Happy Monday evening!
First and foremost I would like to wish all of my AnF family good luck and success on this week's floorset. After day one, I could use a large glass of wine and a long slumber. However, the store is looking quite beautiful and I am eternally grateful for all of my coworkers and for their endless hard work.
Over the weekend, many of our friends went out to celebrate Keela's birthday. I won't get into the details of the evening, but what I can tell you is that a great time was had by all. I can't speak for how Keela felt on Sunday, but I would imagine that by now she has fully recovered. A stranger gave me a rose, so I can appreciate that. I also wore heels, so I spent my evening answering the question "how tall are you" and bending down to talk to my friends at the bar. I am thankful to have amazing friends like this to celebrate life with. You guys are awesome, and I cannot ever possibly tell you that enough.
Now, let's move onto the topic at hand. For those of you who know me, you know that I am quite skinny and also very tall. How, do you ask? I don't know. I have a tall dad and two skinny parents, perhaps I just got the lucky end of the gene pool. Perhaps my slender body shape originates from my obsession with working out or my love for vegetables. Maybe I remain thin because I work so much that I sometimes fail to eat anything but popcorn for days at a time. Whatever the reason may be, I am skinny. I don't love it, I don't despise it; it's simply who I am.
Here is what I have to say: Say something rude about an overweight person, you are automatically deemed a pompous asshole by everyone around you. Say something negative about a skinny person; however, no questions asked.
Agree or disagree, this is my blog and this is my opinion.
My anger for skinny haters stems from a snarky comment from one of the sale's associates at the Ross Park Teavana location. This individual is an all around negative Nancy. Since it is a man, we will refer to him as negative Nick, partially because he is a man and partially because the alliteration is catchy. Apparently, there is some sort of discount for mall employees at Teavana because every time I order my delicious cup of tea the man asks me, "do you work in the mall?" Each and every time that negative Nick has asked me this question and I happily answer "yes I do!" he consistently says, "I'm sorry to hear that."
Now, the first 62 times that negative Nick said this to me, I let it slide. All of you should take some time and picture me biting my tongue, digging my nails into my own arm and turning away from negative Nick in an effort to not stoop to his level and tell him about himself. We all know how much I like my job, and the fact that Nick said "sorry to hear that" like an idiot over and over again got under my skin with every passing cup of freshly brewed tea.
Last Friday was the last straw.
I went downstairs to scoop up Amanda; a new manager of Jesse's, and introduced her to Teavana. I am excited to have Amanda in our mall, and I want to make sure that she has a great experience working for us and enjoying the company of other managers.
Sure enough, there was negative Nick. After we ordered, the question came. When I happily said, "Yes, we work in the mall" he predictably commented, "I'm sorry to hear that."
"I'm getting really sick of hearing you say that every time I come in here," came out of my mouth like word vomit. Amanda's face immediately looked concerned.
I let negative Nick know that I always remember outwardly negative people and I remember having this same conversation with him previously on multiple occasions. He changed the subject to where in the mall we worked, and when we let him know he said, "They don't make clothes for real people."
"Weird," I said. "I'm alive and well and I'm wearing clothes from my store. Amanda, you look to be alive, where is your outfit from?"
Negative Nick tried to dig himself out of his verbal grave but I continued to debate with him for the next five minutes until our tea was finished brewing. I let him know that if he didn't like working at the mall, he should work on finding a job elsewhere. I told him that I knew plenty of people that loved their mall jobs and that I knew plenty more unemployed people that would kill for a job anywhere.
I already didn't like negative Nick, but the fact that he made a comment about mine and Amanda's body was offensive and uncalled for. Maybe Nick wasn't blessed with a good gene pool, maybe he's lazy, maybe he doesn't care for exercise, perhaps he doesn't care to purchase a gym membership or perhaps he likes greasy food more than I do. Whatever the reason, negative Nick isn't in great shape.
I don't dislike negative Nick because he weighs more than me. I dislike negative Nick because he has a terrible attitude and because he had the audacity to make a rude comment about mine and Amanda's body type.
When Dr. Martin Luther King rallied against racism, he said that someday people would be judged by the content of their character and not by the color of their skin. Why don't all of us take an oath to embrace (or judge) others based on their character?
