Sign Of A Good Weekend

I’m really looking forward to the long weekend. The shortened workweek (did you know that workweek is one word?) is reason enough to celebrate, but I actually have plans too!

I’m going shopping at the Cabazon Outlets with one of my best friends from high school and his girlfriend tomorrow. I’ve never been to those outlets, and I don’t really know where Cabazon is, but who am I to turn down a day of shopping?

On Saturday (July 4th), I’m hanging out with my best friend from elementary school again (we have a lot of lost time to catch up on). We’re going to attend a barbecue at his mom’s place in Marina del Rey (it just sounds pretty). My friend said there will be a deck that overlooks the ocean and has a perfect view of the fireworks (I don’t know who’s putting on a fireworks show, not that it matters).

I’ll probably end up crashing at my friend’s mom’s place on Saturday (my friend suggested that I should). I’m not sure what my friend has planned for Sunday, but I’m hoping it’s something low-key. My weekends aren’t usually this packed. As much fun as the weekend is going to be, just thinking about it makes me feel tired. I’ll probably be more tired on Monday morning than I would be from a normal weekend, but maybe that’s a sign of a good weekend!

Happy Canada Day

It’s already the end of the day, but I wanted to wish all the Canadians out there a Happy Canada Day! It was just another day here, but having lived in Canada for a few years, I like to reflect on Canadian holidays. All day, I thought about my friends in Canada and what they were doing for the holiday. I miss them.

In the back of my mind, I keep thinking about planning a trip up to visit, but it just doesn’t seem plausible at the moment. It’s hard to get away from work, and the meager salary I get doesn’t make a vacation very practical.

We’ll see if I can scrounge up the money somehow. I could try to make time to visit during an American holiday. Thanksgiving comes to mind, especially since I spent the last four (American) Thanksgivings in Canada. I do like keeping tradition.

This Friday is Independence Day (the Fourth of July) here in “the States.” I wish I could take both American and Canadian holidays off!

Flowers And Dresses

Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers out there!

I bought my mom a dozen red roses. She was really surprised to get them. I don’t think she was expecting me to get her anything, and she said that she’s never received flowers besides when my siblings and I were born. She was so happy that she insisted on taking pictures.

My sister and her boyfriend visited us for a Mother’s Day lunch. My sister actually also bought my mom flowers, a small arrangement inside a cute mug-like vase that says “A mother’s love is never ending.” My mom was pretty stunned and happy that she received so many flowers on one day. My dad is definitely not the romantic type, so getting gifts always seems extra special to my mom.

We had lunch at a nearby Japanese BBQ restaurant. In addition to all-you-can-eat Japanese BBQ, there was a sushi and salad bar. The BBQ was really tasty, but the sushi bar was lacking (especially compared to some places I went to in Canada). They did have unagi (freshwater eel) rolls, though, which is a plus.

I tend to eat too much at all-you-can-eat BBQ restaurants, especially now that I can’t eat as much as I used to. I was full for most of the day (my whole family was). We walked around the mall a little bit, and even visited my Target for a short while.

After we returned home, my sister, her boyfriend, and I watched 27 Dresses on DVD. My mom declined to watch with us, though she came back in to watch the last 20 minutes or so, asking a lot of questions. I ended up being the only one to watch the whole movie, since both my sister and her boyfriend fell asleep on the couch! I really liked 27 Dresses. I’m a sucker for chick flicks, and Edward Burns and James Marsden are both very good looking.

My mom placed her flowers on a shelf next to our HDTV so that she could see them while she watches TV. She keeps telling me how beautiful her flowers are as I’m writing this post. I think she had a good Mother’s Day!

Plastic Eggs Are Big Sellers

Easter is one of the biggest holidays for Target. Our sales goals have been very high this whole week, very close to the goals we had during the Christmas season. With Easter being only two days away (and Target being closed on Easter), work was extremely busy today.

Tomorrow is going to be even crazier, but I’m luckily not working tomorrow. Who would have thought pastel colored plastic eggs, stuffed bunnies, and Peeps would be so popular? I shouldn’t really question it though; I love Cadbury creme eggs.

Meanwhile, my brother is flying back to medical school tonight. My parents and my brother picked me up from work, and we went directly to the airport. Since my brother was only home for six days, and I had to work for five of them, I didn’t get to hang out and do as much with him as I wanted. He’s going to be back in June, though, which isn’t as far away as it used to be.

The Christmas Feeling

The whole time I was at work today, it didn’t feel like Christmas. It felt like just another day at work. Only after I came home after my shift and my relatives came over for the party did Christmas really feel like it was here.

Last year, I gave up my Christmas at home for the first time ever in order to study for an exam. I stayed in Canada during the whole holiday season. As a result, the feeling of Christmas was missing. Sitting alone in my apartment wasn’t very festive.

This year, I was afraid that I had once again inadvertently sacrificed my Christmas by working at Target. I’m certainly more tired today than usual, and most of the Christmas season felt different (I didn’t listen to nearly enough Christmas songs). But at least, in the end, it still feels like Christmas.

