Go, Nicole!! So proud of you.

{{sj}}

Bad = Killer Cramps from Hell

Good = Leaving early today to get a massage!

Boo for the bad. And, I totally sympathize. I'm got some serious cramps happening along with nausea. Yay! But, I don't get the nice massage.

After college, I moved home (Memphis) and worked for about 8 months before starting grad school. After grad school, I moved back to Memphis again and worked or a year before moving to Chicago. They were both good experiences for me. Grad school, on the other hand, I wish I had done differently. My advisor and I never really clicked (read: hated each other), and in a small program, that makes a huge difference. But I thought after the first year that I was stuck in the program until I finished. I wish I had just gone to another university.

But you were in IT--admittedly I was in Canada, but I got the first job I applied for and they were desperate for more people.

I was stuck in San Antonio right after college for life-reasons. There isn't a big tech industry there and the IT jobs all had tons of applicants. I finally got a low paying job doing support, but only because choices one and two didn't work out. I got a rejection letter before I was hired.

It's sixteen years later, and I'm still doing what I was going to do until I got on my feet and started doing what I wanted to do.

Oops.

Oops, I forgot. Right after college, I also drove out to LA, and bummed around taking temp jobs and volunteering for AFI movie projects as a PA.

Moved back when the funds ran out.

Maidengurl might appreciate:

Yes, indeedy. And I will be there in JUST OVER A MONTH.

Ahem, sorry. I can't answer the college question, cause I'm still in school, and working full time, and parenting...I'm so not a good example.

I took my last exam, delayed working a week because of a sprained thumb, and dived right into the workplace in the same city in which I'd gone to school. I don't regret it at all.

MG, you're an awesome and incredible example.

My first job was nice in that I could pay the bills and eat while searching for a better job.

I wish I could have done something before diving right into the job market. But I graduated deep in debt, and for quite a while there it only got deeper. At 38 I'm still not quite finished digging my way out.

I, too, wish I had gone out and done things! That is when you have freedom.

I stayed local and worked at a grocery store while looking for a job. Through a friend I got an office job a a local theatre, where I worked for a craxy person and learned a lot.

3 year later I got fired, quit theatre, had a nervous breakdown and moved in with my mom, and I haven't been the same since (although I am quite happy now).

Anyway, I would suggest NOT getting too bogged down by having a job/place to live. This is the time to travel, and to sleep on the floor of various friends houses and to generally not be safe. As an older person, I am much more set in my ways and unwilling to take risks, so I would say-- take risks now

This of course, is just my experience, so YBMV.