I would title this "Diverse City..."

... if only Toby Mac had not taken that title back in the day. Yes, I know who Toby Mac is. I'm cool like that. And if you know who he is, well... you're cool, too!

After moving in with my dad and stepmom in lovely (maybe?) Rosenberg, Texas, I've found myself as scattered as ever. All of my stuff is finally in one place again, but I feel more unsettled than ever. After four and one-half years in college, I definitely did not imagine myself "striking out on my own..." back in with my parents?! Hold it. That is not the dream. No, no, no. The dream is graduate, score the dream job, secure the trendy loft apartment at a criminal-low price, buy the new car, and start the first day at said job to an overwhelming welcome of applause from the general public (who lined up to greet me at the doorway, obviously).

Hmm... not so much. Although I have been blessed to fulfill one part of the dream. My dad helped me to buy a new car. Thank you, Dad.

Other than that, I'm pretty much doing the same thing I did in Abilene. I'm working at American Eagle and looking for a teaching job (still, to no avail). And looking for sources of inspiration to keep my mind from degenerating into a pile of goo now that I don't have classes to stimulate my thinking. Oh, how I miss my English classes! It turns out that I really am a nerd.

Today I had an experience in diversity that really got me thinking. I worked the register for six straight hours today. That is a lot of talking. "Hi How are you Do you have an AE All Access Pass Would you like to sign up for one No Okay that's fine Will this be all Do you need a gift receipt Thank you Have a good Christmas!" As "diverse" as some people tried to make Abilene out to be, it has nothing on Houston, a fact that I've been smacked by over the last few days at AE. I enjoy diversity. In fact, I sometimes crave it. I get so bored when everyone listens to the same music as I do or uses the same colloquialisms as me. Still, I am human, and like most humans, I settle quite comfortably into homogeney. But today, diversity was hard. A woman came to the register and asked me to search for her in our customer database. She had a very thick Indian accent. That, coupled with the high volume of the rockin tunes (heh) and my manager's voice yammering in my headset ("Everyone be sure to greet all the customers!! Tell them about the promos! We need to get our conversion up! Other managerial phrases!!"), made it difficult to understand her. She gave me her last name (twice before we resorted to spelling it out: "I'm sorry, was that a "P?"), then her first name (three times), her address (I lost count), and her zip code (numbers are easier, thank God). We were both frustrated to say the least. I cannot speak for her, but I feel confident in saying that we both wanted to give up. "Who cares? So you (I) don't get the points for your (my) purchase? At least we'll stop screaming letters at each other."

I've realized something--it is at this point that me must committ to plow through. Diversity is worth it, even if it is hard.