"I made you a member of my wolf pack."

[katernater]

→ NBC is going to start airing episodes of Merlin starting mid-June. I've heard some scuttlebutt about the show on the BBC boards (where I troll, ineffectually, hoping to gain some kind of broad spectrum Anglo influence) and I'm kind of looking forward to it. It's definitely better than what I have been watching lately. My god, you guys, I'm such a sucker for reality television these days. I'm watching Expedition Africa, Intervention, Obsessed, The Next Food Network Star, Chopped, and Dinner: Impossible. I will pretty much watch whatever is on the Food Network. I have dreams -- actual dreams -- about being one of the panel judges on Iron Chef America. Yes, mom, I do have enough food in the apartment.

→ Todd and I saw The Hangover today. Hilarious. This week we're also planning on seeing Angels & Demons and The Lost World. So far this year, we've saved over $100 on movie tickets alone. Todd might come home crying because of the chemical burns he gets from the popcorn popper, but it all evens out. FREE MOVIES: WOO!

→ Money woes. 'Got some help from my parents, but I might end up having to get a second job to get through the summer. I have a little over $2100 saved toward my Simple IRA, but borrowing against it is pretty much a tax trap. I'll only go there as a last resort. I don't exactly miss my salaried job, but I do miss the money it brought in. It was nice to know there was a constant, consistent source of money for me to rely on. And yeah, I'm realistic: I know that things aren't always going to be difficult, that Hallmark isn't the end of the line for me, and that someday I'm going to be able to buy Pop Tarts without considering them a "luxury item." If nothing else, being strapped for cash has taught me to be more careful with my money. You know, foregoing books in favour of gas for my car. That kind of thing.

→ So cryptictac has been watching LOST lately and it makes me want to go back and give the series another try. I stopped watching after they revealed what was in the hatch. But I'm dubious, because I keep hearing that the current season is so convoluted that you practically have to keep a notebook to track what's going on.

→ I will not write fanfic about these guys. I will not write fanfic about these guys. I will not write fanfic about these guys.

Comments

[another-myself.livejournal.com]

I bought the first season of LOST before I left for my trip. Have yet to crack it open, but it's sorely, painfully tempting.

But why not write the fanfic? Frell, I vidded out my emotions in the form of an all-empowering Rose video, why shouldn't you have yourself some fun?

I know it goes without saying, but I'm keeping you in my thoughts and sending white light. ♥

[katernater.livejournal.com]

Thanks, dear. I'm really not in a bad way. I'm not Oliver Twisting it or anything. I was on the phone with my mom today and she pointed out something interesting (that I guess I knew all along): I've pretty much been taken care of my entire life, and I never really had to worry about scraping dimes together. My parents are totally there for me -- they're the best support system I could ask for -- but it's really revealing when you realize what you have to sacrifice sometimes, just to get by.

[another-myself.livejournal.com]

Sometimes, hearing what we've been thinking over and over already in our minds is the best thing that can happen. It just puts it all in that much more of a perspective. And it's true, that this time in your life can't possibly be the easiest or most relaxing, but you're really shining all the while. And I'm proud of you for the things you're doing, the choices and sacrifices and everything to go with them.

[katernater.livejournal.com]

Thanks. I'm really proud of myself for doing so well in graduate school. That keeps me going. You know retail: it's pretty thankless. I don't want to say that I consider myself "above" the people that I work with (or for), but I'm glad to know that selling greeting cards isn't going to be the thing that defines me.

[another-myself.livejournal.com]

i'm right with you on that. Retail really is thankless. I'm actually starting to feel the tension at the job because annual reviews and all of that are coming up, and I'm realizing that for some of the people I work with, retail really is the thing that defines them. And I know that you are, without question, meant for something other than that. You'll be writing award-winning publications and sharing your stories with the world. I'm sure of it.

[katernater.livejournal.com]

Pot, meet kettle. You're going places, too. Which reminds me -- how's the job hunt going? And what have you done with your diploma? Mine's in a box in the attic. It was kind of an anticlimax.

[another-myself.livejournal.com]

Ye-huh that's right, pot meet kettle and kettle's impressive book collection.

