Posted in Uncategorized on April 30, 2012 |
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Posted in Uncategorized on April 22, 2012 |
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Guess what! It was 70 in Seattle and sunny!!! I wore shorts today. On my run and during the day. No regrets about shorts on my run but a bit chilly for shorts the rest of the day. Whatevs.
It was a pretty relaxing weekend. I should have applied to jobs over the weekend because my dad will be here later during this week and I don’t want to be doing the job application thing the entire time but I had a slight break down Saturday morning and called my mom sobbing. Oops. I had to shut my computer and keep it off yesterday and today until now when I proofed some cover letters. Probably for the best. Maybe.
So what did I do instead? Spent most of the time in the sun! Being in Seattle it is short-lived so I feel guilty not being outside all day. So yesterday I met a friend and some of his friends to watch some live free (!!) music on the University of Washington campus. One group was a cello group that played popular songs (i.e. Halo, Candy Shop) and made them sound classical. It was pretty awesome!
Today I ran 10 miles. See?
And finished How to Be an American Housewife and LOVED IT! But I LOVE most books I read : ) I hung out at Green Lake in Seattle allllll day!!! It is close to my apartment (about .5 miles) so I took several trips back and forth.
What was the best thing about your weekend? Mine was getting past my breakdown and actually having a pretty good weekend.
On another note I have a pretty sore/stiff Achilles tendon. It has been stiff/sore for a while but it is pretty yucky after my run today. Any thoughts on stretches or solutions??
xoxo,
Emily
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Posted in Uncategorized on April 20, 2012 |
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Posted in Uncategorized on April 19, 2012 |
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Since I graduated from grad school a month ago people have often asked me what I do all day. Well, turns out that looking for a job is a full-time job. Typically I spend 8 ++ hours everyday (I’m giving myself Saturday and Sunday off for the most part) doing cover letters, computer applications, attending events with networking, doing informational phone interviews, e-mails, job searches, and the very infrequent phone interview. I do have more flexibility in my schedule but trust me, I do NOT watch TV all day or sleep late. It is very stressful and sometimes I cry for no real reason. So here is a look at how I spent my Tuesday. I love people’s routines (don’t ask why…I don’t know why) so maybe you do too. This is also kinda a What I Ate Wednesday (but it was Tuesday). So here we go.
5:30 am ALARM OFF and outta bed, brew coffee
5:55 am to the BUS! Listen to iPods… My favorite early morning selections are Rick Steves and This American Life. CAREFULLY drink coffee.
Tuesday is my speed drills day so that’s what I did. I use a treadmill to do my speed drills because it is still too dark to see my watch. It was a doozy of a workout!!! 6 miles of assorted drills. I don’t remember what I did but it involved 400 meters at 7 minute miles for a while. Well 6 miles later I hopped on the elliptical for a cool down and did some leg strength stuff in the form of squats and lunges. FOAM ROLL and stretch and wonder why I felt the need to murder my legs : ) Hmmm
Go to locker room to get ready. Realize that the world goes on when I work out. HR from a job I applied for called to set up a phone interview (YESSSS) and one of my best friends got engaged. Huh. Damn Pacific time zone. Already so behind!
Get ready quick (sans shower) so that I can get the low down on the engagement. Freak out in happiness on the streets of downtown Seattle. People stare. It is early. Oooops. Major drop in blood sugar with the excitement. Sit down. Catch breath.
Eat breakfast in a building in downtown Seattle with free wireless. Schedule phone interview, check e-mail, call mom to tell her about the friend’s engagement (I’ve known my newly engaged friend since we were three), freak out about how everyone else is getting engaged. Sad/happy/confused/jealous/lonely. Move on. Enjoy breakfast. A not-too-empty Justin’s Almond Butter jar with 1/2 cup cottage cheese and a unpictured English Muffin. It works. Consume tea.
proceed to Seattle Public Library for applying to jobs/looking for jobs/phone interview prep. Watch the interesting people who also frequent the library in the morning on a Tuesday. Hmmm… interesting. Wonder if the people next to me are computer hackers. Eat snack hard-boiled egg and banana.
Take the bus back to apartment for lunch. Sometimes I pack a lunch. Not Tuesday. Watch protest about the 99% while waiting for the bus. Get on bus to find crazy bus driver driving who likes to slam on breaks. Happy to find a seat.
LUNCH- while checking up on the news on NYT, BBC, other nerdy news related sites. Cabbage, carrots, red pepper for the veggies and beans, hummus, cheese, avocado on toast.
Do the job thing again for a couple of hours until chocolate is needed. A pear and unsweetened chocolate. Feel better about life. Sit on ball to work on bad posture. Work on to-do list.
