Saturday, July 26, 2008

Goals Update 14

1. Nano novel. Haven't done anything with this. Between Philly and trying to finish up my research paper I just haven't had the time. Once my class is done I'll get back to it.

2. Play flute. Fit about 45 minutes in. I was right about cutting back to once a week, I think. I wouldn't have the time for much more, but this way I still actually make a little bit of progress.

3. Write every day. See #1. I'll get back to this after summer semester is over as well.

4. Let other people read my writing. Sent another bit to Shel but not much. I really have to do more work on my Nano and then I have about four people to send it to.

5. Take some trips. Philly was a blast. On to New York on August 7th. Shelly sometime in September probably.

6. Learn Japanese. I haven't learned anything new but I've gone over what I've already done. I may go and get those library books over the next couple of weeks.

7. Physical therapy. My job has been really good for this, actually. I do a lot of writing and typing.

8.
Start buying less stuff, and finish what I have lying around the house. Well I got my first paycheck and went and bought a game. And I bought a few movies for cheap in Philly. Other than that I didn't buy anything, which is much better than I thought I'd do with my first paycheck.

9.
Learn Photoshop. I'm actually taking this off the list for the moment. I'm seriously short on time and to be honest I don't care much about doing it. I don't see the point in having something on here I don't even want to do. If I change my mind once I actually have more spare time I'll throw it back on.

10.
Organize my stuff and get rid of unnecessary clutter. I've slowed down a lot with this, but I'm getting there. Eventually. I get through a box of stuff every couple of days.

11.
Get through borrowed stuff. I got through a bunch of library books but that was about it. Don't have anything specific in mind to finish for next time. I'll just see what I have the time to do.

Sunday, July 20, 2008

Six and a half hours later...

And I'm finally home. What a trip.

Brandi actually let me leave at exactly 5 on Friday so that I could get home and get on the road. She's fantastic. So we didn't leave much later than we'd originally planned. We stopped in Ligonier for gas and nearly got into an accident when some stupid bimbo on her cell phone decided to get into the left turning lane without actually bothering to see if someone was in it.

After that little incident we didn't have many issues. We did stop a couple of times, and we hit a bit of traffic that slowed us down, but we managed to get to Christian's around 11:30 or so. We hung out for a while watching TV and some ridiculous videos before heading to bed.

Saturday was of course Dark Knight! It was amazing. Heath Ledger was phenomenal. Danielle didn't seem as though she was that impressed, but I think she's just crazy. >_> After the movie we went to some movie store where they sell used stuff and I got the X-files movie (in preparation for the new one that's coming out), and the collector's editions of Juno and Sweeney Todd for just over $25. If only I had time to watch them....

We spent the evening gaming. We played Guitar Hero for a while, and then Brawl, and then hopped on Xbox Live to play Halo 3. We of course got our asses kicked, but it was still a ton of fun. Kyle was messing with people over the headset which was hilarious. Then we met Fridgeboob and Mississippi Queen (dunno who they were, that's just what we called them) and their friends. We spent the next three hours playing with the them and laughing at how stoned they were. And Mississippi Queen taught us how to make our little Halo guy do a dance.

Sometime after 3 Sunshine (Chris' nurse Pete) came in and said there were kids outside car surfing. Apparently the one guy was standing on top of the car while they drove down the road and his friends decided it would be funny to use the windshield wiper fluid and get him in the face. And he fell off the car. We went outside hoping they'd come back and we could get them on video but they never did. :(

Sunday was spent with more gaming...so much for getting to see any of Philly, haha. We played more Halo then Danielle and I decided to head home. I'm really glad I made the decision to leave around 3 instead of waiting until 5 like we'd originally planned!

We made good time for the first part of the trip. Then we hit some insanely heavy rain. We had to go about 25 miles an hour (if that) because we couldn't see a damn thing. Luckily that didn't last too long. Then as we were getting close to the Breezewood exit, which would be about halfway home, we saw a huge sign on the side of the highway saying the turnpike was closed and all traffic must exit at Breezewood. We stopped at a rest stop and figured out how to get home from that exit, and then got back on the road.

