Weight Watchers

Athan & I weighed Lucy today and she weighs 35 pounds!! She's lost five pounds since Feb/Mar when she was last at the vet, and four pounds since we weighed her in August!! This is extremely exciting considering the vet said she is supposed to weigh around 25 pounds. I just want her to get to 30 because she is naturally voluptuous :) Aaaaand also I just bought her fancy gluten-free dog food. If you can't tell she is one very loved beagle.

Come On Baby, Give Me a Promotion

Please read above title to the tune of "The Locomotion." I know I am a loser but I have been working 12 hour days this week and it made me feel clever when I thought of it.

Tomorrow is a big day. It is my interview for a promotion. The job that I would get if I do get the promotion is probably one of the most important roles at work. Due to tons of middle management and the general "please shoot me" look I get when I try to explain working for a major fiber optic cable company, just think of it as the UltraMiddleMan. This job is the only link between about 5 different departments. The person in this job does everything.

There are about a million reasons why I want this job but here are the top three:
1. My current department is being downsized. That dreaded word. Someone got fired this week and based on the lack of papers sitting in my file right now, I can't say I'm terribly confident my boss's boss isn't going to wonder why we have 2 copyeditors.
2. The promotion comes along with a huge salary increase, meaning I would be able to quit my second job, meaning I would be back to regular work hours. Also the benefits are crazy. 3 weeks paid vacation. Yes please.
3. Experience. This job encompasses so many things I could apply it to pretty much any other job I will ever want in my life. So many doors would be open.

Buuuuuuut the competition is really tough. They are interviewing outside candidates (people not already affiliated with the company), other people on my current job level (specifically the only other person my age, who I also interviewed against for my current job...but more on that later) and people from Corporate. Which is in New York. And yes I capitalized corporate for effect. Like it's big and scary.

I'd like to think I have a legitimate shot. I mean I know all the people in the department already and have done jobs for them and also created their current job-planning system/tool. What scares me is the other girl my age. She is super nice and a really good worker, so I am kind of afraid. The reason she works there even though she didn't get my job is because they hired her to cover for someone on maternity leave, and they really liked her, so now they are trying to find a job for her so they can keep her. Here is the ironic thing though. My job is not full time - her temp position was. Temping also gave her a lot of skills and know-how that will be great for the promotion. If she gets it and I do not, I can't help but be upset because it doesn't seem fair, in the grand scheme of life and whatnot, that by not getting a job she wanted, she ended up with a way better deal than the person who did get the job. And even though I said that, I would be happy for her if she got it and I didn't because it's not like they'd be taking my job away (for now at least!) and I like working with her. I would just be in awe of my really shitty luck.

If I don't get the promotion, I am strongly considering moving back to VA. Not to NOVA though (that probably will never happen) but to Richmond or Newport News. The economy in NC is still terrible and if they do end up chopping up my department, I'll be hard pressed to find something else here.

I guess I will have to wait and see how it goes! I'm nervous and excited and trying to figure out what to wear. I'm going to a bar tonight with some friends and Athan to at least take my mind off of it. I wish I could just get drunk and not physically be able to think about it, but I don't think showing up tomorrow hungover and smelling like Miller High Life would properly showcase my talents to the interview panel.

I Take My Cues from iGoogle

My horoscope today:

Your recent exploration of the more serious side of life isn't over, but now you need to have some fun. You might even feel as if you are making up for lost time as you reconnect with your inner child. Give yourself permission to be playfully creative and express yourself spontaneously today, yet be aware that you cannot avoid the real issues in your life that need to be addressed. But don't be impatient; the bigger changes you seek will take time to unfold.

Pretty sure it is telling me to go get drunk at Fast Lane tonight and stop worrying about whether or not I am going to get the promotion I applied for. Done.

I Need to Get This Off My Chest

"Party in the USA" by Miley Cyrus SUCKS. It is the absolute worst fucking song I have ever had the displeasure of being subjected to. Seriously. I cannot believe it is popular. I'm no music snob and I like cute & catchy silly songs as much as the next girl, but this is terrible. Also why do adult women like Miley Cyrus?! She was created for tweens! Liking things you see on Disney Channel is NOT COOL if you are 20+. Let the 10-12 year olds have her.

Eyes on the Prize

It's beautiful outside today. Athan and I opened a joint bank account today too! Very exciting. I'm so happy to FINALLY be able to start putting some money away. Even if it's small amounts, every penny counts. Also I got my $200 worth of Verizon rebates in the mail today from when we bought our new phones about a month ago, so that was awesome too. After that bank Athan and I drove down to Lake Hickory and oogled all the pretty houses in Northwest. And tonight we're going to wine tasting! So overall, a good day.

Great Day

Today is awesome because:

1. I am officially a ggbig :)
2. Jim & Pam's wedding on The Office is TONIGHT
3. I got hired at a second job (FINALLY) at a spa as a receptionist!

Today was my interview for the receptionist job and they liked me so much they hired me on the spot! I am so happy that I will finally have something to do to make a little extra money. Of course, though, as with most things in life, there is one bad part. The day I am scheduled to start...is also the same day I am supposed to be doing auditioning at my day job. And the auditioning was supposed to make me stay late. Buuuuuut I think I can figure something out. I'll just skip the late session. It's not like I am the #1 decision maker and I get to write the script and also all of the auditions will be on tape so I'll get to see anyone I missed. What's important is that I know I got the days off at my new job for when we go to Charlotte for filming for Corning :) That's the exciting part! I've def sat in on enough auditions in my day, missing a couple won't kill me. Alsoooo if someone in my office had actually done their job and had I know before TODAY what day the auditions were going to be I probably could have planned better. But that's neither here nor there.