Realize I really want tofu for dinner and that I need to go to the store. Plus I need to get out of my cramped studio. Go to small grocery store across the street but they fail to deliver on the tofu (weird) so walk another couple blocks (in the rain) to Whole Foods. Get lost in Whole Foods for a while looking at random products and dreaming about the day when I can afford them. Wonder why people think it is okay to leave carts in the middle of the isle. Seriously. Stick to list (except for the really amazing bread purchase) and walk back to apt (in the rain) and unpack and wonder how I just lost an hour.
Sit back down to do job stuff. Apply for a job in Atlanta and Washington DC. Feel sad/embarrassed/angry that these are the 80th and 81st jobs I’ve applied for. Get bitter and cranky. Need snack. Apple with 1/2 cup greek yogurt and a scoop of peanut butter. And a make-this-stop face.
Call it quits to remain sane. Do the apartment cleanup, organization, to-do list update, dinner prep, lunch prep for tomorrow, watch news. Question newly engaged friend on why the engagement isn’t facebook official and why I haven’t seen a ring. Friend is in med school and ‘hasn’t had time’ ooops. Remember what it is like to be a student. Sigh. Call mom. Probably almost cry.
Eat dinner while responding to e-mails, reading news, watching the Daily Show & Colbert Report. Finally laugh. Read some blogs. Check weather. Baked Tofu, Roasted parsnips/asparagus/broccoli/kale/onion, hunk of amazing fresh bread (worth every penny), milk
Get ready for bed, make bedtime snack, finish book. It was The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. I enjoyed it. It was really unique. Update Goodreads.com (ekoebnick if you are a member). Wonder if I’m weird because I like to be in bed at 9 to read for a while before lights out at 9:30. Decide I’m not weird because I like to run, especially in the morning. 5:15 wake up calls = 9:30 bed time. Drink sleepytime tea. Eat yogurt + sprinkling of Vega Protein Powder. And a scoop of peanut butter.
There you have it!!! I do this Monday-Friday mostly. Yup. Fun. But it is what needs to happen because if I don’t bother to apply for jobs I won’t get hired. At least if I apply, I have a 3-5% chance of getting hired.
What is your routine? Do you like routines? I love them. Not just my own but other people’s routines. Kinda creepy but I think routines say A LOT about a person! Maybe I’m a creep.
XOXO
Emily
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Posted in Uncategorized on April 13, 2012 |
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Happy Friday!!! Can I get a hell yeah? Actually I have no plans for the weekend. I just take a break from the job search crappola on the weekends. Whooop.
Good news. I decided to stay in Seattle until June unless I get a job sooner. I feel like a HUGE weight is lifted off my shoulders. I can’t afford it BUT I will be back here for graduation in June so it doesn’t make much sense to move home and fly back here in less than two months. I was really stressed out about the move. Although my parents are happy to have me move home, we were all nervous about the entire family living under the same roof. I am the problem in the equation. It is clear my mom, dad, and sister live fine together and add me and it is awful. This is the way it is. We are really close and I tell my parents everything but it is really awful (I make it awful?) to live together. I was also really stressed about finding a subleaser for my apartment. Wooo.
I feel SO much better after that was decided.
What else is making me happy?? Besides that yellow ball that has FINALLY showed up in the Seattle sky??
#1 Beets. I LOVE beets. A LOT. They taste amazing and are nutritious. And they are really easy to make. Here is what I do: 1) Wash beets, 2) preheat oven to 375, 3) slice beets into bite size (Note-I do not peel them), 4) make foil back and fully package ‘em up, 5) roast in oven for about an hour, 6) let them sit with foil packet slightly open for 10 mins, 7) ENJOY
I never peel them and don’t notice a difference cooked this way. Always make extra to have on salads! Bonus: they make the salads pretty pink!!
#2. iPhone. Perhaps my extremely happy mood is due to a little upgrade I made. Goodbye two-year old Droid smart phone and HELLO iPHONE!!! I love it!!! I got it yesterday on major discount when I renewed my contract. What are your favorite apps??? This morning I greeted Siri (naturally) with ‘Good morning Siri’ and she replied, ‘Good morning. It is already 5:35.” My kind of lady, obviously she knows the value of morning productivity. Clearly, I wasted five minutes already. And it was time to RUN. And I stopped to take pictures because it was an AMAZING morning and to make sure my phone is, ya know, fully functional.
I downloaded the Pandora app (I had it on my old phone and I am addicted!) and ran fast!!! My foot is bothering me (DANG it!) but ice is my friend! Nice look splits (finally!)
