moving

After going blog-free for over a year, I decided to start a new one here. I'm not going to delete Being Green, cause that feels wrong somehow, but I wanted a fresh start somewhere else. See you there.

Have You Heard This Guy?

This video gives me chills. It totally warms the heart, and I think you're going to love it. (It's a clip from the show Britain's Got Talent, like our American Idol... I know, maybe a bit lame that something like this would "warm my heart," but there you have it.)

Weird and Too Personal

Is it weird that part of me would rather work as a waitress than at a fancy-pants job in a government office? I don't know if the office is even going to offer me the job -- probably not (this is the required pessimism to buffer me from failure) -- but if they did, I'm not sure if I want to take it. At least, I'm not sure if I'd want to take it quite yet.

Do you think this is just my fear of joining the ranks of the discontent workforce? I don't know.

Maybe.

In all honesty, maybe I'm just wanting to prolong my days before I enter that world. These random jobs, like being a waitress, do sound pretty fun to me, and I think they'd be something I'd never do if I jumped into a fancy-pants job now. You don't quit your job at a swanky office to start working at Olive Garden. I feel like if it's something I'm going to do, it's something to do now.

But why would I do that? Is that wasting time? Shouldn't I be doing something that will put me on a fast-track to success? What is success anyway? Couldn't I have my LIFE actually consist of the things I do outside of work, sustained by simple jobs, rather than adopting the work=life philosophy? But does that mean I'm not contributing to society the way I'd like? Or what's more, couldn't I do some of these crazy, ridiculous jobs now and start working in the legitimate grown-up labor force in a year (or maybe even less) once my life has settled down a bit?

Maybe I've just become demotivated and have masked laziness in a rant about wanting to have a real life.

This post got too personal. I'm publishing it anyway.

Let the Sun Shine!

(This is from an article at Wikipedia)

Summer Solstice is here! Yesterday was the longest day of the year in the northern hemisphere. In places that are far enough north, the sun doesn't even set. Isn't that insane? I saw a news anchor on CNN in Alaska where they had sunlight straight through the night. They had all sorts of celebrations and midnight activities--in broad daylight. I love trying to imagine what that would feel like: daylight, all-day-long! I just can't imagine. I don't know how my body or brain would react. I suppose you'd just have to close the curtains and try to sleep, but it'd still be light out. I think the child inside me would start wriggling and jumping around, yelling, "It's bright out! Go play!" And that's when I'd wish that Star were still my roommate, because I know she'd be fighting the the same urge.

I think I've just added a new goal to my list of things to do on this earth before I die. One year when the solstice comes around again, I want to be in a place where the sun doesn't set, and I want to stay up all day long.

I'm Dating a Nerd

I hadn't really thought about it before, but I recently realized that Bryant's bedroom walls make him look like a total nerd. It's pretty amusing. Here are a few highlights of the things that he has hanging there:

1. An autographed photo of two Star Trek stars--from the time he met them at a convention. I'm not even sure which two guys they are, but they look like the really famous ones to me... Spock and Shatner? (He might break up with me after discovering that I don't know who they are. Either that or I'll have to pledge to watch the entire series with him. And don't tell anyone, but I actually think I'd enjoy it.)
2. A photo of the whole Star Trek crew with Bryant's head photoshopped in as one of the cast members--also a relic from the convention.
   
3. An authentic, small-scale replica of the Zelda sword and shield--a Christmas gift from his brother. It came with the soundtrack to the new Zelda Wii video game. Honest.
   

Add to that the multiple shelves filled with books about computer programming, physics, math, etc., and you've got yourself one mighty-fine beau. The other day I told him that the empty space in one corner of his room would be just perfect for a tall plant or some cool decoration. He started fantasizing about the giant computer server that he was going to build there. He really comes by it naturally. He is absolutely my favorite nerd ever.

Insert Giant Frown Here:

My car got broken into last week. It's so shocking when this kind of thing happens. It's weird that I went through the whole morning thinking that life was still normal, while outside my car sat in the sun emptied of all my possessions. (Sorry... excuse the melodrama. I'm obviously still recovering.)

I was just getting into my car to go to swim some laps at the pool. I tossed my swim bag into the back and sat myself down in the driver's seat. I slowly realized something was weird in my car. Why did the door already feel unlocked when I turned my key to open it? Why are my papers all over the floorboard? Isn't that my crap from the glove compartment on the seat? And OH MY GOSH! MY STEREO IS GONE! Then suddenly the realization came... I said the words "someone broke into my car" outloud before I actually understood what they meant. It wasn't until that night, laying in my bed, when the entire feeling finally saturated me: violation, betrayal, vulnerability, anger, fear. It sucked.

I am so unbelievably grateful that whoever did this didn't get away with my car. They gave it a heck of a try:

Thankfully, though, all they did was jack up my ignition pretty bad with a screwdriver. The moron even left the screwdriver in my car. What kind of thief does that? I guess I don't really know why that makes the person a moron, except for the fact that it seems stupid... even though the cop acted like the screwdriver wasn't a very helpful piece of evidence. Anyway, I'm just glad they couldn't figure out how to get the car to start. The unsuccessful hotwiring definitely was the tender little mercy in the middle of all this.

So here's my advice for the week: don't leave your windows cracked, especially if you drive a Honda Civic! The thief probably thought, "What a moron! What kind of car owner leaves her car windows cracked?" Heh. Well, I don't care how hot it is outside or how musty my car is, those windows are forever staying up when I park the car!

A Quest of My Own

We are all aware that Bryant has begun his noble quest to find the supreme Greek burger place. However, you probably were not aware that I am currently embarking on a little quest of my own. Though somewhat less noble and certainly more selfish, it's still a pretty good quest: to find myself a job that will bring fulfillment and happiness... or at least that won't cause me to stick a fork in my eye.

What makes this quest such a challenge is that I have yet to decide what I actually want in a job. Tricky, huh? Well, in the process of scavenging the help-wanted websites, I found an article entitled "How to Find a Job You'll Love." Perfect! That's exactly what I need to know! While the article didn't make any life-altering decisions for me (bummer), it did talk about an interesting study conducted by famous economist Alan Krueger and psychologist/Nobel laureate Daniel Kahneman. Their study examined whether or not people with high-paying jobs are happier than their less wealthy peers. ...And here comes the point of my blog post today. {dun-dun-DAH!} I wanted to share the following insightful conclusions from their study:

The belief that high income is associated with good mood is widespread but mostly illusory. People with above-average income are relatively satisfied with their lives but are barely happier than others in moment-to-moment experience, tend to be more tense, and do not spend more time in particularly enjoyable activities. Moreover, the effect of income on life satisfaction seems to be transient.

Cool, huh?

So at the very least, after reading this article about how to find a good job, my quest for the Ultimate job has broadened to include low-paying work as well. It seems my job search is expanding, not narrowing, as I venture on. (But I actually wasn't picky about pay in the first place. Honest.)

Oh well. Onward and upward we go!