Highland Towers Apartments?

The next Pokestop that interested me is the Highland Towers Apartments. Why is an apartment building a spot of importance? Time to find out!

This building is currently owned by Franklin West and has 36 Apartments of the one or two bedroom variety. When you walk by, it looks basically like everyone other building in Shadyside. I probably went by it about fifty times before I started to wonder why it mattered. The period Pokestops can seem random at times (sometimes they are based on things that aren't there anymore).

This building is part of early American architecture. It belongs to a period of time generally referred to as the early suburbs (ew). It is categorized as being part of the Art Deco movement.

The architect of the Highland Towers Apartments was Frederick G. Scheibler. He was born in the Burgh in 1872. He ended his schooling early like so many men did then (side note: can we talk about the fact that all these famous men left school as teens and became super goddamn successful? I can't find a job with a college degree, but these bitches can walk out and make millions). Our building dates from 1913.

The Highland Towers Apartments was added to the National Register of Historic Places on September 28, 1976. The 70s are not a time period I associate with being overly concerned about history, so hearing this was added them makes it seem more important. Franklin West has kept the original stained glass windows, murals, and built-in cabinets.

Unless you are interested in architecture, this is not a v exciting Pokestop (although not a water fountain which is nice)

Reactions to a HuffPost Article

One of the only positive things to come out of the 2016 dumpster fire we called an election (and year) was that some people are gaining a greater awareness of what is actually going on in the world.

I just finished an article called "Some Garbage Things I Used to Believe About Equality." This entire article feels like such a validation. It is a straight white man realizing that all the things we are saying about sexism, racism, and homophobia are real.  I can't even count the number of times that I would say something was sexist only the be brushed off and told that I was seeing things that weren't there. Or that I was just trying to be offended. I have been told that I am too emotional, questioned if I have some kind of mental disorder, and generally put down when I try to point out the sexism that is so rampant.

The article hit home at a lot of points, but the one that really made me think was when he quoted Sarah Sharp: "I did not want to work professionally with people who were allowed to get away with subtle sexist or homophobic jokes."

Hm. Can anyone say they have worked in an industry in which people weren't allowed to get away with this?

I worked in insurance. It is the personification of the old boys' club. It is Mad Men. It is men in charge, women do the work. Men drop work on your desk half an hour before they leave and expect it to be done because that's what the women are there for. Women are the worker bees. Even if there appears to be a woman in a position of power, she is held to an entirely different set of standards than the men are.

Don't even try to bring it up! The only thing worse than being a woman is being a Millennial (which is a whole other story) - any complaints you make are just you being entitled and wanting to be held to a different set of standards. Never mind that you just want to be treated like a person with some respect. The fact that I am a woman puts me at a disadvantage before I am even given the chance to show what I can do.

I had an interview with Uber to be a self-driving car operator. This interview consisted of going to a track and doing different maneuvers to show the drivers that you were capable of learning how to deal with stressful driving situations. There were about 35 people at the interview, and three of us were women. One of the men said something about how he was afraid the trainers would think he was a bad driver. My reply to him was that at least they would think he was just having a bad day - if I messed up, it would be because I am a woman. There was a round of awkward laughter, but no one disagreed with me. I think I may have hit upon what jokes were being made in the other cars.


If anything good can come out of 2016, it is that decent people will realize what is going on around them. And not take it anymore.

Howe Springs (How PokemonGo is making me learn)

Howe Springs - at the time this was taken, it was owned by Team Mystic!

Since I probably wasn't going very far out of my house yesterday (driving to Sharpsburg doesn't really count since I couldn't play during that), I did a loop around the block to catch my Pokemon and hit up a Pokestop for my 7 day streak.

As I walked over the Howe Springs gym, I realized two things: I had never actually stood in there before and I had no idea the background of it. As someone who majored in history, that is a bit odd (side note: I had someone ask me in an interview on Tuesday what I had planned to do with my degree. Ma'am, I graduated college in 2008 - must we do this?!).

Their column game is on point!

I took a few pictures and decided to do some research!


Howe Springs was originally built in 1896 (and renovated 14 years later) and was one of many springs that the city had. Based on the preservation paperwork, the Howe family connected the springs because of the Johnstown Flood (or, as most of us know it, one of many stupid reasons PLCB taxes our booze too much!). When the Howe heirs decided to sell the estate after the deaths of their parents, they made a clause that the springs had to remain free and accessible for public use. This didn't go exactly as planned.


 

Not exactly free flowing water to the masses.

So what happened? Water borne illnesses (Oregon Trail type stuff - cholera and typhoid) were common in the late 1800s and early 1900s, so everyone who lived in the city was constantly concerned about contracting illness from water. A lot of people thought that the water from these springs was cleaner than what the city provided. Since nothing in history is easy to trace or understand, there are several claims that water from these springs was what caused those diseases. The landmark status application linked below has a neat article from 1906 in which Howe was one of the only two springs in the city that did not have typhoid!

