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.

( What's going on in the rest of my life, in list format )

Received an online notification today that I've been nominated! The website doesn't seem to say what region I've been nominated to, so I'm assuming there'll be something in the mail with that information, but I'm excited anyway that things are moving forward! The next step is to get medical and legal clearance, which will involve doctor and dentist visits (not looking forward to paying for the dental stuff), and lots and lots of paperwork. I'll continue to stalk the Peace Corps website, and the Peace Corps wiki, which has loads of good information.

Meanwhile, I'm trying to get involved here in Delta County--I'm starting to volunteer a little (more on that soon, when I have details), and just doing some other community things. Today I entered a pair of socks in the county fair. It makes me feel good to do that--like I'm joining in a tradition that's often neglected these days. Feels like the best kind of old-fashioned.

And on Sunday I'm hoping to go see a Shakespeare production up in Paonia! (The Merry Wives of Windsor.) I'm pretty excited about that--it's really cool that there are opportunities to see Shakespeare even out here. I've always said that the free plays are one thing I'll miss the most about college. (This play isn't free, but the tickets are ten bucks, which is nothing for a play.)

I'm out on the Eastern Slope visiting my dad. I drove out here yesterday because I had my interview for the Peace Corps in Denver today. It seemed to go quite well! I'm pretty sure didn't do anything too stupid, although I did end a handful of sentences with, "But, um . . ." I also got a much better idea of what I might end up doing, and where. My recruiter is looking at English teaching positions in a bunch of regions--she had me pick a few preferences, and after some deliberation, I chose Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and North Africa.

With a Peace Corps application, after your interview, you get a nomination to a program and region. Then you have to go through medical clearance (my impression is that this is the longest/most frustrating part), and finally you get an invitation to a specific assignment in a specific country. (My recruiter said that about 65 or 70% of the time, it's the same region as the nomination, but not always.)

Anyway, my recruiter said she's doing nominations on Monday, so I might know something by the end of next week. Fingers crossed!

Also, now that I'm out of college and have time to chat, I'm gonna try to start using AIM again, provided I can find an IM client I like. I'm middlemuse on AIM, and, as always, I'm museofastronomy on Gmail/Google chat (that's the most reliable way to reach me).