observations

So working in retail you see a lot more of the public then you would say working in an office or somewhere else. Your job is customer service. I have to say though that people crack me up. Some of the things they do amazes me! For example two things i noticed yesterday while i was at work...we have boxes that we recycle and we will give some of the boxes away to people who are moving or want them for other various reasons. Whatever. But it makes me laugh that people will purchase their alcohol and then start taking boxes off of the shelves without asking...um they are not for you...we keep yours in a particular spot...then they get offended that we say no you can't have the boxes that you didn't actually ask for in the first place. Maybe not a huge deal but makes me laugh. lol

The other thing that cracks me up is credit cards and id's...they have see id on the back of their card and then when you ask for it it is like this major pain in the butt...if you didn't want me to look you would have signed it...also some of the fabulous people hold the card back and won't let you take it from them...aren't you the one who wants me to prove that you and the card are the same people...give me the damn card then! lol Again not a huge deal but just makes me laugh.

MJ

So I don't blog about movies, I don't get into movies with the plot and how it compares to the book or comic or whatever it is based on. I go to a movie and just get lost in the world of make-believe for 2 hours or however long it is. The reason I am stating this is because I went to see the movie that is all the footage from MJ's concert that never happened; This Is It. Now part of me REALLY wanted to see this and part of me had no desire to see this movie. I felt like if I saw this movie then it was officially over...he was gone. But I am so happy I saw this movie. I know I have a VERY biased opinion about him and his music but this movie was PHENOMONAL!!! It showed what work goes into making a concert. the practice, the "movies" that they show on the screen during the costume changes, the dancing auditions, the choreography, etc. It was really cool to actually hear him singing and not lip-syncing at a concert. As my sister put it he just put a ton of artists to shame b/c this was JUST rehearsal and it was 10X better then a lot of concerts that you go to. I felt like it showed him in a natural "light". Yes he knew this was being filmed but it was being filmed for his own personal library so he didn't have to act for anyone. He was humble, funny, silly and a hard worker. Like I said I know I may be very very biased but I will stress this...FORGET about him, FORGET about his past or what the media has stated about him, both good and bad. If you like his music AT ALL, go and see this movie. You will not be disappointed. I am not going to be mad or upset if you don't go and you don't take my advice. It is completely up to you but I will say before I went to see it I didn't read any bad reviews and there is a reason for it. It was an amazing 2 hours and it really showed why he was the King of POP!

I also went back on my FB and re-read what I wrote about him when he passed away and thought I would share on here as well. Don't know who all reads this but my tribute to MJ is below...

So I have wanted to say something since Thursday about this man, but honestly didn't know what to say, how to put it or write it without crying. I think i can do that today. If i start rambling feel free to close the note.

Michael Jackson, the King of Pop, died Thursday and to say i was devastated would be an understatement. He was truly my favorite artist of all time. Now I like a lot of different singers, genres and whatnot so to have a fav is pretty cool. To have a fav that is still alive and making music is the best. Now granted I never met the man so really how could i be SO upset about his death. It's not like he was my father, brother, friend right? you're right he wasn't (he was just a celebrity) but he was there EVERY step of my childhood. I was six when Thriller came out and i remember my dad made Sarah and I watch it every halloween and i remember being scared and hiding behind the couch (it was in front of the fireplace) hugging my dad b/c i wanted to watch it but it was scary (at least to a six year). My first concert at age 10 was Michael Jackson. It was at the time where they still had it in the round so if you were behind the stage SUCKS TO BE YOU. Yeah guys guess what...we were behind the stage. MJ came out a couple of times to the back and sang to us but i remember Sarah and I being upset when he did Thriller b/c he was singing to the front and we couldn't watch and he did the music video for the song. I remember watching MTV all the time and waiting for a MJ or Madonna video to come on. I remember sitting with my mom when his dangerous album came out, waiting for them to play Black or White b/c it was being played at 8pm on three different channels. yes it was the long version with his smashing up everything afterwards. They don't play that anymore, but i saw it before they took it off the air. My favorite song of all time is a MJ song...not my favorite MJ song, my favorite song OF ALL TIME. Who can say that? most people have a fav song from each artist but not a fav song that tops all songs...well mine is Smooth Criminal...BEST SONG EVER and the video was freaking cool as well. 2nd ONLY to Thriller.

