Organizing Music (Oh, and Happy Independence Day)
(Oh, and on a side note, apparently Firefox doesn't hate LJ rich text function now. Whatever.)
After listening to some Nickel Creek this afternoon, I realized that the best way to organize my music might be by month. Yes kids, that's right, seasonal. It's just so difficult otherwise! I've tried doing the basic organization by music genre, but there are obviously some variants in there, especially within albums. Ugh. I'm eventually going to make playlists, and then I can be a bit more picky with each particular song, but for now seasonal fits my mood. Nickel Creek, for example, is mid-to-late autumn. It's right when the cold weather starts to poke its head in, and you have to walk around in flannel pj pants and a sweater to be comfy, drinking hot cocoa or hot apple cider and reading all afternoon. Mmm. I need to find a place on earth where it's always fall. That would be mighty nice.
In other news, I bought a Lego set today! It's one of the Lego Creator sets, so it's got 3-in-1 instructions for models and it's pretty much amazing. I was reminiscing about playing with Legos as a child with my dad and I just got nostalgic and needed to get a set. It was on sale, too, so yay! My next adventure will be to go home on the 25th and pick up a few other Lego sets while I'm at it! I have an amazing Egyptian temple from long ago that's got traps and mummies and skeletons -- it's amazing!
Job hunting is getting tedious, but when hardly any companies give callbacks (ahemBarnesandNoblecough), it's pretty much my only option. I'm also considering the option of two part-time positions and just forfeiting health insurance and other benefits for the time being. This might be a great short-term option, and wouldn't look terrible on a resume, but I'm still not sure how it would work. Otherwise, I've got three promising positions with the City of Madison and state government and another with the Credit Union, as well as a perfect position at the UW. Unfortunately, all the deadlines are mid-to-late July, so playing the waiting game is currently necessary. I just hope I get a few callbacks this time, and then I'll probably be a little more sure of myself. All the positions I'm applying to (with the exception of the Credit Union, that is) are more money than I make now, though, so that gives me some hope. Also, I'm incredibly well-qualified for at least two of the total positions, so hey, maybe I have a shot, right? Hrmph. Probably not. :(
Chris has been doing nothing but playing Fable II since his laptop went caput (or...it annoyed him enough for him to take it back to Best Buy), and the game is amazing! Unfortunately, you can only have one save file so we'll have to take turns playing. I'm planning out a completely badass bartender though, yay!
I've just started replaying Baten Kaitos and it's been fun, but I'm taking it pretty slow. I made a pretty silly mistake in the beginning that caused me to lose my camera (in order to take pics, and thereby make ANY money in the game), but I should be getting it back in about a half-hour game time or so.
I've also been pretty much speed-reading through Fables, too. I love this series! It keeps you turning each page and has a fantastically dreadful story filled with love, war and adventure. I'm addicted, and just started the 5th graphic novel last night. Woo! I decided that once I'm done with them (or...up to 11 or whatever's the most current) I'm going to finish my other book and then re-read all the Harry Potter books. I've been aching to read them in order for some time now, and by this time I should have a chance to go home and pick them up.
Chinese studying has been very good, and Chris is learning incredibly fast. His characters are looking really good, and his speaking isn't too bad at all. I think he's picked up a few things from just hearing me speak, too. :) However, it will all come down to how well he can memorize it, and if I know him as well as I think I do, I'm sure he'll do fine, and 6 credits of A will be in his future. Speaking of Chinese, though, I've been using it more and more at work (so many Chinese people live on the west side, seriously) and yesterday a man wanted a hug from me after I said a fairly simple sentence to him. He then tested me on more of my speaking ability and said, and I quote, "Your pronunciation is so fantastic! You sould like a native speaker, really!" If nothing else, it made me smile. I think I've been aching to go back to China, too. Whether it be for a visit, honeymoon or to live, I need to go back. It's not unlike many study abroad experiences I think people have had. You always have a connection to the place you've traveled to. But this feels more certain. It's almost as if I know I have some sort of future there, but it's just uncertain as to what I will need to do to get back there. I'm not sure if it will be education, business, or what. But there's no doubt about it, I will be going back.
I've concluded that I perpetually live in some dreamland and make up stories in my head all day long to deal with the few crappy things in my life right now. I worry a lot that this will be a perpetual habit, and I'll never be completely satisfied, even when things get better. But I'm hoping that the next month's worth of changes will all be for the better, and that a new job won't be far after this. If all goes well, my daydreaming should hopefully subside and I'll fall back into reality. Well, at least somewhat. :) Right?
All in all, though, things aren't that bad. I'm not losing my current job any time soon, and I've somehow been able to pay for stuff so far, and next year will be even cheaper. I've spent more time educating myself in those things I'd like to since graduating and have more leisure time than I sometimes know what to do with. I've been having tons of fun and am really enjoying my free time, especially since Chris has been home. I've spent more time talking to my parents about things and feel more connected to them than I ever have. I've also been forging pretty ready friendships with Chris's parents, which will hopefully be good for the future. I just need to focus on the good and forget about the few bad things. Easier said than done. But it is doable. I just need to see that.
