Happy New Year, Happy New Decade, Happy RD Deadline

A lot to celebrate on this 01/01/2010. First, Happy New Year to you all. I hope you all had a wonderful celebration ringing in the new year and I wish you all the best in 2010. Second, Happy New Decade. It is simply amazing to think how quickly the first decade of the new millennium flew by. I remember just ten years ago stepping out of my family's bomb shelter relieved that the world did not end due to Y2K. (O.K. that is a bit of an exaggeration.) Though 2010 does not feel much different than 2009 yet, I am looking forward to the new year and new decade.

The new year has started for me in the same way the old year closed out -- answering tons and tons of questions from applicants. For some of you today doesn't signify a new beginning of a new month / year / decade, but rather the end of your applying to colleges. YES, TODAY IS ALSO APPLICATION DEADLINE DAY. Judging on the over 150 e-mails we received yesterday and 80 we have received so far this morning, there are many of you out there still finishing up your applications. For you, I refer you all to my blog post from earlier this week:

REGULAR DECISION FAQ POST

For Admissions_Daniel, today signifies my last relaxing day for the next five months. I'll spend the day with my family, niece Lilly, nephew Cooper, and Soze down in Florida where I have been for the last two weeks. We will enjoy the day by playing board games, playing Wii games, watching the NHL Winter Classic, and then probably enjoy a movie to end a fun-filled first day of the year. But then it is back to Baltimore and back to work. Soze and I will journey along I-95 North over the weekend and after 16 hours of driving we will return to our snow-covered home. I am looking forward to returning to Baltimore and the office, but it will be very hard to say goodbye to the nice weather in Florida and being able to see my family every day. I think the worst part of it all is knowing that once I return to Baltimore the application reading marathon begins and my personal life ends. But today is not the day to dwell on the process ahead.

As I end this entry and get prepared for some fun and games, I thought I would share with you all the "We Thank You" video that the University produced and posted last week. Enjoy: