Bridge & Tunnel: The Adventures of Two Single and Fabulous Best Friends

What This Jersey Girl Is Thankful For

Happy Thanksgiving, Readers! Since I won't have access to a computer tomorrow (which has also cut down on my posting) I thought that I'd do my Thanksgiving post today. So, without further ado, my list of things I'm thankful for:

1. My Friends and Family (especially Achoo, because he is the Lurve of my Life)
2. Jersey and her fuzzy face (even though she's snuggling with grandma more than me)
3. Uggs
4. Achoo's sweatshirts
5. Peanut butter M&M's
6. Grey's Anatomy
7. Glee!
8. My new job
9. Apple Pie
10. Farmville (a-dict-ted)
11. The color pink
12. The Letter J
    
13. Sesame Street, apparently
14. Cosmo's
15. Blogs
16. Our readers
17. Hibiscus flowers
18. Being a Jersey Girl
19. The beach
20. My bed

There are many others, but I'll cap the list for this year at 20. So, dear readers, what are you thankful for this year?

Happy Holiday! Enjoy your food coma!

The Happiest Day Of The Year

Every year, the commerce gods bestow upon us a magical day during which we wake up before the butt crack of dawn, bear the elements and the crowds, and hunt for the most spectacular deals imaginable. Yes, folks, I'm talking about the once-a-year phenomenon that is...

BLACK FRIDAY!

For a long time, I resisted the urge to get my spend on, because why would I wake up that early to shop? But the past few years, I have partaken in the festivities, and forgone sleep in search for the best deals.

I spend some time today checking out the Black Friday ads that have started to come out, and I already have a short list going:

1. Psych Season 3 for $12.99 at Target (the Happiest Place On Earth)

2. An HP Wireless Mouse at Staples for $9.99

That's really my list so far. Not that I can afford any of this, or that I should be buying this for myself as opposed to others, but still. I may buy Psych as part of Achoo's gift and the mouse would be for work.

On that note, I would like to share that I really do enjoy my new job, despite the fact that I'm sitting here without anything to do at the moment. My new boss has been great about giving me some new tasks to get me in the groove, but I do them too quickly, so I run out of things to do! However, I am a rock star and I'm certain that I will be able to do some good things here.

Ok, my fingers are getting cold. Peace out, kids!

Thank you

Hi All,

Huge thanks to Jersey for keeping this thing up and running for the past few weeks.  I kind of fell into a hole and couldn't get out for a bit...but I'm feeling better now and won't bore you all with my stories of depression.  Work has been downright horrible but tomorrow I have a final interview at the firm downtown I talked about a while back.  I'm hoping they will make me an offer and I can get out of this hell hole.  If I do get this job, there is a major possibility that I will be moving to Jersey...so...we might have to change the name of the blog to...Tunnel and Tunnel?? I'm not sure.  I would have a different Tunnel than Jersey...but I disgress.  Would my name have to change as well??  So many decisions!!  I will keep everyone posted as to what happens tomorrow...I'm keeping my fingers crossed.  I have a lot to write about so keep checking back over the next few days!! 

Ode To The Crazy Bass-Ackwards School I'm Leaving Today!

TODAY IS MY LAST DAY AT WORK AT THIS TERRIBLE, HORRIBLE, NO GOOD, VERY BAD SCHOOL! YAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!

I've documented in the past that I hate my job (I'm never very good at looking back and finding the right posts... sorry. Please go re-read the past 6 months of my life!). And today, after months of searching, after giving my two weeks notice, after playing Battleship on pogo.com for the past said two weeks, I will leave this office and (hopefully) never come back!

VINDICATED!

I can't wait to walk out the door today and never come back. I'll still be on campus though Sunday, because I still have a lot of big things to move, but I will never, ever, have to see my annoying bosses again!

My game plan is to commute from my grandmothers house for the next couple of months, and then in March/April get an apartment with Achoo. I will not have to live on campus anymore, I will not have to be "on call" for emergencies anymore, I will not have to go to mass against my will anymore.

