I'm back!!!!!!!

Yes, my dear readers (maybe just Kate and Kristin), I couldn't resist staying off the blogosphere any longer! There has been a giant blog-shaped hole in my life since I got back from my year abroad, so I have been thinking about starting up a new blog (unfortunately, not European in theme, because, I'm sad to say, I don't have a swanky European job waiting for me). And then, last night, Kate created a new one of her own to chart her life as a military bride and law student. That provided me with just the motivation I needed to create this blog. This morning, Kate laughed hysterically at me as I excitedly pored over blog template websites, complaining that "none of these are pretty," and "SHIT, why does that one say 'Merry Christmas' on it???".

But I'm back. Here I am, sitting in my Introduction to Catholic Ethics class, blogging away (not that I necessarily needed another project to distract me from my classes!). And what, pray tell, could this blog have to do with, if not my fabulous travels around Europe? Well, for those of you who are keeping track, I'm graduating on the 22nd of May, which is 40 DAYS (yikes!!!!!!) from today. Well, I suppose I'm being a little presumptuous, because my work ethic this semester certainly leaves a lot to be desired (except for the fact that I am chugging along, well ahead of schedule, on my thesis; I think I use "thesisizing" as an excuse to not do my regular homework). But, barring all disasters, I should be getting my diploma on the 22nd! That being said, I asked myself, 'What excuse could I possibly give to write yet another blog?'. Well, I thought it might be funny (hopefully "haha" funny rather than pathetically funny) to chronicle my life as a recent college grad, trying to navigate the labyrinth of the job market, the real estate market, and, if we're going to make it a market theme, the meat market of dating. And, as you may have guessed from the cherry blossom motif, I'm hoping that all of these adventures and misadventures will take place in the bustling metropolis of Washington, D.C.

You may be asking yourself, 'Wait, since when does she have a job? Where is she going to live? How is she going to finance her unfortunate shopping habit?'. In response to the first part, I would say that I have a job at least through the end of the summer- I am going to continue on part-time in my current job in Georgetown's Office of Communications, which I'm very excited about. You couldn't ask for a lower-key introduction to a 9-5, and the people in the office are great. And, with the website redesign set to pick up this summer, I will hopefully have added responsibilities that will look good on my résumé (because, who are we kidding, a girl has to have a job!). I am hoping to pick up another part-time job on campus. With that being said, I am hoping to live on campus for the summer, so IF YOU KNOW OF ANYONE LOOKING FOR A SUBLETTER IN GEORGETOWN THIS SUMMER, LET ME KNOW!!!!! As far as the shopping, well, all I can say is, I have an embarrassingly large selection of clothes in my closet (and the rest is currently being stored above my roommate's closet, because there was no way I could have had all of my winter and summer clothes in my tiny closet at the same time). Since I will almost certainly NOT be living permanently in Georgetown, I think a little bit of separation from the irresistible temptations of JCrew and Anthropologie will do me good!

In all seriousness, though, I have no idea what I want to do with my life. I was actually asked in a job interview today (my first real-person job interview ever!) where I thought I would be in five years. I had to word it diplomatically and say that I am "very much in the self-discovery phase of the job search" and am "open to all possibilities". Really, I can't say that I would rather be preprogrammed into a career right now- I like being able to keep my options open. But I am actively looking for and applying to jobs that I hope will pique my interest.

The hardest part of the job search for me (well, and the whole grownup life thing in general) is figuring out how to play my cards. It is exhausting to try to determine how best to word a cover letter, how to deal with a possible conflict in start dates for jobs, how to find an apartment when the people you were planning to live with are probably going home for the summer, etc. Add to that the fact that I now have to worry about paying for health insurance, food, happy hour a few times a week, a gym membership, basketball tickets (because don't even try to dissuade me from that last one), not to mention rent and public transit and my head starts to spin.

Now, I just want to clear up one thing. I do not pretend that my life is just THAT interesting, but I am very much in a transition period in my life and I hope that my experiences will inspire some reaction in you, my readers (whoever you may be; N.B. I may not even tell my parents about this, my latest blogging adventure, because I know that they did not read my last blog). And although I seem to be picking up right where I left off with this unnecessarily long post, the fact that I won't be describing the minutest of detail my travels and offering up my commentary on the strange grooming habits of Spaniards should give you hope that my posts will be more manageable. So sit back, dear readers, and maybe my posts will provide some entertainment for you on rainy days like today when you may be sitting around in your pajamas drinking cup after cup of coffee.