the ugly step-sister of "cop it sweet"

the ugly reality of being an unemployed twenty-something in a shitty economy

2009-03-30T23:09:00.004-04:00

well, i'm unemployed. again.

i graduated, accepted a job at the small internet company i interned with in college, and got laid off 6 months later. i then accepted a three-month digital communications internship at a public relations agency. i really thought i'd love it - and i was really wrong. after three months of incorrect pay (causing me to hardly make ends meet) and being treated like dirt, here i am again - seeking employment.

i've always been a stubborn person, i've never settled, but here i am faced with one of the most difficult decisions of my life (thus far): to settle or not to settle?

i could get any corporate-whatever job. i could likely land an offer blindfolded and with my hands tied behind my back - but that's not what i want. i want to work in a creative agency. period.

i'm seriously struggling with the idea of accepting (or even looking for and considering) a position doing something other than marketing/advertising/digital - i don't want to work somewhere else where my coworkers hate their jobs... i want to work somewhere where everyone is brilliant, outgoing, proud of their work, and happy to be where they are.

yeah, yeah i know. most of you are probably cursing me as a typical twenty-something gen-y millennial who wants to have their cake and eat it too. and what i'm going to say next will likely prompt you to continue cursing me and my naivete ... i think i'm good enough to not have to settle.

hell, i think i'm downright great. i'm outgoing, always give more than 100%, bubbly and smiley, talented, smart as hell, and i'm assertive. so what if i'm only twenty-three? i've learned a lot, lived a lot, done a lot and have no problem acknowledging that i still have a lot to learn... and that excites me.

being a semi-recent graduate (a year ago) in this economy sucks. furthermore, add to the mix that i'm a marketing major, well it sucks even more. marketing and HR have been the first things to go - and all the marketing jobs i've seen out there are either part time or "admin" positions. and i'm sorry, but when did "marketing" become "admin"? people are seeking "marketing assistants" and only offering $8/hr but requiring a degree? who the hell do these employers think they are?

ugh. must stop ranting.

anyway. i'm looking for a job in a creative agency - be it advertising, web design, whatever. i'm super passionate about the web, and have a fair amount of experience in it. i have great confidence in my abilities and know i'll land the job of my dreams, but let's face it. times are tight, and i need a job now.

i've found a great agency, who thinks i'm just as great and wants to hire me. the problem? hello. we're in a recession, and they need new business to hire me. they're great and i'm willing to wait but while i'm waiting i'll likely run out of money, get evicted, lose my health insurance (which i currently pay a ridiculous monthly premium for) and my mind, fall back on my car payments... and well, i'm pretty sure you can imagine the rest.

if anyone has any leads, pointers, or love, please feel free to comment on here or love me on twitter... i could sure use the pick-me-up.

Raise for Dave --- The David Turner Lymphoma Foundation

2009-03-26T16:19:00.003-04:00

Prayers, donations, kind thoughts, positive joo joo, comments, and hugs welcome.

Please help support the David Turner Lymphoma Foundation's cause - to raise money for Dave's treatment (he is 25 years old and suffering from Stage IV Lymphoma) and to help support other individuals and families in the same position as Dave.

"When Cancer Strikes" (video) by Mark Doljes, Herald Sun Photojournalist

raise for dave, help him fight stage 4 lymphoma

2009-01-29T13:36:00.005-05:00

i went to school with dave. i didn't know him well, but from what i did know - he's a great guy. always smiling, always there to lend a hand, and now he needs our help.

dave turner is fighting stage 4 lymphoma and needs a stem cell transplant to survive. his insurance won't cover the transplant, so he's trying to raise $500,000.00 before it's too late. please visit his site and donate, it's a great cause.

you can also attend a fundraiser for dave tomorrow (friday, january 30, 2009), 100% of the profits will go straight to the dave turner lymphoma foundation via the NTAF South-Atlantic Stem Cell Transplant Fund

the fundraiser tomorrow will be held at:

Breakers Sky Lounge

2445 Centreville Road

Herndon, VA

9:00pm

$10 cover, proceeds to dave's fund

some general info on lymphoma and its progression:

Lymphoma is a cancer that affects a type of white blood cells called lymphocytes – immune cells that normally protect you from illness. About 85% of lymphomas are of b-cell origin, and 15% of t-cell origin.

