The New Year's Resolution I Never Made

For me, 2014 is turning out to be The Year of Trying New Things. I never planned on it, it's just sort of happening.

The majority of my new experiences are a direct result of my new job, which is also the reason I haven't blogged since October. If you follow the history of this blog, you will notice that I am very prolific when I am unemployed. However, when I'm clocking a 9-to-5, all I want to do when I get home is eat and watch TV.

I strolled into 2014 like I do most years: optimistic and only a little bit hungover. I stopped making actual resolutions years ago, but not because I feel above such things, it's just that, they rarely work out. The only time-sensitive goal on my mind was fitting into the size-10 bridesmaid dress I ordered for July. (I don't consider this a New Year's Resolution, but rather a decision to not be the token fat girl in my friend's wedding party.)

A common NYR, especially amongst bloggers, is to try new things. I like the idea, but I never made a conscious decision to do so. It just started happening, and I want to keep it up. 

So far I have:

Re-upholstered furniture
It's not that impressive, I actually just neatly stapled new fabric over two Target storage ottomans. I decided to use my Christmas money to spruce up my living room, so bought a new TV stand, hung curtains, bought new pillows, and covered the ottomans to match. I may do a "budget decorating" post about it, with pictures!

Mentored an Intern (ongoing)
You know this whole "pretending to be a grown-up" thing is working when your boss assigns you an intern. I'm now responsible for supervising an intern, assigning her projects, and teaching her how to have a big-girl job. I can't help feeling I'm being tested just as much as she is, but I choose to embrace it.

Baked a Mardi Gras King Cake
My new boss is a former New Orleanian, and apparently Carnival isn't just the week leading up to lent, as my Catholic upbringing and high school French classes taught me. Carnival starts on Epiphany (or Twelfthnight, the 12th day of Chirstmas) and goes until Mardi Gras, which usually falls sometime in March. (I just want to take a moment to discuss that fact that if New Orleanians celebrate all the major Western holidays, they are partying from Halloween to Mid-March. THAT'S SIX MONTHS!) Anywho, the King Cake tradition is a big part of Carnival. A person will host a party and bake this special cake with a bean or plastic baby charm baked inside. The guest who finds the charm in their piece has to host the next party and bake the next cake. So, we have a weekly King Cake in my office. The Boss bought the first one, and I got the baby, but instead of buying one, I decided to bake it myself. I am not a regular baker, and I've never made anything where I've had to knead dough and let it rise (twice!) but it was super fun and very satisfying. It took a whole evening, but it was worth every second. I decided to make the cake myself when I thought about just how much of a TV zombie I had been in the previous week. It felt good to work on a project for a change. Also, it was beautiful and delicious!


Next, I will be volunteering at the Special Olympics in Austin. It's not something I ever pictured myself doing, but the more I hear about it, the more excited I get about it. The Boss volun-told us today that we have the sign up for a shift and represent our organization. I was unsure at first, but then I got put in charge of helping the interns sign up. One of them had volunteered with SO before and she loved it, so we are signed up for a bowling awards ceremony on Sunday. I'm really looking forward to it.

I'm interested to see what other new things are headed my way.

Happy 2014!

Halloween History

I was a little bummed that we don't have Halloween plans for this year, so I threw together a sweet collage for my Facebook cover photo showing some of my favorite "costumed" moments from my past.

They aren't all Halloween (I am crazy for theme parties) but they are some of my most shining moments in costume. Left to right we have:

1. Emo highschooler. This was from a college theme party. The theme was emo. (I know, you wish you were as cool as me and my crew.)

2. Hipster Ariel. Last Halloween the Hipster Disney Princesses were huge, though a guy at the bar scoffed at my sign. We were at a microbrewery.

3. Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne. Halloween '09. Best. Couple Costume. Ever. And probably the last one I will ever get. Corey hates dressing up but he does a mean Ozzy impression.

4. Snooki. From my girl Justina's Jersey-themed bachelorette party. I'll let you guess whose idea the theme was.

5. Bond Girl. I chose a classic 60s look for my friend's Bond-themed birthday last January. Again, if you're my friend, easily swayed, and having a party, odds are, it will become themed.

My costumes are rarely DIY. Instead I try to build them out of pieces I already own or new pieces I will wear again. I can't stand spending $40+ on a piece of crap that will barely last the night. I may spend $10-15 on specific accessories (or $20 on an amazing zebra print dress on clearance) but the rest is totally street-ready. For example: with the Ariel costume, the corduroy skirt is totally work-appropriate, and the top is cute for working out. The Sharon outfit is just suit separates, and the dress from the Bond Girl is a bridesmaid dress. I also find that this method of costuming keeps one from dressing too slutty. Not that I'm against such things, it's just, my days of skimpy Halloween costumes are long over.  

That said, Happy Halloween and Happy Anniversary to my rockstar husband! 10-30-10!

