17 Days total, 5 days of class, 10 class periods

There are several things, moments, issues, ideas on my mind right now. It doesn’t seem like I’m mere days away from graduating. But there it is. 17 total days until Graduation Day. 5 actual days left with classes in them, and 10 classes to attend. It’s a strange feeling.

I’m not sure how to feel about the “Swine Flu” thing. At first I was extremely skeptical because let’s face it, we’ve heard things like this before. Remember SARS? West Nile? Mad Cow? The Avian Flu? Huge media blitzes and spectacles were made about those diseases. Did they turn into the inevitable pandemics the news outlets made them out to be? Not so much. As much as I want this to be like those cases, I’m not that naive. I know it could happen. Today there was a shift in my perspective. Now I am concerned. I’m not worrying my life away about it, but it’s there.

Homework-wise, all I have left to finish are: a final research paper for holocaust history, finish 3 books and take the final exam for France history, read an article and write 2 papers for reality TV, take the final for reality TV,  AND finish the novels and take the final for Dostoevsky. Plus the concert for Gospel Choir. Now that I wrote it all out there it doesn’t seem too daunting.

I don’t have a permanent job lined up yet. I had two interviews a couple weeks ago and they were good practice, but they weren’t for actual open positions. One might result in something, but I doubt it. I applied for a job on Sunday evening that I would LOVE to do, but we’ll see if I get called for an interview. I can work for the accountants at the Universtity for awhile. I think I can get 14 hours a week for awhile. That will help pay my rent and utilities and keep me from worrying about complete unemloyment. Hopefully something will come from the resumes I am sending out. Monster and Career Builder have been helping.

My parents are visiting this weekend and coming to my concert Sunday night. We might go to a Twins game Saturday night, which will be my first game of the season! I can’t believe I haven’t been to a game yet. Especially since I don’t have cable and can only watch the games on Sundays on TV. Plus, Joe Mauer is set to come off the disabled list on Friday, so perhaps we’ll see him play??

And finally, I know being arrested is a big deal. But I am proud to say Keith Ellison is my Congressman. He was arrested this week for protesting outside the Sudanese Embassy in Washington and crossing the police line after being told to step back. His offical statement after his arrest: “I have never done this before and its not the kind of thing I plan on doing in the near future. But given the gravity of the situation, the massive numbers of people whose lives were at risk, I thought it necessary to take this action.” I am taking an entire history course on the Holocaust and the situation in Darfur is atrocious. It is proved time and time again that humans never learn from history. Even history as recent as the Holocaust. Not enough people have been truly caring about what is happening in Sudan.

Just For Fun

A – Age: 22

B – Bed size: Full

C – Chore you hate: Dishes

D – Dog’s name: I don’t have a dog, but someday soon I’ll have a cat and I plan on naming him Atticus.

E – Essential start your day item: Coffee

F – Favorite color: All shades of purple

G – Gold or Silver or platinum: usually silver, but I’ve been liking gold lately

H – Height: 5′8″

I – Instruments you play: I used to play the piano and the flute

J – Job title: Accountant Assistant (until I find permanent employment)

K – Kid(s): None yet. And not for awhile. But someday!

L – Living arrangements: A house with 5 other people. (It can be crazy sometimes.)

M – Mom’s name: Pam

N – Nicknames: Remote, Spoon Face, Megansure, M.O.B.

O – Overnight hospital stay other than birth: None. Yet.

P – Pet Peeve: Gaucho pants, Ugg boots, Boston sports, people who drive with their parking lights on, Hypocrites

Q – Quote: “I can’t brain today. I’ve got the dumb.”

R – Right or left handed: Right

S – Siblings: Patrick, Christopher, and Caitlin

T – Time you wake up: it depends on the day. Usually between 8 and 9.

U- Underwear: The usual.

V – Vegetable you dislike: Do onions count?

W – Ways you run late: Sleeping too long or other people made me late.

X – X-rays you’ve had: Teeth

Y – Yummy food you make: Chocolate chip cookies (I use Crisco. They’re very bad for you.)

Z – Zoo favorite: the majestic eagles…of course.

