Sunday morning, bright and early, I waltzed into my store holiday meeting with a latte in one hand and sunglasses shielding me from the bright lights of the store as I took a seat next to my co-workers to discuss the preparations of the holiday fun we will see in the next month in the store.
Fortunately I am a morning person so I was chipper and alert as we discussed what it will take to drive sales up and succeed in the holiday season without slacking in customer service.
For two hours we went through mini-sessions with different managers discussing how to impact each customer as they walk in the store with speed and accuracy in a time where it is easy to get overwhelmed and give up.
I was pleased to hear all the effort the managers had put into making the holidays go flawlessly for everyone that will walk the doors of the Town Center Gap store.
It made me realize that many times in the past few years, I have done holiday shopping and hated the customer service I received from many stores.
It made me enjoy working at my store so much more and I am really looking forward to surviving this holiday season and the demands retail has to offer.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
New Moon
I am a fan of the infamous Twilight Saga and went to see the second installation of the series over the weekend, New Moon.
Before I could see such an amazing movie, I had to do some prerequisite activity to prepare for the 2 hours and 25 minutes I would be spending with my beloved vampire dreamboat, Edward and the lucky love of his life, Bella.
As I ransacked the Dollar Store for chocolate candy to smuggle into the movie theatres, I started to build with anxiety as I approached the movie I have waited one year to see.
I dragged my little sister with me to see the movie which I have not shut up about since I left the theatres last year when the first movie in the saga was released, Twilight.
I did not hear one review that made the movie sound intriguing and I was prepared to be greatly disappointed but knew I had to see it.
Men may not understand why girls of all ages are obsessed with the pale, cold blooded vampire but then again women do not understand why the Star Wars trilogy is some sort of right of passage.
What men do understand is that you cannot see just one movie out of the three, you must see them all. Therefore, I had to sit through the entire movie whether I loathed the film or not.
I cried, I laughed, I smiled, and I remembered that I have spent a weeks worth of hours to read through every single word Stephanie Meyers put into writing all four novels. With that said, I am in complete compliance with everyone who has said, "the movie could never do justice to the book." There is just no way to compare the written word to the big screen.
What I will say is having my imagination put to life in the movies has been a blessing and I was not disappointed at all. It could have been a lot worse and I thoroughly enjoyed all that was crammed into the movie.
I am already craving the third movie to come out, until then the second one needs to come out on DVD so I can quench my desire to watch New Moon over and over again.
Before I could see such an amazing movie, I had to do some prerequisite activity to prepare for the 2 hours and 25 minutes I would be spending with my beloved vampire dreamboat, Edward and the lucky love of his life, Bella.
As I ransacked the Dollar Store for chocolate candy to smuggle into the movie theatres, I started to build with anxiety as I approached the movie I have waited one year to see.
I dragged my little sister with me to see the movie which I have not shut up about since I left the theatres last year when the first movie in the saga was released, Twilight.
I did not hear one review that made the movie sound intriguing and I was prepared to be greatly disappointed but knew I had to see it.
Men may not understand why girls of all ages are obsessed with the pale, cold blooded vampire but then again women do not understand why the Star Wars trilogy is some sort of right of passage.
What men do understand is that you cannot see just one movie out of the three, you must see them all. Therefore, I had to sit through the entire movie whether I loathed the film or not.
I cried, I laughed, I smiled, and I remembered that I have spent a weeks worth of hours to read through every single word Stephanie Meyers put into writing all four novels. With that said, I am in complete compliance with everyone who has said, "the movie could never do justice to the book." There is just no way to compare the written word to the big screen.
What I will say is having my imagination put to life in the movies has been a blessing and I was not disappointed at all. It could have been a lot worse and I thoroughly enjoyed all that was crammed into the movie.
I am already craving the third movie to come out, until then the second one needs to come out on DVD so I can quench my desire to watch New Moon over and over again.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Depression In a Sunshine World
I am a very care free individual. I have my head on my shoulders and a strong focus towards what I want my future to resemble.
I have made too many mistakes to count and many my age pale in comparison to the wrongs I have done to get me to where I am. Yet, this is what makes me more mature and grounded then those in my peer group.
I cannot explain why I am the way that I am but I do know that if it were not for the mistakes I have made in my past, I would not be where I am today.
Despite the pressures I feel about never having enough money or being hindered from graduation due to failing my Broadcast Journalism course, I am happy with the way things are going, in general.
I say in general because this semester I feel like there has been a force out to get me and knock me down from where my aspirations are. It is as if I am lost in a maze with only dead ends surrounding me on all four sides. I feel the need to scream for help, for any assistance that someone can lend me yet I hold back because I feel it would do me no good.
