Holiday Weekend

I was hoping to have lots of pictures to post for Thanksgiving and Black Friday, but sadly my brother forgot my camera. I'm not so sure I'll be letting him borrow it again any time soon, it always dissapears for a few days when I do...

Anyway, the weekend has been a total blast so far. We woke up a bit later than expected on Wednesday morning, but still got to Vegas at around eleven in the morning. The car ride was easy, I wasn't tired in the least but I got in a comfortable enough position where I ended up sleeping for the first four hours of the trip: from Jeff and I's house, all the way to Kingman. The traffic was minimal, so it only took another hour to get to Gma's.

We headed over to Jessie's for Thanksgiving dinner, but forgot to bring drinks, so Mom and I ran to a nearby 7 eleven. When we were getting in the car, we debated on getting ice but figured that we wouldn't need it. In fact, we ended up turning back around when we got to Jessica's so that we could go get the ice. Overall, everyone was in a good mood so nothing really bothered me the entire night. The kids were having fun in the back yard, Mason was pushing his sister's pink stroler and princess car around with a huge smile on his face. It was adorable.

When someone mentioned that dinner was ready, there was an obvious pattern that formed. I wish I had a picture of it, but all the guys were up and ready in line to eat, piling their plates high with turkey, ham, potatos, jello, apple sauce, corn, green bean caserole, and all kinds of other things. There was only one girl in line, which was Tabby, but she was pretty much hidden by the guys.

Mason was the first kid to have his plate and start eating, then I helped Madeline get hers. She was so funny, I would ask her if she wanted something, and for most of it she said yes. I asked her if she wanted apple sauce and she said no; after she was sitting down her dad asked her and she jumped out of her seat and said yes. I couldn't help but laugh.

My favorite food though had to be the potatoes, which surpised me because I don't like potatoes. Jessie told me she put garlic in them; the were delicious :)

Everyone had been munching generously on the desserts since the beginning of the night, but once the cake was out that Tabby made, Thor was there in a flash. He definitely has a sweet tooth :P

We played Wii games for a while, and Madeline stood on the table while shaking the remote vigorously. She won several of the games that she played, and it was just as much fun to watch her as it was for her to play. Ian helped her learn how to do everything, and even helped her when she needed it; sometimes she told him, "I can do it!" and he would let her do it. After the kids were bored, they would hand off their remote and someone would take their place. We were playing a shooting game, and I got a bit too compettitive with my dad, but it was all in good fun :) He kicked my butt.

The next morning was Black Friday; Gma, Mom and I woke up at four and then went to pick up Jessie. We met Lisa at Target and started to walk in. The line was just starting to enter, but by the time we walked from the car to the door there were three groups of bachelors walking out with big screen TVs. We were shocked at how fast they managed, but I guess that's what Black Friday is all about :)

The crowds were nowhere near as bad as I expected, people were polite and nobody bumped into me, snatched anything I was looking at, or was rude in any way. I was pleasently surprised. We ended up making things a bit complicated for the cashiers as we only wanted to ring up $100 at a time so we could get the $10 gift cards. Hey, every penny counts!

After Target we went to Kohl's. I was excited to find several articles of clothing for rather cheap prices. Mom let me shop by myself here; I was sad that I didn't see any shoes that popped out at me, but I got a couple of jackets that I'm in love with and some much needed winter clothes. I do need a pair of boots now though :/ I'm looking for a pair I found online, but I can't find them in person to try on. The have a wedge heal with a fuzzy rim and lace up with two fluffy balls at the end of the strings. I think they're adorable, and would look great with a dress and leggings.

Anyway, by this time we had been shopping for about three hours I think and our stomachs were growling. It did take a while to check out, but we managed to get out and go to a breakfast place nearby where we chatted about Gpa's birthday and a present we got him for Christmas. Dad text Mom and said something like "How's everything going? Are you finding anything? Do we need to come pick up Brittney yet?" I couldn't help but laugh. I'm not a shopper really, and Dad knows that. I had fun though, but I must admit that when I had to go back to Kohl's later in the day to exchange a couple of items, I wasn't pleased. I was done shopping for the day, and the crowds were worse at this one.

