I realized I haven't updated this in months, and I don't honestly plan to for awhile, but I had to share with you all this Facebook post I saw on my wall.
One of my FB friends posted a rant about how some 'idiot' thought that chickens could come with ALL dark meat. Why someone felt so strongly about people's thoughts on chicken meat that they felt they needed to update their FB status is an entirely different story, perhaps to be addressed at another time.
Regardless, someone commented on his post and said the following (I copied and pasted):
dear *****, if your calling someone an idiot can you please use correct grammer and say "chickens do" instead of "chickens does" that way you can make yourself look smarter when trying to correct someone :)
....................................
Aaaaaand that, my friends, is what is wrong with our education system.
Monday, January 2, 2012
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Racism against Citizens
http://www.cnn.com/2011/09/29/opinion/valencia-racism-latino/index.html?hpt=hp_c1
There's a great article on CNN today about racism against Latinos - not just racism against illegal immigrants, but against US citizens as well. The article got me pretty emotional, because I know this is happening in cities all over the US every.single.day. Specifically, it happens to my grandma in Texas all the time.
My grandma is Nicaraguan. She was born in a village near Managua and moved to the US in the 1950s. Her father was a doctor in the village and was very well-respected. She met my opa (who is clearly German) and they had 5 boys. My dad is the 4th in line.
My grandparents have been divorced since the 1980s and my grandma has lived several places... she was in Charleston, SC for a looong time, then she was in Orlando for awhile, and just within the last few years has moved to Texas. Since moving there, she's encountered absolutely unbelievable racism. A few examples:
1) Within a few weeks of moving into her house, my grandma put in a new fence around her house. The next day, her neighbors tore it down purely out of spite. I am not making this up.
2) She has repeatedly had letters/notes left on her door or in her mailbox telling her to go back to Mexico. This absolutely infuriates me. Uhhh, #1, she's not Mexican, so she can't go 'back' to Mexico, considering she never lived there. #2, That's digusting. I'm sure YOUR parents or grandparents were legal immigrants, too, so what makes them any better than MY grandmother?
3) She has had people throw things at her house, thus damaging her siding.
She eventually called the cops about all of this... their advice? "Buy a gun." Aka they can't do a damn thing to protect her.
The ironic part is that my grandmother is the most vocal person I know when it comes to illegal immigration. She HATES the fact that there are illegal immigrants in the US. HATES it. Yet here she is, being accused of being one and being told to leave. When, in reality, if people took two seconds to look past her dark skin, they'd realize they actually feel the same way about the issue. Absolutely absurd.
Another hilarious thing to me is that she's been a citizen since 1951, I believe. Which means she's been a US citizen longer than most of the people who are tormenting her. Funny how that works.
I also wonder why my dad doesn't have the same issues as my grandma. His skin is pretty much just as dark as hers... he has brown hair and brown eyes, too. I mean, he's been called Egyptian and Greek and Turkish and who knows what else, just purely out of ignorance, but he's never been distinctly targeted like she has. No one's ever thrown things or yelled at him because of his skin color. At least not that I know of. Weird.
Anyway, the moral of the story is that I literally feel nauseous when I think about the fact that things like this are happening all over the US. To all sorts of people. Including 77 year old GRANDMOTHERS. Like... at what point did our country become so dumb that our citizens now think that anyone that speaks Spanish and has dark skin is cleaaaaarly a Mexican? And that they're illegal? Just... what? Seriously, how did that happen?
Not a fan. Not a fan at all.
There's a great article on CNN today about racism against Latinos - not just racism against illegal immigrants, but against US citizens as well. The article got me pretty emotional, because I know this is happening in cities all over the US every.single.day. Specifically, it happens to my grandma in Texas all the time.
My grandma is Nicaraguan. She was born in a village near Managua and moved to the US in the 1950s. Her father was a doctor in the village and was very well-respected. She met my opa (who is clearly German) and they had 5 boys. My dad is the 4th in line.
My grandparents have been divorced since the 1980s and my grandma has lived several places... she was in Charleston, SC for a looong time, then she was in Orlando for awhile, and just within the last few years has moved to Texas. Since moving there, she's encountered absolutely unbelievable racism. A few examples:
1) Within a few weeks of moving into her house, my grandma put in a new fence around her house. The next day, her neighbors tore it down purely out of spite. I am not making this up.
2) She has repeatedly had letters/notes left on her door or in her mailbox telling her to go back to Mexico. This absolutely infuriates me. Uhhh, #1, she's not Mexican, so she can't go 'back' to Mexico, considering she never lived there. #2, That's digusting. I'm sure YOUR parents or grandparents were legal immigrants, too, so what makes them any better than MY grandmother?
3) She has had people throw things at her house, thus damaging her siding.
She eventually called the cops about all of this... their advice? "Buy a gun." Aka they can't do a damn thing to protect her.
The ironic part is that my grandmother is the most vocal person I know when it comes to illegal immigration. She HATES the fact that there are illegal immigrants in the US. HATES it. Yet here she is, being accused of being one and being told to leave. When, in reality, if people took two seconds to look past her dark skin, they'd realize they actually feel the same way about the issue. Absolutely absurd.
