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Quick update: Last night I took all my change I had to Giant Eagle to put it in one of those change redeemer things... I had 47 dollars worth of change! I'm really glad I did that. Now I don't have to move a ton of pennies whenever moving day comes, plus I have a few extra 20's in my pocket just for being cool.
Everybody's workin' for the weekend. Sort of. Big plans this weekend! Tomorrow after work, I'm going to Josh and Brandy's for a cookout, where I have been promised "nothing but raw meat" from Josh. That sounds exciting, don't you think? After that, I'm going to the South Side with Nate and some friends from home. Should be a treat.
My brother Andrew's birthday is on July 2nd. I think that's his birthday. Here is a picture of him:
So, I'm going home for a brief stint on July 3rd to go to Heritage Days, Ford City's annual summer festival. I promised my boss that I would take lots of pictures so he can see Ford City at it's finest. I hope that I don't miss a viewing of the drill team. They are always rockin'.
I think that there are bugs living in my bed. Yeah, I know what you're thinking, ew gross, why don't you bathe or something? Well, I do. My apartment just happens to be a haven for bugs, large and small, in the summer time. It really is. Last summer there were little gnats and fruit flies everywhere in the kitchen as soon as it got hot. I wish the stupid bugs would just melt and die or something. The kitchen is so hot and muggy that I guess it's prime breeding ground for bugs, so there isn't much I can do about that. It's so hot in there that I can't even bear to go in there and cook anyways, so that's ok. Yesterday it was about 96 degrees in our apartment. Yuck.
Also, our washing machine in my building is still broken after a week because our landlord is a hooker. Last night, Jess decided that she had to do laundry, so she washed her clothes in the bath tub. I think she was using the plunger as a mixing stick. Hey, you gotta do what you gotta do. Our landlord sucks. He used to be cool. He has a washing machine in his building, so I guess he doesn't give a crap if we are suffering with dirty clothes.
Next Friday is the 4th of July. I don't know what I'm doing yet, but I know I'm getting up at the crack of dawn the next day to go be in the stupid race in Ford City, then coming back to Pittsburgh in time to be at work at 1. Yeah, I'm a real go-getter. I'll be finishing off the holiday weekend by covering another shift on Sunday. I love this country so much that I just can't slow down the economy by not working the entire holiday! I mean, come on now.
I had an interview today at an undisclosed location. I didn't even know how these people found my resume. Apparently I applied for it from the Post-Gazette. That's cool with me, but I don't remember doing it. Anyways, it was on the 50th floor of the Mellon Bank building downtown. It would be cool to work there. They are looking for a tech support person, and that's what I do best! So, hire me. I have an interview also on July 9th at yet another undisclosed "major corporation in Pittsburgh" for a help desk position. It seems like now I am getting the kinds of interviews that I wish I had been getting a few months ago. Maybe that means the economy is picking up? Or maybe just after all this practice, I have just gotten really great at writing eye-catching cover letters. Hey, maybe I should start a resume and cover letter writing service to keep me afloat. I don't know if too many people would utilize my services though, since obviously my own resume hasn't gotten me a job yet.
My sister has requested that I put a link to her journal on my page, so here it is: http://www.livejournal.com/~chickenbutts. Check it out. I've also put a link on the real Links page.
Anyways, hopefully I will see my dog on one of my short trips home over the next week. I am going to kiss her on the lips and hug her and squeeze her! Isn't she cute?
Summer finally came and it's 90 degrees outside. Our landlord finally came and fixed our garbage disposal.
I have two interviews this week at undisclosed locations. Upon doing research about the statistics of all the jobs I have interviewed for since November (17 of them), I have come to the conclusion, that when I don't talk about a job is when I get a job offer. If I haven't told you by now, I did actually receive a job offer and turned it down. I know you're thinking, why in the hell would you turn a job down? Well, it was for an administrative assistant position at the Hunger Services Network, which is like a food bank type place in what I guess is Lawrenceville. Anyways, everyone there thought I wanted to be a social worker just because I was applying for a secretary job at a place that does social work. Sorry, that wasn't my plan. Everyone kept asking, "So, what got you interested in social work?" I was like, um nothing. I enjoy being social I guess? I had the interview and the lady decided she wanted to hire me right away. She went out and talked about me to the other people who worked there and came back in and was like doing these calculations in her head. The short story is that she wanted me to quit my job immediately and start working for them right away, even though I told her I really should give two weeks notice. Plus, after the interview, I really wasn't too jazzed about the job anymore and realized it wasn't what I wanted to do at all. I didn't feel like I "clicked" with anyone in the office and I just wasn't happy about the job whatsoever. As I was leaving, everyone was like, "Welcome aboard!" I went outside to leave and one of the dudes was out there smoking a cigarette and asked me what I thought. (He wasn't there for the "welcome aboard" speech.) I was like, "Well, I don't know, nice meeting you, see ya." Then I ran away.
