Work, work, work

Alright. I have been through two days of training so far on the new job. Things are going really well so far. There's a lot of information to absorb, but I think I'm sponging it all up. Most of it, anyway. I'm in the Girls' section, which is toddlers to 16 year olds. I think they put me in that section because of my degree. Which strikes me as odd, as I said that I didn't WANT to work with kids. Oh well. No big deal at all, really.

On my first day back from work, I left around 5:15pm and got home a little after 6:00pm. Wow, rush hour traffic is horrible. It should only take half an hour from the time i get into my car, to the time I get out of it. Well, tonight, I left right at 6:00pm (after buying some new shoes) and I didn't have to slow down once on the freeway. That was great. Not saying that I will hang around work for an hour after I get off the clock to avoid the traffic...but if I can spend half the time in the car, that might help.

We'll see how the rest of the week goes. Until then!

Next post - Halloween party pictures.

Trying this out

I'm going to try to post a video on here. Let's see if this works. I got the clip from CuteOverload dot com

This poor fellow! He doesn't know what's going on. But he does know this: whatever it is feels GREAT.

http://view.break.com/388549 - Watch more free videos

RAWR!

Oh, you're going to love this! After almost a week of driving around to textile stores, Wal*Mart, Target, and various other places, my Halloween costume is finally finished! I finished putting the claws on the feet and hands, along with making the ears and sewing them to the headband, and attaching the tail to the pants.

I'm going to be the cutest rabid bear ever. I just need to figure out how to do the face painting for a nose. Shouldn't be too hard. Here's some pics!


Okay, the costume all put together.


And these are my hands, encased in fur, with little felt claws that I painstakingly sewed on myself all afternoon today. Okay, so it probably only took an hour or so...but whatever. It was all hand crafted!

Costume

So the overall idea for Halloween this year is that I am a bear, and Aaron is a lumberjack. His costume should be easy enough; all we have to find him is some suspenders, he has the rest. I haven't been able to find a bear costume to save my life, either on the internet, or in any stores. So I will resort to making one of my own.

The plan is this:
brown track pants or sweatpants
brown hoodie
felt for bear tummy and ears
faux fur for leg and arm warmers
brown shoes
ears and a tail

I'm going to start working on this tomorrow by finding some fabric and fur and the pants and top. I'll also start looking for some suspenders for Aaron. The party is on Saturday, and should be a lot of fun.

Jill was over from Fargo to visit for the weekend. We carved pumpkins, showed Jill where Aaron works 'cause it's a pretty cool building, and that was about it. We weren't too exciting, but it was fun. That's what happens when you have no money. We have friends from Spearfish coming to visit this weekend for a concert, so that should be fun, as well. I also start working at my new job on Monday, but hopefully I will hear from the insurance company this week. I'm going to give them a call or send an email tomorrow about the resume, just to make sure they got it.

And that's about it for now.

Pumpkins!

Here's the Jack O' Lanterns that Aaron, Jill, and I made this year.


From left to right: Mine, Aaron's, Jill's.

OMG Ponies!!!!!1!!1!!!

That's how I feel right now. Like a little girl seeing ponies. I'm so happy right now. I woke up around 10am and heard my phone beeping in the living room. Someone had called me. After checking my message, which was from Von Maur saying to call them back, I was a little excited, but not terribly, especially when I talked to the lady. She just wanted to ask if I had any more questions after talking to Beth and Katie, the two girls who interviewed me over this week. I couldn't think of any, except to wonder if you HAD to wear hosiery, or if you could wear those cute socks with argyle print on them. Unfortunately, no argyle socks for me.

But then she said that Beth and Katie seemed to enjoy meeting with me, and they wanted to offer me a job in the Girls' department! WOO HOO! Of course I accepted right away. I don't start until the 29th of October because that is when they have their next training session is. I know that's over a week away, but we've been barely making it this long, what's another 10 days now, after almost two months?

So yay! I am gainfully employed! Bringing home the bacon! Now I can get my new cell phone and number, pay off those bills, and get a kitteh! Oh happy day.

stuff.

I had my second job interview at Von Maur today. I think it went well, but I can never tell. I always think it goes well, and I still don't have a job. So maybe it didn't. Who knows. She said she'd let me know within the week if I got the job. Also, on Friday, I should hopefully hear from the insurance place that Aaron's co-worker hooked me up with. And then on Monday I have my interview at Famous Footwear. I really hope that I hear from Von Maur before then, or that Famous Footwear doesn't make a decision right way. Because I know I'd be making more money at Von Maur, but I don't want to tell Famous Footwear "no" if I don't know about Von Maur. Frustrating. What I'm REALLY hoping for is the insurance place.

