Girl About Business

Relocation... to do or not to do?

2011-03-16T22:13:00.001-04:00

I'm not even going to lie, I suck at being a great blogger :-/ It is what it is though! When I have content, I do share :-)

This past weekend I had the opportunity to visit the country's 3rd largest city. That's right, Houston, Texas! Also known as H-Town. First things first, if you haven't visited Houston before- shame on you. I am embarrassed to admit that this was my first visit. I have family there, that once resided in Wisconsin. I missed them dearly, and thought that a trip to visit was in order.

After stepping off the jet and viewing the sunshine, I was sold. The next 3 days only added to my undying want to move from shitty Michigan. Anywho, as I learned over the next few days Houston had much more than sunshine to offer.

The quality of life is so much better. Upon approaching my cousins apartment building, I thought we were passing by a resort. It was that nice! Not to mention my other cousins apartment, fully equipped with valet parking, a theater, full gym/sauna/steam room, with a beautiful view pretty much Houston in its entirety. I feel a bit robbed here in Michigan. The value of your money in Houston goes much farther, so far that I'm actually considering moving there. Unlike other cities I've visited, I felt at home in Texas. I didn't feel separation anxiety from my parents, and I didn't feel alone because I already have family there.

Let me give you lovely readers what I call "you only live once" reasons for possible relocation...

Houston, TX...

Michigan...

There isn't much difference in salaries, but you definitely get more for your money. The price difference in the above apartments is about $400, but I can definitely justify the extra cost. Check out all the amenities included with the hot-to-trot spot in Houston:

You pretty much can't get this anywhere in Michigan... Texas-1, Michigan-0. In the words of Charlie Sheen... Texas is WINNING!

Have you ever visited a city or country that made you have a change of heart about your living situation?

A Little Flirting Goes a Long Way

2010-12-16T10:38:00.001-05:00

Christmas is around the corner, and departments are shuffling to host their annual Christmas parties... Our company is no different! We've had Ugly Sweater parties, Charlie Brown Christmas parties, Secret Santa parties. You name it, we've had it.

Nonetheless, these events consists of a bunch of jolly people spending hours in the kitchen the night before preparing potluck dishes. Now I'm no fan of potlucks due to an issue at my last company's holiday party, but I participated again this year. Hey, it's free food!

Anywho, apparently the IT department at our company had a rather large party yesterday, the same time as our Secret Santa party. They were baking cookies in the dining kitchen, heating up platters. Mind you, a business is ran through this kitchen- it's our cafeteria! They were definitely violating... Well, we ran into the kitchen culprit on our way to warm my delicious mac and cheese when she stopped us to say "are you warming up food? Be careful because the chef is being a real asshole. He's been biting my head off left and right. He is NOT in a good mood today". I wasn't worried, Keith (the chef) lovesssss me...

Sure enough, as the violator watched from the hallway, I pranced into the kitchen, gave Keith my prettiest smile and prolonged the pronunciation of his name "Heyyy, Keeiiiiittttttttthhhhhhhhh! Do you think you could warm this up for me?"

"Of course! Anything for you". Kitchen culprit stormed off, and our party went off without a hitch!

Girls, you better learn how to friendly flirt at work ;-)

Love,

GAB
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Creeper Update

2010-12-12T20:57:00.000-05:00

Well guess what... the creeper has left the building. Our company has now moved to a new location and within a week of us moving, he had put in his 2 weeks notice. I was overly excited about this until I learned that he lives in my neighborhood, and it is very possible that I may run into him outside of the work setting that may warrant even more awkwardness!

On a joyful note, GAB will be back in full effect after this week is over. I have a ton of things to do, including a major project, 2 final exams, my grandmothers retirement party, sorority initiation, dinners and game nights. Needless to say, there isn't much time in between to blog so I won't even commit to doing that for at least another week. Good news is, I'll be off of work from Christmas Eve through the Monday after New Years, so I'll have plenty of time to catch everyone up on my life, share some awesome stories, introduce new GAB features, and much, much more!

I Won 2 Blog Awards!

2010-12-05T13:46:00.001-05:00

How shitty is it that I won a blog award wayyyyyyyy back in August and September, and I'm just now acknowledging them??? But better late than never right!

So here goes... I was awarded by It's All Random, who by the way has a bomb blog! Love it... and thank you!

I'm supposed to thank the person who awarded me, sum up my blog in 5 words, and nominate 10 other wonderful bloggers...

5 words to sum up my blog: SPORATIC, exciting, truthful, beneficial, inspirational!

10 other wonderful bloggers... (I'll get back with this, since I've been absent from the blogosphere)... I promise!

I was also awarded by my good friend Thoughts of a Randomista- love this chick! She gave me the BFF Award:

Excerpt about me for this award:

"The BFF award goes to my good friend Girl About Business. Gab is a really a great friend all around. If you need someone to rant to about work, relationships or just someone to kick the shit with, she's your girl! I love her blog because since her and I are in the same professional field, Gab gives good advice about what to do when you are in a weird position. Her stories are witty and hilarious. Plus, she was the first person who actually encouraged me to blog! Gab, thank you so much! I appreciate you!"

Thank you Boober!

Work Creeper

2010-08-24T15:30:00.001-04:00

I must admit, I've never encountered a creeper in the workplace until now. I've known them to exist, but luckily never had to deal with one. You know, the person that makes you feel extremely awkward, that's undressing you with their eyes, making random conversation with you, being overly friendly to you opposed to other employees... Yea, that person!

Well, at my job we have a big finance team that consists of several small department, like payroll, accounts receivable, billing, etc. The departments obviously sit together, and the company has recently gone through some changes- merging with another company, integrating the two companies, bringing in new employees from the other location... Blah, blah, blah. Well, a lot of individuals on the finance team at the other location were offered positions within the new company and turned them down, with the exception of one person. THE CREEPER!

I got a weird vibe from him the very first time we had a finance team meeting, and he's been weird ever since. Let's start with the first encounter... "The waist side hello"- you know, when someone tries to get your attention by gently touching your waist. Usually done by someone that you know, or are close with. That wasn't the case. Instance #2... "The shoe compliment"- yes, he complimented me on my shoes and instantly my brain tracked back to that moment in Legally Blonde when Elle tapped her foot at the gay witness at the water fountain. Same thing went off in my head, until I overheard him talking about his children. Instance #3... "The i-don't-have-anything-else-to-say conversation" so he'll always make a point to ask me about my weekend. On top of that he pulled the race card on more than one occassion...

In so many words, he tells me that we're almost matching one day (when clearly, we weren't even remotely matching). Then he starts up this weird convo about how he's wearing the colors of his "homeland" (New Orleans clearly is a hometown, not a homeland!). He goes on to say that he shuld have been black; black men have it easier when it comes to going bald. If you didn't know by now, GAB is black, African American. Why would you make a comment like that?

Icing on the cake, this douche lord puts his arm up next to mine, starts talking about how he was upset that it rained this past weekend cause he couldn't lay in the sun... Followed by "I have some competition. I'm almost there", in reference to my complexion! OMG!

So now I'm to the point when I want to report him, at least to my manager. I'm sure she'll direct me to HR, but how- being the only black person on the finance team- can you "anonymously" file a complaint? Of course their going to use whatever I tell them in their case against him, and it will no longer be "anonymous"...

GAB needs major help! Anyone ever had to deal with this? How did you handle it?
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Inspiration: Operation Beautiful

2010-08-13T11:00:00.001-04:00

'm a big magazine reader, simply because I'm into fashion (although I'm not a trendsetter, and would rather blend in than stand out). That's definitely something that you guys didn't know about GAB. Anywho, I'm perusing through the September issue of Glamour Magazine when I come across an article that has inspired me. It is called Operation Beautiful, and it was started by Caitlin Boyle who battled with her weight and depression. Basically, she wrote a note to herself and to anyone else who might read it that said "You are beautiful"... simple and sweet :-) It helped her get through her roughest moments, and it serves as a spotlight for women and/or men who may be struggling with their appearance, have low self-esteem, or are simply having a bad day.

You can see below some of the notes that people are leaving across the world. I encourage everyone to join in on the movement. Grab a pad of Post-It notes and a sharpie marker, and start to grace everyone with your encouraging words!

Do it for you, for your coworker or boss, for your mother or sister, do it for your best friend or your worst enemy, do it for the young girl in school who "doesn't fit in", do it for the battered woman who can't leave an abusive relationship, do it for a stranger or a homeless person. The point is to do something that could be life changing, and join in on a positive revolution to encourage and inspire.

Here is the one I left in the women's bathroom at my job this morning!

Can We Get a Manicurist Over Here???

2010-08-12T21:05:00.000-04:00

I don't know what it is about some men and their lack of awareness concerning their appearance. Allow me to elaborate... nice slacks, dusty folded up tennis shoes, and a wrinkled polo shirt. Were you going for a casual look or just an "I don't give 2 shits" look???

But my absolute pet peeve is a man in the office with dirty nails. Key words: in the office! We don't work at a construction site, or as carpenters or landscapers. We use calculators, pencils, paper and computers all day. The dirtiest one can get in an office setting is accidentally pooping their pants, or not washing their hands after a finger-looking-good lunch! So I don't understand how a guy can have such filthy nails!

Are you collecting ear wax? Digging for gold in your nose? A chronic butt scratcher? Really, what is the cause of such evil in the workplace? Another peeve of mine is people who run out of the bathroom after only RINSING their hands.

We have got to be more mindful of the things that we do regarding our personal hygiene. It's takes a lot to get a rise out of me, and those two things definitely put me on edge.

Winners from 100th Post, $100 Post Giveaway

2010-08-06T08:00:00.000-04:00

I would like to thank everyone for entering the giveaway... moreso for loving GAB. As stated before, winners were chosen using a random generator. The wait and anticipation is over, so here are the results:

1st Place: 1 Year Subscription to Cosmo Magazine

Pretty Unfamous

2nd Place: "On My Own Two Feet" book by Manisha Thakor

Jess

3rd Place: $20 Panera Bread Giftcard

Nicole

4th Place: $15 Walmart Giftcard

Jessalyn

All of these chicks have pretty sweet blogs, so it wouldn't hurt to congratulate them AND make a slight detour to some new awesomeness in the blogosphere!

To claim/receive your gift, please email your:

Full name and Full mailing address to

gab.life@yahoo.com

I hope you all enjoy :-)

Bloggerstock: 1 Postcard, 1 Person

2010-07-31T08:00:00.001-04:00

Hi ya'll! My name is EmDottie. I'm being featured on GAB's blog today because of this thing called Bloggerstock. It's basically where bloggers pick a topic and do an orchestrated guest blog web ring thingamajing. Engineer in Heels is guest posting over on my blog. This months topic is about writing a person (dead or alive) a postcard. There are too many interesting people that have come and gone that I'd like to communicate with. I mean, Malcolm X,Marilyn Monroe, MLKJ, Cleopatra, Moses, Obama, Bill Gates, Spike Lee...

I wrecked my brain for a quick second to figure out who I wanted to write. In middle school I did a book report on Hatshepshut (one of the very few successful female pharaohs of Egypt) and I've been obsessed with becoming the ruler of the world ever since. (Probably doesn't help that my ancestors are from Egypt anyway. I could've been related to King Tut or something, haha.) She ruled for about twenty two years. One of the more interesting parts of the story is when her step-son Thutmose ends up killing her. Nobody knows for sure, there wasn't enough evidence to prove that he killed her, then there are stories that said he poisoned her. (Sounds like some soap opera type stuff if ya ask me)...

ANYWAY, so if I could write a postcard to her, this is what I would write:

Dearest Hatshepsut,

How ya doin?! So I wanted to pick your brain about ruling the country. (I plan on running the planet one day and I need some advice.) How did you deal with your son trying to kill you? (Well- obviously not that well...) What tips would you give a young girl hell bent on ruling the world? If you could go back in time, what would you have done differently? Who should I keep as my right hand man or should I have one? Have I missed anything? Do inform.

Thanks Hatsy!

-Emdottie.

Ok I probably won't call her Hatsy but that's a long ass name to include on a 3x5 postcard mmkay?
So sound off. Who would you try to contact if you could? What would you ask?

Thanks EmDottie for such a hilarious post, and do check out her blog. It is very interesting, cool layout, some of THEE best topics!!! To see who I'd write, check out The Ginge... like NOW :-)

GAB Rant: Nasty Mess

2010-07-30T22:07:00.000-04:00

So the other day, I'm being nosey over in my coworker's cube... I mean, I was really looking for a pair of scissors.

See, she's been out of the office for 2 weeks... 1 week on vacation, 1 week at another one of our locations. However, in between her 1 week vacation and 1 week of work, she stopped by the office to "check up on some things".

Yes, that is what we call here in America mold

So you mean to tell me that she didn't see this shit sitting next to her keyboard like I did? Or she just didn't care to clean it up? I'm still trying to figure out how you leave a half cup of coffee on your desk pre-vacation. I like order and cleanliness, and my coffee cup is of importance to me. I like a clean coffee cup when I walk into work, I hate disgusting ass coffee rings in my cup, and I despise people who have the mentality that there-was-coffee-in-it-before-so-I-can-just-add-more-coffee-on-top-of-the-gross-rings-and-yesterdays-last-bit-of-coffee!

I mean, to each it's own... but there is a such thing as cubicle etiquette, even when it's your own cubicle. Don't believe me? Check out the forum I started about cubicle etiquette at 20somethingbloggers. If you're not a member already, you probably should be. I'm just saying :-)

100th Post = Amazing Giveaways

2010-07-17T13:13:00.002-04:00

***Extension***

See bottom of post...

So, remember back in March when I posted the 100 Random Factoids about GAB? Well, if you scroll allll the way down to #101 you'll see that I mentioned a giveaway to celebrate my 100th post, so here it is!

To show my appreciation for all of my readers, all of the comments that you make, all of the insight that you give, all of your friends that you send over to my blog to follow me... I'm giving away $100 worth of prizes today. That's right... $100 big smackaroos!

Now, why would I have such a huge giveaway? Well, first off my blog gives me an immense amount of inspiration. It is usually an email that I receive or a comment that someone left that fuels my new topics. Secondly, this isn't a giveaway blog... so a once-in-a-while giveaway is perfectly fine with me. I'm not in the business of luring people by giving things away, otherwise I'd be doing this all the time. I'm not looking for additional clicks, because I don't advertise on my blog (except for my own personal ads, hehe). I love to be associated with, even if it is through my blog, with relatable people that appreciate my content. 100 posts is a definite milestone for me, and I appreciate all of you who have followed me on my journey and will continue to read what I have to say!

Enough with the gibberish... here's what I'm giving away:

♥ 1 Year Subscription to my fav magazine, COSMO ♥

(I love LC, hence the cover of her and not Britney Spears)

♥ One of my favorite books, one that I live by- On My Own Two Feet by Manisha Thakor... def must read ♥

♥ $20 gift card to Panera Bread ♥

♥ $15 gift card to Walmart ♥

Here's how you can win one of these awesome prizes... simply comment on this post. It could be anything about GAB, something you love about my blog... something you dislike about it... what you'd like to see more of... topics that interest you that you'd like featured... Just comment, and you'll be entered into the drawing (random generator). Tell your friends about it, link to this giveaway through your blog, post it on your FB page, or twitter... whatever!

Giveaway ends Friday, July ~~23rd~~ 30th, 2010 at 11:59 EST.

There's Nothing Like a Challenge

2010-07-16T21:58:00.000-04:00

It's hard being at the bottom of the totem pole... bottom of the barrel... bottom of the food chain... being the intern, that is. Being the ONLY intern. But I guess I'm better off than the temps since I'm actually on the company's payroll.

Speaking of temps, there's one in our department who has been there since January. He's kinda like the permanent temporary employee, so to speak. Bad thing is, well bad for him... good for me- I'm taking all of his work, which means that sooner than later he'll be getting the boot. On top of that, there were 5 positions open in our department; 4 of which have been filled by newcomers. The 5th by me... so, where does that leave permanent temp??? Hitchhiking on the side of Corporate Dr. It's definitely an awkward feeling knowing that everything that you are learning once belonged to someone else, and that person is slowing watching their responsibilities and duties being taken away from them. Soon, they'll be taking his laptop and stapler away from him. Poor permanent temp :-(

Well, I get an invite to a meeting about 3 days ago informing me that I'd be taking over some account reconciliations, and will be responsible for them this month forward. There are 6 accounts to be exact; I guess they believe in my capabilities enough to give me such a significant amount of work to do. So I get into the meeting today, and it played out just as I thought it would. Everything was basically laid out for me.. the basic format, what to look for, the file paths, etc. I won't lie, I was excited. This is the first real accounting duty that I've had. The past 4 weeks that I've been at MC, it's basically been file maintenance, scanning, disposing of and transferring fixed assets. But now, I have a true responsibility each month- my 6 reconciliations are kinda like my babies. I have to look over them and maintain what happens to them, nurture them... feed them with journal entries, and clean up after their mistakes.

It wasn't until about 1.5 hrs into the 2 hour meeting that my adrenaline rush was stabbed in the neck with a sharp, unidentifiable object. Remember being a kid and after misbehaving, you have your game taken from you or you're told that you can't go play outside. Yea, that's how I felt when I was told that 4 of my babies were cake walks... simply plug and chug recon's, copy and pasting formulas. No real investigative work going on there. So I'm sitting there with 4 super easy recon's and 2 that will kick my ass come Monday.

It almost felt like they were taking my job back from me. Weird, I know... one cool thing though is that one of my accounts is an accrued litigation account ~aka~ a pending lawsuit that I'll be monitoring!

Hmmm... I'm definitely looking forward to that, and the return of my boss who I'm sure will have plenty for me to do since she's been out of the office for the past 4 days!

TOAR: Crash Course to Corporate TAKEOVER!!!

2010-07-13T19:31:00.004-04:00

For all of my readers who are wondering who the hell TOAR is, she's one of my good friends from college. We both have interesting blogs/lives, at least that's what we like to think hehe! Sporadically, we're going to tag each other's blogs with stories guest posts. So, everyone raise your champagne glasses to TOAR's first post on GAB!

Hey Everybody!

I just want to thank GAB for letting me use her blog for my random writing chaos that you will read in a few seconds (or minutes depending on how slow you are lol jk) My name is Lynn and my "webhome" is Thoughts of a Randomista. I am a 21 year old college student studying Financial Accounting/Reporting and Accounting Information Systems... (we have fights frequently because crap doesn't like to balance, URGH!) Anyway, I like to blog about Twilight ♥TEAM EDWARD ♥, Movies and Entertainment, Relationships, and Random-Disgusting-Raunchy-EMO-Hilarious things that may come across my path while living in a big city like Detroit, Michigan - which happens frequently. In a nut shell: I talk shit. GAB and I have been friends for about 3 years and have taken countless accounting classes together. I don't know what I would have done without her. Now she is off making ARAB MONEY without me. (No racial pun intended, it's just that yall are ballin').

Now, back to what's important: CORPORATE FRICKIN' TAKEOVER!?

I have been interning at a HUGE not-for-profit company in Southfield, MI as a Business Process Analyst. There are 4 other interns in the department with me: Gina, Karen, Bill, and James. Gina, Karen, and James are GREAT to work with but Bill, yeah – I'll talk about him in a few. Gina and I are like best fricking friends now! You know when you are around someone so much you get annoyed? Not with her – It's easy as Sunday morning, especially considering we share a cube.

The company had a tornado drill in the first week to "protect its employees in case of an emergency." It was great not only because "it was for safety precautions," but because we were all stuck in a stairwell for about 15 mins and I got meet a lot of new people within the first day! You know- the average 'BIG WIGS' lol. We also had a lot of reading to do to get caught up on current business processes. BORING. We recently finished the planning phase for a big project mandate by getting locked in a room for days to "tie up loose ends."

When you are stuck in a room…..

With the same people…

For 5 days…

You start to notice things.

HUGE, BALL BUSTING, IRRITATING, RETARDED THINGS!

For example, a contractor named Nick has to disagree with everything – kinda like Bill who I will cut a new hole into in a short while. Nick and I had a tiny conflict because as you know I am an intern, bottom of the barrel, and apparently with a "TREAT ME LIKE SHIT" sign stuck on my frickin' forehead. I'd been talking to Nick and it seemed as if he isn't paying attention – which was cool with me; at this point, I didn't care. Then he just blurted out "I am paying attention to you." I said, "Ok….." and continued with my thought. Then this dumbass states "I act like an ass when I don't care about what people are saying to me." In a very assertive-I'm-gonna-kill-you-bitch-firm voice while looking him dead in the eyes, I said: "Ok, well you might want to listen to what I have to say." He looked terrified and shocked because I am an intern and I shouldn't have said anything. HAHAHA – HOW MUCH RESPECT DID I EARN THIS DAY!?

