quickly catching up: jail and a million bucks

1. I learned from Glamour magazine today that if a woman earns $50,000 and wants to continue living the kind of life she leads after she retires, she would have to have ONE MILLION DOLLARS saved up to do that. Holy crap.

2. I did indeed sew. I almost smashed the stupid little purple sewing machine, but I did sew. It's a skirt, and it isn't terrible. Not good, but I think I did well considering I've never sewed before. And it has a zipper and pockets and everything (pockets, well, because I love, love, love skirts that are fully equipt with pockets). Next project: a tote bag.

3. Last night I had a dream that I had to go to jail, and so I slapped an ex boyfriend and was worried about being bored while doing my time. I looked up "jail" in my dream dictionary and it said loads of bad luck was ahead... are we freaking kidding me?!

4. Today, whilst reading my magazine and pondering the vast amount of junk food I've been consuming lately, I thought about how I once dreamed of being a nutritionist. And I thought, hey, maybe I should do that for a living! My logical side did kick in and said they don't make much money and it would probably be hard for me to find a job, especially not in a big city... but I still kinda like the idea. I even printed off the certificate requirements for the school I'm currently attending. Maybe this is a fleeting interest, maybe not. We'll just have to wait and see...

5. Tomorrow I have a Second interview with a local electronics retailer (that I hear pays pretty well!). So wish me luck. I really am praying that I get a job here pretty soon because being broke is just not a good look on me. I tend to cry a lot and the Boyfriend doesn't like that so much. So yeah. Wish me luck, dudes and dudettes!

thinking thoughtful thoughts

So I've had an interesting day full of thoughtful thoughts:

1. Sometimes I feel like I'm over here and everyone else is over there, living their lives, while I sit alone and contemplate what on earth I want to do with my life. One of my friends went to New York and did paparazzi stuff and really lived it up for awhile. Now she's back to a small town life, but she's doing it the way she wants; she goes to rummage sales and thrift stores, has an etsy shop, and is just living a nice, calm life. Another friend of mine went to school for two years, became a respiratory therapist, works hard, owns her own Ford Escape and just bought a crotch rocket yesterday. She's making something of her life and has the goodies to show for it. I'm jealous of both those ladies.

2. I've mentioned before how inconsistent I feel about what I wanna be when I grow up, and it doesn't help that I recently learned that for an Advertising (or Journalism and Mass Communication) degree, getting a job is soon going to require a Masters. Sorry dudes, but let me make something perfectly clear: I will not go to grad school. So what does this mean for my life? Well, I sure as heck don't know. Part of me has been dissatisfied with my advertising career choice, but I've told myself to just stick with it since switching majors would just keep me in school longer. I should just get out with this degree and see how it goes. Well, apparently the place it'll probably go is back to school anyway. So why finish my undergrad if I refuse to get my Masters? Hmmm... that is exactly the question that's been plaguing me all day.

So I decided, just for the heck of it, to investigate some other options. At a nearby tech school, I could get an associates or a certificate of some kind in something cool like fashion marketing so that I could be a buyer when I grow up. That sounds like fun. Or I could go the medical route and get a degree in cardiovascular technology or anesthesia technology. Or I could learn about graphic design. Or even interior design. I could even get an Advanced Pastry Certificate... okay, that last one was a joke. But do you see what I mean? These things sound appealing and a lot less complicated than this advertising thing I've got going on.

Why don't I do it? Do you realize how long I've been in school and how much debt I've built up? I certainly can't waste all of that for just an Associates or a Certificate. And I can only imagine what my mother would have to say! It's all so frustrating. I hate having to try and figure these things out. These are really big decisions, and the more I change my mind, the more time and money I feel like I'm wasting. Ugh.

3. I really, really, really want a scooter. I think I would look totally awesome cruisin' around town on a little purple scooter. Don't you think I'd just have the greatest time? I do. Although the lack of a job and therefore lack of funds may prevent me from making such a purchase. Stupid jobless-ness is ruining my life. *Sigh*

4. I have two job interviews - one this week and one next week. One is for a cashier at a grocery store and the other is for a cashier at an electronics type store. So yeah, wish me luck, even though I know both of these jobs are going to pay less than I'd like. Oh well, I suppose. That's what happens when you're a poor college student... especially one who is pursuing a degree that doesn't offer paid internships.

(cartoon by natalie dee; very addicting comics.)

When is my luck going to improve?

Sorry about the lame photo. It does, however, accurately describe the way I felt yesterday. I had an interview for a job downtown. I left with plenty of time, dealt with a bit of traffic, but got down to the 3rd Ward with 15 minutes to find a parking spot. Psh, who was I kidding? I went around the blocks like a bazillion times until I finally had to give up and park in a garage for $6. Ugh.

