Spring Cleaning

The weather here in DC has been exceptionally strange this past week. Some days it has been a warm 75 degrees and the next stormy, cold, and rainy. I think this weather transition that is spring relates a lot to where I am and where I am going.

It seems like Mother Nature is trying to get out every bit of rain she can before summer comes. I can relate. I feel like I am trying to squeeze every bit of knowledge and every opportunity I can out of my current position before I move on. It's like growing pains: I want to move on, I want to be ready, but I am not sure I am yet. Maybe you never really know if you are ready until you jump in and try something new. Now, I understand I am gaining invaluable experience here. But the fact that I don't have a lot to believe in is beginning to weigh on me more and more every day. I understand it is a privilege to get paid for what you love to do. A mentor of mine told me recently that I need to work for 10 years and then I can do whatever the frick I want. After I regained my breath I prayed to God that it wouldn't be that long. Then I promised myself it wouldnt be.

As of right now I am not sure what my next step is. I am applying for developmental jobs in fields that I have worked in and am passionate about. I never thought that working and being an adult would be so hard. I guess I thought that after college everything just sorta fell into place. Nothing feels like its "in place". Being someone who knows how I feel about virtually everything, you can understand how difficult it is to not really know what I should be doing or what next step to take. But, the encouragement from my family and friends is really what is helping. Their belief in me is amazing to me and their support is really all I need :)

Winter is here. I love walking outside and feeling the cool breeze and hearing the crunch of leaves under my feet. With winter comes the holidays--I usually describe December as the most expensive month of the year. Though, I love being able to go home twice within the span of a month. Christmas with my family and friends is one of my favorite things. 


However, with the new year comes a desire for a sense of purpose. At this point I am struggling to figure out what my next step is. I have a job that I love but may not be able to pay me in the next coming months. I have passions that I wish I could pursue but getting paid to do so has been proven difficult. I live in a city that I love but dont feel like I fit in. I don't know if I have set expectations for my life that are too high and that's why I feel constantly disappointed or if I need to wade out this part of my life in order to later be able to do the things that I want to do. 

I am a firm believer that people should use the talents that they have been given. I guess I had always seen my passions as talents, and maybe I need to view them more as a character trait and pursue the actual talents I have. I have a strange knack for raising money, and can multi-task like nobody's business. I thrive in fast-paced environments and work well under pressure. So maybe I should continue to pursue raising money and get a business degree. With a business degree I can choose who I want to work for--I wouldnt have to run to Halliburton or the like. And I have personally worked for many social advocacy organizations that could really use and updated business plan. 

I dont know. I am sort of in a melancholy mood and wish that this phase of my life had a road map like everything else has. I think one of the worst feelings in the world is regret, so I worry about the decisions I am making and how they will affect everything else. But, I also believe that everything happens for a reason, and that everything will turn out exactly like it is supposed to.



I wish everyone a wonderful Holiday season! I am off to Chicago/Indiana for the first time for one of my good friends' wedding, then I am headed home to celebrate Christmas with my family. I'll start off the New Year in Los Angeles with a bunch of my best friends! I am excited for this whirlwind trip!

Snowpocalypse to floodpocalypse

Yes. Apparently I have survived one of the worst snowstorms of our time...even Obama was calling it "Snowmaggedon" I wont sugar coat it for all of you...it sucked, and it still sucks. Getting around on public transportation or as a pedestrian is not only life-threatening but also annoying. Some side walks are paved, some aren't. And if they are paved, it just means that there are enormous 6-foot tall piles of snow every few feet, blocking cars from parking, blocking bus stops, and of course, the sidewalk.
It is supposed to snow a little more tonight and next week, but I hear it is just a 'light dusting'. I guess i can deal with that. Last week on one of the 'snow days' (I didn't go to work from February 5-February 12) my friend and I decided to go see a movie. We are walking on the shoulder, because the sidewalk hadn't been plowed. Its only about a mile from my house, but because the sun had come out, all of the snow started to melt. This meant by about the 4th block, my boots were soaked. Then, in a moment of pure malevolence, a car coming towards us decides to swerve (there is no one in the lane next to him) and SPRAY us with dirty, disgusting water. SO then not only are my boots soaked, but my pants as well. He's lucky. If there was a rock nearby, he'd have a broken tail light. So then we proceed, soaking and dirty, to the movie theater. At least "it's Complicated" was one of the funniest movies I've seen in awhile. If you haven't seen it, do it. If you have, use discretion when video chatting. That was the most hilarious scene in any movie, ever.

The city is still recovering. Yesterday on my bus ride home, that usually takes about 20 minutes, it took the bus 45 minutes to travel 6 blocks. My commute is 15 blocks in total. So in order to get rid of the huge mounds blocking parking and the sidewalks, everyone is hoping that the sun will come out and melt the snow. But then what?! Everyone is now freaking out about "floodpocalypse' where all the snow melts and the city submerges underwater. Sheesh. Could this get any worse?