Around 1900, the City started to see these as public health hazards (and it probably had something to do with revenue). One major reason the springs were no longer providing the same clean water they had in the past? Our industrial boom! There was so much going on with industry that the water was being contaminated before it reached the springs. Most of the springs were just closed, but some were totally destroyed. Howe Springs was not entirely destroyed, and Preservation Pittsburgh submitted it to be a historic site within Pittsburgh.

I'm super dedicated to Pokemon Go!

At the end of my research and Pokewalk, I realized that I had just spent a lot of time reading about a public water fountain. Things like the public springs are a cool way to look into the history of Pittsburgh and cities like us in ways that we normally wouldn't be taught. I had walked by the Howe Springs for years (even catching the bus over there) and really hadn't given it a second thought. It took me standing there while trying to take over the gym that I realized I had no idea what I was even standing by.



Want to learn about about the Howe Springs? The City has the application for landmark status available online?

**I took all these pictures myself yesterday**

Christmas Party Outfits

Anyone who knows me knows that I agonize over what to wear to basically everything. I will text people to ask what the are wearing and sometimes even ask for more specifics. "Jeans and a nice top" is basically the lady uniform of parties btw. "Nice top" also has a million meanings.

My current dilemma is crop tops. I am totally obsessed with them. I think they look super cute, and they are a cool highlight of an outfit. How many times can I wear the same sweater to a Christmas party?! The dilemma part is how nervous I am about what people think of me in one.

Let's get the most obvious one out of the way - are people going to say I am not skinny enough to wear a crop top? I've seen it a million times before in real life, on social media, and movies/TV - someone has a crop top on and for some reason, everyone seems to think they are entitled to have an opinion on it. An outfit that shows skin somehow turns everyone into Michael Kors on Project Runway 💖.

My next question is am I going to get judged because people think I'm too old to wear a crop top. While I do remember people wearing crop tops in the 90s, I was born in 1985. I wasn't an adult for the duration of the 90s. There are so many lists of things women need to give up after 30. Don't worry - the crop top shade there is real! I don't know if I am supposed to start dressing like I am a Victorian lady in waiting or what.

The last one I think of is "Is this appropriate for this group?" Like, I am concerned about which group of people I wear crop tops around. I'm not even talking like family or coworkers (...if I had them...). I will be thinking of the group of people and wondering if this is a group of people who would throw shade at crop tops or if everyone else is going to be wearing dresses while I dress like a 90s extra.

I know the answers to those questions: anyone can wear a crop top who wants to, clothing and I don't have an expiration date, and I don't hang out with jerks who would do that for serious. Instead of realizing that I know the answers to all of my thoughts already, I end up trying on almost everything in my closet before going back to the first outfit I wear.

I feel like this is supposed to have a conclusion and not just be about how I over-analyze everything. Hm...for this specific dilemma, I have decided that Christmas parties and crop tops go together like cocoa and peppermint schnapps - both necessary and fun!

Unemployment Stress

I am stressed out about the Unemployment Office itself (much different from my stress over my funemployment!).

For this biweekly claim, I have to call them about filing my claim (this happened on my fabulous birthday week in NYC as well). I get it - they have to follow the rules. I'm not so self-centered that I don't realize there are steps everyone has to take in order to get the unemployment compensation. I am happy to do them most of the time.

This morning, it took me 46 tries to get the phone to even ring! The first 45 times, the phone immediately went to busy. While I was calling back a million times, I checked my email. I received an automated email from the Unemployment Office stating that there has been higher than normal call volume causing significant delays. Try 46 finally got me to the main menu where I was then told that my estimated waiting time for an agent was OVER AN HOUR.

The automated voices keep coming on while I am waiting to tell me that most of these things can be done online. Unfortunately for me, this is one of the things that cannot be done online. I would love to go online and do this. Instead, I have to wait on hold until someone gets to me.

As of December 2, the office only takes calls on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays from 8-4. Prior to December 2, they took calls on Fridays as well. If there is anything you need to talk to a person about, you have to call on those three days. It is completely insane that I am going to wait on the phone for over an hour (after trying to call starting this morning) to talk to a person. Like...does no one who makes decisions see any correlation between the calls volumes and how often they are taking calls?! I say "who makes the decisions" because I am 100% sure that the employees who actually answer and process the phone calls definitely see this. The theme of people who make the decisions have no idea how anything works isn't limited to any one industry. I realize that they only have half the staff to answer phones due to reduced funding, so I can't be angry at them.

