I think I just gave myself a mini-heart attack. You know how I roll.
I was looking at what I would do for taxes with this job. I'm getting paid cash-in-hand and since I'm trying to move to this country permanently, I'd rather not go the tax evasion route. This amount of money each week wouldn't exactly be easy to hide once it's in a bank, and I don't trust mattresses. They eat things. Like socks. And teddy bears.
Cal had the excellent idea to turn one of my bank accounts into my "tax account." The financial year ends on June 30 so I won't have to worry about it for almost a year, but I will need to pay taxes at the end of next year on all of this income that hasn't been taxed. (At least, I hope it turns out to be "all of this income!") Therefore, we decided to take out what would be taxed and put it into this other account to sit and wait to be paid to the government next July. That way when next July rolls around, we won't be hit with a bill that makes us want to cry in a corner and wish we hadn't bought those candy bars, or video games, or contributed to our cat's nip problem.
So I toddled over to the Australian Taxation Office's website and looked around to see what I could see, and found my mouth hanging open (with drool slowly pooling on my peacoat-sweatshirt-thing), eyes bugging like a seven tentacled octopus when he realized his eighth tentacle had wandered off again. For foreign residents, ANY income accumulated under $80,000 each year was taxed 32.5 cents to the dollar.
32.5%?? I did some quick calculator-math and found a third of my paycheck would be taken away (I mean, obviously--32.5%!), leaving me feeling as though that question about "should I start paying off my loans early" kind of null and void.
HOWEVER, I then read the fine print, which I should really do to begin with. It'd save me a lot of heart attack moments like this one. Just in life. I think I'll make that my slogan: read the fine print before you have a freak out. (Or maybe get an Emily One to follow me around telling me to calm myself. Emily One, do you sell mini-yous to dictate your wisdom?)
Turns out, I'm NOT a foreign resident for tax purposes if:
*I've been in Australia for 6 months continuously, and for most of the time I've been in the same job and living in the same place.
*Moved to Australia and live here permanently.
The first of which ought to be true by the time next year rolls around, and the second of which will PROBABLY be true by the time next year rolls around. At least, I'm planning on applying for permanent residency some time in November as Cal has another full year of university to go through after this semester, and my current visa is only through next June, and I am NOT doing that long distance thing again! Not to say I'm ruling out living in the States again, but seriously.
Anyway, that puts me in a bracket that I can manage without looking like a squished tree frog. Nothing taxed up until $18,000, and only 19 cents to the dollar after that. (Well, until $37,000, but I don't think I'll be making that much.) I'm planning on putting something like $100 in that tax account each week, which still leaves me with plenty for savings/loan payments, and I'm pretty sure I'll be able to keep a lot of what's in that account at the end of the financial year, too.
Wow. Big girl problems, huh? The thing is, even with the mini-heart attack, I kind of like dealing with them. (She says as she creates MORE SPREADSHEETS.) Okay. So maybe it's just that I love spreadsheets. That's not so bad, is it?
Sunday, July 29, 2012
I AM EMPLOYED!!!
First off, let me just go over my day yesterday with you all. I hadn't gotten a lot of sleep and had taken a lot of precautions (read: feeding the cat) in order to sleep in as late as possible after Cal left for work. Such a dream was crushed when a rather loud, obnoxious knock at the door woke me up between 9 and 9:30, and I was extraordinarily grumpy all day. But that grumpiness sort of awoke this "I cannot sit in this house any longer" sort of mood, and I went into super-Emily mode in order to apply to as many places as possible.
All up, I ended up sending out about 15 applications yesterday to various babysitting, childcare centre, and admin positions. Lots of hard work went into custom cover letters and making it sound like Such And Such Business was the only place I would ever want to work. (I hate cover letters.) After Cal got back from work, I ended up posting a couple of ads on Gumtree--sort of Australia's Craigslist. One was for admin, the other for babysitting/nannying. I thought, I've got the recruitment agency and Find A Babysitter doing these for me already, really, but why not?
The ads were short--maybe 300 words each, max--and yet half an hour later, I had an e-mail in my inbox about a full time nanny position in a suburb that's literally just down the road. For the next six months.
I sort of stared at it for a few minutes, disbelieving, and sent an e-mail back declaring my interest. I felt a bit resentful honestly. Not at the offer, of course, but at the time I spent during the day writing all of those cover letters when it appeared the only thing I needed to do was write up a short snippet about how awesome I am (along with a picture--remember, "ads with pictures are more successful"). But I was so, so, so grateful for this offer. I didn't get my hopes up too high, though. I actually scanned Find A Babysitter and realized that the woman had put up an ad there that I'd skipped over because she was asking for someone with formal qualifications, which I still don't have. Still, I thought, worth a shot.
You'll notice my FB status today sort of laid out how the day was going to go. While I feel like I can safely say I'm over my sickness (can breathe in mornings and I'm not really coughing anymore!) when I woke up this morning my voice was extremely rough, and no amount of throat-clearing was doing anything to help. It literally sounded like I had spent all night partying and screaming and whatever people do to make them sound like this in the morning. And of course, I thought, "The lady who wants me to be a nanny is going to call REAL soon, because that's how life goes." And about five minutes after I expressed this worry to Cal, she did, and asked me to meet them later that afternoon.
Luckily, a hot shower and some VapoDrops helped my voice return to normal, and in the afternoon I was off to meet the family. The only way they could be more conveniently located is if they were across the street, I swear. There's a bus stop literally right outside our house, but only three routes stop here. Two of them go to the stop that's practically right outside THEIR house, and it's only about a five minute ride. Honestly, I would consider just walking there if it wasn't completely up hill. I don't really want to arrive covered in sweat each day. (I'm probably going to walk back each day though--I did today and it's only about fifteen minutes, which is honestly a shorter amount of time than it would take just waiting for a bus.)
Basically: got there, and the family is incredibly nice. They even offered to drive me home after the interview. Their little boy is absolutely adorable. He's got these big, beautiful eyes that I'm not sure I'm going to be able to say no to. He's just over a year and a half old, and seems really well behaved and fun. Busy, obviously, and I was told he could get stubborn sometimes, but I don't think that's going to be anything I can't handle. During the interview he was laughing and picking stuff off the floor to give to me, and when I left he blew me a kiss. See? Adorable.
