Another update?!

It's getting crazy here--3 posts in less than a week :-)

My herbs are doing fine, considering they're still alive after a fierce beating by the wind last week. They're inside for now recovering from windlash. My tiny pot of chives has sprouted quite nicely. My lavender is looking a little more perky--but still growing sideways instead of UP. Looks like I'll have to try staking them. I also restarted my AeroGarden. The remaining basil had died because of being bound up with the roots of other dead plants, the parsley looked said after its fellow plant died of rot, and the other two I planted weren't growing. I cleaned everything out, changed the lightbulb, and now Red Heirloom and Golden Harvest cherry tomatoes are taking their turn at growing. Fingers crossed that they grow!

We've been on a sort of manager rollercoaster at work lately. We got a 4th manager, then shortly afterwards the "staff favorite" manager was transferred to another store. Then an "assistant general manager" was assigned to our store, giving us 4 managers again. Now he's left and we are back to three. This is EXCELLENT news for me because it means I get to supervise more frequently. Right now I'm doing it Monday and Tuesday nights, which is fine because they are the typically slow nights. Monday was particularly bad so I was glad to be in charge rather than serving. Now I'm down to serving only twice a week--Saturday nights and Sunday mornings. Quite a change from serving 5 days a week earlier this year. I still work 5 days a week, but one shift is bartending and the other two are the super shifts. I'm really looking forward to fall not only to start school, but also to not work as much (hopefully I'll be able to keep bartending Friday nights).

Well, I'm off to shower and pack. The FIANCE and I are headed down to see his family for a couple of days. I'm excited because I haven't seen them since Christmas!

Yay/Nay

Yay for finally knowing that we'll have an apartment come August. Granted, it's the end of August and will lead to a few very stressful days of moving, but we have a place to live! Hopefully we'll have a couch and dining room chairs soon too, but I'm not too up in the air about those items. However, a bed (or at the very least a mattress and frame) are a top priority for me right now.

Nay for putting the car search on hold due to financial woes. I thought I had managed to find the perfect car for a good deal ('05 Honda Civic Ex with 18,000 miles for $14,495), but the details wouldn't work out with paying for it (and insurance). Blah.

Yay to going to Maryland in about a week. I'm hoping for some crab (as I do on all vacations). Nay to working the next 8 days out of 9. Here's to hoping I make good money by doing so.

Just One More Thing to Deal With...

I spent some time at home this past week due to some horrible pains. My pain was rotten enough to prompt an ER visit on Sunday morning, but after 4 hours of not being seen at OSU ER, my mom and grandma picked me up and carted me back home. After going to the ER there, an ultrasound on Monday, and a follow-up visit on Wednesday, I was told I probably have endometriosis. It's only firmly diagnosed via surgery (a laproscopy), so for now it's a waiting game to see if I have as much pain next month.

I was happy to be home in spite of the circumstances. I spent time with my sister making jewelry from a kit that I gave her for her birthday. I went a little crazy with it--4 pair of earrings, 3 necklaces, and 1 bracelet. It was fun :-) Sadly I missed out on going to Cedar Point with my work friends, which was a huge total bummer.

Everything else is going along. We're still waiting to hear about our apartment, but hopefully we'll be moving in mid-August. Work is fine, much slower than normal. I need to get out and celebrate summer--I'm thinking of heading down to the pool one morning to lay out and read. I need some sun, dood! My brother got a hamster, so now there are two of them in our apartment. His is a girl and she is pretty darn cute and fluffy! The car search is going nowhere, but I really need to get a start on it. I don't want to be a grown up!

Fluff and Stuff.

Tomorrow I turn 23 (23!). Sheesh. I'm not sure how time has flown so quickly since high school!! I'm taking one last class, and the final for that is on Thursday. That will officially bring to an end my undergraduate career. Then onto the next obstacle--applying for optometry school. Fun!

In other news, I'm finally hanging out with people from work. We went bowling on Sunday evening, followed by Sunday Funday at a local bar (in celebration of one coworker's birthday). It was a lot of fun, even though I was the DD (I was sick with a stomach flu thing on Saturday, so I didn't feel like risking drinking!). I really like most of the people I work with, and that's all a girl can ask, right? Yay for new friends!


And now for studying. Then tonight, crab legs for my birthday! Yum.

Better Weekend at Work

This weekend was much better for me at work, other than the fact that we were not as busy as normal. My brother started working on Thursday as our dishwasher, and Saturday I helped him out after I finished my serving shift. We left about 2:30am (Sunday morning), which is 3.5 hours after the restaurant closes. Last night, when he worked without me, he finished at midnight, which was only 2 hours after close! Hopefully that's a good sign for the future!

I'm sick of the spring rains. I want sunny days to be the NORM not the exception like it's been for two weeks. Ugh.

