Another dream share

While I'm in the mood to talk about my crazy dreams, I may as well share my global warming/High school dream from last week. The dream started out with me deciding to re-enroll in my High School just to "brush up" on my High School subject matter since I've forgotten so much of it during my 5 years of college. In my dream, I was still the same age that I am today (22) and I had just as much education as I do now (a bachelor's degree plus post-bac studies) and still decided to just go enroll. After getting to school and walking the hallways, I immediately decided that I had made a big mistake by going back to school...I was so much older than everyone else! I never even attended a class in my dream, I just roamed around the halls.

The next thing I know, I'm at my mom's house and it seems unnaturaly dark. It's not nighttime but it's dark as if it is dusk even though it's the middle of the day. So, I walk out of the back door just to see that the sky is dark and that the sun is melting-yes melting. The sun is melting away. There are clouds everywhere but that doesn't stop you from seeing the part of the sun that is facing us slowly sliding away from the other half of the sun as if it is lava. At the end of my dream, we just have half a sun. Creepy. I guess I am taking this whole end of the world in 2012 thing to heart and it's coming out in my dreams!

I know that this is like a photo shopped picture but it kind of looks like my dream only not as dramatic...

Name change and pizza and dishes

So, I got tired of the name that I had and decided to change it. Who knows how long this one will last. I'll probably change it pretty soon. Frequent name changes are likely given my trait of indecisiveness. Also, I didn't like the name before because several other people had that for the blog name too. The one I've chosen is hopefully slightly unique. I dunno.

Anyway, so I had my first dream involving my new job. I dreamt that I was working at the pizza place pulling the food out of the oven which is what I would normally be doing working at the pizza place. But, instead of having our normal people working, the entire make table was staffed by the Hooters Girls that were working with me on Saturday! Now there are a few things that I left out about my training day.

Those girls spent quite a bit of time brushing their hair and putting on makeup throughout the day. And that is exactly what they were doing in my dream when they were supposed to be making food. They were putting on makeup in the kitchen. This would never happen in real life!!

The Hooters Girls working the pizza place weren't the only strange things happening in this dream. For some reason, they were putting all of the dishes in the oven and I had to pull them all out while trying to get all of the food out too.

By the way, these dishes were not dishes that we actually have at the pizza place. In fact, they were the dishes that we ate off of at the steak house yesterday but there were stacks and stacks of these steakhouse dishes coming out of our pizza oven.

My manager, we'll call him Boss since I'm so0o creative (ha), was getting frustrated between the girls who were clearly not fit for making pizzas and me not being able to get all of these freaking dishes out of the oven fast enough. At one point in my dream, even a box of business cards came out of the oven and when I opened them to figure out what they were (I am not used to seeing boxes of business cards coming out of the oven), a cell phone appeared out of nowhere and when I answered it, it was someone inquiring about my business cards. I was mad and gave the phone to Boss and went back to pulling dishes and pizza out of the oven. Can you say weird??

Work is clearly getting in the way of my dreams!

Day 1 of training and the afterparty

I have been neglecting my blog. I've been busy trying to study and do homework and all that fun stuff. I still have yet to start packing for France. I really need to do that! And really, I'm supposed to be finishing up my micro lab report but I feel like making a post real quick.

I will start off with saying that it feels amazing to not have to go sit in a cubicle for an entire weekend this weekend. This has been a very different weekend than I am used to since my weekends have been the same for the last 2+ years. Not only have I not had to go to the job that I've been hating but I am also about to be leaving for France in just 5 days! Crazy. When I left the pizza place on Friday, I told everyone "see ya in 3 weeks!" Of course they were not happy. But the joke's on me...I ended up picking up a Monday night shift which is really weird...I haven't worked a Monday at the pizza place in over 2 years. It's been Tuesdays and Fridays forever. But now I'm gonna see all of the people I said bye to only 3 days later rather than 3 weeks later. That's fine by me though. I love working there. It's pretty fun.

Now, on to the training! So, I got home from the pizza place at like 1 a.m. Friday night and ate my grilled chicken salad with light ranch (this will be significant later, I promise). I was trying hard to diet before my shift yesterday. I was eating all light foods on Friday and I even lost a couple of pounds which is nothing, my weight is always fluctuating like daily. I went to sleep at like 2. I set my alarm for 8:20 to give myself two hours to get ready and get to work. I was scheduled in at 10:25. I am still not sure what's up with the 25s at Hooters...every shift starts at 25 after. I don't get it. Anyway, I layed there until like 8:40 of course since I suck at waking up. I got up and got in the shower and then ate a peanut butter and sugar free jelly sandwich on light potato bread and a bowl of honey nut cheerios real quick while I dreaded putting on the nylons because I knew that I couldn't wear underwear under them since it totally shows through the shorts.

To my surprise, the unifrom actually wasn't uncomfortable. Actually, I found that wearing no underwear was much more comfortable than wearing a thong seeing as nothing is there to give you an all day wedgie. I straightened my hair and put on my makeup as usual and headed out the door. That's when I realized I left with only ten minutes to get there. It isn't that far from my house but I hate when I leave at the last minute like that. So, I rushed to the restaurant with my shoes and socks in hand because I didn't want to get them dirty.

