CV Musings
Oct. 21st, 2011 10:55 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
damigellaGen, no warnings, post 8.03, ~600 words.
Chi opened the attachment to the job application she had forwarded, and all kinds of information about Adams scrolled before her eyes.
High school valedictorian in a small, expensive private school: piano, theater, ballet, girl scouts.
Undergraduate at Yale: average good but not great, a tendency to avoid the heavy weight courses, and lots of volunteering (including modeling for a benefit fashion show and two fundraising calendars).
Med school at Johns Hopkins: no grant, not even in the form of reduced interest student loan. She probably didn't even apply. And she took two years longer than Chi herself did, with final evaluations that wouldn't make her eligible for an internship in any good place (and make her a hard sell in a decorous one). Not that there was any trace of internship application in the vita.
The first job, after a decent interval that was probably spend vacationing, was nine months at Planned Parenthood, followed by three carefully concealed months of doing nothing. Chi had done a little research; apparently Adams left PP in a hurry when the fundies started burning cars and leaving threats in home mailboxes.
Almost one year at the correction facility, and another sudden resolution of contract.
And now... she had to laugh at the expression "Diagnostic Department Adjunct Fellow". As if any interviewer worth their salt wouldn't discover immediately she was an unpaid volunteer, working with a paroled con at minimum wages and a young intern.
Chi looked at the vita again, noting that there was only one point in which it was better than hers: the picture, showing a woman who could have modeled for lingerie or dieting products or plastic surgery.
And then she understood. She looked at the photo better. Recognized in the pretty nose the signature curvature of a famous plastic surgeon, from her surgery handbook. Realized how much of Adams' time and energy must have been spent, still was spent, in grooming and increasing that seemingly effortless beauty.
She looked again at the long list of commitments, clubs and social duties. No wonder Adams had had no time to learn properly.
She pulled open her own CV nearby. It included no picture and no mention of her gender, which often gave her a nice edge in the first minute of an interview.
Her looks required only minimal care: her mother fixed her haircut once a month, and the blow-drying took five minutes at most since the hair was naturally straight. She had even chosen glasses over contacts to save time - it also hid the fact her make up was often carelessly applied. Maybe now that she was close to thirty she could stop using it, no one would take her for a teen anymore.
She looked at the curricula again. Thought of her parents' pride in her achievements. Their shining eyes at graduation, the first in the family. The way they had said she was an adult and could do anything, choose any career path she wanted, so long as she kept honest and worked hard. She remembered the long working nights they had pulled so she could concentrate on her studies without contributing to the family budget.
She wondered whether Adams had really wanted to be a doctor, or liked sports, or music. How she felt at having failed yet another interview, while hearing that she had turned down Chicago's prestigious offer. Soon she would find out that the car whose repairs she had paid was actually House's, not hers. She was sure House would find a way to let her know.
As she taped the box with the red shoes closed and put it in the plastic bag with the veterans' association logo, she felt weirdly sorry for her team mate.
Chi opened the attachment to the job application she had forwarded, and all kinds of information about Adams scrolled before her eyes.
High school valedictorian in a small, expensive private school: piano, theater, ballet, girl scouts.
Undergraduate at Yale: average good but not great, a tendency to avoid the heavy weight courses, and lots of volunteering (including modeling for a benefit fashion show and two fundraising calendars).
Med school at Johns Hopkins: no grant, not even in the form of reduced interest student loan. She probably didn't even apply. And she took two years longer than Chi herself did, with final evaluations that wouldn't make her eligible for an internship in any good place (and make her a hard sell in a decorous one). Not that there was any trace of internship application in the vita.
The first job, after a decent interval that was probably spend vacationing, was nine months at Planned Parenthood, followed by three carefully concealed months of doing nothing. Chi had done a little research; apparently Adams left PP in a hurry when the fundies started burning cars and leaving threats in home mailboxes.
Almost one year at the correction facility, and another sudden resolution of contract.
And now... she had to laugh at the expression "Diagnostic Department Adjunct Fellow". As if any interviewer worth their salt wouldn't discover immediately she was an unpaid volunteer, working with a paroled con at minimum wages and a young intern.
Chi looked at the vita again, noting that there was only one point in which it was better than hers: the picture, showing a woman who could have modeled for lingerie or dieting products or plastic surgery.
And then she understood. She looked at the photo better. Recognized in the pretty nose the signature curvature of a famous plastic surgeon, from her surgery handbook. Realized how much of Adams' time and energy must have been spent, still was spent, in grooming and increasing that seemingly effortless beauty.
She looked again at the long list of commitments, clubs and social duties. No wonder Adams had had no time to learn properly.
She pulled open her own CV nearby. It included no picture and no mention of her gender, which often gave her a nice edge in the first minute of an interview.
Her looks required only minimal care: her mother fixed her haircut once a month, and the blow-drying took five minutes at most since the hair was naturally straight. She had even chosen glasses over contacts to save time - it also hid the fact her make up was often carelessly applied. Maybe now that she was close to thirty she could stop using it, no one would take her for a teen anymore.
