August 29, 2009: A Book About Birthdays and Hell

Today was the day for celebrating the birthday of myself.

Unfortunately, it was also the day for a double-shift back at that hell-hole

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQL3PtiZH0Q)...

Last night was NOT a good one at work. Besides half of my section having been given away because I could not handle all of the tables, I was apparently unable to handle the two tables I did have. One was a party of six, and the other, a party of two.

To the six-top, I brought out their soups and salads after submitting their drink order to the bar, and literally went straight back into the kitchen, only to have the owner of the restaurant tell me to run the food for the six-top. So, of course, I had to. The floor-manager was....well, out on the floor.....right beside my table, to make sure I didn't screw up. As soon as I administered the meals to each person, (two of which ordered more drinks, before I had time to get their last order of drinks to them...), I headed to the bar to get their drinks. My manager stopped me midway and started chewing me out because of how my customers got their soups and salads at the same time as their entreés (which I knew was bad, but what could I have done at that point?). She made me so upset, I couldn't get the drinks from the bar; or go back to the table for a few minutes, for that matter. Fortunately, the bartender realized this whole situation and brought their drinks for me.

Meanwhile, however, I was taking entirely too long to get the food and drinks out to my second table, a two-top. Not only that, but once I did bring out their entreés, it turned out I screwed up their order. Bad. The woman at the table asked for no bacon on her meal, and I forgot to inform the kitchen. So I told the manager, she took it back to the kitchen, told them to fix it. She returned to the table to calm the customer down, while the kitchen simply took the bacon off the top and added more breadcrumbs to the top, to make it look new. As soon as I was about to take it back out to the table, however, my manager returned to warn us that the woman was allergic to bacon, so the whole meal had to be re-done. I was furious, mostly at myself.

In the end, I made $36 off of the six-top. Not much off of the other one, but I don't blame them. We took her meal off their ticket though. I made $57 all night.

Today was another story, (and this is where my birthday dinner comes into play). Sometime on Tuesday, my mom texted me that my birthday dinner was going to be at 7:30pm at 195 (that's the name of the restaurant), on Saturday night. I texted her back that I was working at 6:00pm on Saturday, and asked if we could reschedule it. She said we couldn't because Saturday was the only night that my brother could come (because he lives an hour away at college). I offered for me not to go then, my mother said that was ridiculous (for me not to be at my own birthday dinner), and I pointed out that either I couldn't be there, or my brother couldn't be there....which made her mad. She drove me to the pub where I work and took me inside to ask the manager if I could switch shifts with someone. Just my luck, there was only one girl who, either was not already working, had asked off, or had already switched shifts with someone...and my manager did not want her to cover my shift (because she asks off too much). My mom explained the situation again, using different words and inflections, so my manager offered for me to come in at 3:00pm, so I would be out by 7:oopm.

Today I worked from 10:00am until 2:00pm for my first shift, fortunately with the same manager who promised to get me to my birthday dinner on time. I returned at 3:00pm for my second shift, only to find that another manager was working the dinner shift. (This is also the manager that makes the schedules...the one you NEVER ask about switching shifts or getting off early.) I was unaware of the fact that my first manager never said a word to the second manager about me needing to be out by 7:30pm for my birthday dinner, until it was 7:15pm and she was still seating me a party of six. The hostess (who knew about me needing to leave) gave the table to someone else, my manager found out, got pissed, came to me to mention she knew nothing of this "drama" (as she called it), and told me to transfer out all of my remaining tables to other servers so I could pay her out and leave. At that point, all of my remaining tables had finished eating and were paying me out....which made my manager even more mad. She told me to transfer them out anyways, but I was not about to give away my money like that (I was the one who waited on them).....after they paid me, and I paid my manager, she pretty much kicked me out the door. Then my mom was mad that I was upset when I actually got to my birthday dinner, 15 minutes late.

