Moving from OR to TX!

Hi guys! I’ve been here for almost an entire week and so far am doing really great! I have been very lucky to have a ton of help from friends and new acquaintances this last week.

Here’s a breakdown of the last few weeks for me:

I moved out of my first solo apartment downtown. 😥

Not pictured: sticky marshmallow-chocolate hands

I then went on a week-long beach trip with my girlfriends from high school! This was wonderful. It took me about four days to be able to relax and enjoy the fact that I had nothing to do and that was okay.  We did a lot of sitting around doing nothing, hanging out on the beach, eating roasted marshmallows, drinking, and being silly.

We climbed the Astoria tower!

I came home and immediately went on another week long trip. This time to Manteca, CA, where I met most of my boyfriend’s family and saw his nephew perform in the musical, Suessical, Jr!

Yep, that’s the guy 🙂

I finally came home to my parent’s house for a little over a week, bummed around a lot, packed, panicked, and then had a wonderful going-away party thrown by some of my dearest friends.

This is a group of them being VERY UPSET that I left

It was a really nice party. Even though I tripped in a gopher hole and had to ice my ankle for the following two days.

And then I flew to Austin, Texas! So far all of my photos are instagrams, so I apologize for that. It’s great here. I am getting more and more settled into my apartment and am acclimating to the heat. I’m still sleeping on an air mattress, but now I have a table/desk and chair, a microwave, dishes and a couple of fans! I have spent SO MUCH MONEY in the last week, it is mind boggling. But I am doing great, I think!

I’ve been to two orientations, received a free t-shirt, bought myself a longhorns shirt, and attended Gone to Texas last night.

I haven’t really met that many people so far, but I’m doing pretty good. The campus is lovely and about a 15 minute walk from my house, even if it’s like 50%+ humidity.

Austin is beautiful though. So colorful! I’m having fun slowly exploring the city! I haven’t made it to the trendiest of spots yet, but to be honest, I’m okay with that. I’ll hit up the trendy spots eventually, I’m sure.

The biggest thing about Texas I have noticed so far is that Texas is on EVERYTHING. Even the eggs.

So far, so good! I’ll be back later with more updates!

 

stagnancy

I admit, I’ve been a little stagnant on here, lately. I’m not really sure why. The initial excuse was because work got INSANE this tax season. And then I was busy with my new(ish?) boyfriend. And then I’ve been busy with moving out of my apartment. And now I’m busy with quitting my job. MY LIFE IS INTENSE, OKAY?

I think a big part of my lack of writing on here is that for the first time in awhile, I am being forced to constantly express myself to the people around me. More and more people are popping in and out of my life and wanting to say something (usually hello or goodbye) to me before I leave. And they all ask me the same questions, most of which I’m going to answer in this post.

Also I’ve been blocked on twitter at work for the last six months, which… really is where I get 90% of my material. Hopefully I can start tweeting often again soon. I really miss my twitter buddies.

So let’s try to start from scratch!

Facts about me:

My name is Brittknee, Brittneigh, Brittnooooooo. Yes, all three.
I spell my name these ways because nobody ever gets the legal spelling of my name correct anyway and also these ways are way cooler and much more me than anything else.

Yep, that’s me, but I bet you knew that.

I’m about to move from Portland, Oregon (land of hipsters, craft breweries, and rain) to Austin, Texas (land of hipsters, craft breweries, and heat).
I’m starting a graduate program at the University of Texas. When I am done, I’ll have a Masters in Educational Administration, which means that I’ll have a Masters degree to work at higher level administration in academia. I’ll hopefully eventually end up running a tutoring center, but we’ll see where I end up.
I have a graduate assistantship in my department and I start almost as soon as I get to Texas. I’m simultaneously terrified and excited.

Yep, that’s Austin.

I am only taking four suitcases and attempting to minimize my life. (So far I’ve taken six loads to Goodwill, only more are to come!) I move out of my downtown apartment tomorrow and have… significantly more than four suitcases worth of stuff. Hopefully I can make a little more headway into that in the next month.

I haven’t seen my studio in Austin yet, only a few craigslist pictures. Google Maps tells me it’s a fifteen minute walk to campus / the building I’ll be doing most of my work at, so that’s a relief! I have yet to see how I fare walking around outside in extreme heat.

This photo is almost ten years old! I’m not in it, but I was there.

Next week I am going on vacation(BABECATION) with a group of my closest girlfriends. The plan is to sit around, read romance novels out loud to each other, and eat a lot of food. We’ll be on the Oregon coast for six days- a perfect goodbye to my beloved west coast. After that, I’m off to California to meet part of my boyfriend’s family for a few days. Hopefully I’ll get to spend some quality time with my parents in the weeks following before I move.

