Published on Huffington Post College!

I got some very exciting news yesterday afternoon: An article I wrote about my job at the library, and some of the issues recent college graduates face, was published on the Huffington Post college blog! You can read the original article here. 

Which brings me to another point… Originally, my plan was to keep this blog completely anonymous, but I decided that if the HuffPost accepted my article, then I would, in turn, accept that blogging and anonymity don’t really go together very well.

But more on that later, perhaps. If you don’t want to click over to the Huffington Post website, you can read the text of the article below.

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It happened again the other day — I bumped into someone I knew from school, someone who’s now a senior, someone who reacted like he’d seen a ghost when he noticed me walking around the library.

I’ve learned it’s best to just smile and say a huge “Hello!” in order to assure them that yes, it really is me. Once they’ve wiped the veneer of shock from their face, the questions start. “I had no idea you were still here!” “I thought you graduated!” “What are you doing at the library?” “Is this temporary?” “So when will you get a real job?”

In fact, I did graduate: on June 21, 2013 to be precise. I stumbled out of bed after a dissatisfying night of sleep in a hot apartment with no air conditioner and made it to the stadium 45 minutes after call time. The graduation ceremony was uneventful, unremarkable, and contained absolutely no indications of where my life was heading.

It became clear a few weeks prior to graduation that a “real” job offer wasn’t going to appear out of thin air. I was relieved when I learned that I could expand my job at the library from 10 hours a week to a semi-permanent, part-time position through the summer. But for the next 3 months or so, I was in a strange place. I moved a few miles north of campus, upgraded to a full-size mattress, and biked to work at the same library where I’d spent too many late nights frantically finishing papers and too many early mornings trying to print them out.

I didn’t quite know how to classify myself — could I call myself a graduate if I hadn’t, well, graduated and moved on from the campus? Once New Student Week arrived in September, I did everything I could to avoid being seen. I took the back hallway so that I didn’t have to walk past the computer lab on the first floor, where dozens of students would gather in the middle of the day. I ate lunch at my desk rather than venturing to the student center to pick up a sandwich. I remembered a friend who graduated a year before me in 2012 ended up working in the Admissions Office at the school. It took me months to figure it out — he made himself as invisible as possible.

After a year, I’m still at the library. I earn enough money to pay rent, buy the groceries I want, make my student loan payments, and still have some left over. More importantly, I have independence. I somehow snatched up one of those elusive treasures: a source of income that would allow me to retain my dignity after graduating with a deflated bachelor’s degree in anthropology. (While I don’t think my major’s worthless, employers don’t seem to be as keen on it as I am.)

Yet, my classmates still don’t seem to think I have a “real” job.

Part of this has to do with distance. The farther you go to take a job after graduation, the bigger your journey and therefore the more legitimate the job. Or is it the more you suffer, the fewer benefits you have — these are rites of passage for 20-somethings, correct? Or what matters is exclusivity — how many rounds of interviews did you have to go through to get your prestigious job? Are you inching your way up the socioeconomic ladder, or just cementing your already-established status? How much money do you earn? Is your job at a trendy start-up, or are you the golden employee at a Fortune 500 company?

Here are some facts about working in the library. First, it is peaceful. For the first time since high school, I get enough sleep every night. I don’t have to work overtime to meet deadlines, and more importantly, I know that the institution I support is capable of understanding that “value” isn’t always defined monetarily. I’m not beholden to the bottom line, but instead support a research library that benefits scholars, students and the wider community.

Second, I have the respect of my boss. Instead of working for an organization I’ve never heard of, I have the privilege of working with an established mentor. It also means that I’m treated with respect; I never had to battle the detrimental “last hired, first fired” mentality.

Third, the library is gorgeous. And I have a huge desk. (Relatively speaking). My colleagues are eager to see me do well, and are constantly encouraging me to further my education and develop professional skills.