So I do not like Nick already and since he has to disagree with EVERYTHING, it didn't make it better that he obviously hates interns. In this room, he disagrees with the new ideas or old ideas that needed to be validated, he would look around the room as if he is looking for someone's approval or to see if anyone is agreeing with him. But OMG, DON'T LET THE NUMBERS BE WRONG! Another contractor Greg– his subordinate, made a table and some of the numbers were off by a little. He asks Greg "Did Bill come up with these numbers?" WDF, just because he is an intern doesn't mean that they are wrong because he did it! Everyone wanted to continue viewing the table to get the basic understanding of it and Nick would not let Greg hear the end of the wrong numbers. Every five seconds – "those numbers are wrong so we can't make a clear decision." "Since the numbers are wrong…" "the numbers are wrong…"

OK BITCH, WE GET IT! THE NUMBERS ARE WRONG! CAN WE JUST MOVE ON?!

Anywho, Bill and I attend the same school. Thankfully, I never had a class with him because he would get on my damn nerves there too. Bill is the guy that is so analytical, he can't have fun. He asks questions about everything. "Why did you do that?" "Why can't you do it this way?" "Why do you laugh at ridiculously long-words-that-no-normal-human being-can-physically-pronounce-and-you-don't-know-the-meaning-to?" – Because bitch, it's funny.

It's what, why, how with him all the time – it pisses me off. Bill asked me "Why is your facebook private?" I told him that in all honesty (this is a true statement) I have hater's and stalkers that like to do mean things to me on facebook. Then He asks "why? Do you have something on there you don't want anyone to see?" My response to this was, no! It's nothing like that – I just like to be in control over who see's what and who adds me as a friend. This is the obvious answer, right?

WRONG! This dude said "You must be insecure."

WDF am I supposed to do with that?! Bill almost died that day.

What I learned about the Corporate world is - - Everyone is an Asshole. There are BIG assholes and little ones. But the real challenge is:

Are you going to let someone RAPE YOURS? Hahaha.

Thanks for reading. Follow/ Comment... It makes us horny!

Life on My Own...

2010-07-10T15:00:00.000-04:00

Who ever thought that I'd spend majority of my day, aside from being at work, browsing websites and apartment shopping instead of actually shopping for myself... i.e. like clothes... I have a huge walk-in closet, enough space for 4 of my wardrobes, which makes me want to cry everyday since I can't fill it with fun, fabulous clothes right now.

Instead, I'm covering my dry erase fridge calendar with bill due dates, and huge green $$ notes to encourage me to keep going. There isn't much I love about living alone, aside from coming and going as I please. But I did that anyway... I LOVE grocery shopping and cleaning up. Basically, I love being domesticated. I've been here almost 2 weeks and the only things I've cooked on my stove are eggs, bacon, and boiled Ramen noodles. I finally used the oven today to warm up last nights pizza. Whhooooooooo! Making progress.

And it is a little scary being alone, 100% of the time. Sometimes I catch myself watching the clock, wondering how I could possibly be so lonely out here. Granted I love the fact that this is all mine, it is super damn boring. There are no clubs, no scenes to join, no cliques, not even a decent mall for miles. Even with my best friend here, it's still kinda lame since she's studying 90% of the time.

I spent the first 11 nights here with the living room light on and the ironing board pushed up against my door. That only put me more on edge, so I exerted my freedom and ability to live alone by removing the ironing board and finally turning off the light.

Value City pissed me off yesterday by only delivering one piece of my sectional... what kind of mess is that? They better have a free lamp, or table vase for the inconvenience. On a lighter note, I just love my job! I definitely couldn't have asked for anything more. And the fact that I can come home on my lunch break, eat a sandwich, take a 45 minute nap and still return to my desk on time is the best thing in the world.

PS- Central air is the ish :-)

Love, GAB!

From Mommy to Me...

2010-06-30T19:26:00.001-04:00

Have you ever considered the morals and guidance that helped to mold you into the person you are today? I'm sure most of us don't think beyond our actions, but those very actions happen because at some point in our lives we were taught or conditioned to be/act in a certain manner. A lot of the things that I do are shaped by the things that my parents taught me, particularly my mother. In this post, I'm going to highlight for you all of the significant things that I was told by my mom along with things that I learned from her...

There is more than one way to make money... Nothing irks me more than a person that doesn't try, or dishes out an excuse for everything. Things are not going to fall into your lap, and frankly I don't want them to. I love knowing that everything that I have, I worked hard for it. No one can take that away from me. If a full-time job was not in line for me, 2 part-time jobs would have to suffice. If no one was hiring in my area, I'd use my skills and knowledge to tutor people.

Sell yourself... You have lots of things to be proud of like high school graduation, completion of your college degree, promotion at work, successfully completing a marathon, etc. It's only boasting when you're not asked... but if someone wants to hear about your accomplishments, don't be afraid to tell them.
-Respect yourself and others will follow suit... If you present yourself in an ugly fashion, don't be surprised when you get the short end of the stick. Snooty attitudes and I'm-better-than-you vibes are a sure way to lose respect in almost every situation. Take a step back, look in the mirror, and decide whether you would like yourself. It will serve you justice!

Never have too much pride... Please do not mix pride with proud. They are spelled differently for a reason. I had to learn this on my own, with a little guidance from mommy. At one point in my life, I refused to ask for help. I relied heavily on my mother to make it happen, and when she couldn't do it or I couldn't help myself I'd just go without. Although there has always been people in my life who want to help me, I failed to accept their help and go the long route. Simply because I like to earn what I get, and by taking from others even at their own will, I feel like I am selling myself short or that I'll owe them something in return. I never want to be indebted to someone else. EVER! Mommy's lesson was to never be afraid to receive, but I taught her something too...

... Nothing in life is better than giving! My mom is astonished at how much I donate to charity, how many hours I volunteer in the community, or how often I participate in outreach services or seek the opportunity to help others on my own terms. All of the work that I've done for free was self-sought. No one forced me, but I'm always felt obligated to give back.

What are some ways of life that your mother (or father) instilled in you? I'd love to know!

Friends vs. Wallet

2010-06-29T23:19:00.002-04:00

Today, I stumbled across The Blog Carnival at 20something bloggers which is terrific because I always miss them. The topic of this carnival touched home, and it runs along the lines of living up to others lifestyle. Now my situation can be looked at a few different ways, but I'll let you decide.

Before college, I did not care what I wore or what type of purse I carried. I frequently shopped at Payless for shoes and Claire's for jewelry and purses. Once I joined a sorority in 2005 and was introduced to the lifestyle of some of the women, it easily rubbed off on me in a way that I was not conscious of. No longer did I shop at lower end retail stores, I began shopping at Coach, Guess, MetroPark, ALDO, etc. Anything that was out of my means was fair game. I tossed away my cheap bags, and bought my first Coach purse. I carried the same Coach purse for over 2 years, simply because of its name and the fact that it looked better than anything that had ever adorned my shoulder before. It became apparent that appearance is/was everything, as most of them drive the best cars and buy the most elaborate/expensive clothing.Which leads me to my next point...

...there are some things that women cannot sacrifice, and each of us has our own guilty pleasure that we can't live without. Mine is hair, nail and eyebrow maintenance. I shriek at my desk just imagining not having a perfect manicure, or an overgrown hair in my eyebrows. Chipped nail polish is a no-no, especially if wearing sandals. So yes, if I was down to my last $20, a $13 manicure and $7 eyebrow waxing is in order. May not be the most frugal way of living, but it is definitely something I've grown accustomed to and can't live without.

However, after becoming more responsible for myself and my expenses, I realize that that lifestyle is not for me. I've severely cut back on mani/pedi days, and although it takes 3 more hours than my stylist I've been perfecting my hair at home.

My pockets have thanked me! So to anyone attempting to fit in, or living a lifestyle according to the means of others, you should really consider reevaluating who you are and what truly makes you happy, and seek personal fulfillment from there. Making those changes for myself led to a Financial Fitness Score of 73, meaning I'm on the right track for being in great financial shape!

Love GAB :-)

Disclaimer: This post is part of the 20SB Blog Carnival: Friends & Money, sponsored by Charles Schwab. Prizes may be awarded to selected posts. The information and opinions expressed in this post do not reflect the views or opinions of Charles Schwab. Details on the event, eligibility, and a complete list of participating bloggers can be found here.

I Have to Grow Up Sometime

2010-06-27T23:15:00.001-04:00

GAB made the biggest transition of her life today... She packed her belongings, moved away from her family and boyfriend, and is now sulking in her misery. Watching my family go back home, 70 miles away was one thing. But to watch my boyfriend leave was absolutely devastating... As a matter of fact, he's been gone for about 10 minutes and I'm still crying.

How could something so wonderful in your life be the root of so much loneliness? I really had to grow up today... I've had to make real grown up decisions, and I've traveled to a place unfamiliar to me- where I know absolutely no one. I wasn't told that it would be easy, but I definitely didn't think it would be so hard. That's when you realize that you are your own being, but people help to make you who you are. I try not to bicker with them so much, and assert my adulthood... But maybe I'm one of the selected few who should have waited to leave home. Granted I'm responsible enough to handle this lifestyle, but am I ready?

Well, I guess at this point I have no choice but to be. I have to make my apartment my home, and enjoy it because this is what I asked for. So excuse me in advance if my next few posts seem a little sorrowful, I'm going through a phase that hopefully will subdue very soon :-)

Wish GAB luck in her new life!
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

GAB Life Updates

2010-06-18T22:11:00.001-04:00

Good evening to all, live from my Blackberry :-)

I forgot what it felt like to start a new job... To be the "newbie", the need to be shown where the bathroom is or where to hang your coat, how to log into various programs (the most difficult for me) and getting acquainted with so many people!

To make matters worse, I had lunch today with 3 coworkers; two of which I couldn't tell you their names! On the flipside, I've been given a great amount of responsibility these past 2 days and am so excited to learn and do more.

A little about this place... It is the epitome of Corporate America... Cubicles are taller than me, closed in and very secluded. The company actually blocks access to all outside email providers, Facebook, Pandora... This is nothing like my old job at CC. I'm sure there is some kind of firewall or cell phone blockage in the building since my phone literally dies after 3 hours of being at work and not using it for more than a minute. So far, I have 6 different passwords for various programs and software work-related. But those sound like complaints to me, so... Let's reflect on some cool things likeeeeee...

... The bathroom... THE nicest work facility restroom ever- fully equipped with an unlimited supply of pads and tampons, even Lysol disinfectant spray in every stall :-) A plush leather couch and a cabinet full of hair products and tools!
... The kitchen... State-of-the-art Paula Dean kitchen straight out of a magazine- patio deck attached!
... Raffle prizes... Some sweet things are being raffled off this month alone... XBOX 360, Wii, Dell laptop mini, vacations, etc!
... Jean and Popcorn day... Every single Friday is basically free dress day. Let's see, I wore jeans and some really cute sandals today :-)
... Laptops for permanent employees- access your work from anywhere as long as you have your laptop!
... There are 4 baby bunnies living and growing in a hole right outside of our kitchen window.
... My coworkers are pretty sweet! They're so nice and welcoming, always checking on lil' ole me :-)
... There is something for everyone at my new job! Any interests you may have can definitely be suited at MC.
... In 3 months, we're moving to a new location. Nice college town, with many opportunities for growth. More collaborative work style floorplan. Lower cubicle walls, more open space, onsite fitness center, and more conference room space! Can't wait to be apart of such a dynamic change within a well cultured organization!

Wish GAB much luck!
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Really Big Lifestyle Change!

2010-06-14T20:16:00.000-04:00

So as most of you know, if you've been following along... I went apartment hunting on Friday, and literally found a place in less than an hour. I know that may sound weird, but I did my research before I actually went out. I had been calling places for about a week, getting quotes on apartments, distance from work, perks, amenities, etc. I found the perfect place, and since I'm going to be the only one living there I didn't have to worry about compromising for anyone else's needs :-) My boyfriend could be a tad bit picky somethings... I'm just saying!

Anywho, it has central air, a dishwasher, plenty of closet space... I have wayyyy too many clothes and shoes, and the bathroom isn't in the bedroom (which BTW has a nice sized walk-in closet :-) What girl doesn't love that?! Of course with me only being there for 3 months and then on the move again, I had to figure out what things I would be taking with me while being as minimal as possible yet making my first place feel like home. Therefore a little shopping was done to complete "the look"... an aerial rug for the living room, a nice coffee table, shower curtain and bathroom rug set, bedroom vanity, trash can, dishes, towels and general household items. I've spent so much money in Walmart this past week, it is absolutely ridiculous!

Needless to say, I am extremely excited about this new chapter in my life. Sad that I'm leaving things behind for a while, including my family, my wonderful boyfriend and my friends. Good thing I have Skype, a Blackberry and a car for those lonely nights :-) It will definitely be hard adjusting to making my own meals, being 100% responsible for myself, making sure my ENTIRE home is clean, getting to work on time, buying groceries, paying rent, car note, car insurance, cable/internet, electricity and gas bill, gas for my car... Ugh, that lists looks even uglier than I thought. Well, I'll be rolling with the punches that life throws at me and will be sure to keep you guys posted on the goings-ons in my renovated life :-)

But until I move in, I have a to-do list like none other... jury duty tomorrow, final exam coming up, first day of work on Thursday, Father's Day on Sunday, Going Away Dinner, andddddd actually packing <------ I do not look forward to this!

On the bright side, tomorrow is a new day for new opportunities and new lessons.

A New Life Begins in Just a Few Days...

2010-06-09T23:08:00.000-04:00

After impatiently waiting on a call back on Friday, I began to freak out about the job I had interviewed for. Monday rolled around and still no call from the Talent Manager, which didn't seem normal of her since she's always prompt. Well, I took it upon myself to give a follow-up call just to see where things stood as other employers began calling and emailing me about other opportunities. In a few short words, I NAILED IT! I got the internship and couldn't be any happier.

This didn't come with issues though. As soon as I got the news, I had to crack down on apartment hunting. I definitely have to find something this week that will be ready for move-in by the end of the month. Believe me though, I am scared as shit. And it doesn't help that I just read an article in Cosmo about a man stalking a woman at her apartment :-/ I've never lived on my own and I'm almost 23 years old. I guess that's my fault though... I should have went away to school as planned. But I am so eager to get away from the city life and live something a little less fast-pace. I'm moving to a little country town in Michigan, close to the border of Ohio. Nothing but farms and cornfields for miles, with a corporate building standing tall in the middle of it all. It's a quaint little college town that to my surprise offers a lot of advantages. Utilities, as well as internet is included in most of the places I've searched and I am excited to check them out on Friday!

Not to mention I had to sit in a medical center today for more than an hour for a drug test... UGH! I've also been contacted by FedEx who apparently attempted to deliver a package to my home from my new job, but had the wrong address. Actually, they had the right address, wrong zip code. So they were literally on the other side of the state with my package... funny stuff! I'm still trying to figure out what it is though! I start next Thursday, and soooo not looking forward to the hour and a half commute 3 days out of the week for the next 3 weeks. My apartment will be my best friend....

Have you ever had to move for your job or for an awesome opportunity? What was the hardest part of moving for you?

GAB Update

2010-06-04T23:13:00.001-04:00

You'd think that by me being unemployed for almost a month now that I'd devote more time to my blog, and keep you guys in the loop with my everyday living...

I won't lie, it has been devastatingly hard to wake up before 8am on only 2 days out of the week to attend class... it is weird wearing jeans and t-shirts pretty much everyday, having more than enough time to study, over cleaning the house and doing yardwork when most people are out making a living... it is hard to watch my business casual attire collect dust in my closet, and wash a bunch of socks, leggings and tank tops... to wake up late and go to bed even later, to not nap in fear of missing a call from a prospective employer... texting non-stop all throughout the day to my jobless friend in Laredo, TX.

I had to face it; I took having a job for granted. I felt like I deserved it more than others, that I would never be at the bottom trying to find my way to the top again. I spent money on material items that I should have saved for a rainy day, or a rainy few months in my case. Yet, a mere 3 weeks ago I inquired about unemployment compensation. But I didn't settle, I couldn't settle. Since then, I've been on the hunt for a job like no other. What people don't realize is that you have to actively look for a job as if it was already your full-time job. That means for at least 7 hours a day, you should be flooding companies with your cover letter and resume.

During this daunting process, I've had a few successes. Nothing worthwhile came around until recently. I've been given the opportunity to interview for a multi billion dollar company, one with a very reputable name and a wonderful brand gracing the households of millions of individuals across the world. What makes me appreciate the opportunity more is the fact that I sought it on my own. It wasn't handed to me via a network, colleague or referral. I took the time to apply to companies that I could see myself contributing to, not just any old place on Career Builder... I also learned that CareerBuilder.com doesn't build careers. Out of the 80 or so resumes that I sent out, all of my responses came from my hands-on actions. Physically taking my resume to places, or using CareerBuilder as a tool- not as my only resource.

Here's how I do it... I search on CareerBuilder.com for companies that are hiring, and usually the names are given. Instead of clicking the "Email your Resume" button, I visit the actual website of the company and apply there. This has proved to be more beneficial for myself, but to each its own.

But to sum it all up, I had a wonderful interview yesterday... 70 miles from home, but definitely worth every mile or the rent money that I will dish out instead of gas money (haven't made up my mind yet, but leaning more towards moving than commuting)... 6 month internship turn full-time position with excellent benefits upon successful completion of internship and excellent evaluations from managers and staff members. OVERLY EXCITED AND AWAITING THE FINAL CALL :-)

Keep me in your prayers, and feel free to email me with any questions about job hunting... I'm sure I have some useful tips that you can use!

There's a Reason for Everything!

2010-05-12T15:32:00.000-04:00

Not that it bothered me or anything, but I always wondered why men and women had separate restrooms. I understand that it may be more comfortable for both genders, as it is for me. But what prompted institutions, restaurants, schools and all the other places with separate restrooms to segregate?

From what I've read online and my general working knowledge being a woman, I'm assuming it is because our society holds steady on the idea that nudity, sex, doing the 'duty', or whatever are personal affairs, and should be handled as personably as possible. Same goes for the idea that boys and girls shouldn't share beds, or there is no such thing as boy/girl slumber parties. Honestly, I have never been to one or known any person to have a slumber party for their child with boys and girls sleeping over. That was a sideline comment...Conglomerating women together in restrooms allows for less discomfort. At one point I was always afraid to open sanitary napkins or tampons while other women were in the same restroom as me, afraid that they'd hear me and know what I was up to. Now, I have no issues with that. I understand that everyone coming into that restroom has either 'been there, done that' or will soon 'be there and do that'. As the same for men!

Imagine walking into a public restroom and seeing a man standing at a urinal with a woman squatting on the toilet right next to him. Or what about those times when you're on a date and you need to go powder your nose? Wouldn't it be awkward for your date to walk in the restroom while you're getting pretty?

But recently I've come to appreciate separate restrooms even more. At my job there is a staff lounge, outside of our office right down the hall. In that lounge are two single restrooms, no gender designation. After drinking an 18oz cup of sweet tea, I immediately needed a potty break. Well, as I'm walking into one of the singles, the director of our office (male) is walking out. Surprisingly, the other restroom was occupied. So I was forced to use the bathroom that our director had just exited. I immediately wanted to barf after seeing the way that he left the restroom for the next person. Soapy sink knobs, toilet seat raised with drops of urine all over the toilet! I guess he thought that by him smiling and speaking before leaving that I'd forgive him. And I did... it wasn't until he repeated the action two days later, when my best friend walked into the same bathroom that he just left out of. She too noticed the same exact thing that I did, making him a habitual toilet-seat-leaver-upper-pee-stained-toilet-wetter!

And he's married... now this may not be the case for all men, but he is one nasty guy for that. His wife has to be crazy to accept that.

Starbucks Update

2010-05-05T14:44:00.000-04:00

I don't personally get paid for advertising appealing information about Starbucks on my blog, but I enjoy a nice frappucino every now and again. I'm sure some of my lovely readers do as well... some more indulgent than others. I ran across this ad on my Facebook page; you can visit any participating Starbucks during Happy Hour (3-5pm) Friday, May 7th- Sunday, May 16th and create your own frappucino or purchase one of the menu fraps for half the price... YES, HALF-OFF FRAPPUCINOS! For most, that's about $1.75 a pop! Can't beat it :-)

Feeling Inspired!

