Today, I hate my job.

Ah, blog. It's been a while.

I've been busy lately. Working five days a week (and pining for the days when I was a student and had an excuse to only work fifteen hours a week), visiting Matt in Michigan (he had his junior recital and he was AMAZING! I'm so proud to be related to such a great artist/composer), reading and writing a lot.

Oh, the reading.../contented sigh. I'm reading a few classics, rereading Jane Eyre (one of my favorites)...but for the past week, I've been focused on The Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss. It just came out last month--book two in his Kingkiller Chronicle trilogy. (The first book is The Name of the Wind. Friends reading this, you should get in on this series. Seriously, it's incredible. I typically don't even read fantasy and I'm in love with these books.) It's about a thousand pages long, which I actually love. If it were normal novel length, I would have finished it in one or two days and then been depressed that it ended so fast. (Plus my beloved Kindle keeps me from having to deal with lugging around a cumbersome book the size of a bible.) Anyway...great book. It's been demanding several hours of my attention every day.

Now here's something wonderful and sad. Patrick Rothfuss is coming HERE, tonight, to read in a bookstore downtown. Like most authors, he typically plans his readings months in advance. This was more spur of the moment, though, only decided a week ago. He's coming here to have his brain photographed, apparently for a study of the way creative people's minds work. He decided to try to do a reading/book signing while in the area, since he has no idea when he might be coming back to Iowa for anything. I read this on his blog two days ago. I only look at his blog once or twice a month...obviously, I could have easily read that post this weekend, after he had come and gone. The timing seems like a minor miracle, right? So OF COURSE I would be scheduled to work tonight. And OF COURSE the cafe opener today couldn't possibly swap shifts with me. And OF COURSE there was no one else who could cover my shift because only 4 out of 180 team members know how to properly work at the cafe.

So while Patrick Rothfuss is reading and signing and being generally delightful downtown, I'll be at Target...popping popcorn.

The good news is that Spencer and Jordan are going. Spencer is the one who told me I HAD to read The Name of the Wind a couple years ago, that it was the best book ever, etc. He hadn't heard about the reading tonight, either. When Jordan called to tell him about it and see if he wanted to go, he wouldn't stop screaming on the phone. He's ecstatic. So I'm happy that he gets to go and enjoy it. Jordan is just going to buy copies of the books and have them signed for me. He also claims that he's going to start reading them, on his breaks at work. That would make me super happy, since he normally hates reading. Yes, I married a man who doesn't like to read. Shameful, isn't it?

Well, it's about time for me to go to work and sulk all night. Oh, on a random note, if you enjoy the spicy deliciousness of ginger, you have to try Tazo green ginger tea. I've been drinking it as I've been writing this entry, and it's quite good. I believe I would occasionally choose this over a cup of coffee, and that's saying something for me!

MFA Freakout

So, lately I've been compiling a list of MFA programs that I'm interested in. There are fourteen traditional programs on my list. Five low-residency. To be honest, I'm probably going to scrap the idea of low-residency all together because the funding is so terrible. Low-residency=taking out loans and needing to keep working as I'm in school. As much as I would love to stay here and complete most of the program online, financially that's not so desirable. Traditional=probably being awarded an assistantship, having tuition waived and getting a stipend (at least at the schools on my list). So, yeah. We'll probably have to move and live in a different state for a few years...but totally worth it. It might be kind of fun to live somewhere else, temporarily. Jordan is all for it, as long as we don't move anywhere that's colder than Iowa (he wasn't too happy to hear that one of my top picks is in Michigan).

Even with forgetting about low-residency programs, I still have fourteen on my list. Not too thrilled about dropping $800 in application fees, though, so I'll probably narrow my list down a bit. I'm incredibly tempted to skip the ones that require the GRE...because I don't want to take it! Taking the ACT in high school was just awful, and I was really counting on never having to do anything similar in the future, ever. Obviously the most important part of all this MFA crap is making sure my writing sample is really good. I'm having a hard enough time with that--I don't need to add STUDYING for a stupid test to my list of things to do. There are six programs on my list that do not require the GRE. Is that a reasonable way of narrowing things down? Or should I just take the damn test, save up some money, and apply to all of them? I don't know!

In other news...it's 70 degrees out! Feels fabulous. Back to regular semi-cold April weather after today, though. Oh well. I'm hoping the warm weather will keep people OUT of the mall...out of Target, specifically. I hate busy Sundays afternoons. Speaking of, guess it's time to get ready for work. /sigh.