Just before we went to Kohl's, we went to "Whitney" Nevada (it's Las Vegas, but LV is seperated into little sections or something, haven't quite figured it out) to look at some houses I had found online. I like the area a lot, even though it's right by the UNLV stadium. We couldn't look at two of the houses because they were in a gated community, but I think once it gets closer to time to move, we may end up going in there. I keep finding more and more houses in that neighborhood that I like. Mom and Dad are still trying to ease me into the idea of a condo, which when Mom told me that it would be one that has both stories instead of like the one I have now, I started to warm up to the idea a bit more. I still want a house though.

The family came over for Gpa's birthday and we ate more food. Again Thor jumped on the dessert. After everyone including my parents were gone and home, Jeff and I went out to the strip to meet Brian. Jeffrey kept turning down the wrong streets and it ended up taking us an hour plus to get there, but we had fun once we did. We ate Panda Express and walked around, nothing exciting but better than sitting at home doing nothing.

Now I'm just sitting in Gma's kitchen trying to catch up with the day. I woke up at ninethirty, but ended up falling back asleep until noon. I wasn't too happy, but there's still time to get things done. Gma put a pizza in the oven for me, and after that I think we're going to go buy some seasalt water for my nose piercing and spray for my artwork. We're going to go look at some houses over by Lisa's too.

Kitty

Today, work dragged on...

and on...

and on...

Victoria brought a beautiful orange and white tabby to my hotel so that I could take it to Carrie's for the weekend since I'm going to be in Vegas. The kitty was abandoned at Crossland and had nowhere to go but the pound as all of the no kill shelters are currently full. I couldn't let her be put down, so I agreed to take her until a better suited home came along or an opening appeared in a shelter. I know that people don't believe me when I say it, but I really don't want another cat. My condo is just too small and I'm happy with the babies that I have.

I found a home for it on a farm, but then that person backed out. I was kinda sorta hoping I could talk Carrie into keeping it after the weekend, hoping that she would get attached. When I went over to drop the cat off, she asked if I was going to keep it. I told her no, and she immediately asked if she could have her; she has no idea how ecstatic that made me! So the cat has a wonderful forever home with Carrie who happens to have two outdoor kitties at the house she's currently living in and is also going to take care of Lucious for Leigha as of today since she can't keep him at her apartment in California. Yay.

As soon as I'm done with this blog entry, I'm going to finish sending everything to Jessica at UNLV so that I can have a chance at being accepted. Victoria wrote a spectacular reference for me; it made me tear up that she thinks so well of me! I've always known that I'm great at customer service, but other than that I feel like a pretty average employee. Victoria explained me to be well over above and beyond... and it feels amazing.

I'm not getting along so great with the new manager, but I'm working on it. I have the next four days off, so I'm not even going to think about it right now :)

Time to finish getting ready to leave at six tomorrow morning for the long drive to Vegas. I'm so excited!

New Management

I am so NOT excited for work tomorrow.

I met my new boss today:
she's from Egypt
[[cool]]
she's older
[[okay]]
and
she STINKS!
Literally.

She seems intelligent,
but barely speaks English.
I can't really understand what she says
and she had to have me take the phone
several times
because the guests couldn't hear past her thick accent.

I am going to have to figure out
who I can report her to.
I don't understand how she got hired
with that strong body odor.
I don't want to be mean,
but I was gagging standing next to her.
I can't stay in an office
all day
four-five days a week
with someone that makes me sick to my stomach.

I honestly can say we will get along
just fine.
She's a bit of a snob,
so she only talks to managers.
Which I'm not.
But, that's okay.
It just means I get to do my work
in peace.
I have to admit,
I was offended when meeting her this morning:
She came in,
I introduced myself,
"Good morning, my name is Brittney.
How are you?"
and I extended my hand.
She looked at my hand
as if it were the plague,
said hello,
and then walked right past me.

