I love my relatives, even the ones I've never met. But having had an infux of them constantly through my house this past month makes me glad they're gone so I can get a breather. At least of the next two weeks...

Then they come back!

Wow, I can't believe it's been months since the last time I posted or been on LJ! So much has been going on with working three jobs, finished up classes, dealing with busted AC/heating systems, dealing with pregnant friends and getting married brides, and even earthquakes!

Highlight for this week is the green tea Miyoko-san sent me from Japan - plus a pic of her and her hubby. I wish her the best with her pregnancy. I want to send her something too for the baby. Just need to figure out something that I can send comfortably to Japan that won't cost and arm and a leg.

Gah, so busy! I've only been getting 4 or 5 hours of sleep daily for the past couple weeks. Training at the new job has great benefits but it's exhausting as they try and cram as much info as possible into our little brains so they can get us 'offcial' ASAP. And my other two part-time jobs have been calling me up asking me to pick up more hours so I've been very busy working and keeping up to date on my classes.

I do like my new job though as it pays on a weekly basis instead of every other week. It's nice to have money! XD

There seems to be an abnormal heat streak for January - our high today is 62 degrees! Maybe it's because of the sudden temperature change, but I'm feeling kinda sick with hot/cold flashes and nausea. It only started late last night and I'm hoping it'll pass before I start my new job on Wednesday.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

My cousin came to visit again a few days ago and brought me lots of Korean an Japanese drama. I've been watching a Korean drama called Full House and I love it! It's so melodramatic with love quadrangles, but it's got a lot of cute funny moments too. Only problem is, I spent so much time watching it that I neglected my sleep; I only managed about 2 hours last night though part of it was all the rain coming down that kept waking me up. Good thing work is so slow today.

Now, if I can just keep from falling asleep on my feet!

Okay, I finally found out my schedule for work this week and it turns out that I'll be working all day and night on New Year's Eve and day. So I'll be ringing in the new year...with work. The hotel is practically booked full up with people who bought the New Year's Eve package so, between the hotel's party and the First Night festivities taking place downtown, my boss warned me to be prepared for utter chaos. Apparently last year involved things being broken, drunken brawls, and furniture being tossed out of windows.

Joy.

Hopefully, I won't be called upon to assert authority over the disorderly because it's rather difficult for my petite self to try and intimidate burly six-feet tall, linebacker-built and totally wasted drunks. Knowing my boss, he'd probably sit back and laugh while enjoying the show.

But, since I'll be otherwise occupied as the new year rolls in, I thought I'd pop in with early felicity. Hopefully, you all have better plans to open the new year with.

HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYONE!!!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful Christmas. At the moment, I'm completely stuffed from Christmas lunch at my uncle's. I don't know how I'm going to make room for the dinner! Anyhow, I better get back to my relatives. Just wanted to pop in and say 'hi' to everyone on my f-list.

MERRY CHRISTMAS, EVERYONE!!!

Well, it turns out that I'm working New Year's Eve and Day at the hotel. I just found out today. Apparently, the hotel is pretty much sold out for the New Year's Eve bash being held and the big bosses want only reliable people working during that time to deal with all the drunks and utter chaos. Ack! It's so tough being the reliable one sometimes. On the bright side, I do get holiday pay in addition to the hours I work. Double the money - yay!

And it turns out that some relatives will be coming from out of town to celebrate Christmas so we're all getting together for a big dinner. I didn't think anyone would be able to come, but it's a nice change. It'll be great to see everyone again...though it does get rather loud when we're all together.

Better bring earplugs!

Chocolate from Europe is the best. One of the girls I work with is from Poland and she let me try some chocolate her mother sent her. You can really taste the cocoa and it's not too sweet. Yum! For me, the darker chocolate is, the better. Milk chocolate just isn't real cholate to me.

I know, I'm weird. =p

Woo-hoo! I've got a new job that pays about $5 more per hour than I'm getting at my current job. They just let me know yesterday. I'm excited because I get to work for the same number of hours only I get more money for it! I start on Jan. 10, though my boss at the hotel asked me to stay on part-time. I told him I would if they really need me - extra money is extra money after all, though this means I now have three jobs... =_=

Ugh, got to take a drug screen test tomorrow for a potential new job. I've never had to take one before but it look like I have to stop by the office and fill out some kind of form before they'll tell me the location of where the actual drug screening will be performed. It's a lot of driving for one little test and I still have to take another test after I pass this one. Not that I'm worried. Never got into drugs and I hardly even drink alcohol unless I have people to drink with. But I've been too busy to even indulge in that.