My birthday was less than spectacular, but not bad. Aaron didn't get home from work 'til about 6:30pm. We left the house after 7pm for Red Lobster because I was in the mood for seafood. I had a pound of crab legs for dinner. Delish. Aaron had a shrimp trio - scampi, breaded, and Alfredo. Then we went home because it was 9pm and everything closes down early in Minnesota. I got a new iPod Nano from my parents, the red one. I managed to upload my entire library to it. Which means I have less than 8Gs of music on my computer. It's quite nice and tiny. I think I will get a lot of good use out of it, just like my Mini.

I finished the baby blanket, a hat, and booties for Aaron's co-worker who helped me with my resume on Monday. I'll have Aaron take it into work tomorrow morning after I get it wrapped up with some decorative cords I need to knit up when I get done doing this.

So, that's it for now. More news when I find out about a job. Adios.

opportunities

So I went in for my interview at Von Maur this afternoon. It went well, and I was asked back for a second interview that is going to be on Wednesday. That's a pretty good thing, I think, and I am looking forward to it.

Before I went to the interview, I was emailing a co-worker of Aaron's for help on my resume. Aaron's co-worker is married to a woman who works for an insurance company, and they are looking for someone to deal with insurance claims. Experience is not necessary, and apparently, they train you really well. Also, this job usually starts people out around $40,000 per year, which is twice the amount I have made at ANY former job. If I could get that job and make that money, Aaron and I would have NO financial troubles and be able to pay off our bills.

Aaron's co-worker and I emailed ideas and my resume back and forth, and Aaron says he spent quite a bit of time helping me today. He also came up with a brilliant idea. His co-worker is expecting a baby tomorrow (on my birthday, no less), and Aaron thought it would be a good idea if I could do something nice for them as a thanks for all the help. I instantly thought of making a blanket, and I think that's what Aaron was thinking, too, because he agreed right away. So tomorrow I am going to find a Wal*Mart (as the Targets around here don't carry yarn) and get some yarn for the baby blanket. Aaron's going to try to find out if they know if it's a girl or a boy, so I can buy accordingly. If they're not sure or he can't find out, I'll go with greens and yellows, I think. Maybe some orange, too, since the baby will be born in the fall, and that's a nice autumny color.

Also, another friend has a friend who works for corporate Target, and this friend is going to put in a referral for me tomorrow. So it looks like I might have a lot of options coming up soon. Which is better than having no options coming up at all. Better, but more confusing.

Even though it's my birthday tomorrow, I have no idea what we're going to do. I've been trying to find something in the theater area of Minneapolis, but nothing interesting seems to be playing. We might just end up going out to dinner or something. Who knows. I'll be 25 tomorrow; a quarter of a century! I don't feel that old, that's for sure. Actually, it doesn't even feel like tomorrow is going to be my birthday. Hmmm. I wonder if that's a bad thing?

Well...by the time I've finished this, is has turned into Tuesday, my birthday. Although, technically, I wasn't born 'til 9am, so I have a little bit of time left. Goodnight!

at last?

Last night, Aaron and I went to hang out with Nathan and Natalie because Nathan's birthday is coming up, and he had a little party with all his friends. Natalie and I got to talking, and she asked how the job hunt was going. I told her it was looking dismal, and she told me about this place called Von Maur that was hiring seasonal employees to get ready for the holidays, and that they pay $11.00 per hour to start off. She also had an application for the store with her, and said that I could have it if I wanted. She wasn't going to use it herself, and knew that I might like to apply.

So I filled out the application this morning, and Aaron and I went off to do our Saturday ritual; lunch, kitties, and picking up his car from downtown. Along with all that, we stopped at the mall where the Von Maur is and dropped off the application. They asked if I had time to speak to a manager, so I did, and I now have an interview set up for this Monday the 15th.

I'm really hoping that I get the job. Not because I think I will like it, but because of the obvious. We're broke as hell. Von Maur is a super fancy store like JC Penney or Macys, only higher end. In the mall this one is in, there are two floors to the store, a piano player on the main floor, and it looks pretty nice. Things are expensive and high quality, but basically, it'd be like working at a Penneys store. No big deal, I can handle that.

