That Target Life

You know how all of those Crazy Target Lady Christmas commercials are so great? Well, I don't find them so amusing anymore. I actually despise all Target ads now. It's only been a week but I have already encountered some of the most entertaining (and difficult) people in my life. And this is coming from somebody who interned as a social worker for the greater part of this year. I mean, THREE different people have rapped Nicki Minaj's Anaconda to me in its entirety.

But the real question is: Do I like it? Um, no, not really. The people I work with are plenty nice and I really am grateful to have job finally, but retail definitely is not for me. Maybe while I'm searching for that next, hopefully long term job, I'll fall in love with this one, but that isn't looking too good right now. I'll keep hoping though.

I do enjoy working again though, so that's definitely a plus. Does anybody have any tips on how to survive retail or just a job they aren't linking? Let me know!

How Bad Do I Want It?

Now, the title of this can go for a lot of things in my life. Like, how bad do I want to work in baseball? How bad do I want to be able to run a marathon one day? How bad do I want Chipotle? Okay, maybe not the last one, but you get it. How bad do I want something, and how hard am I willing to work for it?

Today, we're talking about grad school. Why can't this be as easy as applying and that be it? I have to study for the GRE. I have to find schools that I can even apply for because I have a lower GPA. I also have to find ways to compensate for the lower GPA. Can I take non-degree graduate classes to show that I can handle the academic rigor? What if I don't do well in them? Is it even worth it?

All of this is becoming stressful. I'm not even applying to schools for another year, but I need to start preparing now by taking exams and putting things on my resume. I'm not completely sure how I'm going to handle it. At the end of the day, though, the question will always be, "How bad do I want it," and I want it bad. Eventually getting into grad school is going to make this all worth it. I know it. Right now I just need to buckle up and work.

Today is my first day of work, so please wish me luck. See you soon!

Y'all Need to Calm Down

I'm going to be trying something new on the blog this week. Do you ever read sports stories and think, "Are you serious"? Well, I do, and here are some of my comments on these situations.

A-Rod, honey, you need to calm down. You just finished your entire year suspension for using PEDs and then lying about it. Now it's coming out that you paid your cousin close to a million dollars to keep quiet? Do you even want to play baseball again, Alex? I mean, no one has missed you, but I'm sure you want to continue easily making more money in a day than I will make in a year. Calm down.

Source: ESPN

Mikhail, Jason, you two are grown men, and you want to get even? Just calm down. Don't you have other things to do? It's not Kidd's fault that the Nets made a silly decision hiring a coach that had zero coaching experience. It's also not Kidd's fault that he was still too close to the game and wasn't able to do as well as hoped. Things didn't play out how everybody wanted. Cut the guy a break, calm down, and go back to work.

Source: ESPN

Hey, Associated Press, calm down. You have Jahlil Okafor on you your preseason All-American team? Don't even get me started on the whole preseason All-American team in general, but really, you're putting a freshman on it? A man who hasn't even played a single college game is one of the top five college players? How do you know, AP? Now, I have no doubt that Jahlil is going to be nothing short of amazing, but you can't knowingly say he is in the top five when he hasn't played a minute. Associated Press, calm down and let the kid play before you're placing such high standards on him.

Source: ESPN

Saturday Seven

I think I've finally gotten the hang of writing these things. Usually I go through the week finding things and thinking that they would be good for this post, but then I forget about them when I actually start writing. Now, I've finally become responsible and made a running list of what I want to post. Let's see how my planning has worked out for me.

1. Lemony Snicket is coming to Netflix! I wasn't a huge fan of the movie that came out many moons ago, but I loved the books as a kid. Hopefully Netflix will be able to create another winning series.

2. Do you love crying? Because I love crying. That's kind of a weird thing to declare I guess, but I have no shame here. Here are some good books to curl up and cry with if that's what you're into!

3. Sam Hunt is dominating my world right now. I mean, he's taken me away from Taylor Swift's new album for the time being. Check out this acoustic version of his song Take Your Time and try not to fall in love.

4. It's no secret that I am a female sports fan. Sometimes men put these absurd rules on what women need to do in order to "earn" the title of "fan." One time I was asked to name the entire roster for the 1986 Bears to prove that I liked football. I'm sorry, I was born in 1993, and I don't like Chicago. Here are some more annoying things that female sports fans have to deal with.

5. I think it's so cool learning about other's countries rules and unwritten laws. Check out what these people had to say about their lesser known rules!

6. Obviously listening to Sam Hunt and trying to write this isn't going as well as I had hoped. So, here's another video where he looks and sounds beautiful.