Granted, some of the stereotypes you hear about libraries are true. Sometimes, especially over the holidays when all the students are away, it can get slow. And the day-to-day activities of an administrative assistant are not necessarily thrilling. When I entered college, this is not what I imagined I would be doing after graduation. But waking nightmares surrounding unemployment started to plague me about a year before that fateful day. I imagined my parents showing up with my sister’s truck, hauling all my shoddy furniture back to Texas. I imagined not being able to make my student loan payments, and going into dreaded default. Unemployment, for most college graduates, is synonymous with defeat.

So, to answer your question: No, I don’t know when I’m going to get a real job. But it’s the perception, not the job, that needs to change.

12 of my Favorite Films (and why I like them)

As a bit of a disclaimer, I realize this list isn’t terribly varied. The oldest film that made the cut is from 1979, and all but 3 are American (though 3 of the American films were made by American/Canadian, French, and German-Swiss directors).

I’m going to blame unintentional myopia for this, as well as ease of viewing: simply put, the movie industry in the United States is incredibly robust and produces many, many films every year, and most of the advertising I’m exposed to is for American films. Even when I was in Buenos Aires, the most popular movie was The Dark Knight Rises; when I was in South Africa, everyone was excited about Transformers: Dark of the Moon. So, if you read through this list and think of some “foreign” (I use foreign as a relative term) films that I might enjoy, please feel free to make recommendations in the comments section!

I’ve divided my favorite movies into 3 broad categories: 1). Unconventional romance; 2). Psychology of Violence; and 3). Magical Realism. I hope you’ll see some of your own favorites on the list.

Unconventional romance

I hate the constant barrage of rubbish rom-coms that Hollywood churns out on a sickeningly regular basis. But these 5 movies give me that warm feeling inside without making me want to puke because of bad writing and melodrama.

1). Up in the Air – American film, dir.  Jason Reitman (American/Canadian).
I’m a little surprised I included this film, because there’s nothing spectacular about it, really. Aesthetically speaking, I think the film is on the simpler side. Not that that’s a bad thing–with its cool blue/white colorization, the whole film feels like you’re trapped in the uninspiring corporate world. Eventually, the main character (played by George Clooney) recognizes the emptiness of his life and accepts an important lesson: Life is better with company. I used to have an ironclad loyalty to the concepts of individualism and independence, and this film helped me realize that it’s not only ok, but better, to rely on other people.

2). Stranger than Fiction – American film, dir. Marc Forster (German-Swiss).
I don’t think I’ve ever encountered a movie more meta than this one. A man realizes that his life is being narrated by an omniscient voice, and the increasingly unlikely developments blur the line between reality-as-presented, reality-as-recorded, and reality-as-experienced.  It’s absolutely the best thing Will Ferrell has ever done, and, now that I think about it, the movie has a similar white-washed, orderly aesthetic like Up in the Air‘s. Which makes sense, because it’s a story about an employee stuck in a soulless job. It’s also set in Chicago, which automatically makes me like it even more.

3). Lost in Translation – American film, dir. Sofia Coppola (American).
I like this film largely because of Bill Murray, and also because it’s hard to predict. The ending is profoundly unsatisfying (what did he whisper into her ear?!?) and the movie is at turns wittily comedic and subtly dramatic. Lost people, wandering around in Tokyo, with no easy resolutions for their restlessness. Also, I can’t believe Scarlett Johansson was only 18 when she made this!

4). Silver Linings Playbook: American film, dir. David O. Russell (American).
I heard a couple of girls in my political science class complain that this film was “too weird” for them to understand or enjoy. Well, I think they probably just weren’t intelligent enough to appreciate it. The unlikely combination of a working-class Philadelphia setting with an inexplicable dance competition and mental illness makes for a charming and quixotic film. Plus, Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper are both amazing.

5). Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind – American movie, dir. Michel Gondry (French).
I think everyone loves this movie, so I won’t say much about it except that it will appeal to even the most unlikely romantic. It’s astoundingly creative, extraordinarily complex, and Kate Winslet looks, I think, more stunning in this than in any other movie she’s ever done–orange hair and all. In keeping with my dislike for certain comedians, I confess that Jim Carrey is not only not despicable in this movie, but actually endearing. A film reviewer I admire has described it much better than I can: “We are well into Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind before we realize what a crazy kaleidoscope of memory, projection, and fantasy we have entered; we are long out of the theater before we’re able to shake the tugging, altogether remarkable mood of rueful romanticism that nimbly encases all the hilarity…[it] is either the most side-splitting sad movie Hollywood has ever made, or else the most plaintive comedy, I’m not sure which.”

