Happy Birthday Oscar!

This is slightly belated, but I wanted to shout out to Oscar, who celebrated his 17th birthday on Saturday. That's right- 17 years. Go Oscar! Before I left Tallahassee, we had a chicken party for him- he loves KFC, so we got him some and ate it all together. He even had his baby bed on the chair so he could sit at the table with us. That dog is the best- he's brought so much happiness to our whole family!

Dad sent me a picture yesterday of his actual birthday party- he got ice cream cake and got to wear his adorable birthday outfit. Go Boo!

The verdict is in- Geico agrees with me- South Florida drivers are the worst!

I got a great email from my insurance company, State Farm, a few weeks ago letting me know about the change in coverage that would be involved in me moving to Miami. She sent me the new premium for my coverage and it had DOUBLED. Yay, just what I need.

Jon recently signed up with Geico, so I called them and got a new quote. Still expensive, but cheaper than State Farm. It was a bit of a time sensitive thing for me, seeing as though my coverage with State Farm ended today. Also, Jon can jump on my policy (his doesn't actually start until October) and we'll both save 25%. So thanks to their cute and clever commercials, they were the first ones I called.

In other news, I have found two more amazingly funny blogs to read- failblog and LOLDogs. If you look on the top of LOLDogs, there is a line of links to equally funny stuff, like LOL News and Politicians. It has, indeed been proven that I am easily amused... but come on- who wouldn't think this is funny:













And even funnier, in relation to the beginning of my post:

Seven Years

It's been seven years since the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. Seven years. I can still remember everything about that day, even down to what I was wearing. I think it's one of those days that people will always be able to tell you where they were when they saw the news footage for the first time, what they did when they heard it, who they called first, and how they dealt with it. I will remember watching Tom Brokaw and Peter Jennings being on the air for hours on end, never leaving their news desks. I sat in Broward Hall dorm for hours watching the news with my friends. Nobody really knew what to say or do. We gave blood at the impromptu blood donation center they set up in the basement- even Sarah (who's not such a fan of needles) donated. I remember my brother and his ROTC friends speculating about what might happen when they found out who did it. Speculation turned into action years later, when my brother spent a year in Baghdad, coming home this past spring.

I'm watching "9/11- As it Happened" on MSNBC right now. They're running actual footage from the day of- the second plane just hit the second tower- and they still have no clue what's going on. They're just all sitting around the newsroom, taking calls from people, hearing what's happening. They were in the middle of a conversation with a woman when the second plane hit. I read a lot of articles and looked at a lot of photo archives this morning... it never stops being horrifically sad. The day of and week of deaths at Ground Zero, The Pentagon, and Pennsylvania were only the beginning of a series of events that would result in the loss of 1000's more lives... and sadly, the war is still being faught.

They just took a call, stressing that it was unconfirmed, from American Airlines, saying that they had a hijacked plane. Since I remember the day of, I know Katie Couric and Matt Lauer are about to see and hear the towers fall. I remember my reaction... it's still stunning. It amazes me that people were able to keep their cool during that day. I think of people who lived in New York City then, and I think of Sarah and my other friends living there now. I can't fathom how that day was for people who lived there, people who had friends and family that they couldn't get ahold of right away. The people who had offices and apartments in the area, the tourists who just wanted to see the city, the people who were just going to work like they did every other day. I've been to New York many times- it's a crazy enough city on a normal day... I can't imagine being there in a time of crisis.

Sigh. I could go on and on about the attacks, how they made me sad, pissed off, angry, confused, and so many other things, all at the same time. I could post links to pictures of children waving flags, of firemen crying, of the president speaking, of memorials set up everywhere, of firehouses. But I'll post another picture instead- of what New York City used to look like.... it was so pretty. I don't think about the attacks every day... but I do a lot, because of what has happened in the ensuing years. I do get sentimental when the anniversary rolls around, because it feels more fresh, more real. No matter how many times I see that footage, it never becomes easier to digest.

Someone cares!

I got this email yesterday... woohoo for some sort of response to my job searching! After my shopping spree at the Apple Store last weekend, I thought it would be fun to have them pay for me to love and promote their products... instead of doing it for free and on my own time.

The Email:
Hey Angela,

Congratulations!

You have been selected from the many hopefuls that are interested in working at our Apple Store coming to Dadeland, FL. You possess something that we are looking for and we want to meet you!

What:
• Attend a hiring seminar and interview with the management team of the Dadeland Apple Store.
Learn about the store, the position, interview process, and time line.

We are looking for candidates for the following roles:

Specialist
Concierge
Personal Shopper
Business Partner


It went on to detail the when and where, so I signed up for an info session on September 26th. I don't know when they're opening the store, but I do know that the mall is about a 4 minute walk from my apartment. You can't beat that for ease. The only thing I'm hesitant about is going back to working in retail. Don't get me wrong- there is no job I think that I'm too good/educated for (hello, I once worked the Dunkin Donuts 6AM shift... and that was with a college diploma), it's just that I've gotten used to the whole no nights and weekends thing. I enjoy not having to worry about going out of town on the weekends, and being able to do whatever during the evenings. I also don't know about working the holidays- I already have a ticket booked for Thanksgiving to go see Sarah in New York... the whole family is going. Also on the agenda is Colorado to see Alan for Christmas (the whole family is going there, too). I'm going to Atlanta in the beginning of October for a wedding, and Sarah, Mom, and Dad are coming down the first weekend of November for an engagement party. As you can see, the schedule for the weekends is filling up fast- where is there time for work? I'll check out the info sessions- maybe I can work mostly during the week.

More info to come....

New Toys!

I am now the proud owner of.... a bunch of expensive toys from Apple.