If I was a bitch to negative Nick, if I yelled at him for no reason, hit his car and drove away, if I tossed my tea on his store's floor and then headed home; then, by all means, let Nick dislike me. Not because I am skinny.
If you are overweight, I do not give a shit. If you are underweight, that is your own business. If you are short, tall, black, white, brown, blonde, brunette, a redhead, young, old, have a fashion style that I don't agree with, if you have tattoos on your forehead or piercings in your face, I could not care less. In my mind, we are all human.
Isn't it a shame that Nick passed judgement on me before knowing about my love for humanity? Isn't it a shame that he made offensive comments in regards to the job that I love more than anything else on this earth? Isn't it a shame that negative Nick offended Amanda on her fifth day of work? Isn't it a shame that negative Nick probably does this to more people than just Amanda and I?
I hope that someone reading this blog right now knows who negative Nick is and marches their ass right to the Ross Park Teavana to let him know that his negativity is offensive and unwarranted. If he ever apologizes, I will accept his apology in my size 0 jeans and extra small shirt.
Once and for all, may we please be judged by the content of our character?
Here's to shining on through the negativity of the world,
Regardless of body type,
Xoxo
Happy Sunday evening!
This blog is one day early based on my sheer inability to contain my marathon excitement until Monday morning. Additionally, I am off tomorrow and I aspire to actually sleep in past 6a.m. but, if you know me, you know that this will be a challenge.
Today was the Pittsburgh Marathon and it was an absolutely amazing experience. This is my second year running the half marathon and I had a legitimate blast. I smiled for all 13.1 miles for the second year in a row. Running the marathon is an amazing experience; thousands and thousands of people line the streets to cheer on 27,000 complete strangers that have spent months of their lives training for the race. I was overwhelmed by the spirit of Pittsburgh for the entire 13 miles of running.
I spent the first eight or so miles running with Tim Booth, who was a fantastic running partner, but ran just a bit too fast for me after all of those miles. Tim and I pointed out funny posters to each other, kept track of our mile times and weaved in and out of countless people while trying to stick together.
At mile eight, I saw my seventh grade science teacher volunteering with the Center for Organ Recovery and Education (CORE). I was so happy to see a familiar face AND to see such a great organization that has made mine and my family's lives worth living. Mr Alexander, you are the best!
At mile 9.5, I grabbed a handful of gummy bears from a complete stranger and I swear to you it was the most delicious tasting candy that I have ever had.
At mile number 10.5 Amy and her family met me with a zip lock bag full of peeled and sliced oranges. I thoroughly enjoyed those oranges for the next half a mile or so. I am so thankful that Amy and her family were brought into my life and I cannot wait to see Nick play at his trumpet concert later on this week! I love you guys. Val, you were there in spirit and I love you for it! Pardon my appearance, I was mid-marathon here.
Around mile 11.5, I thought that my knee was dislocated but I finished the race anyways; and boy am I thankful for that. I spent an hour or so after the race in Charity Village with Zach and his family and as time progressed more and more of our friends came to meet us! Overall, the experience was amazing and I was grateful to see so many of my friends at the end of the race! I love all of you guys!
Last, but certainly not least, a special thanks to all of the volunteers that woke up early on their day off to hand out water, block off streets, hold up homemade signs, play in a band, set up generators, high-five runners, applaud endlessly and give all 27,000 of us a reason to continue on. Your support means more to us than you'll ever know.
After spending some time with my friends, my family and I left the city and went straight to Aladdin's to get hummus. Afterwards, I went to Starbucks to find some wonderful balloons that Connie left for me! For dinner, my family and I went to the winery.
If you know anything about me, you know that May 5, 2013 is officially the best day of my life. If you know anything about me, you know that tomorrow will be even better.
Here's to accomplishing goals,
over and over again,
Xoxo
Good morning and happy Monday to each one of you.
First things first, the Pittsburgh marathon is in 6 short days and I am more excited for this than I have ever been in my entire life. I have managed to successfully train for this race without being hit by a vehicle, which is more than I can say for last year's performance. With that being said, I apologize in advance for anyone that has to deal with my perpetual happiness this week.