I get out of my car in the parking garage and realize I have about 60 seconds to make it to the office if I'm going to be on time. Running in heels is practically impossible. I get to the building and the doors, all key-card access, are locked. FML. So I trudge over to another office owned by the same company and ask them if I was even in the right place. Unable to contact anyone at the other office, they send me back to try again.

On the second try, I notice a very strange, large box that supposedly acts as a telephone into the various offices. First I call the wrong office and can't figure out how to make the stupid box hang up. Then I finally figure out how to call the right office and a woman comes down to open the doors for me. At this point, I am a depressing 12 minute late. I hate making terrible impressions.

I walk into the room with the person from HR and three other candidates. The HR person asks for my name and says, "Oh, I didn't even know you were coming!" Oh, brother. That, however, I will say was not my fault seeing as I did RSVP via email. So there. She then goes on to explain the two available positions: I had applied for a retail position, but there also was an admin position that I hadn't known existed. Screw retail, I want the other job! Anyway, the HR woman is explaining the heirarchy of the company to us when, just my luck, my phone goes off; during my frantic running around I forgot to put it on silent. FML.

The rest of the group interview thing goes fairly well, and I stayed for a moment after to explain to the woman that I am extremely interested in the admin position. I couldn't decide if she was just in a hurry, or if she had already written me off after the awful impression I had made that evening. I am really crossing my fingers that even though that was by far the worst first impression I've ever made in an interview, that she has it in her heart to forgive and forget. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

(photo from here)

ah, what an investment that'd be...

I think I'm going to start my day tomorrow with a run. I'm sure that when the alarm goes off tomorrow morning I am going to seriously regret this decision, but I think it's for the best. I've been feeling seriously unfit lately and it's time to make a change. So tomorrow, I'm going for a run.

I was supposed to have an interview today for an internship, but we had to reschedule for tomorrow. I tried on a bunch of different outfits in preparation, and I did find one that I liked. The pants, however, had ben packed away and apparently I don't know how to fold things very nicely because they were terribly wrinkled. I had to call my mom to bring over her iron and give me a hand. The pants look much nicer now.

My mom commented that I should invest in a suit. She's probably right, so I let her take me to Bayshore Mall to shop around. It was nice to have mommy-daughter bonding time. I don't see my mom a whole lot so it was nice to just spend a casual afternoon with her that didn't involve doing my laundry or picking up my mail.

Sadly, though, I was unable to find the perfect suit, or blazer for that matter. I'm not very busty (uh, at all) so nothing fits me quite right on top when it comes to blazers. They hang open funny since I don't really fill them up. Oh well, we tried. But I do agree with her that I should have a nice suit outfit, so the search is not over. I also seriously want to invest in a trench. I like this pink one by Ralph Lauren... now I just need to find a more affordable version!

Oh! And I almost forgot... when my mom and I were shopping, we ventured into a store we've never been in before. The sales lady asked what we were looking for and decided to show us an "investment piece" and by that she meant very expensive. It was a silken wool (from Italy) blazer for $1,200. It was Armani. I touched it. It was very nice, but wow! Talk about a big investment!

(runner pic here, find trench at www.saksfifthavenue.com)

I'm going to need a little bit of luck on my side tomorrow. I'm going to Core Creative for an internship interview, and I am nervous! I want this job very badly. Very badly. Serving hot dogs isn't for me, although I am glad that I did it for awhile. It reminded me how important it is to be kind to those who serve you. Being rude gets you nowhere. It also gave me the chance to make some new friends, and I figured out how to tolerate unfortunate circumstances. But I think this stint as a Costco employee needs to end soon; I have bigger and better things ahead of me.

This opportunity would be amazing. I'd finally have the chance to work in an environment I've dreamed of. I want to dress nicely for work, I want to be surrounded by brilliantly creative minds, and I want to get paid to write and create. That would be awesome.

When I spoke to one of the individuals at the company, she was unsure if the position would be paid or not, and I told her it would be much easier for me to fill the position if it were paid. What I really meant was, "if this isn't paid, I can't afford to do it." So lets all cross our fingers that this internship will be paid, and lets all cross our fingers that I manage to come across as witty and intelligent. I want them to see my potential and say, "This is the intern we've been waiting for."

To calm my nerves, I've been putzing around on the computer, and one of my friends recommended that I try Pandora radio. Its a website that allows you to pick a song or a band that you like, and they create a playlist of similar songs and play them as if they were reading your mind! It's spectacular, really, because it knows what you're in the mood to listen to. I love it. Try it sometime.

(photos from here and here)