Keys Please!

Sorry folks, in lieu of the multitude of near-simultaneous events that is my life, I'm foregoing WILW this week. But I'm so glad to be back blogging! It's just been so hectic over here. Then add in an earthquake** and you've got an even crazier Liz! Let's see, over the past week...

Loft

Those crazy rain clouds I posted after last Sunday--yeah, they knocked out our internet at Loft. Not just for a day. Not just for two days. For an ENTIRE week! Numerous calls to store support did nothing for the first three days--all they could tell us is that they were "trying their best" to get someone out to us, but with the Verizon union workers on strike, they didn't know when that would be. If you've ever worked retail then you know that no internet means no phone lines and no debit transactions, credit card applications, gift card transactions/purchases. Yeah. By the end of the week our hold closet was full and our list of clients to call was a mile long. We couldn't even check our hourly/daily numbers to see how we were on our goals! Surprisingly, we had 3 really good days (the first 3 days). But following those were 3 bad days--I'm sure we were all just burnt out by then...and it didn't help that there was more rain and all the UVa kids were moving in--aka people don't go out to shop unless they desperately have to.

But in other news, as of today, my training period is officially over! I took my Key Test over the phone with the district manager this morning and it went swimmingly! Just keep swimming, just keep swimming! When I got off the phone, I went up to my assistant manager and jokingly asked, "So where are my keys??" I'm glad this whole long, drawn-out process is done and over with! Took long enough! I'd been offered this position months ago, had been hearing about it several weeks before that, and just now am I actually stepping into this role. Phew!

**Ironically, when the earthquake hit, my manager was showing me the location of the emergency kit/what it contains. Talk about perfect timing (not that we needed to use anything in it)!

Commonwealth

I don't know if I previously mentioned this, but the opening to the Skybar (as I like to refer to it) has been pushed back 2 weeks. I wasn't quite as bummed about that as I thought I would be. That meant that I didn't have to work 2 jobs this week and freak out about whether or not I would have been able to go home for my dentist appointment on Monday (my teeth are now sparkly clean--though they were pretty darn white before! And I got a small cavity taken care of...yuck!) and whether or not I would be working on my birthday. The only setback is that because I figured I would be working at the Skybar on my birthday, I didn't bother to request off at Loft. And of course I do have to work...but there could be worse things! The only other set back(s) is that I don't have additional income the next week and a half (but my hours & pay increased at Loft at least!), and since the opening is now slated for Labor Day weekend, I may not be able to go visit Virginia Beach (aka home) with my friend Stacy, whose in-laws are renting a beach house there. I told her I would try my best! And there are also certain undisclosed events which would lead me to being able to join her!

Major Life Change??

This all started during training week for the Skybar when I checked my email on my phone. An opportunity presented itself and I had to at least try for it. I honestly cannot disclose much on this at the time, because I'm really nervous of the outcome and it has sort of tangled me in a web if all goes well. But let me just say that after some follow-ups and "meetings" both Sunday and this afternoon, things are looking really positive. I just have one "homework assignment" to do before Friday, then hopefully next week I will know where I stand. I'm really excited and yet really nervous at the same time. I'm not one to let people down, but in this instance, if things turn out as I hope, then I will have to unfortunately disappoint one party. Such is life, and this would be a really good thing for me.

Taking It Outdoors

I was really in the mood for some outdoor activity this past weekend. I'd been stuck inside (aka at work) for what seemed like forever during our 2011 Computer Crisis and just needed to be away from walls for a while. Megan had previously mentioned hearing about a nice hiking trail along the Appalachian called Spy Rock from a radio advertisement (of all things...) so we drove out the 45 minutes and took the next few hours to hike to the top, scramble up some rocks and enjoy the amazing view! Oh, and we dragged Dave, her coworker, along with us (though he was a willing participant and even drove. Thanks, Dave!). Here's some of the views, the mock-seriousness, and the silly antics from our adventure:

Hard to read, but at this point, we only had 0.5mi to the top!

So beautiful! It looked blue in real life.
Too bad it was really cloudy!

I officially fail at trying to keep a straight face.
Megan broke and smiled.

I thought this was flattering?

Jokingly flashing Dave my sports bra behind his back.

Yeah, I'm we're normal. Not. But it was a lot of fun, and afterward we stopped at a German restaurant that was along our driving route back to Charlottesville.

Puppies for My Birthday?!

I wish! I really wish I could have taken Archie back with me when I went home on Monday. But unfortunately (and especially) because of the uncertainty that I'm stuck in, it just isn't the best time. Maybe in a few weeks when I go home again for a doctor's appointment (I really have to switch all that stuff to up here in C'ville--I'm wasting so much gas!) and to visit a friend. Crossing my fingers on this one that it all works out--and of course it's all dependent on my undisclosed situation.

Even though I didn't get to take him back with me, I did enjoy a lot of time with my pup. I even convinced my mom to let him sleep with me, which is a no-no in general. Let's be real though--if I only get to see him for a few hours every time I go home, I better be able to sleep with my puppy! I think he really liked sleeping on the bed pillows. At one point in the middle of the night, I woke up to him nudging me and then he rolled onto his back on the pillows so I could give him a tummy rub. Wow, talk about me sounding like a kid right now... Of course I had to leave him the next day, but not without numerous pictures!

Spoiled much??

He's getting so big :(

AND I got to go to my favorite fro-yo place with my mom (I had to--they gave me free fro-yo as a birthday gift!)! Silly me, I failed to take a picture of my amazing concoction before I devoured it, but I did get a picture of the empty bowl. Don't worry, it was non-fat, no sugar added, lo carb fro-yo. How they manage that whopper of a nutritional combination, I have no idea, but I'll take it anyway!

Training

The gym has been going well. Still haven't really gotten back to my 2 a days yet. I'm trying not to overdo cardio now so I won't have to do a lot more once I start back up in prep in a couple of weeks. So for now, that means I'm doing my AM cardio and only doing my PM cardio when I feel like I need it (or in some cases, when I feel like being on my feet for hours on end at Loft does not count as cardio--sometimes it does!). That was what Pleasants had suggested all along when I realized I couldn't do the July competition, but I'm an over-achiever, so most of the time I hit my 2 a days every day. It's a decent "break" though.

Training is about to get ROUGH though! I'm losing my trainer! Kevin is moving a couple of states away, so I'm on my own...kinda. I'm enlisting Megan (aka dragging her ass back to the gym!) as a workout partner. Many things I can do on my own, I'm sure. But when it comes to being able to push myself a little further to be able to lift just 5 or 10 or __ more pounds, I need a spotter. I have workouts outlined by Pleasants that I can do, and if that gets old, I'm kinda loving the workouts from Jamie Eason's plan on BodyBuilding.com. It's going to take a lot of adjustment. Kevin could be moving as early as the first week of September or as late as the 3rd week of September, but either way I'm a bit nervous about going at it completely alone. **Hint, hint** Megan!

Well I think this post has been lengthy enough for a non-WILW Wednesday. Enjoy the beautiful weather before another natural disaster strikes! That's right, earthquake yesterday and hurricane in the next few days. I knew I majored in envi sci for a reason!