Sushi

I tried sushi today.

A flashback: One night when i was out with the missionaries, we were waiting on a investigator to get to the church. We ran into one of the counselors of the Stake Presidency. We got to talking about how he went on his mission to Japan. I am not sure how the topic moved on to sushi but there we were, talking about it. I told him i had never tried it (the raw fish kind). He was talking about how he loved it. He described the flavor to me. I decided i should venture out and try it sometime.

The present: Today was that day. I was in the Target produce dept today and came across some California rolls. They are rice rolled with seaweed "paper" and had imitation crab meat, avocado...and maybe something else i cant remember. i put some soy sauce on it and took the smallest, tiniest pinch of a taste of the wasabi on the side. (the wasabi totally rocked my world!!!...not in a good way. as i knew it would. i have had it before.) Then i discovered the raw fish slivers on the side as well. At first i dismissed them, but then i was like "whatever, i wanted to try it, let's do this!!!". so i took the smallest piece and put it in my mouth. Actually....it is pretty good. i was expecting an overwhelming fish taste like you can sometimes get with some cooked fish. None. I promise. It was a little salty and pretty good. It made a good combo with the soy sauce. Overall i give them a 9 (outta 10). They are good for you too. Bonus!!

Church

I get excited for Sundays. I enjoy seeing the people there and feeling the Spirit. Today my new bishop called me into his office. We sat down and chatted for a few minutes. He wanted to get to know me a little bit. So we chatted and then as he was wrapping up the conversation he asked me if there was anything he could do for me. I don't think i have ever answered this question with anything but "no", "i don't know", "i don't think so", or "i think i am good" before. You know, home teachers ask it, VT ask it, bishops before have asked it. i never have anything, or want to bother them. Today i said "yes." Today i asked my bishop for a calling. He smiled at me and said "in fact we do have a calling for you." And he gave me a calling. I am not officially called or sustained, so i don't think i am supposed to say what it is, right? So get excited for a post next week.
I also knew that he was going to give me the calling he gave me. I was not surprised at all. I was thinking today about why i thought to ask my bishop for a calling. Usually i shy away from the bishop cornering me with that "calling" look in his eye. I think it is because i am nervous he is going to give me a calling that is going to be super hard for me like teaching Sunday school or something. With all those people starring at me for like 40 minutes. Yeah, it scares the trash out of me. But today i wanted a calling. Do you ever have those moments in your life where you know you need something in your life to challenge you spiritually? Or to make you better at something? Or to force you to get involved? (i don't know if that even makes sense.) I knew the calling he would give me. I knew it would be hard. But i knew that i would be better for it. And i am totally drawn to anything that can take the focus off my life. Off the struggles, and the worry that i am completely stupid for moving to TX all together. I need something good and uplifting and happy in my life to escape everything else. Maybe this calling will be it.

A Christmas Event

Yesterday I hung out with the fam (the people i live with...that is what i call them). We went to (the husband) Tom's brother's house which is north of Dallas. Tom is one of 11 children so there was going to be a ton of people there. I had been warned that Tom's family (like Tom) are a little bit out of control. So i thought since they don't know me, and it is Christmas i should wear my mistletoe headband. For those of you who haven't seen it...it is a headband that i got when i was a kid with a tall, skinny spring on it that sticks strait up in the air over my head (about a foot above my head). It has a plastic mistletoe on the top. So no matter where i go, i am always under the mistletoe *wink* *wink*. I thought it would be funny. So i bust into these people's house that i don't know with mistletoe on my head. I got some strange looks, and some kisses. Mostly on the cheek, but once on the lips. It surprised me a bit. I haven't been kissed on the lips in quite some time. lol.
But it was a really good time. there was good food, and since Tom's family is originally from Ohio, they all know how to play Euchre. It's not Christmas without Euchre. So got my euchre on, in a tournament. It was a good time. Tom and i won a couple of games.

Updates

A few things i have been meaning to blog about...
1. I did end up cutting my hair. I talked about doing it on my facebook and got a large response from it. I cut it like a week and a half ago and just haven't got around to blogging about it yet. i do have a picture and I will post it soon. Promise.
2. I will be back in IN in a week. I am so excited! My mom and I are going to go Christmas shopping in Indy. Should be fun.
3. I might be running in a 5k when I am home (in Indy). It is still up in the air. I love that I have been training inside or in 65 degree weather and it is expected to be about 35 degrees in IN next weekend. I might die.
4. I loved loved loved New Moon. I saw it twice last weekend. One of those times was the opening showing at 12:01 am on 11/20. I am a dork. I know.
5. I am probably going to be playing some football tomorrow for Thanksgiving. I happen to mention this to my manager today and he raised one eyebrow and asked if I knew how to play. Of course my response was "So just b/c I am a girl, I don't know how to play football?" He fumbled thru some words about that is not what he meant, that he was just surprised. lol it was fun to make him squirm.
6. I started reading the book "the host" a couple of weeks ago. i had been taking it to work and reading it on my lunch breaks. Everyone kept asking me what i was reading. Once i told them it was about aliens (in a nutshell) they all looked at me like i was weird. it was really fun to read it again. I didnt really cry in the book. I almost did a few times. I feel a little heartless since other people (who shall remain nameless) cry so much in this book and everytime they read it. Normally i feel like i cry more than anyone else, so i feel weird that i didnt. oh well.

Frosh

I have been meaning to write this post for a couple of days now. Some 10 years ago Amy and I drank this soda called Frosh. It is an off brand and is trying to copy something like the soda Squirt. Not quite Sprite, but still a lemon lime flavor. It was pretty gross, although I think we drank it the whole night. But my life was never the same after. The frosh probably had little to do with that, but i still associate the two together. :)

Eight years ago (tuesday, Nov 17) I was baptized and made a member of my church. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. It has been a crazy whirlwind ever since, but 8 years!!! wow! I am so blessed and so thankful! Happy Birthday to me!!!!!

