Posts (page 2)

I might get a full-time 8-5 job as a front office receptionist. FINALLY OfficeTeam called me because, ironically, the Phoenix office called THEM. The Reno office said they couldn't get recommendations through other locations and that they really needed my last employer - well, I couldn't get ahold of them, because every time I'd go through the call center lines (where I worked), I'd get tossed around and never get to a real manager. It's what they're trained to do. So yesterday, the Phoenix office called me to offer me a job, and I explained to them that I'd moved and was now living elsewhere. She asked if I was working with OfficeTeam anymore, and I said I was unable to because the prior woman I was working with last year couldn't get ahold of my previous employer, and neither could I, and she said she couldn't call the Phoenix office about it - she needed to speak directly to my prior employer.

So that was that, I left it alone. I couldn't get ahold of everyone and neither could she, so she said we were in limbo. Well apparently, she didn't even need that LAST employer because she had all of my previous employers as well!! The woman in Phoenix was so upset about it that she told me she'd call me RIGHT back, and called MFS to talk to their hiring manager that I got hired through. His name was Chip. She called back within ten minutes and exclaimed, "REFERENCE DONE! I'm going to call the Reno office RIGHT now and tell them to contact you."

And they did! This morning! It's an 8-5 office job answering 7 phone lines, transferring to 15 other lines, and being detail-oriented to check on orders and stuff. It's nothing exciting, but it pays $10 an hour and I would start training tomorrow from 1-5, and then start work on Monday if they liked me. I'm trying to get ahold of my manager at Starbucks because I reeeaaally want to continue working there, just on the weekends if possible. I enjoy working there. I like seeing the same faces every day.

My manager isn't there, so I'm going to shower and head into town to call a few coworkers and see if they can't cover my shifts next week. Another awesome thing about OfficeTeam - it's a weekly paycheck, unless/until I get hired on full-time at the actual location. $10/hr @ 40 hours a week.... God, I could really use this right now. I'm only getting half those hours at Starbucks, and next week I'm getting hardly anything.

Oh crap...I am going to a concert Tuesday in San Jose and it's already payed for. WELP! There goes the reason I was writing this entry! I'm not skipping out on something already paid for. I totally just remembered this. Damn.

At least they'll hire me for positions now because I was "so highly recommended by the Phoenix location". :-D

Going to see Skindred, Sevendust, & Disturbed!

SWEET!

I'm sick. Again.

Because she wouldn't stay in her damn room and keep her germs to herself when she was sick. She didn't have what I just go over not even two weeks ago, she had something with different symptoms.

I feel absolutely horrible. My whole body hurts.

This season has been the worst winter season for me EVER, I think. I don't remember ever being this sick before.

So, wow, it's 2009.

1) Where did you ring in 2008?
In our apartment in Phoenix, went to bed early because I was tired.

2) What was your status by Valentine's Day?
Taken.

3) Were you in school (anytime this year)?
Nope. I debated getting back into school, but was broke and unemployed. I still don't know what the hell to do with myself... I don't know if the culinary industry will ever work out.

4) How did you earn your keep?
Well, while unemployed I just cleaned and pretty much used my credit card. Scary, but I know I can pay it off this year, and I was never late on a payment.

5) Did you have to go to the hospital?
Yes, at the very end of the year I went to urgent care because I was THAT sick. :-(

6) Did you encounter the police?
Yeah, first ticket ever back around March or something. I blame driving my sister's new, flashy Element. Fucker.

7) Where did you go on vacation?
San Francisco, and once while I was in Phoenix I visited Reno for a weekend.

8) What did you purchase that was over $500?
Umh.... Lorean's birthday present, an XBox 360 Elite.

9) Did you know anybody who got married?
This year? Did I? I can't remember.

10) Do you know anybody who passed away?
Umh... not that I recall. :-|

11) Have you run into anybody you graduated high school with?
Yup. Plenty of people, that's what happens when you move back to your old city.

12) Did you move anywhere?
Yes, moved back to Reno from Phoenix.

