Ramblings

I don’t really know what to say, but I feel like I should post…despite the fact that absolutely nobody reads this!

I need to start writing more. I need to return to the seemingly articulate person I once was, and not just some ditzy sorority girl. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love my sorority, to death. I love how it’s given me so many opportunities to grow and the friendships it has given me. And while I am so, so proud to be an AOPi, I don’t want my sorority to be the only thing that defines me. Yes, it is and will continue to be a huge part of my life. However, I think I have mentioned before that being a sorority girl doesn’t always carry the positive connotation I would like to think it does. People associate “sorority” with words like “dumb”, “partier”, “shallow”, etc. I want to prove those people wrong more than anything, but it goes without saying that it’s not easy to change minds. By showing people that I am an intelligent, level-headed, profound (for lack of a better word), I hope to be able to shed that negative stereotype. There are so many great people in Greek life, but there are also so many great people who aren’t Greeks either, and I just want to be friends with all sorts of people!

 

Okay, this is going nowhere fast and I’m not making a whole lot of sense. I should probably shut up.

Work update…

The good news is that my boss now knows my name. And that’s the only good news…

 

I am trying so, so hard to stay positive about this job. However, it’s not working very well. I come home in a bad mood and am usually in a bad mood on days I have to work (usually 5 days a week). I am so tired from work because I am standing for anywhere from four to seven hours. My back and feet hurt…this can’t be good! 

On the other hand, I know this is a valuable learning experience for me and every time I clock in to start my shift, I become more and more thankful that, in just 42 days (thanks Dashboard countdown!) I will be going back to my education and never have to work at the FCC again. Some people who work there didn’t even finish high school; this job is their living. I know I was not cut out for food service, and luckily, the way it’s going I’ll have an internship during my long winter break and, I hope another internship or something of that sort next summer.

My boss just has the worst temper and there have been times where I have almost snapped and tore the smile off my face and the sweet voice that I try to maintain when speaking to her has nearly turned into a growl. There are some days when I don’t think I can do it anymore. I can’t quit…I’m trying to make money. Money. Money. Is it bad that my paycheck is the only thing keeping me sane?

My first taste of the real world…

…was bitter.

my first day of work was actually Monday, but today went how I think the rest of the summer might go: terribly.

First of all, my boss can’t even remember my name. She kept calling me Chris, introducing me to people as Chris, etc. THAT IS NOT MY NAME. I repeatedly told her my name was Liz but she continued to ignore it and kept calling me Chris, and then got pissed when she would say, “Chris” and I wouldn’t turn around. Sorry I don’t answer to a name that isn’t mine!

Secondly, my boss is as blind as a bat. For example, a customer didn’t want mushrooms on his burger, so I wrote “no mush” and underlined “no”. She put mushrooms on it and when I said he didn’t want mushrooms, she said, “well why didn’t you write it down?” I grabbed the ticket and pointed out that i had clearly written it down.

Thirdly, I’m 18 years old. I’m pretty sure I’m not allowed to be serving alcohol in my state until I turn 19. So why am I constantly roundin’ up some brewskies for old guys and their golfing buddies? Oh, and, sorry D (my boss) I don’t know how to make a vodka tonic. Yes, I know it can’t be that hard but who’s the one who keeps calling her employee “Chris”?

Needless to say, I will not be keeping this job after this summer, and it is even more motivation to do well in school and continue my education so I will not be stuck in a minimum-wage rut for the rest of my life.

On a brighter note, I think winter break will be INTERNSHIP BREAK! My mom has some contacts at a local magazine, one of whom is an alumna of my university…cha ching!

Life must be pretty good if my biggest worry is a TV show

I have a lot to write about but I don’t feel like typing it all out. I do, however, feel like talking about tonight’s episode of Legally Blonde the Musical: The Search for Elle Woods. I’ll admit it, I can be a real sucker for reality TV, especially on MTV. I don’t like The Real World or Making the Band but shows that aren’t really serial like this I seem to get attached to. For example, Miss Seventeen a few years back.

Anywho, tonight’s episode  really upset me.  If you haven’t watched it yet and want to,  stop reading because there are going to be spoilers!

I’ve been watching the show since its start, and I quickly picked Bailey as my first choice and Emma as my second. I thought both of them fit the part and were really talented. So when Emma was cut tonight, I was pretty disappointed. I’m happy Bailey did so well because she was my first choice but I really supported Emma too because she quit smoking to do better and she was battling bronchitis to do better. It is really hard to quit smoking. I don’t know from personal experience, but my roommate this year tried and since I was around her so much I got a taste of how difficult it is. I thought it was really unfair that Emma was cut, because I know she busted her butt and while Autumn is talented, I just can’t see her as Elle Woods.

