Misc. After Midnight

I'd like to think that I can judge a movie by its trailer. I've been wrong about some, but most of the time I can tell whether or not I'll enjoy a movie based on the trailer.

Julie & Julia is no exception. I love Meryl Streep and Amy Adams both and I like the idea of this film in playing both their stories side-by-side. This film looks fantastic and I can't wait for it to come out.

I also like the idea of getting paid to blog, but I think then it would feel more like a chore or work. If I have to do something, it feels less enjoyable. I love to write, I always have, but I think getting paid for it would take away from whatever it is that I love about it. There's something cathartic about it, something that just makes me feel better afterward. Whether I'm writing a script (which I've been slacking on lately, I need to get myself back into that habit, but that takes away from the feeling...it's a perpetual circle of doom) or writing a journal entry for my eyes only, not only do I feel relieved but I also like being able to go back and look at what I had to say x number of days/years ago. It's like a time capsule, I can see who I was and where I was in my life when I look back on things I've written.

I'm still happy. Maybe even more so than the last time I wrote. I can't even begin to describe how happy I am about my life right now. Nothing's perfect, by any means, but I for the first time in a long time, I don't feel bad about myself, I don't worry about what I'll get in trouble for today, I don't wonder whether or not I'll get my paycheck this week. I'm looking at things so differently now. I'm happy to be in a place where I enjoy my co-workers, where there's an actual management structure, where I know exactly what's expected of me day-to-day and it's not unrealistic either, and I'm just all around happy. I haven't felt like this in a long, long time and it's way overdue.

It feels like I'm 19 again...

I'm back at my old restaurant, but hopefully only for a short while. I'm waiting to hear back about a full-time position and it could take weeks or months to process me and get me on a schedule and payroll. Not too much has changed at the restaurant, some things are more strict while others are completely lax. I'm back to hosting, but hoping to get on the server schedule because I need to be making more money than I currently am.

I left my other job. I'm glad that I'm out of there and it's over and done with for the most part. I get to move on and accept change in my life. At first it was a terrifying leap of faith, especially in this economy, but once I'd done it (and I had the restaurant officially lined up) I was absolutely positive that leaving was exactly what I was suppose to do. My skin has started clearing up. I was actually that stressed at my previous job that once I quit, my acne started to go away. Money is still a concern, I think it will be for a while, if I can break even I'll be happy. I can hold off on shopping trips for a while as long as I can pay my bills.

Off to bed now, it's getting late. More later.

Looks like this thing is definitely going to happen!

For a couple of weeks now, I've been in touch with my uncle about making a documentary. So much has been said through e-mail that I couldn't possible list it all here (I could if I copied and pasted, but I don't want to do that), but I'll post the gist of it and why it's awesome :)

-A tentative date has been set for shooting: June 2011
-It involves a two week road trip
-There are currently three team members, including me
-Without realizing it, I've become the "Producer" (their words not mine) due to my "impressively organized" and "business-like" attitude.
-It's such a refreshing change compared to what's been going on elsewhere in life.
-I'm super excited about this project, more so now that I know that I'm an equal and considered professional and will drag them "kicking and screaming to a higher level" ;)
-It will definitely be easier to get through the upcoming weeks of changes knowing that I have a project this awesome in the works.
-I can't say enough how excited I am about being a part of this project! I've been waiting and praying for something like this to come along, it's going to be a kick-ass part of my resume! XD

More later, must send e-mail to the other two team members, did I mention we're all in different states? Oh yeah. We're having a conference call soon, my idea, they loved it, I've got some more ideas I think they're going to love.

I'm not a "kid"! Huzzah!

Still no crossbow...

Seven tries now. Eventually, I am going to have to give it up and get someone to make me a better crossbow. I'm only doing a little bit less damage than my hunter friend who is full beast mastery and we're pretty sure the discrepancy is because of the bow I'm using (she's got the nice crossbow). I could probably be doing the same amount of damage if not more than her if my bow weren't under par. Oh well, we'll see what happens later...

UK hates me.

I don't mean the United Kingdom.

Several months ago, Dan brought home the full version of WoW, tha's right, World of Warcraft. In that time, we've both leveled at least one character to 80 (Dan's very close to getting his alt to 70, he's way ahead of me in that department) and have started doing lots of heroic dungeons with our guild (which consists of our real life friends who also play).

My main character is a hunter and there are many pieces of gear dedicated to making hunters awesome. Not that my hunter isn't already awesome, but she could definitely do better gear-wise. There is a crossbow that I have been coveting for weeks now, both Dan and our other friend who has a hunter have one and got theirs with no problem. I, on the otherhand, have been desperately trying to get it. It's dropped off the last boss of a dungeon called Utgarde Keep, and you have to run it on heroic (which just means you have to be level 80 to get in and the guys inside are all 80 or higher). My hunter friend was reading up on the crossbow and said that from what she read, it looks like it's suppose to drop 90% of the time. I say "suppose to drop" because I've now run the dugeon six times in effort to get the dang thing with no results.