The whole thing was just really kind of weird... I felt like I was being bullied into taking the job, and the woman essentially hired me without even asking me if I wanted the job. I thought about it a lot that night and discussed it with various peeps. I decided that I didn't think I would be happy in that position and emailed the lady to tell her I could not accept the job at that time.
So, the next day she calls my boss and asks him what my work number is, then calls me in the lab to ask me what the deal is. Hello, stalker? I explained that I didn't want the job and that I couldn't really talk about it because I was at work. She claimed not to have received my email, but I think she was lying. I don't know if I made a mistake or not turning down the job, but I know that I wouldn't have been happy there... so, I chose happiness over employment. Hopefully something better will come along soon.
Since I like making lists, here is a breakdown of all the jobs I have interviewed for since 11/02:
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Total number of jobs interviewed for: 17
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Number of job offers: 1
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Number of jobs I accepted: 0
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Number of tech jobs interviewed for: 11
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Number of summer jobs / internships interviewed for: 2
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Number of jobs I felt underqualified for: 4
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Number of jobs I felt overqualified for: 6
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Number of jobs I really wanted badly: 4
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Number of jobs applied for: ∞
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Number of staffing companies interviewed with: 3
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Number of offices that had dogs roaming around in places interviewed with: 1
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Amount of time, stamps, emails, and envelopes spent on applying: ∞ + 1
This weekend I am supposed to hang out with my pal Kristy from home. I would put a link to her website here, but she never updates it! Speaking of websites, a co-worker of mine named Joe decided to make a website to mock mine... it is somewhat humorous, I guess, if you like crap. It can be found here: www.pitt.edu/~jmm196.
Ford City's Heritage Days are coming up soon. I'm a little pissed though. Every year, there is a 5K run / walk held, and every year for the last 3,000 years I have been in the race with my friend Katie. This year, the 5K is being held on the morning of July 5th. That is pretty stupid. I would like to go out and enjoy the day off on the 4th... who wants to get up at like 7am the next day and go run in a race? Plus, I have to work that day at 1pm. I could feasibly still do it, but it will suck. The jury is still out on whether I will be in the race or not. Maybe if Katie actually would get in touch with me and email me or something I could decide! If anyone knows her email address, let me know because I don't since she changes it all the time.
I'm thirsty.
So, today as I was eating my lunch outside, this girl came up to me and said she takes speech therapy at Pitt and wondered if she could ask me a few questions. I said sure. She asked me if I knew anyone that stuttered. I said no. Then she asked if I knew how many people in the US stutter. I said I didn't know. She told me three million. I said woo. Then, she said as part of her therapy she has to ask random people questions. Then she left. It was great! In retrospect, when she asked if I knew how many people in the US stuttered, I should have said, "Well at least one!" Do you think she would have been offended by that?
Today I also fed the birds some of my Tostitos. They liked them. I don't know if Tostitos are good for birds or not, but I figure birds probably have pretty good discretion as to what they can and cannot eat since they have to dig through dirt and cigarette butts to find food. After I fed one bird, he must have called all of his friends over, because like 4 birds came over and were hopping around looking for food. They're like puppies.
I have an interview at Duquesne on Monday for a part-time information technology assistant or something. It is only 28 hours a week, but it pays 15 dollars an hour, so that works out ok for me. It sounds like a cool job and I hope I get it. I hope I get every job, though, so that is nothing new. Well, not every job. Hern hern.
I really have nothing too exciting to report on. I wish Mario Kart: Double Dash would come out, because I really want to play it. I have decided I'm going to buy the Sonic Mega Collection for Game Cube. Not until next month though, because if I buy it now, I will exceed my monthly allotment of entertainment funds.
I AM BORED. Tonight is fun night. I don't have to wake up early for the next 300 years! Hooray. Except for Monday. Boo. If anyone has any open shifts they'd like to give me, even if you don't work in the labs, I'd be willing to pick them up. Thanks. See ya!
Last Thursday, a big storm passed through Pittsburgh and also my hometown, Ford City. I was having fun night with my dad and sister and we were watching the weather and it had a giant arrow pointing directly at Ford City. For some reason, I found this to be really hilarious and was glued to my TV for the next hour. They even went so far as to really show off their weather software by zooming in on actual street names on their little weather map... It was so exciting to know exactly what part of Ford City was being washed away in real time! It was like I was there.
