Seriously??

Why is it that people give me candles?? I got 3 or 4 for wedding presents, and have 2 more as Christmas gifts (mostly from hubby's side of the family). Don't get me wrong, candles are nice and everything, some of them even smell pretty good, but I'm just not really a candle person. All the times I've gotten candles as gifts, I've never had an "Oh My Goodness! This is EXACTLY what I wanted - Thank You SO much!! " reaction. My reaction is more like, "Oh. A candle. *sniff* It smells nice. Thanks. *waits for next present (or whatever)*. My first worry is that they think my house smells bad. But, most of these people have never even been to my house, and all of them have as many animals, if not more, in the house as I do, so I'm not sure why they think I will enjoy a candle so much. I think I've burned one candle, one time, since May. Mostly they just sit around taking up space. *sigh* I will never understand the candle craze. But then again, I'm not fond of anything that has a strong scent, so... /end rant

Gainfully employed

I am now employed at West (the same company as M). My training starts next week (that's right, the week of Christmas), and lasts for 5 weeks. I get Christmas and New Year's off, but because training has to be 5 days/week, I have to work the Saturdays afterward, which is OK, because M has to work too. The main problem is that I will not be off the Wednesday before Christmas (Marcus will), so I either have to drive to his parents house Wednesday night or Thursday morning. Ugh. And, once I start my actual work schedule, we will have the same days off, but not the same work hours. I will be working 3:30-12:00 (training is 4-12:30), so we will have to figure out transportation, but at least I have a job now. My mom called me today to tell me about this get-your-teaching-certificate-online-if-you-already-have-a-bachelors-degree thing. Which sounds pretty good. Take a few classes online and be certified to teach? I think I could do that. And I wouldn't really mind teaching, it definately has nice work hours and good retirement. *sigh* Not the career I really wanted, but sometimes reality comes knocking.

Ugh

Well, I am finished with finals for this semester. Yay. The thing that sucks is that I made a 62 in my Phys class. This means that I failed (yeah, in this class, you have to make over a 65 to pass). Failing a class means that I cannot continue as a graduate student in the Biomedical Science program, so I am attempting to switch to Animal Science. *sigh* And I told my mom today, which upset her, as it always does when I do something to disappoint her. I guess I have to tell M next. He won't make me feel quite so bad, but the whole reason we are living here is so I can go to grad school with the hopes of getting into vet school, which is looking more and more unattainable everyday. I guess I just need to start looking at what kind of job I can get with a Bachelors in Animal Science. Ugh.

Ok, so for more positive thinking: Yay, school is done for the time being, so I have nothing to do but knitting and housework. (Which means my housekeeping skills should probably improve a bit, and I should definately get all my knitting projects done). Projects I have done: felted purse for Emily, dog sweater for Fifi. Projects on the needles: stethoscope cozy for Mama, chapstick cozies for Jodie, Emily, and Erin, and my socks. Projects yet to be started: poker coasters for Matthew, Christmas stockings for Jody and Susie, my sweater.

Holidays

Well, Thanksgiving is over so I can no longer complain (too much) about the amount of Christmas music being played on the radio and in public places. I went home on Wednesday, hung out with my parents and brother that evening, sorted through a lot of my old clothes (about 1/4 of them went in the trash, and 1/2 are going to Goodwill, while I kept the remainder for staying-at-the-farm-and-getting-dirty clothes), and piled up a few things to take back with me. Thurdsday, Emily, Longe, Cathy, and Mary came down. I helped my mom with things for a while, studied some, and then ate and hung out with the fam. In the evening, when the cousins were talking overly much about politics and other topics that us younger people were being bored by, we went over to the cabin and watched a couple of movies. Well, actually critter, Em and cathy watched "Tropic Thunder" and some other movie that I've also seen but can't remember the name. I readEm's copy of "Twilight". And now I must read the other three books in the series. My mom was asking me for stocking-stuffer ideas, so I told that I wanted these books. Well, I was a little too truthful about the topic of the books (seriously, I'm married and out of the house - why does she care?), and I was quickly informed that I shouldn't read those, and she is NOT going to get them for me because they are evil. *sigh* It's FICTION!!! ugh.... so, now I must buy them myself (which was my original plan). I wonder if I can get them for cheap on Amazon...
Anyway, on Friday Mama and I went shopping. It was horrible - so many people. We did manage to buy some clothes for hubby and the critter, but that was about it. Once home, we ordered the pots and pans I never got for wedding presents, and they are on their way to my house! yay for owning more than one saucepan!

More updates

Jodie's wedding:
I went up to visit her a week or so ago, she picked out her wedding dress, and Colleen and I picked out our bridesmaid dresses. Hers is "truffle" and mine is "champagne". We didn't actually buy them - Jodie is going to wait until next month to order hers, and if we order ours at the same time we get a discount.

Braces:
I went to the orthodontist yesterday - just drove up there and then back. Didn't get them off, but I have this "lovely" rubber band that goes from the outside part of my top tooth to the inside (lingual) part of my bottom tooth (so I'm biting down on it - which means it must come out when I eat). It was really hard to get on at first, because the hooks on the inside are tiny compared to the ones on the outside (which is good, because I can imagine how much it would shred the tender part under my tongue), but I've gotten used to it now. The ortho told me that in January I would probably get my braces off regardless of how the problem tooth is doing. But my retainer will have a spring to help move it even more. Thank goodness - I am really getting tired of these stupid things - especially since the estimated time was 12-15 months, and I am going on 26+ months. Grrrr...

Computer, etc

Yay for new computer! Hubby's new computer came in the other day, so I've got my "new" one all hooked up with my "new" monitor, and it works beautifully (after I realized that, in order for the monitor's built-in speakers to work, I needed an audio cable, duh!). I can actually use several addons and have no lag at all!! It is wonderful! Ooh, and I can turn up my video settings and see all the pretty stuff that I couldn't see before on my poor little lappy. It did its best, but it was just not made to play WoW. *lurvs!* Now to use all that loveliness to level up! (to 70 at least) I did play some today, and I'm about a third of the way through 69. And I'm still questing in Terrokar, lol. Which is amazing on so many levels... Mainly its awesome because I can only do the quests that I feel like doing, and don't necessarily have to do any group quests or instances to level up. I figure I can hit 70 before I leave Terokar, and then I still have Nagrand, Blades Edge, Netherstorm, and Shadowmoon before I even need to go to Northrend. Of course, not needing to do every single quest in order to level up means that I probably won't get the achievements to do most/all the quests in one area. Oh well, its not really one I'm that concerned with anyways. I've heard that logging on tomorrow (in a couple of hours) gets you a WoW anniversary achievement and a pet! I'm excited about that!!

