Monthly Archives: June 2012

PHOENIX FOR THE SUMMER (1) – getting here

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First, let me give a huge shout out to (really fly journalist) Patrice Peck. If she hadn’t let a sista know about this opportunity, I’d probably be sitting at home watching Say Yes to the Dress reruns. We worked together during SXSW 2011, and she knew I recently graduated from J-school. We’d only interacted in real life during SXSW a year ago, but because she’s Real and down for the cause, she sent me a Facebook message suggesting I apply for the Village Voice Digital Media Fellowship in Phoenix.

So I did.

And I got accepted.

Since this is our blog, a space where I invite you to toot your own horn if you want, allow me to toot mine right quick: out of about 200 applicants across the country, I was one of 6 chosen. *passes out*

Fun fact: I was driving to Austin for SXSW 2012 when I got the call telling me I was accepted. Hittin’ the dougie while talking in your white professional voice AND driving? I don’t advise it.

So now I’m writing this post from my hotel room just outside of downtown Phoenix. Dad made the 17+ hour drive with me, thank God. We left DFW at 2 am. Stopped in Amarillo & ate at a racist Denny’s (totally kidding, but that didn’t keep us from giggling during breakfast). Then I took the wheel and drove to Albuquerque, New Mexico. Dad drove another 4 hours into Arizona state limits. Passed back to me until Flagstaff, AZ. Then he finished it off and here we are. We’re exhausted. No fancy instagram pics because i’m #teamnosmartphone.

Tomorrow, we’ll drive around and get me acquainted with the area – you don’t want GPS saving your ass all the time, you know? Then Sunday – Father’s Day – he flies back home. Leaving me to go check into my room at the university. Go grocery shopping. Prepare for my first day of the program/on the job. Get wasted with my new roommate Meet the other fly journalists in the program.

This opportunity is huge for me. Not only is it a chance to get a crash course in aspects of journalism my degree didn’t cover, but…it’s a job. I’ll be working for the Phoenix New Times as a reporter. Like…what I went to college for. I feel kind of lame being so excited because most of the other fellows are already working journalists…? But that’s neither here nor there…

Finally: EXPERIENCE, that elusive thing that employers want you to have before they hire you, but you can’t have unless they hire you. IMA GIT ME SOME OF THAT GOTDAMN EXPERIENCE! IT WILL BE MINE! THIS SUMMER WILL BE THE LAUNCHING PAD TO MY BRIGHT ASS FUTURE! TO INFINITY AND BEYOND, OR AT LEAST TO A FULL-TIME JOB!!!

Y’all? I’m just glad I’m here. We’ll see where this goes. My post-college life is finally moving in…you know…a forward-like motion.

GUEST POST: Living at home does not make you a loser.

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There. I said it. Now we can all move on with our lives.

Hi, my name is Timi. I’m a 23 year old teacher, and I live with my parents. 

…You still there? What, no laughter? No judgment? Oh, that’s right. I’m in the same position as 85% of young Americans. I’m not ashamed of it anymore, but I once was.


google search “living at home” = this photo. HAHAHAH!

When I first moved back to my hometown for work, I was dragging my feet the entire way. I love my family, and I’d missed them while I was gone, but I was not ready to co-habitate with them again. Honestly, I had lived by myself for the past year and enjoyed the opportunity to live in solitude and do whatever I pleased. So to me, moving back home initially seemed like a tying a leash around my neck. Dramatic, I know. Continue reading →

CONGRATS, SHAMARAH!

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You might recall Ms. Hernandez from an earlier interview on this site! Economics senior at MIT, big thangs poppin, has a job after graduation? Remember her?

Well, she’s officially living the post college life now!

No doubt I will force request Shamarah to keep us updated on her post-college life, but for right now, I just wanted to give a special shout out! Here’s a snippet of our past interview, concerning her future plans:

After graduation, I’m moving to Washington, DC to start my career as a consultant with Booz Allen Hamilton. Since it’s a strategy and technology consulting firm working mostly with governmental agencies, the particulars are either vague or confidential, but i’m incredibly excited to be starting there and also to be living in the DC area.
Later on, I plan to pursue a PhD in economic sociology and be a part of the solution to something big. Right now I’m learning more about the field and getting familiar with what kind of research already exists. Having some industry experience under my belt before applying is a good thing (I hope?), so that can be seen as something I’m doing to achieve this goal as well.

See what I mean by big thangs poppin’?? Congrats, Shamarah! You’ve earned it!