As far as the job hunt goes, it's going. I'm sending out the big letter tomorrow, the one to the production company. I wanted to have it sent much earlier than now, but I opted to take some extra time and get together a DVD of two of the major projects I edited (one for a class project, the other for my sister) and mail that with the resume and letter, too. Anything to set it apart, right?

The diploma hasn't come yet. My advisor warned me it would take awhile. I know better than to hold my breath where they're concerned.

[katernater.livejournal.com]

I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you. It's great that you're putting yourself out there -- good on you!

[another-myself.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I'm doing my best to just keep on going on. There's a whole lot of world out there to see, and I want to make sure I get to do my part to see it.

I also think that, when you have time, those kids of ours? Should come out and play!

[katernater.livejournal.com]

Definitely! I feel like I could use a little writing catharsis. I work tomorrow, but I'll beat my brain for some prompts for the two of us. Sound good?

[another-myself.livejournal.com]

I can't think of anything that I would like more! I'm looking forward to it! And I'll see what my head comes up with, too. It should be a fairly mellow day for me, save for a doctor's appointment. What's your work day like?

[katernater.livejournal.com]

Not too bad. I really wish they'd give me more hours.

[another-myself.livejournal.com]

They will. Right now is a weird time in the retail world. Everyone thinks they want a job, and then they'll realize they just can't stand it. But you have the work ethic and care to stick it out. You'll get more hours. I'm sure of it.

[katernater.livejournal.com]

It's not so bad, really. The girls there, though, wow. Some of them are incredibly catty. And they've all been there for, like, at least five years each. They keep telling me that I'll never end up leaving. "It's like a cult," one girl told me last week, "it just sucks you in."

Yeah. I will be leaving. I will not drink the Kool-Aid.

[another-myself.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure what it is about putting that many females together into an environment where they're paid to watch people shop. Somehow, I think it makes them lose perspective. I can safely say I haven't fallen into the mindset, either, but it's disturbing how the smallest fact of blinking the wrong way can make you an inter-workplace leper.

[katernater.livejournal.com]

I've never worked with that many women before. Well, no, I lied. I worked at a spray-on tanning place during my freshman year of college. It was all-girl, too. But the drama of working in an all-female environment was kind of balanced out by the absolutely insane premise that people wanted to pay for a spray-on tan.

[another-myself.livejournal.com]

I tried one of those once. Not one that I paid more than an over-the-counter price at the drugstore, mind you, but I did try. My mother thought that, in high school, it was a horrible thing for me to be as white as I was. So she bought some of the stuff from the store and smeared some on my inner arm.

I had an orange streak for two weeks.

Ne-eh-ehver again.

[katernater.livejournal.com]

Oh, this place was very high-tech. You got naked and stood in a booth for the full treatment. It was like a carwash for the perpetually pale.

[another-myself.livejournal.com]

Did anyone ever turn out orange?

[ticcyyy.livejournal.com]

Just butting in to say retail is the most ironic of all jobs - vital to economic sustenance and the lifeline for basic necessities (food, clothing, etc), yet one of the most thankless jobs in existence.

[another-myself.livejournal.com]

You are ABSOLUTELY right, bb. ♥

[katernater.livejournal.com]

I really have to hand it to them -- they put up with a hell of a lot of crap.

[ticcyyy.livejournal.com]

Funny how the people who do the jobs everyone needs people to do are the very same people who get treated like shit for doing their job, eh? Like nurses and teachers, too. We live in a very thankless, selfish and ungrateful society. And the worst part is, the customer is always right! How's that for equality.

[katernater.livejournal.com]

I was just talking to someone the other day about how much teachers and nurses really get the shaft. Like, my mom, for example. She's a nurse. She's the hardest working, more dedicated, most open-hearted person I know. She works 70-80 hours a week taking care of people who just piss away their money on luxury cars, tropical vacations and expensive handbags. But she doesn't complain. She does her job -- even gets satisfaction out of it. Says she can't imagine herself doing anything else.

I'd put her name in for sainthood if I could.

[ticcyyy.livejournal.com]

Yep. Definitely one of those jobs where you really have to love what you do. I'm inclined to say people are born nurses or teachers 'cause that kind of patience and passion can't be conditioned when it comes to jobs like that.