Cabin fever is setting in!

I want to be grounded. When I say that, it doesn't mean I want to settle, I just want to not feel as if everything is constantly up in the air. Does that make sense?

In other news, this Snowpocalyse 2010 is reeking havoc on my work schedule. I haven't been at Hopkins since Thursday. What the what?

This once was a whole tree.

This picture was from this past weekend. The blizzard which is currently ravaging my area is causing insane amounts of cabin fever and general problems everywhere. We lost power briefly this morning and the gusting wind is seeping through the window behind me. So now my back is freezing. Fail. Luckily, Jason said he would come over tomorrow to help dig my car out. What a good boyfriend. :)

I'm dizzy from all this spinning.

I have always felt like I was meant to do something beautiful. Perhaps that is too broad. I suppose what I am trying to say is that I feel like I am living a purposeful life, I need to fill it with worthwhile endeavors... like photography, art, dance and cooking. I want to be a part of something breathtaking.

Every day I spend at home is another day wasted. It's another 24 hours I cannot retrieve. And as hard as I try to do things that are meaningful, this environment stifles every creative urge I have. Waking up to footsteps from upstairs and the monotony of suburban life leaves me feeling empty. I am ready to take a leap. I am eager to start exploring a new city and meet new people.

Don't get me wrong, there are certainly things in my life that I am more than satisfied with. For instance, I am part of a relationship that is wonderfully simple-- yet at the same time, every day is a brand new adventure. I am very aware of who I am and who I want associate with. And I am lucky to have been where I've been.

But one day, I know I will achieve great things. Just wait, you'll see.

Compromise sometimes really is everything...

The more time I spend in limbo (the awkward place between being a college student and being an adult), the more I realize that living is about compromise. We can't always get what we want right away, so we need to find another route to arrive at our intended destination as opposed to the one we wanted to take in the first place. In other words, I guess I'm saying that in my own life, I need to work and fight harder for the things that I desire. It happened with college, it has happened in my personal relationships and now it is happening with my job search. Maybe I need to just work with what's in front of me right now-- thinking about how the present will impact the future and working towards that ultimate goal. Just letting things unfold as they go along.

In other news, I am hoping to do some more things with my blog. I think I would like to start a "Photo of the Day" post and dig into my archives for photos from years past. I think that would also help me get out and take more pictures... I hope.

Also, this blog is what I have been laughing at all day long.

All of my fall favorites

I've been very out of touch with my blog lately due to work, a visit from the boy and general exhaustion. Surprisingly though, I will have worked a total of 48 hours between both of my part time jobs at the end of Saturday, which is the most hours I have ever gotten since I started in August. Small victory, I suppose. Still not enough money to live on on my own, but now I have that one big amount to jump start my savings so one day I can move down to Washington DC.

Jason also came to visit for two days, so we went apple picking, out to dinner and watched the Phillies game together on my couch. Now, I am not much of a Phils phan, but I usually root for them when J is around-- mostly because I don't want to see him in a bad mood if they lose, haha. Luckily, they did pretty well last night, so I am hoping for a Phillies and Yankees World Series (I actually called that a while ago). It would be epic, though I don't want to be around him if the Yanks end up winning.

Apple picking was an adventure. We missed the exit and ended up driving an hour out of the way... It was mainly my fault, but we got there successfully. I climbed a few trees, we picked a peck of Empire apples and made two pies before the game started. So fun. I love autumn.

I am a planner.

I like to plan things. Micro-managing my life makes me feel complete. But I've come to find that I need to schedule activities that I find valuable. I want to do things that are for a purpose, that produce an outcome worthy of my time. Working two separate jobs part-time has not been beneficial in the slightest, as I am barely making enough money to pay for my gas tank or dinner out with my boyfriend. I am trying to stay upbeat, but it's so difficult...

Realizing a dream...

Thanks to the support and encouragement of my boyfriend, I have started to plan the creation of my own photography service. I think I want to call it "LK Photography" (if you have any other suggestions, let me know-- maybe I'll hold a poll at some point to see what you all think) and buy some domain space to make a website. At this point I'm too poor to do so, but I already have a gig scheduled to gain some experience photographing events-- in November, I am going to cover Jason's grandparent's 50th anniversary party, so that should be fun. I'm just so ready to pursue something worthwhile-- living at home and working retail just fosters my paranoid notion that I am going to become mediocre, and that is my greatest fear of all.


