Cilybebyll

Hello, all. :) I couldn't think of a post title, so I just kept clicking "random article" on Wikipedia. Here's the corresponding article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cilybebyll


The new job is going well. It's fast-paced, so I don't get bored and stare at the clock. The people I'm working with are helpful and friendly, which is always a plus; even our customers have been friendly so far, even though there almost always seems to be a massive line. I get a free meal every shift I work, which is awesome, because I really do love the food we sell. And, I haven't gotten my paycheck yet (Friday, baby!!), but apparently we start off making $8-something. Which probably doesn't sound like much, but it's incredible to me; every other job I've worked so far has paid minimum wage ($7.25). So I'm excited to be making a little more money! :)

All our hours are going to be in flux these first couple weeks, until we get the hang of how things run and get a feel for what shifts work best for whom. Thursday-Saturday I worked morning shifts, from open until just before dinner rush. I think this week will start off with evening shifts. Which is nice, it gives me time to sleep in, but I hope when things settle down I won't be working a lot of nights. Or at least get to choose which nights I do work. I hate having to miss training. :/

Speaking of training, there's a seminar coming up this weekend that I get to go to! Only for one day, but that's better than nothing. It's going to cover really modern self-defense training, and the guy teaching it is a friend I haven't seen in a long time. Plus, it's in Birmingham, which means I can see all my friends again. :) I'm spending the night in town, too, so I can hang out and then get breakfast with some other friends I haven't seen in over a year.

I finished Crown of Swords a few days ago, and I'll probably pick up the next one (Path of Daggers) tonight or tomorrow. I wanted to wait until I settled in my job a bit before adding another time-sucker. I'm no longer preoccupied with the newness of it, and I'm starting to get those cravings again. Plus, I get the day off tomorrow. So, a late night of enthusiastic reading may be in store for me. :)

Also, as a random side note, I highly suggest Purity Bear Claw ice cream. Dark chocolate ice cream, Denali caramel, and chocolate covered cashews. So yummy.

SURPRISE!!

The title is what I feel like God just did to me. You know how I was saying nothing really exciting was going on? Well, I just got interviewed and hired in the last 2 hours. Seriously! They called me for an interview today around 12, I went in at 3:30, and got the call back at 5. ("They" being Zoes Kitchen, a great restaurant for healthy food fast. They started in Birmingham and finally got one in Huntsville.)

I start training tomorrow and Wednesday, and the grand opening is Thursday. I'm so excited!! I'm finally going to be doing something and earning money!! :D Thank you, God!!!


Now, if you'll  excuse me, I've got to go shout this out to Facebook. :) Peace, y'all!!

It's Summerrrrr

Well folks, not much going on lately. Independence Day is this week, and I'll either be doing something with my family or with some folks at my church (party!!). There'll be some celebration somewhere.

I wound up walking with the boot again for a couple days after my jaunt to Six Flags. I'm back to my wearing the shoes I bought for running now, though. (Those shoes in particular because they're built to support my feet. At least I get to break them in before I get back to running.) I scheduled a follow-up appointment with the doctor who saw me the first time. It's not for another couple weeks, but I'll be calling the doctor's office regularly to see if he's got an opening some time sooner. For now, my self-diagnosis is that it's not a simple strain; I think it really is a fracture, and there are some strained tendons/ligaments in my ankle. That's my self-diagnosis. I'm seriously considering getting back to just a little bit of training, and just where the boot for it. It's cumbersome and heavy, but if my foot isn't harmed by it, why not? It would be a challenge, too, trying to work out footing and all that jazz, since I wouldn't be as mobile.

It was crazy hot outside when I went out to get job applications - I think it got up to 105 that day. I got a couple paper applications, applied to Publix at their application kiosk, and wrote down a lot of websites for other places' applications. I'm still working my way through those, but I'm glad there's such a nice-sized net I can toss and still be within 5 miles of my house. (Applications are still tedious though, haha.)