Then I have to study because I have my last final on Tuesday. Woo-hoo! I'll be glad when that's over so I can get a break until the new semester starts next year. Maybe I'll celebrate by watching some of the anime I've accumulated from various people since the beginning of the year but still haven't gotten around to viewing yet. Nana, Ghost Hunt, La Corda D'Oro, and Aria are the ones I'm the most eager to watch!

Of course, I don't have any choice since the snow keeps coming down. It's pretty as long as I'm inside. Hey, I'm just grateful it's not ice. But it's so coooooold!

*shivers*

Mmm, methinks I want some hot cider. Yum!

Okay, the iciness just keeps coming. Seems like I'm living in ice storm central with freezing rain a constant for the next couple days, not counting the past days. Ice is thick on my driveway, which is on an incline and I happened to fall and slide all the way down to the bottom. It was a fun ride while it lasted, but now my butt aches. The salt just doesn't want to melt so the ice doesn't melt either. That or it just freezes up again after it melts.

Sheesh.

Hope the weather clears up tonight. There's an employee holiday party I have to go to.

Meanwhile, I'm suddenly craving green tea ice cream and donuts. *sigh* Impossible to find around here. Guess I'll have to gorge myself if I can ever make another trip back to Japan for vacation. I'll just content myself with all the Japanese green tea I brought back with me from this summer. It's yummy, especially when hot as it's so cold outside. I always feel like I need warming up!

I can only be grateful that it's warmer today. Yesterday we had freezing rain and cars kept skidding as they went down the parking ramp attatched to the hotel because of all the ice coating the pavement. Even spreading salt didn't seem to work since it just didn't seem to want to melt. The local airport had to cancel flights as one of the pilots told me that the planes were doing 180 degree skids out there.

Scary. *shudders*

Just glad I can drive today without skidding off icy roads. Got a lot of things I need to get done and they all require driving!

Holidays seem to bring out the nuts. Today, some weird caucasian guy (who wasn't even staying at the hotel) came up to me and flashed me the chinese clothes he was wearing under his trenchcoat and then started to quiz me on chinese words. Then he cussed out my boss and threatened to sue him for racial discrimination because he was Pakistani and out to get him and all his kind as "the events of Sept. 11th weren't evidence enough" so we had to call security and have him escorted off the property.

Apparently, this guy did the same thing last year. I guess it's some sort of oddball tradition for the guy.

Anyway, I've made a resolution: no buying X-mas gifts this year. We need to hoard money so we can afford to do some more fix-ups on our house. Besides, we and all we know already have tons of things and we all resolved this was the best way to go. It's enough just to get together and eat, drink, and be merry! ^-^

God, the past month has been so hectic. Both of my jobs have been keeping me so busy that I barely have time for my classes. Especially work at the hotel. Apparently November is rife with various conventions that keep the hotel full and me busy working overtime. On the plus side, I did get to see Soldier Boy, Blue Man group, and Bobby Flay (from Food Network). I'm not a gung-ho fan or anything but it was neat to see people live that I've previously only seen on the media before.

But I finally have my new computer partially set up - I'm still trying to figure out the kinks with a faulty printer connection. Though they arrived a while ago, I haven't had time until now to set it up and work has been too busy to even check my email there without the big boss looking over my shoulder. Plus, I having different sets of relatives visiting every week and staying for several days and a several friends with weddings and showers I've had to attend (and still have to) has been eating into my time.

Oh, Mona! I finally read your email and, yes, I did get my boxes of doujinshi we mailed from Japan. It's so sad but I haven't even open them yet even though they arrived weeks ago.

Anyway, gotta go get ready. A bunch of people from work are going out tonight and I have to go get costumed up. I'm going as a witch! I really didn't want to go but the people I work with are pushy and I caved in. Oh, well. It's something different and they're always a fun group to hang out with.

Happy Halloween, everyone!

