First Day; Chair Swinging Competition

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 :-(

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!

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

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

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!

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!

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!

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!

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!

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!

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!

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!

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!

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...

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!

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!