Snohomish farm

Today I stayed home from work because of the headache that prevented me from being able to walk without looking like a drunk octogenarian. I worked at the kitchen table, which overlooks the horse pasture. My in-laws have two beautiful chestnut horses (at least, I think that's what they're called). I just fed them some carrots.

I also checked on the kohlrabi, carrots, rainbow chard and basil I'm growing. The kohlrabi (white and purple) have already started to germinate, the first little sprouts are always the most fun for me to see. I may be pretty terrible at growing plants indoors, but I feel happy when I have dirt smeared hands and my knees and back ache from weeding and tending plants. I don't really like flowers all that much, although I'm a big fan of perennials. What I really enjoy is planting vegetables or fruits and then eating them when they're grown. There's just something so satisfying about sustenance gained from your own work, and knowing exactly where your food is coming from.

While I'm not a huge fan of the new commute, I love our new place. When we buy, I want enough space for a garden - kohlrabi, chard, lettuce, spinach, carrots, herbs, and cauliflower or broccoli. And I want some lovely perennial flowering plants surrounding the house and yard. I am so glad that, unless something truly odd and unforeseen occurs, I will never live in another apartment.

Job Loss graph - turn your eyes away quickly, it hurts too much

Job loss projections

I read recently that job loss projections for workers between 18-30 is supposed to reach 30% this year, and over 10% nationwide. Which is, quite frankly, really disturbing.

I'm thankful I have a good job right now, but you never know. Everyone keeps talking about how consumers shouldn't be so worried, and it's their worry that is slowing the economy - no spending. But, when you feel like you might lose your job next week, what in the world would induce you to spend this week?

I have the feeling I'll be eating a lot more rice in the coming months. Good thing I like rice. :)

FSOT

So... slight annoyance. I took the new and revamped Foreign Service Officer test the first time I could feasibly take it in December. We were supposed to receive results early this week. However, I received word from someone on the message board I belong to that the results won't be available until March 17. So, more waiting. I'm told this is an implied factor of the test - the patience and perseverance it takes simply to get through the entire process.

I figure it takes the average candidate 3-5 tries to get in. I'll give it five tries and if it's still a no go, I'll know it's time to give up. In the meantime, I'll continue as I am, making money to pay off debts so that I can make a decision about my future without my debts making up the largest portion of my decision-making pie chart.

Hogwarts, here I come!

The last few days, I've been rather upset and unhappy with my situation in Singapore. As I expected, the experience of living with a man I don't know while attempting to take care of his two children to his ex-wife's expectations is rather - challenging.

But, I have slogged through what will probably be the toughest part (this is what I hope) through the support of my loving friends and family, and I will persevere. It also helps/doesn't help that I really can't wait to go home, go to the Seattle Opera House, eat at the Spaghetti Factory, go to the Imax, basically, do everything that I haven't done in ages since I moved away to college in 2001.* It's time to go home. So, I'm homesick, which is both good and bad, depending.

The last thing that's got my spirits buoyed recently is that I'm seeing Harry Potter 5 tomorrow. yay! Can't wait. AND, especially can't wait for the last book. I don't want to buy the expensive hardcover though. I'm working on how I'm going to get to reading that.

I also really need to get a job. I have plenty of loans to work on, plus I need a new laptop. Mine was on sale when I bought it because it was already going out of "fashion" technologically speaking. Now, the light in the screen constantly poops out and now my space bar is stuck. Which is making is beyond annoying to type this blog post, but I refuse to give in to self pity over a sicky space bar. Hopefully I'll have enough by next fall when I go back to school and back into deferment status on my loans. Good plan all around. :)

*I don't care that Ellensburg was only an hour and a half away from Seattle (barring trouble on Snoqualmie, which was rather frequent during winter). The Burg FELT like a different world, regardless of how close it may have actually been.

back to the drawing board

so, I'm back where I was in October. I really don't know what's wrong with me sometimes - I always have these great ideas and then realize that that's really not where I want to go anyway.

So the drawing board - I said once that I wouldn't go back to grad school unless it was something I really felt passionate about because otherwise, the work would be complete drudgery instead of just partial drudgery. Well, I've found a grad school program that I think would only be partial drudgery. The workload has me choking slightly, but it's all really amazing stuff worth reading. So yes, I have applied to a program in Development and International Relations at Aalborg University in Denmark. We shall see how this new idea holds up.

One of the requirements for the degree program is a 3-5 month long internship with an international organization that fulfills the requirements for the coursework. I was looking at the Carter Center and the UN thinking that it would be really interesting to work on projects that would have real world importance, then I remembered the William J. Clinton Foundation and checked out their website. I was impressed with the number of offers for interns and ability to get hands on experience, then I realized that many, many jokes would be made at my expense if I were to intern there. So sad....

more new plans....always more plans

Yet again, I have had a brainstorm that may or may not die tomorrow. If so, that would be really sad because I just got done with writing an essay on diversity.

I am now applying to teach at community colleges. We will see how this progresses, and I'm not even sure if it's a very good idea because well.... I'm here, and they're well, they're there. And I'm not.

But anyway, they all want a different application filled out, and most of them also want you to write an essay for them. One, they wanted to know my philosophy on the community college learner-centered approach. I haven't started writing that one yet, so I'm not precisely certain what it means. Or more precisely, what it means to the human resources people who read these essays. The diversity essay was interesting. I deeply resent having to write such essays. I think diversity is absolutely necessary and community colleges fulfill an important role in educating non-traditional and minority students throughout the country because large universities don't seem to be able to handle them. But, I always feel like I sound so trite in these essays. Yuck.

Anyway, we'll see how this latest brainstorm works out. I mean, for all I know, the job I actually get this fall could be working at some corporate office in Seattle. Could be worse.... I could be living in California..... I'm applying to seven community colleges in CA - it might actually happen. God help me.