:(

I haven't gotten a good look
at her customer service skills yet.
But
she is very strict about housekeeping.
Poor Michaun
was in a room for 2 hours today
cleaning.
Lailya went in
and told Christine it wasn't clean
and all of the things that Michaun "missed."
The person that checked out of that room
was in house for over 7 months
with no housekeeping.
It's going to take a couple of
days
to clean that room.

Christine says that she's training Lailya
to be strict.
Hopefully,
Lailya will loosen up
after getting her bearings.
Although,
I kind of doubt it
as she seems like one of those people
set in her ways.

I'm not too fond of working with her and Christine
but it's only for a little while longer.
After tomorrow,
I'm off for four days.
Then I work five days next week
with no management
and somehow I was volunteered
to work at Homestead on Monday morning.
I don't like opening there
without someone to help me
I haven't really been trained properly for it.
But it's just one day.

It looks like I'm working
A LOT
over winter break.
As of now, I know that I work
Christmas Eve
and Christmas night.
Fine.
I told Christine I'm taking
an accelerated math class
during that time
and need to be able to study.
She glared at me!
If I get too overstressed,
I told her I would have to request
a four day week.
I'm not a forty hour employee,
you can't make me work five days!!!
But as of now,
I am working all forty hour weeks
during the month of December.
Ouch!

I'm starting to think
that working a forty hour job
when I move to Vegas
may be an awful decision.
I don't think I can handle
forty hours
every week
plus full time school.
Maybe I could just do it for the summer?
We'll see.

[[Eventually, everything will be okay.]]

In Response

Mandy wrote a blog about

recieving flowers as well as her favorite flower

and then asked,

"What is your favorite flower, why that one?"

It got me thinking,

do I have a favorite flower?

There are SO many beautiful flowers

can I really pick a favorite?

My name is

Singing Daisy

but I don't even really like daisies.

They're pretty

but a bit too simple for my taste.

They have colored ones,

but they just look so fake.

I love blue flowers,

but I still have yet to find one that is

just right.

AND

I can't tell if the ones I've seen

are real or not?

Beautiful, but nameless?

Is it even real?
Or is this just a dye job?

Do I choose on looks?
Meaning?
Authenticity?
Or something else all together?

To answer my previous question

I can and do have a favorite flower.

The Stargazer Lily
even the name is breathtaking!
I love its shape
I love its color
I love its smell
I love its presense!

As a part of the lily family,
this heavonly flower represents
innocence and purity
but it also is a symbol of
wealth, prosperity, and aspriration.

When I hold these flowers,
I see the future.

American Carnage Tour

A rumor has been going around that

[[Megadeth and Slayer]]

are to be doing a concert

together.

This morning,

I found out that the rumors are TRUE!

I'm so excited!

It's going to be at the Dodge theater

Saturday 7pm

January 23rd 2010.

Presale tickets go on sale

today at 10am.

I can't figure out how to buy them though :\

I may just have to wait

until tomorrow at 10am

for public tickets.

Yay!

Carrie doesn't really want to go...

So now my only problem

is to find someone that does

and will go with me :)

Danny thinks I'm rediculous.

He says that I shouldn't ask

about a concert that's in January

in November.

But the tickets are going to sell out

I'm sure of it!

So no Danny,

I'm not rediculous.

I say he's the rediculous one.

He hasn't spoken to me in weeks!

And I still don't know why.

Sometimes,

I get sick of hanging out with guys

that act like girls.

So I just tried to buy tickets

and too many people bought presale

so now they're only offering balcony :(

I want club seating!

I signed in two minutes

EARLY!

How the heck

do they sell so fast?!

I'm just going to have to wait until tomorrow.

That's okay.

I can buy the four pack tomorrow

(It's cheaper)

But!

I don't know where the four pack sits.

Hopefully,

I get to choose.

No matter what,

I will be able to hear,

which is all that really matters :)

I'M SO EXCITED!

