Late night, come home, Work sucks, I know...

ATTENTION: 20 somethings, if you are college educated and enjoy your current job more than having your mother do your laundry or happy hours, raise your hand.

I'm going to assume that those of you with your hand raise (you can put them down now) are few and far between. BUT if you did have your hand raised, I congratulate you... well more like envy you. Lucky biotches.

I came out of college waving my degree in the air and tooting my horn loudly for all to hear. I expected all employers to flock to 'us' like pigeons to bread crumbs. The crumbs I threw must have been stale or perhaps had an unsavory flavor. I went on many job interviews and was a little shocked at what employers offered, and also what they asked of me. I found that my degree did not equal experience (no matter how long it took me to complete it). To be honest, hearing that my education wasn't valid, in an interview, insulted me and my degree. Then, after belittling my education, the employer would offer me a salary that, although above minimum wage, I could not live off of while paying student loans and car payments. Who were these people who worked there now? Turns out they were all either post-grads who still lived with their parents or women who were married with grown children and just wanted an extra income. I did not fall into either of those categories.

Sweet, now what?

I have found that during this economy, a lot of post-grads choose their first full-time jobs based on a few specifics. First of those is salary. It's all about the Benjamins baby! If Diddy remade that song now, it would be titled 'All About the Jacksons'. We finally have independence, a.k.a., we finally have our own bills to pay on top of our student loans. Oh and that car mom & dad gave us for our 16th birthday/graduation/handed down, is on its last few miles. Second are benefits. Now that could either mean health benefits, or fringe benefits. These days a lot of companies offer discounts at fitness centers, and on cell phone plans which are something we look for as perks. Another big bonus is the offer of tuition assistance, which is a perk for us and the employer. Lastly, the final major reason for choosing our first grown-up job is its location. Maybe you want to move from a small town to a big city (like me), or somewhere warmer, or closer to a friend/relative/significant other? Perhaps you chose that job because it is close to home for you?

With that being said, notice that none of those top three reasons included 'because it's what I've always wanted to do' or 'this is what I have been working towards all those years in college'. I don't know about you guys, but that's what I expected to say of my first job. I hadn't thought how unrealistic my expectations were. This realization blindsided me when I read an article on Huffington Post by Christine Hassler. The article was titled "Are 20 Somethings Naively Optimistic About Their Careers?" Clearly, I figured that it was written specifically for me. To give a quick synopsis, Hassler recalls her own experiences of being unsatisfied with jobs she thought would be her career, and gives us angry 20 somethings a wake up call that your first jobs won't be your dream job. She reminded me that we will have to pay our dues, and that could mean starting at the bottom, or working entry level jobs to gain experience.

Here is a little tidbit of informatin about me, I am probably the most impatient person on earth. When I know what I want, I have to have it now! That makes this whole 'paying my dues', and 'gaining experience' thing is killing me... softly. For me, I don't know what my dream job will be, and the fact that I might have to wait 10 years to find out, well that just isn't cool. Nevertheless, I am gritting my teeth and doing the best that I can at whatever job I currently hold.

So my advice to those of you who did not raise your hand, make yourself comfortable, but be ready for what comes next. Constantly challenge yourself in your current job, even the smallest victory can make you feel better. In the meantime, I have kept myself entertained by holding a volunteer position within my sorority. This position allows me to stay close to something that I enjoyed being a part of as a collegiate. I also signed up for an improv class. I'm sure you'll be reading something about that. Fill your downtime with activities, and people that you enjoy. Like my blog! It allows me vent, and doubles as an effortless hobby. P.S. It's free.

Keep your heads up 20 somethings, our time will come.

When I grow up, I wanna have...

GROUPIES! No, what about... a road map to my goals? Is that too much to ask for?

"I can feel the Pressure, it's getting closer now..." - Paramore's Pressure


As the sands fall from the hourglass on my 25th year of life, I have been feeling some pressure to "figure things out". What I mean by that is my career, relationship, identity - basically where I'm going/plan to be in life. Even that sentence is overwhelming. For the record, I do not handle stress well at all. Although I relish the idea of following my instincts towards a life where I enjoy each new day, I'm apprehensive to embark on that journey without a solid plan for each challenge.