When I got there, all of the girls were in the back of the dining room putting on makeup, doing hair, smoking, and just hanging out. I sat down at one of the tables and took off my yoga pants and put on the socks and shoes. They don't have a dressing room or anything at this location and you just put your personal belongings in a little closet in the corner that they keep padlocked while the restaurant is open. I asked the manager if my uniform looked okay and she said yeah and introduced me to my trainer.

My trainer was one of the girls that's in the bikini contest. I was happy to see that she is like the same height as me since I'm like super short and like everyone is taller than me! She was super nice and friendly and helpful. We went through several tests because it wasn't a very busy day. I followed her around like a puppy which was kind of awkward but kind of fun because I had someone to talk to the whole day. I worked a full shift from 10:25-5. So, I followed her around for 6.5 hours. We even had to eat our lunch together. We both got free food. I ate a chicken quesadilla (the only thing I've ever eaten at Hooters) and she got wings and fries.

I met a regular who brought in jelly beans and all kinds of other candy and I was surprised to find him chillin in the office when we went in to get some sort of thing that you use to eat oysters. An "oyster shucker". I asked my trainer what it was and she said she had no idea either. It looks like a not sharp knife. Weird.

We didn't have any hostesses again. Apparently, one was supposed to be there at noon but she just didn't show up. My trainer told me that they just never show up so that's why there are never any hostesses. I asked how they are still working there if they don't show up and she said they wonder that all the time. So, we stood by the door a lot of the time with a lot of the other girls (there were 9 on the floor) waiting for people to come in and directing them to our tables when we got their attention first. By the time I left, we had had only had 5 tables in our section the whole day. I felt bad because I know she would have had more if she didn't have to train me. She said she didn't get paid anymore on the hour or anything while she trains but that she does get free food. She seemed happy enough with that trade off. I can't blame her. The food is pretty good. I love that chicken quesadilla! Since we didnt' have that many tables, we ran bus tubs back to the back and we got ice to fill the ice containers out front. We didn't really have much to do other than hang out for most of the day.

My trainer didn't really spend anytime talking to her tables. We sat one lone man that came in all by himself. I kept looking over at him because I felt really bad for him eating alone. I absolutely hate eating alone! I never go to restaurants and eat by myself. If I have to, I go through the drive thru and go somewhere else to eat where no one is around. It's just awkward eating around people when no one else is eating with you. So, I'm definitely glad my trainer ate with me when it was time to eat.

I asked her if people usually come in and sit by themselves like that. She said not usually but that when people do come in, it's always men and they sit at the bar. She said it was strange that he sat at a table. When I told her that I felt bad for him she said we could go talk to him if I wanted to. I was glad when we finally did go talk to him because I noticed that he kept looking over at us. It turned out, he wanted a beer so we got him one and came back and started talking. We ended up talking to him for like an hour. We learned that he was born in Memphis and moved to San Francisco when he was 23 and lived there for 5 years before moving to LA for 1 year and then to New Orleans for 5 years, and Cleveland for 1 year and now he lives here. It was fun talking to him. He's been to a lot of places in the U.S. and I've not really been to many places here. I've been to more places outside of this country than within it. He's going to Florida in a couple of weeks and he's been to Texas and to places all over Louisiana. We talked about how we are at the wrong location when he started talking about a Hooters in New Orleans where the girls drive Mercedes that are given to them by their customers and that they have their rent paid for by customers. My trainer said we are in the wrong Hooters cuz all she gets is them buying her Hooters merch. I think Hooters merch is pretty awesome to get for free because it looked a little pricey when we were looking at it. Anyway, we talked to this guy for like an hour and when he got up to leave, he gave her $25 for his bill which was how much it cost and then gave her $20 for a tip. I was shocked! So was she. She said she normally gets around 15%. He said he would come back again to see us. I'll be glad if he does. I liked talking to him.

There is something I noticed after working a full day. There is quite a bit of diversity at Hooters. People always carry on thinking that it's like all men that come in there and they are pervs. The truth is, there were so many kids running around! It was crazy. One of the girls actually got asked by a dad if she could take his little girl to the bathroom. It was pretty cute. And there are all kinds of ethnicities that come in there and age groups. There were hispanic people in there, Asian people, african americans, white people, old people, young people, single people, a high school aged couple there on a date, married couples...everyone that came in was different. I thought it was pretty cool seeing how many different people come in there.

After I got off at 5, I had to find out when I could work again. I was sad to find out that I can't work again until Thursday. That's the next time that a trainer will be available. That's also the day before I leave for France. I wish that there would be a trainer available on the other days! I guess that gives me time to study for my menu and liquor tests though. I had fun yesterday though so I can't wait for my next day of training! It's seriously like hanging out all day. It's fun.

