The world can't end today (because I said so).

So, as you might have heard, the world is supposed to end at some arbitrary 6:00 PM today. This will simply not do because right now my life is amazing. Of course, the likelihood that the world would come to a cataclysmic end once I finally reached an acceptable level of happy and good is high because if there's one thing I've learned from being alive the last 23.5 year it's that life LOVES to fuck with happiness. Anytime people on a TV show or in a movie are happy and enjoying their existence, you just know there's a creepster with a chainsaw lurking behind the sunshine and flowers ready to fuck their shit up. It's just how the universe balances out.

But, I figure that I should at least be allowed a few years' worth of this happy rainbow existence before it's all sucked away. Is that really too much to ask? So, to whatever being is looking down upon us ready to push the "end all" button, I present some reasons why that's a terrible idea that he/she/it should feel terrible about. 

1. I just became an adult. Okay, so technically I've been an "adult" now for 5 years but up until the last month or so I was still more or less dependent on other people for things. As of Monday morning, I will be a permanent, full-time, salaried employee at the company I've been temping with for the past 9 months. I have a career, so to speak, a gorgeous apartment in a funky cool neighborhood, I pay all of my bills (even my phone now -- huzzah!) and I'm slated to get married in just a little over 2 years. I'm a friggin' grown up! I've spent most of my existence as a kid needing to depend on others, and it's about time I get to make life mine.
2. Lady Gaga's new album isn't out yet. Sure, to some she might be all the evidence necessary to point to the world's imminent doom, but I am a proud Little Monster and refuse to go out without hearing every single second of Born This Way. Come on, can you get any more amazing? I'm guessing possibly yes, which is why the world can't end until after at least May 25 to give me time to rock out and memorize every single track (starting with Judas which is just incredible).
   
   
3. My tomatoes aren't even purchased, let alone in the ground and growing. The best part about our new apartment/neighborhood is the community garden that sits literally next door to our lovely little carriage house. I am super pumped to grow things and eat the fruits of my labor which won't happen if the world ends. And how cute is Terrell standing in our new plot?
   
   
   
4. Summer has finally reached Syracuse. Today started off slightly humid, but had brightened to sunny and gorgeous by late morning. We spend six-eight months out of the year enduring the cold, the snow, the wind and the rain (not to mention all the grey... so. much. grey!) so when summer/spring decides to show up we DESERVE our fair share with it. End the world during the second straight week of snow and bitter cold, sure, but now when things are beautiful? What a jerk.
   
   

   

   Look - green, everywhere! What a sight.

   
   

   

   OMG, a color that isn't white or grey.

So, what I'm basically saying is this: the world won't end because it's too wonderful right now and I'm sure we've all got far too many awesome things to look forward to.

What are you looking forward to doing after today ends?

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Coat trees are obnoxiously expensive -_-

I'm flabbergasted... I mean, yeah, I figured maybe $30-40 was likely for a decent one. But $50-60+? You have got to be shitting me. Who the hell has $200 to plunk down for a piece of wood with little knobbies to hang coats on? And who the hell would actually be willing to admit they paid $200 for said glorified piece of wood? *boggle*

Anyway...

I've been rather absent, yes, but fear not: I haven't abandoned this blog or any of my goals. Still plugging away at that whole weight loss/exercise/healthy living thing, and doing pretty well. I had Death Flu™ for about a week and a half, which killed my eating/workout regemin, but helped me lose 7 lb. in 5 days hahaha. I gained a good portion back, but I am quite pleased to say that 285 is a number firmly in the past. I was 281 this week, so woot! My goal next week is to be 279 and say bye-bye to the 280's forever.

Besides Death Flu™, I've been spending my non-blogging time apartment hunting - with much success! Although I honestly do love where we've been for the past 3/4-year, I am kinda sick of living in run-down, older places. And I am *really* sick of living in apartment buildings, tbh. Despite that, I was looking predominantly at residential communities and complexes because I figured that was where I'd have the best luck finding something I could afford solo. Terrell has to finish up some credits after graduation, which leaves his job prospects rather vague and uncertain. Hard to apply for a job when you can't give a definite date of availability, or even narrow one down to within a couple of weeks. And so I've had to keep in mind what I can afford on my *ahem* less-than-stellar office minion salary.

So imagine my utter delight when I stumble upon a listing for a charming carriage house apartment and, upon contacting the proprietor, discover it is within my budget and located in one of the coolest neighborhoods of Syracuse. The apartment is the bottom of the carriage house behind an 1800's mansion that used to be home to the mayor of Syracuse ages and ages ago and has been restored beautifully and historically due to being registered as a historical building. The carriage house itself has been completely modernized inside to become a sweet little apartment with a galley kitchen, living room, bathroom and bedroom (which is located where the horse stall was years and years ago). Oh, my... it's gorgeous and pretty much exactly what I've always dreamed of. I love, love, love old homes and the neighborhood is full of painted lady Victorians and rambling mansions, not to mention a vegan bakery and cafe, a book shop, a tapas bar and a community garden that I will allegedly get a plot of to plant my own veggies and whatnot. One word: perfection. And after the landlady receives the signed lease and security deposit I mailed her on Monday, it's mine!

