Joining the Club

How do I talk about my new favorite toy?

Do I talk about the financial and familial circumstances that led to my inevitable purchase of a new phone?

Do I tell you of my zombified camera or the promises to go without personal spending for a while, leading to getting the latest model? 

Do I gush about the apps or the user interface, or how I danced around the kitchen with NPR in my back pocket today?

Do I tell how Siri keeps my work schedule, reminded me to get Lily signed up for preschool, texts Jason, and calls me Catwoman?

I know what to say...

...I totally get it now.

First Day Lesson

Guess who's got two thumbs, a job, and likes it! C'est Moi! Today was my first day working at "The Jewelry Shop," as it shall hitherto for be known. I'm definitely in the learning period, and it's funny finding nuances that I have to adjust to, having been out of the work place for several years. But I'm learning fast.
   The first lesson, unexpectedly, has been that my wardrobe needs an update! Seriously- it says right in the employee handbook, under Dress and Appearance, "[Clothing should be] fashion forward."

Uh, Fashion Quick-Fix?

   At first glance I'm all, "That's a requirement? What a cool place to work!" And then I realize that my normal uniform of Forever21 jeans and Tokidoki tee shirts isn't going to cut it. I don't exactly have the dough to fork out for some new work clothes (remember, I'm trying to go back to school here), so how do we solve this problem?

• Phase one: shake off the dust and try on everything. Two or three times may be necessary. Try them on in every conceivable combination. 
• Phase two: Suck in really hard. 
• Phase three: employ safety pins, duct tape, and Plaster of Paris to fix it or fake it. 

   Doing so, I think I've managed to come up with enough to wear to get me to pay day, but it's going to have to be a clever few days.

Multifaceted

   I think that demon that's possessed me of late is running for Martha Stewart Impersonator of the Year. Oh, yes, the unprovoked craft-craziness continues!

   But first and foremost: I can make plants! Yes, my friends, the Windowsill Experiment has been a success so far; we have six peat cups filled with teeny tiny green sprouts. I couldn't be more proud of not killing something.
   But leaf had hardly touched air before I was seized once again, this time with the urge to sew-anything! Mind you, I suck at sewing. Really suck. I haven't sewn anything but the hem of Jason's pants in about two years. But this Spirit must have known what it was doing, because I got Lola (my machine) down from her top shelf, dusted her off, and I tell you it was like magic. I ironed, I pinned, placed, and in 2 and a half hours I had a new skirt! Just like that- and not a half bad skirt, either! I wasn't finished, though. This afternoon I was at it again. With a little sweat and imagination I got this strawberry tart apron.
   Being of multiple minds is effecting more than just my crafts though. Last week I had three job interviews: the coffee shop, the jewelry store, and the hat shop. I wanted the hat shop the most and in all my conversation with the manager, he's practically spouted sonnets to me. But he wanted to wait on the second interview until his co-manager could get back from a business trip. In the mean time, first the coffee shop called me up and offered me the job. They don't want me in till Monday, so I still have time to change my mind. But today, the jewelry shop, which I wanted second, sent me an email offering me the job and asking me to come in on Thursday!
   I'm in over my head. Maybe I should stick with plants- they're so much less complicated than people.

What would you do? Should I just take up Watercolor next?

Top It Off

   Oh my gosh. OK. Breath...
   I'm a little excited right now. K, I'm really excited. It's just an interview, but it's to my number one potential-employer: Goorin Bros. Hats in Harvard Sq. They're beautiful. The hats are incredible and the shops are awesomely designed. It all has the gritty, old time feel with a modern aesthetic. And Alex, whom I spoke with over the phone, seemed so freaking nice. I couldn't think of a place I'd rather work! Can you just see me strutting around, wearing and selling hats that look like they walked off the pages of a Hemingway, then turning around with hats fit for a 50 Cent video? Gah! I love it!
  I fully advocate bringing back hats of all shapes as an essential part of the American wardrobe. Speaking of wardrobes, I went to their website for ideas of what the employees were wearing, to get inspiration for my outfit for tomorrow. What I found was a glove-slap-level challenge. Every shot looked like the set of Oh! Brother, Where Art Thou? But I like a challenge.

   I'll keep you posted with how the interview goes. Wish me luck!

Finding the Bright Side

   There's been an uneasy feeling hanging over me for a couple of days. I went to the college to refresh my status as a student (you need to do that after going a semester without taking classes), where I found out that the financial office doesn't do payment plans during the summer terms. This is relevant because 3 days before we were supposed to get our tax return (which would have payed my tuition) we instead got a letter saying our old student loan demons had risen and snatched every penny. They said they wouldn't do that. It's those demons that are also keeping me disqualified for Pell grants.

    So I've turned up my job searching mode to High. I've sent out applications near and, well, as far as the T will take me. I didn't just exhaust Craigslist.com, I put it in a coma. I've thought of everything I can come up with on my own- I even considered creating a sort of Kickstarter-style fund (doesn't that sound like a good idea for students? Well, not everyone thinks so.) I started a LinkedIn account- Golly, was that demoralizing! My most recent experience was in 2006! Can anyone here top that? And school counts- no cheaters.
   I can't tell how much I've been relying on other people's positiveness. Even my little ones have been a buoy to me. Yesterday, in a moment of weakness the kids found me curled up on my bed. When they asked what was wrong, I told them "I really, really want to go to school but I don't have enough money."
   Lily put her arms around me and said, "It's OK, Mom. Just look on the bright side."
   Then Calvin brought me a penny he found on the floor. "Here, Mom, you can use this."
   So, about that bright side, if we work it right, I might be able to take one class this summer. OK. It's better than going bonkers for another semester.

Planning for Another Trip

Hypothetical question: Let's say you found yourself receiving a large sum of money- half of it was decidedly reserved for responsible stuff; what would you do with the other half? My answer? Anything you want!

As it turns out, Jason's office kind of screwed up his taxes this year. They were taxing him as if he started the job in January, when in fact he didn't start the job till June. This is going to result in a pleasant tax refund that should arrive any day. We've already decided on how much we'll need for paying off bills, saving for tuition next semester, any everything else responsible people would do. But there is still going to be enough left to play around with, a bit.

It was Jason that first suggested a trip. I wasn't sure we'd have quite that much money left over. I kept suggesting as many possibilities as I could- some chairs for the living room, a date in New York with a Broadway, a weekend in Maine- but when I started researching serious travel plans, I was shocked at how in-budget some places really were! I started listing serious adventure destinations to Jason, but when  he started to back off, I was confused. "I thought you wanted to take a trip," I said.
"I just need to think about this before deciding what we should do," he said.
"We've already decided what we should do," I said. "Now, what do you want to do?"
He paused at this. He went to his computer and looked up a couple different sites. Then he came back to me and said,
"I want to go to Costa Rica." 

My inner cheerleader went berserk.

So that's the plan, for now. Nothing's set in stone yet, but I'll keep things up to date here.