Work aside, my birthday celebration went very well. My brothers said some really cool things about me that pretty much made the entire night. After dinner, I watched The Time Traveler's Wife with my sister and her friends, and my little brothers. (I had already seen it, but it was still good.) After the movie, we all went home and soaked in the hot-tub for awhile. It was nice.

Tomorrow, I'm going to some place to do some kind of weird-name yoga....It sounds interesting. But I'll blog about that another day.

Goodnight, reader.

August 27, 2009- To Do: Extinguish Fire!

Today was a busy day...

I got to sleep in today for the first time in awhile, and it was very nice. My grandmother called me early this morning to let me know that she did not need me to sit with my grandfather today because he was having a "bad day", and she did not want to leave him. So I went back to sleep until around 11:00am, when my mother invited me to run errands with her.

My mother, of course, had a large list of things she needed to get done today, so she had me create a To Do list for her (in no particular order):

• Get lunch for my Michael (my little brother), dad, and Bruce (the guy that works with my dad)
• Go to Lowe's to pick out hardwood floors for the laundry room, bathroom, and my parents' bedroom
• Go to the bank to make a few deposits
• Go to work to deal with some issues
• Go to Staples to buy a new printer
• Pick up Patrick (the oldest of my younger brothers) from school...(my sister, Brittney, picked up Michael from school)
• Go to the health food store to get some ingredients for smoothies (Yum!)
• Haircut (for me)
• Go go the car wash

We got everything done on the list, except for the last two items, before it was time to go to the yoga studio to set up for tonight's class. My mom taught tonight, and it was an amazing class! Very different from the Teen Hot Yoga class that I go to every Sunday night from 7:30pm-9:00pm. There were only three people there besides me, my sister, and my mom. Although the rountine was the same, it was a nice change to have a very small class tonight, as opposed to the very large teen class.

Oh my gosh! I almost forgot! The entire fire department came to my house on Tuesday night, around 9:30pm. My mom, dad, and I were all downstairs when we started smelling smoke. We looked everywhere but could not find a source, so after almost five minutes my mom called 911. They dispatched the fire department and some police officers, and told us to get everyone outside immediately. Within two minutes, we had our entire street blocked off, with the policemen directing traffic on the streets next to ours, and an entire fire squad searching our house for the source of the very potent smoke-smell. The team was absolutely amazing--they were like "a well-oiled machine", as my parents called them. But not one of them hesitated upon arrival: each had a job, knew what is was, and was not going to let anything stop them from executing it. (That included getting the fire hose positioned to spray directly into our front door, filling the hose with water, and making sure it was working properly by testing the hose on the trees and bushes beside the house---It was very exciting.) I became kind of nervous when reporters and photographers started showing up, along with a mob of neighbors.

Finally, after forty-five minutes of investigation and making sure it was not a structure fire, (with flames inside the walls of our all-wood house, that cannot be seen until the damage is unstoppable), the firemen discovered the source of the odor to be our dryer. (We were very surprised at this because our dryer was serviced a week before, by our local appliance-repair company.) To be sure, they turned the dryer on, and it immediately began smoking profusely. The chief came to the conclusion that it was a motor fire, and ordered his men to remove it from our house completely. Unfortunately, the only way to remove the dryer was to remove the washing machine first; but, fortunately the problem was much less scary than it could have been. Before all of the people and action left, the chief fireman got some information on us, as well as the appliance-repair company, and informed us on how we could get a copy of our filed case.

In the end, everyone was safe, and my gossip-y sister was jealous she missed all of the "drama". (Because she was out with her boyfriend-of-the-month.)

August 24, 2009-Okay, maybe I'm serious this time...?

I think I know what I am officially majoring in now: Communications. (And I want to minor either in Music, French, or Art Studies [in music and film]...but that will be a whole other issue.)

(Not that anyone cares, but...)

