I never realized how much time I wasted on the computer until I got my new one. During the six months I had to go without, I attributed my overabundance of free time to things like not having to go to class or being unemployed (which, granted, are both viable excuses); in actuality, however, my lack-of-internet was the culprit all along.
Not being wired for a pretty substantial length of time gave me a chance to do other things -- like read. I hadn't read for fun (at least not more than a book or two) in years, and yet, I found myself checking out things from the library in double-digits and demolishing three or four good-sized novels every week. On top of that, I also watched tons of movies I'd never seen -- some good, some not-so-good -- and caught up on all the TV I'd missed while I waspretending to be a busy busy college student (well, at least the stuff I could get for free).
Now, the five minutes or so that I used to spend on the computer daily (just to check my email and such) often manages to stretch into hours. When I think back on where that time went, I can't even remember what I was doing half the time. You know how microwave minutes are always longer than regular minutes? Well, I'm pretty sure you can fit about ten internet minutes into one normal one. Don't ask how or why...that's just the way it is. I do know that I spent four hours the other day playing stupid games on Yahoo. FOUR HOURS. How does that even happen?! (I'm ashamed to say that I'm kind of addicted to the time-management/own-a-restaurant-and-serve-your-customers-the-correct-things ones, which is weird considering that I would never in a million years want to work in food service.) The fact that I somehow fall into a time-sucking vortex every time I turn the computer on means that I am so much less productive than I used to be. I'm down to one book every two weeks, if I'm lucky, and my ability to watch an entire season of something in one day? Gone. (I know that it doesn't sound like I was being super productive in the first place, but at least it felt like I was getting things done, even if those things were only polishing off season three of Rescue Me or reading a memoir in two days.)
I've decided that something needs to be done about this nonsense, so I'm going to limit my computer access for a while...I'm not sure how yet, but it's going to happen. (By the way, that four hours I spent playing games took place while I was "taking a quick break" from the job search. My brain clearly doesn't want to continue with this charade.)
Speaking of jobs, I have job-related news! I've been volunteering with a campaign since I hit the 6-months-post-graduation mark (which also coincided nicely with interviewing for the position with CC...imagine that). Anyway, the organizer (/speechwriter/volunteer coordinator/policy analyst/research fellow) was conspicuously absent from the wiki for a couple of weeks, and I was a little concerned because he usually updates daily. Having checked Google News and not finding his name in any incident reports (what? I said I was concerned), I shot him a quick email asking what was up. He responded a few days later saying that he had actually decided to transition out of the campaign and that they were looking for a new organizer (duhn-duhn-DUH). He didn't offer me the job or anything, but he said that if I was interested, he would recommend me and get me on the short list, which is better than nothing. Also, they're looking specifically for someone with event organizing experience, which I have. We'll see. This all happened towards the end of the workday on Friday, so I'm thinking no one's even going to be looking at candidates until Tuesday or Wednesday at least, but it's exciting nonetheless! I'm not getting my hopes up though...I learned my lesson after last time. The jobs itself looks pretty intense -- the only paid employee, 50+ hour work-weeks, commuting to SF pretty often, and minimal pay -- but it's actually something I could see myself doing as a career, and you can't get much better than that.
Other things: I'm trying to get out and be more social. I'll hopefully be joining a Stammtisch at some point (it's like a language club...you just go to a bar and drink and practice German with other people who are learning); I also found a group of recent grads that meet up all around the area, and they seem really cool. I'm not sure whether I can bring myself to go alone though, since they seem to all know each other already. But if I bring some friends along, there's no way I'm going to meet anyone new. Quite the conundrum.
Well, happy September! It's starting to look like Autumn here, but it certainly doesn't feel like it with massive heatwaves and such. We're having a Labor Day BBQ tomorrow to enjoy the weather while it lasts.
Not being wired for a pretty substantial length of time gave me a chance to do other things -- like read. I hadn't read for fun (at least not more than a book or two) in years, and yet, I found myself checking out things from the library in double-digits and demolishing three or four good-sized novels every week. On top of that, I also watched tons of movies I'd never seen -- some good, some not-so-good -- and caught up on all the TV I'd missed while I was
Now, the five minutes or so that I used to spend on the computer daily (just to check my email and such) often manages to stretch into hours. When I think back on where that time went, I can't even remember what I was doing half the time. You know how microwave minutes are always longer than regular minutes? Well, I'm pretty sure you can fit about ten internet minutes into one normal one. Don't ask how or why...that's just the way it is. I do know that I spent four hours the other day playing stupid games on Yahoo. FOUR HOURS. How does that even happen?! (I'm ashamed to say that I'm kind of addicted to the time-management/own-a-restaurant-and-serve-your-customers-the-correct-things ones, which is weird considering that I would never in a million years want to work in food service.) The fact that I somehow fall into a time-sucking vortex every time I turn the computer on means that I am so much less productive than I used to be. I'm down to one book every two weeks, if I'm lucky, and my ability to watch an entire season of something in one day? Gone. (I know that it doesn't sound like I was being super productive in the first place, but at least it felt like I was getting things done, even if those things were only polishing off season three of Rescue Me or reading a memoir in two days.)
I've decided that something needs to be done about this nonsense, so I'm going to limit my computer access for a while...I'm not sure how yet, but it's going to happen. (By the way, that four hours I spent playing games took place while I was "taking a quick break" from the job search. My brain clearly doesn't want to continue with this charade.)
Speaking of jobs, I have job-related news! I've been volunteering with a campaign since I hit the 6-months-post-graduation mark (which also coincided nicely with interviewing for the position with CC...imagine that). Anyway, the organizer (/speechwriter/volunteer coordinator/policy analyst/research fellow) was conspicuously absent from the wiki for a couple of weeks, and I was a little concerned because he usually updates daily. Having checked Google News and not finding his name in any incident reports (what? I said I was concerned), I shot him a quick email asking what was up. He responded a few days later saying that he had actually decided to transition out of the campaign and that they were looking for a new organizer (duhn-duhn-DUH). He didn't offer me the job or anything, but he said that if I was interested, he would recommend me and get me on the short list, which is better than nothing. Also, they're looking specifically for someone with event organizing experience, which I have. We'll see. This all happened towards the end of the workday on Friday, so I'm thinking no one's even going to be looking at candidates until Tuesday or Wednesday at least, but it's exciting nonetheless! I'm not getting my hopes up though...I learned my lesson after last time. The jobs itself looks pretty intense -- the only paid employee, 50+ hour work-weeks, commuting to SF pretty often, and minimal pay -- but it's actually something I could see myself doing as a career, and you can't get much better than that.
Other things: I'm trying to get out and be more social. I'll hopefully be joining a Stammtisch at some point (it's like a language club...you just go to a bar and drink and practice German with other people who are learning); I also found a group of recent grads that meet up all around the area, and they seem really cool. I'm not sure whether I can bring myself to go alone though, since they seem to all know each other already. But if I bring some friends along, there's no way I'm going to meet anyone new. Quite the conundrum.
Well, happy September! It's starting to look like Autumn here, but it certainly doesn't feel like it with massive heatwaves and such. We're having a Labor Day BBQ tomorrow to enjoy the weather while it lasts.
