A Day for the Books and Higher Beings.

I always wind up postponing my writing, and then having SO much to write about.  So for now, I'll update you on the immediate, since it's.. immediately on my mind.  I'll catch you up with the hoopla of the weekend at some later date.  Although, it was very exciting, hold on to your panties till then!

Anyway.  My day. 

I was very anxious for this morning to start.. and for it to finish.  I anticipated a much more difficult, trying, frustrating few hours of appointments than what I encountered.  Alas, what I encountered, was absolutely fabulous.  I am more than relieved, and (surprisingly) more than thankful for the day I had today.

It is crazy how things work out sometimes

today is the tomorrow you will have always worried about yesterday.

I tweeted that 2 days ago.  I had no idea I would be living those words right now, in such a serious way. 

I was so concerned with how my first appointment would go, whether I would be anxious, whether my client would be anxious, how would she respond, how will she react, BLAHBLAHBLAH.  Only for it to end up with the most positive conversation about healthy lifestyle changes, habits, and behaviors, and it resulting in a request for more time with ME.  Shoot, did I FEEL GOOD. 

As a personal trainer, in any realm, it is MORE than gratifying to be asked for more time together (although our schedules don't always allow while balancing 4957239547 clients and trying to maintain a personal life).  I can't even begin to tell you how honored, happy, and fulfilled I felt at the end of this conversation. 

THEN.  (this is my favorite part of my day)  DURING MY SECOND appointment, I was given the absolute best compliment I could have EVER even thought up in this ridiculous head of thoughts. 

I work with individuals who have disabilities.  This field, and the individuals that I work with, are regularly over looked and under served.  We are not always welcomed by the public, we are not easily understood, but darn it.. we will do whatever we please.  We will be independent... and like it our not, we will be in public. 

"Welcome to a team of angels. You are truly doing the work of an angel."

And, as much as I appreciate that compliment, and it truly made my day; I wish that it wasn't necessary to look at what I do and consider it the work of a higher being.  Work that beings of this world wouldn't do, or subject themselves to. 

Think about it.

I'll leave you at that. 

xx. Mayonnaise

New(ish) Roommate and Vegas Card Dealing

THAT'S RIGHT!  I HAVE A ROOMMATE MOVING IN ON FRIDAY!
Who is it?  Oh none other than SUNSHINE, HIMSELF!

He was offered the job that he interviewed for last week and has orientation on Sunday!
So.. if ya see a tall, skinny red-headed kid who responds affectionately to Sunshine, congratulate him.  I'm sure he'd appreciate it. 

And yes, I'm aware that he's not actually a NEW roommate.. but seriously, try going from living with 4 other people, to 0 people.  In case I didn't already make my opinion on this situation perfectly clear, it's the pits.  And not the, eh you could use a little more deodorant, kinda pits.  It's more like the, haven't showered in 13 weeks, and won't even BOTHER with deodorant, kinda pits.  Yup.

Anyways, things are finally rolling right along.  It feels nice to have the chips start falling into place

[insert cheesy Vegas card dealer scene HERE]

But really, it's seriously such a rewarding feeling to know that we have both secured employment in fields that we are passionate about.  And it's even better that we will have these jobs in the same area.  I can hardly wait for Friday!

In other news, completely unrelated, I finally received my Sevenly clothing that I ordered what feels like light years ago.  And, **dork alert** I was even retweeted by them today!  So my phone was exploding with notifications of favorites and RTs from people I don't know and I'll probably never meet.  I felt like.. Kim Kardashian or something.. but with way more class, (slightly) less of a butt, and with positive-uplifting tweets.

I'd continue to write (type) about all of the other thoughts swirling through this brain like a toilet bowl right now.. but my eye lids are getting purdy heavy.  

GO TO SLEEP. 

xx. Mayonnaise

Seeing Double and Sevenly Dominates (see what I did there?)

Happy weekend kids!  Hope you are all having a most wonderful, restful weekend, more than likely it's full of tons of snow for my NY amigos!