However, if you aren't happy every day, I highly suggest you do something to resolve that problem. I also suggest you do your best to avoid other people because, quite frankly, no one wants to be over-shadowed by your negative aura.
PS: Check out my finisher's photo from last year's marathon!
This week's blog post has been inspired by selfish individuals that have an overall disrespect to other members of the general public. In fact, the following people live day to day with absolutely no regard for the fact that they are not the only human being on the face of the earth.
We have all fallen victim to being in the same vicinity as these fools: the woman that leaves her cart in the middle of the cereal aisle and heads to the deli, the person that stops walking on the people mover at the airport and blocks all surrounding areas with their luggage, the person that looks at the Starbucks menu like they have never seen it before when you are on your way to work, the individual that drives ten miles under the speed limit in the fast lane and so on and so forth.
The following individuals have one-upped the aforementioned oblivious idiots. I have witnessed the following performances in the last week:
On Saturday afternoon, while my friends and I were trying to enjoy a delicious vegetarian lunch al fresco (outside), some oblivious Starbucks consumer exited the coffee shop, grabbed an empty chair roughly ten feet from us and lit up a cigarette. Up until we talked about him loud enough for him to hear, I ate mouth fulls of smoke thanks to his disgusting habit in correlation with brisk south west winds.
Now, had this man walked out of the coffee shop and took a quick glance around, here is what he would have seen: multiple people dining very close by, two professionals having a business meeting and a mother with her two children. But, he didn't look around. As far as he knew, he was the only person on McKnight Road. He was so worried about ingesting nicotine that he failed to see that his nasty habit was about to impact other people's well-being.
Additionally, a couple of weeks ago, I inhaled a face-full of cigarette smoke will running at the lake. As far as I am concerned, smoking on the running trail during marathon season should be punishable by a kick in the teeth.
Last week, as I am driving along minding my own business singing in my Jetta, the car to the left of me cut me off, nearly side swiping me, and then made a right turn. Yep, right turn from the left lane; standard operating procedure (no its not). When I honked my horn he threw his hands up in the air and then gave me the finger as if I was the douche.
Do you know what I do when I realize that I am about to pass the road that I need to turn onto? I continue on my way to the next light so that I can turn around safely in an effort to not jeopardize the safety of other drivers. We have all seen stories of 50 car pile ups on the news, and though I have not been involved, I can take a shot in the dark and guess that those accidents did not start from cautious drivers using their turn signals.
I could really go on for days but I am too excited to get to work this morning. Plus, I'm sure that all of you reading this are concocting a list of examples that you have witnessed in your head also, and I am not trying to ruin anyone's Monday.
The point is, everyone should use these examples of clueless citizens and make sure that you do not become these people. No matter what you may believe, you are not the only person on this planet and you have to act in a way that is conducive to the lives of others.
In fact, we should strive to not only act neutrally, but instead, in a way that can effectively better the lives of others. If everyone could temporarily step back from the things that they want at this very instant and look around for a second, we could start living our lives the correct way: for others.
Happy Monday, everyone. May your week be successful and productive.
Here's to observing our surroundings and adapting accordingly,
Xoxo
Happy Monday! :)
I apologize that my blog did not get posted this morning, I had a minor setback after some friends and I went a little too hard in the paint at yesterday's Pirate game.
I did learn a few important lessons, however. Three years after college, I am still absolutely terrible at corn hole. Doing lunges in the parking lot will gain the attention of those surrounding you. Frank's mustache will get more attention than my lunges. Make friends during a tailgate all you want, but don't be surprised when they start smoking pot in the parking lot. When purchasing nine dollar beers, never mind, just don't do that. It is not acceptable to lay on the sidewalk during the middle of the day and work on your tan (while fully clothed). And finally, I still cannot eat Mexican food. As fun as it was to spend my Sunday evening on the bathroom floor, I think I'll stick to vegetables from here on out.
Even though my tummy couldn't handle Sunday's extravaganza, I adore my friends and had a blast up until the point where I died. You guys are perfect. Started from the bottom now we're.... here?
