Pep Talk

Self pep talk for an overcast December day:

You don't have any pressing tasks today -- Well, you're at work, but you took care of everything you had to do here, and now, if anything, you have to look like you are doing something productive and important. So quit going over in your head things that need to be done. Biggest thing you got to do when you get home? Wrap a couple of presents. Woahh, someone give that girl a Klondike bar.
Despite your critical looks in the mirror this morning, your eye make-up doesn't make you look stupid. It's not that smeared. You probably could have gone a little more natural and let up on the eye liner, but whatever. Who's looking at your eyes? The Fed-Ex guy doesn't care that you slapped on make-up or that your complexion is a little redder than normal today.
And who says you have to be merry just because it's Christmas? The Muppets and clay-mation characters don't count. It's not a holiday to be used as an excuse to walk on eggshells for other people so that you feel warm and fuzzy inside. You care about people, right? So show them. Do it in the name of the love Christ has filled you with, not in the name of a commercialized occasion.
And He does love you. You hardly have an idea who He is, but the fact that you haven't turned from faith all together speaks volumes. Part of you acknowledges that He is the only means of your recovery. And that's what this is. It's recovery. From an affliction that you have been able to suppress until now. You're in a rehab of sorts, so start acting that way. Let yourself heal.

Now quit blogging to yourself, ya crazy.

I'M NOT DEAD

I swear. I've just got sooo many things going on. Deadlines. sleep. Work. food. Family. School. You know how it goes.
I've got this major research paper due tomorrow, and guess what page I'm on. Page 5. Yeah. Sad thing is, I've been working my butt off on it. It's just a really confusing topic. I also went to advising for classes in the Spring (for which I register next week). I'm all like, "Here's a list of the classes I'd like to take," and the guy's all like, "Herm, humph, errr, we usually put our second semester students in these classes." So he signs his name next to his classes, but I've already checked to make sure my classes fulfill my credits, and they do, so maybe he just doesn't like the classes I chose. In which case he should probably pull some strings to get those classes out of the catalogue, or at least take them off the approved list on my student web account so that next time I won't spend my already limited time making up a schedule. Or maybe he should just change jobs.

Work is pretty great. I just got home from it, so I'm not incredibly enthusiastic about it at the moment. Eight hours is draining. But I work with some interesting people, and I'm learning some neat-o stuff about administrative management and stuff. Yeah, I just used neat-o.

That's all I really feel like writing about at the moment. Maybe I'll get some free time and some interesting things to talk about one day soon.

Sincerely,

Danielle Dani

Potpourri

I haven't posted anything in foreverrrrrrrr, so this may be a long post, but I'm going to try to keep it short and sweet for those of you, like me, have little patience/short attention spans. Just want to give a little update on what I've been up to. I'll keep the ranting to a minimum.

So college is off to a busy start and has unrelentlessly consumed my thoughts, schedule, conversations, and now my social networking. Cheyeah. It's that bad.
I'm finally feeling like a part of the UA scene. I've lived about fifteen minutes from campus for twelve years and have not once felt comfortable walking around campus up until this point. Now I feel a stronger sense of "we're all in the same boat, just trying to make it to class on time" instead of "I bet they can all tell I'm an underclassman." I've made immense progress with my anxiety since starting college. Big places with lots of people used to intimidate me, but I'm coping with those circumstances more frequently now and trying new things.
Speaking of anxiety, it's getting better, but I'm still working on it. I haven't tried the West Side Story or Inuit Relaxation techniques yet, though. My counselor tells me over and over that anxiety is and will always be a part of my life, so I have to make friends with it and accommodate accordingly when I know I'll have to face a stressful situation. I'd like to commence this new friendship with a swift kick to the balls, but that might make the relationship a little tense in the future.
My new job is a total God-send. I work 8+ hours twice a week which gives me time to get some homework done and make a little cashhmoneyy at the same time. Plus, my boss has given me a task which requires me to organize data from one system and transfer it to another for event/class room reservations. It's right up my alley! I love making lists and compiling data (I used to play a game with my cousin where he was the big CEO of a publishing company, and I was the secretary that reviewed emails of authors and who transcribed letters for him. Oh my gosh, that sounds so totally psycho. We were weird, okay?).

There's so much going on at once these days, but I'm guessing that it will level out soon. I'll write more as my thoughts become less jumbled.

Peace, Love, and Hugs,


Dani

To Infinite, and Beyond in 140 Characters Or Less

I believe sharing my latest triumph with you all is in order. I quit my job! It's quite liberating. I won't go into too much detail, but working on a register for 5+ hours can only hold my attention span for so long.
Now, it's time to focus on my freshman year of college, although I do have a job opportunity I'm waiting to hear from. But for now, I have time to enjoy life again. See, I am an 18-year-old trapped in the mind of a 32-year-old. I have the constant ominous feeling of responsibility lurking about me. Gotta plan for my future! Gotta save up money for my future! Gotta prevent sun damage and global warming for the future! Well, I say it's time to put the future in daycare and give myself some much needed mental TLC.  Que sera, sera, baby.

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Dropped quotes that amused me:


Today at work a little girl with curly brown pigtails came up to my register and said, "You're pretty!"
Me: "Aw, hehe, thank you! You're so cute!"
Pigtails: "Yeah, I know."

. . .

Saw Toy Story 3 with my boyfriend and my little sister. Her highness wouldn't let me sit by my boyfriend because she simply couldn't sit on the outside of us.

Me: Emily, can't TJ sit in the middle so we both can sit by him?
Emily: Noooo, I want to sit by both of you. And what if someone tried to attack us? Do you want them to attack me first?

She got me again with her flawless logic. Still, I'm a bit skeptical.

______________________________

By the by, I've jumped on the Twitter bandwagon, and with every new follower I become more addicted. It's like they've spiked my keyboard with Twitdrugs. Dear Lord help us all.



Good night, world.

AP Test, Work, Charlie, and Mom

I took the AP English test (only the biggest test of my highschool career), and it slaughtered my very existence. Maybe I'm exagerrating; the multiple choice section was not hard at all, but the essays..yikes. Still, I'm pretty sure I passed and got the college hours for it.

Work was sooo crazy today! I got there at 7am and was supposed to get off at 3:30, but I had to stay until 4:30 (wahhh, poor me).

Your mission: greet customers as if your life depends on it. You are the crackhead that gets a buzz from customer service. Think you can handle it?

One of my supervisors (he's one of my favorites, and he's Egyptian. Way cool.) asked me to stand by the door and greet people as they walk in the door. After watching me timidly and passively tell shoppers "good morning," he decided to let me in on a little business success secret.
"Dani, the difference between Walmart¹ and Publix is dat at Publix, the employee wants to check you out. Can't wait to help you find what you need. At Walmart, dey don't make you feel welcome. So, when da customer come in, you gonna say, 'Heyyy, how ya doin'?' and 'You find everythin' okay? You like the hungry shark. Ya going in for da kill.'
Me: o.0

Charlie, my dog, is mental. He runs into walls, chases leaves, and gets his head stuck in cups. And yet, he is a really well-tempered dog. In fact, he's the nicest dog we've had.
Mom: "He is such a good dog. I hope we have him a long time before he dies of natural causes."
Ohhh, Mom.

Speaking of which, Happy Mother's Day (tomorrow!). Be sure to call your mother.

DB

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¹I've always wanted to try the balloon thing at work to freak out my coworkers. If I ever do, I'll be sure to tell about it on here.