I am really bad at talking to people. So networking events and career fairs are like my personal armageddon. As you can guess I ended up attending a career fair this week as part of my never ending search for a summer internship (I have spent too many nights obsessing over the correct usage of a comma on my cover letters).

I arrived at the SUB which was where the fair was happening, checked in, and wandered around for ten minutes trying to work up the courage to talk to a recruiter. I found it very intimidating and was very nervous. I actually spent a lot of time talking to my fellow classmates in the beginning and learned some new names.

Finally, with the encouragement of a friend I walked up to the Amazon table. The conversation with the recruiter went really well and was very interesting. I was like ‘yeah, this is going so well’. And, maybe it was because the room was hot and there were photography lights flashing to my left and I was nervous or I don’t even know that caused me to faint. Yep, I fainted. In front of many people. People i may want to work for/with. It was MORTIFYING. I will cringe about this experience 50 years from now. I am still cringing about it even as I type these words.

Everyone was really nice and concerned. All the fainting stories I was told made me feel a little better. And I was able to joke that I was so excited about Amazon that I fainted. After assuring everyone that i was fine and indeed was not  a fainting sheep in disguise I quickly made my rounds at other tables and left.

My first career fair definitely was not boring. Though I lost some dignity, I gained a lot of experience about how to talk to professionals about my interests and the career I want. the fair was worth it.

So this week I went to Seattle to get my passport as I am going to Toronto for spring break. The whole process before arriving at the agency went smoothly. I thought I had gathered all the documents that I needed. Upon arriving and going through an airport like level of security I discovered that I had forgotten my passport photos. Luckily enough a kind security guard advised me to just run down the street to FedEx to get them done (took five minutes) and come back. So advice for you all; go to FedEx to get your passport photos done because that’s where the passport agency people actually recommend you go to since Walgreens doesn’t always nail down the requirements.

It was an interesting experience. I forgot that my queue number was 331 and NOT 333 which meant I had to get a new queuing number (371). While I waited, as you often do when dealing with any form of bureaucracy, I couldn’t help but overhear the conversations that each agent was having with the person at the window.

There was a programmer trying to fly into Tokyo for a new job, boyfriend trying to meet up with his girlfriend in the Middle East, a child gymnast who just won her way into an international competition, families taking vacations (usually to Canada), a wife trying to claim the body of her husband who had committed suicide, businessmen and businesswomen, and a lot of immigrants trying to go home.

The last group of people stood out to me the most. Many of them had previously talked to other agencies to help them navigate the complicated system in obtaining a permit and getting permission to cross the border among many other things. A woman that came here on a work permit was attempting to get a passport to go home to Mexico because there was an emergency (which is one of the circumstances that allows you to get your passport at an agency); a relative was dying. However she needed to be naturalized or a citizen to obtain a passport. She had already talked to Border Patrol who appeared to tell her this wasn’t a problem. A lot of stories were similar to this. And the whole time I was (let’s face it) eavesdropping, I couldn’t help but wonder how could you make this process better.

It turns out that failed group projects has not allowed people to realize communication is key when you hear the stories of inaccurate information being told to people at different agencies, leading to overall confusion. So, I thought what if you had some sort of process online that cleared up the issue.

The government website where you get information for your passport has a cost calculator where you enter your basic information and it spits out a number. What if you created a Situation Calculator (terrible name, I know). A person would start off entering their basic information, then enter the circumstances they are in, and then the program would tell them the process that they would need to go through required documents needed, who to contact, and what order to contact the agencies in.

It would help. Instead of individually calling each agency and searching for this information it would all be laid out clearly for someone. The program would create an outline/plan. Just a thought.

Wait, maybe I will create this for my computer science extra credit project. (cue TaySwift singing “it could be forever or go down in flames”)

When I was applying to college I was always curious about how much time studying and clubs would take up my daily life and if I would ever get enough free time. Or if it was alot of free time and I could frolic about campus. There’s the suggestion that for every hour you are in class there are 2-3 hours of work that you do outside of class. It’s not true for all of my classes.

Thought you would want a look at what my average week looks like. Though this isn’t standard for every student it gives a clearer picture. As I have mentioned before my planner is my life. So, I have everything in there.

On the left side, I have deadlines and weekly agenda. There is space for random notes and things and my daily checklist for the week.

On the right side, I have my actual schedule/calendar and a space for me to write my daily itinerary. I am only taking three classes this semester so my schedule is light. I color code things. Red is for school things for example.

I need to have that daily itinerary to actually see how much time I have to budget for certain things. It helps keep me in check. When I register for classes, creating example itineraries for each potential class schedule (I know I am crazy), I can tell if I am putting too much on my plate. I have an odd mindset where if there is an available time slot, I will fill it up with something thinking I have time for it and not thinking about the work for whatever activity.

I spend anywhere from thirty minutes to three hours on a class. When I took French it was thirty minutes since I pick up languages really easily. In my reading classes it takes an hour to two hours depending on the reading. And problem sets and computer science homework can take anywhere from two to four hours. NOT EVERYDAY OF COURSE. I pick my classes so I can TRY to have an A/B schedule.

Hope this makes the college schedule alot less vague! 

As a local I must say that every Puget Sound student should try to explore Tacoma. And especially explore the gem that is Point Defiance. There is a zoo and aquarium, multiple picnic locations, gardens (so many), duck pond, a playground, a beach, the marina, a forest, a fort. There’s a lot going in that foliage heaven. So, deciding to take advantage of the free time that reading period gives and the nice weather, a friend and I decided to take the bus down there and have fun with the 50 yards of tulle that I bought but never used. I honestly don’t remember what compelled me to buy so much tulle.

Afterwards we had lunch at Don’s Market. Everyone should visit Don’s Market because it is adorable. And the options for milkshakes flavors are endless and you will be paralyzed with indecisiveness.

My friends and I have a great tradition of going out for breakfast every other Saturday morning. Luckily for us Puget Sound is located near some of the best diners in Tacoma (Old Milwaukee Cafe and the Shakabrah on 6th Avenue).

This last Saturday we decided to try the Engine House 9. It was a firehouse back in the day and the owners decided to retain some of that history with firemen hats and the old architecture of the building. It may have either become a cheese place or a brewery before becoming its’ present day pub/restaurant.

The fries that are just automatically included with every meal are delicious and they have quite unique egg dishes. Like a California Benedict? Is that an actual thing? You also get the world’s most beautiful hot chocolate which tragically you will not finish because you are stuffed to the point of puking.