No Internet for the Weekend :(

I honestly thought the mess could get no worse than what it was when I took the pictures in my last post. I was wrong...so, so wrong. Right now, I have about seven-ish piles of totes stacked to the ceiling in my kitchen. There is a small path winding to the sink and the fridge, otherwise...no room at all. The living room has piles everywhere. The spare room has things that are still in the process of being packed. The bedroom has piles of Ian's clothes everywhere. We carried all of my clothes down to my car last night. I just want this move to be over! I'm sick of living in this mess.

I am not going to have the internet until (hopefully) early next week. We are shutting ours off today and setting up an appointment for the next place. That's ok because I really need to spend the weekend focusing on getting as much done as possible!!

I have to go throw a load of laundry in. I will update again once we are further along in this moving process!

Yeah....So.....

Yesterday I skipped my last day of work. I have a million excuses as to why I did it, but I'm not going to go into detail because I HATE people who have excuses for everything. :P

On my last night of work (Tuesday night, technically), my former supervisor and the customer service supervisor took me out for a drink. I had the best margarita ever. We chatted for a bit. I'm going to miss a lot of my coworkers, but thank goodness for internet social networking because otherwise I wouldn't keep in touch with anyone. I did not call into work yesterday (I really probably should have), and they didn't call me when I didn't show up because I figured someone spilled the beans to them. Oh well.

I spent the whole day yesterday packing. My sister came out in the morning and helped a lot. It seems that we have most of our little stuff packed up in totes (16 totes to be exact!!) and just have a couple more closets to go through and we still have to pack up our electronic media. I think it would look like we had more accomplished if we could move some of the big stuff out, but we are only going to be able to take 2 car loads up with us tomorrow when we sign the lease, and majority of backseat and trunk room is going to be taken up by clothes. We are going to rent a u-haul for Sunday, if all goes as planned. We are signed up for one here in Dubuque, but I think Ian is calling around to see if we can get a hold of the bigger one. After Sunday, we hope to have everything that we want to take up taken up. I will need to make a final trip to Dubuque one of these next couple of weekends to run the vacuum and scrub the floors one final time. Also, I'm hoping my parents will bring the truck in when I'm back and take home a couple of big items that I don't really see myself having the room for. This Saturday is Ian's sister Sara's baby shower. After that I think we are going to go look at some furniture at his mom's place. She said she has a lot extra because they are moving soon and wants us to take what we want. Free furniture, can't complain!!

I didn't go anywhere yesterday. It was nice to stay home and get things done. I'm really glad I didn't go into work because there would have been problems there and I wouldn't of had the day to kind of putz around and pack. I went to bed at 9:00 last night and woke up at 5 this morning. I must be getting old. I guess that schedule is not horrible, though. Now, instead of worrying about not waking up on time, maybe I will be worrying about waking up too early and being bored. I think that's going to be the case today. Ian won't be waking up until noon I'm sure, so I have about 6 hours to sit here and do nothing.

Going Through The Motions.

TWO DAYS. Two days. T-W-O days and I'm done with Shopko. I am looking forward to NEVER working in retail again. (Please quote me on that, just in case.)

Yesterday wasn't THAT bad. It was sad, though, because it was my last day working with Megan (who is one of my best Shopko buddies). Today won't be horrible either, but it will be sad also because it will be my last day closing with one of my favorite supervisors. Tomorrow will not be sad at all...in fact, it will be horrible. Manager I dislike will be closing and he will probably have it out for me BECAUSE once the whole Saturday-night-ordeal gets back to the manager I dislike, he is really going to be angry. Store manager had the day off yesterday, manager I dislike has the day off today, and tomorrow he comes back and it all hits the fan, I'm sure. He's one of those people that likes revenge and doesn't care if he treats people badly. I don't know if I did the right thing by telling my supervisor about the conversation, but I felt so bad about it. I think I would want someone to tell me if I was in that situation. Anyway, my plan is the following: if he does anything at all to me that makes me angry, I am walking out. It is my last day and I honestly don't care.

I wish I could just be done with Shopko now, though, because I have so much on my mind and I would really like to just clean my apartment, organize, and pack. That's how I vent.

I'm hoping for a call back from the apartment I applied for today. It might not be today, but I'm hoping. I'm REALLY hoping.

Anyway, maybe I should go do something productive. When I woke up today, I could have swore that I slept in late. It ended up only being 8:30. Guess my sleep schedule is changing for the better.

