Aspirations

Dreams are good to have. They keep you grounded; they give you something to work towards; they make every day worth living. I used to dream of being an actress, a singer, a beautiful celebrity - unfortunately none of those dreams were realistic for me. But those dreams weren't real. They were more fantasies.

I am well on my way to feeling very accomplished. I have a college degree, a good job and an amazing fiance who will soon be my husband. It would be very easy to feel content. While I think content is a good feeling, I don't think it's good to ever feel completely content. Once you get content, you get lazy and there's nothing left to aspire to.

It's easy to feel knocked down and to feel like my dream is too hard to achieve but I know they are not. They are well in my grasp. They are not easy to achieve but that doesn't not make them unachievable. It will just take hard work and a lot of determination. It will be the hardest thing I have ever done but at the same time it will be the most rewarding.

Just imagine: Veeba, NY Times Best Selling Author!

What kind of world do we live in?

I have to say that I am very saddened by the events that took place yesterday at Virginia Tech. I usually try to keep my blog from being so serious but it’s hard to do that when massacres like the one that happened yesterday occur. It opens your eyes to what a scary world this can be.

My heart goes out to students, friends, family and anyone else directly involved with the Virginia Tech shootings. I think the whole world is praying for you right now. This was a terrible tragedy that has shaken the entire country.

You always think this could never happen to me or to my school but the truth is that it could. I am sure Virginia Tech was saying the same thing just two days ago and now it has happened to them of mass proportions. It’s a sick world out there. Events like Columbine, the Amish schoolhouse shooting and Virginia Tech remind you just how sick people can be.

I’ve never understood how someone can justify taking another person’s life. It happens more and more every day and it scares me. It scares us all. I think it’s time we all open our eyes and realize that there are no guarantees for tomorrow.

I think this quote puts it best:

Work like you don't need money
Love like you've never been hurt
And dance like no one's watching

Ouch

It's Friday and normally I would be very happy to hear that but today I have a problem that threatens to ruin my weekend. I think I have a tooth abcess or whatever the hell they are called. My left cheek is swollen and I have a nasty lump that I can feel along my jaw line. It's freaking me out.

I get a little stressed when I get things wrong with me and tend to think the worst. I would say I was a hypochondriac except it usually just so happens that the things I think are wrong with me really are! I thought something was terribly wrong with my back in high school but my family doctor just kept telling me I had a "weak" back and to go to physical therapy. He was wrong. I had a herniated disc that required surgery. Had he caught it earlier I might have been able to control the pain with steroid shots and not have required surgery.

My first though whenever something is wrong is always crazy. Oh my god it's cancer. It's meningitis. This sneeze means I have pneumonia. Usually not the case but with my history it's better to be safe than sorry. A $25 doctor's visit is cheaper than chemotherapy or expensive surgery and eases my mind!

I realized last night that I'm starting to rub off on my fiance. Last night when he came home from work he made me feel a place on his head. He was convinced he had a brain tumor. Upon further investigation of the spot, it appeare he had been bitten by something. (I secretly cheered because our house has a spider problem and he always laughs at me because I wake up every morning with a new spider bite and he hadn't had a single one until then.)

My mom always said I should marry a doctor but I'm not. She always laughed and said I should be a research guinea pig so they could use me as a test case because the doctors never can figure out what the heck is wrong with me until they've ran every test imagineable. I don't know how I feel about people poking and prodding on me though!

For now, I'm stuck wondering what this damn lump is...

Martini Monday=Terrible Tuesday

What do one, two, three martinis do to a working girl? Make a fun Monday night and a really crappy Tuesday morning. I am suffering the effects of a hangover and I forgot just how NOT fun they are.

It's been awhile since I've drank on a weeknight. In fact, I rarely drink on weekends lately. However, with a friend in town night, we decided to paint the town red. It all started out with just one drink and a bite to eat and ended....well, I can't remember how it ended.

