Whenever anyone asks me what I want to do with my degree in Journalism and Rhetoric - Creative Writing (yeah, that's right, I'm not an English major), I always say "I want to write and get paid for it." Right now I'm writing in this blog while I'm at work, so it's almost like I'm writing and getting paid for it. Well, actually I'm getting paid to scan pictures but writing instead.
Anyway, with senior year of college fast approaching, I've been starting to think lately about what I'm going to do after I graduate. I ran into a former teacher at the Lilac Parade and I talked with him for a while and he asked where I see myself in 5 years. It was a good question. One that I've been think about a lot. So here are some possible scenarios I could see myself pursuing at this point:
1. Get a job at whatever newspaper or publication is willing to hire me when I graduate and relocate to wherever they happen to be. This is probably the most realistic situation.
2. Go to King's College in London and get an MA in American Studies...ok not really. I just like the idea of getting a degree in American Studies from a British university.
3. A (slightly more) realistic London proposal: Work my ass off from the time I graduate until the following New Years and save up a bunch of money. Then go over and live in London doing whatever I feel like, maybe work in a pub somewhere or something, until the next Thanksgiving. I don't know what I'd really get out of this careerwise, but it would be awesome.
4. Go into the Peace Corp and get to live in a foreign country for a couple years helping make a difference in people's lives. I don't really know if any skills that I have are useful for the Peace Corp though.
5. Do one of those teaching English in a foreign country - like Japan or China - deals. It would be another cool way to get to see more of the world. It's just too bad that they don't need people to teach English in England.
6. If I can't find a job at a paper or magazine somewhere I've thought about getting a job at Starbucks (I hear they have good benefits) and working on some writing until I decide to go back to grad school. Which leads to...
7. Go to grad school and get an MFA in Creative Writing. This is something I definitely want to do eventually. Originally it was my plan for immediately after I finished my undergrad but I was advised against going right away. So I might wait a couple years and then do that.
8. Write a kick ass proposal and get a government grant to go travel around the world and write a book. If I could do that it would be incredible.
So those are some of the things I'm considering for when I finish school this time next year. It's nice to have options. I probably will end up doing something totally different than any of those things I just wrote though. Life has a tendency to make serious planning for the future quite difficult.
SONG OF THE MOMENT:
Sugar, We're Going Down - Fall Out Boy
Apparently this is the week where the TV networks decide their schedules for the fall. I was doing a little reading on tvguide.com and found some stuff that I found to be a little surprising. First of all, the best news is that it seems that Fox is going to be renewing Arrested Development. I think this is one of the most innovative and funny shows on TV right now. I regret that I didn't start to watch it regularly until near the end of the second season. I've got some catching up to do over the summer before the start of the third season.
It also appears that NBC will be renewing The Office, which is awesome because it was my favorite new show this season. It's unconventional style puts some people off, but I think it's awesome.
My first bit off disappointment came when I found out that NBC did not renew Committed, which was in the time slot following Scrubs prior to the premiere of The Office. I'll admit that I wasn't sure I liked the show at first, but after watching a couple episodes I began to really like the characters. I especially liked the fact that the show took the risk of making you dislike the black character who was in a wheelchair. Typically on TV someone like this would only be portrayed only in a glowing light. It was interesting to see him be the antagonist.
I was also disappointed - and so was Dick Wolf apparently - that NBC passed didn't pick up Law & Order - Trial by Jury. A Law & Order spinoff getting the can is unheard of. From what I saw of the show during the its two hour crossover special with L&O - SVU, I enjoyed it. It was definitely on par with the other series in the franchise. Maybe 4 L&O shows is just too much.
Quintuplets was cancelled, which makes me very happy. I love Andy Richter but the show was horrendous. Andy Richter Controls the Universe was 100 times better. He can do a lot better than this piece of crap.
The most disturbing piece of news is that Scrubs, although it has already been renewed, is not currently on NBC's fall line-up schedule. TV Guide says that the network insists that it will be back in the line-up sometime next season. The Tuesday night 9 p.m. (8 central) slot is currently slated for a show called My Name is Earl, starring Jason Lee. I love Jason Lee and I love the idea of him starring in a sitcom. I do not love it being programmed in the Scrubs timeslot. There are plenty of other places the show could have gone. Is The Apprentice: Martha Stewart really necessary? I think it's almost guranteed to be a steaming pile of shit. If I was in charge over at NBC I'd dump that crap and use that hour of programming time to keep Committed and debut My Name is Earl. If there's one thing that's sure, it's that Scrubs should not be tampered with. Other than the Law & Order shows, which have been staples of the network for years, Scrubs is probably the best thing they have going for them. They shouldn't jeopardize that.
I know. I think about TV way too much. But that's my 500 cents on the fall programming decisions that I care about.
SONG OF THE MOMENT:
Late - Ben Folds
Seriously, listen to Songs for Silverman already. You'll thank me. 100 times.
Still no update on the format of my blog. I haven't had the time or the patience lately to sit down and try to figure all that stuff out. Anyway, the reason I decided to write this entry is that something occurred to me recently. I realized while some of us were out at Brother's on Friday that I have a lot of what I would call "hey-how-ya-doin?" friends. These are people that I've had classes with or have been introduced to through friends or whatever. I know them well enough and feel comfortable enough to say "hey, how ya doin?" if I see them on the street or at a bar or restaurant, but not much better than that. If I did attempt to carry on a conversation, it would probably last about a minute. When I look back over my college career so far - which is very tempting to do now that I just have a year left - the thing I regret the most is that there are so many people who I've met that I never took the time to get to know better. I've come across a lot of interesting people who I wish I'd gotten to know on a more intimate basis than "hey, how ya doin?" Why this hasn't happened, I don't really know. I think I have a tendency to keep to myself a lot when I'm put in social situations alone. People who know me know that I talk a lot. A lot. But when I'm somewhere by myself without anyone I'm really comfortable talking to, I tend to be very reserved. As my classes are getting smaller and smaller I'm starting to see the same people in a lot of my classes. It's kind of weird when I'm in classes with people for multiple semesters or I'm in multiple classe with someone during the same semester and yet I never really get to know them. I guess you could say it's a goal for me to start to actually get to know people in my classes and not depend on friends to introduce me to all my new friends. I know it's late in the game, but as the cliche goes, better late than never.
SONG OF THE MOMENT:
Bastard - Ben Folds
If you haven't heard Songs for Silverman yet, go check it out. As always, Ben Folds is amazing.