ferrumaeternum: (vittu)
Megan ([personal profile] ferrumaeternum) wrote2009-09-22 11:30 pm

Gone is the summer

I’ve put off updating this journal for so long I don’t even know where to start.

Now that summer has come to an end, here’s the abridged version of what I was up to this past season:

Besides the festivals, concerts, and mini-vacation, all I did this summer was work. I only saw my best friend once before school started. What was supposed to be a part-time job turned out to be full time, but at least I made well over two thousand dollars and am still working one day on the weekends. Many times I’ve wanted to post a huge rant about all the reverse racism I experience at work, but it won’t change the fact that every issue in Milwaukee is always about social class or race because the city is ridiculously segregated in terms of living space. Although I technically work in Brookfield, which is known for its uppity white residents, the store is on the border of Milwaukee and just down the road from the north side. Until another employee transferred from another store a few weeks ago, I was the only white person there out of all the cashiers and customer service associates. Needless to say, I was not welcome. After a few months, most of them have accepted me, but the customers sure as hell don’t. For some reason, all the blacks living in the ghetto of Milwaukee think all the white people around here are racist. I still have yet to meet one, so I’m not sure where they’re getting this mentality, but I am so sick of it. If I ever get around to typing up the dialogue, I’ve got a top 10 worst customers of the summer list that could be entertaining depending on your sense of humor. And trust me, it was very difficult narrowing it down to just ten. I honestly don’t mind working customer service in retail. It’s just the customers and coworkers that are insufferable.

The good news is I have enough money to continue financing my tattoo and study abroad in Ireland this summer (if I still want to when the time comes). Gaelic isn’t too difficult so far and the grammar has been a lot nicer than German. It’s actually the easiest out of all my classes. I would’ve loved to study abroad in Germany, but all the programs are for business, engineering and mathematics majors.

I’m also back in the dorms again this year, since my sister needs my car for the hour-long commute to community college. The only bus I can take goes through the ghetto. In fact, the very place I’d pick it up is the parking lot outside my work where people get robbed on a daily basis. I’ve ridden it before, and you guessed it, I was the only white person on it. At least my suitemates this year are rather quiet and keep to themselves. The girls next door to me have been dating each other for three years, and there have already been some nasty arguments between the two, but at least they make an effort to be friendly when they see me. We never see the girls in the other room because one is usually off with her douchebag boyfriend and the other is from a very rural area and seems frightened of us. But if that’s the worst of it, I can deal.

This semester I’m going to make an effort to post more of my artwork on here, since I’m taking figure drawing and printmaking. Unfortunately, my professors still have all the work I planned on posting here on display, so that’s going to have to be pushed back a week or so. I’m just relieved I’m still one of the top students in my class after not having had the time to draw anything in over a year. I really don’t feel like I accomplished much at all this summer except catching up on movies I’d been meaning to see and rereading Tolkien’s trilogy. (I actually only got through the first two, but I’m starting RotK tonight as today marks Frodo & Bilbo Baggins’ birthdays and the day they both left the Shire.) Speaking of birthdays, I also turned 21 earlier this month and ended up embarrassingly tipsy at Houlihan's over an orange juice glass-sized amount of Bailey's.

[identity profile] rurouniyuudai85.livejournal.com 2009-09-23 10:58 pm (UTC)(link)
man, and i thought working in a call center sucked o.O

sorry to hear you have to deal with all the race issues and stuff.

meanwhile i am pretty much a lightweight myself XD 2-3 beers and i am pretty tipsy. can't wait to see your artwork :D

[identity profile] ferrumaeternum.livejournal.com 2009-09-24 07:29 am (UTC)(link)
From the stories I've heard on Twitter, I'd say we have it equally bad. Even though you can't see the person, I'm sure it's just as unpleasant being told off by some idiot over the phone. I don't know what's up with the racial issue. I'm overly nice to every customer and treat them equally, but I think they just don't like a white girl up in their 'hood that actually does her job correctly.

Glad to hear I'm not the only one! I get made fun of a lot for it, but at least I keep the bar tab low. ;)

[identity profile] emperorkefka.livejournal.com 2009-09-24 05:13 am (UTC)(link)
If you are really interested in doing some sort of exchange work in Germany, you could see if DAAD (http://www.daad.de) has any programs you might be interested in. My ex did an eight-month program once she finished her bachelor's degree where she was an English teacher's assistant in a gymnasium.

[identity profile] ferrumaeternum.livejournal.com 2009-09-24 07:42 am (UTC)(link)
Thank you so much for the link and info! I had no idea something like this would be possible after I graduate. They actually have a lot of art-related programs, so I'll definitely keep it in mind.

[identity profile] emperorkefka.livejournal.com 2009-09-25 08:48 pm (UTC)(link)
Yeah, it sounds like a cool program. When my ex did it, she had no choice in where she would be placed and was sent to Kiel, but she was also paid a fair amount of money and she had a lot of free time to travel around. Every other exchange program I've looked into was prohibitively expensive :(