Happy (early) Halloween

I almost wish that I were going trick or treating tomorrow. It's going to be nice enough weather, no winter coats needed!

Things have been pretty uneventful around here. I've got a midterm tomorrow, so I've been alternately studying and procrastinating. That's just how I roll :-) I also have a midterm Friday, but I'm feeling less pressure to study hard for that one.


I'm tired all the time, in spite of getting what I think is enough sleep (roughly 8 hours a night). I tried vitamins because that used to help my energy levels but Centrum was giving me a stomachache. I'll have to try Women's One a Day because I have taken those without incident before. Perhaps I'm anemic?

First day of work!

Last night was my first day of work, hence the all black look I'm sporting above. The "uniform" is black, black, black (and a bra for female associates, as stated in the employee handbook). Last night was mostly following a trainer around and getting a feel for what was going on. Apparently I was "awesome" and "got on everyone's good side" by staying late and helping do the "end of the night work". I was just doing my job! At any rate, I loved it, and honestly, I wanted to jump on the damn floor and serve (despite not knowing ANYTHING). I mean, even the smell was making me happy--and no, I don't mean the smell of the food, it's the "behind the scenes smell" of coffee filters, sticky soda, dirty food plates, cleaner, etc. It made me feel like I'd never left serving, and made me feel a little bit like I wish I had been doing it all along (if only the job hunt part wasn't so tiresome!) I don't work again until next week, and while I enjoyed working last night, I'm not looking forward to my next shift because it's "expoing" which means pulling food from the window for all the servers. That'll be a surefire way to learn the menu though!

I doubt there's many other people who would be thrilled by their first night of training (and on a busy night to boot!). Everyone kept asking me "how do you like it so far?" and "are you having fun yet?" and I had to refrain from saying "I love it!" Haha. I hope this feeling lasts!

In other news, I think I got a 10/10 on my biochem quiz today. Yay! And I'm going to get Indian food for lunch (yay buffet!). I think this is turning into a good day!

Turning a corner?

I was supposed to have a second job interview today for Max & Erma's, but last night I got a phone call telling me that it would be an orientation...so I have a job! I filled out the loads of paperwork today, and I start training on Thursday. I'm excited to be a part of this company and it seems like the two managers I met are good people. My biggest concern is getting "allowed" time off for Thanksgiving and Christmas, but hopefully that won't be a big deal. It'll be good to have some cash flow again! And I'll be honest, I am looking forward to being a server in a "better" restaurant. The biggest downside besides getting busier is losing date night with my boyfriend. But we're adaptable--lunch dates are always nice!

Going home this weekend for a little R&R with kitties. And mommy. I just need a little time away, you know?

Tea Date...

I went on a tea date with my friend yesterday. There's a tea salon downtown that has completely opened my eyes to the world of tea, and she introduced me to it. We've gone several times, and it's a great time. Pictured above is my brunch dish, three fluffy pancakes stuffed (and topped) with tropical fruit and drizzled in pink guava syrup. So good! You can also see my teapot (upper left corner) and my teacup (upper right corner). I had the fresh fruit autumn blend, and it was similar to a warm apple juice, though not quite. If you click on the picture, you can see the full size version.

Once I figure out the best way to edit my photos and get them on here, I will. I'm having some issues and no one (read: my boyfriend) is around to help me figure it out!

Good Bad

I'll start with the negative things that are going on right now...then I'll move onto happier subjects!

I got stung by a bee yesterday, for the first time ever. I did NOT know how much it hurts! And I managed to make the mistake of pulling the stinger out instead of using a credit card to scrape at it. I thought that you only did that when the stinger wouldn't come out, not all the time. So I'm in more pain that I should be. I also was late in applying treatment, so it hurts more. Better luck next time, I guess.

Things are still tense around here, at least to me. After writing about what happened on here and talking to some people, I'm more reassured that I'm not a horrible person. I feel like I'm walking on eggshells around here though.

I don't have a job, yet. News on that in the happy part of this post...

I'll have to either be here an extra quarter, or take a class after I graduate. I'm also seriously contemplating waiting to apply to Optometry school (and thus delaying my entrance a year), due to the fact that I don't think I'll be able to get the scores I need without taking Organic Chem. I'm still going to take the test here in the near future, just to see what else I'll need to work on, but I'd rather wait a year than get rejected. It's a bump in the road, but I'll have the rest of my life to work, so I think it'll be work out fine.

Happier things? Yes, let's.

