Lame but true...

My clock radio is possessed.

I've held off on admitting this to anyone -- let alone the Internet -- but it can no longer be blamed on unemployment-induced insanity. Readers: I have some freelance work! There is no health insurance or job security but I think ( -- I HOPE -- ) that the tide is turning.

Back to the clock radio. It makes noises, which I wish I was better at describing. It sounds kind of like a buzz or a hum. It doesn't last long but it's loud and it happens at least four or five times throughout the night. Each time I jump up, which totally ruins the part in my dream where I'm having thai food with the cute guy who I've seen (twice!) walking his french bulldog near Pentagon Row.

Dislcosure: It may be my cell phone that is possessed. Both of these objects sit on an end table by my bed. I'm performing a test tonight by leaving the cell on the floor. Science and all manner of experiments are not a particular skill set of mine but I'll report back with the results nonetheless.

Ummm also...since we're being honest...I think my kitchen may be haunted as well. And by "haunted" I mean inhabited by a stealth spider that seems determined to conceal itself until I let my guard down again. Bastard.

That is all. Oh...and....freelance work -- hurray!

Another list -- this time with pictures!

I saw this over at Simple Lovely. It's a fun idea and it takes up time if you are sitting at home waiting for a future employer to call you.... Go here if you ever find yourself horribly bored and in need of an excuse to look at countless photos of french bulldog puppies.... :-)

A few favorite things...

1. French bulldogs (naturally)
2. Peonies (from a farmers market, thanks)
3. Antique typewriters
4. Built-in bookshelves (heaven)
5. Ballet flats ("")
6. Fall
7. A collection of stories from the writer who I most wish to emulate.
8. Texas sheet cake
9. Travel
10. Lilacs (There was a beautiful lilac tree right outside the bedroom I shared with my sister as a child)
11. English breakfast tea
12. Outdoor cafes (that remind me of long dinners with friends)

I'm staying optimistic but...

The other day, I wrote to the D.C. humane society about volunteer opportunities. Ummm... apparently they aren't taking any new volunteers until they hire someone to be the shelter's volunteer coordinator. I took this to mean one of two things -- either I really am supposed to be chained to my macbook 24/7 or I need to reconsider my career field. I have a suspicion, however, that a "volunteer coordinator" makes a bit less than a journalist....

Some time after I decided I didn't want to be a ballerina and before I knew I wanted to be a writer, I became convinced that I should work with our local humane society in Columbus. At the time, my aunt ran a shelter in Detroit and my mom had been involved in animal rescue work since she was a little girl. I spent some time shadowing the "cruelty investigators" and wrote a few "what I want to when I grow up" papers about somehow being involved in the animal rescue community. Several years later, I got so involved in my high school newspaper that I stopped volunteering at the humane society. It's been a few more years now and I really would like to find a way to contribute again.

(So far, this entire entry has made me realize that I've been pretty career-obsessed for most of my life -- the irony! Apparently the first thing I every wanted to be was a "grandma." In 8th Grade, Mrs. Kent made me realize I wanted to be a writer. In 10th Grade, I knew I wanted to be a journalist and in 12th Grade I knew I wanted to write about politics. Could the Gods of Employment throw me a bone now? Thanks.)

OK...enough bitching. i have some good news to report. Bruegger's Bagels is back from the dead! My very favorite lunch place (with yummy pickles and muenster cheese on bagels!) disappeared from Columbus 10 years ago (because I am seriously now THAT old) and has magically reappeared in D.C. This has been the highlight of my month of job-search hell. If a Graeter’s opens here then maybe I'll survive another month w/o a paycheck!

As if Bruegger's could get any cooler...it offers free wi-fi. I made the most of the bagel and cream cheese I purchased by sitting there for at least four hours the other day. I ended up live-blogging with T about the young guy sitting next to me. In my defense: he stared first! I'm sure he was curious about the silly chick who kept refreshing "journalismjobs.com" and then letting out a massive sigh....

On closer inspection, I realized a. he could not have been more than 20-years-old and could probably have fit into my jeans and b. he was studying stage directions for Romeo & Juliet! At first this only served to reinforce that a. he was far too young and skinny to be the great "boyfriend I met at my favorite lunch spot while I was unemployed" and b. man, I won't be able to afford to see R&J at the Shakespeare Theater this month. On the bright side, I am pretty sure I sat next to Romeo's understudy for several hours!

Apologies. This entry has dragged on longer than the Emmys (the worst Emmy broadcast I think I have ever seen!). Before I go: Best dressed? This (minus the fake tan), this or this. Worst? Def. this.

Lists

For a control freak, lists are therapeutic. In a world gone mad (a world where finding a job is clearly not in the cards), making a series of completely pointless lists brings me focus (and a welcomed feeling of control -- over my dreams at least).

Here is one of my favorite (and most illogical given my current circumstances) lists of late. GG, TL and KF (and any other lovely friends or family members who have resisted posting on my self-indulgent little public journal in the past) -- what are some of your favorite lists?

Top 10 Places To Visit (in no particular order):*

1. Havana
2. Bali
3. Amalfi Coast
4. Bangkok
5. The Greek Isles
6. Cairo
7. Namibia
8. Singapore
9. Tunis
10. Victoria, British Columbia

*This list really does change on a daily basis. Also, I'm accepting takers for anyone who wants to go on these trips with me when we are all rich and famous.

Stuck

First the good:
Wonderful and supportive family and friends.
My health and the health of of my loved ones.
An apartment that I missed for two long months.
My city.
Adorable nephew.
The knowledge that things do get better.
The absence of any excuse to prevent me from working out on a regular basis.

And now the bad:
No job.
A spider that has taken over my kitchen.
Rent.
Bills.
Student loans.
Northwestern craziness (still).
So much free time that I've turned back to self-indulgent blogging...

Executive summary: I am lucky. I love my friends and family dearly. Spiders suck. I need a job.