The lease for that place starts April 1, while my current apartment's lease doesn't end until May - fantastic, because the carriage house is a bit smaller than here, and I am at an awkward crossroads in my life where I have accumulated far more things than a person should need or want. I've been a cluttered, disorganized mess pretty much my entire life due to packrat tendencies and not growing up in an environment that emphasized order -- but no more. When I move, I will take only 25-50% of what I currently own, and nothing more. A friend passed on the helpful website http://unclutterer.com/, which I've already gotten a dozen ideas from and I'm going to try from now until the end of May to tackle one chunk of stuff each week until I've managed it all. Starting with papers this weekend (breakin' out the scanner, oh yeahhh) and moving on to the plethora of boxes we actually never unpacked (sad, I know).

This is already shaping up to be one of the most productive, self-improving years I've ever had and we're just a little over two months in -- I can't wait to see what else I can get done in the next ten months :)

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And so, the next chapter of my life begins! (Or, I've decided to stop being lazy and start writing about it now.)

52 days, 1 hour, 30 minutes.

That is how long I've been a college graduate. That is also how long I have been unemployed. But as of 1:30PM tomorrow, the latter will no longer be a problem. After weeks of filling out applications, writing cover letters and handing out resumes I have finally found a place in the corporate machine to fit my cog into. Though it isn't exactly what I pictured, the retail position I start tomorrow will provide the most basic necessity of a newly-minted adult: financial security. And I've been hurting for money bad.

52 days of unemployment has brought out a whole range of emotions and experiences for me. The first couple of weeks were bliss. After four years of exams, classes, studying, and work I was more than happy to kick back and do what I wanted... for a while. Then reality set in, at about the same time the final paycheck from my work-study job came in. No more money = many, many more problems. Terrell and I are sharing an apartment now, so my expenses are less than they used to be, but I still have expenses.

As June blazed into existence, I became antsy. More applications were filled out, more cover letters written, more resumes printed and handed out. I called places back only to be told they weren't hiring or would "contact me later". In case anyone reading this doesn't know, the economy kind of SUCKS right now -- something I wasn't prepared for after graduation when I started college four years ago. Graduating was great, a real accomplishment. But the nothingness that I faced along with many of my friends is anything but comforting.

The desperation set in a couple of weeks ago when I finally sat down to complete my student loan exit interview online. They forced me to not only calculate exactly how much debt I have ($50,575.00) but what the estimated monthly payments are. PANIC TIME. Suddenly my education is looking like a waste of time. Suddenly I feel like a waste of space and time and money. How will I ever pay those loans back? How will I make the monthly payments when my income is -$400 a month? Most importantly, how will I ever be able to afford the boxed set edition of Sex and the City?!

But around the middle of June, I finally got two interviews at two vastly different retail stores: Apple and [store name redacted] a jewelry boutique. I interviewed with a store manager at the jewelry boutique on June 22nd, which went extremely well. And then the district manager from the jewelry boutique called me last week on Tuesday, and after a twenty-minute interview she promised I would receive a phone call in the coming days for the final decision. The Apple interview was in a group setting, and I was the only vagina present for that one. Awkwarddddd.

Just as July was setting in with a heavy dose of panic and dreams of faking my own death and escaping to the Bahamas to live on an island and carve celebrity's faces into coconuts for a living, news of two vastly different kinds came.

Monday, I got the dreaded "Thank you for your time but we've decided to pursue other candidates" email from Apple.

Cue a sense of utter defeat. [side note: initially I thought "cue utter defeation" would be good here, but that isn't a word -- however, firefox wanted to insert 'defecation' in its place, which would have made the statement simultaneously hilarious and awful.]

But! Today, as I was preparing to call the jewelry boutique back to figure out what was going on my phone rang. And the heavens opened up and the angels rejoiced and It Was Good. I am no longer unemployed. I have meaning, purpose, and a paycheck! And I get to look good and buy cute jewelry at 50% off while I'm at it.

I had intended to start this blog back up weeks ago and chronicle my job-hunting experience but alas, I was lazy and wasted that opportunity. However, I've been itching to have something to do besides play The Sims and study for the GRE's math portion so the full intent is for this blog to become a habit. I've never been good at keeping to my blogs, so hopefully this one sticks.

Tomorrow, I have to go with Terrell at noon to take my younger brother Dylan to the train station so he can travel back to my mom in Buffalo. And afterward, I will head to the jewelry boutique to begin my retail experience.

Wish me luck!

*edit* So, I learned in my training that I'm not supposed to talk about my store by name online. Because this is my blog and I want to be able to be honest on it, I've removed any references to the place by name and will henceforth refer to it as simply "the jewelry boutique".

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