Going To the Doctor...In Mexico?

Wow-- this never, ever occured to me, but apparently a new trend in today's downtrodden economy is to travel abroad for medical care. Like... what? Are we Americans that pathetic, that we have to drive or fly to foreign countries to go to the doctor?

On the other hand... hrm. I know this article says that quality of care could be an issue, but still...it's a thought. Maybe I could plan a check-up while Adam and I are honeymooning in Europe?

New Apartment!

I haven't updated in about a day and a half, mostly because...

We moved in to our new apartment yesterday!

It's a one-bedroom in Austintown-- well, technically, the address is in Youngstown, but it's right on the West Side, making it pretty much in Austintown. We have a living room, a little wallpapered dining room area, a kitchen, a bedroom, and a bathroom. There is air-conditioning, a big window in the living room, a dishwasher, a brand-new gas stove/oven, a garbage disposal, and a fancy showerhead. We also have four closets: one in the foyer, one in the living room, and two in the bedroom. There's also a pool out back!

And all this for $395/month. That price even includes ALL utilities except electric, so our water, gas, heating, air conditioning, and sewage are all paid for us, and we just pay for stuff we plug in.

I got so excited when we got to put our names on our mailbox and on our door buzzer. We're the only family with two names on the nameplate ("McCluskey/Walker"), which made me feel even happier, somehow.

I also love puttering around the place: tidying up, watching TV (we only get two channels, and those are kind of fuzzy, but we can watch DVDs, so I've been rewatching the second season of The O.C.), cleaning up the kitchen, making Adam's lunch. I even baked a cake last night, and Adam cooked a splendid dinner of seasoned chicken, corn, and pirogies. He even made me a crantini to sip! I love that I'm marrying a man who is clean, helpful, and a wonderful cook...he even did all of the dishes after he made dinner! I mean, really, he's like a demigod or something.

I took a run around the neighborhood this afternoon, and it looks like a lovely place-- lots of young families with children, and we're also within walking distance of the Austintown library, which means 1) wireless access, and 2) lots of books/magazines/DVDs whenever I want them!

I'm just so very happy. It feels like we're really a little family now, what with our apartment and our soon-to-be shared bank account and our kitty (soon to be kitties, plural, once we kidnap one of the newborn babies in Adam's garage). I expected to feel, I don't know, a little weird about being so young and so settled down, but it really feels wonderful, to tell you the honest truth.

So now I'm back at my parents house for most of the weekend, as Adam has to work tonight, Saturday, and Sunday. I'll put up some pictures early next week for you guys, I promise!

:(

I'm starting to get fairly depressed about this whole no-job deal. I just had to turn down an AWESOME internship in Cleveland that entailed working for Church Life (the magazine/newsletter of the Episcopal Church) for $15/hr. I love writing! I love journalism! I love the Episcopal Church! My transportation to Cleveland (which is about an hour north of my town) decided to move to Brazil this summer, though, so that didn't work out. It was one of the saddest things I've ever done, turning that job down.

I keep applyng for writing assignments that I've found at Freelance Writing Jobs, a website that my mother helpfully passed on to me. The problem is that, while there are few people in this world who can write well, there are many people who want  to write professionally, and while this doesn't necessarily narrow my chances of being a successful writer in the long run, it most definitely means that the good writing gigs are often flooded with a million applications by the time they're posted on the above website. I think the trick is to wait until the site's daily digest of jobs is released and then apply to all of them as quickly as possible, but for someone like me who has a friggin' LIFE (as well as a student job, as low-paying as it might be), it's not always possible to stare determinedly at the computer all day and refresh the screen every five minutes.

Will someone please give me a job? Or at least start paying me to play Guitar Hero?

Journalism Opportunity?

I'm totally entering this contest-- it's a competition sponsored jointly by MySpace and MSNBC to choose two "citizen journalists" to report at the Democratic Convention in Denver! You have to make a video and put it on your MySpace account (which might mean I'll have to reactivate mine, even though I created it for the sole purpose of monitoring my 14-year-old sister's activities) and then they choose five finalists. Then the MySpace population apparently chooses the final two, which sucks since most people seem to vote on the basis of 1) who looks dumber, and 2) who looks hotter, and I have a feeling I'd lose on both those counts.

