First semester of my eighth grade year, I entered The Study. Teacher found someone outside the school and familiar with kids like me who offered to help. A benefactor, if you will.
First I had to take a series of tests, including an IQ test. When the results came back, my new benefactor was in a cheerful mood. Half-jokingly, I asked if I broke the tests.
"No, but you did score higher than most kids. Most adults, even. It's not everyday I come across a certified genius," she said.
Like my English teacher, The Benefactor wanted to know why my reaction was so subdued.
I told her bits and pieces of my story, how tough it is trying to find yourself in a family full of God-like egos, and how I missed just being a kid.
"You're not a child anymore," The Benefactor said. "In fact, it sounds like you haven't been a child for quite some time. Who wants to return back to childhood anyways?" The Benefactor shuddered dramatically at the very thought.
She told me stories like mine weren't uncommon in cities, and that gang initiations can start very young.
"The good news is there's a way out."
She told me gangs are only able to survive through group mentality and that I, being a genius, can beat the other side by breaking the mental chains associated with them.
"Ok… duh. My grandma and uncle told me that," I said, ever the know-it-all.
The Benefactor said she was glad they did and asked if they told me how.
"Various ways," I said cryptically. It takes me a while to warm up to strangers.
The Benefactor said she could supplement their advice by offering help in the form of a five year plan: get out of The Life and that other game and into The Game.
The primary objective of The Game was to use my intelligence and unique skill sets to become part of a different gang: The Ivy League. Once there I could continue pursuing my goals of learning a lot and getting big money while in the company of like-minded people. The one caveat in receiving this help is that I had to tell my full story. How I rose through the ranks, so to speak.
I started out telling The Benefactor about Cuzzo and how he was an almighty presence from our very first interaction. The Benefactor asked where he was now and I told her Cuzzo had died two years earlier.
9/25/12
The Study
7/4/12
Allow me to re-introduce myself
My last few posts here have all been a means of setting you, my readers, up for the epic story of how I entered The Game. Some knew all along, but it remains a mystery to many others.
First, The Game itself. The Game is difficult to describe, but once you're playing it, you know it. I could provide infinite quotes from various people discussing the ins and outs of The Game, but I think this wikiHow article on entering the rap game (lol) does a good job of covering the basics:
• [Your hustle] strengthens your mind. The longer you keep at it, the better you will be.
• Get ideas from books on your particular hustle. If there isn't one, write it.
• Be real. Rapping about your own life gives the song credibility.
• As long as your song makes the point you're trying to convey, length doesn't really matter.
• Be inspired by those whose hustle you respect.
• Rap does not have to be written; many rappers also freestyle. Be creative.
• Keep your rap original. Never copy someone else's style.
There's a lot more to The Game, of course, but those points sum it up nicely.
Now for the re-introduction.
I was literally born into The Game, having come from a long history of game players. The rules have been passed down from generation to generation in my family, and they haven't changed much over the centuries. My first and most important teachers of The Game were my parents and my grandparents. Of course, my entire family--and there's many of us--has had a hand in my ability to play this game. We do it very well individually, but together, we are quite the force to be reckoned with.
From the very beginning, it was a fight. I was born a few weeks earlier than I was supposed to have been. According to my mom, I was one of the tiniest babies on the floor: all of me, from head to toe, fit entirely in her hand. Luckily, I gained enough weight to be released from the hospital in less than a week's time. The Game was already in full effect by this point.
Fast forward two and a half, three years and I'm in preschool: reading books, writing my name on stuff, tying my own shoes. The tying-my-own-shoes bit even got my fellow preschoolers' moms noticing. One lady asked my mom to get me to help teach her son how to tie his shoes; he was a year older and still wearing those Velcro strap-on shoes.
these monstrosities. Baby swag.
I didn't think shoe tying was remarkable at all--the reading or writing, either--but it sure made me popular with all the preschool moms.
It was around this time that I realized I was different from the other kids. The teacher gave us an exercise one day: cut out paper shapes with kid-friendly scissors. Simple enough. But for the life of me, I couldn't get any of the scissors to work. It was incredibly frustrating for a three-year-old. After calling the teacher and teacher's aid over for help, they finally came to the conclusion that it wasn't the scissors fault: I was left-handed.