I'm not going to let any minor snag annoy me. I am so excited to work in such a girlie atmosphere with PEOPLE MY OWN AGE. Alsoooooo I get to try their expensive makeup products FO FREE and am totally going to get my eyebrows done fo free and get my nails done maybe fo free. I get to try all the services so I can better describe them to the customers. It reminds me of how I got free bras and perfume at Victorias Secret only this is way better and the job is not slave labor.

You Know You're on Your Period When...

This video came on at the gym and I almost cried and fell off my tredmill. Country music is so intense.

Call Back

What is it with employers these days that they no longer have the courtesy to call you back after an interview and let you know the result?

I have been looking for a part time job, just to make a little extra cash, and was recently interviewed at an afterschool program. The interview went well (although the interviewer was extremely frazzled and stopped to answer her cell phone and have conversation TWICE) and she said she'd let me know by the end of the week.

Well, soon it was the end of the week. No response. So I sent her a quick email thanking her for the interview and asking if they had made a decision or when I could expect to hear back from her. Nothing. And now the date has arrived that the new person would supposedly be hired, and I am just wondering where the common courtesy of letting someone know they did not get the job went? I am a recent college graduate in the WORST economic climate in memory, believe me, my skin is tough enough for the turn down phonecall. I don't believe you are sparing anyone's feelings by not letting them know the outcome of an interview. Also, the opportunity to get advice and feedback as to why you didn't get the job is COMPLETELY lost. How is someone supposed to learn from these experiences? Employers are doing everyone a complete disservice by blowing off whoever didn't make the cut. This is definitely not the first job I have interviewed for and then NEVER heard back about. A few years ago I think a general practice of just not informing applicants of their status would be completely unheard of. I refuse to believe anyone is so pressed for time they cannot type out a generic three line regret email and BCC it to every person who interviewed but was not offered a job. When I interned at Rosetta Stone sending out notifications about not getting a job was part of MY JOB. So I know exactly how little effort or thought it is possible to involve.

It is just frustrating to think that employers no longer think they need to treat applicants with common courtesy.

So that is my rant about that. And now back to filling out more applications I will probably never hear anything back about.

Falling into Place

I am really sucking at updating this.

On the grandpa front, things are back to okay now. The blood clot dissolved and he stayed with my parents until a day or two ago and is back in Florida now, so that is good.

On the Athan's job front, no news from Richmond. And while I'd never say I was happy that someone didn't get a thing they wanted, I can say I feel relief. For now anyway. Still hopeful something will come through for him soon, regardless of location.

It's October now, which is my favorite month, especially this year because I have a lot of things to look forward to. First, I will be making my first return trip to NoVa since moving here three months ago. Second, my birthday. Maybe its obnoxious to be turning 22 and still loving that I get a day dedicated to myself, but I can't help it. I like other people's birthdays almost as much as I like my own. I just like celebrations I guess. Third, I will be going to JMU Homecoming as an Alum for the first time ever. Fourth, I find out who the newest addition to Absolut family is. And fifth, I get to spend my free time here doing fun autumn things like planting perennials, pumpkin patch visiting, apple picking, and driving on the Blue Ridge Parkway during peak. Oh yeah and I almost forgot a potential sixth - if I can fenagle getting up to NoVa a second time, I can see my good friend Jamie for the first time since JUNE. That is such a stupid amount of time to have not seen a close friend, I can barely handle it. Hopefully it will all work out and I can get my ass up there. Am considering asking to work from home so I can get some days off without costing me any money.

Another surefire sign of fall's presence is that I think I am starting to get a sinus infection. Lots of people at work come to work sick, and although I have been extremely diligent about disinfecting and cleaning my desk regularly, I apparently have not totally safeguarded myself from the germs meandering in our HORRIBLEY ventilated office. I work basically in a cubical, which is in a larger cubical, which is in large square area of the building that pretty much is like a cubical as well. AKA I am about four layers of walls away from any kind of window or door to the outside world. The air in my office feels like it has been lingering in there for years.

A big development in my life is that I have officially decided to put myself on a budget. I desperately want to have enough money saved to start paying for graduate school in the fall. Of course I can only go part-time, which is good though because it means I have to save less. It's just very hard right now because I have had a sort of "Oh, this will all even out by next paycheck" attitude about all of my spending and have yet to actually sit down and figure out a plan. But I did that at work yesterday when I had nothing to do and I think I have developed something I can actually live with. Paying bills and worrying about things like insurance are definitely a part of adult life I could do without. Pretty sure every adult human agrees with that.

Just found out my grandpa might be/is having another stroke. He had one around Christmas when I was a freshman in college and I spent the whole break taking care of him while he lived with us to recover. My mom said she talked to him on the phone and that he remembered today would have been my Grandma's birthday so I guess that's good and means he isn't too bad off. The doctors think it might be a series of small strokes or something? I don't really know. I am just really hating that he lives so far away and I can't visit him. I guess the plan is my mom and dad are driving right now from VA to FL where my grandpa is and if he is well enough to leave the hospital, he's coming to live with us. If he isn't well, my mom is going to stay down there with him as long as she needs to. If you're reading this, please keep him in your thoughts.

