my back up plan...

...if I don't get a job after I graduate.

Graduate school for unemployed college students
"Fewer college grads have jobs than at any other time in recent memory—a report by the National Association of Colleges and Employers annual student survey said that 20 percent of 2009 college graduates who applied for a job actually have one. So, what should the unfortunate 80% do?

How about a post-graduate year doing some combination of the following (not just one, how about all):

• Spend twenty hours a week running a project for a non-profit.
• Teach yourself Java, HTML, Flash, PHP and SQL. Not a little, but mastery.
• Volunteer to coach or assistant coach a kids sports team.
• Start, run and grow an online community.
• Give a speech a week to local organizations.
• Write a regular newsletter or blog about an industry you care about.
• Learn a foreign language fluently.
• Write three detailed business plans for projects in the industry you care about.
• Self-publish a book.
• Run a marathon.

Beats law school.

If you wake up every morning at 6, give up TV and treat this list like a job, you'll have no trouble accomplishing everything on it. Everything! When you do, what happens to your job prospects?"

Watch out, world.

(Taken from Seth Godin's blog, something I am following, on suggestion from my boss, to pick up marketing and PR tips, tools and tricks for my internship this summer. It's incredibly witty, smart and helpful if you are interested in this industry at all.)

Today, I'm listening to...

Beautiful melodies:


New (to my world) 90s rock:


Magic Numbers:(No embedding option, but if you do listen, the last half of the song is my favorite)

Muse: (everybody goes through stages...) :D


and tempo pushing music: (this is such an interesting video)

art & songs.

photo cred.

I love Sabrina Ward Harrison. I hadn't checked out her website in awhile, but I did yesterday as I listened to a wonderful new (to me) song and thought I should share. Sabrina is one of my favorite artists, and my friend Ashley gave me one of her books, Spilling Open - The Art of Becoming Yourself, at the end of last summer. It is incredibly raw, more like a journal than an art book, and there is amazing inspiration to be taken from it. If you have a little time, just go to her homepage and then listen to this song I am embedding below. It truly was wonderful to look at her work while listening to this. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did! (fyi there is no video for this song, just a picture.)Love Like A Sunset by Phoenix.

Also, a goal of mine for this summer is to do "Saturday Song" posts. A new song, or at least one that is new to me or that I cannot stop listening to, will be posted each Saturday. Maybe you will find something you like, and if not, at least I will be documenting the random shifts in music I go through. I'd never noticed how sporadic they can be until I started documenting them. AND I am always open to any new music that you might be into. Please share!

Here is one more song. First official times should always be twice as good, right?

Falling Down - Oasis.

white houses text.

The Official White House Photostream on Flickr has made my morning.

President Barack Obama "meets" with speechwriter Cody Keenan, who dressed as a pirate for an Oval Office photo taken for use in the President's humorous speech to the White House Correspondents Association dinner May 9, 2009. "But as I said during the campaign, we can't just talk to our friends. As hard as it is, we also have to talk to our enemies, and I've begun to do exactly that," the President said in his speech. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza.)
President Barack Obama bends over so the son of a White House staff member can pat his head during a family visit to the Oval Office May 8, 2009. The youngster wanted to see if the President's haircut felt like his own. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

Radishes and lettuce harvested from the White House Garden are prepared for the Congressional Spouses Luncheon May 17, 2009. (Official White House Photo by Samantha Appleton)

I love that our nation's capital is eating fresh, local produce. Hanna would be proud.

First Lady Michelle Obama chats with students at the Ferebee-Hope Elementary school in Washington, D.C., after attending a meeting with Communities In Schools board members, May 13, 2009. (Official White House Photo by Samantha Appleton)

Her style is amazing. Click through the First Lady Michelle Obama set and you will see wonderful examples of how I hope to dress when I am working 40(+) hours a week.