Left-handers' brains are wired differently. A 2006 study from the journal Neuropsychology suggests that left-handed people's brains are faster at processing multiple stimuli than right-handers. What that means is: left-handers typically have the upper hand in sports, gaming and other activities where players are forced to juggle large volumes of stimuli coming at them quickly. Left-handers more easily use both hemispheres of their brains to manage that stimuli, resulting in faster overall processing and response time. Like a computer!
Fascinating stuff. But anyways, that incident with the scissors in preschool was the first time I realized something was up.
Next: The School Years
1/1/12
Fun Employed
First and foremost dear readers: HAPPY 2012! We made it y'all, and the world hasn't ended yet. Woop!
Now for some explanation: quite obviously (and somewhat regretfully I might add), I've been MIA here on the interwebz. But only because a wonderful stroke of luck hit me around the time of my last post here and I've been super, super busy ever since: I GOT A JOB!!!
And a most wonderful job it is...
Almost exactly six months after I made these declarations, I got a random phone call from the Deputy Executive Director of a non-profit here in DC. The organization wanted me to come in and interview for a Web Developer position that would be responsible for maintaining the international presence of said organization on the web. I knew this was a great opportunity as soon as I got the phone call, and I prepared for my interview accordingly. Long story short, after wowing the staff with my web knowledge and prowess during three rounds of interviews--including a ~fabulous~ PowerPoint presentation--I got the position!
Last Halloween was my first day on the job; I went as a Successful Black Woman, fyi.
My job duties are quite similar to the ones I have maintaining www.lisa-bee.com--but on a much larger scale, of course. Some of my responsibilities include: managing the day-to-day operation and maintenance of all websites; designing & developing new webpages and implementing web content updates, graphic design, banner ads, social network management, and multimedia development;
developing site concepts, interface design, and architecture of websites; and using strong navigation and site-design instincts, as well as researching new technologies available and recommending technical and architectural improvements.
All things I've been doing--for free--for the almost three years (wow, time flies when you're having fun!) I've had this blog. Now, I'm getting paid more than I've made in any other job I've held in my life, doing something I love and am passionate about.
MIND BLOWN.
Three months in and I'm still in awe that I took something that was basically a hobby for me and turned it into my full-fledged career.
A mentor from my days at Sports Illustrated told me that if I find a job I enjoy, I'll never work a day in my life. I've kept that adage in mind since beginning this journey, and it's still very relevant today. Every day I get up to go to work, I am so grateful--and, dare I say it, even thrilled--to be there. Not only am I and the rest of the staff working toward a mission we all believe in--that of furthering the resources and support available to engineers worldwide--for myself, at least, I'm also literally working my dream job.
What makes this all the more sweet for me is that I worked incredibly hard to get to this point. Aside from the support and guidance of my dearest friends and family, no one else can say they put !i$@ bee in the position she's in now besides myself. And that's a great MFing feeling, lemme tell ya.
The year 2011 was a bust for many reasons, and for many folks. But I'm glad to say mine ended on a high note, and my 2012 begins on one, too
Maneki Neko, or Lucky Cat
9/1/11
F*ck it, I'm on 1 (...hundred, thousand, trillion)
That accident left me feeling a little... dare I say it? 
Prior to the accident, I was so focused on my job and my life that--knowing my drive--I would never have voluntarily taken a break. Being in that accident forced me to reevaluate a lot of things in my life spiritually, emotionally, and most definitely physically.
I never thought I'd be saying this, but that accident turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Had it not been for the car I was in sailing through a red light that night, I would probably still never know just how much I could endure without breaking.
Recovery was difficult, sure. But instead of spending my days grieving for the life I once had (which was all too easy to do), I refocused my energies on creating the life I truly desire. I had a job position at the time of the accident, certain aspects of which I enjoyed. Overall though, that position wasn't relevant to my career interests; it was simply a job I did to make money. The months of recovery post-accident allowed me to figure out exactly what it is I'm best at and develop a plan to make a career out of those talents.
