Jobs Applied For: 15.
Interviews Scheduled: 2. Possibly 3 by the morning
GRE Studying: Verbal and Quantitative reviews, pretty extensive.
Music Practice: Nada...no time :(
I can't say that there was a lot of productivity today. Most of the day was spent in a post-vacation/post-hurri...I mean tropical storm slump. I confirmed my two interviews set for tomorrow which means an adventure in the city in my very tall, do NOT mess with me pumps. Mine just happen to be 3-inch black beauties.
Did I mention I finally got my accommodation letters in the mail for the GRE today??? It was fantastic to see that I had received everything I requested. My Psychology exam is October 15th and I can call tomorrow morning to set up a date and time for the general exam. I like putting deadlines on things like this. While I obviously endured last minute cram sessions for many a test during my college days, the GRE is a mountain that will take a lot more diligence and time to conquer. I have no doubt that I can take it on. Keep your fingers crossed for me.
Monday, August 29, 2011
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Day 14: We interrupt this broadcast to bring you...a weather report?
Jobs Applied For: Don't Ask.
Interviews Scheduled: 1 regular and 1 by phone
GRE Studying: More math review, long talk with a possible tutor (for free!)
Music Practice: I haven't exactly had instrumental access for the past week but I killed it at kareoke during my vacation in Vermont.
Hello friends. When we last spoke, I mentioned that I was taking a short break from my responsibilities because of a great vacation I was on. As promised, I climbed mountains, made friends, and went swimming a lot. Unfortunately, that vacation was cut short. You may be curious as to why I had to leave my little piece of paradise a day early. It may have something to do with this...
Enter Hurricane Tropical Storm Irene, the bitch that ruined my vacation. The storm that was initially going to hit the tri-state area as a category 2 hurricane. Lucky for all of us, she wasn't pms-ing as much as angry once she made landfall in New Jersey. But as news reports of the aftermath come out, I am quickly beginning to realize that the storm in Stamford was quite different than the one that hit my fellow Manhattanites.
While you are relaxing in your apartments with minimal damage (if any) and complaining that the media made too big of a deal about Miss Irene, I was ringing out towels from the moderate flooding in our basement and thanking my lucky stars that my power didn't go. In fact, I think that about half of my town (if not more) is currently left in the dark. Streets by the Long Island Sound are flooded and there are trees down just about everywhere. So lovely Manhattan friends, any complaints about the over-hype of Irene is a slap in the face to me and your friends living in Coastal Connecticut, Long Island, New Jersey, Westchester, and parts of the other four burroughs that make up New York City. Please think of others before you rant.
As for me, since I have power and I am back home I should probably get back to work with my job search, GRE studies, and music practice. But I think I'll finish watching those crazy crazy news reports first.
[Update 1]: Maybe we weren't 100% lucky. Our water was just shut off...
[Update 2 - 5:45pm]: Water is back but it's coming out brown. Apparently a water pump broke in my neighborhood. A few more hours until it's normal again.
Interviews Scheduled: 1 regular and 1 by phone
GRE Studying: More math review, long talk with a possible tutor (for free!)
Music Practice: I haven't exactly had instrumental access for the past week but I killed it at kareoke during my vacation in Vermont.
Hello friends. When we last spoke, I mentioned that I was taking a short break from my responsibilities because of a great vacation I was on. As promised, I climbed mountains, made friends, and went swimming a lot. Unfortunately, that vacation was cut short. You may be curious as to why I had to leave my little piece of paradise a day early. It may have something to do with this...
While you are relaxing in your apartments with minimal damage (if any) and complaining that the media made too big of a deal about Miss Irene, I was ringing out towels from the moderate flooding in our basement and thanking my lucky stars that my power didn't go. In fact, I think that about half of my town (if not more) is currently left in the dark. Streets by the Long Island Sound are flooded and there are trees down just about everywhere. So lovely Manhattan friends, any complaints about the over-hype of Irene is a slap in the face to me and your friends living in Coastal Connecticut, Long Island, New Jersey, Westchester, and parts of the other four burroughs that make up New York City. Please think of others before you rant.