Another hilarious thing to me is that she's been a citizen since 1951, I believe. Which means she's been a US citizen longer than most of the people who are tormenting her. Funny how that works.
I also wonder why my dad doesn't have the same issues as my grandma. His skin is pretty much just as dark as hers... he has brown hair and brown eyes, too. I mean, he's been called Egyptian and Greek and Turkish and who knows what else, just purely out of ignorance, but he's never been distinctly targeted like she has. No one's ever thrown things or yelled at him because of his skin color. At least not that I know of. Weird.
Anyway, the moral of the story is that I literally feel nauseous when I think about the fact that things like this are happening all over the US. To all sorts of people. Including 77 year old GRANDMOTHERS. Like... at what point did our country become so dumb that our citizens now think that anyone that speaks Spanish and has dark skin is cleaaaaarly a Mexican? And that they're illegal? Just... what? Seriously, how did that happen?
Not a fan. Not a fan at all.
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Traveling for Work
As I'm currently traveling for work and bored out of my mind, I figured I'd write a little something on the perks and drawbacks of traveling. I know that some of my very few followers likely don't travel a lot (or at all) for work, so here you go.
I'm currently staying at the Westin in Cincinnati right on Fountain Square (aka in the heart of downtown). It's a GREAT location, and I'd definitely recommend the hotel - very nice. Maybe just avoid staying here during the summer - I'm only staying here two nights and both nights have had concerts from 7 to 10 pm on the square (like... right outside my window). Luckily I haven't had any work to do, but it's VERY loud and not all that enjoyable. It's kind of like sex boy is in the apartment next door all over again. Bummer.
Anyway, here's a few things I've noticed about traveling:
PERKS
1. Hotel points. Hands down the #1 perk. If you're going to start traveling for work anytime soon, BE SURE to sign up for like, every hotel rewards program you can think of. Marriott, Hilton, Starwood (they're the ones that have Westin), Choice... everything. It's basically free money, so why would you not?
2. Mileage. Making $0.55/mile is amazing. For example, my round trip to/from Cincinnati is banking me about $132. Considering it probably only cost me $30-40 in gas... that's awesome. Granted, yes, it's also paying for the depreciation on my car, which is actually pretty huge since my car is so new but... still. My car is kind of a sunk cost so... YAY PROFIT!
3. FREE MEALS. Oh my gosh, meal allowances are amazing. I'm even MORE jealous of people who have per diems but... you know. Can't complain. My company allows me to spend I think $20/day on breakfast and $45/day on dinner while traveling in Cincinnati. Awesomeeeeee. It's especially nice when you're with other people, so you can get some drinks or a bottle or two of wine and it's a great time. It's not so nice when you're by yourself because ordering a steak and bottle of wine and not having anyone to share it with gets pretty old pretty fast. Like... today I got Skyline. And wasted $34 of basically free dinner money. Meh. Anyway, it's awesome when you can spend it on alcohol/really nice dinners. Every night.
4. Variety. Traveling mixes everything up and is a nice break from the mundane work schedule. The days seem to go a lot faster and work doesn't seem quite as bad, for some reason.
CONS
5. Being away. Let's be honest, no one would rather be in a random city where they know no one by themselves for an extended period of time than be at home with people they love. When I'm traveling it feels like I'm back in college, doing the whole long-distance thing with Donny, only being able to catch up by phone every so often. Ugh. Enough said.
6. Access to the familiar. You just don't have the amenities you're used to having at home. For example, this hotel doesn't have Lifetime or E!. Who has the NatGeo channel but NOT Lifetime or E! ?? Slash... WHY would you have NatGeo and not those two channels? Blows my mind. I realllly wanted to watch some Project Runway reruns tonight but... alas. Always using travel-sized shampoo/conditioner is just sad, too.
7. Forgetfulness. You inevitably forget something important almost every single time. I haven't discovered anything I've forgotten yet during this trip, so that's good. Last time I left an entire drawer full of clothes in my hotel room. Thank goodness they found them and I was coming back the next week anyway, so I was able to pick them up. Phew. I've also forgotten contact solution, glasses, a toothbrush, and once I even forgot underwear. So horrible. Luckily a Walmart was close by. Eek.
8. Being alone. It's incredibly lonely if you're traveling by yourself. I just ate dinner by myself at Skyline Chili. How humbling/depressing. And now I'm going to sit in my bed for the next 4 hours, minus maybe a half hour to work out. Boringgggggggg. I'd leave and go exploring, but I would have to pay for parking twice and that just sounds like a pain.
All in all, I really like traveling if it's every once in awhile, and it's not for an extended period of time. Last busy season I had to drive to middle-of-nowhere Indiana every week for 5 weeks. It was terrible. Really terrible.
