Spawn of Satan

I'm fairly certain that in order to be an employee at the Westlake Post Office you must pass a DNA test letting them know you are the Spawn of Satan. This place is my own personal hell. I honestly would rather pay $35 more in shipping than have to endure the wrath of that place. This morning I walked in around 9:30 to find a line of about 20 people. I didn't care, I wasn't in a hurry, and I had my book with me so all was peachy in my world.

After about 20 minutes one of the employees looks up and says to the next man in line (or waiting in line), "Sir get behind the black line". The man was kind of startled but cautiously backed up behind what he thought was the black line. She says again with more authority this time, "Sir get back behind the black line". He says to her, "I am behind the black line ma'am." To which she replies, "No you aren't, step all the way behind the black line". Each time her voice got louder. I didn't quite understand her urgency of him getting behind the black line, but apparently it was do or die.

After that sweet little encounter she turned to all of us waiting in line and said, "You might as well sit down because I am on the only one working today, and I am tired." Oh my. Satan, is that you? As I was reading I was slowly trying to steal glances at this woman. I kept wondering what caused her to be in such a bad mood. Maybe, she had a fight with her mother this morning on the way to work or maybe her ex-husband was supposed to pick up the kids this morning but didn't and now she has to figure out a way to work and care for them. Maybe she didn't make rent this month or her car is in the shop and needs new brakes. Whatever it was, I am sure it was bad. It had to be.

Everyone has a story. I just hope that hers has a happy ending because if this woman gets any more pissed off or angry I think she may go postal.

P.S. I made it through the line and my checkout without getting yelled at AND I got her to crack a smile!

So now I can say that I am officially 3/4 of the way through the waiting game. I got invited to the Backroads hiring event in Berkeley yesterday!! I will (I think) fly out there on March 3rd for a day long hiring event. The date still needs to be confirmed by Backroads. The odds of being hired once I get there are still SUPER slim but I am not going to think about that. Not sure what exactly to expect from it all but I am ready for the adventure.

Wheels Off.

Last night was one of the more bizarre Spanish classes I have ever been to. It is always alarmingly weird but last night really blew the rest out of the water.

Bizarre event #1: The professor's wife is a strange lady. She was introduced the first day as his wife and his assistant but she doesn't really do anything but shuffle in and out of the back office and complete very random tasks that sort of disrupt the class. Example: refilling the carrots on the snack tray even though there are still about 25 carrots left. Anyways, last night she appears, from the back door right as the class is quieting down to begin. She enters the bathroom which opens into the actual classroom so she is in good hearing range. She begins to wail. As in cry so loudly that I thought it was a joke and was part of his usual opening skit he does. It was wild. The entire class just looked at each other very puzzled and didn't really say much else. Our professor didn't hear because he is pretty hard of hearing so he just went on like normal. About ten minutes later she exits the bathroom, nose red, and storms out. Then immediately comes back in, demands (in front of the class) for his car keys and his credit card and then pushes him as she leaves. He pretended like it didn't happen and continued with his lecture. I have never been more confused in my life.

Bizarre event #2: The laughing lady. So we had a new woman in our class last night. I have never seen her in class before. She was an older lady, very well dressed, looked like she could have been a fourth grade spanish teacher or something. So class starts and we have heard all of the professor's jokes before and I might have chuckled the first time around, but after class number seven they just really don't pack the same punch as they used to. Well this lady couldn't get enough. I swear to god I think she was stoned or took some sort of laughing gas before class. It wasn't just a giggle here or there, it was full on wild laughter that we actually couldn't hear over. She was laughing so hard she had to take her inhaler. Not kidding. I was so perplexed...as was the rest of the class. My favorite person in the class looked over at me at one point and made the "has she been smoking pot gesture?". And it wasn't just for the first ten minutes...it went on for two hours. And then she excused herself because she had to leave early. It was kind of awesome, but super bizarre.

