10 Things I loved about this Monday

1. I woke up next to Michael. It was nice... considering we usually wake up when there's only 20 minutes we can squeeze between the "being late" to work and having to "sneak by" the boss so he may or may not notice... either way, it's worth the extra minutes of snuggling. This morning, we woke up around 5 something, which meant we had at least another two hours of scrumptious cuddling. :) It was really nice!
2. I didn't hit much traffic on my way home this morning.
3. My finals were on Saturday and are D-O-N-E!! It was a great feeling yesterday and today not having to worry about going to school or doing homework!
4. Rae and I got some bad news last week... our landlord really IS a bi-atch and completely incompetent. She'd rather have our house empty than not raise our rent by 100 bucks. Good luck finding new tenants!! Either way, we started the search for a new place today... and actually found one! The place is almost twice the size of our current place, at 100 LESS than what we've been paying in rent, AND has a fireplace and TWO bathrooms!! Needless to say, we're oh-so-excited!
5. I went to my second interview at the restaurant today. I got the job and have to memorize the menu by Saturday. Proudly, I've always been able to say that I've never waited tables. Not for long :) I think it'll be fun, and i'll make great money, i'm sure!
6. I took two naps today... mmm I love my naps!
7. I finally got my last check from the Marketing project I did this summer. Money in the mail makes for a damn good Monday!
8. I got to catch up on my episodes of The Hills. LOVE that show - and can't wait for The City and Bromance to start in a few weeks. MTV is brilliant.
9. I talked to my momma AND my broham today... that's almost unheard of in one day!!
10. Ummm.... usually people think Mondays are blah, but not THIS Monday for me :)

I hope everyone had a FABULOUS day!

A P-word that rhymes with Fluke

Last sunday, my BLS (big little sister - she'll be 9 next month) was sick. She had some tummy thing - throwing up everywhere - gross, right? Well, that was on SUNDAY. My mom thought it was all over and done with by THURSDAY, especially since it was a 24 hour thing and that's it. Thanksgiving festivities ensued and aunts, uncles, grandparents, etc gathered at their house and had a lovely meal.

Later that night, my LLS (little little sister), mom, and step-dad ALL were sick with whatever it was that my BLS got... throwing up and all that jazz. My mom called to warn me on Friday that there was pretty much a 4 day period and I'd probably get sick. I was NOT looking forward to that - especially since this week is full of presentations and finals for the last week of the semester for me.

Friday, I stayed in and worked on school projects pretty much all night. It's been nice just to chill out and not have to do anything work-related. Anyway, Saturday I met up with one of my group members and we worked on our project and she left about 3:30. After that, it was pure hell. I was incredibly nautious and thought I was going to throw up at any moment.

Not only did I have "that" feeling, but I also started getting a fever and sweats, etc. Today, I'm MUCH better - but yesterday was still incredibly painful. It's really odd, because my uncle had the same thing I had, but just not what the rest of my BLS, LLS, mom and step-dad had.

Either way, I'm feeling much better today. My two chicas brought me some ginger ale to make me feel better before they went out... it was very sweet of them :)

I picked Michael up from the airport today. He was visiting his family for Thanksgiving and it was so good to see him!

Ugh - I've got SO much schoolwork to do and so little time. Hooray for only one more week of this BS!!

Gobble, Gobble

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!!

Vegetarians everywhere love this holiday ;) It's full of eating 'sides' at my family's house... which, today, are incredibly abundant!

Number Included...

I'm in a Buyer Behavior class at school and we have this fabulous project due on Monday. Unfortunately, because I go to a school in the city, not many people live near each other. Meeting up is usually a nightmare - work schedules, other classes, etc. hinder the meet greatly.

Finally, today, my group was able to meet. I created this survey (it's about luxury cars) and we distributed it at a "food court" near some businesses where we thought people might own luxury cars.

One of the guys in my group is seriously shy. He's incredibly cute but incredibly shy. So, it was me and one of the other girls to walk up to random strangers and get them to fill out our survey.

I walked up to a table with two men sitting there watching one of the tv's in the food court. I introduced myself to them and told them what I needed them to do. One of them was actually a Marketing executive for a HUGE corp. (can't tell you where cause it'll give my city away!!) let's just say, you probably come into contact with it at least once a day. Anyway, the guy sitting with him - I'm not sure what he did. I asked them to fill out their surveys and told them I'd return.

Upon my return, guy sitting with him said he needed to show me something on the second page... He said "See, where I circled 'single' for marital status... well, I put my phone number next to it for you..."

HAHAHAHAHahahahahha

Oh my God, I've never been so embarassed... it was hilarious! I didn't know what to say!! I walked away, red in the face, and told my group members when I got back.

Maybe that'll be part of our "findings" in the report... ahahaha!

Anywho - this is the time where school is absolutely killing me. I have so many projects/papers/tests, it's ridiculous. It'll all be over next Saturday though... hooray!!!

Try-it Tuesday [Volume 2]

TRY-IT TUESDAY MUSIC
Oh me, oh my... Seether is a great band - they've done a lot of good stuff previously... and this one is nothing short of great! (The video is awesome, too!)



TRY-IT TUESDAY TV SHOWS
The Starter Wife has become a regular show of mine. I have always liked Debra Messing, but she's great in this series... and the show is incredibly interesting, too. :)



I'm a sucker for the holiday made-for-tv movies... and ABC is doing a great job fulfilling this for me... The 25 Days of Christmas shows several movies each night, all with a christmas feel. Of course, they're in the "6 days until 25 Days of Christmas" - which really doesn't make sense, but whatever.



TRY-IT TUESDAY WEBSITE
I am a HUGE fan of the kraft foods site. They have TONS of really good - really easy recipes that take no time at all to prepare. I'm one of those cooks who pretty much thinks about several ingredients that might go together and then I create my own stuff based on that (well, and previous knowledge of what tastes good together, obviously).

Have a FABULOUS Thanksgiving!!

Bad things happen to good people sometimes...

This morning I woke up and looked at my Blackberry. Since I receive so many random emails throughout the night (you know, coupons from Express or NY and Company, spam emails, etc), the notification ding doesn't phase me anymore. I saw an email in there from my old boss...

... now, this is a guy who was incredibly instrumental in my career. I loved working for him and think he's such a cool person. He has given me a ton of career opportunities, always believed in me and the work that I did, as well as taking a genuine interest in what I'm doing. He's always doing a bike ride for this cause, organizing something for his kid's school or the city he lives in, donating to charity, or some random thing for everyone around him. He's a kind-hearted, selfless person.

His email informed me that he was recently diagnosed with throat cancer.

I was literally at a loss for words. His email came in at about 9 this morning and it's about 3 now... and I was just now able to respond. Of course I wrote a heart-felt message to him offering anything he needed while he goes through some ridiculous treatments. I mean, when they do chemo on your throat - you literally have to live on feeding tubes, etc. for a month or so because your throat won't function the same. That's awfully scary to think about.

Please keep him in your prayers as he starts chemo (during the holidays, nonetheless) and his life takes a drastic turn. I have no doubt that he'll get through this and be strong throughout - but he'll definitely need your prayers.

I have tons of questions surrounding all of this - and maybe that's another post for another day - but I've only known one or two people in my life to have cancer.

*sigh* sometimes bad things happen to good people...

Try-it Tuesday [volume 1]

I'm starting a new thing with this little bloggy-blog here :) It's called "Try-it Tuesday" and it's a compilation of music, books, TV shows, movies, and/or things you might want to check out. Be forewarned that my music range is quite extensive and might lead to something you actually like! Books will probably remain in the chick-lit or business professional arena... and shows, well, you never know where that's going to take you!

Later on, there might be themes associated with this new bloggy-blog thing, but for the moment, it'll just be random choices!

TRY-IT TUESDAY MUSIC:
I've been infatuated with OAR's Shattered since it came out a little while ago. It's got a great beat and I love his voice. Enjoy! :)


TRY-IT TUESDAY BOOKS:
Sophie Kinsella writes a ton of books (under the name Madeline Wickham as well) and I'm a big fan. I read only two of her Shopaholic Series books and had to shelve that for a while, but Remember Me was FAB-U-LOUS... you should check it out!



TRY-IT TUESDAY TV SHOWS:
I've started watching this new series on Starz... it's called Crash. The movie was absolutely fabulous and one of my faves, so naturally, I love the show. It just started and they're only 4 or 5 episodes in at this point.



