Digging through my hotmail account this morning, I found an email from 1999 that I wrote to my brother Bjorn, who was about the age I am now when I wrote to him. In August 1999, I was three months out of college – a 22-year-old living abroad in Scotland, working in the Human Resources Department of Standard Life Bank. Even then, I was tortured soul when it came to the workplace. But at least I was funny about it.
***
Date: Sat, 28 Aug 1999 08:48:32 PDT
Okay, BJ, is it just me or does Macalester have little in common with the real world? Did I spend my time in Saint Paul living in a bubble? It may be a tinge of college sickness, but I miss the atmosphere of Macalester. The real world, I find, is filled with far too many non-thinking, dull and routine people who actually enjoy seeking careers in middle management of large corporations.
I think I'll go be a hippi now - or an academic. Fluorescent lighting, pastel & grey office decor, and inefficiency are not my ultimate priorities in life. Oh, the torture! But it pays the bills, right? Maybe I'll look into sustainable agriculture. Organic farming? Dog grooming? Gimme some career ideas, PUH-LEASE!!! Tell me I haven’t spent the first 22 of my life preparing for lifetime of monotonous paperwork and coffee breaks! Reality is so cruel. I think I'll go back to school and suspend reality for a wee bit longer.
Perhaps mom isn't so insane after all – at least being an artist is inspiring. Broke, yes, but also inspiring. Do you know anything more about mom’s career search? I think we should label her experience "Mom in search of self." It is true that working for people who value your work and what drives you is much better than working for people like, oh say, Larry Rehfield.
Offices suck monkey scrotums. Great visual there, eh?
Aside from corporate Scotland, things are alright. Nothing too amazing is happening. Actually, I take that back. I am studying for my GREs. Bummer that I have to spend time learning how to take standardized tests rather than exploring memory research in psychology - something actually pertinent to what I want to do.
On Wednesday I attended a television filming of Top of the Pops, which is the British equivalent to American Bandstand. I saw plenty of bands. I taped the program and you can see the back of my head bouncing up and down in a few shots. Obviously, I'm famous now AND soon I'll be able to live off the royalties of all the re-runs.
The highlight of my week happened yesterday when I discovered a small Mexican-American grocery store about a half mile from my flat. I found black beans, salsa, blue corn ships, cajun sauces, tortillas, guacamole, ben & jerry's ice cream, and hershey's chocolate syrup! What a dream!! Due to the low to non-existent Latino population in Scotland, as one might imagine, there is a definite shortage of Mexican food items. Heck, I have yet to meet anyone who’s heard of Tex-Mex food.
Well, I gotta dash. I hope all is going well at the Fort. Hey - I changed my return ticket from September 1st to December 11th...the next three months had better damn well be worth it!! Cross your fingers for me.
I'll talk to you later!
Love,
Sarah Kristjan
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
0 comments:
Post a Comment