Self-Improvment Spree, Body and Mind

In light of my current "employment intermission," I decided a while back to take this opportunity of ample free time to improve my quality of life. I was determined not to spend this time eating junk food and watching the entire Netflix library.

The first thing to tackle was my health. After spending two months living with my in-laws, I gained a not-inconsequential amount of weight. Prior to the move, I was already unhappy with my weight, and adding the summer gain, I saw a number on the scale I'd never seen before. I knew I would never have this much time and so few excuses not to exercise again, so I have been counting my calories and exercising daily.

My current favorite fitness tools and tricks are:

• Myfitnesspal.com calorie counter, both the iPhone App and the website. It just plain works. If you are accurately recording your calorie intake and exercise, you cannot possibly fail.
• Zumba Fitness Core for the Wii. It burns a ton of calories and I am never bored. The game has 40 different dances and classes  that are 20, 40, or 60 minutes long. Just scroll through the classes and do a different combination of dances every day. You can even design your own classes if you want. I am super-excited for the next Zumba game coming in November!
• This beginner yoga video on YouTube. I took yoga a looooong time ago, and I want to get back into it on my cardio rest days.
• Skinnymom.com for the recipes. I'm not planning on being a mom anytime soon, but I love the easy and healthy meals and snacks on this site.

I'm also determined to read more, the reasons being twofold: to broadening my mind and keeping my ass away from the TV.

Recent reads include:

• "River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze" by Peter Hessler; a memoir of a young man teaching English Literature in China. It was recommended by David Sedaris during his 2011 tour. I bought it at the reading and never cracked it until now. I learned more about recent Chinese history than I ever assumed I would, and the story is touching.
• "Such a Pretty Fat" by Jen Lancaster; a re-read for me, but just as fun the second time around. It provided some inspiration and comic relief for my own fitness journey.
• "Tough Sh*t" by Kevin Smith; yes, Silent Bob. Corey has a man-crush on Kevin Smith and bought his book a few months ago. He wanted me to read it so we could talk about it. It was actually very inspirational, though all the jokes were ruined by Corey telling me them first.

Currently I'm reading a novel for the first time in a while. (Note the above trend of memoirs.) I'm reading "Mrs Queen Takes the Train" by William Kuhn. The book was a gift, and I'm finally giving it a try. I have to say, a novel about Queen Elizabeth II taking an Audrey Hepburn-esque holiday is better than I expected.

I'm enjoying reading more than I have in a long time, however, it's not totally keeping the remote out of my hands. I still make time every week for Once Upon a Time, Revenge, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and Once Upon a Time in Wonderland. I'm also catching up on Pretty Little Liars online. I apologize for nothing.

Sometimes my feelings taste like Sauvignon Blanc

Monday was not a good day for me. I was not offered the job that I had three interviews for. It hit me that I have been searching for three months and I've had one phone interview, one series of interviews for the same job, and a trial run as a waitress which I turned down. Monday was a three-glasses-of-wine kind of night.

Seriously, SIMI should sponsor my pity parties.

When I was planning my job-seeking strategy for Austin, I knew we had enough money saved up that I could take my time looking for a career-oriented job and not just a bill-paying job. I've been passing over retail and dental office jobs for non-profit and PR jobs. I though by mid-October I'd be settled in somewhere, but it seems I have a way to go.

I'm trying not to act like an entitled millennial snot about it, but damn I feel like I've worked hard for this. I feel like I worked hard enough in school and at my first couple of post-grad jobs that I could start choosing my path instead of taking whatever job will have me.

Since I decided on my career path, I felt that going back to school would be the perfect fresh start. I could learn about the business of non-profits and arts administration in a classroom setting where I could be absolved of the sins of my undergrad years. I would work hard for straight-As, network through student organizations, and be eligible for student-only internships again. The rain on my parade has always been "can we afford it?"

After my wine-soaked pity party, Corey and I finally agreed that I should apply for grad school and if I get accepted, we will figure out financials form there. Whether I go full-time, part-time, or online will also be decided by where and when I get accepted. I have RSVP'd to two grad fairs for next week.

After finally coming to this decision, I feel like the little back rain cloud over me has dissipated. I feel like with grad school possibly on my horizon, taking a bill-paying job is not a defeat, but another brick in my path.

Study Space by laurenbcunningham featuring a pocket chair

Insufferable on the Internets

You may have read the Huffington Post Blog piece that is making it's way around the social media circuit titled "7 Ways to be Insufferable on Facebook." Glancing at the title quickly, I thought I may enjoy the post. Now that social media is a part of our lives, it's only natural that we develop digital pet peeves. (Mom, it is not necessary for you to sign Facebook posts.)

The thing is, those pet peeves are no one's problem but mine. The beauty of social media sites is that your feeds can be tailored to your specific interests and tastes or, novel concept, completely ignored! If you are too insecure in your own life choices to be bothered to read that your colleague from undergrad just finished his master's thesis, if you find the fact that this person feels the need to share this achievement with this friends and family so reprehensible, then un-friend the inconsiderate bastard. How dare he soil your news feed with his pompous douchery. He should be posting links to entertaining Onion articles like a decent Facebook friend.

