New Job

I have a job!!!

Very exciting... I'm working at BevMo, which stands for "Beverages & More!".

It's a big chain store in California that sells beer, wine, and spirits.

They have such a large stock, that the stores remind me of Barnes & Noble, but instead of books, they sell alcohol. 

Anyway, I am very excited, not only to just have a job, but also to be working with so many labels of spirits. I feel like this is going to be a really great learning opportunity for me in many different ways. First of all, as a bartender looking for work, learning all I can about these different sorts of beers, wines and spirits, I will eventually be able to consult fairly well and suggest different things to different people. Knowledge of different sorts of alcohol is very valued in the bartending business. Also, I really am glad that I am going to be able to experience working in retail. I have never done it before, and though I've already had experience in customer service (and I enjoy it!) I haven't ever worked a cash register before, so I think that will be really useful. Last, I'm really interested in bottle design, specifically for different spirits, as far as my Graphic Design goes. I've been thinking really hard about what I want to do for my senior project, and I have not been able to come up with ANYTHING I'm interested in until I began spending time in BevMo. If possible, I think I would really enjoy doing my senior project on designing a few different bottles for fancy looking liquor. That would be SO much fun. And working at BevMo will expose me to a lot of different designs, and give me lots of inspiration I think. :) My official title is "Cashier/Salesperson" so I will be both working the cash register and working the floor.

I had orientation today, and then my first day will officially be Friday from noon to 5.

Hooray!

That's all for now!

Soon to come.

So much has been going on lately that I don't even know where to begin.

To put things optimistically, from last week, things could only get better.

I'm not going to do a full update right now, since I'm still pretty overwhelmed with everything that's going on, but I just thought I would drop a note to say that I am still here, and have not dropped off the face of the earth. :)

Just toughing out the hard times.

On happy notes, I most likely sealed the deal on this job, we have an awesome new roommate named Bryce, and Mike, Geoff's brother, is here in Redlands, so we get to hang out with him this summer. Hooray!

Puppy Dreams

My new favorite thing to do, is watch Tazz dream.

He sleeps a lot, so we get to watch his dreams pretty often.

Sometimes he barks very softly and his paws twitch so we know he is running.

Sometimes his tail wags, so we know he is happy.

And this morning, he suckled the air and flopped his tail around.. so we think he was dreaming of his mommy. I bet he misses her.

Tazz has a bit of a cold, so he is going back to the vet this afternoon for another check up and possibly more meds. :(

Tazz

Meet Tazz!

So far, he has been the perfect puppy! He is a big time daddy's boy, (Geoff has already established the Alpha position I suppose,) but loves everyone. He learned the command "sit" for the most part, within about 3 hours of being home with us. (Tazz is very clever.) He goes right to his bed when he is sleepy, and gets excited like nothing I've seen when one of us enters the room after being gone for like, a minute. Last night went well, for his first night. He hasn't peed in the house yet at all. (Knock on wood!) He woke us up around 2am with his yowling, so I took him to the backyard, he peed, we went back upstairs, and he went straight away to bed again. Fantastic. He has conquered the stairs, but won't go up them alone. To be quite honest, he won't go most anywhere alone. He's just a little tag-along. 

He is a very quick learner, very sweet and loving, and I think is just happy to be off the streets and out of the kennels. He is the most precious thing I've ever seen.. we are so lucky to have him with us. Liz was right--he really does bring a lot of joy to the house.

He seems to be curious about cats, but they don't like him very much, so it looks like he's starting to give up on making friends. Who wants a friend that scratches your nose?

I can't wait to take him to the beach... Today, Geoff and Liz and I are taking him to the quad for a picnic on campus. Then, we're off to BJ's to meet their manager for another job thing for me. Sigh. What a process.

Anyway, sending lots of love, from us and baby Tazz!

Summer Chaos

So, it's been a while.

Things have been pretty intense out here, with people moving in, people moving out, things moving around, etc. etc.

