Why job hunting is a terrible job...

I have a grievance to air...it's personal to me, and, it seems it's probably also personal to about 1 in 2 Americans in my age bracket.  I feel as though ever since I returned from the Peace Corps in 2009, I have been what I refer to as semi-employed...I almost always have a job (or two) and I am almost always looking for a different one, because I spent nearly $100,000 on a college education that I would someday like to have the privilege of using, and perhaps even someday finish paying for...  And here's the advice I have been given time and time again (and the grievance that I'd like to air) by everyone from career counselors to friends, to online articles and job boards:  "Job hunting is, in itself, a full time job" and "Treat finding a job like it is your job" and "Make your job hunt into your job, create schedules and goals and adhere to them strictly."  Great advice!  Except, even if you are only treating job-hunting as a part-time job (which of course is more realistic, since you get no benefits, no paid vacations, and are not invited to a single company party) and even if you make your own schedule, and don't adhere to it strictly, it's still the worst job you will ever have to endure for any period of time.

Lets say job hunting is my job, I am a professional job hunter, by trade.  Lets follow this comparison through, shall we:  I get up in the morning, get dressed, and have a cup of coffee.  Then I go to work and sit down in front of my computer, the project I have currently been assigned at work is to find and fill out applications for jobs, right?  So I begin by checking my email, voicemail, and linkedin account to see if any I have had any luck on any of my previous applications, then I move on to hitting all the usual suspects, monster.com, careerbuilder.com, usajobs.gov, and then state and local government employment sites; then I check out linkedin jobs, read any job board emails that I am a part of, etc.  This is mostly just getting caught up on any new openings, since I have already done all of this yesterday morning.  From this reconnaissance work I come up with a list of 2 or 3 (if I'm lucky)  jobs that are (1) at least somewhat applicable to my experience, (2) still accepting applications, and (3) somewhere that I would be willing to move to.  So I take this list and begin crafting resumes and cover letters for each one, which can take anywhere from several hours to a few days, depending on how much I need to edit one of my existing resumes to make it applicable, and also if it is any kind of government job I will also have to complete the entire application, re-enter all of my employment history, answer the questionnaire, attach transcripts, and all that fun stuff.  So that's not so bad right?  Every day you go to work with the same objective, you follow the same steps, and you systematically apply yourself to anything and everything you might be capable of.  

Here's why that's awful: Can you imagine going to work every day, doing essentially the same project every day, learning from your mistakes, improving your process, finding jobs that really inspire you, spending all day crafting just the right resume and cover letter, and almost never getting anything in return except polite  excuses for not hiring you?  It's a full time (or part time, depending on your level of dedication) job of nothing but negative feed back.  I spend my days applying only to jobs that I could really see myself wanting, I dream about being a part of that office, completing the tasks described, living in that town, using my skills and talents and education to solve problems, complete tasks, I really pour my heart and soul into this stuff and then I will literally hear from maybe 1 in 25 of them if I am lucky.  Some of them don't want me because I'm too far away, because they want someone local, because I don't have enough experience, because I have too much experience, because I move around so much (I go where I can get a job...so sue me), because someone who already works there is moving into the position and they were just advertising it out of formality, because I didn't call to follow up, because I did call to follow up, because I don't care enough about money, because I seem too eager, because I'm not eager enough, because I'm too young, because I'm an environmentalist, because I am too liberal, because I am not liberal enough, because I attached my references as a document instead of putting them in the text of my cover letter, and so on and so forth.  Some of them will send me a letter saying "Oh hey you're great, and it's not you, it's us.  You sound really super duper though (I'm paraphrasing a bit here...) and we'd love it if you keep applying to our company over and over again because we will not remember you next time we're hiring and you'll have to re-do the entire exact same application all over again to even be considered for future opportunities with this company..."  Most of them will never say anything at all.  