So thanks to Natalie I have that to look forward to on Monday. I also have an interview set up the next Monday, the 22nd, at Famous Footwear. It's closer to home, but I doubt pays near as much. Also, I put in the application on Tuesday, the manager looked at it on Wednesday, but I never heard from her. So I called on Friday, and she said that she wanted to set up an interview, but that it would have to wait until the 22nd because she was going on vacation. Why couldn't she have called earlier, then? Who knows.

My birthday is coming up on Tuesday the 16th. The big two five for me. Woooo! Maybe my car insurance rates will go down now. I'll give 'em a call. Plus, Jill is coming over next weekend to visit, and Brandon and Austin are coming over the weekend after that to visit, AND we're going to a Halloween party. Sounds like a good time to me!

postal service

This is a letter I received in the mail today (I blurred out the address, so that's not why I'm surprised I got it).




There was nothing in it. It looks like it was dropped in a puddle and then ran over a few times with a car. Not to mention it was completely opened (only two of the four sides were sealed still), and there was nothing in it. Wonderful.

I called the bank, because I think it's the same handwriting that was on the envelope for the letter that told me I didn't get the job at the bank I interviewed at a couple weeks ago. The lady who interviewed me wasn't there, so I left a message on her voicemail. She'll be back on Monday.

frustration

I am feeling so frustrated when it comes to finding a job. I've been searching for a month and a half of employment, have had a total of two interviews, and I wasn't accepted for either job. I have been wandering around to local businesses, picking up applications, filling them out, and bringing them back, but most of them aren't hiring right now. I have been to career websites. I made up a resume, and have posted it to so many jobs, I can't even count. Not even a nibble.

I don't want to go into teaching. I don't really want to go into retail (but I will for the time being, just because I need the money). But honestly, I don't know what I want to do. Do I want to be a manager? A receptionist? Work in a call center? I have no idea. I took a career test. It said I was "realistic" and "conventional" but didn't really tell me what kinds of jobs I should look for.

Most of the problem that I'm running into is I'm either not interested in the job at all, or I'm not qualified for a job I am interested in. I've been thinking about waiting tables, just to make some money, but I remember the last time I went out to search for a waitressing job; I wasn't experienced, so I couldn't get a job. How do you get experience, then?

So, if anyone has any bright ideas that I haven't thought of yet, or knows of some kind of job I could start looking for, please let me know. I can't be jobless much longer.

*Moment of the Day*
Aaron got a raise after only two months!

school dream

I had a dream this morning right before I woke up. I was going back to the dorms, or something similar, for school to start up again after a fall break. It was snowy outside, and I was wearing Crocs. One red, one green. I absolutely hate Crocs, and was trying to find something else to wear, when I realized there just wasn't anything. I think I got on a bus with some other people that took us to the campus. When I got off the bus, I had a bike, and used it to get to the dorms, and almost up the stairs, but I gave it up, and walked the rest of the way up.

My room was at the top, and was just how I had left it. My bed was made, with knitting still waiting to be finished. My computer was on standby, so I started it up, and started Yahoo! and MSN messengers. (Which is odd, because I don't use Yahoo! messenger in real life.) Then I started thinking about a class that I was taking. Well, enrolled in - I had quit attending after the second week of school. I had decided it wasn't the right time for the class, I was too busy with other classes. Either that, or I had decided the class was not worth my time, but I had to take it. I knew I was going to fail that semester, because it was close to the Christmas holidays, and I had only turned in a couple of assignments.

So I put on a pair of Aaron's blue plaid shorts and made plans to see the guidance counselor about dropping the class this semester, and picking it up next semester. I did this because I didn't want the failing grade to show up on my report card and have to explain it to my parents. It just wouldn't be there, and they would be none the wiser.

Now, back to real life. I haven't had a "failing a class dream" since about a year ago, when I was preparing to graduate from college. This is very strange.

mass confusion

So I go to take out the garbage this afternoon, and on my way back, I check out the new garage unit that we're supposed to have, since the original one was leased out to someone before us, then to us again on accident. I just want to make sure the lock/key works, because on the other unit, it was pretty difficult to turn the key sometimes. Lock works great. I open it up, and sure as shit, there's someone else's stuff in there. What in the heck is going on around here?!

So, I wander over to the rental office to talk to them and let them know of the situation. Turns out some guy had the garage unit we were newly promised, and apparently when he moved out (left his roommates hanging), he didn't take his stuff with him.

So, the rental office called the guy's old roommates to see if they'd heard from him, and they hadn't. The rental office is going to have the ground keepers move the stuff out of the garage and into the old roommates' garage, I guess. Either way, I'm going to have a garage, finally. And it will be empty. She's also going to have the lock changed on the unit we're getting, in case the guy comes back and tries to enter the garage.

