5/28/11

The Joys of Summer Jobs

Panning for Gold - Ben Sollee

"10% off Johnny Rockets for lunch and dinner!"

There are a variety of ways people can respond to this and being handed a coupon:
-Excited. "Oh really? I love Johnny Rockets! Thanks!"
For the record, that's the only one I like.
-Suave. "What? It's free?" *gross wink*
Why not just gag me, that's an easier way to get me to vomit.
-The Wave-off. *hand wave* *pursed face*
-The Head Shake. *head shake* *optional smile*
-Blissfully Ignorant. "If I don't look at her, she doesn't exist...right?"
People are the best.

Boys Don't Cry - Ben Sollee

I bet you can guess how much I like my job. For right now, since I'm a newby, I'm stuck with the dinky jobs like handing out coupons, bussing tables, seating people, refilling glasses, doing nasty dishes, etc. But tomorrow, I'll be done with training and I'll be a hostess!! Hopefully it'll be worth it. This place is insane. We're 5th in sales in the nation, and my boss doesn't let anyone forget it. There are fifteen 360 degree cameras in the tiny place, and if she sees you doing something wrong or unproductive, she'll call from wherever she's watching you (in her office, at her house, on her phone, or in her car.) and tell you you're being useless. And maybe if you're lucky like me, she'll threaten your job. ON MY FIFTH DAY. I was still training and this wise-ass guy who loves telling people what to do tells me to separate doily's and watch the gate for customers, and I get a call from boss-lady who basically says I have 5 minutes to get the back into ship-shape (do all the dishes...there were a lot) and that she didn't want to have to call back and "terminate my employment." Oh, and that she'd be watching. Pleasant woman, she.

A Few Honest Words - Ben Sollee

So this weekend is Labor Day Weekend, and since we're located at an Outlet Mall, business is going to be CRAZY. I work 8 hours Sat. and Sun., and probably Mon. as well, the schedule is given out weekly which sucks. Ugh. I'm tired of thinking about all the negative aspects of this job. Can I tell you some positive things about it to help prevent me from convincing myself to quit? Okay.

I LOVE everyone who works there (other than the boss, that is.) The lady I trained with, Isabel, I feel like she's my awesome grandma. She's from Guatemala and is in her late 40's, maybe early 50's, and she's the sweetest, funniest, kindest, wisest, kick-ass person I've ever met. She's teaching me all the pro tricks of the trade, like how to make really pretty Arnold Palmers and how you can use a coffee filter to clean wine glasses.

Lights - Ellie Goulding

My friend who got the job with me had to quit because she has an internship, but the girl that replaced her is also one of my friends who I went to high school with. I'm so happy we're working together, we have so much fun :)

A Change is Gonna Come - Ben Sollee

Yesterday, I did an intense work-out with my best friend which included a pool portion. The hardest thing we did was treading water with our toes out of the water. Today my arms and abs are dead. Anywho, afterward, we laid in the sun to dry, and unfortunately, we both fell asleep for 40 minutes and now it hurts to put on clothes. If I thought I could get a picture of the line between white and red without it looking pretty scandalous, I'd show you, but I don't think I can so you're just going to have to trust me when i say that I'm bright red everywhere but where my bathing suit was.

How to See the Sun Rise - Ben Sollee

BTdubs, I'm hoping to take a 3-day road trip with a friend to see Ben Sollee in concert in San Francisco! Hopefully I can get these days off work, and figure out cheap transportation and lodging because dammit, I can't afford 12 hours worth of gas at $4.30 a gallon with my gas guzzler :P But if I end up getting to go, I think I will die of happiness.

You and Your Heart - Jack Johnson

I'm almost finished with the cushion!
This is what the inside looks like:

And here's with the two sewn together and partially stuffed:


Ok, so I know some of the seams are a little uneven, but hey, I don't have a sewing machine so this is hand-stiched, mind you. I'm so proud of it!! I just have to finish stuffing it and sew it shut, then add the buttons :)

Pretending - Glee Cast

Mkay, well I should get some rest for this hectic weekend coming up. Blah. Wish me luck!


5/22/11

An Apology.

Silence.

This seems to be the best way to start this blog entry:

I'm sorry I don't write a lot.