Although I am (thankfully) NOT snowed in to my apartment like my sister is and therefore, I'm very capable of leaving m apartment this evening.. I am not.  I know, I know, you've read two recent posts in which I'm staying in on a weekend night... I assure you, I'm NOT as lame as I come off.

I just turned on Despicable Me, poured my glass of red wine (very) full so I don't have to refill it, and am looking up birthday presents for Sunhine's mother.  OH, and I've been HOOKED on this iMadeFace app..for the last umm 30 minutes.

giiiiiirl I don't rememba the last time my hair was that tame

Otherwise! Pretty darn close!

Anyway, here is what has been on my mind the last few days..

via

This is something that I have (indirectly) always held true and have lived by.  Although, I do always say that what I "live" by is what my mom told me when I was little, "You were put on this planet to help make someone else's life just a bit easier."  I think these two statements are parallel.  They have the same underlying meaning. 

I hope that I will one day be able to be secure enough, or "make a living" by doing something that I love doing that will help other people that otherwise would not have had that help.  I recently went home to visit my parents (and get some sweet stuff for my apartment from my family) and my dad had a conversation with me about financial security. 

Do NOT get me wrong, I obviously think this is VERY important, if I didn't care at all.. "paying the bills" wouldn't be part of the title of this blog, duh. HOWEVER, while I am able to help others, I will help.  Even if it is going to take me the next few years to find myself in a situation in which I have some money saved up, I will work to get to that point while working for a non-profit organization.  I need to find my way, whatever that may be, while finding myself, and doing something I love.  Passion is so important.

I'm starting to ramble.  I think you get the point.  Be passionate.  Help others.  Live within your means, but give what you can back.  In whatever way that may be.  It doesn't have to be a $1,000 donation to a charity; it can be a half hour of your time at a soup kitchen or a women's shelter or just holding the door open for the person pushing the baby carriage and balancing 4943597 bags of groceries.  Within your means. 

xx. Mayonnaise

PS CHECK OUT THIS SUPER COOL ORGANIZATION! Sevenly  is a SICK company that raises capital and awareness for more than deserving causes by using original artwork on fabulous clothing!  For each item purchased, at least $7 is donated to the cause of the week!  Their theory? If we could help people give, we could help people care. This is an absolutely AMAZING movement, that is SO easy to get behind!  Seriously.. it's hard to NOT buy their clothes. [consider yourself warned]  WORLD CHANGE IS HOW I ROLL.
but really.. stalk them..
TWEET/ IG @sevenly
LIKE Sevenly .. on facebook

NOBODY PUTS BABY IN THE CORNER

HELLO!

Seriously, the amount of time I'm away from my computer is increasing.. you know, now that I have a big girl job & a life and all..alright, maybe not a life, but a job, YES.  I swear, I'm not down for the count.  NOT EVEN A JOB WILL KEEP ME FROM BLOGGING. -_-


And, thanks for asking, my new job is going GREAT.  I love it so far, and hope that I only continue to love it!

Highlights of what's been going on..

UNO. Got a neighbor that I KNOW! YAY My friend wound up moving into the same development, which has been great because I have someone besides myself to drive crazy.

DOS. Went home, my car died, naturally, came back with my sister's car, need to buy new car (not exactly coinciding with my bill paying and world saving.. but making it WORK)

TRES. Sunshine has an interview for a full time job.. IN HIS FIELD! AND ITS NEAR ME! YAYAYAYYAYAY
I. CAN. NOT. WAIT.

Other things on my mind.

I'm going through this corporate training for where I have been employed (paperwork, video, paperwork, nod off, paperwork, conversation, video aaaaaaaand repeat.)

I am so very much in love with this organization and I'm BEYOND stoked to be part of their team! However, I'm sitting in this training listening to people use the R word.. if you know me, this is NOT OK. And although they are using it as a medical term, my skin still crawls.  So me, being me, and probably perceived as a little overbearing, took the time to educate my fellow NEW HIRES on the importance of using INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY. 

We are the face of this organization now.  We should ALL be advocating for the population we work with.  Whether it's a part time side-gig or your life long calling.  You need to BELIEVE in what you do. 

If you like selling paperclips, you sell your little heart out.  If you are a registered dietician, you better love your nutrient dense food.  If you work with people with disabilities, ADVOCATE. 

