magicalmartha | Entries tagged with working girl

I got my hair cut last Saturday, and it is Very Short. I'm kinda pissed about it, since the stylist took off several inches more than I asked her to, but it's kinda cute and hair grows.

I also had my eyes examined for the first time since I first got glasses, about four years ago. I REALLY needed my prescription changed, since I'm having trouble reading street signs and recognizing people unless they're a foot away from me. My new glasses should be here today; I need to call the optometrist and see if they came in.

I saw The Hurt Locker, Up in the Air, and The Wolfman, all of which I enjoyed to varying degrees. (For my evaluation of The Hurt Locker, see my blog; discussions of the other two are forthcoming.) Watched Zombieland at home last night, it was superfun.

Not a whole lot going on right now. Work is alternately mind-numbingly stressful and hardcore boring. Today is one of those stressful days.

Current Mood: cold

I had a conversation with a friend the other day about being an adult. I have a myriad of concerns now that I never had before - how my paychecks translate into rent, bills, and food, what my medical costs are, how stable my job is, whether or not there's beer in the fridge. I'm also now in a position that won't change unless I take personal initiative, which is such a massive difference from being in school (where you progress continually unless something extreme happens). It got me thinking: if my life won't change unless I want it to, where would I like to be a year from now? Two years from now?

In two years and change I'll be turning 25. That's a significant number - I'm past all the "legal" birthdays, but 25 is a quarter of a century. People are ESTABLISHED at 25. Many of them are married. Most, I think, know what they want to do for a living for the rest of their lives (this is my fantasy, at least). So I decided to make a list of what I wanted to be true in my life by the time I turn 25. I think it is a good list; the only problem is that one of the items is "know what I want to do and be in the entry level/beginning stages of doing that."

I have NO IDEA how I want to make a living for the rest of my life. In vague terms, I would like to work closely with a small number of people, provide a helpful service to others, and, if possible, work from home or on terms that allow me to set my own schedule. I do not want to own my own business, although I think I would be good at doing the administrative stuff for someone else's small business. I am about 95% confident that I do not want to go back to school, at least not for more than a year or eighteen months.

At least I'm thinking about this... I didn't for a long time, and while I don't think that's been detrimental to my life, it is definitely something I need to get worked out for myself.

(Also, two new blog entries since last I told you about it. Alternative Read)

Current Mood: thoughtful

I would really, really love to be able to make a living by working at home. Are there any possibilities, besides computer tech (which I don't have the skillz for) and full-time writer (which I'm not famous enough for [yet]), that allow me to do this? Because srsly, how awesome would life be if I could write my own schedule.

I like my job security, no doubt, and I'm not complaining one tiny bit about being gainfully employed in a job that doesn't suck, where I get to work with people who like me and do things that are interesting abou 60% of the time. It's just...the only thing I miss about school was being able to dictate my own schedule and do things on my time.

Current Mood: contemplative

Quickquick notes before I leave work for the day:

I didn't watch the Golden Globes, but I did see the red carpet photos - I'm going to go on record and say that Zoe Saldana looked eight kinds of fabulous, and I HATED Maggie Gyllenhal's dress. But I think my personal best-dressed for the evening was Christina Hendricks - girl got CURVES, and bravo to Christian Siriano (yay Project Runway winners who actually go on to careers!) for not only embracing those curves, but constructing a ruffle that was not only flattering but perfectly fitted. Also, that color? TO DIE FOR. ~~I have big boobs, Christian! Can you make me a fabulous evening gown?~~

In less dressed news, I had no idea Amanda Palmer was such an attention whore. Really? You had to get undressed on the red carpet, not shave your armpits, and be basically naked underneath? I am sure she is a talented musician (I have never actually listened to the Dresden Dolls), but this kinda makes me not want to.

In other news, red carpet fashion makes me writhe in jealousy because it is basically my life-long dream to get dressed to the nines in some ridiculously expensive dress and go to an awards show. I used to want to attend the Oscars exclusively, but now I think I'd rather go to the Globes because it looks like people have more fun.

Work is...work. It's good, actually. I'm still doing part-time assistant-type stuff for Douchebag & Co., which is interesting because at this point I don't think they could wipe their own asses without me. I took a week off and Douchebag Jr. kept asking my dad if I was ever coming back. So it's nice to know I'm indespensible.

Dizzy's been going through a hyper-aggressive biting stage, but the internet tells me that this, too, shall pass. Until then I've been more vigilant about punishment, even though the extent to which I can punish something that weighs less than a standard envelope is putting him on the floor and ignoring him. We'll see if it works.