Caramel Macchiato=Happiness in a Cup

Three day weekend! Even though I just had two days off last week, I feel like I need this so badly. Probably because last week's days off were filled with traveling and busyness and fun--all the things that make days practically evaporate. I had a really long week at work...with lots of stupid moments (backroom flooded from a clogged drain, preparing for a visit from our auditors, accidentally throwing away my cafe keys and thinking that a customer had picked them up, etc), so I'm ready to decompress. And probably force myself to do the dishes and laundry at some point, as well.

I have a Kindle now. :) When I first heard about e-readers, I believe I shook my head, scoffed...probably even half-seriously vowed to never own one. I like the feel of a book in my hand, and the look of them on my bookcase...I like turning and dog-earring pages and writing in margins and I adore bookstores. So why would I want to give all that up for...portability?

But Carissa talked me into giving it a try, primarily because it would make it easy for us to read the same books and have a...book club, of sorts. And I have to say, I kind of love it. Maybe this is just leftover baggage from being an English major and taking multiple literary classes each semester, but I really like reading several books at once. I enjoy the option to switch gears, based on what I'm in the mood to read at any given moment. Right now, I'm reading a book of newly crafted fairy tales (My Mother She Killed Me, My Father He Ate Me by forty really fabulous writers), a Victorian novel (Villette by Charlotte Bronte), and a contemporary historical novel (Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen). Being able to have all three books in my purse at the same time is AMAZING. In print, they're a collective 1500 pages. In print, all three in the purse wouldn't really be an option. So, that's the main perk. There's other little things I love about it...the design makes it really easy for me to eat and read at the same time (which I do often, on my lunch break at work). With an actual book, it's always a challenge...trying to keep the pages from flipping on me with my elbow and such. Kindle can read to me, which is awesome. It's just a computery voice, not dramatized of course, but it gets the point across. I know I'll totally be making use of that during a long drive at some point in the future. Oh, and everything on Amazon is cheaper in Kindle version (and ridiculously cheaper than Barnes and Noble's in-store prices).

So, all of the above (plus even more little things that I won't bore you by mentioning) is why I abandoned my initial "e-readers are stupid" stance, and now happily own a Kindle. Besides, I'll still buy actual books, as well as electronic ones--just not as often.

Okay, I think I've devoted enough of my afternoon to blogging/gushing over Kindle. Time to pay attention to my keyboard. <3

You know you needed a day off badly when you're enjoying yourself CLEANING THE APARTMENT. Sounds crazy (for me), but it feels so good to have the time to get our place looking nice. I enjoy being home so much more when there isn't crap everywhere.

Target Cafe is officially reopened, as of today. :) It looks pretty great, and we have some tasty new menu items, including two flat bread sandwiches (chicken spinach artichoke and chicken marinara!! How good do those sound?). It actually looks like somewhere you might want to sit down and eat now...so I imagine we'll be a lot busier than before.

Parents are coming to visit tomorrow! Since they recently put all new furniture in their living room, they're giving us their old coffee table. Can't wait! All we have right now is a tiny end table, which I love, but you can barely fit one plate of food on it. I'm feeding them, for once--making a pot roast with carrots and potatoes. Mmm. Hope it turns out (but really, what can go wrong with pot roast in the slow cooker?). I'll probably do a little shopping with them while they're here, and they also want to check out the pet store. They're thinking of getting a puppy! I know, pet stores are bad and ideally, all new pets would be adopted from animal shelters...but with my mom's allergies, they're really limited in the breeds they can have. My mom wants to have a chance to hold a poodle, or another supposed hypoallergenic dog, to see if she has a reaction or not. So we'll see how that goes.

Okay, oatmeal creme pies are way too delicious. One of my favorite cookies growing up...my brothers and I were so vicious about each getting our third of the box. I hadn't had them in a long time, but tossed a box in the old grocery cart earlier this week on a whim. How did I ever stop eating these?! I think I might like to try making a homemade version sometime...there's a ton of recipes for them on the internet.

A decent day.

I love morning shifts. Yes, it really sucked to wake up at 6:30 after a mere five hours of sleep...but my shift went by super fast. And now I'm home, with a whole afternoon and evening left to enjoy. Good stuff. One week left on the sales floor...

Well, two of my former teachers have agreed to write letters of recommendation for me. Yay! I was really nervous about this, for some reason. But so far, no doors have been slammed in my face. (Two letters is enough for some of the programs I want to apply for...for the Writer's Workshop, I need three. So one more to go.) In response to my saying that I would appreciate any advice, one of these teachers asked me what specific questions I had. Hmm. To be honest, this whole process is so daunting that I don't even know what to ask. Well, no, actually I want to ask "can you tell me to which programs, exactly, I should apply? And what pieces of writing I should use for my writing sample?" But that's asking a little too much.

