"[Austin] is Illuminated" Jon-fen Safran Foer*
In response to Katy's polite inquiries about my life and the urgings of a few others, I will post and let you all know about the confusing, interesting, relentless adventure that coming to Austin, Texas has been for me.
So I'm in Austin. Settled into my own apartment. Paintings on the walls, walk-in closet full of clothes screaming to be let out into the corporate/academic/nonprofit/activist world. All of these worlds which I'm trying desperately to enter right now are rejecting me at the moment, but I'm going to keep trying to access them nonetheless. I got a job last week as an ACTIVIST/COMMUNITY ORGANIZER with Texas Campaign for the Environment. I quit it at the end of my 8 hour day. It was not for me. On the happy sunny side, I'm starting some volunteer work soon that I'm quite excited about. Maybe some grant writing. Maybe some helping out at after school programs for disadvantaged teens. A way to get that wonderful thing called EXPERIENCE!!!
So the job-search is endless. It is an adventure every day. The jobs I'm interested in keep responding to me in the same way, it is like a broken record..."Experience! Experience!! Three years! Five years! Eight years!" they call!! And short little hippie me, I must answer: "I have none! But I'm good, I promise!"
Eventually someone will notice me in the corporate world, the publishing world, or the non-profit world. Probably when I least expect it. Until then, I'm sending out resume after resume, cover letter after cover letter, fax after fax after email email resume resume application cover letter fax email phone call resume. Repeat. It is a tedious process. I still have faith and energy though, which are excellent things to have.
Austin is fabulous. Getting down here was a doozy, to say the least. Another adventure. I guess you could say I was ready for it. I got in a horrid yet minor car accident the day before I planned to leave, but my trusty Red Honda Civic named "Lady" still ran. I planned on going down to Austin still. I was ready. I was packed. Lady seemed ok. Until I set out onto the highway, waving goodbye and crying bitter warm lovely tears, Lady suddenly begins to over-heat. The accident, needless to say, caused more damage than originally imagined. So, fortune smiled upon me as a nice tow-trucker named Troy who just happened to be at a random gas station on Speer and I-25 in Denver at 6 o clock towed my car for a mere 40 bucks back to my parent's area, Westminster, CO. He dropped it and me at a Auto Body Shop close to "home." Meanwhile, I am searching rental car places like mad, calling them up the wall trying to just get down to Austin. I mean, I had already packed, I was ready! There would be no stopping this move. I knew that was where I needed to be. And for 94 bucks a rental car got me there. And I'm here.
And the city is huge compared to anything I've ever known. There is so much going on in every nook and cranny I feel as if I can never get to know it all. The restaurants. The swimmin' holes. The hiking on greenbelts that follow beautiful rivers. The limestone that is EVERYWHERE. The CITY. "The DRAG."** All very cool things I've explored of late. I'm loving it. And yes, I know, I know, there are much bigger cities in this world, in Texas, too, but I have not lived in them.
Boulder to Austin, was, well, a culture shock. Far more of a culture shock than I expected. I didn't know that eye contact is a bad thing. A polite, no, thank you, is not enough in this town. Politeness is bad. It is, trust me. A 50 year old homeless who tried to sell me a necklace also tried picking me up because I told him "No, thank you." I was a tad shaken up, but that was nothing a little walk down the river and browse of a Women's Art Museum couldn't fix.
So, it is back to job-volunteer-life- searching for me. I'll hopefully keep you all posted on how this all goes.
Ah yes, and I couldn't end this first Texas post without a bit of sweet irony: Yes, ya'll...everything is bigger in Texas. This saying rings too true, as much as I hate saying it. Oh, the blasted irony, it stings, it stings!
So there we have it. What do ya'll think? Any suggestions on how to proceed in my life? All help is appreciated and considered.
KEY
*Yes, I ripped off the title of this post from the novel, "Everything is Illuminated" by Foer. It was a going away gift from my friend Keisha and I read on the way down to Austin, TX. Read it immediately. I have yet to encounter a piece of new fiction so mind-opening, laugh-out-loud hilarious, creative, and smart.
**A place similar to "The Hill" on CU campus. It is across the street from UT campus and contains some of the hippest stores, restaurants and shops you can find in Austin.
Current book I'm reading: Re-reading "Beloved" by Toni Morrison
Stay tuned for: "Texans Can't Backpack" and "Another Guy Tries to Pick Up Mercedes" I'm only half kidding, I think.
