My last post was posted on March 8. I've kind of been slacking on the blogging, but I think it's because in all honesty, my life isn't too interesting right now. It's good, just not very interesting. I feel like I'm becoming repetitive in my blog posts because they've basically been about my near future and complaints about how I still don't know what I'm doing after I graduate. So I guess I am sort of boring myself (and probably anyone who reads my blog) because I haven't had anything new and exciting, or at least interesting to talk about.
This past week I've been at home in Los Alamos for spring break, where I worked a little bit at the YMCA After-School program and babysat a couple times for our family friends. I spent a lot of time with my parents, a couple evenings with my sister and last and this weekend with my brother, which was all really great. I'm really close to my family which is the main reason for the apprehension I have of breaking out of my comfort zone (aka New Mexico) and experiencing somewhere new, as in, to try living somewhere farther and very different from here. It's different from just traveling, because when you travel you pretty much know when you'll see people next and it isn't very much time. But yes, it was nice to be home and relax and make a little bit of money which will help for the rest of the semester.
I ordered my cap and gown and announcements the week before break, and it finally set in that graduation is coming up quickly. Didn't I just start???
My parents are taking me on a graduation trip this summer, and I have always wanted to go to Yellowstone so that's where we are going! As of now we're going in July and the trip will be just under two weeks in which we will spend time in Yellowstone, the Grand Tetons, and Estes Park. However, we might change it to August because my brother really wants to go, and I really want him to go (we have a lot of fun together), and since he might be taking college classes during the summer, the only time he'll be able to go is in August. Jake is probably going too! I am really looking forward to it. I love camping, and I love the beauty of nature and wildlife and I'm just so freaking excited! Even though it's ~4 months away.
I didn't even glance at any homework during spring break, so I need to get on that...Out for now. Hopefully next post I'll have something exciting to blog about.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Monday, March 8, 2010
My eyes are starting to focus...
Yes, a metaphor for my post title today :) What it means is that this "take it one step at a time" process is (at least it seems) starting to prove that it actually works. A mere 4 days after I turned in my documents for my grad school application at NMSU, I received an email with a letter attached congratulating me on my acceptance to to the program!! :D So now I know I have the ability to put into affect at least one of my 76 ideas.
Last week, Jake pointed out to me in the student paper an advertisement about census 2010 jobs. He told me I should call the number and see about it because I've been trying to get a part-time job while I go to school since like my second semester in college. So that day (or maybe the next) I called the Las Cruces census office and signed myself up to take a skills test in order to see if I qualify, and for what positions. I took the practice test online and it seemed pretty simple; just assessed one's abilities regarding math, judgment, reading, and clerical skills. The test on Friday was just as easy, and I got one of the top grades in the group that took it at the same time as I did (not to brag...) and I filled out an application. I should be hearing about it late this week or early next week. I was hesitant to talk about it on here for fear of jinxing it, but please cross your fingers/pray that I get this! I've been trying so hard to get a part-time job, and I'm not sure if it's because I have bad luck or just haven't qualified as much as other people that I haven't been able to get one. The nice thing about the census job is that it is temporary, flexible hours for students, pays well, and would look good on a resume!
The last thing to make my weekend so awesome was something that happened last night. Last week I had needed a manila envelope for something, and the only one I could find that I had was one that I had taken on my trip to Costa Rica 7 months ago, to hold important documents, like my immunizations records, passport, and temporary study abroad insurance info. So I emptied out all the papers from the manila envelope so I could use it and just tossed them all onto my bookshelf. Last night, I remembered the papers and realized I should go through them, as I hadn't even opened that envelope since the trip home to the US. So as I sorted through them, throwing some out and filing some others, until I came across a regular envelope that had been in the larger one. I opened it up slightly and saw...money! I was happy, even though I figured it would only be like a $10 bill that I had forgotten about...but, lo and behold, I opened it up all the way and found 3 $20 bills! There had been $60 hiding in my closet since my return 7 months ago! I wonder, had I not needed the manila envelope last week, how long the money would have been left forgotten?
SO much better than finding a $5 bill in a pocket of jeans you haven't worn in a month!