But these 1.5 week stints in places like Cincinnati really aren't too terrible :)
I'm currently staying at the Westin in Cincinnati right on Fountain Square (aka in the heart of downtown). It's a GREAT location, and I'd definitely recommend the hotel - very nice. Maybe just avoid staying here during the summer - I'm only staying here two nights and both nights have had concerts from 7 to 10 pm on the square (like... right outside my window). Luckily I haven't had any work to do, but it's VERY loud and not all that enjoyable. It's kind of like sex boy is in the apartment next door all over again. Bummer.
Anyway, here's a few things I've noticed about traveling:
PERKS
1. Hotel points. Hands down the #1 perk. If you're going to start traveling for work anytime soon, BE SURE to sign up for like, every hotel rewards program you can think of. Marriott, Hilton, Starwood (they're the ones that have Westin), Choice... everything. It's basically free money, so why would you not?
2. Mileage. Making $0.55/mile is amazing. For example, my round trip to/from Cincinnati is banking me about $132. Considering it probably only cost me $30-40 in gas... that's awesome. Granted, yes, it's also paying for the depreciation on my car, which is actually pretty huge since my car is so new but... still. My car is kind of a sunk cost so... YAY PROFIT!
3. FREE MEALS. Oh my gosh, meal allowances are amazing. I'm even MORE jealous of people who have per diems but... you know. Can't complain. My company allows me to spend I think $20/day on breakfast and $45/day on dinner while traveling in Cincinnati. Awesomeeeeee. It's especially nice when you're with other people, so you can get some drinks or a bottle or two of wine and it's a great time. It's not so nice when you're by yourself because ordering a steak and bottle of wine and not having anyone to share it with gets pretty old pretty fast. Like... today I got Skyline. And wasted $34 of basically free dinner money. Meh. Anyway, it's awesome when you can spend it on alcohol/really nice dinners. Every night.
4. Variety. Traveling mixes everything up and is a nice break from the mundane work schedule. The days seem to go a lot faster and work doesn't seem quite as bad, for some reason.
CONS
5. Being away. Let's be honest, no one would rather be in a random city where they know no one by themselves for an extended period of time than be at home with people they love. When I'm traveling it feels like I'm back in college, doing the whole long-distance thing with Donny, only being able to catch up by phone every so often. Ugh. Enough said.
6. Access to the familiar. You just don't have the amenities you're used to having at home. For example, this hotel doesn't have Lifetime or E!. Who has the NatGeo channel but NOT Lifetime or E! ?? Slash... WHY would you have NatGeo and not those two channels? Blows my mind. I realllly wanted to watch some Project Runway reruns tonight but... alas. Always using travel-sized shampoo/conditioner is just sad, too.
7. Forgetfulness. You inevitably forget something important almost every single time. I haven't discovered anything I've forgotten yet during this trip, so that's good. Last time I left an entire drawer full of clothes in my hotel room. Thank goodness they found them and I was coming back the next week anyway, so I was able to pick them up. Phew. I've also forgotten contact solution, glasses, a toothbrush, and once I even forgot underwear. So horrible. Luckily a Walmart was close by. Eek.
8. Being alone. It's incredibly lonely if you're traveling by yourself. I just ate dinner by myself at Skyline Chili. How humbling/depressing. And now I'm going to sit in my bed for the next 4 hours, minus maybe a half hour to work out. Boringgggggggg. I'd leave and go exploring, but I would have to pay for parking twice and that just sounds like a pain.
All in all, I really like traveling if it's every once in awhile, and it's not for an extended period of time. Last busy season I had to drive to middle-of-nowhere Indiana every week for 5 weeks. It was terrible. Really terrible.
But these 1.5 week stints in places like Cincinnati really aren't too terrible :)
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Due to a severe downturn in working hours for me this summer (yay!), I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the sense of accomplishment I feel in my job, and how starkly it compares to how relevant my job REALLY is. This is what I mean: I, as does any other person in their job, feel incredibly proud and relieved when I figure out an issue at work, regardless of how small. When I finish auditing an account (like inventory, accounts receivable, etc.), it’s a REALLY big accomplishment and I’m ecstatic.
Then I compare that to what my job is REALLY doing and I get incredibly depressed. My job provides such little meaning to the world in general. I mean, I spend weeks auditing what essentially boils down to ONE NUMBER on an annual report that NO ONE reads. The worst is when I am on a non-SEC job (aka a client that does not have stock that’s traded on the stock market)… because literally no one reads those, because they’re not available to the public usually. So recap: I spend my life auditing numbers no one looks at.
So then you’re probably thinking, ‘what’s the point of auditing if no one reads this stuff?’ yeah, great question. Sometimes I’m not convinced there is a point. But technically, auditing is really important, especially for business that ARE publicly traded, because we provide assurance to you, the public who are investing in the stock market, that the companies you’re investing in are telling the truth about how much they’re making (because that, in turn, changes the stock price of the stocks you own). If you have a 401k, you should care about auditing because everything in your 401k is invested in stock. If the stock you’re invested in is for companies that are saying they’re making 2093480239482 million dollars, their stock price is going to keep climbing (making you money), but then turns out they’re actually only making 20 million dollars, your money is at risk. The stock for that price will plummet, losing you tons of money. So that’s why my job is important – we come in and make sure that they’re telling the truth about how much money they have and how much money they make/spend.