I called my mom after the weather guy showed Ford City covered in a massive purple spot on the map (purple is pretty severe, according to their legend). She didn't seem to be too concerned about the storm. However, she was concerned that she couldn't get her VCR to function properly. That wasn't storm related, though.
The storm in Ford City only lasted for about 8 minutes, but it sure did make Ford City famous for that short amount of time. The weather people commented that Ford City and the surrounding towns are "all small communities, but people do live there." Yes, people sure do live there. And all 8 of their mobile homes were destroyed.
After the storm was over, Chopper 11 was on the scene to bring us live footage of the aftermath. It was great! Bonello's Restaurant (with the giant cow mascot out front, similar to Bob's Big Boy), was amidst a sea of swirling muddy water. The best part of it all, however, was when Chopper 11 flew right over "Illusions," the local "adult" book store. They zoomed in on several people who had become stranded outside of the store due to the massive flooding. I can just imagine the wives at home watching their flooded husbands stuck outside of the adult bookstore... "I thought you said you were going to the bank!" Hilarious! In the end though, my mother informed me that it wasn't as bad as the news portrayed it to be. So, Ford City is still around. For now, at least. To quote the young teen that they interviewed afterwards, "The storm was neat."
Friday, Nate and I went to the Arts Festival. It blew. I don't really "enjoy art," per se, so it wasn't all the interesting to me. I got some haluski to eat (for you non Polish folk, that is "cabbage and noodles") and it totally sucked. I don't even think the people making it were Polish; they were Italian. How can you even make something as simple as cabbage and noodles taste like crap? I have made it myself several times and it's normally very good. Italians just suck, I guess.
Saturday, I went to Ikea with Nate and Brandy. Nate and I decided we are getting the following:
(there were pictures of a bookshelf and tv stand here)
Something like that, anyways. We are only getting one shelf in between the two book shelves, and no drawers on the TV stand. Nate also found a desk that he liked, and later when we stopped at Brandy's new apartment, we saw that Josh had the same desk! Wow. Anyways, also at Ikea I saw this girl that I went to high school with, and I was really excited, because it was the girl that my friends and I nicknamed, "Alien." She was also looking at desks, and she still looked like an alien. Some things never change. I also found a couple of cheap chairs that I would like for my dining room table, but nothing is final yet. We don't even know yet how we are getting all of this stuff to the apartment... we could either have it shipped, see if it will fit in my dad's vehicle, or drive the Uhaul out to Ikea the day we move in and pick it up. Decisions, decisions.
Today I had an interview at the Frick Art & Historical Center. It went well, I guess. It wasn't your typical interview where they ask you questions like, "What does customer service mean to you?" It was very short, and it was mostly just her showing me what I would be doing should I get the job. It actually ended up being more interesting and appealing to me than I thought it would be. The job involves working a lot with this reservation software they use and scheduling / keeping track of tours and cafe reservations and making reports, etc. I think it would be interesting because it involves a significant amount of computer work, which is what I'm aiming for since I did go to school and learn about computers for the last 4 years. And it would be great for me since I love making schedules and to-do lists and what not.
I decided today that I'm never working on Sunday again. Not only is it blasphemous to not take the day for rest, but it sucks. So, no more Sundays for me. Because I love the Lord, you know.
I am tired. This morning as I was working in the library, some of the lights in the ceiling exploded and big sparks came out. There was an electrician there who said that was "normal" and seemed to think that is how all lights burn out. It was really scary, though. Then he left and said he was going to work and something. While he was gone, another light exploded and more sparks shot out of the ceiling. My co-worker and I were a bit nervous at this point, but the guy came back and said everything was fixed now? Ok. Considering he did nothing.
I need a lunch box. Today I brought a fake-turkey sandwich, an orange, tostitos, and a Pepsi for lunch. It was ok warm, but a lunchbox would be ideal. My birthday is coming up, remember?
I took the GMAT yesterday. It was not fun. I opted not to use any of my breaks during the test and just took the whole thing straight through. It was only about 2.5 hours. I didn't do as well as I would have liked to, but my score is very "average." In fact, according to the percentile I scored in, my score is like the definition of average. Extrapolate from that what you will. After that, I took all my stuff over to the Katz school and applied. Eh. I don't know if I just wasted $250 or not (200 for the test, 50 to apply), but I think it was worth trying. I hope so anyways. Hopefully they will get back to me soon.
