Stranded

Well, if you read my last post, I am car-less. We were going to get it fixed, but there ended up being more problems with it than we originally thought and it was going to be very expensive. Sarah Messing was nice enough to lend me her car today, actually! :)
Anyway, since I have been stranded and was asked to take a leave of absence from work until I figure out a car to buy (HOW to buy it, rather) and finals are over, I've been stuck at home almost every night. Not so fun, but I have been able to watch 3.9 seasons of Dexter! Great show! I highly recommend it. I am about to finish season 3. It's great. Gross and morbid, but great. Also, there is a guy in my MIS class that looks like Dexter and officially creeps me out. Now I am going to finish this season before I go back to studying my life away. I think this may be my last post! Now I won't have to bore people with my ramblings. Enjoy your summer and good luck with finals, everyone.

The little things

As the semester comes to an end, I see everyone's stress levels skyrocketing. Like everyone else, I am in the same boat. Finals, projects, jobs, living situations, etc... It all keep piling up for everyone, so it seems. However, to get through this difficult and high-stress next couple of weeks, try and think about the little things that make it all ok.

My car broke down this past weekend and will be roughly $2,000 to fix. Not exactly an ideal situation considering the car is a piece of junk and only worth about $1,500 tops. Still, my parents are refusing to co-sign a loan so I could junk that car and finally get a reliable car to use. I was pretty angry about this because I work Monday through Friday every week and need a way to get there. I am fixing my car even though it's not worth it, but my dad is helping me out. He doesn't want me to have a car payment while in college and doesn't want me to worry about debt any more than necessary. After simmering down from being so frustrated, I realized he is just looking into the best possible option for me as a student and part-time worker. In a few years, when I actually have a steady income and can afford a nice car among other things, I will look back on this as a small, silly situation even if it seems so big and horrible now.
It's helpful to look at every tough situation in that mindset--- will this really matter in 10 years? 5 years? Probably not. Savor the little things such as your health, your family's health and safety. I know, I know. It's easier said than done, but life goes on.

BUT I have to mention the best news of the week..... My uncle is sending me a FREE iPad!!!! YES, FREE! He won one and already has one. I am so thankful he actually thought of me out of everyone else to send it to. It made my day and even week so much better. :) Can't wait to play with my new toy!

Good luck on finals and graduation, everyone!

WORK.

This week at work my boss (the Marketing Director here at CityLink) is on vacation with her grandson. So, I have taken on all of the duties that she normally has. I have actually been enjoying myself with so much to do; it keeps me busy. However, I am a little lost since I've only been here about a month.
She has quite a bit to do on a daily basis, which makes me want to graduate and start doing something that will benefit my career ASAP. I admit I'm jealous of the seniors because they are graduating next month while I have to be cooped up in Baker for another year.
This is only if my finals don't kill me. Good luck everyone.

This summer, to take up some time, I'll be going back to interning at the East Peoria Chamber of Commerce as their marketing go-to again. It's unpaid because it's a not-for-profit organization, but it has really broadened my networking spectrum and allowed me to meet some very successful business people. Hopefully it'll land me a decent job after graduation next year...

End to a boring post. Sorry!

Fit

I literally live a boring life, sorry, not a whole lot to talk about... I went to a cubs game last weekend, and apparently we must have had a dirty hotel room (?!) because myself and one of my friends are sick with the exact same thing. Asked the doctor and it is a viral upper respiratory infection. I won't go into the graphic details.;)
Anyway, this has put a damper on my workout plan. I was also diagnosed with exercise-induced asthma, which is no surprise because I grew up with asthma. Anyway, I have been trying to do cardio every day, but obviously being unable to breathe is ruining that goal for right now. Hopefully this goes away quickly because bikini season is just around the corner!

Along the lines of health, make sure you aren't doing careless things such as ignoring pain/bumps/lumps, etc... hoping it will go away. One of my roommates' mothers just was diagnosed with Thyroid Cancer. This is one of the most common and curable of cancers, but still very scary. I know how it feels to have a cancer surprise in the family because my father had cancer as well. (He got through it though and has been in remission for several years, thank goodness) Things like that people assume will never happen to them, do. Just be aware and be careful of what runs in your family and would you could be prone to getting.

That's all the rambling I have in me right now.

CUBS

I really don't have much excitement going on in my life right now to talk about, but this weekend I am going to a CUBS/Brewers game in Milwaukee. Since the Brewers have only won one game thus far, I'm pretty confident that we'll pull out a big fat W! (knock on wood).
My first game being 21! :) Enough said. Even though it's supposed to be raining all weekend. Good thing Miller Park's dome closes!

Also, in late July, I'm going to St. Louis' Busch Stadium for a 2 game series of the Cub vs. Cardinals, ALL inclusive seats. Pretty excited. I love baseball season!

Hoping the weather keeps on getting warmer, though!

Thankful

So today I had to ride the city bus to become familiar with the routes since I was recently hired as the Marketing Assistant for CityLink. I was on the bus from 10-1:30. SERIOUSLY. I got lost because I was given some false instructions (will be bringing that up during my meeting with my boss!) and let me tell you.... I am extremely thankful to have my own car. You all should be too. The people that ride the city buses are much less fortunate and probably have never/will never have the opportunity to go to college or anything along those lines. I people watched a lot since I was floating around Peoria for about 4 hours. I then took a nap for 2 hours. It wore me out switching buses and stressing out, let me tell ya!

I don't think I will be doing that again. Definitely not willingly! Yay for Wednesday being over... closer and closer to the weekend!

