Potluck, Happytimes

I'm at the VIC for another Sunday. This job really would be great if I could concentrate long enough to get any homework done. (Not that it's not great regardless!) I'll be here until 4. The lacrosse tourney is still going on in the intramural fields, so there will be lots of people coming in today to use our toilet. Good thing they pay someone to be out here all day... Good thing I brought two trashy magazines with me. That should occupy me for a good half hour.

Nichole, Gracie, and a few others were up to celebrate Erica's birthday last night, I stopped by to see my dear Nichole, but it was short lived, because I was DD last night. Hopefully I'll get to see her this afternoon. I forget how much I absolutely adore Nichole until I see her again. I miss Val, too. Why did she have to go and move to Texas?

The residents of Cambell Hill 95 had a potluck last night. I brought Lydia Mae's mac and cheese, and it was fairly successful, as I hoped it would be. Sadly, I have potluck anxiety. When folks don't eat my dish, I am deeply offended and hurt (well, not deeply.) Everyone's food was delish, and it was a good time sitting down and eating with everyone. Not exactly as warm and fuzzy as a holiday in the Berens family, but it's about as close as I will get up here. Post-potluck, I made a quick appearance at Kate's 21st, escaped, and headed over to Joel's neighbor's house. We played mafia and it was a lot of fun. Yay fun.

Church with Stevesy tonight. And hopefully this cold will be gone soon.

The Visitor's Information Center: Where I get paid to blog

I'm starting to think that I should be medicated for my sleep. I maintain a fairly regular schedule, but I rarely sleep through the entire night, and also scare my room mates with my bizarre sleep talking and moving around the room...when I'm asleep. It would creep me out, too, if I woke up and saw my sleeping room mate sitting up in bed looking at me.

I think my iPod may be dead. I've been wanting one of the new iPod Nanos, mostly because they are fun colors have have a 24 hour battery life. Why would I need to carry around my entire music collection anyhow?

ohmygosh. i don't even know which color i would choose!

The view from the VIC is always pretty amazing to me. In the mornings, I watch the sunrise, in the afternoons I watch the soccer team practice. Right now I'm watching a group of kids play flag football. Do I wish I was out there playing with them? Yeah, a little bit. I've been thinking of taking up the harmonica, mostly so that I have something to keep me busy out here. Plus, no one will mind when I'm still learning, because out in the VIC, no one can hear you scream.

Over the past few months I have gotten to know a few people better, as well as make some new friends. I'm really thankful that I've been given so many chances to meet all of the amazing people that have come into my life. To mention a few names: Chris Messer, Steve Grunwell, and Joey Catullo are all really wonderful people. So yay. Also, they are all good dancers, which is something that is very important when becoming my friend. (And by good dancers, I mean that they are not ashamed to dance.)

photographic evidence that they are great.

BK

After script analysis yesterday afternoon, I got a frantic phone call from Marie, telling me that the new Ben Kweller disc had finally arrived--only two days late. I rushed home, opened it, and Marie, Meg and I danced until pop culture class. The album is amazing. Ben Kweller has not let me down once, between his three albums and three live shows I have attended. As mentioned before, he is playing in Detroit as well as Columbus next month, and I am being irresponsible and taking time off from classes to see those two shows. I had to draw the line at seeing him in Cincinnati (which was rough.)

Joey came over last night. He brought season one of Dinosaurs, and we watched our Ben Kweller on Conan. We also picked up Candice from the news room and listened to "Danger! High Voltage!" in the car and laughed a lot. The girls from Apartment 14 hope that Joey comes over more often, because he is fun.

Work this morning has been fairly busy for a Friday morning before 9AM. There's some sort of conference this morning at the union, so there are lots of people coming in and asking for parking passes. I also need to make sure that I'm getting enough sleep before my 7-10 shifts. This morning I did not let myself have a cup of the free coffee we offer at the VIC until 8:00. I'm trying not to be such a slave to caffeine, and I have figured out that there is a direct connection between the headaches I've been getting and my caffeine consumption.

Weekend plans? My classmate, and fellow UFO member, Erik is wrestling on Ohio News Network tonight, so some people are all getting together to cheer on "Hobo Joe." It should be a good time.

A song that really makes me feel great:
Mushaboom by Feist

Vistor!

My KyKy is coming to visit tonight! Aiieeeee! I loves me some Kyle.

DSW called to tell me not to come into work tonight. Usually I love when this rare event happens, however this afternoon I am pretty annoyed. This week I only was scheduled for 14 hours to begin with. Oh DSW, how I loathe you. At least that's more KyKyTime.