I have gotten a few job offers over the years, obviously I got my AmeriCorps position and this spring I landed a pretty sweet (albeit unpaid) job in the Bahama's that I was forced to turn down for financial reasons...but as far as jobs in my field, that I am interested in, that's about all the positive feedback I've gotten in 3 years.  I have landed jobs as a bartender, waitress, front desk person, grocery store check out clerk, trail guide, in-store product demonstrator, and even "spokes model."  I think that is part of why 1 in 2 people my age is, as they so adequately describe it, underemployed; because after 3 or 5 or 12 months of no no no's, it just feels so good when you finally get a yes!  That, and because we are all saddled with so much student loan debt that the old "backpacking around Europe to find yourself after college" is no longer even in the realm of possibility without risking complete personal bankruptcy (and even that won't get rid of those pesky student loans) so we literally cannot not have a job for even a few months, until our loans are paid off.  Guidance counselors should really warn you about this stuff, when I was 18 years old a private school seemed like a brilliant idea.  I was a good student, and I wanted to go to a good school, case closed.  That seemed like what I was supposed to want to do.  $20,000 per year in scholarships seemed like a lot, at 18 years old I had never in my life even thought anyone would want to give me that much money for any reason, so it felt like an honor, something that I shouldn't turn down.  Of course I had to match it with a few grand a year in loans...but by the time I got out I would be making enough money to pay those off in no time, right?  So whats a few years worth of loans?  

So here's what they don't tell you, every year tuition goes up and scholarships stay the same, every year.  And not just by a little either, but but thousands.  During my time at RPI tuition went up an average of $1,800 per year, piling almost $6,000 additional on top of my already not-inconsiderable loan totals.  I came out with almost $40,000 in loans, and I was on the low side of my class.  Of course I graduated in 2008...I'd hate to think about where tuition is now...

It turns out it's right on track, rising an average of $1,777 per year since 2004, this years tuition a whopping 50% higher than that of just 8 years ago ($28,950 compared to $43,350, and that's just tuition by the way, and does not include room and board or books).  If it maintains it's current trend, tuition will be over $75,000 per year by 2030, and over $100,000 per year by 2044.  I'm making an example of RPI, but this is happening to schools, well, to students really, everywhere.  So here we are, spending 4+ years in school working our butts off to land a degree that is, at this moment, for all intents and purposes, a paperweight (of course it's made out of paper...so it's not even good for that) and now everyone is saying "well if you just treat finding a job as though it is your job, and then you'll get a job...and then you can treat that like it is your job because of course it will be your job, and you'll have enough money to pay off your loans in the scheduled ten-year time frame, and you can get on with your life and begin considering things like see a dentist or getting glasses."  (again...paraphrasing...slightly) 

Whew...I suppose I might have lost track of my point a bit there, but it is this: Job hunting is the worst job ever, and I can't wait to be done with it.  Also, if you are hiring, you should not penalize someone for changing jobs a lot, because in this day and age, with the economy the way it is, if I didn't get a new job every couple months I would never hear a yes, and things would be even more monotonous.  If I found the right job I wouldn't leave it, but you can't fault me for quitting running register at Grand Union or serving drinks at a bar in favor of focusing my hunt on a job that matters to me.  I am an engineer, I like to use my brain to solve complex problems, and if I have a job that doesn't change the problem every so often then I have to change my job every so often, just to keep things interesting.  Ok.  I'm done.  

Taiwan and belated thanks givings...

Here I am, home again, after a whirlwind of adventure in Taiwan to celebrate the engagement of my brother, Cory, and his girlfriend (who is now his fiance!), Hsaio-Han.  I had a great time on my trip and I learned a lot about Taiwanese and Chinese culture, which I have had limited experience with in my adventures thus far.  We had many family meals with Hsiao-Han and her extended family, including lots of authentic Taiwanese food, Japanese food, Thai food, and more.  I continue to be blown away by the hospitality and generosity of each new culture that I experience.  I had a wonderful time getting to know everyone and was very glad for our gracious hosts who translated for us, showed us around, and right from day one, treated us like family.  We'll have some big shoes to fill this spring when it is our family's turn to host them.  It is customary in their culture for members of the family, such as uncles, aunts, and cousins, to want to treat the guests of their family members to a meal during their stay.  We were spoiled, truly spoiled, during this trip and when it was time to leave I had no words that were worthy of the thank you I wish that I had been able to articulate.

