Obligatory End of 2009 Post

Yes, in just about 24 hours a new decade begins. The aughts (is that how you spell it?) are over. The year has been pretty turbulent, and I wish it was ending with more of a concrete future for what's ahead, but what fun would that be? I don't think it was necessarily a bad year, but it was quite the transition.

Things I'm thankful for this year:

-I'm officially out of Champaign and living in Chicago
-I traveled a lot of the country, and know, it's always going to be Sweet Home Chicago
-One full year of no school!
-Lots of really random part-time marketing work that keeps life interesting
-I'm pretty much not allergic to cats anymore

Things I'm glad to leave in 2009:
-Lots of interviewing that led to no where
-Gaining some weight, then dieting and working out a lot to lose it
-A new hotel every week instead of my own bed
-Too many lost weekends due to travel
-Waking up at 6am all the time (see a theme here?)
-Being 23. What a boring age to be.
-Drinking too much in really boring U.S. towns

Goodbye 2009. Hopefully we send you off with a really fun party tomorrow night. Champagne is in the fridge. Bring it on '10.

Things I've Learned from Working in a Mall

I've never worked in retail or in a mall setting before doing these Windows Phones promotions and it's been an interesting experience. I have much more respect for those that work in small stores all day and deal with customers for eight plus hours. I've learned/come to expect some things from malls that would have never crossed my mind before. If you've worked in retail, do these sound familiar?

1. There is a mall sound, a constant buzzing/talking/roar that is always going on.

2. You have no idea what the weather is like outside, or only have a slight idea by what the customers are wearing.

3. You say the same greeting all the time. It's very hard to vary it.

4. Samples are amazing and always available somewhere. Cinnabon, smoothies, ice cream, coffee, sausage, garlic bread, Chinese food, there is always a tray of samples somewhere.

5. I expect a mall discount at the food court. I'm wearing a branded t-shirt, I want my 10% off and will choose food court restaurants based on who gives a better discount.

6. Some customer always want you to explain something or chat about the product while you're closing and trying to leave.

7. The first hour of work is the best because barely anyone is there yet and your fellow employees are all still friendly and not tired.

8. Kids love balloons and lollypops. This isn't solely retail-related, but was reinforced this weekend.

9. You look forward to breaks and what to eat during that break all day.

10. You really wish you had those gel soles for your shoes, but are too lazy to find/buy them for your shift.

11. Not knowing exactly where random stores such as Justice or Build a Bear are will make women shoppers very angry at you.

Don't judge that man trying to straighten your hair at the kiosk. Don't be mean to the woman asking if you'd like to fill out a quick survey. Don't be completely rude to an employee and think you sound cool because of it. Don't tell me you don't need $10,000. Don't let your five year old drink an energy drink. Don't buy your five year old a Smart Phone. Definitely go see the puppies at the puppy store.

Who needs New Years for Resolutions

I've decided I'm going to get into a regular work-out routine again. I've done this by investigating some gyms in the area (although gym memberships are expensive!) and doing a half hour workout off of a workout video today. I've been doing a free pilates class once a week for the last few weeks, but now that that's over, I need to get into the groove I was in on the road. It was so much easier when a high-tech gym was a floor below me in a hotel or when it was nice out and I didn't mind being outside for a run.

I figure if I start doing this now, at least twice a week, I'll be in a good groove once the New Year starts. Eating better is going to be tough with the holidays still here, but I can start working on that again too.

Do you have any resolutions to be started in the next few weeks?

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Belated Thanksgiving! I hope yours was full of good food, friends, and family. I am thankful I've seen a ton of friends this week. The actual eating two dinners in two hours at two different sides of the family part is not that fun, but the rest of the week has been cool.

I've been a complete blogging slacker, but mostly because nothing is very new and exciting. No huge life changes. No big purchases or trips. But the holidays are here so time to enjoy them.

My five week stint with HTC and AT&T has come to an end, and I'm pretty sick of cell phones. But, since I have no full time work yet, I'm going to do the next stint with Verizon. This one is a lot shorter so hopefully won't be as monotonous.

