A Very Lucky Girl

Last week marked 2 months with Regent Bank. Two months since I took a deep breath and turned the page to a chapter that I knew nothing about. Since January 2016, I had worked for Addison Group--a recruiting firm based out of Chicago, but with a local OKC office. I focused on positions within Information Technology and in July of 2017 I moved to a team with a focus specifically on permanent placement, rather than contract or contract to hire. As the months since that change ticked by, the previous success that I had enjoyed was no longer prevalent. My work ethic didn’t change, I still dialed and strategized and chased leads, but the results weren’t evident. I have always found my worth in my profession and I feel the best about myself when I am succeeding in the workplace. From a young age, I held myself to high standards in the classroom and that standard remains, even after my classroom was exchanged for a cubicle. During my last year at Addison Group, my performance suf...

I have completed an entire week of full-time work at Heritage College and I can honestly say that I love it. The week was not without a few bumps and bruises, but ultimately I am excited about the career I am beginning!  The things I have learned in the past 7 days include: I was incredibly excited to wake up on Monday morning and get ready for work! Tuesday was a far less perky story. Which leads me to... Coffee. Coffee is cool. Commuting is not cool in the least. Although said coffee makes the commute slightly cooler. I am still learning at what time I need to leave the house in order to get to work on time. I either cut it really close or got there 30 minutes early, there was no in-between.  I need to keep plastic forks in my desk because there is no guarantee that there will be any in the break room. I ate my lunch with an ice cream scoop twice.  I have SO much support! Thankful for sweet friends and encouraging calls and texts as I transition to this new time...

To be frank, this is weird. I haven't taken this long of a hiatus from A Very Lucky Girl since..well, ever. And I don't really remember how to write like A Very Lucky Girl. I turned in my final paper to dropbox less than an hour ago and here I am, still with phrases of Paradise Lost  swirling in my head. The last time I wrote here it was almost three or four full months ago. A lot can change in three months. They've been good changes and hard changes and just plain changes. Where do I start? How do I begin? Well, there's this boy...whom I love and adore and admire with all of my being. I did not plan for this and Tanner's presence was most unexpected, but strangely welcome. I smile to think of how far we have come in only three months and what a precious blessing he is in my life. It all started with our two friends, Megan and Marshall. I know I've mentioned Megan plenty of times in A Very Lucky Girl, but Marshall is her boyfriend, who also happens to be o...

God, I'm so bilingual. Nahhhht. Another week, another check. And I haven't had to work past 4 PM yet this summer. So far, so good. This week I: corrected grammar: "She jamped!" No, she JUMPED.  made breakfast: chocolate pancakes. They asked for extra chocolate chips AND syrup. AM I mean for refusing? sat stonily when they tried to tickle me overused the word/sound "shmeh" to the point where they have begun to mimic me avoided Sister's cuddles at all costs. She is always wanting to hang on me in the heat of the day. CHILD, IT'S FAR TOO HOT FOR THAT. Learned that Pluto is officially no longer a planet Learned a continent named Oceania exists was stumped when asked, "how many movies have you seen in your life?" Overall, a pretty uneventful week in the life of A Very Lucky Nanny. Except for when I impaled my shin on rocks by the creek after our picnic lunch on Wednesday.

It's official, I am a trained employee of Fuzzy's Taco Shop. Working brings a new, not entirely unwelcome, dynamic to my free time. That was the main purpose for my midsemester venture into the working world. I'm too good at prioritizing my school assignments...and was left with miles and miles of unscheduled hours. So why not get paid to smell tacos for a few shifts? Exactly. Fuzzy's serves alcoholic beverages so I am in the process of obtaining my liquor license and compiling all of the stories of schwastyfaced individuals into a heartwarming blog post. Stay tuned! I work in constant fear of having to clean up puke. #fingerscrossed I've had two drunk strangers profess their love for me, one tell me "forreal doe, if you ain't married I'm comin' back to talk to ya. I'm serious", and another ask me what special skill I would bring to the table in a zombie apocalypse.  Despite the constantly sticky hands from cleaning up queso (seri...

