The Queen has returned, and there's been a "major" change ("Pun"ny)

Disclaimer: This post isn't incredibly funny or opinionated - it's just the regular "update on life" post I feel obligated to write every once in awhile.  Sorry to disappoint ;).

LOCATION
I really didn't want to move home for the summer, but due to some strong impressions and intervention from my Heavenly Father... I'm here.  I am completely confident that I made the right decision, even though right now it's hard and doesn't make a lot of sense to me.  Hopefully the reasons why will become clear to me, but if not... that's okay. I know it's right because God told me to do it. :)


SCHOOL

 I've decided (tentatively) that I'm now going to double major in Dance Performance... or education (I can't decide.  I need to talk to my advisor because the catalog is confusing and I have "major" commitment issues - haha see what I did there? Gotcha with another "Pun"ny major joke.)  and....

*Drumroll please*

Hospitality Management.

I want to be an event coordinator. :)

Here are my long-story-short reasons for this new endeavor:

• I started taking an education class to start certifying to teach dance in high schools and decided that for many reasons, it wasn't for me.  
• I realized that I looove event planning/management and I'm kind of good at it.
• I still love dance though, so no way am I giving that up.  Heckno techno.
• How am I (the most indecisive and commitment-in-any-form-phobic person on the planet) going to decide whether to go with dancing or event planning when I first graduate?  Well...  I'm planning on two incredible jobs (one in each field) with opposite schedules to pop up in the exact same area.  Don't tell me how improbable that is - I'll cross that bridge when I come to it... and I'll probably cross it while hyperventilating into a paper bag

WORK

I currently have two jobs and I'm sort of half-heartedly looking for a third right now. 

Job #1 

I can't believe I haven't blogged about this already!  I am a distributor for It Works Global!   

Have you heard about those crazy skinny wraps? 

I sell them (the kind that are easy, work, and have long lasting results - not those crappy 8-step-results-last-48-hours-and-you're-just-losing-water-weight wraps. Don't buy those.)  They are wraps that tighten, tone, and firm your skin in just 45 minutes.  Sounds too good to be true - but it's not!  They really do what they say and the results really do last. :) 

   There will probably be more blog posts about all of the awesome products I sell and how they are changing my life, because I really love them.  A lot.  

(Okay I can't help myself..... I have to tell you about two of the products:  FAT FIGHTERS keep fats, oils, and carbs from absorbing into my body so I can eat chinese and italian food when I have cravings and NOT see the results on the scale the next day,  and GREENS which have a TON of nutrients and turned my life around when I thought I had mono because of my lack of energy... lots o goodness, loooots o goodness)

If you want to try some of these products or have any questions for me please leave your email in a comment or go to wrapmyselfslim.myitworks.com.  You can purchase products or send me a message on there. 

Really, even if you think you can't afford it LEAVE YOUR EMAIL.  I have some sneaky ways to get you wrapped for FREE.

Job #2

I've earned my throne back! :)

The same day I BOMBED that other interview (you can read about that here if you have no idea what I'm talking about) I went to another interview a few hours later and got offered the job on the spot!  It's not a very glamorous job - so I won't explain in detail what it is right now... but the pay is GREAT, the people I met when I came in for the interview were super nice, the schedule is flexible, and I got great vibes from the company.  

(Did I mention the pay is great?? Because I'm so excited to make money.)

**Spiritual thought about this job:  I'd been having an unusually hard time finding a job, and the biggest issue I was having was that for some reason every job I applied for needed me to work Sundays.  I'd just head out mid-interview whenever they brought that up.  

I made a commitment with Heavenly Father a long time ago that I would never work Sundays unless it was a job that someone had to do on Sundays... Like people who work in hospitals, firestations, etc. 

I was getting really frustrated, but I kept praying and receiving confirmation that Heavenly Father would provide work for me.  

Little did I know, the job He had in mind for me was much more than I was expecting, and will relieve a lot of financial stress for me.

When we follow His commandments, things work out.**

Life is good.  I wish I could tell you about all of the incredible blessings I've received lately, but I don't even know if blogger would let me have a post that long.  Just know that my life is amazing and I really don't know how I am constantly receiving all that I am from my Father in Heaven - He's really given me much more than I could ever be deserving of. 

The Queen has fallen.

I am the QUEEN of interviews.  I have never interviewed for a job without getting the position - usually on the spot, at a higher rate of pay than they originally offered.

Yeah, I'm good.

Awkward, homeless-looking Tiana turns into poised, classy, professional Tiana.

It's a real gift.

I always nail interviews.  ALWAYS.



...

Except for today.


As a not-exactly-last-but-definitely-not-first resort, I decided to apply for a summer job at a clothing store.

I speak English.  I can count money.  I wear clothes.

I sound qualified, right?


Well here's how the interview went:

The store is about 20 minutes away from my house, so I left 40 minutes early so I would get there early and have time to spare.  Great planning, right?

wrong.

I forgot that today was high school graduation... which really wouldn't be such a big deal except that half the county's high schools have their graduation ceremonies in an event center right off the exit I needed to take to get to the store.

I was stuck in standstill traffic on my way to an interview, when I looked down at the clock and realized the interview was supposed to start in 15 minutes and I hadn't moved in 5... I called the store and told them what happened and that I was soooo sorry.

