Things I Love Thursday

It's a busy day (and weekend) for me! I'm going camping with one of my closest friends, Brittany! Brittany and I go waaaaay back, and have tons of camping stories together. Brittany, however, tends to be on the dangerously adventurous side...

For example, we went camping for her 13th birthday one year, at this campsite far out in the middle of nowhere. We stayed for four days, playing hide-and-seek with her little cousins and sister, swimming in the lake, and lots of hiking. Well, we had gone with her family earlier in the day to this place called "Devil's Den". It was a rocky cavern that opened up to the sky, where you could hike up around it. We just went inside and looked at the rocks, then went back to our campsite. Adventurous Brittany decided that she and I would go on our own hike, taking her mom's video camera. So, just me and her, hiking up over this rocky pit with me manning the camera. We got to a curve in the trail where it winded around the den. It was too narrow and slippery with moss for me, so I told her that it wasn't a good way to go. Brittany just laughed and started to crab walk across, getting on her butt and scooting on the little ledge (remember, I was filming). She starts saying "See, I got this," but stops and her eyes get wide as she starts slipping off into the den about thirty feet below, all stone. She starts screaming, I start screaming, I shove the camera into a rock crevice and grab her hand, pulling her back on the ledge. So now she has to walk sideways to the safe side of the cavern, which she makes it. I beat her to the main road, and she comes tumbling out of the bushes, one shoe on. We just look at each other and laugh that hysterical, insanity-ridden laughter. We rewatched that tape at her graduation party and died laughing. If Brittany had fallen, she probably would've broken her legs or maybe worse. Let me tell you, Brittany gets me into crazy situations like this ALL the time. No joke. So, going camping for four days, just me and her, I can't say I'm not a little nervous. But excited! I'm sure it'll be a hilarious time.

SO! Since I have so much packing to do, I'm just going to make a quick little list of the things I'm loving right meow. (Yeah, right meow.)

MUSIC:

• Type O Negative-Black No. 1 - I'd heard of Type O, but never actually given them a listen until I was looking up some music to write to. Peter Steele's voice and big bass are the best.
• Alanis Morissette-Your House- This song is kind of creepy, kind of sad, all beautiful.
• Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds- Nick Cave's voice is just too good to be true. Good thing it's true.
• Depeche Mode-Enjoy the Silence -  I should have been born an 80's goth kid, obviously.

MOVIES:

  David Bowie as a Goblin King in spandex pants, need I say more? I love this movie, ever since I first saw it when I was little, and I've been addicted to it lately! Not complaining!

EVERYTHING ELSE:

•  Gold/Green eyeliner - It's so so pretty! I saw gold eyeliner (eyeshadow used as liner) on a picture Sugarpill cosmetics creator Shrinkle posted on her twitter. I love the colors Sugarpill uses, but the gold eyeshadow is like no other I've seen. Investment time!
• Spudbottom Puppets - Found at a little toy store downtown. I NEED THEM.
• Glittery Sunglasses - I superglued some glitter on an old pair of sunglasses to jazz 'em up. Pictures later!
• And, as always, this man. Just look at him! A smile on Glenn's face is ALWAYS my favorite.

Well, that's all I can think up right now. I'm off to pack away and have oodles of fun in the sun. Have a great Memorial Day weekend!

Bookly Nookly

This summer (at least for me) is the summer of reading. I have so many books to finish (and start!), that I sat down and had a long talk with myself. I looked at all the books I own and how many of them I've started and haven't finished, or how many I've never read, or some I've never even SEEN before (truth). That is when I realized I have an addiction to books. The smell of the paper, the feel of a new cover, the thrill of an unknown plot...needless to say, my addiction is taking up too much room! So I made a list of all the books I need to finish or read, and then I'm going to go through them and pass them on to new hands. It's hard for me to get rid of books (even harder to stick with one book without starting another), but I honestly don't have enough space! A lot of the books I own are old and I've grown out of them, but there are quite a lot that I have yet to even read! I plan on posting a review when I finish the books, kind of as a final goodbye (unless I really love it...). I have finished a few, but those reviews will come later! For now, a compilation of the books I'll be reading (or trying to):