I wish today was the weekend. I am working from 7:50-6pm tomorrow, 1-5 on Saturday, 4-8 on Sunday, 8am-5pm on Monday... the list goes on and on. I wish there were nine days a week instead of seven. Then again, I would just spend more money that way. I sure am tired.
I think I'm going to put my air conditioner in my window today. Of course though it has been hot for the past few days and today it isn't anymore. But, I can't put it in the window alone, and my dad will be around to help today, so I might as well.
I need furniture! I need an entertainment center stand, some chairs for a dining room table, and a bookshelf. Oh, and a bed. If you have any of those, let me know ASAP.
I hate moving because you always have to pay to get all your utilities hooked up again. Like, what do they really have to do to turn your gas on? Flick a switch? Nothing? I'm sure whatever it is that it isn't worth the 25 dollars they charge you.
I wonder if my diploma is coming soon. I'm not sure if it's going to be sent to my home or my apartment... I saw someone else in my building had a diploma in the mail the other day, so I'm hoping mine arrives shortly. Show me the diploma! It probably went to my house and now it is lost in a sea of mail in my mom's glove compartment.
I have no exciting plans for the weekend. Actually, I have some plans. I don't know if they are exciting. I think Nate and I are going to Ikea one day to look at stuff. I would like to go to the Arts Festival, but that might have to wait until next weekend. I have an interview on Sunday at the Frick Art & Historical Center for the job I was talking about before. Oh yeah, and I'm going to destroy the planet.
So, the Beer Fest was fun. However, next year I definitely won't be attending the "cigar session." There's something about hundreds of people all smoking cigars crammed into a parking garage that doesn't appeal to me. Call me crazy. I think my favorite was a toss-up between the Lancaster Milk Stout, the High Level Brown from Rock Bottom, or the Dominion Millenium.
The Church Brew Works never called me back. I guess I'm not cut out to be a waitress at their fine establishment. Jerks.
Right now I'm watching the new reality show, "Fame," on TV. This show screams "high school musical." It's pretty corny, but I guess the contestants are entertaining to watch. I think it's kind of inappropriate though, because there's like 16 year olds wearing hooker gear singing sexy songs on a stool. Whatever.
I've been playing Super Monkey Ball 2 for the last hour. Who knew a game involving monkeys in balls could be so fun? Then again, why wouldn't it be?
I have to get up at the crack of dawn tomorrow to go to this interview, so it better be worth it. Money for nothing, chicks for free. We've got to move these refrigerators. We've got to move these color TV's.
Ooh, "For the Love of Money" is on now. If you don't understand the premise of this show, let me explain. It's kind of like "Joe Millionaire," but in this show, the girl that is chosen by the dude wins a million dollars, and the guy doesn't know. I am kind of interested to watch at least one episode just to see if these girls are actually just playing for the money, or if they actually like the guy too. I'm a sucker for crappy reality TV.
Yesterday I did major spring cleaning in my bedroom in order to lessen the amount of crap I have to move when it comes time to leave. I can't believe how much junk, literally JUNK, that I have acquired since I've been here. I threw away 4 giant garbage bags of crap I don't need anymore. The good news is that my room is suddenly a lot nicer looking... the bad news is, that I'm only about halfway done. I still have to clean out my closet and the dreaded "under my bed," which will both be like day long projects in themselves. I can't wait to move! I have a bunch of boxes that are ready to be packed. I am eager just to start fresh again and hopefully keep the new apartment nice and clean and somewhere I actually enjoy spending time. Not that I don't like being here, but it's just so cluttered and blah, that I'm ready to get the hell out. Also, there are noisy things every single day outside my window that wake me up. There's always some construction, garbage men being loud jerks, or someone pounding something. Everyday I just want to get a dozen eggs and throw them out my balcony door and hit the noise-makers in the face.
I'm supposed to have a phone interview with a woman that works at the Frick Art & Historical Center, where my sister works. It's for a pretty non-tech job, but it sounds pretty interesting. So, we'll see how that goes. Give me a job someone.
I am taking the GMAT in what, 2 days? Today I studied a lot, and my brain is fried. There is all this crap I need to re-learn from like high school geometry and trig and calculus that I have long since forgotten. Who actually remembers the Pythagorean theory or how to calculate the area of a trapezoid? I have been doing really well on the verbal sections, and about so-so on the math parts. I just hope I don't totally blow it, because that's 200 bucks down the drain.