But really, when it comes down to it, I still just audit ONE or TWO stupid numbers in a sometimes 300 page report that no one reads. So really… fml. It’s just not gratifying. Slightly unfortunate.
Friday, July 8, 2011
Post Office Encounter
Well hellooo, everyone. Time for my quarterly update (or so it seems). But I don't really feel like updating so I'll just tell you all a story instead.
Today I had an especially awkward encounter with a gentleman at my local post office. I returned from vacation on Sunday, expecting to receive my mail on Tuesday (I had requested it be delivered to me on Tuesday). Tuesday comes and goes, no mail. Ditto with Wednesday and Thursday. I get incredibly annoyed by today and call them. They inform me that they are not allowed to deliver it to me - I must pick it up. Keep in mind that when I filled out my 'hold mail' request online, usps.com gave me the option to have it delivered to my doorstep. Silly me, clicking the 'deliver to me' button. Silly, silly me.
Anywho, guy at the post office tells me that I have to now come in to pick it up. GRRR. Slash... FINE BY ME if that means I can leave work early to do so. Thank you, government work hours.
So I make my way to the post office this afternoon. The following ensued:
Guy: Let me guess, your postal carrier didn't deliver the mail to you.
Me: No.... the person I talked to earlier today said that you're not allowed to deliver it to me anyway.
Guy: Oh well... I was going to have someone come take it out to you.
Me: Oh... Well... um... I'm here now.
[guy takes my ID]
Guy: Westerville, huh? (Note: I haven't changed my address on my ID... it's still my parents' address. Oops.)
Me: that's where I'm from.
Guy: So you're a richie, huh?
Me: Um... nope.
Guy: You don't have to lie to me.
Me: ................
[Guy awkwardly pauses, then goes to get my mail and returns]
Guy: Yeah, I'm really sorry about that. Your carrier's on vacation and the two people filling in for him don't have a single brain between the two of them.
Me: [awkward laugh #1]
Guy: Let me guess, you probably haven't gotten any mail at all this week, even though your hold was only through Tuesday, right?
Me: Right...
[Guy shakes his head in sadness]
Me: Okay... well... thanks!
Guy: You aren't wearing a ring. I'm very observant.
Me: ... nope, I'm not wearing a ring.
Guy: Let me guess, you're probably too good for me. Some brainy genius engineer or something.
Me: [awkward laugh #2] um... nope! I'm an accountant.
Guy: See I was close. Is that your Hyundai out there?
Me: Yep...
Guy: That's a brand new Hyundai. That's probably a 6 cylinder too. Is it?
Me: Um... I literally have no idea.
Guy: You don't know how many cylinders your car has?
Me: Nope.
Guy: Well it looks like a nice car, richie. So you going to be married sometime in the next year?
Me: Uh... maybe? Soonish?
Guy: You got a candidate lined up?
Me: [awkward laugh #3] I hope so!
Guy: Well that's just too bad. You remember me if things don't go well between you two, I'll be here.
Me: [awkward laugh #4]
Guy: Or hey, how about this - if he does something to hurt you, I've also got me a dark black ninja suit...
Me: [incredibly awkward laugh... like... what!?!?!?]
Guy: ... and a Louisville Slugger if you need me to whap him upside the head.
Me: You will be the first person I inform if he does something to hurt me.
Guy: Good, good.
Me: Okay... thanks... BYE!
[i run quickly out the door]
So. Bizarre.
In other news, I have my mail. I just got finished going through it. Apparently that brand new possibly 6-cylinder Hyundai of mine has a recall. FML.
Today I had an especially awkward encounter with a gentleman at my local post office. I returned from vacation on Sunday, expecting to receive my mail on Tuesday (I had requested it be delivered to me on Tuesday). Tuesday comes and goes, no mail. Ditto with Wednesday and Thursday. I get incredibly annoyed by today and call them. They inform me that they are not allowed to deliver it to me - I must pick it up. Keep in mind that when I filled out my 'hold mail' request online, usps.com gave me the option to have it delivered to my doorstep. Silly me, clicking the 'deliver to me' button. Silly, silly me.
Anywho, guy at the post office tells me that I have to now come in to pick it up. GRRR. Slash... FINE BY ME if that means I can leave work early to do so. Thank you, government work hours.
So I make my way to the post office this afternoon. The following ensued:
Guy: Let me guess, your postal carrier didn't deliver the mail to you.
Me: No.... the person I talked to earlier today said that you're not allowed to deliver it to me anyway.
Guy: Oh well... I was going to have someone come take it out to you.
Me: Oh... Well... um... I'm here now.
[guy takes my ID]
Guy: Westerville, huh? (Note: I haven't changed my address on my ID... it's still my parents' address. Oops.)
Me: that's where I'm from.
Guy: So you're a richie, huh?
Me: Um... nope.
Guy: You don't have to lie to me.
Me: ................
[Guy awkwardly pauses, then goes to get my mail and returns]
Guy: Yeah, I'm really sorry about that. Your carrier's on vacation and the two people filling in for him don't have a single brain between the two of them.
