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Forever and a Day.

I know it's been forever-and-a-day since I've had something to say. The fact of the matter is, I've had a lot to say, I just haven't felt that my blog has been the appropriate venue. I'm planning to get back into blogging more seriously and with a much stronger commitment, but the time isn't "right" just yet. Don't worry, I'll be sure to let you know when I'm ready to throw myself back out here.

What I've Been Up To: Phillies

2009 has been great for my baseball spectating, as I've been able to basically watch nearly every Phillies game throughout the season. This is pure daily magic and much better than living in a state that can't carry the Phillies on a daily basis. If you follow baseball then you know the Phillies won the National League East title on Wednesday night for the third straight year. Excellent. This means I get to watch them play for hopefully a few more weeks as they try to make their way deep into the playoffs and defend their World Series Championship.

October is generally an amazing month for various reasons; this is just the icing on the cake.

What I've Been Up To: Closet Transformation

It's about the time of the year when a lot of people in the northeast embrace the coming of fall and the impending doom of winter. Football season to northerners means hooded sweatshits and sweater season, and people get pretty excited about it. I'm not one of those people.

Having lived in the south for 3.5 years, I basically abandoned my former love of fall and grew to love extended summer, with 80 degree days in October and flip flops into December. (It's true. I definitely did the previous year's Christmas shopping in flip flops in December.) I would much rather be hot (and bothered) than cold. Seriously. Especially now, since this past summer wasn't much more than spring. I think we may have had two days in the 90s and a helluva lot of rain. It didn't much feel to me like summer just ended; I was still waiting for it to fully arrive.

Regardless, the weather has changed. Today, I had to bust out a hooded sweatshirt to venture off for the day's errands. Tomorrow, the high is supposed to be 55 degrees. Depressing.

Knowing this seasonal change was due to hit this week, I used some time last week to tackle my closet. While I don't always like the change of seasons, I do like the two times a year where I dedicate a whole day to closet transformation. This process involves packing away the items that are no longer needed for the upcoming season, determining what clothes won't make it to next year for a variety of reasons but usually because they have lost the ability to fit properly, and pulling out the packed-away items necessary for the upcoming season. I do love this process.

I love organizing, and I love throwing things out. There's something therapeutic about both things for me. I like finding a way to put things in order, and I like the letting go of items that no longer serve their purpose. I love donating unwanted items to charity. And, I love having the time to do unnecessary but enjoyable organizing like color-coordinating the clothes in my closet. I know, I know. I have way too much time on my hands, and you probably think I'm a huge loser with borderline OCD issues because this is fun for me. But it's true. I love it. I'm now on a mission to find other things to organize.

What I've Been Up To: Errands

I run a lot of errands. Some of these errands are obviously for myself; often, though, the errands are run for others or with others.

For example, last Monday I took my grandmother and my great aunt to their doctor's appointment. I dropped them off at 10:30am and parked the car. When I joined them in the waiting room, I discovered that my grandmother had the wrong date for her appointment and my aunt didn't actually have an appointment scheduled. Apparently, my aunt just wanted to speak with the doctor. Oh brother. Thankfully, the doctor was able to see them both. We had a nice lunch afterward at a local diner. That was a pretty good errand because I was rewarded with food, and I do love food.

On Friday, I accompanied my aunt to the Harrisburg area to run some errands. I had a few things to get for myself, so this was convenient. We even ended up with a free lunch because the restaurant screwed up our salad portion of our meal. The only thing better than a reward of food is a reward of free food.

Running errands with my aunt, though, has its compromises. See, the day usually ends with a stop at a casino. This was the case last Friday as well as today. Unlike the majority of women in my family, I am not a big gambler. I'm especially not a big gambler now as I don't have the funds to support gambling. My aunt did buy me a milkshake on our way out of the casino, so that was a nice way to end the experience. Free milkshakes are just as enjoyable as free food.