I had to throw away my first pair of nylons yesterday...I splashed myself with pepsi by accident and the next thing I knew, it was a big hole on my right thigh. I don't even know how it happened. So, I had to buy another pair before I left on my first day of training. I'm going to have to be more careful next time! But my trainer said that she used to go through one pair everyday that she worked and that the ones she has now are her longest lasting ones because she's had them for about two months now. It looks like I'm going to be buying a lot of nylons! I asked her about the black uniform yesterday too and she said that they used to have them and they took them away about 8 months ago. I'm sad. I think they look so cute!

After I left, I went home and laid down because my sinuses started hurting really bad. This weather is driving my sinuses crazy! When I woke up, I found out that my boyfriend's sister and her fiance and their friends were coming over and that they wanted to drink. I got up and cleaned the bathroom cuz there is like a 90% chance that I will vomit if I drink alcohol. No joke. I suck at digestion. It just doesn't happen for me. So, when my bf got home, we ate some grilled cheese and started watching the fights. We took a shot of gin before they got there. With my trusty red bull chaser, I was doing alright. I took two more shots with the boys when they got there chased with my red bull and that's when it hit me. I was drunk. I could not stop laughing. Of course, the bride's fiance loved it and started trying to mess with me. I had to take my emergency inhaler to start breathing right again and after I did, the fiance wanted me to do another shot with him. I was drunk so I did. Didn't even taste it of course. My bf was in the other room watching the fights so he had no idea that I had taken an extra shot and he didn't know how drunk I really was.

As a result, there are several things that I do not remember but I do know that I had a good time! I was flicking pop tabs at everyone and they were everywhere when I woke up this morning. Between the 5 of us, me, my bf, mr. fiance, the friend, and the friend's gf, we drank an entire bottle of gin, half a bottle of orange vodka, a few shots of vanilla vodka, and a few shots of schnaupps. We finally finished off all of the alcohol that has been in my refrigerator for a year! I was very happy to see it go. I was not happy to find out that I hit my hand several times on several different things last night and now I can hardly bend my pointer finger on my left hand. But, it was fun. And I did not throw up! A fact that is surprising to everyone. I stayed standing (with help of course) the whole night so that I wouldn't be sick and when I layed down for bed, the room was spinning. I knew for sure that I would throw up. But that's when my bf started being all affectionate and the distraction kept me from throwing up. Thank you bf for keeping me from puking when I'm drunk. I appreciate it! Oh, and for holding me up when I can't stand on my own two legs. And for standing with me in the freezing cold as I carry on about the big dipper. I love you. =)

We woke up at 11:30 this morning and I was not feeling my best but I was surprisingly not feeling too bad. My bf kept remarking about how he is shocked to see me being alright today after last night. I didn't really realize I was so drunk until he started reminding me about how I can't remember a lot of stuff. Par exemple, mr. fiance throwing a fork across the living room. I did not remember that. I remember the sound but I didn't know that he threw a fork even though I was looking at him when he did it. I do however remember him putting a fork in the freezer. I don't know why he put a fork in the freezer, but he did. I also remember telling them to eat my mac and cheese. And they did. They ate all of my mac and cheese after I practically begged them to just eat it. The mac and cheese that I was totally looking forward to eating today. What was I thinking?? I woke up today and the first thing that I thought about was the fact that I wanted my mac and cheese but that I told them to eat it. I even told my bf before they came over not to let them eat my mac and cheese cuz I was excited about eating it. Apparently, he told them I was gonna be upset and I said no, no, I told them to eat it! I don't remember saying that but man, I wish I didn't tell them to eat my mac n cheese!

We went to my favorite steakhouse to eat today though so I'm not as upset about my mac n cheese anymore. I ate my salad and like 3 rolls and was super full so I couldn't even eat my chicken and fries! I hate when I do that. I do have chicken and fries to eat tonight though so I'm happy. Oh, and two more rolls! Yum! So much for my diet and eating healthy...I like starved eating only healthy foods for several days just to drink 4 shots of gin, two glasses of cherry coke, and eat massive bad food and ruin everything! At least I did it after training! Back to the diet tomorrow though. I gotta work this off before Thursday! Okay, time to work on that lab report...

Living under a rock.

So, I have been living under a rock recently.

I took a nap after school today and woke up wondering when my micro lab report is due. So, I got up and whipped out the planner. That's exactly the moment I realized that I have been oblivious to my school life. Let me explain. I normally look at my planner everyday so that I know what I need to do. I write in it and I look ahead to see what is coming up so that I don't get behind.

I am officially behind! I haven't opened my planner in at least a week! So today, you can imagine my surprise when I open it and find that I have a micro lecture exam in exactly one week! I had no idea! And my anatomy lecture exam is next Friday...again no idea! My journal entry for my France trip is due next Friday...which also happens to be the day that I will be stepping on the plane to go to France and I have not gotten anything for my trip except a couple of packs of kleenex! I haven't even decided what to take or found my battery charger for my camera.