Working as a full time brand ambassador definitely does have its perks. I haven't woken up at 6am in months, I can take naps, and it's always a nice surprise when I get the mail and there's a check waiting for me. I am sick of the job hunting, but I'm not expecting much until the new year starts. No one out there wants an experienced field marketing specialist?

Off to go be in a taping of a pilates class which will be airing on local television. If you happen to come across it on local Chicago tv, please don't laugh too much.

Halloween: Chicago Style

Halloween the past few years for me has been really hit or miss. Last year I was flying back from Florida so had to hurry home and throw together a costume to go to a party where I only knew a handful of undergrads I still knew. The year before that, I worked as a Morganette all night and dealt with extremely drunk students at bars that were way too crowded.

This year I got to escape a college campus and do Halloween the real way. I worked at a mall all day for a promotion, but this mall did trick-or-treating, so I got to actually see little kids all dressed up on Halloween and give them candy. That tradition does still exist! After we ran out of candy after about a half hour it wasn't as fun, but I still saw a lot of adorable kids in adorable costumes. Sidenote, who knew Power Rangers were still so popular?

After work, I went home, got all dressed up (Tinkerbell again, I cheated and recycled a costume, but I had no time to shop), then hit up an apartment party then some bars. It was a really fun night and I still got to spend it with some of my favorite gals, Amy and Mary.

Amy also hosted her annual Pumpkin Party this year, in which we carved pumpkins, drank too much cider with rum, and almost had the cops called on us.

A very successful Halloween season indeed, and it's hard to believe it's November already. The weather is warmer now than it was a month ago, which is just Chicago for you. I'm jobless again in three weeks (well kind of, I probably have another one right after that), but still interviewing for full time gigs, and still keeping my head up. I'm back to working for Uloop a bit which is nice to have as well. I'm excited for the holidays coming up and enjoying those in the city.

Looking for work is a full time job

I am juggling a lot right now.

I have a five week job that is over 30 hours a week, I'm picking up some online work starting on Monday, I'm looking for/doing promo jobs to go around the 30 hour a week job, I'm in focus groups for extra cash, I want to get the liquor promos going, Amy and I are working here and there on our own business, and I'm interviewing a lot. Plus, I'm trying to make time to see family, have a social life, go out to new places, and really develop a life in the city. It's a bit exhausting.

Getting back to a full time job I think will be much more relaxing than this, even though the thought of set hours every day all the time is daunting. I really like waking up after 9am and not being so exhausted by 10pm I need to go to bed.

I'm also having debates with myself as to whether I should go for jobs that may be way more fun and match my skill set well and barely pay anything, or settle for a job that may not be that great but has set hours and pays well. Come on ideal job that has an awesome salary, where are you?

On the road again

I think what I became to accustomed to on the road was the novelty of the situations you get yourself into, and I shouldn't have taken those for granted.

Here I am, in Minneapolis, at the Embassy Suites near the airport, in a huge room with a living room attached and an Irish roommate I barely know, to start training for a five week job. We got off the plane, took a shuttle over, checked in, was told there was free booze for 20 more minutes, drank 3 drinks with our Chicago group, went to the bar for another, then hung out in a co-workers hotel room to keep drinking a case of beer. These are all people I met for 45 minutes a few days ago, and now I am spending 3 days in Minnesota with them (and working with them the next five weeks). I forgot how strange life on the road can be, and how different it is than normal life. Being back on a plane, then in a hotel, brings back all the on the road memories in full force. I don't miss the not being home, but I do miss the stories I could tell about that one time in, dot dot dot.

People all the time tell me they wish I had my jobs because of how unusual they are. Instead of sleeping in my bed tonight, I'm in a hotel. It's something I've been doing for the past year, but after a few weeks away from it, was beginning to really enjoy being home, and was dreading leaving again. I love the change in scenery, and I really love that it's only for two nights. For two nights I can meet new people, drink at random bars, be a little hungover for training, and enjoy the free trip. The travel part is not my life, and I'm still very glad for that. The novelty is back, at least a little bit. I never want to get to the point again where the novelty of the situation is gone.

I know how lucky I am to have my jobs, with all the craziness that comes with them. I have no set schedule, no guarantee for work, but I have awesome experiences, meet new people, and have fun. I'm back to enjoying my life.