Weekend at Furman! and other stories

Since it's been weeks since I last posted, I'm giving myself a break from studying for tomorrow's Composition final by updating all my loyal readers (haha) on my life.

I'm slightly less busy than the last time we talked. Slightly being the key word. As quickly as I started at NY&Co, I realized it wasn't the place for me. I loved the customer service aspect, and the large discount on associate purchases, and my general manager... but didn't enjoy having to sell a credit card, and I did not get along very well with some of the assistant management. The girl who interviewed me first, in particular, did not seem to like me very much. Possibly because I got her in trouble with the GM when I complained that she had never called me back to set up a second interview (which she was supposed to do... it's a complicated story, but basically it was awkward). Whatever the reason, she was not very friendly to me and intimated multiple times that it would not be a huge tragedy if I quit. After a few weeks of this, and being yelled at for missing shifts that were mis-scheduled, and being exhausted from working 12 hour days at two jobs, I finally had enough, and I quit last weekend. I feel much better already! In the end, it just wasn't worth the extra money I was making there.

At BAM, meanwhile, I'm trying to get a promotion. Hoping for a management position, but I'd be happy just to get a bit of a raise. I was supposed to know about all of this last Monday, and nothing has yet been decided... but hopefully I will actually know by this week.

Class is still going pretty well, although I missed class last night because of my ridiculous drive home from Greensboro, which was probably not good. But I don't think I'll be failing. I really hope I won't be failing. That would suck a lot. Won't think about that possibility anymore. They can't fail me because I drove through tornados!! Tomorrow is my final exam in my Composition class, and next Monday is my final in my Intro class. Kind of crazy that I'm already done with my first two classes in this program!

Matt turned 25 a couple of weeks ago (on April 8th). It was a Wednesday, so I had class and he had a soccer game, but I surprised him that night with cookie cake, candles, Cadbury eggs (his favorite candy ever), and wine to toast his quarter-century day. Then, on Thursday night, I took him to dinner at the Iron Bridge Wine Company, a new discovery I made thanks to a friend from class. (Thanks D!) It. Was. Fabulous. Moderately priced, with great food and a very extensive wine selection. We went all out -- we got calamari as an appetizer and split a bottle of wine with dinner (it was No Corkage Thursday, to my delight), which was a filet for him and rack of lamb for me (DELICIOUS), and then we had what they call a "wine and cheese flight" where we sampled three cheeses which they had paired with three wines to bring out more of the flavors, AND we had dessert! The portions were small enough that we weren't even gorging ourselves to have all of those courses, which was nice, because it was all amazing. It's my new favorite place, and I want people to come visit just so I can take them there!! It made for a very romantic and wonderful evening to celebrate Matt's birthday.

Easter was very low key for us this year. We stayed home, didn't see any family (Matt's parents and brother were in SC visiting his sister), didn't go to church, just got some homework done and enjoyed a relaxing day off. It was my first real day off in over a week, so it was a huge relief. It was also what made me realize that my free time is important and that I needed to quit one of my jobs!

This past weekend, I went down to Furman to see the FUtones and Madrigals spring concerts. Matt couldn't go with me, for a number of reasons -- mostly work, plus a little bit of house and dog stuff thrown in. Plus I think he knew how much I needed some girl time, which I got in abundance and which made my heart happy!! It was an amazing weekend. Got down on Friday in time to have dinner at Trio with Zaruba, and also got to see my friend Brian in an Improv!able Cause show that night -- I've wanted to make it to an improv show all year, and was so excited when I realized I would get to finally see one! It did not disappoint -- it was a high energy show with excellent performances by all involved. :-) Saturday I had "brunch" (around noon...) with Z, Em, Jordan, and Crawford at Leopard Forest, which is a great little coffee shop I wish I'd frequented more while I was still in Greenville. We were accosted - twice - by a Greek Orthodox man who wanted us to come to his Easter service at 11:00 that night... suffice to say, that was an extremely awkward encounter which provided us with lots of laughs later on. We wandered around Furman for a while to kill time before the FUtones concert, but it was so hot we ended up at the music building a full 45 minutes early. We definitely looked like dorky, slightly stalker-ish alumni!!

Speaking of alumni, there were SO MANY at this concert! Nine total, which I think might be the most we've ever had. We still missed lots of people (Di, I'm calling you out!), but it was tons of fun to sit front and center as the "alumni section", and to sing with the group for Sweet Dreams, and to then go out for an alumni dinner at Barley's after the concert! (By the way, if you'd like to see videos from the concert, check out my videos on facebook! They'll also be on youtube fairly soon.) Oh, such a good time.

That evening was spent hanging out with old friends downtown, culminating in a lengthy visit to a wine bar called Stellar with Z and Miz, where we split a whopping three bottles of wine, a cheese plate, and chocolate fondue. Wowsa. My tummy was not happy with me later on that night. :-P But it was so worth it! Good times. I miss them. And I miss Greenville.

Sunday was the Madrigals concert, which of course I also attended. They were quite good, in spite of the fact that they were apparently abandoned by one of their sopranos (in favor of the KA formal... how rude) at the last minute. Erin and her fiance were there, too, so she and I both got up to sing Flower of Beauty with them at the end of the concert, which was nice. I'm a tiny bit concerned about them in terms of next year, because they are losing six out of their current eleven members, leaving four girls and only one guy...!! Scary. I'm sure they'll pull through with the leadership they've elected for next year, but it's still gotta be nerve-wracking for them. Oh, I also found out that they're singing for Erin's wedding, which is very cool. I've started a trend. :-)

After the concert I said my goodbyes and headed to Greensboro for the night, where I got to spend some quality time with my brother and both my parents, which was nice. In retrospect, I probably should have skipped that part of the trip because of the way the weather turned on Monday... but it was really good to see my family, so I don't really regret that decision. It just sucked to drive home on Monday.

Wow, this was long. That'll teach me to put off updating. Ha. Life is pretty darn good right now... I miss all the people I just got to visit, but I'm also hoping a lot of them will come visit me sometime soon, which would make me so happy! I have another six or eight weeks where I don't have a ton going on (at least as of now) other than work and class, and then summer really hits in June. Really looking forward to some fun stuff coming up then! :-)