In addition to getting things moving again on the job front, I did a lot of intense self-evaluation and improvement. I watched a video series recently where women in positions of leadership in DC were asked to advise aspiring female leaders. I was most inspired by former U.S. Representative Jane Harman, who said, "If you can navigate a failure gracefully, you're stronger for it." She also lauded the principles of discipline, focus, and inner strength, all of which I gained in abundance from having been in that car accident.
I wouldn't say that being in the accident was a failure of any sort on my part. But I am certainly stronger for navigating its aftermath to the very best of my abilities. Having taken what I now see was a much-needed break from the hustle and bustle of my former life, I have a renewed drive and focus much more keen than that I had prior to the accident--and I thought I was operating at a pretty high level then. All of the pain and turmoil I endured--and eventually conquered--combined with the self-discipline I carried over from my school days contributed greatly to the continued development of my inner strength.
I'm going to stop very short of thanking my friend for flying through the intersection that fateful night. But I will say that, thanks to the accident, I found multiple strengths within myself (tenacity, increased drive and ambition, wisdom, and many, many others) that I was never fully aware I possessed.
It's an unusual route I took to get to this point of... enlightenment, I guess you could say. Knowing what I know now though, I don't think I'd have it any other way.
7/26/11
I'm baaaaaaaack
It's been a long time... I shouldn't have left you... without a dope beat to step to:
Yeah, I know. It's been a hot minute since I've had the chance to update my blog ::crickets chirping:: The fact of the matter is, I got super busy working and being on my freelance grind within the past two months or so. Like anything that I'm passionate about, I threw myself into networking and securing tech and writing gigs full force... unfortunately, to the detriment of other things I enjoy doing, like blogging (and my nails). I'm sorry about that.
What I'm not sorry about is the major changes that are going on in my life right now. Not only did I start from scratch doing something I know knew little to nothing about (freelancing), I did it all while still dealing with the aftermath of the car accident I was involved in last September. And I did it successfully
There were a few bumps along the road, namely issues with payment and figuring out how to organize my time. When you're in business for yourself, you're always on the clock. And being my own boss was, as I've said previously, one of the most rewarding yet challenging things I've ever done. Needless to say, I haven't had much time to devote to the one thing that started it all (besides my drive and ambition, of course
But I'm back now, with tales of my fantastical adventures (freelance and otherwise), updates on my hair & nail situations, hella dope music, and my wry, irreverent take on current events and assorted randomness. Stay tuned, folks!
6/6/11
Gettin' it WRITE & tight
It's been a whirlwind couple of weeks for your dear !i$@ bee 
All good of course, but a bit stressful nonetheless. Suddenly I have tight deadlines to meet and a relatively strict schedule to stick to in order to get everything accomplished. I love that I get to be my own boss in all of this, yet it's one of the most difficult--and most fulfilling--positions I've ever had. Nothing good comes without hard work so I'm more than up for the challenge, but hopefully, that explains the lack of blogging around here (womp womp... mama still loves you lisa-bee.com!).
To celebrate meeting my latest deadline, I decided to relax my mind, body, and soul by reconnecting with my loved ones and doing fun, exciting things far away from my laptop and words, lol.
I'll spread updates of my past couple weeks over the next few days (promise!) since Blogger wants to be a bia right now and not upload my pictures
How has YOUR June been so far?
4/28/11
How I lost 10 pounds ::squee!::
I've discussed my dedication to eating healthier and getting my body fit again before, most recently in this post. However, several people have asked me for more details as to how exactly I achieved this miraculous feat...
I was never Heavy-status before the car accident, but months of being bedridden and barely able to move did make me pack on the pounds. Since I couldn't wear pants with a waistband because of the pain in my hip, I was basically living in sweats and yoga pants, both of which have elastic waistbands. That and the generally baggy fit of those types of pants made it difficult to gauge how much weight I was actually gaining.
Luckily, from the outside, those same features also made it difficult to tell I'd gained much weight at all--unless you were me, of course. When I couldn't fit into my favorite skinny jeans anymore without looking like a sausage, muffin top, or some other stuffed food, I knew it was time to take action.
