New theme for my blog

Ok so I've been a little bit busy with my new job and haven't been able to write much of anything on here. Since I work with cars all day I might as well turn my blog into a review of all the cars I drive! Fun, right?

I'm allowed to take any car up to a large SUV without needing permission...my co-worker just told me I could probably take a Camaro no problem. ;)

Right now I'm driving a Buick Enclave. It's is sooooooooo super nice. I love it. I've been eyeing it for a few days and finally snagged one yesterday! Has Sirius and that camera to help with backing up. The sound system is ok. Better than most but not as good as the Chevy Equinox that I looooove and will probably write about later.
Always love the sun roof and with this one there's a rear sun roof. It's awesome! I don't think it opens though. Still very nice. The back is like the Traverse with two captain seats and then a bench in the way back. I'm small enough to be able to lay back there and take a nap if I really felt like it. Or else I could just get on the floor since there's enough room for me. :D

Seriously, starting at 37000$ I'd be tempted to buy it.
Here are some generic pictures of it.



The few things wrong with it is there's no USB that I could find and the gas mileage sucks. We wanted to go for a trip this weekend but there's a slim chance that we might run out of gas if we take this baby soooo we'll probably switch it out for something smaller. I was thinking either a Jetta/Cruze or maybe a Captiva.

Buick's completely different from what it used to be. The vehicles are sleeker and actually good looking. I really want to take the Regal home for a week but it's a prestige car. :( I can only take that to the bank/Terminal 2. boo.

Is this what being a grown up is like?

Ok, it's been about 2.5 weeks working at my new job. It's less intimidating than I first imagined. I've been told a few times from the other employees that I'm one of the first managers in a long time to be hired from outside the company.. whatever. I'm still kind of shocked/in disbelief that I hold this position. It's crazy! My first real job. Sometimes I wonder if J regrets hiring me just because I'm new to the whole rent-a-car business and am basically learning everything from scratch. Most of it is common sense and is easy but then I have to deal with customers and it's terrible. Some people are crazy and psycho! I told another manager that I would rather do payroll and computer work rather than deal directly with customers any day of the week. She told me she actually likes working with the people. Ick. Apparently summer is season of the crazies.

My life is starting to revolve around work. It totally sucks that I spend an average of 10 hours every day at work. And it's not a normal company where I can take an hour lunch/dinner break. We basically eat on the go and work non stop. It's so draining and kind of sucks how I have to stay late if I'm needed. Ugh. I specifically asked the recruiting manager how many hours a week I'd average and she said it'd be close to 40, probably 45 during the busy season. Such a lie!

Starting Sunday I'll be on my own. My "mentor's" last day is Thursday. :( I'm nervous because I like having another manager there with me and because I still don't know everything yet. AND because I don't want to deal with angry & mean customers! Thankfully, most of my experiences so far have been with tolerant people.

I miss my bf. It's only been a day. -17 to go.

After the first week

My job's growing on me. I was so nervous at first but after this first week of observing/shadowing/seeing how things are done, I feel much more confident about my position and am starting to feel like part of the team. Next week I'll be shadowing the woman I'll be replacing and need to learn everything in two weeks! Not really but her last day is in 2 weeks and I want to learn as much as I can from her. All of the other managers are great and very helpful. They've welcomed me into their circle and I'm so grateful that I have such nice coworkers!
I'm also lucky to have a boss like the one I have. He's a really good role model and I feel like I can learn a lot from him down the line. I got to watch him deal directly with customers today which was fun because I don't think he'd done that for a while. :p

I unexpectedly had 2 paychecks waiting for me... I wanted to scream and cry at the same time when I saw the amount. Biggest. paycheck. in. my. life.

I'll have Fridays and Saturdays off and work the 2nd shift. I'm fine with that. I'm thinking I'll bake cupcakes and bring them in every Wednesday. Everyone's always complaining about how hungry they are!

Anyway, the semi annual sales are going on now so P and I are headed to the Mall of America tomorrow.

List of things to buy:
iPad (next paycheck)
shoes
clothes
food

A bit of Italy in Minnesota

I started training & orientation today. I was sooooo nervous in the beginning but by the end of the day, I was already feeling more confident and definitely looking forward to being a member of the team. Everyone was super nice and I'm so lucky to have found a great job! (Let's see how I feel in 3 months' time...;)).

 This is my first company car!!!!!! I'm allowed to switch it up whenever I feel like it, too.

Living room with new couch! Best investment since we've moved here.

Thai curry soup from Noodles & Co. Love this & their pad thai! Soooo good!

Desperate Housewives Season Finale

P & I are about to watch the 2 hour season finale on Hulu...both excited AND sad that after this it will be over forever. :(


Update..May 17
Still sad that Desperate Housewives is over..I want to watch the whole series from the beginning now.

Books I've recently finished:
Every Last One by Anna Quindlen
~I definitely wouldn't have read this if it weren't for my book club. It's about a middle aged woman with a job and a family and a pretty monotonous life. We see her interact with her 3 kids and her role with being the typical mom.. Something horrific eventually happens and we see how she reacts to it. That's not a very good summary but it's completely different from the types of books I usually read. The beginning was slow but it did get better.
Towards the end, she wonders if things would be different if she did things differently. It basically reminds you that every action has a reaction, I guess.
I wouldn't read this book again but I did enjoy thinking about what my own reaction would be if the same thing happened to me. Probably similar to hers...or worse.