When you think about MJ you might think of what he has done professional or you may think of his eccentric personal life. I say to each his own. I say he was the best damn person that walked the face of this earth. He did so much good and people just marred it with all of the rumors and accusations. Now i am not saying it isn't true, but guess what people it was NEVER proven true and none of us was ever there. I grant you to have your own opinion (that's why we live in America) but let me have mine.

You know I was watching the BET awards ( i don't watch awards shows but i knew they would do something about MJ and wanted to watch) and i realized how amazing he was. Everyone knew who he was; not b/c you were black and he was black or b/c you were white and his skin color turned white. He crossed everything...black, white, young, old, men, and women. . I would like to say he was the Elvis of our time but i can't. I wasn't around for Elvis, I wasn't around for the Beatles either but i will say that i TRULY believe no one was ever better then him musically and i know no one will ever do what he did again.

I listen to his music and he makes me smile. Since Thursday i have been obsessed with everything MJ and have been crying non-stop. You know the one thing that has stopped me EVERY SINGLE TIME? It's Michael Jackson...listening to his music and watching his video's made me smile...i even got Iggy up and dancing with me!

Whether you liked him or not is you, I thank you for letting me love him, for letting me do my own tribute to this phenomonal man. I promise he will never be forgotten as long as i live. As much as I cried this entire weekend it is time to celebrate, celebrate his life, his efforts, his musical genius and celebrate what he has given to this world. To all the haters out there, now that he is gone i hope he gets the peace he so desperately desired and you can now move on to someone else. Let the man rest in the arms of God.

Smile, though your heart is aching Smile, even though it's breaking When there are clouds in the sky You'll get by...If you smile With your fear and sorrow Smile and maybe tomorrow You'll find that life is still worthwhile if you'll just...Light up your face with gladness Hide every trace of sadness Although a tear may be ever so near That's the time you must keep on trying Smile, what's the use of crying You'll find that life is still worthwhileIf you'll just...Smile, though your heart is aching Smile, even though it's breaking When there are clouds in the sky You'll get by...If you smile Through your fear and sorrow Smile and maybe tomorrow You'll find that life is still worthwhile If you'll just Smile...That's the time you must keep on trying Smile, what's the use of crying You'll find that life is still worthwhile If you'll just Smile

I LOVE YOU MJ!

Halloween

So Halloween is one of my favorite holidays, second only to Christmas Eve (which is beyond fun). I was super excited for this holiday as I am this year and I was pretty disappointed! I don't know what I was expecting but i was expecting more then I got. I do understand that we are living in the "bible belt" and i am all for whatever you believe. But it was almost as if the holiday did not exist around here. No one had decorations up, the stores had more christmas decorations up then halloween (except for the normal party city type stores). I went into Wal-mart and Target and was greeted with candy and some black plates and napkins...really people? There was almost no haunted houses (and this is supposed to be a TRULY haunted city). What the heck people...even the ghost tours and such were not touted more then what they normally are. Even the scary movies that are usually playing the whole month of October, could not be found! I had to watch my own horror movies if i wanted to get into the spirit of halloween. Because of this i was not looking forward to the holiday. I couldn't get into it and was honestly just going sit at home and have my own movie marathon if need be. I decided to go out and got some cheap costume from Target and went out with Sarah and her friends. We went to a house party at first and I was really enjoying myself but they decided that they wanted to leave and of course I couldn't stay back by myself b/c i didn't know anyone else. We then went downtown which I honestly was not looking forward to. I had to be at work the next morning at 7am for a meeting and i knew we were going to be down there all night. I am glad I went out. It was really refreshing to see so many people dressed up for the holiday! Of course my camera died 2 pictures into it but it was really good and made me wish I had put more thought into my costume. Next year if I am still living down here I will know what to expect and plan a little better. Overall not one of the worst holidays I have had but it was a disappointing one. Hopefully Christmas will be 110% better!