I have my French midterm essay due the first day of class after I get back from France, my micro lab report is due the Friday after France, my micro lab midterm is the Wednesday after I get back from France, and all of my scholarship essays that I haven't even begun writing are due by that Thursday. The following week, I have to to a textual analysis for my French class which means I need to prepare! And then I have my group project for French as well. Where in the world have I been to not know this?? Ahhh! I am officially stressed! And if you are getting tired of me saying "officially," I totally understand. I am too.

Finally, the last day.

I worked my last day at the call center yesterday. Once again, I had been deleted. This time from the time clock. I could not clock in or out. I was late on my last day. Of course. You see, on Christmas Eve, my tire went totally flat and had a huge hole in it because the air got so low from the temperature changing too much from day to day so now I have this phobia of my tire going flat. It was so0o hard to change the tire, it took me and Ms. BB cranking the crowbar thing just to get the nuts off of the tire. So now, if I notice my tires being low, I freak out and head straight to the gas station! And this would be a good time to note that I have no idea what I'm doing when I put air in the tire!

So, I walked outside and noticed my two nearly flat front tires (thank you stupid weather fluctuations!) and rushed to the gas station. I could have been on time if only the following things did not happen: I had only two quarters and needed four, the machine would not take anything but quarters, I dropped all of my change as I walked across the gas station and had to pick it up, there were ten people in line a head of me, one of them was a boy who lost his quarter and penny and only had a dollar bill but needed 1.26, said boy searched and searched and then took the money out of the "take-a-penny" thing, then there was the girl that didn't know how to use a gas pump and they had to spend five mins showing her how to use it, she then decided to pay inside after they taught her and we had to wait for that transaction, the woman in front of me decided she wanted to add to what she already had on the counter and sent her son in search of mountain dew, of course he brought back diet mountain dew and she sent him back to get regular. Finally, I got my two quarters and ran to the air pump on the other side of the parking lot and put some air in my tires super fast and drove to work.

I was 8 minutes late but I couldn't clock in so it didn't even matter. I was excited to see some balloons and a card and a bowl full of baked goods on my desk when I got there. The card had all of these sweet messages from all of the people that I have interacted with the most during my time with the company. Several of them were signed with love. I got lots of hugs and I was thankful for the slow night so that I could actually get all of my stuff out of my cubicle bagged up. They had pizza and desserts for us that day too for meeting some goal ( I think I mentioned this before). It was like fancy pizza too, not like Papa Johns or anything, it was actually from a parlor that is well known around here and rather expensive. Needless to say, it was a nice last day!

I did, however have to attend the dreaded exit interview with the HR guy. It was definitely a little uncomfortable. Especially when he started off with "Where will you be working after here?" I braced myself for his reaction as I smiled and said "Hooters."

You have to understand that I work ("worked" now I guess) in a conservative office environment. I had no illusions about them actually being cool with me going across the street to the "racy" restaurant where they wear orange hot shorts and cleavage revealing tanks. His response: "Hooters? Like across the street? This is not what I expected."

Mr. HR, btw, is this super tall skinny guy with an intimidating demeanor. He seems nice enough if you talk to him but you still always feel like you're in trouble for something no matter what the conversation is about.
Ex. Mr. HR: I like that shirt!
Random victim of conversation: Thanks! (Oh no, he doesn't like it. I need to go change! Am I violating dress code?? ::Sweat, sweat:: Now I do need to go change, I have pit stains. Great.)

I confirmed this feeling of being in trouble with the CSR lead after the interview. She told me she feels like she's in trouble when he makes small talk too. I don't think it's intentional. It's just his demeanor. Anyway, his attitude toward me seemed to change after he wrote down my response to my new employment even though just seconds before he was talking about how he's heard such great things about me. He asked me about the CSR's not being able to call off and said that he found that "interesting." I felt like he didn't believe me. I explained the pepto bismol situation but didn't tell him who it was that had told me about it and I explained another situation where the same thing happened with a migraine and excedrin as opposed to diarrhea and pepto bismol. He still seemed doubtful. I let him know that I understood the situation that the manager is in where she has a boss and she has to be the boss of us too so it's hard for her to go without enough people to cover the phones but at the same time, the full time employees have sick days for a reason, they should be able to take them. I felt like he was kind of taking a jab at my new place of employment with his response that at Hooters, of course that wouldn't be an issue because they have so many girls but at a company like that, it's not as feasible. I told him that I totally understood that but that I was just mentioning things that I knew that some employees had issues with.

He then wanted to know why I marked the question about feeling like a valuable employee low. He was surprised that my answer wasn't simply "because I'm part time." He said that was what he expected. The truth was, I basically never felt like I was good enough because my manager always made it sound like I just didn't know enough because I didn't work 40 hours every week. My manager is a super nice lady and I liked her a lot but sometimes she was too "on it" if you know what I mean. I did my job and I think I did it pretty well. I wasn't AMAZING but I did what I was supposed to and I did it right. I just wasn't over the top because a phone representative position is just not my thing. I don't like sitting around like that all day. I like to move around.

