dear maryland.

Dear Maryland,

I'm going to be frank. Why don't you install some street lights? There aren't sea turtles for 100 miles.

-me

commute: then and now

Then.












Now.













Then: London, UK.
Now: Maryland, USA.

to those this who read for philosophical and or intellect thoughts: sorry i've been so disappointing lately.

to those who read because they know me: I am employed. I have moved to Maryland. I (finally) got a car. I am currently in the market for friends.

me and media

I don't care if google takes over the world, as long as there is still gmail, gchat and google search engine.

I'm a voracious podcast listener. I subscribe and regularly listen to upwards of half a dozen podcasts.

Twitter is just weird.

I can't get enough of good blogs.

you know them

In my head, I think of them as "pastel words".

If you maintain a somewhat-girly blog, or if you read what they write, you know.

To have the right aura, you need the right words.

The goal is to sound engaging yet intelligent, maintaining the ultimate goal: to be charming on a computer screen. Most of the time, they are. But it still forces a search for adjectives.

As a reference, any of these will maintain that charming read:

adorable
autumn (opt for this over "fall")
crush
dreaming
enchanting
inspiration
magical
mish-mash
musings
obsessed
purple
rad -believe it or not
revel
sweet
whimsical

Please notice this is roughly alphabetized.

this time last year.

I had just become arrived in London, UK.

I had been waiting so long to see Tower Bridge and the Tower of London.

(photo by my old roommate, Stephanie)

best kids books EVER

babar

miffy

madeline

if you give a mouse a cookie

frog and toad

tea.

early grey.

dusting of sugar.

drip of half and half.

For some reason coffee hasn't been appealing to me, so it's tea all the way.


This intellectually stimulating post is brought to you by a recently-become 9 to 5 girl.

zooey deschanel

I admit that one of the things I am looking forward to, as part of getting back into the working world, is the business-professional attire required.

Whoever did the wardrobe and design for Zooey Deschanel in 500 Days of Summer wins. That is a look that would be awesome to channel.





image source

image source

how cool is google?

This was the google homepage yesterday.

The circles ran around the page and then settled in to the google logo, but stirred up again when you moved the cursor over it.

are you too busy?

I'm busy with weird things.

Not too busy, though, because you can't be too busy when you're not employed.

I've been job searching, car searching, interviewing, and now I have a job offer! Hopefully stable living conditions and my own place will soon follow.

Things I'm most looking forward to:

owning my own car again.
having a coffee maker perpetually sitting on the counter, making coffee.
have a closet so i can organize my stuff.
pulling my belongings out of boxes and settling in.

I know, I'm such a girl. It's true.

when i'm away.

It's nice to see family.
It's frustrating being away from friends.

Here's to hoping a compromise here soon!

how to... write for job-getting

My preamble for this post is that I don't know what I'm talking about. I'm just thinking through how I've written coverletters in the past and how I'm writing them currently and how I think I should be writing them.

Please don't mistake this for advice.

Coverletters.

My writing in general is nothing to brag about. Yet. It works, it's usually grammatically correct, and it usually makes sense. I'm working on it. My plan is to keep writing and eventually be a tantalizing writer.

Thus far, in my job-pursuing writing, I have erred on the side of being too professional. When I'm applying for jobs, it usually involves multiple people, layers of hierarchy, and attaching documents for emails. I have no complaints with this system, but because of it I tend to also sound professional and cool. Though I hope I don't slide into bland.

Now into something like my dozenth cover letter in this season of job searching, I am beginning to self-assess. I've also consulted my brother who does grant writing for a living. For my own writing, I've concluded:

- More explanation. Explain in vivid, simple language what each item means
- More details. Mention relevant projects and duties in the cover letter. I usually reserved much of this for the resume.
- More of me. Sincerely explain why I want this job.

I'm trying to embrace the difficulty of crafting an eye-catching coverletter. I like how the structure is less rigid than a resume. As I learn how to compose a better letter, this freedom should end up to my benefit.

playing with filters

1. Tred Avon River in Maryland

2. Eastern Shore of Maryland

3. Rocky Mountains