On the knitting front, I am almost done with my socks, about 1/3 of the way done with the dog sweater, and have purchased the yarn for making the chapstick covers and dishcloths that I'm making for Christmas presents. Now I just have to get the yarn to make my mom's stethoscope cover. I may let her pick it out over thanksgiving (she knows I'm making it - I had to ask if the hospital allowed them).

And speaking of Thanksgiving, I will be leaving to go see my parents on Wednesday about 1:00 after I take M to work, and his mom will pick him up after work and he will go see his family. Its kinda sad that we will not be spending our first Thanksgiving as a married couple together, but his work schedule is just kinda retarded, and I haven't seen my family since May (we have seen his, since they live much closer). Anyways, I will stay with my parents until Friday afternoon, and then leave for CS in order to pick up hubs from work (his mom will bring him back in time to go work on Friday). Then we will be able to spend the weekend together before I have to go back to school on Monday.

Ugh

I've been fighting off some kind of yuck for about a week now and I'm getting tired of it. I've gargled with salt water, but I still have an occasional sore throat, gunk where gunk is not supposed to live (which interferes with my breathing while I'm trying to sleep), and yeah.... ugh.

I can haz sock??

Yay, I finished one sock!! It's so pretty - now I just have to make another one!
And on the WoW front, I made it to 69, and am working on getting to 70. *sigh* Someday... oohh..but Northrend is so pretty! And hubby ordered a new computer, which means I'm getting his "old" one, plus I ordered a monitor, so yay!

Jodie's wedding

So, Jodie has sent me her huge list of wedding stuff, and the other 'maid and I have narrowed down the bridesmaid dress list considerably.  Jodie seems to have everything pretty well together so far, so yay!  

Tat

The only people who know about my tattoo are my hubby, our friend Nick, his gf, and my best friend.  Now, since I don't really know his gf, and I didn't really talk to Nick about it, the only opinions I have are of M and J.  They both seem to think that gettting a tattoo is totally unlike me and cannot believe that I actually got a tattoo.  Kinda odd I think.  I want to know why its not like me...   they do not seem to have an answer.  I was gonna ask another friend, but he is not available atm.

Oh. My. God.

So... yeah... Nick and his gf Ashley came down here yesterday for the football game, and afterwards we went bar hopping. I got a t-shirt from the Dixie Chicken. A fun time was had by one and all. At the end of the bar hopping, we come across a tattoo parlor, in the middle of all these bars. Can you see where this is going? Yup. I got a tattoo. Its a butterfly, outlines in black with little black spots, no other color - its on my right lower back. Not quite far enough down where I would say its on my butt, but pretty close. Its just in the right spot where it can be hidden or exposed depending on what jeans I'm wearing. Ashley got a similar butterfly on her side, but hers had more shading (still in black though). She has another one in a spot similiar to where mine is. It didn't really hurt. Kinda stung when he was doing the outline part, but filling in all the little dots didn't bother me at all. Of course, it probably helps that I was slightly inebriated at the time. I'm actually surprised that they let us get tattoos, we both dropped our purses, plus some other stuff at least one time each. However, I wasn't drunk enough then that I regret it now, which is good, because its kinda permanent, lol. I'm actually thinking that later (much later, I kinda just want to live with it for now) I might want to get it filled in with a color... maybe purple? So.... yeah..... interesting...

Edited to add:
After typing this entry and publishing it, I looked at my blog entries and realized that I apparently already spilled the beans last night. Interesting that I didn't remember that until I saw it (then I thought "oh, yeah... i did that.") but at the same time, even when I was obviously drunk, I had no spelling or grammar errors. Kinda funny.

OMG!!!

I got a tattoo!!! It is a butterly, on my lower back, on the right side.

Just an update...

1. M is now doing training, so we're getting up at 6:00 every morning...
2. I finally got the results back from my last test, and I actually got a passing grade this time. Coupled with my poor previous scores and my excellent lab grades, I cannot make a "D" or "F" unless I just quit going to class, but I also cannot make an "A". A "B" will be rather difficult, but that is what I'm striving for, but at least I will make a "C" if all else fails.
3. I drank coffee. It was gross. I shall do it again. (My mom has this theory that coffee helps you learn - based on the fact that she and my brother drink it and have done well in school, whereas her sister and me get our caffeine fix from tea and seem to have trouble studying... but she also said that I was very smart and her sister was not - so I shall drink coffee while studying and during tests to see if it helps me learn better.)
4. Jodie and Chris are getting married!!!!! yay! She called me today asking all kinds of questions about the logistics of getting married. They are just gonna do it at the JP - she's not a big-huge-wedding type of girl, but then they are going to have 2 receptions, to accommodate both families. (Shh... I'm not supposed to tell anyone!)

Tuesdays.... *sigh*

After the craziness that is Tuesday I decided to relax and play WoW (running hubby's alt thru SM).  Sometime later (I've been home for a good many hours) I go into the bedroom, and am greeted by the sight of what happens when the cat decides to redecorate.  The curtains in the bedroom were on my dresser, and the screws of one of the brackets had been pulled out of the wall.  At the sound of my disbelief, my husband commented from the other room, "oh yeah, the cat pulled down the curtains this morning".  So I see.  *sigh*  I get my tools fix it and then mildly scold the cat for what she did (I also found semi-digested pieces of my poor plant on Jody's bed).  Marcus says "Theres no excuse for her doing that!"  My response? "She's a cat. That gives her an excuse to do anything you can come up with and even more things that you can't even think of."   But I did have a conversation with her in which I told her that if the curtain-climbing didn't stop, I might have to have her climbing apparatus disassembled.  She didn't seem very threatened by that.

I hate Tuesdays

I have too many classes all jam-packed together today.  And this Tuesday was made even worse by the fact that I found out my grade on my last exam.  13/25.  Which is about 52%.  Which means that now it is only possible for me to make a "B" in the class if I totally ace the next test and the final.  Which I don't see happening, since this last test grade is my HIGHEST thus far.  However, I expected it to be MUCH higher.  This last material we've gone over is cardiovascular, and I've studied my butt off for it.  And, on the test, I did quite well on the cardio vascular part, but about a third of the test was info from previous tests.  Now, I know that the class in comprehensive, but jeez, I figured that most of the questions would be about cardio...  I just hope that upon review, there are some questionst that are found to have more than one right answer, and I might raise my grade a little bit.  2 or 3 additional points puts that test in the passing range at least.  The worst part is the fact that I cannot bring myself to tell my mom my grades.  After the second test (she didn't know about the first) I told her I made a 72... which was my overall grade in the class, including my in-class quizzes, lab tests, and homework.  And I was telling her how confident I was about this last test..  grrr...  I'm never gonna get into vet school.  Although, the majority of the class (which is mainly vet students - there are only a few of us who are not) is not making "A"s , which is kinda what I would expect out of a room full of vet students.  The grade averages are as follows:  (not counting lab, I think)

"A" = 12%;   "B" = 46%;   "C" = 43%;   "D" = 10%;   "F" = 2%.  (The "F"'s are comprised of 3 people - someone who is slightly above me, myself, and someone is slightly below me.  I take a tiny amount of pleasure in knowing that I am not the lowest on the totem pole, but not much, considering that I am currently failing the class.)  I really wish now that I had taken a year off of school.  Or at least that I had not wasted $100 applying for vet school again, considering that I will probably not get in given my grades in this class.  And perhaps thats best, considering that I obviously cannot succed in vet school.  What I should do as a career - I do not know.  

