T Happenings

I ride the MBTA to and from work pretty much every work day, and have been for over 2 years. Most days are fairly standard. By standard, I mean “packed tighter than sardines with the backpack of some jackass who can’t be bothered to take it off jammed into my back and the armpit of another asshat pressed into my face because he couldn’t wait 10 more minutes for a new train.”

Today was a little different, and not just because I got a seat due to most people taking the holiday week off. At South Station, a guy about my age gets on, and I overhear him say, “Step into the car. Don’t be n00bs and don’t bother the real commuters” as about 20 high school aged kids follow him onto the train. I smiled, because this guy obviously had an idea of what was going on, unlike most teachers that think bringing their brats into the “big city” during morning rush hour is a grand idea. Then he told them to “Hold on. With 2 hands. That strap might not be your best option.” Of course I snickered as flashbacks of many a ride where some moron is holding on for dear life but still falls all over herself (and every other passenger within a 10-foot vicinity) as the train starts (and stops of course, because she can’t learn from her first mistake…).

Mr. Teacher happened to be standing in front of me and I smiled at him, making some quip about how even regular T riders had trouble with that. We chatted the next few stops about their excursion to MIT and commuting. When I got off at Park, both he and some of the kids wished me a good day. It was really refreshing to not only have an easy commute, but a pleasurable one at that. Thank you random teacher and high schoolers from Lakeville. Best of luck with your History Fair

State of the Jessi

I thought it had been way longer than 2 weeks since my last post. Work has kept me THAT busy. I like the busyness to a point, but I could absolutely use a little bit of a break. It also stresses me out some because, this time next year, I’M SUPPOSED TO BE ON MY HONEYMOON DAMNIT!!! And neither Ellie nor I want to do a belated honeymoon. I’ve spoken to one of my supervisors and she says it should be okay if I and my more immediate supervisor come up with a plan for getting everything done.

I feel like my life is a lot more hectic than it is. I work regular hours (although I add a couple hours for commuting), and don’t do much after work. Maybe though, because we’ve had plans the last few weekends, and I’ve been doing other things (like a Girl Scout training on Wed, and taking a training next Wed), it seems like a lot more than it really is.

Honestly, life’s pretty uninteresting. Except for the fact I just discovered that people really DO play quidditch (a game played in Harry Potter…on flying brooms…). I was visiting the office of a colleague on the other side of the building and I saw students running around with brooms between their legs tossing balls around. I was flabbergasted to be quite honest! J was telling me that they play every Friday in the fall, and the snitch is actually a person dressed in yellow! I’m really kind of jealous that I’m on this side of the building because I want to see more! Maybe, since I was 17 when the first book was published, I’m just too old to really appreciate this game as more than an opportunity to stare in wonder.

What else? Mentally prepping for the holidays, working on my cross-stitch, and generally being an internet hermit. Although I have an awesome new Android, I don’t spend much time online outside of work except for checking Twitter/Facebook on the phone (speaking of, I need something to keep me occupied at work, and I haven’t found a Facebook game that’s keeping me entertained–any ideas?). There’s also wedding stuff, but it’s back-burner for a little bit longer. But yeah, no updates because life is boring. Which is both good and bad.

Bored

The jury is still out on the new Google Calendar feature because I just haven’t had enough opportunity to play with it now that I’m no longer in school or work.

I need something to do…I’ve lost a lot of my motivation because I’m not doing anything. I really need to get myself in gear and do more housework. Part of it is because it’s just easier to sit around and get lost on the internet, part of it is the fact that it’s been overcast for a week with no signs of letting up. I posted before about my commitment to post more and do more things that are good for me during the intervening time until I find a job. I haven’t done TOO badly at the job thing, but am doing horribly with the blogging and reading. I have a To-Do list on my phone and a daily reminder to check that list, so am trying to stay active, or at least do the things I HAVE to do, but I need more.

I guess most of my feelings of uselessness stem from the fact that I’ve been used to going non-stop from 8am through 10pm most days each week, and now I don’t have nearly enough to fill my time. This means I shouldn’t be too down on myself, yet I am. I’m glad Ellie has tomorrow off & we’ll be getting out of the house to meet with a potential photographer for our wedding.

Determined to Post

Well, other than working at my GA this week (in addition to my regular shifts, I’ve been proctoring exams for the Disability Office, and finals are next week, so I’m getting a ton of hours), I have nothing to do until I get a job. So, I am making a promise to myself that I will treat my weekdays as semi-work days.

So, this is a written promise to myself and readers (the few of you that exist) that I will do the following until I get a job:

• Make a post to one of my 3 main blogs (here, spiritual and/or wedding) at least twice per week.
• Spend at least two days per week searching and applying for real jobs. I have been notorious for saving jobs but not applying in a reasonable amount of time, and have begun to slack off more about actually searching.
• Spend at least one day per week searching for temporary employment to supplement until I get a real job.
• Read a real book for at least half an hour three days per week. I would like to get this up to five days, but am going to set small goals. I spend FAR too much time on my computer and need to cut the crap.

So, let’s see how this little experiment goes, shall we?

Am I Socially Networking?

I’m not very good at the social networking thing…

I was a fairly early adopter of Twitter, and have basically used it as a means of updating my status on Facebook. However, with the invention (and my purchasing) of smartphones, I have begun to just update Facebook from my phone–more characters and guaranteed posting, unlike Twitter.

This is making me re-think what I am going to use my Twitter for. I am not getting rid of it because I like reading the updates from the people I follow, but I’m not really sure what I want to use it for. Part of me is tempted to change my username and use it for semi-professional social networking. I’d do more than JUST Higher Ed posting, but this way I could try to be more interactive within that community and not directly tie this online handle to my professional life–not that I feel embarassed by anything I have posted here or anywhere else that I use the name ‘eternalhearts,’ but some posts may be less professional than they could be and some are of a semi-personal nature that I don’t necessarily want future or former colleagues to know about. However, I know that it’s almost impossible for there to NOT be some cross-over; it’s inevitable within this current world of over-connectedness. I still like to try to maintain SOME level of separateness and do my best to keep the two online handles separate.

I’ve got some thinking to do. Any suggestions/advice?