Not without my Abaya

The search is on, folks! I'm in full-on job hunt mode. In this process, the Universe is attempting to keep me humble since acquiring three new letters after my name. I put in an application for a clinical job that I was well qualified for (hours, clinical experience, etc). It was also a job that only required a Master's degree. Well I heard back the next day that they had other people more qualified than me for the position. Uh oh. Not what you want to hear after spending so many extra years in school. I assume that it had a lot to do with the fact that I'm not licensed. That drama is worthy of its own post, but suffice it to say that the State is great about cashing checks, but not so great at tracking and completing the paperwork that said check was meant to pay for.

I understand that it's a rough market right now for applicants and will be throwing my net wide in hopes of catching something. That being said I came across a position to work as a therapist with students at a newly organized University in Saudi Arabia. It was posted as only a 6 month position and I've heard that many jobs in the Middle East are very high paying. It's the first co-educational university in the Kingdom. Now, for some reason I thought that Saudi Arabia was more progressive, you know along the lines of the UAE. False. After submitting my application I did a little more research into the plight of women in the country.

Turns out women not only don't have the vote, but also can't drive or ride bikes in the country. Further, women are still found accountable for rape if they were "illegally mingling" with an acquaintance of the opposite sex. Yoswers. There are interesting requirements of foreign workers as well. You have to relinquish your passport to your employer while you are in the country and as a woman you need a man to act as your guardian while there. Said guardian also must give permission before you can leave the country. As I continued my research, I quickly realized that this was probably not the job for me, but even more than that it made me realize how many of my freedoms I take for granted. While I often get frustrated with the gender inequality that exists in our country, I realize how lucky we are to be able to voice our dissent.

While I believe that a cultural immersion would be an amazing experience, I'm a big fan of feeling safe and having personal freedoms.

So, back to the drawing board it is. Although I loved the movie "Not without my Daughter" I think I'll pass on living it as an experience, although I can see the appeal of rocking the Abaya on really bad hair days. :]

Sell Out

In an effort to clean out my spare room before company comes in the beginning of August, I decided to sell some books and the newest seasons of Weeds to Hastings. I've been wanting to watch "The Big Bang Theory", but am too impatient to wait for each disc to arrive from netflix. It also seemed like the ultimate way to recycle and save me a little cashola.

I'm really easy on my books, the jacket covers stay pristine as do all of the pages. I had a very large stack of recent hardbacks that I thought would bring me a pretty penny. I was shocked and appalled at how little each of these little jewels brought me. I was tempted to make a case for each book, "No, wait! This is a really good one. You shouldn't only give me $2.75 for it." It wasn't so much the fact that I wouldn't be getting a lot of money for them as much as feeling like my poor little books were being judged unworthy. I was a little sick to my stomach walking away from the first Hastings store with $24.99 on a gift card for like 10 of my books. In a side note, Hastings will only let you sell back $24.99 worth of stuff each day. The worker informed me that I could go to the other store and sell back the rest if I wanted. Weird, but whatever.

My measly gift card was enough to buy the first season of "The Big Bang Theory" new (they didn't have it used). I headed all the way across town to the other Hastings and sold back the rest of my loot. My frustration grew when I was able to see the individual prices that they were giving me for each of my items. The newest season of Weeds? $4.25. I have no doubt that they will jack up the price by at least four fold. Low blow, Hastings. Low blow.

I was checking out their TV section and found that they had the second season of "The Big Bang Theory" as well as the first season (both used). Way better way to get more for my measly gift cards. So, I went to my car to grab my recently purchased new first season and receipt, only to be told that they couldn't take it back because I'd bought it at the other store. What? Aren't you a chain? I rarely argue stuff like that, but it just didn't make sense. They didn't budge, so then I was mad. I drove all the way back across town to return the first season and get a gift card, which they were able to take at the second store. What logic follows that they won't take merchandise, but will take a gift card from the other store? I wandered around the second store for awhile trying to find something to buy so that I could use up the full amount on my gift cards, b/c there's no way I'm going back there again. My final choice? "Young Guns". I haven't seen it and have heard good things.

Lessons learned? 1) Hastings is the devil. b) I'd prefer to sacrifice any monetary gain and instead give my books a home where they are loved and appreciated III) The Big Bang Theory is ridiculously funny, luckily making the wasted gas and frustration worth it.

Guilt-free time

It's been so long since I've done nothing and genuinely had nothing to do. It's been a whirlwind few weeks filled with a rush to finish my dissertation, defend it, and make changes. I'm now waiting on approval of my changes before submitting my final version to the grad school. Then I'm free at last! Free at last!

So, what do you do when you're done with school? No, not look for a job, silly. Find a new hobby! So far, I've tried my hand at party planning-so far so good if I do say so myself. I also picked up some cool notecards that you can cross stitch on before sending off, so I'll also be giving that a try. Maybe blogging will experience a re-birth too? Here's to hoping!

The weekend also entails a lot of cleaning, organizing, and cheesy movie watching. It seems like nature likes my plan too as the forecast calls for rain, rain, and more rain, which makes staying in doors that much more appealing since drainage is a foreign thing here in Texas making street flooding a very common occurrence. Good thing I haven't started collecting cats, or my little homebound weekend could turn from rejuvenating to creepy real quick. :]

A little something new

My genius friend Megan came up with the idea of starting a group blog where people commit to trying something new and documenting the experience. What am I up to, you ask? Guess you'll have to mosey on over to find out.

Challengers of the Unknown

Interested in joining the gang?
Step 1: Figure out who would play you if the blog was made into a movie. (People's choices so far are dead on!)
Step 2: Leave me a comment and I'll get you Megan's info.

Just a little taste....

This is what my favorite noodler looks like in his natural habitat:

This is what he looks like on dry land after you stalk him until he agrees to pose with you for a photo:

Good Times!

Weekend Plans

Gone Noodling

Sweating Bullets

In just a few short hours I start my first roadtrip of the summer down to Austin.

Things I'm most looking forward to:
1) Getting the heck out of Lubbock (duh)
2) San Marcos Outlets
3) Michael Jackson Tribute Sing Along at the Alamo Draft House
4) Kerbey Lane breakfast. MmmmmKerbeyLane

Things I'm not looking forward to:
1) Sweating...a lot
2) Not being able to find my Charlie Robison CD for the ride.