You need to live and breathe what you do.  At least, that's what I think.  What's the point of half-assing something?  Why not make your living by doing what you LOVE to do?  If it's your career, employment (shwhatevuh you wanna call it) it's part of your LIFESTYLE.  So what does that say about you?

Think about it, and report back.

xx. Mayonnaise

Unenchanting Snow Days and Catfish

You may ask, "why is she blogging right now? Shouldn't she be at work?"  And then I may answer, "I'd rather be at work than blogging right now, thanks for asking!"  (Who knows how long THAT thought may cross my mind.. so maybe I should just appreciate this day off)

HOWEVER, when you sit in a fairly empty apartment, for a fairly substantial amount of time, while you are (fairly) alone... you pretty much just want to start work.  I unfortunately got a phone call at 9pm last night telling me not to worry about coming in.  Thank you snow, ice, and freezing rain-- I did NOT have my first day of work today. womp.womp.

It's not as magical, and enchanting as a snow day in 3rd grade - there will be no play dates, no snow men, no igloos.  Just coffee, and crappy TV.

Anyway, as I sit here, blogging, sipping my coffee (that I haven't figured out the proper proportion of coffee grinds to water for because my coffee pot is weird).. I'm watching Anderson Cooper.  Which is weird, because I never watch him, but I can't find Ellen on my new line-up.  He, of course, is chatting it up about hot topics and all that jazz.. namely, lying over the internet. 

How do YOU know that I AM who I say that I AM? (aside from, my family knows that I'm writing this and.. I am in fact, who I say that I am)  But really, how would you know? 

I could be a 50 year old woman who is having some kind of life-crisis, thinking that she hasn't accomplished anything and needs a voice to be heard, even if it isn't hers.  Or heck, even weirder- a MAN.
The idea of this "Catfish" concept truly BLOWS my mind.  And this kind of goes back to my phone interview thing- my boss really doesn't know me.. at all.  And yet, she hired me because she believed in the "me" that she met over the phone (lucky for her, I am, in fact as fabulous as I say I am in interviews).  I could have been purple, with orange tattoos on my face.

It's pretty unfortunate that we have to second guess who we will talk to, buy our couches from, adopt puppies from, etc etc.  I can't even buy a couch on Craiglist without thinking twice about who this person may ACTUALLY be. 

**random thought--Did the creators of the intwerwebz foresee identity fraud? I doubt anyone sat around a table thinking "Yeah, in 92354907245 years this will be used to break the hearts of people AROUND THE WORLD MWAHAHAHA"

HOWEVER, there is (clearly) some reason to have faith in humanity when phone interviews are still a viable way to secure employment.  Not that this is the only way to have some kind of faith in humanity and identity, because there are obviously many other things. 

Nonetheless, it does cross my mind when I walk into a furniture store (I've been in a few this week) that I could come up with some crazy alter ego and just see how it goes.  But that's in person.. and not really traumatizing anyone (unless I actually chose a CRAZY alter ego). 

Alright.  My rant is over.  This was probably really long, drawn out, and more than likely boring.  My apologies.  I'll come back with something better. 

xx. Mayonnaise

p.s. try not to make a fake profile on some website today! I know this was inspiring & thought provoking - but try to withstand the temptations. 

The Thoughts I Think..

I HAVE CABLE & INTERNET! (after a lovely day of technicians and customer service reps... boo)

It's so crazy that we don't realize that cable & internet are luxuries.  We are so used to having every single thing at the tips of our fingers; the news, our friends, our e-mail, weather reports, communication, interwebz, crazy crazy crazy. Also crazy, how one thought leads to another completed unrelated thought, which can lead to another TOTALLY unrelated thought.. it's crazy, the thoughts I think.

So here is where my mind just ended up... A few years ago, when I was in college, I went to Haiti on a missions trip.  I went down there with a group college kids, some who had been there before, some who hadn't.  We helped build a well and school.  Most of what we did at the school was painting, while the Haitian work crew did the bulk of the construction.  I remember coming home thinking, "I won't take these material things for granted ever again."  Unfortunately, I think I have started to.  Let's face it, I'm sitting here, typing, the author of a blog that is all about the "hardships" of "coming of age" in the United States.