2010-05-02T00:05:00.000-04:00

Today I was able to witness history, or whatever you want to call it. For the first time ever, I was present for a speech by President Barack Obama. Now for some of you, this may not be monumental if you've heard him speak publicly. But I was definitely grounded for about 20 minutes or so.

At 8:13a, I walked into the Big House or the University of Michigan graduation ceremony to watch my best friend in the entire world graduate. I must say, she chose the perfect time to graduate and the ceremony was so inspirational and moving. It was surreal.

Imagine sitting in a stadium filled with 80,000+ people, most there celebrating a treacherous yet joyous journey for their children/family/friends... others there for the love of Obama. There are helicopters flying overhead. Secret Service employees on the roof. State police at every entrance. 8,000+ graduates from every avenue of learning. This was surreal. I almost felt like I was in a movie. But it wasn't the size of the crowd, or the fact that the President was there. It was his words that moved me, his charisma and charm, his demeanor, his knowledge and understanding of a functioning society.

He spoke of civility, being open to opposing views and gaining news from resources aside from our norm. In particular, he told the graduates (I'd like to include myself since I graduate in less than 24 hours) to understand the naysayers... to put yourself in their shoes. Only then are we able to view the full picture. Knowledge is the best defense. He spoke of the political quarrels that are circling our media, and how we can not allow them to cloud our perception of how things are.

Obviously we didn't have the best seats, but it was perfect!

I've been compelled to do great things, I've always had the mindset that I can do anything. But seeing Obama, listening to him and knowing that he's a man that has been through so many obstacles and hoops to be where he is... that speaks volumes to the people. That shows us graduates, as cliche as it may be, that YES WE CAN!

Word of wisdom... You can do anything that you want to do, but you can not do everything!

Back in a Flash

2010-04-26T21:05:00.000-04:00

GAB will be back to her regularly scheduled program on Wednesday, April 28th, 2010... Again, I repeat:

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 28TH, 2010... news, gossip, life, love, laughter are all coming your way!

100 Random Factoids about GAB

2010-03-05T15:35:00.001-05:00

A few months ago these random lists were floating all over Facebook and I'm sure Myspace (not a user), but I don't think I've ever seen a completely random list of 100 items. That's tough, so bear with me as I attempt to get through this in one posting...

I've lived at more than 20 different places in the city of Detroit... obviously I'm not a military baby.
Most people believe that I'm mean before they even know my name. Once they get to know me, I'm one of the nicest people that one could meet. It's true that you can't judge a book by it's cover.
I used to be a daddy's girl until my dad got married to my stepmom and had 2 other kids. Now I just roll with mommy.
I just recently paid off all of my credit card debt that accumulated from small purchases + a boatload of interest! Did I mention this all happened in 2006?!
My first job was a summer internship at KPMG when I was 15, which changed my life and my career goals. Since then I've worked non-stop.
I'm a very independent person although I still live at home with my mom. I think that can be attributed to OCS (only child syndrome) and the fear of leaving my mom alone. I think I'll have a baby and let her have it (just kidding!)
When I don't see people for a long time, it makes it that much harder for me to call or go to see them. Weird I know.
I couldn't imagine sitting at home doing absolutely nothing. The first thing I'd do if I was unemployed or didn't attend college would be to begin writing my book (underway as I blog!)
I don't understand cheaters, and I know that I never will. Like my mom says "looking at the menu is normal, as long as you don't order".
I usually run into guys that I have to take care of, with the exception of my current boyfriend- it amazes me every day how independent we both are but how dependent we are on each others love and companionship. Love that dude!
Ultimately, I would love to be a combination of wife/mother/CEO/event planner extraordinaire/best-selling author! I'm going to do it too!
My closet consists of randomly placed articles of clothing, with the floor decorated with different colors of shoes that are almost identical!
I slowly feel like I'm turning into my mother, needing my daily fix of coffee along with my sudden need to dispose of all of my tennis shoes. (I've never seen my mom wear a pair of sneakers in my life! She even wore dress shoes to Cedar Point once!)
It has taken me 5 1/2 years to finish my undergrad degree and I don't really don't care what anyone has to say about it. Every works at their own pace!
I'm a very creative thinker and love to share my ideas of planning activities/events with others. Ask me anything!
I spend majority of my days trying to figure out exactly what I'm going to blog about next, considering I man 2 blogs.
I'm slowing falling off of the Facebook bandwagon, and I think that's a great accomplishment!
I reallllyyyyy want a Yorkie Poo. Like real bad :-) If you know any cheap breeders, holla at me!
My first dream job was to be a stripper (too many X-rated movies) lmao! I can't believe that I just admitted to that.
I hate when people use to/two/too, your/you're, hear/here, their/they're interchangeably. They're spelled differently for a reason.
I always tell people that I'm broke even when I'm really not. I guess that's from being broke all of the time. I'm just used to it!
I hate friends that use you for their benefit. If you can't call on a regular day, don't call when you need something.
I love hard, sometimes too hard.
I bottle up my emotions because I feel like few people can relate. Eventually I cry and am not ashamed of that.
Before I started college, I could lock my bedroom door and read a 500-page novel in one sitting. Hence my passion to write a series of books. I haven't read any novels since 2005!
When I was younger, I was a mall rat! Now I hate to shop at the mall and would rather window shop and buy online.
I am a cupcake connoisseur. Ask me to bake you some!
I have a love/hate relationship with the seasons. They know why.
I desperately want to go on a cruise... to like, anywhere!
It amazes me when my out-of-state family comes to visit and I show them where Canada is located, right across the Detroit River and they get super excited.
I love Detroit. Period.
I took a creative writing course a year ago, and realized that most of my writing was filled with anger and pain. Go figure...
I still write checks, probably only because I can order cute checks!
Certified lipgloss fanatic! At any given moment, you can find 5 in my purse.
I love to laugh and smile :-)
Volunteering makes me happy, but I haven't been able to do so in a long while.
I visited a prison for the first time in my life this past Sunday. I was petrified!
I have a mild intolerance to cheese and milk, but I continue to eat/drink them. Watch out!
I could eat breakfast foods for breakfast, lunch and dinner!
I love my black hair. I wish it was naturally black.
I hate chipped nail polish with a passion. Take it off or repolish it please!
I used to keep a daily journal. That's when I actually felt like the things I was going through was significant. I laugh at them now.
I love being in the water, but I can't swim to save my life!
Nothing makes me feel as good as a girls day with my chickees! Movies, gossip and virgin daquiris :-)
Life without my Blackberry... what would that be like?
I'm somewhat of a pack rat, I usually have a ton of stuff that I don't/won't use. Eventually I'll do a random cleaning, but it's definitely consuming my life.
When I'm home alone, I turn my TV up extra loud because I get scared sometimes.
I watch Taking the Stage, The Hills, 16 & Pregnant, Teen Mom, and Bad Girls Club religiously... shame on me!
I've been actively looking for a non-denominational church to attend, but have been unsuccessful in my search. If you know of any in the Metro Detroit area, please let me know.
I've never been skiing or snowboarding, but would really love to go.
I'm beginning the 'character development' process of my book next week... wish me luck!
I took Calculus 3 times during college... sad story. Don't ask!
I just bought an Ice Tea Maker from Walmart... I'm in love :-)
I love to go fishing, and have picnics.
In 2000, I had 2 'female' hamsters given to me by my moms coworker. When I came home from a week long vacation, I had 4 hamsters. I wonder how that happened!
I'm allergic to citric acid... yes, that includes lemons, oranges, orange juice, lemonade, grapefruit... My lips explode if any of the aforementioned come into contact with my lips.
I'd really love to live in the heart of Chicago one day... anything outside of downtown would be just like living in Detroit.
I'm a certified shopaholic, but I bargain shop. So it really doesn't count.
I would love to teach the basic principles of accounting to college students. I think those are the most beneficial courses a person could take.
I want to become a tax professional so that I can rape Uncle Sam... just kidding!
39 more to go...... Whoa!
I have the hardest time sticking to a budget, only because I believe in rewarding myself with unnecessary purchases.
I've carried the same Coach handbag for over 2 years now. No joke, it's time for an upgrade.
I struggle to move past the shooting death of my uncle 4 years ago. I'm assuming since no one has been arrested yet or ever will. That story will come soon...
I recently cut naps out of my diet, and am struggling with sleep deprivation. At least I don't have a problem falling asleep at night anymore.
I have a low tolerance for bullshit. Don't feed it to me.
Most free days, you can find me in a nail or hair salon... followed by me dancing in the mirror in my unmentionables with remote in hand to feel good music.
I'm a huge fan of computer games, particularly Wedding Dash and Diner Dash. Can't get enough...
I'm convinced that when I was younger (8th grade), in an attempt to grow boobies I ate an entire pot of spaghetti which caused me to develop this puggy little belly that I now have. I'm sick of people believing that I have a 'bun in the oven'!
I wish this whole Credit CARD ordeal would have existed 4 years ago before I got myself in CC debt.
I used to run a kids magazine- all white paper, scribbled with tidbits of how to be a better kid and crossword puzzles for the little ones. I believe I was 10.
I am an Avon Sales Rep... purchase your goodies from me!
I bought an iPod Touch last year and used it for everything but music!
I've had 3 cars since I was 17, which I guess is a good thing. 2 of which were lemons!
The farther down this list I go, the more I realize how random life can be!
I miss the days when my mommy and daddy would bring me lunch to school and make all the other kids jealous!
I'm most content when I'm asleep, believe it or not. It's the best place to be... however, we all have lives to live- hence the elimination of naps.
I make a new to-do-list almost everyday. It's always something popping up!
My rainy day fund consists of nothing but coins... A LOT of coins! But hey, we gotta start somewhere!
I want to have a Platinum wedding, but I don't want to be a Bridezilla!
I have a mild case of road rage...
My favorite color is pink.. pink bed set, pink trash can, pink bookbag, pencil case, folders and binders. Everything pink is a must have. It's not just a color, it's an attitude!
I think my hair is falling out in the front :-(
I hate when things sit on my desk unfinished due to another person's incompetence.
Sometimes I don't know where to properly place apostrophe's in my words... sad, I know.
I loved dancing so much that I joined our school's dance team the same year that I was President of our sorority. Needless to say, I had to leave the dance team due to a lack of time. To make up for that though, I'm signing up for an Adult Hip Hop class at a local school. Hope it's fun!
When I was 14, my grandfather passed away. Since then, I haven't had a stable relationship with my fraternal grandmother.
I love opening up mail... even if it's a bill... The excitement that I feel when I see a balance slowly dwindling down to $0. Whew!
I don't plan to stop going to school anytime soon. Next up Masters, Doctorate... then we'll see!
I'm pretty much blind and cannot function AT ALL without my glasses or contacts.
I enjoy cuddling up with one of the following... little sissy (2 years old), boyfriend, mommy or bestfriend.
I love fried food... my favorite meal is fried whiting filets with white rice.
I will only buy my books online... bookstores will rape your pockets!
Spring is almost here!
I'm a certified photographer... ok, not really. But that's another one of my dreams!
I went through a phase when I thought I wanted to be a model. Keyword: phase.
I live by this quote: "Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened!"
I'm in love.
Unethical people make my insides itch. Please stay away from me!
I'm a firm believer in 'you get out what you put in'. I refrain from taking the easy way out!
101 Just for my readers!!! I love you all, and am so appreciative for the fact that you actually read what I have to say on a somewhat daily basis and leave comments. I LOVE COMMENTS, they're the best thing that could ever happen to a blogger! And for all of you who actually made it down here... my 100th post will feature an amazing giveaway. I know some of you hate giveaways and think they are super cheesy, but it's free and all you have to do is love the GAB Life to win! Of course, you should send all of your blogosphere friends over here and have them follow me too! 100 posts is a definite milestone for me.. so look out for it!

Coworker Confessions: Mrs. Did You Just Say Something?

2010-03-03T15:17:00.000-05:00

Introducing Mrs. Did You Just Say Something?

Where do I start with this woman? When I started at this particular job, she wasn't a member of our team although she had been before. Soon after, she switched positions with someone else and became my new coworker. Everyone in the office was very ecstatic about her return. She was always the "sweetest person to work with", and not saying that she isn't... but for goodness sake. This woman has more brain farts than any other person that I've ever encountered! If she turns her head and you are looking toward her, out her mouth comes the infamous question "did you just say something?" HELL NO! I didn't say anything the last time you asked that question. The number of times I hear the words "oh" and "um" come out of her mouth are countless. It's like she has a small person in her head telling her to ask another dumb question! It's simply pathetic... She is a very nice person I must say, but her ditzyness outweighs her ability to WOW me. I had to learn to turn her volume all the way down.

Am I the only person whose had to deal with a coworker that acts clueless or ditzy?

Coworker Confessions: The Lunch Hour Bandit

2010-03-02T11:59:00.001-05:00

Welcome to my new series of laugh-your-ass-off stories about people that I've come across in professional environments, be it school or work. Every so often I'll post my personal synopsis of a selected individual, attempt to give you a visual and a few chuckles here and there. Please note that some of these people have multiple personalities, so there may be more than one post per person. Introducing... The Lunch Hour Bandit!

Upon starting my internship at CC, the rules and office protocol wasn't really explained to me. I spent much of my first 2 weeks figuring out how things worked around here. I never knew that something as simple as a lunch schedule would cause so much commotion.

The Lunch Hour Bandit apparently felt (and still does) that her lunch hour should be 1p every single day. Regardless of whether she came in at 8a or 10a. Regardless of whether someone else came in before her that hasn't taken their lunch yet. The LHB whines when others leave for lunch and she's left to tame these wild students alone, but closes her window at 12:59:59, long line, short line... doesn't matter. She'll even go as far as to come to your workstation to remind you that you should go to lunch at a certain time because she HAS to go at 1p. One time while our other intern was helping out a student, she walked up to her window, flipped over her 'closed' sign and walked back to her cubicle. If you can imagine, the clock struck 12:01p and the LHB was furious that she had to go to lunch 1 minute late. I always wondered what the big deal was, and then I figured it out. She takes her lunch break with her friend who works in our back office every single day, and since her friend has a set work schedule, she has to go at 1p. How childish??? Seriously, you can't always have your way. Unfortunately, if your supervisor baby's you because she feels sorry for you, then I guess you can manipulate others.

Well, let me tell you... one day she didn't take her lunch break until 1:30p because of me. I'm sorry, but if I work from 9a-5:30p, I should not be forced to take my lunch break at 11 or 11:30a and starve for the remainder of the day. I'm not even that hungry at that time. So when she asked me what time I was going to lunch... I told her my regular time- 12:30p. She repeated 12:30p several times while lingering around my workstation before she finally returned to her desk to mumble rude shit under her breath. Before the day was over, another coworker approached me about the situation. The next morning, our supervisor sent out a mass email stating that we should stick to our scheduled lunch times. That works for me considering I was never given one... oh well. And since my adorable intern friend works in the back now, I'd like to have lunch with her from time to time.

Have you ever dealt with a coworker that thought they ran everything, but was only really running their mouth?

GAB Update

2010-02-22T21:12:00.000-05:00

For those of you missing the GAB life... I'm taking a leave of absence until next week- maybe Sunday. I'm in the process of studying for a kick-ass biology exam and moving. Wish me luck at both :-)

GAB Defined...

2010-02-18T16:26:00.002-05:00

What is a GAB? How can you distinguish a GAB from just an ordinary chick? These are some of the common questions that are associated with the name of my blog. Let me explain...

In my opinion, I'm special. We all think very highly of ourselves, or at least try to. At one point or another in my life, I struggled with self-esteem, anger issues, stress, depression, anxiety. All of the above! What distinguished my problems from others' were the fact that all of these feelings were stemming from situations that were/are out of my control. So I had to come to the realization that I can't change other people, or circumstances that I didn't create. Knowing this, my entire mindset changed. I began to care more about myself and things that directly impact my life. I gained more control over my destiny, and all of my goals began to line up for me. Everything became very clear, and the steps needed to reach those goals are now in ink.

So why GAB? With everything that us women have to deal with on a regular basis, why not be all about your business? The name doesn't exclusively mean business, as in work. But school, relationships, finances, any element that directly affects your well-being. We have to be in control of things, we have to handle each situation in a unique manner, and a GAB knows how to do just that. She knows how to work the cards in her favor. She knows how and when to get things done. She pays the bills on time, and if she can't- she doesn't make excuses for it. She goes to work eager to learn and to help. She volunteers her time. She helps others who are in need. She wakes up early and goes to bed late... you can sleep when you die. If she needs to catch the bus, she does it. If she needs to ask for a ride, she does that too.

When her car is running funny, she knows to check the oil. She knows of alternatives to making money. This GAB tutors as a means of making some extra dough. Even if it's just $20, it counts. I'm in a committed relationship, so that means helping the person that I love. If you want to be a part of someone elses life, you have to create the necessity for yourself to be in that persons life. I'm am one support-giving, loving machine. I enjoy every minute of it, knowing that when he calls- I am there and vice versa!

Simply put, a GAB is a girl who knows the path that she wants to take in life, and has a GPS to help her get to her destination. This can apply to guys as well- Guy About Business. We don't discriminate. If you're making moves for the betterment of your life, more power to you!

I want to know what makes you fabulous... what makes you a driven woman or man... what inspires you... what makes you a true GAB?

It's 70 Degrees, and It's Snowing

2010-02-16T09:22:00.002-05:00

Don't you hate it when a supervisor comes down on you for nonsense? I know I do, so let me tell you what has been bothering me....

This term, our supervisor hired a new intern (Intern A) that seemed a little incompetent when he first started. Remember the know it all that didn't know too much of anything? Yea, him. Anywho, Intern B left our office to work for the back office in January, leaving me with Intern A and a pile of work. It was so much easier when Intern B worked with me; we helped each other out and were both very fast learners. We knew this office inside-and-out within a week and a half of being here. Needless to say, I miss her dearly. We keep in touch through weekly lunch dates and frequent emailing, but it just isn't the same without her (insert tear drop).

Since I've had little to no help these past 5 weeks from Intern A, I've been busting my ass around here. Doing hundreds of manual adjustments, helping at the window, answering phone calls, the list goes on and on. Running from one end of the office to the other to help people. Not to mention we have a new full-time lady, who's taking someone elses job here and that someone else is actually training her! How is it that 2 weeks ago, there was no funding to accomodate a new full-time employee but all of a sudden there is? From my knowledge, budgets don't work that way (insert thumbs down)! To sum up that mess, there's a lot of drama going on around here and too much whispering for my liking. I work in an office full of women who aren't satisfied with their job or their weight, and wants everyone else to feel the pain. I'm sorry, but DO NOT RAIN ON MY PARADE... EVERYDAY! It's so pathetic to be subjected to moaning and groaning every single day that you come to work. And you wonder why I'm on the first thing smoking when my shift is over. Please don't ask me to stay late, because chances are I won't! Period.

I may sound like a bitchy GAB right now, but trust me- my complaints are VERY valid.

Well, yesterday at 6:15p (office closed at 6:30p) I was attempting to close out my browser when my supervisor walked behind my desk. Now this is the same supervisor that told me it was OK to get online during our downtime. Everyone else does it, so I saw no harm. It's not like I'm some crazed internet-junky that can't help but to be online all day. Most of the time I'm reading my textbooks online, or just listening to music. Helloooooooooooo! I am an intern, which means I am in school. Sometimes I need to see what the hell is going on in my classes, since most of my day is eaten up in this POS office! She suggests to my coworker (who doesn't do anything herself, since I do all of her work. No joke) that I might need some work to do. My response, "No, I don't". Plain and simple. Some people don't know how to appreciate anyone or anything. If I wasn't here, this office would be in complete shambles. But I continue to get the short end of the stick. Not on my time sweetie! I'm going to continue to do what I do, until my very last day here. If they want a different response from me, then I should be getting a different response from them.

For any other interns out there, don't let employers give you their ass to kiss. It's not fair to you, and it's not fair to the organization in which they 'manage'... better term, micro-manage! Also, if your job description consists of them pawning off their work onto you, then the job probably isn't worth it. So I wouldn't suggest asking for a full-time stint after the internship is over. Granted they pay me well, I'd rather be somewhere where my work is appreciated and my boss isn't a flaky as a box of Kellogg's Cornflakes.

Who else is going through this? Let's have a bitch-fest!

Back Down Memory Lane...