She looked at the curricula again. Thought of her parents' pride in her achievements. Their shining eyes at graduation, the first in the family. The way they had said she was an adult and could do anything, choose any career path she wanted, so long as she kept honest and worked hard. She remembered the long working nights they had pulled so she could concentrate on her studies without contributing to the family budget.
She wondered whether Adams had really wanted to be a doctor, or liked sports, or music. How she felt at having failed yet another interview, while hearing that she had turned down Chicago's prestigious offer. Soon she would find out that the car whose repairs she had paid was actually House's, not hers. She was sure House would find a way to let her know.
As she taped the box with the red shoes closed and put it in the plastic bag with the veterans' association logo, she felt weirdly sorry for her team mate.
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no subject
Date: 2011-10-22 02:15 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-10-22 03:09 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-10-22 07:53 am (UTC)Me too. And some saw it as bitching, but I can totally get behind Park snapping at Adams like that. Realistic and human, as you said.
no subject
Date: 2011-10-22 07:14 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-10-22 03:10 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-10-22 07:15 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-10-22 04:34 am (UTC)I like Park too, but Adams hasn't annoyed me yet the way young Cameron and then Master's did. I am holding out hope.
no subject
Date: 2011-10-22 07:57 am (UTC)Wilson? Has a family? I think you're right, sadly.
I am holding out hope.
You are technically right, in that they still have ample margin t make Adams likebale, but I'm not hoping much anymore. I also think they could have made Adams an interesting character without choosing such a blatant piece of eye candy.
no subject
Date: 2011-10-22 07:02 am (UTC)"she looked again at the long list of commitments, clubs and social duties. No wonder Adams had has not time to learn properly."
This added to her working at Planed Parenthood and the prison House was in and she had thought of joining Doctors without Borders: she seems to be a very social conscious person who tries to compensate her previlegued upbrining. Actually this is very remarkable.
In your story Parks comes out the more deligent and intelligent, her way to the "top" straight and single minded. And doing exactly what Adams did as well: she let her parents work for her education! And now she has her first job after med school with nothing to show but being a good little hard working student without any time for learning about life and having done nothing for fellow humans so far.
Adams is arrogant and that makes her not very likeable (I don't like her at all!).
But Parks is arrogant either, as she lets hang out how hard and diligent she had to work, how she is superior to Adams in that way and therefore does not take charity from a rich kid who she thinks never did anything but painted her nails while lounging at the country club's pool.
I don't think Parks has anything to feel better than Adams, but being diligent (and her personality will go down with somone like House better). Actually she should be envious all over the place.
A note of disagreement: you say Parks has a haircut that does not need care. Ohohoh! That pageboy style is hard work each morning, all haircuts of that kind are a pain in the ass because you have to blow it over a curling brush. And the cut must be done by a pro (I don't know, maybe her mom is a hair dresser) each week to stay that way. Therefore she has the more time consuming hair style as we have seen Adams with a simple pony tail at prison. And that is the most easy hair style around.
And contact lenses- right, one needs a lot of vainess to use them instead of a stylish frameless glasses for example (I have contact lenses for saturday nights only) and not a black nerd frame, one that fits your face and aren't too big so you have constantly push it back up your nose and that gets in the way when at a microscope. Like Parks ugly, too big glasses that she pushes up constantly, letting her look like a little girl playing dress up with grandpa's glasses.
Which let her look like she doesn't care for details, is not taking care of how one thing fits another and how to make something work best. Not very recommendable for a diagnostics doctor, me thinks.
no subject
Date: 2011-10-22 07:13 am (UTC)And if they're not too well off, her mother has learned hair cutting by doing it for her since she was small. It's not rocket science.
Contact lenses take time, especially since most of them you shouldn't wear more than ten to twelve hours in a row and the shifts in a US hospital are often longer than that. Plus, really thick glasses hide better improperly applied makeup (which is what you get without contacts if you're seriously shortsighted).
no subject
Date: 2011-10-22 07:24 am (UTC)I had that haircut for a lot of years (was fashionable when I was a kid and I did not care what my parents did to me then) and I had straight hair. It did never look like that. But if you know it better, which you might, okay, you win.
If you have to hide bad make up why apply it at all? What nonsense, in my view.
Now I'm miffed, too.
Have a good day with what ever you do today!
no subject
Date: 2011-10-22 07:46 am (UTC)And I also had the same haircut, and it involved crying and gnashing of teeth every time to fix it (my hair is straight, but not that straight). Now my daughter has it, and all you have to do is dry the hair. Some straight hair are straighter than others.
was fashionable when I was a kid and I did not care what my parents did to me then
LOL. I've found my long lost sister?
ETA: I believed in my fic that Park wears make up in an attempt to look older, i.e. her own age. Women with a very round face tend to have their age underestimated (don't I know) and being short can't help. Since the point of the make up is to be visible, there's really no point in applying it well.
no subject
Date: 2011-10-22 06:10 pm (UTC)Is Park wanted to look older she just needs to change her kiddy haircut!