	Stage I disease in single lymph node or lymph node region.
	Stage II disease in two or more lymph node regions on same side of diaphragm.
	Stage III disease in lymph node regions on both sides of the diaphragm are affected.
	Stage IV disease is wide spread, including multiple involvement at one or more extranodal (sites such as the bone marrow).

some things i saw on the metro this morning

2009-01-23T11:04:00.001-05:00

a very well dressed business man with his pants accidentally tucked into his socks
a woman with a moustache
a woman who crossed/blessed herself about five times before entering the train, and again right after sitting down

that's about it. lame post, right?

little known and somewhat odd facts about woley (thats me)

2009-01-14T15:00:00.003-05:00

i count stairs... not so much the stairs themselves, but more the sounds my feet make
when i eat peanut m&ms, i have to pour all of them onto the table, and i eat the small and deformed ones first, then i sort by color (survival of the fittest, i guess)
i have a horrible, terrible fear of slipping and falling (then messing up something on my face, but that's totally secondary and not as scary as slipping)
i love hiliters
...and post-it notes
i really like the smell of office supply stores
ricky martin is my cousin a few times removed
i abhor capital letters (in case you hadn't already noticed)
i prefer sans-serif type, none of that times new roman bullshit
i have taken quite a liking to the font "calibri"
i drink 2+ liters of water every single day
...therefore, i pee a lot
i'm a sucker for cool packaging
i have a mild obsession with things that sparkle (diamonds, sequins, glitter, mylar balloons, rainbow fish, etc.)
i can beatbox but will likely blush like a school girl if you ask me to (don't get me wrong- with enough coaxing, i'll do it)
i really don't like ending items on bulleted or numbered lists with periods (in case you hadn't already noticed)
i don't feel like adding any more right now...

fernando gaitán de narvaez, the most wonderful man i've ever known

2009-01-06T13:36:00.004-05:00

i didn't really know where to say this, so this is what i've chosen.

i figure not many people read this lil blog (i probably wouldn't either), and i know that no one relevant is ever going to read it, but here goes nothing.

my grandfather is dying. like, really... he probably won't be around in a couple of weeks. and honestly, i'm not quite sure what to think about that.

he is 93 years old and the most amazing man i have ever met. ever. ever in my whole life.

he spent his 93 years doing two things and two things only:

working hard
loving hard

he worked his entire life to provide for the family whom he loves so much; and he really, legitimately loves us, like, really... a lot a lot.

his health has been declining for the past eight years or so, but even through a stroke, memory loss, losing the ability to see and hear well, among other heartbreaking things his spirit and good natured personality has shown through. not a day goes by that he doesn't ask my mom how my sister and i are doing, that he doesn't inquire about his kids and grandkids - we are his life.

and he is ours. he has held my family together through tough times, and for that i will be forever grateful.

he was kinda like my second dad - he taught me how to wipe when i got potty trained (you FOLD, never crumple your toilet paper), tried to teach me latin dance, taught me all the countries and capitals in south america (i don't even know the US states and capitals), he encouraged me to always speak in spanish so as to not lose my fluency ("español por quien suspira!"), he fostered my entrepreneurial spirit (when i made/sold lemonade, fashionable garments out of trash bags, etc he's one of the only people who bought them), he lent me his galoshes whenever i was at his house and it snowed, he took me to the pool and tried and tried to get me to swim laps instead of play, instilled his love of bread (oh, carbohydrates) in me, and he never wavered his support of all of my endeavors: ballet, soccer, piano, clarinet, basketball, softball, cheerleading, a cappella, you name it.

if it hadn't been for him, i wouldn't know too much about my heritage, and i certainly wouldn't be the proud hispanic-american woman i am today. he emanates pride for his roots and his family, and inspired me to do the same.

never in my life have i ever met anyone so meek and humble, loving and compassionate. i've never come across anyone, ever, who is genuinely nice. i don't think there's one mean bone, muscle, fiber, or even chromosome, or fraction of a chromosome in his body.

now that i know he's leaving soon, there are so many things i want to tell him and an infinite number of questions i'd love the answers to. i don't feel like i can tell him though, or ask those questions. i don't want to trouble him, and i know for a fact that if i so much as open my mouth to say anything but "hola" "como estas" "te quiero mucho" or "te veo pronto" i'll burst into a mess of tears, much like i'm about to do.

so. i'm going to stop. i'm hoping to post pictures and more later, but for now, i think that's about all i had to say.

and just when i didn't think the haikus couldn't get worse...