13) What sporting events did you go to?
I went to a Giants game while in Phoenix, and they won! :-p (Take that, Sarah!! They WON the game I went to, and I ENJOYED it! :-p :-p)

14) What concerts did you go to?
Oh oh! I saw Smile Empty Soul, Trapt, and Hinder at the Jaggermeister (sp? I hate that drink, so whatever) Tour.

15) Where do you live now?
Sparks, NV again.. hopefully not by the end of this year.

18) Describe your birthday.
Pretty much ignored by family and most friends. Didn't really get anything. Went to Nebraska for my birthday weekend even though I really, really didn't want to. Pretty uneventful, but I had a few thoughtful people do things for me or wish me happy birthday.

19) What’s the one thing you thought you would never do but did in 2008?
Honestly... I didn't think my relationship would survive all of the dumb shit Lorean did. But we made it through, and I'm hopeful for a wonderful 2009.

20) What is one thing you regretted this year?
I thought I regretted a few things, but now that the year is over and there's been some time to deal with mistakes or bad moments, I've learned and I've grown. I don't regret anything. However, I still don't think it was a good idea to move back to Reno from Phoenix. We should have moved somewhere else.

21) What’s something you learned about yourself?
I think I'm with Sarah on this one - I am beginning to need to be right ALL of the time, and I need to stop that. I also learned that even long time friends can just drop off the face of the earth and act like it's YOUR fault you're not in touch anymore. Oh, and that sometimes the best of friends aren't in contact the most, but it doesn't matter, because whenever you finally find the same time for each other, the friendship is still there. <3

22) Any new additions to your family?
Nope. Same family, same pets.

23) What was your best month?
Hard to say; a lot happened this year, and there were good times and bad times in almost every month. I think the end of the year in general was the best part - I can't pick a month. Lorean stopped acting like a dumby (for the most part), I got TWO jobs, and life just seemed to calm down. I'm still lost on what to do with school or trying to work in the culinary field. I really think I want to go back to college for veterinary, but that might happen come summer semester. I want to pay off some debts and save some money.

24) How would you rate this year with a scale from 1 (shitty) to 10 (excellent)?
6.5.... or a 6.

25) What are your 2009 resolutions
1. Lose the last 20lbs of the weight I gained while living in Phoenix.
2. Get toned and satisfied with my body and health in general, because I haven't felt good about myself in over a year.
3. Continue growing in my relationship, and not digress.
4. Get back into school at SOME point, and get a degree in something that is actually worth while. (Cough, veterinary something, cough)
5. Travel a little - take a three or so day vacation to San Francisco and do everything Lorean has yet to do, take some time off for my cousin's wedding in the summer, and head down to San Diego for my birthday to go to Disneyland for two days. :-D
5. MOVE THE HELL OUT OF RENO!!!!

I went to a really fun party for New Year's Eve. It was a pin-up themed party and I got probably 50 or more compliments on my outfit (pencil skirt, pattern black tights, red pumps, a white corset over a white collared shirt, and pin-up style hair with two flower pins); I was a bit surprised to see that most everyone else wasn't in the proper 50's pin-up theme, though... it seems that it was just an excuse to wear skanky, mock pin-up costumes. Pretty funny, but I didn't care - everyone looked good and everyone had a good time. I really felt attractive in my outfit, which was a surprise, because I never feel like that anymore.

I lost my badge today on the way IN to work, somewhere between my car and the hospital. Later this morning, I proclaimed a very loud, "I LOVE YOU!" to a security guard that found my badge on his way into work from the parking lot. He found it in the crosswalk and brought it in to me, so I gave him a free coffee. Thank God for him, because I didn't want to spend $5 on a new badge.

The whole weekend is mine for doing whatever I want with it - I have Saturday and Sunday off surprisingly - oh, and Monday as well! - so I wonder what I'm going to do with myself. I wish I hadn't just ended my seasonal job, because I'd have a bit more money available and I'd run out of town for a few days. I love getting out of Reno.