But anyways, I'm gonna do it, and I thought some of you might be interested. I'm thinking in particular of Jaime and Maya, but of course, everyone who wants to should give it a shot!

Bah.

I have sent out approximately ten applications for freelance writing gigs. I have received zero responses. Not even a "thanks for applying" rejection letter.

I searched for jobs yesterday in the Vindicator, to no avail. Apparently the only jobs that exist in Youngstown A) require Masters degress, or B) involve unskilled hard labor. I have the qualifications for neither of these categories.

Adam keeps telling me to calm down, learn to drive, and take a job at the paper. And we did go and get my new permit packet yesterday, so that's a start. But I hate the idea of waiting a few weeks to become employed. I could be making money NOW! That's what Adam is doing at the moment, actually-- today was his first day back at Exal, otherwise known as the Evil Aluminum Can Factory of Death. But while I hate his job, and I worry about him getting hurt, I can't go and criticize, because it's a job, and that's a rare bird around here.

Someone employ me. Now. Please please please?

The Job Search Is Reborn!

Adam and I need money. He has a credit card bill to pay off, we have rent/electric/groceries to pay for, we owe YSU (my fiancé’s university) $2,000 for the privilege of being treated like dirt, and Adam wants to buy a $400 Ralph Lauren suit for the wedding. We need cash, and my attempt to win the Mega Millions $56 million jackpot this Tuesday came to naught in the end.

So: I need a job.

Obviously, I cannot go back to Chapters. I think I will commit some sort of ritual suicide if I step foot in there again. I also cannot get a reporting job— not without a driver's license, which I still cannot obtain as I have no vehicle with which to take the test. I'm also still scared out of my mind every single time I drive, but that's a whole different issue.

Thus, the job must be somewhere within walking distance, or else must be something that can be conducted in one spot, without driving becoming an issue. Thus, I have... a plan!

THE PLAN:

1. Apply to a job at YSU. Yes, I know, YSU has been evil to me and mine, but that’s the fault of the religious studies department and the payroll people, not the other folks who work there. Thus, I am applying for a job as an Intervention Specialist for Youngstown Early College, which is the branch of YSU that helps smart, poor kids in high schools around here earn early college credits. The job seems to require only a BA, and pays $32,000/year, which would basically double our household income. Plus, my dad works there and Adam goes to school there, so I won’t have to drive.

2. If I do not get this job, I will try: the chocolate factory down the street. They must be hiring for something, and working with chocolate cannot be all that challenging or physically strenuous. Right?

3. If I do not get this job, I will try: all the small stores along YoPo Road. Someone must need help with something, right? The liquor store, the sketchy drum store (which I suspect may in fact sell…well, not drums), the antique store, etc.

 

4. If I do not get this job, I will try: sucking it up and applying for my substitute’s license. Being a substitute is NOT the same thing as being an actual teacher, and will only require me to be locked in small, windowless rooms with small children for a maximum of two days per week. Therefore, I should be able to resist the urge to stab myself in the eye for at least a full calendar year.

5. If I do not get this job, I will try: killing myself for the insurance money. I’m pretty sure I can make it look like an accident if I walk into traffic on Rt. 224. Then Adam won't have to make cans anymore!

Good plan, no? Helpful suggestions are, of course, welcome.

More Good News...Goody, Goody.

Well, today I went to Yahoo to check my email, and I immediately noticed what looked like a picture of Youngstown on the Yahoo homepage. "What is this picture of my humble town doing on this national website?" I wondered. Then I realized that the picture was associated with a large news article: "America's Fastest-Dying Cities".

Oh, great. It seems Youngstown is actually at the head of the list. Apparently we suck more than Flint. Yeah, that Flint. The Flint, Michigan, of Roger and Me fame.

No wonder I can't find a friggin' job. There ARE no jobs here.

Job Hunting. Ish.

So the job hunt is pretty much in a coma, for now. Adam says he thinks I ought to spend time with him and with my family for a bit, and allow him to support me until September. That's very kind of him, but it makes me a little nervous not to be making some sort of contribution to our finances. I don't want to become that spoiled princess who blows all of her man's money on, I dunno, diamonds or something, and then complains when the money runs out.