As of right now, I have been on hold for 50 minutes. There hasn't been any update on how long my hold time is (and even those are an estimate based on how long calls usually take). The voice just told me that all reps are busy, but it doesn't update the time.

I'm stressed about the fact that I have to sit here on hold instead of getting anything done. I can do some job applications while I am waiting, but I don't want to do anything too involved in case someone picks up! While I know this is necessary, it is annoying. Although, it is less annoying than dealing with people who make the decisions....

Update: made it through after two hours and fifteen minutes

"Good things happen to good people"

One of the weirder things about being funemployed is how much free time I have to think about the most random things. I was watching something on TV (not even sure what it was), and one of the character said "good things happen to good people." For some reason, my brain decided that this was something that I needed to think about in depth.

It's one of the least true statements I can think of that people actually say (like, I know "the sky is the same as the ocean" would be less true, but no one claims that please I hope). Who decided that this was something we should tell people?

I think the catastrophe we called an election should prove this. A reality TV star who uses social media to harass anyone who disagrees with his distorted world view somehow deluded people into voting for him. He's not a good person - not by any definition of the word good of which I am aware. Becoming a powerful leader shouldn't the reward for scamming students and advocating grabbing women by the pussy. But somehow it was.

We all have at least one person (probably a lot more) in our lives who have done bad things and get great results. It can be someone who cheated on you and now has an amazing relationship. Or a customer who screams at you at work over something that isn't your fault and is rewarded with a gift card by corporate (ass kissing corporate). Or someone who eliminates your position only to turn around and give it to their friend while selling their company for a ton of money. You know, everyday stuff.

What about when we start thinking about good people? If bad things happen to someone, does that mean they aren't a good person? Like, my position was eliminated - does that mean I'm a bad person? If good things happen to good people, shouldn't that not have happened to me? There are good people all over the world with bad things happening to them every single day from murder all the way down to crying at their office every day because their bosses are self-centered sexists.

Also, there are a lot of things that could be considered "good" to one person and "bad" to someone else. Example: children. I have friends who have kids. When they found out they were pregnant, that was a good thing for them. If I ended up pregnant, that would be a bad thing for me. So in that specific situation, they were good people. But would that make me bad people because it wasn't a good thing happening to me? Or does other people's interpretations of the event factor in?

Then there is the whole issue of good v bad people. Are we talking about a person in a specific instance or is it the sum of a person's whole life? Sir Francis Drake is a hero or a villain depending on which side you talk to (and yes, I did think of that because of Muppet Treasure Island because it is a fantastic movie we should all be watching right now).

My conclusion on "good things happen to good people" is that it's a stupid phrase we use when we are trying to make ourselves feel better about situations over which we have no control. Yay?

Holidays are Hard

We are about to start the winter holiday season (I don't care how long you have had Christmas things out Target - too soon!).

I have had conflicting feelings about holidays since my father died in 2009. It is fun to get the whole family together, but then you realize a piece of the family is missing. I keep going over and over in my head about what things would be like if he was still here. I think there are always moments where everyone is laughing and it sort of strikes people thato the group will never be entirely whole again.

Thanksgiving isn't as bad as Christmas. He worked at a grocery store, so he had to work on Thanksgiving day in the morning. (side note: get your stuff ahead of time. Day of shoppers act like monsters on speed). Working in a grocery store didn't quite make him love the food based holidays.

The holidays make me think of all the points in my life he missed. He never met Caleb. He didn't see us buy the condo. He doesn't know how much I travel. He certainly never knew anything about unchaperonedwhitegirl.

It has given me part of my life motto though: I don't want to look back and have not done things. It is so easy to believe that there will be time later to do what you want. Sometimes there isn't.

Continuing Job Applications

It's a good thing that I generally think highly of myself because looking for a job is an exercise in almost constant rejection. Plus the isolation.

I have applied to a bunch of jobs online, had phone interviews, gone to job fairs, and had two in-person interviews at the same place. It's basically become a cycle of rejection emails and radio silence.

Not to get too much into the election (in this post anyway), but I 100% agree with all the posts saying that, after someone with no political or government experience can be elected, I don't want to see all these crazy qualifications to apply to something. Like, something will be listed as a Marketing Assistant, but they want like 7 years of experience for it. On occasion, I do apply to these jobs anyway (because I have nothing to lose at this point), but it is frustrating.

I frequently wish that I would have majored in something that translated directly to a career. I had a lot of fun at Duquesne, but this is almost creating an existential crisis. I mean - I am really not qualified to do anything. So many postings say that they want a business major or a communications major or something else specific for a general sounding customer service position. Even my experience in insurance doesn't seem to be helping.