2008-12-23T13:40:00.003-05:00

i figured i'd share today's coffee cup haiku, brought to you by christopher dennis from arlington, ma... another green mountain coffee haiku contest winner (thanks, chris):

because some things do

amount to a hill of beans

drink some green mountain

now, i think he's saying that when life amounts to a hill of shit, drink coffee? no thanks. i don't know what i'll do the next time life amounts to a hill of beans, but i surely won't reach for a cup of green mountain coffee.

sorry for being an asshole, i'm cold.

my coffee cup has a really stupid haiku on it...

2008-12-22T11:43:00.005-05:00

so, after a fair amount of thinking (and a lot of dragging my feet) i figure that this blog (being my personal blog) should have a bit more of a purpose, fit into a niche, if you will.

now, i used my other blog to secure a job [insert really excited/relieved expletives here], and now i think it'd be appropriate to blog about my experiences as a twenty-something commuting into the dc/metro area.

you think it's lame? oh well. i'm doin it anyway. don't like it? stick to "cop it sweet".

today is the first day of my second week as a d.c. commuter. gotta be honest, never in a hundred billion million google plex years did i ever think i'd be commuting into the city. if you know me, you know that i hate cities (well not hate, just really dislike) and the endless anxiety that they bring.

in my job search, i did my damndest to avoid securing a job downtown. i would go out of my way to avoid jobs located in d.c., and wouldn't even read titles of postings that had "washington, d.c." next to them. what can i say? i'm a stubborn pos and well, that's just the way i am.

so, i saw a post for an internship (which obviously wasn't ideal, but it was something) in digital communications. it was everything i was looking for in a job, but much to my chagrin... it was in washington, d.c. - my own personal 10th circle of hell.

okay, so maybe i'm exaggerating a little bit; but just a little. i don't like going downtown, i'm not a fan of taking the metro, and i sure as hell hate driving in the city. so what did i do? i threw everyone a curveball and i interviewed for that damn internship in freaking washington, d.c. and you know what? i got it.

"well, shit." i thought to myself... after kinda hoping that i wouldn't get it for a few weeks, "i'm going to have to take it, and i'm going to have to work downtown"... thinking my life was over and that my anxiety had finally won, i emailed them back and accepted the position.

and here i am... overcoming my stubbornness and glad to report that this whole downtown thing isn't half bad.

now for my rants (i like having a personal blog where i can curse like a sailor and rant my little heart out... you're welcome to stop reading whenever you like). i thought metro was supposed to be a cost efficient alternative to driving into the city. riddle me this: why on god's green earth does metro cost $12.70/day and parking costs only $11?!

i have a bit of a problem with the fact that i'm spending almost half (yes you read that right, i'm currently an intern) of my total income on METRO. what gives, metro?! so, i'm spending about half my income on getting to work, and the other half on rent... and the rest, you ask? savings. bye bye house down-payment, big tattoo, and paying off my car... hello to power, water, and gas bills.

anyhow. while spending all that money on the metro sucks, the commute doesn't suck so bad after all. go ahead, tell me you told me so, whatever. there's something kinda cool about knowing that i can do what i want, and when i step out of work at the end of the day, i feel like the world is at my feet and i can go anywhere -

that's a hell of a lot more than i can say about leaving my last job; where i usually escaped out the back door so i wouldn't have to say goodbye to anyone, and so i could curse just louder than under my breath.

i must say, its exhilirating to enjoy what i do and to be appreciated.

so that, all, was my first post as a d.c. commuter... woo. happy winter - enjoy those 8 degree temperatures, folks.

and in case you were wondering, here's that haiku:

can a coffee break

make strangers into best friends

and refresh your day?

brought to you by the green mountain coffee haiku contest winner, laura wilson in clayton, california.

and no, laura, i don't think a coffee break can do that.