September Goals: A Summary

At the beginning of September I blogged about whether goals were a productive way to inspire change or just another source of frustration. I set three goals for the month which included:

1. Find a job.

2. Read to make progress on my 1,000 book challenge.

3. Write a blog post every day in September.


Let's discuss my success shortcomings. I've officially accomplished 0% of these goals...that's right 0/3....none!


Here are the deets:

1. I have not found a job however, I am receiving unemployment which makes the no job thing a whole lot less scary.

2. I've been sucked into the world of blogging. I read them, I write them, I read some more. In the month of September, I started 4 different books but did not finish a single one (due to the aforementioned blog time suckage!) If I continue to maintain this rate of reading, the timeline for my 1,000 book project will most certainly surpass the initial estimate of 20 years!

3. A blog a day seemed like a good idea at the time....until I had nothing to write about. And for two or three days I found myself posting crap just to have something to post. I decided that posting every day wasn't a goal I needed to pursue. I did end up with 19 posts for September...more than half!

In conclusion, September's goals were a bust. Will there be new, better goals for October? You'll just have to stay tuned.

Just Don't Do It!

Alright kiddos....today is the day where it is now illegal to text and drive in Massachusetts. So don't do it....because really, how embarrassing would it be to be the first person on the news for violating the law. You don't want to be "that person" do you?

Happy two-handed driving!

A Long-Winded Explanation (excuse?) for my Lack of Direction in Life

I went to college from 2000-2005. Yes, that is 5 years instead of the traditional 4…but hey I always was an overachiever! During those years I studied abroad, transferred schools, and declared a variety of majors. I entered college intending on taking classes that sounded interesting and hoped that everything would work out. In hindsight this seems quite naïve, but I honestly don’t think I ever stopped and really gave a thought as to what I was going to do with my life. Everyone always said “oh you’ll figure it out” but so far I haven’t.

As a freshman, I enrolled at UVM with an interest in photography and an undecided major. I declared myself as a Social Work major which lasted precisely 3 classes. Social work seemed like a daunting but rewarding field. During my third class the teacher was circulating and asking our opinions about the discussion topic. I gave mine and she seemed delighted and very enthusiastically asked, “that is wonderful, can I share that with the class?” I roll my eyes even as I write this because I don’t do touchy-feely well. I was taken aback by her approach and quickly decided that I was not nice and/or patient enough to be a social worker.

I was a Political Science major after that. American Government always appealed to me and I planned to pursue this until the events of September 11. I decided to transfer schools at the end of my sophomore year and went to UMASS Amherst as a Sociology major. Sociology fascinated (and still fascinates) me but I didn’t see it as a realistic career field. So again I switched majors, this time to Legal Studies with the intention of going to law school. Finally, I settled on, and graduated with, a double major in Legal Studies and Communications. I studied mostly media communications which at the time I was very interested in.

As I studied for the LSAT I heard horror stories of law school, the long hours, hard work and evil competitiveness. I knew that I had the capacity to conquer all of those things but at what cost? I ended up chickening out and deciding I wanted my soul more than I wanted to be a cutthroat career lawyer. So I left school with no idea of what I wanted or was going to do.

I love music…probably more than anything else. I often dreamed of working for a record company or a live music venue but I never made an attempt because I was told it was unrealistic. I am not the mover and shaker that I always thought I would be...and truth be told, that is what I am most bothered by because now I fear that it is too late.

So where does teaching come into all of this? I’m not sure…it almost seems like an afterthought. I’ve always worked with kids so teaching seemed like a natural career step but now I am second and third guessing my decision.

And there you have it. My directionless life in a nut shell…a big nutshell…like a coconut.

If you read this far…kudos to you.

Future Career Possibilities

Lately I've been thinking about what career I will pursue if this whole teaching thing doesn't work out. Here's what I've come up with:

Race Car Driver
Pro: Lots of men. I like to drive fast. I think I have good reaction time.
Con: I don't like rednecks. Possibility of immediate death.

Reality TV Star
Pro: Money for doing nothing.
Con: I'm not trashy enough. I do have some morals.

One Hit Wonder Song Writer
Pro: I write one song and I'm comfortably set for life.
Con: I doubt the writer of "Single Ladies" would have seen a dime if it weren't for Beyonce's ass.

Motivational Speaker
Pro: Make money just for talking. Travel possibilities.
Con: I have no motivation for being motivational. Watching people cry all day.

Phlebotomist
Pro: Wearing scrubs (read: pjs) to work every day. Jabbing people with sharp objects.
Con: The blood. Slight possibility of becoming a vampire.

Hmmm....so many wonderful choices. How will I ever decide?

Warning...Late Night Sentimental Crap Ahead

Truth...