Once I start thinking about that, my brain just keeps going on that path. I end up thinking about all the choices I made in my life that led me to be unemployed right now. I should have majored in something else, I shouldn't have worked at CBC, I shouldn't have left CBC, I shouldn't have started at QBE, I shouldn't have left QBE, I shouldn't have started at TJS, I shouldn't have left the front desk, I shouldn't have left benefits, I should have done something else. Each little thought builds on the last one until I basically want to do nothing but stay in bed and drink wine. I'm not sure how I would lay in bed and drink at the same time, but I am a problem solver!

I realistically know it is a low level of anxiety - being realistic is hard! When most of the people you know are working (special shout out to my other funemployed friends! <3), and you are sitting at home, it's hard. I have done the best I can, and as long as I keep trying, there is nothing more that I can be doing.

Hm...what started out as a post about how my self esteem is really good for all these rejections turned into how anxious not having a job is making me. Things change so quickly here!

Food Crafts!

If there is a sober (or at least semi-sober) activity I love the most, I think it is food crafting. My friends and I decided that's what we call making food items. It sounds more fun than anything else we could think of. We kegged our most recent beer last night, and I think that made me want to make more.

Since I am still funemployed (although working on it!), I have all the time in the world to make things. While walking at Target today, I decided that I needed to make a pie. Never made a pie before, but now seems like a good time to start! I bought the cherry filling, but I decided to make the dough myself. Which I hadn't done before either. When I got to Giant Eagle, I decided today was also a day to make another batch of hot sauce. I get a lot of questions when I buy a giant produce bag full of habaneros - I have had cashiers ask me if I know what I am buying. I always like to think that is a good sign of how my hot sauce will turn out. Before I left the produce section, I decided that I was going to make ginger ale today as well.

I started off with the ginger ale because it can take the longest to make. I make mine using a modified version of this Alton Brown recipe. I quadruple the ginger, halve the sugar, and leave the lemon out entirely. I also use twice the amount of water to get more out of it. I have worked on this over the past few recipes to make it the taste I like. There is nothing quite like a whiskey ginger with homemade ginger ale. Instead of tasting like sugar that might have seen ginger in the distant past, the ginger flavor can really pop! Grating that much ginger is a super pain though. I usually take a break halfway through so my wrist isn't screaming at me.

I did the pie crust next. I used this Allrecipes.com version of pie crust. Since I had never made pie crust before, I chose to follow the recipe. One thing I never understood in recipes was "when the dough comes together." I first came across it while making Cheez-Its. When you see it, you will know. The dough goes from being weird crumbly bits and you start despairing that you have screwed it up and used all your butter, and then it magically looks like dough you have seen other people use. It isn't exactly the prettiest thing in the world, but it worked for my very first attempt (cherry in case you were wondering).

Hot sauce was last because I had to wash the food processor from the pie crust. (I put salsa chicken in the Crockpot while I was waiting for the pieces to dry off a bit). I base my recipe off of this one, but I don't follow it to the letter. I know - shocking!! I use a bunch of habanero peppers and some jalapenos. I also guess on the amount of garlic. Making hot sauce at home is awesome (in both the cool way and the terrifying way). I highly recommend putting Vick's Vaporub under your nose so you can breathe the whole time. I also wear a rubber glove on the hand I am holding the peppers with. I know this sounds really overkill, but I have definitely gotten pepper juice in my eyes after doing this. 0/10 do not recommend.

I was so productive today (I went grocery shopping and to the Post Office in addition to all of these food crafts) that Caleb asked me if I was trying to make up for something he didn't know about yet. I would consider that a win!

Travel Story Interrupted!

I am going to leave the second part of my travel story for another day - my friends threw me a surprise wedding shower on Saturday!!

Me being super surprised

My husband and I eloped in Hawaii back in April without telling anyone. So we didn't do a bridal shower or engagement party or anything like that (although we did have a Vegas bachelorette party). While I love that we eloped, I didn't love missing out on those kinds of events. I like the idea of celebrating milestones with your friends. My friends knew this and decided to surprise me with a shower on Saturday!

I thought my friend and I were going up to Ross Park Mall to do some shopping. I even brought an Express return that I needed to do! When she showed up, she said she was buying a toaster oven from someone in Building A and wanted to get it before we went shopping. After a few awkward moments of us trying to figure out how to get in (in which I didn't realize anything was going on), we got in the elevator to go to the Party Room. When we turned the corner, I saw that the party room was decorated and a ton of my friends/family were there!

As you may have guessed, we were not going shopping. Somehow, all my friends managed to keep it a secret from me for who knows how long! Definitely long enough that there were invitations and save the dates. Two of my friends were dressed as different incarnations of me - one when I dressed up like a dead hookers for a play and the other from when I made a shirt to see a Tamburitzan show. It is def strange to have people dressed up like you!

