Some Bad Habits of mine

Ok, I have an embarassing admission to make. I am a smoker. Yes, I smoke cigarettes. I hate the habit, and am embarassed that I partake in such a nasty thing. I started in college, and it kind of turned into a nasty pack a day habit.

There. I said it. I SMOKE.

I know, I know. Bad for my health. Nasty habit. Men dont like smoking girls. bla bla bla. Ive heard it all. I dont LIKE smoking...but, unfortunately, like millions of other Americans, I am addicted. I knew better when I started too. Its not like I went out wanting to get addicted. It just sort of happened over time. I tried a few, and over the years, slowly eased into the addiction itself. It slowly worked its way into my life, like the devil.

I quit before, back in 2000 for about 3 months. I picked it back up again because all of my friends were still smoking, and I got weak. I chose to pick up the habit again, after going through all the trouble of quitting.

But, see now things are different. I dont have the same friends. Most of the people I hang out with do not smoke. I live in a state that doesnt allow smoking in any resturants, bars, or most public places. They've even gone as far as making a law stating that you have to be at least 20 feet away from the front door of any business before even lighting up.

So, Ive decided to quit. Why? Becuase I can no longer afford to smoke a pack a day. I cant cut back, its just not going to do me any good. I need to stop smoking all together. Last night, I went to get my cigarettes at the store, and for two packs I spent $13.17. OUCH. Im still pissed at how much that cost me!

So, Ive made a Doctors appointment for April 4th. I am going to get some Wellbutrin, and quit this stuff. Its going to be tough, but I need to do this for myself.

things are going swell

Ok, I know I've been slacking big time, and not been blogging. It was for a few reasons, but mostly becuase I got busy at work. By the time I get home, I have zero strength, and I like to blog at work when I have a free moment, since it helps to clear my mind.

But, I have a few really good things going on in my life lately. For starters, I've been reconnecting with a lot of different people on Facebook. I am surprising myself with all the people from way back when (and not so far back) that I am finding. People from work, college, High School and summer camp. I like it!

But, at times it can be difficult for me. Why? Even though I am happy with 99% of the people that I friend, theres been 1 or two people who I have seen on Facebook that have hurt me deeply, and I unfortuntely, cannot friend them. I will spare you gory details, but I want Facebook to be my fun happy place. I dont want to be worrying about stuff, like what that specific person thinks, or having to explain something to them. It shouldnt be that way. It should be about reconnecting, getting to know each other again, instead of "I wonder what this person thinks of me and I better watch what I say."

But, beyond that, things are going great. I just resigned my lease, and they didnt raise my rent! Yay! I met a nice guy last month, and have been seeing him, so we shall see how that goes.

So, we shall see how it goes, but so far, I am satisfied with the way things are going!

dating

ARGH! I hate dating! Especially when I meet guys that I don't like!

So I went on a date last weekend. I met him off a dating site, and it was okay. The date itself went fine. No disasters on anyones end, and it was okay. But, I can't say that I am excited about seeing him again. Ever.

There were a quite a few things that were red flags during the date, but my biggest gripe happened when the bill came. I'm a big stickler about a guy taking me out and treating me well. Part of this is that he pick up the bill on the first date. He suggested that I basically pay my end of the bill. Really? I don't like that. I told him I had only $3 on me, and the jerk said "fine, just leave it on the table and put it towards tip." *sigh*

I didn't like that at all. There were other things that occured on the date, but this was probably my biggest one. I don't feel like explaining myself on this, but needless to say, big no no.

cats and scrapbooking!

OMG I had such a good weekend! yippie!

Ok for starters, I got paid on Friday. YES! I love getting paid. Secondly, I got to catch up on my scrapbooking, and thirdly, I got to hang out with the stray kitty!

Ok, first scrapbooking. I've been scrapbooking for about 5-6 years now. I love it. I've gotten so good that other people have actually paid me to do thier scrapbooking. Well, I've been bad with all the craziness I had over the summer from moving apartments, but I finally got a page done! I scrapped the kool and the gang concert I went to last January, and it turned out amazing. I was inspired by some guitar paper that I had found at the scrapbook store while trying to layout another page (which never got done) and instead, I did my concert page. 1 page down, a bazillon more to go!

Ok, now onto the stray kitty. I should preface this by saying I am a HUGE pet person. I support the humane society, and try to give back when I can. Animals cannot always speak for themselves, and rely off humans for care. So, when I saw some stray kitties running around my complex, I immediately thought "what can I do to help this situation?" I know that not all the kitties want to get caught. Secondly, I live in a one bedroom...I just don't have that kind of room.

So, last month, when I noticed these cats running around, I decided to go out and buy a cheap bag of cat food. The very least I could do would be at least to let them eat...even if they never get caught. The cats deserve to eat. So I started leaving food out at night, and when I would leave for work in the morning, it would be gone. So, cats are eating, which is good.