So after surprising him with that response, he mentioned where I had noted that it would have been nice if I could have purchased health insurance through the company in spite of my being part time. He asked me about being on my mom's insurance and getting insurance through school. I told him school insurance was awful coverage and just a waste of money and I explained about my mom's company being very disorganized and losing the health insurance (that's what she told me anyway, I don't actually know what happened...she could just not want to tell me and the reason is something else entirely but either way, I lost my health insurance). This wouldn't matter so much except that I have stupid asthma and I suck if I don't have my QVAR inhaler. I have to use it at least every morning if I want to be able to breathe like a normal person. If I use it every morning and every night, then I'm like breathing amazing! If I don't use it at all, I'm struggling just to breathe even if I'm just sitting down and then I feel like I'm going to faint if I have to walk up steps, exercise, walk swiftly...anything requiring the use of oxygen. And caffeine makes it impossible to breathe if I don't have the inhaler. So, bottom line, I need health insurance. My inhaler went from $10 to $180 so I was unable to buy it this month and was fortunate enough to have an extra that I had saved in case this happened. I am making it last by using it only in the morning until we figure something out with the insurance. I still have my albuterol (rescue inhaler) but I don't like to use it unless I have to. I like the QVAR because it works for a long time while the albuterol is just like 4 hours, 6 tops.

After hearing the insurance story and about me being asthmatic, he got really concerned. He told me I can't go without an inhaler because it's dangerous and someone just died over the weekend because he didn't have his inhaler. I told him I know I need it but I can't afford $180 for just that one prescription. And that is why I said it would be nice to be able to purchase the insurance through the company. We went on to discuss insurance for the company and the universal healthcare. I was happy that he supports universal healthcare like me because I don't have insurance and neither does my boyfriend. Actually, I know a lot of people that don't have insurance. And it's not like we can just afford to pay like $150 just in insurance every month. It's too much.

Anyway, we finished off the interview discussing my schooling and career goals. He asked me if I plan to make Hooters my new career. I told him no, it's not a career. It's how I'm going to get through school. I already have a bachelor's degree in Spanish and a minor in French. I'm back in school to get my degree in nursing.

He asked if that means I just want to stay around here and I told him no, I'd love to move to France (where they have universal healthcare mind you) but that my boyfriend will never want to leave here. This is where his family is. He went on to ask me what kind of jobs you can get with a degree in languages because his daughter is 15 and has no idea what she wants to do with her life. I told him a few of the options that I had considered and things that I have done and things that I haven't done but that I would like to do eventually. Afterward, I told him that 15 is young and that she has all the time in the world to figure something out and that she'll find something good to do with her life. She just needs time. He said that he hopes so.

So, I think that hopefully I squashed any assumptions that he may have come to when he found out where I'm heading ( I am talking about Hooters here of course) after talking for so long about things. I mean, I don't think I'm a dumb blonde. I think I'll be doing something with my life. That's why I'm about to have 3 bachelor's degrees (I'm only a couple of classes away from a bachelor's in French so I'm just gonna try for that too after the nursing degree). If I was so dumb, I wouldn't be doing that. And if I was so promiscuous, I wouldn't have a boyfriend that I've been with for years. I do, however, like to have fun. I think I will have fun with this new job and that's why I want to work there (other than it working with my school schedule of course).

I finished off the night saying goodbye to everyone. One of the newest guys helped me carry my stuff down to my car. He was surprised by where I'm choosing to go because we've talked a lot since our cubicles are right next to each other and he knows that I used to be like so shy that it was almost debilitating. People used to ask me if I was a mute all throughout school. To respond, I shook my head no. That's right, I didn't speak to say that I wasn't mute, I shook my head. That's how shy I was. And now I'm headed for Hooters. I am still shy but not nearly as shy as I used to be. I know that I will get comfortable there pretty fast because everyone seems so nice. Once I get comfortable, they shyness will subside and I'll be just as friendly as the rest. I know this because this is my personality. I am shy until I am comfortable. Then, I'm super friendly and I get excited about talking to people. I told him that he should come visit me across the street along with the rest of the CSR team! He said maybe they will. I should have told him that they have UFC there and he should just come over during the events since we always talk about UFC on Monday nights at work.

So, that's pretty much how my last night went. The cleaning guy seemed like he was going to cry when he saw my cubicle was empty and found out that it was my last night. I felt bad. But, I am excited to start this new job. I left a note on Ms. BB's desk telling her to keep in touch and that I want to know when she's getting her black belt! And I left my air freshener on one of the boys' desks that always comes over and says it smells like fruit punch in my cubicle. I got a message on FB today saying that his cubicle now smells like fruit punch. I laughed. To end the night, I came home and ate my pizza and desserts with my boyfriend and then read for French class. Uneventful but I do have super cute balloons in my room now! =)

This is the pizza that they got us. So delicious! I only ate the cheese pizza of course. Yum!

Orientation and bridesmaid dress shopping

So, as it turns out, orientation was quick and painless. And so was bridesmaid dress shopping. Actually, I had fun. Unexpectedly.

