I got a job.

While interning at Ducks Unlimited, I have put the pedal to the medal as far as job searching is concerned. I have networked like a fool - dinner, drinks, receptions, calling anyone and everyone I have ever worked for or with - man, it was exhausting. I secured an interview a few weeks ago for an LC position on the hill. The interview went great, but I didn't get the job. First blow to my ego here in DC, but hey, I have zero hill experience so I couldn't blame them. They promoted someone already on staff, so good for that person whoever he is. After that, I got off the search saddle for a bit and just enjoyed my internship with DU. It was not a difficult one - it was actually fun, a wonderful break from others I have had in the past. Around 5 p.m. on Thursday as work was winding down, everyone in the office was cracking their beer and not focused on anything work related. As I'm spinning around in my chair, my phone rings. "Hey Casey - would you still be interested in working for us?" Me: "Uh, does it have the word job associated with it, because if it does, I'm your girl." Just kidding, I didn't really say that in the spirit of not sounding desperate, but let's be honest. I am. So naturally, I said yes and she said "You start Monday at 9 a.m." Well alright. I guess I have a job now. I am not exactly sure what my job title will be or even what I will be doing. I am sure that the salary is awwwwfullll and I will be struggling to pay off my student loans, but they say that is what your first few years are like here in DC. I didn't realize that this sort of lifestyle would merit skipping two meals a day and sleeping on my new friend's air mattress, but you've got to do what you've got to do. Now that I know that I am staying, I am hot on the trail of apartment searching. Finding a decent and affordable place to live in DC is like trying to find a straight guy in Dupont. Impossible. Aside from craigslist, I don't have much to go on except word of mouth so I am hoping that something works out soon. Drifting around is not going to work out for much longer, I am ready to unpack!

It is Saturday night and I am staying in. I know that some would consider that lame, but to me, it's ideal. I am sleepy at 9 every night anyways and I don't really like to drink so I'm good. I spent this day reading an amazing financial planning book called Beyond Paycheck to Paycheck. I learned a lot. Namely, you have to have money to make money. Damniittt. I went to DU and packed up my stuff earlier and then met Tike for lunch. Tike is a friend I met during my layover in ORD, He is an amazing man with a career that most people would die for. He makes bank, travels all over the world, and is seemingly very happy. He is engaging and wonderful, and I am so glad that I have him as a friend. I will probably only get to see him once a month or so, but even so, I think this is the beginning of a beauutiful friendship. We went to Taylor's Deli. Him and I share a serious love for food. It is probable that this is why we get along so well. After lunch, I hit up Macy's and a few other stores. Shopping today = not fun and not successful. True story, I didn't buy a single thing. Those who know me well know that this is a feat. I am starting to get nervous about my first day on Monday. I have no idea what I am going to wear. What if I suck at this new job? What if I hate it? What if the people there are insane? All legitimate concerns, but I am promising myself that I won't complain out loud and that I will make friends with each and every person even if I secretly can't stand them. I am going to be an adult and not curse or gossip. I should insert the word try in there somewhere. Baby steps. At DU, I used more cuss words that regular words on a day to day basis. I will miss that :)

I imagine that it is normal to be this nervous about your first day at a new job. Apparently there is a staff meeting at 10 every Monday. I was told that I am going to be speaking to the staff and telling them about myself - freshman year style sort of thing. I hope I don't turn all red like I usually do when I am nervous. It is not cute. I will rock this just like I rock everything else. That will be my mantra. I hope I like it - If I don't, these next few months are going to be rough. Either way, I made a decision on blind faith, packed a few bags, and headed up here alone. I got a job in the toughest economy in decades, and am living on my own two feet. So no matter what happens, I am proud of myself for doing it - living the life I always said I would, and I can't wait to see what happens next.

Just a settin.

Day 21 living in a hotel…
Megan just told me that I should be blogging about my experiences there. Probably would have started on day one had I known that this was going to turn into a month long experience. On a side note, I don’t know how my fingers are even functioning with this crazy hunger I’ve got going on right now. I have been trying to barter with Megan to get her to come to Moe’s with me a split a burrito – oh the joys of an intern budget. Idle time can make a person go crazy with ideas. I’ve flitted around from one thing to the next this morning. I have been thinking about what in the hell my next step should be, but I keep landing at the same conclusion. 1) I want to be a writer, travel writer to be specific. 2) I need to go ahead and spend the fall in Italy. 3) I am not sure that I want to pass anymore time without Nick beside me. 4) What in the hell am I going to do in Omaha, Nebraska. 5) Is it okay to just do nothing for a while? Take some average, non time consuming part time job and just have fun? Have a huge yard sale, get rid of all my stuff, and get on livin…that’s where I am at right now. Is that irresponsible? I know what will happen – I’m gonna get a job offer the second after I make my mind up to just let loose and live easy. I want to go back to Europe, Asia, New Zealand, Australia…I want to cook and eat and live and love. Eat, Pray, Love style. And that’s okay, right? My fear is that if I do that, just go live with Nick and have fun, that I will get pregnant and then married and fall off the track that I put myself on. I created these ridiculous expectations so why can’t I break them? I think I can, and I think I want to. I want to spend a week cooking, running, picking flowers up and drawing them for no reason – I want to take photography classes and walk dogs and run around like crazy. Real life has not left me anytime for this, and I don’t know what kind of life I am living if I don’t even have time to breathe. The sad thing is that I don’t even have a real job yet and I am already feeling this way. What does that say about our society? Is life meant to be stifling? Are we meant to lose all our creativity to the working world? The key is to find an outlet where you can express yourself – how do we get there? What if I write a book? This is what happens with idle time. I sit and think. Not a good idea.