But DURING the interview I was thinking, "There is no way I'm going to get this." First off, I was asked if I had a first aid certificate and knew how to use an epi-pen because the boy is allergic to peanuts and eggs and the time might come when I need to use it. And I said no to both, thinking then and there that that was going to royally kill my chances of getting this job. But I did say I was willing to get one, as I was planning on it anyway (a lot of families want their nannies/babysitters to have one, and it was required for the certificate in childcare which I was looking into). One of my housemates is a nurse and she recently renewed hers, and it sounds like a pretty easy process.
They seemed to like that I didn't like sitting kids in front of the TV--it makes me feel insanely guilty, since I don't think I should be getting paid to let them watch TV!--and that I had already thought of activities for him. I've been browsing Pinterest again and found a lot of good sites for kids' activities, including one that broke down activities by age (so I was looking at the 1, 1.5, and 2 year old activities). Lots of options out there, who knew? I don't have a TON of experience with smaller children, so I was glad to see there were just as many activities for them as there were for older kids.
So anyway, at the end, the dad said, "Well, I guess we'll decide tonight or tomorrow then" or something like that, and then the mom sort of sighed and was like, "Well... I don't know, what do you think?" And then she turned to me and said, "It's just that you seem so NORMAL." Which isn't exactly what you'd hear people saying at Hollins about me, but I grinned because it sounded like there was a story there, and there is. Apparently they've gone through a string of unreliable nannies, including their latest who is 22 with an artificially-inseminated partner, and the two of them decided it was a good idea to foster three children under the age of three. I mean, making your own baby at 22 is one thing--some people on my friends list are starting to do it on purpose, that's fine if you're in the right position to do so--but I just canNOT imagine going from ZERO kids to three children under the age of three, with another on the way, especially at my age. That would be insane.
Then she gave me the job! And I start tomorrow! I am so ecstatic!
I'll be working 40 hours a week, roughly 9-5 Monday-Friday (though there may be days once in a while where I'm not needed, or I might be needed on a Saturday). She wants me for six months (or more, if I get a longer visa by then!). It's pretty much completely ideal. And the little boy has a nap in the afternoons, so if I'm not doing some cleaning odd-jobs I'll have plenty of time to get some writing done.
You guys. SO HAPPY. Also: THERE IS HOPE. Don't give up!
Also, money-wise, what do you guys think? Like I've said before, Cal and I are saving on JUST what he earns. I'm definitely going to save a chunk of my paycheck, but do you think I should start putting another chunk toward student loans, since I can? I'm not sure if I should build up a lot of savings first and then start paying off, or try to decrease the amount of interest I'll be paying as soon as I can. What would you do?
Saying oh bai for now. As I dance around the living room in complete and utter joy.
All up, I ended up sending out about 15 applications yesterday to various babysitting, childcare centre, and admin positions. Lots of hard work went into custom cover letters and making it sound like Such And Such Business was the only place I would ever want to work. (I hate cover letters.) After Cal got back from work, I ended up posting a couple of ads on Gumtree--sort of Australia's Craigslist. One was for admin, the other for babysitting/nannying. I thought, I've got the recruitment agency and Find A Babysitter doing these for me already, really, but why not?
The ads were short--maybe 300 words each, max--and yet half an hour later, I had an e-mail in my inbox about a full time nanny position in a suburb that's literally just down the road. For the next six months.
I sort of stared at it for a few minutes, disbelieving, and sent an e-mail back declaring my interest. I felt a bit resentful honestly. Not at the offer, of course, but at the time I spent during the day writing all of those cover letters when it appeared the only thing I needed to do was write up a short snippet about how awesome I am (along with a picture--remember, "ads with pictures are more successful"). But I was so, so, so grateful for this offer. I didn't get my hopes up too high, though. I actually scanned Find A Babysitter and realized that the woman had put up an ad there that I'd skipped over because she was asking for someone with formal qualifications, which I still don't have. Still, I thought, worth a shot.
You'll notice my FB status today sort of laid out how the day was going to go. While I feel like I can safely say I'm over my sickness (can breathe in mornings and I'm not really coughing anymore!) when I woke up this morning my voice was extremely rough, and no amount of throat-clearing was doing anything to help. It literally sounded like I had spent all night partying and screaming and whatever people do to make them sound like this in the morning. And of course, I thought, "The lady who wants me to be a nanny is going to call REAL soon, because that's how life goes." And about five minutes after I expressed this worry to Cal, she did, and asked me to meet them later that afternoon.
Luckily, a hot shower and some VapoDrops helped my voice return to normal, and in the afternoon I was off to meet the family. The only way they could be more conveniently located is if they were across the street, I swear. There's a bus stop literally right outside our house, but only three routes stop here. Two of them go to the stop that's practically right outside THEIR house, and it's only about a five minute ride. Honestly, I would consider just walking there if it wasn't completely up hill. I don't really want to arrive covered in sweat each day. (I'm probably going to walk back each day though--I did today and it's only about fifteen minutes, which is honestly a shorter amount of time than it would take just waiting for a bus.)
Basically: got there, and the family is incredibly nice. They even offered to drive me home after the interview. Their little boy is absolutely adorable. He's got these big, beautiful eyes that I'm not sure I'm going to be able to say no to. He's just over a year and a half old, and seems really well behaved and fun. Busy, obviously, and I was told he could get stubborn sometimes, but I don't think that's going to be anything I can't handle. During the interview he was laughing and picking stuff off the floor to give to me, and when I left he blew me a kiss. See? Adorable.
But DURING the interview I was thinking, "There is no way I'm going to get this." First off, I was asked if I had a first aid certificate and knew how to use an epi-pen because the boy is allergic to peanuts and eggs and the time might come when I need to use it. And I said no to both, thinking then and there that that was going to royally kill my chances of getting this job. But I did say I was willing to get one, as I was planning on it anyway (a lot of families want their nannies/babysitters to have one, and it was required for the certificate in childcare which I was looking into). One of my housemates is a nurse and she recently renewed hers, and it sounds like a pretty easy process.
They seemed to like that I didn't like sitting kids in front of the TV--it makes me feel insanely guilty, since I don't think I should be getting paid to let them watch TV!--and that I had already thought of activities for him. I've been browsing Pinterest again and found a lot of good sites for kids' activities, including one that broke down activities by age (so I was looking at the 1, 1.5, and 2 year old activities). Lots of options out there, who knew? I don't have a TON of experience with smaller children, so I was glad to see there were just as many activities for them as there were for older kids.
