When it Rains, It Pours

This will be a big week.

First, I will finally be finished with all of my undergraduate coursework.  Since I missed the last month of school for medical reasons, I've been working to wrap up my classes before the grace period ends.  My thesis presentation is scheduled, and assuming I can get in touch with someone in the Communications Department on Tuesday, I'll be set to finish by the end of the week.  If things work out, I'll still have a May graduation date, and I'll be able to pretend my last month of school never happened. 

But finishing school, while stressful, isn't entirely enough to make this week a "big week."  Instead, I'll have to make some decisions about what kind of position I'll accept for the summer.  I'm already gardening and landscaping part time (and not much recently since I've been working on school), but I've learned I could start an AmeriCorps job as early as next week.  Likewise, I've been applying for jobs as far apart as Mississippi, San Francisco, and Seattle, and I expect to hear back from at least one of those opportunities this week as well.  What will I do?  What's most important to me?  Location?  Money?  Serving?  I don't have enough information right now about any of it, so I'm presently stumped.

It's also a big week because the lease on my darling Muncie house ends on Tuesday.  I still have some things-- ok, a LOT of things-- in the house that I need to move out today and tomorrow.  Moving out is bittersweet.  I already miss my house, but now that I might be accepting a job soon, I feel like it's appropriate to move on.

Wish me luck!  I'll see you on the other side.

I Wonder if I can be Settled on the West Coast by Thanksgiving?

I just sent out another application, this time for a position in San Francisco.  I'm moving towards just going to the West Coast, with or without a job.  My preference is definitely for Seattle, but I'm thinking if this job falls through I'll start seriously considering Australia.  If only I had money.... 

Looking for jobs tires me.  I spend so much work creating the "perfect" resumé, portfolio, cover letter, and the rest of it.... and for what?  It's so hard to believe anyone actually sifts through my application, let alone the hundreds of other applications.  Maybe this time will be different.  Maybe something amazing will happen, and they'll call me for an interview.  Maybe someone will offer me a job doing something I can feel passionate about.  Maybe.

In the meantime, I'll enjoy summer.  It could be my final "free" summer (granted, I haven't had a truly free summer since 1998, but heck, why not dream big?).  I'm so tired.  I don't think I slept well last night.  I'm kind of hoping for a storm to come in this evening.  No real reason, I just like storms.  Maybe I'll work on my new website later?  We'll see....

Omg, Seriously Adobe?

I just learned that if I'd bought my Adobe CS5 a mere six weeks later I could have been eligible for a free upgrade to Adobe CS5.5.  I'm more than a little ticked.  I put a LOT of money into getting that program, and that was at the student discounted rate!  I might be further irritated about all this because I just made an impulsive move that goes against years of personal technology theory: I just bought a Mac.  I'm fairly confident that my current (and now outdated) version of Adobe Creative Suite won't work on the Mac.  Honestly, if I can't figure out a way to put my software on the Mac, I'll have to take the computer back.  Which kind of ticks me off.  I guess on the plus side, if I do end up taking the machine back because of compatibility issues, I can be even more justified in my Mac loathing.  You know?  I'll be able to tell smug Mac owners, "Hey, I gave it a chance, and it failed." 

Ok, World, It's On.

Ok, it's time.  Finally.  I'm going to take on the world.  I'm officially saying "Screw you!" to everything that has ever made me suspect I can't have my dream job, or my dream life for that matter.  Let's take a quick inventory of what I have going for me right now:

1. I'm young.  At ripe young age of 23, the world is my oyster.  I have plenty of potential to learn, grow, and mold myself into whatever I want.
2. I'm fairly intelligent and resourceful.  If I can learn to speak a new language in 2 months on three different occasions, I can do anything.
3. For all practical purposes, I have my first degree.  Sure, I don't have it in hand yet, but once they mail that SOB, I have proof that I can do something most other people can't.
4. I have some really suburb friends.  No, really.  If all else fails, I can rely on them to stand by my side and encourage me.
5. I'm not pregnant, married, divorced, or afflicted with any other form of permanent attachment.  I currently stand mostly alone, and I have the freedom to do and go where I please.  