Thursday I had yet another job interview (that's 4 now), this time at a different Max & Erma's than my previous one. Apparently as a company, they have a 2 round interview policy--one interview with a store manager and if they pass you on, one with the general manager. I passed (and with flying colors, I think) the first interview and I have the second interview on Tuesday. The manager I interviewed with was a really nice guy and told me all the things about the company that I didn't hear in my other interview. He said that the only mark against me is that I don't have experience serving alcohol, but that's easily overcome since they include a class on serving alcohol (and alcohol knowledge in general) in their training process. He seemed pretty impressed with me, as given by the fact that I got the second interview, and he said that he doesn't talk up the company to people he's not interested in hiring. So I'm confident for Tuesday!

I ate crab legs last night. After a crapola week, I deserved it.

The camera I've been pining for since forever ago finally dropped in price to what I feel comfortable paying. The first camera I bought ended up being a crapbag, so I've been wanting a new one for...oh, 3 years now. My boyfriend has the same camera I bought except it's a few versions back. I used his camera a lot so I knew that I liked the functionality of it. We went to Target last night (he works there, so a 10% discount was in order) just to see if they had it. His store hadn't had the camera in stock for awhile, and he figured it would be the same at all the stores. Surprise! My lucky day, they had it in stock! So now I'm the proud owner of the Canon SD1000 7.1MP camera.

My mom has a real job again! She was called back to the district that she was RIF'ed (that stands for "reduction in forces") from in June, so she's back at the same pay rate and benefits as when she left the district. This is a huge relief in light of recent events.

I'm having tea with a good friend today and the weather is lovely. I'm going to make this a good day.

Here's hoping that things start looking up in the next week, I'm sick of feeling so down!

Disbelief...

An awful thing went down last night with my brother...I shan't give out too many details (there was a car accident plus...), but suffice it to say my family (and his girlfriend) are in utter shock. I feel that crooked cops are behind the largest part of the trouble which is truly an abomination. I hate it when cops can be swayed by a "buddy-buddy" system. Please send good lawful thoughts my hometown's way on Wednesday. And please please send fast healing thoughts to my brother down here at college with me.

If you really want to know more, let me know, and I'll tell you the story via e-mail (if I feel comfortable telling you, that is).

Biking...

This quarter, I have two classes that are VERY far apart one right after the other. And 12 minutes to get between them. Since the bus system is pretty unreliable when it comes to being on time during midday (traffic ends up making all the buses late and slow), I've taken up riding my bike to class and back.

And I like it. It's hard. I sweat a lot. And it's the best exercise I've gotten in ages. When I ride to class, I end up riding about 45 minutes (home-->class-->class-->home). Hopefully I'll be able to keep it up when it starts to get cold.

That's all for now. I have 2 midterms already next week. Blah.

Party Fun! (and rude guests)

We had our first party this weekend and it was a success barring a few incidents. There was lots of food to be had (buffalo chicken dip, beer cheese, the regular assortment of chips, cupcakes, and the best chicken tenders ever). We ordered 50 chicken fingers and when we picked them up they were still "working on the order", so they gave them to us for the price of 25. Half off! Super excellent way to start the party. One of my good friends from home was able to come down, which was very awesome indeed. And one of my favorite people in Columbus (that I don't live with) was also able to come, and brought her specialty Jell-O Cake.

The sour note to the party was the rudeness of one guest. He's actually a friend of at least 3 of the roommates (I'm not sure he likes me, and I sure don't think I like him now) and has come over to our place once or twice since we moved in. Each time, he talks about how our place is "shitty", "like a hotel", and "like a dorm". He doesn't understand why anyone would be happy living where we do. Fine. Feel that way. Mention it once. DON'T TALK ABOUT IT EVERYTIME YOU'RE OVER. More than that was the way he treated our place. You know how people in bars sometimes open beer bottles by bracing the lip against the counter and hit the bottle? Yeah. He did that TWICE. On our counters which are not bar counters and not meant to be destroyed. When my female roommate (a good friend of his!) asked him not to do that he said "But it's already damaged". Yes. The counter did have a chip in it. Now it has more. Not to mention the beer on the floor and wall because of it. Another point--dropping food on the floor, laughing, and NOT picking it up? On carpet, no less. I just can't understand that. It's not like our apartment is dingy and unkempt (I'd post pictures, but I'm on campus without them). AGH. The next time, I won't be too timid to say anything. I'll kick him out, for good.

Seriously though, other than that it was a good time! We won the game, which is always a good thing. The food was most excellent and for the most part our apartment didn't look that bad once everyone left (not so bad that an hour of cleaning the next day couldn't fix right up). I liked it a lot and can't wait to plan a Halloween get together (I already have the costume!) It's a good way to meet my roommate's friends and to hang out with the few of my own :-)