So anyway, at the end, the dad said, "Well, I guess we'll decide tonight or tomorrow then" or something like that, and then the mom sort of sighed and was like, "Well... I don't know, what do you think?" And then she turned to me and said, "It's just that you seem so NORMAL." Which isn't exactly what you'd hear people saying at Hollins about me, but I grinned because it sounded like there was a story there, and there is. Apparently they've gone through a string of unreliable nannies, including their latest who is 22 with an artificially-inseminated partner, and the two of them decided it was a good idea to foster three children under the age of three. I mean, making your own baby at 22 is one thing--some people on my friends list are starting to do it on purpose, that's fine if you're in the right position to do so--but I just canNOT imagine going from ZERO kids to three children under the age of three, with another on the way, especially at my age. That would be insane.
Then she gave me the job! And I start tomorrow! I am so ecstatic!
I'll be working 40 hours a week, roughly 9-5 Monday-Friday (though there may be days once in a while where I'm not needed, or I might be needed on a Saturday). She wants me for six months (or more, if I get a longer visa by then!). It's pretty much completely ideal. And the little boy has a nap in the afternoons, so if I'm not doing some cleaning odd-jobs I'll have plenty of time to get some writing done.
You guys. SO HAPPY. Also: THERE IS HOPE. Don't give up!
Also, money-wise, what do you guys think? Like I've said before, Cal and I are saving on JUST what he earns. I'm definitely going to save a chunk of my paycheck, but do you think I should start putting another chunk toward student loans, since I can? I'm not sure if I should build up a lot of savings first and then start paying off, or try to decrease the amount of interest I'll be paying as soon as I can. What would you do?
Saying oh bai for now. As I dance around the living room in complete and utter joy.
Friday, July 27, 2012
My face is glittering like a fake vampire's.
Several things:
1) I have spent the better part of five hours applying to so many different jobs it isn't even funny. I really like the kind that my semi-generic cover letter requires one single button-click and bam, multiple applications sent off like a boss. But I take so long on the non-generic cover letters that it's taken me five hours to get this far. Oh, well. I hope I get something out of this! (Like that one job that is EXACTLY what I was doing for four years at Hollins--yeah, that one. Except they didn't let me submit a cover letter to tell them that, so I had to make my resume look as awesome as it possibly could. Only time I ever wanted to submit a cover letter, and I was denied...)
2) My face is glittering like a fake vampire's. Legit. I'm trying a "lemon and honey" mask. Basically, two tablespoons of honey and the juice of half a lemon, mixed together, applied to the face. I told you I was getting crazy. It's dried now and the sunlight's hitting it at just the right angle to make it look as though my face has turned to diamond. I wonder if this is what they did to That Vampire Who Shall Not Be Named in order to make his face glitter?
On another note, my hands are exceptionally sticky and I hope my computer is not also sticky now, too.
3) My blog stats say more people than my friends have found this, which I find kind of awesome and terrifying at the same time. Hi, people!
1) I have spent the better part of five hours applying to so many different jobs it isn't even funny. I really like the kind that my semi-generic cover letter requires one single button-click and bam, multiple applications sent off like a boss. But I take so long on the non-generic cover letters that it's taken me five hours to get this far. Oh, well. I hope I get something out of this! (Like that one job that is EXACTLY what I was doing for four years at Hollins--yeah, that one. Except they didn't let me submit a cover letter to tell them that, so I had to make my resume look as awesome as it possibly could. Only time I ever wanted to submit a cover letter, and I was denied...)
2) My face is glittering like a fake vampire's. Legit. I'm trying a "lemon and honey" mask. Basically, two tablespoons of honey and the juice of half a lemon, mixed together, applied to the face. I told you I was getting crazy. It's dried now and the sunlight's hitting it at just the right angle to make it look as though my face has turned to diamond. I wonder if this is what they did to That Vampire Who Shall Not Be Named in order to make his face glitter?
On another note, my hands are exceptionally sticky and I hope my computer is not also sticky now, too.
3) My blog stats say more people than my friends have found this, which I find kind of awesome and terrifying at the same time. Hi, people!
Thursday, July 26, 2012
A list of mildly interesting things.
1) I didn't get the job mentioned in the previous blog post.
2) I DID send a heartfelt cover letter to a childcare centre or two that were looking for assistants who didn't need to be qualified (but would start pursuing qualification while working for them).
3) How crazy is it that libraries here seem to have a bunch of different books to libraries/bookstores in the US? I mean, obviously I wouldn't expect to see "A Waltz For Matilda" on a US shelf, but there are books by US authors that I hadn't heard of--and I worked at a bookstore where I went through catalogs of books for ordering! My current find is "The Pain Merchants" (called "The Shifter" in the US, from what I understand) by Janice Hardy. I'm only 60 pages in but loving it so far.
4) Which reminds me, I started a book blog last summer that I just got into updating again if you want to check it out: http://notaboutvampires.blogspot.com/
5) I am doing August NaNo. And by doing August NaNo, I mean I am going to kick August NaNo's little butt. Currently trying to find names for various characters. I was going to completely pants it, but then I remembered how stuck I get on names. I need my characters to have names, and they need to be good names that actually suit the characters. If anyone has any suggestions, I'm currently looking for names for:
Butler
Cook
Nanny
Companion
Uncle
Ex-Boyfriend
Ghost Boy
Ghost Mother
Ghost Father
The story is set in a sort of AU-Scotland where witchcraft is a common and accepted practice. (I can't tell if I'm being influenced more by Brave or seriously missing Scotland...)
2) I DID send a heartfelt cover letter to a childcare centre or two that were looking for assistants who didn't need to be qualified (but would start pursuing qualification while working for them).
3) How crazy is it that libraries here seem to have a bunch of different books to libraries/bookstores in the US? I mean, obviously I wouldn't expect to see "A Waltz For Matilda" on a US shelf, but there are books by US authors that I hadn't heard of--and I worked at a bookstore where I went through catalogs of books for ordering! My current find is "The Pain Merchants" (called "The Shifter" in the US, from what I understand) by Janice Hardy. I'm only 60 pages in but loving it so far.
4) Which reminds me, I started a book blog last summer that I just got into updating again if you want to check it out: http://notaboutvampires.blogspot.com/
5) I am doing August NaNo. And by doing August NaNo, I mean I am going to kick August NaNo's little butt. Currently trying to find names for various characters. I was going to completely pants it, but then I remembered how stuck I get on names. I need my characters to have names, and they need to be good names that actually suit the characters. If anyone has any suggestions, I'm currently looking for names for:
Butler
Cook
Nanny
Companion
Uncle
Ex-Boyfriend
Ghost Boy
Ghost Mother
Ghost Father
The story is set in a sort of AU-Scotland where witchcraft is a common and accepted practice. (I can't tell if I'm being influenced more by Brave or seriously missing Scotland...)