I ended up pulling in right at "my interview time, to the minute.  Not early, but I'd called and they seemed very understanding.

Phew!

Crisis Averted.

ha... yeah, right!

As I came in they handed me a questionnaire to fill out.

Here's a little sample of some of my questionnaire answers:

Please explain the difference between bootcut, flare, skinny, and bell bottom jeans  
.... I drew stick figure pictures of them all.   

(I take back that whole "I speak English" thing I said earlier in my qualifications.)

List a recent event in pop culture
Justin and Selena broke up

(Apparently they already did that and got back together... who knew?)

Please list 5 designer jean brands.  List their price ranges and where you can find each brand.  
I got Lucky jeans at an outlet once for ten bucks.

What are two trends that were in style two years ago but have now gone out of style?
I still wear my mom's clothes from the 1980's.  

(I didn't know trends disappeared once the decade was over, they change by year too?!?)

What are three brands carried at Pac Sun?
**crickets chirp**


After I turned in my mostly-blank questionnaire, I started chuckling to myself as I realized this was CLEARLY not the job for me (read this post to get a brief glimpse at my level of fashion expertise and then add in the fact that the last time I went shopping I ended up walking out of the store with 8 different colors of the exact same plain v-neck t-shirt.)

So... I'll admit, I definitely didn't try very hard in the interview that followed.

The highlight was probably when she asked me what my pet peeve was.... THIS came out of my mouth.  In a formal interview.

What is your pet peeve?

Ninja dates.

Ninja dates???

Yeah, you know... when a guy asks you out on a date but you don't realize he's asking you out on a date.  You think you're going to a big group hangout, so you're never sure if everyone else just bailed or if it is actually a date.... and sometimes you never even find out, YOU NEVER EVEN KNOW! 

..... Uh...huh...riiiiight...

...you know what I mean?  and the worst is when suddenly that guy has taken you on so many ninja dates that you have a boyfriend and you didn't even know you'd been on a date with him.  Like a NINJA BOYFRIEND.

.... ninja boyfriends are your pet peeve?

Yeah!  You've never had the whole "accidental boyfriend" thing happen before?

....can't say I've ever heard of that one..... 


...About 10 seconds into the next question I realized she was probably asking about pet peeves in relation to CLOTHING.... my bad.



Then... to top it all off, there was the grand exit:

I was so mortified by the interview that I wanted to get out of there as soon as possible.  I pushed open the nearest door and...



*WAAAA WAAAA WAAAA*  




...Set off the emergency alarm.

Open for uncomfortable dinners

Well folks,  this is a monumental day

It's the day I finally realized just how terrible I am at getting dates.

This week I finally became aware of the fact that I haven't worn a full face of makeup in months... yes, I am ashamed.

I also realized that I dress in sweats and t-shirts most of the time.... with holes in them.  (I'm a dance major... cut me some slack!)   

Then I realized that I have no straight guy friends.... seriously, I was looking through my phone and, if I had to find a date for something - it probably wouldn't happen. The only straight guys I know are dating my friends.   (Once again.... dance major here)  

Yeah... that's just straight male FRIENDS... my love interests?  Completely non-existent.   

I'm not kidding when I say I don't even remember how to flirt.  

Last night when 40 year old Luke hit on me at Denny's ("boyfriend?  boyfriend?"), I realized that the last 5 guys who have hit on me have been over the age of 30.... 


yep.


I realized that if I don't start going on dates soon, I'll probably end up getting married after age 40.  

Not that that's the worst thing that could happen, but I can only imagine the anguish it would cause my mother if I took that long to get hitched.

So... I've made a decision.  

Since I obviously can't meet straight men my age on my own... I'm letting people set me up on blind dates.  


DUN DUN DUN!!! 


I don't know if you all know how big this is. 

A girl as prone to awkward situations as I am going on dates with total strangers?  

This is going to be good.  :)


So get excited folks, I'm sure there will be some fabulous awkward tales coming up as a result of this :)  

... and if you know of any normal, nice, relatively good-looking guys, with good hygiene who are looking for a girl to take to frozen yogurt sometime, feel free to send them my way!  

True Colors

There have been so many times in the past month that I've heard of someone's worst side coming out.  Someone snapping and saying something they wouldn't usually say or doing something that I knew they were ashamed of.  Whenever I heard about these things, the people around me would say things like 

"well, I guess that her true colors came out"

 or 

"Well, that really showed his true character." 

I HATE that.

I hate that one mistake can change someone's entire opinion about a person.  No matter how much good someone has done, if they say or do something wrong, suddenly that's their "true self". 

I think that we should stop judging people by the worst things they do, and start making judgments based on the best things they do.  

Someone's character isn't based on the instances where we slip up.  Even though we should all stick to our values and be our best selves as much as possible... we all make mistakes, and we all have regrets.  We can't let those mistakes define us, and we can't let others mistakes define the way we see them.  

Character is about who we are consistently striving to be. 

***obviously, there are some mistakes that are bigger than others and we really do have to be careful about trusting people again.  Not every mistake can be ignored.  I'm talking about the ones that can - words we regret saying, small actions where we weren't as kind as we wish we would have been, etc.***