Cats are insane.

That is all.

Annoying things...

1.  I had a horrible headache today.  I didn't wake up until about noon, and then had two pieces of cornbread.  Around 4:30-ish, I started to get a headache (stupid me - took nothing to fix my "little" headache) I ate a sandwich around 5, thinking that it was that I hadn't really eaten much that day and low blood sugar was causing the headache.  Headache continues to get worse.  Around 6 or 7 I finally take some ibuprofen.  Headache increases in ache-iness.  (usually I get caffeine withdrawal headaches, which are more pin-pointed, whereas this was a I-can't-find-a-spot-that-doesn't-hurt headache)  I lay on the floor and get hubby to bring me my medicine basket.  I dig out the head-on because Yale suggested that when I talked to him earlier and I figure it couldn't hurt anything any worse. Later, my mom calls. I whine about my head.  She thinks the "bug" I've had since Tuesday has possible turned into a sinus infection. I counter that this is NOT a sinus headache, and that I think that its because I didn't eat.  She says that either could be the problem, and that I should take some biaxin, because I've been sick awhile and that I should take something and eat some toast and honey and call her back.  I take the antibiotics, take some tylenol, since I've already had ibuprofen and eat the toast, while researching head-on (I'm a skeptic, but Yale is convinced that it works).  I find no evidence that it helps at all (although the menthol effect does make your head feel nice and cool - but I could get that from vicks or bengay) but its not harmful either, so whatever.  Mom calls back, I complain about how long I've had the headache, she says that even if it was a low blood sugar headache, its not going to disappear as soon as I eat (which makes sense, but I guess I'm used to the speedier absorption of caffeince into my system), and she tells me to take a hot shower and she'll call me back.  I opt for a bath instead, which she thinks I shouldn't do in case I pass out.  I explain that I do not feel sick in that way and that I always have a warning dizziness before I pass out (I'm just normally to stupid and feeling to bad to lay down when this happens - thankfully all the falling I've done is from a sitting position) and if I get dizzy in the tub I will immediatley get out - I'm not stupid enough to risk drowning.  She calls back right as I'm getting out and tells me to go to bed and I will feel better. (haha, go to bed, yeah right, its only 9:30).  My head is starting to feel better (more of a dull throb/ache instead of omg-my-heads-gonna-explode!) and then I realize that I never got the rest of the laundry from the laundry room so I go do that.  See #2 for what I did after that.  My head is now feeling better, at least.  :)

2.  I love my husband. Really, I do.  But sometimes he irritates me to no end.  I was going to make us a late dinner of lemon-pepper chicken, but since I had a headache for a good part of the day (and we had sandwiches around 5-6) I never got around to it.  So, after I get the laundry, he asks me to go to Taco Bell for him.  I do, just because its really to late to cook and I don't feel like bitching at him at the moment.  But the difference in our eating habits is annoying at times because they are SO different.  He loves fast food; I hate it.  I love leftovers; he will barely touch them.  We both love medium-rare steak, but I like mine with a smidge of salt and pepper only; whereas he wants his seasoned to death.  I could eat the same thing everyday and be happy, but I still like to try new things.  He is not fond of trying new things, but is not happy about eating a sandwich everyday for lunch.  I like vinegar, garlic, onion, and various random spices on different things(in moderation, generally).  He likes salt, pepper, Tony Chachere's, more salt, more pepper, more Tony's (smothering his food with it).  I grew up with totally homemade food (bread, bicuits, pancakes, pizza, desserts, etc, all from scratch).  He grew up with what I like to call faux-homemade (biscuits out of cans, hamburger helper, Bisquick, etc).  Plus just his eating habits (not what he eats but how he eats it) are annoying.  For one thing he doesn't eat breakfast (the most important meal of the day, ya know!) And he snacks endlessly between meals, which means that when I do make something for dinner, he doesn't eat it all because he been munching on fruit cups and granola bars (his preferred snacks used to be lays and little debbies, but I have at least made him eat semi-healthier snacks).  And if I make casserole for dinner, I will eat it the next day for lunch and dinner until it is gone.  But instead of making that his lunch, he will eat a hotpocket, which I basically buy so if there is nothing in the house and there's  not even bread and peanut butter, he can open up the freezer and eat one, but thats not how he sees it.  

And I realize that I do all the grocery shopping and therefore can get rid of all snack foods and unhealthy things, but then I have the griping and whining to deal with.  And actually eating a fruit cup or granola bar between lunch and dinner is not that big of a deal, but he doesn't eat just one.  Nooo....  He eats probably at least one fruit cup and granola bar per day, and usually its more like 1-2 fruit cups plus 2-4 granola bars.  I just don't know how he can be that hungry - he doesn't expend any energy!!!  And he's still skinnier than me!!!!!!

Oh well, he should be getting a job any day now.  Monday this company is going to install ZoomText on one of their computers so he can do a data-entry test and hopefully get a job there.  Then he will have to take his lunch and will not be able to snack all day.  

Ok.  End of Rant.

Pretties...

#1.  My new US3 dpns.  They are a lovely purple color (fav!)  I wanted bamboo, because I just really like bamboo (in all its wonderful forms), but Hobby Lobby (the closest place to buy such things) had none, so I was forced to buy metal ones (I refuse to buy plastic) and when I found the size I needed, I'm sure I made some type of happy noise because  PURPLE!!!  (lurvs - srsly)

#2.  The pretty yarn I got for my socks.  It was very pretty all wrapped up, but now that I've knitted a swatch and can see the colors changing (its a striping yarn) it is even more beautiful.  