Laura and Bryce have (mostly) moved out this weekend, taking all their things with them, so the house is starting to look pretty naked. Geoff and I have acquired some furnishings from Craig's list which were incredibly cheap (thank you, Craig's List,) and are very unique, since each one is from another place. I enjoy that. Slowly, we are reorganizing our lives here, and are preparing for the arrival of our puppy, who comes home from the vet tomorrow afternoon. (I will get to that soon.) We've also been dealing with the painful chaos of switching over the utility bills to our names. What seemed like an easy 1 or 2 step process, ended up being much more expensive than we'd expected. Since I have no credit, and Geoff has a little, we were not able to waive a

ny of the "deposits" for starting a new relationship with each company (ie. Water & Trash, Electric, Gas, Cable/Internet.) So, I'm not going to get into nasty details on this journal, but let's just say each one decided to charge us a good amount of money to insure we would keep up on our payments. It's sort of like renting a little apartment with each utility company, if you think about it. Needless to say, we don't eat out anymore, and spend our money on only what is essential for survival (haha). No but seriously.

Anyway, as far as the puppy goes, we have some bad news and some good news.

Bad news is, we are not taking Bandit home.

Here's Bandit's Story.

So, we were supposed to take him home on Friday, but things 

changed. Our neighbor, who had been fostering him until he was to go to us, went away for the weekend. So, she gave Bandit to another Humane Society foster to look after for a couple days. When she came home, the foster wouldn't return her calls. A few days later, she found out that the foster had given him to yet another foster, and between the two of them, they decided that our neighbor was not fit to decide who Bandit went to. They told her that the Humane Society didn't adopt to "renters" nor did they "hold puppies" for anyone. Obviously, our neighbor was more than pissed, and made it known to us. No one cared about the puppies at all while she was raising them alone, until now, all of a sudden, some other people decide they know better. She informed us she was going to meet with the president of the Humane Society that night, and if things didn't get resolved, she was going to quit. Unfortunately for both of us, things didn't go that well, and she is now with another rescue agenc

y that does much more efficient and proactive work with animals on death row, and the people actually respect each other. So, we lost Bandit. 

The good news is, after some mourning, (which I personally am still working through,) we decided to look at puppies at our shelter in San Bernardino. It was our original plan to rescue a pup from there anyway, and we did end up finding one we really loved. Tazz, (like the Tasmanian Devil,) as we've decided to call him, is a black lab / pit bull mix. He is 3 months old, and is black with a white chest and white little paws. I am glad we chose the black dog, because as strange as it sounds, black dogs usually don't get adopted. Part of it is that since they are so dark, people can't see them in the kennels, but otherwise it is just a mystery that more often than not, the black dogs/puppies are put down because no one will adopt them. I like to think we saved him from the animal co

ntrol center. He is very precious, and energetic, and I will have to take a lot of photos to show you guys. As per the adoption requirements of the shelter, he got his microchip surgically planted in his neck so that if he ever gets lost, he can be scanned and we, his owners, can be located and contacted. Tomorrow, we pick him up from the vet, where he is being neutered. Then, he will be officially welcomed into the house. His crate is full of blankets and a pillow I got for him, toys, treats, a bed, and a puppy play pen, are all at the ready! Here is the only decent photo we have so far, but I'm sure there will be millions more come tomorrow.

I have a gig this week at a surprise anniversary party for a family in Riverside. They rented a full bar, and I will be the bartender on site! I'm very excited, and can't wait for this opportunity. 

This is really all I have the energy to update on right now... I'm giving this job searching thing all I got.

It's awesome having Liz here.

Even though I've been super stressed out, I'm glad to have a friend to play with.

Everything will work out eventually... we're just hitting a hard patch.

Bandit

I am ecstatic to say 

that I can now introduce you to a new member of our little Californian family.

Meet Bandit. Our new puppy.

Bandit is almost 7 weeks old now. He is a rescue puppy, and so we do not know exactly what breed he is, but judging by his looks, and the looks of his brothers and sisters, it's definitely

 safe to say he is part German Shepherd, and then something smaller, like a Lab. Our neighbors right across the street work for the Humane Society, and so a couple weeks ago, they brought home 9 baby foster puppies! Terribly chaotic, but also fantastically adorable. We picked (or, I guess I picked,) "Bandit" because he is the darkest one of the bunch. He has this mask over his eyes and nose, so that is why Geoff and I decided to call him "Bandit". We talked it over with our going-to-be new Landlord, James, and it all worked out pretty well. We are now adjusting our budget and all that we have saved for him to finance his food and shots and toys and such things. I bought him a couple of toys the other day, and some no-tears puppy shampoo, as well as some puppy treats, so he will feel very loved when he does come home with us. (He is still with his brothers and sisters right now, until he finishes getting his vaccination shots. This means, he will come home with us in about a week and a half, giving us time to finish up school before his arrival.) 

