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.

Grilled corn and black bean salsa

For dinner this evening, I went with hot dogs and made a simple cold salad on the side. This grilled corn and black bean salsa was the perfect for a night of grilling. Although I altered the recipe a bit to accommodate what was in the pantry (I would have liked to use some fresh cilantro, but I didn't have any), it was still fresh and delicious. Here's what I used:

Approx. two cups of corn
Some canola oil
Salt and pepper
1 half of a red onion
1 small jalapeno
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
Juice of half a lime
A bit of cumin, chili powder and parsley

After grilling the corn and chopping the other veggies, I just mixed everything together and tasted it for seasoning purposes. Big success! Anyway, that's about all for now.

(Photo courtesy of Food Network.)

The last days of summer

Now that the sun is setting earlier and the weather is now more mild, I am coming to terms with the fact that the summer is pretty much over. Although each day in itself felt like an eternity, the past three months flew by. After graduating and coming back to live at home, I wondered where I would be in September. Little did I know that I would still be here-- stuck in a rut, unemployed, angry, and scared. I am still waiting for things to turn around, but as the last days of summer come to an end, it is becoming harder and harder to remain patient and positive.

What seems to get me through the week though are the people that have been constant in my life-- those that take the time to talk me through my frustrations or share their own (most are recent college graduates trying to find their own way in the world). It helps to know that someone out there knows what I'm going through.

Anyway, I spent a lovely Labor Day weekend with Jason. We played tennis, went out for drinks with my friend Jenn and her boyfriend, went to an airshow, and made a delicious chicken dinner together. It was so relaxing and so perfect. While at the airshow, I took over fifty pictures (surprise, surprise) of all these different types of airplanes. I couldn't possibly begin to name any of them, but I'm sure J recognized all of them. I told him how I like that we do all sorts of different things together-- we have such varied interests, haha. Here's a few of my favorites.




I am still waiting to hear back from the people I interviewed with last Thursday, so hopefully I will get a call or email tomorrow. That would be a perfect way to end the summer-- with a second interview. Or a job, haha.

I love Fridays

Since I only work part time, I spend a lot of my time at home surfing the internet, doing research, etc. and this afternoon, I discovered something I would absolutely love to have as an amateur photographer: a Fujifilm Instax Instant Camera. It's pretty much like a Polaroid camera, but instead it spits out little pictures the size of credit cards. How adorable! I love mini things. Anyway, that's what I'm digging right now, so let's work on getting me one. Okay? Okay.

Jason is coming to New York for the weekend and I have secretly planned what we're doing each day! Alright, that probably isn't much of a secret-- I do have a tendency to micro-manage every aspect of my life. Too bad there isn't much to manage these days. I miss being busy. Le sigh. Regardless, it will be a nice, long Labor Day weekend. Enjoy everyone!

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.