Yuck, What A Mess

Whenever I sit down to blog a huge BLALSHHHHH of words tries to go from my mind to my keyboard and--- yuck, what a mess.

An attempt to post short and sweet:

I quit both my jobs and got a new one. It took me months to find a job last summer and all it took this time was 14 days. GREAT. Last week a lady asked me if I play softball. Does that mean I look like a lesbian? A lady at Curves slipped me a piece of paper informing me of this before she left today. Think whatever you want, for I have nothing more to say about it. Well, except that I'm slightly insulted. HA. And confused.

While at Smith's, a homeless person informed me that if I didn't lock up my bike someone would steal it. Pretttyyy sure when he said "someone", he was referring to himself. After all, his wheelchair was taken the day before Christmas, therefore leaving him without a form of transportation. True? Probably not.

I love my friends. Really. LOVELOVELOVE. Without them, I think I would be a mushy mess of used lovesick and loneliness. But instead, I'm a punkrocker, yes I am.


I'm looking forward to no school and good weather but the closer it gets, the sadder I am that I won't be in Salt Lake. Oh well, no turning back now. SUMMER I WILL DOMINATE YOU WITH GOOD TIME LOVE. Even if I have no one to do it with.

Losing My Artistic Bread Braiding Ability

I got home from work at 6:30 this morning. Was it worth the $7.25 to go in at 5:30 and help for an hour? Mmm.. Not really. I always get myself into these things. I'm going on strike, right now. No more volunteering for me, at least until someone is willing to cover one of my shifts. The only days I've been able to get off this whole break were Christmas eve, Christmas, New Years eve, and New Years-- KK gave me 3 days off this last week and since I wasn't double shifting at Curves anymore, I figured I'd try to get my minimal two shifts off so I could spend some more time with my family. Nope. No one would do it.

I covered one of the employees shifts for 2.5 weeks in December and she wouldn't cover 2 weekday shifts for me because she had "plans". Plans? GIRL, you just went on vacation for almost the whole entire break. UGAH. On top of that, I have one of these to pick up tomorrow morning, so I asked the same girl if she'd switch me Saturdays [because the pick up time is right as I get off, and if I don't pick up my basket right then, it gets donated] but, nope again, she's got "plans".

This is the girl I volunteered to help this morning. At 5:30. AM. And yeah, I had plans. I was planning on staying up as long as I wanted to. and sleeping. UNTIL NOON.

Sorry, girl. Never again. Totally striking. Rightn ow.

Since I was up so incredibly early, and couldn't get back to sleep, I decided to check an item off my list and make a few loaves of cardamom bread. [Side note: Cardamom bread is a Swedish bread my family makes every winter. Delicious tradition!] This, my friends, is a 3 hour process. Or takes me 3 hours anyways. Before 10 am, I had also done the dishes, cleaned my room, read from These Is My Words, gone grocery shopping, and listened to Fleet Foxes, Bon Iver, Sufjan Stevens, ke$ha, and Justin Beiber. Good morning!

[It's supposed to be braided 4 way. Not very pretty, but still, it's an improvement from last time and that's given me hope.]

Block Pusher

Usually this tiny, frail Vietnamese lady comes into Curves while I'm working. Her name is To. Pronounced "toe". Well, that's how I pronounce it anyways... Ha. Who REALLY knows, right? Just kidding.

Anyways, I'm getting better at understanding her but she has this tremendous accent that is so hard to interpret most of the time, so I usually just nod and say "Oh yeah!" really enthusiastically. It took 2 or 3 conversations about her blood pressure before I realized that's what we were even talking about. It sounded like she was saying "block pusher"- and for all I know that could have been a real thing! .. Maybe. Ha.

At the beginning of this week when I asked her how her weekend was she proceeded to tell me about how she went to a big building around Provo with lots of animals inside. My first thought was that it was Cabelas, definitely Cabelas. So, I asked her.