In all seriousness, there is a right and a wrong way to talk about oneself and one's accomplishments. Some people employ appropriate tact, while others cannot help themselves from hosting their own telethon. The thing is, you have just as much control over the people you choose to spend "real" time with as you do over who makes your precious news feed. If one of your Facebook friends is constantly posting statuses that you cannot abide, you can hide their posts, remove the friendship, or even block them for all eternity from your social media bubble through which nothing you find offensive can ever penetrate.

I really did not want to go point-by-point with this piece, but a paragraph toward the end really summed up the author's holier-than-thou attitude quite beautifully: 

"And that's why insufferable Facebook behavior will never go away -- there's no dislike button or eye-roll button or middle finger button on Facebook, and it's bad form to be too much of a dick in the comments below a status. So annoying statuses are just positively reinforced, and people remain un-self-aware that they regularly bring down the quality of everyone else's life."

Oh you poor lamb (who by the way has NOT included a by-line with this blog), un-self-aware people are diminishing your quality of life? in the privacy of you own home? Well let me buy you a damn muffin and tell you about life. You know what you do in that situation? IGNORE those people and worry about YOURSELF. It is not the rest of the world's problem to change our behaviors to protect your delicate sensibilities. If people suck so much that you find it unbearable, becoming a literal and digital recluse is totally an option. Leave everyone else to enjoy their lives.

In all fairness, the author may not be availed of Facebook's many customizable settings. If you are in need of instruction, I suggest the latest edition of Facebook for Dummies (www.dummies.com). You can learn all the latest settings for tailoring your news feed to your specifications. You may even find it entertaining, if only a little self-serving.

The Waiting Game

My last post was about two job interviews I had back on 9/23. One was for a political campaign, the other for a serving gig. Currently, I am neither canvassing nor waiting tables.

The campaign interview went fine, but I think they sensed I was not crazy about the idea of canvassing, especially by myself in a city that I don't know very well. They never called me back which kind of annoys me. If you actually took time to meet with me, why would you not even call to say "thanks, but no thanks?" (It could be because the guy who interviewed me was an Ohio State fan. Boo.)

I turned down the serving job. I shadowed a server for a few hours on a slow night, and all my repressed anxiety from my previous (and disastrous) serving job came flooding back.  I called the next day and told the manager "thanks, but no thanks." I figured that if I need a temporary gig to make some kind of paycheck before I find something stable, I will stick with what I know (read: retail).

However, since then I have had three interviews with a local private school for a campus manager position. It's a great job with awesome benefits and a salary that will keep Corey and I living comfortably. It's a non-profit school, so I would consider the job a real career move as opposed to just another bill-paying job. I feel really good about my prospects it since everyone I have met (five people in three interviews and a shadowing) has been so welcoming and encouraging. I had my third interview on Monday, and I'm still waiting to hear from the HR manager. I didn't get the impression that many people made it to the third interview, so I am cautiously optimistic. I'm debating whether to email the HR director on Monday night if I don't hear anything by then.

In other news, Corey and I have been attending some awesome performances lately, and I realized I haven't written about music in a LONG time, so I am preparing reviews of an outdoor installation piece, UT's New Music Ensemble, and a CLUTCH concert (UT's student composers organization). Bonus: we celebrated our anniversary a little early by seeing The Book of Mormon on Wednesday. (Spoiler Alert: It was AMAZING!)

Two-A-Days

Tomorrow's schedule contains two job interviews, neither of which have anything to do with my currently defined career path.

The morning interview is with a political campaign. I received a phone call from the manager who received my resume from a charity I applied to several weeks ago. I didn't get that job, but this campaign is in need of a field organizer for canvassers. I've coordinated volunteers before, but I have NEVER worked in politics. I agreed to the interview, and immediately called one of my best friends who used to be a campaign organizer and is currently a union organizer. She helped me figure out what questions to ask and how my experience relates to the position. I love having friends in so many career fields!

The out-of-the-blue phone call was very welcome since I have yet to find a job, but I'm nervous. I think the interview will go fine, but if I'm offered the position, I hope I can handle it. I've never even considered working in public policy. However, it's only temporary, 6 weeks exactly, and the board of directors is a well-connected bunch. If I can pull this off, it would be a huge opportunity for me.

In the evening, I will be "testing out" the idea of serving at a cute sandwich and pizza place three blocks from our apartment. I happened to come across an ad on Craigslist for servers and bartenders, and I recognized the name from driving past it all the time. I figured it would be a good way to bring in a paycheck while I keep the career search going. My last experience serving was not great, but it was a management issue and not lack of effort on my part. I stopped in last week with my resume and the owner asked me to come back and shadow for an evening.

So still no calls from non-profits, PR firms, or university admin offices, but public policy and food service are interested in me. Go figure.