Books to Finish:

1. Abarat: Days of Magic, Nights of War by Clive Barker - I got this book as a Christmas present my 7th( or 8th?) grade year, so let's just saw it's been a long time coming for me to finish this book....
2. Columbine by Dave Cullen - My friend let me borrow this the day high school ended. That was two years ago.....
3. Girl With The Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson - I started this a year ago, but it was a little slow at the beginning. I'm going to give it another go and see if I can finish it.
4. The Sweet Far Thing by Libba Bray - I started this trilogy my freshman year of high school and zoomed through the first book! I finished the second pretty soon after that, but I couldn't get ahold of the last one until a year later. It was a library book and I had to return it, but a dear friend of mine got it for me! I just have to remember where I left off...
5. The Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice - I started it a year or two ago, but I wasn't feeling it too much. I still want to finish it, though!
6. The Doctor's Wife by Elizabeth Brundage - This I started the beginning of my senior year. It seemed pretty dark and depressing, but I was hooked on it until school work piled up.
7. Devil in the White City by Erik Larson - Found this for 50 cents at a thrift store! Can't wait to finish it!
8. No One Gets Out Here Alive by Jerry Hopkins - Jim Morrison's biography. I'm about halfway through. Found it for a dollar at Goodwill, couldn't have found a better book.
9. Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris - I became a big fan of Trueblood before I read the series, so it kind of ruined the book. Still want to read it, since I heard it differs from the television show.
10. Dracula by Bram Stoker - Classic that I need to finish.
11. Sweep: The Coven by Cate Tiernan - I stumbled on this series a looooong time ago, when my best friends and I lived at the library. I read the first book probably ten times, so I decided to buy the next book. I got caught up with other things, so I need to finish this still!
12. No Humans Involved by Kelly Armstrong - I started this one before I found out there was a sequel to the one I had read first (Dime Store Magic), so I coulodn't go on with this, but as soon as I'm done, I'll definitely be finishing this!
13. Industrial Magic (reading now) by Kelly Armstrong - These books are too good. They're faced paced and read like a letter from your best friend. I'll be done with this in no time!
14. In The Flesh by Clive Barker - I wanted a good horror story to scare my pants off, and I just so happened to find this for $2 at Half Price Books. I started it and can already tell there will be some sleepless nights....

There are definitely more I have to read, but I need to wrap this up and start my summer reading. Poolside reading never sounded better...

A.P.E (Advice from Personal Experience): First Jobs

I just recently had my first job (well, taste of one). My good friend Brittany works at Edible Arrangements (if you don't know what Edible Arrangements is, it's a nice little company that creates tasty fruit bouquets). It gets extremely busy over the Mother's Day weekend (legitimately, it's insane), so Brittany hired some extra workers to help through the weekend. I was pretty pumped about it, but pretty nervous, too! I'd never worked before (not counting babysitting), so I had no idea what to do, what I should wear, should I talk to my boss or just be super quiet and busy? What do I do if a customer yells at me? Is it okay to take a baby meltdown in the bathroom?

Well, here's my little A.P.E. for those first-timers in the job pool. (A.P.E. is my first attempt at having something to keep up with in my blog, instead of random updates about how I slept until 2 and giving my guinea pig a bath...).

• Wear comfortable shoes! - This is almost THE most important piece of advice I could give you. The first day I just pulled on my slip on Vans and went out the door, thinking that they would be fine. WRONG! My dogs were barking almost an hour into working, and by the time I got home all I could do was sit on the couch and massage my toes. My pinkie toe was numb and the heels of my feet were throbbing! After that, I decided to suck it up and wear my Nikes (even if they aren't the most fashion forward). After the first day, I didn't care about looking cute, I just wanted to be able to stand! So your smartest decision is to get the most comfortable shoe for your job. If you're standing a lot, definitely wear some sneakers that support your feet, or some Dr. Scholl's. It will help your feet and your mood, and that way you'll be able to work happily and want to go back!

