Graduation rant

Graduation....I have had a few of them. In fact I ve had four of them if you count the one when I finished 5th grade. I think though the one I enjoyed the most was my high school graduation. For me, graduating from high school meant that I was able to leave my youth behind and become more of an adult. It meant that I gained the freedom and responsiblity to decide which path my life would take but also the consequences of said choices. Once I entered college it was really nice to be able to set my own schedule, show up to classes when I wanted to and not have to worry about the possibility of detention or reprimand from a school administrator.

I would say after I graduated with my bachelors the sense of accomplishment was so much less in the long run. Graduating from college just meant I had to find a job or decide to go to grad school. My initial thought was to work. I figured that I had spent enough money on my education and it was time to join the rest of the adult population with the hustle and bustle of everyday working life. Little did I know that there were no jobs to be had. My backup plan was going to grad school. I applied a few different places so not to put all of my eggs in one basket. I was accepted to a couple different schools and ultimately I made my way to Denmark. What better way to study international marketing and management then to be in and international setting. So two years later graduation number four.

For me this was a big accomplishment. Growing up I pretty much despised school. I started a year ahead of pretty much everyone I currently know...and then even wanted to skip a grade in middle school because it was like I was repeating everything I learned the year before. To me school a boring because I wasnt challenged enough. I found sanctuary in more creative classes as well as physical education classes. My favorites were theater, art and P.E.. For the other classes I rarely had to do homework and still got good grades. My grades were so good that I graduated with honors from my high school. So in other words, I wasnt too excited about going to college and I was the last one my family would have imagined going to grad school, let alone finishing.

So this so called big accomplishment was overshadowed by a worldwide recession. Its been almost five months since I graduated with my masters and I m still unemployed. I had a great job while I was in school but was unable to continue because of this inconvenient recession. Its funny how I decided to go for my masters so I could make it easier on myself to get a good job and now its as if I m working three or four times as hard to find something. This recession has benefited companies by replenishing the diminished talent pool with people who were previously employed. Its makes in much harder for those of us who have recently graduated. A company would, for lack of better words, be taking a chance on a recent graduate to fill a position when then can easily find someone who has multiple years of specific experience.

Perhaps though more companies should be willing to take a chance on someone with less experience. Wouldnt they be more motivated to prove themselves? Dont they bring an added excitement and fresh perspective? I mean finally practical application of all the knowledge they have absorbed for years. And if you arent sold on that...how about the fact that they command less in salary...and they can be molded and shaped into a companies corporate culture easier. Yeah someone may have lots of experience but maybe they are set in there ways...they think in their old position the practices were better.

Really the job search is worse than being in school. Every application is like homework but only way more repetitive. If you do enough homework and get it 100% correct then you can get an interview. Every interview is like an oral exam, the difference is that you automatically fail if the interviewers dont like what they here. The worst part about it all though is all the free time that you have. Most people would kill for some time off...but there is a big difference between a couple weeks of vacation and 5 months of boredom.

Personally I enjoy working. I have been working since I was 14 and have rarely been without a job. I love learning new skills and interacting with people in order to achieve a common goal. I gain a true sense of accomplishment when I can look at something and know that I made that happen or was part of something.

I guess through all my ranting I ll say this. When I get my first job post graduation, I will feel accomplishment. I will have past the ultimate test and will finally be able to move out of the post student purgatory. I m ready for the new challenges that face me in the next chapter of my life.

Weekend Warriors

This past weekend had its moments for sure. Friday was my basketball teams finale party. Read post above. Anyways we had a decent turnout. I think maybe I was expecting more people but to be honest it didnt really matter much. The only downside is we didnt make as much money as we hoped. We still came out on the positive and everyone who contributed money was paid back. Even better was the next day when I went back to help clean up, those of us who decided to show up divided the leftover beer, soda and booze. Needless to stay I m stocked for awhile.

The party itself was a ton of fun. I had a couple friends of mine show up so I was able to hang out with them a bit as well as socialize with everyone else. I took a couple shifts behind the bar...one early and one quite late. I will say at about 3 o clock my normally good judgment was hindered a bit. Lets just say a teammate and I decided we would be more aerodynamic if we bar-tended with our shirts off. It was pretty amusing I suppose...really at that point I just didnt care. Really though whats the point if you cant make a bit of fun of yourself.

For the most part the large majority of people dressed up in suits and tuxedos which was the main point. Most the girls wore nice gowns and dresses as well. I was quite pleased with my first large party planning experience. Event management wouldnt be such a bad career to get into.

As for the rest of the weekend...I hit the gym a few times and filled out some job applications. Turns out that was a good idea since I now have an interview on Friday. Hooray for possible employment. I truly want to be working.

Season Celebration

The regular season is over and in our basketball league there are no playoffs. There is moving up to the next division, being demoted to the lower division or nothing....we are doing nothing. So in order to commemorate the end of our first season together we are throwing a huge party for the whole basketball department at my club. Tomorrow is the day. We bought the booze...sent out the invites and prepared the decorations. Its is going to be epic.

In other news tomorrow I start a program to increase my vertical. Right now I can grab the rim but i m hoping to add about 8 inches or more over the summer so I can be dunking for next season. The program is 15 weeks long and should be challenging enough. The nice thing is that I dont need any weights or anything like that. I will however continue my normal routine at the gym and perhaps even increase how much I work my legs a little. Its easier to do this kind of training during the off season since I wont have any mandatory practices or games that I have to be fresh for.

I m pretty realistic about the whole thing. It says that I should increase 8-14 inches by the end. I figure if I hit the low end I ll consider it a success. Really any little bit will help and at the very least I will have stronger legs and more endurance.

Switching topics again. Its time for the playoffs in basketball and hockey. I am a huge sabres and trailblazers fan. Both teams are in the post season for their respective sports. So far the Sabres opener has been nothing short of thrilling. Its the middle of the second period now and they are winning. I hope they take the W and wax the Bruins in 4 games.

Shaping Up

After a few weeks of demolishing my body with fatty American food and barrel loads of beer, I finally have a gym membership. I will say that I am actually using it. I m not one of those people who gets one and swears they will use it but then really doesnt. I like to stay in shape in in the last few months that i havent been able to work out regularly I have slowly become soft. Yuck!

I have a basketball tourney in Estonia in a bit over a month so the plan is to make sure I am back to form by then. I m toning down my alcohol intake as well. The last month has be absurd. Lets face it..I live in a country that drinks a ridiculous amount of beer. Its a part of everyday life and can be brutal when trying to maintain a high level of physical fitness.

Really not much else going on. I m back to danish classes and still looking for work. I did get my greencard in physical form this past week. Its not green...instead its more of a reddish and aqua blueish colour.