post-college update #1

although it feels so far away now, i'll do a brief recap of the end of last fall. it definitely felt much, much different than any other semester because i was living in the city rather than on campus, wasn't involved in any extracurricular clubs (okay, just a few...but not the all-consuming newspaper) and had a ton more homework than usual. i was taking all three of my required seminars in my major at the same time and working about 20 hours a week, so i kept busy despite what i thought would be more free time. i really enjoyed commuting to school via the collegetown shuttle, a great free service for baltimore area college students. i rode with a lot of my friends every day, and it was a superb opportunity to listen to NPR, drink my coffee, and catch up with our awesome bus driver chip or each other. the bus was too shaky to get much reading in, so i soaked up a lot of slow morning wake-up time instead. the only problem was that it stopped running at 8 pm and when my night class ended at 9, i always had to rely on the generosity of others to give me a ride (thanks, timmy!). other than that, i tried to do some baltimorexploring at various events and festivals. i love this city and this state--so many things to do! our mayor was on trial for stealing gift cards meant for needy children, which made for some interesting local political discussions. thanksgiving with timmy's family is massachusetts was surprisingly relaxing (i had less homework to do than i predicted, and didn't even have a cold as i usually do that time of year) and we had a nice time despite being stuck in traffic in new jersey for about five hours. my mom visited in early december, which was a lot of fun for all of us (i think). baltimore pulls out all the stops for christmas so we had fun showing her the christmas lights of hampden, doing some local shopping, and checking out the MICA art fair. besides our furnace being broken and our pipes freezing (we couldn't use our toilet for a day, which was the most unfortunate part of the freezing pipe situation) i really love our house. it is the perfect size for the two of us, although i am looking forward to my friend kashmir moving in this weekend for a few months, and i like how we've decorated it. it was particularly exciting to have our own christmas tree (all ornaments courtesy of my mom!) and decorate for the season. our neighborhood has definitely grown on me--it is really diverse but there aren't too many amenities (i.e. grocery stores) near by.






for anyone that didn't catch it, there was a huge snowstorm that hit the east cost the weekend before christmas. that messed up my travel plans (i flew to seattle tuesday instead of sunday) but other than that was actually kind of fun because we didn't have to go anywhere. i heard we received about 22 inches total. it was so heart-warming to see all of our neighbors get out and try to clear our street (there was no way a plow was going down our narrow, three-block-long avenue) together. normally there's not a whole lot of conversation between neighbors but when it snowed everyone was out there together. i learned i am pretty useless with a shovel but did feel productive when i brought a few dozen freshly baked gingerbread cookies out to share. after the snow cleared a bit i finally made it back to the northwest for a relaxing, family-filled week at home. i am fortunate to have such genuine, interesting and fun friends and relatives. i got to see pretty much everyone i wanted to (including my most adorable little cousins and hilarious former babysittee), clearing out old high school memorabilia, and spending time in front of the fire. i really love christmastime and enjoyed it just as much this year. it is unfortunate that my hometown and current home are so far apart, because it really is a huge pain (and expense) to travel so far when i want to get home. it saddens me to say that izzy, aka pookie, our family's oldest and most beloved cat, passed away last weekend. she seemed totally and surprisingly healthy when i saw her last week but in one day it was discovered that she had a tumor and had to be put to sleep. this was really tough on my brother and mom, who adored that cat more than i thought possible, and i feel so guilty that i can't be there for them. rest in peace pooquincy.






it is currently a few minutes past noon, i'm still in my pajamas, and have been browsing the internet for jobs for the past three hours. i am currently enjoying my 20-hours-a-week job in goucher's career development office because it means i work three days a week and the other two are spent looking for a real job. however, when that ends in two weeks i have a feeling being (f)unemployed will have lost its luster and i will be anxious and bored silly. i have several informational interviews lined up, and am really excited about what i have applied to (smithsonian folklife festival, maryland humanities council, johns hopkins library, univ. of maryland parkinson's research lab)--but have no leads as of yet. what a horrible time to be looking for a job. at least i am a relatively cheap employee, right? i hope so. we'll see how this whole job search goes. timmy and i both applied to work in denmark for a year--serving as program assistants for the study abroad program we both did, DIS--from august 2010 to august 2011. that would be the opportunity of a lifetime, but if it doesn't work out i think we could find some interesting opportunities in the US too. after this summer our lease will be up and his contract with americorps will end, so we will be free to roam. we are hoping to do a road trip this spring (he gets passover off, which means we could go for about 10 days) to explore some midwestern locales, perhaps to investigate the possibility of moving after this summer. my top three cities of interest right now are minneapolis, chicago, and denver, followed by st. louis, pittsburgh, and maybe austin? if anyone has thoughts on cool, mid-sized, artsy midwestern cities with good public transportation systems and ample job opportunities, please let me know! now that i don't have homework (!!!!), i hope to spend much more time returning to creative pursuits such as sewing, knitting and making cards. i have been doing a lot of baking and cooking lately--last weekend i made wheat bread from scratch!--which is a good hobby when you have time but not lots of money. i really adore taking and editing photos, but it would be a good idea to practice some hobbies that don't require staring at a computer screen. if anyone has any suggestions for craft projects, let me know!