A rough week...

So I've had two major problems this week... my dad and my boss. I know I should just let both roll off my shoulders, and truth be told, I'm pretty much over the first, but the second is driving me insane.

I realize that I will always be a child in my dad's eyes, but I really wish he wouldn't treat me as one. I'm almost 23 years old, and I'm pretty sure that gives me a right to have an opinion of my own. If I don't like Memphis, then I shouldn't have to stay here. As most of you know, I've been applying to law schools, well last week I got accepted to Louisiana State University, University of Memphis, Mississippi College, and Faulkner University. Now those last two were "just in case" schools... Ones I applied to in case I didn't get into any others. Honestly, Memphis was as well, when I first applied. However, I received the LSU and Memphis acceptance letters on the same day. So I immediately started doing more in depth research. Mom and I started talking about going to visit LSU over her spring break, but when it came time to make sure it was ok with dad if we went, he told me there was no point in going to visit LSU because there was no point in going there. In fact, apparently, I was going to go to Memphis and live at home (yeah right). Now law school is three years of school, and generally wherever you go to school is where you get hired. And before I move from there, I have tog et some experience and pay back some of my school loans. So we're talking a minimum of 7 to 8 years before I would be able Memphis. I am not the biggest fan of Memphis, so that would be like torture. Unfortunately my dad only sees the practical side of things. We got into an argument about it, and finally I just walked away.

I don't disagree with the things my dad was saying about Memphis (except the living at home part), Memphis is much cheaper, and actually because of the fact I was considering Memphis as a real option, and if I had had to choose that day whether to go to LSU or Memphis, I'm not really sure which I would have chosen. Of course after the argument Memphis dropped way down on my list. Now I know I shouldn't not choose Memphis because of my dad, but him treating me like a child when he told all of this just made it that much harder not to be petty about it.

The other rough thing this week is my boss. Now everyone has bosses that they dislike for various reasons, but this guy, Jason Gibson, is the absolute worst. He is condescending, he calls you out in front of everyone if you do something wrong, he tends to be rude to the guests, many of regulars have chosen not to come back because of him, he causes chaos in the kitchen, he won't listen to any criticism, not even from his assistant managers, in fact he does stuff behind their backs like changing schedules and hiring new people when we don't need anymore. I have a shirt that says "I love my job" on the back, and I used to wear it with pride, because I did love my job, I loved the environment, I loved the people, but I try and avoid wearing it now because it's just not true anymore. It's gotten to the point where if you're not kissing Gibson's butt, then he's a butt to you. I've already seen 3 or 4 people fired for the stupidest reasons. Everyone is afraid for their job, and most of us feel like the only reason we're there is to train our replacements. We've decided that we need to do something, we just can't see the answer yet.

It has been proposed that we meet with his boss... I'm curious if anyone thinks this would accomplish anything, because there are mixed feelings about this. I mean this guy must have been hired for some reason, but if three or four of us sit down with his manager with a list of real items, not just "he hurt my feelings" do you think there's a shot he'll listen? There's many people who want to just get him fired, but I'm willing to give him a chance to change, if he can. What do y'all think?

Update

So i haven't written in about 2 months. I'm so bad at keeping up with this. When I do think about writing, I think nothing interesting has happened lately. Over Christmas I enjoyed spending time with the family. I didn't work much at night, worked mostly during the day. I was in charge of selling gift cards at the mall for Texas Roadhouse. So I made up the schedule, and set everything up. It felt kind of good taking on this leadership position. It really helped my manager out too, which is always a good thing to do. :) I was also sick over Christmas. About four days before Christmas I was hit with the flu, or something similar. It was not a happy time for me. I went to the doctor, and after a panic attack and two shots, i started feeling better, so by the time Christmas hit I just had a cold. On top of being sick I had this really bad cough though. I sounded like I was coughing up a lung for almost two months, it's just now almost gone. Ended up on quite a few antibiotics to get rid of it.
At work we have a new general manager. Very few of us us like him. He's just kind of dumb. He acts like he knows stuff when he doesn't at all, and then tries to tell us something that is right when everyone knows it is wrong (like what kind of beers we sell). I don't know, he's trying, but there's a lot of changes going on, and he's been hiring quite a few new people that we don't need because it's the slow part of the year. Makes everyone think there is some firing that will be going down soon. On the bright side, I won the gift card sales contest. i sold about $2100 in gift cards so I won a new 32" flat screen LCD TV. However, I already own two tvs, so I am selling this prize to a coworker. It's pretty nice.
I am also getting to bartend. I started training this past Monday. I should be behind the bar on my own in about 3 weeks. I am so excited about that. After two years, I'm finally getting my shot. I have noticed one hard thing about being behind the bar. When you're behind the bar, you're not allowed to leave the bar, because there's only one bartender at a time. At least when I'm serving if I'm having a bad night, or customers are being jerks I can go into the back and vent to the other servers. I can't do that as a bartender, I have to be friendly and happy the whole time.
The last couple things going on... One, I've heard from 6 law schools so far. 5 have rejected me (Boston College, Boston University, Cornell, Georgetown, and University of Virginia) and 1 has wait listed me (American University). I still have quite a few out, so I've still got a lot of waiting to do, which is really hard. My patience is truly being tested. Lastly, last week, I got to go on a date for the first time in about two years. :-D I served a guy last Monday and gave him my number, well actually one of my coworkers stole his credit card receipt before I could give it back to him, and wrote my number and I just didn't scratch it out. He texted me that night and we went out on Tuesday. He took me to dinner at Olive Garden and a movie, Book of Eli. It was a great night. A very casual, get to know you thing. We went out again on Thursday. We went bowling, and then just talked for the rest of the night. It was definitely a great time, and he was very polite and super cute! Unfortunately... he lives in Baton Rouge, LA. Oh well... C'est la vie! :)