Later, Siri called my mom and told me about the weather.
#3. Best Dad in the World Awards. I have a winner…. my dad. My dad is the best dad in the world. He does my taxes and somehow convinces the government to give me $1000. Okay, he probably doesn’t do the convincing BUT he figured it out. He also is driving me out a car (from Minneapolis to Seattle) in a couple of weeks so I can move home (or to a job) on my own schedule. I GET A CAR!!!! We came into a fourth Toyota (the man loves Toyotas and it is all I would drive… I am my father’s daughter) when my grandpa passed away a couple of months ago. Actually it is my aunt’s car because she gets my grandpa’s. Random side note – On my dad’s side of the family every single person has a Toyota. My two aunts own Toyotas, my grandpa’s car is a Toyota, and my family has three Toyotas. Anyway. Not having a car in Seattle is tough. I didn’t mind day-to-day but it has prevented me from a lot of social events and getting out in the wilderness. Woooo. I LOVE walking everywhere but driving 30 mins for a mountain hike is sure appealing! AND I GET TO SEE MY DAD!!! We are going to hang out. I am so lucky. He is so great.
Your turn: beets love ‘em, hate ‘em? iPhone FUN stuff – do SHARE! Weekend plans????
x0x0,
Emily
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Posted in Uncategorized on April 11, 2012 |
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Posted in Uncategorized on April 8, 2012 |
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Happy Easter/Passover/Sunday. I am more of a happy Sunday person. I haven’t been home for Easter in like 10 years except for one random year between undergrad and graduate school. Our family doesn’t really have any Easter traditions, we aren’t religious, and I HATE ham. Speaking of ham I also hate bacon. The SMELL. So on my run this morning I smelled bacon, and dry-heaved and haven’t felt great since. Random but true. Soooo I’m not too sad about not being home. And my grandma is in the hospital, my dad is working, and my other two grandparents passed away this year. Yup. For once I am a happy camper spending a holiday in Seattle, far from my family. I DO like hardboiled eggs so I sorta wish I had someone to color them with.
1. Easter baskets. My mom sends me an Easter basket every year but I don’t like candy. This year I got a vapur water bottle ( SOOO EXCITING) and mail about my loans. Thanks mommy.
Since I”m sure you are on the edges of your seats (about the water bottle, not the student loans) I will let you know what I think!
2. Foods I eat 360 times a year. There are certain foods I eat almost everyday. Curious? Keep reading.
Apples. Pink Lady and Honeycrisp are my fav. An apple a day. I LOVE them.
Bananas.
Peanut butter. I also eat either almond butter, sunflower seed butter, cashew butter most days IN ADDITION to the peanut butter. Creamy > the crunchy but usually I have a jar of each. I also like just one ingredients: peanuts. The fancier stuff is okay but peanut butter is too damn good plain. My fav lately is Trader Joe’s. I usually go for cheap and good. Win.
Carrots. I hate baby carrots. I’ll eat them because baby carrots are better than no carrots buuuut the real thing tastes better.
Yogurt. 0% Greek yogurt (Chobani, Fage, Trader Joe’s, anything else on sale) AND nonfat plain yogurt (FAV of all time is Nancy’s) I buy BIG tubs because it is so much cheaper and put it in small snack size Tupperware for on the go snacks.
Skim milk. I prefer the taste of organic for some reason. So I do that.
Coffee. I am NOT a coffee snob (I prefer exercise my snobbery in the veggie area) so I’ll drink Folgers without any real problem. I do try to buy the more ethically okay varieties but I am on a strict budget.
There are some other things I eat MOST days for the year: An egg (hardboiled for snacks and for meals), red peppers, squash (I have a strange addiction.. I’ve actually googled ‘squash addiction’ to see if I have some nutritional embalance… I think I’m alone in the world on that one), oats, bread (whole wheat sliced bread or ww pita/tortilla), beans (canned, dry, hummus), spinach… there are probably more things but I’m losing my focus. I also eat probably about 9 or 10 servings of fruit/veggie at least everyday.
That was fun.
3. A new week. Every Sunday I TRY to recharge my mentality. I always start Monday morning with a quick pep talk. THIS is the week for a phone interview. THIS is the week for a great informational-interview. THIS is my week. I’m not sure this technique is good… Friday is REALLY depressing. BUT I refuse to apply/look for jobs on Sat/Sun so the weekend is recharging.
Your turn. Do you have any foods you eat every.single.day? What are you looking forward to THIS week? Does your family have any food Easter/Passover traditions?? Ugh. I’m thinking about ham again.