UNLV Weekend

My weekend went well, the UNLV tour went about as I planned. I knew I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up about the GPA thing, but in the back of my head I was hoping that they would look right past it. I can't explain my disappointment when she made a face at my 2.1. BUT! There is an appeal process that I can try and I'm pretty sure she's going to help me get in. I have to get two recomendations; I'll get one from Victoria (I just have to figure out when I'll get the chance to see her) and then I have to figure out a teacher that will do one for me. I have a couple of high school teachers that I know would help me out, but I'm trying to figure out a college one that would be suitable. I just haven't gotten all that close with any of my proffessors for them to write something about me. I also have to write an apeal and she told me to make it as sappy as possible. I'm not sure what I'm going to write about yet, although I have a couple ideas. I just don't know how much information I want to give, and I hate making excuses, which is pretty much what the whole thing will be. One big long excuse. Blah.

I did get to see a lot of people on Saturday, it made me happy :)

I'm pretty set on going to Vegas once summer starts, the only issue is where I'm going to live. Mom was talking to Gma about having me sign a mortgage with my parents co-signing; this is my personal favorite option, but with my age and lack of credit, it may not be possible. There's also the option of my parents buying a house and me renting from them, which is pretty much what I'm doing now. Mom has talked about getting another condo, which probably would be a good choice. I'm being stubborn about getting a house though, I just want more space. Not really for my stuff, but for people I guess. I mean, with one person in my current condo, it's a fine place to live. But when I have people over and having my brother live with me it just gets a bit small. Plus I think it's exciting to own a home, plus I have fun managing my money and figuring out bills, so I think it would be entertaining to own a home. The last option would be to live on campus in a dorm, but I just can't do it. I would love to meet the people and have a roommate to make friends with, but there's no pets allowed. I don't think anyone can understand what it would do to me to leave my cats somewhere. I just couldn't do it; it'd be like leaving my children! I miss them when I'm gone for a day, a semester or two would literally kill me.

I have to admit, I'm petrified. I'm having such a hard time making friends here, what's going to happen when I move? I mean, I know that I don't really have any close friends here anyway, so why not move? Right? I'm almost tempted to get together with the UNLV program that helps you find a roommate, but that scares me too. What if we don't get along? What if they start stealing stuff? What if they don't pay rent? What if, what if, what if...? I just don't know what to do.

Jeffrey is still pretty adamant about going to Vegas with me. He has to find a job first, but he really doesn't want to stay here anymore than I do. It'd be nice to not have to worry about finding a roommate, but at the same time I kinda want to live with a girl for a while. Maybe I just miss having a best friend, I don't really know.

On the topic of UNLV, the campus is awesome. I love the gym and the dining hall; they have just about everything. The campus reminded me of MCC, although I think that MCC has a prettier campus because it has grass whereas UNLV doesn't. It would definitely be nice to have a gym to workout in without having to worry about paying for all the fees, and we got to have lunch in the dining hall and the food isn't bad at all. Plus soft-serve ice cream; I might get myself into trouble with that :P

The Extended Stay Deluxe is literally around the corner of the school, which Christine said she could get me a job there. I wasn't really planning on staying with the company, but a job is a job. Plus, if I have ONE paycheck proving that I'm a forty hour employee in Vegas, I get in state tuition automatically. Sweet!

Other than that, I didn't do much this weekend. I went to work to clean rooms for a couple of hours and then I went shopping with my mom for a curling iron. I also made some delish spagehtti for Mom and Dad, but that's about it. I'm hoping this upcoming weekend will be a bit more exciting.

Airport Wifi

I spent quite some time working on my blog template last night; I'm pleased with the outcome. I finally figured out the html to change the pictures on the background. I used a couple pictures from the camping trip I took with my brother this past summer at Papago park for the backgroud of the heading. I think they represent Arizona well, and they're some of the best pictures I've taken when you can actually see the whole thing. I plan on getting them framed eventually :) I need to take the time to frame pictures and put them up on my walls; they're still to blank even though I've lived in the condo for well over a year :(

I'm sitting at the airport right now; I should have brought more to do on the plane. I know it's not long, but I only brought a book and I don't want to take my laptop out just to put it away again. I'm so anxious to get to Vegas, I can't stop fidgeting. The lady sitting across from me won't stop starring!

