Prove

I'm watching Pit bulls and Parolees and in this particular episode the mom is trying to teach her daughter how to be a dog trainer so she can work with this particular dog they saved. The daughter is becoming increasingly frustrated while the mom is trying to teach her what to do. I'm not completely sure why it stuck out to me. Maybe because Tania felt the need to prove herself and I feel that way every time I think about my writing. I've been told enough that I'm a good writer but I've read great writing and I don't think I'm there yet. I've started reading more since, because of school, I haven't been reading much at all. I really just want to write my novel and get it published because there have been times when I've wondered if I could do it.
I start writing my first novel April 1st and until then I'm going to keep reading and taking mental notes.

Bad Luck

I think my bad luck with cars has now passed to computers. My first computer lasted about four years and if you reformatted it would still work. I bought a new one because it was old and I didn't want to reformat everything. While I'm in China it starts to act up before the one year warranty is finished. Unfortunately, I didn't return to the U.S. until after the one year warranty had expired and thus received no help or compensation and was forced to buy a new computer. I got it as cheaply as I could, discounts, refurbished and what not. Now, not three months later my mouse keeps freezing. I took it to Best Buy and had Geek Squad look at it and he concluded it was because I had two anti-virus software on my computer. He uninstalled one and said that was probably the problem, and it seemed that way for a while. Until late last night when it froze twice and just five minutes ago when it froze again.
I suppose I should be thankful that when this thing crashes at least no one can die from it.

100

My 100th post! How about that!
Well, today we're going to visit Grandma at the nursing home today and of course we're bringing her Panda. I took a picture of Panda so you know I'm not kidding when I say she stays close.

In other news, I've been looking for jobs in the area but I haven't been able to find anything I'm really interested in. I've definitely found companies I want to work for, luckily, at least one of them says I can send an email inquiring about internships. The others said any emails would not be answered so there's at least one company who will consider me. I also found out I'm still working for LOFT. I had thought when my name wasn't on the payroll anymore that I had been let go but I just got a call saying I'm still an employee so at least I'll have money coming in. I also haven't done my taxes yet so that should help right now too.
And then of course I get to snuggle with adorable dogs so that will make me feel loved :)

Cats rule and dogs make me cold

I arrived in Chicago around six... maybe seven thanks to traffic. I didn't really notice because I was playing "Magic Puzzles" (which is seriously addictive). When we arrived at my aunt's I was met by three dogs... my aunt's two beagles and my grandma's papillion-chihuahua mix. Since my grandma was diagnosed with Alzheimer's my aunt had to take in her dog so now she has three dogs in a tiny townhouse which I have just moved into. Ironically, the dog that is the most vocal is the one least rambunctious, my grandma's dog.

Anyway, my aunt had a meeting this morning and had to be out of the house at 7am. So guess who woke up at 7 this morning? Panda, my grandma's dog, was howling, Millie, the beagle puppy, was barking and then Duffie, the older beagle, I found outside the door wagging her tail. How am I out of school and being forced to wake up earlier than I did while in school? This is just unfair...

Today was my first time walking all three dogs. Let me tell you, it wasn't a walk in the park. Literally, you could not walk these dogs together in a park. Panda walks as close to me as possible so that I have to constantly watch where I step. Duffie wants to smell everything so I'm having to stop all the time or pull her and then Millie wants to keep going so she's pulling me the other way. I'm not going to lie, I had to drop the leases a couple times to untangle them.

It seriously doesn't help matters that it's cold outside and I have to walk them tonight because my aunt is coming home late.

And people wonder why I don't want a dog and want a cat instead....

The First Movie to Make Me Cry

The first movie that ever made me cry I watched while in day-care. I was so moved by the movie that I made my mom take me to all the Blockbusters and other movie rentals to try and find it. I've been looking for it off and on for sometime and I finally found it. And I was right. It started with an "R."
Rigoletto
My life is complete :)

All You Need

I was just thinking today about how all of our high school counselors pushed us to go to college.
I heard a little bit about joining the military (obviously, we are at war) but rarely about technical schools or trade schools.
I never heard one promote the Peace Corps.
No one suggested taking a gap year.
Certainly, none of them suggested heading straight for the job market.
What we needed to do was acquire a college degree and then we would be set. We'd be able to live the life we wanted and would have a larger pay. We might even surpass our parents, as they surpassed their parents and so on.
So how come most of my friends are working jobs you don't need a degree to work? How come we owe so much money and yet make so little? How can I live the life I want if I can't find a job? How come most jobs don't just want a person with a degree but also require experience? How do you expect me to surpass my parents when I can't even find a job of equal stature or pay?

If I see any of my old counselors these are the questions I will ask them.

The Hunt Begins

February 1st- So I just posted a post about something completely different so I feel like I'll save this for either tomorrow or Sunday but basically I decided earlier that February first would be the start of my job hunt starting with the Career Fair. Well, I suffered a setback, giving up the Career Fair in order to finish my essay which was due today. Although it would have been a great learning experience I wasn't really interested in any of the companies because they were all sales, finance, with a hint of technology and education. Plus, the one I was interested in wasn't in Chicago but in Aurora and the whole point of me staying up here is to not own a car and living in Aurora would defeat that purpose. So day 1 didn't exactly start with a bang but I plan later tonight or maybe tomorrow to start applying.

February 24th- So a lot has happened and I haven't been updating this; however, I have still been looking. I just haven't found anything. I finally found a few things today/ I've saved two administrative jobs that seem appealing-- meaning I could actually get them. I also emailed a publishing company based in Chicago. I figure since I want to become a writer I should become familiar with the publishing industry. The publishers I contacted have published a lot of books on history so I feel like my degree in history won't work against me. We'll see what happens. A number of other companies I saved because they mentioned possibilities but they just aren't available right now. Nevertheless, I'm going to make an appointment with the career center and work on possible cover letters so I'm prepared.

February 27th- So I posted my resume on CareerBuilder last night and received three emails this morning. One my email thought was suspicious, another about becoming a Benefits Consultant and another about selling insurance. I'm pretty sure they were spam emails but I replied back saying "thanks, but no thanks" anyway, just in case. I'm still looking through LinkedIn for jobs and what not. I haven't received an email back from the publishing company I emailed. It's not looking so good right now but I need a job so I'm not giving up.

March 4th- I set an appointment with the same person who helped me on my resume to help me create a cover letter. The appointment was today and I was going to do the companies in New York but then I found a position here in Chicago I was really interested in. I didn't know the full name of the contact, just her first name, so the career lady told me to check the website and find it. So afterward I went on the website and there's nothing. Like, there is no section that says "About Us." I really didn't want to call her by her first name though so I started reading articles, trying to figure out what to do. One article suggested calling the company and asking someone for her name. So that's what I did! And I got her! And it turned out her last name is the same as the company name. She asked for my name, which I told her, and I said my resume and cover letter would be sent to her by the end of the day. My first real application- not just a prospecting email but a real job. It's part-time but there's the potential of it becoming full-time and a part-time job is better than an internship I figure. I also found a company in Atlanta I'm interested in but there's no place to see if they're hiring so I have to write a prospective cover letter to them. I need to figure out who too... Anyway, finally moving forward!