my epiphany.

so the job is tolerable now. i know people, people know me, and i'm not as awkward. i've actually had FUN at work of a few occasions. most of that fun takes place over in gifts & home and the bridal salon. menswear is alright, i like the girls that work there but the men annoy me. so here is my epiphany:

i want to work in bridal. any way i can, i want to work with a bridal salon either as a consultant, a buyer, or perhaps someday even a purchaser of a wedding dress myself. hehe.

here's why:

1. it's a lovely atmosphere. that's the best word to describe it. everything is white and ethereal and gorgeous. i want to be surrounded by lovely.

2. the customers that come into bridal salons are happy all the time. you're working with women who recently got engaged...those types of people are in great moods and are very hard to accidentally piss off. 

3. it's a concentrated part of fashion. you're dealing with wedding gowns, veils, bridesmaid dresses, and shoes. that's it. no jeans/shirts/sweaters/dresses/pants or a bunch of other crap to have to style. it's simple and lovely. all things are easy to put together.

4. there are bridal salons in practically every city at every price point. it will be easier to find a job where i want. 

5. As a consultant, you usually have your own office and fitting room, you take appointments, and you don't have to walk around and say, "can i help you find something?" it's implied. everyone that walks into a bridal salon needs a wedding gown or bridesmaid dress, simple as that. it's not like working at a mall. stupid malls.

6. did i mention it's just a lovely atmosphere?

so there you have it folks. my epiphany. i love all things bridal. it's retail at it's finest. 

love.

ps. i got to try on 2 wedding dresses retailing at $7,000 and $9,000! they were gorgeous. pictures to come. 

sinking in.

I'm pretty mad while I'm typing this right now. I have no real reason, I just feel mad. I started the job at Stanley Korshak yesterday and it went really well. The place is amazing, huge, and the people are really friendly. I'm just the new girl. I stand around asking to help and watching people do their jobs and then the real employees give me little jobs to do...like fold, go get mail from their box, pick up shipments, fetch beverages for clients...you know. I'm the intern. At least I'm doing a boring job in a beautiful place, right?

Well, it certainly is beautiful. Full of very nice employees and very snobby clients. Seriously, these people are from a different planet. I bring one of the salespeople a beer for their client (the only beer I found in 2 of the fridges...) "oh, he doesn't drink domestic beer, sweetheart, get the [foreign one in a green bottle]". OH, I WASN'T AWARE THAT PEOPLE LIKE THAT EXISTED...I'M FROM AUSTIN. Y'all, I'm not kidding, I'm the hillbilly of the whole place. 

I'm taking it all out on this job unfairly, though. I don't loathe Stanley Korshak. People there are very sweet to me and the opportunity is incredible. About 3 minutes ago I realized that I am mad because I see no end in sight. Correction: I see no end, that I want to see, in sight. What gets me through sucky days like this is the fact that I have a life separate from the sucky day. I'll be able to just go home and sit with Boston, or make up some fun plans with girlfriends, or just sit and watch CSI with Brady. Today I came home to my parents and Grandma. I love them, I do. But when I explain my irritations, I hear, "well, that's just your internship, it's preparing you for the real job." Or, I'll get reprimanded for saying "frickin". I'm pretty sure my mom almost got out a wooden spoon (whilst giving me the look of death) because she thought I said the real F word. Of course my Grandma agreed with her, "oh yes, I did hear her say the real F word." Whatever. My life is no longer my own. The end that is in sight is the end of my internship and the beginning of a great new job. But the end that I wish with all my heart was in sight is a time when I can see all my friends again. The end where I don't have to be far away and I can say "frickin" whenever the frick I want. The end where I know exactly when the next kiss with Brady will happen. Now I just don't know when all that will be. And Boston is sitting in my mom's lap right now.

I miss you. 

Beginnings & Endings

It's the new year. I'm really not big about them...I mean, people make these huge plans for "New Year's Eve", make resolutions they throw out the window by February, and get all sentimental about the previous year being over. 

*See Resolutions below*

However, I do find myself dealing with some significant changes with the arrival of 2008. I moved back to Arlington and live with my parents. I'm starting an internship that will serve as the foundation for my career. My closest friends are spread out across the globe. Brady and I are about to celebrate our 1 year anniversary in separate cities. 2008 is going to be pretty crazy, different and exciting, so I welcome it. Goodbye, Austin. Goodbye Old Laura.

Here's the Agenda for the next few weeks:

January 4: Boston gets her stitches removed 

January 5: Attend a hometown friend's wedding...wierd!

January 6: Do a little shopping for some clothes to wear to the new job (I don't want to look trampy...)

January 7: Maybe catch a movie with Bethany, catch up with some friends, pack

January 8-11: LUBBOCK FOR A GLORIOUS REUNION

January 14: My first day on the job.

*Hopefully I'll see Brady sometime this month...