Okay, I'm lying there. I wasn't that bad but I was definitely tipsy and I felt the effects this morning. I debated calling in sick (technically I was) but decided to tough it out. Not sure why - maybe to teach myself a lesson and not reward myself for my own stupidity.

Pink Panther, Strawberry Starburst, Flirtini, Cosmopolitan - they must be foreign for "You're going to feel really bad tomorrow." Oh so right you are!

Wedding Waste

$11,500

 

That's how much my wedding is going to cost me.

 

It's ridiculous. I know. I have tried and tried to keep the cost to the minimum but it still will easily exceed $10,000. I picked a small town because prices are cheaper there. I am not doing any extra stuff nor have I planned anything elaborate. I have only the basics. And as I write this, I just realized that I did not include flowers in this price which could easily cost me another $500.

 

That chunk of money is money that could be going toward a downpayment on a house. That is money that could be put toward our retirement. That is money that could be saved for our children's college fund. That is money that could be used for a lot of things that we don't currently have. After all, we are 23-year-olds starting our lives with a negative net worth (thanks to student loans).

 

The average cost of weddings today is over $20,000 so my wedding is even cheap in comparison but I still think $11,000 is way too much money to be spending on ONE day of our life. It makes me sick to think of all the wonderful ways I could spend that money if it wasn't going toward my wedding. To be fair, I am not paying for my wedding in entirety. Both my parents and my fiance's parents are chipping to take some of the burden off of us. However, my fiance figured up last night how much money the wedding would cost us and it came to over $5,000. Of course a large chunk of this money includes the honeymoon and our wedding bands but still this is too much money! 

 

I would like to just forego the whole thing and put that money in a Roth IRA or my 401K or a CD or just put it towards a downpayment on a house. But instead it's going toward one day - granted it is supposed to be the most important day of my life and I am very excited about it - but still it's one day. And I certainly don't make that kind of money in one day! I've finally resolved to forget about what it's costing me and all the stress of it all and just enjoy it because I certainly hope this is the only wedding I'm ever going to have and I want it to be unforgettable. So now I'm looking forward to the wedding but not nearly as much as I'm looking forward to the honeymoon!! Woohoo. 

Down but Not Out

It's Thursday and we all know what that means - it's almost the weekend!! I, for one, could not be any happier. It's been a long week to say the least. I've thought it was Friday all day but at least Friday is in sight. The week wasn't bad, just a little stressful. I had a big problem with one of my projects that led me to have a major freakout but luckily it was quickly handled and corrected. It was stressful but was a valuable experience in problem-solving.

 

I went bowling last night. I love all things sports related. I had the highest bowling score for the girls the first and last game but sucked it up in the middle. I tend to have an issue staying focused. However, since it was four couples and we combined couple scores we came in dead last each time. How does that work? My fiance was low scorer among the boys every game. He really doesn't suck though! He was just playing against some hella bowlers! One even brought his own ball and shoes. Now you know that is a seasoned bowler.

 

Plans for the weekend don't amount to much. Might be hitting up the future hubby's hometown. I wasn't excited at first - not that I don't like visiting his parents but sometimes I just like to stay at home and relax. Now I'm glad to be going because we can do wedding stuff, like talk to the tux shop and meet the preacher (if he is even doing my wedding - right now he hasn't confirmed!), talk to his parents about some issues and ideas. Wedding planning definitely keeps me busy!

 

Aside from that - not a whole lot to report except IT'S FINALLY FRIDAY...almost!

AI Oh My!

I have to comment on the craziness that is American Idol. If you're not watching it, you should be. I know a lot of people hate it and think it is the devil but I don't understand that thought process. The show helps people go on to live their dream and hooks them up with a killer recording contract. What is evil about that? Nothing in my book.

I hate to plug the site but there's a Web site called Vote For the Worst that picks the worst contestant each week and asks people to call in and vote for them. Apparently last week the site had 4 million hits. I think that does well to explain why Sanjaya is still in the competition despite his terrible performances week after week (he is currently the Vote For The Worst pick – I believe Taylor Hicks was last season but don't quote me on that).

