Sally

I felt slightly out of the loop today when I heard the word about Sally Clites passing away in a mass e-mail from Ashley Gordon, who is in Ecuador at university. I guess if it takes getting the news from another country, so be it. But anyway, I visited the Clites' blog tonight and what Dick posted today brought tears to my eyes. (If you'd like to read it, there is a link to their blog on mine.) I can only imagine what it must be like to live with someone for over 42 years and then wake up every morning after they're gone and feel like a huge chunk of your world is missing. It makes you appreciate those who mean the most to you, when you think about what it'll be like when they're no longer with you.
Dick and Sally came to preps for a couple years before she got sick and we always enjoyed their smiles and wonderful spirits. Everyone there called me Cheech, of course, and one time Sally asked what my real name was because she couldn't remember it...*smile* I'm not sure if she ever knew it, really. But anyway, I didn't see Sally when she was sick, and since I won't be able to attend her funeral, I can just keep the memories I have of Sally laughing and talking, always smiling, in my mind. She will be missed.
On that note, all other news I may have pales in comparison, so I guess I'll leave it at that. Meeting in the morning is at Florence's, so I look forward to the spirit there that's so different from what I'm around every day. Have a good night.

Trash Trouble

Well, we had another burglar at our apartment yesterday, but luckily this time nothing valuable was stolen.
Last night before I went to bed, I emptied our over-flowing garbage can (i.e. struggled to get the bag out of the can, shook it around a bit to get the trash to condense enough so I could tie the top of the bag) and plopped the bag outside our front door. I don't exactly enjoy making the trek to the dumpster in the dark, so it's not unusual to leave a trash bag on our front stoop until morning and toss it in on the way to catch the bus. And we've never had a problem before.
This morning, I open the front door to head out for the day to find a stoop littered with garbage, my forlorn trash bag slumped over with several large holes in the side. Obviously I didn't have time to take care of it then, so I locked up and headed to the bus stop.
Of course when I got home this afternoon, the situation was still the same, so I did my best to put the tattered trash bag inside another one (not an easy task when garbage is falling out everywhere) and gather up all the stray garbage. Yum. Now it's all come to rest in the bottom of a Waste Management dumpster. Rest in peace.
So that was my excitement for the day. The moral of the past week's story is: #1. Never leave your front door unlocked. Random people like to enter to see what they can find; sometimes they even find you asleep in your bed, but don't worry--they don't stay long after that. And #2. Don't leave bulging trash bags out where little furry creatures can find them. For some reason they seem to enjoy smelly, half-rotten garbage.

As a side note...my wedding gown arrived in the mail at home on Friday! I tried it on, of course, and it fits really well, much to my relief. Alterations will be minor, which will save me time and money. So that's one item I can check off my list of the 247 things I have to take care of before June 12. Just kidding, it's not that bad. I'm actually really enjoying planning the big day. Maybe I'm missing my calling and should become a wedding planner...

Not-so-intelligent burglar

There's nothing like a little break-in to make you become super careful/paranoid about locking all the doors and windows.
Last night we apparently had a somewhat minor, um, entering at my apartment. I'd say breaking and entering, but the door was unlocked--we even have a welcome mat--so it can't really be considered breaking in. Maybe trespassing is a better term. At any rate, I was sleeping quite peacefully when my bedroom door opened and shut quickly, the noise and the light from our hallway/sink area waking me. I wasn't aware enough (nor did I have my spectacles on, obviously) to see who had opened my door, but assuming it was my roommate home from her night out on the town (possibly slightly drunk and just messing around), I climbed out of bed and locked my door. She could go have her giggles elsewhere.
Interestingly enough, it wasn't Amber at all. She didn't even arrive home until around 9 a.m. (this happened probably between 2 and 4 a.m.), but I didn't know that until I talked with her this evening and found out her PDA, wallet (which luckily carried no cash), and a $5 bill were missing from her bedroom. The pieces fell together--we had been burgled in the middle of the night.
Unfortunately for us, Lauren's boyfriend hadn't locked the door when he left to go home, and of course we all assumed it had been taken care of and went to sleep in ignorance, leaving our humble abode wide open for anyone to visit.
We've talked to the police, of course, but obviously they have almost nothing to go on (the only sighting was a fleeting glance of light from a blind-as-a-bat girl in a foggy, sleep-induced state), and it's not like this never happens in this town. Burglary is a pretty common occurrence around here. But it's funny how it always seems to be one of those things that happens to other people...until it happens to you. Pretty creepy to think an unwelcome stranger prowled around in our house last night. But I'm glad I wasn't really aware at the time because I might have had a slight heart attack if I had known what was really going on.
And I've come to the conclusion that our burglar wasn't all that smart. I mean, he turned on a light, for Pete's sake, and a bright one at that. Isn't thievery something you're supposed to do under the cover of darkness so you don't alert anyone? And on top of that, after he'd discovered Amber's things, he decides to come open MY door--duh. Doesn't a closed door generally mean someone's in there? Also, he didn't touch Amber's checkbook that was in open view, nor the cord that charges her PDA (what's he going to do when it dies?). Lauren's cell phone was in the living room, but he didn't take that either. So overall, he didn't make out that well (Amber's ID, bus pass, and debit card were all in her possession at the time, not in her wallet), but we all certainly learned our lesson. You can bet the apartment is closed up tighter than Fort Knox tonight. (I'm not even sure where Fort Knox is, but I heard that saying once and thought it was great.)