some thoughts

so I kind of forget I have this, not really surprising there but all the same I wanted to try and keep up with this more. Anyways I just wanted to state a few thoughts I had going on in my head lately. First off I'm not sure how I feel living here. On one hand I LOVE being outside of PA and living and doing something different. But on the other hand, I am not really doing anything while I am here. I found a job YEAH but I work constantly and don't have time to go exploring. I haven't made any friends while I am here, none that I can call up and say hey lets go downtown and walk around. I miss my friends a lot b/c of that. I am in a middle ground on that and don't know how I fully feel about being here. I LOVE living with my sister, it is nice to have someone to come home to and just talk or curl up on the couch and watch a movie or tv.

Another thing I want to say is that my friends at home have been AMAZING! I pretty much up and left them and as much as they all fought me tooth and nail about it, they have been so cool about talking on the phone (and not always texting), and getting together when I have come home. I have already talked about moving back home, don't have an end date yet but it feels nice to know that they have been so supportive and will be there when the move home happens.

Speaking of being supportive, i just want to say how much I love my family! My family seriously ROCKS!!! I went to Myrtle Beach this past weekend to see my dad and play with his friends. A lot of the guys that were there we tailgate with so it was a lot of fun. Got up there on Sat night and just hung out but on Sunday we went to Oscars, which is a Steelers bar there, and watched the Steelers beat the Vikings which was AWESOME! I just want to say though that my dad is amazing. It does not matter what I am doing in my life, if i am doing something good or screwing up royally, he has nothing but praise for me. Sometimes I feel like I don't deserve it, especially now when I am working retail and going no where in my career. he just has such love in his eyes when he looks at me, my sister and my mom. It really is one of the coolest feelings in the world! He was always the one that told me when I was in college and couldn't get a job (and my sister had 3 at Mercyhurst) that as long as I was having fun in my life it didn't matter what else was going on. I have tried to apply that to everything. I try not to think about where I am in my life and what i don't have. I know I have the love of my family, some of the bestest friends any girl could ask for, and I am trying to do things in my life that make me happy.

Well enough of all of this...going to head out and try to enjoy my life as much as i possibly can!

been awhile

So I know it has been awhile and i apologize...things have been hectic and boring all at the same time around here. I will say that I officially got a job. It is not one that I really want to be in for the whole time i am here but it is one where i can collect money and that way start to save which is GOOD. Especially since my car basically just died and when they officially fix it i will have spent close to $500.00 on it. Oh how I miss my dad at this point in my life! lol I know this is short but I wanted to let whomever reads this that I am thinking about it and needing to update so i will do shortly. I PROMISE!

NIGHT ALL!

Game Day

So the start of the NFL season is now officially underway. The Steelers played the Titans last night at Heinz Field with a home opener that I wish I could have been there for! They had black-eyed peas and Tim McGraw playing at the Point before the game and they had Harry Connick Jr. singing the National Anthem. They also did a nice tribute to the victims of 9-11. I actually had chills watching him sing and seeing the pictures of the different places the planes hit.

I am not going to go into the account of everything that happened last night, if i did I would be looking for a job as a sportscaster. LOL I will say that our offense came out looking HORRIBLE and our defense again (at least for the first half of the game) saved us from what should have been a better scoring game (on behalf of the Titans). Thank GOD the Titans kicker can't kick at Heinz Field! Good thing Jeff Reed can show him how its done. LOL. The second half was good except that we lost Troy to a knee injury that will plague him for the next couple of weeks. :-( I will also say that it broke my heart when Ward fumbled the ball with a minute left to the game. That man ALWAYS has a smile on his face and he looked like he was going to cry. At least we were able to win it in overtime with a field goal kick. All I have to say is next week boys lets show up for all 60 minutes of the game instead of just 30 minutes! Can't wait though for what next week is going to bring...CAN'T WAIT. I am also expecting Ward to come out and redeem himself and as he is my favorite player of ALL TIME I am looking forward to that as well.