I think I'm a pretty good errand-runner. I mean, it's not really difficult. My brother says I remind him of Elaine Benes when she worked for Mr. Pitt in that one season of Seinfeld. That could be a good life. I'd love to work for some rich dude and buy his tube socks. Anyone know of someone looking for a personal assistant?

What I've Been Up To: Netflix

I haven't blogged lately, mostly because I'm still "trying to figure out what to do with my life"/job searching and there's nothing exciting about this process. So I figure it's more exciting to write about some of the random things I've been up to, while I try to sort out that "real world" stuff. I decided to do some installments that cover some of the things I do to stay busy (read: get out of bed every morning).

I joined Netflix back in February, when I was committed to watching the entire series of Lost as quickly as possible. I wrote about this back in the day. Since then, I've used Netflix as a way to see the plethora of films I've missed over the past few years.

Specifically, in recent weeks, I decided to watch each of the 2009 Oscar nominees for Best Picture of the Year. This list includes: Slumdog Millionaire, The Reader, Milk, Frost/Nixon and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Usually, when the Oscars are awarded, I've only seen one of the films in this category. This was true this past year as well, as I only saw The Curious Case of Benjamin Button in the theater back in December. So I had the remaining four films to watch.

Each of these films is a must-see for any avid movie-goer. Honestly. Each was extremely different in content and context, and each made for a pleasurable viewing experience. I would highly recommend each of them if you are looking for something to watch. I was really glad I took on this endeavor because these were some of the best films I've ever seen. Seriously. Ever.

In this spirit, I've also started to back-track and I've started to watch the 2008 Oscar nominees in this category as well. I'm really pleased with this idea of mine, as the films have all been great.

The only thing missing is a good neighbor/friend who would want to watch these with me, and then discuss incessantly over a burrito or coffee or ice cream.

Dear Employers:

An employer is someone who meets these characteristics:
A. deemed responsible enough to hire a new staff member
B. capable of screening job applications
C. interview selected candidates via the telephone
D. interview selected candidates in person
E. decide to select someone for a position
F. decide to reject other people for the position

So, if you are an employer who does the above, you should have the decency to PICK UP THE TELEPHONE AND CALL the person you have rejected from said employment. I posted about this in July. For the love of anything, it's human decency. MAN UP. Make the phone call. It only takes two minutes:

"Hi Carol. This is Such-and-Such from Where-and-Where. It was a pleasure meeting you on your interview, however, we've selected a more qualified applicant and he/she has accepted our offer. Thank you for your time. Good luck to you."

How hard is that? Honestly. It's easier than making dinner. It's easier than putting gas in your car. It's a two-minute phone call.

I deserve better.

Everyone deserves better. It's called being a functioning member of society.

Get it together, employers.

Well...

holy f*$#. it's september.

Possible Problem

I'm fairly certain the only three members of the male race to find me attractive in the past 12 months have been individuals under the age of 21.

According to my dad, "Carol, you probably need to get out more."

No kidding.

Oh my...

It's August. Holy crap.

Happy Birthday, Bro-seph!

Happy 30th Birthday to my brother Joe!

He is freaked out a bit by this milestone birthday. I decided it would be a nice gesture to give him a shout-out. So here's a little dedication to my bro: the top 30 things I love about him.

