Well, this will be my last weekend as an unemployed citizen. It's a bitter sweet feeling. As much as I've enjoyed sitting around the house doing nothing all the time, the empty wallet is not a feeling I've grown to like.
As I mentioned before, this job that starts Monday is the one job I didn't want. It's a "responsible adult" job that just does not sound fun in the slightest. I'll be working in the retention department of a call center for an internet provider. Not exactly what I would call a party, but the job is full time and pays better than any job I've ever had. It's going to be so amazing feeling to open my paycheck and see it's over $400. With only having part time jobs prior to this, it will be very weird to work for 40 hours a week. One other cool perk is I get free wireless internet installed where I live. Not to shabby.
I'm working on being very honest about my emotions in this blog, so bear with me. (Twixter One can attest, I don't often talk about my emotions. Just how I grew up I guess.)
I'm really freaking scared of this job. I'm terrified of not wanting to wake up each day because I hate 40 hours out of my 168 I get each week. That's 24% of my week. And say I sleep 8 hours a night. That leaves 52% of my week untouched. That's not a lot. It sounds like it is. But it isn't. What if the money isn't enough? I just really want to pay my bills off and have a bit of a savings. Sorry for the math lesson. Just a small peek into how my nerdy mind works.
But there's something else... What I'm really scared of is actually liking it. What if I really like this job and don't want to leave? I'm a goal oriented person. I like promotion and training and teaching. What if this place gives me the opportunity? Vegas was supposed to be extremely temporary. Move here, save some money and get the hell out. The longer I stay here, the harder it will be to leave. But I also don't want to leave too early. I don't want to be some place else with no job and no one to help us like we luckily have out here.
But then when is the right time to leave? I feel like I'm on the edge of a fence on a hot day. On one side, there's an awesome tree with shade. On the other side is a small lake. Both are helpful and can keep you cool. But which one do you choose? They're so different in their pros and cons. So I just stand on the fence sweating my ass off doing nothing.
(sigh)
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Friday, January 29, 2010
Post Grad
I just finished Post Grad, the new film starting Alexis Bledel of Gilmore Girls fame. Usually I wouldn’t admit to the fact that I actually enjoyed that film, but I’m in a new stage of life where I’m willing to own up to the fact that I thoroughly enjoy cheesy girly chick flicks; they’re my favorites. Plus, how could I not love the poster after my last blog:
Okay, that subject is neither here nor there, so anyways.
Post Grad is not necessarily a unique chick flick. It’s the typical boy loves girl, girl is oblivious until it’s too late - or is it? I won’t ruin the ending for you, but come on - it’s predictable. Nevertheless, the film SCREAMS Twixter generation. Rydel (how cute is that name?) graduates from college and is stuck living at home with her parents - no job, no car, no idea what to do. Of course, unlike some in our generation she HAS tried to move out of her High School bedroom - only to be denied by our current crappy economy.
If someone ever made a film about my life so far, this would be it. It’s like the plot line was stolen directly from the last year of my life - right down to the horrific car accident the same week as graduation!
In high school I had a plan all laid out - a golden brick road of sorts, except for this one was paved with straight A’s. But somewhere along the way, reality set in. I was lucky enough to avoid the embarrassing move back to my parents house, but I was astonished after the first few resumes submitted that I hadn’t gotten a job yet. What we’re these people thinking - I was a college graduate! Magna Cum Laude at that!
Eventually the little stumbles in life brought me to the job I have today, but the six months I spent wandering taught me a lot. Finding a job - starting your career - is a two-way game. No one is going to hand it to you - you have to be smart, work hard, and persevere. And yet, all the hard work in the world isn’t going to get you anywhere unless someone else tells you yes. You need that golden opportunity.
Of course, the other half of the film is the love story. Rydel works so hard that she misses the love of her life that is right in front of her. If anything, this subject has consumed my thoughts lately. I’m independent, a feminist, a girl who has dreams for her career a mile high - and at this time in my life all I want to do is find the ladder and start climbing. Yet, so many women who are older and wiser than me have cautioned me that without someone by my side, the top of that ladder is lonely and disappointing.
Im lucky enough that The Boy isn’t threatening to run off to New York, and the hour drive between us can be conquered. But with both of us climbing up our own ladders, sometimes things get shaky. It’s hard when neither are on solid ground. That’s the part the chick flick always manages to leave out - what happens after the boy gets the girl, and they’re left to figure out how?
So what about you? Are you pushing your way through, climbing the ladder to the top? or still waiting on that golden opportunity? or maybe you’ve been swept away, by the guy or gal of your dreams like Twixter Two, and figuring it all out together?
Let us know in the comments below!
Okay, that subject is neither here nor there, so anyways.
Post Grad is not necessarily a unique chick flick. It’s the typical boy loves girl, girl is oblivious until it’s too late - or is it? I won’t ruin the ending for you, but come on - it’s predictable. Nevertheless, the film SCREAMS Twixter generation. Rydel (how cute is that name?) graduates from college and is stuck living at home with her parents - no job, no car, no idea what to do. Of course, unlike some in our generation she HAS tried to move out of her High School bedroom - only to be denied by our current crappy economy.
If someone ever made a film about my life so far, this would be it. It’s like the plot line was stolen directly from the last year of my life - right down to the horrific car accident the same week as graduation!
In high school I had a plan all laid out - a golden brick road of sorts, except for this one was paved with straight A’s. But somewhere along the way, reality set in. I was lucky enough to avoid the embarrassing move back to my parents house, but I was astonished after the first few resumes submitted that I hadn’t gotten a job yet. What we’re these people thinking - I was a college graduate! Magna Cum Laude at that!
Eventually the little stumbles in life brought me to the job I have today, but the six months I spent wandering taught me a lot. Finding a job - starting your career - is a two-way game. No one is going to hand it to you - you have to be smart, work hard, and persevere. And yet, all the hard work in the world isn’t going to get you anywhere unless someone else tells you yes. You need that golden opportunity.
Of course, the other half of the film is the love story. Rydel works so hard that she misses the love of her life that is right in front of her. If anything, this subject has consumed my thoughts lately. I’m independent, a feminist, a girl who has dreams for her career a mile high - and at this time in my life all I want to do is find the ladder and start climbing. Yet, so many women who are older and wiser than me have cautioned me that without someone by my side, the top of that ladder is lonely and disappointing.
Im lucky enough that The Boy isn’t threatening to run off to New York, and the hour drive between us can be conquered. But with both of us climbing up our own ladders, sometimes things get shaky. It’s hard when neither are on solid ground. That’s the part the chick flick always manages to leave out - what happens after the boy gets the girl, and they’re left to figure out how?
So what about you? Are you pushing your way through, climbing the ladder to the top? or still waiting on that golden opportunity? or maybe you’ve been swept away, by the guy or gal of your dreams like Twixter Two, and figuring it all out together?
Let us know in the comments below!
A Pair of Big Girl Heels
My wardrobe in college consisted purely of jeans, v-neck T-Shirts, a baggy university sweatshirt and converses. I was lucky enough to live a 5-minute walk from campus, which meant my morning routine consisted of tossing my hair in a ponytail and running out the door with a cup of tea in hand.
I’ve never been the dress up kind of girl. While a small part inside of me loves dressing up fancy, finding that perfect little black dress or curling my hair just right, a bigger part of me loves sleep. I can’t imagine spending an hour on my hair in the morning when I could be using that hour for something much better. Like sleep.
I was frightened about entering the work world and having to slip on heels every morning before I headed to the office. My first day at my new job I agonized over my wardrobe and finally decided on a black collared shirt, grey dress pants, and a brand new pair of Two-Inch “Big Girl” heels.
Can I repeat? TWO-INCH HEELS!
I’m pretty sure those heels have only been worn once since then. I walked into the office on my first day and met my coworkers – who were all wearing flip-flops and jeans. I breathed a HUGE sigh of relief and the next day switched out my heels for a much more comfortable pair of flats.
There are moments when I cherish my companies casual dress policy. (Like today, Friday, when the boss is gone and all I wanted to do was stay in bed in my PJs). Yet, sometimes I wish there was a little bit more push to dress up for work each day. Because if I know it’s fine for me to come into work in converses and a v-neck, I will. There’s no motivation to dress otherwise.
So, I loved Work Chic’s blog about how to have Profession Style in a Casual Office.
A lot of the suggestions on both the site and the blog are a little expensive for a post-collegiate like me, but my favorite go-to substitution (Target) has a lot of options that could work. For someone whose idea of “changing things up” is to wear a zip-up instead of a hoodie, I liked the suggestion of finding “trouser style denim” and using accessories to brighten things up. Maybe it’s time I get out of the college slump and (gasp) freecycle some of those old T’s and jeans and go on a bit of a shopping spree.
Of course, what I liked the most about the article is that neither outfit mentioned any kind of killer heels. Even if I’m tiptoeing into the world of professional dress, I’ll can still tiptoe in a pair of comfy flats.
I’ve never been the dress up kind of girl. While a small part inside of me loves dressing up fancy, finding that perfect little black dress or curling my hair just right, a bigger part of me loves sleep. I can’t imagine spending an hour on my hair in the morning when I could be using that hour for something much better. Like sleep.
I was frightened about entering the work world and having to slip on heels every morning before I headed to the office. My first day at my new job I agonized over my wardrobe and finally decided on a black collared shirt, grey dress pants, and a brand new pair of Two-Inch “Big Girl” heels.
Can I repeat? TWO-INCH HEELS!
I’m pretty sure those heels have only been worn once since then. I walked into the office on my first day and met my coworkers – who were all wearing flip-flops and jeans. I breathed a HUGE sigh of relief and the next day switched out my heels for a much more comfortable pair of flats.
There are moments when I cherish my companies casual dress policy. (Like today, Friday, when the boss is gone and all I wanted to do was stay in bed in my PJs). Yet, sometimes I wish there was a little bit more push to dress up for work each day. Because if I know it’s fine for me to come into work in converses and a v-neck, I will. There’s no motivation to dress otherwise.
