Three months already? Good gracious - that's like 3 months spent doing nothing. A fourth of a year. No wonder I'm going insane. 3 months, that is, since I graduated. Slacking off is not as awesome as I thought it would be.
I mean, I knew it wouldn't be easy finding a job after graduation and 3 months is a drop in the bucket for a lot of people. So, count my blessings and all that. It's not so bad living at home. So instead of complaining about how none of the 50 or so applications I've thrown out have gotten a bite I'll just fill everyone in on the life and times of Erin (post graduation edition).
I never expected I would travel as much as I did. Already in 2012 I've been to Houston, vacationed twice in Tampa, took an impromptu weekend in the Smokies, and spent an amazing week in Honduras. I've already outlined most of my trip to El Progreso on Facebook (that's a hint to look at my damn photos. Or, you know, you could ask me about it yourself) but if you REALLY want to be awesome, check out the Students Helping Honduras website (and donate to my page!!). Met some really awesome kids, too. The most surreal thing, actually, is how much I learned to love Tampa when I was there as a visitor. I actually walked downtown and enjoyed the sites. Gasparilla was actually eventful. I actually got to see my friends and hang out with them! Man, I had been missing out.
I've also had a lot of time for introspection. Tonight, I'm cooking some fancy foodstuffs - chicken with garlic and caper sauce and cauliflower and broccoli casserole. Look at me being fancy! I've even thought about breaking out the sewing machine and trying my hand at that again. And, of course, in the meantime I've been applying for anything that catches me eye; jobs at national parks, jobs at zoos, internships - I'd really like to get involved with some research, but there's that childhood dream that is insistent on husbandry. I miss St. Louis a lot; I really wish I could just get my foot in the door in an animal program down there. In the mean time, I've done the one thing I vowed I would not - substitute teach in the meantime. Not that I'm against teaching but ah hell, I'm watching Trading Places right now and forgot about the scene where Dan Akroyd is in black face and now I've lost my train of thought. Anyway, also have been looking into the Illinois Department of Resources for volunteer stuffs.
That was a weird paragraph.
And hey! Been catching up on my reading list, too. I finally read the Hunger Games. At the risk of being burned alive, I have to say that it was great but not amazing. The writing style really took me out of the experience (granted, it's supposed to be a young adult novel) but honestly, for a book that was touted to be a great story of dystopian unrest I found the tributes very complacent with their fate. Too many awkward sentences about kissing and not enough dialogue between characters setting a stage for revolution. Thankfully, the plot was intriguing enough that these were only minor complaints. Could have used more exploding collars, maybe a tribute who won the games before but was competing again for fun, and a disgruntled gym teacher. I also realized that by and large most kids today are going to grow up without knowing or at least understanding Calvin and Hobbes.
Oh yeah, and I turned 25. Spent most of the day at a wedding so that was kind of a bust (for me, not for them. It was really a lovely wedding and reception). People forgetting my birthday aside, I went out that night with some old friends from high school, my brudda, and my cousins for some drinks and all was right with the world. Discovered that wearing high heels makes me a slave to men (according to the bar bathroom), and that there is a beer called a Flying Dog Double Dog with an 11.5% alcohol content. But no, really, if you forgot my birthday, I'm not bitter or anything. Really.
Did you make it through all of that boring catch up? Awesome. Anyway, the point is I guess I'm struggling to find a way to make every day count while literally, LITERALLY having nothing of real importance to do. I'm struggling to figure out what exactly my next moves are and figuring out why I'm so damn stressed because I feel like one wrong move will ruin my chances for - I don't know what. What am I trying to do again? Aside from checking my e-mail obsessively every 5 minutes (no lie) hoping for even an acknowledgement that someone has read an application, waiting for "real life" is agonizing. I'm 25 and I still feel like this can't be it. Words of advice are greatly appreciated. Job offers even more so.
Life is like topography, Hobbes. There are summits of happiness and success...flat stretches of boring routine...and valleys of frustration and failure.
Here's to hoping tomorrow will be fruitful!