Currently, my most fulfilling relationship is with my iTunes catalog. No judgement! Listening to a great song with headphones on, at a decibel that would make an audiologist cringe is probably the closest I will ever come to a religious experience. There's just something about lyrics and melody reverberating through my brain that makes me feel whole. For those three and a half minutes everything makes sense.

I spent a long time today listening to Ryan Adams (which makes me yearn to get in the car, head west and drive until I can’t see straight.) Exactly how long I listened will remain a secret but however long you are imagining...trust me it was longer.

I've been super restless as of late and in desperate need of a project. Unemployment requires you to be creative in filling daylight hours so I am undertaking the difficult task of compiling a Best Of Ryan Adams: According to Amy album. To put this mission into prospective, I can probably fit 16-18 songs on a cd…and I am beginning with a Ryan Adams catalog of at least 130 songs. So you understand the challenge.

Any Ryan Adams fans with a recommendation for best song? I will post the track list when it has been finalized.

Don't Ask Don't Tell

I cannot even believe that this is a conversation that people are wasting time and breath on. If you have men and women who are willing and able to risk their lives to defend their country, why does it matter who they bed?

I typically refrain from talking politics because it tends to isolate people very quickly. However, I'm all riled up after watching The Daily Show tonight. This bill was heavily supported by both Republicans and Democrats, but because each side always wants more they added all this extra crap and the bill ended up not passing. Are you kidding me? Why must everything be so partisan? Why can't Congress just vote on the issue at hand? "Don't Ask Don't Tell...Yes or No?"

Politics drives me fucking crazy.

P.S. I get my news from The Daily Show because watching the "real" news makes me want to punch myself in the face.

Third Time's A Charm

No visual construction update today, although there is wet cement on the new steps and I am just ITCHING to write my initials or something vulgar in it. But then I remember that I am supposed to be a grown up and have to exercise some self control. No promises.

There is a much more pressing matter to discuss today. Long story short my apartment has flooded twice because of an old pipe that froze and exploded causing a waterfall inside my wall that leaked into the apartment.

Thanks to the construction destruction men outside I came home to find water spraying out of a hole in the wall all over my living room. You know how you put your thumb over the end of a hose and it sprays....yeah just like that.

The hole:


The damage...look at the wall:


Ruined pictures:


Super Fun!

I can't think of a creative title but this is my post about what I did on Tuesday, September 21, 2010

And the madness continues...at least it waited until 8:00 this morning to begin.

But it looks like progress it being made. Hopefully this bodes well for tomorrow morning's slumber.



I know how captivating these construction updates must be but they are very important to my psyche right now. Today (which was only morning two of the noise nonsense) I showered, toweled off, and got dressed. It was only then that I realized...I never washed the conditioner out of my hair! So I repeated those steps in reverse and found myself back in the shower.

You would think that showering is such an ingrained habit that you can't really screw it up. I, however, have had many a shower fail such as: shaving only one leg, getting in the shower with underwear or socks on, and swallowing mouthfuls of shampoo just to name a few.

This is officially not the direction I thought this post was going. But despite the morning shower mishap today was good. Had a long coffee date with a friend and went for a walk in the woods with a different friend. Needless to say, I had a better day than these guys...



They met their untimely demise after flying Kamikaze style into a Westford window. Is bird suicide an issue we need to be worried about?

How Heavy is a Jackhammer?

Unemployment certainly has its pitfalls, i.e. no money, feeling useless and inconsequential in both space and time, and the heavy burden of filling all those damn daylight hours.

The one bright spot of unemployment is the freedom to determine when or if to set the alarm clock. However, I can tell you from personal experience that if you don't set the alarm clock you shouldn't be surprised when you are still in bed at 3:00...and yes that's p.m.

So being the responsible adult that I pretend to be, I responsibly set my alarm for 8:45 this morning with the intention of getting up, watching Ellen, cleaning the apartment, visiting a new baby mama, and entertaining a friend at my newly cleaned apartment.

I know you are thinking that you know exactly where this story is headed and I can tell you right now that you are wrong. I, in fact, did all of those things previously mentioned (although most of the apartment cleaning consisted of moving clutter into my bedroom and shutting the door...but let's not pretend we are surprised by that.)

Anyway...so I'm all snuggled in bed dreaming of my rich, piano playing husband when I am rudely awakened (awokened?) roused from my slumber by a jackhammer pulverizing concrete at 7:15 on a MONDAY MORNING! I tried (in vain) to coerce my mind back to sleep, but alas pillows make poor substitutes for earplugs.

After half an hour of this ruckus I dragged my bleary-eyed ass outside to see what the hell was going on. (Luckily I had the where-with-all to put on some pants.) I was greeted by the destruction of my neighbor's front steps.