Heading down to Burlington tomorrow after work. It's going to be a really short trip--I'll get there around 5:00 tomorrow, and I'll be leaving by noon on Tuesday. Matt's home on spring break this week and my parents wanted me to come down so we could have a nice family supper. I wish I could stay for a couple days but I happen to be scheduled for a full forty hours this week. That almost never happens...kinda crappy timing. Oh well. It'll still be a good time--love visiting the family. :)

And now...time to decompress with music and a survey.

If you could be fluent in any language, which would it be? French, for the literature.
What (or who) would you really like to hold right now? Jordan and/or Crosby are the obvious answers, but I can hold them any time I want. So, I'm going to say a bunny.
And what would you like to let go of? The extra pounds that are chilling on my midsection.
Was your first car a hand me down or brand new? A hand me down.
Speaking of cars, how did your first drivers test go? For my permit, I had to take the test twice. For my driver's license, I aced the classroom portion and barely passed the driving portion, lol.
Sunrise or sunset: which did you see last? Sunrise.
What was the first picture of that you ever took on your mobile phone? On my current phone, the first picture was of my living room.
Did you ever collect any type of cards? (Baseball cards, etc.) No.
Do your eyes ever change color? Yes.
How many lamps are currently in this room? Two.
Do you wish that there were more lamps in this room? Nope. Both of these lamps have multiple bulbs--they're very bright.
So, what's the earliest you've woken up this week? 6:30.
And what's the latest you've stayed up? 2:00.
What commercial are you tired of seeing on TV? The stupid new Old Navy commercial with the Kim Kardashian look-alike singing a dumb song about how cute she is.
Would you rather ride a zebra or hug a gorilla? Assuming that I'd be perfectly safe doing either, I think I would rather hug a gorilla.
When you drop food, do you eat it (five second rule!) or leave it? Generally, I wouldn't eat it, but it depends on where I dropped it. And what type of food it is.
Would you consider yourself more optimistic or pessimistic? More optimistic.
Do you have any stickers or anything on your laptop? Just the ones that came with it.
When was the last time you got a haircut? Yesterday.
What is your opinion on minivans? Do you own one? I always liked my parents' minivan. I don't own one. Once we have kids, though, I wouldn't mind having one.
Where did you go to college? Or, where do/did you want to go? I went to SCC and the U of I.
Ehehehe...so umm, Republican or Democrat? Pretty moderate...but I lean more to the right.
Have you learned to love your body yet? Meh. I wouldn't say I love it, but I don't hate it.
CUZ BABY YOU'RE A FIREWORKKK....overplayed, yes? YES, terribly overplayed.
How many of the 'Rocky' movies have you seen? None.
What was the last sport you watched on TV? Basketball was on the TV at work recently, but I wasn't actually watching.
Have you ever showered with a significant other? Yes.
Do you have a friend who takes food out of your fridge and its not rude? I don't think my friends have ever taken food out of my fridge, but if they did, it wouldn't be rude.
Do you know anyone with a name that forms a word? (ex: Shanda Leer) Not that I can think of...
How did your parents meet? They met in college, I think in music classes they were taking together.
Would you rather swim in a pool or relax in a hot tub? Depends on my mood...but generally, I'd rather be in the hot tub.
Do you know your best friend's mom's name? Yes.
Your last significant other: How many family members of theirs did you meet? Almost all of them.
Tight pants on rockstars: yay or nay? Meh. Some people can pull it off, some can't.
When did you last get a sunburn and where was it? I got a little burnt in Florida last April.
Do you know any Japanese words? Nope.
Can people usually tell if you're sad? I guess. Though people do tend to think I'm sad when I'm not. I just have one of those faces--if I'm not smiling, I look upset, even when I'm totally not.
Finish the sentence: I can eat a whole bag of... Andes mints. YUM.

Potato

Somewhat on a whim, I bought a big bag of russet potatoes earlier this week. Best grocery-related decision ever! Such a great, cheap lunch...or dinner side dish...or late night snack. And eating the skin makes it healthy-ish, too. :)

So, sales floor isn't too bad...but I definitely prefer Food Avenue. I would rather be in my own area, doing things my way, than running around the entire store trying to coordinate with everyone else. And I can't say how frustrating it is to get an aisle or a display so neat, and then see a guest come over and make a HUGE mess of it. Honestly, it's a lot of hard work for very little recognition. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm actually looking forward to the cashiering shifts I have coming up this week. Cashiering may be almost unbearably monotonous, but it is sooo much easier than sales floor. It'll be nice to just stand in one spot and mindlessly check items.