Out Sick

I am out of work today...Sick! Mostly i just have a cold and have almost lost my voice. Since all i do at work is talk on the phone, it doesnt work out so well to go to work. i feel pretty good though. So i thought today i would take some time to get some things done that i dont usually get time for during the week.

I won a $150 gift card to Walmart at work the other day. I feel a shopping spree coming on. What to buy though.....Should i be responsible and buy much needed groceries and gas, or splurge and buy something fun? (that i shouldnt really have to feel guilty about since it is free money)...like a digital camera to replace my 4 1/2 year old one? Or buy some DVDs that i have been wanting for a long time? Or more work clothes to replace the ones with holes in them?

I am also teaching the RS lesson at church on Sunday. So today i need to dig through endless unopened boxes to try and find my JS manual to work on the lesson. I should also clean my room and call the credit card company.

Speaking of the credit card company. I have a credit card through Citi and they sent me a letter saying that as of Nov. 30, 2009 my interest rate is going from 13.99% to 29.99%!!!! not because i paid late, or didnt pay, just because they can. I can opt out but they will have to close my card. I am totally fine with that! i need to call and see if this letter is legit! it doesnt seem like they can really do that, but i dont know that for a fact. I might have this credit card paid off by then anyways, but i am not going to take my chances. You can bet if that is where all their credit cards are headed, they are going to lose not only my business, but a lot of business all over. So dumb.

I might go to the gym today too. Today is my day to use the leg weight machines. I have been using weights at the gym lately. I am always sore the next day, so i feel like that is good, right? I do cardio too, but i have been trying to focus on building muscle. It burns fat, or so i hear. I do arms one day, legs the next, abs the third day, and all cardio the last. 4 days a week. not bad. I do a little cardio on the days i lift weights too, but not too much.

Those are my plans for the day. Fascinating!! (i'm sure)

Fears

After reading Amy and Mimi's blog entries about fears...here are mine.

1. Horses- They are so big and strong and they scare me. They can buck you off, step on you and you are done. I rode a pony once when i was a kid. It scared me too.

2. Snakes and slugs- Mostly i just think slugs are the most disgusting things alive, but they scare me a little too. Snakes on the other hand scare me enough that just seeing one on TV makes my stomach tie up in knots. The people i live with just so happen to tell me the other day that they have a lot of garden snakes in their front yard. Now every time i walk to or from my car i jump at twigs. It's not good.

3. Heights- I would love to skydive and bungee jump just to say that i did it, but i am pretty sure i would never make it out of the plane or off the ledge. Did you know there are people who skydive without parachutes!?!?! On purpose! They don't die. And they are so causal about it. Look it up on YouTube.com. i promise. it is crazy!

4. Scary movies- I cannot handle them. I have dreams about them later and then refuse to get out of bed at night to go to the bathroom. I am convinced that there is some murderer out there waiting for me to flip on the light in the bathroom and kill me. There is definitely something to be said for feeling comfort under your bed sheets. (I am totally serious.)

I have other fears but they are more realistic. These, i guess, are my irrational fears.

Pray like a prophet

I was reading through my journal the other day. That is always amusing. But a couple of years ago when I was at the Purdue Singles Branch we had an FHE lesson by Matt Christiansen. It was a great lesson that has stuck with me for a long time. It was how to pray like a prophet. Elder Bednar had spoken to him and a bunch of other missionaries when he was on his mission and had told them a story. (Unfortunately I don't remember all the details, but the point will come across) He was talking about an early prophet in the church who was with a group of men and they were away from their homes. At the time they couldn't get back home and they were starving from lack of resources in the area. They had finally found something edible in area to eat but it was making the men sick and not sustaining them like they had thought. At first the prophet prayed to find better things to eat that would not be so hard on their bodies. He prayed for a while for this but nothing seemed to be coming along. It finally occurred to him to pray that their bodies would learn to digest the food and would give them nourishment. After that the men got better and regained their strength.

As Matt was telling us this story it occurred to me that his prayer worked because he was praying not for the world to change, or for God to change, but that he could change. We are not on this earth to conform the will of the Lord to our situation, but to be more like Christ and to fit ourselves to the will of God.

I was thinking about this on my drive home last night. I was wondering if i have ever prayed like a prophet. And if i have, if i have ever been changed to fit my circumstance. It came into my mind a time when i was with Amy. It was about 10 (or so) years ago. (Amy, you will love this story.) We were in Muncie and locked out of Amy's house. We both had to go to the bathroom really bad. I think we were both dancing on her porch. No one was home, and i am pretty sure Amy was laughing hysterically. (Which often occurs when she has to pee.) Cell phones were not a popular thing at the time and neither one of us had one. We were trying to figure out what to do. We decided on saying a prayer. I think Amy said it. And at some point she prayed that we wouldn't have to go to the bathroom anymore. We said Amen and both looked up at each other, neither one of us having to use that bathroom anymore. It was the early days of my (LDS) church going experience and i remember it made a huge impression on me. It still does. It showed me that the Lord loves us so much that he cares about even the little things like when we have to go to the bathroom. Amy's mom pulled up shortly after and Amy and I called dibs on which bathroom we would take.

So i have decided i am going to start praying more like a prophet.

Names

I get bored at work. All the time. Sometimes i go for 2 hours just leaving the same message on voice mails. Other times i get to listen to people go on and on about their lives. I am not complaining, but because i am bored a lot, i make up games at work to keep myself occupied.

