Pre-Week: Packing, etc. (i)

Welcome to my new blog. It is my first.

Instructions/Rules for Ben's Blog:

1. Do not feel obligated to read everything.


Entry 1 - Pre-Week (i): Packing etc.; or, scattered thoughts

This week is really more of an etc. week than a packing one. I have designated tonight (Wed) and tomorrow for travel preparation, though watching Superman I and playing with my new laptop also lie high on the docket. Maybe some exercise, too. Throw in World Cup soccer and my forthcoming road trip... "etc."

Here is my new favorite toy (def. bringing this one overseas):












For those of you who have no idea what I've been up to until now, a brief personal history:

2005

• May: Graduate from UVA with a BA in English, no job lined up for the fall.
• Late May - August: Fifth year on motorboating staff down at Camp. Sad to end what probably was my final summer spent faffing about in a place steeped in formative memories, though glad to anticipate some novelty. Bittersweet.
  
• Late August: Still no job. Missing school like hell, mainly because the alternative is scary and bleak and staring me in the face.
• September: Thanks to the help of a friend, I land my first post-collegiate job as a temp for a small music non-profit based near GW University. The commute is long, the pay is lackluster and they only had me working four hours a day, but it was a start.
• September - December: Transition into office manager role at another non-profit, this one geared toward improving DC's public schools. Concurrently, pick up part-time hours working sales shifts at The Container Store and serving at a local Irish Pub.
• October: V & I enroll in bartending school. Probably the coolest, and also the most fruitless, investment I have ever made. Before long, I am pouring 100+ different drinks on request.

2006

• Late January: I quit all other jobs after accepting a post in outside sales for a DHL reseller in DC. The hardest and most enriching job I have tried.
• May: After deciding to take this trip, I leave the sales post for a month helping out at a legal staffing agency, also in DC. Domo arigato guisay masta!

So that's the scoop, for now. Stay tuned for more, and feel free to get in touch at any time. Peace, Ben