So, I loved Work Chic’s blog about how to have Profession Style in a Casual Office.
A lot of the suggestions on both the site and the blog are a little expensive for a post-collegiate like me, but my favorite go-to substitution (Target) has a lot of options that could work. For someone whose idea of “changing things up” is to wear a zip-up instead of a hoodie, I liked the suggestion of finding “trouser style denim” and using accessories to brighten things up. Maybe it’s time I get out of the college slump and (gasp) freecycle some of those old T’s and jeans and go on a bit of a shopping spree.
Of course, what I liked the most about the article is that neither outfit mentioned any kind of killer heels. Even if I’m tiptoeing into the world of professional dress, I’ll can still tiptoe in a pair of comfy flats.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Lack of Job Interview Hospitality
Today I went to an interview at a very nice hotel on the Las Vegas Strip. It was pouring rain today in Vegas. And I actually do mean freezing rain, not that "sprinkling" business. But I wore a rocking turquoise suit jacket anyway to prove the rain doesn't get me down. And the fact is, my jacket is awesome.
The 15 person took place in one of the executive suites. It was gorgeous.
I have to tell you, in high school. I was a brown-noser, kiss-ass, suck up, whatever term you use. That was me. I have since grown from my days of attempting to make every superior I meet love me by what I say about them or the company they work for. I have found honesty works better.
Well that was the wrong strategy today. We had a 30 minute question process where you had to state your name and why you wanted to work for the company. I almost scoffed out loud at the answer of a guy my age in a full (ill fitted) business suit. We shall call him Suit-Boy from now on. Suit-Boy may as well have gotten down and bowed to the interviewer as he read some invisible cue cards advertising the hotel. I couldn't believe it. His "random question" which is supposed to explain your personality was, "What would you do if you could live a life without fear?" Suit-Boy of course answered well.
When it was my turn, I answered honestly. I didn't have front desk experience and I have ALWAYS wanted to work front desk. But alas, exactly like the freaking food industry, no one will hire you unless you have experience. How am I supposed to get experience when no will give me the chance? (Off my soap box)
Then my "Random Question" was "If you could play any instrument, what would it be and why?"
My immediate thought was Are you freaking serious? THIS is my question? The guy next to me just got asked about what super power he'd want and why. WHAT INSTRUMENT? UGH!
I answered well. Piano. Some BS. Whatever. Annoyed.
After it was done, the interviewers deliberated and we all waited outside. Guess who I got to chatting with? Suit-Boy. Find out we went to the same high school together. Both in honors. Graduated the same year. He had no idea who I was. (Luckily I didn't remember him either so I didn't feel like THAT much of a loser). His major? Hotel Hospitality and Management. I had no chance.
I was right. He got called in. As well as "If someone gave me 2,000 to spend on myself I'd donate every penny" woman. Whatev.
Maybe I'm not meant for the hospitality industry after all.
The 15 person took place in one of the executive suites. It was gorgeous.
I have to tell you, in high school. I was a brown-noser, kiss-ass, suck up, whatever term you use. That was me. I have since grown from my days of attempting to make every superior I meet love me by what I say about them or the company they work for. I have found honesty works better.
Well that was the wrong strategy today. We had a 30 minute question process where you had to state your name and why you wanted to work for the company. I almost scoffed out loud at the answer of a guy my age in a full (ill fitted) business suit. We shall call him Suit-Boy from now on. Suit-Boy may as well have gotten down and bowed to the interviewer as he read some invisible cue cards advertising the hotel. I couldn't believe it. His "random question" which is supposed to explain your personality was, "What would you do if you could live a life without fear?" Suit-Boy of course answered well.
When it was my turn, I answered honestly. I didn't have front desk experience and I have ALWAYS wanted to work front desk. But alas, exactly like the freaking food industry, no one will hire you unless you have experience. How am I supposed to get experience when no will give me the chance? (Off my soap box)
Then my "Random Question" was "If you could play any instrument, what would it be and why?"
My immediate thought was Are you freaking serious? THIS is my question? The guy next to me just got asked about what super power he'd want and why. WHAT INSTRUMENT? UGH!
I answered well. Piano. Some BS. Whatever. Annoyed.
After it was done, the interviewers deliberated and we all waited outside. Guess who I got to chatting with? Suit-Boy. Find out we went to the same high school together. Both in honors. Graduated the same year. He had no idea who I was. (Luckily I didn't remember him either so I didn't feel like THAT much of a loser). His major? Hotel Hospitality and Management. I had no chance.
I was right. He got called in. As well as "If someone gave me 2,000 to spend on myself I'd donate every penny" woman. Whatev.
Maybe I'm not meant for the hospitality industry after all.
Monday, January 25, 2010
I Miss My Friends
I had the idyllic college experience.
My life felt like it belonged in one of the college glossies: late night coffee runs with my roommates, study abroad’s to foreign destinations, hours holed up in the film production center - it was a full 4 years of fun and friends who soon became my family.
