In which I look....toward the future!
So I woke up today and spent a better part of the morning feeling depressed/down/doldrums-y/[insert d-word]. Just kind of a weird mix of misplaced jealousy and self-resentment, mixed with not having seen the sun in AGES, because the area f Pittsburgh has had no more than 4 sunny days in the last three weeks (though the sun DID come out today, and it looks really pretty out right now. I'm going to head out to do some pointless shopping in a bit...I was going to do it NOW, but I decided to get on here and blather this out instead). But luckily, I was able to refocus that energy into two more positive activities: jogging and creating a list of things I want to shoot for in the near future (this month?).
Here's my list so far, though it is a work in progress.
1) Open a Savings Account ($300-$500? $10-$20 per week?)
-I'm not sure of the necessity of this, but it's something I've felt I should be doing for a while. I do a very good job managing the money in my checking account, and always have a good bit in there as a nice cushion, but I feel like I should have a savings account anyway. I have no idea why. I guess for the interest. But it might force me into even further frugality, which is kind of nice...I like being a miser.
2) Apply to IUP or Cal U for teaching certification classes or Master's program (Education? History? Poly Sci?)
-Yeah, I've been slowly renewing my desire to go back to school, and I was talking to one of my friends at work, Jamie, who goes to IUP, and she was talking up their education program. It is something I really want to do, though the money thing is nightmarish to me. I'm already still $13k in debt from my Bachelor's degree (I know, not terrible, and many people are worse off, but still...it's my $13k, and it makes me sad), so why not tack SEVERAL THOUSAND MORE DOLLARS onto that figure anyway? Right? Hmmm. I dunno. I definitely want to apply, though, and talk to some advisers from those two schools, as well as their financial aid offices. I've seen books floating around work about "Financial Aid for Grad School", too, so...bonus. Teaching at a H.S. or collegiate level has always appealed to me, though I often think I'd be dreadful at it.
3) Research resume-building/re-do resume.
-I am vaguely embarrassed that, at 28, I have not had a resume in a while. I used to have one, but it was unimpressive and bland. Like...one page of non-info. I'm not entirely sure what GOES on a resume. Work experience? Schooling? Bench-press? SAT scores? I seriously have no clue. I tried making one once recently, and it was just a bunch of words and formatting. I am not sure it was decipherable to the human eye; there may have been a Templar code locked away in my nonsense somewhere. Even though, if I go back to school I will have less need for a resume RIGHT NOW, I just--not unlike the savings account--just feel I SHOULD have one. Again. Cause I did. But it's old and bad and outdated now.
4) Write something NOT fanfic-y. Every day.
-Yeah, I've been half-heartedly working on a Phoenix Wright story, but I just can't get all of me into it because I want to write something for ME. I mean, who gets well-regarded from doing a fan fiction story? I dunno. I did about 7 pages so far, and I know what's coming next, but I can't get it out because I'm not really beholden to it. If I write it and it's a good story...it's just a good story. But it's not MINE. You know? No. You don't. You're just nodding along. Don't patronize me. I see through your crap.
5) Organization: DVD/Storage rack?
-This is somewhat less integral than the others. I just want to be better organized with things. I want to be able to take my DVDs and Yu-Gi-Oh tins and put them somewhere more good-and-proper than "in a box" or "under my bed". I'm going to go look at Wal-Mart in a bit to see what I can get on the cheap. Remember? Miser.
6) Continue jogging 3-4 times a week
-I should have less of a problem with this one....I walk about a dozen times a week, left to my own devices. I'm just trying to turn my walks into jogs as much as I can. I'd say my current walking route is about 35-40% jogging now. I really have no idea...I walk ALL THE TIME. I walk for enjoyment. I walk at work. I walk around the mall (stairs! no escalators for ME) on days off. You'd think jogging would be a piece of cake. IT IS NOT. I'm not an OUT OF SHAPE guy...I wish my belly was better, but I'm fairly in shape. And yet, when I start jogging, after about, oh half a block, I feel like I just had Mary Lou Retton doing a floor routine on my chest. It feels like my heart and lungs are going to burst from my chest and have me arrested for assault. It's AWFUL. But I'm getting better at it; I can actually jog a handful of blocks now. This results in me sucking air like a spaz, but...PROGRESS.
Summer time has reunited me with my long-lost love, the FREEZE POP. Wal-Mart has huge freeze pops that are pretty cheap. I buy them in a big bag, put them in my freezer, and eat them in, like, 2 hours. Okay, less than that, but they last less than a week, I'll say that. Especially lately that the Pens have been playing in the Stanley Cup Finals; I'm up to about 5 freeze pops a game, yo.