Last thing: my parents may be getting a new car, which means I'm getting the old one. I've never owned a car before...it's kind of exciting and kind of expensive all at once.

Current Mood: busy

On Friday I skipped work to have a mole removed from my foot. The mole was not cancerous, but my dermatologist said it was definitely a "high risk" blemish - words that made me nervous enough to have the whole thing cut out. So now I have four stitches in the really thin skin right about my heel on the inside of my right foot. It hurts to walk, so I've been moving in this kind of twisted club foot-esque fashion. When strangers ask me why I'm limping, I've been telling them mysteriously that I have a congenital birth defect.

But seriously, if I don't know you, why would you care about my foot? Or expect me to share?

Before I got my parrot, I did a lot of reading on them - what they eat, what their habits are, that kind of thing. Because I am a responsible pet owner. Almost everything I read said that conures like to have hidey holes, things to poke their heads in, and things to sleep in. So when I set up Dizzy's sleeping cage I included a fuzzy sleeping tent. I had no idea if he was actually using it or not, because he always wakes up before I do; but Monday morning, I slept all the way through to my alarm and realized Dizzy wasn't making noise in his cage, waiting to be let out. I pulled the sheet off and had a split second panic attack because I couldn't see him in the cage at all - until I noticed the long red tail feathers poking out the end of the fuzzy tent. He didn't move or make a sound until I tugged on his tail feathers, wherein he immediately poked his head out the other end all "What? A guy can't get five more minutes?"

And it was pretty much the cutest thing ever.

There are three firms that work on the floor that my dad's firm is on. One is a two-man team that just broke off of my dad's firm. They're very used to using the assistants in the office to do their filing and such, but one of them is such an asshole that as soon as they formed their own firm all of us were like "Oh good, we don't have to deal with them anymore." But since they do still need administrative help, I've been hired to do part time work for them (about 5-7 hours a week) at an additional income of $20 an hour (which is slightly more than my normal hourly rate). As a consequence, I will end up staying later or coming in earlier more often so as not to affect my salary, but hey, extra cash is extra cash. I will gladly come in an hour early to the tune of an extra $100 a week.

I got my shipping notice for my copy of Star Trek. While I'm slightly annoyed that I don't have it NOW THIS INSTANT, I'm willing to wait for the sake of the discounted price I paid for it.

My mom has decided she wants to see more movies in theaters, a result of which is that I get to see more movies in theaters. We saw Coco Before Chanel on Sunday, which was pretty much brilliant, and tonight we're going to see An Education. I've also been holding weekly movie nights, the goal of which is to bring films most people haven't seen before, and so far it's a resounding success. Our roster so far:
Sunshine
The Slipper and the Rose
A Boy and His Dog
Frailty
Night of the Hunter (which I'd seen! Did Seth show me this? I don't remember!)
I've got Saving Face on the backburner, and my mom gave me a pamphlet with cult films on it from the library, so undoubtedly movie nights will only get more interesting.

Current Mood: mellow

I've been sleeping rather well, although I woke up this morning and my room felt like the Sahara. All our radiators are on now, and leave a horrible whistling and dry heat in their wake. The heat bothers me, and the noise upsets Dizzy like nothing else I've ever seen. This morning he was making sad little distressed noises that were pretty much heartbreaking; I sat with him snuggled into my chest until I had to leave for work, which seemed to soothe him a bit. He's currently hunkered down under my ear and into the crook of my neck.

I've been handed a project at work that is almost too big for me. I'm calculating damages for an entire class, and the defense council demanded it today before they filed a motion to compel. Suffice to say, I did not get it done; I had to take some of it home so I can hopefully get it done by the end of the week. If they file today it won't go through until Friday, so hopefully it'll be done by then so my attorney can be like, "Here Judge, this is what they so doucheishly asked for, we have it right here."

I ate a caramel apple yesterday, and it tasted like autumn. All the leaves are turning color and looking beautiful, and I can wear my awesome woolly slippers around the house. I love fall.

Current Mood: lazy

Over the weekend, my parents helped me move a bed frame and a boxspring into the apartment so I don't have to sleep on the floor anymore. It's more comfortable and better ventilated, although floor space is in short supply. Luckily the apartment is established in such a way that I'm only really in my bedroom for sleeping; my desk, and computer are both in the common room next to the birdcage, in order to foster socializing and communal behavior.

I'm essentially moved in, only have a box or three left to unpack and it's mostly kitchen equipment. I've definitely been slower on unpacking my dishware because my boyfriend doesn't live in a cardboard box and has plenty of dishes and glasses. I'll get it sorted out eventually. I need some under the bed storage for my room, because my dresser is too small to fit all my clothes and my room is too small to unnecessarily take up floor space. And now I have a bed frame to fit things underneath.

