Toesies of the Month - May 2011

I have to admit.  My toes for the month are pretty ghetto.

Don't get me wrong.  They're pretty.  But they're also kind of ghetto.

Of course, with the funds dwindling still, I decided it was high time that I did my own toes.  It isn't too bad, but of course I wanted to have something fun like the awesome designs that previous nail technicians have done.

But I don't have any of those skills.  So I had to get creative.

I remembered that I had a bunch of star stickers that I had bought randomly at Staples.  I thought, why the heck not?

Ready to see them?

Designed by yours truly, Brighton, MA
Color: Orly - Meet Me Under the Mistletoe
Occasion: Toes needed some lovin'
May 2011

*supah stah*

Well, the stars, being stickers, are relatively flat and my toe nails are not.  So, I had to to a little bit of pushing the little corners down.  Hopefully, they will survive my moving around throughout the day.

The color is a really pretty dark green with sparklies that I stumbled upon at CVS.  The bottle is tiny, and seemed to be the last of its kind.  It was like it was meant for me.

I have another job interview tomorrow (I know that I was super overwhelmed in my last post about jobs, but I figure it wouldn't hurt to continue interviewing), so I won't paint my fingers til Friday perhaps.  But I'm really liking this color.

Though, perhaps next time I will invest in little nail stickies.

Unemployment Woes Temporarily on Hiatus

Last week, I had two interviews.  They were at places that I knew I could excel at.  Then on Friday, I get an email from the after school where I've been subbing.

They offered me a summer job.  I don't think there are too many benefits, really.  But it would be full time.  It's a job.

I agonized over this all weekend.  There was definitely a part of me that hoped the Rapture would come not only for my own sick fascination, but just so I wouldn't have to make a decision.

I knew that the other jobs were still in the midst of their interviewing process, and it seemed like I had always been the first person they interviewed for the specific positions.  At this point, there's still a possibility of getting second interviews.

But I had to make a choice.  And really, this was the only choice offered to me thus far.  I had to take it.

I'm about to see if I can finagle getting a couple of cents or even a dollar more in terms of wage.  I also let my supervisor know that I have made some plans, but that the rest of my summer is fairly open.

I know that if something better were to come up, I could always let them know that my plans have changed.  But I honestly feel like that is bad form, and not necessarily helpful in terms of building a relationship for future references.

I just happen to be the kind of person who tries to finish what I start, even if it takes me the longest time to get to the finish.

So, while I still need money now and I'm still not going to stop interviewing, I feel a lot less stressed about what is happening in my life.

Lastly, I wanted to share a hilarious cover letter that was posted on the Huffington Post.  Clearly, I should have taken a tip from this guy for a guaranteed hire.

I can do a Rubik's Cube!

******UPDATE******
So, I've now also been asked to work at City Hall for the month of June.  But this means 20 hours in a so-busy-but-they-don't-really-have-room-in-the-office so I'll have to do some weekend hours with another person there who's trained.

What?

I know I need the money, so I agreed to it.  But I'm literally having an anxiety attack right now.  I unfortunately haven't really been sitting around saving my weekends for this job.  In fact, I just agreed to do a Survivor Speaker Training at the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center on the first weekend of June. Plus, I have my night job.  Plus, there's a wedding mid-month.

I mean, there HAS to be some flexibility, right?

This is a really good lesson for me.  Not only will I have to ask for a slightly higher pay from the summer program, but I will also have to ask for some flexibility from City Hall.

This will be a true test in self-care, I think.  I have to learn how to ask for what I'm worth.  I'm worth more pay and I'm worth some flexibility in terms of hours.

Goddamnit.

Talking Tunes: "Rapture" by Blondie

I'm not really sure how it initially came up, but back in high school my friends and I got to talking about the Revelations from the Bible.  It's quite possible that this conversation came up because our 10th grade Honors English teacher made the Bible our required reading.