Me: [awkward laugh #1]
Guy: Let me guess, you probably haven't gotten any mail at all this week, even though your hold was only through Tuesday, right?
Me: Right...
[Guy shakes his head in sadness]
Me: Okay... well... thanks!
Guy: You aren't wearing a ring. I'm very observant.
Me: ... nope, I'm not wearing a ring.
Guy: Let me guess, you're probably too good for me. Some brainy genius engineer or something.
Me: [awkward laugh #2] um... nope! I'm an accountant.
Guy: See I was close. Is that your Hyundai out there?
Me: Yep...
Guy: That's a brand new Hyundai. That's probably a 6 cylinder too. Is it?
Me: Um... I literally have no idea.
Guy: You don't know how many cylinders your car has?
Me: Nope.
Guy: Well it looks like a nice car, richie. So you going to be married sometime in the next year?
Me: Uh... maybe? Soonish?
Guy: You got a candidate lined up?
Me: [awkward laugh #3] I hope so!
Guy: Well that's just too bad. You remember me if things don't go well between you two, I'll be here.
Me: [awkward laugh #4]
Guy: Or hey, how about this - if he does something to hurt you, I've also got me a dark black ninja suit...
Me: [incredibly awkward laugh... like... what!?!?!?]
Guy: ... and a Louisville Slugger if you need me to whap him upside the head.
Me: You will be the first person I inform if he does something to hurt me.
Guy: Good, good.
Me: Okay... thanks... BYE!
[i run quickly out the door]
So. Bizarre.
In other news, I have my mail. I just got finished going through it. Apparently that brand new possibly 6-cylinder Hyundai of mine has a recall. FML.
Monday, April 25, 2011
This may be a doozy.
Turns out I haven't updated my blog in awhile. And by awhile I mean it's been over 4 months. Oops.
Let's see. I last updated January 4. What's happened since then?
1. I'll get the boring stuff out of the way first. Work. I went through my first-ever "busy season" this January-March (even though I had one October-December... whatever). This entailed 5 weeks of traveling to random middle of nowhere Indiana, as well as some weeks spent in town. Unfortunately, those weeks spent in town required me to work 60+ hours for about 5 weeks straight. My record is now 74 hours worked in one week (7 days straight... Monday-Sunday). Of course, I also worked the next Monday-Friday, but who's counting? It was, to put it bluntly, absolutely miserable. I CANNOT (and will not) do this for the rest of my life. I can't even do this for the next five years. I have no idea how people stick around long enough to progress to a manager role. Like... I'm a staff 1. I'm the first to get sent home. When I go home, everyone else stays for another 1-3 hours. People go home and work until 2 AM. Every day. Like... no. I am NEVER doing that. Which means I will NEVER be successful at this job. Which is fine, it really is. I never thought I would stick around for more than a few years. However, this does kind of bring up the bad part - I have absolutely no freaking clue what I want to do with my life after I leave this job. Accounting is all I know how to do. I like it, but I want to work 40-45 hours a week. I also want to make the same amount of money I do now, if not more. There are like, 10 accounting jobs like that in the entire world that fit those criteria. I just don't have anything else I'm good at. Like... I can organize things sometimes. So... I'll be a professional organizer? But wait, I don't really have any awesome organizing skills that could change people's lives. Cross that off the list. I like to read. So... I'll... read to people? No, thanks. I love learning. I'll be a professional student for the rest of my life. Oh wait, that requires me to SPEND money, not MAKE money. You see where I'm going. It's a disaster. Oh well. My backup plan (if I don't find the world's most perfect accounting job) is to simply find a 9-5 job that pays the bills because honestly, at least I'll have a life. I'll be bored out of my mind but... at least I can have a family and friends. Womp. Depressing.
2. In the past few months I've been able to visit both of my frooms! I first went to Chapel Hill, NC to visit Kiley in March. I got to see her roommate Lauren's BEAUTIFUL house, play with her psycho dog Izzie, and just enjoy some quality one-on-one time with Ki :) We went to Duke Gardens, which was so beautiful and it was SO nice out. Pollen wasn't really an issue yet, so I got to enjoy nature for once!!!! So exciting. I was sad to leave!