I also spent a few days of last week in Boca Raton, Florida with my friend Amy. We had a ton of fun and enjoyed every single second in the sun. So much so that I actually peeled off a layer of my forehead this morning. I sincerely hope that I will be able to move to Florida some day and spend my lunch breaks at the beach. I am so thankful for Amy and for the few days that I spent in paradise.
Though I try to disregard all of the terrible things that happen in the world, every now and then something awful happens that simply breaks my heart.
Last week's bombing of the Boston Marathon temporarily made me lose faith in humanity. It was absolutely heartbreaking to watch countless victims fight for their lives on a day that should be memorable for reasons on the opposite end of the spectrum. Running the marathon is such an amazing accomplishment that should be cherished by all participants. Instead, the spirit of the runners was over-shadowed by a United States tragedy brought about by those that lost touch of what mattered in the world.
With the Pittsburgh Marathon just two weeks away, my heart will be with those in Boston as I run the half on May 5th. We cannot let the evil in the world steal our special day, but we will not forget what happened to our fellow runners. We will run for Boston <3
Since I was out of town last week I really missed out on the opportunity to see customers naked in my store. However, since I have been back I was harassed in traffic so that gives me something to talk about.
Today, while sitting at a red light I heard someone yelling "hey" over and over again until finally I looked left to see a twenty-something wearing a bucket hat which lead me to believe that he was on his way to go fishing or simply forgot what year it was. When I looked over at him he said.. and this is not a joke.. "What's up, shorty?" To which I responded, "I'm sorry, what did you say?" Once he repeated himself I said, "I guarantee I am taller than you." We argued back and forth about that for a couple of moments before I said, "So, have you ever actually successfully picked up a girl in traffic?" His response? "You're sweet."
And because God was looking out for him, our light turned green and we were not able to talk any longer.
Over the last few weeks I have watched countless girls cry over guys, only to realize that they are truly better off without them. Regardless of how great you thought something was, regardless of how it ends and regardless of what may happen in the future, just remember that what is done is done. Accept all things and move on. Whether it be a dumb man (or woman) or the evil in the world, we need to move on.
Here's to forgiving others,
Not because they deserve forgiveness,
But because we deserve peace,
Xoxo
Happy Monday! Also, don't forget that today is the last day to file your taxes!
My blog hit the 19,000 page view mark this week so thank you for that, you guys are obviously awesome. I wish I could high five each of you individually.
This week's blog shout out goes to my friend Lanae. A couple months back, Lanae entered the Toms Ticket to Give contest. We are pretty confident that Lanae may be a finalist of the contest. If chosen by Toms, Lanae will travel to another country to give out shoes to the less fortunate. We should find out soon if she has successfully out-voted the hundreds of other people in the contest. Thanks to Heidi and Zach, I don't see how she couldn't have won. We are proud of Lanae's dedication to the contest and to the betterment of others. Our work family is happy to have met Lanae last summer, she is truly a blessing.
And now, onto the topic at hand.
I am so sick of seeing naked customers in my store.
I get it, you don't want to wait in line for the fitting room. Sorry about your luck. It's Saturday at 2p.m. and unfortunately you aren't the only person who has decided to come to the mall today. Please don't scream at me because we only have three fitting rooms as I did not draw up the blueprints for this establishment.
Here is what I do know, I have seen more naked customers in my store in the last week than I have seen naked men in my own personal life. It's become a problem.
Last Saturday, a 30-something woman asked me to get a dress for her to try on. When I left to grab the dress and came back, she was standing ABSOLUTELY naked with the door propped open waiting for me. First off, the answer to your question is no, she was not wearing underwear. Secondly, there was a line of people waiting for the fitting room, most of which were children. All of them saw her naked body. One of her hands was being used to prop the door open and the other was just dangling by her side as if to say "no shame here." Moms were covering their daughter's eyes... the whole situation was mortifying.
Fast forward two days when I see a preteen sitting on the floor of the fitting room wearing nothing but a thong. Immediately red flagged this in my head for a few reasons. A. Since when did 12 year olds start wearing thongs? And B. She was really okay with just sitting bare-assed on the floor in a public place? Come on people.