Oh yea...here are my Resolutions (that will hopefully last past February)

1. Exercise regularly and try to get more flexible

2. Eat healthier (aka. not fast food for every meal)

3. Start my Prayer Journal again

4. WORK HARD.

I'm pretty confident that I'm going to enjoy 2008. 

Woman's Best Friend.

Today I took Boston to the veterinary clinic at 8AM. I made the decision not to breed her, so this particular appointment was to get her spayed (that's a puppy hysterectomy). She will be put under, have surgery, and stay overnight. The reason she must remain at the vet overnight is because she will be very groggy and tender, so exciting her with people attempting to care for her would not be good, vet policy. Don't worry, I left her blankie. In addition to this procedure, I asked the vet to clip her nails short (it's hard to do that when they're awake). Her adult teeth were not coming in properly so the vet will also have to pull some baby teeth. After I dropped her off and watched her get a big bad shot (that caused a horrifying shriek), I went back home and got back in bed and worried. A while later, I received a call from the vet saying that everything went well and that she's fine. Then came the "BUT". 

The incision on her tummy was supposed to be 1/4". However, she had bleeding problems, so he had to open her up a full inch (keep in mind that 1" on her is like a 6" gash on you). He then took skin from her leg to test it for mange (he had suspected it from some strange dry skin patches and small bump on her head)...which came back positive. He also had to pull some of her baby teeth that were restricting the growth of her new teeth. 

Long story short, my sweet little 5-lb baby Bostie is laying in a kennel with sore gums, a skinless leg, barely-there toenails, MANGE, 1 inch of stitches across her little pink belly, and no uterus. It makes me want to cry. 

Brady and I are going to pick her up in the morning at 8AM. If you're wondering what we're doing tomorrow, it's laying on the couch with Boston...all day. I feel so bad. 

Holiday Post

Merry Christmas, people! I hope everyone is having a lovely holiday, I know I am :)

Brady and I were supposed to be apart from the time I left Austin (on the 17th) until the 27th (when we have tickets to the Mavs/Cavs game - our Christmas present to each other). However, Brady ended up surprising me last Friday and we've been together ever since. We spent Christmas with my family Fri-Mon, and came to Hamilton yesterday and will be here until we go back to Arlington on Thursday for the game. Then I'm going to ride back to Austin with him on the 30th and come back to the DF-Dub with Bethany on the 2nd-ish. Superfun. 

Speaking of Super...Brady and I watched 'Superbad' last night, and it was just that...super bad. Do not watch this movie. There were about 3 funny parts...none of which I remember because they were not really even noteworthy.

I'm very excited about going back to Austin, although it won't be the same without A). my stuff and B). a few key people. BUT! I'll still get to see lots of people that I love and adore, so I will still be ECSTATIC to be back, if only for a few days. 

PS. The bachelorette pad is complete now. Boston and I got a 47" flat screen HDTV. And a puppy couch. 

Day 5 of missing you terribly.

I say "you" because chances are, if you're reading this, it's because you care about me...and I probably care about you too.

Things haven't been all sad, though. Bethany and I got to spend pretty much all day yesterday together. We did some Christmas shopping and ate at Black Eyed Pea, it was SO good. Today was yet another illustration of how corn does not digest...you all know I have strange pooing habits. 

Anyhoo, in other news, I got my hair did today. My good friend Heather (from Arlington - we've been great friends since 1st grade, PRECIOUS!) recommended her hairstylist to me, so I went in 

for my appointment today. I decided to deviate from the black and go back to my natural brown color and clean up my layers a bit - after that stupid toni & guy punk butchered my head. I'm really happy with it. I'll probably grow it out soon too. 

I'm sure this is all just fascinating news to you, but that's all I got. Not an hour goes by that I don't miss Austin: the-way-it-was-Austin, that is. 

love.

...

I'm sitting in a dark, empty room on a blow-up mattress, my parents snoring 3 feet away. I'm not worried about waking them with the clicking of my laptop keys because of their incessant snoring and because they are so tired. So tired, in fact, that my dad still has his shoes on. We packed up my life here in Austin, and it's all sitting in a U-Haul outside our little house with the red door on Avenue B. 

Finishing high school is nothing like finishing college. Sure, there are similar changes: you're growing up, saying goodbye to loved ones and hello to a new, scary world, packing up your life...but nothing can prepare you for finishing college. It's harder. There's no promise of living in a community setting, or opportunities to easily make new friends, or ways to be an adult and a kid at the same time. You have to be an adult, period. I have often heard people say, "college was the best years of my life"... and then it hits. The "best years" that you've been living, that you looked forward to when you were young, are over. You realize that you agree with that statement and can only pray that it isn't true. I like to think that these "best years" will act as a catalyst to make us maintain the "best years of our life", keep them going on so that instead, you can say, "when I got to college, my life began."

Monday will be hard. I'm driving back to Arlington with the remains of my Austin-life packed in the seats of my jeep.

But it's alright, it's going to be alright. I know it will be. 

love.