What a difference a few months of hard work & determination make 
Mii !i$@Instead of regularly eating out or getting
Anywhoevers, I kept this new behavior up 'til I started seeing results. Since it wasn't THAT much weight I was trying to lose, I was patient with myself and would try not to freak out over missing a day of exercise here and there, or devouring the occasional cupcake in .5 seconds. Once I was near my goal weight--as I am now--I increased my calorie intake to 1500 a day and started working out 3x a week to avoid the risk of sending my body into starvation mode. Once your body does that, it's difficult to continue losing weight. In fact, you might just plateau or start gaining more weight since your body will seek nourishment from whatever sources it can (those sources being lean tissue and muscle), since it doesn't know when it will next receive food or drink.
I'm glad to say my weight-loss journey has been a success thus far! In fact, just the other day on Facebook I updated my status to reflect a new, rather unfortunate (but not really) state of affairs: my favorite leggings are now too baggy for me to wear. Nothing's sadder than baggy leggings
But nothing's better than a tighter, righter body to display this summer, and for the foreseeable future!
4/19/11
There, but for the grace of God, go I
Though many, many positive things are currently happening in my life, I recently took a moment to reflect on the sheer magnitude of how I got to this point after a tumultuous couple of years post-graduation. In the span of two years, I lost both my grandma and an uncle within a week of each other; I nearly lost my father; and I barely escaped death my damn self.
...And yet, it could have been so much worseIt's working well for me so far. Back in January, I wrote myself a little note with some goals I want to achieve this year:
- Explore careers in my fields of interest
- Look up ways to monetize my blog
I'm FOCUSED, man!After joining an organization for professional women in technology, I networked like a mofo and finally landed a position where I have near full control over a small business' online and social media marketing campaigns. Not only am I doing what I love, I'm also building my portfolio and gaining new skills.
As for monetizing my blog, I do have some space dedicated to ads (in the sidebar and at the very bottom of my blog), however, I hate an ad heavy site and just don't want that for my viewers. Online ad revenue isn't even worth it unless you make practically your entire site an ad space; at best, one makes *cents* a year with modest amounts of ad space. I have my thriving Lego heart pin business, which is one way I've managed to monetize my blog. Another way I've found to make money off this thing is through the skills I've amassed maintaining my site. Things like blogging, Facebook, Twitter, and other technologies are second nature to me; now that I think about it, I've been using a computer since I was three years old (!!!). I still can't wrap my head around the fact that people are willing to hire me to do what comes so naturally--and what I'd do for free anyways, out of sheer enjoyment.
The road to recovery post-accident was anything but easy, but with
I felt pretty sh*tty for the next few months, but regular checkups with my doctor revealed nothing wrong aside from some understandable aches, pains, and minor injuries. In other words, I have a clean bill of health--something I'm especially grateful for as so many others cannot say the same. Seeing as how I've been gifted not only with my life, but also with my health, I set out to maintain that by regularly exercising through my physical pain (I do yoga, strength training, and aerobics about 5x/week), eating healthier and in smaller portions, and drinking more water. Doing so has done wonders for my body, inside and out.I still get occasional sharp pains, especially where the seatbelt lay across my body (something I addressed more fully in my Chakra Khan post). Whenever that happens, I take comfort in the fact that I do have my life and health, and I remind myself to allow myself the time it takes to fully heal from such an intense impact.
All in all, things are on the up and up
I've worked extremely hard to put myself in a competitive position in terms of securing jobs of interest and good health. It is so exulting to see the fruits of my labor finally begin to blossom.
3/31/11
L.I.S....M.I.A.
I know posting's been sporadic around here, but I have family in town visiting from California. Of course, THIS DC Soulcialite is stepping up & doin' her thang in terms of getting them reacquainted with the city
Regular posts to resume next week; 'til then, feast yourselves on the new albums (and a couple semi-oldies) my cousin and I have been bumpin':
Pusha T - Fear of God
Chris Brown - F.A.M.E.
Curren$y - Fast Times at Ridgemont Fly
Curren$y & Wiz Khalifa - How Fly
1/6/11
Powertuff Girl
Those of you who remember the accident I was in back in September may be curious as to how I've been coping since this post. I'm still keeping up with my newfound spiritual beliefs: mostly positive thinking and mantras, adding to my gratitude/joy list, chakra color therapy, and yoga. I didn't give up talking to trees (or "connecting with nature," if you will)... in fact, shortly after my awkward introduction to "tree talking" is when things started to really pick up in terms of my progress.
