A Year

Well I figured since the time is upon us yet again to celebrate my escape from the womb (credits to Stewie Griffin), I would share a little of what happened this past year to me, since I know so many of you are oh so interested. Let's begin with this time last year:

I was working for a really neat paper company and was really enjoying the perks of my job and the people I worked with. However, the store was poorly managed by a manager who didn't like to work past 4pm or on the weekends, like, at all. So I usually got stuck with the closing shifts and worked all weekend long. There were a few weekends where I worked Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, all open to close. Then in early August I was offered a position at my current job and was more than happy to put in my two weeks at the paper store. Once the district manager heard that I was leaving, she was anything but happy. I was supposed to do an exit interview, but I think my manager knew that if I did, I would expose the fact that she never worked weekends and had taken a bunch off recently, leaving me and one other girl to run the store. Right before I put in my two weeks, the other supervisor had put in hers, pretty much having the same basic problems I was having with the store manager. And then the third supervisor was out because she found a full-time internship and she could only work about 4 hours a week. Now don't get me wrong, I enjoyed my time there and enjoyed the people I worked with (all girls) and the manager was nice, but she was bad at communication and just taking random entire weekends off.

Now for those of you who are keeping track, I was dating someone at the time, but I don't feel that I can write anything positive right here, right now. It was a joke of a relationship and it was only an emotional crutch for me since my relationship of two and half years had just ended. I will shed a little light on what happened in the months that followed: Well we broke up in February, and I'm not going to waste anytime telling you why, since many of you already know and it is not worth my time or energy anymore. But in August when I first started at my new job, I started getting emails from my ex's new girlfriend demanding that I leave him alone. So I was totally shocked because: 1. I haven't spoken to him since February; 2. I have no idea who she is; and 3. I haven't made any attempts to contact him other than one time to tell him I accidentally shipped something to my old address and didn't realize it (which I never got back because either him or his new whatever she is took it and threw it away). She sent me a very nasty email calling me every word in the book demanding that I leave him alone. So I wrote her a simple email back saying: "I have no idea who you are or what you are talking about, I haven't contacted him since we broke up and don't want to. Please leave me alone, thanks." And the nasty emails just kept coming one after the other. I stopped responding after the second "leave me alone" email, and she kept sending long, nasty emails saying how I'm fat and ugly (you know, since we are still in high school) and just generally rambling about how much my ex hates me. I also got messages from his brother's ex girlfriend who is also his best friend or whatever (basically, the town psycho). She was a major instigator in the problems that I had with my ex's family. But I just ignored them all and eventually sent them all to a spam folder in my email. Since then, I haven't heard from them, but I have a feeling they will come back in the future and annoy me since they all have the mind of middle schoolers.

Move on to my new job: totally love it. I started August 15 and right now we are in the middle of administrative professionals appreciation week. So yesterday I got breakfast on the firm, today I got flowers from my attorneys, later today I get an ice cream social, and then tomorrow I get lunch! So yeah, this week is pretty sweet. I work in the telecommunications department and have learned a lot about things that I never thought I would ever know anything about (if that makes sense).

I have also moved to College Park into a beautiful apartment with my life-long crush (now boyfriend), Andrew, and my dog, Charlie in February. The apartment is very spacious and the kitchen is the size of the bedroom I had in my apartment in Baltimore. I've cooked just about every single night, unless Andrew has mercy on me and takes me to dinner, which is usually the Buffalo Wild Wings right in front of our apartment. I finally got around to hanging some pictures and stuff, but we are still lacking a picture to go over our couch in the living room. However, yesterday I purchased the poster to the left, which will be framed in a quality IKEA frame and then placed over our couch with other various pictures.


I am incredibly happy with the way my life has turned out so far. I'm still at a crossroads on whether I want to go to grad school because I don't really want to be upwards of $30,000 in debt with a tanked job market. I'm also considering becoming a paralegal, but not sure if I want to devote the time to it yet since I would rather get into city planning. I think I'm going to play the next few years by ear and just wait and see where everything takes me. I've always been a planner and had everything perfectly laid out, and now, I'm just going to throw caution into the wind and wait and see what happens. I know I don't want to live in Maryland my entire life, and Florida seems to be in the horizon in a few years. We have another year on our lease here in College Park, and then, who knows where we will go. I do love my job and the people I work with, and leaving would be really hard.