So I'm in Austin. Settled into my own apartment. Paintings on the walls, walk-in closet full of clothes screaming to be let out into the corporate/academic/nonprofit/activist world. All of these worlds which I'm trying desperately to enter right now are rejecting me at the moment, but I'm going to keep trying to access them nonetheless. I got a job last week as an ACTIVIST/COMMUNITY ORGANIZER with Texas Campaign for the Environment. I quit it at the end of my 8 hour day. It was not for me. On the happy sunny side, I'm starting some volunteer work soon that I'm quite excited about. Maybe some grant writing. Maybe some helping out at after school programs for disadvantaged teens. A way to get that wonderful thing called EXPERIENCE!!!
So the job-search is endless. It is an adventure every day. The jobs I'm interested in keep responding to me in the same way, it is like a broken record..."Experience! Experience!! Three years! Five years! Eight years!" they call!! And short little hippie me, I must answer: "I have none! But I'm good, I promise!"
Eventually someone will notice me in the corporate world, the publishing world, or the non-profit world. Probably when I least expect it. Until then, I'm sending out resume after resume, cover letter after cover letter, fax after fax after email email resume resume application cover letter fax email phone call resume. Repeat. It is a tedious process. I still have faith and energy though, which are excellent things to have.
Austin is fabulous. Getting down here was a doozy, to say the least. Another adventure. I guess you could say I was ready for it. I got in a horrid yet minor car accident the day before I planned to leave, but my trusty Red Honda Civic named "Lady" still ran. I planned on going down to Austin still. I was ready. I was packed. Lady seemed ok. Until I set out onto the highway, waving goodbye and crying bitter warm lovely tears, Lady suddenly begins to over-heat. The accident, needless to say, caused more damage than originally imagined. So, fortune smiled upon me as a nice tow-trucker named Troy who just happened to be at a random gas station on Speer and I-25 in Denver at 6 o clock towed my car for a mere 40 bucks back to my parent's area, Westminster, CO. He dropped it and me at a Auto Body Shop close to "home." Meanwhile, I am searching rental car places like mad, calling them up the wall trying to just get down to Austin. I mean, I had already packed, I was ready! There would be no stopping this move. I knew that was where I needed to be. And for 94 bucks a rental car got me there. And I'm here.
And the city is huge compared to anything I've ever known. There is so much going on in every nook and cranny I feel as if I can never get to know it all. The restaurants. The swimmin' holes. The hiking on greenbelts that follow beautiful rivers. The limestone that is EVERYWHERE. The CITY. "The DRAG."** All very cool things I've explored of late. I'm loving it. And yes, I know, I know, there are much bigger cities in this world, in Texas, too, but I have not lived in them.
Boulder to Austin, was, well, a culture shock. Far more of a culture shock than I expected. I didn't know that eye contact is a bad thing. A polite, no, thank you, is not enough in this town. Politeness is bad. It is, trust me. A 50 year old homeless who tried to sell me a necklace also tried picking me up because I told him "No, thank you." I was a tad shaken up, but that was nothing a little walk down the river and browse of a Women's Art Museum couldn't fix.
So, it is back to job-volunteer-life- searching for me. I'll hopefully keep you all posted on how this all goes.
Ah yes, and I couldn't end this first Texas post without a bit of sweet irony: Yes, ya'll...everything is bigger in Texas. This saying rings too true, as much as I hate saying it. Oh, the blasted irony, it stings, it stings!
So there we have it. What do ya'll think? Any suggestions on how to proceed in my life? All help is appreciated and considered.
KEY
*Yes, I ripped off the title of this post from the novel, "Everything is Illuminated" by Foer. It was a going away gift from my friend Keisha and I read on the way down to Austin, TX. Read it immediately. I have yet to encounter a piece of new fiction so mind-opening, laugh-out-loud hilarious, creative, and smart.
**A place similar to "The Hill" on CU campus. It is across the street from UT campus and contains some of the hippest stores, restaurants and shops you can find in Austin.
Current book I'm reading: Re-reading "Beloved" by Toni Morrison
Stay tuned for: "Texans Can't Backpack" and "Another Guy Tries to Pick Up Mercedes" I'm only half kidding, I think.
posted by Unknown @ 1:48 PM
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