The deal with transferring ALL of my credits now, rather than just some, is that I need to get the Pre-Major Associate in Arts Articulation Agreement in Communication/Communication Studies.....as they call it at my school. Which is basically just an Associate in Arts in Communications, (as I mentioned in a previous post). I researched it a little bit more and discovered that I can totally pull it off in the time I have left at my school, before I transfer to a university (another whole separate issue...). After this semester, I will need 9 hours of Humanities/Fine Arts, 4 hours of Natural Sciences, a college transfer course, another P.E. class, Intro to Communications, then 9 hours of "other" courses (electives). So I will either take 18 hours next semester, and 9 hours in the summer, OR I will take 15 hours next semester, and 12 next summer. (Which does mean that I cannot do my internship in Ireland in 2010...it will have to wait until 2011; that might actually be better.)

I think I'm really serious this time...you have NO idea how huge of a relief it was to finally come to that conclusion. Business was just too boring; Communications can still involve business, but is more creative, fun, and interesting. I'm pretty excited....I'm thinking of going into some sort of journalism, or media broadcasting, in the long-run. (I want to work for CNN, haha!) At this point, I need to stick with my major, and decide on a school: it's a toss-up with East Carolina University (where I was going to attend until I switched from Vocal Performance/Music Education to Communications), NC State, and Appalachian State University.

Anyways, I was house-sitting the crazy dogs again this weekend...that plus an 8:00am Calculus class this morning (plus sitting with my grandfather tomorrow at 8:30am) equals me going to bed now.

Goodnight!

August 19, 2009

I may not have decided for sure, but I have set myself up better than I was. I changed my schedule again, mainly to get credit toward the Transfer Core Diploma, rather than blindly trying to match Business course credits. So my new schedule is as follows:

• Brief Calculus, 8:00-8:50am, MWF
• Principles of Microeconomics, 9:00am-9:50am, MWF
• Business Law I, 10:00am-10:50am, MWF
• Public Speaking, 7:30pm-8:45pm, Tuesday, and online (It's a Hybrid Course)
• Music Appreciation, online

Now I'm taking 15 credit hours instead of 19, so my schedule is much more manageable. Also, next semester I will only need one literature course, one humanities course, and one natural science course. However, in order to maintain a full-time status, students are required to take a minimum of 12 credit hours per semester. Since I will only have 10 hours in required courses, and because I am in Business Law I this semester (which does not count toward my Transfer Core Diploma), I will take some Communications courses next semester. Taking the extra courses in Business as well as in Communications will hopefully help me decide which subject I will pursue at a university.

So that is settled for now, but don't be surprised if I change my mind again!

August 18, 2009: Will I Ever Decide??

I think I need to change my major again...I still want to do Communications, but right now I'm still going for business. Well, technically the Associate in Arts degree, but that won't transfer as anything more than the general education core of a B.A. or B.S. in Communications at a senior institution, so why should I waste my time? What I need to do (while I can) is switch to the Pre-Major Associate in Arts degree for Communications, which will be so much more valuable when transferring. The only downside right now is that not all of the credits I already have go toward that degree; that means I will have to spend even more time than planned at my community college (by a semester or maybe two...) The upside is that, either way it will take more time than planned to obtain the Bachelor's degree, but at the community college it will be the most cost/time efficient. So I need to change my schedule and major...again.

Ugh, this is frustrating. (I still can't sleep at night!)

August 16, 2009

Sir Paul McCartney will always hold a special place in my heart. I went to his concert in Atlanta last night, and at 67 years old, he is still rocking! With me were my parents, older sister, two little brothers, and younger cousin. We sat pretty far back on a small hill that wasn't too crowded, but before the concert started we made it up to the second row! A little more than halfway through the concert, it started raining pretty hard, and it was such a great experience! Jamming to Paul McCartney in the rain--it doesn't get much better than that :)

Opening for Sir Paul was a band from Dublin, called "The Script", and they were so cool! My dad bought their CD for my sister and me, and I have to admit, I haven't stopped listening to them since! (In fact, I'm listening to them right now--Please check them out at www.thescriptmusic.com) Of course, I would like any band from Ireland.

