Intern-itis

   Due to the less-than-stellar job market, me and quite a few of my peers have what I like to call Intern-itis, or chronic interning. Remember when the statistic came out in the spring, saying 50% of recent college graduates were unemployed or underemployed? We are the "underemployed" group (well, us and the baristas and the waitresses and the retail workers). Maybe I should go sit in a park with a "I am the 50%" sign... although that would get in the way of my chronic interning.

Anyway, in the industry I've chosen to go into, it's now normal for recent graduates to intern for 3, 6, 9 or even 12 months after graduating. Eventually, someone will hire you, and the key is to be persistent and not give up. As I gear up for my second post-graduation internship, I keep repeating a few helpful tips/giving myself a daily pep talk:

1. Persistence, persistence, persistence. In my industry, this is the way to get your foot in the door. For others, it may be the only way to gain "real world" work experience. Bite the bullet, and pay your dues - it won't last forever.
2. Network, network, network! While you company may not be able to hire you immediately, maybe a coworker's friend's company can!
3. A companion point to #2 - never ever burn a bridge. Resist the urge to talk back when you have to do the millionth grunt-work task, because these are the times where you prove how much you want it and what a great work ethic you have (and because your supervisors will remember your good attitude when they are asked about you!).
4. INFORMATIONAL INTERVIEWS. It's a jungle out there - you have to work hard to get a (good) job. When companies get thousands of resume's in a month (or less), having someone there who has actually talked to you is crucial. Whether it's a casual coffee or more formal, in-the-office interview, an informational interview gives you the chance to discuss your experience with your prospective employer, and it gives you a chance to see if it's worth trying to get a job there - maybe it turns out that you would hate it there!
5. Build your portfolio. Keep a log of all of your duties, even the daily ones, so that you can speak clearly about your experience in cover letters and on your resume. While you're at it, ask to keep work that you're proud of as a sample to show prospective employers.
6. IGNORE the people younger than you who have jobs - they are probably not in your field, and you would probably not do well/not enjoy their field. There is a reason you aren't a software developer/accountant/IT professional/real estate agent, etc or whatever careers sound awful to you (those lines of work sound particularly awful to me personally, but if that's you, great for you!)
7. IGNORE the people who say millennials are lazy - remind yourself that you are not just playing video games in your parents' basement, you are doing whatever it takes to get a job, and hard work is respectable.

In short, to all of the other post-college interns out there - persevere! We can do it! Work your butt off, and people will recognize and respect that. And remember - we are the 50%! There are tons of other smart, talented people in your situation. Solidarity, my friends.

Back in the Dorm - Cooking, Part II

   My second part of my dorm cooking recipe series is Creamy Pesto Orzo with Chicken.  I found this recipe on Pintrest (albeit without the chicken), and since pasta recipes are particularly one-pot friendly, I played around and came up with this!  It's super comfort food, in my opinion.

Creamy Pesto Orzo with Chicken


Ingredients:
1 cup orzo
3 tbsp pesto (I use jarred pesto), or more, to taste
Grated parmesan cheese, to taste
1 chicken breast (optional)

Use your pot to "saute" the chicken.

Cook the orzo as directed.  While it is cooking, cut the chicken breast into bite-sized pieces.  Drain, and return pasta to the pot.  Stir in parmesan cheese and pesto, to taste.  Let sit, and you have what I like to think of as mac and cheese, only better.

Back in the Dorm - Cooking, Part I

   While I've been interning, I've also been living in Intern Central - the dorms of The George Washington University in DC.  GW rents out their rooms, interns get a 3 month lease, and everybody wins.  It's not the Ritz Carlton, though - although I have my own room, I share a bathroom with about 15 other girls, and I share a kitchen with 30 other people.  I still love to cook, but this means that I need to make my meals using as little space as possible, which means one pan or one pot (and incidentally, that's all I have with me).  Here is the first of several meals I've made in one pot or one baking pan:

Roasted Chicken, Potatoes, and Asparagus

Ingredients:

• 1/4 lb. small red potatoes
• Asparagus (however much you want)
• One chicken breast
• 2 tsp iced garlic (I buy it premade, in a jar)
• 5 tsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp dill
• 3 tbsp. whole grain mustard, or more to taste
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat the over to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.  Line a baking pan or sheet with parchment paper.

Dice potatoes into 1/2 inch cubes, and toss with whole grain mustard, one tablespoon of olive oil, and salt to taste.  Place in one third of the baking pan or sheet.

Coat the chicken with dill, olive oil, and 1 tsp garlic.  Place in the baking pan or sheet.  


Bake for 30 minutes.


Meanwhile, toss the asparagus with 1 tsp garlic, 1 tsp olive oil, and salt and pepper, to taste.  Add to the pan after 30 minutes.


