Dear EATM Applicant,

You are on the Alternate/Wait list. Your number is 9.

It's not a yes, but it's sure as hell not a no!

I just basically spent the entire day on the phone. And the person who got me the most excited is my friend Angela. Talking to her always leaves me feeling energized and excited about life. Must be that fiery Aries spirit of hers, lighting a fire under me! Anyway, our conversation started something like this:

Me (hesitantly): I'm number nine on the waiting list.

Angela: OH MY GOD, YOU'RE SO IN!!!!!

And honestly, being in the top ten of the alternates is a very good thing. I know it sounds crazy, or naive, or whatever, but I don't care: I'm NOT giving up hope. I'm going to remain excited about this. What have I got to lose? I truly believe I could still get in. I'm telling everyone I know (that would include you) to please send positive vibes out for me. Everyone I know thinking positive thoughts for me is never a bad thing. That's my rationale, anyway.

Holy crap, I'm tired. I hardly slept at all last night (3.5 hours). That's because last night at around 11:30, I saw Kirsten's post on her LiveJournal. She is number 14 out of 15 alternates. At that point, I started freaking out. I KNEW my letter would come today, and lo and behold, it did.

Before my letter finally arrived, I got an email from my other potential Moorparker friend, Ricky. He, like Kirsten, originally found me via a search engine, looking for info on EATM. (Apparently, I've mentioned it a few times here. Heh.) Ricky told me that he is alternate number 8. He's immediately ahead of me! We've agreed to keep each other posted on anything we hear, as well as continue rooting for each other. I think that sounds like an awesome plan.

I was on the phone with my mom to keep from freaking out. I checked the mail at 12:30, 1:30 and 2:30 with no luck. I kept calling my mom back to report. "Nope, no mail yet!" Then we'd chat for a while longer!

At 3:30, it had finally arrived! My heart beat soundly in my chest as I pulled the letter out from on top of the stack of junk mail. I smiled, so happy just to HAVE it in my hands. Then I tore it open and read it, and well, you know the rest. I called people, I emailed people, I IM-ed people. And now I'm telling you! Everyone was and is incredibly supportive and awesome.

So, yeah. That's it. And hell. It ain't over till it's over. There's still hope.

I, for one, am hoping for the best!