Maybe I'm overreacting a little? I could be overanalyzing, or trying way too hard to control the uncontrollable. This is most likely true, and to tell you the truth, this is completely out of character for me. I usually make decisions on impulse, wait until the last minute of a deadline, and buy something I don't need because it's packaged nicely. (Good marketing should always be rewarded.) However, I have always been told that in order to be successful, at anything, you need to be organized. I'm getting a bit off topic, I digress.


I believe that where we are today is a direct result of a path that we chose to take. For example, my dad had worked in the coal mines for years alongside his father. My dad chose the path to begin working right out of high school mainly because he disliked school. He was on this path for a while, and worked hard enough to become the boss underground. My father continued on this path for a while, until he came to a point where a new path had appeared. My father could decide to continue on the path he was on, following the footsteps of his father, or go down this unbeaten path that no one in his family had taken before. Eventually my dad chose to go down the new path that leads him towards a Bachelors degree in special education.

Now I am not naive enough to think that everyone will come across a shiny new path like my dad. Some are forced to stay on their current path for job security, or they choose to stay on that path because they like where it is heading.

I have thought about the paths that I have come across. I have already chosen the different paths a few times. I changed my major, altered my graduation date, and then after graduation, moved to a larger city to live on my own (against the wishes of my parents). There were both positive and negative effects to my decisions. When it comes down to it, the decisions I have made have lead me to where I am today, take it or leave it. Ha!

So, here I am. Where? Well if this was a mall directory, the star that says "You are HERE" would be at the intersection of one path meeting three new ones. I believe that the path I'm on is about to end and I need to choose which to take. None of these paths are going to be easy, and I'm pretty sure they're all uphill. I have never been a big fan of extreme exercise, but I'm still excited for what's ahead.

To Be Continued…

"A blog is like a diary, but you want everyone to read it. Like if you get bad service at a restaurant, you blog it and then you get a free meal at that restaurant. But then you wonder, did they just lure me back here so they could spit in my food? So you blog that and then they take you to court." - The great Busy Philipps as Laurie on Cougar Town

Hot like Mexico, Rejoice!

Ladies and Gents, I am a survivor. A spring break abroad survivor. I will give you a brief synopsis of my venture to Meh-he-co...

I was asked by 2 of my sorority sisters to accompany them to Florida for Spring Break, nothing too wild, just a getaway to warmer temperatures and some drinks by the yard. Sounded harmless enough. Before I knew it, we had gotten another one of our sisters on board and now we were headed for Mexico instead. Not sure how that happened, but it was ok. I had somehow convinced my parents to pay for it as an early graduation gift. They didn't know it was going to be a year and a half early.

So off we were, passports in hand. It was amazing. We went to fun clubs, danced on stages, competed in stupid spring break contests, and wore shirts as dresses. Each of us had "our night" where we were a disaster. Each of us found a guy to entertain us, and tried all sorts of frozen drinks. We danced on a huge stage and saw spiderman fly through the air. I almost won a hottest legs contest and another one of us had to paddle a guy's bare ass. We met Canadians, we met guys from England, and we hung out with some kids in sperry's from Yale. It was such a fun experience, I don't think that if I returned, Cancun would ever be as I remembered.

So my advice to the co-eds out there planning on going on a Spring Break trip:

1. DON'T buy new clothes - you're going to get sand in places you'd rather not, so just choose some picture appropriate attire and an outfit for both day and night. Remember, you're going to be lounging around, and you probably won't ever see those people again.


2. DO tan before - if you plan on coming back tan and not red, you need to get a good base tan so you're skin is ready for that much exposure (ahem, northerners...)


3. DO save up for your trip - Even if you're staying at an all-inclusive resort, expect to pay for: tips, drinks, cover, souvenirs, any activities that you will want to do (ie. party bus, club tours, swimming with dolphins) ALSO: know the exchange rate!! you might get ripped off if not. and it costs extra to run a credit card.