Three Weeks

I am officially three weeks away from graduating from college. It’s incredibly cliche, but the time went by extremely fast in hindsight. I know I am ready to be rid of homework. I’m trying my best not to question every decision I ever made these past four years. I have a plan for the future. It might take many years before I am considered to be “successful,” but I do have direction, despite the B.A. in English I am about to receive. I don’t have a job lined up yet, but I will be able to work a little bit for my current employer, so I won’t be entirely destitute. I think the excitement of graduating is outweighing the fear of being unemployed for awhile. But I won’t be unemployed for long. I’m not picky in terms of what kind of job I would like to secure. As long as I get benefits, it’s perfect.

In other news, I am beyond thrilled to put this nonsense behind me:

http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=649923&catid=2

I am not a partier. It’s not my style. I prefer enjoying a bottle of wine at home in the company of a few friends. Not causing an actual riot in the middle of a college neighborhood. Graduating also means I will be able to move away from this area of the Metro. Hopefully it will be a little quieter.

I still have plenty of homework to do. Lots of reading, a couple small papers, one large research paper, a quiz. Then there will be the stress of finals week. But in 20 days? I’ll be DONE! Get a “real” job, pay for my own cell phone, buy a car, have my own health insurance. I’m really looking forward to reading what I want.

My First Job Interview

This afternoon I received a call while I was on my walk. And now I have my first interview for my first real job after graduation! I posted my resume on Career Builder this past week and they sought me out for an interview! I’m a little nervous, but I think it’ll be fine. I’m not sure if it is the job for me quite yet, but I guess I will find out more at the interview. If anything, it’ll give me experience with interviewing! And it is a little boost to the ego and the despair of searching for a job in this economy. Especially since they found me, I didn’t have to find them.

For the true baseball fan, Opening Day is like a second Christmas (or whatever holiday one does or does not celebrate)

It’s back.

The 2009 season will mark the 3rd full year I have called myself a “true” baseball fan. It started at the end of 2006, and wanes a bit every now and then, but the beginning of April brings a resurgence in my fan fervor.

Today I am wearing a Twins hat and the Division Champs shirt from 2006. Tomorrow it’s likely I will wear one of my Brewers shirts. This will be the first full season I have called myself BOTH a Twins fan and a Brewers fan. (Yes, it seems like an impossible conundrum but I guarantee it works. Until Interleague play begins. But that’s only 6 times a year.)

I have my VCR (yes, I still use a VCR. I’m too poor to afford DVR) set to record the pre-game chatter and the beginning of the game itself. I have gospel choir until 8 and absolutely cannot miss the first pitch. Our house only receives basic cable, so I won’t be able to watch every game on television. Every Sunday and sometimes Saturdays I will be able to watch the games on TV. Otherwise it’ll be the good old fashioned radio for the majority of the games. Or the Game Day feature on mlb.com. That comes in handy.

Soon I would like to make it to a game. My main fellow Twins fan no longer lives in the metro area, so we have to work out our schedules a bit more before anything is set to actually attend a game at the Dome. Things are so busy right now with the end of school approaching (forever), so it might not be until late May. Hopefully sooner. Wednesdays are cheap for students, so hopefully I can convince a roommate or two that an evening at HHH is worth their time. (That and dollar dogs…you can’t go wrong.)

Speaking of the Metrodome. This year is the FINAL season the Twins have to play in that miserable excuse for a playing field. I’ve been hearing and reading a lot of nostalgic memories of times in the Dome and how much next year will be horrible when (shocker) it’s cold outside while watching baseball. I know I’ve said this before, but it is in need of repetition. Minnesota doesn’t need a roof (retractable or otherwise) on their baseball stadium. It only serves as a crutch when the slightest of windchills arises on a summer evening. For the majority of the games, the weather will be fine, perfect even. Even so, I know every time it rains (or snows) or is chilly 8 out of 10 fans will complain the entire time. Most of them will be Minnesota natives. Guess what, this state is cold most of the time. My biggest pet peeve is listening to people complain year after year about the cold. If you don’t like it, move elsewhere. Thanks. (Sorry, I’ll step off my soapbox now.) My loathing of the Dome stems from twelve years spent growing up in Minnesota and having to put up with the droll of bitter Vikings fans teasing the lonely Packer fans in town. I will never get over the humiliation I had to put up with in class from certain teachers. For me, the Dome equates with the Vikings and the harsh words I received from their fans. So, it is a blissful, sweet, lovely GOODBYE FOREVER to the HHH Metrodome. You will not be missed by this Twins fan.

Love, Megan

p.s. If Mauer and Baker could get better (like, yesterday) that would be fantastic. Thanks.