Barbie games are always necessary

Everyone dressed as me

After hanging out for a while and playing a few games, there was one more surprise. Jon surprised me by coming in from NYC! He was dressed as the current version of me (which included au unchaperonedwhitegirl crop top)! I have enough booze to throw a frat party because he was in charge of buying it. He apparently almost bought more, but it doesn't help having multiple pregnant women who aren't drinking.

After the shower was officially over, we stayed in the Party Room (and on their patio) drinking and then moved the drinking to our condo. That was also very fun. Afterwards, we went to Mad Mex for a Gobblerito and then onto 5801!

 The shower was a lovely time - we played a few games (and not annoying ones I think), and it was so nice to see everyone all in one place. It really means a lot to me that my friends put this together and made it happe!

Travels of the Unchaperoned White Girl

Never fear - I did make it home unscathed from both NYC and Davis, WV!

I went to NYC with an undetermined timeline. One of the nice things about being unemployed is that you literally do not have an elsewhere to be. I have never drank so much tequila in my entire life. I don't even think I like tequila? It was an amazing week. The last few times I have been to NYC (because I have gone every month since July in a series of strange opportunities), I have just been there Friday night to Sunday afternoon/evening. Not a ton of time to do sightseeing or wandering.

Made a bar friend this night! Which night? Not sure.

Pictured: said prosecco

The official reason for my trip was my 31st (eek!) birthday. We did the usual getting rowdy, going crazy, etc. Saturday afternoon, we went to a lovely brunch celebrated with prosecco. I definitely drink differently when in NYC - I had a few beers during the Steelers game, but that was basically all my beer consumption.

Sombero AND tequila. Totes necessary.

Somehow, we ended up at a nice Mexican place during and after the game that had $3 shots of tequila! That was definitely necessary to my weekend existence. We did a lot of tequila shots. Happy 31st to me!!!!

Once we got done with the constant partying, there were two days that I spent sightseeing - Monday and Tuesday.

Hamilton exhibit at the library

I started my Monday by walking in the direction of Rockefeller Center. On the way, I stopped at the Public Library at Bryant Park. I highly recommend going here if you are in NYC. It's free to go in, so there is no excuse not to! They usually have two exhibits; I only saw one this time: Alexander Hamilton (hey...I said I was a white girl. Is there anything more white girl than the current obsession with all things Alexander Hamilton?!). The other positive of going there is that they bathrooms. Super clutch in any situation. They have amazing architecture as well. Always a high point. I rented a Citibike and used it more than once! A total of 6 times. En route back from the Rockefeller Center area, I chose to bike down 7th Ave. Never mind that all the roads around it have bike lines, I felt that biking during rush hour on a road with no bike lines was 100% the right choice. I almost got his by a car, a bus, and a cab! Quintessential NYC experience.

Hamilton's grave at Trinity Church

Tuesday, I went over to Chelsea Pier. I decided that I should hop on the Citibike and keep going until I ran out of bike trail. This turned out to be the whole way in Battery Park. Not a bad thing, just a lot further than I thought I was going to go. I found the National Museum of the American Indian (also free!). It isn't my usual genre of museum, but it was definitely worth the time (plus more bathrooms). I had no idea what else was down there, but I had a ton of time until I needed to go to happy hour (back to our new fav Mexican place!). I looked at the v helpful signs and ended up wandering down to Trinity Church. I was walking around, looking at the gravestones, when I came across Angelica Schuyler Church. I'm standing like a weirdo staring and then all of a sudden, I remember the lyric from Hamilton "...she is buried in Trinity Church near you." Oh...I'm at the place where Hamilton is buried. Duh. Like I haven't listened to that soundtrack enough to know that line. The church itself is gorgeous! I bought their 25 cent guide so I could figure out where the hell Hamilton actually was. I did find him (you could tell the pamphlet hadn't been updated since Hamilton took over the white girl world because it didn't have enough about him in it). Eliza's grave is next to his (not pictured). I didn't realize that no one knows where Philip is really buried, so there is a plaque to the right of Alexander with a note. After that, I decided that going to the 9/11 Memorial was a good idea. It is beautiful and depressing. I didn't go into the museum (see my prior reference to a happy hour coming up), but I heard it is both awesome and depressing. I finished up my trip to NYC by going to a debate party which turned into a Beyonce party. One of the highlights of this weekend was getting carded - the 10th anniversary of my 21st and I got carded!

I was back from NYC for about 15 hours before I set off on my next adventure. This is a lot longer than I anticipated, so I am going to update on Davis, WV later!

The UnchaperonedWhiteGirl Origin Story

Recently, I was asked where the "unchaperonedwhitegirl" hashtag came from. It originated a bit over a year ago when I was flying out to San Diego. It was my second time flying alone before (and truly didn't fly that often then).