The boyfriend is at his home for a few days to assist his dad recover from surgery. He was diagnosed with colon cancer last month, and last week he underwent surgery to remove his colon and biopsy his lymph nodes. All the biopsies (40-something) came back clean, so essentially he's cured. I'm very thankful that they seemed to catch it early, even though they had to remove his colon. There's a family history of colon cancer, so it was wise to remove the whole colon and not just the affected areas. Of course, I need to prod my boyfriend to get himself checked out, if only to get a baseline for the future.

Now it's onto my day. Class and groceries are my only required activities today!

Of no real importance...

I felt I should make an entry even though there isn't much going on. The weather is beautiful here, again, we've skipped spring and it's pretty summer-like.

This past weekend at work was a long one--I closed on Thursday night which is unusual and I worked a double on Sunday. 10 hours and 45 minutes, nearly all of it on my feet. Ugh. The upside is that I made a pretty chunk of money. This weekend should be a lot less strenuous for me.

The only other thing to talk about is apples. A few weeks ago, the boyfriend and I went to the grocery to stock up on fruit--apples being one of the primary ones. We bought a bag of "Rome" apples, and were both sadly disappointed in the quality. They were too softy, and almost mealy. There was no satisfying crisp biting into the apple. On this past grocery trip, I picked up 2 each of 3 kinds of apples: Granny Smith, Gala, and Pink Lady. I'll be honest, I picked the Pink Lady because of the name. Surprisingly though, they're very good. Perfect crisp and a good balance of sweet and tart. Yum! So good that I went back yesterday and bought 6 more. I'm not an apple fan, but these may have made me one.

Things That Are Not Tips

So in the current economic woes we're experiencing, people are finding new ways to tip less but still feel good about themselves.

A couple of examples, shall we?
--Profuse "thank you"s and "you were so great"s. I mean, sure it makes me feel good inside, but 20% (instead of...11%) makes me feel extra good, and will ensure than when/if I serve you again, I'll make some extra effort. Boasting about how great I am to my manager? Nice, but again, not a tip.

--A napkin with "Jesus Loves You!" and various bible snippets written on it. Again, I can tell that you care (about me?), but only leaving 12% on the check when you've had great service can't be something God smiles upon favorably. (This is actually the first time I've had a Jesus napkin left for me. I have had pre-printed Jesus-y cards left for me...in lieu of a tip. Extra frustrating.)

So if you're inclined to leave a "tip", think of this--if your server takes that "tip" to his/her landlord, will it pay the rent? Can s/he buy a bunch of bananas with a "thank you so much for everything!!" If the answer is "no", don't be a sourpuss, leave a real tip! (I'm sure my readers aren't this type of tipper, so no offense guys!)

Week

It's been a week since I last updated, and though nothing exciting has happened, I figured I'd post so you know I'm alive.

This quarter I'm only taking one class and working, so it's very strange to have as much free time as I now have. I need to find some way to fill it!

Last night at work was one of those nights that just stunk. I made good money and didn't have any upset customers, but it was still not a great night. Probably my mood was set off by my first table not tipping me. Always a good start to the night :-(

Why isn't it spring yet?

A Very Exciting Spring Break

My spring break is careening toward an end, and it has been a RUSH. Let me recount it for you...

On Monday, I went to the eye doctor and learned that my prescription has not changed for the umpteenth year in a row! Yay! I also bought glasses for a steal and got a really awesome pan.

On Tuesday, I went to the dentist and found out that I don't know how to brush my teeth! So the hygienist taught me all over again, after poking and prodding away all the plaque. FUN! I also got the bonding fixed on my front tooth. Eventually I'll get a porcelain veneer, but since that's expensive, I'm holding off.

On Wednesday, we had crab legs for dinner. Delish!

On Thursday, I drove back to Columbus and worked!

Okay, so really, not exciting at all. But that's okay, I'll take my lame spring breaks over booze filled spring breaks any day! The rest of the weekend I'm working, including what promises to be a VERY VERY busy Easter Sunday Brunch Buffet. I'm just hoping to make a lot of money!

On the cusp of my working weekend...

Tomorrow starts the weekly 4-day cycle of work. I hope that this weekend is a good one--I was off Sunday because they had too many servers (and I was the first one my general manager asked if I wanted to go home). I hope that if I close, it won't be as awful as last weekend--Friday and Saturday nights I was there till midnight! That alone left me whipped on Sunday, so I was glad to have the day off! I definitely like the days I work. The first day is Thursday, so we close an hour earlier than Friday or Saturday, but it's still relatively busy. Friday and Saturdays are pretty good business nights, especially when I close, and Sundays are pretty easy because of the brunch buffet and it's a nice end to my "work week". The only downside is that I only get to work under one of the managers for the most part...and he's not my favorite manager! Ah well, it's okay!