My friends were my life. I ate breakfast, lunch and dinner with them; we ran errands and bought groceries together. We laughed and made spontaneous runs to Diddy Rieses, and screamed and cried when finals season came around. They became family, even in a way that my family couldn’t (largely because I CHOSE to love this side.) While the classes I took were enriching and the college life exciting, what really made my college experience were the people that became my lifelong friends.
Then I graduated from college.
I moved an hour away, but assumed the F.R.I.E.N.D.S episode would continue. There would be drinks after work, and crashing at each others houses. There’d be parties and road trips - it’d be like college except with more alcohol and less homework.
However, there are no glossies for real life. No one gives you a brochure when you graduate from college, advertising all the wonderful experiences ahead of you. As a TV junkie, I expected to walk right into a F.R.I.E.N.D.S episode , but I hate to tell you - Hollywood lied.
Most nights I come home, make some kind of a mish-mash of dinner alone and watch TV before I go to bed. I’ll call my friends to try and make plans, but they always fall through. Someone had to work late, or needs the weekend to sleep. or it’s raining and the drive is just too far.
On a rare night I’ll have a 3-hour date with The Best - on the phone, eating our dinners 300 miles apart. The Best moved to Northern California at the end of summer, yet I feel like I’ve seen her more often than anyone who stayed down South.
We’ve talked a lot about the best friend problem - both of us displaced from the comfortable home of our college town. We’re grasping tightly to the best friends of our college years, repeating the mantra that we are friends for life. But how do those friendships continue when you’re 5 1/2 hours apart?
It’s time to start making new friends in my new post-college life. I’m lucky to have awesome co-workers that have frequented happy hour with me on more than one occasion. And I’ve joined in with them and their friends as well. But, being me, I’m shy and always worried that I’ll seem like the tag-along.
So what do you think?
What’s the best way to make new friends in a new town? Do F.R.I.E.N.D.S. episode friendships really exist? Is it silly to believe college-type friendships (and midnight coffee runs) can continue into adult life?
My life felt like it belonged in one of the college glossies: late night coffee runs with my roommates, study abroad’s to foreign destinations, hours holed up in the film production center - it was a full 4 years of fun and friends who soon became my family.
My friends were my life. I ate breakfast, lunch and dinner with them; we ran errands and bought groceries together. We laughed and made spontaneous runs to Diddy Rieses, and screamed and cried when finals season came around. They became family, even in a way that my family couldn’t (largely because I CHOSE to love this side.) While the classes I took were enriching and the college life exciting, what really made my college experience were the people that became my lifelong friends.
Then I graduated from college.
I moved an hour away, but assumed the F.R.I.E.N.D.S episode would continue. There would be drinks after work, and crashing at each others houses. There’d be parties and road trips - it’d be like college except with more alcohol and less homework.
However, there are no glossies for real life. No one gives you a brochure when you graduate from college, advertising all the wonderful experiences ahead of you. As a TV junkie, I expected to walk right into a F.R.I.E.N.D.S episode , but I hate to tell you - Hollywood lied.
Most nights I come home, make some kind of a mish-mash of dinner alone and watch TV before I go to bed. I’ll call my friends to try and make plans, but they always fall through. Someone had to work late, or needs the weekend to sleep. or it’s raining and the drive is just too far.
On a rare night I’ll have a 3-hour date with The Best - on the phone, eating our dinners 300 miles apart. The Best moved to Northern California at the end of summer, yet I feel like I’ve seen her more often than anyone who stayed down South.
We’ve talked a lot about the best friend problem - both of us displaced from the comfortable home of our college town. We’re grasping tightly to the best friends of our college years, repeating the mantra that we are friends for life. But how do those friendships continue when you’re 5 1/2 hours apart?
It’s time to start making new friends in my new post-college life. I’m lucky to have awesome co-workers that have frequented happy hour with me on more than one occasion. And I’ve joined in with them and their friends as well. But, being me, I’m shy and always worried that I’ll seem like the tag-along.
So what do you think?
What’s the best way to make new friends in a new town? Do F.R.I.E.N.D.S. episode friendships really exist? Is it silly to believe college-type friendships (and midnight coffee runs) can continue into adult life?
Friday, January 22, 2010
Oh Baby...
I feel like babies are all around me. Sister-in-Law has her little munchkin that is growing so much. Nephew is now 5 months but looks like he's 3 months since he was born 2 months premature. He's starting to get little fat rolls and a double chin. It's wonderful.
On that note, I was pursuing facebook, or picture stalking as those who are brave enough to admit it call it, where I discovered one of my first friends from junior high had twins recently. TWINS. I remember the beginning of our friendship, watching her branch off to find more friends since she was much cuter and less socially awkward than my group of friends (which was 2 of us mind you). I watched her remain so nice all through junior high and high school even with popularity and public school life. Now seeing pictures of her looking...well...like a mom with her 2 daughters is overwhelming.
Now that I'm married, the possibility of children is looming. It's a terrifying prospect. I do want kids. Several in fact. But I feel so conflicted about it. I have found myself worrying about what IF. What if I did get pregnant now? Obviously having no real steady income yet is a problem. As well as no property to call my own. But that's not what I think about it. When I think about it, I end up feeling...guilty.
