The Life of the Nickness

My Bachelor party is next Friday, and the Friday after that I’m getting married.

Time sure does fly by, huh?

On a totally unrelated note, my store just got a new GM, and let me say I am very happy with who they picked.

I haven’t written anything in a while. Not that I don’t have anything to say, but the few times I was really passionate about writing my stupid computer wouldn’t work. I can’t wait til my brother can come up and help me fix it.

In a nutshell–my boss is on vacation so I’m running the store for the weekend, I almost went to Ruth’s Chris for dinner on Wednesday night without a shirt cause the evil dry cleaners didn’t have them done(even though they said they would be done by then), I’ve once again come down with some sort of head cold/chest congestion thing, and my low carb diet is going well and I seem to be losing a bunch of weight.

I’l leave you with the most current Boston Legal line running around in my head this week:

“Oh, and I just had sex. ‘Where?’ Right here. Ten minutes ago. Ended nine minutes ago…I was fantastic. ”

So I’m at work the other day, and this kid comes up to the counter and wants to pay for 2 $5 items. Heres how the conversation went:

Me: Your total is $10.60
Kid:(blank confused stare)
Me: Is everything ok?
Kid: I only have $10.
Me: I’m sorry.
Kid:(another blank stare)
Me: Which one did you want to put back?
Kid: (another blank stare) I only have $10
(At this point I’m trying to figure out if the kid is retarded, or hoping i’ll let him slide on the sixty cents. He;s old enough to know about tax, but just doesn’t seem to care)
Random guy 4 people behind the kid: Here, I’ve got an extra dollar you can use.
(the kid give me the extra dollar and I ring it up and give him the change. The kid prompty grabs his bag and leaves, not even stopping to offer the random guy his change)

This may be very mean of me to say, but I abhor both parties in this situation. One, the kid needs to learn if they’re going to buy something, they need to consider the fact that the government taxes things, and buy appropriately. Two, people who think they’re being ‘nice’ by offering kids the extra money to cover tax are NOT being nice. They’re teaching kids early on that if they don’t have enough money for stuff, people will just give it to them. No working hard, no learning the value of money. Nope. Just stand in line and make people wait long enough, and since you’re just a kid, someone will eventually get tired of waiting and front any amount of money you need.

You may think I’m being melo-dramatic, but this is just the most recent example of this I’ve seen. In the past I’ve seen people give kids as much as $18!! What the crap? People will give $18 to some stupid little kid but cuss out and hang up on the the fire/police/charity organization when they call asking for some help?

Whats become of this world?!?!?!

–I’m closing my store every night this week except for Saturday. Sigh. I guess it’s a good thing, cause it means I’ll get to sleep in a little more than if I had to be there at 8am, right? Gotta look at the positive. but I’ll tell you: if this turns out to be a regular occurrence, I’ll be having a conversation with my manager.

–Caterer tasting went awesome yesterday. Our guests are gonna be so happy with the food. I can hardly wait to eat it!

–We have out second premarital counseling session with Arch tomorrow morning, and I don’t think either of us has done our homework. I’ll have to do mine tonight when I get home and Meggie and I will have to discuss it afterwards or bright and early tomorrow morning before the meeting(we’re supposed to write down what we believe God’s calling is on our life and how our fiance can help us and then share it with each other. Arch then asks the Megan what I said and vice versa)

–I feel like I’m losing weight. I haven’t weighed myself yet, but I think I should, just to check. A lot of people are starting to randomly ask me if I’ve lost weight, and my clothes are fitting a lot nicer. We’ll see. Yay for low carbs!

–Megan’s Birthday AND Valentine’s day are coming up, both within a week of each other. We already have plans for her birthday(we’re hanging out with her friends at a few bars in downtown Annapolis) so I’m trying to think of something really wacky and crazy and romantic that will totally surprise her as a combined celebration of both birthday and holiday. Don’t worry people, I won’t be buying her another laptop! I’ll let you know when I have some ideas, and you can critique them for me.

TTFN!

–My job is going well. This is week two, and I gave up one of my days off to earn some ot. yay for extra money.

–I got my W2 in the mail and have already done my taxes. Yay I don’t owe any money!