I'm sorry but Sanjaya is terrible. TERRIBLE. When I watch him, I'm humiliated for him. It's to the point where I can't even figure out how he even made it past his first audition. His voice sounds like awful karaoke singing. I think he seems like a cute kid and a genuinely nice guy but this is a singing competition and he can't sing!

Granted I don't always vote for the best singer. I occasionally vote on looks too or personality or just my personal preference. In the first season I liked Kelly Clarkson (and still do). In Carrie's season I liked Carrie (and still do). Last season I loved Chris Daughtry (his CD rocks!) and Katharine McPhee. I wasn't a big fan of Taylor Hicks. So who am I digging and dialing for this season? Gina Glocksen. I've voted for her every week. She's not the best singer. I agree with that but I like her and I can't explain why. Maybe I'll change my mind but for now I'll keep voting. I also love Blake Lewis because he is different – he is not a cookie cutter singer. He has his own unique style.

Who are you voting for? Please tell me it's not Sanjaya…

Monday Fun Day

No I am not crazy – the headline is a joke. Monday is never a fun day. In fact, Monday is the worst day of the week. After sleeping in and lounging on the couch all weekend, my alarm rings at the crack of dawn for me to get up, get dressed up and head to work. As if that’s not bad enough, my Mondays are always full of meetings that packs my head full of useless crap.

I e-mail my friend on Monday mornings with the same first line. It’s Monday – only 4 more days until the weekend – let the countdown begin! It’s sad I know but it’s the only thing I have to look forward to. What really sucks is that we have to work 5 days a week and only get 2 days to relax. I could use just a little more R&R than that.

In case you were wondering which I’m sure you weren’t, my weekend was good. I went shopping which is one of my favorite activities. I bought the cutest dress for my rehearsal dinner. Now if I could just get the stupid rehearsal dinner planned – oh yeah and the rest of the wedding. No, I didn’t accomplish anything over the weekend. I am the queen of procrastination.

Hope everyone has a great week. Countdown with me…5…4…

More wedding drama

TGIF!! Woohoo. I could not be more excited to spend the weekend relaxing and hanging with my favorite man. We don't have any exciting plans for St. Patty's Day but just spending time with him excites me enough! It's been a long week and I am very tired.

The wedding plans are still not moving along. We ran into some drama last night with the plans. My future hubby's family was none too happy that I am not having his little sis stand up with me. How they know this I'm not sure since I haven't told them anything about who I picked to be my bridesmaids. And furthermore, I considered having her stand up with me and my fiance didn't think it was necessary. His sister is a good 8 years younger than us so they were never really close growing up. She is going to be in our wedding but as a guest book attendant. Drama drama drama.

This added drama just pushes me one step forward to wanting to fly away and get married in some tropical destination, just the 2 of us where it will be drama free. We'll see if that happens.

Did I mention it's Friday??? Woohoo!

The March Blues

54 days away from my next work holiday and counting...

March and April really suck when you're a so-called grown-up and work for a living. There isn't a single holiday or day off thrown in there to give us hard working people a break from work. I have been working for about 10 months now and this is the first time that I have become restless and depressed with the endless saga of work.

It's not that I'm unsatisfied because my work is fine as usual. It's just that I need a break. Sure, I have earned time off but I'm saving it. Why? Because I'm getting married in nine months and I'm going to need it and furthermore, I'm a female who could end up pregnant one of these days and need oh say 6 weeks off and I don't want to have to take it unpaid.

My fiance has been getting the worst of my attitude. I go home from work tired and grouchy and I take it out on him. It's stressful to say the least. Somehow I have to figure out how to shake myself out of these March blues because if I don't, April blues are going to hit me like a giant sack of bricks.

Somebody help! What are the best way to ease the working woman (or man) blues?

