Graduation

Today I graduated from college. Here is a photo taken right after I left the auditorium. It’s a strange feeling. I’m not sure whether I will fully comprehend it until I receive my diploma (in 6 to 8 weeks). Or when I don’t buy books and start going to class in September. Now I need to find permanent employment (with benefits). I’m more than a little terrified, more than a little excited. It will be great, whatever is in store. Until I discover what I’m destined to occupy my time with during the day, I need to relax and write. One day things will come together. We were told many times today during the commencement ceremony that with a liberal arts degree, “You can do anything!” So here I am world! What am I supposed to do now?!

Ray Bradbury

I am watching an hour long “conversation” with Ray Bradbury on YouTube. I absolutely LOVE Ray Bradbury. He’s the kind of writer I want to be one day. I have many favorite writers, but only a few truly inspire my own work. Mr. Bradbury is one of them. He has the soothing type of storyteller voice that Garrison Keillor embodies. I must admit I only read Dandelion Wine and Fahrenheit 451 in the past. I do own a copy of Something Wicked This Way Comes that I obtained from a local Goodwill store. (Lately I’ve been frequenting used book stores and sales.) Listening to this interview makes me want to go to the used book store near my neighborhood and find as many Bradbury novels and short story collections I can find! He has this old-fashioned grace and style that is so admirable in an age that embraces celetoid stars of reality television programs over real authors. We are lucky he is living in our time. He worked hard to get to where he is today. He would not call what he does “work,” however. He said in the interview that once writing becomes work, you should quit and do something else. Now that I will be graduating from college on Sunday, I have a lot more time on my hands to do what I love.

I remember the day I first heard of Ray Bradbury. I don’t remember exactly, but I think it was the summer of 2002. My family took a small trip up north to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. We stopped at a small museum that used to be a railroad station where my Grandpa used to work. (I think. Correct me if I’m wrong, Grandma.) I don’t remember the name of the town exactly. The person working was reading a book at the time. He was a few pages from the end and politely told us he would be with us in a few minutes so he could finish reading. We wandered around the room with memorabilia before he came over and told us a little about the history of the building. Before we left, he gave me the copy of the book he was reading. He said he was finished with it and it was the type of book that should be shared. It was Dandelion Wine. I am a voracious reader who will read anything anyone gives me, so of course I started reading it right away.

The other work I read is Fahrenheit 451, which Ray refers to as four-five-one, not four-fifty-one in the interview. For some odd reason, I think I read most of that book in the U.P. as well. We were camping I think. I finished writing a research paper for the History of the Holocaust class I took this semester on Monday morning. My topic was book burning, and I connected the actions the Nazis took on May 10, 1933 to recent Harry Potter book burnings. Bradbury had a lot to say about the Nazi book burnings of course. He wrote an entire science fiction novel about the dangers of that type of censorship. We went to see an exhibit at a museum over winter break that was on tour from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum on the Nazi book burnings. There were quotes by various writers and other important figures speaking out against book burning. One was from Ray Bradbury.

“I ate, drank, and slept books…It followed then that when Hitler burned a book I felt it as keenly, please forgive me, as his killing a human, for in the long sum of history they are one and the same flesh. Mind or body, put to the oven, it is a sinful practice, and I carried that with me.”

I feel the same way. Here’s to you, Mr. Bradbury. If I am half as honored and revered, I would be extremely lucky.

Temp

There’s a chance I will be a temp for the time being. I had a meeting this morning at a temp agency and the prospects are looking positive. I’m very open with where I want to work and my minimum for hourly pay, which is good for finding work for me right away. My problem is I really am unsure of what I want to do now that I graduate in 8 days. I think this situation is perfect for now. I can keep my skills up, learn new skills, get full time work and keep biding my time until companies and organizations start hiring again. I can’t afford to be picky with employment at this time in my life (and in the world) so I’m feeling very encouraged about my meeting today. This agency looks great! They offer health benefits and holiday pay after a specific number of hours logged. They also offer free online classes so in theory I can learn new skills to add to my resume. Like using Microsoft Access, for example. That is one thing listed on many administrative positions that I cannot list as a personal qualification. Right now I think administrative work is the way to go for me. Eventually I would like to be in an organization that reflects my values and what I’m passionate about. I would LOVE for it to be something literary-related. There is also my ultimate goal/dream in life which is to actually finish the novel I’m always telling people I’m writing/want to write. What I have to say is too important to ignore, and I have many people who are excited about the project and want to help me with it, so I really don’t have any excuses NOT to write the book. Especially since after Thursday around 3-3:30 I will officially be FINISHED with homework for a long, long time hopefully. (In other words: no plans for grad school. Yet. Never say never.) I’ve been doing well with ignoring my worries for the most part. I think this summer will be great!

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.

I am cordially invited

To my college undergraduate commencement ceremony!

It’s real. I received the email with the official invite a little while ago. I just RSVP’ed. And in just over two months, I will walk.

I have expressed my fears about graduating previously, which was mostly nervousness about a change. Now the day cannot come soon enough. I love learning, but it’s time to see where a job in the workforce takes me. I am concerned about actually obtaining a job right away, but I know it will happen eventually. Now I won’t have any excuses for not reading what I want or writing what I want. I’ll be independent and will (hopefully) be able to (finally) buy a car. I can be considered a “real” grown-up now. It’s a strange time in a person’s life, this shift from student to worker. I’m confident I will handle the transition well. Who knows what I’ll be doing a year from now?! It’s exciting, no?

New Header!

I finally changed the picture on my header to something more current. This is a shelf on the bookshelf in my room right now. It has 6, but alas…they all cannot fit into the masthead. I have tons and tons and tons of books. It’s mildly ridiculous. But it’s not likely to stop. Ever.