My overdue medical bills are being handled by my lawyer, which is a HUGE stress relief. The cost of a lawyer alone is worth it just to not have to worry myself about--and impede my progress with--how to pay these astronomical and debt-inducing hospital bills.
Speaking of bills, with my parents' help I was able to become insured under my father's policy, meaning I can finally go forward with that no-longer-$3000 invasive procedure I need to figure out where I'm bleeding internally from. If you're wondering why I wasn't insured beforehand, I recently graduated from university and was covered as a student under my school's policy. Once I graduated, that expired and it was hella expensive to insure me under either of my parents' policies. So I'm freeballing it in the world, uninsured and whatnot, when I get in this accident. Even though it's only good for a few months, thanks to Obama's health care bill I'm able to be covered until my next birthday on my dad's policy. Ask, and the universe shall provide
In terms of getting my chakras back in alignment, I know I'm making great progress. My regular readers will remember from my Chakra Khan post that almost every one of my chakras was blocked in some way. I decided to tackle the first chakra, The Crown, well... first.
Knowing that the color purple is associated with The Crown chakra, which honors one's connection to the divine, I put on my favorite purple hoodie and got to it. Purple is already my favorite color, so I have a lot of it on-hand in my wardrobe and jewelry. Surrounding myself in the color allows me to draw the divine energy associated with it, from it (you'll remember from the CK post I did the same thing with the color yellow, to strengthen The Solar Plexus chakra). And I definitely feel that my connection to divine energy/the universe/God, whatever you wanna call it, has increased exponentially.
Funny story: as an example of how open my Crown chakra has become, I've noticed an increased turnaround in terms of things resolving themselves in my life. Not only the events I've listed above, but also smaller, everyday things. The other day I lost $20 while out grocery shopping. I was pissed! So, bags in the trunk, I head back home to unload the groceries and tell my mom the terrible news. Before I can even open my mouth, she hands me $20, "for gas." I even tweeted this mess (and, no, she doesn't have a Twitter, as one follower asked!), it was amazing to me.
My work in terms of re-opening my Crown chakra allows that energy to trickle downwards and unblock the six other chakras. The second chakra, The Brow, I also feel has become unblocked. With all I'm learning in terms of patience, resilience, and endurance throughout this ordeal, I do feel like a wiser and more aware person because of it.
My Throat chakra, which honors communication, is alive and active as well. Right after the accident I had difficulty expressing myself and my wants and needs. I barely spoke at all. All along I had a strong support system of family and close friends, whom I now turn to if I need to vent, chat, or just get out the house. Even though it seems simple enough to trust and confide in your loved ones, I'm still learning to rely a little less on myself these days and allow the people in my life to help me out during all of this. I've spent the majority of my life doing things for myself, my way... now that the tables have turned a little, it does take some adjustment.
Keeping a gratitude/joy list has helped me strengthen my Heart chakra. Before, it was as if a veil of negativity blocked my view. Having a tangible list of things I'm grateful for to look at, to remind me of the wealth of love present in my life, has certainly helped lift that pesky veil.
And then there's my Solar Plexus, the chakra from which most of my pain from the accident emanates. This area is associated with confidence and personal power, and in the months since my last progress post, I've taken great care to tend to this area. Pain still radiates from here, but since surrounding myself with the associated color to this chakra (yellow), examining what I need to do in my life to increase my confidence and remind myself of my personal power, and taking yoga classes specifically designed to strengthen and heal one's body from the inside out, there is marked improvement in how extreme this pain is.
I'm still working on my sixth and seventh chakras, The Sacral and The Root. The Sacral chakra governs creativity and emotional connection, while The Root chakra honors the Earth. I said earlier in this post that my communication skills (Throat chakra) have improved from what they used to be right after my accident. I'm still working on opening up more and allowing my loved ones to provide for me, instead of the other way around like I'm used to. In the little notebook I keep my gratitude/joy list in, I've also added reminders to myself to work on increasing my patience with myself and others. I strengthen my Root chakra by telling myself that the universe will provide for all my needs; I tell myself this until I start to believe it. I still communicate with nature, albeit somewhat awkwardly, as evidenced by my tree convos. But the fact that I'm actually doing this, silly as it seemed at first, proves that I'm truly committed to grounding myself in the reality of my situation and creating a safe space for myself. You might remembering me writing that the thought that anything was possible at any given moment was terrifying to me. Nowadays, that thought is pretty empowering.