30. He has a great laugh.
29. He has an amazing sense of humor.
28. He can make sitting down to a meal an extraordinary experience.
27. He finds ways to take ordinary jokes and incorporate his friends and family into them, making them much more enjoyable.
26. He finds pleasure in simple things, like the nicknames of our grandparents' friends.
25. He is loyal.
24. He still has a strong sense of wonder and awe about things happening throughout the world.
23. He enjoys the "small stuff."
22. He can find ways to incorporate Seinfeld into daily conversations.
21. He is one smart cookie. Ask him about history and geography and be prepared to be impressed by his great wisdom.
20. He recognizes the ridiculousness of his own circumstances, and finds ways to enjoy them no matter what.
19. He is an amazing role model for young students and athletes.
18. He is a great friend to the knuckleheads he surrounds himself with.
17. He still gets excited about things he's done a million times, like playing golf.
16. He'll encourage you to try out things he likes, so he can share his joys with you, like his current infatuation with South Park.
15. He gets excited for things he loved in his youth, like Star Wars.
14. He supports his teams to the bitter end - even when they break his heart.
13. He'll do anything at least once.
12. He sends really funny text messages.
11. He can use the word "neat" and not sound like a complete doofus.
10. He can dish it out as well as take it.
9. He'll go the extra mile to help someone in need.
8. He knows how to appreciates pure, comedic genius.
7. He has an amazing ability to tell great stories.
6. He has strong-rooted convictions, particularly in his politics and his faith.
5. He is a passionate coach who dedicates copious hours to the youth.
4. He is even more passionate about education and teaching his students to open their minds to new and wonderful learning experiences.
3. He "understands" those things only he and I can truly understand.
2. He is always there for me, especially when I need him most.
1. He's the best brother anyone could ask for.

Happy birthday, Joe! Here's wishing you another amazing thirty years!

What is happening to society?

As a society of human beings, we have lost some basic interpersonal skills. This becomes much more evident as I become more deeply invested in my job search and trying to piece together some sort of future.

In today's techno-savvy world, so much communication occurs electronically. I apply for jobs via the internet. "Click here to upload document." "Click here to submit application." "Application will not be reviewed unless all information is entered correctly." I have applied for more than 20 jobs since March and only two of the applications were not submitted either through one of these online systems or via email.

Job searching has become so impersonal in today's world that you sometimes don't even ever hear one word from the organization. Some places don't even send the automated email that says "We received your application." Some places don't even send the automated email that says "While you have an impressive set of skills, you were not selected." Honestly, it's on the searcher nowadays to go back into these systems and find the words "Selection Made." Translation: GAME OVER.

Lately, I have been fortunate to get some phone calls, do some phone interviews, and even head on campus for actual interviews. It's a nice feeling to actually get to meet people and share with them some small slice of who I am.

I had a phone interview with a particular organization, at the convenience of the employer. I also had an on campus interview with a particular organization, again at the convenience of the employer. In both cases, I made myself available to meet their timelines to give myself the opportunity to be evaluated. I find it quite disappointing that after this one phone interview and after this one in-person interview, I was informed that I was not their top choice through an email. What is happening here? How hard is it to actually pick up the telephone and call the candidate you've actually already spoken to? I get that if you haven't had any prior encounter, an email rejection will do. But honestly, if the candidate adjusted to the employer schedule and the candidate came to campus to interview, I would think the employer could have the decency to make a phone call and say, "Carol, it was nice talking with you" or "Carol, it was nice meeting you but we've selected another candidate." Fine. Just make the call. It's the least one could do.

I mean, honestly, what's next? Am I going to start getting text messages that say:

"Thnx but no thnx."
"U R S.O.L." (You are shit outta luck.)
"Thanks for playing."

I hope to high heaven that this isn't what society is really coming to. It's amazing how we've become a society where it means a GREAT deal that someone actually picks up the telephone and makes a call. I wanna work for these people - the people who get the importance of a few minutes to dial a few digits and say a few words. Even if you reject me, I'll still respect you as a human being, capable of interpersonal communication.

Fireworks

I don't like fireworks. I repeat: I don't like fireworks. Call me insane. Call me anti-American. Call me whatever you want. Name your millions of reasons why fireworks are fantastic. You won't change my mind.

As a child growing up, my family went to the neighboring town, Shamokin, for the yearly 4th of July fireworks show. We sat in a cemetery on a hill. Creepy. Regardless, every year we went. And every year my mother, aunt, and grandmother would "oooh" and "awww" obnoxiously for the entire fireworks show. This experience scarred me for life and is the reason to this day that I dislike fireworks.

My brother shares my feelings.