Orientation was scheduled for 11:30 on Saturday so I set my alarm for 9 a.m. I am the kind of person that like loves to sleep and it is impossible to get me out of bed even if I'm not asleep. I just like to lay there because it's comfortable.

So, I didn't actually get out of bed until like 9:40. Then I got up and showered real quick (quick for me of course) and got ready. I tried curling my hair but once again, it looked more like crimping than curling. I definitely didn't get any compliments on my hair and I wasn't about to take pics to show off my awesome ability to make my hair NOT look good. I put on my makeup like always and threw on my "business casual" clothes that I wear to my other job. I've already exhausted my cute clothes during the two interviews. Yeah, that's how bad I need to go clothes shopping! I own lots of t shirts and long sleeve shirts because I tend to be cold and not many cute things.

Anyway, I digress. I left my house at around 11:15 so I wouldn't get there super early. Of course, it was practically impossible to pry myself away from my boyfriend who was being especially affectionate that morning. I love those days and hate when I have to leave to do things when he's in those moods! But I made myself leave reluctantly although I did consider canceling all plans for the day...I knew I couldn't.

When I arrived, I walked straight up to the bar again to avoid any awkward standing around the door. I let the bartender know that I was there for orientation and she told me to go ahead and have a seat while she found the manager. So, I sat at the same table that I sat at each of the two times that I came in before. I began filling out my direct deposit form because I had forgotten to before.

A few minutes later, the manager that I met the first time that I came in to apply came over and got me water and directed me back to the table where I sat for my first interview. I had been told before that I was meeting with the general manager for orientation but I was happy to be meeting with this manager again. She's really nice and I like her a lot.

While I was waiting for her to finish up the things that she was doing, I just sat and looked around. The girls were all wiping down the stools in the restaurant. One of the girls that was wiping down the stools nearest me came over and started talking to me. She was super nice. She said she had just started working there too and that she goes to the same school that I go to. She is about to start teaching a dance class at school and she said that I should come. Ironically, I had attempted to attend this dance class a couple of weeks ago but it was full so I couldn't.

When the manager came over, she just took my forms and identification and then went over the usual stuff that you go over when you start a new job. There was nothing scary about orientation at all until it came to trying on the uniform. I just had to sign several things and initial several things and she gave me the Hooters Girl Handbook, a handbook for the company that takes care of any issues within the company, a safety handbook that she said I will be tested over, and a handbook that has to do with tipping and how to claim your tips. You're supposed to claim them all but there is no way for the government to know unless you claim less than 8% apparently in which case you will get audited by the IRS. But, if you don't claim all of your tips, there is a chance that you will screw yourself over because then you may not be able to buy a new car or get an apartment because you won't be able to prove that you make enough money to afford it if you don't claim your tips. I think I'll be following the rules and claiming everything!

While we were going through all of the paperwork, one of the girls came over and asked how orientation was going and chatted for a few minutes about how she hated her orientation because it took forever and that I was lucky for getting the manager I got because mine was super short and easy.

She said they made her and the other girls read aloud to each other during her orientation. I can see why it sucked. A little while later, she came over and had me sign my first shirt for a kid who was having his/her first time at Hooters. I have officially signed my first shirt! And that girl was super nice! Ironically, I didn't get her name or the name of the other girl that talked to me during orientation. No one asked mine either. I guess I'll find out eventually. But my first impression is that everyone there is super nice. I think I'll like it there for sure.

After I signed all of the forms, it was time to try on the uniform. I had to buy the pantyhose and the socks from the vending machine in the kitchen which was nothing fancy at all. In fact, it was ghetto. It was just like any old (and I mean old when I say old. this thing is probably from the 80's) vending machine. The glass was even all foggy looking so I couldn't read anything inside. The manager put my money in and hit the buttons to get me the hose and the socks. She then went in the office and grabbed three pairs of shorts and told me the middle size should fit me the best and then she gave me one shirt and said she was sure that was my size. She sent me to the bathroom to try them on and said she would check on me in a few minutes.

Since it is February, albeit a mild February but still February all the same, I was wearing like two shirts and a sweater so it was taking me forever to change! I am slow at a lot of things like changing my clothes, getting ready, etc. etc. anyway because I am clumsy and I get my arms stuck in everything all the time! You wouldn't believe. Anyway, I tried on the smallest size and the middle size and they both fit me pretty much the same. I chose the one that she said would fit me the best and just stuck with those. Then I spent several minutes trying to figure out how in the world you "scrunch" socks. I have no idea how they do it. I looked hilarious when I looked in the mirror. That is the only word I can find to describe it.

When the manager came in, I told her through the stall door that I have no idea how to scrunch my socks. She said that's okay. I came out and she had me spin around and she said it looks good and asked which shorts I had on and I told her it was the ones that she said would fit me. So, she gave me a second uniform. I was depressed to find out that I would not be getting a black uniform. It appears that my Hooters in fact does NOT participate in the Formal Fridays which sucks. I was totally looking forward to the black uniform which would be more slimming. Nope, I don't get one. I only get the orange and white uniform which I look totally fat in. I was not happy. I look pale and fat actually because I am the whitest girl you will ever meet! I wish I could go to the tanning bed because I love tanning but my aunt has skin cancer so now I'm afraid to tan at all. I've actually been a little bit of a tanning nazi since she learned she had skin cancer less than two years ago.