Work is going excellently. I work primarily with two of the partners in the office, and today they both told me that they thought I was doing a fantastic job; that I had accomplished everything that had been asked of me in an exemplary manner, and just generally going above and beyond what was expected of me. It made me feel really warm inside ~~and maybe my Christmas bonus will be awesome~~.

( A saga of love and elves )

/comic nerdery

I am so far EXTREMELY impressed with the fall television line-up. Everything I know and love is back and strong (the season premier of House was one of the best episodes I've seen since second season) and if you're not watching Glee, you really should be.

I'm in for NaNo, guys. I don't know what I'm doing, but hell, why not? I have a couple of story ideas up my sleeve.

Current Mood: cheerful

I am so phenomenally frustrated with one particular person that I needed to take two minutes of my day to tell you about it.

1. I am a professional, and I have been nothing but sympathetic to your problem. Please stop treating me like a soulless corporate drone.

2. Your paycheck is being taxed by New Jersey because it is a PAYCHECK you EARNED when you WORKED IN NEW JERSEY. I understand that tax laws may be a new and scary thing to you, but this is simply how the world works.

3. The more you yell at me to fix your check amount, the less sympathetic I become and the more likely I am to transfer you to the partner in the office who is the least likely to take your bullshit.

4. Yes, you are the person who started the class action. No, this does not entitle you to special treatment.

I need a better angry icon.

Current Mood: aggravated

The receptionist in my dad's office got fired yesterday, and the partners in his firm were apparently all "Is your daughter doing anything? Because we like her. She's friendly and stuff." So all of a sudden I have a real job, in the real world, with a real salary and benefits and everything. I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed about it, because even though this is exactly what I was looking for I sort of expected there to be an interview process and all of that, but I'm not looking this gift horse in the mouth. I'm EXTREMELY lucky that this happened, and SO excited about actually having the money to do things like move out of my parents' house.

Which I'm fixing to do in the next month or so, I think. My boyfriend lives in a three bedroom apartment, and two of his roommates are moving out, so I'm going to take one of the extra rooms (he has another friend who's taking the third room). I think it will be a good arrangement. It's something we've been talking about for a while, and I really like Anthony the other friend, and I think the three of us will co-habitate in a friendly fashion. Plus his landlord is pet-friendly, so Dizzy can come too with no problems.

I'm keeping the job at Borders, at least for the short term. I'll be working weekends until it taxes my sanity too much to continue - I didn't feel comfortable completely jumping ship, even though they haven't been the best about schedules and suchlike. The extra money won't hurt, plus I like the work and the employee discount will always be awesome.

GenCon is this weekend, which I'm SUPER excited about - Privateer Press is releasing the new faction book for the new WarMachine army, and the rules for a battle team-based game called Malifluer will also be debuting, both of which I'm extremely interested in. I am looking forward to being a complete and total nerd for a weekend.

Current Mood: optimistic

I feel like hell. My head hurts, my stomach hurts like I'm hungry but I have no interest in food, and I feel sweatingly hot and shiveringly cold at the same time. Last night I turned my fan off because I decided it would be better to sweat than to be too cold and too hot at the same time, and I woke up absolutely drenched. I've turned off the AC in my house prematurely because I'm having so many temperature issues. So now I'm overheated and sweaty again, but I also don't feel like I'm going to freeze my skin off. Also I am drinking LOTS of orange juice.

Suffice to say I called in sick to work today and tomorrow, which I hated doing but I really think I needed to. Being on my feet for five hours when standing up makes me dizzy, and also being around food when I'm pretty sure I've got the flu, seems like an EXTREMELY bad idea to me. So now I'm watching movies with Dizzy, who is happily trying to eat the keys off my laptop.

What I really want is some Italian ice, because it's cold and refreshing and not filling. But I don't trust myself to drive.

Current Mood: sick

I finally have a typical schedule at Borders this week, which is phenomenal. I'm on for 24 hours, which still isn't full time, but it's at least the same that everyone else is getting. So I'm not quite as pissed off with them as I was last week.

I've been feeling sort of off kilter these last couple of days, and I was really afraid for a bit there that I was getting sick. Thankfully, this does not seem to be true, as today I'm feeling quite well. Which is especially good this week, since I will undoubtedly be engaging in all sorts of shenanigans.

Well, probably not. But I could, since my entire family is now out of the state for the next week. My sister is up in Wisconsin with some of her school friends, and as far as I can tell they're basically planning on being drunk for the week. My parents are in the Florida panhandle, where my uncle has rented a house for the next couple of weeks - I declined to go because of work, and also because while I love my family, having that many of us in such a contained space is really a recipe for disaster. Or at least a couple of really good fights. So I'm holding down the fort with Dizzy and the dogs and trying not to be too lonely.