Whew. That's a lot of work just to store some old tires and stuff. Kind of a pain, but mostly I'm just tired of having Aaron's stinky tires in the back of my car.

Also, I went down to Famous Footwear and filled out an application/did a survey thing, and hopefully will hear from them tomorrow to set up an interview.

*Moment of the Day*
It's finally cooling off and feeling like Fall! I got to wear one of my new knit sweaters today.

dream

Last night I had a dream that one of my lower molars was sticking up in the back a little bit. Just like a spur on the tooth or something. It was irritating me, and I kept catching my upper teeth on it. Eventually, I ground down on the tooth, and most of it chipped away. Gross.

irritating

Aaron and I went to hang out with Jamie and Karlie this morning, ate breakfast, went antique window shopping (no need to buy anything), and grilled hamburgers and chicken for dinner. Good times, good times.

We get home, and there's not a single parking spot in our lot. There's another lot a little further on, so we went there, still no spot. I thought, well, why don't we just park the car in our garage that we're paying $35/month for? There's only a couple of bikes in there, right? Wrong. Open it, and there's the bikes, and boxes, and a cart to haul boxes on.

I called the rental office this afternoon and asked if they had accidentally given out the key to our garage, because there's stuff in it, and for them to call me back on Monday. All I can figure is that they accidentally gave out the key, or a closer garage opened up, and they're saving that for us, and gave the further one away already. I'm really hoping it's option number two, for sure.

So I'm kinda mad about the whole ordeal, because it happened over the weekend, they had the whole thing set up on the computer, so there should be no need for mistakes like that, AND we had it first, damn it! Maybe they tried to get a hold of us, but couldn't, and our phones were messing up, and they never left a message saying to bring in the old key for a new one. Who knows. It's confusing and dumb. That's all.

*Moment of the Day*
Seeing fifty cent bills from the Civil War era, half dimes, Barber dimes, and a large size silver certificate one dollar bill at the antique store. Nerding out big time with numismatics.

hangovers, kitties, and garages

Last night I met up with Aaron in downtown Minneapolis after he got off work. The plan was to go around town during Oktoberfest and sample beers with his co-workers. Even though I don't drink beer, I thought it would be fun to go, just to get out of the apartment, as I was having a bad day. We meet up, go to a friend's house to pick them up, and then realize that we cannot get into the bar we were supposed to meet Aaron's co-workers at. There was no parking within a 5 block radius. So we said, "Screw that," and went and made our OWN Oktoberfest with German beers, some Apfelkorn (kinda like Schnapps), and some ciders for me. And boy did we have a good time. We ended up spending the night on an air mattress at their place because both of us had drank too much. We made it home the next morning a little worse for wear, Aaron being in more pain than myself. And people wonder why I don't drink that much?

So after we lounged around the house and slept off our headaches and tummy aches, we left for a late lunch of Chinese food, and then off to the Humane Shelter in Golden Valley to look at kitties. This is kind of our new thing; every couple of weekends, we go down to the shelter and look at kitties, to see if any strike our fancy. We do this even though we know that we can't have a kitty until after I have had a job for a couple of months to save up some money, but we do it all the same. This weekend's kitties weren't as good as the last time we were there, but one stood out in particular. I don't know what his name was, but he only had three legs and was very lovable.

Then we bought a week's worth of groceries for dinners, lunches, and snacks because we were running low on food.

After groceries were put away, we went to take out the garbage, which is back behind another set of apartments, and near the garage that we had rented for the duration of our lease. Last week, when we got the garage, I had gone over to make sure the key worked, opened it, and had trouble getting the door to latch again, so I left it down, but unlocked. There was nothing in it, however, so that wasn't a big deal. Today, I wanted to see if Aaron could get it to latch, and to show him where it was, since he hadn't seen it yet, and we had his car's winter tires in the back of my car, and were going to put them in the garage. We get over to the garage door, and it is not only latched, but locked. Weird. Maybe the maintenance guy closed it? I couldn't get the key to work, and gave them to Aaron, who got the garage unlocked. We opened the door, and there were two bicycles in the very back against the wall. Neither of us own a bicycle (Aaron's not allowed to ride one for safety reasons, anyway), and they weren't there when I opened the garage last week. What's going on? Unfortunately, it is the weekend, and the ladies from the rental office won't be in until Monday.