That should be enough to keep you busy for a while! Happy Tuesday!

Black and Purple are fabulous colors!

Friday was an interesting day. I had papers due, a test or two to study for, a presentation to finish... alllll kinds of stuff for school. I'd dubbed Friday "Library Day" for all intents and purposes.

Lunch was great, I met up with some former coworkers... one of which is about to have a baby in about 3 weeks and one of which told us he's popping the question to his gf on Thursday. We're not super excited about this because the 4 of us are a close-knit group and this bi-atch has rained on our parade since she's stepped into a relationship with him. But, I digress. It was an eventful lunch nonetheless.

Before leaving my house to go to lunch, I dressed in some stretchy pants, flip flops and a comfortable shirt and pullover. It wasn't 'freezing' outside, but it was a bit nippy. I knew I was going to be at the library all day - so the more comfortable, the better.

I drove to the rail station to hop on the train. The ground is comprised of something other than concrete. It feels like granite (that's how slippery it is) but I doubt it's such. Since it just started 'drizzling' outside, I was very careful in how I walked. I made each ascent/descent carefully (there are about 100 stairs there and 100 back between the stations) and tried my hardest not to slip. Even when I arrived at school, I still had to walk extremely carefully.

I finished up in the Library and darkness started to set in. I made it back through the station, on the train, to the other station where my car was parked, and down the last 95 stairs. Then, all of a sudden...

I slipped.

I slid down not one, not two, but THREE 'granite' stairs. There was no handrail, nothing to break my fall. Only my tush (which, I've been trying to reduce the size of here recently). Of COURSE, I had to carry 3 books weighing a total of 40 extra pounds making it that much more harder of a fall.

The girl walking next to me tried to help me out and asked me if I was alright. It literally knocked the wind out of me... and I could barely walk. I felt sick to my stomach and just neeeeded to get back to my car so I could cry if I wanted to.

I got home and checked it out, no bruise yet, but INCREDIBLY sore. Saturday morning... purple and black... and the size of my hand. I bruised my ass so severely, that I've had to sit sideways to avoid the right butt cheek. It's still black and purple but a little less sore today.

I bet it'll be one or more of the colors on the color wheel by the time it's done. Yuck!

Anyway, that's my funny story for today. It's been quite an amusing weekend. ;)

A few things

Tuesday turned out to be a better day. I cleaned my house, did a ton of laundry, caught up on all the schoolwork I needed to do... it was a good day overall.

A few things happened...

1. I received a call from the guy I interviewed with a week or so ago (the event planning/brand awareness/etc job) and he pretty much offered me the job. He said that since the company is a non-profit and I'd essentially be its only paid employee, I would have to create a company for myself and work as a contractor. :) :) :) I am thrilled with this idea! Their next meeting as a whole organization is on the 20th and I'm excited to finally get started on this project. He is putting all the paperwork together today and I should see something come to fruition by the beginning of next week.

2. I received a call from the guy I worked for this summer as an independent marketing consultant. He previously told me that there were other people who were interested in using my services (promotional item selections, etc.) because of the work they'd seen of mine with him. He told me he's meeting with them next week to talk with them and there should be some work coming down the pipeline for me soon.

These things are pretty freaking awesome. As I was walking through the aisles of Borders bookstore the other night, I saw signs for part time work there. What a great place to work! I believe I would get discounts on everything and it'd be an extremely easy place to work - cash register, coffee shop, etc. I certainly would get everyone's christmas presents from there...

Speaking of books... I finished the book Forget About It by Caprice Crane. It was an incredibly good book with lots of twists and turns and scandalousness. I started reading the other book I got, but couldn't really get into it. I shelved it for a rainy day.

The other night, I ordered these books from Amazon:












Both books look absolutely fabulous and packed with fun. These are exactly the books I love to read. I've got a loooong list of books waiting for me :)

The semester ends in less than a month and I couldn't be more excited! It's going to take a lot of work to get through it, but I think I can!

I hope you all have a great night!! :)

10 [shitacular] Things

1. Friday (Nov. 7) was 5 years from the day my cousin died. My thoughts about this from previous years are here.
2. My great grandmother started taking some pain meds because her arthritis meds weren't working. As a result, she became a zombie who couldn't move and even made up new words for the english language! She had to go to the hospital, and is now in a rehabilitating nursing home. She'll soon move to the big nursing home once she's better...
3. I'll leave this one blank until I feel inclined to fill it in. It has to do with _ _ _ _ _ _ _ and our _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _. Hah. How's that for hang man??
4. I got a call back today from my interview last week. I have to make my own company and become incorporated... essentially being a consultant for them. Huzzah.
5. It's cold out... and getting increasingly colder.
6. I have an INSANE amount of school work due tomorrow. I've been busting ass today trying to get everything done, though.
7. I have group projects and finals and papers and all sorts of stuff coming to a close within the next few weeks.
8. My school is ridiculous and I feel like they try whatever they can to keep you from succeeding. Rules and regulations are in place to make people work even harder when they screwed up once in their life back in 2002. Yes, I'm still suffering from my first semester in school... in 2002.

I think I can only gripe about 8 things at the moment... and they're not even all gripes. 1, 2, and 3 are big, though.

Anyway - that might clue you in to how things are goin down at the moment. Argh.

Rocky Road (not the ice cream)

I have been unable to post to this blog for a couple of weeks because life is incredibly rocky at the moment. It saddens me to write about it, so I've avoided this blog altogether. Of course, I've kept up with yours - just can't get my mind off of this one thing long enough to write something important.

I'm sad that Obama won the presidency (obviously... if you follow my blog you know why!) but I think he'll do a good job. He's the president-elect and I kinda have to support him. I'm not going to bitch about it until after he proves us McCain supporters right and fucks something up ;) haha just kidding. Hopefully he'll be able to bring about all the change he talked about... I'll be waiting for that moment!

So, I'm sorry I haven't written - and I'm not sure how much longer it'll be until I write again. Keep checking back, though. I may just surprise you with five fun-filled crazy entries in one day! You never know!

I hope you guys all had a great Halloween and you're enjoying all of the Christmas and shopping commercials that have raided the space between your favorite shows. (Speaking of, I've started watching 'the starter wife' for some reason... I kind of like it!)

Anywho... life will go on. C'est la vie always has been my favorite saying. Oh, and I've found a study abroad program that is a may-mester for next year! I think I'm going to do it... Paris in my future? No way! ;)

365

Hmmm... I'm thinking of doing this. I'm not quite sure if October is a good time to start - or maybe January is. There are probably some other elements I'd like to add to it - pictures, sayings, etc... than just 24 words about 365 people who have been involved in my life one way or another.

This would take some anonymity out of it for me - but I doubt I'd link it to this blog.

Any suggestions?

Amongst the ranks of the 'unemployed'

Friday was a liberating day for me. Not only did I break down in tears (yet again... yeesh for someone who never cries, there happens to be an awful lot of crying going on here)for the third time last week, it happened at work. Ugh. I didn't want to be "that girl" so I shut myself in an office and talked to Michael for a little while.

I must say, if he handled me (somewhat) last week - he can handle me through anything. I was AWFUL. Carrie even said something to the effect of "who are you?!" and "Are you listening to yourself??" - bad news bears written all over the place.

So, I left the office - tears brushed aside - and returned to my cube, boring job, and miserable thoughts in my head. Soon after, my boss came to me and said he'd like to see me when I got done with what I was doing. I went ahead and cleaned off my computer of any personal files I had, cleaned out my laptop bag, and decided that it was time for me to use this opportunity to end the misery once and for all.

As I walked into his office, he shut the door behind us and it turns out we were both there on the same mission. I was miserable, he could tell - and rather extend the bullshit any further, it was best to go ahead and end it right there. Fabulous! I turned in my laptop and left early on a Friday... woohoo! (why is it they do that? always fire people on Fridays?)

So that's that. I'm now amongst the ranks of the 'unemployed'. Not for long, though. I've applied for many positions recently and have more connections than I know how to use. Hopefully some project will come through in the next week so I can be busy (intelligently) again.

Hip Hip Hooray!! ;)

Tagged...

1. Do you have the same friends since childhood? I have a few... one I'm pretty close with right now, we've been friends on and off since 3rd grade, a few that I keep in touch with ever so often. It's nice :)

2. What do you value most about your friends? That I can bitch and gripe and moan and they still love me anyway. (I'm surprised Carrie didn't disown me after this week... love ya girl!)