Work will help. So will Shark Week, and Billy, who said he'd keep me company.

Meet Dizzy! :D

He's wonderful Hasn't shown any fear at all since I picked him up from the airport on Friday. We had a vet checkup yesterday to make sure everything was working correctly, and he only really got twitterpated when they trimmed his nails. He's eating, which was a bit of a worry of mine... The woman at the pet shop that I Tweeted about was mainly concerned that I was getting him too young, that he wouldn't actually be weaned when I got him and thus wouldn't eat the pellets or produce I offered. He's a little wary of the produce stuff, but we're learning slowly that it's ok - yesterday we learned that carrots and corn are AWESOME.

We also had bathtime, which was brilliant - once he figured out that the dish wasn't dangerous, he got right in there and was ruffling all his feathers to get wet. Birdie bathtime is one of my very favorite things. :D

Today I'm going grocery shopping to get some highly nutritious produce and beans for him; one of things everyone (including my vet) agrees on is that variety and a healthy diet are some of the most important things in conure care. Apparently the leading cause of shortened lifespans in conures in improper diet, so DIzzy and I are enacted Mission: Conure Salad today. I have a recipe for a really good bean/rice/corn mix and also a good salad combo for him that I'd like to try him on.

Work last night was fine, a bit boring. I am concerned about how many hours I will actually be getting versus how many hours they said I could get, but everything will change in the fall when a couple people go back to school, so I'm going to sit tight and see what happens. I'm the lowest person on the totem pole at the moment, so even if I try and scrape more hours I don't think I'll have much luck. But I have something which is better than nothing, and it fills the time well.

Current Mood: happy

I sent in my down payment on Dizzy, so he is officially the bird I will be receiving. I bought a birdcage and bedding today, and will be getting some toys this weekend (I'm going to wait to get food until RIGHT before he arrives, just so I know it won't spoil or anything). So now Keith the breeder just needs to arrange the flight, and Dizzy and I can begin our birdie friendship. :D

I also started my job at Borders FINALLY. I went in on Thursday and filled out all of the paperwork, and did some training stuff. It's funny, it took me like four weeks at the Java House to get to learn how to use the espresso machine, and Borders got me on it the very first day - my supervisor had me make a latte, a cappuchino, and three different kinds of mocha before my "shift" was over. I'm working next week Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday, and hopefully after my training is done I'll be getting more hours as I can work more by myself. It'll be nice to have something to DO, although I'll be sad to see my free time go out the window.

I'm almost done painting a unit of Dryads for my wood elf army, which is significant to me because they will be my very first completed unit of any models. I had to take a break from my elf guard because their cloaks ended up the wrong color, it's a much more teal shade of blue than I wanted (I'm doing a winter themed army, so I'm trying for a more gray color). I think I'll be ready to rethink them following my success flush after the Dryads. /nerd moment

I watched Dead Snow tonight with Billy and my dad, and EVERYONE SHOULD SEE THIS MOVIE. It's NAZI ZOMBIES. NO REALLY. ZOMBIE THAT ARE ALSO NAZIS. And it's Norwegian, too, so it features a whole lot of Scandinavian rock music. :D

Current Mood: giddy

I had a really good Fourth. I love going to Minnesota - my mom's family is from there - and every time I come back I have the sort of reflective thought that I could live there at some point. My aunt and uncle's house is fantastic; they have a HUGE lawn framed by this gorgeous thick spread of trees, so it's perfectly balanced between civilization and wilderness. My aunt is also an avid gardener, and their back garden is lovely and peaceful. Also they get MASSES of interesting birds at their feeder, including a pileated woodpecker who doesn't think he's too large for their feeder (but he really, really is) and lots of hummingbirds.

Point being, if I ever needed to restart my life, Minnesota/Minneapolis is on the list of places I would move to.

I finally made contact with the folks at Borders, and I'm going in on Thursday to fill out my paperwork and I'll start training next week. I've really been frustrated with the treatment I've gotten there so far - never once have they called me back when they've said they were going to. In every single case, they've given me a date by which I should expect to hear from them, and the dates go by three or four days before I lose patience and call them myself. And every time I get "No one called you? They should have called you three days ago!" No, no one called me back. That's why I'm calling. Because, you know, I'd REALLY LIKE to start making money. *headdesk*

My plan to read only books I've never read before this summer is so far a success. My next book is The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Murakami, which I recently found I was NOT the only person on the planet not to have read yet. It just felt like it sometimes ~~but that's because I talk to Sam about books when I shouldn't.~~ I'm looking forward to it, though.

