The Perfect Number: 7

Okay, so I've been tagged to write seven random facts about myself by Erica. This is gonna be interesting, so bear with me.

Fact #1: I have a very active imagination. Okay, so that's a pretty boring one unless you understand what I mean by active imagination. (Now to the embarassing part of this fact) Though I haven't done so in the past couple of years one of my favorite activities is to live in the world of others, particularly books. I spent several several...several hours playing Harry Potter in my bedroom. I got so obsessed with the books I read them so many times I didn't even have to turn the page to know what the next words were. I have (note the still present) lists of all the spells that J.K. Rowling ever used in any of her books. I even made myself a wand. On top of that I saved several different coins to pretend they were the coins of wizards. Now that's out of the way, the rest of these facts just might be boring...

Fact #2: I potty trained myself. That's right. No need for parents to take me to the little potty and give me stickers for making it on time. One day I came home and told my parents I no longer wanted to wear diapers. I was about 18 months old (or young) and was basically trained from that point on. Sure, accidents may have happened...now to the next fact...

Fact #3: My favorite scent is vanilla. I just love it! I think it's a charming and romantic scent. I also happen to love the taste in cakes anc such. So much better than chocolate. That one just came to my head beacuse of the lotion I'm wearing right now that isn't vanilla and is kinda making me dizzy from how strong it is (I think I should have shaken the bottle).

Fact #4: I don't like chicken. There's just something about chicken that doesn't taste yummy to me. I'll eat it, especially if it's well hidden like in a soup or pasta type dish, but I have a really hard time eating just plain chicken. It's just...yucky to me. I think this hatred was enhanced by my trip to Europe when I had to eat chicken every day for lunch and dinner. It was hard to eat that much greasy food. Bleh. So now I'm very much a beef loving girl.

Fact #5: I enjoy playing WoW--short for World of Warcraft. I really know nothing of the game, but I happen to have a great time playing. I'm actually getting better after playing for just over a year... Granted, most of that year I wasn't playing because I couldn't get the game while living on campus.

Fact #6: I like cake decorating. I never thought I could get into it, but it's a challenging and quite exciting experience. I did it once for a cake walk I did for one of my jobs. I made a pretty barbie cake and enjoyed it quite a lot! I've decided I'd like to take cake decorating classes to get better at it and see if I really like it.

Fact #7: I'm a big baby. Really, I am. When things don't go right or there's something sad, I cry. Big fat tears. I usually try to hide it because crying is not the most attractive look in the world, but I'm a big baby. Happy endings, sad endings, love endings, they all make me cry.

So there you have it. Seven random (I'd like to put more emphasis on random) facts about me. Hope you all enjoyed! Oh, and I tag Ben and Rachel to do this same thing! Find seven random facts about yourself and post them someplace (or even just email them! :D) so we can all learn more about you too!

"Who am I?"

I bet that's the question everyone is asking...well, I mean about me, who am I. At least if you've been wondering what has happened to me in the last week or so, you might be wondering who I am to not be posting when I've made the craziest change in my life! Yes, I switched to Geico insurance! Actually, I don't know who I'm covered by because I'm still covered by my parents' insurance. Well, the big change is what I've been waiting for since April this year, I've moved to Washington state! Isn't that exciting! I know it is for me. Right now I'm living with a married couple that has an eighteen month old child. They're a very nice family to let me take over a room and bathroom. I'm assuming the reason they're renting this room out is because they need the money, but it might also be because they heard my prayers and felt they should offer me a place to stay. Daniel is in the military and will be gone for three months so it will just be the wife, the kid, and me. Though Melissa, the wife, says she'll be gone most of the time so I'll have the place to myself a lot. Which is great and not so great because I, right now, feel uncomfortable using the kitchen and being in the living room. So I've spent literally all of my time there in my room. But oh well. Once I get a normal schedule going I'll probably spend some time in the gym that they have. Or one of the indoor or outdoor pools they have! I also live by a lake, though I have yet to find said lake. Nor have I been looking for it, exactly. It was beautiful and sunny for the three days my mom was here with me, and then it started raining Thursday and has hardly quit. I love the rain! It feels so wonderful being here!