Day off! Hooray!

I'm glad to have a day off, but there will be very little resting and relaxing for me! I am going out to my parents' house with Ian today and we are going to attend my cousin's graduation party. Hopefully afterwards we can hang out with my family for a bit. I'm taking my health insurance papers and tax form with and hopefully my dad can talk me through some of it. If it doesn't happen tonight, no matter...I'll just try to go out there again later in the week.

I really need to pack, but I don't know where to start. I just pulled a bunch of things off of my walls and sorted them on the floor, but I don't know how to go about packing most of them. Also, there is just so much stuff laying around in every room. I hate to start packing before Ian because our stuff is so mixed in together. He won't let me touch his stuff, so it's kind of hard. Oh well.

Anyway, I'd better go wake him up. I want to head home soon.

THREE MORE DAYS

Well, tonight is over.

When I first got to work tonight, a manager pulled me aside and started asking me a lot of questions. He questioned a few things I had done the day before and made it sound like I did something horribly wrong (which I didn't). Then, he started questioning me about how I think closes are going. Then, he proceeded to ask me specifically about a particular supervisor's closes. It felt like he was trying to make me say that she isn't doing her job, but I did not say that because it wouldn't be true. I happen to like this particular supervisor, as both a coworker and a person. He then questioned me about what the recovery team has been doing wrong. Finally, he told me to keep an eye out for anything fishy and that "he was going to use me as his eyes". Okay....so after chewing on this discussion for awhile, I felt really bad. I went to the supervisor and told her about the conversation. I felt it was the right thing to do. She was very angry, as one would assume, and wrote a note to the store manager. The note mentioned my name. I only have THREE days left, and if it is found out that I told my supervisor what was said, the manager who was first mentioned will make my last three days a living hell. I am so contemplating not showing up to work..but you know I will. I'm too nice not to. Ugghh I hate feeling like I did the right thing, but worrying about being punished for it. Maybe I am overreacting...maybe nothing will come of this. I hope that is what happens. I guess I will not worry about it until Monday. Gulp.

Otherwise, I'm really excited that I might never have to work another Saturday my whole life!! I took a couple of big-ish boxes from work tonight so that I can start packing, but I don't even know where to begin! I figure if I take a couple of good sized boxes from work each night, I should have a good number by Wednesday.

Anyway, I'm tired and hungry and in need of a shower. I am off to do one of the above. Too-da-loo!

Uuugghhhh!

I can't deal with waiting! I'm waiting for it to be next Wednesday so I can finally be DONE with Shopko! I'm waiting to hear back from this apartment! I'm waiting to move! I'm waiting for the first day of my new job!

Enough with the waiting!

And Now I'm Freaking OUT!

Yesterday we drove up to the De Forest area to look at some more apartments. Actually, our first stop of the day was in Waunakee. We immediately LOVED the place! The neighborhood is GREAT, the town is interesting and pretty, and the apartment is spacious and clean. Ian's mom came looking with us and also loved the place, which makes me feel good about it because I think if there was something wrong with it she would say so. We looked at one more apartment and decided to just go back and apply for this first one. We ended up canceling the rest of our appointments for the day because we put $100 down when we applied. I hope we are approved! There is no reason we shouldn't be, but who knows. I want to sign the lease ASAP!

Things I loved about this apartment:

• Great location. (Nice-looking neighborhood. Sidewalks and bike trails. SEVERAL parks within walking distance. The library [which is connected to bigger libraries and allows you to order in books and movies] is about a block away from the apartment. There are a few local shops and no chains, such as Walmart. However, the East Towne area of Madison is only about a 10 minute drive away. There is a PIGGLY WIGGLY! There are gas stations nearby. There are also a couple fast food places like Culvers, BK, and McDonald's nearby if I am feeling lazy. The town has craft fairs and a farmer's market. The bank I am planning on banking at has a location right in town.)
• The apartment was spacious and felt very airy.
• The living room was huge and had a big screen door that led outside to a nice-sized balcony (there was a nice neighborhood view from the balcony as well).
• The bedrooms were at least the same size as our current bedrooms with a little more closet space.
• The bathroom (though ugly) was big. It had counter-space and cabinets under the sink.
• The kitchen (though ugly again) was decent sized. There was at least enough room to walk around. There was a dishwasher and a garbage disposal. There was a little more counter-space in the kitchen than we have now.
• CATS and DOGS are allowed.
• The neighbors seemed pleasant and quiet.
• We have our own locked storage space in the basement.
• 15 minute drive to work
• HEAT and WATER bills are included in rent, which is $675. Deposit is only half of one month's rent.
  