Every day the prospect of grad school in sunny southern California is becoming more and more exciting!

It's who you know...

This may be a D.C thing...or a city thing. I havent quite figured it out, but just as soon as I stopped being asked, "What are you doing after graduation?" I now am consistently asked, "What do you do?" And it wouldnt be a problem, except the people don't really care. Basically in this town, they just want to know if you're a valuable person for THEM to know. If you can help them get ahead. Unfortunately for all of those people, my day job that I tell people about has nothing to do with my passions or goals in life. And, I have realized, that the people that have helped me the most in this city haven't done so through their jobs.

I am hoping to, in the next 6 months or so, figure out if I want to go to grad school for Public Policy, Urban Planning, or a JD combined with either of those. The other day I was talking to a co worker about a thesis I wrote in college about homelessness and she started telling me about an organization called Share Our Strength. Evidently she knows some of the founders of this org that raises money to help the poor. Sounds right up my alley. Anyways, she gave me a contact and I am hopefully going to start volunteering there soon. The point of the story is that if I had met this woman at a bar or event and just asked her what she does, I would have written her off completely. So I am trying to figure out how to get under the superficial layer that people show when networking. I understand that having connections is important, and in some circumstances it really helps. But I am glad I have learned not to write people off so soon, cause you never know who might be able to help you out at any given point.

However, it is fun to make some solid connections. Just in this last week I have been driven home by an NBA player, and met Fez from That 70's show. No big deal. :)

Talking about connections, the best one I have at work is the IT guy. For some reason, he is absolutely SMITTEN with me, lol. Everyone complains about how they put in an IT request and it can take days or weeks to get it figured out. Me, I barely have to instant message him with a question and he has come up 3 floors and appears at my desk, ready to help me out. Let's just say my boss doesn't condone it, but tells me to just keep on smiling. Which isn't difficult to do here. Let me just tell you about my work situation. I work in a beautiful building in downtown. However, since I am a temp, I have been placed in this back room of cubicles I have gotten everyone to start calling 'The Submarine Room" because there are no windows and no natural light. Most of the time I am the only person back here, and if ipods didn't exist I think i may have gone crazy by this point. So, whenever I get to come out of my deep, dark, hole, I am the most peppy and excited person you have ever met. All my coworkers ask me what I am on, and if I can get them a sample. But the truth is that people give me energy, and my lack of human contact makes me so desperate that I have acquired this upbeat, peppy personality. Want to understand the extremity of this? Its true even BEFORE my coffee. Yup. Now you understand. Other people are glaring at me as I practically skip into work and say hi to every possible person I can before heading down under. I guess its not a bad reputation to have, though.

That is good for now. I'll spend the weekend sledding in the two feet of snow were supposed to get. Yay!

Life Lessons

So i have been meaning to start up blogging again since moving to DC, but it has just taken a little while... so let me catch you all up on what has been going on for the last 4 months.

I moved from sunny Los Angeles to Washington, D.C. in August. The move was somewhat planned and thought through...but as you will find out, many plans just completely fell apart.

Right now I am completely settled and loving life in the city. Above all, I am learning life lessons that couldn't have been learned in a classroom. No matter what anyone could have told me, I don't think that I would have ever been completely prepared for life as an adult. Its just one of those things you have to start and hit the ground running.

First Lesson: Be DISCREET. (in the workplace)

Most embarrassing story thus far definitely happened at my present job. Every morning, after checking my calender and email, my favorite co workers and I get coffee and sit in their 'office' (a decorated storage room) and chat. Its an enclosed room, so we figured we had privacy, and honestly just never really thought about it. One particular morning my co worker was talking about her male roommate that has had his mom come to visit 3 times in the last 4 months. (weird. he's 25.) On top of that, turns out this roommate and his mom are bunking together too...that's right. Sharing his bed. (weirder.) So we are all laughing about it when our Groupon for the day comes in. (A daily coupon for dining, clubs, spas, etc, in DC) and it happened to be a special for pole-dancing classes. All of us get pretty excited and decide to buy it and try it out. It's supposed to be an awesome workout! At this point some lady comes to the door, looking a bit timid. She then proceeds to tell us that due to some funny acoustics in the hallway, their 'pod' (group of cubicles) has been able to hear EVERY conversation that my friends and i have had in that room for the past month we've been working there. Our faces turn white. I have never been so humiliated in my life! You have to understand, us 3 girls have talked about everything from boys/dating to periods to... yea. Pole dancing. I avoided eye contact with everyone on that side of the floor for the rest of the day.

So, lesson learned. Close the door. At least the lady told us we were their daily entertainment...but I'd rather they get that from youtube or something.