I didn't go to a Catholic school or any other religious school.  I went to a college prep high school.  Our teacher spoke of the importance of knowing where other literary works got their inspirations from.

Yeah...that seemed like a bullshit reason to me as well.  Yet, I read the entire thing, though I can't say I remember all of it.

Anyways, my friends and I got to talking about Revelations and about the end of the world.  Most of us believe that it would not be happening in our lifetime, but that the end of the world would really be more of the end of the earth as a planet and not really as an ascension of righteous souls into heaven.

As I'm sure some of your know, there is an old Evangelical radio broadcaster by the name of Harold Camping who is predicting that the Rapture will take place on May 21, 2011.

That's today.

The interwebs are in a flurry about the Rapture.  In all honesty, Mr. Camping has done a great job with creating mass hysteria through various means, such as multiple billboards, campaigners taking to the streets, and even a Rapture Van.

Rapture Van vs. Batmobile...who do you think would win?

As the day closed in on us, I could feel the excitement in the air.  More and more people were making jokes about it, and even I found myself unable to contain my excitement.

Whenever I got the chance, I would excitedly say to my friends, "So, I am SUPER excited about the Rapture!"

I mean, let's say that hypothetically the Rapture happens.  People would be disappearing from their cars, from their homes.  Then the rest of us would have to endure some tribulations and some wrath and maybe even some Anti-Christ action.  But what would it really look like?

There's so many interpretations of it that I feel like any out-of-ordinary phenomena could be counted toward the Rapture.  Any severe weather phenomenon could be part of the Rapture if someone decides to say it is so.

There is something extremely fascinating about the fact that people want to believe what they want to believe even if there's hard scientific evidence for or against it.  For some people, it's just plain stubbornness.  For others, it's a way of life.

Yet, if it doesn't happen, there will be a lot of hangovers the next day.  But I do fear that there will also be a lot of sadder stories as well for the poor saps who want to believe so badly.

Honestly, it's exciting to be part of these times when people are predicting the end.  It's fun to speculate, and it'll be fascinating when we're all proven wrong.

"How can I possibly be excited about this?" you might ask.  Well, back in high school when my friends and I were first discussing the Revelations, I realized that I thought it would be kind of neat to live through the end of the world.

Don't get me wrong.  I'm sure it would be utterly horrifying, whether it be through religious means or if it was just the Earth imploding on itself.  But for that split second before all consciousness is gone, you're conscious of your own humanity, of the life you've lived and the people you've loved.  You are conscious of your being and of your environment, perhaps more than you've ever been in your entire life, and it's really a precious thing.

Now, I would clearly be remiss if I didn't talk about Blodie's "Rapture."  First of all, it's an amazing song that I plan on blasting throughout the day.

Secondly, her rap just cracks me up!!!  I'm sure it was all ground-breaking back then, but it is still difficult for me to believe that the "rap" part in the song was taken seriously.

So, enjoy this awesome music video of Blondie's "Rapture," try to sing along, and laugh at the silliness of the rap and the Rapture.

See you all on the other side (or Sunday)!




"Rapture" by Blondie
Toe to toe, dancing very close
Body breathing, almost comatose
Wall to wall, people hypnotized
And they're stepping lightly
Hang each night in rapture


Back to back, sacroiliac
Spineless movement and a wild attack
Face to face, sightless solitude
And it's finger-popping
Twenty-four hour shopping in rapture