Things I disliked about this apartment:

• The laundry machines were located in the basement, were coin-operated with no coin machine around, and are to be shared with eight other units. They were also more expensive than we are used to. On the plus-side, the laundry room was spacious.
• There was no garage, it was all outside parking. There is a parking lot, but only one car per unit is allowed to park there.
• The colors used in the kitchen and bathroom were outdated and ugly. Some of the counters and appliances did not look the best, but as long as they are clean and in working condition, I should not complain.
• There is a $200 deposit if I want a cat (which I do), but I will get it back if the cat doesn't destroy anything.
• Unit is located on 2nd floor. This will not be a bad thing AFTER I am done moving.
• We are losing a lot of pantry space and I think we are losing very little kitchen cabinet space.
  

Overall, I pretty much loved this place. It looked very charming from the outside. I'm excited to move there, IF we are approved. I feel very anxious about waiting. I wish we could just move now and settle BEFORE I start at my new job.

FIVE MORE DAYS

...five more working days, that is, until I am DONE AT SHOPKO! Tonight, my manager called a huddle, and half of the huddle was focused on me leaving. Maybe it wasn't quite that long, but it seemed it because I get really embarrassed when I am the center of attention. I got a one-year-of-service certificate (even though I'm technically a few days short of a year). Guess I deserved it.

I have a decision to make about what I'm going to use my $15 gift card on. I received it when I was chosen as "most outstanding employee" or whatever that certificate is. I want to use the gift cards before I leave so I can also get my employee discount. I will choose among the following:

• A Bissel Spotscrubber. I will need to get this anyway because all of the apartments we have looked at thus far have had white carpet, and Ian and I are kool-aid bandits and often spill. Plus, I need one before I get my cat so I can clean up pee and puke spots.
• A 3 in 1 grill/sandwich cooker/waffle maker. I really want one!
• 15ish dollars worth of totes.

I will be happy with any of the above. I will most likely be buying all of them anyway, so I guess I just have to choose which I want first.

Well, I am watching Golden Girls and cooking some turkey for when Ian gets off of work. I still need to shower as well. We are getting up EARLY tomorrow to do more apartment hunting. I wish we could just decide on a place!! I want to move!!

This week is dragging!

Everyday I wonder if I should just call into work and tell them I am not coming in today. It would be nice to have the extra time to pack and research things, but I do need the money (as little as I will be getting for working this next week and a half). I especially don't want to go in tonight because I'm afraid I will actually have to do work. Ever since I put my two weeks notice in, I have been wanting to chat with people more and more and I've been wanting to do my work less and less. Don't get me wrong, I get everything done at night that I'm supposed to get done, but I don't go the extra *above and beyond* like I normally do. Which is probably making my nights seem longer because I am not busy every second.

I shouldn't be complaining.

No matter how much I say I want to call into work and tell them I'm not showing up, it's not going to happen. There is a small chance next week if I am desperate for time to pack and move, but it is not likely. Oh well, thus is life.

More Excited Every Day!

Today I received a package in the mail. It is an employee handbook for my new job and information about my health insurance, dental insurance, etc. It also included my tax forms. I am glad that I got all of this ahead of time because I am certain that I want my dad to help me look through this stuff.

Wonderful things I learned:

• I get two fifteen-minute breaks and one sixty-minute break every day.
• I get A LOT of holidays and days after holidays off and paid!
• There are a lot of things my health insurance covers, including the eye doctor!
• I can start planning for my retirement :)

I'm just overly excited about this job. I hope it is as good as it seems! I'm also excited about moving. I think I'm going to start taking down decorations and knick-knacks. I need to buy some cheap totes to put this stuff in. I also need to clean this apartment! It's disgusting! I will be so glad when we sign a lease for an apartment!

Anyway, that's all I have for tonight. For no good reason, I woke up at 5am this morning and couldn't fall back asleep. Needless to say, I AM TIRED. Goodnight.

To-Do-Before-I-Move List

• Find an apartment!! Current criteria: patio/balcony, washer/dryer in building, and allows cat.
  
