Who says the Blog Gods aren't listening?

There I was, on July 15th, thinking i was just typing my mournful words of despair away into the vast ether of the blogosphere. But as I realized today i was actually making a powerful prayer to the computer gods, and they were listening.

Two weeks after making my sorry recession speech, I went back in to Christopher House to meet with the CEO. I thought I was going in for yet another round of interviews. Maybe there were a few communications/skills/talents tests from the 50's they wanted to run me through. Maybe they would like to hear my thoughts on Russian literature, South African apartheid, the third wave of feminism or the boy band phenomenon of the nineties. Or maybe they just wanted to hear more about what type of fruit/tree/animal I would be if i could be any fruit/tree/animal I wanted. (pine, lemon, mermaid).

Or they wanted to offer me a job!!!!!

Yes that is right after 6 months of BMO, countless frustrated phone calls home, a few random curses to the heavens and 100's of cover letters constructed, mail merged and emailed....I, Niki Fritz, am employed as an executive assistant at Christopher House.

I don't even care about all the details (like benefits including dental, paid vacation days, and my own sweet office), all i care about is i will finally begin my working career; I feel like I can finally start life.

(If anyone is actually more interested in who I will be working for check them out at: www.christopherhouse.org...they are over 100 years old and do this nonprofit stuff real good)

Let me show you my recession

The recession is 9% unemployment, 60% loss in savings and thousands of foreclosed homes. This is the recession:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/15/business/economy/15leonhardt.html?_r=1&ref=us
The recession looks painful and brutal, like a raw open wound.

But my recession is a more like a purple bruise, deeply felt but mainly superficial, not life-threatening just pride threatening.

My recession includes two jobs getting caught up and swept away in the mudslide of corporate investing. First there was the U of Chi gig cut after job freezes swept the frozen campus in February. Now there is the assistant job at the Christopher House, stalled with the IL State budget. Without government funding, nonprofits cease to run and I am left without my career path of choice. So I am surviving, I have a rented apartment, a somewhat steady limited weekly income and no reliance on savings or government aid (but some reliance still on my parents).

I survive but I do not thrive.

While others scrape by trying to salvage bits of a former life, I am readjusting my expectations of my future life. I am putting away fantasies of cross-continental trips abroad. I am shelving the idea of grad school at an East Coast school. I am forgetting about the possibility of a freelancing career. I am adjusting expectation not just for the next six months but for the rest of my life.

While the rest of the nation might have a pretty nasty scar after this all mighty recession, they will heal and live to tell grandchildren stories of foreclosures and lost 401K’s.

But I fear that I will heal with no visible sign of hurt, I will be left with no scar only the fear of a bigger bruise in the future. I am afraid that this recession has taught me to settle before I had time to rise up.

My redneck returns to the city

I spent the Fourth of July exactly where I needed to be: in the backwoods of Rhinelander, Wis. Surrounded by family, dogs and port-a-potties. This is my root, redneckin’ it up with a MGD and my New Yorkers. My dad calls me the city girl but mainly because he knows it irritates me. I love the humming sound of bugs, the skin-tingling feeling of ice cold lake water, the smell of smoke on your hair and the bloating of processed meat in my stomach.

OK so really I am a city girl. I love the el and skyscrapers and museums and the endless possibilities of the city. But every good city girl knows she needs to pretend to commune with mother natures at least once a year. It is revitalizing and makes you remember why you live in the city.

After 4 days of outdoorsyness, I am well rested, well read, well fed and also sun burnt and kind of bored. As I make my way back to the city, I just realize how blessed I am to have these two parts of life, to have the city in my heart and the woods on my skin.

P.S. In this year’s boat parade we won a first place price. Category? Best costumes. Our costumes? Bikinis. Dirty Old men? Of course.