Holiday thought...

So I was flipping around radio stations because of commercials earlier, and one of our stations is already playing Christmas music. They started this past Thursday and they play only Christmas music through Christmas. Well as I paused to see what was on this station, the name of the next "song" caught my ear. It was called "A Soldier's Silent Night". It was the music of silent night playing in the background while an older gentleman read the poem of The Night Before Christmas, but with different words. Now I love Christmas and Thanksgiving (just the holidays in general), and of course there are always bad days, but I love being able to be around family, and everyone tends to have a friendly demeanor. As I listened to this song thought I got kind of sad. I can think of at least eight friends who are in the military is some form (Marines, Army, and Air Force). All are on active duty. One is serving in Afghanistan right now, one just got back from Afghanistan, one is on a world tour, and one just graduated from ranger school for the army, which means he will possibly get deployed soon. As I listened to this poem I realized that I am very lucky that as of yet, none of my friends have been hurt or worse in their line of duty. My friend Zac, who is in Afghanistan right now, I haven't heard anything about his safety from his wife in a few months (she used to update her status every time she talked to him, but not so much anymore), but I'm pretty sure he's due home pretty soon. I think the Marines only due 6 month tours, which means he might be home for Christmas.

However, I think it is important to remember all the Soldiers, Marines, and Air Men/Women who won't be home for Christmas and all the families that are missing them. We are all happy and safe because of those brave men and women. So as you are thinking of things to be thankful for and who you need to buy gifts for and how much money you should spend and who you get to see this Holiday season, take a moment to think of those who won't be home this year and be thankful for them. That's all.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

college? what's that?

So I am really excited. i am spending this weekend up in Evansville. My sorority is having their philanthropy tonight... Rock 4 Riley. I love our philanthropy. It's a lip sync contest. This year's theme is Motown (which I just found out about two days ago). All the other fraternities and sororities participate, and our new girls always do an act as well. It's always so funny. Last year was "A Pink Carpet Affair" a play off of Red Carpet. All the acts were from movies ( such as Ghostbusters and Grease). My favorite was Sig Ep who did their act from Sister Act and they all came dressed in nun habits and did this great dance. It was hilarious. I'm really excited to see tonight's.

So I have decided that I am definitely no longer a college student. Lately I have been going to bed by midnight, because half the time I have to get up early (like 5:45 or 6:15) and the other half I get to sleep until 9:30, and it's just easier to go to bed at the same time every night so my body doesn't get all screwed up. So last night, I was up until about 1:30, and I was sooo tired by like 1. When I went to bed my Greek little sister thought I was joking when I said I was going to bed. And as far as this morning goes... I woke up at like 9, tried to sleep for another half hour, and it totally didn't work. So I got up, and of course I was the only one up. There's not very much food in the house where i'm staying (a very good sign ur in a college student's home) so I decided to walk the doughnut store which is about a half mile away (maybe a little more, I dunno) eat breakfast, and walk back. There weren't very many people my age out. :) When I got back about 10:30ish everyone was still asleep so I made my way to the Student center to start working on fishbowls (which was about an hour and a half ago, and I still have yet to start).There's an open house today apparently because i keep seeing tours walk past me and lots of people with name tags.

Anyways, so it has become clear to me, that even since last year, I have already gotten out of that college schedule. it's weird being back, but nice at the same time. So that's all for now. Have a great weekend everyone!

Rolling with the Punches

So this past weekend was an interesting one for sure. Friday night I went to work at five, and as the night progressed my back became a little sore, but nothing too unusual. About nine that night I got a horrible back spasm. Basically my back tightened up in one spot and what felt like electric shocks shot up and down my back. I couldn't move for about two minutes. I ended up having to leave work early. Although I was able to move after a few minutes, I was in pain for about an hour. I got home, got in the shower to let the heat relax my back.