Dazed & Confused

Since accepting my current job and making the big move down to NC, I have gotten one firm job offer (at a place I had interviewed at SIX MONTHS before) and two other calls with interest in me. All three jobs were at home in Northern Virginia, and when they called it was easy to say, "No thanks, I've already accepted a different offer," but now I find myself wondering if I made the right decision.

We have no way of knowing the future, so I have always tried to do the best I can with whatever information I have on hand when it comes time to make a decision. I make the decision to take my current job and to move to NC over a weekend, and was at my house here literally two days after I was hired. So maybe it was how quickly it happened that didn't give me a chance to mull it over.

Ever since my family moved from NC to VA when I was 10, I have known that Northern Virginia is 100% absolutely not the place I want to spend the rest of my life. It's too crowded, I don't like the people, traffic impacts even the simplest plans to drive somewhere and it has never truly felt like "home." For the past four years Harrisonburg was my home, so when I started looking for jobs the location was important. I was searching basically everywhere in the state of Virginia (except the little western part that sticks out...) and other states I thought might be cool. I knew that by choosing a job, I'd either be choosing a new home, or finally accepting Northern Virginia as my home.

I realized today I have lived in Hickory for about 7 weeks, and what do I have to show for it? A house with random home improvements, a new driver's license, NC license plates, and a pair of cowboy boots. Friends my own age? No. Membership in an organization? No. Any kind of social interaction outside of Monday Trivia Night? No. And to add to my complete lack of progress here, I find out today that Athan is being considered for a job in Richmond. It's so frustrating.

I wish I could have been able to see the future and see that Athan wouldn't be having any luck getting jobs in NC, but tons of connections in VA, and I wouldn't have set about the process of really trying to ingrain myself here. What sucks even more is that I am not socially adjusted, merely governmentally and administratively committed to this new home. If I could have known all this, my parents wouldn't have just spent a thousand dollars renting a truck last weekend and bringing all my furniture down here. I could have kept my state residency in Virginia and enrolled in grad school next year, like I wanted to down here. But now there is a whole mess is front of me. If Athan gets this job, what do I do? I don't want to live six hours apart from him. Having him here made living here easy and fun. Now when I think about being here alone I just feel...well, lonely. I wanted to live in NC because we had both said we liked the state and wanted to end up here someday. Did I pick a day way too soon? Is "someday" not a real thing?

I am just feeling really conflicted. I love the lifestyle here but what's better: nearby family & friends in a congested and annoying area or a slow paced, enjoyable lifestyle with absolutely no one to share it with? I'm so nervous about this Richmond thing. I'm a pretty flexible person and it's not the actual act of moving or the location that I would be opposed to...it's the fact that moving would set me back so far in the progress I am making and literally put me back at step one. Not to mention the wasted finances on both mine and my parents' parts. I know an actual concrete job offer doesn't exist yet, but I it's worth thinking about to me because I want to know what I should do if it does happen. I feel so unprepared and unequipped to deal with this life challenge.

these boots were made for walking

Yesterday I went shopping for the first time in what seems like forever. I am living on an extremely tight budget and finally managed to save some money so I told myself that I deserved to finally buy something that was for ME and was not edible. So I went to Marshalls (a pretty safe bet when you are broke) and even though it took me three hours, I found three good additions to my wardrobe (all dresses) and only spent $50. I was so happy with how good I did I figured while I was at it I would just drop over by TJ Maxx and check out the shoes.

And I left with cowboy boots.

Is that stupid? Are they stylish? Fashion sense does not come naturally to me, I really have to work hard at trying to put together acceptable outfits. I know I like the boots...I just don't know if I look like a jackass in them. I mean, they aren't like down-home-on-the-range style cowboy boots. They have a low square heel and are suede. They also are not the orangey-clay color leather that I personally associate with generic cowboy boots, and don't have any weird embroidery. So I guess what I am trying to say is that they are more of a hybrid between a cowboy boot and a cute casual, outdoorsy boot.

On the bright side of my "are they cool" dilemma is the fact that this is the South, and cowboy boots are not terribly out of the ordinary.

Preview of My Week

Today at work, for the first time in about two weeks, I had work to do. Real, actual, necessary work and not random powerpoints or excel sheets that I assign to myself to fill time and use as proof to my boss that I am actually needed in the office. It was so nice to not stare at the computer clock wondering why it was only 9:07am and if anyone was going to walk by my cubical and hand me a job. Editing isn't particularly exciting work in the sense the pace is pretty much always the same, but I like it, and I missed doing it. I love X-ing out commas and inserting semicolons. I also love reworking poorly written sentences. The part of editing I do not like at all is checking the stupid figures and charts in all of our spec sheets because they are just endless lists of numbers that don't mean anything to me because I don't understand the technology. So basically when I get to that part I have to compare every single digit on the page to another master page that the figures come from. Aaaand now you're asleep from reading this. The complete boredom anyone reading this is suffering from is the reason why the TSC department had a whopping 12 graduates this year. No one ever accused technical communication of being interesting.