Now, Twixter Two. Why would you feel guilty about having a kid? You're married. You're sprightly! It's the next step! What does it matter?
Well....I find the phrase "worst thing in the world that could happen to me right now" snakes through my head. I know that's extreme. It wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. I think I would make a good Mom. And Husband would be an awesome Dad. It's just....I'M YOUNG!
I'm only 22. I don't want to have a kid yet. There's things I want to do. What if I want to move back to LA? If I want to be in the film industry or any industry that requires a lot of standing (which I want...forever) it's not too good to have kids. Not to sound dramatic, but having a kid ends one spouses everyday life. It changes everything. I'm not naive enough to think that life goes on the way it did before you have kids.
Now let me clarify. No one is making me bear children. I actually want to have kids early so that way they're out of the house. :) (spoken like a true Twixter at heart. Get the kids out so I can go on vacation!). The question is...when? UGH.
Twixter One is so much less dramatic than me right now. I need to have some more fun in life.
On that note, I was pursuing facebook, or picture stalking as those who are brave enough to admit it call it, where I discovered one of my first friends from junior high had twins recently. TWINS. I remember the beginning of our friendship, watching her branch off to find more friends since she was much cuter and less socially awkward than my group of friends (which was 2 of us mind you). I watched her remain so nice all through junior high and high school even with popularity and public school life. Now seeing pictures of her looking...well...like a mom with her 2 daughters is overwhelming.
Now that I'm married, the possibility of children is looming. It's a terrifying prospect. I do want kids. Several in fact. But I feel so conflicted about it. I have found myself worrying about what IF. What if I did get pregnant now? Obviously having no real steady income yet is a problem. As well as no property to call my own. But that's not what I think about it. When I think about it, I end up feeling...guilty.
Now, Twixter Two. Why would you feel guilty about having a kid? You're married. You're sprightly! It's the next step! What does it matter?
Well....I find the phrase "worst thing in the world that could happen to me right now" snakes through my head. I know that's extreme. It wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. I think I would make a good Mom. And Husband would be an awesome Dad. It's just....I'M YOUNG!
I'm only 22. I don't want to have a kid yet. There's things I want to do. What if I want to move back to LA? If I want to be in the film industry or any industry that requires a lot of standing (which I want...forever) it's not too good to have kids. Not to sound dramatic, but having a kid ends one spouses everyday life. It changes everything. I'm not naive enough to think that life goes on the way it did before you have kids.
Now let me clarify. No one is making me bear children. I actually want to have kids early so that way they're out of the house. :) (spoken like a true Twixter at heart. Get the kids out so I can go on vacation!). The question is...when? UGH.
Twixter One is so much less dramatic than me right now. I need to have some more fun in life.
It's good being single
My room is an epic mess, with clothes and books strewn from one end to the other. There’s lipstick on my mirror and bras hanging on the door knob. I’m having cream tuna for dinner, and cookie dough for dessert. A “Private Practice” marathon with ensue shortly after.
I love The Boy dearly and wouldn’t trade him for anything in the world. But I will admit, on nights like tonight, it’s so very good being single.
I love The Boy dearly and wouldn’t trade him for anything in the world. But I will admit, on nights like tonight, it’s so very good being single.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
The Assistant
Has anyone seen “Up in the Air”?
The Boy and I went to see it in theaters and loved it, so I was overly excited when The Actress got a screener DVD in the mail this week. (Best perk of living with a SAG member, indeed.)
It’s a great movie that really hits at the heart of where our country is today. It’s filled with economic woes and tears and pain, and yet somehow leaves you walking out of the theatre with a new sense of purpose. Quite a feat for a film all about firing people.
If you’ve seen it, you probably don’t even remember my favorite scene. I couldn’t even find it on YouTube.
As Ryan (George Clooney’s character) races through the airport, he calls in to his assistant. (His name is Kevin, but you wouldn’t know that – I had to IMDB it.) Ryan’s calling to check in – and confirm the details on his Hertz rental car.
Without missing a beat Kevin informs him that yes, he has talked to Hertz, reminded them of his “super-duper high executive platinum Hertz Gold Club membership,” and that they’ll do anything possible to make sure he gets his blue Sebring. Oh, and his sister called but don’t worry – he told her that even Kevin didn’t know where Ryan was. Psh, like that would ever happen.
Welcome to my life.
My job is Kevin’s job. In fact, almost every twenty-something dipping their toes into the working world for the first time starts out as an assistant. To the outside world you don’t have a name, don’t have a face – just a cell phone and an email address accessible to The Boss 24-7. You book travel, mail Christmas cards, keep secrets and happily sit on hold for hours with Hertz Gold Club. You do the jobs The Boss doesn’t even remember need to be done. This is my world.
So I can empathize with “Kevin,” and chuckled about their exchange even after the movie had ended. Just today I received such a call, and before The Boss had time to hang up the phone I was already connected to American’s Executive Platinum desk, switching The Boss’s flight and firmly requesting his upgrade be transferred.
