To blatantly plagiarize Avenue Q, It Sucks To Be Me.
Need proof?
I've been unemployed since Election Day.
I'm back home living with my parents. again.
I'm getting old: I'm turning 31 next month. Shouldn't I have done something with my life by now?
My credit is shot.
I'm still single.
In other words, the real world is kicking my ass.
Will somebody please remind me why I bothered to go back to school in the first place?
Oh, now I remember. Because the real world was kicking my ass. Yeah, that worked out well.
Here, for your shadenfreudistic delight, is the short version of how I got here.
Ok, so I left USC-Upstate because their administration building is staffed entirely by asshats. They waited until three days before classes started on what was supposed to be my next-to-last semester to inform me I'm no longer eligible for financial aid. Then the business office refused to work with me while I raised the money to pay my tuition out-of-pocket. So fuck 'em....
I ended up landing a good job with Richardson for President. A job that sent me to Iowa for the last two months of 2007. You all know what happened with the election: we had our asses handed to us. But that's ok, since I made some very good New Mexican contacts out there in the process...
...including one that, for the purposes of this blog entry, I'll just call "Anna."
Anna and I became pretty close friends while we were in Iowa. But a funny thing happened after we left. While most of the former Richardson crew went back to their "real" lives and went their separate ways, Anna and I stayed in touch. We maintained our friendship despite the 1,400 miles separating us...
...and, as these stories always go, I started falling for her. That shouldn't be too surprising, I guess, since she's an absolutely stunning 25-year-old UC-Berkeley graduate and former Parisian model who, inexplicably, is as big a political nerd as I am. (The only surprising thing here is that she tolerated me as well as she did.)
Anyways...long story short, I ended up moving to New Mexico when she got me a job on a Congressional campaign in her home district. (In the meantime, I ended my masochistic "relationship" with Gina, who my long-time readers should remember.) We won the primary...then both got laid off. In a district as Democratic as hers, the Democratic primary might as well be the general election. We "field rats" were no longer needed after that.
About that time, my dad underwent brain surgery, so I came back to South Carolina for a few weeks to be with my family. His surgery went well and he recovered remarkably well, so...
...come early July, I was back in southern New Mexico. I landed a job as a regional field director on a much more competitive Congressional campaign in a different district, and I promptly returned the favor by hiring Anna as an organizer. We won that election, too...then both got laid off. Again. Anna moved back to Albuquerque; I moved back to Barnwell. I landed a temp position during the run-off Senate race in Georgia, while Anna landed a temp position as a fundraiser for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. Neither position lasted long.
...and here I am. Since the job market sucks, Anna and I spent the next four months unemployed. We did, however, coordinate closely in the ensuing job search, sharing job listings and applying to all the same positions. Which was appropriate, since our resumes and qualifications are virtually identical.
However, Anna finally landed a position with the Association of Federal, State, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), which starts next month and will re-locate her to Las Vegas for the next year or so. (For whatever reason, they never contacted ME again after my initial phone interview.) Meanwhile, I've got an in-person interview with Greenpeace (who never called Anna back after her initial phone interview) in Chicago in two weeks. I have no idea where they'll send me, or even IF they'll hire me. They're hiring for eight different cities, but considering geographical limitations I suspect I'll be sent to Baltimore, Atlanta (please God, no), Tampa, or maybe Dallas. (I think I may have over-sold my Southern roots and connections too much during my initial interview to land a position in St. Louis, MO; Ann Arbor, MI; Columbus, OH; or Burlington, VT. But, we shall see.) However, you will notice that none of the available cities are anywhere near Las Vegas...
...so, as per my usual modus operandi, I'm still hedging my bets by applying to every Las Vegas-area political and labour position I can find. You know, "just in case" Greenpeace doesn't work out.
The moral of this rediculously circuitious story is that political work (and the gypsy-like lifestyle it requires) is no good for relationships. Now, assuming Anna and I could manage to stay on the same page and in the same geographical region for more than two months at a time, then there might very well be some real potential there, but that's not likely to happen anytime in the next year, at least.
Damn it.
But at least we're both making a difference and doing what we love to do. The rest will happen when (if) it's supposed to happen, I assume. I hope...
Need proof?
I've been unemployed since Election Day.
I'm back home living with my parents. again.
