On the edge of my seat…

I feel like I have been playing the “hurry up and wait” game for the past week.

Last Monday, a co-worker cursed my out, screaming into my face while at work. Supposedly, he was drunk. His punishment was that he got to go home and sleep it off only to come back days later and act like nothing happened while I was forced to seat him tables. This was really the final draw for this job and me. I couldn’t take it. I have never been so disrespected or treated so poorly before in my life. Maybe I’ve been privileged, but I am just not going to be degraded in that way.

The next day, I searched for a job harder than I ever have. I applied to any job that I qualified for — and some I was extremely over-qualified for. I even interviewed with people who sell things at booths in Sam’s Club. I was ready to do anything to get away from these people at my current job. (Now, most of the people are nice, don’t get me wrong, but it’s the few that are SO rude and disrespectful that I just needed to get away from.)

That’s when I found it: my perfect job. At a weekly paper in a small town outside of Nola. My time at the High Springs Herald (now the North Florida Herald) prepared me for this job so perfectly that it was as if God himself had planned for me to work there.

I got an interview last week and have been writing trial stories for them. I wrote my last one just a few hours ago and I just received a call from the editor: we set up a meeting to “talk about a job” tomorrow morning!

I don’t want to count my chickens before they hatch, but it certainly sounds promising.

Besides my total preoccupation with getting this job, I did get a chance to read The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold. It was excellent. Check out my review (and our book club’s new look). I’m very excited to see the upcoming movie, as well.

My cat pumpkin

Halloween came and went fairly quietly. We had a few trick-or-treaters; mostly kids who were really too old to be doing it still. I carved a cat pumpkin. I rented The Witches of Eastwick — always good. Wesley did law school stuff (surprise!).

Thinking about re-reading Pride and Prejudice, so that I don’t look so pathetic to my book club by continuously writing reviews on three books per month instead of one, because I have no social life. I did just find this awesome Web site called the Republic of Pemberley — Austen fans check it out!

On a much smaller note, I found a poster in my National Geographic and put it up on my wall. It matches my couch.

National Geographic poster of the Khmer Empire (where I have actually been!)

Everything happens for a reason

I have split days off this week, yet again. Normally, this would be a bad thing. It’s amazing how having your off days split by an “on” day can make it feel like you don’t get a break at all.

This week, however, it’s a good thing.

I’ve always believed that everything happens for a reason, and this week I was proved right.

I got a notice in the mail a few days ago stating what my monthly payments are going to be on my federal student loan: $200. That’s almost four times as much as my private loan which is for more. I always thought that federal loans were supposed to be better than private loans, but I’m really not seeing it right now.

Because of this terrible news, I kicked up my job hunt. Four times this fall, I have taken my job hunt to the next level and sent out 50-100 applications in a matter of days and this weekend was one of those times.

Today, I was using my day off to try to sift through the scam responses and apply for more jobs. Then, I found one. I found a job that so perfectly matches my abilities that I can’t let it go. I sent the editor my resume. I called him to make sure he got it. I e-mailed him again to tell him every time I would be available for an interview. And now, I have an interview on Wednesday (which I wouldn’t normally have off) and three trial (paid!) articles to write this week. If I didn’t find out about the payments, I wouldn’t have kicked up my search and found the job. If a girl at my work had not asked for Tuesday off, I would not have had Wednesday off for the interview. There’s no way this could all be coincidence.

I also called the Federal Direct loan people and found out that I’m so pitifully poor right now that I qualify for economic hardship deferment. It’s cool because if I don’t find a higher-paying job by late November, I won’t have to start paying loans for another 12 months.

And to top the day’s accomplishments off, I finished a project I’ve been working on for weeks.

Good day; very good day.

I need all of you to stop what you’re doing and listen

I should really re-watch Anchorman. I love that movie — everything in life can be responded to with an Anchorman quote.

Anyway, I’ve got a lot of updates.

I’m about half-way through The Year of Living Biblically by A.J. Jacobs and I’m liking it. It’s not as instantaneously satisfying as his The Guinea Pig Diaries, but it’s deeper and it’s really making me think about the way I do things and the parts of my church that I agree/disagree with. I am really impressed with the job he’s doing — he’s honest but also careful to get both sides of a story before judging. Next post, I will put a review on my book club site and link it here so keep an eye out for that. You won’t want to miss it — I have gotten in the note-taking mood while reading this so I have a lot of commentary on it.

