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The Last Year July 31, 2010

Posted by Katie Oh in : Such As , 2comments

As most of you know, I am completing my final year in school this year. I was so excited to move to New York when I was 17, excited to get away from my small-town roots and really become inundated in the big city.

Things I set out to do that I’ve actually accomplished:

- write

- eat a lot of cupcakes from various places

- intern somewhere awesome [holla, BUST Magazine!]

- cram into a tiny basement apartment surrounded by a bunch of poets/writers for a ~reading

- participate in a reading

- have a super-glamorous moment [accomplished when, one day, I was running pickups and looking fabulous]

Things I set out to do that I haven’t accomplished:

- see everything in the city

So, given that I have one year [or, well, to be more accurate, about eight and a half months] left, I want to make sure I see everything that I can.

Things I want to do/see that I haven’t done/seen yet:

- Coney Island [I don't know how I've managed to not see it, actually]

- The Cloisters

- The Natural History Museum

- Take a picture with the giant stone lions outside the NYPL

- Have a picnic in Central Park

- Go to a designer boutique knowing full well that I can’t buy anything, but act like I can anyway

I know this can’t even be the half of it. I’m sure I’ll add to this list as the year goes along, but my goal as of now is to have a ~fun activity to partake in at least every weekend.

So, I ask you, [my few] readers of this blog, what do you think I should do that I haven’t done yet?

Paint it Red July 9, 2010

Posted by Katie Oh in : Such As , 4comments

I’m a redhead. Kind of. I’ve always considered myself to be a redhead, that is. It’s a bold color that can be amped up or toned down, and there’s always a little bit of a mystery with a redhead. Or at least that’s what I tell myself. I’m pale with freckles, so it’s a color that manages to suit me in a bevy of shades. Want to take a trip down memory lane?

nice angles there, kate.

That was my hair color in high school. I’m not even kidding. I looked like a crazy person. I guess I was a crazy person. Also, I wore that little purple flower clip in my hair almost every day my junior year. Again, a crazy person. You really should have seen my fashion sense back then… I would wear knee-length skirts with knee-high striped socks and ballet flats. Basically, a still-wanting-to-look-goth faux-ballerina. I can’t even really justify it or begin to explain it any way better than that.

But I digress. I decided to make a change. More after the jump, as well as some more [equally hilarious, Myspace-like] pictures from days ~gone by.

(more…)

The Five-Year Plan July 3, 2010

Posted by Katie Oh in : Such As , add a comment

I feel like people in their college years get this a lot. Where do you want to be in five years? What do you want to do with your life? What do you want to do after you graduate? What’s your ideal career? What careers would you be willing to settle for? Is it a career or a job? Do you have an anxiety disorder from all these questions yet?

I’ve been thinking a lot about mine lately, and it’s one of the hardest things I’ve had to try to hammer out. How heavily do I consider a backup plan? How miserable am I willing to be to pay off my student loans? What’s the ideal situation, and how do I take that into account in relation to my backup plans?

There’s a lot of questions to consider. However, I have been able to boil it down to two plans.

The ideal right now:

Now: Apply for MFA programs this fall.

Spring 2011: Get into MFA program with full funding. Graduate with BFA.

Spring 2013 [or 2014]: Graduate with MFA.

Fall 2013 [or 2014]: Come back to Pittsburgh, work job I currently work seasonally, while applying for more jobs.

[At some point] Begin adjunct faculty work.

[All through this time period, be sending things out for, and hopefully getting, publication.]

This would, hopefully within 10 years, lead to my having enough publications [maybe a book deal?] to get a full-time position.

Backup plan:

Now: Apply for MFA programs this fall.

Spring 2011: Get rejected from programs. Graduate with BFA.

Fall 2011: Move back to Pittsburgh, work job I currently work seasonally, apply for more MFA programs.

Spring 2012: Get rejected and keep applying or get accepted, and continue with ideal plan.

People always tell me “I thought if you wanted to be a writer, you just had to write.” This is true in some aspects, but also quite condescending to hear. Of course I write. But I have to be able to survive somehow, preferably without losing my sanity.

You five-year plan really depends on you. I have friends who just aimlessly travel throughout the country and find little jobs here and there. If you’re personable and can thrive in that lack of structure, that is wonderful. I can’t quite do that, I like a plan. It’s been good to get one figured out. Now I just have to do it.

Outfit of the Day (June 25th, 2010) July 1, 2010

Posted by Katie Oh in : Such As , 2comments

This was my first real attempt at putting an outfit together while thinking about all the elements going into it.

I saw this shirt at Target, on clearance for $5, and thought it would go well with the bag. A bit of shoulder detail that looks more “metal” [anyone remember those pyramid bracelets/belts from their junior high goth years? I think this is the grown up version of those] in contrast to the light softness of the bag.

Unfortunately the outfit wasn’t exactly the best. I think next time I’m going to wear it with a high-waisted skirt [which would hide some of that awkward cling around my belly] and with different sandals. My original plan had been these black, strappy kitten heels that I bought literally 5 years ago, but I couldn’t find them before I had to leave. I also think I might wear some kind of fun-colored necklace next time, too, to add a pop of color. Or maybe I’ll just leave the red lips to do their thing.