My goal has always been to help people, in any way that I can.  I thought that by starting this blog, I'd be helping others while writing in a cathartic manner.  But it's crazy that this helping other people thing has been started on a medium that SO many people in the WORLD don't have.  As far as I can tell, I have been accomplishing what I set out to do (at least on my end of this bargain) when I started to write this blog.  It's just so crazy to think how far separated I am from that unbelievable, unforgettable experience in Limonade, Haiti. 


That was all very, very deep.
Here are some nonsensical things that I've been up to this week (aside from spending 5 hours in Panera).

I've been settling into & decorating my new apartment! YAY

bought some supplies at Target, had some stuff PLUS yellowheartart ALL over my apartment!

mom had a brilliant idea to hang a curtain in the entry way to keep out the cold!

YAY for SKYPE!

Sunshine & I finally had our first Skype date after he split on Tuesday (lame, I agree).  It was nice to see his fabulous red-headedness.

BUT. I'd be lying if I said it's been all fun & games since I moved in.  I may sound like a truly BROKEN record, but it's not easy doing this living-on-your-own stuff.  HOWEVER, I am getting to the point where I am NOT crying every time I get off the phone with my mom or Sunshine! YAY! (don't worry, I've already thrown myself a party full of frozen yogurt and red wine)

I'm going to continue enjoying my 40 year old life, while watching movies on HBO and sipping my wine.  Happy Saturday to you all!

xx. Mayonnaise

You Can Call Me Captain Kirk.

"Captain's Log. Day 1. I went to Panera to interact with civilization and get on those interwebz.  The life forms appear to be... hungry."

SUP?!

Again, my apologies for an overdue update and post, because yet again, the last few days have been NUTS. 

I currently have no minimal furniture, zero internet, no cable, and no companions.  So, yes, I'm being that weird girl, sitting in Panera, alone, listening to music, alone, sippin' a cappuccino, alone and writing.. a blog.  How cliche?

HAY GUYS!

Anyway, back to bidness. 
I have moved in to my new apartment!  SO EXCITING! The thought just occurred to me that I should have taken pictures to spice up this post a bit, but it would be pictures of blank walls, and empty rooms, and blahblahblah.  Once it's all decorated and beautified.. I'll let a take a peek.  If you're nice.

Sunshine & I drove both of our cars aaaall the way to my new place, caravan style like we were in Egypt on camels.. or wherever they ride camels, and unloaded about 80% of my belongings! The other 20% is still in my little sleepy town apartment, and will be picked up at a (hopefully-not-too-much) later date!

His parents came and brought a ton of furniture, which is SUPER helpful, because I own .. nothing.  We went to dinner, caught up, had a jolly good time, and then before we knew it, it was time to call it a night. 

The next morning I made pancakes and went on a fabulous Bed Bath & Beyond shopping spree (thanks to gift cards.. because let's face it, I can barely afford a tooth brush in there) and furnished my new bathroom! YAY! I CAN PEE WITH NEW STUFF SURROUNDING ME! And then, yet again, before we knew it, it was time to call it a day, and Sunshine had to leave me.

Tears. Hugs. Lots of love.  It sucked though.  BUT THEN! TA DA! My cousin Jordan & his lovely girlfriend came to the rescue and went to dinner with me so that I wouldn't be in the fetal position all day.  We had a great time catching up, and it is seriously SO nice to have family only 25 minutes away! CRAZY! I've lived at least 6 hours from any and all family members for 4 1/2 years.  It's QUITE the luxury to be so close!

Anyway, I'll wrap this up (before my allowance of 30 minutes of wifi expires) with a few pros of living alone.. because the cons are obvious, and depressing.

UNO - I've been wearing the same sweat pants since Monday evening.

DOS - I wouldn't even HAVE TO WEAR THOSE PANTS if I didn't want to! (sorry Mom, but it's true!)

TRES - ...... I'll think of another one, and report out.

"Kirk out. "

xx. Mayonnaise.