This picture was taken a few summers ago when I went to visit friends in New York City. I realize that I have a lot of artistic and architectural shots, but I really need some portraits and event photos. So I'm trying to realize one of my dreams and it's kind of exciting. If only my dream of getting a real job would come to fruition...

Catching up

I know it has been a while, but since I got home from Pennsylvania on Monday afternoon I've been trying to get used to having a second part-time job. I noticed something while folding clothes on Monday night-- nothing makes you more aware of yourself than working retail. The key holder who was on duty during my shift is three years younger than me-- actually, most of the staff there is twenty or younger (besides the store manager and assistant manager), which makes me feel so old. Granted, twenty and twenty-two is not a vast age difference, but I suppose being an unemployed college graduate makes me look at the world is another way. These kids just don't get it.

The job search has been a bust the past week or so. Mostly getting rejections or nothing at all. If anyone can give me advice on how to keep my spirits up, I would appreciate it because this is becoming depressing.

New furniture, old feelings.

On the upside, I finally got my couch yesterday. It's a hand-me-down from a friend, but with a slip cover and a few throw pillows, it looks nice. Considering I got it for free I'm not really complaining. As a broke and unemployed college graduate, you need to take advantage of any money saving opportunity you can find. As you can see from the picture, I also have an old coffee table from upstairs that is incredibly worn, but surprisingly still functional. Overall, I'm pretty happy with the new additions to my "studio apartment." I use that term loosely since I don't have a kitchen, haha.

Also, I started watching Glee this morning and I am already hooked. It's kind of a cheesy story about a group of misfit high schoolers joining glee club and trying to make something of themselves, but I love it anyway. Also, Grey's Anatomy and Castle start up their new seasons in two weeks and I'm expecting good things from both of them... hopefully. Oh, television.

On the downside, I never got a response from the school I interviewed with last week. Guess they didn't want to offer me a second interview... I suppose that's the worst part about the job search: waiting around for an answer that never comes. I wouldn't even mind someone emailing me and saying that I wasn't good enough for the position because then at least I would know. It makes me feel trapped-- I want to get out, I've been trying to get out, but whatever I do isn't enough. Life is tough sometimes.

My dream job

I have decided that my dream job would be becoming a wedding photographer. There is just so much fairytale-like beauty in marriage that capturing it would be an absolute honor and priviledge. What I also love about weddings is how each one can be completely different from the next in terms of location, colors, mood, flowers, theme-- it's amazing how creative some people are. And I think I would give up one of my kidneys for a Canon EOS Digital camera. You know, just an FYI. Here are some of the wedding photography sites I have been digging:

This blog has some of the most inspiring wedding photos I've ever seen.

I love this site for its DIY wedding ideas.

More thrilled than necessary?

I think not! Although I feel like only a few people will appreciate my excitement (Trish and Maddie, cough), I thought I would share that Widener University has a Sigma chapter! I think it's fate that I am interviewing for a position there. Fate, I tell you!

It smells like fall...

This fall like weather makes me think of all the things I love about autumn: apple picking, football, warm sweaters, hot chocolate, brand new notebooks... I know, I'm a nerd. But I can't help it. I love that sense of newness that the fall season brings because it's always the start of cooler weather, the academic year, when the leaves begin to change. And let me tell you, autumn in upstate New York is probably one of the most wonderful things I can think of. There's nothing like a drive on a winding mountain road with bursts of color on the hilltops surrounding you.


This picture is from the last time I went apple picking (which was a while ago). Went even further north than I am now in search of the perfect apple. Hopefully I'll be able to go sometime soon-- either in New York or Pennsylvania.

Life is a movement.

And now I feel like I'm moving. So, I am off to Pennsylvania, Maryland and everywhere in between. See you next week.

New beginnings

Amazingly enough, I have been blogging in various places across the web for almost nine years now-- but at this turning point in my life, I figured I deserved a fresh start with a fresh blog. Ultimately, this will serve as a place for me to write about whatever is on my radar at the moment-- news, photography, cuisine, life transitions, fashion, friends, etc. I can't promise that I will always be entertaining, but I will certainly try. Enjoy.