So far I haven't found a job. None of the places I've applied to have called back and I haven't mustered up the will to start applying to new places yet. I'm exhausted from the move and just want some time to relax. Isn't it amazing that you can get exhausted from driving? It wasn't too bad of a drive, though my mom and I did have to stop to stay the night. We stayed in Ontario. That's right, Ontario, Oregon! I would put pictures up of the drive but I didn't think to take any as I drove the entire time and my camera was packed away somewhere in the depths of my car. But it was mostly flat then there were a lot of trees. Basically like from driving through Salt Lake Valley into the mountains where the trees are. Lots of green. It was gorgeous! The ocean, however, (because my mom and I saw the ocean from afar) looked disgusting and gray. Let's just say I was glad I didn't have to go swim in it. Nonetheless, we had a great time and my mom's uncles were just grand! They've offered to help me as much as they can in regards to finding a job. I laughed because the one uncle I stayed at has a huge house that they use only a corner of but they still couldn't manage to find me a room to stay in for a long period of time. Oh well. The purpose of my coming out here was to find a way to live on my own, having my own apartment accomplishes that. Besides, if I were to stay there I'd have to figure out how to find my own place AND a job. Now I just have to worry about the job. I have a week left to find something good, otherwise it'll be back to payless or some sort just to make ends meet until I can find something serious. It's long hard work, but it should be worth it in the end.

So I felt like making a goals chart, just to see what I can do.
__find apartment (check)
__find job
__make friends (maybe :S)
__live happily ever after! :D

Anyway, I didn't make it through that seriously enough so I'll move on. Hopefully I'll be able to have my friends come visit me because it would be great to show them around and show them why I fell in love with the area. And that's about it. Right now I'm just avoiding finding a job on the internet because I don't seem to do so well, however, I've found some new keywords to toss into the mix of my searches! Yay, go me! :D

I wish I had a million dollars $$$

Well, just another update because I'm anxious, nervous, and all those bad things that don't do well for life. I spent yesterday couchridden because I hurt my back. I'm too stressed. But no worries, all is better and I can move around again. I'm counting down the days until I'm supposed to head out to Washington and the numbers get smaller and smaller and yet I still don't have anything. I've had a few calls from people inquiring about me being their roommate but I said no to the guys and the other one I can't afford until I have a job, because she wants a deposit plus the first month's rent. Yes, I knew moving would be expensive and I knew some places would ask for a deposit but I didn't think I would be paying for two months worth of rent and not even be guarenteed the two months. I'm scared. Yet I'm still excited. I've applied for some regular, run-of-the-mill jobs (actually Payless and a few other retail stores). I'm sending an application in by mail that is for a government position. That's one I'd rather have over Payless because I'd actually get some editing experience. Still no word from my uncle (who isn't a bishop but in a bishopric) about any of the singles in his ward needing a roommate, but I do have permission to go stay with another of my grandma's brothers who lives in Washington for a couple of days so I can find something. I'm hoping to stay for a week so I have a place to look go home to after looking at/for apartments and finding a job.

The reason I wish I had a million dollars is so I could just go and get my own apartment. It's scary to try and find something with someone when you're not sure if they'll be compatible. Besides, I don't have a job to give people the security that I can pay rent. It just doesn't cut it when you say "I have saved money" and all that jazz because that's not security. Nor do I dare tell people how much I have saved because that's just plain personal. If I had a million dollars I could just buy my own townhouse or condo or something like that and be done with it. Then I'd still have money to just use while I spend my time writing for fun. I'd still want to work because sitting at home all the time is a very boring job (take it from someone who has done so for a month now).

Here's to hoping things work out for however they're supposed to work out, because I'm assuming my way is the wrong way.

Back on down...

