It's been a while since I've properly updated here. I fear I may be turning into one of those people who spends more time actually doing stuff than they spend talking about it on the Internet. Now there's a turn-up for the books.

First of all, there was the interview that I had at Smith, which went well. Naturally, I didn't have any remotely formal clothes that were suitable for interviews, so sarianna took me clothes shopping a couple of days before the interview. She hates clothes shopping about as much as I do, so she really ought to be commended for valour and heroism for doing this for me. We did, however, have an entirely successful shop, taking two or three hours to find me a dress, a jacket, a slip, a pair of tights, a pair of shoes, a bag, and a watch, for something like $160 or $170, if memory serves. I have no clue how we managed to be both quick (relatively) and cheap (relatively) since I can normally only manage one of them at best, but I'm really not complaining.

It was then also decreed that in addition to dressing smartly for the first time in almost a decade that I really ought to be smartened up in general. With this in mind, thenowhere attacked my hair with coconut oil (to remove frizz) and scissors (to remove split ends) and my eyebrows with tweezers (to remove large portions of my eyebrows) the night before the interview, and then styled my hair for me on the morning of the interview.

Pictures of me were taken at this point, so that photographic evidence that I do look vaguely presentable when cleaned up can be provided. I have yet to get my hands on these photographs, though, but I'll make sure I share them with you all once I have.

Then came the interview itself. Naturally, after going to all this trouble, it turned out to be a fairly informal affair so I needn't really have bothered with any of the above. I figure that it's much better to end up presenting too formally for something informal than it is to present too informally for something formal, so I think I made the right choice even so. It's also not going to hurt for me to actually have interview type clothes now that I can use in the future should I ever happen to need them.

The interview went broadly speaking as I'd expect it to. We talked about things like my personal history and how I'd reached the point where I am today, what it was that had attracted me to Smith, what I was wanting to study, and things like that. There weren't any questions that caught me unaware and it was all things that I'd thought about beforehand and researched where necessary. I think that I managed to talk passionately about my interests and goals, and was generally engaging. Certainly, the woman who was interviewing me nodded at the parts where she was meant to nod and laughed at the parts where she was meant to laugh. At one point, when I said that Smith came across to me as a place where people grow into themselves, she said that that was an excellent way of putting it and that she might use that herself. So overall, I'm very happy with the way things went, and am reasonably confident.

One interesting thing at the interview was that, when I was talking about my history of depression, my interviewer said that she found it difficult to imagine someone as lively, outgoing, and vivacious as I was (or words to that effect) ever being as depressed as I was saying I was. Those of you who actually know me should feel free to snort and giggle at this point. sarianna also commented at one point while I was there that I was being far more positive and confident then I usually am. This is the difference between me when I'm in the Pioneer Valley and me when I'm not. It's hard for me to put my finger on precisely what it is that makes such a difference in my psyche, but that right there is why I want to move out there.

After the interview (on the 9th) there was then only another couple of days until the open house (what in England would be referred to as an open day), on the 11th. This was specifically for prospective Ada Comstock scholars, which is Smith's program for non-traditional (in England: mature) students, so there weren't any 17 and 18 year olds there who were just glad to be getting a day off school. It also meant that everything was focussed on how things work in the Ada Comstock program, which kept everything nice and relevant.

I'm very glad that I did decide to go, despite the journey and the air fare and the jetlag and the run in with immigration and all that. Probably the biggest thing that I got from the day was a confirmation that yes, this is definitely where I want to go. I was massively impressed by them from start to finish. Reading things on a website or getting word of mouth recommendations from friends are not the same as seeing something in person.

It was also a useful day from an information-gathering perspective. I learned things I didn't know about financing, about housing, and so on. I also learned just how seriously they take the whole Ada Comstock program and how committed they are to it, which was very good to know. Apparently, about 8% of their total student base is non-traditional students, and they provide excellent financial packages to all of them; they judge each individual's circumstances, then put together a package of grants, loans and on-campus work placements such that they hope that nobody accepted for a place on the Ada Comstock scheme will have to decline on financial grounds. Which is pretty damn awesome, really. I also picked up a whole bunch of contact details for both faculty members and current students, such that if I have any questions at all from this point forward I have plenty of people who I can contact.

Other noteworthy elements from the day were the mock-lecture that we were given, on the subject of perfectionism and anxiety (they clearly know their target audience), and getting to meet with other prospective applicants. The thing that really came across strongly to me from the latter was that everyone there had their own story of how it was that they hadn't gone the traditional route through the education system, and that there was no single typical story. This was hugely reassuring. I also exchanged email addresses with one woman I met there who I spent a great deal of time chatting with. This was all good.

After that was the flight home, which I've already written about, so I'll not go into detail here. Suffice is to say that having a door-to-door travel time of over 24 hours was not happy fun time.

I'm still feeling jetlagged though I do feel as if I'm starting to recover. My sleep patterns are completely shot to hell, though, which is hardly surprising. I've spent most of my waking hours since getting home playing video games (Sword of the Stars, Fort Zombie, Dragon Age: Origins, and Torchlight) and generally lounging about doing other things that don't require a functional brain.

One thing I have managed to do though is phone the secretary of Phil Thomas (surgeon in Brighton) to arrange for an initial consultation, which I'll be having on the 5th of January. I'm a little twitchy about the wait for this, since I'm running on a deadline (provided I get into Smith, which I'm hopeful of but far from sure about) and time is precious. I don't think that this is going to be a catastrophic delay, but it would be nicer to have been able to have it sooner so the ball was rolling.

I'm thinking that I might see about starting the hair removal before then, since that's going to be the biggest delay. It would be nice to know exactly what area I needed the hair removing from, but this can probably be worked around. The other thing I need to figure out is where I'm going to go to get it done. There are laser hair removal places in Lancaster, but I have no idea if any of them are trans-friendly or have any experience with doing genital hair removal. I should probably phone around a bit to see what I can find. I would have liked to just go to the same place where I had my facial hair removal, but they've closed down since then, so I won't be able to. I may also ask around on the Internet to see if I can get any recommendations.

Other things that are on my agenda as things I want to do in the relatively near future:

• Get my Smith application sorted. It's not due until February, but I want to get it done sooner rather than later.
• Visit my sister and get to see her new baby, Ella.
• Get the specs for the new Dreamwidth FAQ system fully sorted and pass them off to mark
• Finish writing the entry for geek feminism that I started the other day.
• Reply to email from Tarisa (the woman I met at the Smith open house).
• Pick up the parcel which was unsuccessfully delivered while I was away
• Write the story I got assigned for Yuletide.

Phew.