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Clean clean clean!!
You guys. You guys. Do you know how wonderful having a clean house is??
Okay, so I don't want to call it "depressed," because I think that's quite a strong word and there are quite a lot of people with actual depression, but I have just been in the worst mood, completely blah all the time, feeling totally useless (okay, not totally useless) but do you know the feeling? It was like I was going all Hyperbole and a Half on the world. You know the one.
Anyway, it's not really like I was totally sad. More like I just wasn't happy. There isn't really a word for it. It was not-happy, snapping at Cal for the dumbest things, being irritated with housemates for stupid reasons, wanting to be by myself--it was like PMSing, only I wasn't PMSing.
But now... today we spent half a day cleaning the house. The house has been filthy, at least by my standards. I need all areas that I frequent to be clean. I don't care about going to someone else's house and it being messy and whatnot, but the place where I live needs to be clean and tidy so that I can retire there and just have my mind be at complete peace. Otherwise I just sit and think about all the messy things and it drives me to insanity.
Basically, the counters are *constantly* filthy. In the "we are getting ants and it's winter" kind of way. Crumbs and globs of goop everywhere, all the time. I once cleaned off the counters three times one day, they were so bad. I just don't understand how hard it is to swipe at the counter while the gloop that dripped from your spoon/knife/whatever is still wet and easily cleanable. It just seems like such a simple concept, and no gloop=no ants. (I HATE ANTS. but I do like pie. No, but seriously, ants kind of freak me out. Not exactly in a spider way, but in a "they're crawling all over me omg I need a shower" kind of way. And they are largely preventable!)
Also, there has been clutter all over the couches and the kitchen table, both of which are viewable from my spot in my (usually) clean bedroom if the door is open. It makes the vein in my temple pulse. There will be empty plastic bags from shopping, piles of junk mail, a pack of cards spread pell-mell across the table, coats and bags all over the couches, and they stay there FOR DAYS. I don't mind a bit of clutter. I get a bit messy sometimes, too. But the sheer length of time the stuff stays messy drives me nuts.
(Before anyone says, it HAS all been talked about! Cal's been frustrated too. It's just been one of those "keep on top of people about it" which is equally frustrating. I feel bad because I feel like I barged in to other people's space when I moved here, but still.)
ANYWAY. The entire point of this post is that there is an inspection tomorrow, and we had to clean EVERYTHING. And everything is now clean! I even scrubbed at the cupboard doors, which had somehow gotten gross with stuff splashed on them! And the floors were swept and vacuumed! And our room is tidy, and the table is tidy, and there isn't any anything on the couches, and ALL THE THINGS! I feel like a giant weight has been lifted off of my shoulders. It's so blissful and light and freeing. I feel like I'm sinking into a pile of big fluffy white clouds.
Can a messy/clean house really affect one's mood that much?? Or is it just me being absolutely weird?
After cleaning, I went and had the best shower ever and got totally clean and then put on the best silkiest cleanest pajamas ever and now I'm sitting on the softest bed drinking the hottest, most soothing tea and it's like I'm going to die I'm so content.
Seriously. I'm going to go enjoy the cloud feeling right now. BRB.
Okay, so I don't want to call it "depressed," because I think that's quite a strong word and there are quite a lot of people with actual depression, but I have just been in the worst mood, completely blah all the time, feeling totally useless (okay, not totally useless) but do you know the feeling? It was like I was going all Hyperbole and a Half on the world. You know the one.
Anyway, it's not really like I was totally sad. More like I just wasn't happy. There isn't really a word for it. It was not-happy, snapping at Cal for the dumbest things, being irritated with housemates for stupid reasons, wanting to be by myself--it was like PMSing, only I wasn't PMSing.
But now... today we spent half a day cleaning the house. The house has been filthy, at least by my standards. I need all areas that I frequent to be clean. I don't care about going to someone else's house and it being messy and whatnot, but the place where I live needs to be clean and tidy so that I can retire there and just have my mind be at complete peace. Otherwise I just sit and think about all the messy things and it drives me to insanity.
Basically, the counters are *constantly* filthy. In the "we are getting ants and it's winter" kind of way. Crumbs and globs of goop everywhere, all the time. I once cleaned off the counters three times one day, they were so bad. I just don't understand how hard it is to swipe at the counter while the gloop that dripped from your spoon/knife/whatever is still wet and easily cleanable. It just seems like such a simple concept, and no gloop=no ants. (I HATE ANTS. but I do like pie. No, but seriously, ants kind of freak me out. Not exactly in a spider way, but in a "they're crawling all over me omg I need a shower" kind of way. And they are largely preventable!)
Also, there has been clutter all over the couches and the kitchen table, both of which are viewable from my spot in my (usually) clean bedroom if the door is open. It makes the vein in my temple pulse. There will be empty plastic bags from shopping, piles of junk mail, a pack of cards spread pell-mell across the table, coats and bags all over the couches, and they stay there FOR DAYS. I don't mind a bit of clutter. I get a bit messy sometimes, too. But the sheer length of time the stuff stays messy drives me nuts.
(Before anyone says, it HAS all been talked about! Cal's been frustrated too. It's just been one of those "keep on top of people about it" which is equally frustrating. I feel bad because I feel like I barged in to other people's space when I moved here, but still.)
ANYWAY. The entire point of this post is that there is an inspection tomorrow, and we had to clean EVERYTHING. And everything is now clean! I even scrubbed at the cupboard doors, which had somehow gotten gross with stuff splashed on them! And the floors were swept and vacuumed! And our room is tidy, and the table is tidy, and there isn't any anything on the couches, and ALL THE THINGS! I feel like a giant weight has been lifted off of my shoulders. It's so blissful and light and freeing. I feel like I'm sinking into a pile of big fluffy white clouds.
Can a messy/clean house really affect one's mood that much?? Or is it just me being absolutely weird?
After cleaning, I went and had the best shower ever and got totally clean and then put on the best silkiest cleanest pajamas ever and now I'm sitting on the softest bed drinking the hottest, most soothing tea and it's like I'm going to die I'm so content.
Seriously. I'm going to go enjoy the cloud feeling right now. BRB.
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Job possibility!
