life plans

I haven't blogged in way too long! I've just been tutoring and working at a scrapbooking store which I love! Some of my friends got married last month. It was a beautiful wedding! And another one of my good friends is getting married in a couple months! It is crazy that so many friends of mine are already getting married, but I am so happy for them.


I finally decided that I am going to go to graduate school in the fall, which I am very excited about! A year (give or take a couple months) of working was more than enough for me. I always thought that working would be so much easier than school, because there's no homework. However you have to show up everyday (hopefully on time). And you cannot skip work (not that I ever skipped class ;)). And sometimes work gets repetitive whereas in school you are always busy and learning something new. I have enjoyed getting to spend time with my family and all my friends in Austin, and loved getting to meet all the amazing ladies that I work with! But I am ready to go back to school!


"Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young." ~ Henry Ford

“Life is a paradise for those who love many things with a passion.” ~ Leo Buscaglia

"The difference between school and life? In school you are taught a lesson and then given a test. In life, you are given a test that teaches you a lesson." ~ Tom Bodett

bye bye service industry

So I worked at a restaurant for two months. I don't think I work there anymore but I could be wrong. What happened was I told them I was going on vacation a month before I left. I requested the time off online like you were supposed to. Then a couple of days before I hopped on the airplane my manager said that I could have the next week off but not the week I needed. I didn't feel like arguing so I said let me talk to my dad and get back to you. So that night I sent her an email and told her sorry my tickets to California are already booked and we cannot change them so I don't know what to do. She never responded so I was like hopefully that's okay. I get to California and I check hotschedules and I'm scheduled to work every single day. So I call in on monday and the manager who doesn't know anything answers so I explain it to him and tell him I will not be at work all week. He said ohh you need to tell the general manager that. And I was like okay will you take a message?

I wait and I wait and nobody calls me. And then I check my schedule again and it says "YOU ARE INACTIVE" in red letters. So I'm assuming that means I do not work there. And I do not care enough to call them and they don't care enough to call me. One of my friends went in and asked to sit in my section and was told "Sri quit. She doesn't work here anymore so you cannot sit in her section." Well that's news to me. Oh well. It was way too grueling and painful to work there. I cannot work with 20 year old girls. They are too catty and mean. In my new job I will be working with a lot older, more mature, nicer ladies most of which are moms. I have actually never been happier to be let go or fired or quit or whatever it is.

It was definitely a character building experience. And I learned a lot about hard work and what it's like to truly work for money. I will never ever everrrr tip a waiter or waitress less than 15% or 20% again! It's so much more work than you can ever imagine. I think it would be good for everyone to work in a restaurant when they are young... in less than a month you will get the picture. Anyway I am thankful that I do not have to work there anymore and happy to have a new job :)

“The real judges of your character aren't your neighbors, your relatives, or even the people you play bridge with. The folks who really know you are waiters, waitresses, and clerks.”


"Waitressing - by far the worst job ever created." ~ Jennifer Esposito

Work

Well I successfully finished my first week ever working a full time job. I work at a restaurant. I also tutor every morning. So I really have a job and a half haha. I'm not going to lie it was exhausting and I already thought about quitting my restaurant job at least 3 times. 

Its just so exhausting. As I keep saying work is just too much work. You are on your feet for 5-10 hours at a time. You have to take orders from your customers, coworkers, and managers. And you have to be nice to everyone, which I usually am but sometimes you just want to yell "are you serious?" But instead you put on a smile and say sure I can do that. Well I guess that's life. 

My new mantra has become "kill with kindness." The meaner someone is to me the nicer I act back. Well I am nice to everyone it just takes a lot more effort when they are mean to you. But its been working pretty well. Work can even be fun sometimes but it really depends on the people you work with and the type of customers you have.

I don't know how people work everyday all day. I just get bored with things too quick. I need a job that's different everyday where I don't have time to get bored. Anywho the beauty of work at this time in my life is that I don't really need to work. I have no rent, bills, or expenses (oh the joy of moving back home). All I'm responsible for is one student loan payment every month. So if I really wanted to I have the luxury of being able to quit at any time, and I love having that power haha. 

Well I got my paycheck yesterday and deposited all my tips and it felt good to actually have money in my bank account. So maybe I'll stick with the job a little longer...

Live your life with enthusiasm

I applied to 3 jobs and just found out that I got all 3! So now I'm going to be pretty busy. But I realized I like being busy. I'm probably going to be working around 60 hours a week which sounds like a lot. But then I think about it and last fall I took 20 credits, worked 3 jobs = about 20 hours a week, was president of a club and had Mono and survived (see post- the final year - semester 7). So this should be easy peasy! 

I felt super tired when my alarm went off this morning but I had to wake up and get ready to tutor. So I sang the first line of this song that I learned at Lehigh. It seems to drive others nuts but I LOVE it. 

I'm alive, awake, alert, enthusiastic,
I'm alive, awake, alert, enthusiaASTic,
I'm alive, awake, alert,
I'm alert, awake, alive,
I'm alive, awake, alert enthusiastic!

And I was ready to jump right out of bed with a smile on my face! What a difference it can make to start your day off with the right attitude! 

Since I'm going to be so busy starting next week I think I'm going to set up the christmas tree now! woohooo.

"I don't have diddly squat, Its not having what you want. its wanting what you have" 

"I'm going to soak up the sun, going to tell everyone to lighten up." ~ 

Soak up the Sun by Sheryl Crow

“Often the greatest happiness in life comes from going through a life challenge and growing into a stronger person. There’s truly nothing more fulfilling and thrilling than discovering yourself to be a stronger person than you ever dreamed yourself capable of being.”