"Was it called Cabelas?" She paused and looked at me so confused, said "no, no, no..", then started telling me how there were fish inside. "Oh yeah! Were there fishing poles?" Same amount of confusion- "no, no..". I continued to ask her if it was even a store, if there were camping supplies, clothes, etc. Turns out- yep- she bought a coat there. So, I asked her again "Was it called Cabelas?" and she said "No, I find out for you."

Okay, okay.

A morning or two later, having completely forgotten about the conversation- I'm in the circuit talking with all the ladies and To comes in. Upon greeting her she says "here- something for you", reaches into her pocket and pulls out a tiny scrap of paper and hands it to me.

Guess what was written on it.





HAAAAA.

(:

- Shlife -

I went into Curves a few days ago and the owner pulled me aside. She told me how a previous member had come in looking for me, wanting to know how I was doing.

"She was very anxious to see you.
... There have been a lot of ladies very anxious to see you. "

It feels so good to hear that. The friendships I have with those ladies make my minimum wage job worth it. Lacking a healthy amount of close relationships up here, I lean on them for encouragement as much as than they lean on me. It's really nice, and sometimes I wonder what I would do without them.

[PS. I've been slacking as a blogger, but it feels really good when real life prevents me from getting on here.]

- Not Like My Job Is Hard Or Anything.. -

I feel like my work takes advantage of me.

As a 7.25/hour employee (formally a 6.55/hour employee), I get annoyed having to..

wrap massive display Christmas presents over my Thanksgiving break..
create displays and promotions for 3 clubs..
run fliers all over town..
attend the weight management class..
do Curves laundry at my apartment complex..
become CPR certified..

.. while not getting paid for any of it and PAYING for some of it.

Time is too valuable to work for free.

It's cheap of the business to give the employees mandatory tasks to accomplish on their own time, unpaid. And it's even more cheap of the business to drop commissions. Sometimes I can't help but think-

"Why should I work so hard to help this company stay afloat in the economy, when they won't help me do the same?"

My mom pays better and is better to her employees. I just get depressed thinking about it. ):

I've just got to remember I'm there for my evening ladies, not for anything else.

- Minimum Wage -

I just spent my WHOLE LIFE wrapping those fake presents for Curves. My roommates are going to wake up and think it's the best Christmas ever.

- 2 Eggs, 1 Orange -

Today was my first day doing the Curves weight management plan with my mother. So far, so good!

P.s. Today's episode of 90210 was the worst one I've ever seen. :(

- The Power Is On -

This was the picture I ended up blowing up and turning in for surprisingly good reviews. HUGE RELIEF.

Today was my last day at CURVES. :) . For those of you who know me well, you know this is a pretty big deal and probably the best news of the year, though, there are some pretty dang great ladies there and I'll miss them all. Examples- ready for this? - Dorie, Ronda, Nancy, Marilyn, Mary, Jolene, Julie, Teresa, Genial, Annette, Wendy, Kristi, Marlene, Leila, Vicky, Susan, Shirley, Tracy, Paige, Tiffany and Carol, Carolyn, Lisa, Odean, Julie, Carrie, Jennifer, Kristi, and I could just go on and on...
What a great bunch.

I'm super glad things are winding down. There's no more 2d design, after midnight there will be no more computer science, there is-basically- no more history of photography, there is no more Curves, oh it feels great.

- Throw Down -

Today, at my job, the ladies told me about the different April Fools Day goofs they'd played, or were played on them. I heard about drawers being taped shut, clocks being changed, impossible workload requests at jobs, fake tattoos, etc. and I thought to myself "Okay, these are some kind of cool ideas..".
BUT THEN- one of the members said that she'd told her elementary class that they had to go to the office and get their kindergarten shots again. All I can say to that is.. 'LOL'. That is freakin' hilarious. She said most of her class started bawling (even at this age, that is probably what I would of done too), with the exception of one girl who stood up and said "I'll go first, let's get this over with". HA. Super dang awesome.

After researching about the holiday on the internet this morning and then hearing other peoples stories at work, I realize I did not fulfill my quest to successfully celebrate this holiday, like I thought I wanted to. There is so much more I could have done.. and I'm sad this is all I did..

