David's back from visiting his family in Utah but on a retreat for his job so I am alone again in our apartment. After a few hours of dedicated work on the day before he got back from Utah, it's looking nice. The only boxes we have left are at least stacked neatly in corners and I've put some pictures up. It's nice and homey.
David's birthday was yesterday and, fortunately, I had off from work so we had a picnic lunch and then went out for dinner at Osteria, an amazing Italian/Tuscan restaurant with incredibly reasonable prices and good service. It was nice to go out since we haven't really gotten an opportunity lately as I've been working late and we get home in time to eat something and fall into bed. For his birthday, I got him a wallet (since his old one was in shreds), a Starbucks card, and a Borders card.
Work has been going fine; it turns out that I'm pretty good at retail. My one complaint is that they are scheduling me to work both Saturday and Sunday, when I would prefer one or the other since David only has off on weekends.
David David David. It seems that he dictates a lot of what goes on in my life right now and I guess that's true, to some point. It's nice living with him.
6.28.2007
6.18.2007
job!
Joy in the morning, I have a job!!!!!!!
That is all.
(a few details: the Stanford Store sent me a schedule with my hours on it so I assumed they had hired me. However, Coldwater Creek got back to me today and they formally offered me a job so I'm taking that. Crate & Barrel does not want to hire me because of the length of the training process and the amount of time I'm in CA. But I have a job, I have a job, and all is good and wonderful!)
That is all.
(a few details: the Stanford Store sent me a schedule with my hours on it so I assumed they had hired me. However, Coldwater Creek got back to me today and they formally offered me a job so I'm taking that. Crate & Barrel does not want to hire me because of the length of the training process and the amount of time I'm in CA. But I have a job, I have a job, and all is good and wonderful!)
6.16.2007
California dreamin'...
California is gorgeous! The weather here has been 70 to 80 degrees and sunny every day with no rain and little humidity. The flowers here are...different. They're less pretty than many of the flowers at home but they smell better. Eggs here cost $2.79 - $4.50/dozen, which is taking some getting used to. Gas is hovering between $3.39 and $3.45.
Today I went shopping at Safeway and saved $40.38! My secret? The only things I bought that weren't on sale in some way, shape, or form were feta cheese and salad dressing. Also, everyone should buy strawberries. Now. Right now. This blog entry will be here when you get back. Drive safely. Use your turn signals. Buckle up. See you when you return. According to my mother, strawberries are going on sale in Wisconsin and here they are $1/pound. And they smell wonderful. I think my dinner will be strawberries tonight. That's it. Maybe some toast. Or peaches (they were on sale too).
David is back in Salt Lake for the week, visiting his family and old friends. I dropped him off at the airport yesterday and have since been looking for ways to kill time. If anyone would like to send me a book, they can e-mail me for my address. Also, I'm good at menial organizational stuff, i.e., Maria, make me a spreadsheet showing all the flights to and from Milwaukee on such and so dates.
I miss him. It's reassuring to know that he'll be back in a week (literally, this is the smallest amount of time we've spent apart, EVER) but you get used to being around someone. And he's nice. (hon, if you're reading this, you can skip the next paragraph)
Seriously, though, he's really really nice. And awesome. About a week after being here, I got sick with something vaguely resembling the flu + sore throat and I was not happy or easy to deal with (as my mother or any immediate family member can attest). But he made me soup and let me wear his Stanford sweatshirt when I was cold and did not complain when I took cold showers late at night when I was hot (our shower squeaks a lot, so he would have had a reason). So yeah. He's an incredibly sweet, generous person.
(hon, you can start reading again).
It helps that our apartment seems to have internet. There is readily accessible wireless internet (from a source we can't quite determine) and it has been very consistent, which makes me happy. The internet is wonderful for killing time.
Super quick job update:
Home Care Assistance (office job) - at the interview, said I was the most qualified candidate they had but they still haven't called me (they were concerned I was leaving in the fall)
Victoria's Secret (sales associate) - are presumably checking my references; will give them a call soon
Coldwater Creek (sales associate) - the wonderful person I had my second interview with is keeping me updated on every step of the process. I can say with certainty that they are planning to call one more reference and then let me know. (small tangent: Her name is Grace Power. How cool is that? She should be a comic book heroine. Or just a normal heroine. Awesome.)
