Happy Tuesday, Everyone!
I had the most perfect weekend in Columbus with Cory and his family. They are all the most wonderful human beings on the face of the earth and I am so thankful and blessed to know them. Special thank you to my sister Chloe for keeping me laughing all weekend. You're so pretty. Lylas more.
However, Andrea told me that she is tired of hearing about my perfect life and specifically requested that I write a blog filled with tips for high school graduates moving to college.
Just so everyone can understand that my life is not perfect, you should all know that someone urinated in my fitting room yesterday so..... that was awesome.
Now, without further adieu......
1. Always keep your liquor in a water bottle. But, don't forget that all of your water bottles in the refrigerator aren't actually water. Freshmen year I watched a girl in my dorm chug a water bottle after a long run. It wasn't water. The result wasn't pretty.
2. If there is any chance that you may have a hungover throw up session, do not go to class. I've seen too many people throw up on themselves, their desk, and their lab partner. Save yourself the embarrassment and remember to drink less next time.
3. Your undergrad major really doesn't have any effect on your life whatsoever. For some reason everyone's major is always the topic of conversation. Your future career either won't care about what your major was or will require you to continue your education.
4. Spend the extra two dollars for the better liquor is completely worth it. Your stomach will thank you later. Freshmen year I could drink vladamir vodka like a champion. Sophomore year, first day back, I puked on myself as I removed the shot glass from my face. Lessons learned.
5. If you enter a party with more than five people, everyone will immediately know that you are a freshmen. Take your stupid lanyard off of your neck. Everyone knows what college you go to (because they go there too) and you can keep your keys in your pocket or purse.
6. Find a friend to go to the gym with and MAKE each other go. The dreaded "freshmen 15" really does exist and most people will gain more weight than that. Running into your fellow high school classmates at your local grocery store will be the highlight of your Christmas break.
7. If you buy a single book at the bookstore, you're too dumb to be in college. I mean seriously. Get a book list early on and buy or rent your book from a website. Don't anticipate any cash pay out when selling your books back at the end of the semester. Your 18th Century World History book will somehow miraculously have a new addition printed between September and December; making your edition absolutely useless.
8. Take advantage of your first year of classes. They are a cake walk. When junior and senior years roll around, you'll kick yourself for getting a C in that jazz class or freshmen seminar. Ultimately, those freshmen classes count for the same number of credits as your biology class and advanced composition.
9. The cafeteria food will make you shit your pants for the first couple of weeks. Just go with the flow, your body will adapt. If there is a food store within walking distance, go there for fruits and vegetables regularly.
10. Smoking cigarettes doesn't make you look cool no matter how funny you think it is at the time. It will only ensure that no one will kiss you that night.
11. Popularity no longer exists. If you think you're in the popular crowd in college, go back to high school, you're lost.
12. There is always one person that feels the need to share their opinion about everything in class. If you look around and you can't figure out who that person is.... it's you. So, stop talking because no one else around you wants to hear you keep blabbing on and trying to make irrelevant connections. We call this person the Classhole.
I was only supposed to list ten but I couldn't stop writing. I hope everyone has a very productive week and I will speak with everyone soon.
Here's to heeding the aforementioned advice,
Xoxo
Happy Monday, everyone!
This post will be short and sweet.
I was blessed to spend another Father's Day with my dad yesterday, and I have never been more thankful for anything in my life. As some of you may know, my dad spent many years of his life in and out of hospitals and on and off of transplant waiting lists. This was in the past, of course. But, we must keep in mind that the past; both good and bad, have helped to shape us into the human beings that we are today.
Reflection is some of the best medicine for the human mind and spirit.
This photo of my father and I was taken in 2009. At this point, my father received his first liver transplant and his body rejected the organ. At the time of this photo, he was unable to be placed back on the transplant list due to the many health issues that plagued his life for years.
This photo is painful for me to look at. It reminds me of a very painful time for my father and everyone involved in his life.
However, this is an important element to remind myself and to show everyone just how far he has come.
After many years, and many medical miracles, my dad is the healthiest that he has been my entire life. Because of the struggles that he and our loved ones endured, we treat every single day on this earth as a gift.
Those few years were rough. Tragic. Heartbreaking. At times; hopeless.
But, they strengthened our bond as a family and they developed the way that I view the world.
To the right is a photo of dad and I cruising along the Allegheny River yesterday for our dad's day celebration. He's so perfect. He's so healthy.