3. Are your friends your sounding boards? sometimes. I try to figure it out myself, but then if there's no resolution, I'll definitely turn to them.

4. What is your favorite activity to share with your friends? Going out, visiting places, food, movies, books, normal girl-stuff

And now according to the rules of this award, I have to list 5 things under the following headers, and pass this award on to 5 more people.

10 years ago:
I was in High School
I aspired to be an elementary school teacher
My mom was engaged to be married
I worked at TCBY Treats :)
I was officially dubbed with the nickname "chicksta" that now plagues every online thing I touch

5 things on today's "To do" list:
Study for Wednesday's finance exam
Do a little cleaning
Catch up on some of the shows i've missed
Update my ipod (something fun and exciting coming to this blog post-this post)
sleep

5 Snacks that I enjoy
Fruitabu rolls (yummmm)
Carvel ice cream (or any ice cream for that matter!)
Triscuits and either cheese or onion and chive cream cheese
smoothies
Hummus

5 things I would do if I were a millionaire:
Give some money to a select few people
Buy a house
Save some for a rainy day
Invest some (in the oil and gas business... obv)
Get a new pair of really expensive shoes (just one :)

5 places that I have lived
Florida
Texas
Georgia
Arizona
Wyoming

5 jobs that I have had
Marketing Coordinator
Sales Associate
Receptionist
Nanny
Independent Marketing Consultant

Let's see... I need to tag a few people, but everyone has pretty much already done it.
Murphy's Law
Kass
Bittersweet Confusion
Redhead Next Door

Have a happy Monday!! :)

A shred of hope

After breaking down in tears not one, but two nights in a row over the dread of having to come to this place and sit here all day, there's finally a shred of hope. I'm incredibly shocked that Michael hasn't pushed me to the curb through all of this, cause I've been the bitchiest girlfriend ever. I've been needy and selfish and whiney... blah blah blah.

Anyway, I emailed a former colleague of mine that actually got me in with one of my clients over the summer. He mentioned to me earlier about a friend/former colleague of his that owns a PR company here in my city. In my catch-up email to him this morning, I mentioned that and I would possibly be interested in some project work.

His email back to me contained that one little tiny shred of hope I needed to make my day. He sent me a link to the company and their services contain EXACTLY what I want to do with my Marketing degree... Creative Event Management, Media Relations, and Collateral. Oh the fabulousness.

This is my ticket to freedom and out of this boring mess I've gotten myself in to. Hopefully I'll hear back and be able to interview. Hopefully she'll need some help and think that I'm the perfect person for the job. Hopefully she'll use my talents and I'll be able to learn a ton of things from her.

Say a little prayer for me. :)

Misery...

I've tried to steer clear of this blog for the past few days. I have so many gripes and complaints, it's unreal. Although, that's not what this blog is for (it's supposed to be about life and fun stuff!), it's turned into that - because that's how I'm feeling.

Yesterday, I felt as if the world hated me. Everything was wrong and I was taking it out on the wrong person. I was needy, inconsiderate, and ridiculous yesterday. It was slightly embarassing.

It all stems from this job, I feel. I 'work' for 8 hours a day... get paid a large sum of money... but don't DO anything. I have to make it look like i'm doing something, but I'm not really. Just surfing the net, talking to friends online, etc. I am bored out of my mind and it's making me lazy, unintelligent, it's affecting my mood, my actions, and all that other stuff.

So I've decided... I'm going to get another job. One that i'm actually busy during the day - something where I have to be there at a certain time (lord knows I need help with that), some place where I actually feel wanted and part of the team, and some place that pays decently.

Never in my life have I felt so insecure, unwanted, and stupid. That's all about to change. *sigh* thankfully, that's over!

Geeze I feel bad for Michael through all of this.

In other news, I found out that avg. D-cup boobs weigh about 9.5lbs (together).... so I have been at my 140 lb goal this whole time and didn't even know it! (that's counting my boobs! - i'm a C, not a D)

10 Things...

1. I am incredibly bored. You've read that right. BORED. Ugh.
2. Michael and I went to see my sister's softball game last night. They won :) And it was a great game, too!
3. Next weekend we're going to my grandparent's house and celebrating their birthdays (both are in October)... beforehand, my brother and his girlfriend and Michael and I are going hiking/pumpkin patch and it's going to be FABULOUS! I can't wait!
4. We'll get to carve the pumpkins :)
5. Tomorrow night, I'm staying with my mom and sister. We're going to have a night of girl stuff - scrapbooking, movies, etc. It'll be SO much fun. My girlie-girl sister is going to be there... the other sister (who is not so much into the girlie-girl stuff) is going to a wedding with my step-dad.
6. Tonight we're going to an improv show an to the top of this building (reallly reallly cool) with some friends. Should be a GREAT time!
7. It has come down to the point where I'm just going to have to find something to do in this place. Lord help me, their marketing materials are non-existent. I think I've just found a gold mine.
8. The company I was doing a project for this summer was an investment firm. They literally went from spending $25,000 on tchotchke's to being pretty much bankrupt. I did get a compliment, however, on the project I did for them and one of his colleagues at another firm wants me to do the same work for them (obviously not an investment firm). There's DAMN GOOD money in Consulting.
9. I'm kicking ass in school! I've made over an 80 on everything (except one quiz) so far. I'm EXTREMELY proud of myself! My schedule next semester is shitty, but whatever. 4:30 to 9:45 Mondays and Wednesdays. Ugh!
10. I <3 Michael... SOOOOOsooooo much!

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Headphones

Because I don't want to lug around more than I have to at school, I choose to leave my laptop at home. The library has a million computers and there are several labs around campus, so I just go there during my mid-day hour and a half break. It works.

I sat down about 20 minutes ago to start on some homework that's due at 4:30 today. The guy sitting to the right of me is finished with what he's doing, so another guy sits down there. After starting what he needed to do, he turns his ipod on.

I get the whole ipod thing... I get that people want to listen to their music 24/7. I like to do it sometimes, too. BUT I don't like to listen to OTHER people's music - especially when I can't hear all parts of the song. I only hear a section of the back beat which makes it highly annoying for me.

So I get up and move to another computer... and it's all better.

It reminds me of last week when my group was rushing to complete our project before class. We'd all arrived around 10:30 in order to get it all together for our noon class. But sitting right next to me, this girl was listening to Beyonce. LOUDLY on her headphones.

I cannot stand Beyonce's voice. I never have been able to - and probably never will. She's a whiner, just like Rhianna. Anyway, that was a painstakingly long hour and a half.

Ok, enough ranting for right now. The point is - I just wish people were more respectful of others around them - especially if they're there before them.

Maybe I'm just annoyed today. This old guy DID mess up my drive this morning. Driving 10 mph in a 35... needless to say, I just barely missed the train and had to drive to school (pay $5 for parking nonetheless)

Ugh. Who knows?

Today... (pronounced Tuh-day)

Oh yes, yes, yes... where do I begin? Let's see... I've been "getting sick" since mid week last week... and it's turned into a full-blown cold, just as I feared. I can't breathe, my eyes are puffy, my nose runny... and I'm miserable. Hah. Lovely.

Anywho... Let me talk to you about my day today and then I can take you back through the weekend last weekend. You shall thoroughly enjoy it, I'm sure.

This morning, I was supposed to get up early so I could finish my project before meeting my group at around 10:30 at school. I woke up to my alarm every five minutes but continuously shut it off. Eh, C'est la vie. That just meant I wasn't going to be able to put as much effort into it as I would have otherwise.

I got up, got dressed, and headed out the door in time to catch the 9:45 train (perfect timing, might I add). As I hopped out of my car... I noticed... that I didn't have my purse with me. Never fear, I had a $20 in the console for some odd reason - and it literally saved my day.

I cringed as I put the 20 in the machine... for my $4 round-trip ticket... only to find that it spat out $16 in CHANGE. Yes, that's right... $1 coins and other CHANGE to make up SIXTEEN dollars. Yeesh.

While on the train, I get a phone call from my mother. She tells me that my grandmother (who is only in her late 60's, MAYBE 70) had a mini-stroke last Monday... and they didn't TELL anyone!! They think they're saving us all from worrying, but they're really worrying us more. The only reason we found out is because my step-dad went up there on Saturday and they were talking about it! (she's alright, by the way)THEN, she tells me that their dog died (HUGE thing for them... cause their dogs are their 'children' really) on Thursday. They didn't call anyone and tell them that either. What am I gonna do with them!?