For about 3.5 seconds I seriously considered tossing the jackhammer into the bushes and making a run for it. I mean look how much little destruction was accomplished in a half hour. At that rate those steps are going to be there until the end of the world! (I bet they wished they had a bigger jackhammer.) So I tiredly went about my day, which turned out quite productive for a Monday.

Seven hours later I returned to my apartment to find this crime scene:

Odds of sleeping in tomorrow? Slim to none.

Look Closely...

Two things...

A. Does something strike you as odd about this truck?

2. Do you see the arrow?

A. It's missing the last set of wheels. It's like the short bus of 18 wheelers!

2. It's there! (Hint: Look at the negative space.)

September 11

I can’t believe that it has been almost a decade since what is arguably the most defining moment of my generation. Certainly for my parents the moment their whole generation remembers is where they were when Kennedy was shot. For my generation, I bet anyone could tell you where they were and what they were doing on September 11, 2001.

I remember very vivid details from that day but this is what it all boiled down to.

It happened the week after classes had started and I didn't know if they were cancelled or if I was allowed to skip so I went to my International Politics class. At the time I was a Political Science major intended to go to law school and be a career woman.

There were these boys in class…the type who love to hear themselves talk. They are probably seedy politicians by now. But they launched into a discussion of how the U.S. deserved to be attacked and how the Twin Towers were the symbols of greed.

This class and this day changed my life. Not because I knew anyone that was directly affected but because as these boys were having this argument, people were dying and lives were being destroyed. How could they not see that? It was there, in that class that I decided I was not that cold and callus person and that Political Science was not for me.

Goals are stupid...unless you play hockey.

Whale Tales

I promise to write a post with more than 50 words sometime soon but for now let us marvel at my excellent photography skills.

This was taken at 70 mph! (I was passenger-ing not driving). Look at the composition, the focus...that is skill (or luck)!

Doing My Part

Dear Egg Industry,

.........Let's all do our part.





..............................................................................Your Welcome,
..............................................................................Amy Call

Babies!

Cutting it close! It's almost midnight! Eeek.

Just spent 6 hours talking about babies! ♥LOVE!

Learned they come out head first, face down...the head first part I already knew of course!

And...that's all.

Lame

Ugh! I almost broke my resolve to post every day in September the day after I set the goal. That doesn't bode well for the remainder of the month!

Today was...blah.

I finally jumped on the bandwagon and began reading book number 59, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. So I spent a big chunk of today in bed doing just that. Other than reading...I managed to cook myself a dinner that had more than 4 ingredients (although in the interest of full disclosure ingredients 5 and 6 were salt and pepper.)

And....that's about it. Here's hoping to a more exciting tomorrow!

It's Good to Have Goals

It’s good to have goals right? They give you something to work towards. They are a measure of progress and productivity......OR do goals just become unattainable frustrations? Hmmm…

Nevertheless, I have a few goals for September.

1. Obviously find a job…or a rich husband.

2. Keep reading to make progress on my 1,000 book challenge. So far I am up to book 58...needless to say this is a long term goal.

3. Write a blog post every single day of September (3 for 3!). And because my life is oh so exciting right now, you can wait with bated breath for awe-inspiring blogs such as:

"Dear Apple, Why do your new headphones hurt my ear cartilage?"

"An in depth study of toilet paper."

"My love of fall."

"I've never watched an episode of Jersey Shore yet I can name at least 4 cast members. What this says about the society we live in."

and...

"Grammar: is it really necessary?"

9/02/10

In honor of today being 9/02/10 (which I didn't know until I read The Sassy Curmudgeon ) let's all take a moment to remember one of the better parts of the 90's!

So...the important question....Dylan or Brandon?


As a totally unrelated aside - it took me a very long time to figure out how to add a link into my post and I am exceptionally proud that I managed to do it all by myself. I would say it's akin to programming a VCR (which I don't know if I ever successfully managed to do.)

Duck Duck Goose

So it’s September 1st which is going to kick off the monthly duck count.

Here are the categories:

Healthy family and friends: So far so good…and perhaps by October’s duck count there may be a new duckling!


Job: Ugh. No duck.


Place to live: For now until I cannot afford my rent anymore.


Significant Other: No duck. Seems like EVERYONE else in the world has a duck here.


Financial independence: Again for now. See job duck.



Miscellaneous:


Purpose in life: Who knows? Big purpose? Little purpose? Can’t give this a duck right now.

Day dreams: Lots of ducks! Having all this free time has given me lots of day dreaming time.


Wisdom: Is it narcissistic to give myself a duck for being smart? Are being smart and being wise different things? Hmmm…see this is why I’m giving myself a duck. Obviously for these deep thoughts!

BTW are ducks and geese the same/different? Are they cousins?