My favorite text of this morning:

"I'm in a car aannddd...It's going fast aannddd I got my iPod blaring the words to Be Ok. Have a great day :)" --- from my sister (K).

and the rest of the texting convo:

"I love it!" - me (J)

"Haha..Mom and I are singing like crazy :) it's wonderful." - K

"She knows the songs I've given u?" - J

"I put them on her iPod so she can listen and learn :)" - K

"That is perfect. I love it." - J

"I like tricked her into knowing more music. We've been playing the iPod the whole way. I forgot how much I love road trips." - K

"I'm jealous that I'm at work right now and ur road tripping" - J

"I'm sorry I wish you were here too. It would be like the old days. Eye of the Tiger is playing and mom is singing like crazy. Gosh it's great." - K

And I'm sure it is. If you know my mom and sister, please mental-picture that last one and feel free to laugh out loud. I am. :) They are on a road trip to Rapid City to climb to the top of Crazy Horse tomorrow morning. And I definitely am a little jealous.

it's true, i don't like these things.

yet here I am, doing a semi-quiz on my blog. blah. for some reason I feel like it today. feel free to peruse or just skip over this post if you - like me on most days - think these can be kind of lame. I do promise to have as many visuals as possible, though. (Idea from A Beautiful Mess.)

What is your current obsession?photo credits here

What's for dinner?

I actually have no idea. But last night, Hanna made bulgur with all sorts of vegetables and cheese. It was delish!

What's the last thing you bought?

I got both of these books second-hand at a cute little bookstore near Lake Harriet. I couldn't find the covers of the actual ones I got (super old editions) but I only paid $3.20 for the two, and they both have notes from previous owners inside. :) score.

What are you listening to right now?

I am at work, so nothing is on, but I have been listening to a lot of Muse, Lily Allen, and that stupid "Boom Boom Pow" song by BEP. I actually really like it. Oh, and this song.

If you could go anywhere in the world for the next hour, where would you go?

What's your favorite quote(s) (for now)?

Forget about guns and forget ammunition

'cause I'm killing 'em all on my own little mission

- Lily Allen

If the children don’t grow up,

our bodies get bigger but our hearts get torn up.

- Arcade Fire, "Wake Up"

I am what I am and what I am is ok.

-anonymous

Do you remember when you said you would never forget this?

-Shaun Sundholm

What's your dream job?

I woke up this morning seriously wanting to be the person who takes a book and makes it into a movie script. So that is what my dream job would be today. Before this revelation, the answer to this question was an editor for the magazine Glimpse, traveling the world as I worked.

What's your worst habit?

Not answering my phone as of late. Or texts. Or messages of any kind. I guess that means my worst habit would be having little bouts of "hibernation" time.

What are your favorite movies?

photo credits here

What's your favorite piece of clothing in your own wardrobe?
Plain white camisole. Goes with everything.

What's your favorite book?

photo cred.
Do you collect something?

Of course. I have playing cards and postcards from almost all of the countries I have been too, and lately I have been collecting phone photos of books I want to buy and read. Like these two:

What do you like most about yourself?

Physically, probably these babies:
What's your go-to nail polish color?

Hot pink or red.

What an odd question to end on. Oh well, that was fun. Hope you enjoyed it and are having a wonderful day!

Sebastian Joes!

I like dessert. Sebastian Joe's has the most delicious ice cream and is only a short drive from our house. It's a win-win situation.

I tried "Danish Nut Roll" in a sugar cone and Jess had Cookies 'n Cream in a chocolate-dipped handmade cone.

Next time we venture out, though, we are going to try out Izzy's or Grand Ole Creamery. Seriously, MSP, you give me too many options. Look at that thing! Izzabella, here I come! :) At the Grand Ole Creamery, they have a flavor named "Black Hills Gold." You KNOW that caught my attention. I can't wait!

cardboard signs & muse

Signs of the Times is an art installment AND a fundraiser in one! As disconcerting it is to know how many people are homeless, it is also a major sign of our times to see these cardboard boxes being used as cultural art pieces. I find the "27 cents short for a taco" and "short 57 cents for a burger - Can you help?" ones very, very interesting. This is our world.

I haven't posted any new music lately, so here is a song by Muse, a band I have been listening to quite a bit these last few days. The song is Supermassive Black Hole. There are so many other ones I like, but this is my favorite today.



And one last little story: I woke up today, got dressed downstairs like normal, went upstairs to make coffee, said "Good morning" to Tanya, stopped, did a double take (as did she) and laughed. We BOTH randomly were wearing jeans, a gray v-neck tee, a black cardigan and a necklace. 100% matching for our first big day of the first full week of work for the summer. Can you say meant to be roommates?