One of the games i play is writing down peoples names who are famous and peoples names who are funny. I personally like the funny ones better, but some of the famous ones are pretty cool too.

I realize these people are not the real famous people, but it is fun to think about.
Famous name & the state which this person lives:
Steven King-Ohio
Jack Nicholson-Indiana
Billy Graham-Texas
Michael Jackson-Indiana
Michael Johnson-South Carolina (Famous gold medalist sprinter in the Olympics)

The following are funny names I have come across. Some are just crazy and I could never pronounce. Some are just unfortunate. And others rhyme.
Bobby Magee-From the Janice Joplin song!
John Catchen-Dunn
Larry Gottschalk
Billy Loony
Dickie Haines
Carey Dicharry
Shelly Kelly
Jose Cuervo-Isn't that an alcoholic beverage?
Xochill Valezquez-This one i don't get. Is it pronounced X-O-Chill? I don't really understand the letter "X" at the beginning of words.
Mary Derryberry-This is her married name. I think i would have kept my maiden name.
Barry Goldsberry
Mia Dimbo-Really? That is just unfortunate.
Rocky Lusti
Lemuel Askew-I have never heard that first name outside of the BOM. Who names there kid after one of the unrighteous?
Kevin Butts
Todd McJuckin
James Bloodsaw
Somavanh Mixayphonh-Yeah, I don't have any idea.

Officially official

So i got my Texas license yesterday. So much for it taking 2 and a half months. I was so excited to get it. My picture is pretty good. I can live with it. I am officially a Texan. Weird.

Moments

Do you ever have those moments in life where you figure something out about yourself? I have had a couple of those moments while in Texas. I think it is because i spend a lot of my time alone in my car and doing a very repetitive job. It allows me much time to think. (and i do a lot of thinking despite my previous reputation for never thinking!! lol) I find that most of the time these moments happen to me when someone else brings it up or calls it to my attention that i am a certain way. i usually deny it, but think about it often. I then tend to find that i am exactly what they said i was and was just denying it. It is really weird when you realize other people know you better than you know yourself. I mean, i have been with myself for 25 years now. i should know me pretty well. i have had many of these moments throughout my life. some have been really good and have allowed me to grow and be a more well rounded person. other discoveries i have made have not been so good. those times end with me crying a lot and then reminding myself that i can be who i wanna be. just because i am one way today doesn't mean i have to be that way tomorrow. a lesson i learned while in Maine! (thanks nicole and amy)

Official (maybe)

So i go to get an inception on my car the other day b/c Texas law requires it. i was pretty sure my car wouldn't pass. that would be so like my car to ruin my life like that. so take it in 2 days before my IN plates are due to expire. the place i took it to looked a little shady, but i was short on time so i proceeded. the guy takes my keys gets in and literally peels out of the lot in front of me. he takes it out on the road and drives like 50 feet then backs up and does some other stuff. then floors it into the garage. i am sitting outside just starring, like "did that just happen before my vary eyes?" you think he would be a little more cautious with me there. but no. then he only pulls my car halfway into the garage. so i can see the back half of my car. all i can see is my car shaking really hard. not good, right? then i hear him put it in neutral and rev the engine really loud for like 20 seconds. i really thought he was going to break it. i was like "great! i may pass but my car will drive away broken." my car is delicate. i have to take care of it b/c i live so far from work. but it did pass and my car does work fine, for now. but i didn't like the way he treated it. (i cant wait til i buy a new car!!!)

So then the next day i go to get my new license. i am waiting in line and the lady behind me starts to talk to me and ask me lots questions. i tell her i am from IN and then she jumps right into her life story about how she is from PA and misses it, and everyone here is so different. she then proceeds to say, "isn't so weird how Texas people are so talkative and friendly? PA people just look at you like you are crazy if you even say hi. everyone just wants to tell you their life story." i found it ironic that she had just told me all about her life and then said that Texans were weird. but she was nice and i liked her.

When it was my turn i gave them all my stuff and had my pic taken (i got all hotted out just for my pic). In IN they give you the new license right there, but in TX they mail it to you. but you cant keep you old license so they give you a paper with a copy of your old license on it that is "official." so i sign everything and the guy then tells me that they revised the layout of the TX license and it is taking longer. then he looked up at me and said, "i am just being honest with you, but there was a glitch in the system and it is taking longer than expected. here is the estimated time you should get it...but don't expect it by then..." he told me to add on at least an extra 2 weeks from the date on the paper. so guess when i "should" be receiving my new Texas license? JANUARY!! yep. that's right. i am without a license for 2 1/2 months!!! i have this crap piece of paper that anyone could have made that says i am okay to drive my car. good thing i have a passport. i don't know if the airport will take that (for if i go home for Christmas.) but after the guy tells me all this he looks up at me again and says "Welcome to Texas!" with a big smile on his face. dumb.

Goodbye Indiana license. I will miss you. but not that nasty picture.

Count you blessings...

...name them one by one.

