Battling the Big Girl Job Blues, as featured on the blog of Love, Lulu Mae

What do you want to be when you grow up? Sometimes, I’m still not sure I actually know the answer to this question. In fact, most of the time my answer will be different than it would have been if you had asked me just a few minutes earlier. When I was little, my life goal was to be Miss America. Seriously. (Ok. Ok. Mostly it was just because it seemed like all Miss America really had to do was wave, wear pretty dresses and don a very sparkly tiara. But still.) Little me with lofty aspirations never thought I’d be twenty-something, struggling to pay my rent between my salaries from the several jobs I schedule around my class meetings for grad school. And not to be all, “Poor Poor Pitiful Me,” but this girl has had a rough year, full of parking tickets and homework and a heartbreak of the rather serious garden variety. And there is still no big girl job in sight. Yes, the search for the big girl job (which I have been wholeheartedly pursuing for quite some time now) has me a little blue, a teeny tiny bit down on myself. I’ll be honest. After applying to 437 jobs, getting interviewed and rejected and ignored, it’s hard to remember why it is that I’m any different than any of the other dime a dozen witty, highly educated brunettes with cute shoes that want to write for your magazine/schedule appointments for your office/address envelopes for your mailing/sell your expensive handbags, etc.

So, in light of this little bout of the blues and to celebrate the awesome interview I had this morning, today is dedicated to a few things that make me happy. And there will be a little less pouting, a little less heavy sighing; a lot more gin and tonic, a lot more red-lipstick smiles. I mean, life is tough. So what?

1.) The Ron Bennington Cupcake at Molly’s Cupcakes. Just look at it. Chocolate-y goodness filled with peanut buttery loving and topped with chocolate frosting. If this is not happiness come to life (and served on a tiny plate or sent home in an adorable box with a bow), then I’m not sure I know what happiness is anymore. Check out their menu and go visit their adorable little shop on Clark Street: http://www.mollyscupcakes.com/cupcakes.php

2.) The Kate Spade Kellis Pump. I found a pair of these at Nordstrom Rack; a total steal (Unfortunately not enough of a steal for me to actually make it home with them) and my heart whizzbangflipflopped in a way I have not felt in quite some time. Now, if I could just find a man that made me feel that way, I think I’d be set for life. But for real, these shoes are captivating. And they felt so pretty on my feet. My heart is still hurting from having to put the box back on the shelf and walk away.

3.) My “Conquer the World” Playlist, named as such because it can motivate me to do anything from cutting out pattern pieces for the dress I’ve been putting off making to finishing the last dreadful mile of a run even to diving into my homework for my Women and Shakespeare class. It contains the following: “Don’t Rain on My Parade” by Lea Michele, “Don’t Stop Believin’” by Journey, “Bad Romance” by Lady Gaga, “Dance Your Life Away” by Jon McLaughlin, “Fearless” by Taylor Swift, “Party in the USA” by Miley Cyrus, and “Dynamite” by Taio Cruz. These songs will make you smile and get you pumped up. Seriously. Download. Listen. Lather. Rinse. Repeat.

4.) The Sangria at The Bar Celona. My friends and I hit up The Bar Celona at least once a week (usually on half-off night, which is Wednesday). A cute little place in Wrigleyville, their sangria is fruity and red and served by the pitcher. And trust me, a pitcher of sangria has the potential to get you into oh-so-much-good-clean-run-of-the-mill trouble. But mostly, at The Bar Celona, it just makes you want to dance dance dance. (And let’s face it, even if you are the worst dancer in the world, there is just nothing better than shaking it on the dance floor). You can see their other specials: http://www.barcelonachicago.com/.

5.) Football. Fall means football, which my mother raised me to put second only to God or diamonds. Which means beer at bars on Sundays and cheering on Peyton Manning with my roommate, Matt, until I’m hoarse. (Not to mention seeking the love of my life aka a tall, muscle-y, book-loving Colts fan with a real job and credit score of over 600 becomes significantly easier when they are en masse at Mullen’s on Clark on game day.)

Ah. I feel happier already.

(Check out the real post with pictures: http://lovelulumae.blogspot.com/2010/09/battling-big-girl-job-blues.html)