Anyway, back to the story. So I got my two uniforms and headed out the door all depressed like. Okay, so maybe I was just depressed in my head but whatever. You get it. I left and headed straight to the bridal shop to meet the bridesmaids across town.

When I arrived, I found them immediately in the midst of all of the other bridal parties there trying on dresses. They were each in a different colored dress all of the same style. It was hideous! I didn't have the heart to tell the bride that I didn't like it at all though. And when she asked which size I needed, I didn't know. So I said a 6 (that's the universal size right?). Well, I tried on all of my dresses in a size 6 after that even though I knew at once that that was definitely the wrong size. It was too big but I didn't want to say anything because one of the other girls had had to go up two sizes. I didn't want to say I needed a size smaller! I was embarrassed. Don't ask why, I just was.

So, after trying on all of these size 6 dresses which kept falling down and revealing my miraculous bra, we found the one that looked good on us all and that we all liked. It is a super cute dress and it really did look good on everyone. I'm glad we chose that one. It looks good in size 4, 8 (two different shapes of 8 at that), and 16.

This is the dress btw.

When we went up to pay, it was $168 and she said it costed extra for any alterations. I started like freaking out in my head because I knew that I was about to spend massive money on a dress that I would only get to wear once and it was the wrong size. I just imagined myself standing up there at the alter in this dress with my boobs showing after my dress fell down.

Finally, I spoke up. I went to the bride and I was whispered that I really think I need a 4. So she took me in the back and there was no size 4 in that dress in the store to try on. So we grabbed the size 2. It almost zipped all the way up until you got to the boob part. So we found a size 4 in another dress and put it on me and it zipped all the way up with no problems at all. So we went to the front and I got my size 4. Yey! I did not purchase a too-big-dress.

When we all got in the MOH's car afterward, one of the other bridesmaids told me that the girl at the register made a snide remark like "I wish I was a size 4. It must be nice!" when I walked away to try on the dress. She said that the girl said it like 5 times. That is kind of why I did not want to speak up. I feel bad being smaller than them but it's just that I have this super small frame. I am only 5 ft tall. What do you expect??

Anyway, we all went to lunch after that and everything went well. I was all worried about being around the MOH for nothing. She was her normal self and I was my normal self...well a really tired normal self but still. We ate at this restaurant and our server was awful! He took like 20 mins (if that is an exaggeration, it isn't by much) to bring us our drinks. He brought our salads with our drinks but didn't bring the croissants to go with the salads for another fifteen minutes. The other girls were done with their salads by the time he brought them. He never brought me or the bride any refills. Rocky (one of the bridesmaids) had to ask multiple times for more tea and he brought a refill for the MOH when she still had 3/4 of her soda left and the bride had absolutely nothing in her glass and he never brought her a refill. Thankfully, one of my friends is a server there and he was serving the table behind us. He came and took our dirty dishes for us so that we would have some room on our table. This dude was not a good server. I'm kind of glad that we had a bad server though. I know how not to serve now!

Anyway, everything was cool and we left after like 2 hours. The MOH dropped me back off at my car and she even took a piece of gum from me when I offered it to her. I was happy that everything went well. She didn't seem like she hated me. Actually, I felt like we got along like any two people that don't really know each other well but that share mutual friends. It was like meeting someone new even though we're not totally new to each other. We haven't really spent much time around each other though.Maybe we are just fine as long as my bf isn't around. He's the reason that we have problems considering he broke up with me to date her and then started dating me again after they broke up. I think it just gets uncomfortable when we are all together in the same place and that's the problem. I actually like being around her and my bf's sister when they are together. They're funny together. I think my jealousy just comes out in full force when we are all together especially because the two of them have very flirty personalities. I freak out too much about it when they are just being themselves. I say that now when I'm not in the situation but whenever we're all together somewhere, I just can't be that logical for whatever reason. I think I can be logical enough to not think that she absolutely hates me now though. Progress!

So, I went home afterward and put on the uniform sans the hose (they are hard to get on) to show my bf. He also noticed the awful muffin top. And he laughed when he noticed that you can totally see straight through the shorts without the hose. He pointed out my pink thong showing through the bright orange shorts. I'm thinking that I'm going to have to go commando for the first time in my life! I can see that this is going to be uncomfortable. And I'm still trying to figure out how exactly you are supposed to wear this uniform when it's "that time of the month." I hope I figure something out quick because my first training shift is this Saturday, the end of my "bad time" as my stepdad always called it for my mom.