#1: To be alive (no really!)
#2: Previous Indiana driving experience

Yesterday was not my best day in the driving world. Well actually is was great in that i missed near death experiences more than once, but bad because i came close to death more than once. First i start off trying to find the license branch to get a new Texas license. I see it on my left so i stop in the suicide lane and wait to turn left. as i sit there i realize there are two place to turn in and so i think to myself "oh it must be the second because it is technically on the right and you always drive on the right." (does that make sense?) so i pull up further and start to turn in. then i realized that is for exiting only. so i stop in the middle of the road on the oncoming traffic side. i think to myself "self? what do i do?" i decided to just do it b/c there were no cars in my way, just as i realized there is a cop in his car sitting in the lot facing me. looking at me. bad idea. so then i swerve back over the right to get back in the suicide lane when a car almost hits me. this all happened in a matter of like 4 seconds. luckily i didnt get hit or pulled over. but i looked like an idiot.
Then i get my new license...(wait for that story) and i am on my way to work. its raining. raining hard. not big drops of rain, but the hard misty rain that literally whites out the world making it hard to see anything more than 10 feet away. those of you from IN know what i am talking about. so i am on the interstate going 5-10 miles under the speed limit. i know from past experience there are 2 rules when you drive in this weather. #1 dont drive too close b/c when brake lights go on you become a little to close for comfort to the car in front of you. #2 never, never slam on your brakes in rain unless it is avoid sure impact with another car. sliding, spinning, hydroplaning, etc will occur. so this car (for whatever reason) had pulled off to the side of the road but hadnt pulled all the way off the road. a few inches of the car were sticking out onto the interstate. (what were they thinking?) i am in the middle lane and there is this Neon a little ahead of me in the right lane. at the same time both the neon and i see this car so uncarefully parked. The neon who is closest to it slams on his brakes and swerves to the left (into my lane). i am not sure i have ever gasped so loud in all my life. the neon could have just moved around the dumb car on the side and stayed in his lane but i am sure it just scared him (coming out of no where). now this neon is sliding toward me sideways. so i slow down and start to move over but there is a car in my way to move over. so i slow down harder. the neon seeing me about to T-bone him again swerves to the right to over correct. WHAT!!!!! never over correct in rain. are you kidding me? so now the neon starts to spin out and now its back end is sliding towards the front of my car. p.s. we are probably going 55 mph when this all occurring. (oh my gosh) so i slow down again and finally get to move over. again this all takes place in a matter of 10 seconds or so. finally the neon gets right and i move as far as possible from him. i was super stressed at that point. i just wanted to be off the road and safe. thank goodness for my past knowledge in driving in rain. Texans dont get it. they just rip around the road in dry weather virtually all year around.

the job

so my job is one of those jobs you dont want to do forever. it is a means to an end. i have gotten into it and learned the ropes and gotten better at it. my whole job is to get people to pay me (or their mortgage). We call those Promise to Pay's, or a Promise. on a good day i may get like 18 out of 350 calls. that is decent. at the end of the month getting anything above 30 is pretty awesome. more people call in to make payments at the end of the month so they dont receive a credit hit for being more than 30 days late. so yesterday i didnt have a good day, i didnt have a great day....my day totally rocked. i got 64!!! that may be the highest anyone has ever gotten. i have heard people brag about this one guy who once got 52. i totally blasted thru his # and set a new record. am i bragging a little? :) okay so i am. but so what. on top of that i got promoted yesterday. not because of my 64 yesterday but because i have been doing well all month. so i move up to what they call "30s". i will now be dealing with people who are 30-59 days behind on their mortgage. normally this move doesnt come with a raise, but they offered me a new schedule to go with my promotion. it is kind of the shift that no one wants so they offer a raise with it. i took it. i am trying to pay off debt and buy a new car. i will take their crappy shift and their money! so now i will be working 1pm-11pm M-Th and half a day on Friday. no weekends. i didnt think it was so bad. i wont get home til midnight, but no weekends?! and a raise?! so the best part is i got a 10% raise to go with it. are you kidding me!!!!???! 10%! all the sudden i feel really good about this job and being yelled at everyday!

San Antonio

I went to San Antonio last weekend. had a blast. i picked up Reina and we headed south. We met up with my brother and his girlfriend Erica. SA is a pretty cool place. there is a lot to do and tourists all over. We hung out on the Riverwalk and investigated some of the shops.

Reina and i saw a club that we thought we might want to hit up. as we investigated a little closer we decided it was not our kind of place (that is all i will say about that). I busted out my dancing skills one night with Erica since Reina wouldn't dance with me. she got it on video... uhhh. not sure i am okay with that.

We saw the Alamo. it was pretty cool. they are super strict about what you can do when you are there. you cant take pictures inside. you cant touch anything, including the walls. you cant have your phone on. the "guards" had whistles and would blow them as loud as possible if you were doing something wrong. i may have lost some hearing in one ear. (not from me doing anything wrong) i was a little turned off by their prowling guards ready to take you out in a second.

Reina and i went shopping. i bought a cowboy hat!!! that's right. i look good too! :) We ate at the Rainforest Cafe and this amazing place called "Mi Tierra". it is totally decked out with fancy decorations and they have a bakery that is to die for.

Pictures to follow...

the Trip

Here are some pics of my trip to TX! i pretty much cried the whole 2 days there.

A really nice Mustang!!! Called the Shelby.

Big Sky Country!

We ate her a few days later. They cook it in their pits!

At 'On the Border'. Trevor happily torturing Jason.

Jason not loving it!

Copperas Cove

So i went to Copperas Cove to visit my Ray Ray Lish (Reina) and had an awesome time. I needed to get away from being lonely and feeling very detached from everything. Reina is always good for bringing up my spirits. Here is what i did: I got lost (due to someones poor directions), learned to play poker. Had amazing beginners luck, and then promptly lost all my chips from over eagerness. We made cookies and decorated them. Go Colts! We made a ton of food for Aaron's birfday party (her husband). I almost hit a car when i didn't listen to Reina and tried to go around her when the coast was not so clear. I then almost bashed in her back end when i tried to get out of the way of the bright yellow oncoming car. lol. I saw a 2008 Pontiac Solstice in someones yard for sale, in black. i wanted to steal it/buy it! we did each others makeup and took pictures. We also discovered that Reina and i carry all of our body weight in our hair just like Britney Spears...(you had to be there). i almost shaved my head!! It was just what i needed. Jason said was i was noticeably happier when i got back.