In my travels and adventures through life thus far I have seen families in Africa host friends and family members to the point that they could barely afford to feed themselves, go miles out of their way to walk me to work when they had only to walk half that distance to get to their own, give up their own plans to help keep me safe in mine.  In Taiwan I watched family help family by loaning an apartment for us to stay in, loaning our hosting family a van for our transportation, treating us to dinner, helping cart us all around, and most of all never making us feel like an imposition.  In Saint Thomas friends brought me fresh fruit and veggies while I was working the desk, gave me rides or allowed me to borrow a car to get anywhere I needed to go, treated me to many meals and drinks when money became tight for me, and generally appreciated and treated me like family, all by people I had known for all of a month (and also by Nicole, whom I have known and loved since we were assigned to be roommates freshman year in college...love you apple-bottom-whiskers!)  In California I was offered several different home-stays while searching for a place to live, I was picked up and put up by friends when my car broke down in the middle of the road, I was given rides and places to stay, taught the area and shown around by almost strangers just because I was new and had no one else to rely on.

Traveling never fails to remind me how lucky I am in all ways - I have fantastic parents who will take me in whenever I run low on money and want to live without rent for a bit.  I have fantastic family members who will get up at 4 am to drive us to the airport without batting an eye.  I have fantastic friends who have taken care of me so many times and in so many ways I don't even begin to know how to list them all.  I have had the opportunity and the freedom to go to college, get an education, find what I am good at and find what makes me happy.  I have the freedom to live at home and bar tend on the weekends for a few months in order to be able to turn down high paying jobs that bring in to question my moral values.  I have created a life for myself that allows me to move and travel and try new things whenever I want to, that has allowed me to find my passion, and to work my way towards it.  Sometimes I take that for granted, I try to reach beyond my means because I am so used to being caught before I fall, so its important that every once in a while I stop and take a look around and realize how much I have been given, and how much I should be thankful for.  This Thanksgiving I was on the opposite side of the world, so far removed from all the "normal" Thanksgiving traditions, and yet the day still managed to remind me to give thanks for all that I have.  So thank you, to my hosts, my family, my friends, and to everyone who has helped me along my way.  I know that I never hesitate to ask for help from friends and family when I need it and I hope none of you will ever hesitate to ask me for anything either.

Some pictures of my fabulous trip to Taiwan:

New Adventures!

As usual, my enthusiasm is building for new adventures and the possibility of more fulfilling work.  I always start a job hunt with such optimism!  Of course there is no other way, optimism is essential to surviving the semi-employed life.  I took (and totally owned) the GREs on Thursday and while I don't get my official scores until November, I'm (as usual) pretty optimistic.  I'm hoping to meet with professors at a number of different grad schools until I find a program that will (1) let me work outdoors for the rest of my days, I just can't bear to be a full time desk jockey for any kind of long term assignment, (2) inspire me and encourage me, I just want to do good, rewarding work.  Is that so much to ask? And (3) not double my student loans, ideally I'd like to get rid of those suckers some day, and unless I stop adding to them that may never happen.  So, onwards I go, to work or grad school, or to study and take the FE in the spring and then get an engineering job, or to do or go wherever else the wind might take me.  I can't wait. 