[Update: Check out my review on my book club Web site.]

Also went back to Romney today for a beginners/intermediate Pilates class — and loved it even more than before. We used this piece of equipment called a “magic circle” and it was amazingly effective. I actually just ordered one on Amazon.com to use in between classes.

Besides those bits of news, I’ve had a pretty rough week. Started out with me getting cursed at by a drunk co-worker — who did not get fired for coming in drunk or for cursing in my face. So, that was special. I have spent most of my spare time since that incident looking for a new job to no avail.

Yesterday was my mom’s birthday, so I sent her a copy of The Year of Living Biblically and a scarf, which I hear are very popular this season (via my grandma who says everyone on her show is wearing them).

Cannonball!

Amazing book luck

The A.J. Jacobs trifecta -- complete

After reading A.J. Jacobs’ The Guinea Pig Diaries, I immediately ordered his other book, The Year of Living Biblically from Amazon. However, I am so addicted to reading now (having read the former book in a single day) that I couldn’t wait until The Year of Living Biblically came in the mail.

I started to read Voodoo Dreams by Jewell Parker Rhodes. While I can tell this is going to be a great book, I can also tell that I’m not going to be devoting the proper amount of attention to it because I’m too upset that I’m not reading the book I want to be reading at that exact moment. Is this common or just one of my idiosyncrasies?

Long story short, I decided to put Voodoo Dreams down until I exhaust this sudden fascination with A.J. Jacobs’ writings.

So, I went on an evening quest to Barnes and Noble in the next town over to buy Jacobs’ other book, The Know-It-All.

There have been a few glimmering moments in my past when I have been in the right place at the right time. They are definitely few and far between, but today was one of them.

Outrage, Passion & Uncommon Sense

Barnes and Noble was having a $1 book sale. I glanced through, not expecting to find anything but my attention did get caught on one book called Outrage, Passion & Uncommon Sense. It was published by the Newseum in D.C. and National Geographic and it’s about editorial writers in the twentieth century. I took an editorial class in my last semester at UF and absolutely loved it — it was possibly the best class I took in college. I grabbed up the book and headed upstairs to buy Jacobs’ book.

Michael Gartner's signature in the $1 book I just bought

After I got home, I whipped out the new additions to my bookcase to show Wesley. As I opened the editorial book, a piece of paper fell out. I picked it up and quickly realized from my experience at The Gainesville Sun that this book was a media copy that is sent to book reviewers before the book is released to the public. Cool, right? Then, I took a better look at the inside of the book and realized its a signed copy by Michael Gartner, a past president of the American Society of Newspaper Editors and a Pulitzer Prize winner for his editorials. Wow. This thing is probably worth money and is really just an extremely cool addition to my book collection, especially as someone who really loves editorial writing.

Isn’t it funny how a lucky find can turn into the star of a collection?

Gator Bait!

Gators win! 13-3

After Stacey arrived in town on Friday afternoon, we headed downtown on the streetcar.

After making the usual stops at Jackson Square and Cafe du Monde, we went on the French Quarter Phantoms tour. It ended up being more historical than scary, but I liked learning about the history of New Orleans.

Saturday, we ate at Crescent City Brewhouse in the Quarter. I had a BLT made with basil and it was excellent. Check out my review in In & Around Uptown.

Later, we went and watched the Gators put a beat-down on the Tigers before walking miles back to the car in mud and mosquitos. It was worth it.

Mordor, complete with Eye of Sauron (a.k.a. Baton Rouge, LA)

One thing I never realized was that Baton Rouge is Mordor. This picture is an actual factory where a huge flame is constantly being thrown between two blinking-red towers.

I finished Dan Brown’s newest book, The Lost Symbol. I liked the unexpected twist at the end, but it was no DaVinci Code.

I moved on to A.J. Jacobs’ The Guinea Pig Diaries and loved it so much that I finished it in one day! Everyone should read this book! I’m just waiting for his other book, The Year of Living Biblically, to come in the mail from Amazon.com.

I’ll keep you updated.

Good books, girlfriends and Gators

I’m finishing up Dan Brown’s new book The Lost Symbol today, Stacey is flying into town on Friday and then we’re going to the LSU vs. UF game on Saturday!