• Organize all of my junk, de-clutter, and pack
• Organize a list of all addresses/phone numbers I will ever need and make an extra copy (family, friends, references, previous employers and renters, etc.)
• Close my current checking and savings account and find a new bank at my new place
  
• Figure out how to cancel my direct deposit from work because I am closing my bank account. Also give work my parents' address so they can forward any outstanding checks or whatnot.
• Research how long I have to change my license plate and drivers license after I move. Then, at some point, do so.
• Try to get together with friends one last time!
• Figure out what vehicles/trailers we may need to borrow in order to move all of our junk up there in as few of trips as possible (hopefully only one because of gas prices). If no trucks/trailers, then contact u-haul.
• Find grocery store, doctor, dentist, eye doctor, hospital, mechanic
• Cancel cable/electricity/netflix and change address on current bills
  

I hate being responsible.

If I was not a responsible person, I would not have given my two weeks notice at Shopko. Honestly, this time I have left here could be put to so much better use. It will be nice to have the extra money, but it's not really THAT much money I would be missing out on. Even if I could only have a couple of extra days. I'm starting to get worried about finding an apartment. It is going to be difficult!! I would just not show up like so many others seem to do, but I'm too kind for that. I actually like my supervisors and most of my managers and don't want to make their nights difficult. Even if I could just call in a couple of days during my last week. You see, Ian is using his vacation all week that week and we could spend it in Wisconsin looking at apartments, but I'm only going to be available Sunday, Friday, and Saturday that week. I have my doubts that many places will show apartments on the weekends, but really, why wouldn't they? It's when most people are not working. Anyway, I'm probably just complaining because I don't feel like going to work today and I wish I could just say "Screw it" and all of the sudden become irresponsible.

Yesterday I had a great time shopping with my sister. It was nice because she could actually be in the dressing rooms and tell me if things looked good, unlike Ian who just wanders around while I shop. We ate at Panara Bread for a late lunch (YUM). At 3, I met with Doris and Sherri at Perkins and I had a slice of wildberry pie. We chatted and then went around town and browsed all of the places that sell flowers. Someday I will be able to plant flowers, but probably not soon. Unless I can find a place with a patio or a porch!!

This sucks...I want to go get organized and spend some time with my friends before I leave, but I'm stuck working basically every night until I "move". If I weren't so nice, this would all be a lot easier.

I'm a loner, Dottie....a rebel.

I'm sitting at my computer desk eating an apple-cinnamon parfait. It's delicious. When I bought it, I wasn't sure if it would even be good. Now, it's the only thing I want to snack on.

Today I am going to go shopping with my sister for a few hours. I need some professional-looking, business casual clothing for my new job. I haven't discussed attire with them, but from what I could see while I was there, business casual is the way to go. I also want a new outfit for my dad's party on Saturday. I might pick up some hair dye as well because I have A LOT of grays (21 years old and I have a lot of grays...how unlucky!).

Later this afternoon, I am going to meet with some former coworkers for lunch. I am so excited to hang out with them and tell them all about my new job and the big move I have coming up. Also excited to hear about latest drama from their current workplaces. There is a lot of drama.

I put in my two weeks at Shopko yesterday. Yes, I named the store. I have never done that before, but now that I basically no longer work there I will name it. My boss didn't seem too thrilled when I told him. I think everyone is worried because there are quite a few workers leaving for the summer/for good right now. Good workers. Good workers who actually show up. Now they are left with the people who don't care/don't show up. It sucks for them, but I can't feel too bad because I am moving on to do something that I enjoy and I'm going to make twice as much doing it.

Yesterday, when I talked to my new, future boss/manager person, he told me that right now they are working 8-5 Monday through Thursday and 8-12 on Fridays. HALF DAYS ON FRIDAYS!!? How perfect is this job. I understand that the hours are going to change once summer gets into full swing, but who cares!! Honestly, everything is falling into place rather well and I personally think this is meant to be.

Also, I want to add, that I have started watching the entire Sailor Moon series. It is the original series subtitled because I would like to see it in its entirety. When I was in high school, my friends Janice and Ashley loved the show. I watched some of it when I was younger, but decided I really wanted to watch it recently.

Anyway, my cup of parfait is done, and so should this entry be.

:D

I GOT THE JOB!

Closing in on a new chapter of my life.

