chaos EXPOSED

Hardy har har. It's time for a celebration, and where's the Moet?! As posted earlier on my blog, I left my job at Moet Hennessy in Shanghai and shipped back home to California. After a week and one day, I have landed a job! That's right my friends. You're looking at the new marketing recruiter for Cisco Systems in San Jose. I'll be starting training in a couple weeks and am super excited.

While my heart still yearns to be in a big city, either NYC or Shanghai, staying at home will save me enough money to move to a big city in a couple years! While I tried to avoid moving back home, it's been lovely this past week. As I mentioned in my last post, I had never seen my new house except for the occasional video chat with my family, but I am in love! All my furniture finally fits!

Another year of my life has passed me by. It's an hour until my birthday here in Shanghai, and I have a nice treat planned for myself on my special day. After the last two weeks of job hunting while living in the "wrong" country, I think that tomorrow, the day of my birth, is a great day to take a break and celebrate my life. I have been so fortunate to have spent my last few birthdays with different groups of friends from all over the world. I am so lucky to have such great friends in Shanghai, who I'll spend dinner with tomorrow at a Macanese restaurant, Lisboa. It's well known for its Portuguese egg-tarts! Yum!

Other than dinner, I think I'll go get a massage, mani/pedi, and threading. Maybe a facial. It's been a while since I've pampered myself, but I'm a firm believer in incentives and rewards! I'm not too sure how I should spend my last few days in Shanghai. But to reminisce about the past, these past 9 months have been such a blessing. I've been able to live fruitfully with the greatest friends, food, and fun and I'm really sad to let it all go. Moving on is just a part of life, huh?

The job hunt is still the same since the last post. However, I'm making a few more contacts here and there even though I'm still in China and most are in California. I'm so happy for the USA Pavilion contacts who have spread all over the world since Expo, and many have proved extremely supportive in my career endeavors.

To pass the next hour until my special day, just watching The Figther and The Tourist on DVD. I'll definitely miss getting HD DVDs for 75cents before they're legitimate DVDs. Oh China, so much to be missed, yet so much to be left behind!

This past week has been both stressful and relaxing. I've been stressing myself out about job prospects back at home, and doubting myself, but know that stressing won't do much help. To enjoy my last weeks in Shanghai, I've gone to almost every dinner with my friends, we won trivia last Thursday by a landslide(!), and I finally got to go to an Infected Mushroom concert, after missing them twice the past two years!

The cycle persists, and now more than ever since the job market in the US is in such a sour state. It's been more than a few times where I encounter job listings seeking entry level candidates, but experienced entry level candidates. So, Cassie Chao is seeking an internship. Why? Because these "entry-level" positions require anywhere between 2 to 5 years of experience. I would like to ask these companies, "Do you know what entry-level means?" I don't have to ask, because it seems they have no idea. What's funny is that even some unpaid internships have outrageous demands. "Must be _____ major: non ______ majors will not be considered." Are you crazy? Not everyone knows what they want to do after college, on top of that some schools don't have _____ major!

Here's my lowdown, folks. I am an economics major from a liberal arts college, wanted to go to Smith for the college environment, small classes, amazing alumni network, and to play for a women's ice hockey team. Was interested in business, but Smith only had economics and was initially but no longer interested in pursuing banking. I can read, write, and speak English fluently and well. Yes, I know how to research, what do you think college was, a constant dance-party? E-mail skills. Really? I'm pretty sure we're in the 21st century and if you're asking me if I know how to use email, I worry about the people who work at your company. You should be asking me what's the future of Web 3.0. I have over a year's worth of experience in three different cities (including an international city), with marketing, events, advertising, and customer service (Expo, haha!) experience.

Honestly, if you were to ask me what I want to do with my life. I would answer that I don't know. I'm interested in Human Resources AND Public Relations (and traveling the world). One I would be amazing at, the other I will struggle with but am yearning for the opportunity to even fight through to succeed. I am sincerely interested in both fields but don't want to waste my time flipping coins to choose.

I have been reaching out to my Smith alumni network for some insight in PR and many Smithies have already proved helpful agreeing to meet me upon my return to the Bay Area. My tuition is starting to pay off! Although, I know pure networking won't cut it and might not land me anywhere near a job. I will need to expand my knowledge in both PR and HR fields, probably requiring some more schooling. Here's the decision is again, what to study? Sigh. I'm at a loss for ideas. Maybe some Adobe Flash to help with my creative side?

I guess the next step for me is to start building my online portfolio. I'll keep blogging, but get ready for Chaos 2.0.

On a side not, my USAP buddies just proved tonight that American's aren't all drunken idiots. We won trivia leading the pack by 51 points (when most games have a 1 to 2 point differential), beating the reigning 7-week champions of Europeans. We may be loud, and we may be rambunctious, but they can all suck it for doubting the American 'kids'.