I didn't mention it last time, but I finished Lord of Chaos and moved on to the next book, Crown of Swords. It's a good thing I've already got almost the entire series (missing the most recent book), because I hate having to wait to go on once my brain is ready to keep reading! There's gotta be at least a couple hours rest to decompress and process what just happened, but once that period ends, I've got to have the next book. Bookworm to the end!! :D

I helped out with the youth group again last night. I haven't said anything official, but one of the leaders has already put me on the list of helpers/leaders. I don't mind in the least - I don't intend to go anywhere. The kids are amazing, and it's so cool to hear their input and to witness them learning and growing. They're doing a study on Biblical manhood and womanhood, and I'm so glad. They all have great role models in their parents, but you can't solidify these lessons enough. It's imperative that they learn what it means to be men and women of God, what that looks like in everyday life. I wish I'd gone through this study or one like it when I was in youth group, but I'm glad I still learned most of what the study's going over and that I get to learn a little more with the kids. God's going to do great things with these kids and teens.

That's all I got for now! Have a great week and a fun, safe Fourth of July. :)

Six Flags!

Sorry for the belated post. I wound up making very last-minute plans to go to Six Flags with my church's youth group as a chaperon, and I didn't get back until too late at night to do much before collapsing in bed. We had a blast, though. I hadn't spent much time around the youth before then, and I'm glad I had the opportunity yesterday. We've got some great kids, and I'm excited to see them grow in maturity as they learn more about what it means to be followers of Christ.

Six Flags was a ton of fun. I'd only been once before, and only been on 2 roller coasters then. I rode just about everything this time. I wanted to give Superman a try, but I heard it's a long wait for a short ride that isn't quite worth the wait. The girls in the group I was walking around with (along with 2 other chaperons, older and more familiar with being youth leaders) were keen to ride lots of roller coasters, so we didn't skip many of the others.

My favorites were Daredevil Dive, Goliath, Mindbender, and the Great American Scream Machine (there's a reason it's still around!). Also, being in the front is awesome. When you're in any of the other rows, you always see the seats and heads in front of you; the stationary view is too orienting. In the front row, you see the hills, curves, and everything else, and sometimes you see nothing but air - it's awesome. After riding so many coasters and feeling everything drop out from under me so many times, I might even be ready to ride Acrophobia next time I go, or the Space Shot at the Space and Rocket Center here in Huntsville!

A few of us tried one of the games in the park, the one where someone tries to guess your age, weight, or your birth month. I played it last time I went, and won; I don't remember if she tried to guess my age or weight, it might have been both. This time, I asked the guy to guess my age, capitalizing on the tendency everyone has to undershoot my actual age. The rules allowed him a 2 year margin of error, and he was off by 4 - he guessed I was 18. (Not nearly as bad as other guesses I've heard before.) At the prompting of one of the girls, I chose a plastic scepter that lights up in different patterns as my prize. I had a lot of fun carrying that around; kept feeling like I should make declarations or something, haha.

My foot was not pleased with me for walking around and standing in lines for so long, though. I wore the boot on the ride there and back, and I was thankful for it - my foot is not as healed as I thought it was. I probably set myself back a little with that decision, but I count it worth the discomfort today. Not just because the rides were fun, but because this youth group is incredible and I'm really glad for the opportunity to invest in their lives. I was there Sunday night for their Bible study, and I plan to keep attending those to help the leaders and to keep investing in these kids' lives. (Still, after some convincing, I have decided to schedule a follow-up appointment with the doctor. Maybe there's something they can do that will help my foot heal better and faster.)

As far as the job front goes, I've got a couple active applications with Huntsville Hospital and one application for a part-time job at a small coffee shop. I was going to aim for only full-time work (and any freelance proofreading I could get, which is still the case), but I've got to earn money somewhere, and I know part-time places are always wanting to hire people who won't be gone when the school year starts. I've just got to mark out a day and go out for the rounds of collecting applications.

That's all for this update. Peace out!

Daredevil Dive - check out that drop!!

Goliath - my ears actually popped going up the first hill!