New Project

Everything in life happens for a reason. It's trite, but true. A friendship from the 7th grade led me to the new project I've alluded to and I couldn't be more grateful. At a time in my life when work has been stressful and looking for a new job has yielded no results, because on paper I look like a glorified secretary, I needed a way to relight my spark.

Enter: Moxy Magazine.

From a quick e-mail intro to my awesome publisher, to a dinner meeting in the city, I am now a contributing writer and board member on the project. I'm also hoping to improve upon my editing skills and get some real experience under my belt in that category (outside of grad school workshops).

This month I contributed 2 articles, which are also 2 columns I came up with the idea to include, a "How to" column and a "Top 10."

I have been writing Top 10 lists since High School, it was a fun way to get a laugh out of my friend Joanne and it turned out to be something I had a knack for and really enjoyed, and now I've turned that writing into something fit for a wider audience. I hope you enjoy it.

This blog will still focus on shopping and whatnot, but we all have different sides to us and it's a great feeling to find an outlet for a part of me that had been fading away a bit. It's back now though, in full effect.

GOALS Update

-Deadline passed for the book and I still haven't cracked it.
-No savings update.
-Applied to 1 job last week, 1 job this week, looking to get back on the every day bandwagon.

Sure I could chalk all of this up to my busy schedule and the fact that I haven't been home for a weekend in a month, but yesterday I was reading this article about James Franco and how he takes 3x the regular graduate course load in addition to his regular work schedule and additional projects and I just feel like I've been lacking motivation. So, no, I will not use my busy schedule as a crutch, I will just be honest that I've been slacking and hope that I can get myself back on track.

Also, I have a deadline looming in the next 2 weeks, let's see how this effects things.

GOALS Update:

- Located the book, didn't get back into reading it yet.
- Have 2 checks ready for deposit in Savings.
- Applied to 4 jobs for the 4 days last week (it wasn't one per day, but I applied to as many jobs as there were days in my work week).

Not too shabby, hoping to keep it up.

GOALS

Back from vacation for just one day and I'm feeling motivated. In the past couple of years I've seen that I'm capable of really positive change and I want to keep that going. Plus I recently got back to running and I'm already seeing results, which always gets me motivated, so I'm setting some goals for myself.

Ranging in size and significance, here they are:

- Finish "The Devil in The White City" by Erik Larson. The book is is based on actual events from the World's Fair in Chicago in 1893 but, while the information is interesting, I just lost interest. After a friend informed me that she'd struggled similarly with the book, but finished, I decided it's time to see how this story ends. DEADLINE: 7/31.

- Meet my next savings goal. Last month I met a big one, but I don't want to just rest on my laurels, so I want to keep the money momentum going. While this deposit will be smaller than my last one, it will still be sizable and I'm confident that if I exhibit a bit of restraint when it comes to shopping I can do it. DEADLINE: 9/10.

- A Job a Day. This is the big one; I want to apply to a job a day (weekdays only, weekend postings are infrequent at best and shady at worst) until I figure out the next step in my career. This is a lofty goal, I'm aware, but whatever I'm doing right now clearly isn't working, so I need to be more aggressive and more creative. Maybe I'll come across the perfect job I never knew I was looking for. DEADLINE: N/A

Wish me luck!

For Hire

So by now, if you're reading this blog semi-regularly, you know a couple of things about me; I'm into fashion, I'm looking for a job, I love to write, I always appreciate a good sale and I value a dollar, and I'm passionate about all of these things. If I could find a job that combines all of them it would make me extremely happy.

Unfortunately I haven't had much luck on the job search front and right now I am extremely frustrated.

Each day I come into work and check my Monster.com job search e-mail, then I check Ed2010.com's Whisper Jobs, then I check Mediabistro.com, and I usually check Craigslist and Indeed.com too.

As I apply to these positions I try not to be pessimistic and think how they're probably just posting the position because they have to legally, but they're really planning on promoting from within.

I also try not to get my hopes up about a job I feel I would be perfect for because, while I may know it in my head, maybe I didn't tweak my resume just right so it shows up on paper that I would be the best fit.

