Oh, did I show you my website?

http://angelabernadette.wordpress.com/

Drew did it for me!

Excuses, excuses

I'm so overdue for a blog entry, and a lot's been happening. I get my new macbook pro tomorrow so I'll my own computer at hand most of the time so I'll be more likely and motivated to blog, I think. You know, instead of using Jes' macbook (which he has to take to work and school most of the time) or trying to type from our loveseat to his 40' tv which serves as the monitor to his desktop. Don't get me wrong, he has a great wireless keyboard and mouse. I just can't see the small print from afar. And, I don't like the scrolling zoom options. Anyway.

Update on life ongoings. Because I'm rarely scheduled at Anthro, I've decided to take a part-time nannying position for Jes' boss. 2 kids, one of which I've babysat before. I will pick them up from school, so I'll be using Mia's car and spending a few hours with them during the week until their parents get home. I'm looking forward to this. It'll be kind of a change for me though because I haven't picked anyone up from school since Mia was in middle school. Yay trips to St. Louis King of France with Neill and Kayla (and sometimes Yuka?). Stops at the fried chicken place across the street from her school where creepy Vietnamese guys hit on us. Stops at the bubble tea cafe. And, Fashion India for samosas and mango, lychee and guava juice!

I am going to keep on the schedule at Anthro since it doesn't interfere with my other life. However, I will continue to babysit as much as I can, and I'm hoping to schedule 3 classes next semester at UNO. Oh, and I'm pretty sure I want to write a thesis for my Master's. Besides looking good and bringing my overall grad school course load to 30 hours (instead of 33), it'll give me an excuse to research something and challenge my writing ability. Ah, academia!

Hmm, Jes and I have been living the good life, or our version of it. We've been enjoying the CBD and impromptu walks through the quarter to satiate our appetites. We discovered a few new places recently, and when Drew and Jeff come at the end of the month, we're gonna have to share at least one of them. I've found my "go-to" place for when I'm hungry and not sure what I want. It's an Argentine place in the building next door, outside of the food court area, but still a space in that general vicinity. Monday, Jes stayed home with me because I wasn't feeling well. I walked next door to grab lunch: a fruits de mer crepe for him and tomato basil gnocci for me! Yesterday, I went back for more gnocci. And, today, disappointed that my macbook pro (but not as disappointed when Apple credited my account $99 to our account) was lost at the hands of UPS, I treated myself to lunch at Tango, ordering the baked tilapia, a side salad, and a side of gnocci! Yum :)

What else? I took the Foreign Service Office Test on Friday just to see how I'd do and if I might be government material. We'll see. The test was eclectic, as Jes said it would be. And, though I don't know how I did on a couple of parts (leaning to not as well as I would have liked), I am pretty sure I was 100% accurate in the English section. I didn't finish the essay part, either. Amelie G is going well, and I have quite a few articles in the works. I'm going to a photo shoot with Trixie Minx because I'm going to write a short feature on her. I have another development, job-wise, in the works, but I don't want to say anything until I know for sure.

Well, I'll leave it at that right now because Jes and I are going to try to exercise for a bit.

To write or not to write? No longer a question.

With the help of my best friend [turned personal webdesign publicist], I'm more committed to seriously launching my writing career. First step, assemble hardcopy and online portfolios. I read this article that this same friend shared with me, but even before that, her pep talk and encouragement yesterday elicited feelings of optimism about how my life is currently and what I can do to be happy in chasing a realistic dream I've had for a while: to write (and make a living from it). Anyhow, I do have to go because I have to babysit at 10:30, work at Anthro between 4 and 9, and find time to do homework and Amelie G spread sheets. But, I am in higher spirits and I hope that things are the same for you, my readers.

http://www.self.com/health/2010/02/one-woman-follows-her-heart-and-her-dream?currentPage=1

Oh, the things we have to do! Book clubs, NaNoWriMo (http://www.nanowrimo.org/) and more. Til next time!

"Awful Day" in Mia's words

I'm pretty tired. My neck is stiff and hurting. A lot has happened today. My mom's closest sister, Tita Alit, died and I don't know what to do or say. It's made me think a lot. I see how painful it is and how much she's suffered in her life.