I’ve Been Targeted

Today was interesting. I definitely won’t be getting an actuarial or teaching job before January, so I figured I might as well try to get a seasonal job for the holidays and make some money in the meantime. I went to the mall and looked around for “Now Hiring” signs. I then went to Target and saw that they have some computer stations to apply for jobs, so I applied. Once I was done with the application, I had a first interview, a second interview, and a job offer! The whole process took less than two hours. My first day looking for a job and I got one!

I wasn’t expecting to be offered a job this quickly! I have mixed feelings about getting a job at Target. Having a seasonal job will most likely mean that I will be working weekends during December. I finally have weekends free to hang out with friends, and I fill them up with work! Not only that, but my brother will be coming home from medical school in a couple weeks, so I won’t get as much time with him as I would have if I didn’t have a job.

On the other hand, it’s great to make some extra money while I wait for a professional job to come along. I also feel like I should have some “real world” job experience. All my friends seem to have had menial jobs growing up that give them some sort of skills or experience on which to fall back. The only jobs I’ve ever had (besides working in the school cafeteria during lunch in fifth grade) have been math related jobs during college and graduate school. A sales floor/cashier job at Target is a perfect way to get some “real world” job experience, even if the job doesn’t give me any better chance of finding an actuarial or teaching job. I’m pretty sure it won’t hurt my chances, either.

Last night, I was thinking that finding a job is actually a lot harder than studying for an exam. There’s an idiom in Chinese: 騎馬找馬 (qi ma zhao ma). Loosely translated, it means “it’s easier to look for a horse when you’re riding a horse.” It makes sense in this context. Now that I have a job, albeit temporary and low-paying, I don’t have to stress quite as much about not having a job while I look for a job I really want.

I have a drug test tomorrow. Once my background checks out, I will get to go to a five hour paid orientation, probably either this weekend or early next week. I’m both excited and scared! I have a job!

In other news (slightly related but maybe not related at all), the next actuarial exam is in May. After I passed my exam on Saturday, I decided that I wouldn’t sacrifice this Christmas for an exam (that’s what I did last year, which is why I missed Christmas at home for the first time ever), so I won’t start worrying about the next exam until January.

Thanksgiving Graduation

Graduation was fun. The ceremony was pretty short; it only took about an hour. The pictures my friends took of the ceremony are not very good, but it’s completely the fault of the distance from the stage and the lighting of the auditorium. I guess my camera takes some blame as well, since I chose a smaller, cuter camera over a more powerful camera that could take professional pictures by having much more zoom and stronger flash. I did get some good pictures of me with my friends after the ceremony, so it’s not a big deal. I also had the obligatory professional graduation photos taken so that my parents can buy them and feel less guilty for not coming to my graduation.

Today is also (American) Thanksgiving. It’s just another day in Canada (I’m pretty sure schools in the US don’t hold graduation ceremonies on Thanksgiving), so it’s hard to find a good turkey dinner. Instead, my friends and I went to Swiss Chalet for dinner. For the last three years (this year makes four), I have gone to Swiss Chalet on American Thanksgiving. During the holidays, they offer a “Festive Special,” which upgrades the usual “Quarter Chicken Dinner” with stuffing, cranberry sauce, and a small box of chocolate truffles. Even though I didn’t get turkey, chicken is almost the same, and the stuffing is my favorite part of the Thanksgiving meal anyway.

Christmastime And Peppermint Mochas

The Starbucks I go to every day put up their holiday decorations today. They started using their red holiday cups and added the special holiday drinks to their menu. Christmas is coming!

The Christmas season is my favorite time of the year. To celebrate the season, I bought my favorite Starbucks drink, a peppermint mocha, instead of my usual coffee. I got it made with nonfat milk and no whipped cream because of all the extra calories, but it was still fantastic.

Most people hate Christmas shopping, but I love it. There’s something magical about going to an overcrowded mall that has Christmas trees and lights everywhere. I can’t explain why it’s so magical, but shopping during Christmastime (can you believe that’s a real word?) always makes me happy. The music, the scents, the trees, the lights – I just love everything about Christmas!

Last year, I missed Christmas at home for the first time, and I didn’t get to do much Christmas shopping. As you might imagine, I felt a considerable loss. That means that this Christmas is going to have to count double, which makes it even more special!

Happy (Canadian) Thanksgiving!

I spent some time in Canada for graduate school, so I like to celebrate Canadian holidays along with American ones. Today is Thanksgiving in Canada. Many Americans don’t know that. For those who don’t, you can find some information about Canadian Thanksgiving on Wikipedia.

Today is also Columbus Day in the US, but I think Thanksgiving means more to Canadians than Columbus Day does to Americans. It seems like the only things that are special about Columbus Day are the sales at the mall and the day off for the post office. Some people take off work and a lot of people don’t. Meanwhile, Canadian Thanksgiving is like American Thanksgiving, where family and friends gather together for a big festive turkey dinner.

Personally, I would much rather celebrate both days of Thanksgiving than Columbus Day and one Thanksgiving. I would love to eat stuffing more often.