But I did have something to look forward to, because less than a month later I went to Atlanta! I was able to see Jamie, Zach, AND Monica, which is awesome. They took me to this AMAAAAAAZING place called Tin Lizzy's where you get the most delicious chips and salsa/queso I've ever had in my life, plus some daaangerous drink called a 'sangrita' (a mix between Sangria and a margarita... yes please). We ended that night at a bar called Flip Flops (?) which is apparently owned by Dunbar and Ace from Real World.. crazy! I definitely attempted to talk to Dunbar... horrible experience. I just said the first thing that came to my mind, which was 'What kind of fish is that?' and I pointed to a giant stuffed marlin on the wall. Like, okay. Nice one, Britney. So ridiculous haha. At least I was a few drinks in and didn't really care. The next day Jamie and I went shopping (paper-source.com... such bad news), Jamie made us a delicious fajita dinner, and we went out to Blake's, which is the same gay bar we went to last time I was in Atlanta. Not QUITE as awesome as it was last time, but still a pretty great night :)
I was sad to leave both of my frooms, but it's never THAT sad, because I know I'll always see them again. I don't always know when, but never is never an option :)
3. Still living with Donny (thankfully!)! Things are going well! We're looking into moving to Victorian Village or the Brewery District this fall, so that will start taking up some of our time this May-July. I was hesitant about moving downtown (I have a hard time rationalizing paying WAY more money for WAY less space), but I think everyone's convinced me that I have to at least try 'city living' for a year. Which I can do. Donny keeps telling me that we have our whole lives to live in the suburbs, which is true. I just really like our place now and don't want to move! Oh well. It's not really fair to him to live here... he drives 45 minutes each way to work every day, which is just horrible. Living downtown would cut that in half. I work all over the place in Columbus, so it doesn't really matter where I live. I'm excited about looking for a new place, though, now that we've pretty much decided that we are definitely moving!
4. I've started weightwatchers, which is a whole new thing for me. I'm still struggling with it, but overall it's really worked! I've lost about 12 pounds to date. I have been fluctuating up and down by a pound or two the last few weeks, but that probably has something to do with 1) The copious amounts of Easter candy I've been eating, 2) the copious amounts of alcohol I've consumed lately and 3) the fact that I'm still not exercising like I should be. Once I get a constant workout schedule, I'm sure I'll lose even more weight, but for now, I'm just pumped it's working!
Not sure what else there is to say! I've got a few things to look forward to in the coming months:
- Kiley moving home!!!!!!!! Ahhhhh, finally someone to be nerdy with again! I can't wait!
- Random vacation days I've scheduled from now until August, just because I can!
- My cousin's wedding in Colorado in August
- The annual EY bus party. Omg. Yes. So excited already. This is all you need to know: literally hundreds of jello shots.
- and um, DUH BEACH HOUSE! My high school friends and I rented a beach house for a week in the Outer Banks, NC in June and I am just so freaking pumped.
Yay! :) Lots to look forward to!
Let's see. I last updated January 4. What's happened since then?
1. I'll get the boring stuff out of the way first. Work. I went through my first-ever "busy season" this January-March (even though I had one October-December... whatever). This entailed 5 weeks of traveling to random middle of nowhere Indiana, as well as some weeks spent in town. Unfortunately, those weeks spent in town required me to work 60+ hours for about 5 weeks straight. My record is now 74 hours worked in one week (7 days straight... Monday-Sunday). Of course, I also worked the next Monday-Friday, but who's counting? It was, to put it bluntly, absolutely miserable. I CANNOT (and will not) do this for the rest of my life. I can't even do this for the next five years. I have no idea how people stick around long enough to progress to a manager role. Like... I'm a staff 1. I'm the first to get sent home. When I go home, everyone else stays for another 1-3 hours. People go home and work until 2 AM. Every day. Like... no. I am NEVER doing that. Which means I will NEVER be successful at this job. Which is fine, it really is. I never thought I would stick around for more than a few years. However, this does kind of bring up the bad part - I have absolutely no freaking clue what I want to do with my life after I leave this job. Accounting is all I know how to do. I like it, but I want to work 40-45 hours a week. I also want to make the same amount of money I do now, if not more. There are like, 10 accounting jobs like that in the entire world that fit those criteria. I just don't have anything else I'm good at. Like... I can organize things sometimes. So... I'll be a professional organizer? But wait, I don't really have any awesome organizing skills that could change people's lives. Cross that off the list. I like to read. So... I'll... read to people? No, thanks. I love learning. I'll be a professional student for the rest of my life. Oh wait, that requires me to SPEND money, not MAKE money. You see where I'm going. It's a disaster. Oh well. My backup plan (if I don't find the world's most perfect accounting job) is to simply find a 9-5 job that pays the bills because honestly, at least I'll have a life. I'll be bored out of my mind but... at least I can have a family and friends. Womp. Depressing.
2. In the past few months I've been able to visit both of my frooms! I first went to Chapel Hill, NC to visit Kiley in March. I got to see her roommate Lauren's BEAUTIFUL house, play with her psycho dog Izzie, and just enjoy some quality one-on-one time with Ki :) We went to Duke Gardens, which was so beautiful and it was SO nice out. Pollen wasn't really an issue yet, so I got to enjoy nature for once!!!! So exciting. I was sad to leave!