Everything is Harder Than It Looks

Mood right now: I just wanna cry

I want to be a writer but not just any old writer - I want to be an author. I want to be an author and I'm sick of just saying that and saying eventually I want to be an author. Eventually might not ever come unless I buckle down right now and try hard to make "eventually" right now. I have composed my first completed novel. I finished it in November - November 30 to be exact. Where is it now? Sitting at home on a jump drive waiting to be edited.

Today I decided that it was time that I jump in head first and pursue my lifelong dream of being an author. It's time to dust off that old memory stick, put it in my computer and start editing. Today I also started researching possible agents to query on my novel. This is the most intimidating thing to me for some reason. I have become a regular reader of misssnark.blogspot.com where an agent answers aspiring author's questions and discusses issues she regularly sees with query letters, manuscript and people. I often find myself falling into the trap she warns her young snarklings against. This terrifies me. Furthermore, today while researching one of the agents I'm considering querying I ran upon her blog. As I read one of her entries, she said there is nothing she hates more than a fiction author who claims that the manuscript is her true story. One line in my already penned query letter says: I AM my nagging, scheming main character. Oops. Already received a no from her without even submitting it unless I revise my query letter (which obviously I will).

Don't get me wrong - I am not going to give up on pursuing my dream of becoming an author. It's always been my dream and until I die I don't plan on giving up on that. I want to be an author. I will be an author. The process is just going to be a lot harder than I ever imagined. I'm not lucky enough to be one of those regular people who has an agent or editor or publishing house just wander onto her blog and fall in love with her flair for writing and insist on signing this blogger to a book deal here and now (yes this really does happen and I know a person it did happen to). Unfortunately that person wasn't me and it's never going to be.

In order to make this particular dream come true, I'm going to have to work hard and I'm going to have to become hardened. I've never taken criticism well and I don't expect this to be any different. If I query 50 agents and they all turn me down, I am going to cry. I am going to be devastated. I am going to want to give up. But I can't. I know that I can't. And I refuse to let myself. I just have to continue to pursue my dream. Sometimes pursuing your dreams can be a tough road to haul!

Hey, baby, Let's go to Vegas

One day I am stoked about planning my wedding in the town my fiance grew up and the next I'm freaked out about the whole idea and really just want to run off to Hawaii or Vegas or somewhere and elope. It's confusing to say the least.

I go dress shopping and I'm excited to find the perfect dress. I go look at churche and I love the church and can't wait to get married there. I get excited about the reception and the midnight balloon drop and throwing a great party.

And then there's the other side of me. The side that is afraid that people are going to crash the party that I don't like. The side that hated prom and everything that went with. The side that doesn't even care anything about the whole wedding ceremony. The side of me that wants to run away and do it all alone in Hawaii or Mexico with just me and Lee. To be honest, that's the side the most often wins out.

So why bother? Why have the big wedding? I guess you could say part of me still wants that. Part of me wants mine and his family and friends to be there to share that special day. Part of me wants the big tadoo where I am center of attention. Part of me wants the big wedding. The other part of me - the part that is louder most days - doesn't. That part of me is doing it because everyone expects me to have the big wedding. They want to share part of my big day.

I understand this but isn't this my day? Shouldn't I do what I want? And deep down what I really want is to run away with the man I love and get married on a beach underneath the sunset next to the beautiful ocean!

Is Upper Class Status Unattainable?

My fiance asked me last n ight how we were going to become wealthy and I replied we are already wealthy because we have each other. That was not the answer he was looking for. He wanted to know how we are going to go about becoming filthy, stinking rich. Unfortunately to this question, I didn't have an answer.

We both have good jobs where we make decent salaries - we are by no means lower class - some where in the middle of upper and lower probably more lower middle since we are both fresh out of college with a decent amount of student loans. By way of college students, however, we're both doing okay. We only have a small amount of student loan and neither have car loans or credit card debt. In this day and age, that's pretty remarkable. Yet to him being lower middle or even middle middle is not living the American Dream.

He is always coming up with The Next Big Idea that is going to make us millions. Usually it's a little late in the game and the idea has already been executed by some other genius who made a cool mil. Sometimes his ideas are fresh and good but we have no idea how to go about executing them. How exactly did those geniuses who made the cool mil do it?