He was resting comfortably in first class before I even broke for lunch.
The Boy and I went to see it in theaters and loved it, so I was overly excited when The Actress got a screener DVD in the mail this week. (Best perk of living with a SAG member, indeed.)
It’s a great movie that really hits at the heart of where our country is today. It’s filled with economic woes and tears and pain, and yet somehow leaves you walking out of the theatre with a new sense of purpose. Quite a feat for a film all about firing people.
If you’ve seen it, you probably don’t even remember my favorite scene. I couldn’t even find it on YouTube.
As Ryan (George Clooney’s character) races through the airport, he calls in to his assistant. (His name is Kevin, but you wouldn’t know that – I had to IMDB it.) Ryan’s calling to check in – and confirm the details on his Hertz rental car.
Without missing a beat Kevin informs him that yes, he has talked to Hertz, reminded them of his “super-duper high executive platinum Hertz Gold Club membership,” and that they’ll do anything possible to make sure he gets his blue Sebring. Oh, and his sister called but don’t worry – he told her that even Kevin didn’t know where Ryan was. Psh, like that would ever happen.
Welcome to my life.
My job is Kevin’s job. In fact, almost every twenty-something dipping their toes into the working world for the first time starts out as an assistant. To the outside world you don’t have a name, don’t have a face – just a cell phone and an email address accessible to The Boss 24-7. You book travel, mail Christmas cards, keep secrets and happily sit on hold for hours with Hertz Gold Club. You do the jobs The Boss doesn’t even remember need to be done. This is my world.
So I can empathize with “Kevin,” and chuckled about their exchange even after the movie had ended. Just today I received such a call, and before The Boss had time to hang up the phone I was already connected to American’s Executive Platinum desk, switching The Boss’s flight and firmly requesting his upgrade be transferred.
He was resting comfortably in first class before I even broke for lunch.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
bored. BoReD. BORED.
I have never felt this bored in my entire life.
Husband had an interview to work at a spa for the front desk. (He has a second interview. YES!) That interview was at 9:45 am. We went, I sat in the car, did my make up and read a little. Then we went to a book store and read. I finished reading The Lonely Hearts Club by Elizabeth Eulberg. It was adorable. I really like young adult novels (Such as Twilight, Princess Diaries, Avalon High, etc.) Probably another youthful trait that I will never loose. I moved on to Shiver by
See this? I started talking about job interviews and jumped to teen fantasy novels. This is just how bored I am. So instead of writing a full blog. I'm writing a list of how to cure my boredom.
1. I start with checking my email. I do have 6 different gmail accounts I check regularly. Not including the few I don't check regularly. Let's just say I like creating things online that all require their own gmail account.
2. I check facebook, myspace etc. This constitutes checking pictures, stalking the people I don't talk to who I'm friends with only online. (Yes...our entire generation uses facebook to stalk people. It's true).
3. Read all my RSS articles. I follow many blogs and websites. It's enjoyable, fun and makes me feel technologically savvy. I had a friend once literally stop in his tracks when he saw me (as a female) have an RSS feed. Silly boys. The internet is for girls too.
4. YOUTUBE. The best invention on the internet of time. I watch many famous yotubers. I enjoy watching people make fools of themselves for millions of fans. If only I had so much fame.
5. Finally, now I'm learning HTML. It's been a process, but I'm really excited. I wish I would have learned it so long ago.
Wow. I'm ending this blog right here right now.
I got the job I didn't want by the way. More to come on that soon.
Husband had an interview to work at a spa for the front desk. (He has a second interview. YES!) That interview was at 9:45 am. We went, I sat in the car, did my make up and read a little. Then we went to a book store and read. I finished reading The Lonely Hearts Club by Elizabeth Eulberg. It was adorable. I really like young adult novels (Such as Twilight, Princess Diaries, Avalon High, etc.) Probably another youthful trait that I will never loose. I moved on to Shiver by
See this? I started talking about job interviews and jumped to teen fantasy novels. This is just how bored I am. So instead of writing a full blog. I'm writing a list of how to cure my boredom.
1. I start with checking my email. I do have 6 different gmail accounts I check regularly. Not including the few I don't check regularly. Let's just say I like creating things online that all require their own gmail account.
2. I check facebook, myspace etc. This constitutes checking pictures, stalking the people I don't talk to who I'm friends with only online. (Yes...our entire generation uses facebook to stalk people. It's true).
3. Read all my RSS articles. I follow many blogs and websites. It's enjoyable, fun and makes me feel technologically savvy. I had a friend once literally stop in his tracks when he saw me (as a female) have an RSS feed. Silly boys. The internet is for girls too.
4. YOUTUBE. The best invention on the internet of time. I watch many famous yotubers. I enjoy watching people make fools of themselves for millions of fans. If only I had so much fame.
5. Finally, now I'm learning HTML. It's been a process, but I'm really excited. I wish I would have learned it so long ago.
Wow. I'm ending this blog right here right now.