Crate & Barrel (sales associate) - the interview went hugely well but the guy said they might have trouble justifying training me if I'm leaving in August. I'll hear more next week.
Stanford Store (???) - they e-mailed me asking if I still wanted to work for them. I said yes, we'll see how that goes.
Life is good. California is sunny. Strawberries are sweet and tasty.
Today I went shopping at Safeway and saved $40.38! My secret? The only things I bought that weren't on sale in some way, shape, or form were feta cheese and salad dressing. Also, everyone should buy strawberries. Now. Right now. This blog entry will be here when you get back. Drive safely. Use your turn signals. Buckle up. See you when you return. According to my mother, strawberries are going on sale in Wisconsin and here they are $1/pound. And they smell wonderful. I think my dinner will be strawberries tonight. That's it. Maybe some toast. Or peaches (they were on sale too).
David is back in Salt Lake for the week, visiting his family and old friends. I dropped him off at the airport yesterday and have since been looking for ways to kill time. If anyone would like to send me a book, they can e-mail me for my address. Also, I'm good at menial organizational stuff, i.e., Maria, make me a spreadsheet showing all the flights to and from Milwaukee on such and so dates.
I miss him. It's reassuring to know that he'll be back in a week (literally, this is the smallest amount of time we've spent apart, EVER) but you get used to being around someone. And he's nice. (hon, if you're reading this, you can skip the next paragraph)
Seriously, though, he's really really nice. And awesome. About a week after being here, I got sick with something vaguely resembling the flu + sore throat and I was not happy or easy to deal with (as my mother or any immediate family member can attest). But he made me soup and let me wear his Stanford sweatshirt when I was cold and did not complain when I took cold showers late at night when I was hot (our shower squeaks a lot, so he would have had a reason). So yeah. He's an incredibly sweet, generous person.
(hon, you can start reading again).
It helps that our apartment seems to have internet. There is readily accessible wireless internet (from a source we can't quite determine) and it has been very consistent, which makes me happy. The internet is wonderful for killing time.
Super quick job update:
Home Care Assistance (office job) - at the interview, said I was the most qualified candidate they had but they still haven't called me (they were concerned I was leaving in the fall)
Victoria's Secret (sales associate) - are presumably checking my references; will give them a call soon
Coldwater Creek (sales associate) - the wonderful person I had my second interview with is keeping me updated on every step of the process. I can say with certainty that they are planning to call one more reference and then let me know. (small tangent: Her name is Grace Power. How cool is that? She should be a comic book heroine. Or just a normal heroine. Awesome.)
Crate & Barrel (sales associate) - the interview went hugely well but the guy said they might have trouble justifying training me if I'm leaving in August. I'll hear more next week.
Stanford Store (???) - they e-mailed me asking if I still wanted to work for them. I said yes, we'll see how that goes.
Life is good. California is sunny. Strawberries are sweet and tasty.
6.06.2007
Be vewwy vewwy polite when hunting jobs...
The job hunt begins at the Stanford Shopping Center; a beautiful place where stores range from the commonplace (Gap, Victoria's Secret, Starbucks) to the extraordinarily expensive (Wilkins and Bashford - $1470 for a top...albeit a designer top...I felt too poor to be in the store and too dirty to be touching the clothes). So far I've turned in about 15 applications (including the super-expensive Wilkins & Bashford) for various stores and had several short interviews with the nice people at Coldwater Creek and Pottery Barn. I've also been practicing my soothing customer voice. It sounds kind of creepy when I do it but it's really what many of these stores are looking for since their clientele are rich and snooty.
I had a group interview with Victoria's Secret today (by the way, the secret is $10/hour + 30% VS discount + 20% sister store discount + free/$10 bras when they introduce a new one + cheap perfume) which went well and I have another scheduled for Friday for a morning (8 am to 12 pm...perfect to complement an afternoon job) job as a receptionist/filing person. I think the interviews that I've had so far have gone really well; the main problem is that many businesses hesitate before hiring someone for only 2.5 months.
My ideal situation would be getting the morning receptionist job and then possibly waitressing at a cafe in the afternoon/evenings or working at home goods store (I've applied to Crate & Barrel, Pottery Barn, and Williams-Sonoma Home). Many retail places want workers on the weekends but I would prefer to be with David on the weekends since he has those off. But meh. It'll all work itself out.