Athan left for Newport News today and I am on my own until I drive up and meet him there on Friday. Soooo of course I have made plans to fill this week doing all the things he probably wouldn't have wanted to be a part of:

1. Cleaning out the refridgerator by not going to the grocery store and subsisting entirely off of leftovers and frozen things
2. Makeup shopping
3. Work clothes shopping
4. Tablecloth shopping (we got a new kitchen table...which is actually just my old kitchen table from college but whatev)
5. Listening to girly music
6. Watching HGTV and A Baby Story and I Didn't Know I Was Pregnant and 16 and Pregnant and any other shows about pregnancy and interior decorating
7. Putting down yet another floor in the hallway closet to put the clothes washer & dryer being delivered tomorrow on
8. Doing laundry in said washer & dryer
9. Giving Lucy a bath
10. Cleaning this entire house because it needs it BADLY

Also tonight is Monday Night Football which means the first Patriots game of the season!! Very excited! The Patriots jersey my mother bought me is a child size XXL and the one she bought my brother is an adult size XL so we can watch the game here in private looking like idiots in our way too big jerseys/dresses. My mom really needs to rethink her sizing choices.

Big Plans

Well, I officially booked a hotel for Homecoming Weekend at JMU! I know most people just stay with their friends at their apartments but I felt uncomfortable asking someone to let me and Athan both stay there. Plus I am now rocking grandma-status and can't stay up as late as back in the day before I had a real job and don't want to be such a loser trying to crash on someone's couch at like 10pm. So anyway I will be staying at one of the creepiest (and, of course, cheapest) hotels in Harrisonburg...the Red Carpet Inn! Classy, classy. Will probably bring my own blankets. It's not close enough to walk anywhere but I don't mind paying for the cab ride at the end of the night if it means I get to do things at my own pace and won't be putting anyone out. Plus its practically next door to Cracker Barrel, where I can roll up for some hungover eats before driving back to NC.

Next weekend I'll be leaving Hickory for the first time since I moved here. Athan's friend just graduated from his master's program and is moving to NYC so we are going up to VA Beach for his going away party and staying at Athan's parent's house. Also it will be the first time everrrr bringing LUCY with us there. Should be interesting. I hope she behaves and stays off the furniture and doesn't try to escape and have to be chased or chew up something of value. Usually she isn't that bad but you never really know with her because she is insane.

DIY

This weekend I installed a bathroom floor. We used the vinyl tiles you can buy really cheap from Lowes and as my first attempt doing ANYTHING home-improvement related ever, I think it turned out really good. We bought a special knife for cutting the tiles but it ended up being too tall to cut right, so we had to cut the tiles with kitchen scissors. The only real problem area was around the toilet because there were all kinds of curves and hoses and things so it isn't quite 100% but I am going to fix it sometime this weekend when my dad is here and can show me the right way to do things. But I am still proud of it! It looks really good :) Hours and hours of watching HGTV paid off.

Life Lesson

Never schedule an eye appointment that requires you to get your eyes dilated and then return to your job where you read tiny print alllll day long searching for the smallest of mistakes. It was hell. Can't wait to see what frames I picked out for my new glasses - I could barely see the color or the shape so let's hope the woman helping me is moral & honest and didn't persuade me into buying something ridiculous :)


ALSO: I got my NC drivers license. They send them to you in the mail instead of just handing them over for some reason, so it will be in my possesion sometime next week. I am an offical North Carolinian.

Adrienne

My mom bought a new puppy today :) A teeny tiny chihuahua! We already had a chihuahua named Rocky so we got a girl that looks JUST like him & named her Adrienne! Just like the movies, haha. We went to the mattress store to buy me a box spring and there was a pet store next door and that's where we saw her. This is pretty much the way every single pet we've ever owned has been purchased. She is 7 weeks old tomorrow and weighs less than 1 pound! She should get to about 4 pounds when she is full grown, which is HALF the size of Rocky. I will post some pictures soon. This brings the animal total at my parents' house to: 3 dogs, 2 inside cats, 2 outside cats & 1 bird. If Lucy & I still lived there it would be FOUR dogs! That cats are also recent additions...my aunt moved in and brought Jackson, Tommy moved back in and brought Jezebel, and some neighbors abandoned their cats which we now feed but they live outside, and we named them Stella and Orange Tiger (aka Twinkle Twinkle Little Star - courtesy of my 3 year old cousin).

I guess it goes without saying we are animal people. Adrienne is technically my mother's 50th birthday present to herself, which is funny because her birthday is next month and TODAY is my dad's birthday. But we asked permission before we bought her so that's fair, right? My mom got him tickets to see the Pats/Redskins game so that's got to soften the blow a little.

Another Hit

Today when I was sitting on our porch eating lunch with my dad & my aunt I went to casually rest my arm on my chair and...got stung by a wasp. AGAIN.

This one was significantly less traumatic than yesterday. It didn't get me as good as his cousin. I think it was family revenge. Our backyard is basically a wasp mafia and I am apparently at the top of the hit list after my viscious murder of one of their bretheren yesterday.

It got me on my pinkie, on the same hand as yesterday. It was mostly just annoying because it swelled up and I had already used my only onion so I put ice on it instead. Then the sting on my palm sypathetically re-swelled.

That's 3 bee stings in a little over a month. I have managed to double the number of times I have been stung by a bee! Years from now I will remember this as the summer of bee stings.

In related news my mother and I are purchasing wasp killer at Home Depot tomorrow.

Unpleasant Surprise

So since today is Friday and I didn't feel like going to the gym, I thought I would give swimming laps in my pool a try. It's bigger than the usual kidney-shaped pool, but still not quite the distance a lap lane would be. Athan had tried to get me to do it while he was here and I kept telling him I couldn't do any strokes because I don't have goggles. The reality is I am really bad at swimming laps and I was embarassed to have him see me struggle through it. But with him gone I thought today would be a great opportunity to give it a shot sans-audience, because Lucy doesn't judge me.