Well until next time remember to have fun!

preliminary

Well I had another interview today...it is a preliminary one but unfortunately if i make it to the second round I won't have the second interview for almost 2 weeks as the other girl giving the interviews is going on vacation starting tomorrow. :-( Oh well. It is for a travel agency as a part time receptionist and could lead to full time after 90 days. I think that would be perfect for getting my foot in the door for event planning. Hopefully I get it as I really need a job at this point...

Labor Day Weekend

Well the holiday weekend is just about over and I can say it was about the same as every other weekend I have had here. It has been quite funny listening to my friends (here and at home) talk about the 3 day weekend...The only difference for me is that my sister was at home all three days more often then not (or at least we were together). Friday I really don't remember what I did as the days are now running together (when I do the same thing day after day i can't remember when each day is different. Sat hung out at the house, my sister went to the beach and then we went and got a dvd/vcr player and watched a movie. We watched Definitely, maybe and it was super cute! I would suggest watching it if you have the chance. Yeaterday night we all went to Folly beach for some nightlife. We went to jen's house and played some card games and drank a little there. We went to about 3 different bars at the beach and it was a lot of fun. Its weird...here I feel kind of old going to the bars, I didn't feel that way at home. I don't know if it is b/c the people actually are so much younger here or if it is b/c when I go out at home I have my friends around me so I am not paying that close attention to the people around me. Today was Labor and we had a BBQ at jen's apt complex, there were 8 of us which was nice. Afterwards Sarah and I came back home and took a quick swim in our pool. It was a good day. Also I found out I have an interview tomorrow morning so wish me luck on that. I am praying that I can actually get this job. I need it more then anyone realizes!

Hope yinz all had a great 3 day weekend!

Been awhile

So I know I was going to blog daily (or try to) and I have been away for awhile. Things have been crazy, and not so crazy all at the same time. When we moved down here we had no internet and I had no desk for my computer, put those together and it means I am not blogging. LOL I am going to try and get into it more though until I find a job it may be off and on as my days seem to be the same anymore. Anyways here goes...

As from above, I still do not have a job. I am currently looking what seems like EVERYWHERE but not getting any phone calls. I have had 3 intervies, one said no and the other two never called me. I was told I should call them and bug them but in my head I don't know if I want to work for a company that doesn't even have the curtesy to tell me that I was not a good fit for the job. I am still plugging away though and not giving up. I figure if I put in AT LEAST one application a day then I am trying...most days i put it a whole lot more but I am trying to stay on top of it while i can.

Other then that I have been staying around the house a lot...the apt is really nice and the complex is beautiful!

While I am not looking for a job (whether it be online or out and about) I am trying to exercise. I have been doing Jillian Michaels from OnDemand and she is kicking my butt! There is also a little fitness center in the complex that I have gone to a few times.

Charleston itself is beautiful. The downtown section is completely a tourist place and the houses and surrounding area is really nice. When we first got here we took a carriage ride around town and the stories were pretty cool. It's amazing that some of the houses are still standing after some of the things they went through (war, floods, etc). I am hoping that once I find a job I can start going out and doing more of the tourist type excursions. I would love to know more about this place.

Since my sister is working, she has met a lot of graet people and the nice thing is that her friends have accepted me as part of their group which is really nice. I don't have much to say when we all go out b/c 90% of the time they are talking about the school they all work in but it is nice to go out once and awhile. We have mostly been to the bars around town which I have enjoyed most of them.

I miss everyone from home of course and can't WAIT for October to get here so I can go home and see some of them. My cousins wedding is why I would be going home and the weekend will mostly be about family but I can't wait. I am a little homesick now but it is actually better then I anticipated it would be. Well I will hopefully write again soon and hopefully it will be fun news (like i got a job!). Until then LET'S GO STEELERS!!!!