Sorry this isn't a regular post complaining about the Metro, which I PROMISE I will do again soon!

xoxo

How to Ride the DC Metro

For those of you who have never ridden the DC Metro, or just have no idea how to and are constantly getting mean looks, cursed at, and bumped into, I have compiled a little "how-to" including tips on how to ride the labyrinth nightmare that is the DC Metro. Sure, one could argue that our system here is nothing compared to that of Paris or New York, but they all are born and bred how to ride the underground transit systems, and it is very apparent that we here in the DMV area, were not. So here is my list for all of you to use and share with your peers:

1. Never ride during rush hour unless it is absolutely necessary. You are going to encounter the everyday riders who don't have time for your stupid sh*t. Most of them have not had enough coffee to be polite to their fellow humans, and can become angry at an accelerated rate due to the lack of knowledge one must possess to ride during rush hour. The best times to ride on the week days are from 10AM to 4:30PM, and then from 6:00PM until the last train leaves the station. Avoid the metro at all costs between the hours of 7AM to 10AM and 4:30 to 6PM.

2. When exiting the train get out of the way. The last thing you want to do is exit the car, come to a dead stop and either get shoved out of the way or yelled at. I've seen both happen to innocent tourists who wanted to step one step off the car and look around. This is the worst possible idea. When you are exiting a train car, get off the car and walk as far away from the car as you can. Walk to the middle of the platform or get up against a column, a wall, or anything else you can put your back against. Then, and only then, should you consult your phone, map, or look around to figure out where you are going next. Failing to do this will result in having many people run into you, shoving you out of the way, and yelling at you.

3. Stand right, walk left. Stand right, walk left. STAND RIGHT, WALK LEFT. I cannot stress this enough.

4. If you have rolling luggage or any kind of big bulky luggage accompanying you on your Metro trip, keep it as close to your body as possible. Not only for the fear of it getting stolen, but because if you have your big bulky bag on the floor in the middle of everything, it will get stepped on and tripped over. The last thing you want to do is trip a regular Metro rider, trust me. When getting on an escalator with your luggage, always put the luggage on the stair in front of you, and stand behind it. DO NOT put it next to you and block the entire escalator, you will get yelled at.

5. If you are claustrophobic, consider another form of transportation. Trying to take up two seats because you can't have someone sit next to you because you're claustrophobic will not fly.

6. Do not put your bag on the seat next to you and block a seat. Someone will walk up and sit on your bag or demand that you move it.

7. Keep cell phone usage to a minimum or speak very softly. No one wants to hear your conversation about how your 'roids have returned. Plus, it's bad manners to talk incredibly loud on the Metro because not everyone wants to hear your conversation. Than again, it's bad manners to talk loudly anywhere besides outdoors.

8. If you decide to ride during a time of high traffic and get stuck near the door, please remember that you may have to step off the train so people can unload when it is not your stop. Blocking the door's is a major no-no and if people are trying to get off but you're blocking them, just simply step off and to the side where the other people are waiting to get on, let the people off, and then step back in. Simple as that. If you don't you will get yelled at or shoved out of the way.

9. Again, if you decide to ride during high traffic and you're going to be on for awhile, board the train and move towards the center of the car. Do not stand near the doors if you have 6 stops to go. Get on the train, get to the center and either find a seat or stand.

10. If someone bumps into you and you are following all of the rules and tips above, let it go. I get bumped into all the time when walking because people are dumber than rocks and can't seem to walk in a straight line or stay with the flow of people. If this happens, and unless they don't throw you into a wall or onto the tracks, let it go. As Chris Rock said: "If someone steps on your foot, let it slide. Why spend the next 20 years in jail cause someone smudged your Puma?"

11. Never depend on the station managers to be helpful, in the station manager office, or polite. Go to the WMATA website and calculate your fare, what stop you need to get off on, and any other inquires you might have.

12. Try not to carry much cash and don't have your nice new portable electronics out while you're riding during a low volume time. Your risk of getting robbed goes way up when there aren't that many people around.

I hope that you have all found my tips and rules helpful. Maybe you learned something new, or maybe you're sitting there thinking to yourself "holy sh*t, people are really this stupid?" The answer is yes, yes they are. The recent influx of Cherry Blossom tourists has really been riding my last nerve, as well as everyone else. If there is only one tip that I hope you take away from this entry, it's this: stand right, walk left.

xoxo