Summer Thus Far

Well, I realized I should probably talk a little bit about what I've been DOING with my summer.

A common phrase within the last couple of years in pop culture has been the phrase "#yolo."  This phrase, for those who may not know, means You Only Live Once.  So, carpe diem? I think so.  That's how I personally interpret it.  However, when I think of a phrase that sums up my summer so far, #yolo is actually kind of appropriate.  Maybe that's just my rotted brain spent on listening to Top 40 tunes on the radio, however, there is a reason why I think #yolo and carpe diem are reasonable answers to what my overall summer experience is currently.

First of all, I haven't had a real "summer" in quite some time.  Last year I went on a week long vacation to Hawaii, which was quite lovely and wonderful.  Every other week though was spent working a fairly labor intensive job where I would finish at midnight one night and be expected back before 9 AM the next morning.  It felt like I lived at that job more than I did at home.  When I went back to school last year, I felt more exhausted than when I came home for summer after finals.

So needless to say, when I found out that I had the opportunity to go to Australia for two weeks with our university wind ensemble, I jumped all over it.  Not only had Australia been on the top of my bucket list (yes, a 20 year-old can have a bucket list, it's not a crime), but I was just excited to have a new adventure in my life.  It meant, however, that finding a job for the summer would be sticky.

I applied a few places, but nothing really came up that would allow for me to miss two weeks of summer.  It was frustrating, but understandable that companies couldn't handle someone for two months until school started again.  Oh well.  I had gotten a lead on a job before I left for Australia, however was unable to apply for it until I got back.  So, in the middle of June I came back and applied for a job at the Mariners Merchandise program.  It basically states that I go and sell things to people at the games.  The idea was to find a volunteer program in between working for the M's so I can add the hours to my resume for school.

So, that's my current state of affairs.  I work for the Mariners when they need me, and in the off time, I find things to do that will make myself feel useful. ;)

Next will start to get into some details about how my life has changed so far by my travels and experiences at my new job.

--KJ