Guh, I've been sick for the past two weeks! Caught a cold and it was mild as colds go, but I've had to work overtime everyday for the same amount of time that I've been sick so the stress made recovery slow. Pretty much all I've felt like doing after getting off of work is taking a shower, eat, and go to sleep.

I am feeling better now, though my throat is still sore. But just as I'm recovering, both my computer and my car died on me! What are the odds? I'd been having computer problems since before I left for Japan, but they were worse after I got back. It kept telling me I only had like 83 MB on my computer left, which is ridiculous because it's 40 GB and I deleted all extra stuff to try and get it to stop quitting on me but it still tells me I don't have enough memory left! I've tried a bunch of different methods to fix it, but I guess that's what I get for buying refurbished for cheap.

Anyway, I need one for my class and my other job, so I bought a new computer online as I totally hate my dead one. It should get here in a a few more days. Meanwhile, I'm stuck borrowing my brother's until it gets here. Mweh, just when I think I'm almost done paying my credit card bills from my Japan trip, I've got new ones to deal with - and I still have to take my car in to be fixed!

I work straight for the next 11 days. I hate the schedule but need the money so I guess I can't complain too much. It's what pays the bills.

Okay, it's long overdue but I finally officially added festivewind, nanami_hijiri, and umineko2007 to my f-list. Thought I did it before but umineko2007 was right and I hadn't. I must have been tired and dreaming that I had.

*bows deeply* Gomenasai! Whenever we meet again, I'll allow you to slap me for my crime of inattention. But only once.

On another note, had my interview this morning before heading off to work. It's a state job so they told me I won't know until another 3 weeks whether I got the new job or not because all the papers have to be sent to Chicago to be processed and have background checks run. Since the job starts Oct. 1, if I get the job, that'll leave me a week or less from notification to get adjusted to the idea of going to somewhere new to work. Got to remember to tell my boss just in case. They like two weeks notice but the new job won't allow that if I wait to know for sure. Ugh. Training someone new to completley take over my position takes about a month.

And I'll be on pins and needles waiting to hear the news! I hope I get the job as it pays twice as much as my current one. I did the best I could, but the interview involved me being questioned by three different people at the same time and I always sucked at public speaking things in school. Geh, I was nervous and the interviewers had mean looking faces too. Or maybe that's just me projecting?

Oh, well. Nothing I can do now except wait. >.

Ugh. So tired.

Started work today and found out my new schedule. Apparently hotel business is really busy so I'll be working the next two weeks with overtime, bouncing shift changes, and no days off. Big boss hasn't made the schedule for the weeks after that yet. I shudder to think what it'll look like.

Vacation time is definitely over.

On another note, my suitcases finally arrived...today. Not yesterday like they said. I'd be angry if I had the energy but I was definitely angry at the time since I had been waiting and waiting and worrying because my bags still hadn't arrived like I was led to believe by the time the sun was starting to set.

Anyway, I have them now. Now I have to figure out who I'm distributing gifts to because there are an awful lot of people I know.

*sigh* Must sleep now. Work again tomorrow. Joy.

OMFG! I made it back home earlier today (or yesterday if you want to get technical - but I haven't had any sleep) after a rather confusing teminal crossing at Chicago's O'Hare Airport and had a panic attack when my checked-in bags didn't make it with me! I re-checked them in after going through U.S. Customs in Chicago and thought I was safe. But when I was waiting for my bags to show up at the carousel in Springfield and they never came, I could have screamed. I drag them half way across the world and my bags disappeared? WTF!?

Needless to say, I was quick about hopping back over to the United counter to see what the hell was going on with my missing bags and apparently they're still in Chicago. There was some sort of delay and my bags never made it with me but should be coming in on the next flight to Springfield tomorrow and the airport will deliver them to my home address. I'm still upset, but at least they weren't totally gone forever or I would have lost it after dealing with all that 1/2 pound overweight = $30 extra check-in charge crap. Grrrrr.

On a lighter note, Mom was shocked by my drastic hair change (hair was dyed, cut, and permed whilst in Japan) while my brother was typical guy and asked with a puzzled look, "Did you do something with your hair?" Mom liked my new hairstyle though, which is good because now I don't have to hear her bitch about it otherwise.

And I had real red meat and fruit for dinner today. Yay!

I get to sleep in a real bed too. Now if I can just get my body to adjust to normal sleeping hour times...