7. I have a new favorite blog this week. Like I said earlier, I'm a cryer, and I have cried through a good amount of her recent posts. Check out Run, Selfie, Repeat! She's kind of inspired me to start running and drag everyone I like into it with me. Think I can get Sam Hunt in on this?

Well, that's been my week. Expect a review/commentary on Sam Hunt's new album this upcoming week, because there's no helping my obsession now. Let me know how your week has been. I'd love to know!

The Difference a Year Makes

It's a really bittersweet day today. On one hand I'm really happy with how far I've come, but on the other, I wish I was still in DC. Actually, I wish I was in DC on both hands, but nevertheless, I'm happy. For those wondering, today is the one year anniversary of when I went to Washington DC and everything inside me kind of changed.

As you may remember, I'm a Professional Scared Person, so imagine my surprise when I jumped into a five day trip to the capital with little to no thought. I mean, I had had a bad couple of weeks. I wasn't getting to where I wanted to be despite working as hard as I could. My grades weren't really the best. I was having issues with one of my friends. Life was becoming overwhelming, and I didn't know what to do. I needed an escape, and I found one.

Seemingly out of nowhere, one of my friends from high school, with whom I had spoken only a handful of times in the previous two years or so, messaged me on Facebook. She told me that she wanted to take a trip to DC and that I should go with her. Maybe an hour later my flight was booked. Now, some people may call it irresponsible, but I call it something that I had to do. I needed to get out of my comfort zone, and I needed to get out of Orlando.

So here we are. On this day, a year ago, I was on a plane to the best trip of my life. I learned so much about myself. Turns out the friend I went with didn't exactly have the same agenda (whoops), so I got to explore a lot of the city by myself! It was a ton of fun. I'm not going to go into exact specifics because I could do that for days, but it was amazing.

I feel like the real change occurred when I returned to Orlando, though. I wasn't really putting up with people the way I used to. I realized that if I wasn't being treated the way I wanted to be treated, I could leave. I felt rejuvenated at school. I was more motivated to work toward my future than ever. Everything was falling into place.

And now it's a year later. There have been a few speed bumps along the road, but I'm still moving forward. I'm not feeling like I'm in such a rut anymore. I have people in my life that mean the most to me. I'm trying to make strides in my hopeful career. I mean, I might even be applying to grad school this fall! I'm not apologetic for the things I like, and I'm happier than ever with the direction in which I am moving.

It's crazy to think that it's been a year since I got on that plane, but it also feels like it's been five years. Taking that spontaneous trip taught me that there are bigger and better things out there, and that I can go get them if only I take a leap of faith. I shouldn't let being scared hold me back.

I can't believe how much has happened this past year, but I'm even more excited about this next one. I already know it's going to be better than ever and I can't wait.

Favorite YouTubers

It's no secret on this blog that I love, love, love TV. But TV isn't the only thing that I watch a lot of. I also kind of have a weird, emotional investment in watching certain YouTubers too. I mean, YouTube is the best. I can watch pretty much everything under the sun, and that's great. Seeing how I spend a ton of time on YouTube, I thought it was time to share who some of the YouTubers that manage to make me watch video after video.

ShayTards

I love this entire family. If they wanted to unofficially adopt me, I'd be down. Seriously. I'd move to Idaho right now. But really, this entire family is so inspirational. They love each other so much, and they are truly there to support each other all the time. There is never a video that doesn't leave me with a smile on my face. I was serious about wanting them to adopt me.

NikkiPhillippi

If you've ever met me, you would probably be kind of surprised that I watch beauty gurus. Like, I put about 3% effort into how I look 100% of the time. It's bad. But I love watching a lot of gurus, especially Nikki. She seems like such a genuine and nice person. And since she isn't in high school anymore, I kind of trust what she's saying a little more. She's had more time for trial and error, I guess? That totally sounds like I'm trying to say she's old, but I swear that's not it. She's great, and I can't wait for her to upload more.

tyrannosauruslexxx 

Lex is hilarious. I have shown a few of her videos to some of my friends before, and for some reason, they don't love her as much as I do. They're crazy, and I swear I'm not as weird as I sound right now. She has a dry, sarcastic sense of humor which I really appreciate because it's similar to mine. Plus, her videos are always pretty short and that's kind of the best.

Now of course these aren't the only people that I watch, but these are probably the only people who make me watch pretty much every single time that they post something. Plus, that's a pretty good selection up there. We've got a family man, beauty guru, and funny person. That's good enough for me.

What YouTubers do you watch? Are you watching anybody that I have talked about above? Let me know!

November Goals

October was a pretty good month, y'all! I got some stuff done. Was it on the list? Maybe not, but it was a good month for me, and I'm happy.

