June 29th

In this update -

1. My full time job
2. My trip with Beau to Buenos Aires
3. The Cat Empire in North America, Round 3
4. I'm moving to Thailand July 12th

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1. On May 8th I started what was going to be a 3 day a week internship at a non profit that does international volunteer programs. The first two days I worked in Dept. 1 which I absolutely loved. Most people would probably hate it but I got to play with and organize office supplies all day, which I happen to love. The third day I was moved to Dept. 2 which I kind of hated. I sat and did internet research all day on a slow computer. It sucked and it made me want to quit the internship all together. I told my supervisor in Dept. 1 that I had really liked in her Dept. and I would do anything to get out of working in Dept. 2. She said she didn't know what to do because she had just been given the okay to hire someone full time to do what I had been doing and it was too bad that I only worked 3 days a week. I said, no no, I'll can do full time, but I'm going away in July and going to Argentina for a week. She said that was fine with her and then talked to the Executive Director and got the okay to hire me! And then I had a full time job until yesterday. It was a real job. I had an email address with a fancy signature at the bottom (which I never used cause I only sent emails to people within the organization), a phone extension with my name on it and I even made myself a nameplate out of paper and blue and purple sharpies. I even had my deli guy across the street who knew what kind of sandwich I liked and how I liked my coffee.

My day would generally go as follows... I would leave the house at 8, took an hour to drive what should take 1/2 hour. Got there at 9, got a cup of coffee to start the day, worked, ordered in lunch almost every day with different people, did more work, maybe got another coffee and then left at 6 to sit in traffic on 287 again and get home by 6:45. And that's if I really left at 6 and traffic was standard. I liked it but damn, that's exhausting stuff. By the time I got home all I wanted to do was eat food and go to sleep. For the first time in my life, I actually found myself in fear of running out of gas, twice! Life is hard! Traffic sucks! Gas prices are depressing! Ah! I'm an adult!

Besides the whole driving/car/gas stuff I really loved where I was working. The people were great, the office was beautiful, and the atmosphere was informal, but extremely productive. So far over 3,000 people have signed up for 2006 programs! Madness, but exciting, usually prepared for madness. Usually. They have two programs in Thailand and I'm going to try to visit them so that when I get back I might be able to work there as a real person who makes enough to not live with my parents. My salary, while fine for the short-term, was about on par with a 16 year old babysitter. Welcome to the non-profit sector?

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2. I went to Buenos Aires with Beau to visit Maggie!

Here's a pre-trip blog entry that never got published...

Beau and I are going to Argentina.
We're leaving JFK on May 21st.
We'll return to JFK on May 27th.
My good friend Maggie is living there right now.
Beau's never been out of the country and wanted a reason to get a passport.
I like Beau, foreign countries, people getting new passports and Maggie so this seemed to make sense.
Beau and I are practicing our Spanish.
Beau applied for his first passport. It should get to him sometime next week.
When I was in Madison this past weekend Beau and I went to the Madison Public Library and Beau got a library card which he then used to borrow books on Argentina.
We learned that Buenos Aires is kind of like the Paris of South America - beautiful city with really snotty people.
I was also told that Argentinians are, "Italians, who speak Spanish, and think they're British."
Kids eat out at restaurants at midnight. There are customs that foreigners MUST abide by even thought most natives never adhere to.
Uruguay is really close and accessible via hydrofoil! We're putting that on our list of things to do.
Maggie recommended a good hostel and I made reservations for 4 nights there. Beau's never stayed at a hostel before.
Argentina is pretty cheap. A private room with a private bathroom is $25/ night with a big breakfast included.
It's cheap cause they're not in the best economic situation right now. Maybe next time I'll post Maggie's emails that kind of explain what day to day life is like there.
So that's all for now! Check back!

I really should have written more about this. It was amazing. I spoke Spanish, I ate empenadas, I played soccer with 5 year olds in the middle of nowhere, I rode in a car that would have been illegal in the states by 1974, I saw a Tango show, I went to art museums, I saw the last Argentina National Team soccer game before they left for the world cup, and I got to witness their independence day (they have two, so I only saw half). I also flew on the oldest plane I've ever seen (thank you Varig).

I'm in Madison now and Beau and I are going to try to write something more substantial about our time in Buenos Aires. It was pretty cool.

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3. The Cat Empire are back in North America! I worked with them for the third time and it was the best yet. I'm actually off to Summerfest to see their last American show. The NYC show was absolutely amazing! They sold out the Bowery Ballroom!
Woo hoo! I also worked to throw a promo party at an Aussie bar in the city that worked out really well. Overall, it's been a really cool experience. This will probably be my last tour with them. Bittersweet. Maybe I'll catch up with them when I get back from Thailand.

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4. Thailand? Yeah! I'm moving to Thailand for about 16 months I think. I bought a plane ticket to Thailand (July 12th), registered for a 4 week TEFL course in Bangkok (July 17th), paid for 4 weeks of accommodation at a guesthouse right near where the TEFL course is, registered for a volunteer project in Cambodia starting August 13th. So I have the first 6 weeks planned and another 14 and a half months not planned. No worries!

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I'm in Madison, Beau's at work, I'm meeting up with Danny, then we're all going to head to Summerfest to meet up with more people to see The Cat Empire's last U.S. show! Fun fun fun!!! (Oh, because of the full time working I think I also realize the value of a vacation more than I did before the full time gig. It feels really nice!)