I started this blog during school because I used it to procrastinate doing school things or just things I didn't want to do in general. It was a nice way to vent and clear my head of all the wonderful things that were driving me insane. But now that it's summer, there's not a lot that I don't want to or can't do. I'm actually surprised at my ability to keep a blog up for this long, because I'd honestly rather be out doing things than writing about the things I'm doing. I have never really seen the point of blogs because - and I don't want to offend anyone, this is obviously just my opinion - it seems like a weird kind of idolization of what other people are doing/how they live their lives. I'm not saying I don't read other people's blogs, I do, but mostly just to see how people (friends and family) are doing. Most blogs I see are written by self-assured people who think that by writing about all the crazy wonderful ways they're going out and living every day to its fullest potential, they will inspire their readers to do the same, but how can people do that if they're sitting inside constantly reading and updating blogs?
Well, I'm not trying to prove my life is any more interesting than the next person's, so why is it that I have kept this blog, even though I'm a firm believer in living rather than living vicariously? Two reasons:

1. I like to write.
2. Self-preservation. Not in the conceded sense, like I want other people to remember me after I die and whatnot (shocking, because I have so many followers), but for myself. I want to look back on my blog entries on days when I feel like a complete lazy ass, or days when I feel that nothing excites me, or days when I feel as though I've done nothing with my life, or learned nothing from my mistakes, and see that I am (hopefully) wrong. And in order for this to happen, yes, there are going to be lapses of time where things like that don't happen. Who does something incredibly exciting or learns something ground-breaking about themselves everyday? People looking for this attention, looking for that next big thing to present to their readers. But hopefully I've gotten across to you that I don't want to have to live, or at least last through this summer looking for things to entertain you with, as that is not my goal. This summer I hope to simply exist and that is all. With that in mind, please close this window and go for a nice long afternoon walk with your dog :)

5/14/11

Being Home..?

Merry Happy - Kate Nash

The one thing that never changes at home is the smell. Inside, it smells like comfort. One deep inhale of this familiar air instantly calms me and signals my brain that I'm able to let my guard down. The smell intensifies a little in my room. I love how everyone has their own smell, and how everyone's particular smell is some variation of their family's smell. I remember when I was little and having trouble sleeping, I would sneak into my parent's room and steal one of my mom's pillows. Her smell put me to sleep instantly, haha. And dammit, I hate how we can't smell our own smells. I only notice it when I walk into my room. It's like I'm an animal that's marked my territory, haha. It'd be nice to be able to smell my smell at college. It would be a nice reminder of home. But I guess the absence of it makes returning that much more enjoyable?

1 2 3 4 - Feist

Outside my house though, it's amazing- somehow it always smells like fresh rain. Like rain evaporating from the sidewalk. It's so refreshing and relaxing, it makes for such a nice day of going out.

All the Same to Me - Anya Marina

Well, I've started my crafts! The first time I tried the fabric store it was closed, but Michaels happened to be right next to it, so I went in and got some paints. I got these water color pencils that I thought were awesome, and when I was experimenting with them, they got frustrating because you could see the pencil marks blah. So I started just coloring on a paper plate and mixing water in to get the colors I wanted.


Ta Daaah!
I know, I'm a water color master.


Well the next day I went back to the fabric store and got these.


It's a nice array right? I think the cushion will turn out nice :)

Falling In Love At A Coffee Shop - Landon Pigg

By the way, these songs are the songs I'm currently listening to as I'm writing. I used to write them down like this when I wrote in my diary to keep track of my weird taste in music. Thought I'd pick up that habit again.

Anywho, I don't know if I'm going to have much time for many crafts in this next week, because I GOT A JOB!! Woot woot! My friend and I were just out gathering applications and went into Johnny Rockets on a whim just right before we were going to leave. The guy goes back to get us applications and comes back asking us if we have a minute to spare? The next thing I know, we're standing before the manager who's asking us about work experience and if we have decent transportation, etc. And the next thing I know, we were hired. It was almost impossible to keep composure on the way out of there, but we did. And right when we got to the car, we were in HYSTERICS screaming and laughing.

Such Great Heights - The Postal Service

So I'm starting training tomorrow and I'm super super nervous because the manager has like 15 cameras which she creepily spies on us from her computer in the back to make sure we're always smiling and doing something productive. She's loca.

5 Years Time - Noah And The Whale

I have a feeling we'll warm up to each other eventually, but for now I'm just gonna keep my head down and learn as much as I can as fast as I can! This job is basically going to own my ass for the whole summer, but I'm gonna make bank fasho.

New Soul - Yael Naim

Check out my kick-ass slip-resistant restaurant shoes. Yeah, I'm pretty proud of them.
Well, wish me luck!!!

5/8/11

California Summer.

Well, it is with a sad heart that I bid farewell to this...