2010-02-14T09:04:00.001-05:00

Remember my post about giving my job the boot? Well, if not let me recap for you! Last June I accepted an internship with AH, and in July I interviewed for an internship through my college at CC. I got the internship, accepted it and have been there since August 30, 2009. Before my departure from AH, my supervisor told me that if I ever needed a job or recommendation for a job or anything else that would land me a great position postgrad, to give him a call. Well, it's about that time as my 8-month stint at CC is coming to a close at the end of April.

So I emailed my supervisor at AH, and was informed (to my surprise) that they are in the process of developing a new position and that I would be the *ideal candidate* for this position. I took that comment wholeheartedly, and told him to keep me in line with the happenings. That was almost 2 weeks ago, and although I have yet to hear anything back from him I'm sure that he has me in mind and is lining up interviews and such cause he's the man!

Am I excited to go into property management accounting? Not exactly, but it's a start. That's how we find out what it is that we truly love to do in life. I don't believe that anyone walks into a job and falls completely in love with every aspect of their job description. It takes time, it takes growth, and perseverance. There are some things that I absolutely couldn't stand about AH, and there are some things that I hate about CC, but those dislikes I've learned to deal with and found a way to get around it.

On the flipside, I am fortunate enough to be one of the few college students who can actually graduate on Sunday and start working a salaried job on Monday. It may not be the best start, to work backwards, but in my opinion this place can open a lot of doors for me. It's all about networking people, so yes- I will carry around a planner and business cards with me EVERYWHERE that I go :-)

Getting Wild on Friday

2010-02-12T11:17:00.001-05:00

Let me tell you- when my work day is dragging, like today unfortunately, I turn on Pandora and jam out... literally :-)

If you don't know about Pandora, and weren't interested I'm going to tell you anyway. It's a customizable music site. You create an account, find your favorite artists, create a station or get down to a QuickMix of all of your stations. It's like iTunes on crack, and very addicting. My only issue with this site is that you can only listen to 40 hours of music for free per month. Once I hit that mark, I head over to CBS Radio and listen to live streaming radio stations.

I work in a fish bowl. You know, the office that's encased in glass so that every moron that walks pass has a bird's eye view of your desk. I hate it, ABSOLUTELY HATE IT. Why??? Because those morons that I just mentioned, both male and female, will gawk, point, smile, wink, signal me to exchange numbers and the like... enough said. So when I crank on my music, I'm in an entirely different environment. Also as if I'm in an office by myself, with the door locked and closed. You may catch me snapping my fingers to Taylor Swift or bobbing my head side-to-side to Alicia Keys or Trey Songs. That's just what I do... and I love it :-)

P.S. If you own a Blackberry, you can download Pandora and enjoy it with no stipulations- unlimited access!

If you have a hard time getting through your workday and music is allowed in your office, try out this site. It'll make you smile, and before you know it the day will be gone. What are some things that you do to get through a rough workday or week?

The Thanks I Get...

2010-02-10T23:57:00.003-05:00

If you haven't had a laugh today, I'm sure this will do it for you. It did it for me. After waking up at 7am to find out that both work and school were closed AGAIN (snow day #2), I took it upon myself to ~~finish up~~ start this 500 word essay that's due tomorrow. I had it all planned out yesterday before leaving campus. Here's that incredible plan:

Being a little pessimistic, I assumed that our school would be open since they rarely declare inclement weather as a snow day. At the same time, I work next door and figured they'd close the school that I work at since they don't have as much manpower/equipment to plow through all of that snow. So I planned to have the day off to head to the schools library and check out a few books and read a few journal articles. After reviewing this material, I was going to write a slamming paper about membrane structures (ick). I would listen to my recorded lectures, and get ahead in my reading for class.

Yeah, about that plan... turns out both school and work were closed, meaning no access to the library. This left me perusing the web for HOURS to find credible primary sources for this essay. Man, that was hard! Luckily our school has access to tons, literally they spend millions a year, of online journals. What was supposed to take roughly 3-4 hours, turned into a 7-hour-long process. Needless to say, I needed one of those naps that I planned to cut out.

This is usually the time when my boyfriend feels the need to make fun of me, or take random pictures of my sleeping and send them to my phone. Here is the result of my nap today...

Yea, GAB had a down moment. I don't normally look like this, I promise... Come on now, it was a snow day!

If you're wondering what that sign says above my head...

Lmao, I think it's hilarious that he considers my naps to be "bummy"...

Am I the only one dealing with a guy who loves to catch my off moments? If only you could see the picture he took of me about an hour ago! What does your boyfriend/girlfriend do to you when you're not looking?

Announcement!!!

2010-02-09T20:53:00.000-05:00

If you are in your 20s, and aren't a member of 20 Something Bloggers yet, please jump on the bandwagon!!!!! It's a whole new way to find blogging buddies, share experiences, contests and motivation. They also have 'Featured Blogger of the Month' similar to Blogs of Note here on Blogger, but for an entire month... Not just a day :-) Nominate your favorite blog, and vote for others :-)

Snow Day on Exam Day

2010-02-09T14:54:00.000-05:00

Sunday, yes Sunday, I decided to skip out on work on Tuesday (today) in an effort to study the day away for my Equity exam and catch up on some other work/readings. Everything has gone as planned so far. I called in sick this morning i.e. sick of going to work, not a physical illness. So, since 9am I've been at school, doing graphs in Excel, marching to class, and back and forth between computer labs. But guess what?! I skipped out on work only to have our campus close at 4pm, meaning my 6pm exam has been postponed until next Tuesday! Yes, an entire extra week to study! Not to say that I haven't been doing so already, but I am very grateful for the extra time.

Don't think that I wasn't punished today for not attending work. As I pulled out of the McDonald's drive thru, my mouth began to water profusely. I couldn't wait to wrap my lips around the straw of my large sweet tea. What a relief it would have been. But since I live in crappy Michigan, and it decided to snow today, my $80 boots from Baker's Shoes decided to slip under my car door sending both my hash brown and sweet tea flying all over my jeans and car door! UGH absolute disgust :-( Not to mention that my gloves were drenched in sugary-sweet tea since my nail decided to puncture the Styrofoam cup... not the first time this has happened.

Not exactly a winter wonderland!

But I get to spend the rest of my day with my lovely boyfriend, playing video games and recovering from my *illness* so that I can return to my regular scheduled program.

Sigh...

Anywho, how do you spend your bad-weather days? I use mine as an excuse to dine-out, spend money and take naps?

Very Inexpensive Date!

2010-02-07T13:30:00.002-05:00

My boyfriend pays for tuition and books right out of his pocket, with his cash flow coming from a nice part-time job and other savings that he has accumulated in his 23 years of living. Well, when school is in I can rarely count on him planning a date. Recently I've been the one planning all of the dates, in an effort to keep the bliss going as well as to continue exploring new and exciting things together. The last thing I want my boyfriend to feel is that we can only have fun on his bill. That's not the case at all.

After a long morning/afternoon of listening to lectures (yes, it's very beneficial) he BBMed me and asked if it was OK if we went on a date later on. I figured he had something up his sleeve, like a double-date with his friends or something because like I said- he rarely requests dates. But I was excited... Finally the pressure has been taken off of my shoulders when it comes to 'what are we going to do tonight?' He decided on the movies, and as far as I knew there wasn't much playing that I had an interest in seeing other than When In Rome and some other random chick flick that I can't remember the name of.

I arrived at his house around 6:30p, and the last showing of When In Rome was 7p. I hadn't eaten anything for quite some time, and needed a quick fix. So we made a stop at my best friend Ronald's place, McDonalds. Needless to say, I smuggled my 6-piece nugget Mighty Kids meal into the AMC 20 Theater, along with a large sweet tea. Don't believe me??? Check this out!

Being the hard worker that he is, my boyfriend's employer gave him 2 free admission tickets to the AMC theaters. I told you he had to have something up his sleeve. Anywho, to my surprise the movie was actually very cute and funny, and no one suspected my smuggling although that was an ill-shaped belly I was sporting last night! Very frugal... Good times!

What are some inexpensive dates that you've had? Have you ever smuggled things into the high-priced movie theaters?

Apartment Hunting

2010-02-04T16:38:00.001-05:00

Yes, you read correctly... GAB has been apartment hunting for the past month, and I have to admit it is very exciting! This coming from someone who still enjoys nights in with her mommy, I found it time to begin a new, adventurous life away from mommy. So for 2 straight days, my boyfriend and I ran from Canton, to Westland, to Livonia, to Farmington Hills, to Northville (Michigan) and back scouring apartment complexes in the snow. A few were very disappointing, just not up to our standards of living. We're not snobs or anything, we both firmly believe that you get what you pay for. So yea, I'll pay a little extra a month in order to live a comfortable life.

We found one very cozy little place not too far from home, in the middle of suburbia surrounded by beautiful lakes and trees. $590/month including water! In my opinion, you just can't beat that. The kitchens are upgraded and there is enough closet and storage space for our needs. We're allowed to hang pictures and paint, which a lot of places don't allow. Private entrances, olympic-sized swimming pool, access to fitness room 24/7, volleyball, basketball and tennis courts, along with access to use the fully-equipped clubhouse at no charge. Oh, and free wireless internet access! These amenities are hard to come by, so we've both made our decision on location.

Next up is... furniture. Between us, we own a computer desk, night stands, lamps, a small bookshelf and a new bed. We recently visited Ikea to look at living room furniture and dining room table sets. We're pretty much set; the only thing left to do is actually apply for the apartment and decide who's going to be responsible for which portion of the bills. As a courtesy to my boyfriend, since I'm graduating before him I agreed to take on the rent until he graduates and he'll cover the utilities and groceries. Once he graduates, things will be 50/50.

I want to share with you all a few photos of the apartment along with some tidbits on how we (I, used firmly) plan to decorate our first place!

Nice bathroom, clean colors will be used.

You can't see the wall due to the angle of the picture, but I'm thinking of painting one wall of the dining room an accent color. Not sure which color yet though!

Can't do much here, but a few pictures and matching towels. But the kitchen is very nice!

The bedroom will work fine as is. Maybe a nice aerial rug and few pictures will do.

Let me know what you guys think of our soon-to-be new place!

Here Goes Nothing!

2010-02-03T00:21:00.000-05:00

Soon enough I'll be embarking on territory that many of you may have already mastered: the art of job-hunting. For me though, it would be 'start-of-career-as-a-successful-accountant-hunt' which entails me doing lots of company research and reviewing my qualifications to make sure that my skill set is enough for these looming companies today.

I have a problem though, if I'm allowed to think so. I'm not quite sure what area of accounting I'm most interested in. Is it shameful to say that I want to do it all before I fall? Meaning, I want to see what opportunities are out there before I stick my foot into a company that doesn't fit well with me and vice versa. I've seen that happen too many times. I've also seen individuals go into Corporate America and leave scared straight, only to work at some of the smaller places that I have been employed.

On top of that, I'm considering relocating. This coming from a chick who still loves cuddling in the bed with a few Hershey's bars with her mommy. Yes, my absolute best friend is my mommy and I still live at home. Give me a break, I'm still in college here. But it's equally as hard for me to think about uprooting myself as it is for me to leave my mom all alone. So I'm torn in all sorts of directions right now. I'm afraid, confused, excited, happy, sad, thankful, etc. All of these emotions all bottled up into one person... Genius! I've decided though to take baby steps but to think BIG along the way. I guess the leap into complete womanhood wouldn't be so tough if I actually gave myself a break and took a little pressure off of my own chest. But I've seen it done before by so many brilliant woman that I can't help but to follow in their amazing footsteps and follow my dreams.

Speaking of dreams, I haven't had any recently. What's that all about? Anywho, so here's some pointers I've discovered myself that can help with job-hunting:

List all of the companies that you would like to work for. Line up your qualifications with theirs and begin to minimize your list. Some of us just don't have the 10-15 years of experience that they're looking for.
Always carry a resume with you, a professional-style resume. Before my current internship, my resume including retail and food-service positions that I've held. Now I have enough accounting cushion to pad my resume with accounting volunteer work that I've done, budgeting and audit skills that I've acquired through working as our sorority's treasurer, 1 year of internship experience, plus my own working knowledge from the education that I've obtained.
A business card is helpful as well. Even if it only has your name and contact information on it. At least it lets people know that you're serious.
Apply, apply, and apply some more. The worst answer that you can get is 'no'. Oh well, keep it moving.
One of the most important aspects of being in a sorority are the incredible networking opportunities. Not only in greek-lettered organizations, but any type of organization. There is always someone who knows someone who knows someone that is looking for someone just like you. Many of my sorority sisters have already graduated and have enough experience and time in at their jobs to refer me or send my resume to HR. Granted none of them are in my field, but pretty much every business requires some sort of accounting-related work to be done. So, forward my resume. Be my guest.
Attend seminars, conferences, career fairs, and visit staffing companies like Kelly Staffing, Inc. They are in business to help you find work. Making personal face-to-face contacts are key to a successful job hunt.
Don't underestimate the power of the newspaper. Period. It can be your best friend, well right under your mommy :-)
If you're still in college, ask some of your professors for job references.

I know that I haven't covered EVERYTHING there is to do while job-searching, and if there is anything that you've done to stand out amongst competitors... PLEASE LET ME KNOW! We can learn together!

Abra Cadabra!

2010-01-31T23:32:00.001-05:00

Wow, the weekend is over yet again! But one thing that I can say about this weekend is that it hasn't been like many others that I've had. After a hell of a week, this weekend had an interesting twist.

After my bacon-grease painstaking Monday, the remainder of the week as all a blur. Work, class, sleep, work, class, sleep, work, class, EXAM, sleep, work, sleep... you get my drift! I don't know if it's because Friday was pay day that my weekend took a 180 degree turn for the better, or the fact that I chose to make better decisions this weekend.

If you didn't know, which I'm sure of because I didn't tell, I've been on an anti-nap trip! Seriously, the amount of time I spend napping far exceeds what should be considered normal. I believe I inherited that trait from my mother who can literally sleep the day away. I'm sorry, but I realized that napping was a problem for me. Not saying that people shouldn't take naps, but the time spent napping should be minimal. I was out of control, sleeping anywhere between 2-4 hours. Obviously, this wasn't healthy. I usually woke up with headaches from oversleeping (yes, it's possible) and by the end of my workday I would be extremely exhausted to the point where I needed to take a nap! Sadly to say, my napping binge has been cut short. I managed to limit my naps to 1 hour if and when I do take them, and my boyfriend has been a huge help. So let me tell you all that I've been able to accomplish this weekend from not napping so much........

I had a nice dinner with my boyfriend Friday night at Red Lobster. We usually go out to eat a few times a month, but Friday was extremely nice because my sleep pattern has been normalized (for lack of a better word).

Saturday, I woke up early and began studying. This carried on until the later part of today. I was able to do a little shopping at Walmart and Ikea, and finish my laundry... which included hanging up and folding all of my clothes. I even curled my moms hair earlier tonight. I finished up some homework, and caught up on my reading. I did some research for a scholarship, and applied to participate in graduation (exciting)!!

Altogether, unlike last week, I am oh-so-ready to start this week. It feels wonderful knowing that since I've cut out my nap time, that I've been able to accomplish so much more than before! That idea was magical, needless to say!

What are some things that you've had to cut out in order to live a more wholesome life?

Not the Way to Start My Day

2010-01-25T12:23:00.001-05:00

For the past few months, I haven't really had a 'case of the Mondays'. You know, the day that your car won't start, you're late for work, you can't find your keys or your purse, etc. But today, some bad occurrences snuck up on me. Needless to say, I'm peeved off!

I set my alarm to wake up at 7am, being mindful of the fact that this is what I need to do in order to stay on top of my readings for class. I totally slept until 8am, at which time my boyfriend was supposed to wake up to make breakfast. Simple eggs and bacon. Of all the days that his alarm goes off at 8am, he decides to not hear it this morning and sleep until 930am. Obviously this left me with the daunting tasks of getting ready for work, making breakfast and attempting to read a little before I left for work. While in the bathroom, I'm washing my face and brushing my teeth and noticed that the water was not going down the drain. Instead, nasty particles were fizzing back up! So, I spent a few minutes trying to resolve the problem with absolutely no luck. I proceed to get dressed for the day: beigish/brown pencil skirt that I just purchased from H&M yesterday, brown tights and brown shoes, with a chocolate brown sweater over a crispy white collared button-up. I looked marvelous, with a tidy bun adorning the top of my head.

Found this online, thought it was funny, wanted to share!

Heading to the kitchen, I see that the clock is nearing 9am and I have 1 hour to make breakfast, eat and get to my desk at work. One pack of bacon, 2 tablespoons of butter and 9 eggs later, I'm done. My beautiful brand new skirt is now flecked with disgusting bacon grease to an unimaginable degree. Me, being brilliant at times/having brain farts at times, attempts to get the stains out with a soapy washcloth only to realize that while driving to work, the soapy water is drying and leaving rings on my skirt. Very noticeable rings might I add. I pull up to the gate at work, and my entrance badge is nowhere to be found! I then call my coworker to bring her badge outside for me, making myself 5 minutes late for work.

Notice that my only goal was to wake up and read. How did I manage to not read???

Either way, my kind and loving boyfriend brought my brown backup pants along with some body spray to rid my desk area and clothing of the pig aroma. Gross! Bless his heart :-)

So how has your Monday been so far?

The "Know-It-All" that Doesn't Know Much

2010-01-20T12:29:00.000-05:00

Working and learning are two things that everyone does everyday, whether we know it or not. Whether we want to or not. But this post stems from an irking feeling that I get from working with our new intern. Granted I'm still an itnern myself, I guess I have a little more say in this matter opposed to when I first started 5 months ago.

Now, I've worked with people who believe that they know everything and hate to be corrected when they're wrong, but this guy is by far the worst. His work ethic is horrible, and his main concern is getting students out of his face rather than helping them with their issues.

I sit back on a daily basis listening to our new intern yell at students, tell them that they're understanding wrong and that he knows how things work around here. Buddy, I don't even know everything or claim to and I've been here a lot longer than 2 weeks! I never really understood what chemical reaction people have in their brains that make them believe that they're superior, and our work can be performed by monkeys. If it is so easy, the way he claims that it is, then why does he ask a billion repetitive questions day-in and day-out?

Outside of work, he is the same way. Unfortunately I had to sit in front of this guy during the first lecture of our Equity Accounting class (which he dropped soon after), and listen to him answer ALL of the professors open-ended questions as well as rhetorical ones... you know, the questions that shouldn't really be answered, but they're asked anyway. Needless to say, the entire class was ecstatic when there were questions that he couldn't answer! No one likes a Know-It-All.

What really sent me over the edge yesterday was a comment that he made about his attendance at a mandatory tax training session that needs to be completed for our volunteer work with the Accounting Aid Society. Instead of saying that he learned alot during the session, he complained that "it was 8 hours long and my body was there but not my brain because I know everything". FINALLY, HE ADMITTED TO THE TITLE! He tends to brag about the work that he did before coming to CC, yet he fails to realize that no two companies are the same. What you did one place, 9 times out of 10 won't apply here!

Does anyone else have to deal with coworkers like these, be it interns, subs, or full-time workers? Honestly, it's one of the most frustrating things that I have had to cope with.

GAB Rant: Queen of Procrastination

2010-01-18T11:27:00.001-05:00

GAB Rant is where I'll rant and rave about minor and/or major occurrences that I experience around the office- or near the office, on a somewhat day-to-day basis! Enjoy :-)

Ever caught yourself on the back-end of a long weekend (3-4 days), and realize that you've accomplished absolutely NOTHING! Remember on the last day of work, Friday for most this time around, you told yourself that you'd get so much done? Well my list included reading for both Biology and Equity Accounting, and completing some homework. I guess I got sidetracked once I realized that all of that stuff that I learned in 2004 (11th grade) was coming back to hunt me!

Yes, bonds, covalent bonds, conversion, chemical reactions and the like are all topics that I have to cover in chapter 2!!!!! of my Biology book... Come on now, couldn't there be some sort of tutorial for people like me. So, as usual when I'm feeling stumped or defeated, I went and purchased a Biology for Dummies book. Let's see how this turns out for me. On top of all of this reading and understanding, I have to attend my lab which has its own homework assignments and quizzes pretty much each week. There are also science learning modules that need to be completed; all of which you must view material online and then go and take more TESTS!

On the flip side, I'm apartment hunting with my boyfriend today (yesterday too!). I must say, the first place that we visited was PUUURRRRRRRRFECT :-) I'm also purchasing a new digital camera really soon, so I'll be posting more pictures! Oh, and pics of some of the apartments that we see today.