I'm leaving this beautiful little rock in the middle of the ocean known as St. Thomas in just under 2 very short weeks to go celebrate a friends birthday with her in Florida and then on home a week later.  I'm looking for work in Vermont so I can put some money away while I am living at home and keep working on my student loans.  Money down here has gotten quite tight and it was certainly time to throw the towel in.  So now, during my final 2 weeks, I am trying to get as much last minute  adventuring in for as little cost as possible, all the while also trying to work as many hours as possible to put away a bit of cash for Florida.  My life is a fabulous give and take resting on a delicate balance of funds and possibilities that I just adore.  I have never once gotten in over my head, I have learned my limits and limited my spending and worked hard to become as financially independent as possible and loved every minute of it. 

So now, back to the old job hunt and back home to bake some bread and walk my doggies, and to try to work my butt off, if I can find a job that will let me.  See you soon Vermont, in all your below freezing glory.  Goodbye beautiful Caribbean, white sand beaches and shiny sunshine...you're amazing, but just not for me.  I can't wait to have seasons back! 

An Airplane over Charlotte Amalie Harbor

Time Flies When You're Having Fun!

I'm not sure where September when, but today's date assures me that the month is pretty much over, despite my disbelief.  And with the close of September comes the close of my time here in St. Thomas.  I have made the extremely difficult decision to leave (despite several lucrative offers to stay) after completing a person budget and coming to terms with the fact that living here at this stage in my life is not a wise financial decision (damn you student loans!).  So, once again, it's home for a regroup and new plans coming soon.  This time, more than any other, I am seriously considering grad school as a possible option (because I obviously don't have enough student loans already...) and have even gone so far as to sing up for the GRE.  I'll be one of the very first lucky idiots to be taking the new revised test, so grad school admissions folks - if you are reading this keep in mind that scores ALWAYS go down after a major change in the test, I'm smarter than my score will most likely make me look.  Reassuring right?  Not.

So, here I am, as per my usual, standing at the precipice of some new big adventure, waiting for the fog to clear and show me just exactly what it will be.  For now it's memory sharing time, here are the things that St. Thomas allowed me to check off of my bucket list: 

1. Live on an island.  Self explanatory, awesome, enough said.
2. Take a picture of a lightning bolt.  We all know I'm a photography nerd so this was a very exciting development for me.
3. Snorkel in the Caribbean.  Spotted eagle rays, brain coral, sea turtles, starfish, tropical fish, urchins, and awesome-ness.  
4. Night Snorkel in the Caribbean.  Bio-luminescence is amazing, underwater flashlights are fun, and big shiny silver tarpin fish are not sharks.  Phew.  
5. Island Hop!  St. Thomas, St. John, Jost van Dyke, Tortola, and more.  Boats are fantastically fun toys in the islands.  
6. Enjoy fresh Coconuts, straight from the tree.  And watch very talented West Indian Rasta guys scale palm trees like they're playground toys.  
7. Experience a tropical storm/almost hurricane first hand.  Exciting, except not, when you work at a hotel these things usually mean canceled flights, equating to a very busy night in the office checking in disgruntled travelers in howling wind and pounding rain.  
8. Hiking to gorgeous views and plantation ruins, read about the history of the ruins and the islands.  Did you know that slavery was abolished in the USVI several years prior to it's abolition in the states, but several years after it was abolished in the BVI (British Virgin Islands).  Brave souls used to build rafts, steal away in boats, and some even swam the short distance from St. John to Tortola; anything for freedom.  
9. Share this adventure with my mom!  Very cool for my mom to get to come down here and experience this crazy place with me, it's the first time on of my immediate family members has been able to visit me on my travels and it was a really neat thing to share.  
10. Ride a ferris wheel on top of the world.  Or so it felt, swirling around on the edge of the steep hill that is paradise point.  
11. Night swimming; swimsuits optional.  Late night skinny dipping on secluded beaches with silly friends to cap off a fun night out?  Count me in!

I'm sure there's more but I'm too lazy to continue - the point is, I've had a very good run here.  Nothing sad about it ending, I'll come visit again someday and for now I have nothing but new and exciting things to look forward to.  I'm a lucky lucky girl.