#3.  Susie!!  (this is not a new development - she has just been especially cute and happy and cuddly today)

Ugh

So, after my semi-exciting weekend in Austin (Thursday and Friday night at Jodie's, playing games and eating yummy Chinese, and Saturday night with Sarah, eating out at a delicious Italian restaurant, going to 6th street, and puking in a bar [not gonna say which one, just in case someone was there that night and possibly saw...  and, no, I was not really drunk at all - I'd only had about three drinks, and I can usually hold my alcohol way better than that... I swear, if I drink anything other than tequila {specifically shots and margaritas} I get sick {I had about 2 glasses of wine, a tequila sunrise, and about 1/2 a shot of tequila} which sucks] and then on Sunday we went to the yarn store [YAY!!], where I spent more money than I 'm willing to admit on yarn for a sweater/coat/cardigan that I have been wanting to make for a while [although I would probably spend just as much if I bought a nice sweater like that in a store] and then had a yummy red velvet cupcake with cream cheese frosting from the cupcake stand) I came down with the crud/the epizooti/ a bug/bacteria/virus-thing.  I missed two classes on Tuesday because I had a fever and stuff draining down my throat, which actually made me puke (gross, I know), but I am starting to feel better today.

I suck...

.. at school....   I'm really disappointed in myself, and I know that ranting on a blog that no one reads doesn't really help anything...  but, at least my cat shares my feelings about school.  I was (actually) attempting to study, and she crawls up on the bed, lays on my notebook and starts biting my pen, as if to say "don't pay attention to this stuff - pet me!!  I'm much more entertaining!! *MEOW*)"    

Kinda scary

So, my mom and some other nurses were playing around with the EKG, and her heart was doing something funny, so she had a stress test done.  Her heart rate was good, but they said she had a leaky valve.  (She also told me she could make her rhthym change by coughing... not normal and probably not good).  She has to go back for more tests...  its kinda scary, but she doesn't seem too worried.

Question..??

I have a tendancy, when excited (and sometimes when not), to be talk louder than need be in public places (mall, Walmart, parking lots, etc).  I don't do this in places where being loud would interupt other people's activities (libraries, nice restaurants, movie theaters, etc), but sometimes the people I'm talking to get more agitated than need be (I think).  My mother, brother  and husband for example.  They act like its embarrassing that I am being louder than is probably necessary - I'm not sure if they are embarrassed for themselves or for me.  Either way, I think its stupid, and telling me (the way they do) that I am being too loud and they don't like is not going to make me shut up - in fact, considering the way I am and my personality, its more likely that I will continue or even get louder.   I realize that I am not always totally in cue with proper social behavior, but I don't understand why me getting a little excited and loud is such a big deal to them.  Probably if they told my politely that I'm getting loud and asked nicely that I be a little quieter, then I would (I say I would because I have a friend who has a problem with me being loud [not necessarily in public - its not an embarrasment for her] and she is generally nice and polite about it and I attempt to control my volume).  I know its a nice thing to think of others, but I am not about to think about possible discomfort to total strangers when I am in a PARKING LOT!  If it is bothering someone, I doubt I will be in hearing range of them for very long - like I said, I don't do this in places where you have prolonged contact with people and/or where it might annoy/bother them.  

Ugh...  human social interactions/rules are so stupid...

Stupid internetz

So, after being without internet for about a day, it finally came back on a little after noon today.  

On another note, I did laundry today, and took the back stairs out of our apartment, because they are slightly closer to the laundry building. However, I don't always do this because I have to lock this door behind me, otherwise it won't stay shut and the cat will escape.  It's just a hassle.  But since the laundry was quite heavy today, I wanted to take the shortest trip possible (it still about killed my shoulder).  Anyways... long story short, it was good that I did do this because they have decided to air-condition the laundry room (yay!), but in conjunction with that, they decided to install a lock and keep it locked.  Since I brought my keys (car, house, mail, and exercise rooms keys), I was able to open it because the exercise key (also known as the amenities key), went to that door as well.  So, yay! because if I had had to walk all the way back, I probably would have been really pissed off.  And yay because now its not 1000 degrees in there.  Random, I know, but that's me!  

Oh, and I've really been trying to study for the test, and I've done better than last time.  Tomorrow it will be an all-day ordeal, and I may go study with Natasha, a phd student in the class.  I don't really know her that well, since shes a phd student and not a masters.  All of us masters students have the exact same schedule, but our phys group also contains a few phd students.  We attempted to meet Friday for our case study group meeting, but people were confused (multiple rooms with the same number...  the "building" is actually a group of buildings that are all connected with no destinct seperations)  

Oooohh... and I went to buy cat food at Petco and guess what is next to Petco???  Hobby Lobby!!!  Not my favorite place to buy yarn, but its a pretty good place (as opposed to Wal-Mart).  I got some autumn-y looking sock yarn (and picked up some free patterns while I was at it)

And speaking of Wal-Mart, huuby has finally got a job, working in the deli at Wal-Mart.  Yay!  

The best $4 I ever spent...

. . . was a laser from walmart.  The dog and the cat both go CRAZY over it.  It's hilarious!!  And it's SO entertaining for me too. hehe. crazy animals go in circles for a little tiny red light. 

Procrastination

Why do I do it? Why am I better at that than anything else? How can I spend hours looking at a knitting blog, which then forces me to stay up until 1am finishing my homework? (and that doesn't even quite finish it, I had to do another 3 questions this morning) It is so easy to spend hours reading, knitting, crocheting, playing games, but so difficult to spend even the minimum time required to finish a 2-3 question lab assignment or read part of a chapter for physiology. It is so hard to force myself to do something productive! It's annoying!! But here I am, blogging when I should be studying, or folding clothes, or putting away dishes... or pretty much anything else.

Weekend

Right after I got out of class on Friday we hit the road, and arrived in Granbury at 4:30 for my otho appointment. I've quit asking when I'm going to get my braces off because the answer is usually "we'll just have to wait and see what your teeth do", but this time he said that I might get them off next time (without me even asking about it), which will be in November. Yay! I am so ready to get rid of these things! We dropped off the dog and our bags at Yale's house, and then met Chris (Bob) for lunch at Grumps, which is an awesome burger place that also servers beer and margaritas. So, of course, I had a margarita and a swiss mushroom burger. Delicious! Then we headed to Bostocks, where the guys played pool and had drinks and I just played darts and had DP (cuz I was voted the DD... of course). Then we headed to Fiddle Creek (we had decided to bar-hop) where Crystal works, and had more drinks (I had anther margarita and some pretty decent fried mushrooms). Chris introduced M to the Mojito (which is something that I love but can't really drink because it is way too sweet and will make me puke), and finally we left and went to the Rockin' P... more drinks... Yale got off work and met us... then he drove Chris home and met us at Peacocks for after-drinking food (yay for yummy buttery sweet cinnamon roll!). We then went back to Yale's house, where we watched a little TV, and then crashed. We woke up late and then dawdled around for a while and came back to CS. All in all, a pretty decent weekend. Althought, we apparently missed an awesome party Saturday night. Oh well.