Valentine's Day is the day after tomorrow. As usual, our plans are pretty low key. I'm going to make a nice dinner--fettuccine alfredo with chicken and sun dried tomatoes. YUM, right? I've never made it before, so hopefully it turns out well. We're probably going to see a movie, too.

And now...an exciting survey.

When was the last time you blew out a candle? Yesterday.
Do you own any name brand clothing that starts with the letter "B"? Don't think so.
What does your shirt look like? It's black with gold lettering and says "Writers Gone Public...Nonfiction writing program reading series...The University of Iowa"
When was the last time you vacuumed? I used our hand vac for about five seconds last week, if that counts.
What's a food you like that is an "acquired taste"? Coffee, chili, mustard, grapefruit--hated all of those when I was a kid, love them now.
Do you live with your parents? No.
Do you like Jason Mraz? I only know two of his songs. Based on those two songs, yes.
Have you ever had a colored lightbulb in your room? No.
Do you have any idea how to jumpstart a car? Yes, I have an idea...but I don't know exactly how to do it. However, I know the instructions are in my owner's manual and I do have jumper cables...so I could do it, if needed.
When was the last time you did laundry? Last week.
Have you ever had a Coffee Toffee Twisted Frosty? Yeah. Not bad. Tastes like a jamocha shake from Arby's.
Are you currently confused about anything? Not really.
Do you frequently go on YouTube? Not too often.
How many people know your deepest, darkest secret? I'm not sure what my deepest, darkest secret is, honestly. Whatever it is, I'm sure that Carissa and/or Jordan know it.
Do you own any guitar picks? Yeah.
When was the last time your received a package? If you mean by mail, sometime during the summer.
Do you like seafood? I like fish, but not shellfish.
Are you the type of person that likes sulking? No.
Did you do fundraisers in school back in the day? Every now and then.
Have you ever seen your favorite artist play live? I saw Nichole Nordeman when I was in junior high, I've always loved her. That's about it, though.
What version of Windows are you currently using? Stupid vista.
Have you ever been to Boston? No.
Do you watch the Superbowl? No.
Do you need to clean your room? I need to clean my entire apartment. Blah.
What's the most random thing you did today? Didn't really do anything random, to tell you the truth. Pretty normal day.
Can you whistle a tune? Yes.
Who was the last person to disappoint you? Applebees, for failing to send me my W-2! Now I have to call and harass them about it.
What grade will you be going to this upcoming year? I've been out of grades for a while now...
Would you ever get an abortion? Extremely unlikely. I would only resort to that if giving birth would certainly kill me and/or the baby.
Is there anything plugged into the closest electrical socket to you? Yeah, a lamp.
Do you write your dreams down? No.
Have you ever wondered what your purpose in life is? Yes.
Do you post surveys on MySpace? I forgot I even had a myspace until you just mentioned it. Poor myspace.
Do you ever dip your fingers in wet candle wax? I have before. I love the way it feels, but cleaning the dried wax off is annoying.
Who was the last person to call you "baby"? Jordan.
What was the most expensive thing you bought this past week? A hotel room.
When was the last time you had ice cream? Like a month? It's been far too long.
Do you prefer sugary drinks, or water? "Sugary drinks"...that's pretty vague, there. It depends--if I'm just thirsty, I want water. If I want something that tastes good, I would enjoy a "sugary drink."
Do you have any Muslim neighbors? Not that I'm aware of...but I don't know the religious beliefs of any of my neighbors.

Snow day?

So...little scary outside. The drifts in our parking lot are ridiculous! Being able to watch the crazy blizzard from our warm apartment makes it kinda fun. I just wish I didn't have to work tomorrow. But I don't have to go in til 4:00...I'm sure the roads will be drivable by then.

Jordan and I ventured out for a minute or two, to do something slightly evil. We took Crosby out for his usual nightly potty break and tossed him into the snow. It was up to his little chin...he just stood there and stared at us like "you guys are the meanest parents ever." Sooo sad/cute/funny. We rescued him, of course.

Well, I did clean my kitchen earlier today...but I just made cupcakes and frosting, so it's a mess again. Oh well--worth it. I made snickerdoodle cupcakes, with cinnamon buttercream. Yum! The cake seems just a bit dry, but probably because I haven't made a cake from scratch in a long time. I use a lot of box mixes, and they're always a ton moister. Regardless, I'm happy with them.

First day on the sales floor tomorrow. Whoo. We'll see how that goes. Now...time to have another cupcake while watching Cupcake Wars. :)

EDIT--one of my coworkers updated on facebook that she made it home from work safely, but that several people are STAYING THE NIGHT at Target. How much does that suck? Very grateful to be stranded in my own home and not elsewhere.