Dan Brown's newest novel "The Lost Symbol"

I am almost done reading Brown’s latest, and I have to say that I like it better than his previous books because he’s more fair to the Masons, but less because I think it’s a little less intense and exciting. I found this really great article about how the Masons feel about his books and I couldn’t agree with them more. Check out my book club’s site to see what we thought about the book.

I’m also super excited about Stacey coming into town tomorrow!! We’re going to do the Nola thing: eat Beignets by the French Market and go down Bourbon. But we’re also going to Baton Rouge.

I’ve never been to Baton Rouge, but I’m extremely excited to be going to see UF beat LSU Saturday night!! Anyone have any suggestions for things to do around the LSU campus besides tailgate?

I broke a nail!

My acrylic nails before they started to break

I’ve never had acrylic nails before. I never had them for prom or the homecoming dance. I never got them done for a wedding or a job interview. Furthermore, I had never even had long enough nails to get any kind of manicure before this past summer.

But Rebecca talked me into getting them for my birthday this year. I had them done last Saturday and was pleasantly surprised. I never had acrylic nails because I was always afraid of the massive damage I’ve heard they do to nails — drilling the nail down to nothingness so that you can never take the acrylics off without having ugly, brittle nails.

I went to Nails by Lynn where I was less than pleased with the conversation, but ecstatic about the fact that they only hand-buffed my nails with a file before applying the acrylic and then drilled that down instead of my nail.

However, I did find myself gasping at work today with the cliche phrase “I broke a nail!”

It didn’t hurt, like I’ve heard it can — the tip simply broke off leaving my real nail poking out from underneath an acrylic base. I was able to file and buff and clear-coat it to halfway-decent looking, so I’m pleased enough.

It’s the second nail I’ve broken, the first being a similar situation. And I have to mention that they are the two fingers I use most often: my right pointer finger and thumb. The others still look surprisingly good considering my nail has grown a millimeter or two since I had them done.

Overall acrylic nail experience: good. I will probably take these off since I can’t find a place in New Orleans that does acrylics by just buffing (not drilling) so I’m afraid to get the two nails repaired anywhere except for at Lynn’s. However, I will definitely be getting them again.

One thing that this experience got me thinking about is why people generally seem to have a bad experience with acrylic nails. I found out that the reason most people’s nails are severely damaged after getting acrylics is that the nail technician drills down the nail too much instead of just buffing it. I also found out that some salons are using chemicals that are much more toxic and harmful than others, like methyl methacrylate, or MMA. Also, ripping them off, instead of having them properly soaked in acetone, can seriously damage your natural nail. Another problem associated with acrylics is nail infection. Look here to find some questions you should ask your nail technician.

***Update: I took the nails off today and my nails actually look healthier than they were before the acrylics! I guess it is all about how they’re done.***

Better birthday than I thought

Me and Becca at Pensacola Beach -- Ignore her hand lol

Not only did I get to go home for another three-day weekend, but I also got to see two of my best friends!

Becca came up from Gainesville and Michael got back from Iraq the day I went home.

On Friday, I got to visit Fort Pickens which has been closed since Hurricane Ivan hit in 2004. I never saw it before the hurricane, at least not that I can remember, but it seemed alright. However, it was completely run by ants which I seriously hate.

Afterward, we ate at the new sushi restaurant called Fuji in Gulf Breeze (where Cancun’s used to be). I thought it was really excellent, especially for Gulf Breeze. I did find it kind of funny that it claims to be “regarded as the best the best Japanese restaurant in Gulf Breeze Japanese restaurant in Gulf Breeze.” Maybe because it’s the only Japanese restaurant in Gulf Breeze?

When Becca got into town, we drove out to McGuire’s for their Irish Wake — last time we ate there we were passing through to Mardi Gras and couldn’t drink because we were drivers. I didn’t realize that when it got late they had dirty Irish drinking songs performed live. It was pretty funny. Worth going out to at least once.

On Saturday, we got our nails done at Nails By Lynn in Gulf Breeze. They did a decent job — nothing special — but I got acrylics and I liked how they did not file my nails down much without making them look unnatural. However, it was pretty obvious that the woman working there — the owner I think — was prejudiced against Asian people. It made it kind of awkward to try to converse with her while getting my nails done because she kept talking about racial stereotypes…

Becca eating her shark on a stick

After getting our nails fixed, Becca and I went to the Pensacola Seafood Festival where Becca tried shark, which was excellent!

