Wandering Aimlessly

So it's been almost exactly two months since I last posted. *ducks* So much has happened! And, believe it or not, that's why I haven't posted... I kept feeling like there was so much I wanted to say, and I didn't want to post without covering everything, and covering everything was huge and daunting and getting huger every day. Today, I tackle the beast!

MAY

I got through most of May, yes, but the end part stands out. I started my new job May 23rd. That has consumed a great proportion of my LIFE since then, working ten- to thirteen-hour days every weekday and eight hours on Saturdays. In the two months since I started, I've lost five employees and gained one. I have no tellers. NONE. This was recent; I'm getting ahead of myself. Basically: work sucks the life out of me sometimes.

Aarti came to visit in May! It was wonderful and lovely to see her. Now, I can hardly remember all that we did. We spent a day finding out how the Very Wealthy live (morning at the farmers' market, then to Huntington Library Gardens and art museums, and finally to the Ritz Carlton to sit by the pool... lovely!). We spent another day going to the La Brea Tar Pits and the L.A. County Museum of Art, a third day at Disneyland, and the rest of the time just hanging out, I think. And shopping some. It was grand.

JUNE

In June, I worked. A lot. Around the 11th, Jess, Gen and I went to see Les Miserables at the Pantages in Hollywood, which was awesome. Love Les Mis. We saw Cars later in the month, which was fabulous and wonderful and right up there with my Favorite Movies of All Time, I think. I swam a lot, for exercise. Jess was still here, so that was cool. We had a ritual, the three of us, of getting into the pool every night after work. That... was June. Not very exciting, just existing.

JULY

July, in contrast, has been a crazy-busy month. Gen had friends visiting that first weekend. We barbequed on the Fourth, making TONS of food. Caitlin and Sean came up and we swam and gorged ourselves on yummy holiday foods. Jess and I went to see fireworks in Woodland Hills.

On the sixth, Mom arrived. Yay! I love it when my mom visits. On the eighth, I had my first Saturday off since starting the job, and Mom, Jess and I headed to Vegas. We went first to the Hoover Dam, where it was darn hot but very interesting. We drove through a thunderstorm in the desert and watched the temperature drop from 106* to 69* in a matter of, like, seven minutes. Seriously. But it was right back up in the triple digits by the time we got to the Dam. That night, we drove in to Vegas, settled in at the Paris hotel, and headed over to the Mirage to see Love, the Beatles Cirque du Soleil. VERY cool! On Sunday, we rode the roller coaster at New York, New York, did some shopping, saw the pirate show at Treasure Island, saw Mystere (another Cirque show), watched the volcano errupt at the Mirage, strolled along the canals in the Venetian, and watched three rounds of dancing fountains at the Belagio.

On Monday, we drove home. Monday night, we went to Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest at the El Capitan theatre in Hollywood, which was really cool. It was a whole production, complete with entertaining pirates while waiting in line, an organist on stage playing Disney music beforehand, four curtains, a little song-and-cannon thingy before the movie, and after the movie, a display of props and costumes and artwork from the movie. COOL. Well worth the extra $4. Plus, the movie was good. *nods*

On Tuesday the 11th, Mom and Jess left. *sniff* I really enjoyed having my sister stay here!

That entire week I was at work late perparing for my Franchise Review (wherein the Ops Manager and Branch Manager write up a report on their branch: strengths, weaknesses, staff development, explaining numbers such as sales and losses and standings, etc). Only, I don't have a branch manager, and I'd only been in the branch a month and a half, so it was SCARY sitting in a room by myself with eight executives grilling me! But anyway. Preparing for the review. At work late. As usual.

That Friday the 14th, my cousin Phil arrived on his way through to Australia. I picked him up from the airport and we went to dinner. On Saturday, I worked. Then I took him driving through the Hollywood Hills, down to Hollywood just to see it, then through more hills down Topanga Canyon to Malibu, where he swam in the Pacific Ocean for the first time. Saturday night, we went to a comedy club, which was raunchy, but he had fun. On Sunday, we had lunch out, then drove (an hour+) to Redondo Beach where The O.C. is filmed (he's a big fan). We went swimming in the ocean again, then drove home to shower, then back down (another hour) to the airport. It was really nice to see Phil, and I think he had a good time. I hope so!

Tuesday the 18th was my Review, which was crazy and scary and I had the WORST tension headache ever from nerves. But I made it through, and I think I did alright. Then my one teller quit, and now the other one quit, and I have no tellers. So that's gonna be a hoot and a holler, let me tell ya.

And that pretty much brings me up to date! Today we went shopping, and for $130 I bought two purses (for a total of $5.98, whoo!), two pairs of pants, a sweater, a shirt, and a pair of shoes. Successful shopping, I say. Tomorrow I have NO PLANS, which is a glorious feeling. Monday, my new branch manager starts, which is very exciting. I'm looking forward to it.

And now that I've caught myself up on my ever-thrilling life... I got nothin'.