ON pining and planning

It seems that my little excursion last weekend didn't whet my appetite for the open road. I'm wanting the ocean, people.

My boyfriend is handsome (oh, how I miss his long hair). 

Picture from two years ago, when he and I took our first trip to California. He and I had only done a few small trips to Flagstaff before, and he had planned both trips. He's much more of the "it'll work itself out when we get there" type, while I had our hotel reserved a month in advance, with a clear plan of restaurants and things to do. We've had fun on every trip that we've taken together, so I guess it really doesn't matter if I don't have a precise itinerary. I just really like making lists.

Like right now.

In the next two months, I will be unemployed and homeless (so to speak). My term of service with AmeriCorps will be over at the end of June, and my lease is up at the end of July. I do not know where I will be working or where I will live. This terrifies me. And excites me, just a smidge.

I've been applying for jobs here and there, but the unholy trinity of a bad economy, almost no experience, and a degree that translates to almost nothing (good job, Global Studies. Pfft.) are not working in my favor.

A few really amazing opportunities have been presented to me--but they'd be unpaid. I've been interning with a political campaign for the past five months, and I've been given some amazing responsibility and I love what I'm doing--and I'm doing it well.  A friend of mine has also asked that I help with rolling out his organization's election communication plan. Um, yes. Hi. Dream jobs. Both of them.

There's only the tiny problem of needing to pay the bills. I've applied for jobs that would pay me (ha! novel concept) but I wouldn't be doing the type of work I want to, just putting in entry level time at either organizations with missions that I feel good about, or that might someday lead to more responsibility or an "in" to the communications department.

So, do I find a serving / bartending / receptionist job to pay the bills, and take the unpaid experience for what it's worth? Or do I plug away at something that I might make marginally more money at, but doesn't do much in the way of what I want to do?

Plus, I really, really want to go to grad school--but I don't want to A) take a GRE and actually, you know, apply and B) loose my network here in Phoenix. I have an amazing group of friends, family, colleagues, acquaintances, classmates, and professors who I can call on for an extra volunteer, a reference, or an introduction. If I started studying now, it would be at least a year before I could start.

As of now, I'm leaning toward the "unpaid opportunities." I don't have a car payment, credit card debt, a mortgage, a husband, or kids. My student loans are negligible. If there was a time to work for free, this would be it.

So, forces of the universe / internet, if you were me, what would you do?