(me bidding farewell)


...and say hello to this...


...well, maybe not too sad a heart :)

This is my mom by the way. We went on a beach hike for mother's day! And not a minute too soon, I landed in LA just yesterday, haha. Oh how I've missed the ocean! I plan on spending at least a quarter of my whole summer there, not only to get ridiculously tan (I already got sunburn today, on ACCIDENT. I forgot how easy it is in California) but also to see the Green Flash! I learned in my physics class that before the sun sets, we can see a flash of green light - yes, like the one in Pirates of the Caribbean. But it can only be seen over a really smooth surface (like the ocean..ha).

None of my friends are back yet, so I'm thinking I need to get a head start on looking for a job and I hear In-N-Out is hiring which is phenomenal. If you don't know what In-N-Out is, as its only in Cali, it's basically the best burger place in the universe. So much so that they only have 3 items on the menu: Hamburger, Cheeseburger, and Double-Double, though there is an underground menu as well of which I am not at liberty to speak on this blog. Anywho, this would be perfect because I could eat burgers for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, AND the pay is excellente.

Apart from getting a job this summer, I plan on doing a ton of crafts - and not just dinky little things I'll make and never use. I'm talking things that will be staples of my lifestyle, yo. I'm moving my mattress up to the loft of my room so there will be a chill area to just hang out on the floor and I wanted things to sit on down there. I saw this cushion and fell in love. Also, I have like no clothes for warm weather after living in chillyness for so long, so why not make some clothes? I've gotten pretty into skirts lately, and I like this one a lot!

Anyways, I'll update you on what I actually do because these are plans that are just kind of sketched out in my mind right now. I really hope I follow thru with them, ha. Have a happy mother's day :)

5/4/11

Macintosh.

I love mac stores. I feel like they're in their own category of theme parks. They literally have something for everyone.

For the kids - Huge screen computers with kiddie games and bean bags.
For the annoying pre-teens - photobooth on every computer.
For adolescents - ipod classics for storing mass amounts of music.
For college students - all kinds of cool accessories and computer programs for all the mac stuff they already have.
For adults - storage units.
For old timers - friendly people.

Plus, I can access the internet and write a blog post when I'm out and about :)

5/2/11

Celebrate Good Times.

I HAVE OFFICIALLY SURVIVED FRESHMAN YEAR OF COLLEGE.

Who's a bamf? Me. The surprising thing is that I think I actually managed to do well in all of my finals, which is just extra icing on the cake. Speaking of cake, I celebrated my birthday with some friends on Saturday night! I couldn't believe how well everything turned out, we had a room, decorations, food, drinks, music, games, cupcakes and candles. You know, everything you need to have a successful party, according to my mother.
Funny story for the night: of course, when you get a group of guys and girls together at a party, those types of games where secrets are spilled and boundaries are crossed tend to be played. We ended up playing truth or dare, and being the birthday girl, I was the last to be asked a question. I settled upon a dare because I NEVER take dares, and to be honest I was pretty drunk and much more willing to do something stupid. My dare was this: to take a shot from Lillian's boobs, or to eat frosting off of them. Jesus Christ. I'll leave what happened up to your interpretation because I feel like my description of this may be a little explicit...all I can say is that it was messy.
It was honestly one of the best nights of my life, though, that's for damn sure. I finished my last final earlier that day so I was officially on summer vacation! My closest friends were all there including my roommate Julia who even though we've had a couple rough patches this year, I'm going to miss being her roommate a lot. I love the fact that we can be in completely different moods and still SOMEHOW get along, which I think is just so incredibly rare to see in a friend. Don't get me wrong, I mean we can still annoy each other to hell, but we get over it eventually just like everybody does. She can make me laugh even when I'm in the worst mood, and gets me to do crazy things like dying my hair purple, hiding furniture in the laundry room, or playing mini-nerf guns around the dorm at 3am.

This is us decorating the girl's bathroom for halloween. I think we make great Frankensteins. Oh, and if you can't read our sign, it says:
"For the courtesy of others, please clean up after yourselves. If you pour something down the sink, please clean it up, don't let it sit there. Thanks, Female Residents."
Seriously, its just gross.
Anyways, she's going to be an RA on the completely opposite campus from me next year! So I really hope we stay good enough friends that we at least get lunch every now and then.

The end of the year also means packing up all my stuff and moving back to California. (Gahh, don't make me!) So my brother comes in on a flight from LA tonight to help me pack up! I can't wait to see him and show him around. :)