Life's a Beach

... And I'm just playin' in the sand! :)

Last week was spring break.. MUCH NEEDED! I went to Gulf Shores, AL. It was absolutely breathtaking. I have never been to a more beautiful place in my life. I am happy to be back, (not to classes, obviously ;]  ) but will miss the beach!

I also started my new job as the Sales & Marketing Assistant at CityLink on Monday. It's a Monday through Friday job and so far, so good.  I am so excited for all of you seniors who have landed post-graduation jobs! Congrats and best wishes.

Puppy Love?

So, when my boyfriend visited me here at Bradley last weekend, I came up with the fabulous idea for him to leave our dog, Lilly, with me all week because I missed her.
Little did I know that she would leave me a poopy present in the kennel after class on Monday. Gee, thanks. Along with that surprise, she barks in her kennel the entire time I'm gone as well as steps on my face to wake me up every morning.
Yes, she did this when she was a puppy about 6 months ago, but has been an angel for several months now. I guess she is just out of her funk because she is in a house full of girls rather than just her and my boyfriend at home.
Can't say I'm too excited to see what she'll do the rest of the week... Hoping for no more surprises, but that doesn't seem likely. Good thing I'm a dog lover!

Risky business

Last week I made me first big purchase (well, on myself)! I bought a new laptop.. Making this my third one in college. I quite possibly might have the worst luck with technology ever. True story. Anyway, I love it so far. It was a great deal. Only $479 before tax-- It's a Toshiba, 500gb hard drive and 4gb of RAM. Has a number pad, huge screen, at least 5 hours of battery life (best part, in my opinion) and more! If  any of you are looking for the most for your money, I highly recommend this laptop. It's at Best Buy. You can fund it online under Toshiba laptops or go in the store. This has no comparison to the amount of money spent on a car or a house, but this is my first stepping stone to the big girl world.

By the way, thanks everyone who commented on my last post-- I took the Marketing Assistant position with CityLink and am really excited about it!

1 more week of classes until spring break! Everyone hang in there.

Choices...

Since I don't have much to really talk about considering school and my two jobs consume my life.. I'm going to talk about how I have two opportunities open. I need to make a decision on which one, but need some insight.

So, choice number one would be a part-time Marketing Assistant. I came about this job by networking through my boss at my internship. He wrote me a letter of recommendation and it got my foot in the door. It pays great, and I would gain some useful experience for my job search once graduation rolls around. However, it's part time (20 hours a week) and am not sure if there would be any opportunity for more hours after graduation. This relates to my major and holds a lot of advancement options post-graduation, though.

The second option would be as a part-time business intern during the semester, and full-time this summer. It also pays really well, and they said that they hire 90% of their interns full-time after graduation. This would also be a good opportunity. However, their office here is small and their headquarters are in Minnesota. This is all fine and dandy, but I am supposed to be moving in with my boyfriend after graduation. Since he works for the state, he doesn't want to forfeit his good pension as well as good position and job security. So his willingness to relocate is slim to none. This reason is kind of ignorant and cheesy, I am aware. Regardless, the job is still full-time this summer with good pay.

I'm pretty positive that I am being offered both jobs. (If not, then I have a pretty easy choice, right?!) I still don't know which one to choose. I guess I will have to flip a coin. Just kidding, but seriously.

My indecisiveness at it's finest...

Spring Break!

I know talking about spring break in college is pretty cliche, but this March will be my first actual vacation ever! I'm really excited. 5 of my friends and I are renting a condo on the beach in the Gulf Shores for 5 days. I am really looking forward to it because it's with a fun group of my best girl friends. It's pretty much the only thing that's getting me through these next few weeks of classes and midterms! I don't really know what to expect, so I'm hoping for a pleasant surprise. :)

Closing in

I went to the job fair today and there were a lot of employers! I was impressed at how many job openings each of them had. However, I am pretty nervous for my future post-graduation (even though I have over a year). I feel as though I'm behind even if I'm not, and I definitely am not wanting to move back in with my mom. Mostly because I hate the Quad Cities (no offense to anyone who is a fan). The thought of "growing up" is terrifying to me, but I wish all of the seniors this year the best of luck on their job search if they haven't gotten an offer yet!

Firefighters... enough said.

My boyfriend and his family volunteer for their town's fire department (it's a really small town, so there isn't a real paying one). This past weekend we attended a huge "Water Fights" competition in Coralville, Iowa. Basically, there is a half barrel on a wire in the air and two teams start on opposite sides and when the whistle blows, the two opponents and their teams pick up the hoses and turn them on. The point is to get the barrel to the opponent's end. It's essentially like tug-o-war in the air with 125 psi (pounds per square inch) of water coming through each hose! It's exciting and potentially dangerous. However, it's a lot of fun. There were over 100 different fire departments from the Illinois/Iowa area that went. This was my second year that I attended and I definitely plan on going back again next year. The department has a lot of extra gear, so I got to fight, too. The after party at the hotel was totally worth the trip even if I couldn't feel my fingers/toes during the cold day!

Motivation

I would just like to say, having a part-time retail job in college is my serious motivation to get through school. I'm sure other students understand the frequent ignorance that accompanies working a "minimum wage" type of job just for some extra money while in school, and I can't stress enough how excited I am to never have to work one again. Unfortunately that's not going to be for another year and a half or so. Sad day.

Not a very exciting post. My apologies.

On a lighter note... here is my puppy that I get to see in 9 hours! Precious?