Speaking of Ireland, I found some internships in the summer in Dublin that I am seriously considering applying for. It's an 8-week program that guarantees placement in the industry of your choice, includes housing, half board (2 meals per day), transportation to and from the airport, and it's right in the heart of the city! It costs about $5,000 and that doesn't include airfare to and from Ireland; but if I were to try to travel to Ireland for 8 weeks on my own, it would probably end up costing more than that, so it's a great deal for an experience of a lifetime! I'm planning to go either Summer 2010, or Summer 2011. I can't wait--it would be a dream-come-true!

School starts tomorrow for me, and I do not know whether I am ready. I am worried about taking 19 hours; if I manage my time well, though, I know I will be fine. My classes are mainly Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 8am-11am, with one on Tuesday at 7:30pm, and two classes online. (Although, I am trying to switch my Tuesday class to an online one so that it won't interfere with Choral Society). Anyways, with my open days, I should be able to do all my work with no problem-especially when I sit with Papa. Plus, after this semester, I'll only need 7 hours, so next semester will be a BREEZE!

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend, and has sweet dreams tonight--Goodnight!

August 12, 2009-Here I Go Again

It has been a few days since my last blog, so here is a quick update.

The guest room is mine now because my older sister took my room when she moved back from her dad's house--little does she know, I like my new room better. She is out of town with her latest boyfriend and won't return until Saturday. My little sister turned six, so I visited her and attended her birthday party; but, I could only take so much of Pleasantville, so after a while I wished my little sister a happy birthday and was quickly well on my way home...a little too quickly. A few miles from home, I was pulled over and issued my first speeding ticket. The state trooper let me off pretty easy though. I spent the rest of the weekend with my mom (the one I live with) at my grandmother's house because it was our turn to take care of Mam-ma. We ate ice-cream and watched "Marley and Me", which I enjoyed much more than I had expected. Sunday I saw "G.I. Joe" with my little brother, then went to hot yoga. The room steeped to ninety-eight degrees and eighty-seven percent humidity with thirty-eight people! It was CRAZY, but I got to show off some new poses I've learned. It was a great weekend!

Monday I saw "Aliens in the Attic" with the same little brother, then went to work at the pub long enough to make four bucks off of one table. At least they let me go home early. Tuesday morning, I sat with my grandfather, Papa, so my grandmother, Tutu, could go to the gym and run errands. I go every Tuesday and Thursday and I love it, (they are my favorite grandparents). Papa and I always watch CNN together, and I read or do research on the computer while he naps. It's a great bonding time for us, really, and Tutu pays me for it. It's nice for her to gain some of her independence back; she very much deserves a break every now and then from taking care of Papa. I encourage her to take her time because she always seems to hurry; I constantly reassure her that my mornings are free.

Tuesday afternoon, I spent seven hours completing a project my dad assigned me (with the internship). A day in the life of a Marketing Research Analyst made me realize that I do NOT want to be a Marketing Research Analyst. Staring at a computer screen for that amount of time is enough to make anyone go mental. It is a good realization to come to now, before I get my degree, rather than after, when it would be too late to do anything about it.

That being said, (obviously) I am switching majors...again. Not as drastically this time, though. Just enough for me to enjoy my career. A career in which I can travel, be creative, be well-respected, work for any kind of business or corporation, and make a comfortable amount of money, a career in which I can incorporate my knowledge of people and how they work, my need and ability to organize, my natural ability to please people, and in which I actually have to think. It outlines the perfect career for me; I laugh at the thought that I used to resist it. (When I took a course in the subject last semester, it was one of those subjects I thought I was going to hate, tried to hate, then ended up being impressed with because I couldn't hate it.)

What miraculous subject am I majoring in NOW??? Communications! (Mrs. Kruska will be so proud...)