1. I am getting a job. Completed!

Finally, finally, finally! It's been almost three months since I graduated, and I hadn't been able to land anything. Now, I'm only working at Target, but it's money coming in and experience on my resume. Plus, it could turn into a career? I'm not knocking anything until I try it.

2. The whole no technology thing I mentioned in this post? It's happening. Fail!

To be completely honest, I forgot about this. Whoops!

3. Tackle a way to become healthy that works for me. Bad goal?

What does this even mean? If you check out yesterday's post you can tell that I'm going to start running, so this will be fun. But, really, I haven't tackled a thing.

4. Contact 20 people working in sports to ask advice for aspiring sport business professionals. Completed!

Well, I actually completed it yesterday, but instead of contacting only 20 people, I did 50! So I'm counting this goal as complete. Should I do a post about the responses when (if) they start coming in? Let me know.

5. Have 5 volunteer opportunities lined up. Fail!

I spent so much of this month applying for jobs that I kind of forgot about this one too. 

Now let's see what I'm trying to get myself into this month.

1. Stay off of Tumblr for the entire month.

2. Run (or walk) at least 75 miles.

3. Design the majority of my planner.

4. Survive Black Friday.

5. Have a complete and consistent design for this blog.

6. Blog everyday in November.

7. Create and stick to a GRE study plan.

Also, I'm going to start regularly documenting my running updates. Any creative names for those posts? 

What are y'all up to this month? Do you have any tips on how I can complete some of my goals? Let me know! 

We Come Running

This past Saturday I watched the NYC Marathon purely out of boredom, and somehow I was sucked in. Now I have always admired how runners are able to just grind on and somehow find energy where there doesn't seem to be anymore energy left, but I also admire the fact that they're running? I mean, it kind of seems boring? Why are they doing this? Don't kill me runners.

Anyway, despite saying that running seems boring and questioning who they are, I'm about to become one. It's going to happen. I'm doing it. I'm going to run. This is kind of like the month where I learn to deal with me stuff, so I feel like a run is a good time to figure that crap out. I'm inspired, and motivated, and all of those other words that mean I really want to do something.

Besides the NYC Marathon, this blog Run, Selfie, Repeat has made me want to start running. I mean, she's kind of like me in the sense that she was not anything close to a runner when she started. I don't know a lot about her, but I feel like if somebody else can start from the bottom, I can too. Plus she take selfies with beautiful men while running, and that, my friends, is a movement I can get behind.

Also, I'd be lying if I said I weren't super excited about all of the hella cute tanks that I can eventually reward myself with.

All of these tanks (and so many more) are available on the Activate Apparel website.

I need to hold myself accountable though. For that, I'm going to start posting updates of my runs, more like walks right now, on this blog. I mean, the chance that some people are going to see it is enough reason to at least try to keep a promise to myself. Should I call them Rundates? Runpdates? Using two words for running updates is just too much work, so help me out here.

If you're a runner, how do you do it? Why do you do it? What are your tips and tricks?

Fall TV Update

Hey! Now that we are in the thick of Fall TV, which is completely amazing may I add, I thought I would post an update about what I'm watching. In case you don't remembers, I posted this preview awhile back about what I was planning on watching. Let's see how all of that panned out and what else I happened to start watching!

WHAT I'M WATCHING

1. The Voice: I love this show. Seriously. One of my best friends and I talk pretty at length about how the judges are getting along or which guy is now a triple threat in my life (cute, confident, and talented). 
2. Parenthood: This show never fails to make me cry. Everything is so real and the acting is so good. I'm going to be sad when it ends in a few weeks.
3. Manhattan Love Story: Okay, so this was already cancelled, but I still loved it. I hate you, ABC.
4. Marry Me: Remember how I said this show was probably going to be cancelled? Well, turns out it's a hit, and that's great!
5. Jane the Virgin: I didn't even know what this show was until it was suddenly being advertised on every website I ever went to. Eventually I checked it out, and it's so good! I mean, Jane is handling becoming accidentally inseminated pretty well, and hilariously. 
6. The Biggest Loser: This is easily one of my favorite shows ever. I feel like we all know what this is about by now.
7. Red Band Society: I was super scared that this show was going to exploit the children and their illnesses, but we're all clear so far.
8. How to Get Away With Murder: This is my favorite show this fall. Really. If you're not watching this show, you're watching crappy television.
9. The Mindy Project: Mindy Kaling is like the best friend I have always wanted. The Mindy Project is the perfect light comedy that still has some meat to it. It's not always going for the cheap laugh. It has a real plot, and real characters, and it's great.
10. The Mysteries of Laura: For some reason this show is getting some bad press, but it's pretty good. It isn't anywhere near How to Get Away With Murder, but it's still holding it's own in my TV lineup. 
11. Once Upon a Time: This show has sucked me in along with many, many people. I love that Elsa and Anna are on it now, too. I can't wait to see where the Frozen sisters take this show.
12. Selfie: This is kind of a guilty pleasure show. It's only a matter of weeks until this show is cancelled, but I will ride with it until the end.
13. Black-ish: I don't know how some people will take me watching this show considering I am as white as can be. I love it though. It's a solid comedy.