Okay, so, this might not actually work out but it also MIGHT and I'm really excited so I thought I'd make a short post about it. The recruitment agency called a little while ago and asked if they could put my resume forward for an admin assistant/PA job in a suburb a bit south of here. It'd be about an hour commute, roughly 15 hours a week, but it's so much better than nothing. Here's hoping!
I'm still going to go for the childcare certificate (I was looking at jobs this morning and was getting way more excited about the childcare jobs--sure sign that that's what I actually want to do!). I'd just feel a lot better about paying for it if I had an actual job in the meantime.
I'll keep you guys updated--should hear back about this soon, I imagine.
I'm still going to go for the childcare certificate (I was looking at jobs this morning and was getting way more excited about the childcare jobs--sure sign that that's what I actually want to do!). I'd just feel a lot better about paying for it if I had an actual job in the meantime.
I'll keep you guys updated--should hear back about this soon, I imagine.
Pinterest is a Problem
FIRSTLY: Thank you guys for your thoughts--I think I will start that childcare course once we sort out the money aspect. Though really, they give us a year to pay it off, which comes down to under $50 per week, so it shouldn't be too awful. (Have I mentioned lately how appreciative I am that Cal pays for all of my stuff while I'm wallowing in my unemployment? I'd probably be on a plane back to America, penniless, in a few weeks if it wasn't for him.)
SECONDLY: Pinterest has become a serious problem. Whenever Cal's gaming, I tend to go on Pinterest (or Neopets. We won't talk about how I've earned almost 100,000 neopoints in the last couple of weeks). I keep pinning things to my boards, and have done since I joined, but rarely have I made anything. Save for those jello powder-covered grapes in Florida, those were good.
Then last night I was craving chocolate/cookies/cake/brownies/ANYTHING and decided I was going to bake something. Of course, we didn't have all of the ingredients for any of the recipes on my list, so I picked out one and got the ingredients today (Australia doesn't really have 24/7 stores--no midnight Kroger run for me!). I picked this really awesome looking recipe for chocolate chip cookies, which I'll link you to here: http://www.danamadeit.com/2011/05/chocolate-chip-cookies-any-day-of-the-week.html
While quite good, I don't think they're quite as delicious as they COULD be. I think something was lost in translation over to metric (and also ingredients that I could find). Erin has experience with this. First, shortening here doesn't quite seem to be the same as the shortening we have in the US. The closest thing I could find is a product called Copha, and internet research was a bit iffy on whether or not this could be used to make delicious cookies. It didn't feel the same as the shortening that I remembered (we sort of started using Toll House break-and-bakes since I was about ten). So I ended up just substituting butter, which appears to work just as well.
As far as the other ingredients go, this is probably going to sound ridiculous, but the sugar granules seem bigger than in the US! I don't know if our stuff is more processed or what. At any rate, this didn't seem to have too big of an impact, but I hadn't noticed it before and was struck by the difference. Also, and here's the biggie: chocolate chips. Chocolate chips, my friends! Arguably one of the more important ingredients in chocolate chip cookies! There wasn't a huge selection, and no familiar Nestle Toll House to buy. And more importantly, they came in two kinds: dark and milk (well, and caramel, but ignoring that).
No semi-sweet. And I understand semi-sweet is a type of dark, but these chips didn't taste quite the same. They were also itty-bitty. And the milk ones that we got were actually "melts" which were these massive round disks. So the chocolate taste is a bit off, but not awful.
(P.S. I just told Cal I might cut the sugar because they were a bit sweet, which I thought was due to the chocolate but was thinking was more the dough, and he said maybe we used too much vanilla. We used imitation vanilla rather than the real stuff so he said to put in double what it said... and now that I'm sitting here with cookie coating my taste buds, I think that's exactly what it is. Oops!)
The other thing is that our oven is horrible at being an oven. You might think that an oven would be like, "Hey, I love this purpose that I have in life, heating stuff up, cooking things, you know," but I think our oven needs some sort of career change because it is just not happy doing its job. It's more like, "Sigh... I guess I'll heat up... not gonna cook anything evenly though, I'm an oven that doesn't care." With the result that if you take your eye off your precious baking good for more than a minute, you will have horribly burned and raw cookies (that's right, ALL AT ONCE.)
As the cookies were browning on the bottom and oozing buttery chocolatey goodness on the top, I took them out, not wanting them to burn and thinking I'd be happy eating semi-raw cookies. Then Cal had the brilliant idea to flip them to get them to cook on that side, which I ended up doing. Do you know how difficult it is to flip a hot, delicious cookie?
BUT they turned out not raw OR burnt, and looking a bit like pancakes. And they're pretty darn good, if I do say so myself. The only problem is I made a dozen and still have dough enough for about five times that and as I have no job, my day could very easily (and happily) be spent eating cookies (or cookie dough), which honestly probably wouldn't be great for my health.
And the other way in which Pinterest is a problem is my increased desire to do interior decorating, which I think comes with the current housewife nature of my life right now (and the amazing looking throw pillows on Pinterest). Basically, I want my own house with all of the nooks and crannies and hidden libraries that Pinterest says I can have. And failing that, I want my own house that I can decorate myself that looks like a GROWN UP house, you know? Not a dorm room or other student living, but actual grown up. With picture frames that contain black and white pictures, and elegant couches and awesome throw pillows, and a four-poster bed and a kitchen with every kitchen accessory imaginable. And a dining table with six matching chairs.
And a library. Did I already mention the library?
Obviously this is some way down the road, but I just can't wait. Did I mention we're moving in October, or sooner? The house was sold. And we found this PERFECT house that's in the same suburb. It's two levels, and each level is self contained: bedrooms, bathroom, living area and kitchen on BOTH levels. Perfect for two couples living together, don't you think? I feel like I could impose my own style on such a half-a-house, without worrying about what other people think. And I just found a tutorial on Pinterest on how to change a coffee table into an upholstered bench, and gosh darnit, there is a wall for that in this house.
Only problem is it's available now, and we're not. But we have sent an expression of interest to the real estate. We've got a clean record as far as tenancy goes (and by we, I really mean they, considering I'm still kind of illegal). Apparently sometimes real estates will hold out for good tenants if they're having difficulty finding some, so fingers crossed. This would seriously be an awesome house. If not, we're definitely trying to look for something similar.
Anyway! I'll sign off for now, as I have some cookies to eat. Hope you all are doing well. I'll post a video soon, maybe tomorrow while Cal's at uni. (Ha, just thought about something I can talk about on that front... another Pinterest find.)
