Kristen’s Reading Day: A Photo Diary

Kristen has a toddler hanging out in her house, so she does her reading out of the house.  Here’s her report.

If you are a regular blog reader, you have probably pieced together the life cycle of an application after it leaves your hands:  the first sorting/assembling phase, the second reading and assessing stage, and then the committee process.  Being visually inclined, I thought you might like to know what this all looks like, so I decided to help by documenting my reading day yesterday in pictures.

But first one note:  for me, reading days are some of the most satisfying and challenging aspects of this job.  Virtually every applicant has some unique and interesting element that holds the reader’s interest, but the sheer burden of keeping up the pace all day — while still focusing on every case, can be daunting, so we each have our own way of structuring the day.  Here’s what I did:

First I settled down at Bloc 11, a local café and my favorite reading space, namely because of the warmth of its fireplace:

I then retrieved all the files from my bag and assessed the situation:

The pile on the left includes the files to be read, and the files on the right are completed.  That pile on the right is still waiting to fulfill its destiny.  But after not too long, I make some progress:

Which means, that I get to treat myself:

Soon after, catastrophe strikes!  My favorite pen (on the top) has run out of ink.  I’ll have to settle for the poor substitute on the bottom.  When you do a lot of handwriting, things like this matter!

I’m soon rewarded with a happy event, though.  This application was just a joy to read — perfectly suited for Fletcher in every way.

After forging ahead for a while longer, I’m at the satisfying halfway mark:

Which means a lunch break of a delicious curry chicken salad:

A post lunch energy surge pushes me forward, and before you know it, I’m three-quarters of the way there:

But I know myself, and it’s time for a quick break to stretch my legs and take a little stroll.  First I check out the events board, which is always entertaining:

And then check to see if any of the snow outside has melted:

Still there.  Which makes me think, maybe I deserve a sweet treat:

The brownie was delicious, and gave me just the sugar boost I needed.  I finished the day with energy to spare, which is exactly what each and every applicant deserves.

Happy waiting to you all!