I ran out a few days ago, and I literally just KEPT GETTING UP AND CHECKING THE FREEZER. I have other popsicles, but no...I want my freeze pops. At one point, I just mused aloud "I miss my freeze pops".
They are back in supply now, but for a limited time only because....soon they will all be in my stomach.
Here's my list so far, though it is a work in progress.
1) Open a Savings Account ($300-$500? $10-$20 per week?)
-I'm not sure of the necessity of this, but it's something I've felt I should be doing for a while. I do a very good job managing the money in my checking account, and always have a good bit in there as a nice cushion, but I feel like I should have a savings account anyway. I have no idea why. I guess for the interest. But it might force me into even further frugality, which is kind of nice...I like being a miser.
2) Apply to IUP or Cal U for teaching certification classes or Master's program (Education? History? Poly Sci?)
-Yeah, I've been slowly renewing my desire to go back to school, and I was talking to one of my friends at work, Jamie, who goes to IUP, and she was talking up their education program. It is something I really want to do, though the money thing is nightmarish to me. I'm already still $13k in debt from my Bachelor's degree (I know, not terrible, and many people are worse off, but still...it's my $13k, and it makes me sad), so why not tack SEVERAL THOUSAND MORE DOLLARS onto that figure anyway? Right? Hmmm. I dunno. I definitely want to apply, though, and talk to some advisers from those two schools, as well as their financial aid offices. I've seen books floating around work about "Financial Aid for Grad School", too, so...bonus. Teaching at a H.S. or collegiate level has always appealed to me, though I often think I'd be dreadful at it.
3) Research resume-building/re-do resume.
-I am vaguely embarrassed that, at 28, I have not had a resume in a while. I used to have one, but it was unimpressive and bland. Like...one page of non-info. I'm not entirely sure what GOES on a resume. Work experience? Schooling? Bench-press? SAT scores? I seriously have no clue. I tried making one once recently, and it was just a bunch of words and formatting. I am not sure it was decipherable to the human eye; there may have been a Templar code locked away in my nonsense somewhere. Even though, if I go back to school I will have less need for a resume RIGHT NOW, I just--not unlike the savings account--just feel I SHOULD have one. Again. Cause I did. But it's old and bad and outdated now.
4) Write something NOT fanfic-y. Every day.
-Yeah, I've been half-heartedly working on a Phoenix Wright story, but I just can't get all of me into it because I want to write something for ME. I mean, who gets well-regarded from doing a fan fiction story? I dunno. I did about 7 pages so far, and I know what's coming next, but I can't get it out because I'm not really beholden to it. If I write it and it's a good story...it's just a good story. But it's not MINE. You know? No. You don't. You're just nodding along. Don't patronize me. I see through your crap.
5) Organization: DVD/Storage rack?
-This is somewhat less integral than the others. I just want to be better organized with things. I want to be able to take my DVDs and Yu-Gi-Oh tins and put them somewhere more good-and-proper than "in a box" or "under my bed". I'm going to go look at Wal-Mart in a bit to see what I can get on the cheap. Remember? Miser.
6) Continue jogging 3-4 times a week
-I should have less of a problem with this one....I walk about a dozen times a week, left to my own devices. I'm just trying to turn my walks into jogs as much as I can. I'd say my current walking route is about 35-40% jogging now. I really have no idea...I walk ALL THE TIME. I walk for enjoyment. I walk at work. I walk around the mall (stairs! no escalators for ME) on days off. You'd think jogging would be a piece of cake. IT IS NOT. I'm not an OUT OF SHAPE guy...I wish my belly was better, but I'm fairly in shape. And yet, when I start jogging, after about, oh half a block, I feel like I just had Mary Lou Retton doing a floor routine on my chest. It feels like my heart and lungs are going to burst from my chest and have me arrested for assault. It's AWFUL. But I'm getting better at it; I can actually jog a handful of blocks now. This results in me sucking air like a spaz, but...PROGRESS.
Summer time has reunited me with my long-lost love, the FREEZE POP. Wal-Mart has huge freeze pops that are pretty cheap. I buy them in a big bag, put them in my freezer, and eat them in, like, 2 hours. Okay, less than that, but they last less than a week, I'll say that. Especially lately that the Pens have been playing in the Stanley Cup Finals; I'm up to about 5 freeze pops a game, yo.
I ran out a few days ago, and I literally just KEPT GETTING UP AND CHECKING THE FREEZER. I have other popsicles, but no...I want my freeze pops. At one point, I just mused aloud "I miss my freeze pops".
They are back in supply now, but for a limited time only because....soon they will all be in my stomach.