The Scanned Document Viewer here at the office has been quite temperamental today, and I want to put my fist through the screen. Mimi (my nickname for her) is pushing the limits of the dress code once again this afternoon. She is wearing a short khaki skirt, white t-shirt, brown flip-flops, and a blazer. She wears a very similar outfit to this one every Friday, which like in many offices, is casual Friday. Even with her summery attire, she still decides every morning that it is a good idea to cake on enough makeup to supply a circus. A few weeks ago, I heard one of the brokers in the office say to her "Is this casual Friday or vacation?" I promptly peed my pants.

Michelle Love!

I had to be into work this morning 45 minutes early to cover the phones during today's staff meeting. It's nice, no one is in the office, and I can listen to music.

I also came across this very entertaining website: TomCruiseisNuts.com

I would also like to take time to say hello to Michelle Eviston, who is apparently the only person who reads my blog. I adore her comments she leaves. She is amazing.

Also, starting yesterday, my hours have been cut here at the office, and my workload has been drastically cut as well. I'm not complaining!

BK baby

It's been a fairly busy day at the office this morning, but it's finally lunch time, and everything slows down to a snail's pace. Been 11:30 and 1:30 the office is usually fairly empty, and there's not a lot of work for me to do. There are rarely any phone calls I have to worry about, either.

DSW somehow got all my my hours mixed up, so I'm only working on Saturday this week.

On Friday I'm headed up to Cleveland to see one of my all-time favorites: Ben Kweller. Marie, Megan and Candice are all seeing him for the first time, but I am seeing him for the third. He really puts on a great little show. This time, it's at The House of Blues, and it's apparently a special acousitic set. I am very, very excited. I really hope that he will have his piano there as well as a guitar (his piano songs are my absolute favorite!) and I really hope that he plays "In Other Words." His new album is due out in September, and I am really looking foward to it. While On My Way was not as good as Sha Sha, I am really hoping that this new one has some delight little gems on it.

In other news of my favorite artists, Regina Spektor, has a new album out tomorrow. I am extremely excited about this as well. In short, this is going to be a good week for me.

Customer harassment, Outbacks

Michael's graduation was this weekend, it was long. We celebrated by having dinner at Figilo's, and then there was a celebratory campfire, featuring a wide variety of guests.

DSW has gone crazy for customer service lately, and we have a new sales strategy: dressing in business casual clothing, walk around and talk to customers. Not just "Hi, how are you today?" or a simple "Did you need help with anything?" but starting conversations with the unprepared shoe shoppers. Frankly, if I was shopping for shoes and someone approached me in business clothing wanting to know things about my personal life, I would get scared, and possibly aggressive.

So, lately, I have been searching to find a car to buy (well, pay for most of. I am still a poor college student.) I'm looking to buy a Subaru Outback Sport, circa 1996 or later.

While visiting Amy, I found one in Athens for only $4,300, however my mother was not keen on the idea of buying a car that is two hours away (never mind that it was in my price range, had all of the requirements I was looking for, and we have yet to find one in the Dayton area.) I have also found an Outback (Legacy, not Sport) in Bowling Green through the myBGSU service, but again, my mother has ignored me whilst telling her about the automobile. If anyone knows where I could get one of these, please clue me in!

Administration Wonderland, new lifeplan, movies

I'm really liking this job. (At Smith-Barney) And as anti-climatic (I think that's what I mean to say) as it would be, I wouldn't mind doing this sort of work for the rest of my life.

It is come to my attention that Columbus is the third largest market for corporate video in the United States. Upon finding that little tidbit out, I have really started to rethink my previous lifeplanB (lifeplanA was getting married and letting that take me where ever...) As of two weeks ago, this was lifeplanB (as written for my DSW scholarship application):

"After graduation, my plan is to stay in the Dayton area for about a year,

to work and save money to make the move to LA. My goal is to move to

California and establish myself first as a script supervisor, work my way up

to the position of unit production manager, and finally producer.

While my ultimate professional goal is to write and direct, at this stage in

my life, I do not think that I will be completely ready to have total control

over my own productions.

Once established in LA, I would like to move back east, where my family is,

and also where there are four seasons. Toronto or Chicago are the cities that

I would most like to live and work in, freelancing as a writer and director on

smaller scale projects and "indie flicks," while hopefully settling down to raise

a family.