I just hope Bailey stays!

An eventful past couple of days

I’m in Memphis, and I have been since Saturday night. We were going to split the trip up and stop in Nashville and drive the rest of the way yesterday, but at the last minute we decided to truck on through. We (me, my mom and my sister V) took my car down and I drove from Columbus to Louisville and then Jackson to Memphis. It was nice to get more experience on the interstate because I’m used to mainly city streets with stoplights and everything.

When we got in we ate at Corky’s with my aunt, uncle, and cousin A. Afterwards I felt sick, like I’ve been feeling so often since I came home from school. I’ve had almost a constant headache and a lot of what I eat gives me indigestion…so, I don’t know what’s wrong. My mom says it’s just me getting used to eating food that isn’t dining hall food and not having a set schedule anymore. I went along with it for the first few days, but I’m wondering if it should really be taking this long for me to adjust.

Yesterday we went out to the barn where A keeps her horse and we got to watch her ride. Then we went to a place called Newk’s for lunch and then a kind of outdoorsy place called Kinnucan’s. I saw a ton of stuff in there that I wanted, but I didn’t get anything. I’m hoping we’ll go back before the week is over. A’s friend J  came over shortly after we came back and we hung out with her and played Guitar Hero and such. My aunt made dinner with stuff my mom and I picked up from the grocery store. After watching No Reservations with A and V, I fell asleep and didn’t wake up until about 10:30 this morning when my mom called. She, V and I had lunch over at my grandma’s place and then A came over and we all went across town to Rhodes, where my mom went to college. Right after I took a picture in front of the AOPi house there, we ran into some AOPis who showed us around their apartment and some other parts of the campus. The library was impressive compared to my school’s, but the football stadium and student center were just mediocre. After a quick trip to Old Navy and Starbuck’s, we headed home and I’ve just been hanging out ever since. My mom wants to go to the zoo tomorrow but we’re not sure if we’re up for standing outside in the humidity all day. Shopping instead? I wouldn’t put up a fight!

Sorry this was so long…I really should stop apologizing, though…I really don’t think anybody reads this. If you do, say hi!

some not so great news

This post is going to be a bit of a vent…and since the only people who seem to read my blog are spammers, I don’t feel too bad about it. However, in case a real person does happen to read this, I figure I should forewarn them.

This afternoon I went to go pick up my sister from her tennis lesson and her instructor is the same guy I had back when I did lessons. It’s been not even two years since I’ve seen him last and today I was sitting in the waiting/pro shop area off the indoor courts and he comes off the courts and looks right at me. I smile and open my mouth to say hi but he didn’t even say a word! I don’t think my looks have changed so drastically within the past two years that he wouldn’t recognize me. I also realize that he has taught a lot of people but he was my coach for like 4 years! It just made me a little sad…so I’m hoping next time he might recognize me and say hi.

Secondly, I got my grades for spring quarter. I lost my scholarship. I’m not too disappointed because it was only for $500…but, still, it’s kind of embarrassing. My parents aren’t disappointed like I thought they’d be. It’s been a year with a lot of ups and downs and they realize that. I didn’t fail any classes this year, and I didn’t get any D’s either. I got a few C’s though, and that really screwed me over. It just makes me want to work that much harder during the next 3 years so I can get a decent cumulative.

I saw Atonement for the first time tonight. I really liked it and it made me want to read the book. I have it, and I started to read it a few years ago but never finished it.

Okay, enough of this. I’m going to bed.

Update and more fun

I GOT THE JOB AT THE COUNTRY CLUB! YAYYYY!

I start after I come back from Memphis 🙂

I saw this on a bunch of people’s blogs that I read, and I figured I would give it a shot as well.

1. What were you doing 10 years ago?
I was 8 years old and…wow, I just realized that my grandpa died this day ten years ago. Well, I learned the news and was probably in Nashville by now…that’s depressing!
2. Five things on my to-do list today
well, today I don’t really have anything to do so can I cheat and to it for tomorrow?

– get my drug test for my job

-begin the hunt for more pairs of khaki shorts

-start packing for Memphis

-fill out some medical forms for the vascular surgeon

-laundry

3. Snack you enjoy…
-pita chips and hummus
– fruit
-gingersnaps from World Market!

4. Place(s) you’ve lived
-Kent, OH

-Athens, OH

wow, that’s a lame list

5. What are 5 things you would do if you were a billionaire?
– buy a big stone house for my parents in Tennessee or North Carolina and give them enough money so that they can retire

– buy them both vehicles of their choice

-pay for me and my sister’s college education

-give to the American Cancer Society, my college, and my sorority

-put some away for any emergencies that might arise

Feeling up to posting now…

I’ve been home since Friday evening, and it’s been GREAT so far! Saturday I got up early to go to the eye doctor. I have a birthmark on the edge of my eye that has been getting bigger, plus I was due for a checkup anyway. My prescription’s the same, but my doctor referred me to a vascular plastic surgeon or something like that to see about getting it removed. Initially, my parents were going to remove it when I was about three, but decided against it.