Lorean and I are thinking of going to the Disturbed concert that is in Sacramento on the 26th. I REALLY want to go - tickets are only $35! - but it's over the pass, and I'm concerned about buying the tickets and then getting snowed into (or OUT of) the valley. I think I'm going to buy them anyway and then take that day and the day after off. That way, if anything happens, we can just stay in Sac that night and drive back the next afternoon when the snow is usually either falling lighter, or melted off enough to drive through the mountains.

I think that's just about all I have to say right now!

I'm not in the mood for today. I got about 4 hours of sleep, if that, simply because I was too energized to sleep last night. Instead, I really felt like drawing for the first time in a LONG time.

When I was about 12, I used to make up stories and characters. I had a crazy, vivid imagination that ran rampantly, and all of my plots were detailed. I drew these characters all of the time... whenever I was bored, I'd think of these plots and people, and draw out a scenario I figured they'd be in. I wanted be be an author... fictional novels, if not comics.

It never came to anything important. I don't think I have the inspiration or talent to do either write or create comics. The plots were very indepth, so maybe some day when I've nothing else to do with my life, but by then I'll likely have forgotten everything.

Anyway... because of these characters, I decided to draw. And because I wanted to draw, I wasn't tired.

Well.... NOW I'm tired. Damn.
- Toni

Edit: Oh, here's an example of a doodle. I haven't been doodling much over the past 4 or so years.... I get too

Drawing3

frustrated and critical, so I don't bother.

Still sick. But I'm breathing through both nostrils on and off so far this morning. That's a step up... I think. I hope. Fever ended two days ago, so no longer contagious. Just miserable.

Lunch with Caca today. Gonna bring her a gift :-D I decided that for a belated birthday gift (we missed each others' birthdays, didn't see each other at all) I'm going to get something in SF. I already know where it is and what I'm going to get, but I just need to get back down there... that'll probably happen in January. Sorry, Caca-face. At least you'll get a Christmas present.

I want to cut my nose off of my face and watch all of the snot leave my sinuses. Then I'll bleed to death and die happy because my head won't feel as big. I've got big-head syndrome today. Yay big head.

I want tea. Badly. And hot soup.

This is just too long of a day. Going from 4:45am, and I won't be home until 10pm tonight. Absolutely miserable. I'm beginning to think that I just can't do this 2 job thing anymore. I love being busy, but add on my time spent with my boyfriend, and it's like 3 jobs. I have no me time, no laundry time.

I hate to admit it, but I've been brushing my teeth with mouth wash for three days because I haven't had time to buy tooth paste. When I do have free time, I forget completely.

I need a planner, mine is tiny and smells funny... fake leather crap from Target, or whatever material it is. Horrible. I could just figure out how to use my electronic thingie, but that makes 3 electronics in my purse. Lame.

Today has been murder at starbucks, too... busier than our first day. Absolutely insane.
- Toni

Christmas music is playing. People are annoying me. I woke up 6 minutes before I had to leave my house today. I discovered that by breaking all of the laws of the road (speed, anyway) I can get to work in 15 minutes.

People yell at me when they ask for a "small coffee" and I repeat it back to them in our lingo, "tall coffee", even though we were trained to do that. I explain every time what our sizes are.

I have no idea what language this music is in, but I want it to stop.

I forgot to call my boyfriend this morning because I was running late. Shit.

Today is my first "monday" monday in a looooong time. Lame.
- sidekick 3, at work, on a break.

I love this job. It's slow today, but it's so laid back and just fun. Because it's in a hospital, it tugs at your emotions sometimes, but it's rewarding when someone comes in completely frowny and upside-down, and you're able to lift their spirits.

I did, however, completely forget about a woman's coffee today. She wanted drip (brewed coffee), and it was brewing, so I told her it'd be 5 minutes or so. So she went and sat down, when we had a steady 20 minutes of coffee, and she finally came up after all of that time and was upset. I'd have been too! I just wish she'd come up sooner. I felt so bad. I apologized five times, but I don't think it helped. :-( I felt bad.