I have never felt surrounded by defeat in my life, yet lately it feels oppressive and very apparent in all that I do.
As silly as it sounds, in the last month and a half I have been to eight doctors for my eyes. I was admitted to urgent care this Monday after literally being unable to see due to the irritation in both my eyes. I learned that for the past six weeks, I have been highly allergic to every drop that has entered my eyes.
Because of the poor advisement from an array of different doctors, my eyes could stay red for a long time. I have been embarrassed, hurt and hostile towards people for the past six weeks because no one will talk to the girl with crackhead eyes.
I have two jobs and have avoided eye contact from the public for a month and a half. My abundant social life has left me into exile due to my noticeably different appearance.
I have hit rock bottom this semester. Even in my Multimedia Journalism class, a class I enjoy and feel I do decent in, I learned I have a C- which is unacceptable.
Things cannot continue this way but it seems that I have to overcome the forces that have marked me as their territory. I need to avenge bad karma with optimism, yet it is easier said then done.
I just want to get through this semester, get my appearance back to normal and wake up with a stride of prosperity instead of defeat that I have been sulking in for far too long.
I have made too many mistakes to count and many my age pale in comparison to the wrongs I have done to get me to where I am. Yet, this is what makes me more mature and grounded then those in my peer group.
I cannot explain why I am the way that I am but I do know that if it were not for the mistakes I have made in my past, I would not be where I am today.
Despite the pressures I feel about never having enough money or being hindered from graduation due to failing my Broadcast Journalism course, I am happy with the way things are going, in general.
I say in general because this semester I feel like there has been a force out to get me and knock me down from where my aspirations are. It is as if I am lost in a maze with only dead ends surrounding me on all four sides. I feel the need to scream for help, for any assistance that someone can lend me yet I hold back because I feel it would do me no good.
I have never felt surrounded by defeat in my life, yet lately it feels oppressive and very apparent in all that I do.
As silly as it sounds, in the last month and a half I have been to eight doctors for my eyes. I was admitted to urgent care this Monday after literally being unable to see due to the irritation in both my eyes. I learned that for the past six weeks, I have been highly allergic to every drop that has entered my eyes.
Because of the poor advisement from an array of different doctors, my eyes could stay red for a long time. I have been embarrassed, hurt and hostile towards people for the past six weeks because no one will talk to the girl with crackhead eyes.
I have two jobs and have avoided eye contact from the public for a month and a half. My abundant social life has left me into exile due to my noticeably different appearance.
I have hit rock bottom this semester. Even in my Multimedia Journalism class, a class I enjoy and feel I do decent in, I learned I have a C- which is unacceptable.
Things cannot continue this way but it seems that I have to overcome the forces that have marked me as their territory. I need to avenge bad karma with optimism, yet it is easier said then done.
I just want to get through this semester, get my appearance back to normal and wake up with a stride of prosperity instead of defeat that I have been sulking in for far too long.
Broadcast Journalism Choke
I may not be an extraordinary student nor the sharpest tool in the shed, but one thing I can say is that I have always done my best in school.
That was until I entered Broadcast Journalism this semester.
It is not that I have slacked off or done poor this semester. It is that I am not equipped with the proper fundamentals needed to succeed in this class.
I have never failed at anything. I have made it to my senior year in college and can't say I have a lot to complain about.
My first edit is due Thursday for my Broadcast class and I feel like I am drowning in anxiety. Emotionally, I have a weight tied to my feet, that is dragging me down to the bottom of an endless ocean.
That may seem to be a dramatized metaphor for how I feel currently but there is no other way to describe it.
I have not had time to do anything besides breathe this project. It consumes me. Even now while I write my assigned blog I feel as though it is a waste of precious time needed to finish my project.
I wasted hours today, twelve hours to be exact, learning a editing software that I have still not figured out.
I have to work all tomorrow then have two quizzes which I need to do great on in order to get a better grade in this journalism class.
It never ends. Between my two jobs, this weekend I worked twenty five hours. I crave for this semester to be over. I want to tell my parents that all of my effort in college has paid off.
I cannot take my eyes off the prize, I have come too far yet I feel like I am back at the finish line.
That was until I entered Broadcast Journalism this semester.
It is not that I have slacked off or done poor this semester. It is that I am not equipped with the proper fundamentals needed to succeed in this class.
I have never failed at anything. I have made it to my senior year in college and can't say I have a lot to complain about.
My first edit is due Thursday for my Broadcast class and I feel like I am drowning in anxiety. Emotionally, I have a weight tied to my feet, that is dragging me down to the bottom of an endless ocean.
That may seem to be a dramatized metaphor for how I feel currently but there is no other way to describe it.