I used #unchaperonedwhitegirl the first time on a view from my hotel room in San Diego. I had an entire day entirely on my own and zero plans. I am not 100% sure how the words all came together. I know the unchaperoned part started as how I just keep getting drinks at airports when I am alone. I think white girl was because stereotypes exist for a reason.

The San Diego trip truly cemented for me that I can travel on my own. And that I like it. I can get myself to an airport and board a plane. This wasnt a direct flight like my Seattle flight was! I can find things to do when I have an entire day by myself. I used to be incredibly self conscious about going places alone - I felt very odd. Unchaperonedwhitegirl almost became my alter ego - she goes places, sees sights, and doesn't care that she is a weirdo taking a selfie of herself at a Pilot rest stop. She is more daring than I thought I could be.

I flew to Hawaii alone.  Pre-unchaperonedwhitegirl Blair never would have done that. I am currently on a Megabus alone to NYC - no way would I have done that before. I would have waited until someone else could travel with me.

The hashtag is more to me than just a funny set of words that make fun of what I am doing. It symbolizes the point in time where I realized that I am capable of doing what I want to do.

Old Friends, Taco Beer, and Endless Shrimp

I made many poor food choices yesterday. Namely, a beer that tasted like tacos and endless shrimp at Red Lobster.

The taco beer was very tasty, but it was very acidic. How can a beer even contain beef?! There was a note in the menu to let everyone know it contains beef. North Country Brewing in Slippery Rock needs to reveal their secrets. I can't imagine eating it with anything other than a burrito. I had a veggie burrito paired with a beef beer. Lovely start.

It was my first time to Endless Shrimp at Red Lobster. I don't even know the last time I was at a Red Lobster - let alone guzzling shrimp. I had 76. How does RL even make money off that? 76 shrimp when the cost was $17.99 is insane. I didn't even win the shrimp battle!

Pictured: poor life choices and great friend choices

Why did I make these kinds of life choices? I saw a lot of old friends.

Two people I hadn't seen in a very long time came into town. I have had the same base group of friends since freshman year at college. We all met at Duquesne in the Honors College basically the first week of school. Duquesne has a very serious freshman orientation - while most college I have heard of have a day or so of orientation, Duquesne goes from Wednesday to Sunday. Their message is you will make friends and you will like it.

I wasn't sure if I was going to sign up for the Honors College when I got the information for it from Duquesne. I barely made it in honestly. One of the criteria was a 1300 on your SAT - luckily for me, they took the top two scores from math and reading (or whatever the old SAT was...seemed so important at the time and now I can't even remember). I wondered if I was really going to get a "college" experience - whatever the hell that is - if I was in an Honors dorm. I am not 100% sure what I pictured, but it definitely didn't turn out that way.

The people I met in the Honors College are people that I would call on in a crisis even if we haven't talked in a while (and definitely have done that). They're people who know so much about me that if I ever run for office I would be in trouble. Or have a hell of a team. Six of us went on a vacation to Vegas in January, and we are planning to do another vacation next year. I am taking some of my funemployment time to go to NYC for no reason other than hanging out.

I didn't love Duquesne itself. I'm dubious of the degree that I put myself into so much debt for. I don't for a single second regret the friendships I made there.

They are people I drink taco beer and eat Endless Shrimp for.

Note: both of the above were 100% my choice. I only mostly regret both of them.

Places I Hadn't Been Before - Homewood Cemetery

One of the many advantages of being funemployed is that you have a lot of time to do things. Yesterday, I went to breakfast at Square Cafe (where my first world problem was that they were out of ciabatta and I had to have my breakfast sandwich on wheat).

When I was walking back to Shadyside, I realized that I had never been in the Homewood Cemetery before. I drive past it all the time. I've seen those gates more times than I can count. But I never went inside. I took a break from my busy Pokemon catching schedule and walked in the gates on Forbes.

It is so serene in there. I know - it's a cemetery so it isn't bustling. There is something about being in the city limits and being in a place where you don't see or hear anyone for at least half an hour at a time that is amazing. I always take for granted that there will always be someone near me. I live in a condo building with neighbors. I walk around Shadyside with other pedestrians and cars. There are very few moments when I am totally alone. Walking around the cemetery was one of those times.

 The city's cemeteries are a fascinating way to look into the past. Although we have many monuments and signs about our city's history in other places, the cemetery is one place you can also find the traces of those who weren't the super rich (the rich are definitely there too - Frick's grave is a Pokestop!). You can see the change in style of gravestones to the ones we usually see today (the super smooth layer that makes it so you can read it years later)

 

 There are small, deteriorated graves that belonged to children and their parents. I saw headstones of men who died when they were my age back in the mid 1990s that had fresh flowers on the graves. There are monuments to families that must have been important but are lost to casual history. I found two headstones that aren't in English.