OH BAI.
SECONDLY: Pinterest has become a serious problem. Whenever Cal's gaming, I tend to go on Pinterest (or Neopets. We won't talk about how I've earned almost 100,000 neopoints in the last couple of weeks). I keep pinning things to my boards, and have done since I joined, but rarely have I made anything. Save for those jello powder-covered grapes in Florida, those were good.
Then last night I was craving chocolate/cookies/cake/brownies/ANYTHING and decided I was going to bake something. Of course, we didn't have all of the ingredients for any of the recipes on my list, so I picked out one and got the ingredients today (Australia doesn't really have 24/7 stores--no midnight Kroger run for me!). I picked this really awesome looking recipe for chocolate chip cookies, which I'll link you to here: http://www.danamadeit.com/2011/05/chocolate-chip-cookies-any-day-of-the-week.html
While quite good, I don't think they're quite as delicious as they COULD be. I think something was lost in translation over to metric (and also ingredients that I could find). Erin has experience with this. First, shortening here doesn't quite seem to be the same as the shortening we have in the US. The closest thing I could find is a product called Copha, and internet research was a bit iffy on whether or not this could be used to make delicious cookies. It didn't feel the same as the shortening that I remembered (we sort of started using Toll House break-and-bakes since I was about ten). So I ended up just substituting butter, which appears to work just as well.
As far as the other ingredients go, this is probably going to sound ridiculous, but the sugar granules seem bigger than in the US! I don't know if our stuff is more processed or what. At any rate, this didn't seem to have too big of an impact, but I hadn't noticed it before and was struck by the difference. Also, and here's the biggie: chocolate chips. Chocolate chips, my friends! Arguably one of the more important ingredients in chocolate chip cookies! There wasn't a huge selection, and no familiar Nestle Toll House to buy. And more importantly, they came in two kinds: dark and milk (well, and caramel, but ignoring that).
No semi-sweet. And I understand semi-sweet is a type of dark, but these chips didn't taste quite the same. They were also itty-bitty. And the milk ones that we got were actually "melts" which were these massive round disks. So the chocolate taste is a bit off, but not awful.
(P.S. I just told Cal I might cut the sugar because they were a bit sweet, which I thought was due to the chocolate but was thinking was more the dough, and he said maybe we used too much vanilla. We used imitation vanilla rather than the real stuff so he said to put in double what it said... and now that I'm sitting here with cookie coating my taste buds, I think that's exactly what it is. Oops!)
The other thing is that our oven is horrible at being an oven. You might think that an oven would be like, "Hey, I love this purpose that I have in life, heating stuff up, cooking things, you know," but I think our oven needs some sort of career change because it is just not happy doing its job. It's more like, "Sigh... I guess I'll heat up... not gonna cook anything evenly though, I'm an oven that doesn't care." With the result that if you take your eye off your precious baking good for more than a minute, you will have horribly burned and raw cookies (that's right, ALL AT ONCE.)
As the cookies were browning on the bottom and oozing buttery chocolatey goodness on the top, I took them out, not wanting them to burn and thinking I'd be happy eating semi-raw cookies. Then Cal had the brilliant idea to flip them to get them to cook on that side, which I ended up doing. Do you know how difficult it is to flip a hot, delicious cookie?
BUT they turned out not raw OR burnt, and looking a bit like pancakes. And they're pretty darn good, if I do say so myself. The only problem is I made a dozen and still have dough enough for about five times that and as I have no job, my day could very easily (and happily) be spent eating cookies (or cookie dough), which honestly probably wouldn't be great for my health.
And the other way in which Pinterest is a problem is my increased desire to do interior decorating, which I think comes with the current housewife nature of my life right now (and the amazing looking throw pillows on Pinterest). Basically, I want my own house with all of the nooks and crannies and hidden libraries that Pinterest says I can have. And failing that, I want my own house that I can decorate myself that looks like a GROWN UP house, you know? Not a dorm room or other student living, but actual grown up. With picture frames that contain black and white pictures, and elegant couches and awesome throw pillows, and a four-poster bed and a kitchen with every kitchen accessory imaginable. And a dining table with six matching chairs.
And a library. Did I already mention the library?
Obviously this is some way down the road, but I just can't wait. Did I mention we're moving in October, or sooner? The house was sold. And we found this PERFECT house that's in the same suburb. It's two levels, and each level is self contained: bedrooms, bathroom, living area and kitchen on BOTH levels. Perfect for two couples living together, don't you think? I feel like I could impose my own style on such a half-a-house, without worrying about what other people think. And I just found a tutorial on Pinterest on how to change a coffee table into an upholstered bench, and gosh darnit, there is a wall for that in this house.
Only problem is it's available now, and we're not. But we have sent an expression of interest to the real estate. We've got a clean record as far as tenancy goes (and by we, I really mean they, considering I'm still kind of illegal). Apparently sometimes real estates will hold out for good tenants if they're having difficulty finding some, so fingers crossed. This would seriously be an awesome house. If not, we're definitely trying to look for something similar.
Anyway! I'll sign off for now, as I have some cookies to eat. Hope you all are doing well. I'll post a video soon, maybe tomorrow while Cal's at uni. (Ha, just thought about something I can talk about on that front... another Pinterest find.)
OH BAI.
Saturday, July 21, 2012
The need to stop yelling and other childcare woes
Okay, so here's the deal. Maybe my friends can help me out with this.
As most of you know, the only employment I've been getting since I arrived is babysitting work, which is fantastic since it pays HEAPS more than it does in the US (or at least, heaps more than I was getting when I was fifteen...) I actually had an interview for a full time nanny position last Saturday (I didn't count that in the last post because it was not achieved with a cover letter) and was passed up only because another interviewee had ten years of nannying experience vs. my... well... none.
The family I babysit for is really nice, always interested in things I'm doing outside of babysitting, always wanting to hear exactly what happened during the day/night while they were gone. The kids CAN be nice too. They do a lot of sweet things for each other. The oldest made a nice picnic for his siblings, he cleaned up his room, the hallway, and his sister's room last night. The middle child tried his best to help his brother get better at a Wii game a few weeks ago. The youngest goes to bed really well, so long as you read her a story.