I know we still have plenty of time to move up on the career ladder and make larger salaries but even at the top of that ladder looking down I still don't think we will be what my fiance would define as 'wealthy'. I am an author but even if (hopefully when) I get my first book published we still aren't going to be wealthy - I'm not even sure we would be if it was a NY Times Bestseller. Possible but still not very likely.

So how are we going to do it? I don't know yet. But we're open to suggestions.

A Novel Journey

Book ideas - you never know when they might strike. I had a brilliant one today on my lunch break. Who knew a deli sandwich could be so enlightening? No, my book is not about a deli sandwich. I'm not that terrible of an author.

For those of you who care (and those who don't), my first book is complete and I am drafting a query letter to send to agents to see if they are interested. I am also in the process of editing my novel. It's very overwhelming and a lot of work but it's a very exciting journey.

It has long been my dream to be a published author and hopefully - if my book doesn't suck - that will happen. I know that my query letter/novel might very well be rejected by every single agent I pitch it to. I know this is probably more likely than unlikely but it's still a very exhilarating experience.

I know that no matter what I can't give up. I have to keep chasing my dream. Writing is my passion and even if I never make a single dollar off of it, I plan to continue to pursue it with everything I have.

Wish me luck as I enter chapter 2 of my novel journey!! See ya on the flip side!

Cuz I Had a Bad Day

Because you had a bad day
You're taking one down
You sing a sad song just to turn it around
You say you don't know
You tell me don't lie
You work at a smile and you go for a ride
You had a bad day
The camera don't lie
You're coming back down and you really don't mind
You had a bad day
You had a bad day

Do you ever have those days where you feel like punching the first person to invade your space just a little too much? Those days where you're pissed off at the world for no apparent reason. Days where you can't seem to shake that nagging feeling that life sucks. Where the world is spinning too fast and you are moving too slow.

Well, I'm having one of those days. I woke up on what I would consider the "right" side of the bed. Hell, logistically it WAS the right side of the bed. Yet before I knew it my day had gone to ordinary to shitty for no apparent reason.

It could be that I actually had to do work at work. Or it could be that I didn't get to spend the day cuddling with my boyfriend. Or it could be that I'm freezing my ass off and no one else is even the slightest bit cold. Yeah none of them reasons seem to reason a crappy a** day. Yet, here I am pissed off.

I think it's winter. I hate winter. It's so darn cold that I can't even stand to go outside. Not to mention that my downstairs at my house is freezing too because the heat doesn't work right. Oh no, there's no problem, according to my rental management. Sure. It's perfectly normal for it to be 50 degrees downstairs and 85 upstairs. Nothing strange about that.

Yes, you could say I'm in a bad mood but to be honest, venting really does help. Hooray for reactivating my blog!

Work vs School: Which Trumps Which?

Seems I've had this debate over and over again in the last six months or so. Having just graduated from college in May, I entered what so many call "the real world". Unlike others my age, I did not fear the real world but instead welcomed it. School had never been my forte - it had come too easy to me. I spent very little time on any of my classes and yet graduated with honors. How, you might ask? Skill I say, skill! Oh and a whole lot of brains... No not to be too conceited..back on subject!

My fiance (that still sounds so weird) graduated from college in December and began his so-called career on Friday. He is still in the transition phase. Once again last night over drinks and basketball at a local bar, the subject of work versus school: which trumps which came up? So I'm going to do my best to capture the pros and cons of each and come to a well-educated decision. First things first, school!

SCHOOL (and by school I mean college):
Pros:

• You only go to class usually about 12-18 hours per week depending on your course load.
• Some days you don't even have class
• Often when you do, it doesn't start until 9, 10, 11, 12 or if you're really lucky (or lazy), later!
• You get Thanksgiving Break, Christmas Break, summer break and the VERY VERY fun spring break (I should know I've done the Panama City thing).
• If you want to skip class, there's nothing stopping you and in fact, if your university is big enough, no one will even know.
• You can't be fired (but you can flunk out - I guess this would be a con).
• Endless frat parties, trips to the party and raging keggers and no one looks at you funny when you show up.

