Still Not the Best...

So I am realizing that I am still not the best at blabbing about stuff online... I have definitely had plenty to talk about in the past 10 months, but it's funny how some people are adamant about going directly to the blog to talk and I still prefer the live interaction. I will try to find things that I find interesting enough to talk about on here though.

I have seen a few good movies as of late... Last week I saw A-Team, which was one of the better summer blockbuster movies I have seen in a long time. A great action movie with just the right amount of comedy peppered in. And honestly anything with a shirtless Bradley Cooper is a win in my book...

I saw Get Him to the Greek - twice... I loved Forgetting Sarah Marshall. I believe that I have seen that movie no less than 40 times. The character of Aldous Snow is hilarious and a great source of comedy if you dive in. I have to admit, I wasn't impressed when I saw that Diddy, or whatever he is going by now, but he really won me me over in this movie. He was out of his mind, and I guess it was nice to see him without his head up his ass... The movie had great heart, which was a huge winning factor in Sarah Marshall, and a whole lot of moments that you laugh so hard that you have to watch it again just to see what you missed.

But after the abomination of the NBA finals that I just watched I am going to distract myself with a ton of Jeopardy to feel like the night wasn't a total loss...

Nerves...

So in talking the other day about having a blog I realized that I hadn't written anything in awhile. The person said "any particular reason?" Well... In my honest nature I admitted that it's because I am interviewing. Now this concept might be lost on some but in this technology driven society the last thing that you want is to be Googled negatively. I always hope that only the best parts come up. Luckily enough it's mainly that Amanda has: Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn and a blog... I don't believe that I have ever written anything that would be taken the wrong way, but I know that I would also like to write about the ridiculous things that people have said to me along my interviewing process. Alas, I am currently awaiting a 3rd interview next week with a company that I can completely see myself being REALLY happy at, so I am treading on my own line writing here.

That all being said, I have started to write about movies & will shortly start a separate music blog as well. I realize that they could all go on here and that they are linked but I figured that it would be more fun to see if I am any better at writing about things instead of myself. :D

So wish me luck & maybe once I am finally back at a secure job I will find myself comfortable enough to write about the funny things that happen at the restaurant & in my travels out and about! Happy End of Summer...

Happiness - true happiness...

So I am 6 business days from being laid-off & someone just came up to me with this voice of sympathy and said "I am so sorry to hear that"... Why? Don't get me wrong I am not blind to the fact that we are in a recession & that there is a really tough job market right now & no one should truly be "happy" about being let go, but honestly??? I am truly happy about being laid-off!!! There I said it! I have been saying it, yet it doesn't stop this voice that people put on when they apologize. I am sad that I am not going to see the same people everyday, kind of like how you fondly look back at high school & think how much fun it was everyday, no responsibility & such - but then that haze drops & you are reminded of those few that shit on the cake & ruin your day... I am in that mode now. I love about 90% of the people that I work with & will legitimately miss them. But I can honestly tell you that the 10% I don't enjoy are making this "transition" a whole lot easier!

Now if you know me at all you realize that I am 1 of the most ridiculously happy people that you will ever meet. As of late I have been commended on my positive attitude about being let go... enough that strangers are giving me their business cards & saying "I don't know if anyone is looking, but I am sure that we can get you in somewhere". I think that's where people go wrong - the negativity towards being laid off. The bad attitude that follows. That feeling of being slighted. I have none of those. I also don't want to disclose to the people that I don't really enjoy at work what my plans are once I am done here but everyone insists on asking. Like a moment ago when one of my least favorite reasons about my job asked me what I was going to do, he asked me if I was going to work at the restaurant more. Now I know that I do intend on picking up more shifts while I figure out what I want to do next & look for my dream job, but I have NO desire to share with this person. I avoid them at all costs & hate that they made their way to my desk to ask me a stupid question that could have been answered by anyone else in my department - but alas no... it had to be me. I turned & said - I will figure it out, I am not worried. My intentions weren't malicious or rude - but honestly??? I am not in the mood to be buddy-buddy in the 25th hour. But in that effort to not come across as callous I turned to him smiled & said, but thanks... Luckily enough I answered the question just as quickly as it came out of his mouth - though lucky me, he had to repeat the answer back to me - PET PEEVE of mine. I said it, you are a foot from me, just leave... I wish I could just say things like that... instead I smiled again & turned back to my desk.

