Tales With a Touch of Class Re-Vamped WORD PRESS STYLE

Tales With a Touch of Class has recently been re-vamped to Word Press! Please refer to:

http://www.taleswithatouchofclass.wordpress.com/

for access to my present blog. Much love blog world, see you on the Word Press side of things!

-KPRAZ

Commuting Lifestyle Re-Vamped

"A former intern commuting from southern Jersey to New York City for seven months I felt all hope of handling a commuting lifestyle had perished... then I came to DC"

       Sweat trickles down your face as you race down the stairs.  Engulfed in a grey whirlwind of concrete and cinder, you find yourself racing the clock as chaos ensues around the New Jersey Transit loading platform of Penn Station.  I had just put in my eight hour work day, raced six blocks from mid-Soho to the most direct uptown subway, and felt my heart pound as the clock read 5:18 and I had five minutes to spare.  I often would compare the loading platforms of Penn Station to what I envisioned the gates of hell to look like.  Dark corridors, eerie smells, and panic stricken expressions all around... the last place in the world you want to find yourself.

       A former Marketing intern, I commuted from southern Jersey to New York City two days a week for the duration of seven months. Leaving each morning from Skillman, New Jersey and driving 30 minutes to central Jersey, 50 minute train haul, 10 minute subway ride, AND a six block walk later I would find myself in the fashion central neighborhoods of Soho. Every morning this two hour+ trek involved battling the war zone of mid-town and a commuter mentality of, "move out of my way or perish at my feet." After navigating the public transit systems of NYC I thought I could never hack the commuter lifestyle, and then I came to DC.

          The commuting culture of DC is first off a more clean but strictly regulated environment. If you buy an all day pass, you can't use it to board the metro until after 9:30 A.M. Also, if you are attempting to park in a public lot make sure you do so on a weekday before 8 A.M.  Any parking efforts after this time will fail because all public garages will be filled. There are two strategies to cope with this problem and they are the following:

1. First and foremost, bring copious amounts of quarters because you will find yourself parking at an hourly meter unless you plan to walk blocks to the station.

2. Secondly, illegal parking is a viable option according to the random passerby I met while parking. This strategy I don't recommend because who knows what DC parking tickets are like.. but feel free to take the chance if you so prefer.

            Aside from these unexpected complications, commuting into DC is actually a relatively pleasant experience. The metro is clean and not nearly as crowded as a New York City subway.  Another nice attribute of Washington D.C. is you can walk the streets without the fear of getting plowed over! This experience revamped my view on living the lifestyle of a big city commuter.  Every major city is different and unique in its own way, it's all just about finding the place that's the right match for you...

 

New Jersey commuters navigating the threshold of New York City subways on a mission to go out.

Unemployed Life: Day 8

I wake up in the morning and see a cell phone with 8:32 A.M. on the display.  There is no office I need to be at by 9.  No lecture I'm required to attend at 10, or school assignment to cram in before noon.  Welcome to the official status of unemployed college graduate. After being home officially for a week and a half, I sincerely believe this word (unemployed) bears the same connotation to the f word when used in conversation.  I've been asked recently by more people, "So you graduated college, now what?" The key thing I've learned through experience is NEVER EVER tell anyone you are "the U word", the typical reaction from the other person is never pretty. Simply say, "I was just doing x (insert past accomplishment), and am currently interviewing and talking to different people." 

         Aside from awkward reactions from people I haven't spoken to in years about how I don't have "something lined up", the unemployed life hasn't been all that bad.  I have more people ask me, "What do you do all day? Don't you get bored?" Some one's only bored if they allow himself or herself to be, and if anyone knows the first thing about me that's not my nature.

         Since I don't have a job, I decided the time not spent applying for work I want to make the most of.  Today, I visited a local public library that I have driven by for years and never actually stepped foot in.  What I came to find is the public library in Natrona Heights is a hidden treasure I wish I had discovered sooner.  I found an awesome book called, "Professional Blogging for Dummies" written by a Social Media Consultant who spoke at the Blog Her 2010 Conference. (a women empowered blogger conference I was first introduced to while interning at J&J).

          Aside from becoming a newly addicted social media whore, I've also recently signed up to teach religious education classes to first graders at my church.  I may not be an education major or certified teacher, but I'm 23 year old and own a webkin. Needless to say, can a girl that still owns stuffed animals and used to dream about being a child author teach?  All I can say to that one is stay tuned for more.
          One final development in my unemployed lifestyle is a broadened athletic horizon that extends beyond the running threshold.  You can now find me biking, cycling, and even doing my first yoga class tomorrow. :) So as you can see, being the "U word" is not necessarily a terrible thing.  Life is too short to not make the most of every day you are granted, that's why I plan on making the most of it. Even if for the first time I'm living it with out a plan or knowing what will happen next...