Saturday, December 27, 2014

That Will Be All For Tonight

Good evening, all. Tonight I have something a tad different for you all. I try to keep things on here generally light and unbiased. But tonight, you won't be reading more study tips, or listening to a new playlist, or be reading make up reviews. Tonight, I'm going to say my peace, and if you're still with me after that, then thank you. 

I have always been independent. As a child, as an adolescent, and as a young adult. Along with being independence comes being a strong person. I am also have my opinions. I am intelligent and I can back up my opinions with more than "because that's what I think." Earlier tonight I had typed up this entire post, which will be shared later. But then, I read the whole thing and thought, that's kind of heavy, should I really post this? Or should I just rewrite it without the substance and let my blog keep its norm. 

So, here's my peace: I will say what I please. I will express my opinion when I feel. And if I want to write a post about the best way to decorate for the current season, then I will. If I want to post about the upcoming primary presidential elections and the campaigning that will accompany it, then I will. Not because this is my blog, even though it is, but because that is who I am. I am a person. I have many facets. I am not going to shut down some of those facets just to fit a certain outline of how my blog should be written. 

So, with that you have a choice: continue to join me when I post, or never visit my page again. But from my little corner of the internet, I can say that I hope you continue to join me. I promise I will try to keep my opinions in check and I will not alway post heavy-handed topics. In the future, please expect more organization tips, more posts about how in love I am with college, but also, my opinions on some topics that you may not agree with. Again, I hope you continue to join me. 

With that, I bid you good night. Until next time, my lovelies...

Thursday, December 18, 2014

WARNING: Under Construction

Warning: Today is a construction day. If you happen to stumble on my little corner of the internet, don't mind if everything is mis-matched. That's just me working on a new look. Check back later today for the finished product :)

Saturday, December 13, 2014

Confessions of A Retail Employee



Good evening, my sugar plum fairies! Now that finals are over, I can get back to you lovely people. Now that finals are over, I can say that I am finished with 1/8th of my undergraduate career. Of course, after undergrad I have another 6 or so years. But hey, as Oscar Wilde says, "You can never be overdressed or overeducated." 

Anyway, since I am home, I have returned to work. If you don't know, I work at a music and movie store in the mall. Holiday season in retail is the most dreaded season ever. So, here I present to you, Confessions of a retail employee. The holiday season is stressful and we get tired and frustrated and you annoying customer do not make it any easier. As you might not guess, most of us who work in retail, we don't actually like people. Someone of the best may love their job, but have a grand distaste for people. I make this list sitting in Panera after a long day of work, so it might have more of a bite to it than if I had gotten off work a few hours ago.

Dear Customers,

We try the best we can... No really, unless you get a sucky employee, chances are, we are just trying to keep you happy. Because when you get grump, we get grumpy and that ruins our day. So please, be patient with us.

No, I cannot make an exception for you. This is especially relevant if you are talking to a basic store associate. If your goal is to skirt around the rules, then talk to a manager and maybe you'll get the nice one. But if you're talking to a seasonal employee, chances are they haven't worked there long and they aren't going to bend the rules for you because A. they don't know how and B. they want to keep their job.

DO NOT YELL AT ME. If you yell at me it will do nothing but piss me off and then I will get VERY sassy and then I will hand you over to my manager and she does not like it when customers yell at her people. With that, do not yell at my manager. She will ask you to leave. 

Lines are long everywhere, we apologize for the inconvenience and we appreciate you patience, but LINES ARE LONG EVERYWHERE. It sucks and its annoying, but no matter where you go, lines are long. So, do not think complaining will do anything but make me roll my eyes.

Please say thank you. Like I said, we are trying the best we can and we are working hard. Please be courteous and say thank you. It is polite and it makes us happy. When we are happy, we are nicer to you.

When our computers crash, it is not our fault. I am sorry that you are annoyed  but trust me, it is a much worse for us. Again, I repeat, it is not our fault. 

As you think that your life is so bad, please remember that we have to deal with at least 10 of you in an hour that think your life is so bad. Trust me when I say, its not as terrible as you think it is.

And lastly, oh please, piss me off. Take your best shot. Because I promise you, I will still have a smile on my face when I tell you that if you have that big of a problem, then you can shop somewhere else.

Sincerely, 
A Retail Employee

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

Its Time: Welcome to Finals

Good morning my lovelies. I hope all of your Turkey Days were all good and well. But now that that break is over, finals week is looming over. So, I thought I would take the time to build on my last two posts and explain a little bit of how I get organized and study for finals. But first, I have to share this because this scene is what I thought of when I realized what was to come. If any of you don't watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer, then you won't really understand it, but it will still be funny. For those of you who do watch Buffy, you're welcome. 


So, first things first. Know where you can study. It helps me to not study in the same exact spot every time. But, make sure you study spot it well-lit and quiet. We talked about contextual learning in psychology yesterday; and since you will most likely take your exam in a quiet, well-lit room, then studying in such an environment will help you recall the information better. I like to study either in my room (if it isn't messy), in the study room located in the basement of my hall, in the library, or in a quiet campus restaurant. Find the place that works best for you, then find at least one more. Having multiple places to study really helps keep you from feeling like you're stuck doing the same thing every day. And sometimes you just want to get away from your roommate's loud typing habits. (Sorry Lex) 

Secondly, make some sort of schedule. On a normal week, I will make a rough schedule of how I'll spend my free time, and as long as I'm not behind, I usually deviate from it a little bit. But during this next week and a half, I will make a strict schedule and stick to it pretty well. But please be smart enough to schedule yourself some down-time. Schedule dinner with a friend or an hour to watch Netflix. But, make some sort of schedule, even if it is a rough outline of when and what you study.

Next, and this one is kind of 2-in-1, but start studying at least a week early (if not two weeks). If you do this, you will be able to study and still get some semblence of sleep. I cannot say this enough, SLEEP IS IMPORTANT. Yeah, I get it. We are college students, sleep isn't really a priority and Red Bull is our best friend. But really guys, study early and get some sleep. If I could tell you only one thing it would be this.

Other than that, just use your study skills. In my two pervious posts, About Time for a Study Tips Post and How I Study, I talk about general study tips and how I go about my studying. If you need some help or just a nudge in the right direction, take a look at these and hopefully they'll help. 

So, since I will be entering my finals hibernation period today, you guys probably won't hear from me until its over. So, until next time...