 

 

stories from the road and a few photos...

I love traveling!  Its like a drug for me, I feel so free when I'm on the road, not a care in the world.  I could go anywhere, do anything.  Its like a dream.  So, as you know Nicole and I left South Lake Tahoe on the 12th of February and hit the dusty trail - destination: Vermont...but first San Francisco (where we found a sculpture made out of a graveyard that played music with the rising tide), Big Sur Coast (where we couldn't stop stopping just to look at the beauty and the big fat elephant seals!), Santa Barbara (to walk on the beach, admire the palm trees, and search for Sean and Gus...), Grand Canyon (to have a quick look, fix a quick sandwich, and continue onward), Phoenix (to visit Jess and Allison, climb a mountain and visit botanical gardens), Austin (to visit Becca, explore the city, and do some yoga in the park, and decorate our windows), New Orleans (just to experience the magic of it...and the pandemonium that is Bourbon Street), Tampa (to see Becky, Saint Pete's, more beaches, and fabulous sangria), Orlando (Ashley and Justin awaited us there...not to mention Disney, wine bars, and Stepford....I mean Celebration), Ocala (breakfast with Nicole's grandparents), Charlotte (for dinner with Cory, nighttime tour of the city, and a close encounter of the streaking kind), Baltimore (To visit Emily, John, and Maggie and a serious Mauritania memory sharing session, not to mention a visit to the Ace of Cakes), then bad weather at home and a serious desire for the trip not to be over, we headed to Hershey, PA (to take a realllly cheesy free but totally fake tour of the candy factory and spend some time in the gift shop) and then to New Jersey (to drive an hour and a half out of our way to go to a Victoria's Secret outlet - worth it) and then into Albany at midnight when the weather had calmed down.  2 nights there and then I was on the last leg flying solo - to Vermont 2 weeks after I left my last home I was pulling into my new one.

Now I'm back at home, coming down from the high of the trip and realizing I came here with really no plan; I pretty much just left for the road trip.  So here I am, living with my parents, turning 25 in just a few days, and working as a cashier at Grand Union for minimum wage with a bunch of highschool kids.  Pretty sweet.  Guess I didn't really think this one through, but it was worth it for the trip.  On the bright side I have already made new plans!  I'm proud to announce that I will be moving to the Virgin Islands this May to work for 6 months as the front desk person at a little hotel on St. Thomas.  Then I'll be off to Taiwan for a week with Cory to visit Hsaio-Han and if I'm feeling crazy I might just go straight from there to Australia and New Zealand for a visit or a year, depending on my enthusiasm and my ability to obtain a visa.  Big plans! Big plans!  I'm excited!  I have a purpose and a plan and now I just need to work work work so I can save save save...

Anyway now that I've spilled my guts about all my plans I'll follow it up with some of my favorite pictures from the road trip!

Sand Harbor - Tahoe

Sunset in Cali

Sunset in AZ

GC

Phoenix

on the road

Bourbon Street in a nutshell

Fireworks at Epcot

Ace of Cakes, Baltimore

finally home with my love - Josey!

choose your own adventure

sometimes i feel like my life is one big giant choose your own adventure book...except i'm stuck on a choosing page paralyzed with indecision for weeks and months at a time.  I alternate by days, hours, minutes, one instant positive that I want to stay here in Tahoe and look for a job/accept one of the options i have, and the next instant positive that i'm ready to go, move on to someplace new, scream F YOU south lake tahoe post office for telling me that my address was all set and then sending my christmas presents back to my parents...sorry, i'm a little bitter about that one.  I haven't been updating this lately because every day would say the same thing: i don't know what to do.  I'm grumpy and stressed even though I really don't know why....I have a job, i'm working on health insurance, and I have friends.  Just because I don't have a future doesn't mean I never will.  Patience pays in this world and I'm patiently waiting for something to come forward and fit.  You know, just feel right.

