Steadily Getting Better...

I’ve had a really good week! My stuff came on Monday, like I said. It’s good to have my things back. Like it’s the BEST THING EVER to be able to sleep in my own bed.  And now I can watch movies instead of sitting there in silence with no Internet. Haha. At the same time though, it feels kind of strange. Like this is actually real. And it’s weird because I can’t unpack and settle. It’s hard. I’m trying to keep in mind that Carl and I aren’t staying at that house, but it’s difficult to not get used to the way things are.  I can’t wait to be in this new place and be able to be organized. All of the boxes are seriously stressing me out. That being said, I would rather take that stress than the stress of not having my things. My dad is actually going to come out here in a couple weeks to help me move and get this house ready to be sold or rented out. I am excited for him to get here; it will help me feel less overwhelmed.

I took Carl to the dog park last night. It was one in Gilbert (a 40 minute drive), which you may think is insane to go that far, BUT it has a lake for the dogs to swim! I’ve wanted to get Carl to swim for a while now, and now that I’ve found this place, he’ll finally be able to learn. Yesterday he didn’t go past where he could touch, and since it was his first time in water, I let him do what he was comfortable with. Next time, I think I’m going to push him in. Just to at least show him that he CAN swim. Anyway, it was a lot of fun watching all the dogs play in the water. When I first got there, there were only two other dogs, and their owner wasn’t super nice. But then a whole lot of people started to come, and a majority of them were golden retrievers; it was cool. This park really was the coolest I’ve seen. It’s going to have to be a special thing, since it was so far away. Next time we’re going to go to one that is closer.

Today has been a really good day. I mean, I had to work at 4am (gag), but this open went a lot better than my last one. Today, at work, I really felt comfortable. The most comfortable I have since I came. I even got to be on bar for in-store. I think I did pretty well. The new machines aren’t that hard to get used to. I’m glad I finally got to be on bar. I got off at 10, which normally means a big long nap after work. But, a girl from work invited me to go to a movie. I was really excited. We went to go see Don’t be Afraid of the Dark, the new Guillermo Del Toro movie (a post about that later).  It was a lot of fun to go to the movies with her. J. Tomorrow is actually my first close ever. It’s going to be strange, but I like working at both times of the day. Hopefully it goes well and people don’t get too frustrated with me.

 After the movie, Carl and I came to Barbara’s. I need to clean up the evidence of us being here for when she gets back. I figured since I don’t work until 2:30 tomorrow that I could use this time to do that.

Last, but not least, tomorrow is my best friend, Elizabeth's, 21st birthday. I am so sad that I can't be there to celebrate, but I know she'll have a good time regardless. Happy Birthday Tico!! I love you and miss you! We'll celebrate hardcore when you come here.

Getting in the swing of things

       Since I last posted, things have definitely been winding down and (kind of, almost) getting normal. I worked all weekend, which is definitely back to normalcy, and had an even better time at work this weekend than I did my first day. The people I worked with were so welcoming. One girl told me we should go to the dog park sometime, and they all gave me their numbers. I just really felt totally comfortable. I think this also had to do with the fact that I was in drive thru. Comfort zone for sure. My friend Jillian from work lent me an air mattress. See? just super nice after just meeting her.
      The precursor to that is that I finally had to break down and stay at my place. It just isn't practical for me to keep driving back and forth every day. So, I got Barbara's roll-away bed out of the deep trenches of her garage. (Really, it was kind of a lot of work to get it out, and I left about a foot and a half scratch on Janice in the process). I knew it wasn't going to be like super comfortable, but man, I had no IDEA what I was getting myself into. When I finally got the thing flattened out, it was about 6 inches too short for me. Figures. There must have been no tall people (I'm not even that tall) back in the 60s because Barbara also has an old bed that I sleep on when my parents are here with me, and I have to lay diagonally to fit on that too. So I pushed my coffee table to the end of the bed to extend it kind of. THEN I layed down on it. No support whatsoever. The worst part of the whole thing though was me just picturing the cockroaches crawling all over the walls and floors every time I shut my eyes. But anyway, enough about a bed. Jillian's air mattress was like 23948305 times better. So, THANK YOU JILLIAN.

      Okay, so Thursday was the start of the new school year. It's hard to explain how weird it feels to be back in school. Especially here. Even though I took classes at Heartland, I basically feel like I took a whole year off of school. My first class was Human Sexuality. As you can imagine, it's going to be pretty interesting. The professor is this older, cooky lady, and she's pretty funny and very approachable. I think I'm going to like that class. Friday I had Geology, and science is science is science, so I don't like it. But the professor seems really cool. Screenwriting was cool yesterday. It was in a building I had never been in before, so that was cool. And it's a professor I've already taken a class from, and there is even a girl from all my film classes freshman year in there, and she remembered me! It was nice (and also weird) to see her. Race and Gender is going to be like every other film class. I'm not looking forward to most of the screenings, but we got to watch The Hangover last night. The only class that I am absolutely going to dread is my computer class. Not only is it eerily similar to a class that I was failing so I dropped it freshman year, but it also is just long and boring and he's monotone and I just surf the internet.