I hate opening my eyes underwater but I convinced myself it was for the good of my health, and was able to ignore the burn. Even though I can't maintain a straight line and sometimes don't lift my face up high enough to inhale air instead of water, I wasn't doing too bad. There has been a raft floating in my pool for like a week now because I am too lazy to put it back in the shed where we store our pool toys, and since me swimming was making big splashes, it started to float over to the half of the pool I was using as my "lane." I was really enjoying swimming laps but since I am out of shape I was starting to get tired after about 15 minutes. I decided to do just a few more and then give myself a break. From the shallow end I lifted my head up and saw the raft was exactly where I needed to turn on the wall of the deep end. I came flying at the raft at full speed and instead of hitting the wall with my left hand, I slammed it down on the raft, planning to push it away as I turned the rest of my body.

What happened what not what was planned. Instead of slamming down onto the raft, I slammed my hand down directly on top of a giant wasp. Of course I didn't know this at the time and when I jerked my hand up and my face out of the water to examine it, I expected to see two daggers sticking out of my palm and blood gushing into the water. What I actually saw was the nasty wasp, which I then drown out of hatred.

I probably set a new world record swimming back to the shallow end of the pool to get out, rhythmically chanting "fuck fuck fuck" the whole way. Only ONE month ago I was up visiting Athan when I stepped on top of a bee in his backyard and got stung on the bottom of my foot. Before this summer I hadn't gotten stung by anything since I was in sixth grade! My foot bee-sting bothered me for like 2 weeks after it actually happened, occasionally itching or swelling up for no reason.

Remembering my Back Yard Bee Sting Incident of 2009, I dried off and put the remainder of an onion Athan and I had bought onto my palm to stop the swelling. His mom had showed me the trick and it had helped a lot for my foot. The stupid bastard wasp must have stung me twice, if that is even possible, because it looks like I had 2 different stings about a centimeter from each other. I went to the bathroom and since the onion was offering no immediate relief, I was beginning to convince myself I was actually stung by a new poisonous insect and that the numbness I felt in my hand was actually the first sign of a heart attack. So I put the onion down on the counter and got into the shower so I could run hot water over my hand. While I was in there I was in a limbo between wanting to cry and wanting to puke, that's how bad my sting hurt. After about ten minutes, though, the swelling started to go down so I got out and put the onion back on, which helped even more.

I swear I am not usually that big of a baby but this was terrible. I hate insects. And of course now I am paranoid about bugs in the pool stinging me when I am not looking.

Moral of the story: Attempting to be healthy causes extreme pain and misfortune. Haha.

Updates

Things at work have been extremely exciting this week! I was asked to write the script for our newest promo video. It is a HUGE opportunity, especially considering I have only worked there one month, and I know a lot of other people there wanted to do it. So I have been working really hard and writing draft after draft after draft. It required a lot of research because before last month, I literally didn't even know what fiber optic cable was or how it worked. And now I am advertising it! Insanity. We went to a demo yesterday where a technician showed my department how to use our product and then showed us its competing technologies. As good as I thought my three fully developed scripts were (people like to have options so I did three similar ones, pretty much the same idea but variations on the focus) I kept feeling like a more creative aspect was missing.

Then this morning when I was sitting at my desk, it just HIT me. I just suddenly had a brilliantly creative idea, and immediately wrote a completely different script. My boss loved it, so now we have sent 2 options to the department that requested the video. One is my creative stroke of genius (haha) and the other is a blend of my 3 previous scripts. There isn't anything wrong with the non-creative one, I just really like the idea behind the one I wrote this morning better. Plus I feel like I do better writing dialogue than just straight information. And I know its very sorority-girl of me but there is also a tshirt design associated with the creative script and I would REALLY like to make tshirts. I can't help it - old habits die hard and this will be my first event-related tshirt-free year in a while.

In other news, Athan left this morning. He was here for a long time so it sucks that he left, but hopefully when he comes back on the 24th it will be for good! We went a ton of places when he was here too. Old Salem, Grandfather Mountain, Glenn Hilton Park (okay, so this is just a local place with a good frisbee golf course and trails, but hey), JJ's, the Moosehead in Charlotte...it was so much fun. Now its back to being just me and LuDoggie [and my "roommates" - aunt & uncle]. But not for long, because my family is coming down this weekend and staying for a week. It should be pretty crazy when everyone is here but I am looking forward to all the FREE FOOD. You never realize how expensive the grocery store is until you pay for your own food. Also sales tax here is 7%, which is like 2 %or 3% higher than what I was used to in VA.

Anways, here are some pictures from Grandfather Mountain that I took this week. It's really beautiful but windyyyy. Athan bought me some fudge at a store up there too but unfortunately crazy bandit Lucy somehow got it off my desk (HOW?!) and ate most of it. Luckily she has a digestive system similar to an industrial garbage disposal and didn't get sick. I think her body should be preserved for science. She is obviously much more evolved that your average beagle-mutt.

Grandfather mountain & hanging bridge. +5000 ft. elevation

Athan at the top of the mountain

Not only are you strongly ENCOURAGED to feed the bears, food is provided. Basically almost no fencing is involved.

Because of my love for my sorority, I called him the Phi Bear

Top Ten

My top ten favorite things about living in Hickory & greater Western North Carolina. In no particular order.