WHAT I'M NOT WATCHING

1. Gotham: Okay, so this is the only show that's on this list that wasn't absolutely horrible. But like I said before in my preview, this isn't usually the type of show I watch. I want it to be something I can get into so, so bad, but I am just not there. Maybe I'll try it again later, but right now I won't be watching.
2. A to Z: I had such high hopes for this show, but it was so bad! I believe the writers and everybody gave it an honest effort, but that show was going nowhere. Now it's cancelled, so it looks like NBC agreed.
3. Mulaney: I feel like this show was a bad Seinfeld?
4. Bad Judge: I don't even know. This was so bad. What are you doing, Kate Walsh? Like, in what world would a non-traditional judge, both in the court and off, make a good comedy? Okay, it worked in The Amanda Show, but Bad Judge didn't have dancing lobsters and it doesn't have me watching.
5. Cristela: This show has an overused laugh track. I'm done.

Now y'all know what I'm watching this fall! It may be a little too much, but don't worry, I can handle it. What are you guys watching? Make sure to let me know!

Hocus Pocus

So get this, until yesterday, I had never seen Hocus Pocus. Seriously. I survived all of Halloween season and watched it on November 1st. I always felt kind of weird for having never seen it, but I wasn't really feeling the need to watch it either? But my brother wanted to watch it and it happened to be on TV, so I obliged. I was finally checking one of the last things off of my childhood checklist. It was time to watch Hocus Pocus.

Now for the maybe the first 45 minutes or so, I wasn't the biggest fan. I was just thinking, "What the heck is this? Why do people watch this? Why is this such a favorite?" To be honest, I was going to turn it off. My brother had already left the living room, so it's not like he was going to miss it anyway. Then that I put a spell on you song came on. I was hooked. I officially loved this movie now, and I can't wait to watch it again next year. 

I wonder how I would feel about the movie if I had seen it when I was younger. I mean, I love the first three Halloweentowns. But in reality, just the commercials for this movie terrified me when I was younger, so there's no way I would have been able to watch it anyway. But, hey, it has now been watched, and I don't even know where this post is going anymore.

So, um, I'm going to go. What's your favorite Halloween movie from you childhood? Let me know!

Saturday Seven

Man! Has this been a week!I finally, finally, finally got a job this week. I applied to some pretty big time internship/jobs for the future. And I managed to get up the courage to take a practice GRE. Thank goodness that was practice because yikes! After all of these scary, but cool, things, I still managed to find time to pull together a Saturday Seven, so let's dive in.

1. You know how sometimes you think that nothing is going right for you? Like you can't even imagine one thing that you're doing well? I have the list for you then! I give to you "29 Signs You're Doing Just Fine (Even If It Doesn't Feel Like It)"-- click here to check it out!

2. I can't believe I forgot to share this awesome news! Friends is coming to Netflix on January 1st! If that isn't the perfect way to spend the New Year, I don't know what is.

3. This wouldn't be a complete Saturday Seven this week without an article talking about the evolution of Taylor Swift. Click here to check it out!

4. I love sports. While they supply much needed entertainment during the games, they also provide entertainment when they're not playing. I mean, check this out, the Boston Bruins dressed up as characters from Frozen, Anna and Elsa included, and visited sick children in the hospital. They're the best.

5. I want to be a morning person so bad. So, so bad. On the rare occasion that I am actually up for a good morning (read: before 10 a.m.), I love it. Mornings feel so good. They aren't as intense and demanding as afternoons are. Check out this Buzzfeed list for all the secret things that morning people do.

6. As some may know, I got a degree in social work. While I don't want to pursue a career in that, I am very, very happy with what I was able to do while I was in the field and wouldn't trade anything. Just because I'm proud doesn't mean that the job wasn't hard as hell though. This essay (that you can check out here) is wonderful. At the end of the day, who helps the helpers?

7. And on a really sad note, if you have ever met me, you know that sports are the easiest way to make me cry. From what I know about the Islanders, they haven't always had the best fans, but damn, it must suck to have your team taken away from you. Check out this article from Thought Catalog and then try to tell me that you don't even feel a little bit sad.

Sorry for so many words this week, guys! I was reading a lot, so it only made sense to make you read too. Anyway, see ya next week!