Life moves pretty fast. You don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it

Holy crap, it's November (almost). I can't believe how FAST time has gone by. It seems like only yesterday, we were moving into our apartment.

The apartment has been awesome. We've gotten along just swell for anyone that's wondering. For some reason when people find out that I've moved in with a friend, they get concerned and think that we won't be friends after awhile. Psh, we're fine. We balance each other very nicely and we both have separate lives. We do our own thing, but we get along just fine when we're with each other.

My new position at work started earlier than expected. Not that I am complaining. That raise is much needed. I still haven't had training for it, so I am not 100% sure what I am doing, but I have a great support staff, so if I have any questions, I just ask them. The one day I was supposed to do training, the computer wasn't working. Figures. It isn't much different than how the last few days have gone.

Let's start with Saturday.

Saturday none of the registers in my area were working. Seriously? Three registers down. On a weekend. Was that really necessary? Of course it was. They didn't work Sunday either. On Sunday people just seemed extra crabby for whatever reason. Customers and associates. I was certainly cranky, but I did my best to keep a smile on my face. I also found out that right after close, the lights AND emergency lights went out. I swear there were evil spirits in the store or something.

Today was better. I did a LOT of recovery. We have a visit tomorrow and Thursday, so we have to make the story look amazing. They moved a lot of stuff around in kids'. It looks weird. I don't work there anymore, so I guess I shouldn't really care, but that department will always hold a special place in my heart. Ha.

I am excited to see where this takes you!

I had a nice chat with  my manager today about my new position as holiday manager. She started as a specialist, was holiday manager, became a sales supervisor and eventually moved to where she is today.

While we were talking, she mentioned that she as very excited to see where these opportunities take me. I am too. Though, I am scared. Who isn't scared of the unknown. There is a possibility that I may move stores. That makes me really sad. I love my store. I love the people there and I feel like I have a GREAT support system. I know I will have a support system no matter which store I end up in, but still. My store has a special place in my heart.

I never imagined a year and a half ago that I would be where I am today. Hell, I never thought I would still be with the company. I love it though and I don't know that I would be as happy anywhere else.

I am excited to see where this adventure takes me. It's going to be a fun one, I am sure.

Updates Galore!

There has been a lot happening lately, which explains the severe lack of updates.

First up, I got an apartment. Yep. An apartment. My own place. Well, I have a roommate (who says, "hi"), but I am not living with my parents. I am paying bills. I am an adult. Holy shit, it's awesome. I love our place. I am assuming that if you are reading this, you know me and your are probably friends with me on Facebook, so you can check out the pictures under "Hanz and Franz move in together".

In other news, I got holiday manager! It starts on the 13th of November and I am SUPER pumped. I can't wait. It's going to be awesome and stressful and busy, but I know I will love it. It will bring new challenges and new experiences.

I wanted to write a lot more about what's been going on, but I am exhausted. Good night!

Isn't it strange, how we all feel a little bit weird sometimes

Holy long blog title, Batman! It has a purpose though, I promise.

Now, whoever reads this knows of my love for the band Hanson. I've been in love with them since 1997-14 years. I can't believe it's been that long and whenever I say it, I feel old.

Last night I saw them for the 4th time in 5 years. They are on their Musical Ride tour. Before the concert, fans can go online and vote for which album they want to hear at the concert. I was pleased to find out that last night it was going to be their first album, Middle of Nowhere. I love that album. Well, I love all their albums, but this is the one that made me fall in love with them. Last night, hearing all those old songs, I felt like I was 11 years old again. It was awesome. I also got to hear "Man From Milwaukee" live for the first time which is something that I've always wanted.

Now, when I was younger, I got a lot of flack for liking Hanson (even more than I get now). People couldn't understand why I liked 3 guys who looked like girls. I didn't care. I didn't think they looked or sounded like girls. I thought- and I still do think- that they are adorable. The three most adorable people that I've ever seen in my entire life.