–My brother (finally) got a wordpress blog. Check out my blogroll to visit his blog–he’s known as Nona the Ninja(I gave him that name. Doesn’t it rock?!?!)

–Heath Ledger died due to an overdose of sleeping pills. Is it sad when I heard this news the first thing I thought of was that there won’t be a ‘Return of the Joker” movie with him in it?

–Wedding news: DJ and photographer booked. Next up: a tasting on Sunday with our potential caterer.

Time for me to get some sleep while my chicken defrosts in my sink. Yup, I’m back to the old no carb lifestyle. Yay for losing weight!

I’ll leave you with the English translation of a chinese keychain we have at work. The pictures are great and the translations on it are absolutely hilarious. Each number goes under a picture. Note: what I’m about to type is NOT a mistake.

“1. Collect Stupids People. 2. Push Cliff. 3. Yay Drowns!”

For those of you who don’t know already, I got the job at Five Below. Yay!
Weird thing though: Because of the end of the holiday season, and the start of their inventory weeks, I’m not starting til Jan 14.

So. Two more weeks of ‘vacation’ to get my life in order before I go back to working full time.  Which is perfect, since I’ll be using those two weeks to really pray and think through the past year of my life and where my opportunities for improvement are.

Happy new year everyone.

I should know by sometime tomorrow if I got the job at Five Below. I’m pretty sure that I did, as I’ve been made a sort of ‘unofficial’ offer, pending the green light on my background and reference check. I’ve been unemployed for over a month, and it’s been fairly difficult. It’s exciting to be getting back to work again, and in a place like Five Below. Their products and the atmosphere in the store are incredible. I’ve decided once I get paid, I’m going to put away(as will Megan) somewhere around 10% of my paycheck into a high yield money market account, in order to:

1. Build up a savings of three months pay.(I’m starting out small, going with one month built up, and working my way towards three. You never know when life is going to throw some unexpected surprises your way, and it’s best to try and be as financially prepared as possible)

2. Pay off some ‘bigger’ debts that Megan and I have accumulated; including credit cards, school, medical, and cars bills.(many people think it’s normal to have car payments. I do not. The sooner I pay off our cars, the better. It’s a monthly payment that could be going to a much better use, and the next time I buy a car I’m saving for it and paying in cash)

3. Start saving for some sort of meager down payment for a place of our own.(I abhor renting. People pay thousands of dollars a month to rent a place for a year, and when it’s all over they have no investment in that property. It’s like throwing money away. The same amount of money people throw away to rent a property they could have used as a mortgage payment and actually have some equity in their property. When my lease is up next year, I plan on buying)

Any extra money we come into(Birthdays, Christmas, Wedding, etc) we’ll also add to the account.

Financial stability is very important to me, and it’s exciting to see my plan in writing. Any comments? Whats your savings plan? Have you even thought one up yet? If not, I encourage you to do so. Knowing where your money is going–having a plan for every dollar before you even get it–is a very freeing experience. I know I haven’t talked about it in this post but budgets are a fantastic tool that really take the stress and pressure of money matters off your back. Microsoft has a bunch of budgets that are free to download available here. I used to use a personal budget like this one, but due to it’s lack of a ‘projected’ column, I found it inadequate to meet my current needs. However if you’re very new to making a budgets or if the idea scares you, it’s a great way to begin. I happen to like this one, as it contains a longer list of expenses and has a projected column. Once I’m married I’ll probably be using the Family Monthly Budget, as it’s much butter suited to married/family life than the other two.

Hehehe. If I was talking to Megan about all this stuff she probably would have zoned out by now. Money and budgets and spreadsheets are not her idea of stimulating conversation. My guess is you’re not too far behind her, so thats enough money talk for now. Hope you all are having a great week!

After waiting what seemed like an eternity, I got a call this morning from the RM, stating that they decided to go with another candidate due to “geographic location and just general fit for the store”  but “they really did like me, you’ve a great fit for our company, it was a very hard decision, and would I like them to call me if something opened up closer to where I lived?”

