However, this is what I came up with:

Yeah… I clearly don’t have a future in graphic design.

Let me start by articulating what exactly my skills are.

Long version:
I’ve come to realize that my “gift”, as it were, is language. For instance, I was able to teach myself Korean by translating song lyrics with a dictionary; furthermore, I got so far using just this method that I was able to bypass 3 full university-level courses. This shows that I was able to not only learn vocabulary, but to pick up on the patterns within the dictionary’s example sentences and figure out structures such as subject/object markers and tense, all without it ever being expressly taught to me. This also demonstrates a high level of analytical thinking and an ability to draw from a wide area of knowledge to form conclusions. I am able to see patterns and connections in language (both within a language and between languages) that many people cannot. It is worth noting, however, that my talent extends only to written language; although I am able to quickly pick up language when I can see it in writing, I have a very difficult time with listening comprehension and speaking. I am not interested in translation or teaching, and although Korean was my primary language interest, I am interested in language as a whole, and not necessarily just one particular language.

Short version:
I am exceptionally talented at finding patterns, seeing connections, analysis, and written language acquisition. I have a very analytical mind and, although this is seen most strongly in language acquisition, it can be applied to pretty much everything.

And, even though I am not interested in programming, I am still interested in high tech in general. So I’d like something that incorporates my skills and interests.

Luckily, the people I contacted were eager to be helpful. Among the things they suggested were cryptography, government language analysis, and linguistics.

One reminded me that computer science isn’t always about programming, which is a point well taken.

Interestingly, even though I specifically contacted people with a wide variety of backgrounds to get as many viewpoints as possible, each of them suggested government work with various agencies. A couple of them were kind enough to offer to introduce me to their contacts (government workers or recruiters) who might be interested in me, or who might be able to further guide me.

I do have a bit of reservation about applying for a government job again, though. Last time I didn’t make it through the security clearance process (and of course they don’t tell you why). Since I had decided just minutes before I got the letter that I didn’t want the job (I made the decision while driving home), it wasn’t devastating, but it was still a bit of a blow to be rejected. I’m somewhat hesitant to apply for a position that I really, really want, only to be denied.

There is also the issue that most of these jobs aren’t in Hawaii. One thing I considered that would keep us here is going into research, and trying to get a job at UH or something. I considered studying linguistics, cognitive science, natural language processing, neuroscience, psychology. NLP/computational linguistics in particular is an area that would make heavy use of my tech background. Buuuuut it’s not something I’m very sure about just yet.

In any case, I really appreciate the fact that my former professors took time out of their day to offer their insights to me. I sent off the emails half-expecting to get no replies, so I’m really thrilled that they not only replied, but replied thoughtfully. Their answers do offer a new area to explore.

I’m also thankful that Toby’s been so patient, especially since I know he doesn’t understand my need to find a career that makes best use of my talents. Thank you, Toby. ♥

I guess one of the great things about where we live now, compared to our former apartment, is that there (usually) isn’t much loud noise. There is, however, a great deal of constant background noise, which is probably causing us to slowly lose our hearing, but that’s another topic.

Our last place… was on the first floor, next to the intersection of a freeway offramp and a busy road. It seemed that at every red light, some jerk was sitting there blasting their radio, sometimes so loud that we got nauseous from the sound. I got so frustrated that at times I was tempted to store bricks on our balcony, to be tossed at the thoughtless offenders. (It was especially frustrating when Tommy was born, since he never ever ever EVER went to sleep. When he finally, finally did sleep, somebody’s stupid radio would inevitably wake him up.)

As if that weren’t bad enough, we were also next to a hospital AND a police station. (Considering that where we live now is just down the street from where we lived before, that last part is still true.) So there was also the constant sound of sirens in the air. Very irritating.

But… that’s beside the point. Since we are much higher than we were before, it’s very rare to hear anybody’s radio, much less hear a radio that causes vibration. Still, it has happened a couple of times. Why do people blast their radios so loud? If it’s making somebody outside the car feel nauseous, how can the driver deal with it? And why would anybody be so thoughtless as to blast their radio in a residential area?