We jetted out to the beach after that, but we still missed the sun. It was totally cloudy when we got there, but the water was about 80 degrees and clear green. She wasn’t disappointed because she doesn’t know how gorgeous it normally looks.

We ended the day with my family birthday party. I got some candles, $ and the new Lady Gaga cd — I really love it, especially the song Money Honey.

It was a long drive home, especially leaving Becca and not getting to spend another day with her! Once I arrived back in New Orleans, I watched the new of SNL with Meghan Fox — I really don’t like her but the show was good. I can’t wait for this week’s show: Ryan Reynolds and Lady Gaga!

I also saw the new shows Flash Forward and Modern Family — I love them (especially the latter). I’m very impressed with ABC’s new fall lineup.

Yesterday, Wesley went with me to see Tyler Perry’s new movie I can do bad all by myself, because he’s a good boyfriend and knows his girlfriend likes girly movies. It was alright, but definitely my least favorite Tyler Perry movie. There were about six full-length songs in it! By the fourth I was wondering if I actually came to a music video instead of a movie! The songs were really repetitive, too.

After a long day of working at my internship today, I’m ready to finish up Twilight before serving at the restaurant for the first time tomorrow! Wish me luck!

Birthday weekend!

The last three days flew by while I waited until tonight — when I could come home and pack to go to Pensacola.

I did have an epiphany at work today, though. I realized I actually read the news more often now than I did when I was in journalism school. This is because the restaurant business in New Orleans is apparently unexpectedly slow. I’m not used to this because in Florida summer is the biggest time for tourism.

I started work at my internship this week — so far I’m just updating the calendar. But I like it so far!

I got through the first three Twilight books in the last week and now I’m getting a good ways into the fourth book.

Another thing I did this week was go into the Quarter to watch the Dolphins game at a sports bar with Wesley — they were so close! We watched it at an Irish sports bar called Finnegan’s Easy, which is actually part of a chain that originated in Miami Beach. We thought it was appropriate. Look for my review in In & Around Uptown.

This weekend, I’m planning on hanging out with friends and maybe heading to the beach to see Fort Pickens — I haven’t seen it since the road re-opened earlier this year after being closed for four years following Hurricane Ivan.

I’m also planning on getting my nails done with Becca before heading to the 32nd Annual Pensacola Seafood Festival on Saturday. Looks pretty fun. We’ll see…

Weekly forecast: sunny skies

So it’s not quite my birthday week yet, but it’s close enough — I’m sure getting all the birthday happiness early.

I unexpectedly got another three-day weekend at work, but without the convenience of still getting five shifts in. I’m only working four days next week which is bad for my paycheck but good for my plans to meet Becca in Pensacola.

It’s the beach, a manicure and pecan pie for me, baby! (As long as it doesn’t rain…)

Wesley’s also going to get to see a Gainesville friend this week, so I’ll be anxiously waiting his thanks for allowing my birthday-week luck to rub off on him.

I think this is all due to us starting the week off right by going to Red Lobster yesterday. Nothing can go wrong that starts with Red Lobster.

We also tried to check out Phillips Bar last night — we call it Phillips Bar Dot Com because there is a big banner over the door that just says “Phillipsbar.com” instead of a regular bar sign. Unfortunately, we did not get to go inside because of a private party that rented out the entire venue. It’s a good thing that we can walk there from the house, because the only way they advertised the unusual closing was with a paper sign over the door. Not Web site coverage — pretty amateur. I would have been pretty pissed if we drove all the way there and found parking for that disappointment. But if at first you don’t succeed… We’re going to try again later this week.

I got X-Men Origins:Wolverine in the mail from Target on Friday and just got around to watching it — I’ve been deep into my re-reading of Twilight. Don’t judge. Anyway, I already knew I love that movie but I did something after watching it that I normally don’t do: I watched the special features. Unfortunately, there weren’t many. But I watched the “making of” which basically is all about how awesome Hugh Jackman is and how he’s the most perfect person on Earth to play Wolverine. I actually enjoyed it. Jackman ended the segment with this quote about whether or not he would play Wolverine in future X-Men movies:

“If they want some more, I’ll probably give it to ‘em because I love it.”

It may be one of those you-had-to-be-there moments, but I just love that quote. I do wonder how he keeps his Australian accent, though, while he does so many movies that require him to have an American accent… I literally think that’s the first time I’ve ever heard him use his normal accent.

I’m sure I’ll update again before going home about whether or not my luck stays with me; stay tuned…