Summer is really over...

Sunday night, CJ and I had dinner at his parent's house. I like to go because my family is now very far away, so I'll take whatever family time I can get. They really are wonderful people and I enjoy the big family vibe they give off. CJ managed to mention that we are pretty much furniture-less, so they opened their basement storage to us. Our apartment now has two chairs, as they had an extra computer chair. They also had an old drafting table/desk. It's probably a children's desk, and the surface is like soft sandpaper, but it's better than the floor.

I've been home all day while CJ has been at work. Most of that day has been spent in front of the computer, and my back started to complain eventually. So I turned the computer off and moved everything to the desk. My back is much happier now.

Today, I have been thinking about how weird it is to not be in school right now. Maybe if I had a real job and felt like I was getting somewhere in life, it would feel less odd....but working part time as a barista is something I would have done in college. And I am not in college. I actually graduated!

I think the other thing is that, since I was 5 years old, I have associated FALL with SCHOOL. Maybe it's only an SAT comparison to you, but for the last 19 years, I have gone to school every fall. Last year was slightly different, as all my classes were online, but still. I took classes. I read books and took tests. There were textbooks involved. There are no textbooks now, nor tests. And it just feels...strange. Like I'm missing something. It's disquieting.

It's also frustrating to realize that I have spent the last 19 years of my life doing very little other than school. I am not casting any doubt on the value of a good education, but does it really have to take that LONG? Seriously. Yes, learning is a life long endeavor, but we really don't live to be that old. If I am in school for a quarter (or more!) of my life, is it really worthwhile? I mean, as far as being a functioning member of society? Like, it takes 20 years of prep for me to get to the point where I can be a member of the working class, but then you only get another 40 years out of me. Is that enough of a payback?

I'm not saying I would have done it any differently. As you can tell by my nostalgia for tests, I LIKE school. I'm just saying, as far as efficiency goes, is it really worth it?



Anywho, I've just been a bit too bored lately. A lot of tv watching and not much else. I am just really bored right now. I spent several hours this morning looking for jobs online and ended up applying to a bunch of random stuff. Nothing really all that interesting. Some clinical research stuff at John Hopkins and Georgetown, a part time position at a Nature Center. I feel I have kind of exhausted the potential jobs that I am eligible for through usajobs.gov so I have had to move on to other search engines. It takes more time tracking down a job that I am qualified for, than anything else.

I just want to have a way to spend my time. That pretty much means a job, a real one. And a car for CJ. Neither of those things has come to fruition yet. Part time barista work is only going to go so far. It won't pay all the bills....and I'd like to actually be saving money since there is a wedding in my future. If I had a two-year plan, it'd be on it.