I get to school and trot to the library... to where I am denied access because I don't have my School ID or regular ID on me. Well, whoop-dee-doo... I went to the other entrance and finagled my way in through that security guard (MUCH nicer than the previous, I might add). I was finally able to do my project, but without my school ID, couldn't print it! Haha! The irony!

I took a test, dealt with my annoying group member... and here I am. I wanna go home and go to sleep :) That's all. Cuddle up with Michael, a good movie, and some soup... and just go to sleep.

10 [minus 2] Things that are random...

*whew* I was heated yesterday when I wrote that placeholder.

1. This guy is in my group in my marketing research class. He, for the first half of the semester didn't do anything. Didn't respond to any email, didn't stay after class to discuss our group project, didn't participate whatsoever. So I talked to my teacher about it since we have the option of 'firing' a group member - then they're forced to do the project solo. Anyway... after the teacher talked to him, he did a complete 180. Now, he's TAKING OVER the whole project. Which, would be fine, if he wasn't so demanding and controlling.
He took a look at what we've done so far and basically told me that we were going in the wrong direction and needed to start over. HAH! If he wanted his input considered, he should have responded to the first 20 emails about it. But he didn't. So he has no say.
Yesterday, he stood out in the hall and argued with me about the project. I just kept telling him that he needed to discuss with the group... not just me. He's fucking psycho. That's all I have to say about that!!

2. Last night, Michael and I attended THE most depressing concert I think I've ever been to. The line-up was great... Augustana, Maroon 5, and Counting Crows. EXCEPT, they played their up-beat songs slower and sang differently. It was awful. We only saw 3/4 of Counting Crows and 1/2 of Maroon 5 before we called it a night. It was a bit chilly out, we were both tired, and it wasn't worth being there. We're not depressing people!! Good thing I only paid 10 bucks for the tickets!

3. In other news, I found a long lost friend from camp. I've been in touch with the 3 other girls I used to hang with at camp, but we could never find this one. And I finally found her the other night!! :) She's got a kid, just got married, and has another kid on the way. So happy for her!

4. You'll be happy to know that my miserable-ness ended at close of business on Tuesday. I came in this morning and they said they've got a project for me... woohoo! Something to do!! :) Hooray! Although, I still don't have a permanent desk... and they bitched about me moving the monitor. Hrmph. I tried hard to put it back the way I found it.

5. I made an 82 on my Finance quiz last night. I TOTALLY screwed up number 1 and number 5. There were only 6 questions :) But, that's still pretty good! I have another test on Monday, a paper draft due (well, overdue, technically - but it's not being graded yet), group project stuff due all over the place... my night and weekend will be spent studying. Aren't you happy for me?! Hah. Yahright!

6. I've been doing great losing a little bit of weight. Scales don't matter, by the way. I put on a pair of pants that were usually tight - and now they're a bit loose. SO excited about that!

7. My little sister is in the parade tomorrow and I cannot wait to go do her hair and all that cute stuff. My mom bought her a NEW dress (not the one she wore in the pagent cause the color of the sash clashes with the dress, she says). I think she just wanted to get her a new dress, I don't think she really needed one. Lucky girl!

8. I've had BAD anxiety this week. I mean REALLY bad. Yesterday was awful, Tuesday was even worse - but it's all up and down. *sigh* Today is MUCH better :)

10 Things the days of this week hold...

1. Today I had a test (see post below) and have a paper due by midnight. (don't worry, it's only a first draft and it's not graded or anything...)
2. Tomorrow I get to have lunch with an old colleague and catch up on some things. SUPER excited about that.
3. Wednesday - homework due in Buyer Behavior
4. Wednesday - Quiz in my lovely Finance class
5. Michael and I are going to a FABULOUS concert Wednesday night - Maroon 5, Augustana, and Counting Crows. Going to be SO much fun!!!
6. Friday, my sister is going to be in the homecoming parade because she won the Little Miss beauty pageant!! I get to do both of my sister's hair beforehand. I'm stoked!!
7. Today, I got the link for the pictures we took. Michael wore a mullett in one of them... PRICELESS!! I'm a little upset that they're not as high-res as I wanted them to be, but we get the full prints on Friday.
8. Saturday, we're going to a friend's show... he's a rapper.
9. Sunday, i'm sure we're going to church - but then I'll be STUDYING (yep, that's my life these days) for another stupid series of tests next week.
10. Hopefully the two books I ordered on Amazon will come in. One was 53 cents and the other was 1.20. Even WITH shipping, each cost less than 5 bucks :) Not too shabby!













I cannot WAIT to start reading them... nor can I wait to get my scrapbook started - I've almost got ALL the pictures printed that I want to include. Now I get to go shop for stickers and all that good stuff :) Hooray!

**warning - those with sensitive stomachs should not read**

First - I just took the most ridiculously easy test in my life. If I don't make at least a 95, I'm an idiot :)

Second - I MUST tell you what I witnessed today. I almost vomited on myself. Literally.

On my 8-block walk between classes, you have to pass through a particular park where homeless people gather to spend their days. Not the best college environment, by any means, but it works for what I'm trying to get accomplished. Anyway, as I'm trekking past the park and on to the street where there's any kind of food you could imagine... I see a homeless lady digging through the trash. She's found a few items and collected them in one hand, while she continues to dig with the other hand.

I shit you not, she straight picks up a styrofoam cup (lid and straw attached and all) and DRINKS from it. Doesn't open the lid to see what's in it first, doesn't shake it to see if what's in it is liquid... straight puts the straw to her lips and sucks it up.



I literally almost lost my cookies. The thought of what could have been in that cup disgusts me. It could have been anything from spoiled milk to someone's tobacco spit-cup to other unimaginable things. I just don't even know.

Thought I would share that incredibly gross moment with you :)

These miserable days won't be around much longer...

Let it be known... I've been completely miserable at this job for the past few weeks. My manager isn't a very good one, I'm bored most of the time, there isn't 8 hours of work, 3 times a week for me to do. So much so that I could do a 10 things, and end up with 15.

Yesterday and today have just been one big clusterfuck of anxiety. I know, I know... I wish I didn't have anxiety problems, but I do. We can't all be perfect :) Some of it has stemmed from Michael's bad day yesterday (and NOTHING I did cheered him up) and has morphed into the "hate my job" syndrome.

But I've done something positive. I've drafted an email showing my "progress check" and am asking for more responsibilities so that I'm not bored - and am praying for different things to do. And things I can add value with so that I'm not angry about wasting all my time.

This job is supposed to be a money thing and that's it. I need to do something brainless so I can focus all of my energy on studying and making kick ass grades.

Update on that...
I made an 85 on my first finance test. (Huzzah!) The lowest grade was a 9, the average was a 62.
I made a 92 on my first Marketing Research test. The average was an 80.

So, all in all, i'm doing great this semester! I have a first draft of a ridiculously hard paper due on Monday, a test Monday, a quiz Wednesday, a homework assignment due Wednesday... and the list goes on. But I'm doing it! And I actually like it.

I figured out last night that i've got 7 classes left and I'll be finished. That means Spring and then Summer and I'm DONE!!!!!!! Hooray!!

I just got a box of Godiva chocolates sent to me from Godiva corporate... how sweet of them. It wasn't skimpy, either.... 24 piece box. So much for the 140lb goal!!!

$(#&%*!!!

I started a post... but deleted it. I fear it will come to haunt me in the future if I write about it. I know, I know... I don't openly state where I live, who I am, and use pseudonyms for everything... but Lord help me if someone finds this blog in my professional life. I have to make sure everything is PC enough to make it through if that's the case. Ugh. I hate being responsible sometimes!

So, instead of saying the things I want to say, and in the manner in which I want to say it in, I'll let you come to your own conclusion as to my thoughts on this. My old manager was promoted to Director. I wish I could say SO many things right now. (in fact, there are several "draft" paragraphs below this one, which will clearly be deleted before hitting the 'publish' button) But, I can't. Damnit!

Weekend Fun!

This weekend was great! Michael and I spent the whole weekend together and I enjoyed every single second of it!