I fail to see how anybody could be so arrogant as to believe that their taste in music would be appreciated by everybody. So please, turn your radios down.

Such as, “Where’s the baby’s socks?!” Or, “She should be wearing a jacket.” Or, “Your baby’s hungry. Feed her!” Or, “SHE SHOULD NOT BE WEARING BLUE!!”

Usually I just smile and go on my merry way. Occasionally I have had some very insistent people (these are usually the ones who are convinced I’m starving my baby) who repeatedly express their concern until I just walk off. Sometimes I’ll say something like, “Well, she just ate, so she’s not hungry, she’s tired.” (They never look like they believe me.)

It’s interesting that it’s happening now, since nobody said a thing to me when I had Tommy. I had always read that this was common for new mothers, but since it didn’t happen at all with Tommy, I figured people in Hawaii just didn’t do that sort of thing. Clearly I was wrong! Apparently, when it comes to babies, everybody knows what’s best for your baby… except you.

As for why it happens with Athena and not Tommy, I have a couple of theories as to why we’re treated differently:

1) Athena’s a girl. Perhaps people worry more about girls, thinking they’re more delicate and sensitive and more care is needed or else they’ll be traumatized. Since Tommy was a boy, perhaps they weren’t too worried about me scarring him for life, thinking anything I did wrong would only toughen him up. Of course, it isn’t always readily apparent that Athena’s a girl.

2) My age. I was only 20 when Tommy was born, and my wedding ring no longer fit at that point. I must have looked uncomfortably like a pregnant, unwed teenager, which caused people to shy away from me. Now that I’m older, the age when I’m “supposed” to have babies, people have no problems stating their opinions… especially since they probably think that this is my first child.

I know people mean well. Still, while I may not know everything (yes, I just admitted it… but good luck getting me to say it again), I know my child better than they do, so I can only hope that they keep this in mind when they go up to new mothers and offer their advice.

On a side note, you wanna bet that in 20 years, I’ll be that stranger overly eager to share my shining insight with a new, exhausted-looking mother?

First off: There’s no such thing as a career that’s not monotonous.

Every career has some degree of monotony. Companies thrive on monotony– it’s what keeps them from going under. Every company needs people behind the scenes to do the boring stuff– and every employee needs to do some monotonous task in order to help these people do their jobs. Granted, some positions have more of these tasks to complete. And it’s also a matter of what kinds of monotony you can deal with. Lots of meetings, tons of paperwork, reports galore, overly complicated timesheets? Sitting in front of the computer all day, nonstop typing? There are dozens of repetitive tasks that can comprise your day– so it’s a matter of figuring out what you can deal with.

One very important point here is that you cannot find your ideal career by just sitting around and THINKING about it. You need to jump in and try a few things. The unfortunate thing here is that, for people with responsibilities and families, this is very difficult to do.

So, here’s my suggestions for finding your ideal career:

1. Start off by researching various occupations in the Occupational Outlook Handbook. It not only describes the various occupational categories, but gives insights into working conditions, necessary education levels, wages, and job outlook and projections. There is also a section at the bottom that links to various career resources for this occupation, such as professional societies. This is a fantastic resource, and I highly recommend you make use of it. Not only can it help point you in the right direction, it can help you determine if it’s even worth your time to pursue it. (If, for instance, you discover that your dream career has a very slow projected growth and high competition, it may well be in your best interest to hold off on pursuing it– or consider pursuing something similar but with better prospects.)

2. Once you have a few careers you think you may be interested in, do what you can to jump in and try it out. Whether it’s obtaining a temporary position, internship, volunteering in the field, or asking if you can shadow someone in that field for a day or so– do what you can to really get a feel for the work. There are a number of things that you won’t know about a position until you try it– and there are some things that you may think you enjoy, or think won’t bother you, but later find out that you were wrong. It’s better to find out before fully committing yourself to a career path whether you really do enjoy it, or just enjoy the idea of it. Trust me, there’s a huge difference there.