Sure, I have plenty working against me, too.  For example, the economy sucks, I don't actually have a clear vision of what I want for myself, and I'm dirt poor to boot, but hey! who really cares at this point?  I have a place to live, a modest income, and plenty of gumption to throw myself at anything I find interesting.  I also have the luxury of changing my mind about anything.  That's right: today I might like the idea of becoming a fabulously wealthy  accountant, but I give myself permission to change my mind whenever I want. Actually, I already have.  Because I can. 

So once again, I recite "Screw you!" to anything that tries to discourage me or get in my way.  Screw you.

Now, Not Then

Now that I've moved my blog to Blogger and it's no longer connected to the Ball State website, I imagine few, if any, people will read my blog posts.  On the plus side, now that my blog isn't connected to the Ball State website, I can post about anything I want and worry less about promoting Ball State.  That's not to say I fabricated any positive feelings in my previous posts, but I tried to play down the negative stories in my life.  Maybe I'll continue to do that, and maybe I won't.  I have more freedom in the blogoshpere now, and I suppose with that comes more responsibility.

I imagine most of my posts in the near future will be about trip planning and making/saving money.  I might also talk about searching for a job-- possibly in Australia?  I'm thinking about moving abroad... permanently.  We'll see though.  I have a lot to work through before I'll be able to make those decisions.  At any rate, I am definitely working with my friend, "Nadia Lieben," to save the money for the trip of a lifetime.

Game. Over.

This looks like it'll be my last post as a (current) Ball State student.  Five years and four continents later and I'm finally finishing up!  I've already posted my graduating senior musings, so instead I'll just give a more normal post and tell you what life looks like as a college student while I still am one.

I've had a bizarre final month.  For one thing, I left Muncie about a month ago to mange some personal things at home (hence few posts recently).  Some of my friends reminded me how lucky I am that I'm still in college for that-- my professors are being very understanding and are working with me to make sure I finish everything up.  I'm not sure the "real world" would be so understanding and accommodating.

I officially have my first degree-related job: I'll be working as a gardener for the summer.  I'm beyond excited for this position-- I actually get to spend my summer outside! I couldn't be more thankful for the chance to delay working in an office in front of a computer.  Plus, I'll get to spend large chunks of time doing one of my favorite things: pulling weeds!  I also learned today that I'm still a candidate for an AmeriCorps position that would start in early September.  If that works out I'll be building houses for the next year, again delaying the office life.  If I'm super savvy, maybe I can avoid office life altogether?  Wish me luck on that endeavor.

Along with the end of college comes moving out of my house.  I'm going to cry.  I love my house in Muncie and the people who live there with me.  I thankfully have until the end of May to pack and move, but still.  In so many ways I wish I could just freeze everyone in a perpetual state of young twenties living in a college house.  I'm going to miss them tremendously.  But, alas, I guess we all have to grow up and contribute to society sometime.  It just sucks that the time has come.

The campus is beautiful, the air is slowly warming up, and soon I'll be gardening.  Overall not a bad time.  It would be nice if there were more job opportunities (as far as I know most of my peers have no jobs lined up), but then again a high school friend and I came to an important, life-changing realization last weekend: no jobs, no commitment, and no family means we can literally do whatever we want.  In our case that means we're going to save money over the next year or so, then take off on a worldwide adventure that will last as long as we have cash.  We've been doing all kinds of research on this.  If we can find some jobs along the way (which we totally can!), we're thinking we'll be gone at least a year.  I'm hoping longer.  We want to hit all the continents and as many countries as we can.  Biking and CouchSurfing will save us tons of money, which we can then spend on delectable food and extreme experiences (my friend is SCUBA certified, so that's definitely going to happen).  The beautiful part is that since we have no commitments and nothing in particular to come back to, we can take our time and mosey around at our leisure.

So, that's how I'm finishing college, wrapping up one adventure and preparing for the next.  Life is as it should be.