I cannot BELIEVE I am blogging again. It has been far too long. So much has changed since my last blog. I am in a new dorm (Couglin Hall,) and do I mean NEW! No one has lived in room 403 except for yours truly and my roomie Baby Ray. Not to mention, I am working at the bagel shop, taking 18 goddamn credits, and living the college student's dream here in Spokane, WA. Oh, I forgot to mention one other thing: I GOT MY LICENSE!!! Yahooooo! It was definitely a long time coming, and worth every penny of the $40 it cost me. So you see, Martha's summer of self-improvement, albeit late, has taken place at last. Now, don't get me wrong-there is still work to be done, but for the most part, I would say that summer 09 has been successful. Let's recap, shall we?
May 8, 2009: Martha is home again, doing nothing with her life, and accepting the fact that she is in for another jobless summer. I am switching back to first person. So what did I do to combat the boredom? I took baths. Lots of them. I averaged two each day. Relaxing? yes. Environmentally harmful? Definitely.

June 5, 2009: I decide that just because I am unemployed, it does not mean I can't make money. I briefly considered a foray into the world of suburban drug-dealing, a la Nancy Botwin, but then thought better of it.

June 15, 2009: Am hired as fill in cleaning lady for our house as well as G-ma's. G-ma pays better and has two floors compared to our three. Hmm. Resign myself to the fact that I will just have to endure this life of servitude.

June 18, 2009: Receive call from Mona telling me a license isn't necessary to work at the PUD and that I have a job if I want it. Why this exception you ask? Because I am the CEO's niece. Yes, be jealous. Tell her I'll let my thoughts marinate then call her back. After debating, I decide a summer of orange vests and hardhats is a far greater one than a life of perpetually pruny skin, and constantly smelling of lysol. I tell her yes.

June 23, 2009: First day of work. Thank God Margaret is with me. She shows me the ropes. First day includes; setting up tents, pulling weeds at Felida, and taking down tents. All in all, a pretty good day, considering we were given multiple bags of kettle corn.

June 24-August 27: A great summer. It was as though my life was in fast forward. After a lifetime of fears domintating my my every move, I was finally able to overcome many of them-getting my license, driving high side trucks on the freeway, pulling a trailer, driving a John Deere riding lawn mower, the list goes on and on. Also, I got to hang out with hot boys all summer, which was a plus. After my initial amazement at how many hot boys were living in Vancouver without me knowing it, I was able to calm down and really enjoy their company. The majority were very nice, cool, funny guys. Smart, though not in the conventional sense. They knew a lot about everyday things, handyman type stuff., but if you asked them what the capital of Vietnam was, I doubt they could answer correctly.

ANYWAY, it was a fabulous summer, I had the time of my life, and I am less than pleased to be back at school, but I'm going to try to make the most of it. I will attempt to secure an internship in Nashville in the Summer of 2011. If you have any tips, let me know! Good to be back!
-Mar