It's snowing out here, about 10 inches had fallen by 10:30 tonight, so now its time for bed and dreams...cross your fingers for me that I can even get to work in the morning.  Might be time for me to finally cave and buy chains, i'm unimpressed with their snow removal in this town.  Good night!

UPDATE!

I made a listing on my Etsy store for these very special $25 photos, so you can easily purchase one there and I will send it your way!  No muss no fuss!  I posted a few new options on Etsy as well and I'll post a few more previously unposted photos here too so you have tons of options!  Make sure you make it clear which photo you would like in the note to seller on Etsy, if it is from the blog give me the date it was posted and the caption underneath it, if it is just one you know that I have somewhere then email me or call me or message me one way or another and we'll talk until I know exactly which on you want!  Thank youuuuu!  Also a special thank you to Allison, for being the first one to offer to purchase one, I would be nothing without my friends and family and you all mean the world to me!

Valley Sunrise

Utah Mountains

Goldrush Rafting Co. - Coloma, CA

Check out the listing on my Etsy shop for more:: http://www.etsy.com/listing/61229952/25-dollar-and-no-shipping-8x10-photos

THANK YOU!

Furthering my career!

Hello friends and family and other friendly folks who happen to read this!

Boy do I ever have a special offer to make to you today!  As you all know I have been looking for jobs and considering different options for furthering my career.  Currently I have $250 left in my AmeriCorps training budget given to me by the Conservancy that has to be used by the end of my term in December.  I have been looking for training opportunities that might be interesting and look good on a resume, and today I think I found the one that I want to do (EPA Campus Certified Environemntal Specialist Online Training)...the problem?  Its $500, meaning that I have to dig $250 out of my own pocket to match the conservancy's contribution.  This would be no problem if I weren't a full time volunteer...but since I am, things are a little bit tight.  Here is my proposal to you:  If anyone would like to make a $25 donation to my class (not tax deductible, sorry, I am not 501-3c...although I am practically a non-profit since I have not made any money in 2 years) I will send you an 8 x 10 print of any photo of your choice from this blog or any other one that you know I have (feel free to ask to see others) as a thank you gift.  If just 10 people do this then I will only have to cover the cost of printing the photos, which would be excellent, but even if only 5 people do, I could probably scrape together the rest of the money if I needed too as well and that would also be great.  I'm not looking for someone to pay for the whole thing, nor do I want anyone to contribute thats as hard up for cash as I am, and I hate to ask for my friends and family to bail me out since you have all already done so much for me, but just a little leg-up would be awesome. 

Heres how it would work:  If you are interested in a one of a kind, shelby original photo print with a personally signed thank you note from the artist herself then please send an email to shelby.perry@gmail.com or post a comment on this post and let me know that you are interested, what your mailing address is (unless I already have it), and which photo you would like - or if you don't know, what kinds of things you like and I'll find one for you.  Then I will send your photo and you can mail me a check (made out to TRCD - The Tahoe Resource Conservation District, who manage my contract) when you have recieved the photo in the mail and are happy with it!  Thats it!  How easy! 

Think about it, let me know, in the mean time, here are some photos you COULD be the luck owner of if you so chose :-)

And sooooo many more!

New Adventures!

Well helllllo there...did you miss me?  I have been doing a terrrrrrrible job lately of keeping my blog updated...things have been just plain crazy busy!  Between Halloween celebrations, pub crawls in Reno, NV, work, and potluck Tuesdays (a weekly themed potluck dinner that I started having in my old house before I moved and am happy to say has grown into a regular weekly gathering of fantastic people and tasty food!) I have barely had time to settle into my new place, let alone update all of you on my comings and goings!  So here comes a long winded one, certain to have some priceless kodak moments captured for your enjoyment out there on the other coast...gosh I miss being even in the same timezone as my family!