Sorry for the sideways pic...

manager

so i really like my manager. he is a really nice guy, and he brags about me a lot. what is not to like? he pretty much tells me everyday that i am really smart, or a fast learner, or that he is really impressed with how i handle a customer...it is nice. the first day i met him, i asked him if he remembered phone interviewing me.

i was pretty sure i bombed that interview 6 weeks previous. i almost cried at the end because i was pretty sure i blew it. i thought i would never get a call back and i would never get out of Indiana.

So i mentioned the phone interview to my manger and he did remember. He basically told me i was one of the best interviews he had ever done, and that i was super professional. he later told me that if he didn't know better he would have thought i worked for a bank with 45,000 branches and i was manager over 65 people. I laughed at him. i told him i thought i bombed it. he laughed at me.

it def makes work better when i feel like someone has confidence in me. even when i am messing everything up. work is good. long and repetitive, but good.

Work, Sleep, Eat, Repeat

I feel like my life is on a broken record. Honestly all i do is work, sleep, eat and then repeat...oh and drive. Drive, drive, drive. It never ends. I really need to put more posts up here. i dont have a life so i have no excuse, but somehow i manage to not have time anyways. like right now, for instance. I am not doing anything, except thinking about how i should be going to bed. i have to get up so early tomorrow. 4:45am. not even right. but i am committed to blogging more often. yes. yes i will. starting tomorrow! :) tonight i really do have to go to bed. 5 hours and 20 mins til i have to wake up again! it is sick how little sleep i get. oh well, i shouldnt complain.
oh, and pics to come....lots o' pics.

training

My first two weeks of work i will be in training. they are packing a lot of information into us and it is a little overwhelming. i have to take all these tests to become certified under all these different laws to be a collector. it is basically a protection to the customers so i can't be a jerk on the phone to them or harrass them, and it protects the company from being sued for me saying or doing the wrong thing. we are taking one test per day this week and i have passed the 2 i have taken so far. i am excited about that.

my commute is getting better and easier. i am finding my way around. i was pretty proud of myself yesterday. i got off work and was talking to Trevor on the phone trying to meet up with him before Jason got off work. i only roughly knew where Jason's building was (which Trevor was near) and Trevor had no idea how to get me anywhere. i winged it and found him without making any wrong turns. i felt pretty good about that.

Moving

So i moved to Texas today. We started out on our adventure yesterday. We arrived and moved all of my stuff into my new bedroom. We passed a CVS sign right before we got to my new place and it told us the temp was 104. That is not even right! but we survived.
Jason, his friend Collin, Trevor, and i all embarked on this journey together. We were drove for about 15 hours. we slept in a Super 8 Hotel. We ate a lot of bad food, and talked a lot. Saturday was just about the most emotional day i have ever had. I went through them all. I cried...i don't know how many times. It was really hard to say goodbye to everyone. today was emotional too. i start work tomorrow and i am exhausted! i have to get up super early tomorrow. no good. no good at all.

Hatin'

Why does everybody gotta be hatin' on my new job. i will be working in collections. yes. i will be that person that calls and tries to get you to make your house payment. i know that i am going to have bad days where i get called all sorts of terrible things. i know. i get it. i realize that most people wouldn't want that kind of job. i am not sure i want this kind of job. but...it is my life. it is my job and my decision. i am tired of people asking me what i will be doing and then following up by saying..."oh i would never do that job!" or "oh are you really going to like that job?" oh yeah. you are going to hate on my new job? i have worked in customer service for a long time and i have dealt with angry customers before. i can handle it. i job shadowed someone while i was there a few weeks ago and it wasn't bad at all. and i am sure it wont be my job forever. but i am getting to move where i want to, and getting paid a lot more. i will be able to pay off my debts in a relatively short amount of time. that is what i care the most about right now. if i hate it, i will look for a new job. life will go on. i guess i am not sure why everyone has got to suck all the fun out of my new life/move/job? dumb.
*when i say "everyone" i don't really mean everyone. just a lot of people.

Summer

why is it that when i have finally decided to move on from Indiana and things are working out really well as far as moving goes, i am having more fun here than i have had in a really long time? I am going to be super sad to go. i have been all sentimental about everything lately. i am pretty sure i am going to lose it when i leave. i have wanted to do this for a long time but it is still hard. i have to keep reminding myself that once school starts, the friends i have been spending all my time with are going to be so so so busy. so it is good i am leaving now. Peace out, Indiana!

End

I really like to title my blog entries with one word. Sometimes it is hard to not repeat words and still make it an appropriate title.
So the end... Yes, it is the end of my days here in Indiana. My recent vacation spot has become my home, and home has become my vacation spot. go figure. I have been instructed, or threatened rather, that i am to blog often. very often. i am going to try my best.
I have 2 days of work left. i have liked my job the whole 3+ years i have worked here. ever since i have started looking for other jobs though, work has become a lot harder to enjoy. especially when i put in my 2 weeks notice. i am ready to be done. everything about work is tedious. things i never would have thought twice about before are huge annoyances now. why is that? i try not to show it too much. i am trying not to be one of those employees who stops working when they give their notice, but it is not easy.

Moving

So i am moving to Texas!!! i got a job at a company called NationStar Mortgage. I will be living south of Ft Worth and working north of the DFW area. it is an hour to an hour and a half commute to work everyday. i am staying with Jason's coworker for a few months until i find a place closer to work. i am sad to leave my bank, but it is a good move for me. i will be making more money. i am going to be able to pay off my credit cards and hopefully, hopefully buy a "new" car. i move on Aug 8th and start my new job on Aug 10th. i am so excited!