Cons:

• You don't get paid.
• In fact, not only do you not get paid but you pay to go.
• You don't always have weekends free or weeknights for that matter - they are often spent studying.
• After several years of hard work, you can flunk out and have nothing to show for your time or money except a few credit hours without a degree.
• Tests, tests and more tests.
• Unless your parents are helping out, you're probably working to pay your way through or even if they are you're working for beer money.
• At the end, there's an oh so large student loan bill with your name on it.

WORK

Pros:

• Earned Time Off, Vacation or whatever they call it - If you don't feel like going, don't!
• Benefits: Health Insurance, 401K, Dental, Life, whatever..the point is you're covered.
• 8-5 with a one hour lunch break.
• Weekends off.
• Paycheck, paycheck, PAYCHECK!
• All major and some not so major holidays off!
• You don't have to think about/or do work on weeknights or weekends. Can we say FREE WEEKENDS??

Cons:

• Monday through Friday 8-5 - it never fails.
• If you're not productive, you can get canned.
• Bosses and more bosses.
• Taxes - social security, state tax, federal tax, can you take any more of my money?
• Cubicle hell

Okay so let me tally up the results...math is not my strong suit so give me a few minutes....

....

....

School: 7 to 7 - they cancel each other out

Work: 7 to 5 - equaling 2 for the PROS side...Yay, work wins and I forgot to even mention money in your bank account. Yay!

I'm sure I missed some so you tell me: what are the pros and cons associated with school and work from your eyes?

He'll be coming around the mountain when he comes...

I could not be a military wife, girlfriend, mother, friend. It wouldn't work. I have come to that realization after spending 3 weeks away from my fiance. He has been on vacation in Australia since Christmas and is returning this evening. I can't wait to see him. It's been awful not having him here with me.

I have experienced what would happen if I was a military wife before. When I was 19, my boyfriend at the time enlisted in the National Guard. He left for the summer to go to boot camp and during that time I fell out of love with him. At first I missed him and it was hard but gradually I began to forget about him and his calls became more of an annoyance than a job. At the beginning I waited by the phone for his call. At the end, he was lucky if I even took the call. The day after he came back, I broke his heart. I still don't know if he's ever forgiven me.

Don't worry - there's no danger of that happening with my new fiance. I still love him and missed him terribly while he was gone and can't wait for him to return. However, I did notice that the more days that went by the less I thought about him (but I still thought about him lots).

I just think it would be hard to have your husband be gone for months, years at a time. At some point you have to stop yourself from thinking about him, relying on him and become more independent. You become a singular unit instead of this collective Mr. and Mrs. And at some point when he returns he throws your whole life out of whack. You have someone who you have to call if you're going to be late, you have someone you have to consult before making decisions. It's just different.

With that being said, I am so thankful that my fiance is not in the military. Don't get me wrong I would be extremely proud of him and support him wholly, it would just be hard and I don't think I'm cut out for that. I give props to the countless women (and men) who do it every day.

Bling Bling

For those of you who started reading my blog over a year and a half ago, the day you never thought would happen has finally came. I am ENGAGED complete with a sparkling diamond ring.

In a move that took me by complete surprise, my boyfriend of two years proposed to me on Sunday, December 17. It was the most romantic proposal and he had done a lot of planning to make it special and it truly was. He graduated from college and the following day he proposed to me. Later when talking to his family he told them that he got two really great things this weekend: a college degree and as of ten minutes ago, a fiancé. It was amazing to hear him call me his fiancé.

The crazy thing was that he had the ring for three months before proposing just waiting until the perfect time to do it. He wanted it to be a surprise and a special moment that I would remember forever. He accomplished that. I could not love my future husband anymore than I do!