To say the least, I'm ready for this semester to be over. And it just started!

Busy Week in Review

2010-01-15T15:54:00.000-05:00

It's been a few weeks since my last post, but I'm sure you'll understand why from my week in review. Boy have I been a busy bee!

Monday: During the early morning I was barely able to sleep, maybe 1.5 hrs at most; therefore, I didn't make it to the lovely first day of school (well, work for me)... I spent the day wallowing in the bed :-(

Tuesday: Still not much sleep, but it was a full force day anyway. Everything moved so fast. Work from 8-11a. Left work at EXACTLY 11a to make it next door to Biology 240 by 11:30a. Class over at 12:45p. Back at my desk by 1p. Left work again for Equity Accounting starting at 6:10p. Somewhere inbetween chatted it up with my bff and had a quick snack (which constituted breakfast, lunch and dinner). Crashed as soon as I made it home.

Wednesday: Caught up on some much-needed rest. Work 10-6:30p. Home for reading and more sleep. At least that's what I thought. My boyfriend surprised me with flowers, and they add so much color to my dull room!

Thursday: Back to work at 8a. Same routine as Tuesday, except for the fact that my Biology Lab starts at 5:10p. Between 4:30p and 5:10p, boyfriend stopped by to bring me "bruncher", my new term for a combination of breakfast, lunch and dinner. Bio lab is scheduled to last 3 hours and 50 minutes. Good thing we were only examining cell structures, membranes, cytoplasm and bacteria until 6:45p. Left class, printed out homework and other course material, headed to Walmart for a digital camera (which I failed to purchase... being frivolous!) and home for bed.

My prettiful mug that I finally used from my friend's trip to Viva Las Vegas in '09

Friday: Just like every Friday of my life, wake at 6am. Drive grandma to work by 7:20a. Make it to my job by 8a. Inbetween, touch 4 cities (Detroit, Redford, Southfield, Dearborn) during my commute. Waste a few minutes before the windows open browsing the news online. Processed student account adjustments and removed some folks from collections... currently awaiting lunch :-)

Enough about my crazy life though! I spent about 30 minutes of my workday last week reconstructing a budget worksheet that I use myself. The concept behind this spreadsheet is that we must learn to allocate our money efficiently in order to budget correctly, something I learned from Manisha Thakor's book, On My Own Two Feet. The most interesting thing is that this system of budgeting is easily adaptable. To accurately use the spreadsheet, all it takes is you typing in the amount of your paycheck and/or miscellaneous cash received from things like babysitting, monetary gifts, etc.

Example: Last week you earned $545.00 from XYZ Bank. You would like to know how much of your check you should save, apply to bills, and use for having dinner with your friends. Based off of your income, the following amounts will be displayed on the chart.

Foundation 45% = $245.25
Future 25% = $136.25
Fun 15% = $81.75
Miscellaneous 15% = $81.75

Using this fool-proof system will keep you from carrying unnecessary cash with you, and will allow you to save a reasonable amount every time you receive money. Your bank account will thank me later...

Enjoy your 3-day weekend! Happy MLK Day- Volunteer in your community!

I Was Asked, "How did you end up here?"

2010-01-06T16:29:00.000-05:00

Blogging, that is...

Well, it's a very interesting story if you ask me. But you didn't, and I'm going to tell it anyway. Ha!

As a 3rd grader at a local DPS, I was sitting in our portable class when our substitute with nothing else to talk about mentioned how journalism was a very good field to go into. At that time, the news and media industry were booming. The internet was just surfacing, and the job market looked great for someone who was just graduating high school or college at that time. But for me, I had to make sure that I'd have possibilities when I became older. I dreamt that day that I would be the next Carmen Harlan, or something like that.

Two summers later, I had a terrible bike accident which left me with a 2 inch scar on my chin, right below my lip. Oh how I wept on my dad's shoulder that year. There was no way in my mind that anyone would want to see my scarred face on television. I gave up my broadcast journalism dream about a year later. I was still very interested in writing though.

It wasn't until I got accepted to one of the top 3 high schools in Detroit that I began to realize my dream of writing. I signed up for the Communications curriculum which would gear me toward more english, communications, literature and art classes. Boy was I excited! Only to learn during my first semester as a 9th grader that there wasn't enough space for everyone who signed up, and I was placed into the Business curriculum. Ugh, memos and typing. Whatever!

I spent my first year learning to type and write business letters and memos. My 10th grade year, I had my first accounting course and I fell in love with the class and my teacher. She was so driven about her profession, and I desperately wanted to be like her. So I joined BPA (Business Professionals of America), competed in Banking, Finance and Accounting divisions, won at Regionals and came close to winning at the State level. Junior year, I took the ACT and SAT tests, scored well enough to get into all of the universities that I had in mind, applied to these schools, got accepted and headed into the business world.

At some point between high school and college, I realized that I still had a very strong passion for reading and writing. I spent many of my high school summers locked in my room reading heated romance novels, mysteries and books for young adults. I also wrote poetry and attempted a short story, but failed miserably.

My freshman year in college, I inquired about the school paper but realized that college was nothing like high school and opted out of burning myself out during my first year. All of a sudden, I spent less and less time reading and writing and more time studying that I forgot that I truly loved to write. Anywho, now that I'm into accounting and loving every aspect of it, I found a way to link my love for writing and accounting/business together. I inquired with the school paper again, as I'm already a senior and have a little more time on my hands. I wrote a few random columns about saving and holiday spending, and next thing you know I was offered a position as Student Perspectives Editor. This position requires me to work a full 8 hours on Mondays this semester, therefore I had to turn it down due to my internship. Oh, how I would have loved to work there!

Long story short, my idea of a financial advice column was widely accepted by the current editors and it should be rolling in the next few weeks! Excited! My blog is my creative outlet :-)

Women-Friendly Factoids

2010-01-02T23:24:00.000-05:00

First things first, HAPPY 2010!

Second thing, if you don't read The Economist, YOU SHOULD!

Third thing, interesting article for you non-Economist readers (female-oriented)... titled Female Power. The article was all of 3 pages long, with 2 pictures and 3 graphs. Therefore, I'm going to sum up this article for all of my female readers who need a little empowerment! Female Power covered everything from women working in the 50s to women working who are actively pursuing childbirth. It hit me with some interesting and eye-opening statistics, as well as much needed knowledge about the world that I'm walking into as a working woman. Here are some of the tidbits and stats that I picked up:

... women now make up almost half of American workers (49.9% in October).
... women earn almost 60% of university degrees in America and Europe.
... in Italy and Japan employment rates for men are more than 20 percentage points higher than those for women.
... women earn substantially less than men on average and are severely under-represented at the top of organizations.
... today, women make up the majority of professional workers in many countries (51% in the United States).
... the feminisation of the workforce has been driven by the relentless rise of the service sector (where women can compete as wel as men) and the equally relentless decline of manufacturing (where they could not).
... improved technology reduced the amount of time needed for the traditional female work of cleaning and cooking.
... most interesting factoid: The most important innovation has been the contraceptive pill, which has not only allowed women to get married later but also increased their incentives to invest time and effort in acquiring skills.
... the expansion of higher education has also boosted job prospects for women, improving their value on the job market and shifting their role models from stay-at-home mothers to successful professional women.
... in 1963, 62% of college-educated women in the United States were in the labour force, compared with 46% of those with a high school diploma. Today 80% of American women with a college education are in the labour force compared with 67% of those with a high school diploman and 47% of those without one.
... only 2% of the bosses of Fortune 500 companies and five of those in the FTSE 100 stockmarket index are women.
... women make up less than 13% of board members in America. In American and Britain the typical full-time female worker earns only about 80% as much as the typical male.
... in the European Union women have filled 6 million of the 8 million new jobs created since 2000.
... in America, the female unemployment rate is 8.6%, compared to 11.2% for men.
... the Bureau of Labour Statistics calculates that women make up more than two-thirds of employees in ten of the 15 job categories likely to grow fastest in the next few years. By 2011 there will be 2.6 million more owmen than men studying in American universities.
... Goldman Sachs calculates that increasing women's participation in the labour market to male levels will boost GSP by 21% in Italy, 19% in Spain, 16% in Japan, 9% in America, France and Germany, and 8% in Britain.

I find these things interested because it is a huge shift in the economy, not only in America, but across the globe. It is now 'ok' for women to be the breadwinners in the family, and men are accepting that as they realize that women are just as capable to maintain as they are. I'm not a feminist or anything, but reading and learning about the wonderful strides of women around the world makes my day. I'm definitely proud to be a growing statistic, a WOMAN! More power to us :-)

**These statements have been taken directly from The Economist, January 2nd-8th, 2010 edition.

Junk Food Eviction

2009-12-25T17:58:00.000-05:00

When shopping for desk food, I normally don't realize where I'm spending my money. Just recently I noticed a few pounds being added onto my waistline, along with daily headaches. Let me explain...

Not my desk, but close enough :-)

There is usually some form of junk food in my desk drawer. This drawer houses Oreo cookies, apple sauce, miniature Snicker bars, sunflower seeds, Pringles and candy canes. My coworker who sits right next to me has boxes of cereal at her desk. The other intern in our office keeps bringing Starbucks to work, on top of the occasional cupcakes/cakes that are brought in.

My daily routine at work includes periodically checking my Blackberry, adjusting student accounts and stuffing my face with this junk food. Not only this, but I rarely take my lunch to work and watched my debit card rack up over $250 in fast food charges in a little over a month! When I first started this internship, I was onto a good start... bringing my lunch everyday, using my break time to study or read and just learning everything there is to know about our office. Now that I'm used to things and can understand/interpret things a lot better, I have fallen into a slump. I guess this is what happens when there isn't much empowerment on the job. Not enough room to make changes or implement new ideas since everything is done by the book. Therefore, I need this 'excitement' in my day. My work day has been minimized to reading mindless news articles, magazines, eating junk food and shopping on my lunch break.

2010 has got to be a much better year for me! I've already decided to try new healthy snacks like apples sprinkled with cinnamon, bananas and peanut butter, 'desk-made lemonade' consisting of a few squirts of lemon and ice water. Not only will this save me money, but it'll also help me feel better. I'm also enrolling in a hip-hop dance class with my new intern friend.

I guess being able to train the new intern who starts in January will add a little excitement to my day and help with my binging activities.

What's the Dress Policy?

2009-12-17T16:06:00.001-05:00

A few weeks before I began working at my internship, I received a letter stating all of the company policies... my pay rate, the dress code policy, my work hours, etc. Seeing as to how I've never worked in a highly professional area, my "work clothes" were minimal. So with my last check from AH, I went and splurged on a few nice pieces to dress up what I already owned. A few pair of dress slacks, a couple pairs of shoes, and a few neutral colored tops. I was really dying for blazers though. I didn't, and still don't own any blazers.

To our surprise (mine and the other intern), the dress code we were given was a bit skewed. On the first day, we were both over-dressed. She had on high heels and a business suit, and I was dressed in a similar manner. It took us about a week to realize that that policy was simply a hoax.

Since I've been here, people have worn leggings, layered tank tops under jackets and blazers. I even noticed my SUPERVISOR wearing flip flops on a warm fall day. So much for a dress code policy. What sparked this buzz in my brain was the fact that one of my coworkers is absolutely outraged at the fact that we can't wear jeans to work. It's really confusing because our policy is already a bit relaxed, so what more should she be asking for? In my opinion, not a lot. I've also realized that I like to dress up a lot more than I like to wear jeans. They've become a little uncomfortable for me, but hey... to each it's own! It just gets frustrating hearing her complaints all the time about our inability to wear jeans. Come on now, as much as she makes, she should consider wearing suits everyday! Your work is minimal, you're making more than the value of your work, so what's the complaining all about??? Attention-seeker maybe! Let's keep some level of professionalism in our offices. That's all!

VS

Motivation from All Angles

2009-12-09T23:01:00.000-05:00

Something that many of you may not know about me is that I'm very self-motivated. The key to remaining driven and at your best is to stay motivated at all times. A lot of individuals wait for the moment of inspiration to become motivated. Instead, try creating that moment as a dream and always strive toward that dream.

You can gain motivation in various ways. Reading, writing, singing, dancing, working out, going to school, working, knitting... Whatever it is, abuse that outlet to get where you want/need to be. I'm highly motivated by reading, writing and going to school. These 3 things drive me daily. I read about what's going on around me and in the world, whether it's about economics, finance, or poverty. I try to read for pleasure as well. I'm currently reading The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger, and recently finished Precious by Sapphire.

There's also a very useful site for women, and I subscribe to their daily newsletter. It's called Little Pink Book. The newsletter has very useful and practical information. Just today I received a newsletter titled 'The 2010 Financial Checklist'. The newsletter contained a checklist of where you should strive to be financially, grouped by age. According to Little Pink Book, I should be setting goals, learning to budget, calculating my monthly income, subtracting my expenditures and contributing to my savings. All of which I have been doing. So I'm right on track!

Come the winter time (which has snuck up on us Michiganders), I'll be volunteering as a tax preparer for low-income families through the Accounting Aid Society. I'm very excited about this, as well as my 40-hr work week, 2 night classes and my internship course. Along with finding a job after my internship is over, and preparing for my last 4 classes as an undergraduate!

Basically, motivation is what keeps me going. It's what wakes me up in the morning, after which I've had a long night. It makes me appreciate life and actually gives me something to live for. Because I know that all of the things that I am doing right now are bettering me as an individual and will allow me to be an asset to society, and to teach these things to my offspring.

What are things/ways that you stay motivated? Inquiring minds want to know!

Tips and Tricks for Women: Winter-Proof Your Car

2009-12-03T16:58:00.002-05:00

If you live in an area similar to mine (Michigan... Midwest) or maybe even the East coast, some of these tricks from Woman's World may come in handy. I'll be trying some of these myself, because there is nothing worse than your locks freezing causing you to be late for work.

**Keep your headlights clear with car wax

The wax contains special water repellents that will prevent the messy gunk from accumulating on your lights. This technique lasts for weeks.

**Ice-proof your windows with vinegar

Mix 3 parts vinegar with 1 part water and spritz on your car windows at night. Vinegar contains acetic acid which raises the melting point of water- preventing water from freezing on your windshield.

**Prevent car doors from freezing shut with cooking spray

Spritz cooking spray on the rubber seals around car doors and rub it in with a paper towel. Oils in cooking spray prevent water from melting into the rubber.

**Fog-proof your windshield with shaving cream

Shaving cream creates a protective film on the glass that prevents fogging. Spray some on the inside of your windshield and wipe it off with paper towels. The cream has many of the same ingredients found in commercial defoggers.

**Get unstuck from the snow with your floor mat

Stick the rubber side of one of your floor mats under the spinning tire. It provides the grip you need to get going.

**De-ice your lock in seconds with hand sanitizer

Put the hand sanitizer gel on both the key and lock. It contains alcohol, the main ingredient in most commercial de-icers. The sanitizer must be at least 60% alcohol, otherwise it's ineffective.

**Squeak-proof your wipers with rubbing alcohol

Wipe them with a cloth saturated with rubbing alcohol or ammonia. This can cut the buildup of grease and grime, the main culprit that prevents wipers from working.

!!!!!!!!! New GAB Contest !!!!!!!!!!

2009-12-02T18:30:00.000-05:00

So after much thought on my behalf, I realized that my last contest was a little too demanding for my readers. You guys need something simple, something that doesn't take long to do! Honestly, I wouldn't have participated in my own contest :-(

So to make things easier for you, I've designed a better contest (at least in my opinion). Since tis' the season to be jolly, I'd like for everyone to share their funniest holiday story. It doesn't have to be long in length; the only requirement is that it's FUNNY!

THE 3 FUNNIEST STORIES WILL BE POSTED ON MY BLOG! THE 50TH PERSON TO SEND IN THEIR STORY WILL RECEIVE A $50 GIFTCARD TO THEIR FAVORITE STORE FOR CHRISTMAS!

**Disclaimer: NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Contest ends Friday, December 18th at 5:00p EST.

Now there's something to pass on!

Cupcake Misfortune or Abusing Power

2009-11-24T15:14:00.004-05:00

Sunday evening was an eventful for me. One in which I baked 60 cupcakes, split up for my job, my boyfriend's job and my mothers. Laundry, reading for class and video game playing with my boyfriend were some of the other events that took place. To top things off, the cupcakes were a new flavor that I was trying: Lemon cake with chocolate icing. I even went so far as to decorate the cupcakes with Wilton decorating tips! They were marvelous!!!

Monday morning I took in my pan of cupcakes, about 15 to be exact and had one for breakfast while I read The Economist. My normal course of work on Monday mornings calls for me to work in the 'vault', a secluded room with one computer, currency counting machine, and our cash vault. Those lovely cupcakes sat in the front office, waiting patiently to be devoured by one of my coworkers.

Mid-way through my work, I decided to take a bathroom break and noticed that my pan of cupcakes were gone! The pan and all! I found my supervisor in the hallway giving MY cupcakes away to students in the lobby without asking MY permission. When I returned to the office, she called me into her office to say: "You work in an office of fat women who are trying to watch their weight, so I had to get rid of your cupcakes."

Excuse me! But if I recall correctly, everyone that I work with are fully grown women and do not need a third party to decide whether they can have a cupcake or not. I'm sure that if people were watching their weight so closely, then they would have sat on the cabinet for the remainder of the day and I could have taken my cupcakes home to enjoy them with my mother! Our office consists of the front and the back. The back office workers weren't even offered a cupcake, which would have been the nice thing to do. If I wanted to make cupcakes for the students, then I would have put the pan in the hallway for them!

The interesting thing is, I'm not the first person to bring goodies into the office. I can recall several times in my 3 months here where other people have brought in cupcakes, brownies, lemon tarts, cake, etc. including the supervisor whom gave mine away!

This one little incident caused me to have a bad day at work. I couldn't believe that she did that and am convinced that that was an abuse of power! What do you think?

The Power of Initiative

2009-11-19T13:51:00.001-05:00

I know I've been hiding under a rock lately, and that is due to a few factors. My relationship with my boyfriend has been a little rocky, I recently had to drop a class :-( and my mom hasn't had a car for almost 2 months, causing me to rely on everyone for a ride to work and school.

Well, since I had to drop a class, I'll have to retake it next semester along with the other 2 classes that I was already scheduled to take. That is a recipe for disaster, which leads me to my point. I've been catching on pretty well to my work in Accounts Receivable at my job, and was really looking forward to sticking with what I know next semester. But there's a slight dilemma. The other intern also wants to stay in Accounts Receivable for our second term. But one of us has to go.

On Tuesday, we both had an interview with the Accounts Payable department. It seems as though they were really encouraging me to come to their office due to my high level of experience, and the fact that having AP experience would really boost my resume.

Now, I'm really excited to find out which one of us was selected to go to AP next semester! Even though it'll be a change of pace and atmosphere, I really think I'd enjoy it. I'm always up for a challenge!
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

GAB Rant: Interracial Dating

2009-10-16T09:30:00.006-04:00

GAB Rant is where I'll rant and rave about minor and/or major occurrences that I experience around the office- or near the office, on a somewhat day-to-day basis! Enjoy :-)

This subject may be a tad bit touchy for some of my readers. However, it is an extreme issue in my opinion. I am in an interracial relationship and recently (today actually) stumbled upon an article that I believe to be complete CRAP!

Here's the link: CRAP!

Since when does it become OK for a justice of peace official to dictate who he/she will or will not marry. That's a serious issue in my opinion! Aren't there laws out there to prevent such ignorance?

I mean seriously, this guy denied an interracial couple a marriage license because he was 'looking out for the offspring'. Really??!! If people have an issue with interracial couples and their children, then that's the problem of that individual. Such couples should not be denied the right to be officially married simply because society doesn't accept interracial children.

I have interracial friends, and I don't treat them any different than I treat my other non-interrational friends. I know that doesn't mean that everyone in the world will be like me, but neither does it give me the right to discriminate against them because of who their parents are. That's a serious issue with society today; people are too worried about what society thinks! Who cares??? People make up society, therefore it is the ideals of the people that form the perception for the whole. Action needs to be taken against idiots who believe that they have the power to regulate and create their own laws.

I understand that this particular justice of peace THOUGHT he was doing the right thing, but what person in their right mind really thinks that?

