Sleepy

I didn't get much sleep last night. For some reason, I couldn't get to sleep until around 5 am. Then I woke up overheated around an hour later from probably the weirdest and one of the creepiest dreams I've ever had. I had to type it up on my phone before my heart rate would settle enough to go back to sleep. I'm trying not to nap because then I won't sleep well tonight. We'll see how that goes.

Certainly this is a good excuse to have a short blog today?

I would be applying for jobs, but I am a bit worried because I don't know what the quality of my applications will be as I am so tired.  I guess I'll try anyway.

Sidenote- it's so easy to forget how great it is to make a meal of Costco samples when it's been a while. :)

Ho Hum...

I really REALLY wish I had more things going on these days to talk about. It would make this whole daily blogging thing a heck of a lot easier.

Hmm...

I succeeded in applying for two jobs yesterday. Today is laundry day so that's currently in progress. I'm hoping that I might get two more applications in today, but I might end up going to Salinas again today so who knows.

I really want to see the movie Pitch Perfect which came out into theaters yesterday. I think it looks like an entertaining movie. I just wish I had people in my own demographic (female, in 20s) around to go with who I think would like that movie. I really don't think that mom and David would like it very much. Maybe it will still be in theaters when Krys (and maybe Bethany) will be visiting California later that month. Of course, in an ideal world my interview would turn out great and I would be working on moving to San Francisco by then, so who knows if seeing a movie then would be practical.

I miss the MIIS days when I had more friends around. :/

Hopefully, though, I can get a job and move soon. Then I can establish everything I don't have established now. So tired of the standstill. And watching my bank account balance go down.

Whoops

So much for the daily blog goal! I ended up skipping yesterday. I ended up going to Salinas with my mom and her husband to help them clean their rental property and get it ready for the next tenants. They do need the income from that and, although I am paying some money each month I stay here while job hunting, I do need to do things like this to make things more equitable between us.

After that, I was pretty exhausted and almost all of my favorite shows are on Thursdays now, so you know how that goes. (haha) Yesterday was my first headache free day in a while and today seems to be going well so far.

Right now I have to get myself motivated to keep applying for jobs. I almost want to just focus on the upcoming interview, but I know that if I want to move on with things in my life that I need to stop myself from putting all of my hopes and energy into just one opportunity.

Goal- two applications done and emailed by the end of today.

Restless and overheated

Don't you just hate it when you wake up in the middle of the night and you're suddenly stressing out over things that you can't even really understand? It's like your brain wants to stress so much that it can't even bother figure out what it is stressing about; instead you have all these rambling thoughts that make no sense flying through your conscious as if they were things of actual importance. Once you get back to sleep or wake up more,  you won't even remember what those things were.

I had that at 4 am this morning. It seems to happen to me a lot these days. I think it's a side effect to not having a real routine or solid deadlines to worry about. I know that I tend to thrive on stress in a way (at least until the point that I get overwhelmed, but I can handle a lot. The idea that my mind seems to need it to an extent is interesting. It's like my brain is restless and bored without it.

Part of what's been screwing with my head lately has also been the heat. We've had record high temperatures in the area during the past few days. I think high temperatures in places that are acclimated to it is fine because there are air conditioners everywhere, but it's much more difficult to escape the heat here. My mom and I think we have an allergy to the heat because we both tend to get itchy and rashes when we sweat a lot. I've also been having a lot of headaches and congestion.

Anyway, I just got back from walking the dog and there's a nice breeze now. I guess we finally have the "cool off" that the weatherman on TV has been promising. Now that I am feeling better, I can start refocusing my energies on applications and preparing for my upcoming interview. 

Job hunt, other fun stuff

What better reason is there to jump back into blogging than necessity?
Necessity? I'll go into that part later.
I just checked my blog to see when I've last posted here. A year ago yesterday. I guess there is a lot of catching up to do. I graduated with my Masters degree last May and started the job hunt. Despite my optimism/denial that told me that somehow I would be immune to the problems finding jobs that everyone else runs into, after four months of applying I am still unemployed.
Four months has been the longest I've gone without a school or job to go to and it has been a very stressful experience. It is very discouraging to write cover letter after cover letter with no response.
I keep having to remind myself to have fun. I've done a bit of traveling just around the state- the Bay Area, Sonora, San Diego, and Fresno. Those trips have helped me stay sane.
I have a bit of guilt whenever I go too long without applying to anything, though.
 So now we're in the present. I actually have a job interview coming up! It will be my first one since graduating. Since it's not until the 19th, I have lots of time to prepare. There will be a writing test before the interview.
The writing test worries me a little. As you might be able to tell by the lack of updates on the blog, I haven't been feeling like much of a writer lately. In a way, I feel like I've lost the ability to express myself in words somehow. I've really wanted to get it back for some time now, so now that I have an upcoming test and possibly a job that requires writing skill, it is time to try to get this ability back. So here I am back on the blog and I plan to write a blog entry every day at least until the interview.
Here goes nothing! 

Looking ahead

Two more semesters left of school. 12 more credits this semester and the next and I will have a masters degree. I feel like time has gone by so fast and there is no way it's going to get any slower anytime soon.

So much to think about these days. I know I need to find a part time (preferably work study) job, but I can't help but be much more concerned with what's coming post-MIIS graduation instead. Where should I look for a job? Can I stay on the West coast? Will I have the luxury of picking where at all? Would I be able to get a job that is enough for me to make my monthly student loan payments?

...and there's also that impulse that kind of wants to look into Halloween costumes. *cringe*

I have been dedicating a lot of time to extra-curriculars hoping to really give my resume a boost. I joined the STOP Anti-Human trafficking club and I am being more active in the Conflict Resolution Association club. I am also on the core team to put together a Conflict Resolution conference for spring semester. I am also considering contacting the Monterey College of Law and see if they still want me to do volunteer small claims mediation at the county court. I'm hoping that doing all of these things will make up for the fact that I've pretty much decided against doing the internship program for my last 12 credits.

In other news, I LOVE my new apartment. I'll admit that it is one of the reasons I decided to stay in the area for this year. I am really close to school, Trader Joe's Walgreens, and the weekly farmer's market, so there is really no urgent need to drive anywhere. I also really like living with my friend Tina and having a place where I can have friends over. Last Wednesday, I hosted a pizza night/study group for some people in one of my classes and on Thursday, Tina and I hosted wine night once again. I wouldn't do any of these things at my old place! I am also making friends with the next door neighbors and there's a cute but kinda creepy cat on my street that always stares at me when I walk by. I am actually kind of disappointed when it's not there.

Times are crazy (but kind of awesome) and I was too distracted while writing this blog to remember what else I was going to say.

Effort

I realized something recently. This is something that's really irked for a long time and I wasn't always conscious of it- effort is a VERY important thing to me. I get very put off by people who can't be bothered to figure things out, don't try to make a good impression, or try to work towards what they want. Some people can't even bother to use their own brain and common sense!

I have so much difficulty with these people because I am -always- trying. I don't live life half assed. I do things that aren't necessarily in my comfort zone. I put out a lot of effort everyday for the sake of other people. I have days when I am relaxed, but I don't glorify it like laziness is the greatest thing on Earth.

Call it crazy, but I just don't like to be inefficient, unimaginative, unhelpful, unmotivated, and unwilling to try new things!

These are the things you become when you are a person who does not TRY!