This past Saturday was my 4 year anniversary with the boyfriend. We celebrated pretty low-key, lunch and dinner out, but not ridiculously expensive. He also came to see me at work, and left a pair of earrings as a tip, which was incredibly touching!

I bought my cap and gown yesterday, and signed off on my name in the "graduation binder", so it looks like I'm cleared to graduate in March. Finally. Not that it matters too much, since I'm taking a class spring quarter (organic chem) in order to fulfill the optometry school pre-reqs. So in June, I'll finally be finished with undergrad. Then it'll be working full time and working hard to have the best optometry school application that I can muster!

I'm ready for this dreary winter weather to end, pronto. I want to be able to walk to and from class without freezing or getting wet!

Quick and Dirty

So I realized today that I just don't know where I spend all my money. I thought I had been doing well with not shopping but a quick check of my finances tells me otherwise. Ack. I started a financial log, of the tips I get and the money I spend. Hopefully seeing what I spend will break that habit for me. And I'll be able to better estimate the kind of budget I need, and what I can afford for health insurance. And perhaps car insurance.

The real world is downright financially terrifying. I'll have to start thinking about what I would be willing/able to do for a second job, especially when I'm not in school (starting this summer, for those keeping track). Or a better paying first job (probably not...my first job is pretty well paying for the hours I work!).

This will end the pity me post.

Study Break...

This weekend is a studying weekend for me--I have two midterms on Monday (Organic Chem and Physiology). I took tomorrow off work so that I would have a full day to study, and I'm feeling pretty confident that I'll do well on the tests. Luckily for my second set of midterms, they're all spaced pretty evenly so I shouldn't have to take off work to study!

Speaking of work, last night was a pretty good night for me in terms of sales--I had the highest sales excluding people who worked a double shift. My tips weren't as high as I would have liked and I know one check really stiffed me. Argh. Ah well. Here's hoping tonight is pretty good too, and I don't have to stay as late!

There's not much else going on around here. The other night I had a pretty long chat with my female roommate about some of the issues she's been feeling around here. It was interesting because I was well on my way to drunkville, but I think I managed to make her realize that a) we don't hate her and b) she's projecting a lot of her feelings of awkwardness and not belonging outward. I hope that we'll be able to mend friendship fences as roommates, because we really all lost that fun "hanging out" aspect with each other (prior to living together, we all used to hang out a lot!).

Here's a lame story: my mom's van which I have on campus is close to license plate sticker renewal time. Which means it needs an e-check. No biggie, I'll find a place down here, I tell my mom. Oh right. Only 7 counties in NE Ohio still do e-check. Ugh. Tomorrow my mom and grandma are driving down to switch cars with me so that the van can be e-checked. I'm happy I get to see my grandma though!

Blase.

Tips at work have taken a tumble the past two nights compared to last week (and the week before). I'm hoping to make up the loss tonight by working until close (more tables!) and that it's a Saturday (just hope the kitchen doesn't get overloaded again...).

I hate that in order to find "good" living arrangements that start in September, we have to start looking NOW. Ugh. I'm going to be living with just boys next year, which is daunting, but I think I can deal (especially if I have my own bathroom). My female roommate this year just isn't going to work out for next year, on either my end or hers. I just hope that I can retain a friendship with her. I've been trying really hard since the new year to be agreeable and whatnot, and it seemed to be on the upswing--she was being more social on the whole. That seemed to fall apart last week due to a spat between herself and another roommate. I hope it resolves itself, and we can go back to cohesive roommates.

We saw Sweeney Todd last week, and I really liked it. I like Johnny Depp in his "dark" characters rather than as a "normal" person. A friend from work described it perfectly: "gory, yet whimsical".

It's a three-day weekend, yet I feel crunched for time. I hope I can study well enough for my exams coming up in the next two weeks, what with work and an alcohol "awareness" class I have to take for work. Blah!

Sick...

I got that niggling little feeling yesterday that I was coming down with a cold or some other awful illness. And by golly, I was right on the money. Today I've been feeling blech: one side of my nose is runny, my throat is irritated, and my ear is feeling blocked up (and it's now popping, fabulous). I'm a miserable sick person, and I know it. I think it stems from the fact that I'm not sick very often. In fact, downright infrequently sick. Aside from the week of allergy death that I suffer in the spring, I usually only get sick once a year, if that! So yes, I'm whiny.

Tonight was particularly bad--I worked for the first time since the Sunday before Thanksgiving. My night was compounded by the fact that there were tickets lost and thus my food took FOREVER to come out and I'm still learning the ropes of the ordering system (it's all abbreviations, and for the most part I know them, but tonight the ones I don't know threw me off my game). I think my manager was understanding, but I still feel like a pain due to my need to do everything right! I'm praying that tomorrow is very easy, and it should be: Sunday mornings are a brunch buffet, so I worry about drinks.