I guarantee that if my current relationship does result in marriage, there is ABSOLUTELY no way that I will tolerate such belligerent behavior from someone whose job title includes the word 'peace'! At that point, you definitely need to go over that persons head! The law should be uniform, and the last time I checked there was a high percentage of uniformity in the US. He should receive the most severe punishment, whether that includes jail time or losing his job.

Was he really upholding the standards of his title/position, or was he misusing his power and breaking the law? What do you guys think?

The Truth About Sweetest Day!

2009-10-13T20:08:00.004-04:00

A few days ago I mentioned to my boyfriend that Sweetest Day was around the corner. Him, forgetting dates as usual, had no idea that sweetest day was coming up. I'd be lucky to get him to remember our anniversary. Anywho, he mentioned to me that Sweetest Day is for the guys, while Valentine's Day is for the girls. Now, this wasn't the first time that I'd heard such gibberish, but I really wanted to know the significance behind Sweetest's Day.

What I found is very astounding! Sweetest Day is really about doing something 'sweet' for another individual; doing good deeds out of the kindness of your heart. It's about showing people that you really care about them, and since most people associate caring with gift-giving... there you go!

There's no wonder that our University hosts volunteer events every Sweetest Day! It's amazing that I was really freaking out about what I should get my boyfriend this year! Who am I kidding??? I'll get him something, along with my parents and siblings :-) Anddddd, if I'm not swamped with studying this weekend, I'll also volunteer!

How will you celebrate Sweetest Day???

GAB Rant: The Price You Pay...

2009-10-10T12:23:00.002-04:00

GAB Rant is where I'll rant and rave about minor and/or major occurrences that I experience around the office- or near the office, on a somewhat day-to-day basis! Enjoy :-)

Looking at my student loan statement makes my teeth cringe! I realize I may be paying these back for a longggggg time, and it saddens me. But that's the price you must pay for a credible education!
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Is Corporate America the Place for Me?

2009-10-05T17:59:00.004-04:00

This morning I checked my Blackberry for interesting news from The New York Times. Usually I skim the titles and rarely find anything interesting, but this morning I took a different route.

Reading is one of the most efficient ways to keep up with the world, so I have decided to read at least one article a day. However, what I read today shed a whole new light on my life.

Throughout this recession, scandals and frauds have been popping out of the woodworks. The article today was about Simmons, the large mattress manufacturer. The company plans to file for bankruptcy, but the catchy part is why... Check this out:

The company has been primarily owned by private firms, all seeking to maximize their profits. Therefore, they issued lots of bonds and took out tons of loans. This made the company seem profitable, when really they were floating in debt. The stockholders put up little to nothing of their own money to keep Simmons running smoothly, however they issued ridiculous amounts of dividends to themselves and stopped making the interest payments to the bondholders.

Now, doesn't that sound corrupt to you? Someone starts a company with $5 of their own money, and borrows money from their friends to keep the large company running. They promise their friends that they'll pay them interest on the money they invest, and all of a sudden they stop making payments. Then they issue large sums of money to themselves and fail to repay their friends. That's pretty iffy to me!

It makes me second guess my decision to try out corporate America. Although I know that this issue is only one of the many, but how do you really know what companies are good or bad? Do you just take your chances?

What do you guys think?

GAB Rant: Absolute Disgust!

2009-10-05T17:58:00.001-04:00

GAB Rant is where I'll rant and rave about minor and/or major occurrences that I experience around the office- or near the office, on a somewhat day-to-day basis! Enjoy :-)

I have never seen a ladies restroom look so disgusting in my life! I expect this in a men's restroom, but not so much so. I'm not even sure that men could be so nasty.
I despise public restrooms, especially ones that aren't kept up properly. Isn't that what janitors are for? People weren't taught to have manners only in their own homes; you should take those manners with you everywhere.
Not everyone was raised with manners though. Tisk, tisk :-/
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Aldo Goes Green!

2009-10-02T17:53:00.001-04:00

This entire week I've worked an early shift, so the other intern and I have been spending our lunch breaks together... Shopping! This turned out to be a great thing since both of our birthdays were this week. That's right, GAB turned 22! And so did Intern Girl.

Anywho, so what better thing to do than shop! We did a lot of window shopping this week until today. I had the urge to treat myself considering I hadn't did much for my bday but pay bills :-(

I invested in a really cute sweater and an adorable pair of black flats from Aldo. What amazed me with Aldo was their innovative 'bags', which are nothing more than your shoe box with a string handle on one end! How freaking cute, and a very unique way to go green...

What are some other small things we can do to help the environment? Share your ideas!
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Free Fun!

2009-09-26T18:14:00.001-04:00

So I know all of you guys love saving money. Yeah, right! But I've discovered a few ways for you other GAB's to save for your future and have fun at the same time!

I like to call it 'Free Fun'... There are tons of places to look for this type of fun, and many ways to create free fun!

My biggest issue is being in a relationship with both of us being full time college students, paying for tuition and books. I won't lie, it is hard to find a deal for dates. And it's even harder trying to do fun things on a budget; you feel restricted! So here's a laundry list of things to try with your significant other or friends, your choice:

1. People in college towns- there is ALWAYS some type of function going on on campuses. Most of them are free and open to the public. Try an open mic night or karaoke bar.

2. Some cities have lawn movies. Just make sure to bring a comfy blanket and pillows, or lawn chairs. If you own a laptop or portable DVD player, you can create your own lawn movie at a local park with movies that you already own.

3. A lot of cities or towns are near bodies of water, both large and small. Take a walk along the water, or skip rocks across a river. If you're into fishing like me, invest in a fishing license.

4. The fall is here, which means winter is almost here. Check out a local cafe for free music by local artists/bands.

5. What girl doesn't love mani/pedi days??? My girls and I do this on a regular. We set aside an evening to have virgin daiquiris, watch chick flicks and do AMAZING pedicures! Don't forget the cute polishes that you can make using colors that you already own.

6. Free fun can actually put money in your pocket. If you have talent, enter into a talent show. In this case, you could win money and have fun!

Basically what I'm saying is that you don't need to spend an arm and a leg to have fun. In some cases, you don't have to spend much of anything. That money that you're saving could be used to treat yourself to something really nice down the road!

What are some other ways to have free fun? What type of activities go on in your area that are relatively inexpensive? I'd really like to know :-)
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Where Has GAB Gone?

2009-09-18T22:47:00.000-04:00

No worries followers! GAB is currently getting things together. I'm adjusting to working full-time and taking 2 classes, on top of trying to maintain a healthy relationship with my boyfriend.

I'll be back on Monday with personal updates, date ideas and an unbelievable way to make a bad day work out for the better ;-)

Stay tuned!
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Blogger's Block

2009-09-13T23:38:00.002-04:00

I don't know about you other bloggers out there, but it's hard to maintain two blogs. Here I am trying to blog for my University, as well as my personal life as a GAB. This has been one of the toughest feats of my life.

Here's why: Blogging for the school has been an incredible experience. I walk around campus and find things to blog about instantly. Things that I would have ignored had it not been for my opportunity to share with others. I can capture animals in still life, photography... the best way to capture life's small moments. I can document the bloom of a rose outside of the library, or the falls of the Rouge River right behind the Henry Ford Estate. Or, the fascinating student-ran functions on campus. There was always something... when I was there.

Now that I'm working a full-time job, I am beginning to feel the distance created between myself and my University. It is a distance that I have never felt. It is the feeling of almost being a graduate. It is the feeling of soon losing something that helped to mold me. Therefore, I barely have anything to talk about. We're only required to blog once a week, but I'll try my hardest to write down every experience that I had while being active on campus and blog about it later. Having this list will give me much to talk about! There is no way that I've crammed my entire college career into a few posts over the past year (this is my second year blogging for the University).

My personal blog, this one, is important to me as well. It's like my online journal, there to vent to. Here for my excitement and happiness. This is what I want to do... entertain my readers with drama, laughter and real-life experiences. It gives me fulfillment (aside from dancing <3), and is an outlet for future reflection. I hope everyone who reads both of my blogs can gain from my mistakes and successes the same things that I have.

Enjoy!!!

GAB Rant: Don't Take Advantage of Me!

2009-09-09T20:12:00.005-04:00

GAB Rant is where I'll rant and rave about minor and/or major occurrences that I experience around the office- or near the office, on a somewhat day-to-day basis! Enjoy :-)

Until today, I seriously thought that I was the only one in the office whom the person 'above' me on the totem pole pushed all of the work on.

I went to lunch with the other intern. She turns out to be silly just like me, and I think we'll become really good friends after spending so much time together at work.

Anywho, to the matter at hand. Our supervisor basically pawns all of HER work off on us. Before we can finish our current tasks, she's already signing us up for other things to do. This afternoon she told me that I'd be alphabetizing 10,000 student refund checks. Are you kidding me??? I didn't sign up for this type of work, and if I recall correctly that's her job anyway!

Seriously, she sits at her desk all day emailing her friends about her failed attempts at getting pregnant, and texting on the phone. She laughs all day long, when no one ever says anything funny. Oh, oh, oh! Then last night she did the work that I normally do in the morning when I first come in. There are two steps to this part of my job, in which she failed to do the second portion. When I asked her about it, she told me that that was my job. I'M WELL AWARE OF WHAT MY JOB ENTAILS. Therefore don't do my work if you're going to do it in its entirety and then look at me like I'm stupid! I don't have time to go back and figure out what she did and didn't do; especially since I'm doing all of her work anyway!

It really urks me when people try to take advantage of interns. We are there to learn and build on our current skills and knowledge. Not to be slaved by other workers, or talked down to. I really don't understand it. But then again, many of the people that I work with have never worked as an intern. Therefore, they have no idea what it is like to be at the bottom.

I wish they'd get a clue though.

GAB's W.O.W- They May Never Know...

2009-09-08T14:09:00.000-04:00

GAB's W.O.W is a monthly feature that will provide insight into a particular issue, and maybe help some of my readers. These will usually be things that affect myself or people around me. Enjoy!

Sometimes it's hard for people who've never had to struggle to understand a person who's struggling...

I know this to be true because I once had to have this conversation with my boyfriend. It was one of our more difficult arguments. One day I mentioned to him that I started to save money. Given my financial circumstances for the past 3 years or so, I was proud to say that to him. However, our levels of understanding the term 'saving' were a bit skewed. It meant a lot to me to place my entire paycheck into my savings account and not have to worry about paying any bills late, because this time they'd been paid early :-)

That is one of the ways in which I struggle. Like many other college students, I struggle to juggle bills and pay for books/tuition. I drive a used car that I pay a note on, so we know that that costs money each year. My mom and I basically take care of my grandmother and are responsible for getting her to work every day. It's a lot; more than what my bf vouches for. I'm not saying this is a negative manner, we just live two different lives. I have my issues and he has his.

So, last night when I overheard his younger bro's gf crying because of her situtation, I wanted to console her. She went on to tell his little bro that she wishes that he had to deal with the things that she deals with. I understand where she's coming from. You want the person you're in love with to understand you; in a sense you want for the two of you to walk in the same shoes. But in all actuality, things will never be that way. The ones who struggle will never understand why people are selfish and self-consumed, and vice versa.

It is really something hard to deal with, and the resolution comes with time. When you are 100% happy with your life, there will be no need to be flustered about things and soon those tears will be of joy. We have to appreciate the life we were given, and remember where we came from. Only then will we be appreciative of where we're going in life.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Mobile & Email Blogging

2009-09-05T13:16:00.001-04:00

Guess what my lovely followers?!?! I finally figured out how to blog from my phone and email! As a matter of fact, this post is from my Blackberry!!

So now there will be more posts throughout the day... Just to keep you guys entertained :-)

Enjoy!
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

First Week = Success!

2009-09-05T09:56:00.000-04:00

My first week of work was great! But some of the questions that students ask are just ridiculous! I don't know how many times this week I've heard: "where is my refund check?" I mean, seriously, I'm starting to think that students are only going to school so that they can get a refund check. Not thinking about the fact that they'll actually have to pay that money back in the future.

Anywho, I've been learning a great bit of information and am asking less questions than I did on the first and second day. I think after next week, I'll be good to go. Classes start for me next week as well; I have two classes that both meet once a week UGH! One of my professors even sent the syllabus out two weeks in advance, so yes I already have homework. Go figure!

On the bright side, I have an amazing internship to look forward to each day, and I'm more equipped for the upcoming semester than ever. I think I've finally learned how to study LOL!
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

GAB sees Bling!

2009-09-02T20:49:00.003-04:00

I figured I'd see weird things everyday at my new internship, or rather odd things I should say!

Our office is located in the basement of the building (no sunlight, eh?!), between the registration office and the financial aid office. Therefore, we see just about every student that makes their way into the basement of the building. There are also computer labs and the student ID photo booth down there, so it's jam-packed from 7a until well after I leave at 4:30p!

For these past three days, I've been learning a mix of jobs. Mostly the job of the last intern whose last day was yesterday, and the remainder dealing with students who have questions about their accounts. While sitting at the window yesterday, I seriously thought I was looking at something off of a VH1 reality show or something. It was roughly 75 degrees outside, and not a cloud in the sky. Why was there a girl wearing rubber rain boots??? I'm sorry, and I'm no fashionista, but dress appropriately or run the risk of looking like a complete idiot!

No doubt her rain boots were multi-colored to match her radical baby doll tee... but she also had on one of these bracelets in every color that was on her boots. Red, pink, dark green, lime green, yellow, orange, blue, sky blue, etc. I mean, she seriously bought out the beauty supply store of all of their rinky-dink bracelets. And I know these came from the beauty supply because I laughed at them one day when I saw them, thinking to myself "what person would really wear this clunky mess on their risk?", rolled my eyes and kept going. Obviously, she LOVES them!

That made my day LOL!

First Day; Chair Swinging Competition

2009-08-31T17:42:00.002-04:00

Man, I've been waiting for this day for an entire month. The anxiety finally wore off last night, and I was able to get a great nights rest before my first day on the new job. Went to bed at 10:30p, woke at 6:40a; a nice 8 hours and it was much needed! I showered and got dressed, primped in the mirror, curled my hair to perfection and grabbed my lunch!

7:50a- the parking lot was already 90% full. Construction is being done in the staff parking lot, so everyone must park in the raggedy student parking lot. UGH! Not to mention I've heard stories of peoples' tires being stolen off of their cars in broad daylight. Anywho, I trekked across campus to my place of employment, and was amazed at the line for the financial aid office!

9:00a- a fight broke out. YES A FIGHT, AT A COLLEGE CAMPUS! There was a verbal/physical altercation between a group of guys about someone's girlfriend, and next thing you know fists and chairs are being swung at each other. OMGoodness! I couldn't believe what I was seeing... The things people do when they are well aware of their surroundings. That is definitely grounds for expulsion, but the culprits got away before campus security could get there! They were slow as molasses!

For the remainder of the day, I sat with my trainor, and was informed that I'd be replacing her once she left tomorrow. Right now, I'm in charge of the bus card program which is just a start. I also learned how to add holds to student accounts and process tuition payments.

The second part of my internship should be a little more interesting though. I'll be verifying/paying bills for the school, doing random audits of offices on campus, posting journal entries and such. I'm very excited for what's to come, and I know I'll gain tons of valuable experience!

Wanna ask me more questions?! Leave me a comment! I'll keep you posted!

Last Day Woes :-(

2009-08-28T17:33:00.002-04:00

Yesterday was officially my last day at AH (although it was supposed to be today), and I must admit. It was a lot harder to say goodbye than I thought it would be.

These people I'd only worked with for almost 3 months somehow took a toll on my being. First off, working there took me out of my comfort zone at my last job. It was exhilarating to be thrown into an already well-functioning organization and grab the internship by the horns. And that's just what I did. I blended very well with the culture of our office, and everyone took to each other. I blame this on the fact that many of the 3 of the people who worked there were related, so that made the atmosphere a lot more relaxed than usual.

Since it wasn't planned for my last day to be yesterday, I wasn't able to say goodbye to some people. Most of which I'd worked the closest with. Them being the 2 head accountants and intern fax-boy (who I'm going to miss dearly). My supervisor even hit me with an unexpected exit interview, at which he asked me for recommendations for improvement. I had none; I felt that my stay at AH was well worth it and I gained a lot of practical experience that I may not have gained on my own. Guess what?!?! I can now add to my resume that I am very familiar with property management software like BostonPost and MRI. That's always a plus. I can also add that I've reported utility costs for the past 6 months in order to cut utility costs at our property sites. The list goes on and on.

But most importantly, I can say that I enjoyed my stay. No, I didn't leave with a bang like I expected. And no, on my last day I wasn't able to choose what we had for lunch. If I did, we'd definitely have Leo's Coney Island. However, Hogan's was nice. I even got a salad this time, YUM!

I will miss my coworkers, free lunch, random trips to our partner site for trainings that have nothing to do with me, stuffing/sealing/adding postage to 500+ checks every week, facebooking the other intern while he sits behind me, walking up 3 flights of stairs each day in order to say that I 'exercised', listening to the accountants bad mouth each other when one wasn't around, everyone's cell phones ringing extra loud with the many variations of ring tones (house music, Taylor Swift, the ice cream truck!), my supervisor walking around with his shoes untied, the CEO and Executive Director yelling through the office at their Administrative Assistant, the random emails about people having unauthorized programs on their computers, the grunt work, the work that made me smile, the CEO's story of when he sold Hoover vacuums door-to-door in order to provide for his family only for his wife to leave him (you had to hear his sales pitch, HILARIOUS! He even remembered it after 45+ years!)... I could go on forever, OH I can't forget the unlimited cola and water!

With each experience that you have, you take a little bit with you. I know that my experience at AH was invaluable. It hasn't hit me yet that I'll probably never walk foot into that office again. Maybe it'll hit me when I step foot into my new office on Monday.

GAB wants ADVICE: Retreat Favor Ideas!

2009-08-27T12:27:00.004-04:00

GAB wants ADVICE is a feature that I'll utilize to gain a little more insight about situations that I find myself in, or maybe advice for a friend. Please leave your advice and comments :-)

Did I mention that I'm a sorority girl??? Well, I am if you didn't know. I've taken on the role of Special Events Coordinator for our sorority, just to get my feet wet in the event planning industry. So I've been planning everything from talent shows, sisterhood retreats, formals, founder's day brunches, alum ceremonies, etc.

Well, this Sunday is our 3rd Annual Sisterhood Retreat and I have no idea what to dish out this year for favors! Here are the things I put together for the first two retreats:

Year 1: Note pads, sorority pens and candy bags... I know, kinda cheesy!

Year 2: Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookie mix in cute, decorative jars... A step up from the year prior!

Year 3: Who knows... HELP!!!!

GAB wants ADVICE: Lunch Ideas

2009-08-21T12:38:00.003-04:00

GAB wants ADVICE is a feature that I'll utilize to gain a little more insight about situations that I find myself in, or maybe advice for a friend. Please leave your advice and comments :-)

A week from today I'll be leaving AH to embark on new territory. I'm ecstatic about this, but there's one dilemma. The founder of AH likes for the employees to be in the office at all times during the day, therefore the company purchases lunch for everyone, EVERYDAY! Obviously this won't be the case at my new job.

I'm in a bit of a pickle. I want to save more money and buy less junk/fast food for lunch. My biggest goal is to figure out some type of lunch plan for the week. I'd like to stay in the $20/week range and take a brown bag lunch to my new internship.

Any easy-to-cook, inexpensive lunch ideas?? More on the healthy side, please!!

Wise Decisions

2009-08-20T12:55:00.002-04:00

For the past 6 or 7 months, I've been trying to convince my mother to go back to school. I felt that she needed to broaden her horizons and realize that there is more to life. Education is one of the best outlets for people, and I know she'd benefit from going to school.

She surprised me 2 weeks ago when she informed me that she'd applied to a local community college. I had already helped her with her financial aid application; the hard part was actually getting her to go and apply. Well, she was accepted into the Business Administration program and I am so happy for her!

Yesterday, she went to take her entrance exams and speak with a counselor. She even registered for classes! I'd been registered for my fall classes since March. However, I was shocked to see that the difference between my 9 credit hours at my university and her 9 credit hours at her community college is $3,753.69!!! That is a crazy amount of money to pay for school.

I didn't realize how ridiculously high college tuition really is! I am the first in my family to attend college, so I didn't have anyone to tell me the benefits of attending a 2-year college and transferring. I'm sure I wouldn't have nearly as much student loan debt as I have now. However, there are other things that you need to worry about like whether or not all of the credits will transfer. And I guess that makes up for the difference in cost... NOT!

EXPLAIN TO ME THE DIFFERENCE!

GAB Rant: Nastiness is Not Your Friend!