When I don't hear anything I try to cheer myself up by thinking positively; Sure, I've been out of the game for awhile, but hopefully someone who was unemployed and was more qualified and needed it more than me got the position.

But to be honest, I'm just disheartened. I'm a hard worker. I've tried writing 'out of the box' cover letters, I've tried using my connections, I've been applying to jobs in various fields consistently, so when is someone going to call me for an interview?!

Oftentimes I find myself thinking that I am not where I thought I'd be, where I'm supposed to be, but I'm still not entirely sure of where that is exactly. Maybe it's just 'anywhere but here' syndrome, but whatever it is, this whole job search process is draining me. Clearly, since this is entry is a little more Debbie Downer, a little less "rant." *Womp, womp.

Not that I'm going to let this keep me down, I'll be back up for another round, but at the moment I'm beaten down.

(For the record: the rhyming was unintentional, rapping is surely not one of my passions.)

Just Keep Spinning, Just Keep Spinning...

You ever get so emotional you just feel the thoughts spinning 'round and 'round in your head? It's like a tornado of thoughts and even unrelated issues can fall victim to the gale force winds and get sucked in. Rational thought just doesn't hold enough weight or gravity to resist.

It doesn't matter if it starts with your job situation or your living situation or family or personal relationships, it's like a vortex just forms and everything is sucked into it.

I hate those days. Thankfully that was yesterday.

Case of the Mondays

Office Space is a great movie, choc full of quotable lines, and every Monday I'm reminded of this as someone on Facebook inevitably sites "a case of the Mondays" in their status. Seeing as how it's become quite trite, I refrained from making it my status today, but I do indeed have a bit of a case.

Today is a day that I will look on Craigslist and Mediabistro and Indeed and whatever other job search websites I think of to look at job postings. As I read each post I will imagine myself in business attire, take the train into work each day, grabbing cocktails at happy hour. I may apply, or I may just print out the description only to throw it in my trash can at home when I clean out my bag next week, but I'm looking.

Last week I applied to an amazing position at a wedding website, which I truly believe I'd be perfect for, but to no avail. The background info I looked up on the company will now just be mentally filed away in my random wedding industry knowledge folder and the excitement I felt will slowly fade into disappointment.

Hopefully this week will bring the promise of a better job search, a position that I'm even more excited and hopeful about, not to mention qualified for, that pays well and is located somewhere convenient. That's not too much to ask, right?

If that doesn't work out, I'll just take a pony. Thanks.

First Twitter, Now Lord & Taylor

In the past few days I have caved to both Twitter and Lord & Taylor.

The Twitter account is partially an attempt to make myself a more well-rounded candidate for jobs in media. Every job I've applied to lately seems to mention Twitter amongst various other social networking platforms I need to be familiar with in order to succeed. So far I've Twittered about twittering and my profile, my lunch choice, shopping and other scintillating subjects. Maybe I'll get better.

Lord & Taylor was a long time coming. As a somewhat regular shopper there it has become a bit of a hassle to ask my mom if I can use her card every time I want to get an extra 20% off. Plus I hear you don't get the coupons unless you have a card. So the very sweet saleslady, Louise, was able to talk me into a card. This should do wonders for my shopping problem.

Eggs Friday

At my old job, when I worked in the city, every Friday my friend Meghan and I would get eggs for breakfast. Since we worked "in fashion" every girl was super weight conscious, even if they didn't have to be, so eggs on a Friday was a treat.

Personally, I got a toasted sesame bagel with cream cheese every other day, so eggs Friday was more to break the monotony than shrink my waist size (especially since even when the rest of my body shrinks, my waist stays the same as always, like that of a 12 year old boy).

But now when I observe the holiday all it does is remind me of the fact that I no longer work in the city. Bummer.

Yesterday I applied to 2 jobs. Postings have slowed considerably with everyone cutting back and I must admit that I miss the days of sending out 5 cover letters a day. Despite my best attempts to "always look on the bright side of life" I'm finding it difficult not to notice that I'm several cast members short of the Monty Python kick line required to perform that song.

Plenty to do to keep me busy though, holiday parties and whatnot (the holidays are my other standard answer as to why no one is hiring right now). I may need to go all shopaholic though and freeze my main CC in a block of ice, freeze my spending if you will.