Anyway, we are VERY excited. Our neighbor even said that she would let us take him home for a sleepover before his release date, since she knows that Norman is up to date on his shots! But we are still waiting on his crate to come (which I ordered on Sunday, I think,) before we feel like we can have him sleep here. He is definitely going to be crate-trained, to make life easier on everyone, and so we can eliminate any chance of him getting the idea that the carpet is good for eating when we are away for any small amount of time. I have a ton of pictures of him and his friends, so if you're interested, feel free to check out the album "Bandit & Family" on my Facebook.

I started Bartending school this Monday, as well. And I must say, I am having SO much fun!!! I look forward every night to driving out to that class, and always set up my bar area early so I am ready to go. I was surprised at how quickly I picked it up, actually, and while my memory is a failure most of the time, surprisingly, I am having no problem remembering these drinks, and have already memorized over 40 different drinks, without studying my flashcards! I feel really confident already, and today was only my 3rd day! My instructor calls me "Hollywood", because I'm real fast with my pouring, and I add extra color to my drink mixes so they look bright and fancy. (We don't use real alcohol when practicing, obviously, just water with food coloring, but in the real bottles.) He says I'm going to make a great bartender. And I asked about their job placement program, and he said it was really good, and I had nothing to worry about. In fact, he is already looking at places that are hiring, and reports back to us who is looking. Unfortunately, none yet in Redlands that have called him looking for bartenders. But, I still have another week. There are only 5 people in our class this session, so that is great for me because we get extra attention, and I'm paying less, which means more toys for Bandit! :) Anyway, I wanted to let you know that I am doing really well in that aspect, and am having a REALLY great time with that aspect of schooling. 

Some of you already know this, but I sent out copies of my book on Monday, (finally,) and so you will all (or almost all..) be receiving a copy sometime... Grandma and Papa I know already got theirs, (which is crazy... I have no idea how that got there so fast, considering I sent it "Media Mail" which is like, slower than the slowest mail...) so hopefully yours will be coming in the mail sometime soon! Enjoy!

Love to you all.

Viva Las Vegas

So! Time for a Vegas update.

In case you were wondering, we really had a great time. I have a TON of photos, but I'll try to keep them to a minimum on here. The rest I'm sure I'll post on Facebook.

The first day we were there, (Wednesday,) Geoff and I mostly stayed in our hotel (the Stratosphere) which was HUGE. Unfortunately, we were on the opposite side of the building than the pool, so it took like, years to walk across that place, but once we finally got there, it was worth it. The pool was my favorite part of the hotel. On the 8th floor, it was a really big outdoor pool with a bar and fitness room right next to it. We ordered a drink, and sat in the pool, basking in 90 degree weather. Afterwards, we explored downstairs in the Casino, got a bite to eat, and returned to our room to get some rest for Geoff's birthday the next day.

On Thursday, we slept in for 

a bit, and then prepared for a day of walking. We decided to walk the whole strip that day, down to Minus5, the ice bar I mentioned before. As it happens, the Stratosphere is at the top of the strip, and Minus5 is down by Mandalay Bay, which is at the bottom of the strip. Leaving us about 4 miles to walk, IF we walk

ed in a straight line. (Which, as some of you know, is impossible on Las Vegas Blvd.) Out of all the casinos we went into, the Mirage was EASILY our favorite. It was SO incredibly colorful and fantastic... I'm already planning to save money to stay there next time. Another thing to save money for: Love - Cirque du Soleil (the Beatles tribute). Or any Cirque du Soleil show for that matter. Zoomanity looks amazing also. Those first photos of the colorful place is my favorite spot in the Mirage, which was the room dedicated to the Beatles show, "Love". There was a store with all this really fantastic Beatle stuff, and I really wished I could get Maxx a shirt or something, but there was hardly anything there for less than $50. Figures. 