Psychology of Violence

6). In Bruges – British film, dir. Martin McDonagh (British/Irish)
I’m realizing a pattern as I move through this list: I tend to prefer genre-bending films. In Bruges is nothing if not that. I consider it a gangster satire; others might call it a poignantly comedic story about a man who is doomed to die. It gets categorized under “Psychology of violence” because the main character (played by Colin Farrell) must cope with a horrible, and accidental, crime. It also has one of the best endings I’ve ever seen; ambiguous, but heart-wrenching and not at all unsatisfying.

7). Apocalypse Now – American film, dir. Francis Ford Coppola (American)
This one should come as no surprise. It’s considered Coppola’s masterpiece (unless you prefer The Godfather, that is), and has been hailed as one of the most accurate depictions of the Vietnam War. I know it’s supposed to be a re-telling of Heart of Darkness,, but since I haven’t read the book, I’m sure there’s loads of symbolism/imagery/allusion I’m missing out on. I’ll have to re-watch it once I’ve read Conrad.

8). Fargo – American film, dir. Joel & Ethan Coen (American)
A stunningly hilarious film about two twisted hired killers set in frigid Minnesota. Great Lakes accents are used to full effect–Aww gee, Margie. You’re darn tootin’! Probably the best performance of Frances McDormand’s career (though she was also amusing in Burn After Reading). McDormand plays a pregnant police chief who, despite her intelligence, is often underestimated. Throw in a wood chipper, a botched ransom plot, and the Coen brothers’ signature slow-paced cinematography, and you have a very unusual dark crime comedy that is equally entertaining, perplexing, and disturbing.

9). There Will Be Blood – American film, dir. Paul Thomas Anderson (American)
Loosely based on Upton Sinclair’s novel Oil!, TWBB shows Daniel Day-Lewis at his finest. We watch the greasy, moustached Day-Lewis build an oil empire struggle by struggle, sacrificing his humanity in the process. I cannot get enough of the moral de-evolution and must rewatch the film at least once a year. Shout-out to the incredible Paul Dano for his turn as an unhinged preacher, and to Johnny Greenwood of Radiohead for composing my all-time favorite film score (listen to those terrifying violins here!). Noted for the line: “I drink your milkshake!”

Magical Realism

10). Beasts of the Southern Wild – American film, dir. Behn Zeitlin (American)
I’m probably not using the term “magical realism” entirely correctly to describe this last trio of films, but that’s how I think of them–as infusing reality with magic, or having two versions of reality intersect. I saw Beasts of the Southern Wild for the first time over Christmas break and was sobbing for probably 20 minutes. (In Bruges also had me in tears, btw). It is one of the most beautiful films I’ve ever seen; it looks like a fairytale, all light and lush and imagination. Yet it’s also incredibly sad, a tale of death (like most of these films, I’m realizing), starring a brave, adorable, and intrepid little girl who must conquer all sorts of demons. On top of that, it’s a film about Louisiana’s poor, and the fate of people who live on the edge of a world that perceives them as less than human.

11). Spirited Away – Japanese film, dir. Hayao Miyazaki (Japanese)
Miyazaki is a national treasure in Japan, and all of his films are stunning. I could have easily picked another one to include on this list–Howl’s Moving Castle, Princess Mononoke–but Spirited Away is the one I saw first and it has haunted me ever since. I was 9, living in Okinawa, Japan, and it completely terrified me. But I was always curious about the movie, and wondered what it all could have possibly meant. Even now, I haven’t sorted out all of the story’s complexities.