The moral of the story is; celebrate every day. There is something to be thankful for, always. Sometimes, you just need to find it. In a world of competitions, evil, hate, deadlines and narcissism; break away and find comfort in simplicity. Often times, we overlook being thankful for the basics and take for granted the things that come to us so naturally: a bed to sleep in, clean water, the clothes on our backs, food to eat, a job, great health.
If you live in thanks, your entire world will be changed. Find the people that you are thankful for and tell them. They'd love to hear it.
I genuinely hope that everyone has a great week. Until next time,
Here's to celebrating every aspect of this beautiful life <3
Xoxo
Happy Monday morning! <3
Before I get to this week's blog topic, I would like to address a situation that Megan and I were unfortunate enough to witness last week while on our lunch break. The two of us decided to go to my favorite place on earth (Aladdin's) for lunch and while we were there we were inadvertently forced to listen to a woman at a table next to us talking very loudly and proudly about breastfeeding. I mean, that's great for her. It's great that she had a baby, she seemed to be very happy. I appreciate happiness. If you know me, you know that's true. But, perhaps she could have talked to her friends about the milking process at a time and place where other people around her weren't trying to indulge in a meal.
Before lunch, I knew nothing about breastfeeding. In fact, besides the time that I accidentally walked into my cousin's bedroom while she had a breast pump on each nipple, I've never revisited the logistics of the feeding process. Now, I am practically a breastfeeding connoisseur. I even know about the milk drying up process when you stop breastfeeding. From what I understand from Betty breast-feeder, the drying process much resembles how the ground hardens after many consecutive, hot summer days with no rain. Allegedly, it's painful.
The point is, be aware of your surroundings. I certainly did not want to hear about her breast milk and all that goes along with it, and I am certain; based on my observations, that the others in the restaurant felt the same as me.
Last week, we had a ton of excitement at work! PJ got promoted out of Robinson Hco to be a DM in Buffalo, NY. Allison from Monroeville AnF was promoted to Robinson Hco, and my wonderful assistant manager and very good friend Keela was promoted from our store to be the SM at Monroeville AnF. Each one of you are absolutely awesome and I am so happy for you guys and your recent accomplishments! I am thankful that I was able to be apart of your promotion days!
Last week, when I first discovered that Keela was getting promoted, it was definitely one of the top 5 best moments of my life. The happiness that I felt was absolutely amazing. I kept her promotion a secret for two days; setting a record for the longest period of time that I have ever kept a secret.
There is something to be said about the bond that is formed between a group of people working together to accomplish a common goal. There is something to be said about agreeing on expectations, setting goals, formulating plans, crushing the goals, setting higher expectations, and so on and so forth. I am eternally grateful for every person that works in my store and I am looking forward to witnessing, firsthand, the success of your careers.
For the past five months, I have worked with an absolutely amazing team. We work our butts off every single day. And because we do, we can celebrate moments like Keela's promotion and we understand that every positive being exhibited from our store has been made possible by teamwork, not by individual efforts. You guys are phenomenal, and I am so glad to have each of you as a member of my team, but most importantly, as my friends. Good luck to you, Keela, as you begin your new journey and next step in your successful career.
What makes a successful career and drives a happy life? Let's talk it out, I've got a few tips.
Do something nice for a stranger. You don't have to pay their mortgage, just hold a door open for them, smile, ask how their day is... anything. Simple positive conversations occur so seldomly that they often baffle the person that you are speaking to. Sad, but true. Take my word for it.
Make a personal goal to teach something to someone each day. In the workplace, this is an incredibly valuable expectation.
Talk to others as one human being to another human being; job titles and superiority set aside. When respect is given, respect is earned. So, ditch the condescending tone and idea that you know more than everyone around you. If you really do know more than everyone around you; reevaluate.
Smile. Life is so much better when you smile and when the people around you are happy as well.
Utilize failures as a learning experience. You cannot succeed without identifying where you went wrong when you fell short.
Acknowledge that your attitude directly impacts those around you. Positivity and negativity are both contagious. Your attitude is one of the very few elements of your life that you have full control over; choose wisely.
Stop thinking about yourself. This world doesn't revolve around you. Live by the notion that you were put on this earth to enrich the lives of others. Live this way for one day, and you will never go back to your old ways again.
Be thankful for each day. For every single task that you complete, be grateful. There are people out there that do not have the means or the skill to do the things that you continuously take for granted.
Find someone or something that inspires you and motivates you. Never let that go.
Step outside. If you don't see the potential that you have in this beautiful world, you aren't looking hard enough.