Today was day 1 of my second stint of working 13 days in a row. Blah. At least it isn't like 13 8 hour days in a row, though. Show me the money!
Nothing too exciting to report on here. Yesterday, I was taking the garbage out. In my building, there is this alley sort of next to side of the building that has the fire escapes. That is where the dumpsters are. Anyways, sometimes when I am taking the trash out, if the bag is not too heavy or full of breakables, I drop it down over the edge first and then walk down and pick it up and take it to the dumpster. Well, yesterday, I saw that someone had thrown down like 10 bags in the middle of the alley-way and just left them there. It was gross too, because there were like flies swarming all around it and I had to walk through the swarm. Dick heads. Are people really that lazy?
The Three Rivers Arts Festival starts today, and you know what that means! Last year, the Krispy Kreme travelling factory set up camp on their lawn, so I hope they are back again. My favorite part was watching the Krispy Kremes go through the waterfall of goo, then you got to eat the hot ones right off the conveyor belt!
Today I am working from 8:30am - 6, with no breaks, which means no lunchy. I have some Munchies, but they are just making feel yucky. I would much rather just eat one, hot, tasty meal than eat snacks all day.
Tomorrow, Nate and I are going to the 2003 Pennsylvania Microwbrewer's Fest at the Penn Brewery. There is supposed to be food there, so I hope it is vegetarian. I think I will call today and ask, actually.
I am moving in less than 2 months. We still need a bed. I still don't know what day I can move in on. Well, I do, but it is unacceptable. They told me to call back closer to the move-in time to see if I could move in like the day before the lease starts, which is what I want. But as we all know, beggers can't be choosers.
I'm taking the GMAT's next week. Should be a blast. I couldn't possibly cut it any closer as far as applying to grad school goes. The deadline for fall part-timers is July 1st. So, my GMAT scores better get to them like exactly 2 weeks after I take the test. I'm not exactly holding my breath thinking I will be accepted, but I think it's definitely worth a shot.
I was reading an article the other day about Morningstar Foods, which is a brand of food I buy a lot. They make a lot of meat-substitute vegetarian frozen entree type foods. Anyways, the article I was reading was from like 2001 and it was talking about how their corn dogs contained genetically altered corn not fit for human consumption. That's nice. I couldn't find any follow up articles that said if they ever rectified the problem or not. I don't really care if I eat genetically altered corn, but I guess the point is that they claim to be organic, and they were obviously lying to consumers. You would think that in 2 years they would have fixed it, otherwise there would be more stink about it on the internet. Then again, what do I know. My brainwaves have probably been skewed due to eating genetically altered corn products.
As far as the job hunt goes, nothing still. I have an interview next week with a staffing company. Brandy just got a job with another staffing company, so maybe she can give me the hook up, if you know what I'm sayin'! And I know you know. Anyways, big ups to people with jobs. I still haven't heard back about the job I interviewed for at Pitt. The decision is supposed to be made within the next week or so. I'm not exactly holding my breath about that either, but it sure would rock the house if I got the job.
As you all are aware of, I'm sure, my birthday is coming up at the end of July. July 26, to be precise. I will be the ripe age of 22, and for my birthday, I would like a subscription to GAMES magazine. I used to have a subscription to it, and occassionally I purchase a copy of it. It is like a word puzzle, etc magazine. I don't know that they have a website, but you can find information at your local bookstore where it is sold. More updates later on my birthday list as ideas become available.
I made a cool page today with links to all the places I look for jobs at everyday. It can be found here.
I'm funny.
I have an interview at the Church Brew Works today. Not exactly the type of job I am hoping to get, but the Church Brew Works is a cool place, and I heard the people there make ok money. So, I'm going to find out how many hours they would want me to work and when, and how much the bling-bling is and give it some serious thought. I don't exactly think it's the best move to go into waitressing right now, but I also have to think about the long run. If I don't have a job in August, having a job at the Church Brew Works would be pretty ideal. I don't know that I really want to leave this low-energy job though for the fast paced world of food service. Like I said, though, I'll have to check out the specs and weigh the pro's and con's and decide at a later time. That is, if they even want me to work for them.
I'm going to look at my new apartment again tomorrow. I need to check out stuff like closet space, etc. that I can't remember from the first time 'round. Oh, and also I need to take a suction hose and a tank since the apartment will inevitably be flooded with water, according to my mother, aka The Wisest Woman Ever.
Well, I'm off to utilize my Employment Link page, and also to update my Monthly Expenditures spreadsheet that I made for myself in order to try and keep track of my spending so I don't go over my "allotment" for the month. See ya.