1. I have a 15 minute commute to work. If I hit all green lights, it can be 10 minutes. And my work is on the other side of the town! There is NEVER TRAFFIC here. It rules.

2. Trivia Night @ JJ's. JJ's is a bar/discount movie theatre in Morganton. It's a truly fantastic combination. The owner loves me and Athan and we have come so close to winning twice but always get the final question wrong and end up losing our points (its Jeopardy style). We eat popcorn and drink beer and watch wrestling or football on the big screen. Also in the bathroom stalls there is a fold-up table where you can rest your drink. Genius.

3. Having a pool. It has been 90+ degrees every day for about a week, which means when I get home from work at noon I can go for a swim right away. It's so refreshing and its a good place to do a workout.

4. Live jazz on Sundays at the Hickory Tap Room. It brews all its own beers and has really good food and all the performers have been great too.

5. Lowes Foods. A fantastic grocery store. Also I love Harris Teeter but we had one at home.

6. Locally grown produce. There is an abundance, mostly located on roadside stands

7. Drive-thru japanese hibachi. Yes. There are like 5 just on the main road. It costs between $5 and $9 for something basic like teryaki steak or chicken and carrots and a ton of rice. Honestly it's almost the same quality as an expensive Japanese grille.

8. Kiss 95.1 MyPod lunch. I don't know if something similar exists on radio stations elsewhere, but even if it did, I doubt it is as good. From noon to one they play some of the most hilarious, random and nostalgic music ever and I love it.

9. Old Salem. I know people think historical reenactments are lame, but at Old Salem they have one of the best bakeries EVER. It's beautiful but also insane because Old Salem is so quaint, but when you come to the end of it you are standing in the shadows of Winston-Salem's monstrous downtown city buildings.

10. Directions are given by landmark, not by road. That is because Hickory is on a grid system and all the streets have names like "7th Ave St NW" or "18th Cir Pl SE." Personally I live on a St Cir NE. So when you get directions people say things like, "turn right at Sandy Ridge Baptist Church and left at the empty lot that used to be a bank." It might seem annoying but the landmarks are embedded in the minds of everyone in the city, and you can have an emotional connection with the person or the place right away. That never happens with plain street names.

Fort Defiance

I was having a lazy Sunday today while my uncle was painting my new bedroom for me, so I decided to get in my car and go for a scenic drive. I ended up going to Lenoir, where I found Fort Defiance. It isn't actually a fort (don't you love names with no purpose?), it's the Lenoir house. William Lenoir was a pretty important guy back in the day and his family lived there from the 1770s to the 1920s. He was a general that served in the Revolutionary War, served in both houses of NC congress, was part of the Constitutional Convention as a delegate, and also played a big role in UNC Chapel Hill. The tour was obviously very informative since I had never heard of him until I rolled up to the Visitor Center. The house is completely restored and in a really beautiful area. It used to be a plantation but all that's preserved is the house and the extremely creepy graveyard that is for some reason located adjacent to the parking lot.

Even though it was 90 degrees outside and there were only 4 people on our tour (including myself), our guide was still a) extremely excited about being a guide b) obviously very into history and very in love with the Lenoirs and c) dressed head to toe in 1800s attire. He was sweating like CRAZY. There was actually a lot of excitement because the tour group consisted of myself, the tallest woman I have ever seen in my life, an 80 year old man with a cane and a 75 year old tiny woman, and when we went upstairs the old lady collapsed from the heat and we had to call the paramedics! It was crazy. What was weird was that her niece, the tall woman, didn't think it was too concerning and while we were waiting on the paramedics she finished the tour with me. Another weird thing I noted during the collapse drama was that the director of Fort Defiance was a) barefoot and b) wearing a tshirt that said "Last of the Mohicans." Why didn't she have to dress up?

When the tour guide found out I was working as a copyeditor he got so excited and wanted to show me all these historical documents he was transcribing which was neat, and asked me to volunteer and help him out. It seemed cool so I gave them my info, but on the drive back I realized just how far away it was so I don't think I'll get up there too often. He also invited me to volunteer at a reenactment there the last weekend of September, but when he started talking about costumes and stuff I had to politely decline. I may not know anyone around here yet, but that would still be embarrassing. Also I have no immediate desire to wear a whale-bone corset or a hoop skirt.

Part of The Grounds

Fort Defiance

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

The baseball game today ended up being a double-header, so that was awesome. At first it was overcast and muggy so we all thought it would end up getting rained out, but it held off and after the first game the sun came out and it got HOT! We got 10 "Crawdad bucks" from our office to get lunch with. The meals only cost $5-$6 soooo we all ended up getting beer too because it was $4! Free baseball + free food + free beer. Just another day at the office, haha. It was a great opportunity to get to know people at work too. I ended up just sitting and talking with all the designers almost the entire time. They're all men in their late 30s with wives and kids and all that but they are cool. I don't know why I can't manage to get more friendly with the girls at work, especially since its almost all women. I'm just shy I guess and these guys are really open and whatever so it's really easy to just have a conversation with them. Also they thought the story about me & my brothers getting in trouble when we were little for trying to rip the tail off Conrad the Crawdad (the mascot) was funny, whereas the women asked if I was the kind of kid who got in a trouble a lot. Oh well.