When we hit the Breezewood exit though, the road wasn't shut down. We figured maybe they'd had some downed trees or something from the rain we'd hit, but had already been able to clear them. So we just kept on the turnpike. Everything was fine for a while. Then, just as we were getting to the Johnstown exit, we saw a cop and a big truck with a sign saying there had been an accident and to slow down.

"Slow down" apparently means, "come to a complete stop in on the highway, turn off your car, and get out to talk with everyone else and walk your dog." Turns out a tractor trailer had lost control and rolled, and then ignited. 90 miles of the turnpike was closed down for about 5 hours while they cleaned up the mess. Miraculously no one was killed. We sat there for maybe half an hour, then the state cops were letting people turn around and drive up the shoulder to get off the Johnstown exit. So we decided to do that. Good thing as in the end it got us home about 3 hours earlier.

So even after all of that we got home at a semi-decent hour. And my wonderful grandmother washed and ironed all my work clothes for me after I called to tell her about the accident. What a lifesaver. Despite everything, I managed to get home in time to get a good night's sleep for my first real day at work. All in all, the weekend was awesome, and I really hope I get to go visit again sometime soon.

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Goodbye free time

This week has been insane. Last weekend I took some time to relax and enjoy my last few days of total freedom. Friday I went running around with Danielle taking about a million pictures. We went to Linn Run first, then somehow ended up at Beam Rocks, Livermore, and Torrance. It was a fun day and I really got to play around with my camera for the first time. Though, uploading all of those pictures to my Photobucket took me forever.

And while we were out taking pictures of creepy places (Livermore and Torrance) we realized that when we go to New York next month, we'll only be about an hour from Sleepy Hollow so we could go get pictures there as well. Somehow that inspired us to watch Sleepy Hollow that night with multiple bottles of wine. ^_^

Saturday we went to see Get Smart, which was better than I'd expected. It was quite funny, and I'm glad D convinced me to go. Then I went to reserve Breaking Dawn, since I know I'm going to feel the need to read it as soon as it's out, even though I'm only on the second book. Damn Sara! Sunday we were thinking of watching Batman Begins but I canceled since I had to iron all my stuff for work and get some schoolwork done. I went to bed pretty early, though I must have woken up 7 times. I kept having various dreams where I overslept or missed work for whatever reason.

Monday was my first day, and I was totally overwhelmed by the amount of information I need to be learning. Seriously, learning the various policies and stock and everything else for 8 different stores is quite difficult. So is learning everyone's names and who I'm supposed to call for which sections of each store. I've gotten a lot better throughout the week though, thank goodness. Tomorrow's my last day of training and then Monday I'm on my own, so I'd better know what I'm doing. Somewhat.

The people I work with are all really nice and welcoming, and also incredibly helpful. And because of the variety of things I'm doing and stores I'm dealing with, the days just fly by. Plus, I had to be all different shifts this week because Brandi (my trainer) is, but after that it seems like I'll have a more regular schedule. I'm pretty much 9-6 for the next two weeks, except for Fridays of course because we close at 5. I'm really glad for that, as the changing shifts this week were a bit of a pain. If I'm not off until 7pm and have to be back the next day at 8am that leaves me with virtually no time to get anything done.

Tomorrow should be excellent. I'm finally going to be doing my job on my own (while Brandi is there to help if I get stuck) instead of just one thing at a time. And I'll save a ton of time in the morning since I get a free lunch and can wear jeans (wonderful as I have to be at work at 8 lol). Then as soon as I'm out of work I'm calling Danielle, and she's going to meet me at my house. We're going to pack my stuff into her car and I'm going to change, and then it's off to visit Christian and the DeRiemer clan!

Anyway, off to finish packing and get to sleep. I'll see you all next week!

Friday, July 11, 2008

Goals Update 13

1. Get a job. Done. I've also gone and bought everything I'll need like shirts and shoes, and I'm ready to start for Monday.

2. Nano novel. Have worked a little bit on this but not a whole lot. The last two weeks have been insane. I still plan to make time for this outside of my job and shouldn't have a problem with it. I really want to get some parts edited so that I can start letting more people read it.

3. Play flute. Did fine with this one again. I think I'm going to cut it back to 30 minutes a week though. If I can I'll do more but I don't know that I'll ever have time on days I work, and don't want to feel obligated to do it both days I'm off.