tourist

So today, my mom, sister and I decided to be tourist oin downtown Charleston. We took one of the carriage tours and learned about the history of the city. It was pretty cool and fairly interesting. I am not big into history but i would like to know more about the city that I am going to be living in. Books and tours here i come. Afterwards we went walking around and then had lunch at this little place on a side street which was pretty good. Charleston has a ton of restuarants so there is NO way you will go hungry and have a craving go unfulfilled here. I am anxious to try them all but unfortuinately that will have to wait till i get a job. Speaking of jobs i did apply for 2 jobs while walking around. I applied at a mom and pop bakery/coffee shop type store. The pay is minimum wage but it seemed to be a cool atmosphere and reminded me of working for Bernadette at GNC. I also applied for a hostess position at a restuarant down there as well. I would LOVE to work doing the tours but as of now they are not hiring so i guess we will have to see. I am also super excited to get to know the paranormal side of Charleston, so wish me luck on that! Now I am looking online for jobs and on Monday I will be contacting the temp agencies to see what they can find for me. I think I will also go walking around and see what i can find there. There is a road a little bit away from where we live that is like McKnight Road so going to go walking and driving around there and see what I can find.

Another day...

So today is the first day i started getting homesick...not sure if i am please it took me almost a week or sad it took less then a week. I think part of the reason is the apartment my sister and i are in is REALLY small for 4 people. Works fine for the 2 of us but when my parents start getting on my nerves i have no where to go. At home i could go in another room or go to one of my friends house or if anything it was time for work and i had to leave anyways. Well i don't have that luxery here. I don't have a job as of yet so no where to go and my money is slowly disappearing so i can't even get out of the apt for a little bit to get away from it all. I really don't know how i will last a year or 2 as of this point. I know once i get a job and start making friends here it will be easier but right now i really really miss everyone at home and i really miss my dog...at least at home when i was upset if i really didn't have anyone i would curl up with Iggy and just cry into her fur or at least cuddle with her. I swear a smile or a thump/wag of the tail was the best feeling in the world when you are down in the dumps.

I just keep saying i'll be home in October at the latest to see everyone, and I CAN'T WAIT!!!

spooky

So i have been here a little under a week, the boxes are still not unpacked (mostly b/c i need to buy a few furniture items and my sister is at work) so we are unable to unpack everything. My mom was pretty much going crazy with all of the boxes around but we got the living room pretty much where we wanted and now i think my mom can relax and enjoy herself. I am hoping she does b/c i am starting to get annoyed b/c of the close quarters. At least my sister gets away from them for a few hours.

Well i am still looking for a job...this really sucks b/c i don't want to just do anything but at this point i will do anything to make some money. Once my parents leave and i can fully look into it i am going to start calling the temp agencies and see what they can find me. I would LOVE to work in the tourist section of town, being a tour guide or something. How fun would that be! Oh well we'll see, it may be that you can only get jobs like that through the temp agencies. I will keep you updated on the job front.

Fun news though, i got to see Jess last night, she is down visiting her brother and sister-in-law and so last night, her, my mom and i went into town and did the ghost tour that revolved around the jail. It was really cool but too short, our tour guide was fun, but he was saying that when the tours are all over that he would have to lock up the jail himself...yeah NO THANK YOU! lol I have an over-active imagination as it is so that would probably put me in a tailspin. hehe

Hoping to be able to enjoy the spookier side of Charleston!

I'm Here...

So I'm officially moved into my new apartment in Charleston Sc. I am living in a complex called Plantation Oaks in West Ashley. So far so good. It is a cute little "neighborhood" and we are living on the first floor of an 8 apt. building. We are living in the back so it is a little more private then the front ones. At least when we look out of the window we see trees and grass and not cars and parking lots.

We got down here after a BORING boring roadtrip; it took us 12 and a half hours to get here. Granted it is because we had a moving van as well but we were literally on 6 roads the entire time, and that includes the side roads at the beginning and end of the trip. When i go travel back home i will most certainly be looking into flights! Well anyways we get here and start unloading and bringing stuff into the house. Sunday was a lot of the same thing. The only thing we were not able to get into the house was Sarah's red couch as it was raining pretty much all day on Sunday so we had to wait till today to get it in.

The house is coming a long nicely. I don't feel like i am going to be living here in for the next couple of years though...i feel like i am on vacation but with out the tourist part of it. We haven't done much sightseeing as of yet but hopefully tomorrow we can start doing that!