As for me, since I have power and I am back home I should probably get back to work with my job search, GRE studies, and music practice. But I think I'll finish watching those crazy crazy news reports first.
[Update 1]: Maybe we weren't 100% lucky. Our water was just shut off...
[Update 2 - 5:45pm]: Water is back but it's coming out brown. Apparently a water pump broke in my neighborhood. A few more hours until it's normal again.
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Day 9: Climbing Mountains
Jobs Applied For: 20 since we last spoke
Interviews Scheduled: 1
GRE Preparation: A couple of diagnostic tests and the beginnings of a basic math review
Music Practice: A couple of hours re-learning tabs and learning/playing "21 Guns" with my little sister
To my devoted readers: I know it has been a full week since you have heard from me and I must apologize. How did your lives ever go on? Just kidding, I'm sure you all muddled through without hearing another embarrassing interview anecdote experienced by yours truly. There is a reason for my missing in action status, and a valid one at that. I have decided to take a vacation. Although I am unemployed and have held that card since the beginning of the summer, I have done nothing but work myself to the bone trying to find some sort of job. You can't blame a girl who needs to pay the bills, right? However after 3 months of no success I have decided to cut myself a break and return to the home of my childhood summers, the most magical place I could ever imagine. Ladies and Gentlemen, I am NOT talking about Disney World.
I'm talking about Vermont.
That's right, the Green Mountain State. Home to fantastic sites such as the Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream Factory (who DOESN'T like Ben and Jerry's?), The University of Vermont (site of my freshman year of college), and of course Smuggler's Notch. Most of you probably recognize the last location on my list as a great skiing destination, but it means so much more to me. I have spent one week per summer at this location since I was six years old. Favorite past occurrences at Smuggs include swimming in water holes, playing capture the flag in the words, making life long friends, and rock/mountain climbing. And the best part was that there was very limited internet and cell phone service so I had no choice but to enjoy every moment playing outdoors. While technology up here has since advanced with the addition of wifi and Verizon cell phone towers, I try as hard as I can to keep that childhood promise of spending as much time outdoors during my time here.
So friends, please don't be alarmed if you do not hear from me until Sunday evening when I make my triumphant return to suburbia. I'm simply choosing to climb some mountains instead. My GRE books, job searching materials, and guitar will be waiting patiently for me but until then, I'll finally enjoy the last days of summer 2011 as they were meant to be.
Interviews Scheduled: 1
GRE Preparation: A couple of diagnostic tests and the beginnings of a basic math review
Music Practice: A couple of hours re-learning tabs and learning/playing "21 Guns" with my little sister
To my devoted readers: I know it has been a full week since you have heard from me and I must apologize. How did your lives ever go on? Just kidding, I'm sure you all muddled through without hearing another embarrassing interview anecdote experienced by yours truly. There is a reason for my missing in action status, and a valid one at that. I have decided to take a vacation. Although I am unemployed and have held that card since the beginning of the summer, I have done nothing but work myself to the bone trying to find some sort of job. You can't blame a girl who needs to pay the bills, right? However after 3 months of no success I have decided to cut myself a break and return to the home of my childhood summers, the most magical place I could ever imagine. Ladies and Gentlemen, I am NOT talking about Disney World.
I'm talking about Vermont.
That's right, the Green Mountain State. Home to fantastic sites such as the Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream Factory (who DOESN'T like Ben and Jerry's?), The University of Vermont (site of my freshman year of college), and of course Smuggler's Notch. Most of you probably recognize the last location on my list as a great skiing destination, but it means so much more to me. I have spent one week per summer at this location since I was six years old. Favorite past occurrences at Smuggs include swimming in water holes, playing capture the flag in the words, making life long friends, and rock/mountain climbing. And the best part was that there was very limited internet and cell phone service so I had no choice but to enjoy every moment playing outdoors. While technology up here has since advanced with the addition of wifi and Verizon cell phone towers, I try as hard as I can to keep that childhood promise of spending as much time outdoors during my time here.