Friday night, it was family picture night. Really weird, cause my step-dad and I don't get along - but I'm trying to get Michael in with him so maybe one day he'll speak to me again. I doubt it'll happen, but a step was made on Friday in the right direction. Michael and my step-dad are both big jokesters. At least they've got that in common! Anyway, Michael has this mullet wig that he's brought out from the depths of the closet a few times from a halloween a few years ago... this time he brought it with us to the family photo session. My brother and his girlfriend took pictures together, our whole family took pictures together, and then Michael and I took some together. The sitting fee was already taken care of, so why not take advantage of it?!

The pictures came out PRICELESS. I was cracking up with Michael in the wig, and the rest of the place thought it was hilarious, too. The lady who was taking the picture could hardly do so, too. Man, if only this were a blog that I wanted everyone to see who I was, I'd post it here. But, unfortunately, it'll just have to be a story I tell. :)

Saturday was cleaning day... the weather outside was GORGEOUS... and we got a lot done in terms of cleaning. I had to study, and he went to a friend's house (oh yah, Leslie's husband's house - who asked about me, by the way).

Today, we got up and lounged around before getting ready for a work function of mine. They bought tickets to a baseball game for all of the clients, etc. so we were able to go. It was fun, but we were both exhausted. I saw a few people there, but ultimately avoided the people I knew. I just wasn't in the mood for it. Michael and I stopped by the store on the way home because they were having a scrapbook stuff and picture frame sale... and I love love love both of those things.

I made chicken noodle soup for dinner and it was absolutely delicious. :) Yesterday, I made a version of this desert. I did things a little differently than they did, though. I made the brownies with applesauce so they were a little healthier than with the oil. Then, I mixed a thing of vanilla pudding in one bowl and a thing of chocolate pudding in another bowl... and mixed half a thing of cool whip in each. (yumm). THEN, I put some peanut butter with half of the chocolate pudding/cool whip mixture until it was smooth. Waited until the brownies were done, and layered them as such: peanut butter mixture, vanilla mixture, chocolate mixture.... and that was it. It was SO good. SOO SOOOOOO GOOD. :) Michael and his roommate and his roommate's girlfriend were all diggin it. It was a little too peanut-buttery for me, but whatever.

Alright - I've got a test tomorrow and I've SO been procrastinating studying. Ugh. Focus, focus, focus. Hope you all had a great weekend!

It's all in the cards...

Last night, Michael came to my house and told me he had to show me something. He had someone at work make this really cool mini "movie" with a few pictures and animation for me. It was ADORABLE. He showed it to me the other day and I thought it was the cutest thing! Well, last night he had yet another surprise for me.... he'd put together an ENTIRE movie with our pictures from Hawaii played to "that's my shawdy" by Baby Bash (the song has meaning to us). I about died, it was so thoughtful and such a great surprise! I have the best boyfriend in the world!!!

Anyway, so last night, he passed out early and I wasn't tired so I just played around on the computer a bit. I stumbled upon this video by HelloGoodbye where this picture was displayed. Very clever.

So, the piggy-backer in me decided to grab a deck of cards and leave a 7, a queen, an ace, and a 3 - all in hearts on top of his socks :)

This morning, I woke him up so he could go get ready for work and totally forgot to ask him about the cards. As I was leaving, to go to work myself, though, I saw them and shot him a text.

On your socks, I left a 7, a queen, an ace, and a 3... All of hearts in that order. Do you know what it meant?

An hour or so later, he calls and this is what he says...
The 7 is the number of times I want to have sex with you every day.
The Queen is because you're the Queen of my heart.
The Ace is because I'm the Ace in YOUR heart.
And the 3 is for less than three.

Am I right?

Hehe... He is too cute. :)

Bitchy Behavior: UPDATE!

So... you guys just read about THIS, and how bitchy that behavior was...

Well, I received a phone call from Leslie yesterday afternoon. The conversation transpired as follows:

Me: Hello?

Her: HEEEYYYY GIRL!! (she sounded REALLY excited to talk to me) I just wanted to call and apologize for the other night. I mean, I didn't have my phone on me so I couldn't call you back. And ended up going bowling instead. So...

Me: Hrm. Ok. So you couldn't have called me?

Her: I didn't even have my phone. I had to use so and so's phone (a guy who happens to be good friends with Michael)to call my husband.

Me: Well, that was really disrespectful and you make it really difficult for me to want to hang out with you. If you have plans with someone, just have enough respect for them to at least call them when you're not going to show up so they don't worry about you.

Her: Please don't be mad!

Me: Hah. I'm certainly not mad - I just think it's fucked up. You're the one who wants new people to hang out with and all that, and I put my friends out there for you, and you don't even have enough respect to show up or call? Do you think my friends are going to want to hang out with you ever after that?

Her: well, I didn't have my phone.

Me: Well, so and so (guy who is friends with Michael) had his phone... and he has Michael's number in there. You could have called Michael to get my number to let me know. That's what I would have done.

Her: I really want to hang out, though.

Me: Hah. Right. People that really want to hang out actually show up - or at least call, hon.

And it went on like that for a few minutes. It included me telling her that I wasn't mad at her - I'm a very blunt person and I'm just going to tell her like it is. If she makes plans and then doesn't call/show - then she needs to know that I'm not going to make plans with her anymore. It took her until THURSDAY to make that phone call. Our plans were on SATURDAY. Yep. Bitchy Behavior for sure!

Anyway, it was nice to be able to tell her what I thought and how I felt. :)

The McCain Blogette

When politics come up, I'm usually headed for the door. I hate discussing it because it's not a real discussion, it's an argument over who is right and who is wrong and who did this and that and whatever. Frankly, I could give two shits. I think both candidates (let's face it, McCain and Obama are the only two that are REALLY running...) have their share of what's wrong and what's right and me 'discussing' it with someone isn't going to change any of that.

I have friends and family that are on both sides of the spectrum and I see their point(s) on why. Obama appeals to the younger people, McCain to the older, more reserved people... I get how this all works.

I hadn't chosen a side to vote for - until I saw this... The McCain Blogette just made it real for me. Meghan is the 23 yr. old daughter of John McCain and has been blogging about her journey on the presidential campaign since October of last year. She takes pictures (random people and their funky shoes, cute outfits, and inspiring moments) and posts them there. She comments on some issues but doesn't make it the focus of her writing.

No, of course my decision for who I'm voting for to become the next president doesn't solely rely on this blog and what she's got to say - but it definitely makes this election real... and you guys know how I feel about that!

That, and I think Palin has a great sense of humor... in response to the Tina Fey impersonation on SNL, she said it was alright cause she once dressed up as Tina Fey for Halloween. Hah! Love it!

Bitchy Behavior - Again.

I have found, these days, that I have so many things to write about that are incredibly random. My posts haven't been about one topic in particular, they've been about 10 (hence the many "10 Things" recently). I think it's good, but it also means that situations haven't evolved for me, they've just happened. (an EXTREMELY good thing)...

That time has come and gone, and now I have a story for you. One that my close friend(s) are pissed about along with me... and since you guys already know part of the story... here is some more. Enjoy!

For some well-rounded background, you should read this. And this. :)

Since the concert of bitchy behavior, Girl number 1 has changed a bit. Let's call her Leslie. Leslie is married to one of Michael's good friends. The good friend that I knew before I even knew Michael - and he's actually the one that introduced me to Michael. Leslie's husband is a great guy, drama-free, really smart, trying to get into the 'rap' industry with some great talent. And he's an all around fun guy, easy to be around. Leslie, on the other hand, wasn't. So it's made my friendship with her quite rough.

It doesn't help that she was hanging out with Girl Number 2, 3, and 4... BEST friends with these people - all very negative, immature, and ridiculous.

Anyway, after the concert, Leslie had an epiphany of sorts. She stopped talking to 2,3, and 4 because her husband enlightened her (again) as to how they were ruining their marriage, etc. It wasn't hard to see as an outsider, but as an insider, it was probably quite difficult. Either way, she stopped hanging out and talking to these girls, started focusing on herself and her marriage, and saw that I was a good person to be around, that everything in my life was positive, so she wanted to befriend me in a way she hadn't before.

Now, I was over it with this girl. As you know from previous posts, I've tried and tried to be friends with this girl but she wasn't having it. Canceling on me at the last minute - or not even responding to phone calls or text messages. I had already made up my mind that the concert was the last time I'd make an effort to have a good time with her. Ridiculous drama. But then she changed, and I saw that change... we had long conversations about the changes in her life and I could tell there was something different about her.

