work

we had an ice cream party at work today.  (cookies 'n cream w/ reese's pieces = money)

in may, we're having a golf fundraiser for our division.  (paid to golf?  hollaaaa)

later this month i'm going to jeffersonville, ky to visit the national processing center for the decennial census.  (if you ever wondered where your census forms go, that's the place.)  travel/accommodations paid by the gov't.

 i write all this fun stuff first because the actual day to day routine of my job is pretty boring.  i basically sit at a comp and enter numbers/analyze data/fix issues all day.  so, i have to have things to look forward to.  i think the census bureau is pretty good about planning activities for new employees though. 

the other day, my mom asked if i'd rather be back at school instead of working.  its a tough question to answer so i'll make a pro/con list.

PROS: $$$, free (homecooked) food, $$$, being close to d.c. and surrounding areas (cville starts to feel pretty enclosed after awhile), $$$, being (relatively) close to church/ friends, did i say $$$?

CONS: much less free time, having to wake up at 5:30 am, 1 hr + commute, taxes/paying back loans, slowly coming to the realization that maintaining a social life requires much more effort now. 

so, i can't really answer that question definitively.  i didn't really go crazy on the weekends in college so it's not that much of a shock to live at home.  plus, my parents give me space, which i appreciate.  its funny because i always said i'd live at home to save money, but i find myself just spending that money on other things... maybe if i moved out, i'd be forced to live frugally.  meh.

speaking of shopping, now that i'm working i've decided to upgrade my wardrobe.  first thing on the list: business attire.  no suits (yet), just shirts, nice slacks and maybe shoes.  i've been wearing the same 5 shirts/2-3 pairs of pants to work for the past month and a half.  i think my coworkers laugh behind my back, "he's wearing those khakis again??"  probably not, but you never know.  someone at church made the point that living and working in dc makes you feel all kinds of lame because you start noticing all the good looking people with their nice clothing and comparing them to yours.  i can attest to that.  i know i shouldn't give into the pressure, but i'm weak.

i've never just walked into a store and shopped with the intention of putting together complete outfits.  usually i just get random pieces here and there, so it'll be interesting.  i need a fashion guru (i've vowed never to read a fashion magazine, even if its geared toward men, for personal reasons).  i've tried shopping on my own and it usually ends in a return trip to exchange what i bought for something my mom and sister approve of ("that shirt and tie could not clash any worse than they do already.  take it back!").

maybe i should just be a farmer and wear blue jeans and flannel all day.  am i being materialistic? shallow?

sorry for the disjointedness of this entry.  its been awhile since i wrote the last one and i'm not in the mood to write something coherent and unified.  so today you get word barf.