I wish I had known that Christine was going to use one of my vacation days for Sunday as well; I would have planned on staying longer than one night in Vegas. I highly doubt I'm going to get to see everyone, but I'm also pretty sure people will come over for lunch/dinner tomorrow at the same time so that'll be cool. Plus I get to come back for Thanksgiving in a couple weeks :)

I was thinking about it, and I'm a bit confused as to why Dad didn't get to come with Mom and I to Las Vegas since we're not going to be missing work days or anything :/

I don't really have much else to write about, other than to complain about my day at work, but I'm trying not to whine anymore. Trying.

I realized that I need more makeup today.

And shoes.

And belts.

And winter clothes. Still.

I miss my kitties :(

I'm hungry, airport food is expensive.

It's been three years since I've been on a plane. Weird.

They just announced that my plane is oversold. Good thing Daddy Dearest got me an A boarding pass :) They said that it's a $200 compensation if you give up your seat, as well as the price of your ticket. Not a bad deal really, but I don't want to wait on standby for a plane. Nor do I want to wait until 8:15 am for the next available flight. No thanks. Money is always appealing though :P Seriously, $200? Dang!  If I didn't have plans, I would probably take it.

So fidgety.

Note to self: no more traveling alone. It's boring.

They searched me when I was going through security. Really? I'm wearing newly washed jeans so they are skin tight and a t-shirt. Where could I hide anything? I can BARELY squeeze my phone into my pocket. Weirdos. They also took my toothpaste. I only used it once! Dang it.

Yay, they're unloading my plane :)

All that keeps going on in my head is,

"It's almost time to bo-ard, it's almost time to bo-ard, neanr neanr neanrrrr."

Why?

I have no idea.

Vegas, here I come :)

Music <3

"I was born to tell you I love you."

-Your Call by Secondhand Serenade
I love this song.
Yes, I am still stuck on those
[[five songs]]
I posted about a few blogs back.
They bring a smile to my face;
I catch myself singing
at the top of my lungs
horribly
passionately
every single time I listen to them.

"I am a lover, not a fighter but I will FIGHT for what I love."
I don't know who said this originally,
but I think- I know it suits me :)

My art teacher told me to drop today.
I told her to go to heck.
I've never spoken to a teacher that way before,
but I still say she deserved it.
She confuses me;
When I'm working on my drawings,
she loves them.
When I turn them in,
She tells me to give up.
[[Shoo I say!]]

These are what I'm currently working on.

I'm going to Vegas on Friday :)
Hopefully,
I get to see most of everyone.
I know I get to see Gma and Gpa.

I ♥ my Gma and Gpa.
Lisa and Debbie have both told me
via Facebook *giggle*
that they'll see us.
(Mom is going with me.)
So!
I'm excited :]
Too bad I have to come home Saturday.
:(

Thanksgiving: 16 days away.

I'm going there to figure out all of this UNLV stuffs.
I'm hoping that I'll come back with answers,
and not more questions.
I have enough of those!

I think it's been three years since I've been on a plane.
That's weird to me.
I guess I've gotten used to driving.

Yesterday, my boss text me.
She wanted to know if I could come in today,
here's the conversation:

"You can come in to work front desk tomorrow,
we have the hours for it."

"So I come in at six?"

"Yes please."

"Okay, I'll be there."

"Thank you."

So I get up early, get ready, go to work.
The usual.
When I got there, and Tammy was there.
When Christine got there,
she told me to go home.
What?!
She did apologize, and it really wasn't that big of deal.
But at the same time...
How rude!
Oh well.

Spaz loves to watch me play video games.
She sat and watched me play for a solid two hours before I finally took this picture ♥

My little baby Weeny.
I figured I should post this picture since she can actually be seen.

My handsome lil' man ♥

Sleepy time :)

Happy birthday Mom ♥

Nothing New

For the past few days,

I've been trying to come up with something to blog about.

But sadly, my mind draws a blank.

And yet, I can't help myself.