:)
Last week, Jake pointed out to me in the student paper an advertisement about census 2010 jobs. He told me I should call the number and see about it because I've been trying to get a part-time job while I go to school since like my second semester in college. So that day (or maybe the next) I called the Las Cruces census office and signed myself up to take a skills test in order to see if I qualify, and for what positions. I took the practice test online and it seemed pretty simple; just assessed one's abilities regarding math, judgment, reading, and clerical skills. The test on Friday was just as easy, and I got one of the top grades in the group that took it at the same time as I did (not to brag...) and I filled out an application. I should be hearing about it late this week or early next week. I was hesitant to talk about it on here for fear of jinxing it, but please cross your fingers/pray that I get this! I've been trying so hard to get a part-time job, and I'm not sure if it's because I have bad luck or just haven't qualified as much as other people that I haven't been able to get one. The nice thing about the census job is that it is temporary, flexible hours for students, pays well, and would look good on a resume!
The last thing to make my weekend so awesome was something that happened last night. Last week I had needed a manila envelope for something, and the only one I could find that I had was one that I had taken on my trip to Costa Rica 7 months ago, to hold important documents, like my immunizations records, passport, and temporary study abroad insurance info. So I emptied out all the papers from the manila envelope so I could use it and just tossed them all onto my bookshelf. Last night, I remembered the papers and realized I should go through them, as I hadn't even opened that envelope since the trip home to the US. So as I sorted through them, throwing some out and filing some others, until I came across a regular envelope that had been in the larger one. I opened it up slightly and saw...money! I was happy, even though I figured it would only be like a $10 bill that I had forgotten about...but, lo and behold, I opened it up all the way and found 3 $20 bills! There had been $60 hiding in my closet since my return 7 months ago! I wonder, had I not needed the manila envelope last week, how long the money would have been left forgotten?
SO much better than finding a $5 bill in a pocket of jeans you haven't worn in a month!
:)
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
I've gone and done it.
Totally jinxed my phone. Last week I went into Verizon to look at phones because I was due for an upgrade like several months ago. I found one I liked, the LG Chocolate Touch, but realized later that it's one of the phones you have to get a stupid data package for. It comes with the least-pricey data package, but still! They're charging for something I wouldn't even have wanted to use in the first place. So I decided not to get a new phone yet because mine was "still working perfectly fine!" I should never have said that, because my phone decided to crap out on me yesterday. When I tried calling people, I couldn't hear it ringing on my end and I couldn't hear the person if they answered. And same deal when others tried calling me. Because it was still like that today, I made a trip to Verizon again and bought the dang phone that I wanted and decided to suck up having to pay extra money each month, because inevitably most phones (at least the ones people want) will have the data package soon enough...I'm sure. I've only had the phone for an hour and a half but I like it so far. I just need to get used to the touch screen...when I try scrolling through the screen on the photos page, I keep opening photos instead of scrolling. But I'm sure I'll get used to it. My old phone had served me well for over two years. Never a problem until yesterday.
In other news, I finally turned in the rest of my supplementary documents for my graduate school/assistantship application for NMSU, so that's out of the way, yay!
Friday night Jake and I made a really good salad for dinner. It had pasta, sweet potatoes, asparagus, tomatoes, spinach, feta cheese, pinon nuts, and a balsamic vinegar/olive oil dressing. It was soooo good! But I made way too much pasta for that so tonight I'm going to use some of the extra pasta and make homemade baked macaroni and cheese. Mmm sounds good.
Off to start that!
PS. Most beautiful thing about New Mexico: Sunsets! No other state can beat them. Sure, a mountain sunset or one at a beach is also beautiful, but the ones here are just so infused with many colors that it's hard to compare. I am looking out my bedroom now at a sky of purple, pink, orange, and blue, accentuated with clouds of fascinating shapes.
In other news, I finally turned in the rest of my supplementary documents for my graduate school/assistantship application for NMSU, so that's out of the way, yay!
Friday night Jake and I made a really good salad for dinner. It had pasta, sweet potatoes, asparagus, tomatoes, spinach, feta cheese, pinon nuts, and a balsamic vinegar/olive oil dressing. It was soooo good! But I made way too much pasta for that so tonight I'm going to use some of the extra pasta and make homemade baked macaroni and cheese. Mmm sounds good.
Off to start that!
PS. Most beautiful thing about New Mexico: Sunsets! No other state can beat them. Sure, a mountain sunset or one at a beach is also beautiful, but the ones here are just so infused with many colors that it's hard to compare. I am looking out my bedroom now at a sky of purple, pink, orange, and blue, accentuated with clouds of fascinating shapes.
Monday, March 1, 2010
Here comes March.
