I Like to Move It Move It

Alright!

Pickin' up the pace!

I've finally stopped playing dead!

Wednesday: Ice cream w/ Angela

Thursday: 3 mile walk + gut-wrenching Greys

Friday: Vision boarding then out for a drinky-poo with Holly

Saturday: Strip District w/ Holly, Waterfront with Angela

Sunday: Shadyside Arts Festival, 40 minute walk, concoct Vegan Overnight Oats a la Oh She glows for tomorrows breakfast

After hiding in my apartment until 9pm on Friday night, I decided enough was enough.

It's not like I was in bed the whole time, mind you. I did spend most of the day creating a very large vision board for the devastatingly blank wall in my bedroom.

However, when I left my apartment to go all the way to the front stoop, I figured I had be antisocial for long enough.

I wound up going out for a drink with a good friend from FeelGood, and we had made plans to hit The Strip District the following morning. (Hooray for leaving the house before noon!!!!!)

Later that afternoon, I went flip-flop shopping and to dinner at Bravos with a different friend and we braved the ensuing monsoon that hit The Waterfront that afternoon.

I finally purchased a new juicer. It's not quite as effective as my old(broken) one, but it did the trick, and is MUCH cheaper than the $200 juicer I've had a crush on.

In the spirit of using this time to focus on being healthier I've stumbled across some awesome wellness blogs and websites.

Oh She Glows

Crazy Sexy Life

Spoiled Yogi

Of course there's always many more, but these have been my current obsessions.

Also? I've had Stephen Lynch's "Craig" Stuck in my head all day and have resorted to inserting "Cait" into the lyrics. Evidently my newfound social freedom has yet to have any effect on my sanity.

Where will you be when the Cait machine comes partying through?

Hardly Workin'

I was originally supposed to do my training for work Thursday, but it was rescheduled to next FRIDAY due to a mix up. Which means one more week of NOTHING!

Lately my days have been super exciting:

Sleep till 11

make a smoothie

watch Gilmore Girls

read cookbooks/surf the web

watch trashy tv

shower

do laundry/housework

more trashy tv

leave my cave around 4-5pm to do random errands

make dinner

more trashy tv

back to bed

I think it is evident that I don't do very well without a schedule. Earlier in the week I figured that with all this newfound free time I could start a new healthy eating routine. I just brought my juicer back from home and bought lots of fresh juicing materials (cukes, celery, carrots, leafy greens, tomatoes, herbs, etc)

I concocted one very fresh, delicious and green juice. Then I tried to get one step ahead and get it all clean for the following day, buuuuut I broke it when putting it back together :-(

SO now I have a fridge full of random veggies waiting for me to find recipes for them, or to purchase a new juicer (not cheap).

Ah well, I still have my books to fall back on. Started Eat Pray Love yesterday and am devouring every word that clever lady composes.

Happy Weekend!

Just Another Manic Monday

So this is what I did last Monday...

It's Been One Week...

Wow.

The past week and a half consisted of:

Two job offers

One accepted job offer

One attended graduation

One skipped graduation

One barefoot walk across the stage to acquire

One fake diploma

One very awesome weekend visit from family

One very pretty pair of pearl earrings

One sparkly diamond necklace

One gifted trip to Seattle (to take place this summer)

One jump out of a tiny airplane

One successfully opened parachute

One leap of faith that led to

One destroyed friendship

One trip home and back

and

One healing girls night out with my amazing friends.

Just recently graduated and the amount of change happening is overwhelming.

and is insane. Some of it has been devastating, but most of it has been good.

I'm going to a wedding in New Haven, Connecticut this weekend and I start training for my TSS job next Thursday.

Now I just have to figure out what to do with all this time.

I have a number of books I want to read this summer, and some yoga studios to check out.

Hopefully the rest of this transition will be peaceful...so...

Peace!

Grrrrr

So far, two interviews and all I have to show for it is a background checking company that continues to stalk me for W2 forms and references upon references.

Listen people, I'm 22 frickin' years old, didn't work through much of college, my high school employer went out of business... I DON'T HAVE ANY MORE REFERENCES!!!!!!!!

