Sorry, I've Just Been So Busy...

So I know I haven't updated in a while. I was sick for about two weeks and now the last week I've been busy making up all the stuff I couldn't do before. This last couple of weeks have been crazy so I think it's time for a super bullet list instead of a real entry.

• Kirby and I got an apartment! We move in on January 7.
• I cooked a sweet potato dish for Thanksgiving and it actually turned out really well.
• When I tried to pay my parking citation online, it said it's already been paid. I sure didn't pay it so I'm not sure what happened. The only thing I can figure is that somebody paid mine by accident. Saves me $38 though.
• I got a $26 tip off one table at work on Wednesday. It was only 4 people and they were very easy to wait on. I was excited.
• I'm setting aside $10 after every shift to put towards getting Mom's diamond reset. I still need to take it to the jeweler and get an idea of how much I'll need to save.
• The high today is only 50°. I'm freezing, but I love it - especially since it was in the high 70s a few days ago.
• Only three weeks left of my first semester in college. One week of normal classes, dead week, and then finals. I only have one final every day of final week. Monday it's history, Tuesday sociology (which should be a breeze considering I didn't go to a single class between my last two tests and still made an 84 on the last one), Wednesday I'll have journalism, Thursday it'll be health psychology, and Friday it's going to be astronomy.
• I went to the Dallas World Aquarium for the first time ever on the 11th. It was amazing. I don't have much to say about it beyond that but I wanted to at least record it, for posterity's sake.
  

Okay I think I'm going to go play Sims for a little while before work. I'll try to update in a more timely manner from now on.

Rat Race: Yes, I Kept It

Two cute guys sat in my section tonight. When I was clearing their table after they left, I noticed that they left their receipt on the table with the word “hottie” written on it. Danielle thinks they left it there as a “hey, you’re hot” kind of thing, since they were flirting with me the whole time. I think it would’ve been more effective to write “thanks, hottie” or something along those lines. Or to write it on my credit card slip that I was guaranteed to find. So I’m not so sure it was directed at me. Either way… weird. Amusing, but weird.

Less Than Anticipated

I only made $105 all day today. Wasn’t very busy though. Got cut at 7:20 because Nina and I were in the bar and we only had two or three tables each for most of the night. It’s about 20% of my sales though and I can’t complain about $350 in three shifts.

Exhausted.

But, my sunglasses are supposed to get here tomorrow. Yay.

Friends and Money

I love the girls I work with.

Girls’ night in next weekend, can’t wait.

Today was good. Made $135 in tips and about $46 in wages (although before taxes and I don’t get that until the 20th). That brings me up to $245 home with me so far this weekend, and I’ve got another double tomorrow so there’s another $150-200. Gonna be tired as hell though.

My thoughts are being reduced to incomplete sentences. Bedtime.

Sometimes Things Just Click Into Place

By the first of next month, I may not be living at home anymore.

The Boy and I found a place we like, and it’s going to be available in two to three weeks. We haven’t seen the actual apartment yet because the previous occupant just moved out yesterday, but I’m going to call next Monday and set up a time to go check it out. I’m really excited about it but I don’t want to give away any details in case things work out the way I hope.

This week is crazy for me. On Wednesday I have my three classes until 12, a lab from 1-3, and an observatory lab from 7:30-9:30. Then I work Friday night, a split double on Saturday, and a double on Sunday. I’ll probably bank at least $300 over the weekend. It’ll be exhausting though. I’m nervous about my Saturday morning shift because generally you have to wait tables there for at least four months or so before you’re scheduled for one, and there’s a good reason for that. This past weekend, Avery said that at one point he had 13 tables at one time. To give those of you who haven’t worked in a restuarant before a frame of reference, the average section is six tables at a time. Am I ready for that? No. Not at all. But I’m covering somebody’s shift and there isn’t anyone else who can, so I’m going to try anyway. At least I know I’ll make a lot of money just from the sheer number of tables I’ll have.

Rat Race: Too Young for That

I had a five year old try to order whiskey on Monday night.

His mom laughed and ordered him a “kid’s whiskey” instead. Definition: “Sprite with a shot of Coke.”

Five year old boys should not know what whiskey is.

Also: The guy at McDonald’s yesterday recognized me from the gas station I had seen him at earlier. It was a little strange.

A Life-Sized Cardboard Cut-Out, I Could Understand

Today marked the offical end of my personal leave at The Factory (a department store). When I started it nearly two months ago, I left to the sounds of over-played Christmas carols. It's true that retail ruins classic Christmas songs for people. After hearing a bad version of "Santa Baby" eighteen times in one eight hour shift, you end up hating it.

Needless to say, I was relieved to walk in and realize that the season for Christmas carols was long past, and I could return to listening to Mediocre Adult Contemporary while I worked. You can imagine my dismay when I discovered that the new soundtrack was even worse than not only the Christmas one, but the MAC one they were playing before Christmas. Among such decent but slightly past-trendy songs as Over My Head (Cable Car), Lonely No More, and Chasing Cars were songs such as Father and Daughter by Paul Simon, which contains this gem:

...I'm gonna stand guard, like a postcard of a golden retriever...

Now, I know the song is about a father loving his daughter, and that's very sweet. But... a postcard of a golden retriever? Really? Like, of all the random imagery they could've come up with, a postcard? Of a not-so-threatening dog? I'm not gonna lie. I laughed.