I like everything else about the 4th of July. Food. Baseball. Family. Relaxation. Gratitude for being born in this great country and the rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Thankfulness for the many soldiers who have fought for my freedom. I'm pretty pleased to say I can truly enjoy this holiday every year. And I can do so without fireworks.

A few words on MJ

Aunt Stella was surprised that I went a whole week without offering my commentary on the death of Michael Jackson. I really don't have anything to say, to be honest. I was never a huge Michael Jackson fan. Don't get me wrong. I can certainly appreciate his place in music history and his influence on the music industry over the years, but I'm just generally not a person who was really into him and his music. Sue me.

Now, I am a big fan of Thriller. I'll give you that. That's classic music and possibly one of the best music videos of all time. I'd say this is the era of Michael Jackson I enjoy the most, and I think many people would agree.

I don't own anything of the Michael Jackson collection. I never bought a cassette single. I never bought a cassette. I never bought a CD or DVD or downloaded any of his songs. He is not currently on my ipod and I'm fairly certain this will never change.

Yes, I know this makes me a rarity in the world. Again, sue me.

I can tell you that my earliest memory of Michael Jackson occurred when I was like five or six years old. (Seriously, I was pretty young.) My family was in Florida for a vacation, specifically in the Orlando area. On our visit to Epcot Center, I vividly remember standing outside the Journey into Imagination theater while my Aunt Donna nearly wet herself in excitement about viewing Captain EO in 3D. It was probably one of the greatest moments in her life - she loved Michael.

I do think it's sad that he died. Moreover, I think it's extremely sad that he fell so far from his place once atop the music world. It's really unfortunate that celebrities have to live such public lives. His legacy is certainly tainted. But again, I can respect his place in the music world.

Rest in peace.

Hairy Tale

Lately, I've been showering before bed, which is normally something I don't do. I tend to like to shower in the morning to get up and ensure my hair doesn't look like a mop. But since I work out in the early evenings, it's really better to shower after my workout before bed. I don't like the two-shower day, particularly when I'm not going anywhere interesting.

So I went into work today for a few hours and didn't shower before work since I showered last night. Since my hair is curly, I can usually get away with this by throwing on a headband and pulling my hair into some sort of pony tail at the base of my head. The messy yet not too messy look, which takes me a whopping 24 seconds to pull off. It's delightful really.

This afternoon, I had to ask my supervisor a question, and she complimented my hair, saying how nice it looked in this style. Ha. Seriously? I actually laughed out loud for a second. If she only knew how much effort didn't go into my preparation for work. Ha. Still amused.

Hoop It Up

I played basketball growing up for ten years. It was my favorite sport to play. I really loved it until my senior year of high school, which was a total let-down as a player. Since high school, I haven't played much. Sure, in college, my friends and I occasionally played in intramural leagues, but they often only lasted a month or so because there wasn't enough interest from other females to play. Co-ed intramurals is perhaps the most unenjoyable basketball I've ever played because all guys want to do is dunk and there isn't much actual playing involved.

The basketball I liked to play growing up was the basketball that required running set offenses and defensive schemes. Offensively was usually a battle because my team always had at least one ball hog and we never actually ran offenses they way they were intended to be run. I loved playing defense, though, because I usually was able to defend the other team's best player and I enjoyed this challenge.

This summer, a few friends convinced me to join them in a women's league held at a local high school. There are six teams in the league, two teams of high school students and four teams of older alums like myself. Some of these women are just plain crazy - they are obsessed with this league and it's basically the biggest thing they look forward to once a week. On the other hand, I'm really not that overly interested in it. I agreed to play because it's good exercise and mostly to see my friends. I didn't sign up to play because I thought it would be fun because basketball stopped being fun for me a long time ago.

I was on my road trip and missed the first game. The second game, my first appearance, confirmed my initial expectation - that this experience wouldn't be much fun and that I don't actually like basketball. Needless to say, I wasn't excited to show up for our third game this past Sunday.