2009-08-19T12:00:00.002-04:00

GAB Rant is where I'll rant and rave about minor and/or major occurrences that I experience around the office- or near the office, on a day-to-day basis! Enjoy :-)

Ladies- I can't speak for men because I don't share public restrooms with them. But ladies, if you're taking care of business in the ladies room, please don't rush out of the bathroom in embarrassment without adding a drop of soap or water to your hands. What's there to be embarrassed about? Everyone has bowel movements (excuse me, not my most endearing topic), and if you don't then something is wrong in that case.

It's absolutely disgusting for you to rush out of the bathroom, in fear that I'll see you and know that you were the one who cleared out the entire bathroom. However, I'd like it much more if you'd just excuse yourself, and do the proper thing. WASH YOUR HANDS! Wiping them off with paper towel does not equate to them being clean! I feel like I shouldn't even have to rant about this!

P.S. I saw your shoes ;-)

Love,
GAB!

Group Projects- OH, THE JOY!

2009-08-18T16:21:00.002-04:00

Like some people, I absolutely despise group projects. Not necessarily on the job, but definitely in the classroom. I feel like my entire college career has been bombarded with useful group projects, while I'm paired with useless people!

Let me tell you all about my recent Corporate Finance Project. Ready for this? On the second day of class, a guy that I know asked if I'd had a group yet. Of course I didn't, since the project was just announced. He's a great student, so I knew being in his group would be a good idea. Plus, I didn't know too many other people in the class. Everyone that he had picked for our group, he knew them, so that was great! Unfortunately, he dropped the class and left me with 4 other random people that I had never seen before!

Not knowing their work ethic, I signed up to be the Group Leader. The project had 3 parts, one part that needed to be done by two people (it was pretty extensive). Anywho, I assigned the 3 parts to 4 of us, and the PPT and report write-up I assigned to the last person. Great, right? Everyone knew their portion of the project in ample time!

So, one of our members had a conference to attend and another project to work on. She missed two weeks of class, and upon her return she sent an email to the guy who was helping her with that extensive part of the project. But, she emailed the wrong guy! This email was sent this past Sunday, and the project is due tomorrow! The guy who she mistakenly emailed leaves class early every day, usually during our 15 minute break. So it was no surprise that during the 2nd half of class last week, the professor was going over the lesson for his part of the project. So yea, he missed it. She even gave us information that we wouldn't be able to find! He answered no emails all weekend, and no one had his phone number!

At this point I'm sure you can tell that my blood was boiling! We all agreed to meet yesterday, 2 hours before class. Guess who didn't show up until 20 minutes before class, with the wrong part of the project done! You guessed it!

By this time, I'd already given up hope on this guy and began to work on his part, since I'd been done with my stock analysis for over a week. I was really just trying to give people the benefit of the doubt. Come to find out, the other guy in our group hadn't started his portion either (yes, 2 days before the due date)!!! Can you say infuriated????? Very much so!

Yesterday after class, everyone got together and helped each other out. To my surprise, the project is 100% complete, PowerPoint, report and all!

This has really taught me to put a little more trust in people and their abilities. It has also taught me to have a little patience. Maybe group projects aren't so bad after all :-)

Ever had a group project dilemma??? Tell me all about it!!!

The Pressure Is On!

2009-08-18T12:35:00.004-04:00

I'm going to cut right to the chase. From 9/06 until 6/09, I've worked for a tutoring office at my university as an Office Assistant. So there's no surprise, given the amount of time I'd been there, that my supervisor had grown attached to me.

She was a small, Russian lady with a thick accent, who moved to the States 12 years ago. Once I decided to move forward and take the internship at AH, I realized that I needed to help her find someone to replace me. I'd promised her that I'd stay the entire summer, but working 7 hours a week just wasn't going to cut it for a Girl About Business. So, my options were to either stay there and find a second job, or find a new job altogether. The latter won, obviously.

Off on a tangent: I had planned to return to my old job for the Fall semester, even if it was only for a few hours a week. See, I'm also a work-study student, so I can get a grant to cover tuition if I have an on-campus job. So that's my only reason for considering to stay. Anddd if all else failed with my current internship, or new internship, I'd have somewhere to rest my butt for bucks ($$). However, everything worked out! I got the new internship, paying more and more hours, AND in my field of study. So last Thursday, I made the dreaded call to my old supervisor to see how she'd been doing, and to give her the bad news! Yes, me not returning is BAD news to her!

After chitchatting for about 20 minutes, she kinda figured out from my joyous tone that I'd gotten a new internship, and I wouldn't be returning to work there. But, I forgot to mention, I found someone to work for her this summer and was expecting for this girl to be a little more mature. During our little chat, I learned that the girl is not eager to work, she's not a self-starter, and she's pretty much a bland character. All of which I had no idea of. So basically, I set my sweet little boss up with a LEMON!

She's now requesting 'SOMEONE LIKE ME' to fill the position for the Fall. I hate to admit it, but I don't know too many people who'd actually deal with her. Not in a bad way though! Like I said she's sweet (very), but she has a very thick accent and this makes her a little standoffish! She grew on me, seriously!

So this is going to be a hard task, since most people I know aren't qualified for work-study, already have jobs, or want something more exciting. What a dilemma... I hate to leave her hanging with that LEMON!

Dental Envy!

2009-08-13T16:49:00.002-04:00

Do you have a phobia? Well, I do. My phobia is all things medically related. You know, the doctor, dentist, gynecologist! I just hate going to the doctor, it's weird I know!

Part of the reason behind my non-obsession with this profession, is that I always feel like something may be wrong (even though it never is). I start to make myself believe that something is wrong with me, even when it's not! It's absolutely pathetic.

A few months ago, my boyfriend forced me into the nearest dentist office. I had a crater in the middle of one of my back teeth. I mean, the cavity was ridiculously big! But it didn't bother me at all. So I scheduled an appointment to see the dentist, and was told that I'd need a few fillings and a root canal on that horrible tooth!

I couldn't believe it, so I got a second opinion from my boyfriend's dentist. Instead, he wanted to save my tooth (thank you very much!), and gave me a filling. WOW, that was a very painful ordeal. I had nerve-wrecking pain for an entire month! I was constantly popping Advil, Vicodin, anything to help make the pain subside for a while. Eventually the pain went away, but not for long.

I returned to the dentist a few days ago after noticing an abscess (spelling, eh?) on that "saved tooth". Wake up call! I still need to have a freaking root canal done, which I also learned is a 3-step process! Why on earth do I need to go to the dentist 3 times for a root canal??? I don't understand.

Anywho, so this gut-wrenching appointment is scheduled for the 29th; just 2 days before my first day at my new job! I'm really hoping that this root canal doesn't interfere with me functioning properly. I'd hate to start my new job in pain.

Taking Advantage!

2009-08-10T13:44:00.002-04:00

Whew! That's usually the sound that I make after an exam, so yes, I just had a finance exam! And I think I aced this one as well; if not, I'm sure it's a high B.

Anywho, our supervisor is on vacation this week, so us interns are on a vacay as well. How sweet?! Not really though, because as happy as I am to have a break, I hate not making money. Nothing irritates me more than the thought of my next paycheck being short, and this time by an entire week's pay! YUCK!

But not to worry, at least not now! I called the CC where I'll be interning for the fall to find out my start date. Technically I'm not supposed to start until September 9th, but they want me to start next week! Go figure! So I'm super-stoked about that... Shopping for cute blazers and heels is underway. I sound like such a girly girl HAHAHA!

Since I won't be working this week, I'm going to take advantage of this free time. I'm usually spending my spare time with my boyfriend, but I'm going to try some new things this week. Starting TONIGHT! Tonight is 'Girls Night', so myself and one of my girlfriends will be getting together for strawberry daiquiries, manis and pedis, and a nice chick flick! That's a perfect night, especially since we rarely have any time to hang out.

Tomorrow is clean up day LOL. I'll be doing all of my laundry, dusting, cleaning out my car, etc. Wednesday... class, then who knows after that??? Thursday, I plan to sleep in and do some reading (personal, not educational). Friday, SHOPPING! Saturday, beauty salon for a cute new cut! Oh, and somewhere in between, take my mom to apply for school!

Sunday, relax with my bf because I can see that the ridiculous amount of time that we spend together will be cut short, very soon :-(

GAB Rant: Illegal Procedure!

2009-08-07T14:41:00.004-04:00

GAB Rant is where I'll rant and rave about minor and/or major occurrences that I experience around the office- or near the office, on a day-to-day basis! Enjoy :-)

Today, I arrive at work at 8:30a, my scheduled time. The other intern whom I share an office with, arrives 7 minutes after 9a, as usual! Seeing as to how he was hired as an accounting intern, yet has never taken an accounting course in his life, explains why there is rarely something for him to do when he comes in. So he sits and reads sports blogs and listens to sports radio the entire time he's here. A huge distraction to me, who's actually doing some work here!

Anywho, our supervisor asked him to make a check run around 9:35a to our partner site, which is about 3 miles away. I asked him if he could stop at McDonald's and grab me a sweet tea on his way back. No biggie!

An hour later I get a text saying that he 'ran home because he had a stomach ache'. Ok, I cut him some slack and figured he'd be in in another 20 minutes or so. NOOOOOO! Another hour goes by, no sweet tea & no intern. What the heck was he doing?

Our supervisor then asks ME for his cell number, after he'd been gone for nearly 3 hours with about $300k in company checks!

Seriously, who does that??? In my opinion, this is just taking advantage of your employer! Not to mention that through the program that we got the job, we're not even supposed to leave our worksite during the day! But I'm seriously trying to figure out intern Fax-Boy's (my friend coined him with this name!) malfunction!

DPS Gone Wild!

2009-08-06T13:21:00.004-04:00

I'm listening to the radio this morning (HOT 102.7), and heard something about the Detroit Public School system. Being a student of DPS for 11 of my 13 years of public schooling, I wanted to hear what was going on. I mean, if you know anything about DPS, you'd know that they've been shutting down schools left and right. The drop out rate is 75%... yes, that's the DROP OUT RATE! Which means that the graduation rate is only 25%! How ridiculous!

Anywho, to the point of this blog. So the district has an Emergency Financial Manager, Robert Bob (Bob Bob, eh?) who has been disclosing discrepancies in the DPS budget since he was appointed.

Here are some of the new things that he recently discovered:

The district has been spending money that could have been used to keep some of the schools running. The total amount of unnecessary expenses totals about $2.1 million each year.

This $2.1 million has been spent on health insurance for ineligible dependents, 160 Blackberry phones, 11 unused motorcycles, 97 two-way phones, inappropriate loans to school officials, and a whopping $1.7 million paid to the City of Detroit for taxes when the district is tax-exempt!

More bad light shone upon the city of Detroit. But my philosophy is 'better now than never'. Robert Bob is doing a great job!

GAB Rant: Over-ordering for Lunch!

2009-08-04T15:36:00.002-04:00

GAB Rant is where I'll rant and rave about minor and/or major occurrences that I experience around the office- or near the office, on a day-to-day basis! Enjoy :-)

So today, AH decided to order Potbelly for lunch. You know, the sandwich shoppe. Well, this was my first time having Potbellys, so I went light for lunch (I usually do).

Not the other intern... Not only did he take 10 minutes to go over the menu, but he ordered a sandwich, chips, and a cookie. I know that may not sound like a lot, but it was enough for our supervisor to call him into his office for a 'talk'.

This isn't the first time he's done this. The idea is to go with the flow of the office. You don't make your own rules; you blend with what's already happening. If no one else who came before you is ordering food out of the woohaa, then you're not supposed to.

Bring your own snacks to work! Don't expect your employer to provide for your daily bout of the munchies.

I Suck at Working Out!

2009-08-04T12:00:00.000-04:00

There's nothing in this world that makes my head hurt more than the idea of having to work out. I'm a very petite young woman, but I have a crazy sized tummy. I mean, you can tell when I've just had a hearty meal. My stomach tends to look about 2 months pregnant :-(

It kinda sucks since my BF works out almost everyday. I mean, he's always doing something. Running, biking, lifting, benching, curling, squatting, something! So, I guess I'm trying to keep up with him a bit just so we can have something to do together. Plus, I need to do it for myself, and he's my biggest motivation when it comes to working out. I never knew what a real workout was until last week...

Last Monday, my BF-turned-personal trainer had me jump rope 500 times! My legs were soooo tight the next day at work that I could barely rock my heels at work. But it definitely gave my legs the tone that they needed. I jumped rope again on Tuesday, and jogged about 5 blocks on Thursday. It wasn't much, but it definitely made me realize that working out IS a lot of work. I have to give my BF credit because he really does a lot.

Here's a great ab workout that you can in less than 5 minutes!!!

So, aside from attempting to eat healthier, I'm going to devote myself to working out at least once a week. My schedule permits that now, so there's no excuse!

I'll keep you guys updated with how that's going :-) Also, don't be afraid to let me know what works for you. Any exercise routines that you can do at home instead of hitting the gym?! I'd love to hear your stories :-)

Giving my Job the Boot...

2009-08-03T15:27:00.003-04:00

If you've been following, which I see 13 of you have :-) you'll know that I recently accepted an offer for an internship this upcoming fall and winter semester. You'd also know that I've been interning for AH since the beginning of June.

I don't mean to toot my own horn, but who else will? So, I'll just say it: I'm an asset to all of my places of employment. My supervisors tend to see that I increase productivity for them, and behind the scenes I help to make the office function more efficiently. I'm a problem solver, and an answer-seeker! Now that you know my work ethic, you can see why after only a month plus some, my current supervisor asked ME to stay for another semester. Here's the problem:

Although I love my current internship (who wouldn't love free lunch everyday?), it's not exactly what I want to do. So, while I was doubting my abilities a few weeks ago (before the interview), I talked up staying at AH with my supervisor. So by now, everyone is expecting for me to stay. And I had all intentions of doing so before my recent interview. Now that I've accepted the position elsewhere (and I can't renig), I'm in a bit of a pickle. I don't exactly know how I am going to tell my current supervisor that I'll no longer be staying for the fall.

They're both great opportunities... where I am now, I get A/P experience. Plus, if I stayed for the fall I'd be paying the bills and doing the books for my own property site :-) However, the other internship allows for me to see both sides of the equation. I'll be doing both A/P and A/R, which is even better. Majority of the other students at my university enjoyed their internship there, and it could lead to a possible full-time position after graduation. So I weighed my options, and that's my decision...

I just don't know how to lay it out for my supervisor, because I highly doubt that through the program that I got the job, they'll find another accounting intern as good as me. They were lucky to find me... TRUE STORY :-)

HELP ME!

What Chasing a Guy/Girl can do to your Long-Term Goals!

2009-08-02T12:00:00.000-04:00

HAHAHA!

I thought I'd never touch a topic like this. However, it seems to be a problem in my opinion.

Honestly, as a teen, having a boy/girlfriend isn't necessary at all. It tends to be a fad... "Everyone is doing it"... True enough, but what are they really gaining from the individual they're with?

I once told myself that I would no longer date guys who don't have a strong sense of self, LONG-TERM goals, an education, a platform and a clear view of the life ahead of him. Is that asking too much? Not at all. It's worked out pretty well for me too!

What we tend to do as humans is focus on the short-term; what will look/feel good now? But your ultimate happiness is key! Focusing on the now could put a damper on your future. It could cause you to make decisions that could change your life, FOR THE WORSE!

For example... It's senior year and you've just met this cute guy. He has a car, a job at the local bookstore, and he's pretty much content there. You fall head over heels for this guy, to only find out that in August you'll be leaving for an Ivy-league school, and he'll be promoted to cashier at the bookstore. OH NO! What are you going to do 500 miles away from the guy that you think you're going to spend the rest of your life with??? Your solution... "I'll go to a local college and build my life around someone who clearly doesn't have any plans for his life!!!"

THAT IS THE WRONG ANSWER AND THE WRONG ATTITUDE TO HAVE. DO YOU SEE HOW CHASING THAT GUY HAS SENT YOU ON A DETOUR? LOW AND BEHOLD YOU DON'T GO TO SCHOOL AT ALL AND YOU GUYS BREAK UP. NOW WHAT?

This is truly something to think about considering the Fall semester is approaching and a lot of you guys will face that BIG question: "What will chasing him/her do to my goals?"

My advice is to stay true to yourself and evaluate who you are. Take time out and think about the person you want to be. Think about the person you are with, or wish that you were with, and evaluate them as well. If your goals in life don't match the least bit, RECONSIDER your options and focus on YOU!

Cash Advance = Not a Good Idea :-(

2009-07-31T23:07:00.004-04:00

I know everyone has been in a bit of a pickle. Low on cash, bills are due, gas prices are rising, etc. And those paycheck advance places sound quite appealing... you know, "we'll give you money and you can pay us when you get paid"!

I won't lie; I've thought about stopping by one of those places. Here are a few times when it crossed my mind: about 3 months ago I had to deplete my entire savings to pay for a car repair. Another instance is when my employer somehow missed me when doing payroll. Then, I didn't have much in my savings, so I could barely live for those 2 weeks that it took to issue another check :-( So yes, the thought definitely crossed my mind!

An old friend of mine used to go to one of these places, and it didn't seem too bad. Kinda like a very short-term loan. He'd take out $500, and would pay back around $530 when he got paid again.

Being the accountant that I am, and now taking a finance class, it has come up in my textbook. Let me explain to you why I will NEVER go to a cash advance establishment. Hopefully this steers you away as well (I'm not trying to put anyone out of business, but come on!)

First off, you need to understand the 'time value of money'. So let me give you a brief synopsis. A dollar today is not the same as a dollar in the future; you know, inflation and all of that blah! Hence, we need to use the 'time value of money' to value what some future payments are worth today, or what some present amounts of money will be worth in the future. Here's the equation (sorry for getting mathematical with you all, but you'll see where I'm going soon!) for the future value of money:

FV = PV x (1 + r)^t

Now here's the problem: you walk into one of these cash advance places, and you want to take out $150 for incidental expenses; just to hold you over until the next pay period. In exchange for this $150, you write the establishment a check for $180. The agreement is that you'll pay back the $180 in 15 days, and this doesn't seem like a large amount of cash to repay. I mean, it's only $30! But at what rate are you paying for this money? How much interest are you paying? We'll use our equation:

So, the FV is the amount you're repaying which is $180, PV is the amount you're getting today which is $150, t is equal to 1. Let's plug and chug:

$180 = $150 (1 + r)^1 ----> divide both sides by $150
1.20 = 1 + r ----> subtract 1 from both sides
.20 = r or 20%

20% doesn't seem so bad, does it??? But remember this is for borrowing the money for only 15 days! What does this mean??? That the annual percentage rate (APR) is RIDUNCULOUS!!!

APR = .20 x 365/15
APR = 486.66%

Yes, you read right! That measly 20% for 15 days equates to 486.66% a year!

So, let's see: you borrow that same $150 on January 1st, 2010. If you don't make any payment until December 31, 2010, this is what you'll be paying:

PV = FV/(1 + r)^t
$150 = FV/(5.86666)^1
FV = $879.90

Yes, that's right, you'll be paying back nearly $900 just for borrowing $150!!!

That makes me think twice about credit cards too, and no... I won't be stopping by any of their convenient locations. $900 just about covers one class at my university. NO THANKS!

Ponytails are For the Office

2009-07-30T14:54:00.006-04:00

Yea, I said it! Ponytails on women are not just sexy for the gym. They are sexy every day of the year, in pretty much any style you can choose.

I prefer myself with a ponytail. My hair is long (almost mid-back), thick and currently jet black. Humidity does NUMBERS on my hair, my curls usually fall, and I'd rather wear my hair bone-straight than curly ANYDAY!

But rumor has it that ponytails should stay at the gym! I found that highly disappointing considering I rarely visit the gym, yet I rock a ponytail pretty much everyday. I don't know what it is, but ponytails definitely do something different to my appearance.

For one, they don't hide your earrings. I'd die without a pair of earrings on (well, maybe not die, but I'd sure go back home for them!). On a boring, I-forgot-to-do-the-laundry day, some women need a nice pair of earrings to spruce up their lacking wardrobe. But who wants to hide those bedazzling earrings under a ton of hair? I KNOW I DON'T!

Ponytails also accentuate the eyes. Depending on how tight you wear/like your ponytails, they could pull the skin on your face a bit causing your eyes to appear more beautifully. It also makes you looks very exotic (not in a sexual way). When I wear a ponytail, my boyfriend compliments my eyes. DON'T FORGET THE MASCARA THOUGH!

