free time

Classes have been over for nearly three weeks now (graduation is on Saturday!) and I'm sort of settling in to the fact that I don't ever have to write another paper, take another exam or go to another class.  Well, the "go to another class" bit is probably a joke because there are a million things I want to learn, just not as part of an academic program.  I have to admit the first week off was kind of rough.  I gave myself a week off from everything - no job search, no volunteering, nothing I "have" to do.  It's been so long since I've had time like that, that I forgot how miserable I am without structure.  Weeks two and three "off" have been a lot better now that I have a bit of a routine.

I had intended to start volunteering a shift at the food bank after my first week off.  Unfortunately I burned the shit out of my finger while roasting some tofu and two weeks later, I can almost start my car, hold a pen and moisturize my face without crying from the pain.  So stretching my fingers to lift and haul boxes of food has been out of the question until I'm healed.  I'm hoping to be able to wear my rings again by graduation.  I also managed to get my semi-annual flu during my second week off and that has put a bit of a damper on my usual go-go-go nature.  The silver lining here is that my dad got a nasty infection in his leg and was hospitalized for a week.  Having time off meant I could visit him a couple of times and chauffeur him home when he was released (and get the Worst Relationship Advice Ever Given! - a story for another day).  My dad is getting old and he's not handling it well so I'm not keen on spending time with him which makes me feel like a jerk (another story for another day).

I started my job search two weeks ago and I'm trying to not freak out about it.  Basically, I get up, I exercise and then I sit down at my computer and spend the morning working on my resume and my LinkedIn profile, searching for jobs and sending out resumes.  It took me a while to be able to articulate what I was looking for and articulate my skill set but I'm pretty happy with the story that I'm now telling about my career and goals.  It's hard not to pay attention to stories of "it took me two years to find a job!" without panicking a little.  It's going to take a very special company to look at my resume and see beyond the "L word" (librarian) and hire me.  I know that I can do whatever is put in front of me and kick ass while doing it.  The good news is that while there haven't been a ton of jobs out there that I can apply for, the ones that I have applied for have been *perfect*, like seriously PERFECT.  Hopefully those companies will think I'm perfect for them too :-)  I have a fee networking dates and events in the next couple of weeks so I'm looking forward to working on those skills too.

Free time has been nice, but I don't have a paycheck or a lot of extra funds to "do" much and it would be nice to have someone to hang with during the day.  It's definitely a weird position to be in, one that I've never been in before.  I've either been in work or in school or both since I was 14. I needed the break; I just don't want the break to last all summer.  I (and my wallet) would love to start a new job after the July 4th holiday so we'll see . . . .