Adjacent to the legitimate fitting rooms, there is a storage section of the store where we sometimes keep extra shopping bags and cleaning supplies. It never fails that I will find a naked man in that storage area at least once a weekend. So, here is my question to you. At what point do you walk into an area, see some boxes and a vaccuum cleaner and think to yourself "everything here checks out" before taking your pants off? No context clues have indicated that this is in fact NOT a fitting room? Poor 17-year-old Jasmine was exposed to a naked man this weekend when she walked into the storage area to get shopping bags. Next thing I know, Jasmine is saying, "Sir, please put your shirt back on... the fitting room is on the other side of the store."
It has been my experience that no matter where someone is standing, they will disrobe. Front of the store, back of the store, register, fake fitting room... anywhere. Additionally, never has anyone removed their shirt and I have thought, "Wow, look at his abs." If you catch my drift....
It needs to stop. I feel like I work at a strip club every time I accidentally see a naked shopper.
Anyways, I'm off to Florida for the week! I hope everyone has a productive one!
Here's to finding the fitting room THEN removing your pants,
Xoxo
Happy WARM Monday! Oh Happy day <3
I had an enlightening week last week and I am eager to share all of my experiences with you all. On Tuesday evening, myself and many of the members of the Pittsburgh management teams headed to Columbus, Ohio for leadership training. Since the training wasn't until Wednesday afternoon, we had the opportunity to see what Columbus had to offer. The city was very pretty and in some ways reminded me of a (cleaner) version of Pittsburgh. I enjoyed the opportunity to hang out with my work family for the evening in a fun atmosphere.
On Wednesday morning, we woke up and headed to the home office which was one of the most magical experiences of my existence. I feel so bad for everyone in the car that had to hear me say "I'm so excited" every few seconds. Everything about the campus at home office was really cool. To be fair, I only saw a small portion of the campus, but I'm sure the theme was consistent throughout. The cafeteria was bossy and the fact that the sell Abercrombie and Fitch water is just delightful.
The leadership training lasted about four hours and it was really great for all parties involved to meet managers from stores outside of our district and to meet district and regional managers that started off their career with the company just as we did. The training taught us how to improve our roles as leaders and also encouraged us to take the things that we learned and take them back to our management team and our staff at our respective stores.
Some of the important items that we talked about at training were things like emotional stability, communication and addressing conflict. Quite frankly, it's a good thing that we discussed these competencies in leadership training, because I needed to utilize them only a few hours after completing the class.
I'll shorten this story because it makes me mad just writing about it. On Wednesday evening we got back to the mall around midnight to pick up my car. Myself, Jesse, Tj, Megan and Liz were all in the car together. Next thing we know, mall security is honking their horn and flashing their lights at us. Jesse stopped the car and security pulled up next to us and the man driving the security car lost his mind and immediately began screaming and swearing at us.
It became VERY clear to me that someone gave this man a mall security badge and he now believed that he was a member of seal team six on a mission.
After Jesse and TJ tried talking calmly to this yelling idiot MULTIPLE times, I finally said, "Sir, what is your name?" To which he responded, "TONY CASSANO." He said his name in an affirmative tone as if to say "take this to the bank." Then he told us that he was going to arrest us, you know, in the parking lot of our own place of work. At this point I let him know that he was out of his mind. Then, I left on my own terms as he yelled, "you better hurry up." The next morning, I took Tony's name to the mall management and let them know about his poor behavior. My one regret from this situation was not utilizing my pepper spray on fat Tony as he screamed profanities at me.
I know that I don't usually expose first and last names but I think that everyone should learn a valuable lesson from this. If you choose to act like an idiot, don't be surprised when people talk about it. If you yell at someone or make a scene, it usually doesn't stay a secret. I'm sorry about your luck, but I am not sorry about your extortion.
On Saturday afternoon I was lucky enough (this is sarcasm) to see a middle aged European woman completely naked in the fitting room at my store. She asked me to get a dress for her, and when I came back she was holding the fitting room door open without a single stitch of clothing on, and began chatting with me as if she was wearing a down parka. Other people in line for the fitting room also got to see everything that this woman had to offer including a lot of hair, and also, large breasts.
And finally last but certainly not least, today was a very exciting day for our AnF family as TJ was promoted to be a city recruiter in DC! We are so excited for TJ and we can't wait to visit him and drive around in his free Audi! TJ is a great example of how hard work pays off and I couldn't be more happy for him. You deserve this TJ, and I love you! <3
TJ would also like everyone to know that he has been in my blog TWICE.