That Just Happened...

You know how you constantly promise yourself that you will honor your commitments and sit down to write every single day? Well, that hasn’t happened. The last time I wrote, I was sitting on a porch in Utila thinking “How in the hell am I going to get out of here?” A trip that was so fantastic from the start went from great to horrible in 2.5 seconds. It’s always fun to wake up to someone trying to break into your room in a building that you are staying in alone. The cinder blocks stacked up outside my room in the mornings were icing on the cake. With a little movement of plane tickets and schedules, I was on my way back home. Two weeks away, are you kidding me? Am.a.teur. Looking back, I probably should have sucked it up, but I am easily swayed by the hint of danger in foreign countries. I am reevaluating that decision to leave from my office chair, but hey, I did what I thought was the right thing to do. If I hadn’t left, then I wouldn’t have stayed the night at a sweet place in La Ceiba and eaten the best fish of my life there. In between now and then, I spent some time in Fayetteville and Hot Springs with friends and family, and am now city slickin in Washington D.C. I took an internship with Ducks Unlimited, and that is where I currently sit. As I age, I feel like complaining has become more of a habit than it used to be, and I just don’t like it. This internship, not the best – the days crawl, and I mean crawl by, because there is nothing for us to do. There are too many interns in a place with not enough to do, so we try to engage each other by having mini debates and making fun of Michael’s Justin Bieber hair. Hey, it could be much much worse as far as internships go, but seriously, I’m 23 and a damn intern. Not. Okay. I came here to find a job. “Don’t come home without a job” was Nick’s little catchphrase. Welp everyone, I still don’t have a job.

Finding a job here in D.C. has been something I eat, sleep, and breathe. I am a cover letter writing machine and I pump those resumes out like a mad person. I had one job interview, and it went really well. Well enough that I didn’t get the job. However, I did get the “we LOVEDDD you so much, if ANYTHING else comes open would you consider it?” speech. Apparently that is the customary, you suck, try again speech and I just don’t realize it.

Crazy things happen in this town. Every. Single. Day. Today for example some crazy woman starts screaming in my ear while I am trying to enjoy my mediocre sandwich. She says “Obama deserves to die! He is the reason that I am a prostitute on 4th and L. He is black just like the pimp I work for. Fuck Obama!” Alright, sorry about your luck, could you not scream in my face? Thanks you crazy bitch.

Ashton tells me this story the other day – so she’s walking down the street and gets hassled by some man in a wheelchair for money. She says hey so sorry, I don’t have any cash. He says oh no problem, have a nice day, enjoy your legs. He has none. How in the world do you respond to that?

During my housing search I go check out a place in Logan Circle and make a silly comment about how the house looks exactly like a house from a scary movie with it’s “old charm.” The owner looks at me and says “well, my boys have told me that they have seen, um, little ghost children.” Me: “Uh, are you serious?” Owner: “Yes, but I’ve never seen them, so don’t worry about it.” I’ll pass, thanks.
This story is my favorite, the icing on the cake if you will. My DC roommate, Ashton and I have run into a sort of unfortunate situation here in D.C. We had a place for a month and then had to move out suddenly. We thought hey, no worries, we’ll live in a hotel for a bit until we find a place. That was in June. It is now July 22 and we are still in a hotel. We have lived in 3 different rooms in 2 different hotels. En route to our current hotel room, Ashton and I are moving our own luggage from the lobby to the 8th floor. We have a large amount of stuff, including our house stuff from the last place. The cart is big and heavy and the elevator is not so big. We get the cart jammed in the door and spaghetti noodles and a bottle of oil spill out. There are two girls, probably a few years younger than us, sharing the elevator with us. They are quiet at first and just observe mine and Ashton’s … outburst if you will. We are tired, frustrated, and sick to death of being in a hotel, so the string of obscenities that came out when our groceries hit the floor and the cart got stuck weren’t pretty. The two girls offer their assistance and follow us out onto our floor. They look at each other and say…”Can we join hands?”
Um, what? Yes, join hands. I needed a prayer, so hey, let’s do this. This so called prayer turned into a two to three minute long crazy speech with one girl speaking and the other girl moaning “oh lord” porn star style. Imagine the most awkward situation possible and you can understand how hard I was trying not to laugh. My lip had blood on it from biting it so hard. True story. After the prayer, one girl tries to force Ashton and I to take clothes from her. She pulls an H&M bag out from her purse and says “While we were praying, God told me to give you these clothes. I don’t want to, but he said I have to.” This turned into a five minute barter session of..here’s why I don’t want your clothes you random crazy girl. As Ashton and I are carting our luggage to our room, one yells down the hall at us – “Pay attention to your dreams tonight!” Scary.