I got the job I didn't want by the way. More to come on that soon.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Life on Autopilot
My little sister is learning how to drive. I’m not sure why they’re letting 8-year-olds get their permits (because my baby sister CANNOT be 15 already) but from the moment I arrived home for Christmas it was a constant begging of “Can we go to Target, or maybe to Albertsons? hmmm, does Mom need any milk for dinner?” Suddenly I was being offered up to run an endless list of errands, all from the passenger seat of my Nissan.
I remember when I first learned how to drive. I was so overwhelmed with everything I had to do - press the gas pedal just the right amount, turn the wheel, check the mirror, and don’t forget your turn signals. Everyone in the car had to stay silent, and if my left elbow itched, it itched until my car was fully into park. Just pulling out of my driveway into my residential neighborhood was a feat worthy of celebration and praise.
Today I left my apartment at 8:08 and suddenly the clock switched to 8:18 and I was pulling into my office - 4 miles away, with my makeup freshly applied, tea half empty in my left hand and email fully checked before I hit the office door. I don't actually remember turning out of my apartment onto the busy 4-lane street, or navigating morning traffic as I passed 3 freeways and the normal morning variety of idiot commute drivers. I just arrived, on auto-pilot, and walked through the door.
Funny how things change in a matter of a few years. Then again, I kinda feel like that's been life for me in general lately. 6-months ago I was completely overwhelmed at the thought of paying bills, maintaining my car, balancing work and life and a boyfriend, all while trying to learn navigating the new LA traffic that had become my life. Everything was an extreme stretch, and waking up at 7 am required conscious planning and effort.
Today I rolled out of bed and hit the shower before I realized my alarm hadn't even gone off. I checked my email and paid the gas bill simultaneously on my iPhone, not giving any thought to the process as I greeted the Fed-Ex guy at the office. Suddenly a life that was exciting and stressful and new has become ... autopilot.
I remember when I first learned how to drive. I was so overwhelmed with everything I had to do - press the gas pedal just the right amount, turn the wheel, check the mirror, and don’t forget your turn signals. Everyone in the car had to stay silent, and if my left elbow itched, it itched until my car was fully into park. Just pulling out of my driveway into my residential neighborhood was a feat worthy of celebration and praise.
Today I left my apartment at 8:08 and suddenly the clock switched to 8:18 and I was pulling into my office - 4 miles away, with my makeup freshly applied, tea half empty in my left hand and email fully checked before I hit the office door. I don't actually remember turning out of my apartment onto the busy 4-lane street, or navigating morning traffic as I passed 3 freeways and the normal morning variety of idiot commute drivers. I just arrived, on auto-pilot, and walked through the door.
Funny how things change in a matter of a few years. Then again, I kinda feel like that's been life for me in general lately. 6-months ago I was completely overwhelmed at the thought of paying bills, maintaining my car, balancing work and life and a boyfriend, all while trying to learn navigating the new LA traffic that had become my life. Everything was an extreme stretch, and waking up at 7 am required conscious planning and effort.
Today I rolled out of bed and hit the shower before I realized my alarm hadn't even gone off. I checked my email and paid the gas bill simultaneously on my iPhone, not giving any thought to the process as I greeted the Fed-Ex guy at the office. Suddenly a life that was exciting and stressful and new has become ... autopilot.
Friday, January 8, 2010
Merry New Year and a Happy New Blog!
Yes, it’s January. The entire world is set on keeping their New Years resolutions. (It’s still January 8th, so that statement remains true for at least another 7-days.) The world is filled with good intentions, so I’ll add another one to the batch.
I’m actually going to keep blogging here.
I wish I could say that the past 4-months have been a whirlwind of adventure, leaving me no time to detail you on the turbulent journey that is me reaching adulthood. It hasn’t been. Then again, the past 4-months haven’t been a prison sentence of ho-hum boredom either. I’ve pretty much just been lazy, or selfish. Or maybe a little bit of both.
How I managed to completely skip over 4-months of my life, I couldn't tell you. When I was in college I had semesters to mark my life. It's been x amount of days since mid-terms, or y amount of weeks until the final. You started dating so-and-so the fall semester of your Junior year, and bought your favorite t-shirt the summer before you were a Senior.
Suddenly, when you graduate, all sense of time gets thrown out the window. (and don't even get me started on how life-altering it is to no longer list your facebook albums by semester.) You begin living for the weekends, and there's no summer break to hold out for. Soon you can't remember if the weekend you lost your flip flops at the beach was in July or January. (and here in Southern California, either month is a toss up.)
Before you know it, it's been A YEAR since you finished school. One full year, can you believe it? I certainly can't. Then again, there was a time where life was filled with blue books, paper cuts, and coffee. lots and lots of coffee. Today those stresses are a thousand miles away. Instead I came home from work today, took an hour to decide on dinner, and stared at a book before deciding once again to toss it somewhere under my stack of bills. (This may or may not be the same book I've attempted to finish SINCE my last final, but that's neither here nor there.)
Where has all the time gone? What have I done? Suddenly my built in self-reflection time has withered up and a winters break worth of "what now" must be fit somewhere into the weekend between "wash all the dishes from last week" and "neah, I don't think I'll make the bed again today." It's a different life now, and I'm not sure how to deal with it.