So, last Saturday night (two Saturdays ago), Michael and I went to her house and watched the UFC fight with her and her husband - along with lots of other friends. We got wasted and had a good time - drama free. The change was becoming more and more evident. She told me she wanted to have Girls Night Out next weekend (meaning this past weekend) and that we should just get a whole bunch of girls together and hang out.

Since the new Leslie was out in full force, and I'd seen these changes, I told her I'd get some of my girls together and she could talk to whoever - and we'd all go out on Saturday night. Michael left a shirt over there and we were in town already, so we stopped by to get it. So, I saw her on Sunday and she was SO excited about Girls Night.

Wednesday rolls around and I get a phone call from her. "Hey, how are you? How's your week? Ready for this weekend and Girls Night Out?" etc. etc.... RANDOM phone call from her. I'm definitely not used to talking to her like that - or during the week for that matter. Again, seeing the positive changes in her was nice.

Saturday rolls around and she gives me a call around 11AM. Since I'd only gotten home around 4AM from being out with my girls, I was still asleep. So we talked later (about 2-ish) about the plans for the evening. Where we were going, what we were wearing, what time we'd meet up, etc.

8pm rolls around and I give her a call cause I hadn't heard back from her about what she decided to do (she was either going to one of the girls' house to get ready or coming to mine, she hadn't decided). I got her voicemail, left her a message, and she didn't call back. Around 10-ish, I text her. No response.

My 11:30pm text was a little more brash "so... I guess I'm going to assume that you're not coming out..." and that was the last of it. No returned phone call, no text message, NOTHING. And it's now Tuesday.

Are you fucking kidding me?! That was LITERALLY the last straw. Michael called it, though. He said she'd probably blow me off - but I didn't think it'd be like that. After all, she had talked to me during the week AND earlier that day. What gives?!

My girls and I had a FABULOUS evening without her :) thank you very much!

Sunday afternoon, I call her husband. (I was better friends with him than her anyway) I talk to him about what happened... and do you know what she told him?! He asked her if she was still going out with me when it started getting late... and she told him I blew her off! That I didn't call her, so she wasn't going! I certainly told him what REALLY happened and he didn't know what to tell me. He said they sat on the couch all night and hung out together.

Ok - here's my thing... she didn't have to come. If she didn't feel like coming or didn't feel like going out, or was drunk from watching the football game earlier - I can understand all of those things. But for her to have complete disregard and disrespect for me - that's ABSOLUTELY ridiculous.

I'm not upset about it to where it's affecting my life in any way, I've just seen the real true colors of a person - someone that I'm not going to surround myself with anymore. That was completely a low blow and uncalled for. Fuckers! ;)

Lesson Learned.

10 Things this week holds...

1. Tonight I get to snuggle with Michael. He had a 'mancation' this weekend and I missed him :) (he's actually already sleeping in the other room)
2. I have two tests... one tomorrow in Mktg Research and one Wednesday in Finance.
3. Dinner with a friend on Thursday night. (I forgot her pseudonym... we haven't hung out in a while!)
4. I talked with Michael about doing the Fat Smash Diet. It's actually one of the only "diets" I've ever considered doing. You basically cut out the fat from what you eat. Hrm. Sounds good to me!
5. Friday night is "family picture" night... my mom is having ALL of us get together to take a family photo. The last time this happened, my 7 year old sister was only a few months old.
6. I'm feeling MUCH better from the muck I had last week. Whatever it was, it wasn't fun, but I'm over it now. This means going back to work. Ugh.
7. Next Sunday, we're going to the baseball game. It should be tons of fun... we haven't gone since my favorite player left the team. I'm still pissed about that.
8. Ummm... study, study, study? Did I mention studying?
9. I'll probably go work out some. I haven't done that in a while. And my school schedule isn't conducive to me going to the step classes this semester. I'm a little bummed about that. Ok, a lot bummed.
10. Scrapbooking. Someone from my mom's work asked me to do a scrapbook for their 18 month old son from birth. He's the CUTEST little thing. I did the Halloween page a week or so ago... and made him a pumpkin. SO cute! I'm sure I'll work on that some.


PS - Michael brought me back THE cutest little souvenir from his mancation. It's salt and pepper shakers of two little ceramic cats smooching (there are magnets on their lips). There are a TON of 'inside' things with this gift. That's the best part about it! AND he brought back snow globes for my sisters. How sweet is he?!
PPS - I got all the stuff to make the 2008 scrapbook for Michael and I. I can't WAIT to start it! I've got to get the other one done first though. Argh!

Ahhhh... so in love :) and so happy! <3

Oh, and I tried frozen grapes for the first time this weekend because Rae had some in the freezer... and I love them! Who would have thought?!

Random Compliments

- Yesterday, while waiting for class to begin, a girl leaned over and asked if I wanted to be in her group (you know, the whole semester group project thing). She then said, "You always say very intelligent things and ask questions with substance, so that's why I want to be in a group with you." It was very nice of her and I felt great after she said it. :)
- I sneezed.... and someone ACTUALLY said "bless you!" afterwards!!!!! This NEVER happens to me.... my sneezes sound like coughs. I feel so honored!

Haha. I'm a nerd sometimes!

10 [random] Things...

1. I'm working on a scrapbook for Michael and I. It's of all of our 2008 pictures. Somehow this nostalgia has brought him into a SUPER lovey-dovey mode (you know, extra special sweet... not just the normal sweet he already is). And I love it! :)
2. It's that time. Of the month. And I dispise it.
3. I bought a textbook for school online at textbookw.com.... I've been waiting on it for 2 weeks. I JUST now found out it's out of stock. Fuckers.
4. This website is extremely cute. :) Shineboxprint.com


5. I enjoy the new "job" only somewhat. It's tedious and somewhat boring but pays well and is EASY-peasy. What more could I ask for while I'm in school? (free money, that's what!!)
6. I L-O-V-E Michael. love love love love him :) Yep. Everyone knows it. That's nothing new :)
7. Saturday night we got drunk with some friends and watched the fight. I did some funny drunky mcdrunkerson things. hehe... that's what I do, apparently.
8. I've started reading a series of books by Wendy Markham... Slightly Single, Slightly Settled, Slightly Engaged, Slightly Married, and Slightly Suburban. I JUST finished Slightly Settled and both books have been really really good... and ended up being quick reads because I've gotten into them.
9. I also read (in between those two) "Dedication" by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus. I loved their other two books (Nanny Diaries and Citizen Girl) so I had to pick this one up... and ended up read it in like 3 days.
10. Yesterday, Michael and I went to my mom's house to have lunch with my two little sisters, my brother and his girlfriend, and my mom and stepdad. We had a blast! We all played the "are you smarter than a 5th grader" board game (because it's their favorite... they're only 7 and 8 yrs old). Michael and I came in second :) But it was just great having my family there... all of it! My mom arranged for us to have a family picture done because we haven't had one since my littlest sister was only a few months old. Geeze, that was forever ago!

Anyway, so many random things going on. I think we're going to eat sushi and go to the park tonight. :) Hope you guys are doing fabulous!

Hawaii

Oh, heavenly Hawaii. We had SUCH a blast with Carrie and her husband. I couldn't have asked for a better time, and no, I didn't want to come back just yet. It was nothing short of a wonderful trip.

Here are some of the pics...


This was on the North Shore from a cliff... it was astonishingly beautiful!


This was a small waterfall that we hiked into. You can't tell from this picture (but from those that we were in) that this thing was ginormous...


This is the view of the ocean if you turned around standing at the waterfall.


And a HUGE turtle :) They were EVERYWHERE. Along with little sand crabs. I'd post the picture of them but you wouldn't be able to find it!

Michael was the sweetest thing ever while we were on vacation. It's like nothing mattered in the world except for us... no work or friends or anything... just us... and I must say, it was a really good feeling. :)

Bums

Before I write about my FABULOUS trip to Hawaii with Michael to see Carrie and her husband, I must show you THIS:



Not an incredibly funny shirt in itself... but when you consider the source (the 'wear-ee' in this case), it's the funniest thing I've seen in quite some time.

I was walking downtown yesterday (going between classes) and passed the park where all the bums hang out. I shit you not... a bum was wearing this shirt. I CRACKED up. I guess they've gotta wear whatever they can get. Haha! Sure, I'll trust you ;) RIGHT!

