Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Comic Con

You guys, I lived in San Diego for a year. I LIVED IN COMIC CON CITY and didn't get to go. I would love to blame it on my brother, who foolishly scheduled his wedding for that weekend, but the reality is that there was no way I could afford it even without travel costs. Ever since, I've told myself, one day, ONE GLORIOUS DAY, I will have a full-time job and money and I can go.

Nerd mecca!

That was 2011. I was really hoping this year would be my year. After all, I graduated.

I'm curly sue, front left, if you couldn't tell.

Did I mention that before? Yeah... so, knocked that Masters degree out of the park. Piece of pie. And now I deserve a treat right?

I don't like cake, and I do like Jensen Ackles.

Not really. It sucked. It was 6-day weeks of 12 hours days for 2 years, but it's over now! Sweet, sweet freedom! (read: debt). And despite being repeatedly told that SLPs (speech-language pathologists, that's my thing, look it up) are in increasingly high demand and we should not take the first job offered but play the field a little, I've had exactly one interview in 3 months, and fewer job offers. Now look, I'm not a crazy person, I don't expect a job to fall in my lap, nor do I believe I'm owed a job just because I graduated. However, and hear me out, the following are why I chose this field:

1. High demand (meaning I should be able to find a job reasonably quickly and in locations across the county/world)
2. Good pay (I am so tired of debt, and I really wanted a job that enabled me to live my life without worrying about money)
3. Job security (related to high demand, my job isn't likely to ever be obsolete or redundant)
4. It's pretty interesting.

**Yes, I realize the irony of #2 in that I accumulated debt getting my degree in the field, but you gotta spend to make right? Plus, at the typical salary of SLPs, even early in the career, I should be able to pay that off in 5 years or less.

Notice that none of those reasons is passion, or a drive to make a difference in the world, or some other high-minded ideal. I'm interested in the subject matter of my field from an academic perspective, but honestly, it doesn't appeal to me much more than any one of a dozen other things I considered when I first entered college. I chose it because it provided the best opportunity for a financial secure life, and sure, maybe I collect bonus points in life for helping people. Having lived through poverty, the financial side is something that's pretty important to me. So after going through everything it took to get me to this point and I'm still not able to find a job? Yeah, okay, I'm a little miffed. I feel a little lied to, somewhat misled. I didn't expect my dream job right out of the gate, but I figured I'd be able to get A job within a few months.

I complain, but I am actually pretty proud of making it this far. It's been a lot of work, and I feel pretty accomplished. I'm worried about it now, but I'm confident I will ultimately find a good job. So all of that is my angst-ridden digression leading here: STILL DIDN'T GET TO GO TO F*&$ING COMIC CON!

Then, glory of glory! Wizard World is hosting a Comic Con in Nashville! You guys! I live in Nashville! And the guest list looks freaking awesome. Alan Tudyk, Holly Marie Combs, and Eliza Dushku are some of my favorites, and even Bill Shatner is going to be there!


And, yet, I STILL CAN'T GO! Which brings me back to my frustration with my job search. 

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