You can wear many different styles of ponytails to fit your mood, attitude or even your getup!

Here are some of my recommendations for the office pony:

If you are wearing a suit, are having a conference with your colleagues or meeting with a potential client, I suggest a low ponytail. One that touches the back of your neck- like this one:

For a day when the office is more laidback, say... free dress day! Or with a nice flowy skirt and 3/4 length sleeved blouse- a mid to high ponytail like this one (with or without the bang, however, WOW the office with a tossled bang):

Obviously for an office party, you'd want to look as beautiful as Brittany Snow, so try this one:

HERE IS A GYM PONYTAIL, AND YES THERE IS A DIFFERENCE! A GYM PONY IS LOOSE AND CAREFREE. AN OFFICE PONY SHOULD BE SLEEK AND POLISHED!

Got It!!!!!!!

2009-07-28T16:23:00.001-04:00

Wow- so I postdated one of my little stories, but I guess I'll have to go back and edit that post or post it now... Why???

Because I GOT THE JOB! I'm sooooo overly excited and appreciative. I can't wait to start!

I'll be talking to the internship director tonight about the position, so I'll be sure to give you guys all of the juice later today or tomorrow!

Gaining a Bad Case of Anxiety!

2009-07-28T12:00:00.001-04:00

I emailed the internship director at my school to tell her about my interview this past Wednesday, and was informed that I should hear something back by the end of this week or early next week.

Talk about anxiety building up! I really want this internship, however, on the flip side- I wouldn't mind staying where I am. That's definitely the power of being a great intern/employee... you'll always have somewhere to go! If I decide not to stay here either, I always have first dibs on the hours at my old job. Obviously that wouldn't be my first preference, but I'd take it because I love(d) my old supervisor!

Barking on new territory is very different though. It definitely takes you out of your comfort zone. But doing this internship has taught me plenty of things that should be done in the office, and things that should not. I've also gained knowledge about property management. So, if I do decide to leave, at least I can take that with me. This summer has definitely padded my resume :-)

Any of you doing internships that you enjoyed? Didn't enjoy? Turned into a full-time position? Tell me about it!

A Night Wasted!

2009-07-28T12:00:00.000-04:00

A friend of mine had been promoting an event this past Friday for about a month and a half. So of course she asked all of her friends to come out and show their support. Why not? I really don't do too much partying anyway. Besides, I needed to celebrate my 93% on my Finance exam, and my job interview (that I hope leads to a new internship :-) ). My best friend also came to visit me on Friday, so we decided to go to the party together.

Shopping we went! We went to just about every store for our style at Twelve Oaks Mall, and barely found anything! I have to admit though, I'm usually behind season. I look for summer pieces late in the summer when I should be doing so in the spring! Oh well- a nice pair of jeans and some pumps would have set the night off right! Instead, I settled for a pair of jeans, waist-belt, porcelain flower necklace, cayenne-colored slacks for work, and a pair of cargo capris! Not too much of a shopping experience! I didn't even find what I was looking for...

To make a super long story short: the party was super whack, one of the security guards was a complete jerk, I hate drunk guys and house music, the dance floor was the size of my closet, I reeked of cigarette smoke when I left, the floor was carpeted, ENOUGH SAID!

My friends and I ended up leaving the party after about 45 minutes of sitting down, and we headed to MGM Casino to eat! Yummy- and my first time in MGM. From the looks of it, it won't be my last :-)

Inappropriate Office Attire!

2009-07-27T22:26:00.002-04:00

Here is a link to an article that I found very interesting, because I see this just about everyday. Not necessarily at my place of employment, but everywhere.

Check it out here.

Happy Reading!

Finally... A Little Time to Relax

2009-07-26T23:03:00.002-04:00

Lately, I've been one busy young lady! Running errands, picking things up, dropping things off, working, going to class, spending time with my boyfriend, interviewing, studying, tutoring, piloting a new website for our sorority, traveling, planning events, wrapping up old ones... YAWN!!! Just thinking about that list makes me tired. I find myself curling up in my boyfriends bed every Sunday, napping for hours.

Sunday is supposed to be the beginning of the week. For me though, it's the end of the week. That's how my body functions. All of the missed sleep from the week... I make up for that on Sunday. I barely have time for myself. But this is the life that I signed up for. Of course I could drop out of school, quit both of my jobs, and leave the sorority behind... but that's the life of a loser in my opinion.

I'm excited for the morning... why, you ask? Well, I don't work on Monday's and Wednesday's. Instead I go to class from 11:30-2:20p. But I can't remember the last time that I had absolutely nothing to do or somewhere to go before class on these days. Tomorrow will be the first morning that I can sleep in, snuggle with the boyfriend, catch up on some reading, eat breakfast... etc.

The rest of the week = I'm not too sure about. But I'll definitely bask in the ambiance of a beautiful morning tomorrow.

Last week (Thursday), I sat in another 3 hours of training for work, about how to run 8 different reports! What does this mean? Well, I'm closer to having to travel to different sites for work now. I'm not sure if I should be excited or not. I'm also not sure whether or not they'll be compensating me for my gas expenses. Oh well, that's the joy of work I guess. BTW, this is for that "Special Project" I'll be working on... hopefully it's really special!

Anywho, the remainder of that story will come with time.

Happy Reading!

"He Said I Was Different"

2009-07-26T12:00:00.000-04:00

Ok, so we've heard it all before. Whether you're male or female. However, I'm writing this post specifically for my young female readers, because... well I'm female myself!

Today, I will talk about why girls may hear this, some variations of "you're different", how to avoid feeling bad about being different, and the result of being different.

I'm going to group all of my teen readers together (13-18 y/o), so when I speak of 'you', it's not direct, it's across the board.

Scenario: Jane has known John since middle school, and she's always had a little crush on him. When they entered high school together, Jane knew that things were destined to be perfect. John would be her homecoming date, her prom date, high school sweetheart, partner in marriage... blah, blah, blah! Yes, a lot of girls think this far into the future when considering the next potential. Don't be sucked into the hype!

Anywho, Jane never worked up enough courage during freshman year to actually tell John how she felt. Sophomore year rolls around, John has made the JV basketball team and Jane has been secretly obsessing over this guy, for what 4 years now? You'd think that she'd say something by now, to avoid him being swept away for the captain of the cheer squad.

So, mellow Jane (very pretty and smart, might I add) builds up the courage to tell John how she feels. It's Wednesday evening after dance practice, and John is standing outside the gym with his fellow team members. And then the words just fall out, soooo unexpectedly...

"John, I, I, I... I like you,"

"You what??? But why?"

"Well, it's been a while and I just thought that now was the best time to tell you. Can we discuss this over ice cream Friday after school?"

"Sure Jane, I don't see why not. See you then"

Jane runs home, overly enthused to tell her mother, who by the way has known about this crush for some time. Her mothers only words were, "be careful Jane"...

So Friday rolls around, and Jane is waiting for John at the local ice cream parlor, and sure enough he comes strolling around the corner.

"Ok... lip gloss check!"

They chit chat for what seems like forever, and Jane is reassured that this is the perfect match. They continue to go on these random after-school excursions for about 3 weeks, only to come to a screeching halt when John announces over the phone that he can't date her anymore... get this! Because she's different...
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ok, so of course I have to give my synopsis of this story (yes, it's made up. I didn't mean to stereotype anyone, just written to create suspense and a storyline to follow)... Anywho, back to my synopsis... I know there are some ladies and/or men who have heard this line far too many times and can relate to Jane. And like most, they probably took it the wrong way or out of context.

Let me be the one to say, there is absolutely, positively, nothing wrong with being different! We all want to be different sometimes, whether we want to stand out on our college application, or if we really want that job we've just interviewed for. WE ALL WANT TO BE DIFFERENT.

However, in Jane's case... being different=being an outcast=BAD!

So, what should Jane do? First, I suggest that Jane talks to her mother. I'm sure her mother can alleviate some of the stress behind those words. But most importantly she's going to have to learn to cope on her own. So... I recommend that Jane evaluates herself, list the things that make her different from other girls and explain to herself why these are 'good' things.. Chances are her list looks like this:

I'm on the dance team (result: you're in the new dance production at school)
Involved in student government (result: you're in line to become the new Student Body President)
I consider myself very conservative and classy (result: hey, the results are endless)
I'm a straight A student (result: you've made the dean's list)
I have green eyes and strawberry blonde hair (result: you're not a blonde, or a brunette... but who really cares?)
I'm very tall and lean (result: you may one day become a model, or maybe even a basketball star)
etc, etc, etc.

DO YOU GET MY DRIFT? The things that make you different aren't always bad things. As a matter of fact, they're almost always good things just portrayed as bad things.

Variations of the line "you are different":

"It's just something about you"
"You're not my type"
"I've never had a girlfriend like you before"

I hope I've alleviated some unnecessary stress in your life...

If you have any other stories like this, or have had to deal with someone labeling you as "different", feel free to drop a comment.

GAB Rant: "Guests of Guests Don't Bring Guests"

2009-07-26T11:55:00.006-04:00

GAB Rant is where I'll rant and rave about minor and/or major occurrences that I experience around the office- or near the office, on a somewhat day-to-day basis! Enjoy :-)

I heard that line on a preview of NYC Prep on Bravo! And it holds soooo true. I mean, how awkward is that?

Imagine that it's your big day (wedding day), and one of your guests invites his girlfriend who brings another one of her friends, who you happen to not like??? It definitely stirs up drama, and causes unnecessary problems. However, too often this happens, and the crap hits the fan in no time.

Don't believe me? Check out this video: The Hills, Season 5, Episode 1. This isn't even as severe as it could be; however, Heidi is a guest of a guest! Imagine if she brought Spencer as arm candy (UGH!)

This clearly ruined Lauren's fab birthday bash, caused unnecessary tension, and was completely AWKWARD!

For future reference readers, don't allow your guests to bring friends of their own. Because as you can see, the drama becomes never-ending. If you've watched this season of The Hills, this one event spiraled into so much more!

How dare Stephanie???

About That Interview...

2009-07-23T23:25:00.005-04:00

I realized that I never updated my readers on my recent interview, so here goes...

It took place at a local community college in their Financial Services department (cashier's office for some).

Let's start the night before though. So I'm preparing for the interview with my boyfriend. We're browsing racks at Marshalls and TJ Maxx for black blazers, since I'm in no position to purchase a really nice suit for myself. Obviously it isn't blazer season or something, because I saw none! Instead I found a really cute pink & white vertical striped shirt and a black sweatervest. I'm not a fan of trying on shirts while shopping because I can pretty much pinpoint what I can and can't fit. So I didn't bother to try on either, when I admit that I should have.

When we got home, I tried on the sweatervest. OMG!!! It was like a black garbage bag on me! It was poofy in the back, and I looked like a public bus driver in that get-up! It was hideous. That's where the power of networking and having resourceful friends came in. I simply called one of my sorority sisters and asked if her mom could take the vest in a few inches to make it a small, because there was no way that I was making a fool of myself in that mess! Her mom is so sweet; she did it at no charge 40 minutes before my interview. I made this decision after my boyfriend tried to convince me that nothing was wrong with the size, it looked just fine, blah! It wasn't until I had to convince HIM that it was hideous that he actually gave me his honest opinion...

Anywho... I get to the school about 20 minutes early, so I sat around until 10 minutes before my scheduled interview time. There were so many students; I couldn't believe it because our university is usually dead in the summer. I guess that isn't the case for CCs... I walk into the financial aid office and was told that the person I was looking for didn't work in that office. GREAT! I was directed to pick up a phone on the wall and call his extension, and sure enough no one picked up. A lady walks up behind me and asks who I'm looking for, and proceeds to tell me that my interviewor is out of town at a conference! ARE YOU KIDDING ME? I went through all of that hassle to reschedule... Not yet. Instead, I sat in a computer room waiting for another qualified person to interview me.

About 3 minutes later, a woman approaches me with golden curly hair and a very nice skirt & blouse on. We walked around the office, and finally started the interview. IT WENT GREAT! She ended up being the mother of one of my high school classmates. How ironic?! She seemed really impressed with my work ethic, experience, and skills. Nothing but compliments and smiles the entire time! I wish all interviews were like that... that would be a treat, instead of a headache!

All-in-all, I think I landed the position. Not to mention, I scheduled the interview on the last day so that I would be fresh in the interviewors mind. Come on now, isn't that wishful thinking???

Got any interesting/not-so-great interview stories? Please do share, please!

Also, check out these cute fits for the office:

Too Hot to Trot...

Casual, yet Classy, although I suggest this one with a nice camisole. I'm sure the cleavage isn't a good idea...

I find this interesting, minus the belt... to dress up a plain white button up with black slacks. I think tan slacks would be pushing it...

I love these, in every single color. I'd buy them all if I wasn't a poor college student...

GAB Rant 07.23.09

2009-07-23T16:18:00.006-04:00

GAB Rant is where I'll rant and rave about minor and/or major occurrences that I experience around the office- or near the office, on a day-to-day basis! Enjoy :-)

** Morning breath and wrinkled clothes have no place in the office.

Leave morning breath at home, and wrinkled clothes in the hamper.

Thanks!

Mascara has Power!!!

2009-07-21T11:34:00.005-04:00

Why???

Let me explain... In all of my years of attempting to figure out my skin, and what looks good/doesn't look too hot, I've come to the realization that I absolutely, positively cannot do without mascara!

It does for me, and possibly many others, what no other makeup can do- that's my opinion though! I use it daily to boost my lashes, being that they are really short and barely noticeable. My lashes are also very straight, they have very little curl to them. This disgusts me, simply because when I'm not wearing any mascara, my eyes look ridiculously tiny!

I never really noticed how small my eyes looked, until I started wearing mascara. Boy does it make a difference!

It makes you look more polished and alive! When I'm not wearing it, because my eyes are so small, I tend to look sleepy or tired. This obviously isn't a good look for the office; I always need to look my best! Therefore, I can't leave the house without CoverGirl LashExact Mascara in either black or very black!

The trick is to not OVERDO your makeup. You always want a fresh face, whether you're wearing makeup or not. You never, and I repeat NEVER want to look like it took you an hour to put on your face in the morning. Heavy makeup should only be used for nights out or if you absolutely need it. NOT FOR THE OFFICE! Can we say STAY PROFESSIONAL??? The same goes for perfume/cologne... NEVER TOO MUCH!

I'm using this picture because it really shows what mascara can do for you! You can find other interesing beauty tips here!

Interview Anxiety!!!

2009-07-20T23:46:00.002-04:00

Last night before bed (I couldn't sleep), it dawned on me that I scheduled my internship interview on the wrong day. I mean, it wouldn't have really been a problem to go into work a few hours late, but I'm all about the money- so I couldn't do that. I went onto the website to try and reschedule the interview for the correct date, but I was locked out of the system! Go figure! I ended up needing to meet with the internship coordinator to fix the issue, which I realized wasn't a big deal. Well, not really- but kinda! The interview that was 3 days away is now less than 2 days away, therefore I need to prepare myself accordingly.

What will I wear? What questions will I ask? How will I wear my hair? Stilettos or no? Perfume or not? Notepad or not? Reference sheet or not? Wowwww, this is my mind right now. Not to mention the millions of other things that are running through my mind. I'm currently thinking ahead to Friday, and this is how my days look:

Tuesday, 8am- Make it to Starbucks for Free Pastry Day- no way I'd miss that with my morning Java Chip Frap-light whip! Although, I was considering an Iced Chai Tea Latte... I don't know, I'll figure it out when I get there.

6p- Arrive at school to tutor someone in a class that I don't remember much of! However, the power of tutoring is learning- so, yea I'm re-learning some things. AMAZING!

8p-10p- Study, read, do some homework problems and teach myself how to use this stupid Financial Calculator! UGH, I hate it... I'd much rather use my TI-83 Plus that I purchased for a whopping $106 bucks 8 years ago!

Wednesday, 6:30a- Wake up to take Grandma to work...

10a- Internship interview... Praying for the best!

11:30a- 2:20p- Finance class

3p-4:30p- Tutoring a Grad Student... thankfully he's adjusting a budget, which is a no-brainer for me.

5p- Head Downtown to the Tigers game. I don't even know who they're playing, but I don't give up freebies. I hope the other intern doesn't embarrass the company!

Well- after this... I can breathe a little. Hopefully! In the midst of all of this, I will be impatiently awaiting my exam grade!

A Previous Life...

2009-07-18T12:26:00.002-04:00

For those of you who didn't know (I'm sure none of you did), I used to have a blog directed toward older teens where I'd give advice and tidbits about relationships, employment, scholarships, and other things along that line. However, the school year rolled around and I found myself with less time to dedicate to my blog... so, I stopped blogging as much and very seldomly viewed my comments from this blog. It wasn't until about a week ago that I actually deleted it, so it was still getting comments.

A few days ago, I decided to open up that yahoo account and see what was new. To my surprise, many of my readers enjoyed my relationship advice. So as a gift to my new readers, I' m going to post my old posts on this blog. I'll try to do this once a week, maybe on Sundays. So be sure to watch out for this... The first one will be posted on Sunday, July 26th!

Just when I started thinking...

2009-07-18T12:00:00.000-04:00

... about how much I missed drinking Starbucks, I find an interesting link on Facebook... a free invitation or coupon rather, for a free pastry at participating U.S. Starbucks locations on July 21st.

The catch is... you must be there between the locations opening time and 10:30a. Where is the problem? Most of us don't even wake up before 10:30a, so many of us will miss out!

Not me, I'll be headed to work which is conveniently located directly across the street from a very cozy Starbucks.

Drink & Eat up!

Intern Do's & Don'ts

2009-07-17T21:13:00.002-04:00

Ok- so my AH internship isn't my first one, and over the years through both regular jobs and other internships, I've learned the do's and don'ts of any employee, but especially interns... Internships aren't just jobs; they're your first footsteps into a company. Therefore, you always want to put your best foot forward, and exude the utmost respect for the company for which you are working for. After all, we ultimately want to receive a full-time offer from the company.

So, here are some of the things I noticed other interns doing while on the job (this is mostly current):

If you're scheduled to be at work at 9:00a, please don't show up 9:27a expecting a pat on the back.
If your lunch break is supposed to be 30 minutes, please don't take an hour and a half to eat a taco!
If the office seems rather busy and you finish your work early, ALWAYS ask if there is more work to be done.
When the company gives you gifts i.e. sporting event tickets, please don't ask for more so that you can take your friend for their upcoming birthday!
School comes first, no matter what! So don't sit in the office bragging about how much of a slacker you are. Remember, everyone there already has an education, and they're looking for MORE people like them!
Remember, you are always representing the company whether you're at work or not. So act like it.
Never participate in office gossip... it could be the death of you, and your employment!
Just because the receptionist tells you to help yourself to the supply closet, don't take it upon yourself to restock your bookbag for the next two semesters!
Employers (most of them) have all been in your shoes, and most of them have done the same work that you are doing. If you're given a task that should ordinarily take about an hour to complete, do not turn that into a full day of work.
Don't ask if it's ok to leave work at 3:30p, but still put 5p on your timecard. Why would you even do that if you aren't working for that extra hour and a half??? I mean, that's soooo unethical!!!!

Those are just a few of my issues with interns... but I'm sure as the summer progresses, there will definitely be more.

Current Obsessions

2009-07-16T10:25:00.008-04:00

Last week, while in a training session I couldn't help but to admire the handbags of the 9 women who accompanied me.

Now, if you're a purse person, you can tell a quality handbag from a mile away. You can also tell if a person is living outside of their means, just by the combination of purse + clothing they're wearing. But no, all of these women were dressed very nicely. Kate Spade, Coach, Louis Vuitton purses filled the room. I can't say so much for shoes, but who cares about shoes anyway? I do... sorry.

It was then that I looked down at my own bag, and realized that it was definitely time for an upgrade. I'm a small bag wearer, not really into the big hobo bags anymore. Nor am I into big hoop earrings or oversized clothing... so here are two bags from Coach that I'm looking at purchasing. Not both though! Come on now, I'm just an intern lol! And the color must be brown... so many pairs of brown shoes, not one decent brown bag! If you happen to stumble across any bags worth looking at, please let me know.

I'm also in love with the Jessica Simpson Collection... shoes, that is. I saw a pair at Marshalls about 2 weeks ago, and they looked EXTRAORDINARY on my feet. I should have taken a pick. But here is the shoe very similar to the one I tried on. I love these too though... I'll be making a few purchases in say... 3 weeks!

Enjoy my tidbit of taste

:-)