1) Told Megan Bell her favorite band was coming to concert April 8th in Salt Lake. (Sorry to fire-breathe your world Megan.. )

2) Told Carli Bahm a dirty lie.. ha ha.. but she didn't believe me at all because she knows me too well. (Bummer.. )

3) Wiped (with a tissue- MEGAN BELL - because touching toilet seats isn't my thing) Vaseline on Megan Kings toilet seat. And about that- she never said anything and now I'm curious as to which of the following is true:

A) She didn't notice.
B) She liked it.
C) She already hates me.. so she just didn't say anything. *
D) She's like those people on the East coast who crouch, instead of actually sit on the toilet seat.

4) Stomped on a slush puddle and got Megan and Andee all wet. (Spontaneous!)

-Click HERE for Megan's extended version of this event.

5) Told my parents to call my government teacher, Mr. Lyons, because he wanted to speak to them and gave them the number to the zoo. JUST KIDDING. ANDEE DID THAT. But it's such a good idea I just had to add it to my list. Plus I love 90210, and stealing other peoples stories reminds me of it. :)

6) Skipped some of my classes.. Oh wait, Ha.

The End.

PS. Sometimes I survive epic battles. AWESOME.


*Probable. But, Megan King, please know it was all in good fun.

----------------------------------Megan Bell's Post About The Day---------------------------------------------------------------

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Yes, I am pleased with myself.

Today, Mandy, Andee, and I had just left our Poli Sci class and were heading into the library. Mandy jumped into a puddle of slush, which then sprayed all over mine and Andee's pants. As Andee and I screamed our displeasure, I saw the wheels turning on Mandy's face as she realized once again that it was April Fool's day, and she did not have to take the blame. She yelled, "April Fools!" and I muttered, "How convenient..."

I'll let Mandy tell you the rest of the story.

My bosses just asked me to make a 36 by 24 inch banner that says "Married, but still looking" complete with phone number and all. There was talk of someone's back windshield ... I made the banner, and gave it to them. No questions asked. I sure hope the victim can't trace it back to me ... :)

- Fell Down The Stairs -

Didn't but might as well have.
Today a manager from one of the other clubs mistake me for the new girl. I hate that. Then, she called me Megan.. Ummm, hello? I've worked there for how long? I might work with 2 Megans and live with 2 Megans but that is not, nor will it ever be, my name.

Besides that little experience, this SATURDAY SATURDAY has been a good one. I've been relaxing, eating nachos...


Listening to shuffle/the rocket summer, chatting with Levi, re-reading my oh-so-awesome post to Levi from last night [definitely the most winningly cheesy paragraph ever in the history of all facebook wall writes], and replying to Andee's awesome blogness. She's such a sweety pie, writing such nice things about Megan and I on her blog and putting such pulchritudinous pictures of us on there. THANKS ANDEE-KINS. I THINK YOU THE BOMB.


Yes, Andee I AM using this picture. :) Miss you poopy.

note:
It's my sister tori's birthday today! whoo!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY T-bee!

- Andee's Post About Megan and I Below -

Titled: " Some of the Coolest People I Know"

This is my Roomate Mandy

Yes, Mandy I AM using this picture.

I know, this is a COMPLETELY Random post,

but she is pretty much really awesome.

I got L U C K Y with my roommates.

I went up to school all by myself, and met all of my roommates when I moved in.

They are AWESOME.

I sometimes don't think I will ever stop laughing when Mandy and I are together.

Mandy and Eric.

No. They're not dating.

I have decided though, that if by some miracle I ever DO get married.

I am going to get a picture like this for my announcement.

ha.

This is Megan. she's not technically my roommate,

but she is at my apartment more than she is at her own,

so she pretty much is.

I DON'T stop laughing when she is around. Her nickname is "laugh of my life" because I really don't stop. she is SO funny. Seriously. You would LOVE her.

We also recently just learned that we are distantly related..by marriage.

My awesome Aunt MaryJane's husbands, cousin..is Megans dad.

Crazy right?

I'm only touching her leg in this picture,

because she hates it when people touch her leg.

lol..in case you were wondering.