Season 2

I have just finished Alias Season 2. Loved it! As I have said in previous posts, I didn't really love Season 1 until the very last episode. Then I was hooked. Season 2 I liked most of the way through. There were parts I loved and parts I certainly did not love. The cliffhanger for season 2 is a killer. I am so hooked. I feel like I have to know what is going on. Like I can be satisfied no other way. That is probably not good. Sometimes I get way too involved in these things. (Twilight is a good example of that, haha) :) I have heard from many people that the series starts to get weird after season 2 so I am a little leery about watching 3, but I have to know how they are going to explain Vaughn getting over Sydney, meeting someone new and getting married in under 2 years (while she is missing). Not even right. Funny that that is my main concern and not where or what she has been doing for those 2 years. I am a nut, I know. Bring on season 3!

Obama

Over the past several months the United States has been under a new president. A new political party. Obama has made some changes. Some I have liked or been okay with. Others I have not agreed with. It is Father's Day today and I was on the internet and came across this article about President Obama. I love it! I think it is fabulous. I agree with everything he says in it (which never happens). Nice job, Obama.
Check it out:
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/31437363?GT1=43001

Vacation

I went on vaction a few weeks ago to Texas. It was amazing. I had never been to Texas (outside of the Houston airport almost 10 years ago) I got to see a bunch of family and friends i dont get to see all that often. My cousin Patrick got married. The location of the wedding/reception was gourgous. I got a rental car and drove from Houston to Fort Worth to visit my friend Jason. He is crazy, but awesome. We had a good time. I got to meet a bunch of his friends who i think are crazier then he is (hard to imagine, i know). Then i went to see Reina. She lives in Copperas Cove, just outside of Fort Hood. Reina is amazing! i dont think i ever laugh so hard as i do when i am with Reina (no offense to all my other good friends). I dont know what it is about that girl, but she can make me laugh at the dumbest stuff. and we are definitely dumb a lot when we are together. i annoy myself when i am with her. (you know that is bad.) here are some pictures.
The mansion where the wedding/reception was held. Awesome.

Jason and I. I look terrible. Whatever...

Oh no...Like i said, we are so annoying around each other. i dont even know what we are doing. lol

Garages

I have discovered this phenomenon in my life called 'flights of stairs that kill me'. I can run for a while and not even break a sweat, but after climbing 2 flights of stairs (less than a minute later) I am totally out of breath. what is that about? i also decided this is kind of embarrassing when other people are around. i just want to scream, "Yes, I am out of breath! I don't know! i don't get it! I can run a 5k! Stop starring at me!" Luckily i have more tact than that, but i really do hate it, so i was telling this unfortunate occurrence in my life to my good friend Sarah F. She suggested that we run up and down the stairs for a break from the normal running we do. we were on campus at the time and so she suggested we go to one of the parking garages and run up and down the stairs. then she thought it would be even better to run up the stairs and down the slope of the garage. i suggested that we could run up the slope too if we got bored. so today i ran my first "Parking Garage." it was rough. Indiana humidity doesn't help. you would think that running up the slope of the parking garage would be the hardest, but no. not for me. the stairs continued to kill me. i think i ran (i use the term "ran" loosly)the stairs 4 times, up the garage 4 times and down it 6 or 7 times. my body is already yelling at me. i am going to be in some serious pain tomorrow. good pain though. I will do it again. i need a little spice in my life, even though the people driving in their cars in the parking garage looked at us like we were crazy. who does that?

5K!!!

I did it! I ran in a 5K. The Jay Cooperider Memorial 5K was almost two weeks ago. Sarah, Amy, and I ran in it. I had a goal of 50 minutes to finish it under. I know it is not that fast, but you got to start somewhere right? But the good news is i finished 2 minutes under my goal. I was pretty happy about that. Sarah finished way ahead of us. Amy pushed me the entire way. I needed her there. (Thanks Ames! You rock!) Here are some photos. The beginning of the race. Notice Sarah is already no where to be seen. She was way ahead.Check out Sarah busting it out! Nice!
And this is my finish. I was a little more relaxed about crossing the finish line. :)

my hair

i am not sure why i love to dye my hair so much, but i just do. i hadn't dyed it in a long time (8 months...which is a long time for me). i had no intention of dying it either.....buuuuuuuuut i did. i was hanging out with Sarah and she wanted me to re-dye her hair purple. to make a long story short i got sucked into the idea. I work at a bank which makes it hard to do anything crazy with my hair, but she put the purple on a small part toward the back, on the bottom layer. i love it!!! i wish i could put more of it in. the purple is really dark. (Muncie Central Bearcat purple, for those of you who know what that means) so far i am not in trouble. my manager says she can barely see it, and it looks fine. haha! i am so excited. Thanks Sarah! You rock!

the great outdoors

Running outside is a whole different beast than running on a treadmill. i thought my lungs were going to explode. That was pretty fun. i think i was not used to an uncontrolled environment. It was like 55 degrees outside when i was running. I wondered how long it would take someone to notice me collapsed and dying on the ground. I am freaking out a little about running this 5k. i may not survive. Does it seem like all i do is complain about running?

running

so this 5k is coming up in less than 5 weeks. i am pretty frustrated with my progress, but i am pushing on. i am running/walking on the treadmill at pace to get me done with the 5k in under an hour. not much under an hour though. my newest goal is to improve my time every time i go. i have finally resolved that i am just not going to be able to run the whole thing unless some running miracle happens. i have good days and bad days with my running. sometimes i feel like i am giving it everything i got after like 5 minutes. other days i can run for a while before i have to start pushing myself. i feel like that is probably pretty normal. oh well. i am excited just to do it no matter my ending time.

sleep

I remember the days when i could sleep at night. they are long gone for me. I think i am averaging about 4 hours of sleep a night (for the past 3 weeks). it has been taking me almost 2 hours to fall asleep and i wake up at about 5 every morning. i just lay there and pretend like i am sleeping with no success. i don't really get it. i am not napping. i work out most days, and do other physical activities like playing volleyball and going out dancing on a regular basis. you would think my body would give out and fall asleep. i am tired in the afternoon, but that is about the only time. on the bright side of things i get to see the sun rise and set everyday, and i have all kinds of spare time on my hands. my apartment is cleaner than it has been in a long time. my laundry is all done, folded and put away (something that rarely happens). i feel like this can only last so long before i just collapse somewhere and stay asleep for like 27 hours. hopefully it is in my bed and not somewhere embarrassing. :)

rainy days and mondays...

