Back...ish

I just got back to Fairfax. Although I did enjoy the beach, I think that my family's condo is a bit small for my liking. It seems like Mom and I always fight at the beach and I think it's because we share a room there. I also feel kind of trapped because we only have one car at the beach, and Mom isn't too keen on me driving her Porsche unless she's in it as well.

Today we were all in good moods though...possibly because my parents and I spent last night sitting on our balcony overlooking the ocean with delicious drinks in hand. That was really fun and I wish this mood had characterized more of the trip. Dad makes excellent (strong) drinks.

I spent a lot of time in the sun today, trying to get tan. Although I got a little bit darker, it's nothing in comparison to my parents...especially Dad. They are so tan! It's crazy. I also have read about 450 pages of Stranger in a Strange Land...only 75 pages left. I probably read so much because I was stuck in the condo with not much else to do.

Goodbye, Blue Monday

Sarah and I walked to the lawn for free Arch's. It was really good...I would do almost anything for free Arch's. I am really excited for Sarah's 20th birthday on Wednesday--I know that will be fun. After the walk, I went to the HR office to submit information for my background check. Then I went to the grocery store to get some toothpaste and salsa. I haven't been feeling very great the past few days but I'm sure that it will pass (ice cream helps).

I'm going home to Fairfax on Thursday morning and my family and I are leaving for Ocean City, MD, that evening. I'm really looking forward to spending time with my family and relaxing on the beach (and reading!). I am really sad/jealous that I missed their trip to visit my Grandma in Hurricane, UT for her 70th birthday. It's feels strange that my family goes on so many trips without me. I guess that's just part of growing up.

I finished Everything is Illuminated today. I enjoyed it very much and I strongly prefer the book over the movie. Literature and film are completely different and it's difficult to compare them. My "to read" list is still really long so I have already started on my next book, The Bell Jar. I also really want to read up on conduct disorders considering that the research lab I will be working for is investigating interventions for the prevention of CDs. If only my 9-5 job could be reading books on my "to read" list.

The Phone Call

I finally got the phone call I was hoping for! Professor Melvin Wilson called me early this evening to offer me the position of Lead Examiner for the Early Steps Project with the Department of Psychology at UVA! I am so excited. I'm going to talk to HR tomorrow in order to figure out my start date, salary, etc., and to officially accept the offer.

After I got off the phone with Prof. Wilson, I immediately called my parents. My phone call interrupted a huge family dinner in celebration of my grandma's 70th birthday so the news was spread quickly. The restaurant they were at was overlooking the Grand Canyon. I'm jealous that I couldn't be there to experience that, but being in Charlottesville the past week and half has been worth it.

I'm finally legit and now I don't have to keep to my rule! I have a full-time "real person" job, so I am allowed to spend money at restaurants again (just not in a crazy way). Needless to say, I immediately ran out to dinner at Baja Bean with Camille W. to celebrate. I had a delicious margarita to compliment my meal and it was great. Now I'm going to have some wine and hang out with some friends.

Slip up

So I might have slipped a little bit on my rule. Yesterday, while on a nice little (hour long) walk to and from grounds with Sarah, I ran directly into a 5 dollar bill just chillin on the sidewalk. I was pretty excited (yay, money!). Later that evening, I felt the strong desire for Arch's ice cream and so I may or may not have allowed the mystery sidewalk person to take me to a date at Arch's. I know this is spending money out at a restaurant...but it wasn't technically MY money! Right? Give a girl a break...it's been five weeks since I started this thing and everyone deserves a little slip up.

I woke up at 6 am this morning to get ready for my "observation" today at the dental office I interviewed at. After learning a lot about the scheduling system, insurance, appointment types, potential questions, etc., for three hours, I was told to answer the phone so that they could see if I could handle it. I had to answer the phone and put it on speaker while the receptionist who trained me listened and observed. I was really nervous! Then after scheduling this "new patient" appointment, I found out that it was just the office manager on the other line, testing me! Fun stuff. At least the name of the office isn't a mouthful.

This blog posting from Colour Lovers made me really crave coffee...mmm. So now I'm drinking some.

Just pretending

Recently I have been thinking a lot about one of my favorite Kurt Vonnegut quotes: "We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be." I think that this statement is incredibly true and applies to so many things. I think that it's really easy to find yourself acting as if you are part of something while thinking that you can easily be separated from the group but, from an outside perspective, you are just as much a part of it. It's kind of like Mean Girls. Cady thinks she's better than the plastics but she's actually just become one.

On another note, I enjoyed eating one of Jimmy and Catherine's 4th of July cupcakes. The frosting was blue and it turned my lips, teeth, and fingers blue as well.


How attractive. I also got a sweet <3 USA ring that was on the top of the cupcake. Clearly, this cupcake was the best thing that happened to me yesterday. I'm not pretending that I love cupcakes, this love is real.

Waiting

I didn't get the phone call that I was hoping for yesterday but I am going in to the office I interviewed at for the receptionist position so that I can "observe" the office. So it goes. I'm going in on Tuesday the 7th at 8 am. I think this blog is going to become all about my search for employment post-undergrad. It's time to read the classifieds again.

I wasn't in a great mood yesterday because I didn't receive the phone call I wanted, but I felt better after working out with the tres locos. Endorphins! Then we went to the grocery store and made dinner like a cute little family.

Before we went to the grocery store, we stopped at Mac's house to get her car. While we were there Mac gave me a piece of art that her brother had made so that I could put it up in Loofahaus. Seeing other people's art makes me wish I took more time to make art myself. This sounds so diary-ish of me, sorry.

On another note, the Rilo Kiley concert is tonight in Richmond and I really wish I was going! Camille is going and I'm jealous. But I am trying to be good and not spend money in a frivolous manner.

The Strangers

I thought about going to work for a bit today but decided against it. I am too anxious for my phone to ring. I keep imagining what my response would be like if I get the job offer I want and I probably should stop thinking about it.

I had so much fun last night. After a good work out, Mac, Kyle, Sarah and I went to the grocery store and bought some food to make dinner and then rented "The Strangers" from Blockbuster. Just renting the movie was enough to make us start freaking out. When we got to Sarah's to prepare dinner, we realized we didn't have a microwave to heat up the macaroni so Sarah and I headed to my house to work on that while Kyle and Mac started the rest of the meal. Little did we know, Kyle and Mac were planning to play a trick on us. Twenty minutes later we headed back to Sarah's house and saw right away that one of Sarah's three life-sized stuffed dolls was hanging in the doorway as if it had hanged itself. Once we walked in the door, we realized that all of the lights were out and I could see the shadow of a second figure hanging from a window across the room. I immediately starting screaming because I thought that Kyle and Mac were going to jump out and scare us. So there I am screaming and trying to turn on a light (which was actually the porch light--so it was going on and off rapidly) and Sarah is screaming and trying to turn on the lights. Finally we make it to the kitchen (where another stuffed doll hangs creepily) and we realize that Kyle and Mac aren't in the house. They had been following us to see our reactions. Apparently you could hear my screaming from up the street. Then we had a cute dinner followed by a viewing of "The Strangers" during which I closed by eyes and screamed the whole time. I definitely wasn't happy sleeping alone in my bed last night.