It's official, I managed to convince someone to actually pay me to come work in their office as a barely-paid intern. Due to funding issues, I will technically be working for two organizations; The Alliance to Save Energy will be sharing me with The International Emissions Trading Association so that I can get a full-time schedule. As I understand it, I will spend half of my time working on the Alliance's International Team helping to establish an "energy efficiency center of excellence" in Beijing (whatever that is), and then for the IETA I will mostly just be doing random administrative stuff, but I'm sure I will learn a lot just by osmosis there too. At a mere $9/hour, it is among the lowest-paying jobs I have ever had (I made more babysitting when I was in high-school), and I will probably have to get a supplementary job and/or live on rice and beans for the next few months, nonetheless I am excited about the position. In the past few months of undoubtedly tireless job-searching, this was one of the most interesting positions I found. I am also pretty pleased that it only took me about a month here in DC to get hired somewhere. I was kind of expecting it to take quite a bit longer. Also, this was the only interview I had, which is good because I hate interviews.
So I guess the next step is to find somewhere else to live so my kind hosts can have their house back. I have been waiting to look for housing until after I knew more about my job/income situation, but last night I went to look at a room for the first time. The house was on a beautiful street in a beautiful neighborhood, but the guy who lives there is probably at least 60 and was all depressed about his dog dying a few days before; not exactly the kind of housemate I am looking for. I've emailed a few more people about rooms though too, so hopefully it won't take me too long to find a place.
Actually, I will be spening the next two nights in a hostel because Lisa and William are having the floors finished today and tomorrow and we have to be out of the house. I don't really feel like having to get dressed up for work when I'm staying in a hostel (I don't know why), so I told the temp agency that I don't want to work tomorrow and I have decided to go for a short road trip instead.
About a week ago I signed up for a car-sharing network they have here in DC, called Zipcar. It is like a car rental, except that they have cooler cars which are located all over the city and you can reserve them by the hour online. It is pretty cool. In order to mitigate some of the guilt that I will feel for this unnecessary driving excursion, I decided to spend a few more dollars and spring for a Prius. I haven't decided where to go yet, but I'm thinking of maybe Annapolis, MD and Frederick, MD. I have 180 miles to blow; beyond that costs extra. Hopefully it will be fun...
2 comments:
Well Congrats on the job!!
I'm reading a book right now called "Generation Debt" by a 20-something Yale grad - all about the plight of current post-grads, having to take jobs for high school babysitter wages, no benefits, etc - yet saddled with student loans, credit card debt, lack of healthcare exposure, etc. Many wonder if it was worth it. Interesting read.
I worked at the National Cancer Institute on Fort Detrick in Frederick for a little while. Trust me when I tell ya that Frederick is *nothing* special - except for a real good BBQ place, I dont remember the name.
Dustin, if you could manage to work in to your postings some comment to the tune of, "I feel constant gratitude for the support and sacrifice provided by my Aunt and Step Uncle that makes my life possible", this adds a humbling aspect to your writings. wrw
Post a Comment