4. DON'T go with a large group - it's too hard to coordinate where everyone is going to be and whether or not everyone will want to do the same thing. I suggest going with a few close friends and maybe meeting up with other groups, but doing your own things.


5. DON'T try to out drink everyone - that's a little selfish. You're friends want to enjoy their vacation too not pick you up off the floor, and what's worse than dealing with foreign police? remember Americans aren't their favorite.


6. DO try something new - step out of your comfort zone, you're on vacation! Go para sailing, swim with dolphins, eat octopus (not my favorite). It's a once in a lifetime opportunity, take lots of pictures and don't' explain anything!

Ain't no rest for the wicked

Bri's first 10 Bucket List:

1. become fluent in a second language
2. visit Italy
3. fly first class
4. put my feet in the pacific ocean
5. learn all the words to Bare Naked Ladies' One Week
6. Drive a stick... i sort of know how, although have never driven outside of a parking lot.
7. do stand up
8. sing in front of an audience
9. attempt to be on a reality show
10. Get another tattoo

Nobody likes you when you're 23.

I would rather go back to 23 right now than settle for what I've got at 25.

I recently purchased a book from the 'self-help' aisle of Barnes and Noble. This felt straight out of that Sex and the City episode where Charlotte purchases starting over, yet again. The people in the aisle looked like they had been crying for months. There were titles like "it's OK, you can do this", or "grab life by the balls damn it!".


I was originally in this section looking for a book about the phenomena of the Quarter-life crisis. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I believe i am going through a crisis.


Wikipedia says this: "A crisis is any event that is, or expected to lead to, an unstable and dangerous situation affecting an individual, group, community or whole society. Crises are deemed to be negative changes in the security, economic, political, societal or environmental affairs, especially when they occur abruptly, with little or no warning. More loosely, it is a term meaning 'a testing time' or an 'emergency event'."


Also on the Quarter life crisis; "In the context of the quarter-life crisis, however, they occur shortly after a young person – usually an educated professional, in this context – enters the "real world". After entering adult life and coming to terms with its responsibilities, some individuals find themselves experiencing career stagnation or extreme insecurity. The individual often realizes the real world is tougher, more competitive and less forgiving than she/he imagined."*


Yep. Sounds about right. We spend 4 years (5 in my case) in school working our butts off to get great grades and learn all that we can about our chosen career path. We have created countless powerpoint presentations, seen times of the day that we didn't know existed, typed 30 page papers, and 10 page bibliographies, learned about subjects that we'll never use again, spent tens of thousands of dollars that we don't have! All of this for a piece of paper, that doesn't even seem to be worth much anymore.


That is a hard pill to swallow. I am going to be in debt for the next 10 years at least, and not much to show for it. I was bright eyed and bushy tailed thinking that a starting salary would be somewhere around $40k. Could I be more wrong? (in the best chandler voice I could have).


I digress.


Your 20's were what you looked forward to as a teenager. These are the ages that everyone says they would want to go back to. Adults in their 30's and 40's envy us. So why are we so unhappy, unsatisfied, and wondering what's wrong? We were supposed to get all of our angst out in our teenage years by listening to angry music. Maybe it has something to do with the break up of *NSYNC or the demise of Britney Spears? If they can't keep it together after 21, then who really can?

So my crisis manual is saying that we (20-somethings) need to accept the fact that we aren't going to automatically have the ideal anything just yet. So, how long is it going to take then? I've got things to do in the meantime! We have to pay your dues in order to get where we want and be patient. I thought those dues were tuition?

It's good to know that I'm not the only one freaking out about where my life is right now, and where it doesn't seem to be going.

Expect more on this topic, for now, I say we blame it on all the Disney Stars that went wrong. deal?

I'm bigger than my body gives me credit for...

I grew up in a small town. I went to a high school that was next to an ice cream stand, and a corn field. Most likely, you're parents went to the same high school, if not one nearby. After graduation, most of my classmates jumped onto a well beaten career path. I chose the path to go to a 4-year college. From my graduating class of 63, about 20-some of us went to college the following fall. Half went to the local community college, our valedictorian went Ivy League, and the other half went on to well known Universities.


