Housesitting

I haven't updated in a while, so pardon if this entry is a bit on the random side. Right now I'm house- and dog-sitting for my old neighbors on Regent. It's funny because I'm on the old block and pass the old house every day when I walk the dog and I'm happy to report that I don't feel anything when I see it. I really think I'm over it, which is surprising because I usually dwell on things to the point of obsession. This is a very good thing.

I'm in this big house all by myself and I have to say I don't really enjoy it as much as I though I would. I couldn't wait to get out of the tiny apartment and have a whole house to myself, but now that I'm here, I find the house way too big for one person. It's like, if you want something from the kitchen and you're upstairs, you have to make a whole event of it. You can't just stroll to the next room over. I think it was the effect of moving from one extreme (a big house) to another (a tiny apartment) that made me feel so trapped in the latter. I think the house on Mitchell will be the perfect size.

In other news, I'm really piling up the interviews, which on one hand is a good thing, but on the other completely sucks because it means I'm not getting any of these jobs. I know I should just keep going on them because eventually one will be fruitful (right?) and that's exactly what I intend to do. But I am really itching to get out of this current job situation. I feel like it's sucking my brain dry, it's so boring and mind-numbing. Marissa and I are in a similar situation, both work- and home-related, so it's really nice to have someone to commiserate with. We're both in that oh-so-frustrating point in our lives where we don't have any serious job prospects, have no idea what we want to do with our lives, aren't in school and live with our parents. Good times! It makes for some fun conversations.

Switching gears somewhat, I'm writing a lot more lately (lol even at work...take THAT suckas!). I'm working on a series of creative non-fiction/memorish essays about my backpacking experiences. I don't think I'm going to do anything with them, just write them for my own personal gratification. But I did submit a story to a British backpacker's website and they want to publish it! I also might send a story in to an essay contest through STA Travel. We'll see where this thing heads. If it ends up being something I could submit as a whole for publication, then so be it but I am so not getting my hopes up about that.

On a technical front, I'm debating whether or not to get a new Mp3 player. The situation is that my Dell DJ, after one and a half years, has a serious problem in that it only plays out of one side of the speaker/earphones (and yes I did test several speakers and earphones to see if that was causing the problem). It still plays, which is a good thing, but is completely annoying because I can only hear one side therefore I am missing a lot of the overall sound. It's out of warranty but I can send it back to some warehouse and get a new one for $180. This is a very good price for an Mp3 player but i'm worried the same problem will start to occur in the future. The other option is to spring for a brand new iPod or Creative Labs Zen player. I hear the Zen is better than the iPod and they cost the same so it will probably be the former. However, I have heard that none of these devices has very good longevity, so what seems to be the point spending close to $300 for one when it will only last a few years? Has anyone had an Mp3 player for a long time that they can give me advice on this issue?