I haven't had a chance to miss my friends as of yet, which is good b/c that is really going to suck, especially when i am home all day b/c i don't have a job...friends without jobs in Pgh please get ready for some phone calls home b/c i will be making them!!

Will write more about the city and stuff after i get a chance to explore and get out, mostly we have seen the McKnight Road areas of our town b/c we have needed stuff for the house. Also once I get my computer up (i am using my sister's laptop) i will be putting up the pics of our apt and such.

Last week

So tonight is my last night in Pgh...i am not sure how i feel about it. I am so excited about moving but knowing i am not going to have my friends and family around me is going to be rough!! I keep thinking back to this past week and seeing everyone...one last time. Sat night we had a going away party at Sunny's which was SO much fun! Most of my friends and some of my family came out for both Sarah and I. It was awesome to spend the time at Sunny's b/c I have a lot of memories of that place. Whether it be going to see Bubba play or a wed and going to meet my dad there after golf or a Steelers game, we always had so much fun. Now we can add the party to the list of memories! I know there will be many many more there but it makes me happy that we could have our one last big hooray there.



Monday was my last day at LSI and to say i am sad to go is an understatement. I will miss my friends that were there but as it consists of my best friend and another friend from Landam its not saying much. I pretty much hated the job so i was happy to have Monday come and go.



The rest of the week has been pretty much running errands and getting together with my friends. We went to karaoke last night and a couple of my friends came out which was nice. Melissa and I sang Thriller which was so super fun! I really will miss my friends.

Today and yesterday we did all the packing that I can handle for awhile. Yesterday we packed my sister's apartment which was not really that bad except that she had about 2 floors of steps. Today we packed our house which was A LOT of stuff but we really didn't have the steps. I have to give a shout out to my dad...yesterday when we packed Sarah's apartment i honestly did not think we would have enough space in the van for all of my furniture let alone the millions of boxes we had. But my dad got it all in! Now to unpack tomorrow and probably sunday...not looking forward to that as it will just be the 4 of us and my dad can't lift a lot of heavy stuff. the couch that my sister has is HEAVY; hopefully we can make some new friends as soon as we get down there that will help us. LOL

Well more to come when i get down there. For now see yinz later!

work and leaving

So i realized today as i was sitting at my computer reading up on all that MSN has to offer (or at least all of MSN that my job allows me to look at) that i am torn. I CAN NOT WAIT to leave my job. I am beyong bored everyday as i have not enough work to do. I was telling my sister that it isn't like me to do that. I usually will go looking for something else to do, at the beginning i had Jess teaching me stuff in other departments. I have gotten this i don't care attitude about it which is really really bad. The people for the most part are super nice and i will miss that aspect of it but in general i am more excited then i should be about leaving. On the other hand, i leave Pgh exactly 5 days after i quit there. It is starting to hit me how much i am going to miss this place. I am starting to look around and take it all in one last time (before i move back home again lol). I love this city, how could i leave it? I think having my sister there will help tremendously. I am also hoping beyond hope that my friends will come to visit me. Even if it is once it will mean the world to me!

I have started my job search but it is very slow going. I don't want to get into just another job b/c i kind of did that with LandAmerica. Granted i ended up loving it and i made some really great friends but in the same aspect i would really like to get into event planning or something else i love to do. Wish me luck on the job front. Right now i am being a little bit picky only b/c i can...i am planning on doing the temp agency thing as well but like i said would really like to get into a career not just a job.

First

So this is my first blog and I am going to make it short and sweet. I am basically writing this blog so that I can keep up with my friends and family. I want to be able to tell them how I am doing and I want them to let me know how they are doing. I am moving out of the city for the first time and I am so excited about it but I am so nervous. This is part of my 'bucket list" so I want to do this and have wanted to for quite awhile now. I just can't believe it is finally here. I will be officially moved out in 2 weeks...2 WEEKS. Everything I know will be gone. Thank GOD my sister will be there with me. I know she will keep me sane and un-lonely during the transition period.

Well I will write more later, for now I am going to pack up some of my life and put it in a box till I can dig it out later.