It was a beautiful place, and I am glad I visited it. The most important lesson I learned was if you go buy a mausoleum with a slightly open door, take a quick pic, and keep walking! It's October...let's not forget what horror movies have taught us!

Election, sexism, and zombies

Is anyone else rooting for a zombie apocalypse? Serious question.

In case this isn't totally clear, I am 100% liberal. Never voted for a Republican in my life. I do vote for each person individually (not just the straight Democratic ticket), but I have never even been tempted to vote for a Republican. I registered as a Democrat when I turned 18 and have never looked back.

I like Hillary. I liked her in 2008. She's strong. Can you imagine having people say the things about you that they say about Hillary? The way the media and the Republicans pick on what she wears, how her hair is, and literally everything about her as a person? She hasn't fought back on the same level - more of that "living well is the best revenge" stuff. It would be incredibly easy to attack Donald on the level he does to her.

But that isn't the kind of person who should be running the country. The "tells it likes it is" insanity of Donald is terrible for someone actually in charge of anything. It's like if I ran for President - horrible idea. Sometimes I talk first and think later. That isn't great for diplomacy. Donald has found his niche as a racist, sexist, homophobic demagogue who is trying to destroy American. His version of making America great again is making it great for white, Christian, heterosexual males. Not for anyone else.

The only positive out of all the sexism is that it is making other people realize sexism still exists. I worked in insurance, I'm wildly familiar with sexism. When it's institutional, it can be hard to explain. I have definitely found it hard to explain. Men often think that I'm reading too much into something or attributing things to sexism when that's not the case. Until a lot of men heard how Donald talks about and treats Hillary, they thought this kind of sexism was a thing of the past. The era of Mad Men is not over.

No matter how this turns out, American is screwed up. If Donald wins, I don't know if we will ever have another election. That hypothetical "what would you have done if you were in Germany when Hitler was coming to power" is what we are dealing with now. We are watching a dangerous man blame our country's problems on a specific group of people. If Hillary wins, we will be treated to at least 4 (hopefully 8!) years of the most blatant sexism we can imagine. The racism will probably die down a little bit (yay?), but it isn't going to be pretty. The Donald supporters will still live in America - we will know that a huge chunk of the population thinks that he right.


Zombies anyone?

Free time and percentages

It's interesting to walk around and see what happens during the day on a weekday. I went to a daytime yoga class yesterday - I have never done that before. There's an entire other world that goes on while we are all in our offices.

Working can be isolating - I didn't realize how much time I spent at work until I didn't have to go anymore. Objectively I knew how long it was - the 25 or so minutes there, the 7.5 hours at work (plus an hour lunch), the 25 or so minutes home. It doesn't even sound that long! A day has 24 hours, and I spent 9 of them doing something office-related. It's only 37 percent of the day!

When you break it down more, you realize how much time that really is. Starting the day at midnight, I slept until 630am and would go to bed around 1030pm - 33% of the day spent on sleep. That leaves 7 hours for everything else (fun or actual adult stuff).

29% of a day. Technically, if we include the fact that my time from 630 to 7 was getting ready for work, that brings work up to 39.5% and free time down to 27%. My last job was 37.5 hours a week. Most people work for 40 which changes those percentages slightly in favor of work. Those numbers seem so skewed.

Having the entire time of the day when I'm not sleeping to do whatever I want to do is totally freeing. I can daytime grocery shop and have time to spend with my friends without errands in the evenings when everyone else is home. I can see friends who come in from out of town without worrying about how I am going to fit all of this in.

All this free time is also hard to deal with. This week, there have definitely been days where I don't really accomplish anything because I don't have a time frame in which I have to do them. I know that, no matter what time I wake up, I can spend all morning or afternoon getting things done. It almost feels like too much freedom sometimes.

I know that once I get back to the working world, I will have to deal with those percentages again. I hope that I don't waste those hours anymore.

Stuck

I was totally stuck on ideas for what to write today. The most important thing I have done all day is go to the Post Office to mail stuff I sold on Amazon. Then I thought - why does that bother me?

I don't know the last time I had nothing to do. I don't have work, I don't have school, I don't have kids (thank Quetzy). I got up at 11am and job searched until I took myself on a Pokemon walk over to the Post Office. Then I binge watched some OJ: Made in America before making dinner.

Having nothing to do is always seen as bad or being lazy. Why? Today was nice - it was relaxing. I wasn't trying to cram a bunch of errands in on a lunch break after eating food at my desk. I had time to walk over and enjoy the weather.

I haven't had weekday daytime to myself in a very long time. Even when I took vacation days it was because I had something else to do. Even if that something was fun (and it usually was - I'm big on fun), I wasn't listening to myself.