You know what else I'm looking forward to? The continuation of summer movies.
Public Enemies
Harry Potter
The Ugly Truth
G.I. Joe
Julie and Julia
District 9
The Time Traveler's Wife
Final Destination 4
Because OF COURSE the world needed another Final Destination movie. IN THREE DEE YOU GUYS. That's almost as good as the Choose-Your-Own-Adventure flavor of the last one. Oh God, please let Hollywood continue to make idiotic sequels to stupid movies that obviously exist only for my personal entertainment. I would hate to think that filmmakers were starting to take themselves too seriously.

Current Mood: cheerful

Yesterday I thought it might be interesting to look up what it takes to get a paralegal certificate, since that's just the official name for the work I do for my dad anyway. I was thinking getting the certificate might be a good idea, since I could probably make more money and get work at other lawfirms. And what did I find out that the average paralegal can make in a year?

Up to $60K. A year. My mom said that the paralegals working at CitiCorp when she was there were making <B>$80K</B>.

So yeah. New plan, guys. Not just a frivolous one, either - I LIKE working in my dad's firm. It's interesting work, there's always something to do, and I'm smack in the middle of the city. I do not want to go to law school or become a lawyer, but yeah, I do find law interesting and I know I can handle the work of a paralegal. Plus, there are several accredited online programs OR schools in the Chicago area I could attend; with my BA, it wouldn't take more than a year or two to finish the accredation.

Although, I was very irritated with the Kaplan people yesterday - barely twenty minutes after I requested info from their site, they were CALLING me at work to talk to me. When I politely explained that I was at work, and would there be a better time for me to call them back? the woman on the phone said it would only take a minute and proceeded to talk at me for twenty more minutes. I confess to being rather rude, since I was, you know, at WORK, but she seriously just kept going. I didn't want to hang up on her, since I am interested in their program, but really? Even after I said I couldn't talk, because I was at work, which is a completely reasonable place for me to be at 3:30 in the afternoon, you had to keeeeeeeeep going?

And then later in the day I got ANOTHER call. It wouldn't have been so bad, except I indicated on the sites that I was not looking for immediate enrollment - that this was a very in-the-future sort of deal, so no, I am not going to know exactly what I am doing NOW THIS INSTANT. And repeating your questions about eight times won't get a better answer from me. So I'm screening my calls for the next couple of days - I don't like being trapped on the phone with nothing useful to say, especially when I didn't ask for the call.

Current Mood: complacent

I feel like I've been assimilated into some kind of yuppie collective... I get up at 7 to go to work, wear polo shirts, and have taken to reading the Wall Street Journal on the train and at lunch. Good thing this job is only temporary, or I might actually lose my mind.

Speaking of jobs, I got called in for an interview with the cafe at the Borders in my hometown, and it went pretty much brilliantly. It's a two-interview process, and Laura, the cafe manager I interviewed with yesterday, said she would definitely be calling me about setting up the second interview on either Friday or Monday. She said she was really impressed with my experience, and how I answered her hypothetical "WHAT IF THIS HAPPENS" questions, and I think that the fact that the hospital Java House serves more people in two hours than the Borders does all day convinced her I could handle shifts by myself, early morning, weekends, whatever. So I'm pleased about that; if I can do this full time, it'd pretty much be exactly what I wanted for the next couple of years or so.

Until then, I am sitting at a desk in my dad's law office, sorting employee documents so an immigration expert can go through them later and figure out who's an illegal immigrant and who's not. Honestly, it's not that bad; I'm putting it in an Excel document, so I have unrestricted access to the internet, everyone who works here is really nice, and as long as I make progress I can come and go as I please. And sometimes my dad buys me lunch. :3

( Wargaming nerdery )

Today I have to have my wisdom teeth checked out by my dentist, and HOPEFULLY he will tell me I can have them pulled, like, tomorrow. They hurt and it's making me whiney...

S	M	T	W	T	F	S
1	2	3	4	5	6	7
8	9	10	11	12	13	14
15	16	17	18	19	20	21
22	23	24	25	26	27	28
29	30

Accomplishing Escapism

Muffling the Sounds of the Real World

Blargh

Life Questions

So I've been thinking

(no subject)

Smatterings

Also, the early seasons of Buffy are SUPER dated

Netflix is also awesome

HULK SMASH

When it rains it pours, but I like this shower

I've caught the deathplague

Solitary week

My little dude

(no subject)

Fireworks are awesome

Possible career path

You know what they say about all work and no play...

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September 2013

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