Over Christmas break I was finally able to visit K’s family farm. Throughout six years of dating I’ve heard countless stories about this place. It was cooler than I imagined.
Cool stuff in the shed.
That’s Keith’s grandfather, Eugene McCall. Farmer of the Year in the 60s.
So cute.
And so much cuter.
Inside of an old tobacco barn.
Keith’s family history in photographs.
A big thank you to the McCall family for having me over. I had a great time. Can’t wait to come back.
So I got my friends to haul a couch into a field. After we were done with portraits, I got them on the couch for a group photo. Things quickly got out of control.
Tailgating at Ole Miss doesn’t even begin to explain what this is. Cultural event is more like it.
This is some sort of keg contraption in the shape of the Lyceum. Six different drinks for the six columns. Truly a work of art.
Come at me, bro.
I wouldn’t be able to tell you what each flag represents. Just a lot of stars and bars.
Oh hai. Just the infamous Colonel Reb hanging out in the Grove since he can’t hang out in the stadium anymore.
Got a freelance assignment to go to the pound and take photos. Really wish I could have taken all the animals home with me.
Committee meetings have started back up which means I’m a slave to the Kleman Plaza parking lot, and I walk by the Mary Brogan Museum of Arts and Sciences a couple of times a day.
Even though it’s technically fall, the butterfly bushes are in bloom. Walking back from a day at the Capitol, I noticed a ton of monarch butterflies fluttering around.
I’ve been on two road trips in the past three weeks through the Deep South.
Result: Sometimes the South can really weird you out.
Fields that last for miles and miles (it seems).
You know it’s totally haunted.
I don’t even know….
I never really put my own opinions on this blog because I really don’t think people want to hear them. But there’s one topic of conversation that’s come up over and over and over again that I just can’t shake.
Jobs.
I graduated in April of 2010. It took me 10 months to find a paying job somewhat related to the field I wanted to go into. I did some internships and PR in the meantime, but it took me 10 months. Lately, however, I feel like the job market has gotten worse since then.
Take my friend Lauren, for example. She graduated from a top public university with a B.S. in biology and a double minor in French and liberal arts (I think). While taking a year off to apply to grad school, she applied for a job at Publix. Never received a call back. You could say she’s over-qualified, but when all the entry-level jobs in her field are asking for five years experience, what’s a girl to do?
And what I really don’t understand is why the employer never calls or e-mails you back to let you know you didn’t get the job. If I suck, I would like to know WHY I suck or when you decided I sucked so I can stop checking my inbox every freaking day.
I’m not saying I’m the BEST JOURNALIST EVER or anything. There are plenty of people totally more qualified that probably deserve the job more than I do, especially now that the market is saturated with older and more experienced journalists because of layoffs. I just want to know where us 20-somethings, who according to the NYT are lazy as shit, can get these two-to three-years of experience without working for free. WE ARE TIRED of working for free. It is impossible for me to pay my car, car insurance, cell phone bill and gas if I am working for free. Maybe it worked when I was in college, as three hours of school credit roughly translates to $1,500. Not anymore.
I’m not saying I won’t ever work for free, because if CNN called me tomorrow and was like “Hey. Ana. Want to work for us for a little bit? We want to see what you can do. If we like what we see after a few months, we’ll offer you a job. We produce AC360. You know that show? Say hi to your mother for me,” I would be like OMGOMGOMG. Real talk.
I have it good. I have a part-time job relating to what I want to do. I live at home so I don’t pay rent. I’m just tired of hearing stories from my friends who struggle to work jobs in retail and food service to be able to support themselves. It wasn’t supposed to be like this.
I gave up trying to take photos of fireworks because of two reasons:
1. Houses were in the way.
2. I wanted to play with sparklers and throw my Pop-Its.
I know that it’s totally anti-photographer of me to not take photos on what is such a great photo-op holiday, but I wanted to have fun.
This is the lousiest firework photo of all time. You’re WELCOME.
I donated some of my photos to be used in a triptych of collages that are now on the wall in the Red Hills Surgical Center. Can you guess which ones?
Rule of thirds and boats. Always fun.