      That's all for right now. I'm exhausted and am frankly surprised I'm still awake. More tomorrow!

BUT GOOD NEWS: I GOT MY STUFF. HOORAY! Just had to share that.

Staying Positive is Key.

This is not my house, but you get the idea. OLD PIPES

      And I'm really trying very hard to stay positive. There just hasn't really been anything, and I mean ANYTHING going my (our) way. It's been almost ridiculous, actually. Like, how many bad things can happen to one family in the course of one move. I mean seriously. It's made me a little down in the dumps lately, too. The thing that really got to me was a whole plumber situation. Well, first of all, the plumber was supposed to come Monday after I was off work because I was already going to be in Phoenix. So I got off work, went to my place, and just sat. All by myself. No TV. No Internet. No Furniture. I just watched The first season of True Blood on my computer. I sat there for three hours. Finally my mom called me and said that they came early (like before I got off work) and no one was there, so they left. Well obviously no one was there! That's why we said to come after NOON. They even called a phone and no one answered and they STILL came. Idiots. So I just wasted my whole day there, and that made me need to make yet another trip to Phoenix, which is an hour away from Barbara's house. But anyway, I went back on Tuesday, and he came around 10:30, and I thought this was going to take maybe two hours tops. All he was doing was fixing a leak. Well, since the place is so old, all the pipes are galvanized or whatever, so they're all rusted. He fixed the leak with a copper replacement pipe, which took over two hours, and as soon as that was done, the next joint up started leaking. Great. He couldn't fix that one because it was going vertically, and he would have to like take out the tub upstairs. We're trying to sell this place, keep in mind. If I would have known about the ancient plumbing, I never would have bought it, and I don't know anyone in their right mind who would. So basically he put a temporary fix on it to stop the leak for now, but he said we're going to have to replace all those old pipes.   Six hours and $500 later, we're in worse shape than we were before he came. If just that cost 500, I can't even imagine how much replacing those pipes would be. Too much for us to afford, I can tell you that.

     So that sucked/sucks. I just can't believe all of this awful luck we're having. My stuff still isn't spoken for. They say that they're still going to be here at the end of the week, but I don't see how. Assholes. I did get that place that I posted pictures of, which is good news, but of course that couldn't go off without a hitch, either. I had all these papers to sign, and I have no idea how to work a fax machine. So I thought I'd scan them, since I know how to do that. Barbara's scanner is like the slowest thing I've ever seen. It took about a minute per page (at least 15 pages), and I had to do it twice because there was a type-o and I missed a place to initial. I kept telling the realtor guy that I was working on it, but he kept calling me every five minutes anyway, saying he doesn't have it yet. No shit, it's still going through my scanner. Once the scanner was finally done, the file was too big to email, so I had to fax it anyway. With help from the neighbors, I got it. They accepted our offer, but the HOA fee is going to go up from $140/mo to possibly as high as 250. There's the catch of this operation.

But school starts today so I'm trying to keep moving forward. It feels like everything is trying to stop this whole thing. But whatever. I am handling it better than I ever would have in the past, which I'm proud of myself for.

Back at the Buxx

Yesterday was my first day at my new Starbucks in Phoenix. It’s at the corner 7^th Ave and Missouri, and is only a few blocks away from where I am going to live. So that’s nice. I had been in there a couple times before to get my schedule, but only a couple of the people I met those times were there, so I got to meet new people. I can’t tell you how nervous I was. Not only was it a brand new store with brand new people, but I haven’t worked at all in 2 and a half weeks, and it’s definitely a job you get rusty at. So there was that.

My first shift was a short one, which I was thankful for. Easier to get back in the swing of things. I got there about 15 minutes early and talked to the ASM (assistant store manager, Shelby) for a little while. She told me I was going to be up front which was both relieving and nerve racking at the same time. I think in my 10+ months at Morrissey I worked up front less than 5 times. It was like, in theory I knew everything that had to be done, but I had never actually done it in practice. Their way of doing the coffee cadence is weird. They only use one brewer the whole morning, and the bold coffee is all the way on the other side of the store. I was extremely confused at first, but I finally got it.  And I was just completely lost at doing the pastry case.  Because not only did I RARELY even have to touch the pastry case at Morrissey, but they do that differently here, too.  Anyway, I was thankful to not have to be on bar on my first day. They have different espresso machines here, so someone is going to have to show me how to use them. There was me not even knowing how to work the machines, and like I said, super rusty. So even though I was not that familiar with running the front, I am thankful for the ease back into the routine.