Now that I’m engaged the wedding planning begins and to tell you the truth, I wasn’t prepared for what this entailed. I thought it would be fun and easy. I was wrong. It’s overwhelming. It’s tiring. It’s stressful. Most of all, it’s just not me. I don’t like doing it. I am torn on whether to have the big tadoo or fly across the ocean and tie the knot there.

On one hand, I want my family and friends to all be there to witness the special moment in our lives. I want to have a big fun reception where we can party and celebrate this momentous occasion. On the other hand, I don’t want to put in the work to have a big tadoo. I’ve always wanted to get married in a gazebo by water and if I went to Hawaii or Mexico or Jamaica, I could do just that. On the downside: all my family and friends would get to witness it. On the even further downhill side, I wouldn’t get as many presents. Yes, I am greedy.

What to do, what to do? I have no idea. I guess I’ll probably do the big wedding since that is what my fiancé wants and deep down what I really want to. At least I have a year to plan this wedding. We’re getting married next New Year’s Eve. It should be quite a celebration. A countdown to the rest of our lives…the clock starts now!

Landlords: Why They Suck

After four years of renting, I think I know a thing or two about landlords and what I know is that THEY SUCK! Most of the time I have had no (or very few) problems with my landlords. My first year of renting the only problem I had was when I was moving out they charged me $50 because one of my oven burners wasn't 100 percent clean. Bullshit but whatever.

My second year my landlord was certifiably insane but yet she still didn't really bother me that much. Yea when we had visitors there was no where for them to park and sometimes they got towed, but hey shit happens. I got through the year just fine.

My third year was fine too without a single problem with the landlord which is why we chose to resign at the same duplex. Shortly after we did we find out that the landlord is resigning and the rental company that owns us is trying to sell us.

This starts the endless supply of pain in the ass requests. Now you must pay your rent all together in one check (getting 3 college girls' money before the beginning of the month so you can write a check is hell). Now instead of dropping the rent check in the drop box right up the street, you now have to mail it or drive it clear across town.

It got annoying. In fact, 2 of my roommates decided they were moving (mostly because they had jobs elsewhere). We asked to be released from our lease (after paying an appropriate buyout fee specified in the lease). Despite the lease saying that we could buyout of our lease if we moved 50 miles or more for work, they refused to let us out. Cocksuckers!

Anyhow...then they try to inform us that we owe $25 more in rent each month because they made a mistake on the lease and didn't charge us for our washer/dryer. Too damn bad. You're not getting it, oh shitty landlord.

Oh wait, here's an idea. When I see you get your ass out and plow the snow from our street and driveway and sidewalks like you did for your other apartment complexes, then AND ONLY THEN will I pay the extra $25. Yeah that's what I thought...

First Snow

Why is that every year on the first snow of the year you oversleep. You are already going to be pushing it to make it to work on time and then you go out to your car and the doors are frozen shut and you have a thick layer of ice on the windshield. This was my story this morning.

I never get up early. I'm usually pushing it to make it to work on time but usually I arrive at least 5 or 10 minutes early. Not today. Today I get up at 7:20 (I have to be at work at 8); I eat breakfast and get dressed. I go out to my car at a quarter till 8 to heat it up and turn on the defroster. Oh what do you know, the door won't open. It's frozen tight.

Well, lucky for me my big, buff boyfriend is still asleep in my bed so I wake him up, make him get dressed and come out and help me (poor guy). So he comes out in the freezing cold weather and spends 30 minutes helping me get in my car and scrape my windows.

My mom's advice? You need DeIcer to unfreeze the doors. Yes, mom, I am well aware of that at this point but guess what...I don't have any and my doors are frozen shut so I can't drive and get any. Next suggestion? Okay hot water...thanks (word of advice: make sure the hot water does not hit your windows because it could cause them to crack).

Anyway so I finally get in my car, get the windows scraped and to work only 15 minutes late. Hey that isn't bad! Only to find out that hardly any one else in the office went through the trouble of coming to work. What crap! So here I am sulking that I am at work instead of at home in my jammies...