A couple of weeks ago, I ran the dungeon with a group that was not our guild, the crossbow dropped before I realized how good it was for my character and how desperately I wanted it, and while I chose "need" over "greed" (which gives you priority) a warrior also chose "need" and won the roll. I didn't notice this until I was out of the dungeon because I had asked the group of it was ok with them if I chose "need" and they said yes, though the warrior said nothing, so I chose "need", someone said congrats, and we all left. It wasn't until I went to equip the crossbow that I realized what happened, the warrior had ninja'ed that sucker right out from under me and I've tried unsuccessfully since then to attempt to get it. I only run that dungeon with members from our guild now so that it doesn't happen again, especially not after six tries!

If you're not familiar with WoW, heroic dungeons can only be run once every so many hours, usually once a day. The dungeons reset themselves every 13ish hours, so unless all you do 24/7 is play WoW, realistically, you can get in there once a day, which is why it's taking me so long to get the crossbow and why I think UK hates me...

No news yet...

I gave the school I'm applying to my resume and filled out their application and I still haven't heard anything back, it's been a couple of weeks. My mom says they're super busy, and I can understand that, but is it really that difficult to send me an e-mail that says, "We received your resume" at the very least?

I really, really would like having a second job for the extra income, but if they don't get back to me soon I may have to apply somewhere else, somewhere that's not my first choice...

Why God Doesn't Want Me Back in Restaurants...

I love Little Caesar's. Their pizza is amazing, I love their Crazy Bread, and you can't beat their price for a hot-'n-ready large pepperoni pizza: $5.55. There's a combo where you can get two hot-'n-ready's, Crazy Bread, and a 2 liter of soda for like $15--which is amazing considering two people can get around four meals per person out of two pizzas. We don't get food from Little Caesar's too often, but clearly often enough that I know their prices ;)

The last trip I took to Little Caesar's proved an interesting one. For a while, I've been contemplating applying at another restaurant (not any restaurant I've already worked in though) just part-time as a second source of income. I think I got sent an angel in the form of an irritable customer at Little Caesar's to remind me how much I despise working in restaurants.

The curb in front of Little Caesar's is painted solid yellow: fire lane. As is the curb of the median where the parking spaces begin. The very space is available, and not a handicap space (those are in front of the grocery store a little farther down), so I take it. I notice that there is a car parked in front of each of the two fire lanes in front of the pizzeria and think to myself that someone who can't park four feet to the right to park legally is either a) in too much of a hurry to both or b) feels very self-entitled (something I encountered quite a bit in my restaurant days. Having the thought for no more than two seconds on my way in, I brush it off and am prepared to order my pizza. One person is coming out, the person parked at the curb closest to the building, and they get in their car and go. The second person, the one who could have had the space I was in but chose to park in the fire lane anyway, was still there.

She had ordered a large, half pepperoni, half cheese pizza over the phone. This is not considered a hot-'n-ready, as I soon found out, this was a pizza made just for her. When the girl behind the counter rang up her single pizza, it rang up $7.65, which is the price for a normal, large pizza. The woman, however, wants to know why it costs so much. The girl behind the counter isn't sure what she means, so the woman explains. Supposedly, in the past, she had gotten this exact pizza for the hot-'n-ready price. Three employees had to try and explain to the woman (after asking a couple of times who it was that had given her that price, only to have the woman dodge that question--a red flag meaning she was probably making it up or she had bullied another employee into doing it) that it was policy not to sell non-hot-'n-ready pizzas for the hot-'n-ready price. Eventually, realizing she wasn't going to win, the woman breaks down and buys a single pepperoni hot-'n-ready for a grand total of $5.88. She saved less than two whole dollars for her fit.

Among the things she angrily said to the employees with backbone was "So you're just going to let that pizza go to waste?" and I had half a mind to let her know that the pizza would not go to waste, that if they couldn't sell it, a happy employee was going to get a free pizza to take home, but I just wanted to get my pizzas and go eat dinner so I did not engage the woman in verbal fisticuffs because obviously she was geared up and ready to go. I was glad that the employees didn't give her what she wanted, some people need to learn that there are rules that everyone needs to follow. You're not above the rules at a corner pizza joint.

As I was walking to my car after getting my order, I realized that the woman who pitched a fit was in the car that was parked in the other fire line, the one four feet from a legal space, and I laughed silently to myself realizing that my initial assessment of the illegal parking jobs had been correct. There are certain kinds of personalities that just don't change and they're everywhere you go.

Potential Substitute Teacher? Me?

I'll be applying for another part-time job as a substitute teacher at the school where my mom works in Columbia. I've been a "guest speaker" in her class once before and I used to teach karate for a number of years, so it's not something that I'm completely unfamiliar with. The nice thing about being a substitute is that I'll still be able to somewhat define my hours myself. I can say "yes I can do that" or "I'm sorry, I have a shoot with my other job." My mom says that they desperately need subs and the fact that I'm already STAND trained and already have some experience teaching will be a big help. I'm really hoping this works out because it will mean some extra money in my pocket. I'll actually be able to save money and not need to touch it, unlike right now where I put money away and turn around and access it the next week to help with bills. I would love to keep my promise to myself and stay out of restaurants. I want my last restaurant to stay my last restaurant. I'll have to post again about why I'm pretty sure God doesn't want me working in restaurants either ;)