Until next week~
Here's to living in such a way that if someone spoke badly of you-- no one would believe it,
Xoxo
Good Monday morning to each one of you! May this be your most productive week yet!
Please accept my apology for my two week blog writing sabbatical. I promise to make it up to you by updating you on the hilarity that has been my life for the past 14 days. I have titled this blog post based on the following stories and how they began as ordinary occurrences but quickly escalated to strange situations.
Two weeks ago my friends and I went to the Hofbrauhaus with some of our new found Columbus friends. There were about 15-20 people in our group, half of which were eating dinner. Our waitress; Sophia, was a friendly and cute girl. I believe she may have been roughly 21-years-old. She was running around trying to keep up with our beer drinking and food ordering. It goes without saying that we were not the only table that Sophia had that evening.
At some point, we were approached by a man named Justin wearing a blue polo that readily identified himself as a manager. He told us that he would be helping Sophia out since she was a newer server and because it was a busy evening. Justin told us that he used to be a server before he became a manager and even made a joke about how "it has been a long time since he'd done this," when he clumsily juggled three Dunkels, accidentally spilling some of their contents onto the ground.
Besides his name, Justin seemed fine to me. Seemed. Past tense. At some point, he mentioned to our large party that he was "Sorry about Sophia" and that mentioned that she was overwhelmed. "She's doing a great job," I told him. "She's alright," he said, "she's a little weird but she's alright."
Way to go, Justin. You're officially a douche AND a terrible boss. How embarrassing for someone in a position of power to have something negative to say about one of his associates. I don't know what Justin meant when he called Sophia "weird." In fact, "weird" is a very relative term. Regardless, I am sure that whatever quality that Sophia has that Justin has deemed to be out of the ordinary does not prohibit her to carry beers to her tables at the Hofbrauhaus. If anyone knows Justin or Sophia, please send them the link to this blog.
I am thankful that I work in an environment where everyone understands that talking about others does not make you look any better, it only makes you look immature.
Speaking of work, on Friday, two 15-year-old boys entered my store roughly 30 minutes before it closed. These two kids are frequent flyers at my store and more importantly, they are frequent mess makers. They come in, destroy the store, and leave without ever purchasing an item. In fact, sometimes they do buy something, but before they leave, they come back up to the register to return the item. Talk about buyer's remorse. I digress. My team had done a great job maintaining the store on Friday and for the first time in months, I knew that I would be able to leave the store in a timely manner. That is, until these two showed up. After I watched them destroy one room, I let them know that I would walk around with them and that if they needed any item, I would get it out of the stack for them. They ignored me and I watched them destroy everything they touched, spray each other with fragrances that they hadn't purchased and bump into other customers while running around like idiots. Finally, I approached them and told them that they needed to leave. Seems fair, right?
Wrong.
This 15-year-old lost his mind on me. He called me a bitch and requested that I give him a customer service card. I handed him a card, and he asked what my name was. "Nicole," I said. Then, he grabbed a pen and as he wrote my name, he spelled it out loud, "N....I...C...H...."
"Actually, there is no H. It's N.I.C.O.L.E."
At this point, this little shit turns around and announces to everyone in line, "No one should shop here, Nicole is a bitch." He continued saying this to each person he passed on the way out. Initially, I thought it was funny but then I realized that I actually couldn't stand this kid. I legitimately hope he gets a cavity and that his parent's insurance plan doesn't cover Novocaine.
Finally, these two kids left the store and I called security. Unfortunately, these kids will have to buy their summer clothes at Target, because after their little tantrum, they aren't allowed in the mall anymore. Do they have the customer service card? Yes. Do they know how to use email or spell? More than likely they do not.
Sucks to suck.
Other things that escalated quickly:
Stood at my storefront last weekend and inadvertently caught a boy stealing a couple of polos. Talk about being in the right place at the right time.
Heidi and Juleah decided to start an online donation center for the March of Dimes the day before our charity walk and raised over 700 dollars in 24 hours.
My friends and I decided to go to the club last weekend and some drama instantly broke out resulting in a verbal altercation between some friends over absolutely nothing at all.
Last, but certainly not least, I met a genuine human being that has changed my perspective on my previous and long-standing belief that every man in the world (except for my dad) is out to make every girl's life a living hell. I am so thankful for your presence in my life. You have already enriched each day more than you know.
Now, time for work! I hope that everyone has a great Monday and I promise I will write next week!
Here's to exceeding all of life's expectations,
Xoxo
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