That was just the next step. With the influence of family and friends, you chose a path. The path we chose depended on who our parents were, and what our friends were doing also. So for me, that was the logical next step in my life. After graduation, the next step for me, was to move to the city. I so longed for more hustle and bustle in my life. I also moved for more opportunities.


Now, after being in Pittsburgh for almost 2 years, I find myself wanting even more. I blame all of this on my trip to visit a sorority sister in NYC this past October.


Once all of those places (30 Rock, Trump Tower, The Plaza, etc.) became real, tangible, and in front of my face, I felt so ambitious and driven to become a part of this little area of the world. The weekend I spent there was so much more than meeting up with old friends and having a good time. My eyes were opened and I realized that the world had so much more to offer. Most importantly, I realized that I want it.



So as I'm contemplating my next move, I realize that I don't want to fall in line with the rest of us 20-somethings who are trying to get promoted at their current job, or working for tips or commission while trying to obtain a higher paying job. I'm not exactly sure where this step is leading me, but I know this is the one i should be taking.

What's Time got to do with it?

via rinkworks.com

"Twenty-three is the best age because you know the person forever by then!" - Cam age 10

Oh Cam, I wonder if you're 23 yet? When I was Cam's age, I thought the exact same thing! My mother gave birth to me when she was 23, and I used to think she was an older mother. First, let me say KUDOS to my mother. I was the biggest brat as a child and you spoiled me rotten.

As you know, I am now 25 (and a half), with no children. If I had a child right now (either accident or planned) I have absolutely no idea how I would manage!! My first car that I purchased is a 2-door and in order to afford it, I have to pay on it for the next 7 years! I have about 5 pairs of shoes, a George Foreman Grill, and a snow shovel in my backseat. CLEARLY no room for a carseat.

Now don't get me wrong, "I die for kids" (Rachel Zoe). I am too selfish right now to have to tend to a child's needs. It just would not be fair to the little babe.

So I guess my question to everyone out there is, Do we really know when the 'right time' is? Or does it just happen, and that's God's way of saying, NOW it's you're turn!

Don't worry folks, someday I am going to have enough children for my own soccer team, but my boys won't play soccer, fall is Football season. Unless they are the kicker, then they can play both.

I'm leaving you with a picture of my friend Beth's adoreable little boy, Brady. He is now rocking the off the shoulder look. Sometimes, you're just too cool for both sleeves. Own it Bradylicious!

really? this is it? you must be joking.

Children immitate adults whenever they 'pretend' play. They play that they are ironing clothes. They pretend to bathe and feed their babies. They play that they are getting ready for work, or preparing the family dinner.

Uh, i'm going to call B.S. on that one. Why don't children play "which bill am i going to pay this month" or "interview that I thought went well, but turns out they think I'm not qualified enough" or even "mommy has to work 2 jobs because daddy was laid off"? Children immitate their parents, yet no one is playing "divorced family christmas".

Welcome to reality little ones.

I guess that I would consider myself in the real world for about a year and a half now, since graduating college, and I find myself asking (to whom it may concern):
Really? This is it?
I was expecting to have a job that I enjoyed, live in a comfy little apartment, and my only worry would be who I was going out with that weekend.
Maybe I've watched too much Sex and The City?
So here I am, at a job that I am at because I need the money, not because it's what I studied for 5 years, or because this is what I have always wanted to do.
I do have a nice apartment, but it's drafty, and way too expensive for how small it is. Not to mention the ghetto girl across the street and her pals smoking weed and drinking 40s in the alley, aka right under our bedroom window. BUT it is a 2 bedroom in Mount Washington, for under $800. So i can't complain too much.
My only worry is money, money, and money... How much do I have right now? Do I have enough to pay my car payment, rent, utilities, gas, parking pass, student loan payment, groceries, ETC!

I miss those days, when being a grown up meant wearing your mom's high heels, lipstick, and attempting to pour your own cereal.


I wish the real world, would just stop hassling me. - Matchbox 20 "Real World"