When I got out, I checked my email, and I had received my LSAT score while I was at work. I didn't think I was going to get it until Monday. So I tentatively opened my email, and my jaw dropped. To top off my most "wonderful" night it turns out I had bombed the LSAT back in September, a 149. The LSAT is based on a score between 120 and 180. The first time I took the LSAT I got a 158 and was in the 75 percentile. My 149 this time had put me in the 40 percentile. For the top schools I really wanted to get into, a 158 was a stretch, most of the students they let in have scores between 161 on the low end. Needless to say I was devastated.

Over the past year I've adopted a new philosophy. Everything happens for a reason, and there's no use in worrying over things in the past that you can't change. So anytime something bad happens, I give myself about 24 hours to fret and be sad about it, but then I have to move on. Obviously, there is something better out there than what I was expecting. So Saturday I went to work and worked from three til midnight, with nothing big happening. I came home and talked to dad about my options, and started coming up with a new plan. Ok, so Cornell is probably out. I'm still going to apply and they'll either accept me or they won't. I'm going to look at some regional schools not only around here, but also out east where I think I want to end up. I'll keep you updated, but for now I'm just rolling with the punches.

sunrises and migrations

So the past couple weeks I've been getting up at 5:45 twice a week to go lift weights with SBA's swim team. It is always dark when I get up and when I get to the school, but it is light when I leave at 7:15. There's a window in the weight room, and it is nice to look out the window and see light slowly creep across the grounds of SBA. I can see the sky turn pinkish-purpley before it turns blue. I don't know that I've ever seen the sun rise before this past year, and if I have it has never been so often. It is a beautiful sight that's for sure. Of course, after day light savings time goes away in November, that sight will no longer be witnessed by me. However, I will still be able to witness another site that was amused me quite a bit these past few weeks... The great migration.

Everyone else knows it as rush hour, but imagine if someone from 100 years ago saw our rush hour. I think they would think it was a strange migration of metal beasts. :) When I drive home from the school in the mornings, I get off at Canada Rd. and cross the bridge over the highway. If I look to the east I see masses of cars heading towards me, and if I look to the west, there are masses of cars heading away from me. Most of us are in these cars, so the site is not one of awe, but annoyance. If you ever get the chance though, stand somewhere where you can see the highway, and just take in the site. It's one of "wow, look at how many people there are" and "man, I glad I'm not in that migration". I heard someone on the radio the other day say that the only reason there are so many traffic jams is because everyone has to be the same place at the same time. And of course they were right, but I'd never actually thought it out like that.

Anyways. Not much is going on here. I'm working a lot... 5 to 6 days a week usually. I am earning a lot of money though, which is nice. Most of it is being saved, because i don't really have anything to spend it on, which my dad tends to remind me of every once and a while. I am sending out my first five law school applications on Monday: Boston College, Cornell, Duke, Georgetown, Virginia. I've spent the last week revising and revising and revising my essays for these applications, and looking over the applications making sure everything is filled out and filled out correctly. Monday I get my LSAT score by email, and I am crossing my fingers about that. That day I'll push the send button on the applications and wait six weeks to hear something. Next weekend I am heading to Atlanta for a Law School forum. I'll be able to meet with admissions officers and/or students from over 100 law schools. I also get to see my good friend Stephanie!!! I am pretty excited about it! Anyways. That's all from me. Keep your fingers crossed for my apps please!

To be or not to be... Single

In today's society, it seems to me that it is not "ok" to be single. If you are, then surely you are not happy. College students and Young adults, especially women, are always on the prowl for the love of their life. Those friends who are in a relationship are always trying to set you up, or see is there are any prospects on the horizon. They do mean well, but it is very annoying most of the time.

I have officially been single for the longest amount of time, since I started dating in high school. One year. I don't know if that is an accomplishment or not, but I don't care. Last year I didn't "want" a boyfriend because I wanted to figure out what I was doing after graduation, with as little outside influences as possible. I say "want" because that was the reason I gave myself for not having a boyfriend. And now? I guess I wouldn't mind having a boyfriend, but most of the time I don't notice that I don't. Except when I go out with my friend, her boyfriend, and all of her couple friends. Then I feel left out. I am always being asked what my prospects are. "Oh you met some cute guy at work? Do you think anything will happen?" "Ummm... He lives in Germany." "Yeah, so... do you think anything will happen?" or "So how's substituting?" "It's good." "Are there any cute guys?" "Umm... I work with high schoolers." "You know what I mean.Like other teachers?" Ugh... I know they mean well, but really. Come on now!

When did our society become all about who we're with? In the 60s didn't women march for the right to be independent? Where did that go? Why do we have to be with someone to be valid? I can't say that I've always felt this way, but I think I've been seeing things differently the longer I'm single. I still want a boyfriend, I want to fall in love, get married, and have a family, but I guess what I'm saying is... why do I have to do that right now? Maybe I'm totally off on my observations, but maybe I'm not. Just something to think about.