I said yes, and held my tongue, even though I wanted to question the professionalism of a company that would make a hiring decision based on where someone lives in relationship to the store. As long as I don’t mind the drive and I can get to the store, it shouldn’t be an issue.

Everything seemed to be going so great, and I was never given the impression of IF I was going to get hired, it was always, which store they were going to put me in. Because of that, I really focused on this job opportunity and got very excited about it. I feel so misled.

I’m very upset.

And I have no idea how I’m going to make Jan rent.

So it’s official… as of yesterday morning, I am officially a resident of the state of Maryland. My trip to the MVA(its what this states calls their DMV) lasted all of five minutes. Seriously. Wasn’t the DMV supposed to be hell on earth?

Yesterday, I was also supposed to get the call from Tuesday Morning, letting me know if I had the job or not. The call never came. Granted, I’ve been told they were going to call me before, and things have come up, but the interviewer specifically said she’d call on Thursday. I’m trying hard to be optimistic, and not read into it but it’s really hard to do.

I need this job. Really badly. And I’m really hoping I get a call with good news today.

hey all!
Just me updating my journal tonight. My dad is staying home friday and saturday, so chances are I won’t be updating until Sunday(unless I can sneak down here, ofcourse!)
Nothing too grand happened today. Cleaned more of the apartment, and snuck inside the house while my dad was sleeping. Watched A Knight’s Tale and a movie I hadn’t seen in a very long time–Boys and Girls. It’s a movie with Jason Biggs, Fredie Prinze Jr and Claire Forlani. Very good movie, I might add. Everybody go to Blockbuster and rent it. LOL

OK, so tonight I am in sort of a blah mood. Not really sure why. I think the ‘deadness’ of the apartment is getting to me. but, I have to give Jb and Sierra a break. Not really for their sakes, but more for my own sanity. Besides, quiet time alone may be just what I need. (why o why am I starting to remember the words to Celine Dion’s All By Myself?)

Thank God on Monday I start with Abbey. I have to be there at 8am and ask for some guy named Erik. Hopefully this isn’t some ploy to get unsuspecting people to drive out to woodbridge so they can murder them and ground their body parts into new carpet fibers. Yup, my imagination is still working. Yay me.

Well, its been an ok day/week, but it’s only gonna get worse.
I know what I’ll do tomorrow! I’ll read more of my books and I’ll take a look at my Bible and Concordance(lets hope I remember to pick them up from my bookshelf and take them to the apartment) and I’ll do a cool I’m-very-bored-so-this-is-what-I’m-doing Bible study. oh yeah, I’m cool.

Til I finally have a life too busy to write in this,
Nigel (yep, I’m going to keep signing this name til I get bored and change it to Hasim. Or maybe I’ll go way back into the past and start signing OneFoot. LOL!)

Hey all! I’m editing this post because TONS of people seem to want these lyrics! To all you out there who wanted them: You’re welcome!

I am in a very hyper mood tonight. I went to my Micron interview, It lasted over 3 hours!!! Coolness though, cause I really think I got in. I’ll find out in about 2 weeks.
So, for those 2 weeks, I’ll be working at Abbey. That way, if I don’t get in, well, yay Carpet and Floor work! LOL!

But, I still need money. and soon. You all know me–I could always prostitute myself out. Know anyone who would be interested? email me: dutamus777@gmail.com oh, and if you’re a guy–forget about it! LOL! We all know I’m joking. I’m not good looking enough to get money for sex. LOL.

So, I just realized that there are people who read my journal and comment, and I have no clue as to who they are. Not that I’m demanding this, but hey peeps, if you wanna post a comment on my journal, and you’re not logged into your own wordpress account, at least think of some way cool creative name to give yourself, so that I don’t have to Neotrace your IP address trying to figure out where you live–hence figuring out who you are. It gets a wee bit difficult, especially if I don’t know you at all!

Whelpers, It’s about 9:07pm. When I get back to my electric-less apartment tonight I’m going to go straight to bed, and then wake up really early to try to clean some more(and bring lots of clothes over to my mom’s house) before company arrives. I did some cleaning today–wow I need to buy more trash bags.