I hope that everyone has a fantastic week and enjoys the sun :)
Here's to appreciating those around us and celebrating accomplishments,
We deserve to!
Xoxo
Happy Monday to everyone! May this Monday have great potential and set the pace to a highly successful week for all of you.
This week's blog shout out goes to Mike Kopke. Happy Birthday love! I miss you and I hope that you have a perfect day!
Some of you may have off of work today, but I do not. In fact, Easter Sunday is one of the three days of the year that the mall is closed. Having the day off and knowing that everyone else did also was quite relaxing. Don't you worry, though. All evening on Saturday, we had customers calling asking what the mall hours were for EASTER SUNDAY. How dare we get a holiday off, right?
Regardless...
Saturday evening I also hosted an after hours shopping party for two families who just couldn't seem to find the time to get to the mall during the regular operating hours of 10a.m. to 9p.m. At 9:15, when I approached one of the mothers still leisurely shopping around in my store, I let her know that she needed to bring her purchases to the register. In response, she said, "I don't understand why I can't keep shopping considering I am a paying customer." Now, what I told the woman was, "Well miss, the mall doors actually lock at 9:30." But, what I wanted to say was, "Don't be selfish, I'm trying to go out tonight." Looking back, I'm not really sure where the confusion came about. Perhaps this particular woman has spent too much time in the after hours panty parties that Victoria's Secret occasionally hosts.
On Wednesday, I witnessed a woman absolutely lose her mind (and her composure) on one of my managers when she found out that she could not have her return refunded to her in cash. You see, where we come from, you can only receive your refund based on your original form of payment. This particular woman originally paid with a check; therefore, her money could only be refunded back to her checking account. As it turns out, she disagreed. She argued with us for quite some time about the logistics of refunds and the logistics of how checks work. In her mind, "a check is cash" and she told us over and over again before saying "this store is retarded" as she stomped away. Someone should teach her social norms before they let her back out of the house or the institution that she came from that morning.
In the later portions of last week, I spent a couple of days in Altoona, PA working at one of our stores out there. As crazy as customers in Pittsburgh are, these customers made our looks like mother Theresa. For every 20 customers that I said hello to, 0 said hello back to me. For every 50 customers that I said hello to, 0 said hello back to me. Everyone there was rude, and struggled with the idea that you could not take merchandise out of the store without setting off the alarm. I saw multiple customers walk into the store pushing carts from Sears. I don't know whats in the water in Altoona, but I wasn't taking any chances. I only drank bottled beverages for those two days.
Much like every other experience in life, I used the things I learned there, applied them to my life, and brought them back to my store. I came home with a strong sense of appreciation for all of those that work at the 30176 and even an appreciation for those that shop at my store. Above all, I am thankful for the chance I was given to work with a new group of people across the state for a couple of days. It is great to know that I have an extended work family beyond the city of Pittsburgh.
Helping others is the best way to recognize your worth on this earth. The Dalai Lama once said, "Our prime purpose on this earth is to help others. And if you can't help them, at least don't hurt them."
Last week after church, I explained to 10-year-old Nick (Nickbball) what kinds of foods you did not need to eat. I told him that some foods give you belly fat, and told him not to eat too much candy. Yesterday, Nick gave away a large amount of candy to his younger cousins. He told me that he couldn't stop thinking about belly fat and that "It was like I was stuck inside of his head." Often, when you touch one life, there is a trickling down that occurs. I'm sure that Nick's cousins ate the crap out of that Easter candy.
You don't have to donate thousands of dollars to a charity to make a difference in the world. In fact, some of the most memorable actions are those that seem the smallest to those who offer them. Hold the door for someone, smile, say thank you, ask someone about their day, lend a helping hand, give someone a ride, make someone laugh, tell your friends how much they mean to you, do anything you can to positively impact the life of another human being.
And if, for some reason, you cannot find the courage or compassion in your heart or in your life to positively impact the lives of others, then don't you dare grace someone's life negatively.
Here's to doing something, anything, for someone that isn't yourself,
Xoxo