So, yeah, I am excited for my first training shift which will be at 10:25 this Saturday morning. I am also nervous however. I had wanted to start training sooner but I could only work when a trainer was available which severely cut down my options. I still have one day of work left at my other job and I am unavailable on Wednesdays and Fridays because of school and this Thursday is our "Valentine's Day" because we haven't been able to celebrate it yet. Therefore, the only option was Saturday. And I'm going to have my first Sunday off without having to get my shift covered in over 2 years because they don't have a trainer working this Sunday. I am pretty excited about this! I'm hoping we will be able to actually do something fun for once. Hopefully. =)

Exit interview, being deleted, and crossing off my list

Note:This is a post that I started one week ago and just didn't post yet.

First of all, the great news! I received my International Study Scholarship to go to France!

That means I get back $900 that I already paid which is amazing because I'm broke and can't actually afford this trip but it keeps me at full time hours for financial aid and it is an opportunity of a lifetime. I doubt that I will have the opportunity to go again. My boyfriend is not one for travelling. And I can only imagine how frustrated he would be if I took him to a country where he doesn't speak the language. Fun for me, frustrating for him. So, my trip just became a little less unaffordable thanks to my amazing writing skills, fantastic GPA, and my low income. Yeah, the low income part sucks actually.

Anyway, after I found out that I got my scholarship, I went to the police department to do whatever I had to do there before orientation. I have never been to the police department before so I had no idea what I was doing! It was a very confusing place, you walk in the front door and it takes you straight to the back door and the like three doors in between all say "authorized personnel only". Now, this building is huge but you would have no idea since when you step in, all you see is the back door.

After I got over my confusion of not being able to walk through any of the doors, I noticed a man sitting in a corner looking all nervous and staring at me. So, I looked across from him and saw some bars in the wall and noticed there was an office through the bars. I walked up hesitantly and asked if this is where I go if I need a permit to serve alcohol. The lady immediately said, "How old are you?" in a suspicious tone. I can't blame her though, I look like I'm 16. Being short automatically makes you look younger and I have a young face anyway. I told her that I'm 22 and she asked what bar I'm going to work at. I told her Hooters and she said she needs $36!

Now, let's recap really quick.

shoes = $40
nude bra = $52
servsafe online course = $20
alcohol permit = $36?
That means that I have now spent like $148 just to start at Hooters. That doesn't even include the $17 sweater that I bought for the 2nd interview, getting my eyebrows done, highlighting my hair, buying makeup, and I still need to get bronzer! This is an expensive job to start. Just saying. But I'm still excited about it anyway. (P.S. I love this money pic because it's a nautilus of dollar bills! If you don't know what a nautilus is, you clearly did not take French with my awesome French prof.)

So, I very reluctantly turned over the $36, which I was very relieved to find that I even had that much money in my wallet because cash was the only option and I usually don't have that much on me at a time. She handed me a paper that said, "Juste has permission to work at Hooters until 2/21 at 1:15 p.m.". Yes, I paid $36 for a permission slip! Needless to say, I was not happy about spending so much on a permission slip. I do have to return for an appointment but I'm not even sure what happens at said appointment. And I'm confused because she wrote the 21st on the slip and that's next Tuesday but when I said okay, so I need to come here next Tuesday, she said no, not next Tuesday, the following Tuesday. I guess I'll go next Tuesday and I'll either have an appointment or they'll tell me to come back the following week. I can do that.

After my trip to the police department, I just went to work even though I wasn't scheduled in until 4 and it took a lot less time to go to the police department than I thought it would. It was only like 3 when I left there and it was only like 5 mins away from work. So I went in and talked to Red before I had to start. He clocked me in on his pc while we were talking so I didn't realize until I walked to my pc a minute later that my login wouldn't work. It said that I didn't exist. So I told the lead and she told the manager and apparently, IT deleted me because they misread the email from HR and didn't realize that I'm not supposed to be deleted until 2/21 because my last day is 2/20. As a result, I spent the first hour and a half with no computer. That was totally fine with me because that meant I could hang out and talk to Red until he left at 5.

I also learned that they hadn't told anyone except my department (aka 11 people out of over a hundred) that I will be leaving after this week. No one will even realize I'm gone unless they walk by my cubicle and realize that all of my pictures are down and there's not a huge stack of papers holding up the bottom of my cubicle wall so that I have a space through which I can talk to Red when he's there. I can't lie, I kind of feel invisible.

Once they finally re-created my login, I was able to check my email. I had an email from HR about my exit interview. It turns out, I just had to fill out a survey and I have to meet with the VP of HR on my last day and discuss the survey that I filled out.

I was nervous about saying too much on the survey so I simply suggested that they be more understanding about school schedules and that they be fair to CSR's because throughout my time there, the CSR's had a tendency to get the short end of the stick. Example:One CSR had diarrhea one day and spent his first hour on the clock in the bathroom. When he approached our manager, she said "Can't you just take some Pepto-Bismol? We really need you here." Now, if one of the invoicing specialists had the same problem, they would have just let them go home. Point proven. I however did not put that on my survey because I want to leave on a good note.

So, as of today, I have everything ready for orientation on Saturday and I have less than one week to go at my current job. Yey me!