July, July

The last time I came close to updating this blog was during Orientation. Obviously, that post was never made.

Orientation was, by far, the best job I've ever had. Essentially, I got paid (and paid well) to hang out. Sure, there was about a week and a half of training and doing prep work, but once freshmen started moving in, I was having a great, great time. I'd applied to be an OL after my freshman year, but didn't get picked. The people who'd got the job that year were all fantastic, dynamic people, so I didn't feel bad.

Last summer I regretted not applying because I was working a job that was a) longer (5 weeks vs. 2 1/2 weeks) and b) paid the same amount. It had potential for being a cool job--working with kids from 7-18 in different art mediums (photo, video, visual arts, drama, etc). However, I was chosen to work in the office which was beyond terrible. Basically I answered phones, updated the database, did awkward deliveries, made awkward phone calls ("Oh, hello, you haven't paid your bill yet so you can't bring your son here," or "Hello, according to attendance today you daughter didn't show up, is she home? She drives here....obviously not.") and give out ice packs and band aids. My living situation on campus sucked because I was living in 1/2 a bedroom in an apartment. Two of the guys living there had been there a month before I even moved in and had pretty much taken up the whole place with tons of shit. Plus they were pretty gross to live with.

Anyhow, after I found out that a particular staff member wasn't heading up Orientation anymore, I decided to apply. I made it to the very last round of things and got Waitlisted. It was pretty much being in Job Purgatory because I wanted to work Orientation, but if it fell through I'd need another job. But if I got a full time job, which could've likely happened, I'd have to take 3 weeks off for Orientation if someone dropped out and I was offered the job. Things were tricky.

In May, I'm hanging out in Jersey one night and I get a phone call from Rob. He says that Jay, my supervisor with ResLife and coordinator of Orientation, had called the apartment looking for me. I call Jay at his office, thinking I forgot to do something with Res Life and was getting fired, and instead he tells me someone dropped out and that I had the position if I wanted it. Of course, I thought it over. At that moment, I'd pretty much forgotten about Orientation and kind of doubted my readiness to deal with a billion freshmen and be a face for Purchase. That night I thought it over and figured it'd be a great opportunity. It was.

It was great to connect with a good group of Purchase kids as an OL. My co-workers were fantastic. Not as wild as in the past, which is when it was best, but this group was friendly, helpful, supportive and got shit done. Meeting the freshmen was a great opportunity because it was so fantastic to hear how excited they were to start college and do their thing. After you're at Purchase for a while, you get surrounded with negative thoughts about everything and hearing something positive for once was great.

After Orientation, I went up to Maine with a few close friends. Cole has a cabin by the beach and for about 4 days we just relaxed. No phone, no internet, some running water, a beach and great people. Awesome.

In a few weeks I'm going to Hawai'i with my family. The more time I spend with them the more I realize how a) I kind of miss my family, but b) can never really be "in it" like I used to. I'm a much different person in a lot of ways and I think my time out of the house for the past three years has put a great distance between me and my family. It's good and bad, but was bound to happen. Sure, they're supportive and loving and I reciprocate those feelings, but this isn't a place I call home anymore, really. It's my family's house in Queens.

So yeah that was July.