Man you guys. This summer is already crazy and I haven’t even done any of these things yet!!

well I guess I should update.

GUYS

I GOT INTO GRAD SCHOOL

But that means I have to move to Texas.

IN the meantime, I have housing to find, an apartment to downsize, jobs to get, and life to live. I’m excited to leave the Pacific Northwest but also terrified of moving and living in a new place, even though I’m also reaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaally looking forward to it.

It’s all terrifying and awesome! Work has been crazy lately and I just haven’t had much to talk about. Well, I have, but every blogger knows the blank slate feeling.

gre part 2

HEY, REMEMBER THESE DEPRESSING POSTS?

You know, the ones from last year when I gave up on Grad school because I just wasn’t ready for it, and I hated everything, and I wasted $150 on the wrong test?

Well.

I’m taking the test this year. Next month, in fact.

This may or may not be contributing to my stress level.

I am doing my best to study and re-learn all of the basic algebra I learned in 7th grade and figure out how to apply that math to logic problems. I am attempting to learn new vocabulary. I am TRYING SUPER HARD because I really would like to go get an M.A. or an M.Ed. and maybe not get called out on how much I suck at math for a living.

I am trying very hard to be hopeful and optimistic. It’s hard to be that way when you continually fail math drills.

My goal this time around is to get into a Master’s of Education program. Specifically one that will allow me to specialize in college administration and advising. I have dreamed about working as a student affairs specialist since I worked at the local community college, and I am super excited and eager for the idea of having a CAREER GOAL. I’ve had half-hearted career goals since high school, but never a definitive drive for a specific field. While my friends became veterinarians, wrote novels, pursued mission work or created intense portfolios of creative work, I kicked around, saying, “uh, I don’t know, I could teach, I guess,”.

Teaching IS a serious passion of mine, but I have learned that I excel best on a one-on-one, semi-formal basis. The idea of standing in front of a classroom of students being called by my last name just straight up doesn’t appeal to me. The idea, however, of meeting one on one with a student and helping them figure out a problem in a relaxed setting, or buying them coffee or lunch when they can’t afford it, or helping them find a good laundromat, really appeals to me. The field of student affairs is ENORMOUS and there are A BILLION THINGS I could end up doing in order to help students on a college campus, and that sort of busy, helpful, and fun job really, really excites me.

I’m back to studying more today. About every other study session is either incredibly depressing or encouraging. I am forcefully BELIEVING that tonight it will be good, and remember and focus that my new goal is giving me extra life.

Holycow, freedom

So, last week I finished my BA in literature. It took me 6 years.

What am I going to do with it?
I really don’t know. I could do anything with it. I could win the lottery tomorrow, decide to turn to alpaca farming, write a book, work for The Man, or just tutor and be poor for the rest of my life.

In reality, I’ll probably settle for any full-time job I can get, eventually apply for a master’s degree in Education and plow myself into even more debt.
But for right now? I am free.

Free to read any book I want, (this week: “Beloved” by Toni Morrison and “The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie” by Alan Bradley), watch as much TV as I want (seasons 1-3 of the Venture Bros, Grimm, and My Little Pony), listen to new music (Kavinsky and The Black Keys), watch that movie that I promised my coworker 3 months ago I’d watch (Meet the Robinsons), and be as social as I can without going broke.

I quit blogging a year ago, trapped between college pressures and not knowing just what I ultimately wanted to blog about. Did I want to blog about fashion? Collections? Antiquing? College? Slice of life?

I had no idea.

Every blog post I sat down to life morphed itself into a lesson in “What Can I Do to Better The World”, or “How Can We Work Together To Live In Harmony” and eventually got deleted. This wasn’t my style, my writing, or my message. A year later, I’ve figured it out: I have no message. I want to write. I want to tell you how I feel, what I’m thinking, what I’m collecting, how I’m saving, and how I wore a technicoloured-rainbow-sweater to a meeting full of people (read: ADULTS) wearing taupe and gray and didn’t realize it until halfway through the meeting. (Don’t worry, I played it cool by making fun of my coworker’s beard. For hours.)

Hello, internet! I’ve been around awhile, but my name’s Brittneigh. And Brittknee. I can’t help but be contrary and loud most of the time. I like to buy old things and pretend I’m a movie star, when really I’m just a kid who makes coffee for a living. Someday I’m going to take over the world, and it’ll probably be because I tripped on someone important.

Nice to meet you!