Ouchie!

A few days ago I woke up with the inside of my cheek stuck to my braces (not a totally uncommon occurance), and it really dug in this time, so I've had a lovely sore on the inside of my cheek, and it hurts like hell half the time and just aches the other half. I've been trying to remember to rinse with salt water to help it, and it is getting slightly better... my lymph nodes on that side (which were quite swollen and tender), and starting to decrease in size and painful-ness. The only problem is that I have to go to to orthodontist today (yay, 3.5 hr drive! NOT!) and I'm thinking that having him root around in my mouth is not going to make it feel better. Oh well, maybe he will tell me that I get to have them taken off *fingers and toes crossed!* I don't know now likely that is, but there is nothing wrong with wishful thinking, right?

IKE

So, I stayed up until 2am to see when the storm would hit, but it hadn't done anything at that time. Our electricity went off sometime between 10-11am and came back on at 12:30. It rained alot last night and was quite windy - there are small branches scattered around. We may be hit with heavier winds (35-50mph) and rain later today, but everything should die down by this evening. I'm crossing my fingers that the electricity doesn't go out again.

yuck

So, the first phys test totally sucked, even though I quit my job so I would be able to devote more time to school. Oh well, now I know what to expect, and I'm even more happy that my other two classes have open note tests. I guess I'll just have to be better prepared next time. I can still make an A in the class if I try really hard.

WoW

I love WoW. It is such a nice break from reality. I broke down and got a second account today with the refer-a-friend program. Yay for Zhevra mount, and triple XP, and extra levels, and friend summons! I figure I can level my two level 8 chars to 40 by the time my two months runs out (at least 50 by three months). Which means I can grant 16-21 levels to a low level char. Maybe get my hunter or warrior into the 30's or 40's. AND AME GETS A ZHEVRA !!!!!! Ok, enough wow-talk. Back to studying... or maybe I'll eat first.

Confused...

I am so confused about so many things lately... School has only been going on for 1 week, and I feel I'm already behind. The "politics" of graduate school are starting to get to me too. I have to select a committee, and file a degree plan, and I have two classes where I have to write research papers... and I chose to do a non-thesis masters so I wouldn't have to do crap like that. And it's not like I'm the only one. Most of the people in our little group of grad students are doing non-thesis with the intent of trying to get into vet school. A couple of people are doing med school. Ugh... And I haven't started my vet school app, even though parents and hubby expect that I'm going to apply again. And I guess I will, they can only tell me no again, right? I kinda feel like I shouldn't be going to school at all right now - like I should have taken a break. But what would I do? I haven't had a whole lot of work experience... And my latest work experience may be over soon....

So, here's the story on that: I could not go to work on Tuesday because of my classes. I had been scheduled because when the request form was up, I had no idea on days and times for two of my classes. So, the Saturday before, I asked pretty much everyone there if they could work for me. Since it was the first week of school, pretty much everyone said no. I did find two people willing to switch, but we weren't allowed to because they were too high up in the food chain and I was too low. They would be able to take my shift, but I couldn't take theirs, so the switch wasn't made. On Monday, I finally have my class schedule figured out, and I go up there to give it to them and to tell them that there was no way that I would be able to work the next day. Johnny was the manger I talked to that day, and he gave me some names and numbers to call of people that might be able to pick up my shift. I called, one guy said no, the other two never answered their phones. So, Tuesday, I go to class, and it's my busy day, so I don't get home until about 5:00, and of course I want to eat, etc. So, it's almost 6:00 when I look at my phone, which I had left on the charger all day. I have two messages from Richard (one of the mangers). I call him back. He told me I was scheduled to work that day, and asks why I never showed or called. I explained the situation to him: saturday, Johnny, class, all that. He rattles on for quite a while, because that it what he does, basically saying that since it's my shift, it's my duty to get someone to pick it up for me, and that I should have called. I DID try to get my shift switched, in 2 cases management wouldn't let us. And no, I did not call that day to say I couldn't work, I told them the day BEFORE that I couldn't work. So, he says he knows nothing of me coming in the previous day and all that ( like its my fault that the managers don't talk to each other). And one of the biggest things he was worried about was that someone from high up in management (because Cheddars is a chain) was going to be checking on the restaurant in the next week, and it would make HIM look bad that I didn't show up because then the restaurant would not be fully staffed. (How is that my fault? I'm thinking the managers need to work on their managing). Finally, he tells me to come in the next day and talk to Elena (yet another manager), and bring my revised schedule). So, the next day, I come in at the time he said to talk to her. Guess what? She knows absolutely nothing about this!!! She doesn't even know that I missed a shift, let alone that I was coming in to talk to her about it. So, I sit up front for a minute while she figures out what's going on. Once she's got it figured out, she calls me back, says a bunch of the same shit that Richard said, and then asks me to sign a write up saying I missed work, blah, blah, blah, and that I will come in the next Tuesday evening after my class (after the managers have had their weekly meeting or whatever) to talk about it some more. AND... all my shifts are picked up that were scheduled before that time, so that's three shifts that I wasn't allowed to work, which is at least $200 out of my pocket. So, I guess they're gonna talk about it and see if they want to continue to let me work there. If they don't that's fine, because I don't know how much longer I was going to be able to work there anyways because of my class load. I just think that's a crappy reason to fire someone. If they were gonna fire me because I was a crappy waitress, ok, whatever. But I'm not a crappy waitress. I'm not the top waitress, for sure, but I'm pretty decent.

It's just another one of those things (like the grad school stuff) where I'm totally out of my element, because I just don't understand most people's thought processes. I don't understand the weird social rules and regulations that people seem to live by; I was never given this rulebook and I don't understand it. Half the time they might as well be speaking a foreign language (well, at Cheddars they are, lol). Ugh.. so annoying.


And, being a procrastinator doesn't help either. Especially with stuff like vet school applications...

Well, I've had class for 3 days now, and I think I'll do pretty decent, although I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to continue to work. I'm sure that once the rest of my classes start, it will be impossible for me to work lunches during the week...

Anyways, in other news, I went to Austin last week, visited my cuz and jodie, and I finally got the yarn to finish my tank top (join Ravelry and check it out!). Also, I think the cat and dog are actually getting along and perhaps even liking each other. When we came back from our trip (we took Jody with us, but left Susie), Jody started licking Susie and she let her! And, she has started meowing whenever we take Jody outside to go potty. Its very odd, because she will also hiss and scratch at the dog when she starts getting too playful.

Silly Kitty

So, when I got my cat Susie, I got a bunch of toys for her off of freecycle. Her favorite thing to play with? A piece of tissue paper out of a shopping bag....

