All y'all suck. Nobody responded to my question. :*-( (Sure, it's buried in a friggin' essay, but still...)

So here's the question again: Do you think I should keep doing what I'm doing (work part-time at Starbucks and go to school full-time) so I can develop a reel and look for jobs a year or so from now but for now be stuck in the boondocks, or should I instead get a full-time job in West LA area and move out there and attend school part-time so that I can be closer to the industry and thus have a better chance at internships and/or entry-level non-artistic jobs at industry companies (i.e. a receptionist)?

There was an interesting article in the Sunday LA Times about self-defeating attitudes. I think I've some of that. That, and it is a risk, financially among others, and I've been somewhat of a chicken when it comes to life lately. Erg. That arrogant badass that had no qualms (well, more like I was just stupidly ignorant about the dangers) at yelling at carnies... well, that girl is gone. Or at least in hibernation.

Gettin' kicked out. Please, feedback, y'all!

I've told this to a gazillion people, but if you're the gazillion-and-oneth person who hasn't heard this, this is a bumper sticker that I saw once:

Friends help you move.
Best friends help you move bodies.

Heh heh. Today I did the former for a couple of church friends. Well, church friends that are a couple. It was kinda tough since my sleep pattern's been wacked and I was a bit tired, but I had a drink during my shift this morning (quadruple grande hazelnut latte) and took home a drink afterwards (triple venti raspberry white mocha) so in all I had a total of seven shots of espresso. One of the other guys helping with the move (who's a pharmacy-grad-student) said that that's not very healthy since too much caffeine at once can cause heart reactions. He's probably right. I don't think I'm addicted, but I did start out my shift really tired and a bit headachy, but after the first drink I felt normal. I'm guessing that's not good. But I don't normally need caffeine to get through the day, though lately I've had caffeine almost every day. The only reason why I don't have it every day is that I haven't been working every day (that I'm not in school, that is, since at school I tend to drink soda). Hmm... perhaps I am addicted and just in denial?

There are a few of you that I've been whining to lately about my career-direction (or lack thereof) and how I'm itchin' to get out of Chino. Especially with the recent store drama, I realize that no matter what BS I said, I don't want to stay with Starbucks, even beyond the two to three years I mentioned at the beginning. I seem to go through these ideas in spurts cuz a few months ago I was looking at job ads in the Santa Monica/West LA area and at rental listings to see how much they averaged. I asked the Starbucks near my school how much their starting pay was, and it was the same as here. At that rate, I couldn't even afford to share a room with someone else.

So could I get some feedback from you, my loyal readers? Do you think I should keep doing what I'm doing (work part-time at Starbucks and go to school almost-full-time) so I can develop a reel and look for jobs a year or so from now but for now be stuck in the boondocks, or should I instead get a full-time job in West LA area and move out there and attend school part-time so that I can be closer to the industry and thus have a better chance at internships and/or entry-level non-artistic jobs at industry companies (i.e. a receptionist)?

Finally, my schedule for next week:

Mon -- 7:30 am to 12:30 pm
Tue -- school
Wed -- 4:15 to 8:30 pm
Thu -- school
Fri -- 6:00 am to 1:45 pm
Sat -- family wedding in the afternoon
Sun -- church, then 6:15 to 10:45 pm

I had typed something out last night, but then Robert called and I went out of the lab to talk and left my stuff in the computer lab, and then I didn't realize the lab was closing and I had to chase down the lab supervisor to get him to open it back up again for my stuff. It sounds funny now.

Anyway, just to reiterate something you guys haven't heard in the first place, I had a great shift last Wednesday (hey, one week ago!) at that other store. There was no drama, the people there were great, and a customer paid me the hugest compliment. He told me, "If the world was filled with people like you, it would be a better place." Then he called over the assistant manager and told him to "hold onto her" and pointed at me. Yeah, I got misty-eyed. (Not good customer service my a--.)

The meeting with that certain personnel and that other certain personnel went well, though the outcome wasn't ideal. It helped that the other lady was a better talker and didn't make me feel like a whiner. She validated that I had a legitimate gripe even if it was a miscommunication. Officially we're moving forward with greater communication. Unofficially? I have to watch my back and play the game. So I can't quite think of a good reason to transfer to a store that's slightly farther away without pointing fingers. On a funny note, though, we all got these little cards in our bins with info on "corporate compliance." Heh heh.

For those of you that have prayed for me, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I really do. It's hard to trust that God has it all under control, but it's comforting to me that no matter how hard things get, He has it all under control.

Okay, my schedule for the rest of the week is a school tomorrow and a shift Saturday morning. I prefer working Saturday mornings to nights cuz for one thing, it's less busy, and plus I get to have Saturday nights free (to... loaf around?). Hey, at least I can watch the World Figure Skating Competition Ladies Free Skate.

Oh, and Maya works now. :)

Too stressed. I'm hungry but I can't eat. I sent out a prayer request to the women's fellowship of my church at two in the morning last night. Every single shift since has been pins and needles. I got called to cover a shift at another store tomorrow. Sad to say that it would be a relief to work with total strangers.

For those of you in the know, please pray for strength, courage, and wisdom in this matter. For those of you not, please still pray for me. Thanks.

Meanwhile, my ethernet card has gone kaput, which means I can't run Maya on my computer. Until my brother can give me his spare, I might have to spend some extra time in Santa Monica. Erg.

No schedule posted this week... for reasons relating to this drama.

Drama at work. Will explain later. Perhaps.

Erg. Eating bad. Sleeping bad. Drinking too much caffeine. Spent $2.50 to print out one stinkin' page of clip-art quality art work, all because I forgot to print it out at home. Erg.

In case I don't get a chance to write this later, Happy Birthday Erica!

In my audio class, my teacher decided to add five more people, so basically, if you want a computer of your own during class, you have to come early. His idea is that we'll be spending time outside of class mucking around with ProTools. Like who has the time?! I think I'll end up using SoundForge or something to work on my projects for that class cuz there ain't no way I can come to Santa Monica too often to muck around with their ProTools station. For those of you that don't know, ProTools is a highly sophisticated audio editing program that requires a specific hardware to work. Whudaheck?

Dang it, gotta go. If I don't get to the animation lab early, then my seat gets taken and so do the good lightboxes (mainly, ones that work).

Finally, a confirmation that someone else remembers the Britannica Boy!

I had to work tonight so I missed most of the Oscars and my VCR messed up and didn't record it. Dang it. LoTR:RotK rules!

My schedule for this week:

Mon -- 10:30 am to 4:15 pm
Tue -- school
Wed -- 3:45 to 10:45 pm
Thu -- school
Fri -- 10:15 am to 5:00 pm
Sat -- 4:15 to 10:15 am
Sun -- church, 4:00 to 10:45 pm

This weekend my sister and bro-in-law are set to come. My Mom's going nuts making kimchee for them and whatnot. My Dad jokes that she goes all out for my sister and my brother but not for me. Sad but true. :*I (Not really. It's more like her efforts towards me is spread out throughout the days. After all, I'm pretty lazy.)

I'm already running behind on homework. And sooo tired. What else is new?

(BTW, to answer your question, I used SpyBot Search & Destroy and Ad-Aware. The spyware on my computer was on both their lists but still wasn't able to get rid of it.)