But I did have something to look forward to, because less than a month later I went to Atlanta! I was able to see Jamie, Zach, AND Monica, which is awesome. They took me to this AMAAAAAAZING place called Tin Lizzy's where you get the most delicious chips and salsa/queso I've ever had in my life, plus some daaangerous drink called a 'sangrita' (a mix between Sangria and a margarita... yes please). We ended that night at a bar called Flip Flops (?) which is apparently owned by Dunbar and Ace from Real World.. crazy! I definitely attempted to talk to Dunbar... horrible experience. I just said the first thing that came to my mind, which was 'What kind of fish is that?' and I pointed to a giant stuffed marlin on the wall. Like, okay. Nice one, Britney. So ridiculous haha. At least I was a few drinks in and didn't really care. The next day Jamie and I went shopping (paper-source.com... such bad news), Jamie made us a delicious fajita dinner, and we went out to Blake's, which is the same gay bar we went to last time I was in Atlanta. Not QUITE as awesome as it was last time, but still a pretty great night :)
I was sad to leave both of my frooms, but it's never THAT sad, because I know I'll always see them again. I don't always know when, but never is never an option :)
3. Still living with Donny (thankfully!)! Things are going well! We're looking into moving to Victorian Village or the Brewery District this fall, so that will start taking up some of our time this May-July. I was hesitant about moving downtown (I have a hard time rationalizing paying WAY more money for WAY less space), but I think everyone's convinced me that I have to at least try 'city living' for a year. Which I can do. Donny keeps telling me that we have our whole lives to live in the suburbs, which is true. I just really like our place now and don't want to move! Oh well. It's not really fair to him to live here... he drives 45 minutes each way to work every day, which is just horrible. Living downtown would cut that in half. I work all over the place in Columbus, so it doesn't really matter where I live. I'm excited about looking for a new place, though, now that we've pretty much decided that we are definitely moving!
4. I've started weightwatchers, which is a whole new thing for me. I'm still struggling with it, but overall it's really worked! I've lost about 12 pounds to date. I have been fluctuating up and down by a pound or two the last few weeks, but that probably has something to do with 1) The copious amounts of Easter candy I've been eating, 2) the copious amounts of alcohol I've consumed lately and 3) the fact that I'm still not exercising like I should be. Once I get a constant workout schedule, I'm sure I'll lose even more weight, but for now, I'm just pumped it's working!
Not sure what else there is to say! I've got a few things to look forward to in the coming months:
- Kiley moving home!!!!!!!! Ahhhhh, finally someone to be nerdy with again! I can't wait!
- Random vacation days I've scheduled from now until August, just because I can!
- My cousin's wedding in Colorado in August
- The annual EY bus party. Omg. Yes. So excited already. This is all you need to know: literally hundreds of jello shots.
- and um, DUH BEACH HOUSE! My high school friends and I rented a beach house for a week in the Outer Banks, NC in June and I am just so freaking pumped.
Yay! :) Lots to look forward to!
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Update: Dallas
I no longer like Dallas.
Reasons:
1. The people here are weird. I realize this is a huge generalization. Let me revise. The people I'm in training with, all of whom are from the Dallas office, are weird. Maybe I just got stuck at a table with the weirdest, but they are all just... so intense. I feel like at the trainings I've been to with other Ohioans, we generally try to make it through the trainings without a lot of exertion. That is, we don't try incredibly hard to complete our tasks. We'll DO them, but we won't try to overachieve. Dallas? Slightly different story. These people are INTENT on finishing everything to the best of their ability, even if it's a stupid game or something we've already done 10 times. Again, maybe it's just the table I'm sitting with but... sigh. They wear me out. And I feel like I probably look like a bitch, because I just sit there and watch this all go down and don't offer to help in group assignments. Why? 1) I don't care 2) they seem to have enough trouble deciding among the 4 of them. Adding my opinion would only complicate things. They also like to tell stories about absolutely nothing. I'm sorry, I really don't care that your boyfriend is going to Mardi Gras and you're paying for his hotel room with your Marriott points and now you think his friends should pay you for part of it since you're essentially paying for their portions of the room too, but then that made your boyfriend mad. I DONT CARE!
2. Another reason I don't like Dallas is that it creeps me out. Granted, I've been confined to about 5 blocks of Dallas. It's just... empty. It's creepy. There are skyscrapers, but barely anyone going into them in the morning. My walk to the office was about 3-4 blocks today, and I passed two people. At 8 in the morning. Just... bizarre. When I walked home today, I felt kind of unsafe. I got honked at twice and someone told me 'I like your walk.' Who even knows.
3. Oh, and I got hit by a car.
Yes. I literally got hit by a car today. NBD.
I was walking home from the office and was crossing the street to get into my hotel (like... the door was right in front of this crosswalk). There was a guy turning left. Obviously I have the right of way. He was not paying attention AT ALL. When I realized he had no intention of stopping, I started running but he hit me in the hip/butt. Seriously? How do you not notice a person until after you've hit them? In the split second before he hit me, I put my hands out to slam down on his hood, as if to say 'um, what the fuck.' I had a bag from CVS in one of my hands. It was hanging down from my wrist so when the car actually hit me, the bag got hit and broke open and everything went flying. The guy stopped his car, but never got out. That's right. He never got out. He never asked if I was okay, he never even rolled down his window. Some random guy down the street came running, asking if I was okay. I was terrified and mostly just overwhelmed so I just burst into tears, gathered my scattered belongings, and ran to my hotel haha. The people in the hotel had luckily seen it all happen, and they came running out. One scary black guy went up to the car, which was still parked, and got the license plate and everything. Not until I was INSIDE THE HOTEL did the guy get out of his car and asked the scary black guy if I was okay. Heaven forbid you ask ME if I'm okay. What a douche. Anyway, the hotel employees were incredibly nice and kept asking me if I needed anything, and if I wanted to go find the guy, and if I wanted to press charges, etc. I told them no and went to go get on the elevator just because I wanted to get back to my room to compose myself. When I was waiting for the elevator, the guy who hit me came walking into the lobby, so I just bolted. I had no desire to speak to him. A few minutes later, one of the managers came up to my room. They had collected the guy's info and gave it to me in case I did want to press charges, which was nice of them. A few minutes after that I got a call from the front desk asking if I needed anything, or if I wanted any freshly baked cookies hahaha. I declined. I am somehow not hungry at the moment.