12). Pan’s Labyrinth – Mexican/Spanish film, dir. Guillermo del Toro (Mexican)
Another very frightening film; another tear-jerker. When I learned that del Toro had intended to make a film about the dictator Francisco Franco, and later overlaid the mythological story, I was baffled! I was so, so sure that the myth was the primary purpose, and the Spanish Civil War was a convenient setting for said myth. Well, at any rate, I think the dark & twisted fairytale aspects are more compelling than the “real” events being depicted, and it’s certainly more comforting to interpret the tragic ending of the film in that light.

Well! This ended up being a longer post–and ended on a darker note–than I intended. I’d love to hear about some of your favorite films. Cheers!

Chicago in Fog

The fog comes
on little cat feet.

It sits looking
over harbor and city

on silent haunches
and then moves on.

“Fog” by Carl Sandburg. From Chicago Poems, 1916.

I took these photos in early December, but waited to share them until another foggy day rolled by.

Blizzard on Monday, dense fog on Thursday. What weather will the weekend bring?

Albertine’s Whimsical & Wonderful Illustrations

*Click each image to view full size

Albertine’s drawings are, to put it simply, the type that make everyone smile.

How could you not fall for the chaotic cleverness of the unstable skyscraper in Les Gratte-Ciel or the inquisitive black cat in Le Chat Botté?

That’s precisely the right word to describe her drawings: clever.

Take, for example, her seemingly simple book Ligne 135, depicting a lime-green bullet train racing through ever-more fascinating and unusual settings. Here, it speeds through a forest filled with impossibly tall trees; one can only imagine where the tree tops begin–and what about those mysterious walkways?

Albertine’s dossier (by which I mean the biographical packet assembled for the Hans Christian Andersen Award 2014 Jury) is, amazingly, available online here should you care to read it. If, however, you don’t feel like sifting through the 20-page document, allow me to share the following. 

Born in Geneva, Switzerland in 1967, Albertine, like many notable children’s book illustrators, received formal artistic training before embarking on a career in press illustration. After a few years, she met her husband, Germano Zullo, a writer with whom she collaborates on many of her books.

To better understand the clever humor in Albertine’s work, consider this illuminating quote:

“When asked about her work, Albertine immediately refers to the world of games; a serious game, she likes to add. She argues that we all too often forget the extreme importance that games play, namely, to understand the world.” –dossier prepared by the Swiss section of IBBY for the HCA Jury

Her book Les Gratte-Ciel (“The Skyscraper”) is nothing if not a game:

Each page shows two neighbors’ competing skyscrapers growing taller and more complex. The reader instinctively  knows that adding all those unnecessary details–like a baffled tiger–will lead to a massive collapse.

But when will the structure collapse? When the drawing reaches the top of the page? And more importantly, what else can be added before then? It’s up to the reader to guess. [Note: “The Skyscraper” has been published in English as “Sky High” and a more complete summary is available here.]

La Rumeur de Venise (“The Rumor of Venice”) is also a witty game, as well as an illustration of the pervasiveness of gossip. Rumors about a giant fish caught by a fisherman float from one dwelling to the next; each re-telling brings an increasingly bizarre description. And will this silly rumor turn out to be true?

In addition to the games and cleverness, there’s also an innate sense of what can only be described as happiness running through Albertine’s work. A whimsical, wonderful happiness that comes in the form of tigers & helicopters, neon-lime trains, and adorable depictions of black cats.

In Le Chat Botté (“The Black Cat”), Albertine draws on the classic Italian-French fairy tale “Puss in Boots.” In her version, the cat is witty, refined, and slightly bourgeois, quite unlike the puffed-up, swashbuckling character that has permeated popular culture thanks to Shrek. Here, the clever kitty gives advice to a young man down on his luck.

I didn’t include as many biographical details in this post, since Albertine is very well-known compared to some of the other illustrators I’ve featured. But if you’d like to see more of her work,

• Brain Pickings shared her thoughts about Albertine’s book Little Bird
• A deeper analysis of Line 135 can be found on the BookDragon blog
• And finally, you can explore Albertine’s cleverly designed website for yourself!

As always, check back next week to see the next illustrator in this series. The Hans Christian Andersen Award winners will be announced in late March, and I still have 5 illustrators whose work I have to share before then! (Click “Children’s Literature” on the right side panel for previous entries). Cheers!