Ok, so I’m running out of things to say. I miss green tea, I really need to have a glass (or eight!) sometime very soon
Stay cool, and send me lots of money.
Always,
Nigel (I changed my name for my own amusement)

Ok, so I just put my resume on monster.com.
I am really hoping to have a better job by the end of mext week. (better meaning more money, more/better hours)
Wish me luck

SO by tommorrow I should have a job. I have an Interview at Office Depot, and I know I’ll interview well, I only hope they give me the money I want(10$ an hour or more) I don’t really know what they want me for, which will be interesting. But-assuming I get a job there, I predict I’ll be management by June of 2004. Not trying to by cocky, I just know my level of abilities and skills are worth the Management title.
I’m listening to Lauchcast right now. Someone all these love songs are playing. Bah, humbug.
Tonight, by the time I go to sleep, the kitchen floor at my parents’ house should be done. That will be cool, cause I know my mom wanted it done by Christmas Eve.
I still need money.
this is the end of my entry.

OK, so it is already noon. Today there is so much to do, but I know I will have time for it all. I will make time for it all.
Heres the list:

1.Go to Office Depot, turn in my application, speak with a manager, and hopefully get some sort of Job there.

2.Go to Centreville Movie complex and spend lots of money buying 7 LOTR:ROFK movie tickets (the showing is at 12.05am) I WILL be getting reimbursed by everyone I’m buying a ticket for.

3. Go to the Burger King across from Blockbuster(where I used to work) and speak with Mike’s dad. He called me yesterday, understanding that Mike owed me some money, and that I still had some of his stuff. With any luck, I’ll get my 518$, and Mike’s dad will get all of Mike’s stuff. (yes, I know this still doesn’t take care of the whole car crash incident, but I am hoping Mike and I can just go to the police department and get the police report changed, without me having to go to the police department by myself and filing “ID theft/fraud”. It’s something I really don’t want to do, but something I just might have to.

4.Somewhere in today’s mess, Levi and I have to take Jen back o the Metro station.

5. About 9pm, JB and Sierra will be coming to the apartment to hang out until the movie starts. For some odd reason, I have to give them a ride. I have no idea when Levi’s brother or the other people coming will be there–or if they’ll even be there at all(they might meet us at the theatre)

Thats about all I have to do today. Hopefully(God willingly) everything will be done just as I need it to be done.

Cheers.

so now I’m just a loser who stays in his room all the time because I quit my job at blockbuster. no more free rentals for me.
help help help

i’m a loser who does nothing but stays in my room and goes to work at blockbuster.
Help help help.

Okay, so it’s like, 2 in the morning, and I just got back from work. A pretty hectic day. Once I finally woke up, I did some dishes, cleaned my room a little, and looked online for ways to turn 6$ into 6000$. Yeah, I know, scam scam scam, but what can I say? It could work.
Speaking of work, I met my new Store Manager today. He seems cool. Our last one resigned, so ofcourse we needed a new Store manager. I would have put in for the job but… no way! I need so much more experiece and alot more money!
Anyway, Dennis(thats his name) needed everyone’s schedule availability, so it got to be my job to call everyone and find out what that was. Everyone was supposed to fill out sheets of paper(some weird kind of form) but alas, this is blockbuster….gotta go with the flow.
New movies come out tomorrow. I know, I know, why am I posting this? Just cause I think its interesting, and someone out there may want to know it.
So here it goes: Maid in Manhattan, Jackass, I’m with Lucy, Friday After Next, and Femme Fatale. I think there could be one or two more, but I can’t remember. Hopefully this will be the start of a new tradition: every monday night(or tuesday morning, depending on how you look at it) I’ll inform you all of our new releases.
Ok, bed time. see you all bright and early tomorrow morning. I would be sleeping in, but I think Jb (my brother) is coming over tomorrow for a couple hours. Him and his fiance Sierra think they may have found a place for their wedding, and hes “hiding out” at my apartment til him and Sierra can go look at it.
LOL! I just found my second PS2 controller, so I think I may have to kick his butt in Xmen just to let him know who’s boss…..
um, goodnight, adios, hasta luego, ciao(yes, I know thats not how you spell it, but i’m cuban-american, not french or whatever……..)