Anyways, self-improvement is an ongoing process and like anything worth having, it takes time. I see it as my job right now to increase my understanding of my condition, heal from within, and allow myself adequate time to fully recuperate. Deepening my knowledge of self and others is one of the many positives I've taught myself to recognize during this ordeal. For anyone else out there going through something similarly difficult, take heed: time and patience heal all wounds. In the meantime, you can always work on equipping yourself with the necessary means to conquer and move past that situation.
All in all, I'd say I'm coping well and very much looking forward to what blessings the new year will bring
11/14/10
Seeing the forest, and the trees
The other day one of those personal injury commercials came on TV and it was like they were speaking right to me.
Have you been injured in an accident?
Are you unable to work because of your injuries?
Bills piling up?
Ugh.
I was MIA last week sending out letters to various bill collectors explaining the difficult sitchiation I'm in because of that car accident in September. With my internal bleeding stabilized (but definitely still happening), I've gotten my doctor's permission to postpone the invasive procedure I was supposed to have to discover the source of the bleeding. Only prahlem is, the doctor that was scheduled to perform the procedure still wants to go through with it since internal bleeding is a pretty serious symptom and I'm sure he doesn't want to be held liable should anything truly problematic be discovered later on. And here lies the dilemma:
Injuries from car accident = no job for me. No job = no insurance. Pre-existing illness (asthma) + being almost 26 (aka off parent's insurance) = extreme difficulties getting outside insurance. No insurance = astronomical medical bills. Which would be manageable knowing that a settlement will soon be reached, but:
- No one knows how soon a settlement will be reached, seeing as how I'm not well yet and bills are still coming in
- Some of these doctors want payment up front. For the procedure to see where my internal bleeding is coming from, the total upfront cost will be $3,ooo
But there were a couple bright spots in the week. Communication with an old friend helped me solidify my stance on spirituality, namely that positive thinking is a great asset in attaining deeper spiritual knowledge and in navigating the world in general.
I also received a suggestion from a spiritual friend to connect with nature by talking about my problems... with a tree. Yeah, a real tree. In a park and shizz. Seeing as how I have nothing else to lose, I did it. I felt weird at first, but luckily it was the middle of the day and few people were around. I picked a tree in a very calming spot, right off a biking trail and across from a burbling brook. I placed my hand on the trunk of the tree and not knowing how to break the ice, I asked it to help guide me toward faith in the universe and what it has in store for me, in addition to increased confidence. Not surprisingly, the tree had little to say in return. That's when I started taking visual cues from it, looking for some kind of response... any response.
Well, for starters, the tree was tall. Bursts of brick red leaves sprang forth from its branches. Its trunk was thick and rigid, tough from being exposed to the elements all its life. It was stable, seeing as how its many roots were visibly protruding from the ground. Just from observing the tree, I was able to tell a lot about it. But how does this relate to me?
I thought of how all naturally occurring things are made in the image of the divine. In that sense, the tree and I already had much in common. Mother Nature is a harsh bish, and the fact that this tree was able to live for as long as it has under those conditions--growing tall, sprouting leaves, developing a solid core in order to withstand the elements, drawing support from its roots in order to remain stabilized--can certainly be seen as a source of inspiration and awe.
In fact, these observations of the tree go hand in hand with my practice of yoga and all that I'm learning about myself, spirituality, and holistic healing because of the accident. Yoga moves focus on the lengthening of limbs to achieve a full stretch, having a solid core (the trunk of one's body) from which each move emanates, and having stable footing, particularly when doing standing exercises. Physically, yoga can be difficult at first; I've found as the weeks go on, I'm able to do more and more poses I couldn't fathom doing my first week of class. If I equate the tree's innate knowing of reaching one's full height, solidifying one's core and drawing strength from one's roots to my own situation, I understand that with practice, I, too, can achieve these things.