Visit from mama

My mom came up for a couple of days. She brought us a bunch of frozen meats and fruit from the ranch, plus she brought M's b-day presents (a drill and electric stapler, which I will probably use more than he will) and some various things that I had forgotten in the move. We went out to eat at Texas Roadhouse, and she did all the normal stuff that she does when she visits: helps me with projects (cat tree this time), cooks food (sour cream pound cake - yum!), and bought stuff for me (jeans, shirt, cleaning supplies, etc) just so we can save some money. Unfortunately, I had to work the lunch shift for the full day she was here, but I was off on the day she came and the day she left.

M is still on the hunt for a job, and has a possible prospect with Palm Harbor Homes, but he won't know for a week because the guy is going on vacation or something. I gave him an ultimatum last night: if he doesn't have a job by the time I'm in school, he is not allowed to ask me to do anything for him, and I better not catch him playing WoW, plus he better help around the house and learn to actually cook real food. Which reminds me of how close it is to school starting. Orientation is on the 15th, and classes start on the 18th (for my one class that is a vet class), and then regular orientation is on the 22nd, and the rest my classes start on the 25th.

Oh, and another thing my mom did while she was here was to help me dye my hair. It's been awhile since I had it highlighted, and it's starting to grow out, and I'm tired of it. It is now back to its former dark brown color. :)

I give thanks for....

... my parents. I know that Thanksgiving is several months away yet, but I just had this awesome idea tonight. Since this is my first Thanksgiving as a married woman (and I'm not even sure yet of my plans for Thanksgiving), and I'm not always real good with birthdays and mom/dad days, I wanted to do something special for my parents. So, I decided to make a list of things I remember about my childhood that I want to thank my parents for doing for me/teaching me/ letting me do/ etc.

This post will be constantly edited as I think of more things to add.

To my mom:

Thank you for taking me antique shopping and trying to tell me about different things.
Thank you for taking me hiking, even if we did get lost.
Thank you for doing the "treasure hunt" game - I loved figuring out the clues.
Thank you for taking me arrowhead hunting and for teaching me what flint looks like.
Thank you for letting me ride horses, and for teaching me how to do so properly.
Thank you for letting me play and swim in the creek.
Thank you for letting me and my friends ransack your closet for our "fashion shows"
Thank you for taking me "sledding" down the creek bank.
Thank you for teaching me to be tough.
Thank you for teaching me to use power tools.
Thank you for letting me run around naked and barefoot.
Thank you for teaching me to think for myself and not depend on others opinions.
Thank you for taking me to ballet lessons for 10 years - I really did love it.

To my dad:

Thank you for taking me deer hunting, even though you never shot one with me around.
Thank you for taking us camping - and not getting lost!
Thank you for taking me to ballet.
Thank you for telling me about the history of our land and family, even though I may not remember it all.
Thank you for letting me get dirty, but still be your little princess.
Thank you for putting up with all my dogs and cats, especially Muffin.
Thank you for letting me help you with the cows, even when I wasn't much actual help.

Yay, school! ??.......

So, yeah, I am officially accepted to Texas A&M University in the Masters program in Biomedical Science. And I'm finding out that graduate school is a bit different from undergrad. First off, I'm gonna have a "committee" to guide me in picking classes and whatnot instead of an adviser, and I did not get to pick my classes or schedule at all for the first semester. I'm taking systemic vet physiology, 5 days a week in the morning, stats in research mwf in the morning, molecular biology of viruses, which is tba, and a one hour course which the guy described as an orientation class, but my schedule calls " educ. vet. med. bio. envir." ...... very non-descriptive, if you ask me. So, 12 hours total, no labs, and only 2 of the classes have a scheduled time so far. The other 2 I have to contact the professor before classes start to see where and when they meet. I hope that they are mwf, or 8am tues/thurs (and yes, I'm mildly crazy for wishing that), otherwise I will only be able to work lunches on the weekend, so I may not be able to keep my job. Although, if Marcus gets a really good job, maybe I won't really have to keep my job; I don't love it by any means, but it's an ok job with ok money.

I'd like to place a to-go order...

Well, duh! I just said "Cheddar's To-go, this is Amy". Seriously! So, yeah, I worked to-go's yesterday, for a grand total of 2.5 hours.

Pros: short hours, no tip share, no silverware fee, no sidework, no closing work, no cleaning my section.

Cons: short hours, bad tips, I have to use the crappy squirrel, and I have to talk on the phone (which is difficult for me - I tend to hear the background noise on my end and their end before I hear the human voice). Plus, when the hostess forwards to caller to to-go's for me to pick up, there is a slightly different ringer, which I cannot really differentiate from the regular one. Good thing the bartender was helpful.

So, on to more upbeat and interesting things... Susie is the sweetest little cat ever! She sleeps on my pillow above my head, which is fine except for when her fluffy tail gets in my face... cat hair up the nose - ugh. Jody is still jealous of her, even though she has gotten more attention from us post-cat than she did pre-cat. She used to just lay down and sleep, but now she's either following the cat around or following us around. She's weird. Susie just got spayed a couple days before we got her, and she's still recovering - she sleeps alot (of course, cats tend to do that anyways), and she doesn't eat a lot (but maybe I'm just used to our fat, piggy cats which would scarf down as much food as you were willing to give them), but I'm thinking that she will be more energetic next week. I got a lot of things from Freecycle for her (check it out - most awesome website ever!) and one of those was a little wicker basket, and I made a little cushion to put in it, and that is her favorite spot to sleep during the day, aside from the rocking chair.

MEOW!!!

I finally got my kitty cat!! Her name is Susie, she is a 2-year-old tortie-and-white semi-longhair. We got her today from Petsmart. She is very sweet, but still not quite sure about Jody. We actually got them too close trying to get them used to each other and swatted Jody on the nose... and managed to get my arm with her back claws in the process. Ouchie! But I think I'll live :) I really hope they learn to like (or at least tolerate) each other. Anyways, yay, sweet (to humans) kitty!!

On the job injury...

... wonder if I can get compensation?? haha. My ankle has become the first casualty of working at Cheddar's. It's been a long time since I was required to walk around for many hours at a time without being able to sit down, and apparently my ankles are not quite as strong as they were when I was a dancer. It's not really anything serious... just some pain and inflammation/swelling. Nothing a little ibuprofen and an Ace wrap won't cure. All the same, annoying knowing that I have to go to work tomorrow morning... *sigh* I guess what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, right?

Grrr

I swear every movie I've seen lately has babies or pregnancy in it. I mean, come on, Hellboy?? Really?!? Who saw that one coming?

Complaining time...