So friends, please don't be alarmed if you do not hear from me until Sunday evening when I make my triumphant return to suburbia. I'm simply choosing to climb some mountains instead. My GRE books, job searching materials, and guitar will be waiting patiently for me but until then, I'll finally enjoy the last days of summer 2011 as they were meant to be.
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Day 3: What NOT to do right before an interview.
Jobs Applied For: 11 (two day total)
Interviews Currently Scheduled: 2 (different ones than previously listed)
GRE Work: Paper work shipped out to NJ!!! Studying begins post-blogging.
Music Practice: None...yet.
These past two days have been very busy as far as the job search portion of this blog is concerned. I have been going back and forth in between home and the given interview of the day in NYC. At least I can say I have been offered many interviews, which is more than I could say when this job search began two months ago. However, some of these interviews have not been the best...like the one I went to yesterday evening.
I had set up an interview with a laid back photography company last week after they contacted me with positive remarks about my resume. I was feeling a calm excitement about this one because I felt confident that the position was mine. As I was leaving for the train station with a confident smile on my face, I grabbed a bottle of blueberry iced tea (trust me, this is relevant) and I was out the door. One hour later as I'm walking from the train platform into the grand concourse in Grand Central, I feel a sudden dripping on my foot. My bottle of sweet refreshment had ruptured in my bag and leaked all over my blazer and my resume. Of course it did.
Thank god for the Xcelerator hand dryers in the Grand Central bathrooms.
15 minutes after standing under the dryer, I was on my way with a dry resume and a somewhat damp blazer. I walked into that interview with confidence smelling of blueberry tea. The interview itself went ok (aside from the fact that I was preaching about how I'm such a creative person and my interviewer interrupts me to state that the position is at least 65% clerical.) But the tea spill of 2011 shattered my cockiness and humbled me.
If I have learned anything from this experience, it would be to never carry a plastic water bottle (or tea bottle) in the same bag as important documents and interview apparel. It would also be to portray yourself as a well rounded person, as oppose to purely creative. But I'm sure that lesson will come up again throughout the duration of this blog.
Interviews Currently Scheduled: 2 (different ones than previously listed)
GRE Work: Paper work shipped out to NJ!!! Studying begins post-blogging.
Music Practice: None...yet.
These past two days have been very busy as far as the job search portion of this blog is concerned. I have been going back and forth in between home and the given interview of the day in NYC. At least I can say I have been offered many interviews, which is more than I could say when this job search began two months ago. However, some of these interviews have not been the best...like the one I went to yesterday evening.
I had set up an interview with a laid back photography company last week after they contacted me with positive remarks about my resume. I was feeling a calm excitement about this one because I felt confident that the position was mine. As I was leaving for the train station with a confident smile on my face, I grabbed a bottle of blueberry iced tea (trust me, this is relevant) and I was out the door. One hour later as I'm walking from the train platform into the grand concourse in Grand Central, I feel a sudden dripping on my foot. My bottle of sweet refreshment had ruptured in my bag and leaked all over my blazer and my resume. Of course it did.
Thank god for the Xcelerator hand dryers in the Grand Central bathrooms.
15 minutes after standing under the dryer, I was on my way with a dry resume and a somewhat damp blazer. I walked into that interview with confidence smelling of blueberry tea. The interview itself went ok (aside from the fact that I was preaching about how I'm such a creative person and my interviewer interrupts me to state that the position is at least 65% clerical.) But the tea spill of 2011 shattered my cockiness and humbled me.
If I have learned anything from this experience, it would be to never carry a plastic water bottle (or tea bottle) in the same bag as important documents and interview apparel. It would also be to portray yourself as a well rounded person, as oppose to purely creative. But I'm sure that lesson will come up again throughout the duration of this blog.