I am going over in my head whether or not I should be embarassed about one thing though. It was really hot out and when I got up to leave I had a feeling I had a sweat imprint of my butt on my pants, so I went to the bathroom to check and there it was. Is this embarassing? I didn't feel embarassed. Maybe that's what matters. I'm sure people saw but it's pretty obvious it was sweat, and we had to wear nice pants since we had been at work before the game so I was a lot hotter than I would have been if I could have worn shorts. I've always sweat more than usual so I guess I am just used to it now. Oh well. I can't un-sweat, and I also couldn't have just sat there until everyone else left. I feel pretty okay about it. Maybe it's considered gross but whatever.

I don't have work on Friday so I am going to try to get my drivers license changed to NC. It kind of sucks because no matter how old you are, they make you re-take the test to get a new DL or to renew one. So I have to study the stupid little book before I go. I feel like I am 15 again. I will feel like an idiot if I don't pass. At least when I get it I will FINALLY have a horizontal drivers license! No more getting shit for having a vertical one! No more being mistaken for a child?? Well, probs not that. When I walked into the baseball game today it was summer camp day, and a guy tried to hand me my complimentary happy meal. I had to reject it out of pride.

Baseball & Chocolate

I think I have the best job in the world:

Boss: Kari, on Wednesday we're all going to the Crawdads game around noon instead of coming into the office. It goes until 3:30 so you can just come in later instead of at 8 like you usually do.
Me: Oh, okay, so I'll do my hours after and stay here until 6?
Boss: No, just the game.
Me: The game counts as my hours? We're getting paid for it?
Boss: Yep. Technically it's team building. The whole department is going so there won't be any work for you to do here.


:)

The Crawdads are the local baseball team in Hickory. I used to go to their games a lot when I was little so I think its going to be really fun!

Also that conversation took place a few minutes after my boss brought us chocolate mousse cake for breakfast.

Family

My parents & brother Terry came down to visit today and they brought more of my stuff :) It keeps feeling like Friday since they are here and I have to remind myself that I still have work tomorrow! Something in the house is smelling DISGUSTING today and I can't figure out what it is. Normally I would blame our rasta dog Hercules whose hair is usually full of shit from the backyard, but he just got shaved down yesterday so his nakey self can't carry things anymore. I found out my parents moved my brother Terry's MOUSE COLLECTION (science project suddenly became multiplication & sex ed lesson) of eleven mice into my room like the day after I moved out. Can't you just feel the love? Anyway, I think their nasty stink got into everything in my room so the smell is coming from the clothes my parents bought me. My mom claims to not smell it which only confirms my suspicions its from the mice. Part of me is afraid one climbed into one of the bags of clothes they brought me and died on the carride here, which has made me afraid of unpacking. Again my mother claims she counted them all before she left, but they have escaped before.

My Life is Average

My first experience at a non-UREC gym today was fun. I was shocked when I came in at what the age range was. People were anywhere from 16 to 70+! I spotted a couple fantastic mullets too. I felt really comfortable though, which is important. My fear of already healthy/attractive people at gyms kept me out of UREC pretty much every year of college...excluding when I worked there at a summer camp for children (although a lot of them were easily more in shape than me). Maybe I am weird for being excited there were no good looking people, but I like not being worried that I am dripping in sweat and turning red while I run on a treadmill. Also a huge plus is that it only has one wall of mirrors, so I don't have to stare at myself looking awkward the whole time I am there. It's also cool because they gave me one of those key-ring barcode thingies like you get at the grocery store and all I have to do is scan it on the way in and hang up my keys on a board and I am good to go. I guess if you have ever been to a gym before this is probably pretty regular, but like I said its new for me.

Day 2 of work was good since I actually DID work today. Very fun, no more reading glossaries about fiber optic cable terminology for me! I don't think the other lady I work with could be any nicer or easier to talk to. This is the first job I have ever had where I did not constantly feel awkward or like I didn't know anything. Even after working at Victorias Secret for what felt like long enough to be considered a prison term, I still dreaded being asked any kind of questions because I was very improperly trained (i.e. not trained at all, about anything) and would pretty much just make stuff up as I went along. But since I went to college for what I am doing now, its all coming to me very naturally! SO SATISFYING - I think my parents are relieved their college tuition investment is actually being put to good use.

In other news, one crappy thing about the house here is that there is no washer and dryer :( Now that I will have smelly gym clothes, I can't just leave things lying around my room forever. So it looks like my next big adventure will be THE LAUNDROMAT. Should be interesting. I can only imagine the kinds of creeps lurking around the Hickory laundromat. Hickory isn't a city with very many apartments, meaning very few people need access to public laundry. Which means I am already afraid of the kind of people who DO. Yes, I am a judger. I am going to need to buy a big book to occupy me/keep people from talking to me on days I go over there. I think I see some Thomas Hardy in my future. Or a huge stack of magazines.

First Day

My first day of work went really well. I have my own cubical, but right now none of the lights work above it so today I sat at a table on the other side of it. There is only one other editor at the company so she showed me some basic things today and I read over some documents and am set to start editing tomorrow. Pretty much everyone I work with is a woman, and most are between 30 & 40. Also most of them are either pregnant or just had a baby. Everywhere around the office there are millions of pictures of various people's babies and "artwork" by children. I feel pressure to produce something similar on the walls of my cubical, but Lucy is the closest thing I have to a child. I love her like one at least!