I have, however, taken on a new freelance job: writing for Suite 101, a sprawling online magazine. Unlike eHow.com, they let me write about anything I want, so long as it's a good, solid, properly presented piece. My contract requires a minimum of 10 articles every 3 months, which shouldn't be too taxing, as I just published my first one today.

If anyone is interested in making some $$$ on the side, feel free to apply to Suite 101. You can write about pretty much anything, and the editors seem way nice and helpful.

Pictures!

Just put up a few pictures from the new apartment-- and please note that there is now a coffee table in the living room, though I was too lazy to take a new picture in order to accommodate this change.

I haven't yet been able to put up a picture of the bedroom, but once we make it presentable enough, I'm sure that'll be up here, too.

No way

Oh, great-- for the first time in US history, having a bachelor's degree gives you no major economic advantages over the shitty-ass economy. Thanks for the update, Wall Street Journal!

I worked my ass off for two years at UWC and four years at Vassar, and now that means nothing? My parents spent countless dollars on my education, I spent years working a crappy job I hated so I could pay for school, and now I'm still in the same boat as Britney, the girl who made fun of me in fifth grade, who barely graduated from high school and will be spending the rest of her life standing at the Bed Bath and Beyond checkout line?

This is so not cool.

I'm Even More of a Loser in Japan

You know, there are a lot of bad things about being unemployed: the lack of money, the feeling of uselessness, the embarrassment of having to write "unemployed" on every form or questionnaire ever. But at least I take comfort in knowing that, since I don't have a real job, I will probably not die from overwork.

Hot Careers in Linguistics!

This is mainly for my linguistics-major friends (would you believe I actually have several of those?), but MSN listed Computational Linguist as one of its seven cool careers you've never heard of.

See, guys? Now, when people mock you for not having majored in something "practical" like business or chemistry, you can show them this article, and they'll shut right up.

And wait-- comp linguists make a "high five-figure" salary right off the bat? Clearly, I was wrong to major in English.

Buying v. Renting

I found this article interesting-- apparently it's now cheaper to rent than to buy your home! This is great news for me, as a new college graduate and soon-to-be young married woman with many years of renting ahead of her.

On the other hand-- is it ever really true that renting is cheaper than buying? I mean, maybe if you move every couple years, or if your house is really nice and would be really expensive to buy. But if you're going to live in one place for 13 years-- like my parents have-- won't all those monthly rent payments add up? I mean, my parents paid about $60,000 for our three-bedroom, two bathroom house with a big backyard and front yard, a porch, a fenced-in yard, a two-car garage, and a finished basement. And now, even with the housing market sagging, I doubt the pricing situation would be that different now, since Youngstown is a slowly dying city.

I don't know. Maybe I don't know very much about these grown-up sorts of things. But I was raised by a frugal, cautious woman with an accounting degree, so I usually understand money things instinctually, at least enough to say "NO!" to credit cards and "YES!" to coupons. And I say that even with the housing market the way it is, if I saw a reasonable deal on a house in an area in which I intended to reside for a long time, I'd take it. Renting is for losers without jobs. Y'know-- people like me.

Maybe the key is just to stay modest. Don't live anywhere you can't afford to live. I think that's basically my financial mantra: don't spend money that isn't yours, don't buy anything you can't afford, don't count on tomorrow's paychecks to cover today's purchases. Being sensible when it comes to money is a family tradition, and I intend to carry the torch.

Selling My Literary Soul...For fifteen dollars

So I now have three (very pathetic) sources of income:

1. My check from Chapters, where I stopped working on Sunday so I could concentrate on the journalism career;
2. My transcription job for my dear friend, at which I need to be working harder, because I've been totally slacking, and;
3. My $15/article job writing for the lameness that is eHow.

Today, as I slaved over an article entitled "How to Knit an iPod Case," I suddenly felt like the stupidest, lamest, biggest sell-out/ burn-out EVER. I went to UWC of the American West for two years, took my IB Diploma, studied literature at Vassar College, and got distinction on my senior thesis, and what has that prepared me for? A career in telling people how to knit novelty items or find apartments in Idaho or treat penis pain.

I mean, just check out this little gem I wrote, about how to become a priest. Or this one, extolling the importance of a physician's opinion in the diagnosis of Fuchs' Dystrophy? Or how about my great works on flute maintenance, or on purchasing school uniforms? How could you possibly say I'm wasting my life, if I'm contributing so seriously and completely to the literary canon?