Ok - more about Hawaii soon, I promise!!

Hawaii bound...

In the morning, Michael and I leave for a mini-vacay in Hawaii!! I can't WAIT to get on the plane... :) We're going to see Carrie (and she LOVES that we're coming) so I'm sure it'll be a FABULOUS time!

I shall write all about my travels when we return.

C'est la vie!

PS - I start with the Project Management job next Thursday ;)

Karina-like decisions

Ah, this semester has begun... I can feel it in the air. "syllabus day" is out of the way and real content starts next week. It's going to be hell, I can already tell. I've got a decision to make, though.

First off, Karina is this chica... and she's gone through this recently so I'm sure she can sympathize!!

When I left my company a few months back with hopes of finishing my bachelor's degree quickly, I left a lot of opportunity behind - only to gain even greater opportunities, in my opinion. That point was validated time and time again each time I received a job offer... all six of them. Three of them were full time positions which, as any idiot could tell, I wasn't going to take because I wanted to finish school. Three, however, were part time freelance opportunities concerning branding, promotional items, and project management. All three very distinct opportunities, but ones I'd already had a lot of experience in and loved doing.

So, I chose the branding one to start with and have been making some pretty decent money for the amount of work required to put in. $350 bucks a week for 8-10 hours of work suits me just fine. ;) I've enjoyed working for them, but the project has slowed and I'm ready to move to a fuller part time position now that my classes are evenly spread out and Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday DAYS are open for me.

Here's the dilemma.

The promotional products job is strictly (albeit damn good) commission. A close friend of mine (through this trade, actually) is the owner and I've worked with him for several years - just as his client instead. I've started work on the side for him just a little bit (through the first freelance branding project) and have talked about making it into a more permanent thing.

Pros: I like the people I work with and can wear jeans and a tank top if I feel like it. There's a lot of money to be made. It's close to my house. I can choose my own hours.

Cons: It takes a LOT of work to build up clientele for this sort of thing. It's strictly commission.

The project management job is an hourly job at a sister company of the company I just left. They want to hire me for about $20 an hour - contractor status, so I'll take home about $15 an hour. (not too bad for part time EASY work) It's one of those jobs that will build my career further because I will be able to explore their marketing world (nonexistent at this point) because they're such a new company. They have SOME branding/standards in place but not much, and I feel like it's something I can do on a full time basis later. It's also something that I can convince them of hiring me for several other projects because they lack the manpower.

Pros: The pay is standard and pretty good. I'd work with people I already know. It's easy work. I can find many other projects after this project is done. This will further my career and put some good stuff on my resume.

Cons: It's the sister company to the company I just left, so all the weirdos I left behind might show up in my life again.

I'm REALLY leaning towards the 2nd job just because it's a lot better environment than the promotional products job is. I don't like not knowing where my next rent payment is coming from. I like to have that sort of stuff figured out months in advance! haha! Either way, I've got to talk to both of them tomorrow... The saddest part would be breaking the news to my friend. I've worked with him forever and it'll be sad not to see him all the time.

Hrmph. Any thoughts?

Bitchy Behavior

Today fucking blows. Yesterday was worse, but today there are the lingering feelings left over from last night's "adventures" (if you will). Let's chat, shall we?

Last week, Girl number 1 called me and asked if Michael and I wanted to go see Nelly at a private event on Tuesday night. They'd won some tickets to the event and since I'd shared my free tickets to Linkin Park with her and her husband, I assumed that's why she wanted me to come.

I've written about these bitches before. And yes, they are in fact bitches. Might I remind you of this, where there was only a small excerpt towards the bottom... You certainly haven't heard about the full extent of their capabilities until this very post.

Since then, some new developments have ensued. Girl number 2 has been broken up with and is very bitter about it. She was with Michael's roommate for four years. She was one of the bitches going with us since she and Girl number 1 are best friends - along with Michael's ex. These girls are fucking crazy. In everything they do, they're crazy. They throw things, make public disturbances when they're angry, talk about their best friends behind their backs... defined as 'crazy' in every book i've known.

This starts my situation last night. I decided to make the best of it, even though I've never liked these girls and have tried my damndest to try to befriend them only to be shit on in the end.

Bitchy behavior number 1: Girl number 2 calls me to arrange where we're going to meet because we were all going to ride together. She tells me she's going to wear jeans and a cute top, so I should do the same. We show up, they're all three in mini dresses. I looked hot in my jeans and cute top. Michael's the only one I care about and he thought I looked hot, so it wasn't that big of a deal.

Bitchy behavior number 2: All three girls (Girl number 3 was alright, didn't cause any drama and I actually like her...) shared a bottle of Jager on the way downtown. Needless to say, they were walking sideways by the time we got there 20 minutes later. They're not nice drunks, either. They're obnoxious, bitchy-biatches that you don't want to be around. Even when we got inside after standing in the ridiculously long line... the girls behind us said, "oh look, there are the dumb bitches from outside"... hah! Nice!

Bitchy behavior number 3: All three girls leave to go get (more) drinks, flirt, do whatever... so I'm left holding our space in the crowd with Michael and his friend (who happens to be Girl number 1's husband). I think that's great, because I didn't want to associate myself with them anyway... except Girl number 1 and her husband start bickering in the middle of the crowd. Girl number 1 starts yelling at him and he threatens to leave... and he does. She stays back for a while and watches the very beginning of the concert, and then leaves to go find him.

We're in the middle of this great big city, here, people... Many bars, restaurants, alleys, and other places he could have ducked into. You might as well just enjoy the concert and deal with the bullshit later. That's what i'd do... but nope. Had to go find him.

Literally, Michael and I went to the concert with six people and were the only two watching it. I found that slightly amusing.

Bitchy behavior number 4: I receive a phone call from Girl number 2 asking me to come outside. It's been an hour and a half, concert's almost over... not a big deal. So we leave and go outside to do some damage control. Little did I know the night would end up THIS shitty. We walk outside and Girl number 1's husband is nowhere to be found. I've known him longer than I've known Michael, so I'd say we're friends. I call and call and finally start to text him when he eventually calls me back. (he's got the keys to the car, might I add) Girl number 3 is FURIOUS that Girl number 1's husband has left them stuck downtown in mini dresses. Me, being the calm and sober one, I have to regulate. Michael just stayed out of the way (good for him!).

We finally make it to the car and Girl number 2 is egging both Girl number 1 and Girl number 3 on... saying how horrible Girl number 1's husband is for walking out and making them think they were stranded down there with no way to get home... coaxing Girl number 1 into whatever she wanted her to think... lots of things. Bitterness is in the air.

Girl number 2 and 3 call some guy and get him to come pick them up. Everyone wanted to leave them since their ride was on the way. Let me just say, dispite thinking these girls are bitches... I got the keys and I made everyone wait until their ride got there. There's no way in hell I'm going to leave some bitches downtown in mini dresses with the homeless people at midnight on the corner... no matter how much I may or may not like them. Please note that Girl number 1, who happens to be Girl number 2 and 3's BEST friend, wanted to leave them. I'm just sayin.

Bitchy behavior number 5: The four of us get in the car and I'm driving. I've already had to look Girl number 1 in the face and tell her that she needs to shut the fuck up numerous times - that these problems should be worked out in the privacy of her own home, not for the world to see. We ride home with Michael and the husband making small talk. Husband missed the show... and we had to tell him all about it. We arrive back at our car and let Husband drive them the rest of the way home. Michael gets a call from his roommate, who also happens to be Girl number 2's ex boyfriend.

At this point, neither Michael or I want to associate ourselves with these people anymore. I have tried pretending to be their friends just so we can all go out and have fun.... that philosophy actually doesn't work. Never again will I endure the night that I endured last night.

Bitchy behavior number 6: Girl number 2 called my phone and had the audacity to blame me for talking shit about her to her ex boyfriend. Who the fuck does she think she is? First, I don't have his phone number... and second, I don't go that low. She continued to go as low as she possibly could and make up shit that has to do with my relationship.

You have no idea how pissed off I am about the situation. My friends don't act like that - or if they do, they're not my friends for very long. I'm older than that... I deal with situations MUCH differently than these bitches do... and I don't have time for their petty bullshit.

Thanks for letting me vent. I'm still pretty heated about all of it - and it doesn't end where I ended it here... there's more laundry but I'm not sure it's right to air it. C'est la fuckin vie.