• Get at least 8 hours of sleep! This might be obvious, but I can't stress it enough. Sleep will be your best friend. I worked 8-9 hour days and when I got home, I conked out on my couch, waking up for dinner, a shower, then heading to bed. For me, that was not a good idea! I'd nap for 3 hours, but be wide awake when it was time to actually sleep. Then I wouldn't fall asleep until late, then only get about 6 hours of straight sleep. I worked straight for a week, so I didn't have a break in between the days, so I got pretty behind on my sleep napping like I did. If you do nap, just do a good 20 minute power nap! It may not seem like a lot, but it's just enough to wake you up. Don't get behind on sleep, cause you don't want to fall asleep in a box of strawberries (I almost did...). 

• Check signs before you go into parking garages. My friend and I drove around for almost 10 minutes looking for parking until we stumbled upon a pretty cheap parking garage! We just drove in and found a parking spot as quick as possible, rushing into the store so we wouldn't be late. Only when we left did we realize that they only took cash and not debit cards. We searched my friend's car for extra dollars, but ended up only finding dusty change. When we drove up, we tried to explain to the man at the gate that we didn't see the signs. He was SO MAD. He let us out for free, but we could tell he was pretty close to telling us "Too bad". So make sure to look all around to see how parking garages (or parking meters) take money. My city just installed parking meters that take change AND cards, so that's convenient. In the end, I would just be more prepared than I was and try to look up where parking is in advanced and plan ahead! That way you won't be late rolling all around the city AND you won't put yourself on a gate keeper's deathlist! (Is that what they're called? Gate keepers? And 'Gate keeper's deathlist' sounds like some fantasy novel or deathmetal band...)

• Asking for help does not make you weak. When I was starting out, I had to ask for help ALL the time. It was better than just guessing and doing the whole job wrong! Asking your fellow employees how to do something doesn't make you look like you're inadequate, it makes you look like you want to improve on your job. Which, of course you do! You'll get the hang of the job more easily if you check to make sure you're doing your job right and get any questions you have answered. You'll be happier and less stressed! 

• Friends as bosses = not boss. No indeed! My bffff Brittany was the one who hired me and I had an image of me and her dancing around the store, sipping on smoothies, sucking helium out of balloons and jamming to 'classic' rock. I imagined us kind of like Empire Records, except with fruit and ribbons instead of tapes and cds. And without all that awesome 90s clothing.

Well, I DID end up jamming to music and drank smoothies. While I was washing dishes and whenever there were mushy strawberries to spare. We were constantly working and, because she was my boss, I was easily irratible if she didn't listen to me or told me what I was doing wrong. She's hardcore about her job and I think because we have been friends for so long we don't have boundaries, like a normal "supervisor-employee" relationship. If you're friend is your boss, don't expect the job to be a nonstop dance party. It will when the shop closes up, but you will be working. HARD. You'll also have to get over the fact that you won't be 'equal' with your friend. Even though you may have shared awkward phases and swapped crushes in the 4th grade, that'll all be tossed aside to get the job done. If you aren't doing it right, they will tell you so! And you may get snippy and grouchy (then again, I didn't have much sleep and sore toes...), but after the day is through, you'll still be friends. Just not for those hours you're working.

Well, there you have it! What I learned from my first job, and I'll definitely be taking it into account when I get my next job. You can bet I'll be padding my toes and sleeping as much as I can! 

Hope that helps. Have a lovely day, dear!

Hello, hello!

Well, here we are (again). I am picking up the ol' blogging broom and giving it a go, but this time with a better handle on the blogoverse (See what I did there? Broom "handle"?) Each summer I attempt to keep up a blog that I like filled with whatever my brain thought up! Unfortunately, I get bored pretty easy and have trouble keeping to projects and goals. I want to break that nasty habit!

So this little ditty is going to be my way of keeping up writing everyday, being creative everyday, and sharing something with the world everyday! I'm here to inspire and be inspired.