Top 5 (lists)

I just spent Thursday through today down at my parents house, including a trip into NYC to see my sister.   I was really happy to get out of town for this Columbus Day weekend.  I lucked out and had great driving weather, and it was close to summer temperatures in NY this weekend!  Saturday, my sister and I went to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden and walked through leisurely.  I was not wearing the best shoes and my feet were killing me and she was already sick and feeling drained, so we grabbed a bite and took the subway back to her place.  We ended up taking the train back to our parents house that same night because we were both beat and figured why not.  I spent Sunday revamping my resume, researching for grad school, and looking for jobs.  I also am in the second season of MadMen via Netflix streaming!  I was sad to see my sister go Sunday night and I wasn't feel too enthusiastic about the almost four hour drive back upstate, but again the weather was nice and I rode most of the way with no music on, the windows down and enjoying the colors of Autumn.

Top 5 things I take for granted living in Ithaca:
1. The Farmer's Market
2. The waterfalls
3. How close everything is
4. How inexpensive it is to get around town.
5. Gimme coffee

Top 5 things I have scheduled for this week:
1. Hit the gym hard including personal training session Wednesday afternoon
2. Follow up about an email I sent & call person about job search stuff & hopefully meet with her again
3. Meet with different person at IC about grad school searching/applications
4. Meet with old professor about her experience at Binghamton University
5. Get tattoo!

Top 5 FUN Things to do before the first snow:
1. Go apple picking
2. Bake numerous delicious treats w/ said apples
3. Have an all girl poker night
4. Go for a hike &/or bike ride
5. Search for, buy, and paint my nails this new Essie color! Every time I've gone to buy it they are sold out!

What are your top 5 fun things to do before the first snowfall? What are the top 5 things you take for granted where you live?  What are the top 5 things you have to do this week?  How did you spend you Columbus Day weekend?  Comment below or email me shapedbymylife@gmail.com

Unemployment Stays At 9.1%

I woke up and read the headline of the NY Times article, Job Growth at Halt in August; Worst Showing in 11 Months, and being a person in that percentage, it's a bit disconcerting.

"The flat performance in the job market was down sharply from a revised 85,000 gain of jobs in July, the Labor Department said Friday, and was far below a consensus forecast by economists of 60,000. The unemployment rate stayed constant at 9.1 percent in August....There seems to be a consensus among economists that the United States will skirt a double-dip recession but that growth will linger at levels barely perceptible, much less comforting, to Americans without jobs.“We’ve got at least another 12 months of difficulty to go through,” said Steven Ricchiuto, United States economist for Mizuho Securities USA. “I know that doesn’t help politicians who are worried about the elections.”

Why should anything help the politicians?  I could care less what helps them; the politicians are supposed to be the voice of the people and act in our behalf.  But why should the politicians really worry, it's all a game of who can buy who.  I'm sick of the extremist Christians stronghold on the Republican party, and lack of enthusiasm from either parties when it comes to actually making things happen.  We can all talk about change for days, weeks, months on end, and while talking is vital to have clear communication about intentions and motives, it's action that actually creates change. 

"But several economists said that given the fragility of the recovery, the payroll tax cut and extended unemployment benefits, both set to expire at the end of the year, should be renewed."  

Yes, please renew unemployment benefits.  For the most anyone can get weekly collecting is $400, what would be considered just enough to get by in most places, and I collect under half of that a week.  By no means is any of this money needed toward anything.  As a working person who doesn't work at the moment, I paid into this system so if something like this were to happen, I could collect benefits.  In light of the times, how can they revoke assistance?  If people are looking for jobs, but jobs aren't available, or people are being discriminated against, ie people are putting stipulations that you are still employed looking for work or that you have only been out of work a short period of time, then what are people left to do?  If extensions aren't given, it's only increasing the population of people who will take to the streets with signs, not because they want to, but because desperate times call for desperate measures.  Is this how we take care of our own?  One big reason why I have decided going back to school to learn something that I can find work in, I know I'm capable and I want to be a productive member of society; part of the solution to making this the kind of world I want to live in: compassionate, tolerant, loving.  On that note, one week until I take the GRE's.

Are you working?  Are you out of work?  Have you collected or are you collecting benefits?  Are you in grad school?  Why did you decide to continue your education or go back to school?  Comment below or email me shapedbymylife@gmail.com

Tuesday the Twenty-Third in Pictures

We ran out of coffee at the house, so I had tea this morning.  I stopped drinking coffee for a year, but I have been drinking it again for about a year or two and now starting my day without it just isn't the same.  I have also gone from not being able to fall asleep, and restless sleep throughout the night to sleeping about 11 hours every night this week!  I needed my coffee fix!  After lunch with my friend Danya and mailing out a package, we headed to gimme on state street.

 She got hers to go and I settled into the back booth and got to work.

After writing vocab cards and studying for 3 hours I hit my limit and left; headed to one of the many parks for a few moments to regroup before heading to meet some other people for an hour and then home.  I made the same simple meal I made last night.  I can eat the same thing for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, day in and day out when I'm pmsing/pmdding.  I made the same simple meal I made last night, with a different kind of pasta tonight.

(Your choice of pasta, sliced tomatoes, basil or parsley. feta cheese, olive oil. Delicious!)

 Finishing the day with some of the blueberry crumb I made, with some cool whip, a little more studying, then reading in bed.