Have you ever noticed that some people are just BORN to do something? That they have a unique talent that they have discovered and are utilizing said ability in ways to impact the world around them? You don't listen to Norah Jones sing and think, "wow, that girl woulda made a great zookeeper. It's a real shame." You don't hear Justin Buchanan speak to you as your youth pastor and ponder, "man, he really could have made a great astronaut." You don't read Miranda's  blog  and say, "She missed her calling. Dental hygienist was right up her alley." You don't view Megan's photos  and lament, "it's too bad the Jamba Juice career is over, she could swirl a Strawberry Surfrider like no other." They have all discovered what they do with unabashed excellence, and they do it to their full potential. Doing your best at something doesn't make you THE best. But excelling at your unique skill? There isn't anot...

Who knew that "Beowulf" could house so much modern wisdom? I applied yet another line from the dragon-infested tale to my own life. "Anyone with gumption and a sharp mind will take the measure of two things: what's said and what's done." Lines 287-289 I talk about what I want to do with my life often. I've done nothing to accomplish these long-term goals.  "I want to study abroad." Okay, then do it! What do I need to do first? Where do I want to go? Who should I talk to? I finally put some action behind my wishes and signed up for an informational meeting on September 20th, after deciding that somewhere in the United Kingdom would be the best bet for furnishing my English Literature degree. "I want to be an editor. I think." Okay, well what does that require? How do I find out if that's even something I want to do forever? I had a brainstorm the other day and ah-ha! the Writing Center! I emailed them a few days ago inquir...

I'm more than halfway through the summer of learning that I probably don't want kids. I love being able to give these children back to their parents at the end of the day. It's my favorite part. Especially since this week was sass city in this household (I'm reluctant to say that I could be the cause of this...I'm pretty free with my sarcastic conversations). Regardless, it pissed me off.  We started off the week with a surprise visit from pest control. I was unsure if he was there for the vermin or the children (they seem to synonymous this week), but either way I had not been informed of his impending arrival. So when a strange looking man showed up on the front porch, I was wary. I felt bad for being so suspicious, but his opening words were, "So how's everything looking inside?" No mention of his occupation. Um, things are great sir, thanks...move along. He saw the terror-stricken look on my face and recognized his blunder. "Oh! I'm...

I have not been in the mood for immature shenanigans this week. I think lack of sleep is catching up with me and breeding irritability. Unfortunately, the kids are up and at 'em within minutes of my arrival at 7:45 AM every morning. I creep into the house and shut the front door as quickly as possible, removing my shoes, and whispering to talk to their mother, hoping to catch a few more childless seconds. Twice this week she assured me that they had stayed up late and would more than likely sleep in. Both times one or the other kid woke up within 3 minutes of being issued this statement.  On one of these mornings Brother quickly realized that I wasn't going to be engaging in any sort of activity before 9 AM (I cuddle up on their giant bean bag as soon as I arrive and definitely plan on investing in something of the sort when I move out of the dorms) and resigned himself to some Wii time. He tried to play a Hot Wheels racing game and the disc wouldn't read. He brought it ...

Week three is complete. Only 2 more weeks left until my entire week off. I'm a little bit excited about 7 whole days dedicated to just being 20. Because I've figured out that the trick to making nannying enjoyable for everyone is to act their age--to a point. If I put myself into a 9 year old mindset (the mean of their ages), then I don't mind playing play dough nearly as much.  On Monday I took the kids to Frontier City. This was my first time there. I suggest a motion to rename it Jank City. Every single ride creaked. The very first one was a Splash Mountain wannabe, where you rode in a rickety log flume around a riveting creek until plunging over a drop. I clutched the handle bars  until my knuckles turned white and gritted my teeth as the less-than-stable log made its agonizing ascent to the top of the drop. I used to love roller coasters! And I think I still do...I just have an aversion to the ones that aren't reassuringly, positively safe. I couldn't stop t...

I started my new job on Friday. I'll be spending June and July with two precocious kids. We have big plans of tearing apart Frontier City, White Water Bay, and crafting til Hobby Lobby runs out of glue. This is my first experience with consistent babysitting. It's like a real job; 7:45 am to 4 pm Monday through Friday. But it's got a lovely real paycheck to go along with it. Which is awesome cuz Tyler's birthday is coming up and I have NO idea what he's getting yet... The kids are boy and girl, 8 and 10 years old. They are probably the most well-behaved children I've ever met. Not to mention, SMART! I met them for the first time at the end of Christmas break so that the parents could make sure I wasn't an axe murderer in disguise and the oldest (the boy) casually wove several SAT words into conversation on our way to the park. I stared in awe. They refer to each other as "brother" and "sister." As in, "sister, let's swim!"...

