Exciting news!

I have some very big news! I now have a job! :D

Last Sunday one of my friends told me the restaurant he works at is hiring more people to bus tables on Friday nights, since he knew I've been looking for employment for quite a while now. I called them the next day and was able to get an interview Wednesday night.

When I got there, entering through the large front doors (which, by the by, remind me very much of a hobbit hole - they have a huge circular window), I was about 10 minutes early for my 5:15 interview. There was no one in the lobby, but I could hear people talking in another room and figured there was probably a staff meeting going on. I stood awkwardly in the lobby for about 10 minutes, reading and re-reading the plaques, smiling at passers-by, and feeling more and more uncomfortable. The restaurant is at a golf course, very large, and with big windows that showed lovely views of the golf course which I could see parts of from where I stood. Finally a lady asked if I'd been helped or was just waiting for someone, so I told her I was there for an interview. She told me the staff meeting was going longer than usual and I could just sit down, so I settled into one of the four large chairs near the fireplace and pretended to be doing important things on my phone (the only magazines were golfing related, so there wasn't really any reading material).

At last the staff meeting was over, and D., the lady who would be interviewing me, appeared and brought me an application to fill out. It didn't take long to fill out since I didn't have any past jobs, and D. was quite surprised I was done already when she walked through a second time. Then she sat down and interviewed me, which was quite painless and rather humorous. :D

At the end of the interview, she asked if I'd be ready to start this Friday! I enthusiastically said that would definitely work, and so she gave me all the necessary forms and information, such as wear your hair pulled back and what sort of shoes and socks to wear (black, closed toes, with black socks). She also asked if I'd be fine with being a hostess sometimes, which would mean I'd greet the people who had reservations, bring them to their table, and give them menus, which of course I said I'd love to do! As I went outside, folder full of confusing forms in hand, I tried my hardest to not run until I'd at least gotten out from under the archways leading to the door, but I was SO excited I couldn't help myself and ran to the car as fast as I could! Dreadfully undignified, but oh well. :) Earlier in the week I'd thought that it would be pretty cool if they hired me right then and there and I could start working that Friday, but I thought, "Ah, that'll never happen. They'll have to call my references and everything, so I won't even dwell on it," but it happened! I was so happy! I feel so blessed to have gotten a job so quickly and painlessly!

After I'd excitedly told my dad that I'd been hired and called my mom to give her the big news, Dad suggested we go buy my requisite black pants and black shirt right then. That was incredibly difficult - have you ever tried shopping for a long-sleeved, button-up black shirt in July? Don't, if you wish to preserve your sanity! I finally had to settle for three-quarter length sleeves, which will hopefully be acceptable for summer at least. And since I'm so tiny, finding dress pants also proved to be quite a challenge. After I'd almost given up hope since the Petites section had no sizes under 6, I spotted some in the Juniors section that were size 1. They were exactly 6 1/2" inches too long, as I discovered while altering them today, but they FIT! So now I have my clothes...I'll have to take a picture tomorrow so you all can see how official I look. ;)

The other exciting that hadn't occurred to me would happen is...I'll be getting a checking account! Now that is scarily grownup...I'm past the point of no return, no going back now! ;) And I suppose I'll have to learn how to balance the checkbook...fun stuff.

So yes, that would be my big news. Exciting! At this time last week, I'd no idea I'd a have a job in a week! :D

*****
I added a few songs to the playlist at the bottom of the page and deleted a few others. It's quite an eclectic mix...everything from the Secret Garden to Skillet...and I hope you hear something you like! :)

*****
And thank you SO much to Rocina Fontina for giving me the Princess of Feminine Delight award! :) That was so sweet of you!

Summer Days...

Today was one of the greatly anticipated days of summer...the church picnic!

I really love the picnic - I have ever since the first one we attended, and that was 6 years ago! I love spending time with my friends and being outside and playing sports/games and eating picnic food and listening to people play their musical instruments. Today, I ended up playing tennis, badminton (I was so surprised when I realized that it's spelled badminton), volleyball, a game reminiscent of monkey in the middle, jump rope, frisbee, soccer, tug of war, and kickball.

The tennis balls went flying crazily all over the park; I'm terrible at badminton; it was a semi-lame game of volleyball in which everyone kept switching sides whenever they wished ;); the monkey-in-the-middle-ish game took a very long time because of how we are all very good at throwing, catching, and confusing people :D; jump rope was actually quite fun, and I have retained my skillz; the frisbee ended up on the roof of a little concrete utility shed, and I was able to hoist myself up on it with my own two arms...I felt veddy strong! ;) (I'm terrible at frisbee too, though...one of my friends told me to throw it harder and pretend I was trying to take off his head. lol); one of my friends and I were going to play a one-on-one game of soccer, rushed at the ball, collided, and didn't even touch the ball...it was hilarious :D; we all got our fingers hurted playing tug of war; and our ball was commandeered halfway through the very confusing game of kickball. But despite all that, I think I can safely say everyone had a wonderful time! We know how to have fun. :)

Oh, and I did all of the above in a skirt, with no problems whatsoever! :)

I realized today that I'm really not terribly good at most sports, (I might just need more practice, though). I love playing them, however! Everyone has always told me that I'm very competitive, and I guess I'm realizing that I am. *smiles sheepishly* But that's not a bad thing at all, in my opinion. It's kinda funny that the truth eluded me for so long, however, seeing as every time I'm running with someone it turns into a die-hard race (for my part, at least).

Oh, and while I'm talking about sport-like things, I'll make the announcement that I now know how to swim! :D :D :D We decided to brave the public pool one evening after noticing that it's really not that busy and ran into some friends from church, Mrs. W and her two daughters. Mrs. W was able to teach me how to swim! I can now do the breaststroke and the crawl. It's sooo much fun...I can't wait for swimming lessons in the fall! I just wish water didn't have to be chlorinated, since it aggravates my asthma. :P

We watched The Return of the King last night. I looooooooovvvvvvvvvveeeeee that movie...as I'm sure you all know. :) After last night's viewing, I noticed two things (I always notice new things): I like the secondary characters (such as Eomer and Theoden) a lot more than I used to, and this time I felt such an incredible feeling of relief when the Ring was destroyed! I guess it just really hit me...wow...it's gone. They accomplished what they set out to do, and the world has been saved. What an incredible feeling of disbelief, wonder, and awe would fill your heart after accomplishing something like that! This time around, I also really noticed how hard Frodo fought to destroy the Ring. It was killing him, but he pressed on untiringly. He's always been my favorite character.

So, these are a few of my favorite moments from my favorite movie ever: Arwen seeing the vision of her son (it's such a beautiful message of what a gift life and a mother's love is, and always makes me cry); the moment when Eowyn says, "I am no man!" and kills the Nazgul ( my mom and I agree that that is the coolest part of the entire trilogy!); Galadriel helping Frodo press on in Shelob's Lair; Theoden's speech before the Battle of the Pelennor Fields when he hits his sword against the spears; Aragorn's speech to the Men of the West before the Black Gate (both of those parts give me chills!); and the entire end.

*sighs* The Lord of the Rings is just one-of-a-kind.

On a different note, this is my 99th post! :O :D I feel like I should do something special for it, but I've no idea what. :P Any ideas? :)

I am thinking of redesigning my blog, however...even though that makes me so nervous! I don't know...I don't like change. But I am getting a wee bit tired of this layout, so I think I will.