Aaaand then here I am, writing this. This literally happened like 15 minutes ago. My heart is still racing.
Sooo.. I don't know that I want to go out in Dallas tonight haha. I was going to go about a mile away to what I think is a Buckeye Bar to watch the OSU game but... I don't know how I feel about that anymore. There's a TGIF about 20 yards from my hotel, so maybe I'll wander over there if I feel like getting a drink and watching the game but it's completely possible I'll just sit in my hotel room now. Womp.
I want to come home :(
Reasons:
1. The people here are weird. I realize this is a huge generalization. Let me revise. The people I'm in training with, all of whom are from the Dallas office, are weird. Maybe I just got stuck at a table with the weirdest, but they are all just... so intense. I feel like at the trainings I've been to with other Ohioans, we generally try to make it through the trainings without a lot of exertion. That is, we don't try incredibly hard to complete our tasks. We'll DO them, but we won't try to overachieve. Dallas? Slightly different story. These people are INTENT on finishing everything to the best of their ability, even if it's a stupid game or something we've already done 10 times. Again, maybe it's just the table I'm sitting with but... sigh. They wear me out. And I feel like I probably look like a bitch, because I just sit there and watch this all go down and don't offer to help in group assignments. Why? 1) I don't care 2) they seem to have enough trouble deciding among the 4 of them. Adding my opinion would only complicate things. They also like to tell stories about absolutely nothing. I'm sorry, I really don't care that your boyfriend is going to Mardi Gras and you're paying for his hotel room with your Marriott points and now you think his friends should pay you for part of it since you're essentially paying for their portions of the room too, but then that made your boyfriend mad. I DONT CARE!
2. Another reason I don't like Dallas is that it creeps me out. Granted, I've been confined to about 5 blocks of Dallas. It's just... empty. It's creepy. There are skyscrapers, but barely anyone going into them in the morning. My walk to the office was about 3-4 blocks today, and I passed two people. At 8 in the morning. Just... bizarre. When I walked home today, I felt kind of unsafe. I got honked at twice and someone told me 'I like your walk.' Who even knows.
3. Oh, and I got hit by a car.
Yes. I literally got hit by a car today. NBD.
I was walking home from the office and was crossing the street to get into my hotel (like... the door was right in front of this crosswalk). There was a guy turning left. Obviously I have the right of way. He was not paying attention AT ALL. When I realized he had no intention of stopping, I started running but he hit me in the hip/butt. Seriously? How do you not notice a person until after you've hit them? In the split second before he hit me, I put my hands out to slam down on his hood, as if to say 'um, what the fuck.' I had a bag from CVS in one of my hands. It was hanging down from my wrist so when the car actually hit me, the bag got hit and broke open and everything went flying. The guy stopped his car, but never got out. That's right. He never got out. He never asked if I was okay, he never even rolled down his window. Some random guy down the street came running, asking if I was okay. I was terrified and mostly just overwhelmed so I just burst into tears, gathered my scattered belongings, and ran to my hotel haha. The people in the hotel had luckily seen it all happen, and they came running out. One scary black guy went up to the car, which was still parked, and got the license plate and everything. Not until I was INSIDE THE HOTEL did the guy get out of his car and asked the scary black guy if I was okay. Heaven forbid you ask ME if I'm okay. What a douche. Anyway, the hotel employees were incredibly nice and kept asking me if I needed anything, and if I wanted to go find the guy, and if I wanted to press charges, etc. I told them no and went to go get on the elevator just because I wanted to get back to my room to compose myself. When I was waiting for the elevator, the guy who hit me came walking into the lobby, so I just bolted. I had no desire to speak to him. A few minutes later, one of the managers came up to my room. They had collected the guy's info and gave it to me in case I did want to press charges, which was nice of them. A few minutes after that I got a call from the front desk asking if I needed anything, or if I wanted any freshly baked cookies hahaha. I declined. I am somehow not hungry at the moment.
Aaaand then here I am, writing this. This literally happened like 15 minutes ago. My heart is still racing.
Sooo.. I don't know that I want to go out in Dallas tonight haha. I was going to go about a mile away to what I think is a Buckeye Bar to watch the OSU game but... I don't know how I feel about that anymore. There's a TGIF about 20 yards from my hotel, so maybe I'll wander over there if I feel like getting a drink and watching the game but it's completely possible I'll just sit in my hotel room now. Womp.
I want to come home :(
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