Shenanigans...

We all know I drive fast. (I was even referred to as "Danika Patrick" last night, you know, the female race car driver?... anyway...) Last night was no exception.

Michael and I met up with some friends at a mexican restaurant in the city. Had a few drinks making it difficult not to visit the bathroom at least once. I waited until we were about to leave... went the the bathroom and then retrieved my car from the valet. We were on our way halfway across town and to have another drink at the bar watching Michael Phelps win his 6th gold medal. (hooray!)

Upon the realization I didn't have a cell phone anymore and it wasn't in the car... I remember putting it on the bathroom counter as I washed my hands and happened to leave it there.

On my drive back across the city to the mexican restaurant, I was incredibly distracted by anything and everything. Music, other cars, etc. and forgot how fast I'm driving.

Until I look in the rear view mirror and there's a cop back there.

Lovely.

He doesn't pull me over, but guaranteed he ran my tag. Of course he didn't find anything on there and didn't feel like pulling me over. I stop at the next light and he gets on his intercom:

"ma'am... speed limit on [road] is 35, mmmkay?"

I look over at him and say "Sure thing!"

Hahaha. It was definitely an experience. C'mon... I was in a hurry because the restaurant was about to close, I needed my cell phone, ANNNNnnnndddd.... there were pricks driving incredibly slow. :)

So there's my funny for the day. I'm gonna get in some real trouble one of these days. Hehe... until then...!

10 [random] Things...

1. I'm starting to roller blade again :) huzzah! (It's finally cooled off enough to where I can step out the door and sweat won't pour from my forehead)
2. School starts on Monday. Hrm.
3. I'm [hopefully] going to dinner tonight with a friend of mine. We haven't talked in forever and I haven't seen in her in even longer than that.
4. Someone opened their door into Michael's car... kinda like what happened to my car earlier this year. Inconsiderate people. Hrmph.
5. Matt Nathanson comes to town again soon, I bet Rae and I are going to see him again cause he's so fabulous!
6. I've discovered the music of Matthew Perryman Jones... and LOVE it!!
7. Yesterday was 6 months from Michael and my first date :)
8. I get to have lunch with my mom and my broham tomorrow. I haven't seen my brother in forever...
9. I had to get my car fixed... 3rd gear didn't like me, so they took apart the WHOLE transmission and rebuilt all 6 gears. Gotta love driving stick!
10. And, in the spirit of saving the best for last, I am proud to tell you that yesterday I booked TWO tickets to Hawaii for Labor Day weekend... Carrie is STOKED that we're coming to see her! Hooray for a mini-vacay with Michael to see my best friend!!! (My two favorite people in ONE place?!!) :)

Life is...

... happiness.
... being in love with Michael. <3
... sunshine.
... éclairs.
... sleeping in.
... cuddling with Saffie.
... going out with Carrie and having the time of your life!
... good music.
... great friends.
... living to the fullest, having no regrets.
... working hard and getting what you deserve.
... windows down, hot summer night, on the freeway with your favorite new CD blaring.
... family :)
... ice cream!
... rollerblading in the park
... hard, at times... but everything eventually works itself out ;)

The Dark Knight

I am incredibly sad. Sad that a man (gorgeous man, at that!) who can act so fabulously well.... passed away. Now, I was sad when it happened (ok, I'm talking about Heath Ledger here...) but even more now that I've seen The Dark Knight.

Michael and I went with a few friends last night to see it on IMAX (which was nothing short of the best cinematic adventure ever, by the way) and I enjoyed every second of it. Usually, in movies that last 2 1/2 hours, I check my watch at least once or twice. Not this time. The movie was over before I knew it - and it was sooooo good.

Now I know why people have been seeing it four and five times at the theater.... NICE!

Now go see it if you haven't yet!

10 Things I'm annoyed about today...

Oh, it's just one of those days... I'm just annoyed. I don't think there's anything anyone can do about it. (well, scratch that, Michael made me feel better this morning)

Ok, Ok... I started writing about the things that were annoying me - but that's not going to do me any good. You'd better believe there's at least 10 things that are annoying me today but here's not the place for that. Perhaps it's because of the week that it is (girls, you know this week all too well). I'll get over it. Until then, bah humbug.

I get to go to a fabulous concert in a few hours. Hopefully it's going to be tons of fun and I can leave all of my frustrations at the door. hrpmh.

Oh Happy Day...

.... oh yes, yes, yes. Today is happy because I have NO MORE SCHOOL for another TWO WHOLE weeks! HOOOORAY! Do you know how happy this makes me?! Do you realize what an accomplishment this was?! I nearly killed myself taking so many classes this summer and I've gotten through it.

My grades don't look too shabby, either... Probably a high B or an A in my Retailing class. I got a B in my Advertising class. I got a C in my Sex and Society class (I know, I know, don't laugh. That class was tough as shit!). I'm not sure what my Marketing Research class holds for me. There's no telling. I'm not sure how good it's going to be cause it was an intense class. I think I had a B or a C going into the final - which is pretty average for me.

So, for me to make A's and B's in two classes, that's a feat in itself. I've told you before that I don't take tests well... and that's the truth. I really don't. I go back and change my answers and rationalize things WAY too much... which hurts me in the end. But I'm starting to get better about that. Being a "career student" (haha!), you'd think I'd start to learn soon.

Things are much better now that it's all said and done. I am about to have a fabulous weekend... starting with a baseball game and girls night tonight.... then tomorrow with my family.... something fun, for sure, tomorrow night... church Sunday morning... and then Linkin Park on Sunday! OHHHHHHHHH fabulous weekend, here I come!

Email

I refrained from the subject before as to not call someone out on the situation. I don't think it is appropriate to put someone in their place (so to speak) in public, just as I would hope my friends have the respect of not doing the same for me.

But.

I got an email this morning. From M Moon's boyfriend.

A little background for you:

M Moon and I were friends for about a year and a half. We lived together. We did everything together. We were best friends. In fact, we had a "team" name and everything. Silly, I know, but that was that.

I went to San Diego with Carrie to meet up with her for my birthday and we made a trip to Vegas during my stay. Shit hit the fan while we were there and Carrie and I ended up having to bolt early because of what went down. It wasn't pleasant. It wasn't what I wanted to happen. It just happened. M Moon changed into a whole different person that I wasn't sure I liked anymore. I felt (and Carrie thought so too) that she was under the control of her boyfriend and not the same person we knew before.

Back to the email.

It was something to the effect of: "I apologize for whatever it was that came between you two that you're not friends anymore. I don't know what I'm apologizing for but I apologize for whatever you think I should apologize for. I don't think you need to apologize to her and I know she's not going to apologize to you." etc. etc. then "If she extended the offer of forgetting about the situation and just being friends with you again, would you accept it? She misses you."

My thoughts.

1. If she misses me and wants to talk to me, she can send me an email or pick up the phone and do the dirty work herself. I don't see Michael ever calling her and doing the same that her boyfriend has done.
2. If she's not going to apologize to me after I left the table open and airy with my "let's just agree to disagree and be done with it" then what's the point anyway?
3. She's a COMPLETELY different person than when we were friends before. Completely. I'm not even sure I want to be friends with the new her.
4. Did her boyfriend really just apologize for 'whatever I need to apologize for'?? Who does that?!

Your thoughts??

Consumer Review: Odwalla Apple Raspberry

Wow. This stuff is FABULOUS! I have a problem focusing sometimes... which is not usually a huge burden for me but has been as of late. School has been crazy and everything coincides creating so much stress and tension.

But the other day... I was in the bookstore for something else and saw the Odwalla case. I've always loved Odwalla drinks. What's there not to like about them? They're healthy, contain all kinds of good fruits for you, and taste delish. I found the Apple Raspberry and thought I'd try it out because I usually like drinks like that.

After finishing the drink, I felt more focused that I had been in a long while. Actually READY to spend four hours in the library to complete a project. Now, I'm not ignorant when it comes to the fact that advertising and messaging on the bottle probably had some sort of play in why I felt that way. But, there are also a few things in the drink that contributed significantly, I feel.

I was able to take on this particular hell week with not one, not two, but THREE group projects due (prepared and presented) as well as one regular test and a final exam. **whew** so glad THAT is over! I've got three finals and I'm done for the summer! Hooray!

Try it out and let me know what you think. :) Hooray for being healthy!!