I'm getting old: I'm turning 31 next month. Shouldn't I have done something with my life by now?
My credit is shot.
I'm still single.
In other words, the real world is kicking my ass.
Will somebody please remind me why I bothered to go back to school in the first place?
Oh, now I remember. Because the real world was kicking my ass. Yeah, that worked out well.
Here, for your shadenfreudistic delight, is the short version of how I got here.
Ok, so I left USC-Upstate because their administration building is staffed entirely by asshats. They waited until three days before classes started on what was supposed to be my next-to-last semester to inform me I'm no longer eligible for financial aid. Then the business office refused to work with me while I raised the money to pay my tuition out-of-pocket. So fuck 'em....
I ended up landing a good job with Richardson for President. A job that sent me to Iowa for the last two months of 2007. You all know what happened with the election: we had our asses handed to us. But that's ok, since I made some very good New Mexican contacts out there in the process...
...including one that, for the purposes of this blog entry, I'll just call "Anna."
Anna and I became pretty close friends while we were in Iowa. But a funny thing happened after we left. While most of the former Richardson crew went back to their "real" lives and went their separate ways, Anna and I stayed in touch. We maintained our friendship despite the 1,400 miles separating us...
...and, as these stories always go, I started falling for her. That shouldn't be too surprising, I guess, since she's an absolutely stunning 25-year-old UC-Berkeley graduate and former Parisian model who, inexplicably, is as big a political nerd as I am. (The only surprising thing here is that she tolerated me as well as she did.)
Anyways...long story short, I ended up moving to New Mexico when she got me a job on a Congressional campaign in her home district. (In the meantime, I ended my masochistic "relationship" with Gina, who my long-time readers should remember.) We won the primary...then both got laid off. In a district as Democratic as hers, the Democratic primary might as well be the general election. We "field rats" were no longer needed after that.
About that time, my dad underwent brain surgery, so I came back to South Carolina for a few weeks to be with my family. His surgery went well and he recovered remarkably well, so...
...come early July, I was back in southern New Mexico. I landed a job as a regional field director on a much more competitive Congressional campaign in a different district, and I promptly returned the favor by hiring Anna as an organizer. We won that election, too...then both got laid off. Again. Anna moved back to Albuquerque; I moved back to Barnwell. I landed a temp position during the run-off Senate race in Georgia, while Anna landed a temp position as a fundraiser for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. Neither position lasted long.
...and here I am. Since the job market sucks, Anna and I spent the next four months unemployed. We did, however, coordinate closely in the ensuing job search, sharing job listings and applying to all the same positions. Which was appropriate, since our resumes and qualifications are virtually identical.
However, Anna finally landed a position with the Association of Federal, State, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), which starts next month and will re-locate her to Las Vegas for the next year or so. (For whatever reason, they never contacted ME again after my initial phone interview.) Meanwhile, I've got an in-person interview with Greenpeace (who never called Anna back after her initial phone interview) in Chicago in two weeks. I have no idea where they'll send me, or even IF they'll hire me. They're hiring for eight different cities, but considering geographical limitations I suspect I'll be sent to Baltimore, Atlanta (please God, no), Tampa, or maybe Dallas. (I think I may have over-sold my Southern roots and connections too much during my initial interview to land a position in St. Louis, MO; Ann Arbor, MI; Columbus, OH; or Burlington, VT. But, we shall see.) However, you will notice that none of the available cities are anywhere near Las Vegas...
...so, as per my usual modus operandi, I'm still hedging my bets by applying to every Las Vegas-area political and labour position I can find. You know, "just in case" Greenpeace doesn't work out.
The moral of this rediculously circuitious story is that political work (and the gypsy-like lifestyle it requires) is no good for relationships. Now, assuming Anna and I could manage to stay on the same page and in the same geographical region for more than two months at a time, then there might very well be some real potential there, but that's not likely to happen anytime in the next year, at least.
Damn it.
But at least we're both making a difference and doing what we love to do. The rest will happen when (if) it's supposed to happen, I assume. I hope...
VIEW 6 of 6 COMMENTS
jaie:
yes yes yes 
thank you for supporting redheads haha xoxo
thank you for supporting redheads haha xoxo
jaie:
ps- boo for horrible credit, im right there with you 