Where I’m at right now (1)

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photo by Moyo Oyelola.

It’s been 6 months since I graduated from college. Where the entire HELL did the time go? I feel like the nappy headed Rip Van Winkel. That’s the guy who fell asleep for a long time, right? Yeah. I feel like him.

It’s 1am. I’m sitting on the couch with my Coolio braids up and Hey Arnold is on. Parental units have just retired to their lair for the night. I really can’t take another 4am bedtime. My body was so useless today, more than usual, and it was embarrassing. It feels like the calm before the storm, like I’m moving in slow motion now because in 10-ish days, I’ll be reporting, writing, editing, logging, transferring, getting edited, corrected, rejected, and sweating bullets while doing it. Shout out to Phoenix.

To recap: I graduated college a semester early and didn’t know what the hell to do with myself, so I moved back home and my parents didn’t seem to mind at all. I think they’re pretty groovy too, so no qualms here.

Did college-Evelyn envision herself living at home after college? Well…college-Evelyn didn’t envision herself after college. Period. I live in the moment to a fault. I rarely plan for or even entertain the thought of the future becoming the present. In a hurried attempt to stay in Austin after graduation, I actually landed a pretty cool job teaching film/creative writing to the chirrens at an after-school program. It was part time though, and I needed way more monies than that if I was going to live in Austin. Applying for the job KNOWING it was logistically a bad move + not what I wanted to do with my life right now was my way of proving to myself that I could do this whole “get a job” thing if I wanted. I had no intention of thrusting myself into the real whurrrrl but hey look I’m not completely useless, y’all!

After that, I half-assed a couple job applications. Reporting gig in Brooklyn. Editorial assistant in Austin. Online reporter in Houston. Some others here and there. Interestingly enough, I never got rejected outright — I just never got contacted at ALL after submitting those applications. Not even a “thank you for submitting your resume”. Nothing. It was eerie. After I jokingly screamed “DASSSS RACIST!!”, I realized it was a sign. Whatever it was that I was trying to do, whoever I was trying to be, it wasn’t meant to happen just yet. So I calmed it down.


And thanks to the provision of my parents, there was never really a sense of urgency for livelihood’s sake. I don’t really think struggling for struggling’s sake is cool anyway. It’s kinda like thrift shopping: just one of those things I feel like immigrant parents just aint into. They don’t tolerate anything that reminds them of hard times, especially for their children. So I just do my part around the house, try not to catch an attitude, and they do things like feed me and read me bedtime stories.

So what HAVE I been doing?

  • various things like such as for Ngozi Odita of Society HAE. Special Projects Manager is what’s going on the gotdamn resume. holla if you hear me! #teamembellishment
  • I have another gig that ima keep on the low until some big thangs start poppin’.
  • I just snagged a paid blogging opp and I’ll keep that on the low too until I’m ready.
  • planning interviews for this blog and never going through with them. I’m behind about 5 interviews. my bad y’all.
  • I’ve been watching hours upon hours of different news outlets’ video content to see what works and what doesn’t, as far as online journalism goes. F*CK THE NEW YORK TIMES’ SUBSCRIPTION WALL! erasing the url past “.html” doesn’t work every time…
  • Favoriting DSLR tutorials on Youtube. Shout out to 24 fps = your video looks like a film. Das real cool.
  • Pinning recipes on Pinterest that I’ll never actually cook.
  • Taking walks with my mom.
  • Going on late night Whataburger runs with my brother.
  • annoying dad on purpose during tax season by not keeping records of ANY income i made.
  • watching Real Housewives of pretty much everywhere.
  • I JUICE! SO MUCH FRESH JUICE! JUIIIIIIICE WTF IS JUICE YOU ASK? JUICE. YOUR BODY LOVES IT. MMMM VITAMINS AND REAL LIFE IN YOUR BODY
  • Tumblr. Lots and lots of Tumblr.

I don’t really know what I feel. I’m ready to put in the work. I’m bored. My bank account is looking sickly because I shop when I’m bored. I’m tired for no reason. My social life went from a thousand trillion *yeezy autotune voice* to non-existent like that *snaps*, and I don’t know why I’m okay with that.

I’m pretty much underwhelmed by my existence right now. NOT SAD. Underwhelmed. Like if my life was a movie, I’d stand up and give myself the sarcastic slow clap.

So this is where I’m at right now. Another day has come and gone, and I don’t really have much to show for it. goodnight