I've Got Your Number by Sophie Kinsella
~My absolute favorite author. So glad I finally read this! I loved Poppy (even though she was a little too similar to Becky :/) and the story line was so cute. Her and Sam were perfect together and I wish Sophie would make a sequel! Or else more books in general!
It was classic romantic comedy/chick lit. Just loved it and didn't want it to end. I wish there was a book club that read only chick lits.



Anyway, I started my job with REM this last weekend. It was fun, kinda boring, but I'm looking forward to my next shift. I've also completed 3 training classes pertaining to the job so I can handle basically any situation.
I had 2 important interviews on Tuesday and bombed them both. It sucks because I had a not so important interview last Friday that I felt really confident about and gave amazing answers. Too bad because I don't think she heard a word I said. As soon as I told her I'd only be available 2/4 weekends instead of 3/4 (which was the first thing she asked), she tuned out.
In my dream, they offered me the position. Please let that become a reality!!!!!!

Solo foto

Olive bread ~ Wedge

Got an amazing haircut with D'Anna at Loft Salon. Dare I say she gave me a better cut than Erik in Boston! ><

Whole Foods has extremely long bananas..

First attempt at vegan chocolate cake! This one was yummy. Second and third attempts were crap.

<3

Apt. building

Heaven

Baby ducks in Loring Park!

a little situation

Last Saturday we rode 10+ miles in the rain for the little bake sale at Ethique Nouveau. I don't know if it was worth it but this {vegan?} cupcake was really really delish! So fluffy and moist---PERFECTION.


My first day at Gilly Hicks was yesterday. I did markdowns for 3 hours straight. That sounds terrible but it actually wasn't so bad. I saw this zip-up hoodie for only $15!!! Def buying it tomorrow.
Everyone's really laid back and I love the atmosphere of the store.. I'm just not sure I want to work there full time. They want me to sit in on the conference call next week and then I think the DM would interview me again before they officially offered me the MIT position. They have a decent benefits package with health care and stuff but I'm mainly concerned with how much they'd pay...
I don't know. I'm still considering The Limited who will get back to me on Friday with their salary. If I took that position, I'd work around 30 hours a week, keep my DCP position, still be available 2 days a week for Gilly Hicks. That would be ideal I think but it would be nice to have health insurance...

A month in the other windy city

So, I had the 3rd interview with REM for the direct care professional position and I got it! It's part time for now but I can cross-train and cover other shifts later down the road. 

I'm also officially an employee of A&F! Got my associate card today and the rest of my outfit: $100 worth of clothing for F-R-E-E! I've been talking with one of the managers about becoming a manager in training so hopefully I get a phone call this week asking me to come in for an interview. It'd actually be perfect if I worked FT at Gilly and PT with REM. Kinda wanted it the other way around but good enough for now.

It's been exactly 4 weeks since coming to Minneapolis. I feel like I already know downtown pretty well and want to spend more time in Uptown. Our helmets arrived today so I rode around by myself for the first time. Went to the University to see P. His office is 7 floors underground. O_o

Tonight we're going to meet with the Italian group at Sebastian Joe's and then heading over to the Kitty Cat Klub to celebrate P's co-worker's birthday.

bunny slippers. There are rabbits all over this town..

Duck, duck, goose

Creamy masala with tofu--spicy level 5

Almond curry fish

Butternut squash soybean and tomatoes (left) & aloo bodi & raita (behind rice) 

Today was an amazingly warm and sunny day! We went to Namaste cafe for an early lunch today. On one of our first days in Minneapolis, we'd searched online for nearby Indian restaurants and this was one of them. {We ended up going to Dancing Ganesha for their buffet lunch for our very first Minneapolis meal!}

We got there right when they opened (our receipt was printed @ 11:11:11!) and even at 11:30am a bunch of people were already seated. Everything tasted amaaaaazing and I'm actually craving some of my masala curry...Basically, we love this place and will definitely be back soon.

My new bike from Re-Cycle! It's a vintage AMF Hercules..about 40-50 years old.  It's so cute and perfect for me!

Umm, delicious olive break from Wedge that tastes soooo good with that tofutti  cream cheese!

We spend most of our free time feeding the wildlife at Loring Park..

Hand feeding this cutie oca!

Got a phone call today..I got the job with Gilly Hicks!!!
The group interview was with 3 other girls and they were all really sweet and nice. I hope they all get hired, too! I'm going to the mall tomorrow to fill out the paperwork and stuff so hopefully I'll be working really soon! I have 5 other interviews this week..still waiting on the DCP position, though, and that's the other one I want. I can have 3 part time jobs, right? ;)

What to do when you're surrounded by hungry squirrels

We see these 3 rabbits all the time! They're adorable and I love them.

eating a saltine

There were so many..coming from all over the place. Once they saw that one squirrel was getting some cibo, they all wanted to get some!

Someone provoked a scoiattolo and it jumped up and scratched his hand...we still love them! 

Foshay tower -> W Hotel

I hope the interview tomorrow @ Gilly Hicks goes well and I get the job! Otherwise, I'll have to become a full time housekeeper...