I met with HR for my exit interview on Wednesday and sang like a canary about all the things I was unhappy with here, from my boss making comments about my weight to forcing me to attend Catholic mass. I wasn't trying to get her in trouble per se, but I wasn't going to lie when the HR rep asked if I enjoyed working here, and subsequently, what made my experience so bad. Because I figure: what will it really solve if I say "oh yeah, I loved it here, sad to leave"- nothing. Zero. Zip. Nada. At least this way, I got my frustrations off my chest. I tried to be very diplomatic about it, and not just rant and rave. Do I think anything will come of it? No. But at least I said my peace.

So as part of my last day, I was told I would be taken out to lunch wherever I wanted to go. I chose Red Robin. Yummmmm. (The jingle alone makes it a good choice.) However, in classic Jersey luck, the entire basketball team beat each other up and 2:30 in the morning last night, so they are all being brought it. How long individually interviewing each of them and subsequently kicking them off campus is going to take, I don't know. All I know is that I want my free, refillable french-fries.

Queens suggested that maybe I should tell my boss directly what a idiotic supervisor she is, but I've decided that she's eventually going to burn her own ship, so why bother putting negative energy out into the universe and risk screwing up my Karma. Is she an under-qualified, unknowledgable, negative, whiny, stuck-up prissy witch who lacks all capacity for empathy and creativity who will ultimately screw herself and this department over? Yes. Will telling her that solve anything? Nope.

So, with all that said, adieu, $%^&*&() College. You have potential to be something awesome, but until you un-stick your head from the sand, and get better people running your ship, you will be stuck in the mud. (Mixed metaphor?)

Signing off from this computer for the last time,

Goodnight, and Good luck,

Life Before Work

Last night, after my 11 hour work day (4th day in a row...) my friend Nee said something that really resonated with me.  "Life before work, Queens..."  Nee and I are heading up to Corning this weekend to visit another friend of ours from High School and go wine tasting and she asked if we could leave a bit later in the evening so she could hit the gym.  But it really made me stop and think.  Life before work.  Where do you draw the line between your "life" and your career?  Utimately, I force myself to beleive that working long hours and putting the time in is worth it (because if I didn't I might go crazy...) and that I am working towards some kind of goal.  But am I really?  Does the extra 20 hours of work per week really put me ahead of my competition out there in the marketing world? or does it just burn me out and make me jaded?  At this time, there isn't much I can do about my work situation...I've had a few opportunities that didn't pan out...but I think there are things that I can do for my life situation...and like Nee said, that needs to come first.

Update: Job Hunt

Hey there peeps,

I wrote a couple of posts back about my job hunt and the financial ramifications that go along with it.

Today, I got a call and was offered the job! Yes, the salary is a little less than I hoped for. Ok, it's a lot less than I hoped for. But regardless, I have come up with a contingency plan and have accepted the job!

For the next few months, I'm going to live with my Grandma. Will this be perfect? Hell, no. But it will mean 4 months of being able to save money and get my finances in order so that in March, after our cruise, Achoo and I can find a place and move in together. No rushing it.

Grandma is thrilled to have someone living with her. In addition, she loves Jersey so that should be a good situation as long as she doesn't let Jersey outside.

I've been talking (and crying) all day and am a little wiped out, so I'm not going to go into the details. However, just know that I'm happy with my decision and that I look forward to my new job and the new possibilities that lie ahead for me (and Achoo)!

The Great Panic Attack of October 16th

Thursday night, I could not sleep. Literally, I was up at 4:30am wide awake watching Houseon Hulu. I dozed off around 5:30am, so that means I only was able to capture two hours of precious sleep.

Needless to say, I wasn't very productive on Friday. I'm actually very lucky I was able to put all my clothes on right-side out.

Why couldn't I sleep, you ask? Well, there is a very good explanation for that. You see, I had my second interview on Thursday, and it left my mind on overdrive. Without going into too much detail, because I do believe that you can "jinx" a situation, it went pretty well. I'm one of three candidates, and I think I have a pretty good shot of being offered the position. And I'd want to be offered the position! It's such a warm, friendly, and inviting office, very much unlike what I work in now.