...always get me down. Friday and today (Monday) were not good days at work for me. I think i yelled at two customers on Friday (i use the word "yell" loosely). I got told on two different occasions that i looked about 40 years old. That was fun. They weren't joking either. One customer wouldn't let it go. When my face turned red because she had embarrassed me, she told me that it is okay to have hot flashes during Menopause. she is one of the ones that i got a little feisty with. Today i got in trouble for having .1 hours of overtime last week and counting the vault wrong on Friday (not by a lot). Work is beginning to stress me out. Uuuuuugggggh!

Alias

I have been watching the first season of Alias on dvd. (i love netflix!) I haven't been so into Alias though. i kind of felt like all the episodes were the same, and i was pretty confused at the beginning. there is also a cliffhanger at the end of every episode. it is so annoying. but i committed to some friends that i would watch the first season because they love it so much. so i am trucking along....and i get to the last episode, and BAM! i am hooked. it took 25 episodes to hook me, but i am in. i watched the trailer for the whole next season and i am soooo excited! i am not just excited to see what happens to resolve the cliffhanger at the end of the season, i am just excited to see season 2 play out. i am crazy!

Muse

i had an interesting weekend last weekend. i went to this new club called Muse. Sarah Forbes talked me into going. i was pretty reluctant to go, but she told me i was "young and who cares if it was already late." Sarah knows just how to get me. sometimes i feel like i am so old, so when she throws out the word "young" it is almost like i have to prove that that is in fact true. so we went, and i rode with Sarah, but i forgot my ID. it didn't really occur to me that it was a real club where you need things like IDs. also given the fact that i don't drink and i have been over 21 for a long time, i just didn't think about it. so we get up to the door and i realize now naive i really am. oops! to make a long story short (although the long story is pretty funny), i had go undercover as my alias "flirty Al" to get through the door. i was successful (to my utter shock)! then, the evening got more interesting once i realized that i had been a little too successful under my alias when the bouncer continually flirted back with me all evening. haha. things like this never happen to me, which is why i thought a little flirtiness couldn't hurt...oops! also to my surprise i had a lot of fun. we tore up the dance floor for 2 hours. i met some new people and Sarah now has reason to make fun of me, telling me i have a bouncer for a boyfriend. lol.

hate/hate relationship

The treadmill and i are not friends. Running is getting harder and harder. I have been told it will be that way until i can push through that wall of pain and death. Then it will be easier. it seriously kills me everytime i start running. i wish i could be a runner. It would be great to be able to go out and run for awhile a few days a week and feel like i got a good workout and not be sore for 2 days afterwards! hopefully i will get there. i am not giving up yet.

Running

On day 4 of my training for the 5k I was ready to throw in the towel. it was killing me. the pain in my shins was probably the worst pain i have ever felt. that is pretty bad. but, i pushed on and sought a little advice for shin splints. after a new pair of shoes, gel inserts, ice, and a looooot of stretching i can run with only mild discomfort. that is a pretty vast improvement. Today is day 7 and i am pretty excited to push myself a little bit each day to be able to run the whole thing (hopefully!!!). The adventure continues...This is a pic of my new kicks that saved my life! you may be asking yourself what is on my legs. well...i was icing my shins but the ice wouldn't stay balanced on my shins in the right spot, so i tied down the bags of ice with some scarves. lol

5K

i have decided i need some goals in my life. "an unaimed arrow never misses" right? but it has never gotten me anywhere either. so i have a goal to run a 5K. i want to actually run the whole thing. i may not seem like that big of a deal to a lot of people, but i pretty much haven't run a day in my life, so it is a huge deal to me. when i told Amy about it she was instantly up for running it with me. we decided to do it on May 9th in West Lafayette. that is 9 weeks from today. my training supposedly has me running 30+ solid minutes in 8 weeks. i am so pumped. yesterday i completed the first day of that training and it was rough. sad that is was hard for me when it is only the first day, but i am hoping that this is one of those things that gets easier as you go (please! oh please let it get easier!!!) i think Sarah F is going to run it with us too. she is training for a mini-marathon in april (so scary). we set the date so i would have new found motivation to eat better and work out 6 days a week. it worked. i am motivated. i have to keep myself that way though. i would rather not embarrass myself in front of my friends when i tell them to keep going without me and i will catch up later. that is no good. i will keep you updated on my progress...

Texas

I am going to Texas!!! i have never been to Texas. i am so excited. my cousin is getting married over Memorial Day weekend, and my mom and i wanted to go. my dad is using his frequently flier miles to cover our plane tickets, which is pretty awesome. after the wedding i am taking my mom back to the airport and i am going up to Dallas/Fort Worth (from Houston) to visit Jason. he has been bugging me to come visit him for a long time, so here i come. then i am going to drive down to Fort Hood (i think that is the base) to visit Reina. It is near Austin. i am excited to have a little road trip all over Texas. I am going to rent a car. i will be 25 then. (wow!) i have looked at different vehicles to rent for a week with unlimited miles. the cheapest one that i found (last time i looked) was a F-150. how cool would i be tooling around Texas in a truck?! i mean everyone probably drives a truck, but it would be awesome! get ready Texas, here i come!