Oh well. Life goes on. My brain is mush today; I'm exhausted for some reason. Lame. At least Lorean isn't upset with me anymore - being distant for the past few days was breaking my heart. :-(!!!
- SideKick 3

Happiness in a Cup

Wow. This was a slight disaster, wasn't it? My dad came into the kitchen today around 11am and just started making breakfast..... and I was supposed to have the kitchen to myself ALL day today. All day. And I couldn't delegate anything specific to anyone because everything took so long for everyone else to do... I didn't have any cheffy guests over today. So the "What can we do to help?" really just got in the way :-(

My bird was 165 and 168 in 3 places when I took him out, but then he rested for about a half hour and when we cut into him, he was still a bit pink. And apparently, when I left for Lorean's family's dinner, they put my bird back in the over - for another hour and a half. WHAT THE HELL? I'm mad. That was MY bird, and no one even called to ask how long I would recommend for him being in there. NOWHERE NEAR AN HOUR AND A HALF! He was done! He was just JUICY AS HELL because he was wrapped in bacon and had 2lbs of herbed butter all over him!!!

I can't believe they did that. It's like an insult. I'm pretty mad. I won't be eating anymore of that turkey. I even voiced my concern for people not liking the slight pink near the bones at dinner and offered to cook it longer then, so it wouldn't dry out after getting COLD and then being shoved back into the oven. My poor, poor neglected Big Bird. :-(

Because my dad took 2 hours in the kitchen to make breakfast...I was severely lacking space, time, and all of my stuff was in far too close to the "finish line" for my liking. I didn't get to make the brie - the ones I made yesterday exploded...little bastards. I barely got my cranberry sauce made, but it was a HUGE hit. I didn't think anyone would eat it, and there's NONE LEFT! I'm going to have to make more in order to have some for sandwiches!!

My individual pumpkin tarts took quite a bit of time, too. THEY were insanely popular - everyone loved them. So that was pleasing.... everyone also loved the apricot-orange glazed sweet potatoes that I baked, and the stuffing that I made. It had turkey sausage (specifically cranberry turkey sausage from Whole Foods - I'm so happy they opened here!!), apples, and pears in it, and was made with sourdough bread that I made homemade croutons with. Yum yum.

I guess it wasn't a total disaster, but it definitely was not smooth and stress free like it should and could have been. I had it all planned out. I made a schedule for when things needed to be done by (sounds anal, but really, it's a smart thing to do when cooking that many dishes in that small of a kitchen with that many people here), and my dad bursting into my business (it's funny to say it that way, but MY DAMN KITCHEN SPACE, BIOOTCH!) really threw me off. :-(

Lorean and I are also a little iffy right now. We've had a rough week, on top of the fact that he's had a rough week outside of just our relationship. He's been blowing me off for a few weeks and that finally came to a peak at the most inopportune time (when he blew me off, again, but only because our friend was dumped just before the holidays - yeah, I feel bad that I finally broke down about it ON THAT day..ugh.. it'd just been happening so often lately that I just couldn't take it anymore), then my sister ruined my prep-time plans yesterday, and therefore made me late/not ready to go somewhere with Lorean and the recently dumped friend. So out of frustration for everything going on here, the stress of cooking and cleaning and doing everything here, and then our issue the prior day, I just blew up at him. For no reason at all; he showed up, told me what time it was, and I blew up at hime. It was wrong and I shouldn't have done it. Even if some girls out there that're friends would justify it by saying he shouldn't have been blowing me off - that doesn't mean I can blow up at him for nothing at all. NOTHING. :-(

SO! Take that mess and add it to the mess of today's dinner, and let me just say: Unless I have a kitchen that is over double the space of my parents' kitchen, or if I have two days ahead of time without work and without people in my way to prep things out ON MY OWN,   I WILL NEVER DO THIS AGAIN! ha!!

Oh well. It was fun cooking and planning out my menu until things started going wrong. I missed the feeling of planning things out like that.

This is specifically a public entry because my good ol' buddy Jon doesn't have a Vox anymore, and therefore needs it to be public to read it.

There ya go, Mr. Boss Man. No pictures yet - I'm going to finish my sparkling wine and hit the sack. I have to be up at 4:45.