So, I have to check in with them about that, because we're not paying $35 a month for someone else to have keys to our garage. It's a good thing that we never put anything in there!

*Moment of the Day*
Playing with a three-legged cat, who every time he turned around to rub on me, he almost fell over, due to his lack of a hind leg. So cute.

*sigh*

Got a letter in the mail today from the bank where I interviewed last week. Needless to say, all it said was that they had found someone else to fill the position, and wished me good luck in my job quest. Gee. Thanks. Oh, and it was hand-addressed and signed. How fancy.

Ashley calls me to "rub it in my face" that she got a job today after only filling out two applications. She picked up the application, dropped it off later in the day, interviewed that day, and heard back an hour or so later that she got the job. Wonderful. And she's asking me if I've dropped off more applications today. No, I haven't. I haven't left the apartment yet because I'm in a bad mood.

Also got a letter from my credit card company that I am late on a payment. I doubt it; I always pay online every month BEFORE it's due. I haven't been charged, but that was just more salt in the wounds, I guess.

Aaron's cousin who lives close to us is going to ask her friend who works for corporate Target about referring me for a job. For that, I am very thankful, and I hope it works out.

*Moment of the Day*
Realizing they had changed the scent that is pumped into the hallways of our apartment building. Very nice!

on the prowl

Well, I am STILL hunting for a job. I never heard back from the bank. Nice of them to call me and let me know that I didn't get it, so I can sit here and wait and think that maybe I did. You know, how hard is it to call a person and let them know either way? Not too hard.

So I went out and picked up job applications at some local places, and then found some places online that were looking for positions as well. The first one was at a car dealership, but he said, "I appreciate you coming down and seeing, but they were supposed to take that position off the website." Pfft. The next place had a cashier / teller position, so I went down there, filled out the application, interviewed, AND did an assessment test based on attitude and opinions about the field. The lady entered it all in. Unsatisfactory. Pfft. She said she would call her boss and see what kind of leeway he allows for situations like this. She also said that most policemen and military folks don't pass the test, but that doesn't mean they're "bad" people.

I took it to mean that I am "too" honest. If that's even possible. I grew up with the Ten Commandments. Thous shalt not steal, thou shalt not covet, thou shalt not lie...things like that. I also grew up very afraid of getting in trouble. I still feel that way. So why would I do anything wrong? Did I answer the questions in a way that would make them think I'm just "saying the right things?" Who knows. I hope she calls me back either way, because it seemed like an interesting job. I don't think I answered the questions in a way that put me in a bad light, just in a way that might seem like it's what they want to hear. I'm hoping that's the case, anyway.

Who knows. I'll work on filling out the other applications, and hope I hear back from this place.

On a lighter note; on my way to finding this place, I ended up getting on the wrong part of the Interstate...I was supposed to get off exit 37...Here's exit 35, and then all of the sudden, I94 split to I694, and I was looking at exit 230. Whoops. Fortunately, I was heading straight for downtown and the Metrodome, which is two blocks from where Aaron works. So I just followed the signs for the stadium, and found my way to his work. I called him from the parking lot of his building and said, "Yeah, so I got really turned around and can't find where I'm going." Aaron asked where I was, and I told him I was outside his building and he should let me in. *Smile* Then we re-routed where I should go based on my current position, went to lunch with one of his co-workers, and sent me on my merry way. And we got me directions to back home from where I was headed as well.

Whew. That was a crisis averted. Sometimes I just get lost and frustrated, and back home, it's easy to turn around and find your way again. Not on the freeways. Yikes.

So, that's what's going on right now.

grrr.

I just got an email from my mom saying that my cell phone bill had been charged to my bank account back home, instead of being charged to my new bank account here in Minneapolis. I could have sworn that I had changed the bank account information on it. I went through all of my accounts (especially the ones that are automatic withdrawal), and changed them. When I went to the website, sure enough, there was my new Minneapolis bank account information, NOT my Gillette information. What gives?

So I call them up and talk to the customer service lady. She was very nice about everything and apologized for the inconvenience. Her information was only showing the Gillette bank account, and my Spearfish address, which I had also changed to Minneapolis on the website. So I had her update everything for me, and that won't happen again. I have no idea why the information didn't go through from the website when I did it almost a month ago, because that's exactly what I was trying to prevent from happening.

Oh well, crisis averted, sort of. Mom had to transfer some money into my account so I didn't overdraft. I'll have to pay her back because she doesn't need to pay my cell phone bill for me.

I'm still hoping to hear from the bank about the job interview today; no phone call yet.