************

Haaaa. The best.

- What The Guitars Said About The Firmament -

When I go home on weekends, I probably make.. two or three attempts to hang out with old friends (Tomas, Trent, Carli..) and then I just stick with hanging out with my family. In high school I wouldn't of been OK with that but now I am. I really love the time I spend with my family even though it means sometimes being included in hour long lectures given by my father about a midnight curfew (he would die if he knew my night time schedule at school). Yes I got one of those this weekend when Jake, Ross, and I wanted to go out for a night on the town.

Ross wanted to go to neon night, or something, and Jake and I wanted to go to the Heidi's place and play games. Since we were both headed toward Salt Lake area, we thought we would take one car but this meant at least an hour of drop off/ pick up time for one of us.. and after being told our curfew was 12, we decided that wasn't gonna work. So Ross took off to his party and Jake and I stayed home and played guitar together which was still way fun. I miss hanging out with Jake like in the good old days, so now when I'm home and we get the opportunity to do stuff like play guitar together, it's super awesome. What's lame though is Jake always spends all his time with Heidi.

Most of the rest of the weekend I spent with my mom- Saturday we spent the morning working a Curves booth at the diabetes expo at the South Town Expo Center and that was actually really fun. I enjoyed talking with all the ladies there who were interested in Curves. After that, we traveled everywhere it feels like. We went to Provo then back up to Sandy and went and ate with grandma, grandpa, and Uncle Doug. It was a loongg day but we had a lovely time. Then Sunday we skipped Sunday school together and made rolls / slept (I slept, ha.). AWESOME.

Sunday had plenty of good times, like playing guitars and talking with Carli, eating a scrumptious dinner.. and visiting Andee's aunt during their mass family get together, but the best part was riding in a car back to Logan with Megan Bell, Elicia and Andee. Ha. The whole way was just a loud, laughing, flaming bundle of love flying up to Logan and it was so much fun.

My weekends/life aren't very fun to here about but I want to write about them anyways. My blog has become so lame and I sincerely apologize to the.. 3 people who read it. If that. .. ha.

P.S. OUR KITCHEN IS EXPERIENCING AN ANT INFESTATION.
I sprayed them all with toilet bowl cleaner and I hope they all die soon. :)

- Weeee Denny's -

Sometime around this post we (Elicia and I ...kind of Megan Bell too) pulled an all nighter (3rd one) and went to Denny's in Tremonton (we had no idea where it was, we went through the canyon and headed north) at 5:30 in the morning and arrived at 6:30 so we could wait in a huge line and get a free grand slam breakfast. We almost got killed by a sleeping semi on the way there. Anddd we got home by 8:30 and I still was late to class because I didn't finish my project (cause for all nighter) before we left to Denny's. It was fun. and I was really tired.)

P.S. I called the plasma donation center and they aren't run through a stable program so I'm not gonna go again unless I get another 50$ paycheck from my minimum wage job.

I'm getting way behind on my blogg...
too too much homework.

- And Today Was A Day Just Like Any Other -

I ultimately delayed getting to work this morning. I left myself 15 minutes to get there before we were supposed to open (7:30- early!). This was a bad idea because when I went out to my car, there was a solid .25 centimeters of ice on every window. I scraped as much as I could off (.. a few streaks here and there) and when I got inside- I was "hello"d with another large amount of ice on the INSIDE of my windshield. Wow. Tell me that's happened to you before.
---------------Ended up driving to work with my windows down so I could see.

I went grocery shopping twice today- the second time, when I looked down into my bag to get out my wallet, I noticed- whoop whoop,
my zipper was down. Embarrassing!


For the past few hours I've been drawing and erasing abstract bumblebees for my 2d design class. Cool. I'm far from done, but that's OK, because I'm mostly prepared to pull another all-nighter.

In the middle of doing my abstracts, I called my mom to notify her that I wasn't coming home unless there is good Superbowl food. An hour and a half or so, later, Carli Bahm texted me and told me she saw my dad at Smiths. :) I think my family loves me and wants me to come home for a visit.