I'm sending out poems this week, and I know every single one will be rejected, because I'm only a good poet, not a brilliant one.

I feel like a failure.

Graduation

Before Sunday, I'd never participated in a typical graduation ceremony. When I graduated from high school at United World College of the American West, a two-year international baccalaureate boarding school, we wore national costumes instead of caps and gowns, we marched in to guitar music instead of Pomp and Circumstance, and the reception included a real live mariachi band. So I was incredibly excited about my Vassar graduation, because it promised all of the traditional ceremonial custom that one expects from this type of event.

But when it was actually happening, when I was really sitting there in the outdoor amphitheater and listening to Randy Cohen of NPR give the graduation speech, I didn't feel excited or worried or proud, or any of the things you're supposed to be feeling when you graduate. Partially I was seething because I didn't get honors (I mean, I have a 3.75! What does a girl have to do to get a little recognition around here?), but other than that I was just kind of impatient for it to be over. A bit of a shame, really, that after my parents, my sisters, and my fiance all drove 400 miles and spent hundreds of dollars and sat in the burning sun until they all looked like raw salmon, all I could think about was how much I wanted to blow that popsicle stand.

Maybe I'm just bitter because I don't have big plans for the immediate future. Just look at my housemates: Olivia is off to study math at Columbia this fall, Erin will be pursuing her Masters in education at YSU, and Claire has a great job, the kind of job a recent grad aspires to find: long-distance, flexible, and not involving selling anything or answering phones. And me? After graduating from one of the best schools in the country, my next stop seems to be waitressing at Chapters Cafe in Poland, Ohio. AGAIN.

I'm just completely terrified that I'm screwing everything up, that it's all gonna be downhill from here. I'm unemployed, I have a degree in a useless subject, and I'm not exactly getting any younger, thinner, or prettier. I'm so scared of ending up like on of those dissatisfied Struthers gals who swear they'll run off to California and become veterinarians, but instead end up shooting out four kids, becoming bitter and angry, working for their entire lives at Sears, and never getting any further away from Struthers than the occasional doctor's appointment in Akron.

Graduation feels like the beginning of the end.

But the one bright spot in this whole situation is Adam. I have him, and that helps a lot. Our marriage is the one thing that keeps me moving forward. Not only is it helpful to have a calmer, funnier, better looking, male version of myself around all the time for moral support; my desire to take care of him, to get a good, stable job so I can support him, also really motivates me in a way I don't think raw ambition ever could.

So at least I've got one thing working in my favor.

For more on my graduation experience, see my front-page article in the Monday edition of the Poughkeepsie journal.

Apartments!

Adam and I are apartment hunting, and let me tell you, if you thought it's a hard process in New York City, you ought to try living where no one ever needs an apartment because no one ever leaves their family's ancestral house. At least in NYC, demand dictates that some apartments will EXIST.

The $350/mo. Columbiana apartment that Adam thought he spotted appears to have been a mirage, so we're looking a little closer to (my) home now. We found a couple for $450 and one for $425, all in Boardman, and today Adam bought a Vindicator and found a duplex in Struthers (the town where my parents' house is located) for only $400, utilities included. I like the thought of a duplex, because when I was little we lived in duplexes a lot, and they were so much more like real houses than the dirty Miami apartment buildings we'd lived in when I was a toddler. I mean, with a duplex we'd have an actual YARD, and maybe some flowers or something.

Still, we need to find out what kinds of things are included. Electric? Water? Gas? What kind of heating is installed? And can I bring my cat? I'll need Charlotte Bronte around if Adam's going to keep working midnights, because I get lonely in a dark house all by myself.

I'm kind of simultaneously excited and depressed by this apartment search-- excited by the idea of living on my own with Adam, of starting this new little two-person family (no children, at least not until we're way way way older) all by ourselves, but depressed by the fact that no matter how you look at it, I'm living in Ohio again, which I SWORE would never happen. I mean, I know I just have to suck up my pride and get over it, but it's a bitter pill to swallow sometimes.

Driving Myself Insane

Maybe I could get this job? Hey, I like toys and art...

In all serio