Wow I haven't written on here in nearly two weeks. Hmmm guess my life is just not too exciting right now! I am sitting here munching on Thin Mints trying to think of something funny/interesting/weird/etc. to write about that has happened, but I'm having a difficult time doing so. Yes Thin Mints...I love the Girl Scout cookies time of year! No girl scout actually came to my door, but I bought a box in front of Lowe's. Wait, correction: My dad bought a box for me in front of Lowe's. My parents tend to spoil me a tad when they come to visit :) I'm a poor college student! Which is why, unfortunately, it looks like I won't be doing anything exciting for spring break again. Stupid money. Always a hindrance. So I am going to be spending the week in Los Alamos and working at the Y, making a little money to help me along the rest of the semester.
During the past week or so I've sort of pushed myself into job-searching a little more. I went into the career counseling center and took an interest-aptitude test or whatever it's called, in which the results of all my answers create a list of careers that would probably fit my interests the best (disregarding actual ability). I've also been researching jobs in New Mexico to the best of my abilities (I'm not sure if I missed something during my years in school, but I'm having a difficult time finding good sources to search for jobs). And because I'm not sure what I really want to do career-wise, it is even more difficult to just browse job openings. I really just need to find a decent-paying job, full-time and possibly temporary so that I can attend grad school sometime. If I didn't have student loans to start paying off then I would do something spectacular like volunteer or just travel abroad, or even just around the country. And I wouldn't mind working an hourly-wage job for a while either (I know I've said this before), but it would need to be sufficient enough to make those monthly loan payments and everything else. AND I don't know whether I'll be staying in Las Cruces. I really like my apartment and it would be nice to stay in it and not have to move everything out, but I should save money by moving back home, even if just for a few months (and I would like to live at home for a while at least once more before I really go off on my own...is that weird??), but if I decide to go to grad school in Las Cruces (granted I get accepted), then should I keep the apartment no matter what so I don't need to move and find a storage unit yet again? There is just way too much to think about and it's overwhelming! I still like considering my idea (even if it can't work) of just traveling for a while before grad school, but alas, money is a deterrent. I found this article on a career/education guide website that I got from career counseling last week. I'm not sure if you need the password to read it, but if not, it's a good read and something that I've always believed myself. It's about how traveling and/or holding a "fun" job or a job that isn't a "real" job can be very beneficial for a college graduate, before they attend grad school or get a "real" job. Of course there are some drawbacks, but overall it can really help a person find him/herself, straighten out priorities, become well-rounded, and find the answer to the question, "What do I want out of life?" Anyway I hope you are able to read it (if you want to).
https://access.bridges.com/portal/student/article/exploringCareers/whySomePeopleArePostponingGettingARealJob.do
During the past week or so I've sort of pushed myself into job-searching a little more. I went into the career counseling center and took an interest-aptitude test or whatever it's called, in which the results of all my answers create a list of careers that would probably fit my interests the best (disregarding actual ability). I've also been researching jobs in New Mexico to the best of my abilities (I'm not sure if I missed something during my years in school, but I'm having a difficult time finding good sources to search for jobs). And because I'm not sure what I really want to do career-wise, it is even more difficult to just browse job openings. I really just need to find a decent-paying job, full-time and possibly temporary so that I can attend grad school sometime. If I didn't have student loans to start paying off then I would do something spectacular like volunteer or just travel abroad, or even just around the country. And I wouldn't mind working an hourly-wage job for a while either (I know I've said this before), but it would need to be sufficient enough to make those monthly loan payments and everything else. AND I don't know whether I'll be staying in Las Cruces. I really like my apartment and it would be nice to stay in it and not have to move everything out, but I should save money by moving back home, even if just for a few months (and I would like to live at home for a while at least once more before I really go off on my own...is that weird??), but if I decide to go to grad school in Las Cruces (granted I get accepted), then should I keep the apartment no matter what so I don't need to move and find a storage unit yet again? There is just way too much to think about and it's overwhelming! I still like considering my idea (even if it can't work) of just traveling for a while before grad school, but alas, money is a deterrent. I found this article on a career/education guide website that I got from career counseling last week. I'm not sure if you need the password to read it, but if not, it's a good read and something that I've always believed myself. It's about how traveling and/or holding a "fun" job or a job that isn't a "real" job can be very beneficial for a college graduate, before they attend grad school or get a "real" job. Of course there are some drawbacks, but overall it can really help a person find him/herself, straighten out priorities, become well-rounded, and find the answer to the question, "What do I want out of life?" Anyway I hope you are able to read it (if you want to).
https://access.bridges.com/portal/student/article/exploringCareers/whySomePeopleArePostponingGettingARealJob.do
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)