What did you do today? Are you still on summer vacation or working?  Did you cook dinner, call delivery, or eat out?  What is your favorite simple meal to make?  Comment below or email me shapedbymylife@gmail.com

Every Day is Study Day

I took the weekend off from writing any blog pieces because I am drained from studying for the GREs.  I have just under a month until I take them; between writing vocab cards, sentences, writing samples, practice quizzes, I didn't have the energy to write anything substantial, and I still don't.  I am glad that a friend of mine, who actually registered first, is also taking them the same day/place, so we are keeping each other accountable to stay disciplined with our studying.  Here are two practice quizzes; see how you do.

Pair 'Em Up In each of these lists, [circle] the two words that are most similar in meaning.  The other word may be an opposite, or may not be related at all.

1. avaricious   penurious    garrulous

2. indolent           pious    phlegmatic

3. glib                pithy    fundamental

4. plaintive      melancholy    pristine

5. quaff                abstain         satiate

  6. cacophony         din       mellifluous

7. stymie               impute    filibuster

8. laconic         loquacious       prolix

9. inimical   malevolent    inimitable

10. disabuse         beguile            dupe

Antonyms  Match each word in the first column with the word in the second that is most nearly OPPOSITE in meaning.

1. dearth                   a. rare

2. assuage                b. unhealthful

3. volatile                 c. false

4. torpid                   d. condemnation

5. ubiquitous           e. abundance

6. adulation             f. incite

7. disinterested       g. wither

8. salubrious           h. constant

9. unfeinged           i. energetic

10. burgeon            j. biased

Another medium I have always loved to work in is photography.  I've had the habit of keeping my camera on me at all times so when I want to snap the moment, I can.  Ithaca Art has a "mission" posted everyday. 

Saturday, August 13th: Bikes

"High Speed Bikes" by L.A. Illiano

"Forgotten Bike" by L.A. Illiano

Sunday, August 14th: Wild Animals

"The Ripple Effect" by L.A. Illiano

Are you studying for the GREs?  Did you take the GREs?  What is/has been your experience with test taking?  Comment below!  Questions, Comments, or Concerns, you can also send me an email: shapedbymylife@gmail.com

Question Marks

"You have to go to considerable trouble to live differently from the way the world wants you to live. That's what I've discovered about writing. The world doesn't want you to do a damn thing. If you wait till you got time to write a novel or time to write a story or time to read the hundred thousands of books you should have already read -- if you wait for the time, you'll never do it. Cause there ain't no time; world don't want you to do that. World wants you to go to the zoo and eat cotton candy, preferably seven days a week." 
-- Harry Crews

Nine graduate schools applied to and with nine rejection letters received, the univers(ities) are telling me my plan to go to graduate school in the Fall is not going to happen. I thought losing my job a few days before Christmas was aiding in this next step in my life.  However, as things usually go, I don't get to know as I'm going through it, as I'm applying to jobs and focusing on my workout routine, as I'm wondering why I ever thought being friends with an ex-boyfriend was possible, as I pack up and move yet again, as I begin to research programs in a different field altogether, looking to combine various interests and passions into one, I don't get to know now.  My life has continuously been trying to figure out the answers before the question mark is clear.  Time and time again I am reminded and humbled that I have to live life forward, and only begin to understand bits and pieces of it backwards.  

So, one day at a time, that's what I'm doing. Thinking and ruminating about the why's, the what if's, the how's, it's human and it's necessary to a point, but then comes the time to take action.  And when my thinking is stuck in fear, doubt, indecision, the thing I have learned is to move a muscle, change a thought.  Sometimes it's as simple as doing the laundry or washing the dishes, sometimes it's getting outside to work in the yard or wash my car, other times it's working out, going for a walk or practicing yoga.  The questions doing go away, they just don't scream as loudly, and I'm not trapped by fear or angry at not getting what I want, or what I thought I wanted.  Sometimes, it's allowing myself to let go of what the perpetual 15 year old in me still wants and allowing myself to accept that what I want now is not the same, and being ok with that. 

Coffee and Unemployment

The other night I created a sister blog to this one on tumblr: Shaped By My Life.  It's not that I won't post pictures on here, but I wanted a space where I could post pictures I take myself and also pictures I find interesting, erotic, beautiful, and important.  I am still figuring out the design of this page--for now there is a link on the right-hand side of this page--so patience and also suggestions are greatly appreciated.

It is a difficult time of year for many in this region; more grey days and bitter cold temperatures--we are supposed to have a high of five degrees on Saturday--can drive people into seasonal depression, also known as seasonal affective disorder.  Not having a routine can really add to this if I allow all of the unknowns in my life right now to be a nonstop flashing neon sign in my mind.  Making a schedule for myself on a day to day basis is extremely helpful.  Living a few blocks away from one of the many local coffee shops, Gimme!, is a great way to not isolate inside my attic bedroom.

I was let go from my job of three and a half years three days before Christmas and am in the process of seeking financial assistance, while I look for work.  I have applied for unemployment and am waiting to find out if/when I will get anything from them.  I went to Tompkins Community Action today for help and was told there is a three year wait for section 8.  Clearly, that is too long being that the first of February is fast approaching and I need to be able to pay my rent now.  I have filled out forms for food stamps and will ask my landlord to fill out an assistance form so hopefully when I make the dreaded but necessary walk to DSS on Monday, I can get some more information and hopefully, help.  It is a humbling experience, and very frustrating at times, but we do not live in an era where graduating from college creates any more job security than if you don't.

Almost six years since graduating, I have just completed applications to grad school; ten schools total, so my days have been filled with a lot of "paperwork" (most of the applications were online). As stressful as the process was, with each school having several pages of information, different deadlines, and varying specificity for the statement of purpose and portfolio, now my days are filled with a lot of waiting.  I have never been good at waiting...