I also ordered a copy of Harry Potter to be delivered to the apartment on July 21st/22nd (whatever day it is) so that my mother will not have to ship one across the country/I will not have to wait for my mother to ship a book across the country. David is not allowed to read it until I finish unless it is a weekend and I have to work and he doesn't. But then he is not allowed to tell me anything about it or I will hurt him. He is very clear on the situation. :)
I had a group interview with Victoria's Secret today (by the way, the secret is $10/hour + 30% VS discount + 20% sister store discount + free/$10 bras when they introduce a new one + cheap perfume) which went well and I have another scheduled for Friday for a morning (8 am to 12 pm...perfect to complement an afternoon job) job as a receptionist/filing person. I think the interviews that I've had so far have gone really well; the main problem is that many businesses hesitate before hiring someone for only 2.5 months.
My ideal situation would be getting the morning receptionist job and then possibly waitressing at a cafe in the afternoon/evenings or working at home goods store (I've applied to Crate & Barrel, Pottery Barn, and Williams-Sonoma Home). Many retail places want workers on the weekends but I would prefer to be with David on the weekends since he has those off. But meh. It'll all work itself out.
I also ordered a copy of Harry Potter to be delivered to the apartment on July 21st/22nd (whatever day it is) so that my mother will not have to ship one across the country/I will not have to wait for my mother to ship a book across the country. David is not allowed to read it until I finish unless it is a weekend and I have to work and he doesn't. But then he is not allowed to tell me anything about it or I will hurt him. He is very clear on the situation. :)
6.04.2007
An apartment but no job...
David and I have a lovely one-bedroom apartment in East Palo Alto - we finally signed the lease on the 1st and have been steadily moving things in since. The neighborhood is a little sketchy but the building is secure and the apartment is pretty big. We also have a pool!! Since the apartment hasn't been lived in for several months, we have done some major cleaning...it's been pretty dusty.
I quit my job after going through training since I did not see the value of doing it. I would have been paid either $7.50/hour (CA's minimum wage) or, if my supervisor could swing it, $9 to $9.50 an hour. Essentially, I thought the job would have been something different and a little more upscale than a poolside concession stand. My function as a shift supervisor was to stand around and be a floater between 3 team members who actually did the cooking/money exchanges/etc. and deal with angry rich people. I did not have the authority to schedule people for shifts or call people to come in if some people did not show up; all the actual power was delegated to Angela, my supervisor, who seems to have gotten grandfathered into the position. I think she worked as a team member when she was in high school and now the country club has hired her to turn the snack bar around (it was getting really bad reviews - poor service, long waits, etc.). Angela seems to have a tendency to micromanage. Needless to say, I'm glad I quit when I did since I would not be learning anything new and I would be working in a small brick building with a temperature of around 102 degrees.
Since then, I've been job-hunting again. I sent an application and resume to the Stanford Store, which sells Stanford apparel and other things (I think the irony of me working there would just be awesome). I've also been looking for help wanted signs and Subway is hiring as is a florist, although the florist wants a part-time driver from what I could see...and I would rather not do that.
So that's that. If you want to know our address, please e-mail me.
I quit my job after going through training since I did not see the value of doing it. I would have been paid either $7.50/hour (CA's minimum wage) or, if my supervisor could swing it, $9 to $9.50 an hour. Essentially, I thought the job would have been something different and a little more upscale than a poolside concession stand. My function as a shift supervisor was to stand around and be a floater between 3 team members who actually did the cooking/money exchanges/etc. and deal with angry rich people. I did not have the authority to schedule people for shifts or call people to come in if some people did not show up; all the actual power was delegated to Angela, my supervisor, who seems to have gotten grandfathered into the position. I think she worked as a team member when she was in high school and now the country club has hired her to turn the snack bar around (it was getting really bad reviews - poor service, long waits, etc.). Angela seems to have a tendency to micromanage. Needless to say, I'm glad I quit when I did since I would not be learning anything new and I would be working in a small brick building with a temperature of around 102 degrees.
Since then, I've been job-hunting again. I sent an application and resume to the Stanford Store, which sells Stanford apparel and other things (I think the irony of me working there would just be awesome). I've also been looking for help wanted signs and Subway is hiring as is a florist, although the florist wants a part-time driver from what I could see...and I would rather not do that.
So that's that. If you want to know our address, please e-mail me.
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