Here's the catch: I don't know what the salary will be. I talked about it during my interview with the director of the department, and basically she only has a range and this point, because she's trying to work on getting more money for the position. However, the range that she gave me is a little too low.

You see, this job is so much more than a professional move. Not only will it allow me to work in a different niche within my field, and gain more experience, but it will allow me to move off of a college campus for the first time in over eight years. And with that, comes paying rent. Essentially, I've made some great strides to take control over my finances, and I've talked a lot about them here (I can't find the post, but feel free to search back a few months, read all our posts and enjoy!), and I would need a job that allowed me to comfortably pay rent.

This job might not.

It all depends, there are a lot of factors: the director is trying to get more money, and I wouldn't know what my rent is yet because I don't want bad job juju by going and looking for a place before I'm offered a job, and Achoo factors into all this at some point because we're thinking of moving in together in 3 months.

Needless to say, the organized, money-conscious planner in me is freaking out. There are a lot of "if" factors that come with this job. I'm really struggling because I want this job so badly that I can taste it, but if the salary isn't enough, I'll have to turn it down.

Which leads me to Friday night. All of this had been swirling in my head for the past 36 hours, leaving me unable to sleep, and I had a little bit of a break after work. On the phone with Achoo, and I had one of my infamous crytalking-no-one-can-understand-me-as-I-overreact flip-outs. He was very supportive and suggested that I take a couple hours to try to sleep and he'd call me back. So what did I do? I got on the phone with my mom and my sister and continued to further dissect the situation. Kay talked me down, suggested I take a shower, and I called Achoo to apologize. He said he'd come over in a couple of hours and we'd bake some cupcakes to help distract me.

My logical brain knows the following things:

• If I'm meant to get this job and make this move, all the cards will fall into place.
• I can't put my cart before my horse, because they haven't offered me the job.
• They might not offer me the job.
• I will be able to find an apartment somewhere for the right price that will allow me to have Jersey, but it might take some time to find. I have places where we can stay until that happens.
• Once I move in with Achoo, I can afford rent and utilities and will still be able to save.
• I have to consider finances, yes, but I also have to consider my happiness, and what doors this new job could open for me, both personally and professionally.
• My friends and family are wonderful and will help and support me.

My illogical brain freaks out over the following things:

• What if they don't offer me the job and I have to stay at the hell I'm working at now?
• What if they offer me the job but it's even lower than my lowest survivable salary?
• What if I can't find a place to live and I have to move in with my Grandma? (yikes!)
• What if this puts a strain on Achoo and me?
• What if I go into serious debt over this?
• What if I have to give Jersey to my parents for a few months? Who will sleep on my head at night?

And the list goes on and on. At the end of the day, the director could come back with being able to get a couple more dollars and offer me the job, and yes, money will be a little tight for a few months, but once I move in with Achoo everything will be fine. I might have to "skip" Christmas this year. And again, they may not offer me the job, and I'm freaking out over nothing.

It all boils down to: I really want the job. And if they offer it to me, this is what the debate comes down to: Job I'll love but money will be tight for a few months vs. Job I hate and can afford everything I need right now.

LaLa said something very important to me Friday. She said: "Jerz, If they offer you the job, at a salary you could make work for a couple of months even though it will be tough, and you don't take it, will you always wonder "what if?" Will you regret it? You always promised yourself you'd live with no regrets."

Queens suggested: "Move in with Grandma or whoever for just one month. Save for that one month. Then that's one month of rent that you have as a buffer and only 2 months that you'll have to "survive" until you move in with Achoo."

All very wise, sage woman-like advice, no? That's why they are my best friends.

And the end of the day, I just have to keep going with my life until I hear something. Freaking out will not solve anything, and I just have to cross each bridge as I come to it. If they don't offer me the job, it wasn't meant to be, and I keep looking.

That's pretty hard to swallow, though, when you want something so bad, right?

Pumpkins (And Dogs) Love Me

Ok, so I had a little bit of an existential moment yesterday, I'll admit it. But I do appreciate your words on encouragement about wanting to hear about my mushy love life, so get your mush-collectors, I'm-a-coming!