Monday, August 15, 2011
Day 1: A Productive Start
Jobs Applied For: 4
Interviews Currently Scheduled: 2
GRE Work: Many many forms to fill out, codes to look up, cost to calculate. Check.
Music Practice: Sadly, No hours completed.
Usually, Mondays are filled with opportunity for the fabulously unemployed. The barren job posting boards from the weekend are generously refilled with all sorts of interesting positions just waiting to be applied to. However, it's August which usually means that everyone is outside enjoying the last sweet taste of summer sun. There weren't many decent postings today, mostly personal assistant positions. The fact that I was even able to find four decent positions is a feat in itself. Now let's see if I hear back from them.
As for the GREs, it's one thing if you are in the majority of the population and you can just waltz through registration like a ballroom dancer. However if you have a learning disability, you are required to fill out a small mountain of paperwork just to register. I have a mild form of dyslexia, it's nothing too drastic but it is more than enough to give me major test anxiety and qualify me for extended time. After looking up several complex codes (did you know that the country code for the USA is 592?) I finally completed it all. Just in time for my mother to come home from work and give me holy hell for the inability to fold her clothing. Apparently I'm such an awful daughter.
On the bright side, I have an interview scheduled for late tomorrow afternoon. It'll get me out of town so I can float around and escape for a night. I hope I don't forget my Psychology book.
Interviews Currently Scheduled: 2
GRE Work: Many many forms to fill out, codes to look up, cost to calculate. Check.
Music Practice: Sadly, No hours completed.
Usually, Mondays are filled with opportunity for the fabulously unemployed. The barren job posting boards from the weekend are generously refilled with all sorts of interesting positions just waiting to be applied to. However, it's August which usually means that everyone is outside enjoying the last sweet taste of summer sun. There weren't many decent postings today, mostly personal assistant positions. The fact that I was even able to find four decent positions is a feat in itself. Now let's see if I hear back from them.
As for the GREs, it's one thing if you are in the majority of the population and you can just waltz through registration like a ballroom dancer. However if you have a learning disability, you are required to fill out a small mountain of paperwork just to register. I have a mild form of dyslexia, it's nothing too drastic but it is more than enough to give me major test anxiety and qualify me for extended time. After looking up several complex codes (did you know that the country code for the USA is 592?) I finally completed it all. Just in time for my mother to come home from work and give me holy hell for the inability to fold her clothing. Apparently I'm such an awful daughter.
On the bright side, I have an interview scheduled for late tomorrow afternoon. It'll get me out of town so I can float around and escape for a night. I hope I don't forget my Psychology book.
You Have To Start Somewhere
Two days ago marks one full year since I moved back home from New York City. I can't complain too much because Stamford, CT is a mere 45 minute train ride away from the heart of midtown. Yet I will always feel that a part of me is missing until I am financially stable enough to move back. My background story is somewhat common these days; a very bright girl full of hopes and dreams graduates from her top university of choice (in my case it was New York University) with a very strange major (Music and Psychology, "Music and the Mind" if you want to slap a title on it), but sadly is unable to find employment after a year of constant searching because of the horrible job market. However, this is not as simple as it sounds.
Moving back to my childhood home could easily be compared to moving back into a suburban war zone. My parents just completed their divorce and leaving some very deep emotional scars behind on my entire family. The environment is consistently tense and the art of watching your words must be mastered to ensure peace for the day. Imagine trying to pull your future together in that house, it's almost impossible.
But I digress. This personal blog was made to keep track of my achievements and future goals, Not to complain and attempt to gather an internet pity party.
I have four large goals that I want to achieve before I end this blog. They are:
1. Move out of Connecticut - The ultimate prize would be to celebrate my homecoming in NYC once more. However at this point, I am also considering options such as Austin, TX San Francisco, CA Nashville, TN and Burlington, VT.