Work is still a spiraling mess, and school still causes a ton of stress. (Haha, look I rhymed!) I am noticing that the school semester is traveling at the speed of light; I just finished my last midterm on Monday, and I'm already freaking out about finals. I'm proud of the drawings that I'm working on for art class, but there are so many still left to do before the semester is over I think I'm going to have to spend my Thanksgiving break working on them. My math teacher has officially dropped me from her class, but I was successful in signing up for the winter intersession course during Christmas break so I'll be caught up before spring. I'm hoping that since it's such a fast class (1 month) there won't be an in-person final. Psychology is going decently, I'm pretty sure I still have a solid C in that class, although I can never be sure with the stupid curves. Astronomy is going well too, and my teacher is pretty good at explaining everything and making sure that we're ready for tests and such.

I applied for a position at the Hyatt in Scottsdale this week via the internet, I'm planning on going in on Monday to apply in person as well. Christine and I had a nice little chat yesterday though about my hours and such; she's trying to give me more and told me that she would be speaking with Tammy about hers since she's so stubborn about not working different shifts. (She's angry this week because she has to work six days in a row.) When I told Christine that if the position ever opens up for a forty hour employee that I would take it as a lead, she asked why Victoria didn't do that instead of hiring Tammy. I told her that wires got crossed between V and Leslie. I also talked to Christine about my transition to Vegas in a year, which I had been holding off on since it's so far away; she told me that she knows the manager at the delux location there and she thinks she can get me hired as a lead at least, if not as a manager.

I must say, I'm a bit confused as to why people don't like me at first but then once they get to know me it's a completely different story. Christine really likes me now, there are guests that used to refuse to talk to me and only wanted to talk to management, and now they'll only talk to me, my art teacher couldn't stand me at the beginning of the semester and now that she sees my progress she seems to be a bit less harsh... I just don't get it. Do I come off as a bad person or something?

Tomorrow I want to go over to Mom and Dad's to pay rent and maybe do some grocery shopping before going in to work at 2:30. Then on Sunday Mom is coming over to help Jeffrey and I do some deep cleaning before he has to go to work. Since I have Monday off of school and work, I almost want to take a trip somewhere close on Sunday and come back Tuesday morning for photography or something; the only problem is that I have no one that will be able to go with me :[

So, although I really have nothing to say, I actually came out with a decent lengthened blog. Kind of sad when I think about it, but hey, I love to write :)

[[Life is good.]]

Things to Do

Lately,

I have felt so overwhelmed.

Art homework,

astronomy tests,

psychology assignments,

new management at work,

more tasks,

lack of sleep,

being used by those I thought were friends.

I feel so lost.

SO!

To help manage my life better,

I figured I would make a list of things to do.

:)

1.) Art Homework

• Egg Project
  
• Four "thumbnails"
  
• Detailed, larger drawings of thumbnails
  
• Retouches of already turned in projects for better grades

2.) Astronomy

• Chapter 10 Homework
• Study for quiz tomorrow
• Last current event article evaluation

3.) Psychology

• Discussion board
• Assignment
• Read chapters
• Extra credit study test
• Test

4.) Work

• Figure out how to get on Christine's "good side"
• Wednesday, Thursday morning, Friday, Saturday night
• Learn all the new information, perform everything TO THE T!

5.) Spare Time

• First, find where spare time ran off and hid to...
• Get a mani/pedi
• Find time to read fun books
• Shop for winter clothes (can't find mine D:)

6.) CLEAN!

• Laundry
• Trash
• Kitchen/Bathroom
• Vacuum (Buy new vacuum?)
• Re-organize bedroom

Hopefully, I'll stop stressing over the stupid little things.

I feel like pressing pause,

but instead it seems that my life goes "fast forward" every time that I try.

I just need to get my life organized,

but it seems to be easier said than done.

I love that I'm taking art class.

I hate that I can't find the courage to talk to my classmates.

I love that I've been at my job for over a year.

I hate that I feel like a newb because of all the changes.

I love that going to school is giving me a future.

I hate that I can't stop worrying about my future.

I love my life.