Real Talk.

It’s official. I’m 80 years old. Nearly every applicable entry-level career opportunity that I find is only available to current students or graduating seniors. I had resolved not to write a post about my job search because I didn’t want to add yet another cry to the resounding choir of unemployed Americans. There are enough of us griping as it is. But there it is. I have networked, called, emailed til my voice has grown hoarse and my fingertips become blue. I have sent in so many online applications since the summer time that the multitudes all seem to blur into one gigantic, never-ending cyberdocument. All for a handful of interviews. I’d like to be able to say that I’m ‘finding the joy in each day’ and ‘living for the moment’, but the truth is, when you’re lying prostrate in front of your computer at 2 pm, trying to squeeze in time for 3 applications before you pick up your dad from his monthly hospital treatment and wondering how you’ll pay for gas for your car next week and next month’s student loan because your seasonal contract at your current job expired…it’s hard to find any joy in that moment. 

This is not meant to be a whiny post but an honest one. I do realize that my situation is better than many other people’s, and that I should be thankful for what I have. I am.

Center City Insanity, or Why I’m Pissed off at my iPhone

I am never driving into center city to an unknown place at night again. 

 I left today deciding that I was going to bite the bullet and drive into the city. I had volunteered to wrap presents at a children’s center, and I didn’t want to spend $11 on a public transportation day-pass when I could just fill up my empty tank (halfway) for $20. I’ve never driven into the city before without knowing where I’m going, precisely because it transforms into a crazy asphalt jungle when you’re lost. I figured I’d be okay though, because I was driving a big car (I don’t know what it is, but people definitely give you more respect when you drive a bigger vehicle), I had memorized the step-by-step directions I had printed off of Google Maps, and I had my phone for back-up. I thought, hey, it’ll be an adventure. Even if things get a little crazy, I’ll have a story to tell. Huh.

Just to clarify- I’ve driven in the city before. I like the city. But when you don’t know where you’re going- and you’re driving there at night during rush hour- that’s when things get out of control. I made it okay for about the first 20 minutes, even with cars turning a two-lane road into a four-lane road, and a frightening headlong encounter that involved a cement barrier and a trolley when I accidentally followed the car in front of me into oncoming traffic.

Crafty short

If you have piles and piles of books with no where to put them and no space (or money) for a book shelf, just arrange them in an old wooden box! No need to buy new furniture.

Urban chic furniture makeovers

Do you remember the lovely antique desk that I showed you in my last post?

That was before. My dad’s friend sanded the original wood down.

Then I painted it. Here is the after:

Vintage booty

Ever since Hurricane Irene swept in last weekend, the days have become cooler and the leaves underfoot brown and crunchier. Fall is near. I feel excited for it, and sad at the same time. Excited, because every fall, I have always had something to look forward to- seeing my friends (even if it came with the onus of schoolwork), new clothes, new classes, new drama (lol). Teaching abroad last year was very similar to being in school; in fact, I was in school: I was just on the other side of the desk. But now I’m treading into unfamiliar territory, a realm outside of education because – let’s face it – though I enjoy teaching, it’s not my foremost passion. That would be a tie amongst writing, learning new languages, travel, and research (let’s be honest, I’m a nerd; I once turned in a Physics presentation from notes that I took – for fun – a few weeks prior while watching a PBS presentation on String Theory.) I think the sadness at the change of season comes from not yet discovering the way to perfectly unite all of those passions. I have a plan of what I’d like to do with a clear agenda; but only reality (and the job market) can inform what happens next.

Anyway, I’m rambling. This isn’t a post about my career. It’s a post with pictures of the funky vintage loot I’ve collected over the past few weeks.