I have not had time to do anything besides breathe this project. It consumes me. Even now while I write my assigned blog I feel as though it is a waste of precious time needed to finish my project.
I wasted hours today, twelve hours to be exact, learning a editing software that I have still not figured out.
I have to work all tomorrow then have two quizzes which I need to do great on in order to get a better grade in this journalism class.
It never ends. Between my two jobs, this weekend I worked twenty five hours. I crave for this semester to be over. I want to tell my parents that all of my effort in college has paid off.
I cannot take my eyes off the prize, I have come too far yet I feel like I am back at the finish line.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
OCD Annoys Me
On my prime time television kick that I am on, I am analyzing Jay Leno's interview with Deal or No Deal's host, Howie Mandel who has Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. I had no idea that the quirky, bald-headed television game show host was a complete nut job until just minutes ago.
I understand everyone is different. I believe that there are things that define everyone but OCD does not do Howie Mandel any justice.
He is irritating, a train wreck, over the top, and down right pathetic.
He explained tonight about how he cannot touch anyone and finds urinating in public restrooms is physically impossible for him. It took him two years to take his young daughter out in public and could not change her diaper in a public stall because it repulsed him so much.
What is normal nonetheless tolerable about that?
I have put people with OCD on the top of my hit list of people that irritate me. That is bypassing the filthy rich snobs of Palm Beach County and loud New Yorker's who talk like they are a walking garbage can.
I have only crossed a few people with OCD in my life and tonight solidified why I cannot have anyone close to me that structured and compulsive.
I understand everyone is different. I believe that there are things that define everyone but OCD does not do Howie Mandel any justice.
He is irritating, a train wreck, over the top, and down right pathetic.
He explained tonight about how he cannot touch anyone and finds urinating in public restrooms is physically impossible for him. It took him two years to take his young daughter out in public and could not change her diaper in a public stall because it repulsed him so much.
What is normal nonetheless tolerable about that?
I have put people with OCD on the top of my hit list of people that irritate me. That is bypassing the filthy rich snobs of Palm Beach County and loud New Yorker's who talk like they are a walking garbage can.
I have only crossed a few people with OCD in my life and tonight solidified why I cannot have anyone close to me that structured and compulsive.
Biggest Loser Looses Weight and Health Risks
Religiously, I plop down on my sofa every Tuesday evening to watch prime time television. I try to watch an array of different subjects in the course of my four hours of television watching.
My main focus this fall season has been watching NBC's The Biggest Loser. In fact the show usually stretches across two hours of show time and now consumes my focus for television every Tuesday night.
The show consists of contestants who are morbidly obese. Two exercise trainers work the contestants out with a strict diet included in hopes of the contestants loosing the most weight to be The Biggest Loser of the season.
Like every other reality show, there are story lines intertwining the contestants that really pull at America's heart strings as the weight sheds off the contestants week by week.
Tonight my normal regiment continued as I found myself sitting on pins and needles figuratively as the contestants weigh in.
There is a woman named Shay who originally weighed more than 450 pounds and after losing a record breaking 100 pounds, she was kicked off the show by the fellow contestants.
I found this tragically devastating. This young woman only a few years my junior could die because of her alarming weight yet they kept other contestants on the show that had little ways to go in their quest for weight utopia.
It makes me think how sad it is that our country lives as unhealthy as it does. It is to the point where people's bodies are giving out younger and younger because of the way they treat their body in their lifetime.
I am in my early 20's so I care about the vain things such as cellulite or five pounds here and there but I should begin to watch my cholesterol and care about preventing heart disease instead.
Just some food for thought this evening as I contemplate turning off the light to my kitchen or reaching for the pint of Ben and Jerry's I have been tempted to eat since the show began tonight.
My main focus this fall season has been watching NBC's The Biggest Loser. In fact the show usually stretches across two hours of show time and now consumes my focus for television every Tuesday night.
The show consists of contestants who are morbidly obese. Two exercise trainers work the contestants out with a strict diet included in hopes of the contestants loosing the most weight to be The Biggest Loser of the season.
Like every other reality show, there are story lines intertwining the contestants that really pull at America's heart strings as the weight sheds off the contestants week by week.
Tonight my normal regiment continued as I found myself sitting on pins and needles figuratively as the contestants weigh in.
There is a woman named Shay who originally weighed more than 450 pounds and after losing a record breaking 100 pounds, she was kicked off the show by the fellow contestants.
I found this tragically devastating. This young woman only a few years my junior could die because of her alarming weight yet they kept other contestants on the show that had little ways to go in their quest for weight utopia.
It makes me think how sad it is that our country lives as unhealthy as it does. It is to the point where people's bodies are giving out younger and younger because of the way they treat their body in their lifetime.