- She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named -

I'd like to start off by saying- There's nothing like coming home from a really bad day at work, to find every single thing I own, except for my dishes, taken from downstairs and put onto my bed. Neat. OK. Next item of business..

Most often, I come out of work with stories about peoples children, students, political views.. and other good stuff. But today I came out with a singular story about one mean woman who undoubtedly beat out anyone else I've ever met at making me feel so miserable in such a short amount of time.

My job-
I'm a circuit trainer. I'm paid (my minimum wage) to sign members up, keep a good atmosphere, and help the ladies be successful. Part of helping these ladies lose weight, is making sure they are using the machines the correctly. This can be uncomfortable at times, correcting members, but it's something that I'm obligated to do and most woman are thankful for it. They would rather be corrected and successful than end up with a broken neck or pulled muscle because we didn't butt in.

My most common way of fixing poor machine behavior is by coming up next to the member and asking them if it's OK if I show them something they can change to have a better workout. Then I start telling them whether they want me to or not. The most common mistakes I fix are- not lifting elbows on the chest/back and not flexing feet on the adductor/abductor.

Today's case was that of the 'not flexing feet on the adductor/abductor'.

When she (who-must-not-be-named) came into my work, she didn't sign in. So, when she started working out, I went over and started trying to make conversation. I asked her what her name was and then asked if I'd met her before because I didn't remember if I had. She said we'd met the previous week and I apologized for not recognizing her and justified by letting her know I meet so many woman, it's sometimes hard to remember.

She went around the circuit her first time and continued onto her second. The whole time I watched, debating whether I should inform her of the importants of the recovery stations (she was skipping them) but I decided I would tell her next time she came in. I should of made the same decision, not to correct her, when she got to the adductor/abductor. When she was midway through using the machine, I went over to her and politely and kind of jokingly asked if i could give her a tip. After telling her, she fixed it for .05 seconds then went back to her old ways.

10 or so minutes later, she was on her way out and she came up to me. She handed me a travel pass and I realized she was from hyrum, so I asked her how it was over there. she said good.. then instantly bit my whole face off.

She told me how incredibly rude I was for singling her out in the circuit the way I did and that I was completely inconsiderate for correcting her both times she came in. Lovely. So I asked her when she came in last and she said Thursday. Well.. I didn't work Thursday. So trying to make her not feel as stupid as she was, I said that Megan had worked Thursday but we look alike so I could see how she mixed us up (we do NOT look alike). She then assured me that it was me working. Not someone else. Once again I told her I didn't work Thursday and she just cut me off and said "maybe it was Tuesday" and continued on about how rude I was. I did work Tuesday. But I had not met this lady before. She started telling me that I should have chosen a different way to correct her and that I should of passed her something to read. HA. A secret note? Yeah that's not.. weird and obvious.

I went to the back of the room and got her a paper explaining the muscles and how to use each machine and made her a photocopy so she could go home and read it. I then apologized for humiliating her and pointing her out, I let her know that I didn't mean anything by it and that I correct everyone that way. She-who-must-not-be-named then told me that "she's a teacher and she would NEVER point someone out" the way I pointed her out, because it was so inconsiderate.

At that point I asked her if there was one thing I could tell her right then, before next time, so I wouldn't have to point her out. She said yes with an eye roll. A mean one. And this is how it went-

"It's really important that you use the recovery stations becau-.."

"YEAH WELL IM NOT GOING TO. I DON'T HAVE ENOUGH PATIENCE TO JUMP AROUND ALL OVER THOSE."

"OK well.. "

.. She-who-must-not-be-named starts walking out the door.

"OK, once again, I'm sorry about pointing you out. I will try not to next time, and I don't know if I ever told you my name but it's Mandy."

"Mandy?"

"yup"

"OK."

"Bye she-who -must-not-be-named, drive safe."

Then I just about burst into tears because she really hurt my feelings. I try my best to be nice there, and yeah I'm a little awkward sometimes but that's not the same as being a flat out jerk.
I wonder if people (like she-who-must-not-be-named) who cause misery are ever happy themselves.