I'm not going to be so idealistic anymore. It's time to try harder and find a better-paying job so I can help my mom, so I can take the burden of the loans she took out to send me to Loyola. I've applied to the Department of State in the hope that they will notice my application and test scores. (Maybe this very act is naive, but we'll see.) I was encouraged to do this by my parents and extended family, but I had resisted on idealistic and uninformed principles. Now, I'm going to try to learn more about positions as a civil servant. I think with my interests, I might be a good candidate and then I can consider a position in academia in the more distant future. Who knows where this will take me?

Well, I'll write more later. I have a busy week with an exam and work. I have so much more to say, but I'm drained and unable to articulate it.

Jobs, jobs, jobs...nothing

I cannot believe the predicament I am currently in. Every time I find a new job, I think, hey, no more craigslist browsing. Sayonara, webpage visits! And, then, two to four weeks after the job has begun, I find myself in need of more income due to disappointing wages or lacking hours. This is still the case with Anthro. The more money we make, the more payroll we get to divide hours among our staff. Consequently, the opposite it true as well. Get it?

Ahh, so I'm looking for yet another part-time job, even though I have two classes, work at Anthro and write as needed. My alternatives start with more babysitting gigs (though I recently referred a lot of the people asking me to other friends of mine since I had been working so much at Anthro the first 4-5 weeks). I could also put my name on McGehee's substitute list. I think I'd stick to lower/middle/upper schools over LG though. What else? I have been to craigslist and the pickings are slim. Because I'm scheduled 4.5 hours on call! this week, and only 4.5 hours next week as well, my next pay check is going to barely cover rent (because last week I worked a considerable amount of hours, and last week's will be on this next check, I think). That's another thing. Payroll and the pay period are confusing and it's all paperless. But, for some reason I cannot access my paystubs on the company website so I cannot even check if I'm being paid accurately. Why does this always happen to me? Why didn't they tell us this was the job climate when we signed on for tens of thousands of tuition debt?

Well, I'm off to The Orange Couch to do some homework. That'll distract me from real life :) If I don't get a babysitting job towards the end of the week, I'll go visit my mom in BR. She came in yesterday and Mia, Jesse, Eric (my cousin), Neill, and I had lunch with her at Suhko Thai on Magazine (yum!), and boy do I have leftovers. I got vegetarian pad thai and my mom gave me her Thai iced tea because she didn't like it. Enough procrastination. Shower than walk to The Orange Couch!

Work and play = study

I thoroughly enjoy being back in school even if I find myself in a classroom full of bi-/multi-lingual students who seem to understand the professor far better than I do. Even if I struggle in readings. The idea that I've returned to being intellectually stimulated and that I'm not mentally stagnant--or worst, degenerative, is actually beginning to motivate me! I was worried at first because in the beginning, I'd find myself nearly falling asleep during my reading assignments, but I want to chalk that up to being tired now. I had previously been working 40ish hours a week at Anthropologie, and now with only 6 for this week, I'm taking advantage and making my schedule work for me. Taking my time with the readings, but also making them a priority. I'm enjoying them (especially the efferent and aesthetic pieces I've had the pleasure to read in my Research Romance Languages [think literary theory and criticism ] class), and I am sort of on a roll. On the other hand, I am having delusions of grandeur where Jes gets an international attorney job in Spain or France and I transfer to the Universidad Autonoma de Madrid or Le Sorbonne. A girl can dream, right?

Long days, short entry

I'm about to go to bed, but I wanted to share this short article before I do. It's discouraging and sad, but at the same time should motivate us to change our ways. Reduce, reuse, recycle.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/31/photos-most-polluted-plac_n_693008.html?alacarte=1#s130978

Today was nice and relaxing...my first weekday off in a while. I did babysit Adele, but before that I ran errands and did minimal homework readings. I don't got into work tomorrow until 2 so I'm hoping to get some more homework done beforehand.

Also found out that Scriptura is considering a word-pressing internship. I found out today that their word presser interned with many presses such as Lucky Paper and Dauphine. I am so happy to hear that, and a part of me really, really wants to apply and wishes I could to do it. But, I don't know how I could juggle work, school and Amelie G. On the other hand, I don't want Scriptura to lose its specialness for me because I work there on a regular basis and know its nooks and crannies like the back of my hand. Either way, it's not something I need to do right now; I could have the opportunity when I'm done with my Master's. And, I want to see where Anthro takes me. But, it is something I would like to do. Papermaking as well is something I've been wanting to do. Why are all these near ideas and cool opportunities presenting themselves at once?! Ah, well, buenas noches!