My boss took me out to lunch and we went to a restaurant called Flat Rock on the same road as the office. It was mostly seafood which frightened me when I first glanced at the menu because I didn't want to be rude and say anything (I HATE seafood), but I also didn't want to submit to ordering chicken tenders in front of business associates. For a moment I seriously considered ordering the fish with the most other ingredients to drown out it's flavors so I could quickly force it down, but luckily there was a sandwich menu for lunch time. Crisis averted! My picky eating habits have put me in uncomfortable situations before and I was glad it didn't ruin things today. For an appetizer my boss ordered COLLARD GREEN WONTONS. I had no choice but to eat it, and to my surprise....it was really good! And I don't like collard greens or wontons, haha.

After work my aunt and uncle took me to their country club called Rock Barn. It's part of the neighborhood where they are building their house so they were showing me some of the ammenities and wanted to take me out to dinner. We went to McAllister's (I think that was the name) and holy crap, it was the best food EVER! I got chicken parmesan, which is one of my favorite foods, and it was the best I'd ever tasted. Everything about it was amazing. As a present for me we also got this triple chocolate cake for desert - so divine! I seriously thought I was going to explode at the end of the meal. The whole place is beautiful and I hope when I retire I can live like that too. My uncle is trying to get me golf lessons there for next week - we'll see how that goes! I've only been to the driving range once, and during that trip only a select few of my balls went more than a couple feet. I am absolutely not athletically inclined. At least I would be making the instructor truly work for his money.

And since almost all I have done is talk about FOOD I think its necessary to share that I went ahead with my plan and joined a gym today! It was only $99 for the whole year, which when I compared prices other places I realized was a really good deal! So I am going to head over there after work tomorrow and start working on getting svelte, haha. Also during the lunch today a coworker suggested that I join the book club at the library by my house, so I am going to head over there sometime tomorrow too and see when it meets and what they're reading and all that. All of my english classes in college basically felt like book clubs, so I think it would be good for me to be back in a similar environment. Plus I have tons of leisure time for reading!

Today was a day with a lot of firsts, and I had a really good time experiencing them all. Let's hope its a sign of more good things to come!

New Things

The last few days have been busy and exciting. I got a job! I had been looking since February, before I even graduated, hoping it would be a fast process. Thousands of resume submittals and five interviews later, here I am, sitting in my new (and also old) bedroom in Hickory, NC.

It's old as well as new because this is the same bedroom I lived in from when I was 2 until when I was 10. My father's job moved my family from my birthplace in Rhode Island to here, and then later to Virginia. My parent's bought the old house back a few years ago, and it was vacant until my aunt and uncle moved in a few months ago. They bought a house in Conover, the next town over, and are staying here until it is finished. I am excited to be able to continue my rent-free lifestyle. It is almost like living at school again...except my roommates are almost 60, watch golf on TV, and go to bed at 9:30.

Since the house was all ready for me to move in to, my transition from VA to NC happened over a 48 hour time period. Who would think two days could change my entire life? I didn't get a chance to say goodbye to my friends, just a text or a facebook message to most, because it almost felt like I was leaving for vacation. Only now, the night before my first day of work, is it setting in that this move is going to be permanent.

Athan was able to come up on Friday and leave today, so at least I had some familiar company during my transition. I kept thinking how nice it would be if he could live here too so that we wouldn't have to drive so far to see each other. Also, with him here it's easy to forget that I'm in a place without any friends. The town is familiar but I can't say any of the people are. Even if I saw someone I recognized, how do I begin? "Hi, I think I remember you from when I was 8." Not exactly cool. Sort of screams "CREEPER!"

I know developing friendships will take some time, but I have a few plans for meeting people:
1. Work. There are a lot of under-30s from what I saw when I came by for the interview, so I am confident there will be people I can bond with beyond just a coworker level.
2. Joining a gym. Not only do I need something to keep me from melting into the couch and spending my evenings alone with Food Network and a tub of ice cream, I have heard the gym can be a place to make friends. At the very least it will provide interaction with people my own age, even at a very basic waving-only level.
3. Church? The question mark is there for many reasons. I haven't been to a church I was actually a member of since I was 10. My mom wants me to go to our old church here, not so much for religious fulfillment as nostalgia. Athan and I went to church when he was here, but he's Catholic so we went to a church I had never been to when I lived here. I liked it, but can you join a church that belongs to a religion you are not part of? Everyone here goes to church so at least it would give me something to do on Sundays. Also every church has free coffee/donuts aka delicious breakfast. The penny-pincher and recent self bill-payer in me loves anything free. We'll see if I ever get the guts to join a congregation.

The hardest part about all of this is that I have to do things...ALONE! I have never been much of a loner, and I prefer to try new things with a partner. Living here is going to require me breaking out of my shell and leaving my comfort zone, and all other kinds of cliches about change. Even in the first few days of college I had a roommate I could convince to follow me around (although, for those who know, that ended up backfiring in the long-run). I already know that I am going to learn a lot in the next few weeks as I get settled.

As this is the night before my first day as an editor, I thought it would be fitting to read The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr. & E.B. White. It's a fantastic reference for any writer and I know I will be utilizing it for my job. I have five grammar and compostion related reference books I plan on bringing to work - hopefully it won't make me appear either a) overzealous or b) poorly trained.

And as a final note: have any other working girls noticed that female office attire is somewhat of an enigma? All day I have been mentally dressing myself for work tomorrow not knowing whether the office is business formal or business casual. Everyone was dressed so differently at my interview I don't know which person to base my attire after. I know to err on the conservative side but honestly, there is no easy answer for what a woman wears to work. This is good in the sense we aren't bound by annoyingly rigid rules, but also bad in the sense there is a very fine line between appropriate and inappropriate.