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Date: 2011-10-23 01:30 pm (UTC)What I meant is the only point of Chi's make up in my fic is to be visible, not to make her look better. That's not the case with Cuddy who's obviously trying hard to look as conventionally attractive as possible, for reasons beyond my understanding.
no subject
Date: 2011-10-22 12:58 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-10-22 06:03 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-10-23 01:31 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-10-23 05:16 pm (UTC)She defended herself, everything's alright. I'm confident she will win the hearing. Park 1:0 Pig.
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Date: 2011-10-24 07:00 pm (UTC)Great summary. Park kicks ass.
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Date: 2011-10-22 08:17 am (UTC)I think the show writers, like the rest of show business distinguish two categories of women: fuckable, and unfuckable. Because that's the only thing relevant about a woman, of course. Women above forty are by definition unfuckable; if they're supposed to be still attractive, like Cuddy, they have to be dressed like sex workers and wear heavy make up at all times.
Younger women are usually fuckable, unless they're ugly. They could choose an actress who doesn't fit current beauty canon in theory; in practice they can't, because there's no such thing. All successful actresses are incredibly standard-looking: gone are the days of Barbra Streisand and Meryl Streep (who are both very beautiful women, but at least they refused to have a nose job).
So how do you signal that a young, cute girl is unfuckable? You use a simple visual code: thick glasses and a bang (I am not sure this is the word I want, I mean hair cut horizontal on the forehead, just touching the eyebrows); for teenagers, you can add teeth braces. And bad clothing, of course (Masters remains a shining example). Oh, of course you could also have an actress who's not thin, but that is also impossible to find.
I have the impression Adams let her great-great-grandparents work for her, LOL. And Park looks to me like her parents worked, but she worked hard, too. That's much more than being diligent. You don't make top two per cent of your class in a good school by being diligent. I think Adams was diligent. Park was working her ass off.
[OT I never made top two per cent of my class, LOL. We didn't have fifty people in my class - less than twenty, in fact.]
I'm not miffed, and I'm happy we are given interesting female characters for once. Let's hope they don't screw it all up. I'd love Adams to turn out better/deeper/whatever than she is.
no subject
Date: 2011-10-22 05:54 pm (UTC)But I try to see it the characters as real. If a real person will look and act like Park and Adams - what makes them tick? If I always just say: it's just a tv-show, I cannot be fan as I'm fan of characters, not shows.
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Date: 2011-10-22 06:01 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-10-23 01:34 pm (UTC)And there's a level beyond diligence. Diligence is, you work on your problem ten hours per day. But the way you solve it is to think of it twentyfour hours per day.
in my line of work, you need crazy dedication and a gift. A vision. Intelligence isn'thalf enough. More a focused kind of madness.
no subject
Date: 2011-10-23 05:23 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-10-24 07:47 am (UTC)Would I have chosen mathematics over, say, having a musical ear? Being good looking? Having one of those jobs that pay the bills and at five pm you're free and your weekends are really, really yours? I don't know. Honestly.
Point is, I didn't really have a choice. This is who I am, as much as the huge Muttermal on the right side of my nose I inherited from my granny. All I did was follow my gift instead of ignoring it as my parents would have wanted me to do.
At least Park's and House's gift saves lives.
no subject
Date: 2011-10-22 10:17 am (UTC)Noooo, don't give away the red shoes ! We have plans for those :)
Interesting look at Park v. Adams. I like the picture you give of Park.
About adams - I don't know, we haven't been given any signs that she's not a good doctor - and I can't see House tolerating her if she isn't (see the CIA lady). Yarroway made a good case for her not being the smartest in her actions in the prison and I didn't like her silly game with Parks but I'm trying not to hate her just yet :) . I think we don't really have enough to judge her completely yet, I just hope she doesn't take over the show like 13 did when she came on it.
no subject
Date: 2011-10-22 12:57 pm (UTC)Of course not. What we do know is that she has very confused ideas on what she wants to do with her life, unlike Parks, and top students usually are way more focused. You don't need to tell me that academic ability and real world competence are not very much related :).
I can't see House tolerating her if she isn't
Not in the long run, but right now House needs people who can go out of PPTH, and he has no Chase, or Taub, to work for him. Giving up Thirteen must have been hard in that sense, and a decision of his that I truly respect.
If I wanted to be mean, I could add he needs her money, but I've done all my bad actions for 2012 already :).
I just hope she doesn't take over the show like 13 did when she came on it.
Park should also have some space, according to both spoiler photos and the pending trial against her ex-attending.
Noooo, don't give away the red shoes ! We have plans for those :)
LMAO!!!!
no subject
Date: 2011-10-22 04:50 pm (UTC)I loved the detail of Park not including her gender.
no subject
Date: 2011-10-23 01:36 pm (UTC)Thank you!
no subject
Date: 2011-10-22 05:56 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-10-23 01:37 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-10-23 10:56 pm (UTC)I loved that she recognized the plastic surgeon's nose! Delicious detail that made me laugh aloud.
Seamlessly in character--an accomplishment since we are just getting to know her. I love her, too.
Well done. Many thanks.
no subject
Date: 2011-10-24 07:52 am (UTC)Thank you so much for youcomment, and what a very cute icon!