I am in my early 20's so I care about the vain things such as cellulite or five pounds here and there but I should begin to watch my cholesterol and care about preventing heart disease instead.
Just some food for thought this evening as I contemplate turning off the light to my kitchen or reaching for the pint of Ben and Jerry's I have been tempted to eat since the show began tonight.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Lessons in Fiber
Acrylic. Angora. Cashmere. Wool. Polyester.
Each fiber deserves its own sentence for the fact that they do so much on all by themselves.
Sweaters, scarves, stockings, everything replaces old-fashion cotton when they arrive.
Tis' the season to give and get different fibers of ones choice.
All you see in the store these days are men and women not looking at the item of interest but what the item is made of.
Because of the need to stay warm and cozy throughout the fall and winter in most areas in the United Srares, many are trying to keep heat in by investing in wool or cashemere, a luxury for many except in South Florida where people seem to have money trees serving as ATMs.
I cannot afford teh luxury of caring if my clothes are as soft as modal or as hard as nails but what I did learn this past week is how important it is to know these things.
If I am going to survive my run in retail I have to learn such things like if the liner of a jacket is made of rabbit hair or sheep hair.
I am currently being schooled in fiber fun 101, just in time for the holidays.
Each fiber deserves its own sentence for the fact that they do so much on all by themselves.
Sweaters, scarves, stockings, everything replaces old-fashion cotton when they arrive.
Tis' the season to give and get different fibers of ones choice.
All you see in the store these days are men and women not looking at the item of interest but what the item is made of.
Because of the need to stay warm and cozy throughout the fall and winter in most areas in the United Srares, many are trying to keep heat in by investing in wool or cashemere, a luxury for many except in South Florida where people seem to have money trees serving as ATMs.
I cannot afford teh luxury of caring if my clothes are as soft as modal or as hard as nails but what I did learn this past week is how important it is to know these things.
If I am going to survive my run in retail I have to learn such things like if the liner of a jacket is made of rabbit hair or sheep hair.
I am currently being schooled in fiber fun 101, just in time for the holidays.
Trick-or-Treat, Smell My Feet
Saturday evening, as dusk, I embarked on my first adventure into the world of trick-or-treating.
I wore the traditional pumpkin orange crew neck tee, tennis shoes perfect for chasing sugar surged children throughout the neighborhood, and a fragrance of OFF! bug spray.
With the full harvest moon high in the sky, my “pirate” and I headed out for our candy motivated commercial holiday of fun.
The soccer mom crew and I had eight children in total and there was not one moment where they stopped running and screaming in search of their favorite houses where they knew they would get their favorite candy.
Surrounded by festive, decked out mansions, were families drinking spirited drinks and passing out candy to their neighbors, as I continued to yell to the children, “say please and thank you”, which to no surprise got me absolutely nowhere.
I did not celebrate Halloween as a child so being a part of the holiday this year was really exciting and quite entertaining.
I think it is cute to see the new born babies in cute pumpkin costumes with their fat cheeks and chubby little legs popping out of their costumes.
It took two hours in what felt like one hundred houses in our midst that we had seen and conquered in our adventure of trick-or-treating.
I have not been that wiped out in a long time.
My knees were achy and my head was pounding but I got a handful of Whoppers malt ball chocolate candy in payment for taking the child I nanny for around the neighborhood for the evening.
Any holiday that involves candy and dressing up is a holiday I want to be a part of from now on. I already look forward to next year.
I wore the traditional pumpkin orange crew neck tee, tennis shoes perfect for chasing sugar surged children throughout the neighborhood, and a fragrance of OFF! bug spray.
With the full harvest moon high in the sky, my “pirate” and I headed out for our candy motivated commercial holiday of fun.
The soccer mom crew and I had eight children in total and there was not one moment where they stopped running and screaming in search of their favorite houses where they knew they would get their favorite candy.
Surrounded by festive, decked out mansions, were families drinking spirited drinks and passing out candy to their neighbors, as I continued to yell to the children, “say please and thank you”, which to no surprise got me absolutely nowhere.
I did not celebrate Halloween as a child so being a part of the holiday this year was really exciting and quite entertaining.
I think it is cute to see the new born babies in cute pumpkin costumes with their fat cheeks and chubby little legs popping out of their costumes.
It took two hours in what felt like one hundred houses in our midst that we had seen and conquered in our adventure of trick-or-treating.
I have not been that wiped out in a long time.
My knees were achy and my head was pounding but I got a handful of Whoppers malt ball chocolate candy in payment for taking the child I nanny for around the neighborhood for the evening.
Any holiday that involves candy and dressing up is a holiday I want to be a part of from now on. I already look forward to next year.
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