That's probably the scariest part of being funemployed. I have to figure out what I want to be doing. I've been sitting at the computer job searching for the past two days. I don't want a job where I cry multiple times a day or where I spent six months crying over reporting information.

Can there be a Buzzfeed quiz on what I should be doing with my life?

Running

Do people actually like to run? I'm attempting to do a Turkey Trot 5K this year, but I have to work my way up to it. The entire time I am running, all I can think is how much I hate running. When I finish, I realize that's thirty minutes of my life I will never get back (although...all I have is time right now I suppose).

I like the idea of running - it's just you and the road and zen and whatever. In practice, it is horrible! I don't even get that "Man, that was so much fun let's do it again!" amnesia I get when I do the MS150 bike ride.

I've used a few apps to try to help - I started with Couch to 5K and now use Zombies, Run!. I would def start with Couch to 5K again, but Zombies, Run! has story line missions that make the time go much faster.  ZR! has the bonus of British accents and zombies, so I think I will be sticking with it for a while.

Today isn't exactly a thought provoking blog entry, but it feels like a vacation day - not like I don't have a job right now. I start thinking about all the things I want to do before I have to go to the office tomorrow before I realize I won't be going.

The job search marches on...

Why is finding a new job so weird and hard? Searching for one requires a whole skill set that you immediately forget upon finding a new job!

First, you have to think about what you actually know how to do. I have always worked in a Customer Service based world. Soft skills are incredibly hard to explain via a resume or a cover letter. "Hi, I'm great at talking to people and pretending to know what they want until they explain themselves!" doesn't exactly cut it. Even looking at your job description won't help - most people I know don't do anything close to what the job description says. It is just a mishmash of words attempting to tell people why they should hire you.

Once you get to the point where you have a resume that somewhat makes you qualified to do anything in the adult world, you have to search for a job. It isn't just figuring out what sites to search or who to contact, it is figuring out if something is a job or a total scam. Spoiler alert: most are total scams. The two main categories seem to be recruiting/temp agencies with "jobs hiring today in your area!" or a blend of marketing and sales that no one can quite explain to you. (Side note: not all recruiting or temp firms are bad places! I have used them before!) If you have to crowd source whether or not something is a real job, it probably isn't.

Then you get to interviewing. Phone interviews are much bigger since last time I was job hunting which is both good and bad. The good side is that if you hear about it and the job obviously isn't a fit, you really didn't waste too much of anyone's time. Bad side is that it adds another step to the process. You have to walk the fine line between "I'm kinda good at doing stuff and you have stuff that needs to be done" and "I AM THE GREATEST EMPLOYEE EVER" in order to make a company want to hire you. Too far to the former and you're the chump they take advantage of, too far to the latter and you're the arrogant jerk.

If all the above work out (you figure out your skill set, you find a job that isn't a weird scam, and you manage to sell yourself in a non-creepy way), you end up with a job. Where you promptly forget everything that you had to do and know in order to land a job. The next time you end up in the situation of looking for a new job, you have to remember it all over again!

People always say it's easier to find a job when you have a job. Yay!

Tomorrow will be my first "real" day without a job. The weekend has gone on as usual, but tomorrow will be the day that most of the people I know go to work while I stay home. We'll see how that goes.

My adventures as the Funemployed Unchaperoned White Girl will be on Instagram as oryomai

The Unchaperoned White Girl is now also the Funemployed White Girl

Today ended up being my last day at a job I had worked at for a little over 5 years. I wasn't aware it was going to be my last day, but that is how the day ended. Morning really - I got the news at about 10am. I was in my car with all my things by 11.

This is the first time in my life that have ever had my position eliminated. I have been working since I was about 16 (so 14 years...ugh that is way too long). I went from working at a dentist's office to retail to work study jobs to CBC to QBE to TJS (I only work at places with three initials apparently). I took a bit of time off between CBC and QBE, but I worked my last day at QBE on a Friday and started at TJS on a Monday.

I always thought I would be more upset about it. I always thought if I left somewhere in a way that wasn't my own terms, I would completely fall apart. I was wrong.

I came home, had some home brewed beer (a Session IPA), went grocery shopping, and am going to go to happy hour. The world kept spinning. I was going to reference a comic I once saw about how can the world still spin after someone you love dies (obviously this is a much less serious level), but my Google searching is only bringing up Negan. I don't need him right now!

This probably won't feel real until Monday anyway. What I am doing right now is what I would have been doing on a "normal" day. When I don't have to get up at 630 on Monday morning to drive through horrific traffic to dodge a closed Liberty Bridge, then it may feel different.

This wasn't exactly the first post I had in mind, but it was interesting.