The people are really nice so far. I wish I weren’t so shy when I first meet people, but I know I’ll get over it soon. I’m looking forward to that. Hopefully I can get along with these new partners even a fraction of how I fit in with my Morrissey family. In the meantime I’m trying to force myself to mix in with people faster, talking to customers more and things like that. Sean, my manager, took about 45 minutes to sit and talk with me and get to know me, and that was really nice.

Overall, I think I did a pretty good job. Being at a store in a big city is intimidating coming from the slowest store in a city about a fifth of the size of this one (I don’t know if that’s accurate, but you get the point). I think my biggest problem was that I felt this unrealistic pressure to be knowledgeable and on top of the routine, which is an almost impossible expectation to have on myself. I know I didn’t feel like that when I first started; I guess I just wanted to be impressive. They do things a lot differently, and it’s just going to take some getting used to. I know that I learned quickly at Morrissey, so I hope this doesn’t take too much longer. Breaking habits is harder than creating them, though. I am just really excited to be back at work. It felt so weird not working for as long as I have; especially after 70 hour work weeks this summer. Staying positive, and being open to new things is what I’m focusing on.

I sure do miss everyone at Morrissey though…. A lot.

The Help

Well the first movie I saw on my own in my new life in Arizona was The Help. I loved it.  I haven’t read the book, but my mom did, and her reaction to it is what made me interested in this movie. The previews made it seem really cheeky, which I’m normally not in to, but the cheeky-ness really made this movie fun. It had a really good mix of comedic relief along with the heavy core of the story line. It wasn’t cheesy that much really, but it was very smart comedy. I think that civil rights movies are so interesting. Those southerners sure were CRAZY. The Help really was held up by really remarkable performances. All of the housewives were great. They weren’t just one dimensional, and Bryce Dallas Howard was fantastic as Hilly. Her superiority complex and openly racist performance really was brave. And she did a great job of being a stuck-up b*tch. What I was really happily surprised by was Emma Stone. I never really expected her to be in this type of movie. I love her, but I never really thought she could carry a movie with a serious message. You couldn't even recognize her scratchy voice, and she sounded very natural with a southern accent. Everyone did a great job in this movie; the cast was very well-selected. Viola Davis was very charming, and her and Octavia Spencer make you feel like you're their friend. They're completely relatable, and I truly felt for them.  This really was a great movie. I had a great time watching it, and kind of want to go see it again.  

There's Disaster Afoot!

        And even "disaster" is sort of an understatement. Where to begin? I guess I'll just go in order of how I found these things out.
      
        Moving is freaking expensive. Not only is there a lot of buying that has to be done if it's your first big move like it is for me, but finding someone to take your things cross-country is not cheap! U-haul was about $2000 to rent the truck for three days, and on top of that, the mover has to load it, unload it, drive it, and pay for gas (12mpg)! Then we thought maybe a POD, but that was $5000. To save money, my mom settled on a moving company called Colonial Van Lines. This ended up being a BIG mistake. First, they were supposed to pick my stuff up between 3pm and 5pm on Wednesday, and be delivered to my home in Phoenix between Monday and Wednesday (the 8th-10th). But, Wednesday at 5pm rolls on by, then six....they end up showing up at 7pm. That's not even the best part, at least they got my stuff. On Friday morning the movers called and said they would tell us when the truck left Chicago and then they could give me an estimated delivery date. DAYS pass, and still no call. Finally, on Wednesday (Doomsday), my mom called them, and they gave us an estimated delivery date.... wait for it... the 17th-19th! That's AFTER school starts, AFTER I start work, and everything I own is on that truck. I even need to buy new work clothes.  (If you have a few minutes, read the reviews for this company). So, that's that awfulness of this move, but that's definitely not the worst part.