Ah, life in a college town. Nothing quite like it.

On a lighter note, I endured orientation at Kohl's tonight. Basically just a bunch of paperwork and watching videos on store safety and emergencies, Kohl's policies and various "how-to" instructional things. Pretty boring. But I actually start real training for a couple hours on Monday, so that should be much more interesting. The best news about being a Kohl's employee is the 15% discount--even on sale items! You just can't beat a good bargain.

Andrew's coming to PA this weekend, so I'll be heading home tomorrow afternoon so we can hang out with mom and pop. Looks like we're going to have homemade pizza for supper...thinking about it makes me kind of hungry...

Kohl's, here we come!

Sitting in the computer lab on campus today between classes, my cell phone vibrated with an incoming call--an 814 number I didn't recognize--and I knew it had to be good news! And it was. It was Joe, the friendly Kohl's manager-guy, offering me a job--contingent upon my criminal record coming back clean, of course. Hope that won't be a problem.

So now I've got to report to the store Thursday evening for what he called orientation, but I'm not sure exactly what day I'll actually start working. I don't believe the store even opens until the first couple days of October, but I'm betting they'll need help setting things in order before the grand opening. Since I'll be working in the misses and juniors departments, I would think they'd need me. We'll see.

The convenient thing about this job is that there happens to be a Kohl's store within several miles of where Andrew and I are planning on setting up housekeeping in Fairborn, Ohio, so there's a chance I could transfer to that store come next June for a little job security while I hunt for bigger and better things. At any rate, I'm excited about this job--I think I'm really going to enjoy it.

Weekend News

So I had my first tailgating experience at a Penn State football game today. I actually had to go for my feature writing class, to find an interesting, unique tailgate, talk to the people there and turn it into a story.

Now, tailgating at PSU isn't quite like anything you've seen before, probably. Die-hard football fans pull in their campers and motor homes or just their cars and trucks and set up camp for the day (some even come the night before). Before the game, they all grill up lots of food and play games, etc...pretty family-friendly, actually. Alumni from all over attend these events, and there were even some Oregon State fans there, too (that's who PSU played - and whooped - today).

It wasn't too long after the roomies and I got to the stadium area that I found a pretty interesting tailgate - a blue and white painted 1984 school bus with a retractable awning on the outside that sheltered tables, coolers, and a grill from the drizzling rain. A guy from State College bought the bus several years ago and remodeled the interior to look kind of like a motor home (including a large flat-screen TV). So now he and all his friends, kids and adults, tailgate with his bus at every home game. All the people were friendly and willing to tell me all about it, so it ought to make a cute story. Hopefully my professor thinks so, too.

My only other news is that I ordered my wedding gown yesterday! I'd supply you all with a nice preview photo, but I don't want to risk Andrew seeing it, obviously. :) So you'll have to suffer and wait as well. I'm still working on bridesmaid gowns, though, but it ought to be easier to decide now that I have my dress nailed down. Once the girls and I pick one, I'll be sure and post a photo so you have at least a little preview of coming attractions...

Interview

I endured my second official job interview ever today, but it was actually quite a pleasant experience. It ended up being a group interview with myself and four others, pretty relaxed and informal. The five of us answered the questions dutifully and probably honestly, for the most part. Of course one has to make oneself look fabulous while being interviewed, so when asked what qualities we possess that will be important on the job, we all said outgoing and polite, organized and ready to serve with a smile. Or something similar. So who knows? For a job like this one that requires no real advanced skills that set you apart from the crowd, you don't really know if you've got a chance or not since you're pretty much the same as the next guy. But we'll see. I'm supposed to hear by this weekend whether or not I'll be a part of the Kohl's family. One good thing about being a Kohl's employee is that the company is (supposedly) known to give good promotions, so perhaps I'll fall in love with working there and I can move up the ladder--a convenient plan B if I can't write for a living. I mean, you could probably tell I'd enjoy working at a clothing store if you glanced inside my organized-by-color closet. Anyways. I hope I get the job--keep your fingers crossed for me!