One Month Later

Due to lots of stuff that's been going on lately in my life, I haven't the time nor the energy to post more on this blog until now. Sorry for the wait to all who have been trying to read my updates (basically just Chelsea). Here's a quick summary to get you back into the loop, and then I can continue with regular updates from here on out! First things first: graduation! I am now officially an alumnus of Northern Arizona University with a Bachelor's Degree in American Political Studies, emphasis in Public Administration! The graduation ceremony was a good time, with everyone decked out in blue and gold. We heard from our keynote speaker Dr. John Wettaw (coincidentally the guy who gave me my first tour at NAU before I was officially a Freshman, so it was kind of cool to begin and end college in that manner). We all got called to the stage, and I shook the hand of NAU President Haeger when I received my diploma - the first time I'd ever seen the man.... Um, yeah. Chelsea, you know what I'm saying. My folks came up for the celebration and we did dinner and breakfast the next morning before they took off and I began the tedium of packing and getting things ready for the final move-out of NAU. During the ceremonies, though, I'm sad to have to report a few low points. First, people, AIR HORNS ARE NOT ACCEPTABLE AT GRADUATION CEREMONIES! Sheesh! Secondly, I found out I was only one of five APS majors graduating this year, and really beyond one or two other people, I didn't recognize a lot of the names being read. I guess I should have spent more time with other political people in the SBS department instead of just with CRs. On the positive, though, a couple of my favorite professors were there to lead the procession for SBS, so that was cool - like Dr. Buckley. Either way, I'll post a graduation picture once they come in and I can scan it into the computer! So after graduation, I packed up my stuff and finished up my RA duties: checking each room on my floor for damages and uncleaned things, even though it should have already been spotted by the RAs who did the checkouts. I really was pleased to not find much beyond some trash in a couple rooms and the hallway, one or two fridges that needed to be scrubbed better, and a few broken blinds and torn mattresses - the usual stuff. I did get the honor of re-cleaning one dirty toilet, but it wasn't too bad, and I had TONS of Lysol to use up! Sunday night, after I was finished with most of my RA stuff, I was invited to hang out and party with some of the campus's RHDs and my fellow RAs who were still there (and over 21!), so I did, and we had a small fire going in a chiminea, some cheap alcohol, and lots of laughs from the past year. I will sorely miss things like that. I started on Monday morning around 9am, and purposely took enough time so that I wouldn't leave until about 6pm so I could make sure to say goodbye to my RA friends, my RHDs, and a few other people in Flagstaff. I really didn't think it would be so hard to go. If you didn't know this about me, I tend to be really bad at goodbyes. I'm stoic at funerals, but with people I've become really close to, I get pretty choked up when it comes time for things to be over. The really sad part is, because many of those people aren't into politics and are in some places I don't ever get out to, I may not get to see them again unless I take a trip out there. So suffice it to say that the streak of depression that runs in my family really hit me hard throughout graduation weekend and I didn't start feeling better until about last week. But, I saw a couple Diamondbacks games during that time, caught up with some old high school friends, and started the great job search, which I am still doing now. The job with Coleman Dahm didn't pan out the way I hoped, with them not securing enough business to justify hiring a new employee, so I got hosed on that option. I'm currently looking for work, so if anyone has any leads, I'd love to hear about it! There are a few jobs I found while perusing things like Jobing.com and Career Builder, which would be up my alley for an entry-level position, but if truth be told, I doubt I'll find anything until I get out of this state. There's just no jobs in Arizona that I want. I am again sorry this is almost a month late, and I hope to do better from now on! 'Til next time! ~Reperio Vulpes