So, I've decided that the thing I dislike the most about my job is the fact that I have no set "get off of work" time. It's around the same time, obviously, but it can vary by an hour, at least. It really bothers my sense of order that I have to wait for someone to tell me that I'm "cut", at which time I can start cleaning my section and doing whatever my duties are in the kitchen (re-filling salad dressings, [which is what I did today], stocking to-go boxes, cleaning the tea and coffee station, or whatever).

I really have mixed emotions about this job. The things I like: always moving (mostly), having a chart and book to tell me exactly what my kitchen duties are during and after my shift, making money, making small accomplishments throughout the day (closing out a ticket makes me feel like I actually did something), and the repetitiveness (greet, get drink order, suggest appetizer, bring drink, get food order, bring appetizer if called for, wait [and do sidework if needed], bring food, circulate to check on them and to re-fill drinks, do sidework or run food, pre-bus, suggest dessert, bring dessert if called for, bring ticket, run card or get change for cash, tell them to have a good day, wait 'til they leave, look at what kind of tip I got, close out the ticket, rinse and repeat).

The things I dislike: the above-mentioned time issue, the fact that I have to "check-out" with someone (like I wouldn't do things properly otherwise...), the shoes, the amount of people that I'm constantly around (I occasionally just have to swallow the panic... or go to the bathroom or store room to be by myself for a minute or two... hopefully no-one will notice my more-frequent-than-necessary bathroom trips :)), the times when I have to ask someone how to do something because some moron has altered every aspect of the item that they ordered, the fact that it interferes with my eating schedule (dinner I can deal with, because staying up late is no problem for me, but lunch is another story... thank God they don't serve breakfast, because if I had to work a breakfast shift and my breakfast time got screwed with... I don't think I could manage that). Oh, and the fact that I have to have a starched uniform.... I'm convinced that starch affects the so-called breathable aspect of cotton... I'm not too crazy about the pants either.

And if today was any indication, tips for the lunch shift suck compared to the dinner shift.

Anyways, I suppose that's enough ranting for one night.... I best leave it at that unless someone out there thinks I'm totally crazy...

First day on my own!

So, yesterday was my first day as a server by myself. I worked the dinner shift, and took care of two tables. I got in at 4:00, but didn't start really start until at least 30 after, because Dakota had a big table and wasn't finished at 4:00.... I got off at 11:00, and I managed to make $40 in tips, so adding in the $2.13/hr that I make, I made about $8.50/hr. Not bad, I think, for my first day. I was so exhausted though, because the carpets were getting professionally cleaned, so we had to move all the tables and chairs from the carpeted areas into the tiled area.

1st day on my own...

...is tomorrow. I was scheduled to work lunch, but Dakota called and wants to switch (she has the dinner shift) so she can go home later that evening. That is totally fine with me, because I won't have to go in until around 4, instead of 11, which means I have most of the day free. We just have to go to Cheddars here in a little bit to switch our shifts.

Last Training Day!!!

So, today was my last day of training; my trainer was Hilary and she rocks! She totally made up for the fact that my previous trainer was an asshole. I am totally confident now that I will be able to take care of my two tables on Tuesday. I don't have to work tomorrow, but I do have a few errands to take care of, mainly, taking Jody to the vet. She was all sneezy, so they gave her some meds (which, oddly enough, is one of the same things I take for my urticaria, only they gave her a bigger dosage), and said to come back in a couple weeks to get her shots, as they wouldn't give them when she was on medication. So, she's gonna get her shots and her heartworm/flea stuff, and her county tag.... and then we will find a different vet to go to. The people are nice enough, and they seem competent, but I just didn't find the place very professional. Much too girly and cutesy for my taste (and M's).

A post that isn't mostly about work!

Ok: work related - I went in this morning at 9:00 am and did my bar class and test. Yay, done.

Non-work related - Then I went shopping, just a few mundane things: prescription, cereal, bananas... that was pretty much it. I did go to Dillards to get 2 more of my wine glasses with the gift card I got from one of my cousins, and I was going to get pants, but they only has size 0 in the ones I wanted.... so I walked out of the mall empty-handed... kinda sad, but whatever (oh, I did get a Godiva Chocolate bar... yum!) I've kinda gotten behind in chores and things because I've been either working, studying for work, or playing WoW.... I finally got the floors vacuumed and mopped, but now I need to fix my desk (it's the old secretary kind with the fold down lid/desktop, and the desktop thing is sagging a little because the chain stretched since my mom put it on), and I need to write more thank-you notes. That will be something I will be SO glad to get finished! Ugh... writing....

3rd day of Server training

So , my third training day was today, and something was messed up in the schedules, so my trainer was not there..... So, they assigned some other guy to train me. He was either in a bad mood about having to train me, or he is just normally an asshole. Either way, he was definately not a good trainer. I was supposed to have a little more freedom today, and basically have two tables just for me to take care of, but he made me follow him around like a little puppy. I went off to fill glasses and pre-bus tables, and he basically chewed me out when I got back. Every time I did something, he had something negative to say about it. Apparently, he has never heard the term "constructive criticism". I admit, I need to work on talking to people, asking the correct questions, and I need to be quicker at everything. But, jeez, putting down everything that someone does or says is not the best teaching method. ugh... plus, I need to re-take my bar test. I didn't do so well on the wine part or the pricing part.

Second day of server training

So, second day of training was even more tiring and hectic-feeling than the first day. I took orders, put in orders, filled drinks, even carried a tray. We had the same side-work today as yesterday - salad station stocking. I went in at 3:00, did my squirrel training (6 orders on the crappiest machine in the place), did another food test, then did a cash-out worksheet, which was easy, but I looked in the wrong spot for the totals, so I got 4 things wrong, but it wasn't really a big deal. When my trainer finally got there (at 5:00) and graded my tests, and let me correct most of the ones I got wrong. Tomorrow (or I guess, today, lol) I don't have to work - which is awesome. I can study for my bar test, which is pretty intense and in detail. The hardest part is knowing all the wines and their costs, and knowing all the ingredients of some of the mixed drinks. It's kinda stupid, cuz the bartender makes the drinks, not me, but whatever. Friday is my third day of training, and I get even more responsibility. My main things I think I need to focus on right now are: writing down orders quickly and correctly, getting drinks and apps out quickly, punching things in the squirrel quickly and correctly, keeping drinks filled, fixing salads and making sure they get out before the meals, being friendly and personable with the guests, gettting to know my co-workers, and doing all my side work and closing work quickly and correctly. A lot, I know, but I really want to get really good at this, because that's how you make money as a server..... so I really have to figure it all out really fast. I think being by myself might actually be easier in some ways, because I will be able to do things my way, and I will only have myself to rely on. I won't have to wonder whether or not I should do it, or if my trainer has already done it. I've also got to figure out some type of eating schedule that is more conducive to being able to get through a shift without wanting to steal some food. It's been nice, because since I'm training, my trainer and I get to split a meal for free. But, once my training ends.... no more free food. Discounted, yes... free, no. Ugh.. I'm just exhausted, and have so many things going through my mind. Half the time I think I'm never going to be good at this, and other times I think that I will be pretty good at it once I figure it all out and become more efficient. So, yeah.... bedtime.... or actually, shower-time, then movie-in-bed-until-I-fall-asleep-time. I'm watching Underworld, a vampire and werewolf movie.... I've seen it before... it's my kind of movie.