Anywho, as you all know, my AmeriCorps service year is coming to a close this December (oh soooo soon!  I'm not ready!) So I jumped right back up onto that job application bandwagon that includes roughly 10% of all Americans these days...my heart goes out to those who have not been as lucky as I have.  I have met plenty of college graduates with impressive resumes waiting tables and working seasonal temporary jobs only to spent the other 6 months of the year unemployed to know that I have been plenty lucky to end up where I have getting the experiences that I am.  I have not ruled out the possibility of finding a "real job" as my pops and brother put it ("Shelby...don't you think its time for you to get a real job?" - the easy answer is no...) as I know that a steady income and comfortable home cannot be discounted, and believe me, I'll get there, as soon as I'm good and ready and find what I'm looking for.  I have applied to several federal jobs, dozens of private jobs, and a few temporary placeholder type jobs, and I'm in a somewhat similar position to the one I was in last year at this time.  I'm running out of time to make a decision though because this time I have bills to pay, I'm 3000 miles from all the people that would put me up for free until I do find something, and my health insurance is expiring (a terrifying thought in America today).  So, because I know you are all curious as to what may come next, I will tell you.  I am considering, quite seriously, completeing a second term of AmeriCorps out here with the Conservancy.  Now before you go jumping to any conclusion about me taking the easy road, shirking responsibility, and staying so damn far away from everyone, keep in mind that I am a responsible and rational person and I have never done ANYTHING that I didn't know was the right decision, and while I am not completely settled on this yet (so yes, please keep sending me jobs if you see them, and thank you so much to those of you that already have!) I do know that if I go for it, it is because it is absolutely what I want to do.

For you doubting-thomases out there, here is why I believe that I will have made the right choice.  First and foremost, this job has been the luckiest result of my first job falling through that I could have asked for, I have learned a whole new skill set in environmental monitoring, I have learned of a whole new possible career path in restoration (where environmental engineering tends to clean up after and/or regulate the damage irresponsible (and really all) humans do to the environment, restoration aims at returning the natural environment to its pre-influenced state, a subtle but significant difference), and I have met a group of incredibly smart and kind and interesting people, full of knowledge and happy to share; you cant ask for a better work environment!  More than that, with AmeriCorps I have the flexibility of making my own schedule, running my own days, and coming and going as I please, which I love, but has not once slowed me down...still working the occasional 60 hour week mostly because I enjoy what I do and don't mind putting in the time it takes to do a good job.  Today, with the economy the way it is, so many people have been forced to work jobs that they can't even stand going to just to pay the bills.  I'm young, I have no major obligations, I can afford to live in the low income manor of the perpetual volunteer, and for now, I don't mind.  This seems a small price to pay for a job I enjoy, meaningful experience, and incredible learning opportunities.  All that seems like enough, and it is, but theres more!  I live in what might be one of the most beautiful places in the entire country, Lake Tahoe.  There are tons of recreation opportunities and I have already fallen in love with backpacking and hiking in the Sierra Nevada, and these are mostly free once you collect the gear you need!  Plus I get a $5,000 education award for each year of service...meaning that after 2 years of AmeriCorps plus my brief one year in Peace Corps I will have knocked out $13,500 worth of my student loans.  Now I'm not an accountant, but I think thats probably significantly more than I would have paid off had I just taken one of those job offers at graduation and started with regular payments.

So there you have it, my justification for my life that no one has asked me to justify, but sometimes you just need to explain these things to someone else as a way to explain them to yourself.  Anyway, its been quite a ride thus far and I'm not quite ready to give up the possibility of finding a job that actually pays AND makes me happy...but until then I will settle for ones that I love that don't pay, because happiness is more important than money, and I truly believe that.  Here are some images of my adventures, a recap of some of my favorite old ones and some new ones, a celebration of all I've done since college:

Dusty evening in Mauritania

Ramadan Fete with my Host Family...I miss them so!  Plus I was good friend with that sheep, so sad that he ended up in my tummy, vegetarian no more!