Of course, it's finals week too! Oh joy of sickness.

Workin' Woman

This weekend was finally finally finally my first time being a REAL server. It was a pretty slow weekend, thankfully, so I wasn't overwhelmed at any point. Today's shift was quite easy because we have a brunch buffet on Sundays (which is quite delicious), so for the most part I had to worry about drinks for my guests. Counting my tips and wages (before tax), I made $10/hr this weekend, which is pretty good to me (especially since it was my first weekend on the floor). Sadly I don't work again until December 1st what with Thanksgiving being this upcoming week and my availability only being on the weekends.

Other than that, I have a bunch of schoolwork to do, which I'm obviously neglecting. I work better under pressure? I have a paper/presentation combo due the Monday after Thanksgiving, so I'm planning a buckle down writing session on Tuesday and finishing up Friday at home. Then Saturday is a Thanksgiving party with my friends, in which we have our own potluck feast. Fun! And my boyfriend is coming home with me for the holiday (he oughta, I'm spending Christmas with his family), so that will be fun.

Here's wishing everyone a good Monday!

Finally, Finally, Finally!

Last night was my last night of training! And I actually got to take home tips--half of what the trainer and I made together. I had about 2 tables at a time, so it wasn't too bad. I work next Saturday for the first time, so that should be...interesting!

Today we have no classes because of Veteran's Day, which is nice since my usual Mondays are downright awful. I'm going to spend it doing absolutely nothing, even though that's a bad idea. I think I'm going to go and buy a Christmas tree (a little 4' white one at Target) and ornaments. And I'll set up my purple tinsel one in my room, because I can. My boyfriend is a silly bean, and has imposed an arbitrary limit of "after the Michigan" game as to when the "Christmas" season is allowed to start aka I can put up a tree in the living room. I'm not trying to rush Christmas, I just like looking at Christmas trees and want to do so for as long as possible :-)

Happy Monday, everyone!

Ohhh Yeahhhhh

Last night was Dane Cook, and while he was definitely funny, I don't think I'd pay to see him in such a venue again (that would be the Schottenstein Center, our Basketball/Hockey/Concert venue). It was too big, thus we were too high to really SEE him. I'm glad I went, else I would have been wondering what I had missed out on.

Tonight is work. I'm mildly excited, but I'd just like to get on to serving and getting tips (last week I served several tables independently but my "trainer" got the tips). I can see the value of the training shifts, but I'm getting shortchanged by not being with a certified trainer and going through the manual. Ah well.

This weekend will likely be work, cleaning around the apartment (then going on a cleaning strike), and a little homework. Honestly, relaxing overall.

Another One of Those Days...

I'm being plagued by crappy days this quarter, and I'm at my limit. This morning, I was supposed to work at 9 (we have a brunch buffet at my restaurant). I was nearly finished getting ready and was putting in my contacts. I washed my hands, and must've not gotten all the soap off because when I stuck it to my eyeball there was searing, burning pain. Glorious, I tell you. Since I couldn't open my eye very well, I had to call off work. Ack. Not something I'd like to be doing this early in the game, but such is my life at the moment. I spent the day trying to study through a teary eye, and it's finally better (thank goodness I didn't scratch my eye, since that is much worse). That really set the tone for a less than awesome day. Even a delicious lunch at TGI Friday's, one of my favorite restaurants, couldn't cheer me up. So I've had a general feeling of malaise all day.

And I've just gotten a call from my brother requesting that he spend the night here because the pipes burst in his dorm and ...sewage...or something is cascading down the walls of his room. That's the dorm I lived in freshman through junior years, and it seems like the pipe bursting is happening earlier this year. Yuck.

On a brighter note, I'm going to see my "boyfriend of funny" (I have several "boyfriend(s) of ...") Dane Cook on Wednesday with my brother. I'm excited!

Just Checking In...

This is why I'm a good roommate!

Tonight's shift at work was boring. I'm almost glad, because I thought it would be bad. I mostly just stood around the kitchen watching the expediter (the guy who pulls food from the window, garnishes it, and sends it up to the tables). I'm not sure I like the system, it's both more and less organized than at IHOP, if that's possible. As a server, I won't have to worry about it too much, just enough to get my food if an expo isn't working. At any rate, I work tomorrow night and Sunday morning (brunch!) and those are just server follow shifts again (oh yay!).

In other news, school is at a boiling point right now: midterm and quiz tomorrow, and two midterms on Monday. After that I only have quizzes to worry about until finals. I have a feeling working and schooling is going to force me to get better about my time management (not that I'm bad at it right now).

I bought a few Christmas things today. I'm excited for the season, not necessarily the holiday. I like the general festiveness of the holiday season. Though, I guess I should get excited for Florida, since I'm definitely going (I wasn't going to go if I didn't have a job by then), but it hasn't really sunk in yet.