3. Once you find a career that you feel is really right for you, go for it! Get the needed credentials and network with other workers in that field. Do what you can to get your foot in the door, but at the same time, be flexible. You may not be able to do exactly what you want, but you can get started in the right direction.

So… those are my thoughts on the matter. And as for my own search? I’ve found something of an answer, but can’t get any further at the moment because, with an infant daughter and a family to support in whatever way I can, I’m not yet ready to pursue a different career. In fact, I suspect I won’t be able to for quite some time. However, I do have an idea, and even if it takes 20 years, I hope that one day I can find the rest of the answer.

Any further suggestions or comments? Let me know!

Sloganizer

Short answer: It was bad.

REALLY bad. I sounded like I was just beginning– squeaky, unsteady, wrong notes, wrong finger placements. Granted, it’s been at least 5 years since I really played; however, I used to be really, really good. In 7th grade, I placed 4th chair in the city’s youth orchestra. Most of the people seated behind me were older than me. (There are usually around 30 violinists in an orchestra.) I stopped auditioning for the youth orchestra in 10th grade, and dropped out of my high school Strings class starting in 11th grade, but I continued to practice at home, at least occasionally. While I was no longer as good as I used to be, I at least was decent.

Fast-forward to my leaving for Hawaii. I was limited in what I could bring with me, so my violin got left behind. (In all fairness, I’m not convinced that if I went to another school, I would have brought it with me, either.) It was 2 years before I returned, and although I brought my violin back with me that time, when I tried to play, I was dismayed by how bad I’d gotten. So I didn’t play because it was painful to hear myself, to see just how far I’d fallen.

So now, after even more years of not playing, I’ve gotten to the point where I sound like I did when I first started out. I wanted to play something simple for my children– both for their enjoyment and in the secret hopes that they’d someday want to learn to play, too– but found myself incapable. Because I stopped using my talents, I lost them, and it would take a lot of work to get back to where I was. I don’t know that I have the energy or motivation to devote to that, so it seems likely that I’ll never really regain that lost talent.

I can, however, continue to hope that my kids decide they want to play.

First off, our apartment parking deck is being fixed, so during the day we have to find street parking. I got lucky yesterday and found parking after 3 swingarounds, but today after 4-6 times around the block, nothing had yet opened up. I had a doctor’s appointment later, so I decided to just go up to the deck, park next to the door, run inside and grab a few things, then head on out to the hospital, where I could wait an hour or so for my appointment. Since I was parking where I wasn’t supposed to be, I was in a bit of a hurry. When climbing back inside the car after returning from my apartment, I managed to hit the back of my head hard enough to leave me feeling woozy, with a headache lasting for several hours afterwards.

When I got to the hospital, I sat in the car and fed Athena for a while. While doing this, she starts to poo. I figure I’ll wait for her to both finish eating and pooing, then I’ll change her. But of course, once she’s done and I shift her to get out of the car, I discover that the poo… leaked. REALLY leaked. All over her clothes, all over MY clothes, on the car, on the ground… I even discovered some on her bag later, while walking to my doctor’s office. And yes… that means I had to go to an appointment covered in poo. I had no change of clothes, after all. I washed off what I could in the restroom, so I don’t think anyone noticed, but still. It’s GROSS. (And yes, that is why I say today was a “crappy” day. A ha ha ha ha ha ha…)

After my appointment, I go back to the car, only to discover that the jerk next to me parked over his line, leaving me so that I couldn’t fit Athena’s carseat through her door. I had to crawl in from the other side, struggling to get over Tommy’s carseat, just to get her inside.

Luckily, my day improved after that. I found parking right next to my building, and didn’t even have to swing around. I got a good nap, Toby brought me some yummy chocolate peanut butter cake, and we went out to the mall. So aside from a difficult morning, I had a pretty good day. Hooray for chocolate peanut butter cake!

Yeah, I tried to unsubscribe a bunch of times, but I haven’t been able to…