Reina

I know some of you know who Reina is. For those of you who don't, she was a co-worker of mine at the bank about 2 years ago. Not only did she work with me, but she lived down the road from me at that time. She was my sanity at times when life got a little crazy. During summer months, i spent about 14 hours a day with her. it was fabulous! she moved to Hawaii where her husband was stationed in the army. they didn't love Hawaii so much so they put in for a move to Texas where some of her family lives. In between her move from Hawaii to Texas they came back to Indiana to visit her husband's family in Frankfort. i went to visit her there. i can honestly say that i laughed harder in those 3-4 hours that i was with her than i have in a long long time. she is an amazing person! we reminisced about good times we had back in the day,and after eating more Chinese food than i thought imaginable, i proceeded to tell her one of the funny things she used to say to me. we were out in the parking lot. she was laughing so hard that she peed her pants a little, and threw up some of the Chinese food she had just eaten. so, maybe that was a little too much information, but it was the funniest thing ever!

FINALLY I am back

I am back. i took a long break from blogging. i needed it. i wasn't really in a good mood for about 6 weeks. long time, huh? i went through this bitter and angry stage for those 6 long weeks and i wasn't really keen on telling the whole world about it in my blog. i was throwing a massive pity party for myself and i didn't want anyone to bring me back to reality. you know how sometimes you just want to feel sorry for yourself and you don't want anyone to make you feel like you are overreacting, even though you know you are? well, maybe it is just me, but i was there and for a good long time. i am out of that stage now. i got a serious reality check, which was good for my sanity, although a little disheartining. i knew i couldn't go on like i was, but i would like to thank Lindsey and Sarah for being my social interaction and agreeing with me that life sometimes just stinks! i am moving on, getting a grip, and looking forward to some fun things coming up...

Internet

My blog has unfortunately not been updated for a long time. I don't have internet at home and Purdue has recently cut me off from using the computer lab. I guess that is what happens when you stop giving them all of your money. I haven't made it to the library yet so I am using the internet at work (which I am not really supposed to do). Someday I will really update my blog. I feel like I have a lot of things to say. So get excited!

Pier 1

I am not really sure why, but my mom loves to spend money on me when she comes to visit me. she should come more often :) jk. i have been wanting an ottoman that i can put stuff in for storage. i casually mentioned it a long time ago and when she was here she decided she was buying me one. so we went all over town looking for one. she was willing to spend sooooo much money, but i finally decided on one at Pier 1. i like it. it doesn't match so well, but i do really like it and i am sure my furniture/style will change with time.

Vain

Sometimes I am really vain, but this is my blog and I will use it how I want. Here are some great shots of me and my hott eyes! ohh la la!

I inherited some great blue eyes. Thanks Mom and Dad!

Light Bulbs

I feel like Nicole sometimes (that is a good thing). I took her idea of using light bulbs to make vases. I also took her idea to put stuff in a tall, round, vase as decorations. I think she still likes me even though I steal her ideas :) Here is what I have done with the two ideas.
I combined the ideas. I think it is fun!

Plastic Bags

I am pretty sure everyone thought I was crazy when I started to collect plastic bags from stores to make stuff. Lindsey N (my old roommate) thought i was going to make clothes out of them...she is silly. Here is what I did make out of them. They are little change purses (I guess). I am using them to help me budget my money. I am going to start using cash for groceries, and going out to eat, or doing fun stuff, and buying household stuff...you know. I think I am going to have one for each category. At the beginning of the month I will put the allotted amount in and when it is gone that month, it is gone. No more credit cards. No more spending money whenever, wherever, and however much I want. Good idea right? Outside/Front

Top flap open. Velcro is what keeps it closed.

For my groceries

The inside is Target!
I melted the plastic bags together with an iron and then cut it out like fabric. Then I just sewed it like fabric. The only draw back from this "fabric" is if you make a mistake and have to rip out all the stiches, the holes don't go away and if you go over that spot too many times, it makes so many holes it practically cuts it right off. I hope my pictures describe what it is well enough.

Ladies Night

Ladies Night is unfortunately a thing of the past, but back in the day when it happened once a week, it was my lifeline. Nicole, Amy, and I had some good times, and it was great to get away from my normal stresses. Over the holidays we were lucky enough to have another ladies night. We beaded for hours. That is so classic of us to spend our time arranging beads.

This picture is mostly for Ames, so she can continue practicing on "channeling Nicole".

This is after the somewhat failed attempt. Let's be honest. It was a pretty great look from ames, but just not "Nicole". It's cool Ames. You got your own style. Work it, baby!

Top 10

Back in the days when i lived with some of the most fabulous people alive, in Maine, this really great girl named Nicole would always talk about movies she would put in her Top 10. I am not positive that she has ever nailed down the final list, but it was fun to talk about. The other day I rearranged my dvds from my favorite to my least favorite (instead of alphabetical). I decided to list my Top 10 since it was so frequently talked about back in Maine. (#1 and #2 are interchangeable...I just can't decided.)

1./2. Moulin Rouge

1./2. Pride and Prejudice

3. A Walk to Remember

4. Ever After

5. Win a Date with Tad Hamilton

6. The Holiday

7. My Big Fat Greek Wedding

8. The Count of Monte Cristo

9. 13 Going on 30

10. Never Been Kissed

I will say that this list changes just about every time I look at it. It doesn't usually change much, but I switch things around sometimes.

Interesting how out of the top 3, two of them have one of the main characters dying. I am not really sure what that means about me, but it doesn't sound good. I also think it is funny that every one of these movies is a love story. You could argue with me on #8, but it's got it in there...