Server Training

Yesterday was my first day of server training. I had to take 2 menu tests and a table chart test. Then I followed Trey around while he did all the server stuff. I got a quick tour of the kitchen and various freezers and storage areas. I practiced writing the orders while he wrote them, and discovered I really need to work on my shorthand. I had a practice order to punch in to the squirrel, plus Trey showed me how to figure up how much I owe the restaurant at the end of the night. Later, Dakota and I went to her place and studied the bar test stuff, and then we went to eat at Cheddar's - yay for employee discount! Today is my second day - I have another menu test, and I have to do more squirrel practice. Me. Taking orders. ..... "Hi, my name is Amy and I'll be your server today. Would you like to start off with some iced tea and some chips & queso?" I have a hard time practicing that because I thinkI just sound stupid..... Oh, well....

2nd (and last) day of hostess training

So, this time I worked the dinner shift... and wow, was it busy! I have a new respect for hostesses. They don't just stand there and then walk you to your table. They are constantly circulating around the restaurant checking on the status of tables, gathering menus and more silverware. Plus, they are in charge of stocking the bathrooms, cleaning the glass front doors, and cleaning the highchairs and booster seats, and moving tables around if need be. I'm sure it doesn't really sound like much, but I was exhausted after 4 hours.

More QA training

I had my second day of QA training yesterday, and I'm having my 3rd and last day today. Also, yesterday I found out that I made a 86 on my pretest.. which means I have to take it again (I have to get a 90 or above). So, I've been studying, last night and this morning to get ready to take it again. Wish me luck!

First day of hostess training

So, today was my first day in hostess training. It wasn't all that bad. I had to learn what the numbers of the tables were, which was pretty easy. There were two other hostesses: one was the coordinator, which meant she was in charge of saying who is seated where, and one was the greeter, which meant she was in charge of taking down names when there was a waiting list. All of us were seaters, which meant we sat people at tables, except the greeter when we were busy and there was a wait list she had to stay at the front. Hostesses are also in charge of making sure the bathrooms are kept clean and stocked, so I had to check the bathrooms a couple of times, and fill the soap dispenser once. I was gonna take my pre-test today, but I had mis-understood what was on it - it wasn't just what we went over in orientation, it was also over the menu, so I instead decided to take it tomorrow, so I studied it quite a bit after I got off work, and will study it some more in the morning before I go take the test. I have to make a 90% or higher... I think I'll do ok. I also had some wow-time this evening - did a few battlegrounds, almost finished a quest... Anyways, I should probably go to bed; I haven't gotten enough sleep the last few nights.... may not get enough tonight either....

Oh, so I worked from 10:30 to about 2:40... so, I was on my feet a little longer than yesterday.. and I was ready to sit down after that!

First day of QA training

Well, I went to my first day of QA (quality assurance) training. It was only an hour and a half long, but it was during lunch time, so it was super busy. Basically, I learned what QA does, which is: look at the tickets after the cooks have prepared the meals, put the plates on the tray in the order in which they are on the ticket, add gravy, salad dressings, crackers, etc. Then they call the "runners" to take the orders to the tables if the servers aren't already back there. Very, very fast paced. Mostly, I just watched, but I also helped to put gravy on potatoes and chicken-fried steak, and the tortilla strips on the tortilla souop. It's not a job I'll probably ever do, but I still have to observe them, mostly I think because I am supposed to know what all the different dishes look like. Tomorrow is seater (hostess) training, plus my "pre-test" over the basic info we went over during orientation. Oh, and I also learned how to "punch-in", using the computer.

Orientation

So, I went to my job orientation at Cheddars today. Did some paperwork, went through basic info and policies that employees need to know. Went on a brief tour, got our schedules for the next two weeks, which will consist of training in different areas; QA (food prep-type stuff), Seater (hostess), and server, plus there is a class over bar information and another over how to use their computer system. Then, I went shopping (not the funnest shopping experience in the world, btw), and purchased these lovely (and I say that with as much sarcasm as possible) non-slip shoes, and some black pants to work in that are.. ok... but not great looking. I bought my uniform shirt at the restaurant to wear as a server, but since I will have a least a couple days as a hostess, I needed something to wear. The rules for hostess shirts are solid in color and conservative.. so I bought 2 shirts that fit that description at Dillards (plus, they are cute and I would actually wear them otherwise) for only 7.50 each! Quite the steal, I think. So, I'm all ready for work, except I need a black belt.... *sigh* .. forgot about that until just now.... Oh well, it can wait until tomorrow, or Monday morning even. My first training is QA on Monday, so we'll see how that goes.

Haircut!

So, I got my hair cut! I had grown in out for the wedding, and it was about mid-way down my back... Now the longest pieces are at my shoulders, and the shortest pieces are at my chin. Plus, I got it highlighted, which is a first for me. Now to go buy a flatiron so I can actually make it look like something!

Yay, Job!

So, I was turned down by Red Lobster, but I had an interview at Cheddar's - and I have orientation on Saturday! Yay for being gainfully employed!

Job Hunting

So, I woke up later than intended today, but I did manage to apply at 4 different places, and get a little cleaning done. I applied at Cheddar's and got a preliminary interview, and I have my second one tomorrow. I also applied at Texas Roadhouse, Starbucks, and Red Lobster. Also, M has an interview tomorrow at Reynolds & Reynolds, some kind of computer-related company... Hopefully one of us will get some good news. :)

First Post

So, this is my first post.... and I don't really know what to say. I guess I'll just state some background information. My name is Amy. I've recently graduated college and gotten married. I'm currently applying to grad school and job-hunting. My husband (M) and I have been in our new apartment for a little over 2 weeks now, and we've pretty much gotten settled in. We spent the weekend traveling here, there and everywhere, and we're finally back home. Home... it's amazing that in less than 3 weeks I've already starting calling our little apartment home. Anyways, we brought a whole pick-up truck full of stuff back from our second wedding reception (my mom-in-law threw a second reception for all the friends and family on that side who weren't willing to travel 6-8 hours for a wedding), plus some of my stuff that my mom had at the ranch. I've finally gotten all of it unpacked, and now the house is kinda messy. Tomorrow is going to be really busy... cleaning, finding a job... *sigh*