OK that's a lie.

I could give you the many names of my many friends and family members to tell you I've never been arrested, but you don't WANT friends and family members!

Employers, you are SO high maintenance.

Take a darn breath!

On the bright side, as a kind of chance happening, the teacher of my Leadership Seminar thought I e-mailed him about a job at the school I volunteer at (I didn't), but I told him I was interested in it anyway. I sent him my resume yesterday, but he's out of the country for the week. The position as I understand it would be to creep in step-by-step as a guidance counselor of sorts, as the current guidance counselor retires.

At first I was like "Yay! A job! With a school I love! With a wickedcool boss! Weeeee!"

But now as I'm getting more into the swing of things with my volunteer work (with some awesome kindergartners) I'm getting more and more pumped about having the opportunity to actually help the rugrats.

I find myself researching coping strategies for children managing stress, and I look forward to speaking with them the next day about it.

I'm catching on to what makes them tick, and it's surprisingly exciting.

I've had the inkling for a long time now that there's more to kids than what meets the eye. I think I probably felt that way even as a kid myself.

It's a shame when I hear other adults talking about the children as if they're not even in the room, or catching them talking down to the kids like they're beneath them.

Frankly, there' s absolutely nothing more in tune and honest than a child. They deserve to have their voice heard and understood.

They deserve to know that their feelings are there for a reason, and that their voice should have a place within that world which dictates their every minute. I think as a pseudo-counselor for these kids, I could help them realize just that.

However, that's almost enough ranting for one posting. This is my last week of undergrad classes, and I have about 7 papers due this week. I DID move into my new apartment (which I love) and will be writing about it in the near future...perhaps after finals.

So for now, I bid you kids adieu.

xxoo

What an Interesting Question, Barbara

Image from somewhere on google...Babs interviewing Carla Bruni

This week has been INSANE!!! Although I can't really complain because it was my first crazy week of the semester, and also because I was a thorough waste of life last weekend.

I had major exams on Monday and Wednesday, an assignment and a job interview on Tuesday, a quiz and a 10-12 page paper due on Thursday. I'm feeling pretty good about everything ESPECIALLY the interview.

I had meant to go shopping for interview clothes over the weekend, because most of my nice clothes are leftover from either high school or my sorority days. So Monday evening in the midst of assignment-doing and exam-studying, I took a break to go Express to pick up something remotely classy.

I'm learning a few things along this job-hunting quest...here's a few:

1. ASK. FOR. HELP. This came in handy at Express when I had under an hour to find an outfit and not a clue how to go about it. The salespeople are there for a reason. In the end, think about what Dermot Mulroney (as escort Nick Mercer) said in the movie The Wedding Date: "If you look people in the eye, they won't notice what you're wearing."
2. Yes, everybody puts LOTS of pressure on making a good impression during an interview: don't arrive too early, don't be late, ask THEM questions, don't interrupt, be informed, don't ask about money, find out more about the position, iron your undies (jk), shake hands, not too hard--not too soft! There are SO many things to think about! Its easy to forget why you're their in the first place! I've eased myself into the experience by pretending I'm being interviewed by Barbara Walters. Just present yourself in your best light, the way you would want millions of tv viewers to see you. Ok, so that seems like it would add pressure, but if you just be YOURSELF, and they aren't diggin' it, you probably won't like being there anyway, no?
3. Take this time to interview them come armed with questions. If not to ask verbally, then to note inside your own pretty little head. You're not the only one who has to pass the test, they need to pass as well.
4. If you don't know the location of the interview, take the time the day before to do a drive-by. If I didn't do this I would have been about 45 minutes late thanks to 2 major exits having detours.

There's more to come, I'll post them as soon as I learn them :-)

Tomorrow...

I sign my lease!

Which is good news not only because I can start moving, but also because my mother and I had a deal that if I start making progress on this whole getting my life together thing, SHE will start making progress on QUITTING the cancer sticks.

Also? I have one solid interview, and one pending interview for next week. Both for the position of TSS.

Weeee!!!!