’tis all.
xoxo,
Emily
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Posted in Uncategorized on April 2, 2012 |
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Hello there. And happy Monday. Anybody happy that April Fools Day doesn’t happen for another year? Not to be a party-pooper but I am not a fan. You see, I am a VERY gullible person. When I was little (okay not that little… like four) my friend seriously had me CONVINCED she could fly. She is still one of my best friends so I guess she excepted my gullible personality (or perhaps enjoyed it) and I forgave her for giving me quite the reputation in my pre-school class. So when April Fools Day comes along I am on guard. Yesterday passed pretty okay. I did think that NBC was pulling an April Fools Joke when I found out that Sarah Palin will be co-hosting the Today Show. But it isn’t a joke. Sweet Lord. Why? Sorry. Moving on. It might make my treadmill intervals tomorrow am more interesting…
So some happiness!
#1. Curry eggs. I created a great dinner Friday night. Curry baked eggs.
Ingredients:
-1/2 cooked whole wheat pasta
-Some left over roasted veg (cauliflower, brussels sprouts)
- 1/4ish cup canned tomato
-handful or two of spinach
-curry powder, paprika
-about 1 tablespoon Trader Joe’s Red Curry
-Over the top 2 egg whites and one egg
Cover and bake at 350 for about 25 mins or until yoke seems cooked
#2. Unplanned 10-miler. So as I’ve mention I am currently fighting with my legs. They hate me. A lot. My Friday run was an untimed 7-miler. Read: sllooooowwww. So Sunday I awoke thinking 7-miles was the plan. Time to cut back some mileage. This is laughable because my mileage isn’t high. Honestly, I think the reason my legs aren’t recovering is my mental state. I am constantly fighting falling into a depression. I am constantly TRYING (but failing) to be positive about jobs and life. I am constantly fighting my desire to envelope myself into my bed. My emotions are everywhere. I cry for no reason. Ugh. Anyway. It will all be okay. The ironic part is that running (and my Saturday spinning class) are the only thing that truly pulls me up when I am down. And now my legs hate me?? Efff you legs and head. Anyway. Happiness. So Sunday I started running and I felt GREAT. So I did 10 miles. I haven’t uploaded the timage but they were decent timed miles. Okay. Okay! I wasn’t worn out yesterday and I’m feel fine today. My foot sorta hurts but ice is my friend. And that 10 mile run was such a mood booster. The negativity disappears about my life. Suddenly I realized that I convinced myself that I WILL find a job and I WILL feel settled somewhere. So that is why my legs need to function and I can’t get injured. Running is my anti-depressant.
#3. My hair. I like my hair. Not to sound like a brat, but I do. I really did not like my hair for about 14 years of my life. But it is kinda awesome. All I have to do is throw some gel in it and scrunch it and it gets wavy OR blow-dry it and it is straight. I love that I grew it out again. I used to hate that it was thick but now I really like the thickness. AND I only have to get it cut once a year and it doesn’t really look awful. I also like it short. I am only going on about my hair because I find myself, more often than I’d like to admit, being negative about my body. It’s little things like how short my legs are or a pimple on my face. So there you have it. I like my hair.
Your turn: April Fools Day: love or hate? What is your favorite physical attribute?
xoxo,
Emily
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Here’s a VERY brief summary of what we did.
Deception Pass.
We took the ferry from Seattle to Whidbey Island and drove up the island to Deception Pass State Park. Whidbey Island has a couple small towns that are small and cute and very Gilmore Girls (or East Coast small towns… but I’ve never really been to the East Coast). There is a lot of farming so lots of green fields and beautiful views of the sound. It was lovely!!! And Deception Pass was the cherry on the top!!!
The next day we tried to do a hike, Rattlesnake Ridge to be exact. Apparently I missed the memo that there was a man search for an armed and dangerous man who built a bunker on Rattlesnake Ridge. Well, needless to say, when we saw signs that said the trail was closed to find a murderer, we went with plan B… Snoqualmie Falls. It was cool. Lots of roaring water. No pics because I’m too lazy to find my camera cord…
We also explored a bit of Seattle and hit up Golden Gardens, the Ballard Locks, and ate here: Homegrown. I’ve been wanting to eat there FOREVER but I don’t eat out (to save the dolladollabillzzz yo). Oh my god they put beets and goat cheese on a sandwich. It was amazing. Balllz.
Now it’s back to the unemployment sassypants (aka me) and the job crappola. Maybe this week I can break 90 jobs applied for!! YYYYUUUKKK
What things do you do with out-of-town guests when they are visiting?? My dad already has done all the Seattle tourist stuff so we ventured out of Seattle and it was awesome!
xoxo,
Emily