After ordering more contacts for the year, my mom and I went to the Cracker Barrel for brunch. I am pretty sure I have been to every Cracker Barrel from here to Memphis, but I always love it. While we were waiting for a table, we found some cute lamps to bring to my grandma next week, and a Coke cookbook for my dad, the ultimate Coke drinker. Then we went to World Market. I LOVE THAT PLACE! It was our first time there and we spent about an hour and a half ooh-ing and aah-ing over everything. For the rest of my dad’s father’s day present we filled up a basket we found there with dark chocolate from different countries, some of his favorite tea, some salmon pate, some Asian cooking sauce, and some other foreign foods.

We then went to Target to pick up a few necessities and I ran into my friend from school, Aimee, who lives in the area. The funny thing about this is that we always seem to run into each other when we’re on breaks. She lived in the dorm next to me at school and we have the same major so we had several classes together,but it’s just funny that I run into her more than people I went to high school with.

When we got home I read the Lucky that I picked up at Target. I wasn’t too impressed, to be honest. I stuck a “YES!” on a cute yellow blouse from Gap, but nothing else really struck my fancy. Maybe a second look through will reveal more…we’ll see.

Sunday my family ate croissants and muffins from a local coffee shop for breakfast. It was a warm and sunny day, and we ate out on the back porch. My dad loved his presents, especially these dark chocolate chili covered almonds…yeah, my mom’s idea. I ran some errands for my mom in the afternoon and then we all cooked dinner for my dad using some recipes from the Coke cookbook. It wasn’t the best, but my dad liked it…well, pretended to. The strawberry shortcake was a hit with everyone, though. Maybe because no Coke products were involved?

After walking the dog with my dad, I took my sister to the movie store to pick up some DVDs. Our movie store has a thing where for every “A” you get on your report card, you get a free DVD. My sister just happened to get a 4.0 this term (3.98 year average! YAY!), so we picked up Sydney White, Atonement, Because I Said So, and Alvin and the Chipmunks. We watched Alvin and the Chipmunks last night and it was actually really, really cute and funny!

Today I slept in, ate some breakfast, then took my sister to her best friend’s house. I then drove over to a country club about 30 minutes away where my friend Drew works. They have openings at the snack bar, so his manager asked me to come in for an interview. I filled out an application a few weeks ago and this was the first time I could come in. I have to get a drug test tomorrow, but I know I’ll pass that, and basically after they get those results they’ll put me on the schedule! I won’t start until after next week (BECAUSE I’M GOING TO MEMPHIS!) But this is my first (real) job and I’m so excited to be making some money of my own. AND AND AND…the uniform? Polos and khaki shorts! PERFECT!

Whew…this was a long post. But I had a lot to update 🙂

Hope everyone’s summers are going great!

A fun little Flickr game…

1. Go to Flickr.com

2. Type in your answer to the question in the “search” box

3. Use only the first page

4. Copy the photo and paste for the answer

First Name

Favorite Color

Celebrity Crush

Band You’re Listening To Now

Favorite Movie

Favorite Disney Princess

Favorite Alcoholic Beverage

(no, I’m not an alcoholic…this is just the first picture that came up. I’m just following the rules!)

Dream Vacation

Favorite Dessert

What do you want to be when you grow up?

Okay…most of the results tell you nothing…but, whatever. It was still fun.

An update on my life is coming soon; I’m just too lazy right now!

Am I good enough?

Something has been bothering me lately. As I become more and more immersed in the world of college journalism, I realize that I am not a particularly interesting or articulate writer. I know everyone has different styles of writing, and no two people can write the exact same words about the same topic…but I’ve never felt so inferior about my writing style. All throughout my life, I was commended on my writing abilities…until I came to college. Granted, I am at one of the best schools for journalism in the entire country (I don’t mean to brag, it’s a fact – E.W. Scripps School of Journalism is in the top ten, maybe even five…it changes all the time), but I still question my potential. I know Scripps has produced some great journalists, but do I have what it takes to be one of them?

PS – On a lighter note, I am still enjoying Duffy’s music…this is obviously not a phase for me.