So can someone truly be happy & elated about being let go from something that have enjoyed 90% of the time for the past 3 years??? I can honestly say yes. I am elated!!! Truly, truly, truly elated!!! Though on a side note, talk to me on the 6th when I have decided to get my 2 bottom wisdom teeth removed... Then I will probably agree that that act alone might make me wish I was at work...

The Impending February Holiday...

So it's that time of year again... That lovely time when all of the stores switch everything to red hearts, overpriced pink crap & sugary treats that are gonna break every one's New Year's resolutions. I am not a total cynic but I just hate the manufactured holiday that is... Valentine's Day.

This year's only plus is that it falls on a Saturday & I will be working a double at the restaurant! So at least I can profit off of all those people that go out to eat on Valentine's Day. Another plus to that is people tend to get babysitters & there are SO many less kids in the place that night! I am just one of those people that doesn't need 1 designated day a year to show my affection to the person that I am with. I think that everyone should be more thoughtful more often. Hell even my mom & I can't have a 2 second conversation without saying I love you at the end.

I only bring all of this up cause the commercials have started & it's just the tip of the iceberg cause the stress will start rolling in with people needing gifts & last minute flower orders & jewelery... I only have 1/2 priced candy to look forward to on Feb 15th... Or as we say every year, I am just gonna go out & celebrate Singles Awareness Day... ;)

Is there a recession???

So as I wrote in my previous blog there is a buyout going on at my company. I am excited about the new company that is going to be taking us over eventually. I don't however like that in a meeting the other day they decided to softball us on a bunch of terms. I am one of the younger people at my company and considering that I am 31 I don't consider that to be a child. Well this woman is telling us what is going to happen if our position is eliminated & then back-stepped to say - umm that's too negative - let's say when you are seeking new employment. I laughed. Now I am not new to the merger/lay off process but that seriously made me giggle. I mean come on... We aren't stupid. We all know what is ultimately going to happen here & if anyone is unwilling to accept that it's all going to be done eventually then I have bridge to sell you... I just can't believe that she was so unbelievably corporate & PC in saying that. I just don't get why they have to tip-toe around that & yet we had a bazillion questions about layoff dates & severance packages... Odd.

In saying that, what I really wanted to talk about on here today is they whole recession. Not sure if you know this, but I have a horrible shopping addiction. I am 12 steps away from a SA meeting... I always joke around that if I am working then I can't shop. Truth is it's only when I am away from a computer or even internet access on my phone am I completely safe. I had to send an email last week saying that I was expecting a few things to be shipped to my office this week. The barrage of packages that followed caused people to ask me if I had hit the lottery. Alas, no, I just am a strong believer in retail therapy. My favorite days of the week are Sundays - for the circulars, and Tuesdays - for the new releases of DVDs! I have 740 DVDs as of today & I don't plan on stopping. This week brought on a new new comforter - which looks amazing, calendars - for my desk & home, and my new Sirius receiver cause after 4 years of amazing times my old one shit the bed...

Holy crap is this new one amazing. It is the new Sportster 5 and it is beautiful. It makes my other one look like a BetaMax next to a Blu-Ray player. It even won my heart because I now have a backdrop & buttons that are purple... =) I am most happy about it because I paid attention enough to the make of them to realize that I didn't have to pay to have it installed! I hooked it up in quite an interesting fashion - but it works! I couldn't bear another day of driving in to work without listening to Howard Stern! It's horrible without it, I honestly went right from losing the signal of Sirius to listening to NPR... I couldn't take all those commercials on regular channels. Then it was iPod only for a bit - thank you technology!

Anyway - I guess I just wanted to share that I am ridiculous about purchasing things when most people are saving & complaining about the recession. I guess the economy needs people like me so that everything doesn't completely collapse...