Well, I befriended one of the strays. He is a cute little orange kitty. I can tell he was a former house pet for two reasons. First, he is extremely friendly with me and other people, and secondly, he's declawed! Well, this was the only cat that would actually greet me and beg for food. So, I let this kitty come inside and eat. I love it. Its so nice to spend time with an animal, and he so so grateful! But, at night, I send him on his way to be with his friends, as I know thats what he wants..plus him circling by the door is also another signal!

dating

I guess it's been a quiet couple days around my apartment and at work. Nothing really exciting to talk about, exept maybe my weekend, really. I did go out to dinner with Angie on Saturday night, and even though it was a nice quiet dinner, we discussed our usual fanfare of topics. Anything from dating, to work, to family or to whatever may have occured that week that may need discussing.

We did talk about what it is with guys these days. We've both dated quite a few different guys, and have had our fair share of good and bad experiences. But, our conversations comes back to why it never works out, and what is with guys and relationships these days. It seems like when I was in college and started dating, if you liked each other, you spent time together, and just go with the flow. You slowly learn to figure one another out, and try to work the little kinks out. I guess life was simpler back then.

Now, as an adult with more resposibility, it feels like its gotten more complicated. Now, its about hobbies, religous preferences, etc. I feel like dating has become a marketing job. I have to market myself to get the attention that once just came freely out of thinking someone was cute or nice. Its a lot of hard work!

So, I guess I need to start marketing myself again. Yikes!

Randomness

Gosh, the office has been so quiet this week with everyone in NY at training camp. I've enjoyed the quietness of not having the usual hustle and bustle blowing past my desk. I am sure when everyone comes back, it will be craziness, but until then, I am enjoying the silence.

But, its mid October, and its time to start thinking about the holidays. I orginally wanted to go to Conneticut to see my friend Therese, but I just can't swing it. Airfare is crazy expensive, and plus, with it being so close to the start of our basketball season here, getting time off is almost impossible! So, I had to pass.

I think I will probably stick around Phoenix, and most likely end up scrapbooking, or maybe do a road trip if I feel up to it. Or both!

My Job

Ok, so I have to work for a living. I've had a pretty steady work career since finishing college in 1998, and don't mind holding a job. Being that I am single, I am the only source of income for my household, so work is important for me in regards to supporting myself. I think that even if I was married with children, I would still want to do something in the work force to prevent myself from going nuts.

Ok, so I work for the Harlem Globetrotters. The basketball team. It tends to get peoples attention, which, I like, but usually leads into a ton of questions about what it is that I do. I get asked a lot of questions, and here are a few common ones, in no particular order that usually come up in conversation.

I didn't know that the Globetrotters were in Phoenix. We thought they were in Harlem, New York. What gives?

Well, the Globetrotters to date have never had an office in Harlem. Ever. The Globetrotters were formed in a small town outside of Chicago about 83 years ago. A gentleman named Abe Saperstien "invented" the Globetrotters, and toured with them as thier owner and manager for many years until his death in the 1960's. (I think he died in 1966.) Anyways, its changed hands with owners over the past couple decades, and after being in LA for many years, the team was sold and moved here to Phoenix in roughly 1992/1993. We have been in Phoenix since then, so for about 15 years??

How did you get hired by the Globetrotters?
Well, when I moved to Phoenix I was doing a lot of job hunting on my own and I was also working with a Temp agency for interviews as well. I was doing temp work for the time being to keep $$ coming in, and interviewing on the side with them, and with jobs that I had found by myself. One day, after my temp position was done with an insurance company, my temp placement gal called and said that she had a job interview set up for me with a really good company, and wanted to know if I was interested. She then told me it was for a Receptionist position with the Harlem Globetrotters. I was like what? You mean like the Harlem Globetrotters?? She said yes. So, we scheduled an interview, I went, and got offered the position that day. I took it, and have been here for 3 years.

Please tell me more about what you do with the team. This has got to be so much fun working here.

Ok, Ok, I am formally the receptionist who does also a lot of admin work as well. I sit in the lobby, and answer the phone. I do tons of Fedex's for players, loads of paperwork, order office supplies, and assist with other projects that need help. Sometimes its stuff for finance. Other times its stuff for operations. I can't list everything here, but its a lot of typical admin paperwork.

My job is just like other peoples jobs. What people sometimes forget is that even though I work here, for a basketball team, at the end of the day, its a job just like yours, and everybody elses. You have good days, and bad days. It's ultimately a business. So, the same business rules apply here that they do at any other office you will ever work at.

OMG! You must have SO MUCH FUN doing what your doing! Tell me MORE!

I love working here, don't get me wrong. My desk is on a basketball court. I have two TV's in the lobby with me, one of which runs all day long with Globetrotter clips. I get to talk to basketball players on the phone, and most of the time, I laugh from start to finish. There is a fun side to this, and its totally worth the stress sometimes.

I have been able to talk to and meet many people that I would probably never get the chance to meet if I worked somewhere else. I've met Meadowlark Lemon, Curly Neal, Curly Boo Johnson, and every single player on the team that currently plays for us. The players do come into the office, but not every day like me. They usually come in like a few times a year for meetings prior to the season starting, usually around this time of year. I've had ESPN in my lobby interviewing my old boss before sold the team. I've had a few other famous people call up for tickets. Its fun.