(Rap)
Fab Five Freddy told me everybody's fly
DJ's spinning, I said "my, my"
Flash is fast, flash is cool
François, c'est pas flashé non due
And you don't stop, sure shot
Go out to the parking lot
And you get in your car and drive real far
And you drive all night and then you see a light
And it comes right down and it lands on the ground
And out comes the man from Mars
And you try to run, but he's got a gun
And he shoots you dead and he eats your head
And then you're in the man from Mars
You go out at night eating cars
You eat Cadillacs, Lincolns, too
Mercurys, and Subaru
And you don't stop
You keep on eating cars
Then when there's no more cars
You go out at night
And eat up bars where the people meet
Face to face
Dance cheek to cheek
One to one
Man to man
Dance toe to toe
Don't move too slow
'Cause the man from Mars is through with cars
He's eating bars
Yeah, wall to wall
Door to door
Hall to hall
He's gonna eat 'em all
Rapture
Be pure
Take a tour through the sewer
Don't strain your brain
Paint a train
You'll be singing in the rain
Said don't stop, do the punk rock


Well, now you see what you want to be
Just have your party on TV
'Cause the man from Mars won't eat up bars where the TV's on
Now he's gone back up to space
Where he won't have a hassle with the human race
And you hip hop
And you don't stop
Just blast off
Sure shot
Because the man from Mars stopped eating cars
And eating bars
And now he only eats guitars
Get up

First Impressions

Since I've been doing all these interviews lately, I've thought a lot about first impressions.

What must people think of me as I walk in?  I've heard all kinds of things about how to dress, and I make sure to pack my pumps with me so that I'll look taller.

But then I get to introduce myself and talk about myself as a potential candidate.  At some point, when I become a bit more comfortable, my California comes out.

What does that mean, you say?

I think it means that I turn my friendliness level up.  I know that I still maintain my professionalism, but I'll make a quick joke or throw a little sarcasm in there following the lead of the interviewer.  I don't know if it's not okay to do that....but it's me.  It's who I am.

Then there are other times, when I feel like I come off really loud and obnoxious.  Usually, it's at a party, where everyone's somewhat loud and obnoxious.  But for some reason, I get very conscious of how I come off.

I have quite an eclectic group of friends.  Some are artists, dancers, musicians.  Others are engineers, scientists, scholars.  Obviously, there's a bit of crossover between the two types of brains.  But then their friends sometimes get a chance to interact with me in our social gatherings.

gorgeous Mercedes-Benz ad

Sometimes, I feel like I must weird people out.  Sometimes, I can be quite outspoken and honest.  Sometimes, I wonder if it makes people feel uncomfortable that I will sometimes blurt things out.

Let's say, I suddenly start talking about my "night job," which is much more for adults.  Some people get extremely interested, and some people don't make eye contact with me for the rest of the night.

At an old-school hip hop party my friends hosted last week, I was totally in-character and proceeded to greet people in a somewhat flamboyant way.  I don't know if that weirds people out.  But...it's me.  I was having fun.

Being a somewhat stubborn...okay...very stubborn person, I sometimes want to find a way to break through to new people who might be weirded out by me at first.  Like, maybe if they just talk to me more, they'll see that I'm pretty awesome.

I don't know why it matters.

I know I'm friendly, I know I can be a bit outspoken, and I know that the people who know me and love me are really the ones who matter most.

These are just some random thoughts that have flitted through my brain waves.  That's all.

Clouds Decending

There has been this consistent rain and gloomy feeling this month of May.  From the intense flooding down in Mississippi all the way up to the persistent cloudiness here in Boston, it has been a constant...and it's affecting everyone.

Fog covering the clock tower in Downtown Boston

I almost don't know what the sky looks like anymore.  As someone who tries to stay positive, even through all these difficult times, the weather has not really helped in getting out of the depression.

There's a part of me that wants to say, "Well, it is what it is.  We can't do anything about it.  We'll appreciate the sunshine so much more."

Then there's the other part of me that wants to sink into a little funk, hide under my covers, and nap all day.

I am craving some warmth, and unfortunately it is too cold and raw outside.

But, it's not going to stop me from wearing bright colors and combating the cold that way.  I'm definitely not going to stop turning up the music as I travel through the city.

Obviously, Pink Martini's "Hang On Little Tomato" is high on my playlist.



But I've recently rediscovered this inspiring song by Carole King.



What's on your positive playlist?