I'm Officially a Texan

Monday was my day off, and boy did I get a lot accomplished! A few highlights:

1. I got my car registered and had the KS title transferred to TX. It took, like 5 minutes. I sat down at a desk, and the lady typed some stuff into the computer, and BAM! She gave me my new tags. I wanted to stop her and say, "Wait, don't you understand? This is a HUGE deal! I'm becoming a resident of a new state! I love KS! I'm new to TX! Aren't you going to do a ceremony or something?" But no, there was no ceremony. It's okay - I had a little one with the roomie when I switched out my rear plate. So long, REBA!

Hello Texas!

2. I got a driver's license! I totally forgot about looking nice for my picture, but it didn't turn out too bad. They make you smile for so long, I think I look like I'm almost peeved. :)

3. And! I got a library card! Now, I have thousands and thousands of books and movies at my fingertips! For free! Nothing excites me more than a public library (well, maybe, Dr. Pepper). I grew up in one, so I feel so at home and free to learn and read. Yay!

Interview at REI

Don't go crazy - I'm not quitting my job. I LOVE my job. I just realized that with some extra income I could pay off my medical debts a bit faster and that would be much appreciated considering I could buy a house with my student loan amount. I though to myself, "If I had to work more than 40 hours a week, where would I enjoy doing that at?" REI was definitely a good option; one of my coworkers even suggested it. So, I applied online, got an email, and showed up.

To a group interview.

Yuck.

I'm not outgoing and I'm not a salesman. I do well one-on-one and have no capacity to "sell myself." Well, too bad, because that's what I did today! We all gathered (17 or so) in a room for about 10 minutes while the HR guy went through a powerpoint of REI's history, job responsibilities, benefits, and all that fun stuff. Then we broke up into two groups in separate areas. When we sat down in a circle, the leader asked us to just take a few minutes and introduce ourselves, what activities we like in the outdoors and why, and what we can bring to the table. IN FRONT OF EACH OTHER? Really? I do not like boasting about myself, especially in a group, and it felt super uncomfortable. I kept trying to make eye contact with the leader as if to say, "how about we do this later? like one-on-one?" So after that was over, we did two exercises: one where we paired up and taught our partners ANYTHING, then in turn we would teach that to the class, sort of to assess our teacher's ability and our ability to translate. My partner taught me about aggressive inline skating. I tried to make it sound interesting. He totally butchered my topic: your heart. I wanted to scream, "I do this everyday! I teach people! I'm so much better at this!"

The second activity was to get in groups of 4 and brainstorm a definition for customer service. That was good, no problems there.

Then we all gathered back into the room and the HR guy talked a bit more. We filled out a small worksheet, then I left. TWO HOURS LATER. Who goes to a first interview that lasts 2 hours? I suppose when you're interviewing 100 people for 20-30 slots, you need an efficient way to do so. I just fear that because I'm not outgoing and annoyingly prideful, I will get looked over.

Oh well, there's always Hobby Lobby! :)

Cheap Drugs & Moldy Lungs

Two things, short & sweet:

1. In one week I will have health insurance!!!!!! Last month, I spent $300 on my medicine. Next month: $6. Amazing!

2. My wonderful pulmonologist figured out that I have a type of penicillum mold in my lungs. He had to send it all the way to the State Dept of Health, and then he conferred with the infectious disease doc at his hospital. So, apparently my sputum is making the rounds. :) He's putting me on anti-fungal medication for 6 weeks, and it just happens to be in liquid form. I would rather take a pill, and I have this bad feeling this stuff is going to taste nasty and nothing like Dr. Pepper. Yuck.

I'm working this weekend! And have the day off Monday! Yay!

Decorations...

Caveat: Today isn't a post on being new. Sorry.

I realized the other night in Bible study that it's technically normal to have a house that looks like the showroom: colors and styles all match, even smaller decorations follow a theme. In contrast, I grew up with a very eclectic decorating scheme: golden shag carpet, flowered couch, orange chair, decorations were pictures of family or figurines my parents had lying around. There wasn't much in the house that didn't have a story or practical use.

The lady's house where we meet is definitely from the showroom. The room we watch the videos in has all these fun African-themed decorations: maps, wooden giraffes, other animals, etc. I almost asked her, "When did you go to Africa? What part? What did you do there?" and then I realized she probably didn't go there and just bought the figurines at a outrageous price to decorate the room.

To me, that's kind of boring. There's no character - what's the point of decorating your house in certain themes if you have no personal tie to them? Even if it doesn't really match, I want my house to speak a story of where I've been and also be functional. Nothing bothers me more than useless pieces of decorations. Why do you need a bowl of fake fruit? Why not put REAL fruit in it? Why the facade?

My opinion may seem harsh, but honestly, why do we as Americans have this idea we can have the extra, useless stuff just to make everything look pretty? Why not just be real and decorate with your personality?

Don't get me wrong, you can still use colors and make the room flow. But I just feel it has more character if the decorations and house could only be recognized as yours. In contrast, houses from the showroom have no personality - you wouldn't know who owned them unless you asked or knew.

Thoughts?

It is my intention to post more often, really. Last week was busy. But this past weekend I got a bed!

A real, adult bed. So exciting! More later.

List of Things To Do

This week flew by and was much better than last week. I actually was surprised when I got in my car Friday after work; it felt like it was only Tuesday! But for the good: I was instantly tired realizing I was done with work and free to sleep! This weekend, so far I've been resting and doing fun, enjoying activities. I'm making my way through a list of places to visit given to me by a native Austinite, my friend Mark. If you come visit, I'll probably take you to these places!

1. Visit Alamo Draft House. It's a movie theatre where you can eat & drink during the movie. Haven't done this one yet; previous attempts have failed. :)

2. Go to Zilker Park. This is where Austin City Limits (music festival) occurs every year, and the 350-acre park has lots to do. I've actually been here a few years ago with my friend Stacie, but never spent a significant time there. They have an outdoor theater there, so I might just save this one for the summer.

3. Music venues: Stubbs and Antone's.

4. Mozart's - a coffee shop by Lake Austin. CHECK! Been here twice - once on a sunny day with Dawn - we sat outside - it was wonderful. Another day while I was working from "home," rainy, but still cozy. Literally on the lake and very yummy!

5. Chuy's Mexican. CHECK! First place I ate upon arriving in Austin and been here SEVERAL times since then. Very yummy, Tex Mex food. (Nothing like El Mezcal, though!)

6. Bob Bullock Texas Sate History Museum & State Capitol Tour. Haven't been here yet because no one will go with me! All my friends are native to Texas or are not interested in history. Pooh! Someone come visit me and we'll go together!

7. Mt. Bonnell. Sounds like a good Saturday activity.

8. The Oasis, a restaurant that overlooks Lake Travis. Word on the street is that it's better to go in the summer because then you can sit on the deck over the lake. Will do.

9. Hiking at Barton Creek Greenbelt. CHECK! Did this a month ago with some friends visiting town. Nice, easy, stroll with beautiful views of the creek.

10. Pertonales River bed. CHECK! Did this on Saturday with Dawn, pictures on Facebook.

11. Go to a UT Football or Basketball game. I tried back in February to go to the Kansas/Texas game, and almost succeeded, but ended up being sick that night. All that's left is Big 12 and then March Madness, so we might have to wait until the fall for football.

I'm considering making up a list for Lawrence. What would you put on the list for your city?