Epic battles with insanely large spiders

Back to Vermont winters with my wonderful parents and adorable doggies!

A road trip across the entire country with my Papa Bear

A few months spent learning to live alone and finding new friends in Placerville

Exciting new adventures in a beautiful new home in South Lake Tahoe

And more recently: Watching the Kokanee swim upstream only to lay their eggs and die, while the mallards stand by to eat those eggs that the fish gave their lives for as soon as they are left in the gravel

My first trip to the biggest little city in the world, and my first pub crawl dressed as a zombie too!

So this is what I think I would look like if I were among the walking dead...

Hope you all had a fantastic Halloween weekend and a wonderful week, and I promise I will start to update more often again (sorry for the delay Momma!).  Sorry for my long-winded explanations but I can't expect you all to continue to support me in my adventures without explaining to you why they mean so much to me.  So I hope you are looking forward to more stories to come, because I'm not done living yet!  More pictures and adventures to come, I promise!

Much love and happy thoughts to all who read this!

~Shelby

brief hiatus

As you may or may not have noticed, I have not been posting lately.  That is because this week has been a headache of epic proportions.  Work is going great, and so naturally something else would have to go wrong right? right.  On Sunday night my room mate Reyna's cat was accidentally let out of the house after I went to bed and before she got home.  Reyna has had this cat for 5 years and she has never gotten out even once until about 2 weeks ago, when doors were being left open and Jicima started getting out with alarming frequency.  Conversations were had and notes left, but the problem did not resolve itself.  At this point we hold out little hope of ever finding Jicima (Tahoe offers many predators that make the hope of finding pets after even a few days almost futile).  This has been the last in a string of difficult personality differences between us and our third room mate and we gave up hope on that too.

The beautiful Jicima, may she someday find her way back to Rey.

Last night, against my better judgement, I followed my heart out the door and, with the help of a few friends, moved out of the house in a matter of hours.  Reyna and I stayed with a friend last night and will be spending the weekend in the San Francisco Bay at Reyna's family home.  We will be house-sitting and couch-surfing for most of the month of October and then will hopefully find a room to share somewhere.  Sharing a room will hopefully let us save money and recoup the losses we are taking on this move, the loss of our security deposits and the bills that we have already paid.

Anyway, during this period of limbo I will have trouble updating my blog regularly as I won't have consistent internet access, but I will do the best I can.  I am going to be getting my etsy store  up and running again hopefully.  I have posted some of my photos, all old ones, but I'm hoping to get some Tahoe photos up there soon too.  If you would like to buy something from my etsy store, send me a conversation on etsy saying that you read this blog entry and what you would like and i'll make a new listing for you with a $1.00 discount on the item (this offer expires at the end of the month).

Anyway, thats my life update for right now, and as I sit here in a little Cafe and drink my coffee and look out the window at all of my worldly possessions piled in my very small car, I feel oddly free.  I have nowhere to go and nowhere to be and my life (well most of it...) still fits in my honda civic.  I have my reservations, but I still think I made the right choice for me.  Its time for a new adventure, and despite the fact that I no longer have a kitchen to bake in or a bed to sleep in, I have some great friends and some big plans...and everything will be all right.

"I always fall in love with an open door"

half way.  what next?  

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problem...

I did take a photo for today, I swear!  The problem:  I took it on the work camera, made plans to email it to myself, and then promptly forgot after heading from the room where I have to upload the photos back to my own computer....SO I have a really cute photo of a wild lily for you folks, but you'll have to wait until tomorrow.  Sorry!

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Suzy Lake

This morning Reyna and I hiked up to Suzy Lake in the Desolation Wilderness.  It was a beautiful hike to a beautiful lake that was a lot more secluded than Lake Tahoe.  The best part?  We packed in Reyna's inflatable raft and small hand pump and floated around in the lake on a little boat!

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