My life at present
I'm not very good about posting here anymore, am I? You should probably blame my awesome friends, who hear most of the ideas and stories I have to tell via instant messenger, which means I'm not left with a strong urge to write about them here on my LJ. Also, when I'm not stressed out, I have less to process here.

Anyway, I feel like I should record the information that I am now officially a Sales Associate at Walmart in the Jewelry Department. I have . . . mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, I need the money very badly. (Living on $200 a month all summer was . . . interesting.) And my coworkers in the Jewelry Department are all quite pleasant and fun. In fact, the work atmosphere is surprisingly pleasant, at least on the human end.

But then, you've got the corporate end. And that's not so fun. I've had to sit through hours and hours of what they call CBLs (computer-based learning)--it's basically a Powerpoint slide narrated by a very bored voice actor, with a quiz at the end. Some of them are to convey important information (like how to pierce ears or operate a cash register), but a lot of them are just corporate policies for convincing the employees that Walmart cares about them. For example, they REQUIRED me to go in and work up a 'career plan' for my time at Walmart. Sam Walton said, "You don't have to leave Walmart to change careers." . . . seriously, the rest of my life at Walmart? I would rather stab my eyes out.

Then there's the obvious downsides, like spending eight hours inside of a Walmart. Brr.


Also, now that college is over and the rest of my life is beginning, I'm trying to write again. I'm find it very difficult to write every day, even though I have this conviction that I should. I'm trying not to stress too much about it, because I was stressing about it, and that made me even less productive. Instead, I'm setting a few goals. My writing plans for the rest of this year are pretty non-demanding. I have two projects:

1) I plan to submit a story based on the Bacchae to this anthology. Several of my college friends are also submitting. The rough draft of that story needs to be done by October 31.

2) I'm doing NaNoWriMo again! I know what novel I'll be writing--it's one that's been lurking in my mind for . . . gosh, something like seven years now. It's time to get it OUT of there. So, November will be devoted to that novel, which is codenamed Project Cassie, although none of the characters are named Cassie.

I also have a few fiber-related goals and deadlines for the rest of the year:

1) Baby blanket for afghans for Afghans, which I hope to send off by the end of October.

2) Gloves for bootheeling (Leslie, would you like to drop me an e-mail? I'm museofastronomy on gmail. I'd like to get the yarn ordered!)

3) Spinning for and knitting a sweater for my mom by Christmas. (I have about a quarter of the spinning done at this point, so I may be stretching to meet this deadline, but . . . it's going to be a really nice sweater, anyway.)

4) Small Christmas presents for my brother and dad (only immediate family members are getting knitted presents this year)

5) Need to keep my Etsy store stocked, especially as the holidays draw nearer (see, if you're a knitter, basically everything after August is time to worry about Christmas)

I'm also working on a sweater for myself, but it's not really high on my priority list right now. It'll get done when it gets done.

Other things I have going on:

1) Volunteering with Meth Free Delta County (although I'm still in training)

2) Still proofreading the local newspaper one day a week; I appreciate the job all the more now that I'm also working at Walmart.

3) Still working on my Peace Corps application. I have dentist and doctor appointments right now to get my medical clearance started. (I had to wait until I had a job, or I wouldn't be able to pay. No insurance.) I also need to get in touch with the counselor at Sweet Briar, because I said on my application I'd seen a therapist, so now I have to go through all this rigamorole to prove I'm not crazy or disturbed or anything. They're making me write an essay, no joke. Grumble.

4) Occasionally trying to drop in and proofread a few pages at Distributed Proofreaders. It's such a low-stress way to volunteer, and I'm good at proofreading.