We also went to the MGM Grand and saw the Lion exhibit, where they keep a few of the lions they use for the roaring lions at the beginning of every MGM movie... you know, that lion. Anyway, there was a glass walkway, where you walk "into" the lion pen, protected by glass.. And while we were there, all the lions happened to be sleeping RIGHT over the walkway, on top of where all the people were walking. 

Sleepy, sleepy lions... 

Later down the strip, we found the Coca Cola store, where we proceeded to taste 16 different sodas from around the world. Very interesting... some tasty, some awful.

After an entire afternoon of walking and exploring, we finally made it to Minus5, and had a fantastically unique experience at the ice bar. The ice was so smooth! That was the coolest part for me, I think, since I went around and ran my mittened hands all over the finely crafted structures and statues. The drinks tasted better in glasses made completely of ice than they would have in normal glasses, too! But I definitely see why they limit people to only 3 drinks tops. I only had one, and I felt a little loopy after leaving that chilly room..

We then had to book it back up to the top of the strip for our dinner reservation at the Top of the World restaurant on the 109th floor of the Stratosphere. It was SO much fun getting all dressed up together, and riding the super fast elevator (3 floors a second!) to the top of the tower... I've never been to a fancier restaurant in my life. Nor have I spent so much money on a meal... but it was all quite worth it. We ordered a half bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon for our wine, and then had the 3 course meal for two, which included a beautiful salad, a fat steak, mini sweet flavored onions, asparagus, garlic potatoes, artichoke heart, and some sort of creature that we didn't eat, but I poked at a little. Oh, and then there was dessert, which was some sort of chocolate raspberry mouse thing made in the shape of the Stratosphere tower. Beautiful AND fabulous tasting. 

We had our picture taken up there, but purchasing them was way expensive, and after having just spent a ton of my savings on dinner, I wasn't apt to spend $40 extra dollars on some cheesy photos. (Even though they were pretty cute.) We tried to take a few photos of us together, so these are the closest we could get.. A myspace-esque photo, and a classic camera-pointed-at-mirror shot. Hahah.. oh well. Better than nothing, right? I only wish I'd remembered to bring my camera to the restaurant!

We also went up to the observation deck to view the strip from the top (both outside and inside the building). There, we saw the rides that crazy people go on up there. There are 3. "The Big Shot", which is like Tower of Terror, except on the needle of the Stratosphere, "Insanity", which looks like an egg beater that hangs you over the edge of the building, (Geoff and I were going to go on that one, but ended up wanting to save money,) and then there's the "X-Scream", which I have taken a picture of for mom to freak out over. (It's the one you told me not to go on, Mom...haha.) It looks like a roller coaster, but acts like a see-saw sort of thing. You get pushed up the teeter-totter, 

and then it swings down until it looks like you're going to be shot out into oblivion, straight down onto the strip, but it stops you just in time, as you're hanging down over the edge of the tower. Horrifying, really. I took this picture of it on it's way down to the stopping point. (Which is way below that fence there, by the way.)

After a little rest in the room, we went out to a nightclub at the Mirage called "Jet", since it was Ladies Night, and earlier that day, we received some admission tickets to get us in for free. I also got tickets for being a girl that got me 3 free drinks! It was pretty fun, but I woke up the next morning with blisters all over my poor little feet from doing all that walking in heels, and my legs are still killing me. But all in all, it was worth it. We had a fantastic time, and didn't get into too much trouble, which I'm sure, was to the parents' relief, eh? 

Also, we didn't gamble at all! Which, I must admit, I kind of really wanted to try to play the penny slots just for fun (only a penny for one try, right?) but we didn't have any cash, and didn't want to use the ATMs at the Casinos, since it was like a $4 charge per withdrawl, you know... Oh well. Maybe next time.

Ahhh, I guess that is all the highlights for now.. There are tons of stories to this trip, and I've told all the ones I have photos for, and some that stuck out particularly for us, so I'm going to leave it at this for now. All in all, it was really a lot of fun, and I feel quite refreshed now. Had a lovely time at the Animal Shelter today, and I'm ready for Mayterm class to start on Tuesday!

Love to you all!