So, as of today, nothing big has happened. No news. No word. No nothing. I at least thought I'd hear something back from my uncle, but it looks like that might not happen and I'll have to put forth more effort to get ahold of him. Which I'm so willing to do as this is all for me to go out and do something I've been wanting to do. And I suppose I thought I might at least get some sort of rejection notice from places, but I suppose that doesn't happen in the real world. Only for writing, and I'm not even sure everyone does that. Other than that I've not been doing anything. I'm trying to help my dad sell a van (if you happen to know anyone looking for a good van, go ahead and send me a comment, it's a pretty nice van!) and help them remodel the basement bedroom (which was supposed to be enticement for me to stay here instead of move away) by keeping things a little more organized than usual. Sorry there's really nothing new to report. I wish there was, believe me I do. But I guess I'll just spend my time writing and trying to sell some of that stuff, good stuff, mind you, not blogs like this. (and ewww, my sister and her boyfriend are "wrestling" on the couch--it's actually him tickling her and her telling him to stop.)

Looking up!

So I know it's a bit soon for me to be posting already as nothing has really happened in the past twenty-four hours that would seem to be exciting. Well, my grandma, who has a brother that lives in the Seattle area, has finally given me contact information so I can talk to him. He's (and I find this ironic that you mentioned to do this, Tasha) the bishop of a Single's ward in Seattle and knows girls that are looking for roommates. So that's one less task I have to worry about! Well, I mean, I still have to worry, but it shows that things do start looking up, even on cloudy days like today. I'm excited to get to know family I've never met before and get where I want to. I'm excited to have things start to work out. Hopefully I'll be contacted by the end of the week from one or more of the internships I've applied to. (Or I might just have to go work at Home Depot to earn some extra cash...) I'm actually hoping that if an internship doesn't work out that a job at Barnes and Noble will! I love bookstores and would DIE to work in one! I've applied every summer since I started college and have never been able to get a job with one, but as it's getting closer to Christmas, seasonal hiring is just GRAND! :D Well, that's about it for now.

Life Update

Well, I thought I'd give everyone a current update of what's been going on in my life. I have recently applied for three internships and a job at Barnes and Noble, all in Washington--the Seattle area, to be precise. I'm hoping something works out. I know I'm only on four of what will turn out to be a million applications, but we can still hope that something will work out!

Right now my biggest concern is finding a place to live. Everything I thought would work out hasn't yet. So that's my annoyance right now. I'm hoping to find a two-three bedroom apartment with roommate(s). I'd like to have my own bedroom and bathroom--though the latter I can deal without--as well as some people that are generally clean. I like clean. I'm looking for cheap but I doubt that will happen. It's crazy hard trying to find a job in a different state not knowing if you can find somewhere that will help you make the bills or if you're going to have to work two or three jobs. I'm pretty sure I'll be doing at least two jobs (hopefully one will be an internship so I can start getting experience (hehehe! I almost put XP)). I'm also hoping my second job will be full time and pay well but flexible on the hours so I can do the internship part, as that is my biggest priotiry. I might have to take on cleaning people's houses...I wonder if that pays well.

Anyway, I'm still keeping up as much hope as I can. Life will certainly move on no matter what. I just hope it goes a little like I would like it too...though I'm not keeping up much hope for that.

Job Hunting

Well, so far I've had no luck in finding a job. In fact, I'm almost thinking I'm bound to work as an intern just for the ability to get my foot in the door. If that happens, oh well. I'll just have to work another or two side jobs in order to get my own place. In the meantime, I'll still be busy looking for jobs. I might have to start getting some hints from our newly employed friend, Tasha! She had great innovation to go out and find something and she ended up getting something she wanted. I know she worked hard because everytime I got the chance to talk to her she was just getting ready to run to another job interview. I am scared to get to that level...which is part of the reason I've been half looking for a job and half just enjoying life and travelling.

Speaking of travelling, I've just returned from Seattle where I had a great time with Paul as we celebrated his birthday. I hope he had as great a time as I did--even if he did have to work. While he was busy earning money I was busy making a portfolio for myself. Great fun. Let me tell you. I learned that for what I want to go into for a career spending time working on a portfolio is of the greatest benefit for myself. So here I work hard and get frustrated as I can't choose what to put in my portfolio because NOTHING I've written is really finished and it's just a lot of hard work. Oh well, though. I'll work hard, still. Following Tasha's grand example and make things work out for me. That's about all that has happened to me in the past week.