But maybe that's it. Maybe I'm not supposed to figure out how to deal with it. I just deal. I wake up, I go to work. I see movies when I want, I binge on Grey's Anatomy episodes when I want. I pay the bills, and if I decide I feel like making a spur of the moment trip up North, I put it on my credit card.
Then suddenly, I wake up, and it's January. and it's been 4-months since I've blogged. Hello again.
I’m actually going to keep blogging here.
I wish I could say that the past 4-months have been a whirlwind of adventure, leaving me no time to detail you on the turbulent journey that is me reaching adulthood. It hasn’t been. Then again, the past 4-months haven’t been a prison sentence of ho-hum boredom either. I’ve pretty much just been lazy, or selfish. Or maybe a little bit of both.
How I managed to completely skip over 4-months of my life, I couldn't tell you. When I was in college I had semesters to mark my life. It's been x amount of days since mid-terms, or y amount of weeks until the final. You started dating so-and-so the fall semester of your Junior year, and bought your favorite t-shirt the summer before you were a Senior.
Suddenly, when you graduate, all sense of time gets thrown out the window. (and don't even get me started on how life-altering it is to no longer list your facebook albums by semester.) You begin living for the weekends, and there's no summer break to hold out for. Soon you can't remember if the weekend you lost your flip flops at the beach was in July or January. (and here in Southern California, either month is a toss up.)
Before you know it, it's been A YEAR since you finished school. One full year, can you believe it? I certainly can't. Then again, there was a time where life was filled with blue books, paper cuts, and coffee. lots and lots of coffee. Today those stresses are a thousand miles away. Instead I came home from work today, took an hour to decide on dinner, and stared at a book before deciding once again to toss it somewhere under my stack of bills. (This may or may not be the same book I've attempted to finish SINCE my last final, but that's neither here nor there.)
Where has all the time gone? What have I done? Suddenly my built in self-reflection time has withered up and a winters break worth of "what now" must be fit somewhere into the weekend between "wash all the dishes from last week" and "neah, I don't think I'll make the bed again today." It's a different life now, and I'm not sure how to deal with it.
But maybe that's it. Maybe I'm not supposed to figure out how to deal with it. I just deal. I wake up, I go to work. I see movies when I want, I binge on Grey's Anatomy episodes when I want. I pay the bills, and if I decide I feel like making a spur of the moment trip up North, I put it on my credit card.
Then suddenly, I wake up, and it's January. and it's been 4-months since I've blogged. Hello again.
Happy New Year! Kinda?
I just re-read my last post from 4 months ago and laughed. It feels like eons, yet days ago I was just starting my semester in Los Angeles. Now it's over and things are completely different AGAIN. I'll have to post a longer blog about my previous semester. Now it's time for a new year and a new me! (sort of...well, not really at all)
Translation? "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! I HATE MONEY!!!!!!"
But this new post is about what is happening in my life, in the moment! Against all odds, Husband and I ended up back in Las Vegas. Strangely enough, it's not as bad as I thought it would be. Life isn't easy (living in the spare bedroom of your sister-in-laws house never is), but we're surviving. And Vegas is a whole hell of a lot cheaper than Southern California. So the goal is to stick it out until we can move somewhere we want or (gulp) maybe stay in Vegas. I of course would rather not stick it out in Sin City, but it does have its appeal. (Don't tell Twixter One. She'll come murder me out here)
The meat of the problem of my life is work. I have a pretty decent chance of working for an internet service provider out here, doing "retention." AKA, "misery." Well...ok...not "misery" but angry customers who want to cancel their service, I have to convince them to keep it and possibly spend more money. The only major positives to this job is it pays AMAZINGLY well and is consistently 40 hours a week. As in the debt I have will be totally paid off in probably 6 months tops with Husband and I working. Which is a huge goal of ours for this next year.
My other potential job is at a super fun restaurant as a hostess. Although I've only had 1 interview out of 3, so we'll see how that goes. The flaw with the restaurant is the hours aren't set. I could have anywhere from 20 to 35 hours. But I know my life would be significantly happier there. But less money equals stress elsewhere than the workplace.
So now, here I potentially stand at a Twixter moment. Do I choose the fun, less stable job or be the adult and choose the job I don't want for the bigger picture? The retention job makes me cringe internally/possibly punch something every time I think about it. But then my mind wanders to the idea of being debt free, and having the ability to buy a computer that doesn't overheat after an hour, or jeans without holes in them or an apartment.
So now, here I potentially stand at a Twixter moment. Do I choose the fun, less stable job or be the adult and choose the job I don't want for the bigger picture? The retention job makes me cringe internally/possibly punch something every time I think about it. But then my mind wanders to the idea of being debt free, and having the ability to buy a computer that doesn't overheat after an hour, or jeans without holes in them or an apartment.
That's all. Thanks and it's good to be back. I plan on writing in here a lot more. Seeing as I'm unemployed at the moment, it really helps inspire blog posts.
--Twixter Two