Right now, I am very much in limbo. These last few months I have done nothing to advance myself in life, but have instead sat and waited for this summer to come. My lease on my apartment is up at the end of June. I am going to move to the Madison area whether or not I have attained another job. Right now, I am in the middle of a long interview process. The prospective company has interviewed me, tested me to see if I could do the job, and given me a tour of the workplace. They have called several of my references. Now, they are going to have a phone conference with me on Monday morning. I found out through one of my references that they have it narrowed down to two people: me and another candidate. I think the job sounds amazing and like something I would enjoy doing. Even if I am not chosen for the job, I am happy to have had the experience. I now can feel confidant that I have my first real interview for a graphic design position over and that I have done well by making it to the final two. However, I cannot say that I wouldn't be disappointed because the job would be great and is located somewhere that I would like to live.

Ian has an interview for a management position on Sunday. He is unsure of whether or not the job would be right for him because he believes they may want to relocate him, which is not an option. If there is no relocation, I think the job sounds like something he could do well at. It would, at the very least, be good experience. I am excited for us both because this next week is pretty crucial in our lives.

I have been fairly reflective on my life lately. I think I have been going through a big change. I know I have grown up a lot in these past few years, and I feel that I'm continuing to grow everyday. I'm realizing what values and morals are important to me and I'm also becoming more comfortable in my own skin. It is a great feeling.

I found a quote I like on (of all places) facebook. I think that I will try to live up to this saying because I don't want to take anything for granted and I want to enjoy life as much as possible.

Life is too short to be anything but happy; so kiss slowly, love deeply, forgive quickly, take chances, and never have regrets. Forget the past, but remember what it taught you.

Thousands of Words

My father's 50th birthday is coming up soon, and my mother and siblings are throwing him a birthday party. My sister is making him a scrapbook and asked me for pictures from our younger years. All of my pictures are in a shoebox. Unfortunately, in recent years I have not developed many photos and they are all stored on my computer. Hopefully nothing horrible happens to my computer (knock on wood). Anyway, I thought I would share some snapshots with my blog audience (even though I don't believe I really have an audience).

Little Update

Monday I had my interview. It is nice to have my first "real job" interview under my belt. It took me over two hours to drive to De Forest, WI. I left my apartment at about 8:15 in the morning. My parents let me borrow their GPS Navigation device, which was awesome. However, it took me on a bit of a scenic route through downtown Madison. As if I wasn't nervous enough, I hit a couple of closed roads and took a couple of wrong turns. I still made it there with 40 minutes to spare. I first interviewed with two gentlemen, then I took a 20 minute test to see if I could recreate 4 logos using Adobe Illustrator, then I got a tour of the printshop, and finally I interviewed with one more guy. They didn't ask me many questions about myself, they mostly explained procedures. I think it went fairly well, but who knows really. They will call me later this week or early next week to tell me whether or not I was chosen for the job. I think the job sounds like something I would definately like. Monday through Friday, 8am-5pm...occasionally the expect longer hours. Basically I would be sitting on a computer all day creating 30-40 t-shirt logos a day and working with four different customer service reps and handling mostly the same customers (mostly schools) all the time. The people seemed very nice to work with as well. I did not ask about wages or benefits or anything because I didn't feel comfortable asking that during an interview, so I guess if they call me with good news I will ask at that point. I haven't been able to send my resume anywhere since last week because I haven't found any jobs worth applying for. This is a little scary to me because I really don't think I can afford to just transfer to Shopko in Madison. However, it would be okay temporarily because at least I would have a place to live and be in the area for future interviews.

Monday night I called into work because I was exhausted from driving and from being so stressed all day, and also I had a major headache with still lingers today...two days later. It is quite annoying. Yesterday at work I had to lift a microwave to a shelf above my head and I am feeling the consequences this morning. My body HURTS. And tonight the manager who expects me to work like a bull is closing. No relief for my poor, unfortunate shoulders there.

Next Thursday we were going to go to Great America, but we moved it to exactly one week later because the Dark Knight roller coaster will be open at that point and neither of us will be starting a new job yet. So, next week should be a reasonably good week because I have this Saturday and Sunday off, next Thursday off, and Saturday-Sunday off again next weekend. This weekend I am probably going to spend at home with the family and Sunday maybe seeing the grandmothers for Mother's Day. Ian has an interview on Sunday, so I probably wouldn't get to see him much anyway. Thursday....who knows. Maybe we will be setting up appointments to look at apartments? That is if one of us has a job at that point...which is probably a 50-50 chance. Next Saturday is my Dad's 50th bday party. I am going to spend the day helping my mom set up the garage. Then, that Sunday, I am not sure what I will be doing but it will be great because I will not be working.

That's pretty much a recap and a pre-cap of my life right now I guess. I can't think of anything else to add, so adios!