I know, I know, it's been over a month since I wrote anything for this blog, but my reasons are sound! Between traveling, Christmas vacation, and applying to grad schools, I've been horribly busy and haven't had the time to write. But now the holidays are over, and the majority of my grad school applications have been sent, so I finally have some time to sit down and tell you all what's been going on. And there's a lot (at least there feels like a lot, so I'll being doing it in (Dis)Like list form.
Likes
1. Thanksgiving! My dad and sisters came out here to celebrate, and it was an excellent meal. I made sure it was, since I was put in charge of buying all the food and defrosting the turkey! I now know the stress that goes behind such an important meal, with getting the bird, the green beans (Dad had to tell me to get the fresh stuff), potatoes, and all the other stuff. But Dad did a good job cooking, and it was a delicious Thanksgiving meal (though it's hard to say which is better -- pumpkin pie, chocolate pie, or those Pillbury rolls which we didn't have last year since someone forgot. Yum!).
2. Christmas! There was a lot of traveling this year with seeing my dad in Colorado and my mom in California. The first five days were spent with dad, my sisters, and my grandma from my dad's side. We went skiing at Breckenridge and Copper Mountain, which was fun despite feeling at one point like my face was freezing off, decorated a Christmas tree, and generally relaxed. Then it was off to San Francisco to see Mom, my other grandparents, my aunt and uncle, and my cousins, and that was fun as well, with hiking and hitting the beach. There were delicious food eaten at both, and I loved the presents I received, from books and DVDs to some very nice clothing. I couldn't ask for anything better.
3. Pay raise! Work has been going well, with me running the cash register and helping customers find books, but this was a pleasant surprise. I was just getting ready to eat lunch when the boss came and told me about it. In the grand scheme of things, it's not big, but it's something, especially given the money I've lately been spending on sending in grad school applications and with licensing my car. Thanks, boss!
4. Persimmons! I tried some out in California during the Christmas visit because my aunt and uncle have a tree in their yard, and they're delicious. Do you know you eat them like an apple, skin and all? It's a different taste, being kind of mild yet somewhat tangy, but it's good. And the persimmon bread my aunt made was just as sweet.
5. New year! Hello, 2015! I don't know about you guys, but I had myself a quiet New Years Eve/Day watching Youtube videos and reading, which suits me more than a party, if I do say so myself. Looking back, 2014 was a good year, with me graduating from Knox and getting my job at Barnes and Noble, so here's hoping that 2015 is just as well. :)
6. Finished grad school applications! I've finished two out of three of them; one for KU and the other for Notre Dame. I'm hoping I get into one of them, but I'm not placing one above the other in importance; both are very good schools with programs I'd be happy to get into. And at this point, I'm just hoping I get into one.
7. Road trips with my sisters! We were driving back to Denver to get to the airport to fly out to San Francisco, but thanks to a bunch of snow and a train of snow plows, it was kind of a long trip. But, as I discovered, my sisters can be quite entertaining during long hauls like that. Yes, there were points when I put my headphones in because I couldn't stand the music they were listening to, but at other times I sang along and laughed with them. It was something small that made me realize all over again how important my sisters are. I love you guys!
8. I got to see some friendly, familiar faces at work. I saw my old teacher from high school, Mr. Restivo, with his wife and kid, and he's doing well. So are Ms. O'Neil and Mrs. Lyons, the former also from my high school days as an administrator, the latter the mom of one of my former classmates. Both looked well and told me how things were going for them, which was nice to hear. Thanks for the company and conversations!
Dislikes
1. Two nasty customers at B&N, one of which actually REPORTED me to my boss. The one who reported apparently thought I was being 'snobby' all because I insisted that gift receipts couldn't be attached to pre-pay orders. I said sorry, but she still reported me to one of my bosses, who actually pulled me aside into the back room for a discussion. I can at least say, despite the situation, the talk went well as I explained my side of the story (like how I DID NOT tell her to listen to me, because I didn't), and I was simply reminded that when either stuck with a difficult customer or not sure about something like gift receipts for pre-pay orders, CALL THE MANAGER. Bad karma on you, you nasty witch. :P They other lady didn't report me, but she was still awful. She came up asking if a certain magazine had a monthly subscription, except she said 'prescription'. I repeated it, like a question ('Prescription?') because it was one of those, 'Wait, what?' moments, but I think she thought I was correcting her, because the next thing I know she's going on this whole rant about how all the employees here have been nothing but rude and unhelpful, going as far as to say she was going to tell everyone she knew not to shop here (I was thinking, "If they're friends with you, than we don't want them shopping here." I DID NOT SAY THAT THOUGH.) What I did say was I was sorry if I offended her and asked for her input on what could be fixed that created her bad experience, but she simply said no, it was over and done with, wanting basically nothing to do with it. So at least with this person it apparently wasn't just me that pissed her off, but it still wasn't much fun. So bad karma on you too, you hag, and good riddance to the both of you!
2. Snow on the car. I didn't realize it was going to be that BIG a pain in the butt to scrape ice off the windshield until I actually had to do it. It takes actual power to get that ice off; who knew?
3. Incomplete grad school applications. I still have one to do, so there goes all my attention for the time being that's not being focused on work, my internship, and, now including, this blog. I can't wait until all the stuff is sent in and life can go back to normal. :P
And for things that don't fit on the list, aka, my writing and my internship, both are going well. I haven't heard anything from my agent or my editor, so I'm going to send them an email asking them what's up and stuff. Internship-wise, I'm still fixing people's mistakes while learning more about the fashion world and seeing some amazing clothes.
And quote!
"Those who stand for nothing fall for anything." -Alexander Hamilton
See ya later,
Colleen
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