       The worst part came to our attention on Wednesday, about a half hour before I had to take my mom to the airport. I took Carl out to go to the bathroom, and while I was on my way back in, a man called me over to talk to him. I knew that something was wrong as soon as he talked to me. Basically, he told me that I wasn't allowed to have Carl there. There is a 25 lb weight limit, obviously Carl is way more than 25 lbs. I just told him that I've seen other big dogs, and he replied with "those dogs are 'grandfathered' in." So I just told him I was babysitting Carl until Labor Day. This was absolutely devastating, as I'm sure you can imagine. And it was made all the more worse because my mom was leaving within two hours. While I cried, my mom started making phone calls to see what we could do. We did know about this rule a while ago, but our realtor told us that HOAs don't enforce those rules if you own, and then we saw a German Shepard there, so that just reinforced that idea. This was a huge mistake. But who else are you supposed to trust other than your realtor? It's their job to know these types of things. When he showed us the house, he knew very well how big Carl is and that he was coming with me. That is the most frustrating part of this: that we were so mislead by a realtor. And what really sucks is that I don't feel welcome or comfortable over there anymore, so I haven't spent any time there. I hate that this happened, because I really love it there, and we put so much work and money into it. It's a really huge hit. It kind of feels like this whole move has been f*cked since jump street. But I'm determined to stay positive. Since that first day, I've been doing a lot better. It feels like way longer ago than it was.

The not redone bathroom

Living room/Dining room area

         Basically, our only solution is to find another place to live. Today I went to look at one place. It was supposed to be two, but the second place didn't have a key to it, so I have to wait until they get a key. This place was so nice! It's like completely redone on the inside, with all tile floors. The only room in the house that wasn't redone was the master bathroom, which is kind of strange to me, but oh well. It's a lot smaller than my place now, and it's all on one level, but it's a lot newer on the inside than my place now. I'm going to look at a couple more places before I make any decisions, but I really do like this place. Here are a few pictures:

Awesome redone bathroom

The kitchen!

Here it goes...

        Last Friday, I left my hometown of Bloomington to start over again in Arizona. We started at 6am, stopped at my Starbucks for some coffee and for me to say my last goodbyes to everybody, then we were really on our way. The night before, I saw Rise of the Planet of the Apes at midnight, so I was running on about two hours of sleep, BUT I could NOT fall asleep, as much as I tried. So that was rough. My mom and I had a good time on the drive though. Carl did pretty well, too. It took him about an hour to finally settle down for real, and he seemed pretty comfortable.....  Thennn we were in the car for 16 hours. In the first day we went all the way to Amarillo, Texas. I felt so bad for Carl. He basically looked like those dogs that are on the Sarah McLachlan commercials; like we have been neglecting him his whole life. I can't blame him though, it was blisteringly hot, he probably was bored out of his mind, and he just had no idea what was going on. Before this, he had only been in the car for a half hour at a time. I was definitely worried about him.

          I drove for 5 hours (which I know is not fair, but it was so hard driving that long!), and I think I had the worst part of the drive. I had to drive from somewhere between Ft. Leonardwood and Joplin, MO to Oklahoma City. OK City was so stressful. The signs for the highways were so misleading, plus it was rush hour. No fun. Anyways, we finally made it to Amarillo that night, and at the hotel Carl was finally starting to act normal (a huge relief, by the way). The next day, we started early again, and FINALLY made it to Arizona around 5pm, after about 12 hours of driving. The drive was looong, and frankly, not very interesting landscape-wise. I had pictures, but unfortunately deleted the majority of them on accident.

          Anyways, so I'm here in Arizona. Saturday, naturally, we were exhausted from the drive, and we just spent the night in. Carl got here and felt right at home; he was so happy, which made me happy. Sunday, we did a bunch of shopping. I got my new TV and some stuff from Target. I have to admit, shopping that day was a little overwhelming and quite rushed. So, I'm glad that on Monday, after taking Barbara to the airport (she'll be in Michigan/New York until Labor Day), we did even MORE shopping. Ikea was first, where we got these super cool bookcases and fantastic lamps. I love those lamps. Then to Target, again, and later we went to Office Max for school supplies, and PetSmart for a few things for Carl. Tuesday was building day. We took Carl to the house with us, and spent the entire day building and putting things together. My uncle and I worked on the entertainment center for FOUR hours! Ridiculous. Here's some pictures of things put together and in there (almost) rightful place. 

 <--This is my dining room area; the lamps on the sides are my awesome IKEA Rutbo lamps.
--> And these are my bookcases from IKEA also.

<-- My kitchen with some of my stuff in it.

 --> My living room (thats the entertainment center I slaved away over for 4 hours) Below is a closer look so you can really appreciate it. haha

That's basically what's been done so far! Sent my mom home yesterday, went to a movie, and then today I've just been hanging out all day. There is a LOT more to tell, but I'll save that for other posts!

Lauren

I'm baaack!

      So, over the summer, I definitely lost motivation to write about the movies I have seen. And, I haven't been watching that many movies anyway due to my two full-time jobs. I am determined, however, to keep up with this blog starting... two sentences ago. So I am going to keep people updated about my new experiences in Arizona as well as talk about some movies that I've seen.