The boy and I just kept talking about funny stuff that happened at school, trying to keep him calm and his mind off of the meeting. While he was in the meeting room being roasted on the spit (the greeter's phrase, not mine), I tried to knock down the chatter about "my daddy (grandfather, uncle, brother, cousin twice removed), the colonel" crap and just asked kids what high school they went to, did they snowboard, that kind of thing. Poor kids; bad parents.</p>

<p>interesting about the parents around. dd told me it was also at the City Hall and that they had a person directly inside the door asking parents to stay in the car. They aslo only let the kids in within 5 mins of their appointed time and told them also to stay in the car. When dd left the car (30 min ahead of her time) she was allowed inside - and they all knew her by name too. But she thought that was because she has been to several "Acadmey Days" put on by MOC office staff. She sat in a chair that she was escorted to and was specifically instructed not to communicate with anyone until she was called. She sat next to another kid from her school but they didn't talk. The other kid was called in to interview and they let a replacement from outside come in and take the seat vacated. Then that kid went and his replacement came inside (dd appt time is still a bit away so she justs sits through it). She tells me she just walked right in and they told her to sit down. She was 30 mins early and she could hear them telling people to go back to their car until 5 mins prior to their appointed time. She felt a little odd being allowed inside - don't know what transpired on that one. She felt really wierd sitting there listening to kids and parents being sent back to their car. Oh well, a little extra pressure - but she handled it well. It's over and we wait. The good news is everyone else in our district waits too. She has an LOA so that helps somewhat but we still have to wait.</p>

<p>They should have done that with the Congressional interview in Santa Clarita. I'm sure parents are trying to bolster their kids by listing their "connections." What parent wouldn't want to make their child feel better? Your kid may be super-duper, but they are still kids, they are still scared, and you're going to say anything to help your child's nerves at that point. However, they shouldn't let the parents ANYWHERE</p>

<p>Dang thing! It cut me off! Or, I cut myself off on the computer. I took typing, not computer. Some weird combo. of buttons I pushed, I guess. </p>

<p>Anyway, I don't think they should let the parents ANYWHERE near there. It's the child's experience, not the parent's, although the parents have to go through the Rolaids bottle if the kids are stressed. </p>

<p>I feel kind of helpless. I cannot help him get this. It's all up to him.</p>

<p>Parents can be tough.
Competetive parents can be ruthless.</p>

<p>Keep one thing in mind- all the connections in the world, helecopter parents included, can not walk this journey for you, nor can they keep you in.</p>

<p>This is YOUR journey.
Make sure you want it.
Make damm sure you will do what it takes to travel it.
It is a bumpy, twisty, grinding path.</p>

<p>I feel sorry for the parents who play these mind games, to what end???? To convince themselves that their candidate is worthy? has an "in"???? Sounds to me like it is the PARENTS who are unsure of the capablities of their own children! Let me ask this: if the PARENT lacks faith, how in heck is their child expected to have faith in themselves????</p>

<p>Sounds like some very insecure people out there.....</p>

<p>IMHO---
you are who you are.
you have hopefully done the best you can do to make yourself competetive.
it is done.
there is nothing you can do to compete against other candidates EXCEPT to do YOUR very best!
if you have what the academy wants/needs/desires, they will find you.
If not, try again- providing this is what YOU want.</p>

<p>So much of this is in your control....and even more is not.
Feeling helpless is a waste of time.
Use that time to come up with a plan B should this NOT work out. For some it won't.</p>

<p>Think about how you will help your candidate through that.
Hopefully it will be time wasted, and the fat letter will come-hopefully.</p>

<p>and if not........</p>

<p>When I state I feel helpless, I don't feel it is a waste of time to either state that or feel that way. My son has done everything he can; his parents have done all that they can. This is what I refer to as a period of growth. First, he is our firstborn. We may have to watch him go in the next year to attain his dream. That's hard and while it may be normal, I am still a mom and I do feel helpless since I know the tears are going to be flowing. Second, he has wanted this from the time he was 13. As stated before, we have done all we can to help him (made sure he was well educated, helped him seek opportunities, etc.); we can do no more. Since all he can do is wait (and yes, plan B, C, and D are already in place and ready to go) and we can't help anymore, I do feel helpless. </p>

<p>I will say again, I feel helpless. I am NOT helpless.</p>

<p>Nurseypoo, good luck to your son and you. It's the same here. My son has been after this goal since 8th grade when he asked to visit the campus. His high school years have been sports (that was fun at least) hard work and tough academics... 10 AP's! Little partying and more self-discipline and motivation than I have. </p>

<p>Apparently, there is someone in the local pool of candidates who got interested this past summer and is pulling strings. It makes me mad. I wish I smoked.</p>

<p>One thing that was gratifying though was when he did his CVW he helped his plebe out with chem and calc homework. So I'm not too worried about the academics if he does get in.</p>

<p>DO NOT GET A TATTOO!!! If you have a tattoo is should have been document when you had your physical. DO NOT, under any circumstances, think that you'll celebrate graduating by getting a tattoo AFTER your physical. More than one plebe candidate was turned away on I-Day in 2007 for getting tattoos after their physicals. Remember too that you must let DODMERBS know of any changes in your medical condition. To not do so could be a disaqualifier.</p>

<p>Otherwise have fun!</p>

<p>Sealion0101-thanks! We purposely didn't let many people know he was applying, but the ones who do are starting to ask....frequently. AHHHHHHHHH! Primal scream. I feel better!</p>

<p>Atrmom- The topic of tattoos never crossed my mind, but thanks. I don't think my son will get one (I really hope he doesn't), but I know at the hospital, they cannot give blood if they have had a tattoo in the past two years and we run a hepatitis screen on them if they have. Maybe to prevent spread of hepatitis? What about if he has his wisdom teeth extracted? Same thing?</p>