Bake for 15 more minutes, and then serve!  Feeds one, with enough leftovers for lunch the next day.

What I've Been Up To Lately

yes, I did take this

   I must truly be the worst blogger ever.  After faithfully posting nearly every day last summer and into the fall and winter, I went over four months without touching this blog.  But now it is summer again, and I've got time on my hands, and so here I am, again!
   Since my hiatus, I have been busy.  I've run a half marathon (under two hours, baby!), graduated from college, and started an internship in Washington, DC.  I absolutely love this city, and in the nearly two months that I've lived here, I've learned a lot.  In the upcoming weeks, I hope to share a bit of it with you all!  For starters, I've come up with a list of tips for DC newcomers, like myself.

1. Traffic signals are just a suggestion (unless you hear sirens).  If there are no cars coming, go ahead and cross,
2. Learn the "inside" of the metro - the area where all the lines start to cross each other and get tangled up - first*  
3. Yes, it really is important to add NW, SW, NE, and SE to any address
4. Anything in Foggy Bottom or around Farragut Square is going to be expensive.  Try Dupont Circle, or even better, Adams Morgan for younger, cheaper things.
5. Georgetown is the only place where taking the bus is really a good bet, in my opinion.
6. It is a 5 mile loop from the Lincoln memorial to the Capitol and back - great for running!
7. You can never try too many gourmet(ish) burgers or cupcakes.  I recommend Good Eats (by Top Chef contestant Spike Mendelson!) and Crumbs bakery - but many more are great too!
8. If you find a good Mexican restaurant, let me know.
9. While you're here, network, network, network.
10. Soak it in.  This is a city with a huge amount of influence and possibility, so make the most of it!

*And you only need to know the stops you tend to go to.  This will help you navigate faster - if you know what direction you need to go, you only have to look at the station at the end of the line in the direction you need to go, and figuring out which train to take will get easier.

Spring Nail Polish

   I've decided that Essie's Cajun Shrimp is my new spring nail polish!  This red-orange reminds me of the "J. Crew Red" and tangerine colors that are so popular this spring.  

Sock Bun

   Way back in January, I promised a post about my sock bun (featured in this post).  Finally, I've gotten to it.  Here is what I did:

1. Cut the foot off a knee-high sock
2. Roll the sock into a donut shape
3. Pull your hair into a pony tail
4. Thread the pony tail into your donut-shaped sock, rolling hair under as you go
5. Continue until the sock is right up next to your head
6. Secure with bobby pins and/or hairspray

If you'd like some more detailed instructions, try this video tutorial here, to just search YouTube for "sock bun tutorial".  Helpful hint - try to use a sock that matches your hair color, in case it peeks through!

Brace yourself...

    ...because this is kind of a gross post.  There's no blood or gore, but if you're squeamish, you might want to skip this one.
    With my disclaimer out of the way, I can get on to the real subject of the post: toes.  Specifically, bruised big toes.  When I say bruised, I mean really bruised.

    Apparently, this is a pretty common injury among soccer players, whose toes get stepped on, jammed against their cleats as they kick, and stubbed in all kinds of creative ways.  However, despite my three years on the soccer team, this is new to me.  My toes gradually got this bruised in the course of training for a half marathon.  Grinding out all of those miles doesn't sound too dangerous for your toes, except for one thing - when I was fitted for running shoes a few months ago, the associate who helped me gave me shoes that are about 1/2 a size too small, and my feet have no room to move around or even swell a little bit on long runs, and consequently my toes jam against the shoe with every step, eventually creating these bruises.

   Fitting running shoes is a little tricky because you don't exactly wear your normal shoe size.  Always order either half a size or a whole size up (so, since I usually wear a size 8, I bought size 8.5 running shoes).  If you have any questions at all (and even if you don't, it's a good idea), go to a specialized running store (Austinites, I recommend Luke's Locker - the staff are very experienced and all runners).  

  What to do if you end up developing bruises anyway?  If it hurts, ice it.  If you are worried about losing the nail (which is always a possibility), wrap your toe in gauze and athletic tape.  Take a day off if you feel like your toenail is really in danger.  Always, always, always keep your nail short!  Consider visiting a podiatrist, and finally, get new shoes!
   Update: after finally seeing a podiatrist (fun fact: they have a different degree than a regular physician - not an MD, but they still have plenty of training!), here is what he told me to do.  If the bruising really hurt, he could remove my nails, but since my toes don't hurt, he wants to let them fall off on their own, so that the new nail will grow in a little and my toes won't be completely naked.  In the meantime, he prescribed an odorless, colorless anti-fungal medication (called Ciclopirox), so that when they do fall off, nothing gets infected.  You paint it on just like toenail polish, it comes off with nail polish remover, and it can be applied over nail polish!  How cool is that?