2. Find A Job - I have been 100% unemployed since June 3rd, 2011. All have been doing since that date is attempting to find another job. While I have become a pro at delivering in an interview, I still have yet to find a full time position anywhere.
3. Study For And Take The GREs (General and Psychology Exams) - I have taken both exams before, but the dates just happened to coincide with my finals during fall semester of my senior year. Needless to say, neither exam went well. I am a self-titled over achiever so it needs to happen again.
4. Learn Guitar AND Piano - I probably should have mentioned this above but I am a music junkie. I have been singing all my life and writing my own songs for about 6 years. It's finally time for me to start a band and perform. Therefore, it's time to learn an instrument and accompany myself on stage. I have also recently been thinking about a career in music therapy and these instruments are a must if one wants to even begin a program like that.
The only way to endure life in this town is to achieve the goals listed above, and soon. I promise to keep track of everything, from the amount of hours spent studying and practicing, to the amount of jobs applied for an interviews scheduled. I don't want to be seen as helpless anymore, this blog is what determination looks like. I'm currently trapped in transition and sticking to this plan is the only thing that will help me out of this rut.
It's not helping that my writing is currently being influence by my mood and the rain outside. While this blog is a personal one, I can promise you that it will be just as witty and fun as I am. Who knows, maybe you'll even get a laugh out of it. Consider it as being modeled after the movie Julie and Julia. I will keep track of my accomplishments and failures and hopefully you will like what you hear. Feel free to leave tips, tricks, and words of advice because I could use any help I can get my hands on at this point. With that said, I invite you to read on, maybe it'll inspire you to do something of value with your life.
Moving back to my childhood home could easily be compared to moving back into a suburban war zone. My parents just completed their divorce and leaving some very deep emotional scars behind on my entire family. The environment is consistently tense and the art of watching your words must be mastered to ensure peace for the day. Imagine trying to pull your future together in that house, it's almost impossible.
But I digress. This personal blog was made to keep track of my achievements and future goals, Not to complain and attempt to gather an internet pity party.
I have four large goals that I want to achieve before I end this blog. They are:
1. Move out of Connecticut - The ultimate prize would be to celebrate my homecoming in NYC once more. However at this point, I am also considering options such as Austin, TX San Francisco, CA Nashville, TN and Burlington, VT.
2. Find A Job - I have been 100% unemployed since June 3rd, 2011. All have been doing since that date is attempting to find another job. While I have become a pro at delivering in an interview, I still have yet to find a full time position anywhere.
3. Study For And Take The GREs (General and Psychology Exams) - I have taken both exams before, but the dates just happened to coincide with my finals during fall semester of my senior year. Needless to say, neither exam went well. I am a self-titled over achiever so it needs to happen again.
4. Learn Guitar AND Piano - I probably should have mentioned this above but I am a music junkie. I have been singing all my life and writing my own songs for about 6 years. It's finally time for me to start a band and perform. Therefore, it's time to learn an instrument and accompany myself on stage. I have also recently been thinking about a career in music therapy and these instruments are a must if one wants to even begin a program like that.
The only way to endure life in this town is to achieve the goals listed above, and soon. I promise to keep track of everything, from the amount of hours spent studying and practicing, to the amount of jobs applied for an interviews scheduled. I don't want to be seen as helpless anymore, this blog is what determination looks like. I'm currently trapped in transition and sticking to this plan is the only thing that will help me out of this rut.
It's not helping that my writing is currently being influence by my mood and the rain outside. While this blog is a personal one, I can promise you that it will be just as witty and fun as I am. Who knows, maybe you'll even get a laugh out of it. Consider it as being modeled after the movie Julie and Julia. I will keep track of my accomplishments and failures and hopefully you will like what you hear. Feel free to leave tips, tricks, and words of advice because I could use any help I can get my hands on at this point. With that said, I invite you to read on, maybe it'll inspire you to do something of value with your life.
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