4. Write every day. Haven't done every day, but I've been pretty close. Not bad considering how much I've been running around. I'd like to continue with this goal so I'll need to find a time every day that's good for it. Maybe right after I get home from work? Or even before work on days I'm not in until 10. I'll figure it out over the next couple of weeks.

5. Let other people read my writing. Shelly will have a laptop and internet within the next few weeks. Also told Danielle that she could read some of my Nano as soon as I have a sizable chunk edited.

6. Take some trips. If all goes well, I'll be going to Philly next weekend. Still have to work out some of the details of that. Part of that is waiting for Christian to get home and message me so we can figure out specifics. Then I just have to make sure I have the work and money situation handled. New York is also good to go provided I can get at least that Friday off work. I should get to visit Shelly sometime in August or September as well, I've already discussed a few possible weekends with her.

7. Learn Japanese. Still working through this. I'm going to be getting a couple of books and an audiotape from the library as well. Plus, once I get paid I might buy one of the books from B&N as they're only around $20.

8. Physical therapy. Working on it. I keep misplacing my stress ball, but I'm doing therapy at least 1-2 times a day regardless.

9. Time management. This is still going quite well. Unless I have a really hard time over the next two weeks because of suddenly throwing in a full-time job, I'm taking it off the list as of now.

10.
Start buying less stuff, and finish what I have lying around the house. I haven't bought anything in the last two weeks aside from gas and stuff I need for work. I'm sure that once I get paid I'll buy a few things because I can, but I'm not going to go crazy with it.

11. Learn Photoshop. Haven't touched this yet again. I'm going to have to slow down on this goal anyway as I'm not going to have the time for it. I'll still try and work on it a bit every week.

12. Organize my stuff and get rid of unnecessary clutter. Failed miserably on this one this time. Too damned busy to get through everything I wanted to. I'm still working my way through the clothes and shoes, and I should be finished by next time. I don't have a lot left really, I'm just not going to have much time in the evenings after work.

13. Get through borrowed stuff. I'm through book seven of Indigo. I read through those so quickly. Also got through other library books and put some time into a couple of games. For the next week I'm going to get through whatever I can of Christian's, so that I can take it with me and return it. And by the next update I'd like to be through the last Indigo book as well as all of the books I have out from the library. As long as I don't go and check out any more. >_>



Not bad. Took another two goals off my list. Almost into single digits, at which point knowing me I'll come up with more to add. ^_^

Also, I'll still be doing these updates every two weeks like I have been, but they're more than likely going to be on either Saturday or Sunday now, since I'll be off work. Don't know that I'm going to want to type this much after a full week of work, though we'll see.

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

So very busy....

Wow, it's been crazy lately. My weekend was packed, and then I have a million things to do this week before starting my new job.

Let's see, Thursday I went to the Arts and Heritage Festival at Twin Lakes with Danielle. We met her mom and aunt there and spent most of the day wandering around. I bought myself a pair of earrings and was going to get Jade a princess crown (hahaha) but around 3 it started storming like crazy and it completely slipped my mind in the mad dash to the car. I spent the evening in as I was exhausted.

Friday I did what classwork I could, then went to Danielle's for dinner. Emily came home for the weekend too, so we went to get her (minus the baby) and headed into town for the fireworks. Unfortunately they were already canceled by the time we got there, due to the rain. So we hung out at the fair for a while and got funnel cakes. Then Pat and Chris texted me, so we all met up at Callahan's for drinks. Em and I shared some buckets of long island iced teas. Then she and Danielle went home, but Pat, Chris, and I stayed. We went to Primanti's later on to meet some more people and get food, and then ended up going to some guy's apartment for some late-night drunken Guitar Hero. Fun times.

Saturday I went to see WALL E with Pat, which was excellent. Later on I went to the fireworks with Danielle and her family, but that was about all for that day. Sunday I went with Danielle to take Emily and the baby back home. We went out to see the new house Em and Jeremy just bought, and then hung out at their apartment for a few hours. Played with Keagan, which I don't get to do nearly as often as I'd like. Monday was nothing but a lot of school work that I should have done over the weekend. I got it finished in plenty of time though.

