Speaking of silence, I think Cylense would be a cool name for a earplug company or something.
Anyway, I have felt relatively unaffected by the economic woes that seem to be plaguing the world of non-college students. I am part of a chosen generation, young enough to be kept from the workforce, and old enough to be away from home, where mothers are starting to exclusively buy Western Family. Except for the infrequent tuition changes, I haven't really felt any financial hardship except for that of additional expenses associated with having a girlfriend.
However, I recently noticed two major ways that the outside world is starting to ruin mine.
- I was inadvertently listening to CNN the other morning, where the economic woe counselor was trying to convince adults to reenter institutions of higher learning. She noted that many states have scholarships reserved exclusively for older adults who wish to return to school. Unfortunately, she doesn't realize that she is making it nearly impossible for undergraduate graduates to get into graduate schools if they have to compete with people with similar undergraduate degrees and several years of work experience. Come on! You had your chance! You have a job already! Not only will fresh undergraduates not be able to compete with older graduate school applicants, but they won't be able to complete with them in the job market either because of our lack of real-world experience. It seems that either way, our hands are tied.
Of course, I did run across an interesting article about why people shouldn't try to dodge recession with grad school here: http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2009/02/03/dont-try-to-dodge-the-recession-with-grad-school/. Of course, this Penelope lady actually is in charge of a startup company, Brazen Careerist that helps companies find candidates. Of course grad school is bad when it is keeping a job applicant from accepting a job with one of your clients... It reminds me of a WalMart interview I had a couple of years ago. As I recall, the position was for a summer internship, but the interviewess was interested in what I was doing after my undergraduate degree - a valid concern. When I told her I wanted to go to graduate school, I got quite the crusty and a long explanation of why graduate school is bad. I should have checked to see if her name was Penelope. - Then tonight, I realized that the real world had burst into my little bubble in a real economic way as I tried to order The Usual from Taco Bell in the food court. I usually get two 99-cent 1/2-pound cheesy-bean-and-rice burritos and one special treat, like a $1.39 Baja Beef Gordita or a 89-cent cheesy double beef burrito, depending on how many hours I've worked that week so far. However, when I ordered today, I was displeased to find that the 99-cent 1/2-pound cheesy-bean-and-rice burritos were now $1.39 1/2-pound cheesy-bean-and-rice burritos. That's 40 cents more! And that makes The Usual 80 cents more expensive! Get out of my bubble!
But I guess I'll have to live with it. And maybe it isn't as bad as I think... meaning I'm sure the economy is worse off than I realize, but maybe it hasn't penetrated my bubble and slimed all over the floor as much as I had thought. I got an email this weekend from UCSD and they want to see me. They also want me to apply for another department where they think I would fit nicely. And as I type... I just got an email from some people at OSU about how they are pleased to invite me to a graduate student recruitment shindig.
However, I still have the Taco Bell issue to worry about...