Accomplishing these smaller goals will allow me to achieve my ultimate goal:

happiness."

All of that is fine and dandy, but I may just stay in my beloved OH-IO for a little longer, working on lame instructional videos and training tutorials. There may not be much art to it, but I will be on a set, and that set with be in the Midwest, so really, there is nothing more I could ask for. I guess time will be the only true teller of what is going to happen in the future department. DSW corporate offices are also located in Columbus, and I could always get a job in the data entry department and continue to receiveve my 30% discount on all of the latest styles.

I'm thinking of buying a new digital camera. I broke mine more than a year and a half ago, and I have been using Mark's since then. I really have no reason for one, other than liking to take pictures of my friends and family, but I think that since I'm making so much extra money these days, it would be okay to buy a new one.

Sophia Coppola's Marie Antoinette got some pretty terrible reviews at Cannes, but I am still fairly excited to see it. I think that the trailer looks excellent (not that one can judge a movie from the trailer). Being a Jason Schwartzman and Kirsten Dunst superfan just adds to the appeal of this movie. I loved The Virgin Suicides (both the book and the movie) and I was a fan of Lost in Translation, so I don't think that the film will be TERRIBLE. I wonder sometimes if she gets so much crap from critics just because of her bloodline. Poor, poor Sophia.

Speaking of Jason Schwartzman... I finished Shopgirl by Steve Martin not too long ago. It was a very quick and extremely enjoyable read. I probably would not have picked up the novela if I had not seen the movie in early Spring with Daniel. I enjoyed the movie as well. I was really surprised that it did not get much press, because it was well deserving of it. Cheaper by the Dozen 2 must have been more marketable for Stevesy. I had not seen Claire Danes in anything recently (other than The Family Stone, which I totally forgot she was in) but I was just really impressed with her performance. She really played Mirabelle very well, and I don't know who else would have played her; the part (in the book) described her almost perfectly. I'm glad that Steve Martin did not decide to try his hand at directing...I find most actors who write, direct, and star in their own flicks to be sort of lame. (But I loved That Thing You Do!) Sun Kil Moon's music is featured in the film, including one of my personal favorite songs, "Carry Me Ohio." Anyway, go read Shopgirl. Then rent it. Or the other way around, it doesn't matter much.

Working at the shoe store really put a damper on Memorial Day weekend. I can't complain much, though. The last customer left at 8:50, and we all clocked out at 10:05. So yay! Amy was in town for a few days, and we spent a little time together. I am more than ready for her to come home for the summer, so we can spend long days together, doing whatever we feel like.

Today I don't have to go into the shoe store, so I think since I won't be making money, I should spend some. I'm planning on buying a new digital camera. For the last year and a half, I've been using Mark's, since breaking mine a few weeks into my freshmen year. (Rocking chair incident. I don't want to talk about it.)

Lazy eye, lazy bones

It's Friday, and really I could care less. Fridays are really only excited for people who get their weekends off. I, on the other hand, do not. Also, my eyes have decided to give me a kick me in the rear this morning and decided to stop working in my right eye. I'm not sure exactly why or this happens, but every once in a while, my eyes just stop working. It's fun!

In better news, I found out yesterday afternoon that I got a scholarship from DSW. I'm glad that after working there for three years (and four summers) now is finally paying off. (That is a lie, DSW has been nothing but wonderfully with me with all of my moving between BG and Dayton.) I do feel a bit bad, but if my eyes do not get better this afternoon, I am going to call off. Who can drive without their right eye, right? (especially since when my good eye is the one that isn't working.)

While I might seem much more crabby than I am this morning, I really don't have a lot to complain about (other than my right eye., and it's about 100,000 degrees in this office this morning) I have become obsessed with a few albums recently.

Rabbit Fur Coat by Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins is simply an excellent album. Her music sounds like something from a different time and place, but is still wildly hip. This record is really one that is able to stand against time, and no matter if it was 1950, or today, the exact time in which this was recorded is hard to know without reading the jewel case. I know very few people who wouldn't like this CD, and almost no one who would hate it. While listening, I feel a nostalgic feeling for a time and place that never was in my own life, but I feel I belong just the same. Anyway, this is a really great album. So listen to it, whoever is reading...

In other news, I think I am going to call off work, citing my terrible ambliopia in why I can't come in and sell shoes. Also, Farren just quit today at DSW. Employees are really dropping like flies. This is a mixed blessing, because I will now get more hours at the shoe store, which mean more spending money for my impulsive trips to Target!