Yesterday I had to go back in to the temp agency to get my job information and schedule. Figured it's probably about 15 miles to work, which isn't as bad as I'd initially thought. At any rate I should only have to pay for gas every couple of weeks since I'm not the only one using the car. I also picked up I am Legend in audiobook format so I have something to entertain me on the commute. Not sure how well that's going to work as I haven't listened to an audiobook since I was 12, but it's really short so I figured I'd try it.

Today I went shopping for work clothes. I managed to get a handful of shirts and a good pair of shoes and only spent a little over $100. Honestly thought I'd spend more so that's fine. At least now I have enough to get by with for a while until I start getting paid.

That's about all that's been going on. I still have a lot I want to get done the rest of the week and weekend. Some more random errands, a whole lot of cleaning and laundry, as much classwork as I possibly can...the damn list is endless. I'll be happy in a couple of weeks when my class is over and I've had some time to get adjusted to my new schedule!

Thursday, July 3, 2008

*SQUEE*

I got the job! I go in on Tuesday to work out my schedule and do some paperwork, and then I start on the 14th.

That is all. ^_^

Wednesday, July 2, 2008

New job?

I mentioned in my last goal update that I'd found a temp agency in the area. They're only about 20 minutes from me, and once I asked around I heard a lot of good things about them, so I decided to see if they could help me find anything on the job front. My appointment with them was yesterday. I was there for a few hours; first I had to fill out a ton of paperwork, then I had to take a bunch of tests (since I was applying for office and accounting jobs they needed to test me with typing and such), and then I finally had an interview.

The woman who interviewed me, Debby, was so nice. She said that between my scores being really high and the fact I have so much accounting knowledge they should be able to find me something quickly. I wasn't really expecting any more than to discuss my scores and what I was looking for, and then hopefully I'd hear back from the agency in a week or two. But Debby went on to tell me about a couple of specific jobs she wanted to try me in. One in particular she sounded really excited about, so I said to go ahead and send them my resume or whatever. She said she'd get back to me about when my interview with them would be.

I was home for maybe an hour before Debby calls me, and is like, "Right so they're excited to meet you and I know it's short notice, but can you go for an interview tomorrow morning?" I was surprised they were so fast, to be honest. I wasn't hoping for much from this agency, and I certainly wasn't expecting anything quickly. But I agreed to go down there and do the interview.

One good thing about all of this was that it happened so quickly I didn't have time to think too much about it or get nervous. I went in this morning and interviewed with both the head of personnel and the person who would be my direct manager. I think it went really well, and they're supposed to let the agency know soon. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

As for the details...these people own an online company. They started with one store and have built up over the last 6-7 years to the point where they now have seven or eight different stores and about 90 employees. I'd be working doing general customer service and office stuff. To be honest the job sounds great. It's about half an hour drive, which isn't too bad, especially since I wouldn't have to deal with traffic the way I get there.

The position is temp to hire, which means if all goes well they'll hire me on a permanent basis after a few months. The pay is pretty good to begin with, and would go up as soon as I was hired permanently. It's 40 hours a week; there's three different shifts but I'd work no later than 7pm. They close at 5pm Friday and are closed over the weekend, so I'd always have that time free. They also close the office and turn off the phones for an hour every Friday and provide everyone with a catered lunch. There seem to be a lot of people around my age there and everyone seems really nice. Plus they offer all of the benefits. Medical, dental, vision, disability, life insurance, a 401k, etc.

They're more than willing to work around a class or two if I continue with school. On top of all of that, there's plenty of room for advancement, and they have their own accounting department as well, so if something opened up I'd pretty much be guaranteed a spot if I already worked there and wanted to switch departments.

All in all I really hope I get this job. Debby called me after my interview to see how it went (seriously this woman is one of the the nicest people I've ever met) and she seemed to be optimistic and think my chances are really good. I doubt I'll know anything before next week due to the holiday weekend though. I highly doubt they'd call me tomorrow. So I'm going to have a loooong weekend of waiting, but hopefully it pays off!

And hell, even if it doesn't, Debby had mentioned another two jobs at least that I would be qualified. I'm sure at this rate I'll get something soon enough. ^_^