I took Thursday and Friday off last week for a couple of reasons. First, I had a job interview Thursday (which apparently went well because I'm going back for a second interview this Thursday, but I don't want to say more than that and Jinx it). Afterward, Achoo and I went pumpkin "picking". Unfortunately, the farm we wanted to go to to actually pick our pumpkins wasn't doing rides to the fields on Thursday, so we opted for staying close to home and "picking" out our pumpkins from a harvest stand. But, I will say, we picked some excellent pumpkins. They were the perfect shapes and sizes for carving, and we were excited to head back to his house and start our art.

We bought those cheesy pumpkin carving tools, and boy, was that a mistake. I broke one and almost broke my thumb using another. We realized that my pumpkin had a sort of crust, therefore making it very difficult to carve. But ultimately, we made some rocking Jack-O-Lanterns, and Achoo's mom lights them every night. Check them out:

Fast forward to Sunday, when after I ran some errands, Achoo asked me to join him for an hour or so at his Aunt's house. It was his Great-Aunt's birthday, and the family was getting together for dinner. We were just going to stop by and say "hi" for cake.

Everything was going well, and I was sitting and chatting with his mom, aunt, grandmother, and great-aunt, as well as Achoo and his father. Achoo picked up his dog and had it sitting on his lap. At one point, the dog crawled over onto my lap, which got a lot of attention from his family. The dog worships Achoo, so the fact that she would rather sit on my lap was apparently a big deal. I laughed it off saying that she just "wanted girl time".

A few minutes later, we got ready to leave, and Achoo went to pick the dog up off of my lap. In a shocking turn of events, the pup growled  at Achoo! Everyone was shocked that she would behave that way, and then laughed that I had won over his dog.

That's about it for now. I'm PMS-ing and kind of achy, but I've got an awesome outfit for my interview on Thursday (I already wore my suit not realizing that there would be a 2nd interview!). Fingers Crossed, People!

 

I bailed

So I bailed on Gee last night.  I told him I had to work late (which was kinda true) and that I was just exhausted (very true) and wasn't in the mood to hang out and watch football (also very true).  He said he was going to call me later this week to set something up.  Oh goody.

So, here is an update on my job.  The firm is still very interested in hiring me but they are hell bent on hiring me along with another manager at the same time.  I can understand this.  Apparently they thought that they had found someone to hire but it didn't work out for whatever reason.  So, shockingly, one of my Managers,C-mac, who was also one of my references got called for an interview for the manager position now.  It would be SO cool if she and I both got hired and got to work together in a new department!! She is really smart, in her 40's, tons of experience and more than willing to let someone else take the reigns.  She also wants to only work for the next year or so and then she wants to stay at home with her kids.  (which means I'd be moving up quite quickly!!)  I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this and also hoping for a good offer.  (I'm hoping for at LEAST the amount I put down on my application..anything less is going to make me think twice.

Love Is In The Air!

It's official people! Achoo and I are in Looooooooooooooove!!!

Here's how it happened:

Friday night we were laying in bed, just talking and cuddling. Achoo was holding my hand and said "you know, we're going to have to put a ring on this finger someday". I replied, "Um, don't we have to be something in order for that to happen?" (lol, yes, I was leading him on this one...) He replied, "uh, engaged?". And then I said, "nooo... we need to be IN something".

Then he sat up, and proudly professed in the dark, "Jersey, I love you!".

It was cheesy and prompted and funny, but it was perfect. He's clearly felt it for a while, but he's not the kind to wax poetic about it, and I'm ok with that. He tells me I'm beautiful daily, and as long as I get an "I love you" a day, I'm content.

My job interview is on Thursday, and Achoo and I have discussed what our plans will be if I get the job As of right now, we're planning on moving in together in February after our cruise. That will be about 9 months into the relationship and we think that's a good amount of time to wait before moving in together.

With that said, I've told him that I want him to come with me when and if I have to go apartment hunting, because A) I value his opinion, and B) he may live there someday. I'm still nervous about what the salary might be, but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it.

So that's my quicky update for today! Enjoy your week!