But the problem is, they do a lot more naughty things than nice things, at least while I'm around. There's teasing, tantrums, hitting, kicking, smothering, screaming, crying, dying, throwing, hating, bad language, etc. Last night, when I told them it was time to get ready for bed (started half an hour early and even bribed with one story each, which they usually like), they started running around and tearing things out of each other's closets and tossing them into each other's rooms. I would grab one and tell him/her to get his/her pajamas on, only to be pelted with underwear by the other two. Then, I would try to grab one of them and lead him/her to his/her closet to get his/her pajamas on, and suddenly the first one is naked again and pelting me with shirts.
Now, you may be thinking that I'm simply not good at carrying out discipline, since I'm quiet and whatnot. But dangit, I have gotten EXCELLENT at maintaining time outs and scolding. Absolutely excellent. Last night it was like they didn't even hear the words I was saying. I raised my voice. I was yelling (which you're not really supposed to do!) and they STILL acted like there was absolutely no sound coming out of my mouth. No reaction whatsoever.
And when there are three of them misbehaving at once, running amok, and you only have two hands, how are you supposed to restrain them and make them stop misbehaving?
Granted, last night I lost my temper more than I should have. I'm still a bit sick, and having been sick so long, I feel like I've been weakened considerably. I took a short walk two days ago and felt like a newborn kitten. My patience has been worn thin.
BUT THE BIGGER PROBLEM, my friends, is after getting so frustrated with them, I still find those three kids adorable and endearing. I think there's something wrong with me.
Getting to the point: I have been considering going into childcare. Basically, there's a high demand for it in the city. It would require me to get a certificate, which I can do all online, but it costs about as much as a plane ticket home. And it pays really well.
AND there's going to be a demand for childcare basically everywhere I go, you know? The main worry here being this. Cal is going back to uni to get a teaching degree next year. Teaching is also in high demand, and he seems really into the idea. After getting a teaching degree, potential teachers are encouraged to first do a year of country service, which basically means going to middle-of-nowhere outback/rain forest to teach in a rural area. I am so stoked for that year. It sounds like it'll be an awesome adventure.
Except, seeing how few publishing/editing/writing jobs I'm finding in the city, how many do you think are going to be in the middle of nowhere? Not many, I'm thinking. But in the middle of nowhere, where Cal is teaching children, there ought to also be non-school-aged children who need some care, right? Right.
But then I'm all conflicted, because this certificate is something anyone can get. You know, no college education necessary. And then it's like, well, did I just waste four years and tens of thousands of dollars for NOTHING? (Okay, not nothing socially. Socially there is no replacement. But academically, anyway.)
Plus, maybe I don't have the temperament to be dealing with children (planning under-six, working in pre-school centers). If I can't even handle three without getting angry, can I really handle a bunch running around causing mischief? Yet I do find childcare enjoyable. It's so much more fulfilling than sitting in an office all day. Except I wouldn't want to be a teacher, because I just don't think I could handle that level of responsibility. Educating young minds and all that. I just want to play! (Also, insert props to Gwen here.)
I don't know what I want to do. What do you guys think?
As most of you know, the only employment I've been getting since I arrived is babysitting work, which is fantastic since it pays HEAPS more than it does in the US (or at least, heaps more than I was getting when I was fifteen...) I actually had an interview for a full time nanny position last Saturday (I didn't count that in the last post because it was not achieved with a cover letter) and was passed up only because another interviewee had ten years of nannying experience vs. my... well... none.
The family I babysit for is really nice, always interested in things I'm doing outside of babysitting, always wanting to hear exactly what happened during the day/night while they were gone. The kids CAN be nice too. They do a lot of sweet things for each other. The oldest made a nice picnic for his siblings, he cleaned up his room, the hallway, and his sister's room last night. The middle child tried his best to help his brother get better at a Wii game a few weeks ago. The youngest goes to bed really well, so long as you read her a story.
But the problem is, they do a lot more naughty things than nice things, at least while I'm around. There's teasing, tantrums, hitting, kicking, smothering, screaming, crying, dying, throwing, hating, bad language, etc. Last night, when I told them it was time to get ready for bed (started half an hour early and even bribed with one story each, which they usually like), they started running around and tearing things out of each other's closets and tossing them into each other's rooms. I would grab one and tell him/her to get his/her pajamas on, only to be pelted with underwear by the other two. Then, I would try to grab one of them and lead him/her to his/her closet to get his/her pajamas on, and suddenly the first one is naked again and pelting me with shirts.
Now, you may be thinking that I'm simply not good at carrying out discipline, since I'm quiet and whatnot. But dangit, I have gotten EXCELLENT at maintaining time outs and scolding. Absolutely excellent. Last night it was like they didn't even hear the words I was saying. I raised my voice. I was yelling (which you're not really supposed to do!) and they STILL acted like there was absolutely no sound coming out of my mouth. No reaction whatsoever.
And when there are three of them misbehaving at once, running amok, and you only have two hands, how are you supposed to restrain them and make them stop misbehaving?
Granted, last night I lost my temper more than I should have. I'm still a bit sick, and having been sick so long, I feel like I've been weakened considerably. I took a short walk two days ago and felt like a newborn kitten. My patience has been worn thin.
BUT THE BIGGER PROBLEM, my friends, is after getting so frustrated with them, I still find those three kids adorable and endearing. I think there's something wrong with me.
Getting to the point: I have been considering going into childcare. Basically, there's a high demand for it in the city. It would require me to get a certificate, which I can do all online, but it costs about as much as a plane ticket home. And it pays really well.
AND there's going to be a demand for childcare basically everywhere I go, you know? The main worry here being this. Cal is going back to uni to get a teaching degree next year. Teaching is also in high demand, and he seems really into the idea. After getting a teaching degree, potential teachers are encouraged to first do a year of country service, which basically means going to middle-of-nowhere outback/rain forest to teach in a rural area. I am so stoked for that year. It sounds like it'll be an awesome adventure.
Except, seeing how few publishing/editing/writing jobs I'm finding in the city, how many do you think are going to be in the middle of nowhere? Not many, I'm thinking. But in the middle of nowhere, where Cal is teaching children, there ought to also be non-school-aged children who need some care, right? Right.
But then I'm all conflicted, because this certificate is something anyone can get. You know, no college education necessary. And then it's like, well, did I just waste four years and tens of thousands of dollars for NOTHING? (Okay, not nothing socially. Socially there is no replacement. But academically, anyway.)