So, no, my chat with the tree didn't tell me anything directly, but it certainly relayed a lot.
8/13/10
Busy Bee
The past month has been a bit of a rollercoaster for your dear !i$@ bee. Since the beginning of July I have:
- Gotten a part time job at a major clothes retailer catering to the teen and up set
- Quit that job because it sucked
- Gone on, like, 6 interviews since quitting--fantastic!
I ordinarily wouldn't put this out there for any and everyone to read, but I figure a lot of folks are in similar situations and it couldn't hurt to have another story to relate to... the real reason I despised this position is, I couldn't get over the fact that I have a college degree now and was stuck doing retail work. I'd promised myself while working retail in college that once I graduated, NO MORE. Yet there I was, on my feet all day, organizing racks and racks of clothing that some inconsiderate person(s) would destroy again in a matter of minutes, working irregular hours that left me little time for a social life, making little more than minimum wage.
I tried to suck it up and deal, but each little slight--having to keep two whole sections of the store immaculate *by myself* because most people were quitting, then being yelled at by a manager to "do better" and "try harder;" having only 30 min. for lunch and a 10 min. break per shift, both of which you had to keep track of yourself and which had to be manager-approved before taking them (try traversing a 40,000 square foot store looking for someone to approve your breaks... that eats up your "break" right there); the sh*tty employee discount: a whopping 10%--made it that much worse.
My paycheck after two weeks was a joke. It was so not worth it to me.
Once I made the decision to leave, I hit the ground running in terms of getting my resume out there and securing interviews for positions I'm better qualified for and that pay well above minimum wage. I signed up with four temp agencies to ensure I get a steady stream of job opportunities coming in. I made sure to send a thank you note after each interview. And the response I've gotten so far has me optimistic about my future job prospects
Again, as much as I hated my retail job, I can't knock it completely because it gave me the extra motivation to go out and look for something better.
I thought humility was a lesson I'd already learned through my previous stints in retail and from the state of the economy in general. An in-your-face reminder every now and then can only make me stronger.
And yes, in case you're wondering, Steven Slater is my job quitting hero. In addition to myself, of course
7/29/10
Stuff I've been into lately
MUSIC: Curren$y
MOVIES: Experimental film
A still scene from the very disturbing A Serbian FilmAs soon as someone describes a movie as "notorious," (A Serbian Film) "at once horrifying and mesmerizing," (Gummo) or just plain "odd," (Dogtooth) I MUST see it and judge for myself. These are the reviews/synopses of some recent films I've seen:
DRINK: McD's Frappes & smoothies
I try to avoid McDonald's as much as possible, but the Golden Arches' latest offerings of ice cold Frappes and smoothies have drawn me back in. I LOVE iced coffee and chai lattes in the summer time (hell, even in the dead of winter) so the caramel Frappe is right up my alley. I've tried both versions of the smoothies--Mixed Berry & Strawberry Banana--and while they are both tasty, I'm partial to the Mixed Berry myself. I got free coupons for these in the mail, so check yours or scour the internet for some free deals on the Frappes and smoothies this week.DYING TO: Go to the pool! Haven't been in or near one all summer and it's blowin' me man.
4/5/10
More fun with eyeshadows
For a long time, I could have cared less about makeup. It didn't make sense to me to spend a lot of time on my face when I had other things to do. But lately I've really been into makeup, specifically The Wonderful World of Eyeshadow. I love playing up my eyes (they ARE the windows to your soul), and I've always been a huge fan of color. I did this look playing around with my brightest shadows; I'm trying to master the art of blending since that's what a great eye is all about. I'm building a little collection y'all!
Here's what I used:
3/11/10
So I went to the MAC store today...
... and this is what $60 worth of eyeshadow looks like (applied & blended by me... yay!). I was going for this look:
Anyways, my birthday eyes are going to be FAB. U. LOUS.
3/9/10
And... we're off!
The birthday week is off to a good start.
1. Sparkly things (he's the best 
2. Da moviez (see the previous post)
3. Coldstone Creamery (The ice cream cupcakes? AMAZING. And they come in little chocolate cups... mmmm)