Happy New Year???

Well I know that it's been months since I wrote anything & I thought that I would start today...

I am proud to say that I am now 6 months without smoking! I can officially be around it with no inklings of desire to rip it out of their hand & starting back up! That's amazing! I did have a week & a half off from my day job from Dec 24th - Jan 5th - I wish I could say I finally finished my trim painting but alas, no... I did manage to work a bunch more at the restaurant & stash away an extra $600 in fun money for myself! I am super proud of myself for doing that. So minus the wretched fever that I came down with on NYE it seemed like I finally started to get things right!!! Well there is a small bump in the road now...

My company announced yesterday that they have gone into a Merger agreement with a much larger company. I am not a gloom & doom person & so I am actually quite happy about this decision. I have been spinning my wheels at work lately & my only real reason for not starting a job search earlier is that I have 2 big vacations coming up soon, I need to refinance my mortgage and don't want my time at a new job to reflect negatively on that & I really enjoy my coworkers. So I guess this is just the catalyst that I have needed to finally move in the right direction for myself. I feel bad cause there are a lot of people here at work that are taking this news pretty hard. It's not like we are all going to be kicked out tomorrow but there is also no available timeline for them to look at to plan. I guess due to my age I find this not to be the biggest problem I will have, I am also driven enough that I know that if I had to I could work FT at the restaurant (which would delight my boss there but not me).

So that made the start to the New Year a little bumpy... I am a hopeless optimistic & I know that ultimately I will be fine. I think that this is nice though. I would love to get into a new place closer to home, who knows maybe work at the restaurant a bit more... So if you know of anywhere looking for an Executive Assistant with an amazing work ethic & a ton of personality let me know!!!

Aging Gracefully...

I remember when I was a kid & there was those Oil of Olay commercials that talked about aging gracefully and I think L'Oreal Preference commercials banning the notion of graying hairs... I mean the HORROR!!!

I realize now, as I have officially come to terms with saying I am 31, that my mother was my age when I was 2 and it was just a different time. Their ideas of aging and graying were mild acceptance & assistance will get you along just fine... Nowadays??? Oh my! Who in their right mind would go gray at such a young age... I mean I haven't seen my natural since I was 13, maybe 14 years old, but I do know that I can never go back. Thanks to my father (who was salt & pepper by the time I came around - which put him at 26 then) I have a decent amount of gray hair. Of course my lovely hairdresser Trish is always so kind in the "pfft, it's not nearly as bad as you think" but it's still something I go to have covered every 2 months now - up from years ago when I could go 3-4 months without getting my hair done. Maybe I can blame owning my own place on it, or work, or well anything... It's an easy cover up though & do to the rising trend in having your hair colored anyway - no one is exempt from hair color.

But then there is the face. I have been watching some of the new shows that have started & they all have these women that I remember watching in the early 90s, or women I have never seen before that are clearly have had a little work done. Not that there is anything wrong with that... I mean I am sure if I have the money when the time comes that I might contemplate it, not sure if I would go through with it as I do have a HUGE aversion to pain, but who knows right? Well I have to give my guilty please Gossip Girl credit for calling out one lady on their show - Blair mistakenly tells her boyfriend's mother that she is showing the side effects of bad Botox (she thought that it was her ex's date). I know that it was scripted but it was nice to have someone drop the "B" word. It makes me wonder what happened to the days of Calgon, Oil of Olay & a little bit of Avon to make a woman feel natural & beautiful. Now it's what can get nipped, tucked & shot.

I know that I don't look 31, and I am exceptionally grateful for that considering the amount of smoking & drinking that I did for years & the effects that it is supposed to have taken on my skin by now (consider that I was 13 when I started doing both bad things). But I do find myself sometimes over analyzing my skin up, freaking that this might sag, or those circles are too dark (damn Italian side), or that's not smooth enough. I am happy to grow old gracefully as long as it's in the progression that is has been for the past 30 years.

For now I guess I will just have to trust my O of O & Trish to have my back...