We went to the Apple store this weekend and I got a new computer (MacBook), the Adobe Creative Suite Premium edition, Microsoft Office, and a new iPod Touch. The only reason I got the iPod was because it was free :) Turns out they're running a promotion for students, and if you buy a computer for school, you get a free iPod. Sweet. The price tag on it is $300, so I consider myself quite lucky!

I've been on the job hunt lately. Which I HATE. I've found a few good ones and sent in my resume, and now I'm playing the waiting game. What I have found (that's reassuring) are a bunch of jobs I'm not qualified for. At the moment. But it's nice to know that what I've chosen to go back to school for has fun potential. I've found a lot of jobs that, in a year or so, with a little more experience and a portfolio, I'll be able to get. It's a nice thing to see!

One of my favorite internet listing sites is Craigslist. It's gotten a little SPAM-y lately, but I still go there for job postings. There is some angry person (or some angry people... who knows?) that seems to have gotten miffed about people offering to pay graphic designers what, in his opinion, is a pity sum of money.

A few favorites, for your reading pleasure....
1- Taking the (slightly) high road
2- "50 bucks my ass"
3- "20k- what a joke"
4- a fair (?) warning

And those are just from yesterday and today. Crazy. If you ever get bored, there are a lot of amusing sections on Craigslist...and some of them are very inappropriate... I'll let you find those for yourself

Sounds of South Florida

So... South Florida is nothing like Tallahassee. I've been here a little over a week, and I've seen and heard a few things that I doubt I ever would have back in Tallahassee.

1- I went to Target last week. I couldn't find what I was looking for, so I asked the women in the red shirt with a Target name tag where I could find it. She turns to me with a really confused look on her face, shrugs, points to her tag and said "Spanish?" Now, I applaud Target for hiring Spanish speakers to accommodate the large Spanish speaking community here, but really- you couldn't find someone bilingual?

2- Boob jobs being advertised on the radio... the country station that I was listening to this morning at 9 AM. There was this guy, doing the "Used Car Salesman" shout, selling breast augmentation surgeries with the same gusto that people sell Mazda's that get good gas mileage. "Only $3499!" But wait.... if you want smart lipo, you can add that and get the whole package for "ONLY $5000!" They go on to detail financing options, various interest rates... and the kicker- my favorite part. "Get your breast augmentation surgery here. It's so cheap, you don't even have to go to South America!" Seriously? That would never fly in Tallahassee.

3- I was behind a guy in the line at my neighborhood Publix who bought a $250 bottle of champagne. The cashier asked if he had a hot date, to which his response was... "Not yet. I figure if I have this in my apartment, something good will come." Sigh. It's kind of funny that there are people out there that think the very presence of a $250 bottle of bubbly will cause the ladies to come flocking to your front door.

It cracks me up to hear things like this... I'm sure there will be more!

Adventures in Assembling DIY Sweedish Furniture

So the fun part of shopping at Ikea is the actual shopping. The assembly is a little less fun... although we chose to make it fun :)

After we got back from the store and unloaded all of our stuff, it was at least 8:30. We ate dinner (on the couch boxes) and settled in for the evening to put the couch together. That was the first

 thing we needed to get done, because let's face it... I need a couch to watch my shows, and Gossip Girl was starting this week.

The Before shot of all our boxes...

Jon posing with the instruction booklet. The couch has a funny name, as do all the pieces at Ikea. It probably means "You must be an idiot to buy a couch that's going to take you 3 hours to

 assemble"

Almost done with the couch... me finishing up the storage compartment. The left side also has a pull out bed that wasn't put in in this picture.

Christy came over to assist us in putting together everything- she was on drawer duty. There were 10 drawers total between the dressers and TV stand.... and each drawer probably had at least 6 parts to them.

Finishing up the dressers...

Jon's tired of assembly. And for some reason, Babar the Elephant was the only thing on.

Christy learns the fun of power tools...

Overall, I love the way everything turned out. I promise an after picture post, as soon as we're finished unpacking and cleaning up. Which could be, sigh.... forever...

Adventures in buying DIY Sweedish Furniture

Jon and I spent pretty much all day at Ikea last weekend. For those not familiar with Ikea, it's a Sweedish furniture brand, mostly for small spaces, pretty simple stuff.... and you have to put it all together. Their furniture is really cool looking, some of it crummy quality, but some of it pretty decent. It's the shopping that's the fun part. The store is H-U-G-E. We're talking a two story warehouse style building. The day started off at Enterprise Rent-a-Car, where we picked up our cargo van. That's the thing about Ikea... they keep their prices down by encouraging you to bring your own rental vans, and do pretty much everything on your own. We arrived at Ikea at 11, apartment floor plan, tape measurer, and pen in hand. 

Our first priority was a couch. We wanted an L-shaped couch, preferebly with a sleeper sofa. They had a ton of couches... and we had to try them all out.

We settled on one that not only has a sleeper sofa, but it also has storage. Score. The rest of our six hour jaunt in Ikea included lunch at the cafe... $0.99 mac-n-cheese. 

As we made our way through the store, we got dressers, a desk, shelves, some fun knick knacks, and a TV stand. It was a good trip, and six hours later, we had our van loaded up with all of our stuff. The funny part about Ikea is that once you've walked the entire show room and made notes of all the stuff you want to buy, you have to go to the bottom floor and pull all the boxes of the stuff you chose. They're heavy, they're bulky, and the carts they give you to load them on are very difficult to drive. The knick-knack section (my favorite!) is down in the

 same area, and you can just take all that stuff off the shelves, stuff like candles and pillow cases. 

From the rest of the trip....

The something-skin fake rug... it stayed at Ikea. 

Me, in the beginning of our box pickup.

Our entire haul, minus the couch.  We had to get that a special pickup area.