Plus, maybe I don't have the temperament to be dealing with children (planning under-six, working in pre-school centers). If I can't even handle three without getting angry, can I really handle a bunch running around causing mischief? Yet I do find childcare enjoyable. It's so much more fulfilling than sitting in an office all day. Except I wouldn't want to be a teacher, because I just don't think I could handle that level of responsibility. Educating young minds and all that. I just want to play! (Also, insert props to Gwen here.)
I don't know what I want to do. What do you guys think?
Thursday, July 19, 2012
The dreaded cover letter and other employment misadventures
Okay, so this is the sort of thing I could be vlogging about--and believe me, I have had time to vlog--but I've been sick for going on two weeks now, and while I've finally (mostly) regained the ability to breathe, I still sound funny and have grown incredibly pale and my face has broken out so much that I look like I'm suffering from dragon pox. So to spare you the thought that I'm knocking on death's door, I give you the rant about cover letters that has been smoldering in the back of my mind for a while:
First off, you would think that as a person who likes to write, I could write a one page synopsis of myself to present to employers. I think my problem is my love for fiction and hatred of putting myself into my own stories. I don't LIKE promoting myself. I feel horrible when I'm doing it, like "Oh yeah, I'm this awesome and here's why." I'm not saying I'm NOT awesome--I like to think I am pretty awesome--but telling other people that feels disgusting to me. Perhaps because MODEST is a word I would use to describe myself, but you can't very well put that in a cover letter, can you?
I have sent so many of these things out. I have rewritten it and revised it and pummeled it with rocks and read about what makes a good cover letter and a bad one. And then I sent more out, and a few more, and then glared at it with my death glare. And gosh darnit, my death glare gets things done.
And I have gotten ONE interview. ONE.
A successful interview, true, but it was for a temp agency, and I haven't gotten called in yet, so it still feels like I'm completely unemployed.
Now, part of my problem is my work visa, which is intended for people who are traveling more than I am and allows me to work for an employer only for six months. Within six months I'm planning on getting a different visa (that'll be a different post), but still, maybe employers see the six month limit and go: meehhh...
But that doesn't explain the other temp agency I applied to that was looking for administration assistants with at least two years of experience as well as strong Microsoft Office skills that told me I "don't have the skills and experience" they were looking for. Given that I have four years of administration experience and strong Microsoft Office skills, I should think that I DO, in fact, have the skills and experience that they were looking for. And MOST of the other jobs I've been applying to have been temp--usually 3-6 months. So you would think the visa thing wouldn't be so much of an issue.
So why in the world am I not getting more interviews?
I can only put it down to the cover letter. Something about my pesky cover letter says "do not hire." I am still trying to find where it says that, and in the meantime, getting more and more frustrated with my state of unemployment. As you've probably heard me say before, it's not even for the money--Cal is supporting both of us right now, and we're STILL putting quite a bit in savings each week--I'm just BORED. I cannot be a housewife much longer. I will go mad.
Soon I'll start liking small yipping dogs.
And eating bonbons.
While watching cheesy soap operas.
And designing children's birthday parties and matching their outfit to the decor and--
SOMEONE SAVE ME I THINK THAT LAST ONE WOULD BE REALLY CUTE.
...It's probably too late. I already spend too much time on Pinterest. GET AWAY BEFORE I INFECT YOU TOO.
...Now I'm starting to wonder if my fever's back. Okay, OH BAI, off to post this to a select group of you on Facebook.
First off, you would think that as a person who likes to write, I could write a one page synopsis of myself to present to employers. I think my problem is my love for fiction and hatred of putting myself into my own stories. I don't LIKE promoting myself. I feel horrible when I'm doing it, like "Oh yeah, I'm this awesome and here's why." I'm not saying I'm NOT awesome--I like to think I am pretty awesome--but telling other people that feels disgusting to me. Perhaps because MODEST is a word I would use to describe myself, but you can't very well put that in a cover letter, can you?
I have sent so many of these things out. I have rewritten it and revised it and pummeled it with rocks and read about what makes a good cover letter and a bad one. And then I sent more out, and a few more, and then glared at it with my death glare. And gosh darnit, my death glare gets things done.
And I have gotten ONE interview. ONE.
A successful interview, true, but it was for a temp agency, and I haven't gotten called in yet, so it still feels like I'm completely unemployed.
Now, part of my problem is my work visa, which is intended for people who are traveling more than I am and allows me to work for an employer only for six months. Within six months I'm planning on getting a different visa (that'll be a different post), but still, maybe employers see the six month limit and go: meehhh...
But that doesn't explain the other temp agency I applied to that was looking for administration assistants with at least two years of experience as well as strong Microsoft Office skills that told me I "don't have the skills and experience" they were looking for. Given that I have four years of administration experience and strong Microsoft Office skills, I should think that I DO, in fact, have the skills and experience that they were looking for. And MOST of the other jobs I've been applying to have been temp--usually 3-6 months. So you would think the visa thing wouldn't be so much of an issue.
So why in the world am I not getting more interviews?
I can only put it down to the cover letter. Something about my pesky cover letter says "do not hire." I am still trying to find where it says that, and in the meantime, getting more and more frustrated with my state of unemployment. As you've probably heard me say before, it's not even for the money--Cal is supporting both of us right now, and we're STILL putting quite a bit in savings each week--I'm just BORED. I cannot be a housewife much longer. I will go mad.
Soon I'll start liking small yipping dogs.
And eating bonbons.
While watching cheesy soap operas.
And designing children's birthday parties and matching their outfit to the decor and--
SOMEONE SAVE ME I THINK THAT LAST ONE WOULD BE REALLY CUTE.
...It's probably too late. I already spend too much time on Pinterest. GET AWAY BEFORE I INFECT YOU TOO.
...Now I'm starting to wonder if my fever's back. Okay, OH BAI, off to post this to a select group of you on Facebook.
This Blog
This blog was born from a mixture of boredom and frustration and makes no promises as to its content, updates, or general mood.
This Blog Is:
A rant.
An excuse to keep writing when I don't feel like writing.
An update on my life.
Short.
Long.
Filled with the ponderings of a recent college grad.
A documentation of time in Australia.
A place for thinking.
This Blog Is Not:
Asking for advice.
Offering advice.
Starting an argument.
Updated regularly.
What it seems.
This Blog Is:
A rant.
An excuse to keep writing when I don't feel like writing.
An update on my life.
Short.
Long.
Filled with the ponderings of a recent college grad.
A documentation of time in Australia.
A place for thinking.
This Blog Is Not:
Asking for advice.
Offering advice.
Starting an argument.
Updated regularly.
What it seems.
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