After listening to some Nickel Creek this afternoon, I realized that the best way to organize my music might be by month. Yes kids, that's right, seasonal. It's just so difficult otherwise! I've tried doing the basic organization by music genre, but there are obviously some variants in there, especially within albums. Ugh. I'm eventually going to make playlists, and then I can be a bit more picky with each particular song, but for now seasonal fits my mood. Nickel Creek, for example, is mid-to-late autumn. It's right when the cold weather starts to poke its head in, and you have to walk around in flannel pj pants and a sweater to be comfy, drinking hot cocoa or hot apple cider and reading all afternoon. Mmm. I need to find a place on earth where it's always fall. That would be mighty nice.
In other news, I bought a Lego set today! It's one of the Lego Creator sets, so it's got 3-in-1 instructions for models and it's pretty much amazing. I was reminiscing about playing with Legos as a child with my dad and I just got nostalgic and needed to get a set. It was on sale, too, so yay! My next adventure will be to go home on the 25th and pick up a few other Lego sets while I'm at it! I have an amazing Egyptian temple from long ago that's got traps and mummies and skeletons -- it's amazing!
Job hunting is getting tedious, but when hardly any companies give callbacks (ahemBarnesandNoblecough), it's pretty much my only option. I'm also considering the option of two part-time positions and just forfeiting health insurance and other benefits for the time being. This might be a great short-term option, and wouldn't look terrible on a resume, but I'm still not sure how it would work. Otherwise, I've got three promising positions with the City of Madison and state government and another with the Credit Union, as well as a perfect position at the UW. Unfortunately, all the deadlines are mid-to-late July, so playing the waiting game is currently necessary. I just hope I get a few callbacks this time, and then I'll probably be a little more sure of myself. All the positions I'm applying to (with the exception of the Credit Union, that is) are more money than I make now, though, so that gives me some hope. Also, I'm incredibly well-qualified for at least two of the total positions, so hey, maybe I have a shot, right? Hrmph. Probably not. :(
Chris has been doing nothing but playing Fable II since his laptop went caput (or...it annoyed him enough for him to take it back to Best Buy), and the game is amazing! Unfortunately, you can only have one save file so we'll have to take turns playing. I'm planning out a completely badass bartender though, yay!
I've just started replaying Baten Kaitos and it's been fun, but I'm taking it pretty slow. I made a pretty silly mistake in the beginning that caused me to lose my camera (in order to take pics, and thereby make ANY money in the game), but I should be getting it back in about a half-hour game time or so.
I've also been pretty much speed-reading through Fables, too. I love this series! It keeps you turning each page and has a fantastically dreadful story filled with love, war and adventure. I'm addicted, and just started the 5th graphic novel last night. Woo! I decided that once I'm done with them (or...up to 11 or whatever's the most current) I'm going to finish my other book and then re-read all the Harry Potter books. I've been aching to read them in order for some time now, and by this time I should have a chance to go home and pick them up.
Chinese studying has been very good, and Chris is learning incredibly fast. His characters are looking really good, and his speaking isn't too bad at all. I think he's picked up a few things from just hearing me speak, too. :) However, it will all come down to how well he can memorize it, and if I know him as well as I think I do, I'm sure he'll do fine, and 6 credits of A will be in his future. Speaking of Chinese, though, I've been using it more and more at work (so many Chinese people live on the west side, seriously) and yesterday a man wanted a hug from me after I said a fairly simple sentence to him. He then tested me on more of my speaking ability and said, and I quote, "Your pronunciation is so fantastic! You sould like a native speaker, really!" If nothing else, it made me smile. I think I've been aching to go back to China, too. Whether it be for a visit, honeymoon or to live, I need to go back. It's not unlike many study abroad experiences I think people have had. You always have a connection to the place you've traveled to. But this feels more certain. It's almost as if I know I have some sort of future there, but it's just uncertain as to what I will need to do to get back there. I'm not sure if it will be education, business, or what. But there's no doubt about it, I will be going back.
I've concluded that I perpetually live in some dreamland and make up stories in my head all day long to deal with the few crappy things in my life right now. I worry a lot that this will be a perpetual habit, and I'll never be completely satisfied, even when things get better. But I'm hoping that the next month's worth of changes will all be for the better, and that a new job won't be far after this. If all goes well, my daydreaming should hopefully subside and I'll fall back into reality. Well, at least somewhat. :) Right?
All in all, though, things aren't that bad. I'm not losing my current job any time soon, and I've somehow been able to pay for stuff so far, and next year will be even cheaper. I've spent more time educating myself in those things I'd like to since graduating and have more leisure time than I sometimes know what to do with. I've been having tons of fun and am really enjoying my free time, especially since Chris has been home. I've spent more time talking to my parents about things and feel more connected to them than I ever have. I've also been forging pretty ready friendships with Chris's parents, which will hopefully be good for the future. I just need to focus on the good and forget about the few bad things. Easier said than done. But it is doable. I just need to see that.