Bizarre event # 3: Sweatsuit Man. Ok...so I don't really need to explain this nickname. Don't get me wrong, I love a good sweatsuit but you need to change it up a bit. AND if you are going to be a perv, please at least wear clothes we can take you seriously in. So sweatsuit man farted in my face. Literally, within two feet of my face. I was seated and he was getting up to present his past tense sentence and he just let it go. In my face. No acknowledgement. He then proceeded to make a comment about how many women he gets into pools. Sick.

I snuck a photo of sweatsuit man, but I feel like I would be violating some sort of right if I put it up. So I didn't. I wish someone I knew was in this class with me....to witness how wild it really is.

I started my 2nd 8 week challenge through my gym this Saturday. This challenge focuses on clean eating and gaining strength in the process. I completed this challenge last year and it was a success so I figured I would go for round two. There are several requirements as you go through each week. I have to keep a food log of everything I eat and complete 5 intense workouts per week. I go to the gym 3 times per week, so really I am just taking on two workouts by myself each week. One is endurance and one is strength and we get an e-mail every Sunday with a choice of three workouts. We also make personal, career, and physical goals at the beginning of the challenge. They are required to be tangible so that at the end of the challenge you can look back and see if you were able to attain these goals or not.

 I think it is a perfect time for me to take on something like this. I've got a lot on my plate and this will force me to focus and to treat my body kindly. It is pretty incredible what clean eating can do for your mind and body. I always feel like I think more clearly if I am putting good healthy food into my body. I don't feel as stressed and I have a ton of energy. Also, my sleep cycle tends to be much more regular which for me is huge.

Overall, this is something that I look forward to. It is going to take a lot of focus and determination but I have no doubt I will finish and achieve my goals.

Here goes!

I never thought I was that crazy about dogs until I met Hank. Hank is like no other dog I have met before. My brother adopted him from a woman who was in a wheelchair and could no longer care for him. He is a two year old blue heeler with an incredible personality. Clinton brought him home with him from El Paso this Christmas so he could meet the family and we all fell in love.

My brothers and I joke that he is some wise person we all knew that passed away and came back in the form of a dog. When Hank looks at you it is like he is telling you something extremely important. He has these wild human eyes that crack me up. Sometimes I walk in the room and Hank is just sitting there looking at me out of the corner of his eyes with his head down, very bashful like. He is super calm and I never once heard him bark while he was here. He is also the most loyal dog I have ever encountered. When Clinton leaves the room Hank follows and he waits outside the bathroom until Clinton gets out. If Clinton leaves the house Hank will sit and stare at the door until he returns. He wakes Clinton up each morning with a friendly lick of the arm and when Clinton says the phrase "bike ride" to Hank he acts like he is about to be served a T-bone steak. Hank says hello by jumping up and placing his two front legs on your stomach and licking your arms. I love it. If we are all sitting in the living room Hank will enter and go around to each person and lick their hand and then go sit down by Clinton and just look at us with those big sad brown eyes.

I couldn't believe how sad I was when Hank and Clinton had to leave. I miss them so much.  He made me realize how much I miss having a dog. As soon as I am in one place for more than a year....I am going to get my own Hank.

Halfway through the waiting game...

I finally have some news from both Backroads and Grad School!!

The not so good news comes first...I got wait-listed for Grad School. It isn't horrible news, but it wasn't what I wanted to hear. They are postponing their decision until I re-take the GMAT in early March. Apparently everything I submitted looked "strong" except for my quantitative score. Go figure.

I also qualified for a phone interview for Backroads. The interview was last week and honestly I couldn't tell you if I completely botched it or did splendidly. It was a real mind bender. They gave me three back to back situational questions that had me sweating. Literally. When I hung up the phone I didn't know whether to cry or laugh. So I did neither. I find out at the end of this week if I will be invited to the hiring event. My fingers and toes are crossed until then.

I have decided that somewhere along the way the decision will be made for me. Hopefully one works out over the other and I don't have to decide between them both. That would be ideal.

Here is to more waiting....