As they were singing, I remembered why I fell in love with them in the first place. Sure, I loved MMMBop. The music was catchy and if you actually listen to the lyrics (instead of just moaning about how they suck), you would hear something that actually means something.

It was their song "Weird" that really got me to stick with them though. Right around the time that they came around was the beginning of a very rough patch in my life. My family started to break up and I was losing friends and I was different because I liked Hanson and every once else hated them. Listening to the song  "Weird" made me feel not so weird; not so alone. When other bands were singing about love and stuff like that, Hanson was singing about something every single teenager feels. That's why I've stuck with them. Every time I mad, sad, or whatever, I listened to Hanson.

14 years later, I still do the same thing. They make me happy. Everything about them makes me smile.

And now, for your viewing pleasure, I give you "Weird".

A sneak peek!

So my mom, step-dad, step-brother, and his friend, Eric moved some of my stuff into the apartment today. It was just easier since we had the moving van. My dad is helping me move stuff tomorrow, but he has a bad back, so I wanted to have him move as little heavy stuff as possible. So here is a little sneak peek at our apartment. I'll take more tomorrow and upload another blog when I am at my dad's.

On a hilarious note, I have to sleep on the floor tonight. I wanted to have a slumber party in my sister's room since she has her mattress in there, but she said no. Ha!

Our moving van loaded up with some of my stuff

Our couch and book shelf. We'll have lamps and end tables too :)

Grown up things!

As I sit here typing this, I should be packing/cleaning. I've been doing that for the last hour or so, so I think I deserve a break.

Why am I cleaning/packing? Well, my family is moving. I can't remember how much I have said in this blog, but that's really all you need to know. I won't go into details about why and such, but yeah. We're moving.

I'm moving on my own. Well, not really. A friend from high school and I are rooming together which I think we will be a helluva good time. I can't express how glad I am to move in. I need to get out of this house. The last month or so has been stressful. Moving sucks and it's making my step-dad crabbier than usual. I am actually not liking him all that much right now. Add to the fact that my mom treats me like a teenager and well, move out day cannot come soon enough.

That's all I got for now. I need to get back to packing/cleaning. It's not fun people.

The State of Hockey

Normally when I refer to the State of Hockey, I am talking about none other than the great state of Minnesota. Right now, it's not a literal state; it's a state of being. The last few months, the hockey world has been in a state of sadness and shock.


It started with the sudden death of Derek Boogaard in May. The eventual cause of death was accidental due to a combination of pills and alcohol. I was completely shaken up by this. I didn't know Boogey personally, but I was a fan of his. When he went to the NY Rangers, I was upset. He wasn't an impact player in terms of scoring, but he made a difference on the team. He stood up for his teammates and got the crowd excited when things weren't looking so hot. Even if you had NO idea what was going on in the game, you got excited when you saw #24 on the ice. To this day, it still makes me cry when I think about it.


Just a few weeks ago, Rick Rypein, another prominent NHL player was found dead in his home from an apparent suicide.


On the 31st, Nashville Predators team member, Wade Belak, died. He was also found dead in his home. No cause of death has been released that I know of.


And just today, another tragedy hit the hockey world. A plane crashed in Russia, killing the 40+ people aboard. Those on board were players for Yaroslavl Lokomotiv, a KHL team. They were traveling to their first game. There were several former NHL and AHL players aboard the plane, including former Wild player Pavol Demitra.


Hockey season needs to start now. The hockey world has been riddled with bad news this summer. It's time something good happened. There's nothing like that first hockey game of the season, for a player or a fan. For a player, it's stepping on the ice and hearing the roar of the crowd. For fans, it is seeing their favorite game and players back in action. It's the back and forth, fast paced action that has us all enthralled for 60+ minutes, breathing only for a short time in between periods (just enough time to refill the beer).


We shouldn't forget about the events from the last 4 months. I am sure there will be moments of silence at the first games of the year and memorials set up at various venues, as there should be. Hockey fans need a reason to be excited about their sport again. The start of the season is just the thing that will do that.