My team has a lot of busy people with outside commitments so we haven't had a week where everyone could play. On Sunday, we played with only 5 total players, so we had no one to sub for us to give us a breather. Back in the day, I didn't need a sub, but since it's clearly not 1999, forty minutes of basketball is pretty rigorous, despite the fact that I did get myself into pretty decent shape the past few months.

We battled on Sunday. The best part about the game was that we actually played well offensively and actually did make great passes which lead to open shots. Defensively was much tougher because we played a team of 16-year-old high school girls who are in their athletic prime. They strategized to play us full court in the second half, which really winded us and took some energy away. Sadly, we lost our third game in a row. But surprisingly for me, I actually really enjoyed this game. I honestly had fun. I really didn't think that was possible.

Unofficial Minors

I've always said that when you get a master's degree to work in higher education, you earn "unofficial minors" in icebreakers, teambuilders, and bulletin boards - basically, all those "little" things you learn to do as staff members to work with students/student groups and plan/advertise events.

While I posted earlier that my part time job is pretty boring lately because no students are around, this week I have actually enjoyed work. I've had the opportunity to really use my minor in bulletin boards, which in a larger extent means I've been making a lot of flyers, signs, spreadsheets, nametags and the like in order to help out with some events that are happening next week sponsored by my office. In essence, this isn't challenging work in a critical thinking sort of way, but it does keep the creative juices flowing which does usually pass the time pretty quickly. I've actually enjoyed working the past two days because I've been able to be involved in these sorts of things and it's somewhat therapeutic. Today, I even dominated the copy machine and found some ways to fancy-up some of my work.

It's the little things, really, and in these times, I'll take whatever I can get to enjoy work.

Fossils

I'm still currently working part time at Bucknell and most days it's something I consider to be pretty boring. There aren't many students around so doing summer project work tends to be fairly independent and uninspiring. However, it is a paycheck and clearly, I need some money and something to do during the week.

I never have voicemail messages. There's really no reason for anyone to call me. But yesterday, I did have a voicemail. I was somewhat excited because I thought maybe it would lead to something interesting to do.

The man who left the message said, "I'm calling to find out who in the geology department I can speak to about a fossil I found." He went on to say that he had called once before about a similar situation.

Um, so he called me. Why?

I don't work in the geology department, and I definitely don't know anything about fossils.

This didn't lead to anything interesting to do, but it was pretty funny for about three minutes of my Monday.

New Look

If you're reading this, you should obviously be aware that my blog has a new fancy look. This was my first attempt at trying to personalize my blog, and thanks to the tips from my friend Heather, I think it was a pretty successful first attempt!

I think after posting so often about the road trip, I got bored with the old look; I mean, it's been the same since the start which was way back in 2006. So I spent some time experimenting and I kinda like what I came up with. (It helps when other blogs offer fancy things like this for free!)

Please, if you're an avid reader of my verbose ramblings, let me know what you think. Also, I'd love for you to become a "follower" of my blog which you can easily do by creating an account and signing up - this way, you get updates on when I've actually posted something new. Tell your friends. I'm trying to gauge if people other than those who know me first-hand would be interested in anything I have to say - just a side social experiment if you will.

And please feel free to comment on anything whenever you want. It makes blogging much more fun for me! Much love to you!

Road Trip Summary

I like numbers so here's some random stats on our trip:

Miles: 1694
Days: 10
States: 7
Cannolis: 6
Ballparks: 3
Breweries: 2
Moose: 1

Generally speaking, one helluva road trip.

Honestly, I had such an amazing time. We saw so many fantastic sites, ate so many delicious meals, and in essence just had a ton of fun. It was an absolute blast to spend this trip with my cousin Jen and I hope we can do something similar in the future. While my wallet is glad to be home, I'm certainly already missing the adventure, the open road, the unknown, and the pure pleasure of travel. I cannot wait for the next voyage.

I hope you've enjoyed reading about our experiences!