Books have beginnings and endings. So does summer. And school. And thankfully, so do Jamba Juice shifts (I will officially be relinquishing the title of smoothie master "big chief yoda" on May 31st. It's time to close the door on that part of my life. And lock it. And lose the key). I've worked there for over a year now and I had the time of my life! But lately, I just have too much on my plate. And since I have two other jobs (both with higher hourly rates..), Jamba had to approach the chopping block first. I've changed drastically from the person I was when I first started blending. Fresh out of ICU, walking to Jamba from my house (a distance of less than half a mile) typically winded me. Now, I sometimes don't even bother asking for a ride, preferring instead to catch a few more sun rays. Unless it's over 90 degrees. Then me and the Matrix are best friends (even though I'm just using her for her air conditioning. Shhh). Most of my coworkers woul...

I mentioned in a prior post that a guilty pleasure includes parenting a miniature family within the mechanical recesses of my phone. The app is called Virtual Families and I go through phases of attentiveness, sometimes opening the app to find a morbid scene of the family members all peacefully dead on the master bed. The start over button is pretty handy. When I pay attention to this game, I'm really good at it. And by that I mean I can type "virtual family cheats" into google. Thanks to a random computer nerd that did the dirty work for me, I clicked some buttons a few days ago and added $100,000 to the bank account. With that money I purchased a treadmill, pinball machine, grill, and a remodeled kitchen, office, and workshop. I stocked the pantry with 1600 available food items. The character, Dynamite, should have had "elated" stamped across his mood status. Instead, it read, "a bit blue"(maybe his name was part of the problem, unfortunately I don...

In 5 years I'll be a college graduate (I can hear Paul saying don't count your chickens yet...). In 5 years I'll be 24 years old. That's all I know about my future right now. Where do I want to be in 5 years? Not in Oklahoma for starters. It would be exciting to live someplace like NYC, after all Frank Sinatra proclaims that if "I can make it there I can make it anywhere", but does that also inversely mean that if I can't make it there I can't make it anywhere? I'll find out. NYC might be too high-stress for me though, I'd be happier somewhere like North Carolina or Tennessee. I loved my years in Raleigh and Franklin.  Who will I be in 5 years? I'll have a degree in English. Maybe I'll be lucky enough to get paid to write. Maybe I'll be grading college entrance essays. Maybe I'll still be making smoothies at Jamba (I really, REALLY hope not). I almost hope that I'm not married in 5 years. I can't imagine knowing ...

This week has been a social experiment of sorts for my wardrobe (mainly because I bought new clothes over the weekend and had to let them out in the open and partially because I don't think Nike shorts are allowed in Manhattan. And I'll be there in a week-gotta practice my chic look).  Someone once told me "to dress for the job you want, not the job you have." Well if that's the case I would love to make money while being a total bum, so I have been dead-on in my outfit choices this semester. (Plus-what happens when the job you want is the job you have? Mind blown.) I do understand the concept of dressing up for occasions that require it: interviews, dates, special dinners, celebrations, fratlapping, etc. But when I'm doing what I love to do, reading, blogging, eating, hanging out with friends, or sitting on the couch, I don't think I need to wear the overly sparkly dress with the hooker heels.  I'd much rather rock some Nike shorts and an oversize...

During my geology class on Wednesday I was struck by the excitement in my professors voice. To nearly everyone in the class, especially me, his words mesh into a drone that I try hard to focus on. I struggle because geology doesn't engage me. But to Professor Soreghan, geology brings color to his life. He teaches other classes and I can't imagine how bored I would be having to repeat the same information to students everyday, year after year.  But then I realized that's how I had started to feel about blogging. It's become a passion. I feel like I'm in a new relationship. The kind that gives you butterflies when you see their name pop up on your screen with a text message. The kind that you procrastinate your homework for. The kind that makes you excited to wake up in the morning. The kind that you daydream about before you fall asleep. I'm having an affair with my blog. It's really serious. Last night I made an effort to fall asleep around 12:30...