Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Try to keep the madness low...

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a recent college graduate in possession of a temporary position must be in want of something more permanent. Unfortunately, the exhaustion of said temporary position often overrides any motivation to continue an exhaustive job search. I know it might seem terribly glamorous to infiltrate high schools, chat with teenagers who don't actually care about your college, and argue with hotel bathtubs whose stoppers don't work, but it is actually insanely draining. (Ha. I just noticed the pun. Roughly ten minutes after writing that. Oh, dear...) The standing, the waiting for someone to come to your table, the ego depleting polite answers when someone asks you why they need to take biology to be a nurse... By the end of the day, I just don't have the stamina to face the job market. Fortunately this job is a huge résumé-booster, since any position where you plaster a smile on your face and avoid sobbing over your recent graduation long enough to talk about your school translates to "sales." Who knew?

I still haven't done too much exploring of NJ. I wonder if I'll regret this later in life... I'm currently staying in a ridiculously adorable small town, which I had every intention of exploring until I drove through it more and realized that small towns are almost always the same, so I really didn't want to wander aimlessly amongst cute shops that I've basically already been in. Honestly, my favorite part of the day is driving from school to school. My GPS is a huge fan of back roads (either that or this entire area is back roads... it's entirely possible), so I get to drive up and down hills and fear for my life while looking at farms and lamenting the housing developments in construction across the street. (I'm not going to rant about McMansions here, but how many families actually need that much room? Whatever happened to houses with character? And maybe only one bedroom per person?) The other day I was driving home just before sunset and the light on a cornfield looked like something out of an Edward Hopper painting. And then I noticed the red barn and nearly wept with Americana sentimentalism. And then I noticed--I kid you not-- a hot air balloon floating above the barn. I know. It was like Norman Rockwell and the Wizard of Oz and Teddy Roosevelt were all holding hands and singing Kumbaya and making wishes on dandelions. Well done, New Jersey. Well done.

What are the rules on photography while driving?


1 comment:

  1. Not to nitpick but I'm pretty sure Teddy Roosevelt was a little more "Let me go buy my own own custom-made uniform at Brooks Brothers so I fight some Filipinos" than "making wishes on dandelions." Maybe you're thinking of Franklin?

    ReplyDelete