I've not yet decided what my concentration will be, but I've got time to explore. For now, my plan is to get my Associate in Arts from the community college, (after this semster, I will only have seven hours left). Then, I will either transfer to any university here, or I could move to California and finish my B.A. online (which, needless to mention, adds to the appeal).

Anyways, it's 1:00am, and I going to my mom's yoga class at 9:30am, (all of the classes at the studio are hot), and it is a power vinyasa class...my favorite! We are leaving the house at 8:30am so she can set up the studio, so I need to get some rest.

Goodnight!

August 7, 2009

Man, today was a day.....I was at work (at the pub) for 10 hours :( It was, at least, profitable.

I'm so excited to start school on the 17th. I'm taking 19 hours--I had to get the Dean to sign a petition that allows me to take that many, although I don't really feel like it will be that much. And I'm on the Dean's List anyways, so it wasn't that huge of a deal.

The courses I'm taking this semester are: Brief Calculus, Business Law I, Principles of Micro-Economics, Principles of Macro-Economics, Principles of Financial Accounting, and Public Speaking.

That means, after this semester, I will only need to take seven more hours before I transfer. Which is good because then I will have plenty of time for electives. I usually like to make the Fall semester the more difficult one so I can lay back a little in the Spring.

Whenever I think about how I'm not majoring in music anymore, I get kinda sad. But music is my passion, so I didn't want to make it my career. I didn't want to turn what I love into my job. Not to say that I won't like my job....I love the work I'm doing in my internship right now. And it pays very well! But music is different....its what I live for. Not what lives for me.

So, I feel confident in the educational path I have chosen. It sets me up for a secure future. I can spend more energy on music, and less on worrying about security. It will allow me to be completely independent AND practice what I love. I'm excited. :)

On that note, I'm doing Choral Society again this year. I cannot wait! I wish I could re-visit the high school's Chamber Ensemble (that I used to be in), but....

Oh, and I'm working on my songs....I still need a band (mostly for writing purposes). I've recorded two already, but I still have six or seven that need to be finished. You can check out my first two on my music myspace http://www.myspace.com/carolinegallaghermusic and let me know what you think. Also, please follow me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/cgallagher08

I have GOT to get to bed. I'm going to my mom's for Paige's (my little sister) birthday party tomorrow morning. She's turning six!!

Goodnight All--Buenos Noches--Bonne Nuit

Chapter One: Success

As I searched for a motivational quote to add on Twitter (you can follow me at cgallagher08), I found that some of the quotes brought a sense of enlightenment with awareness. A few of my favorites were:

"Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude." -Thomas Jefferson (This one became my Tweet)

"Keep steadily before you the fact that all true success depends at last upon yourself." -Theodore T. Hunger

"Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out." -Robert Collier

Still, the one I live by right now is another one of my father's: "There are 3 types of people in this world: Those who make things happen, those who watch things happen, and those who wonder what happened."

I don't know why I worry about the future so much. I guess I'm afraid of failing, or disappointing myself and those that care about me. And I mean, who wouldn't be? It's normal for someone my age to worry about these things. I think, in part, worrying actually determines how successful a person becomes. (Among other things, such as never settling....but that is a whole other issue. I'll come back to that.)

It seems (and probably is true) that at this point in my life (being a college student) every little move I make will have a large impact on the rest of my life. The decisions I make now are the ones whose consequences, whether good or bad, I will face forever. Unfortunately, also at this point in my life, I am completely noncommittal. I am afraid to commit to anything that I cannot later back out of if I need or want to. I am not entirely sure where that fear comes from, nor my fear of being unsuccessful.

(Skip this paragraph if you're not interested in reading about my past successes) Growing up and throughout the school years, I proved to be very successful. At almost everything. I always made good grades with ease and was good at following rules; I was always the teacher's pet and the child my parents boasted about. In high school, I had many successes I am still kind of proud of. I was a cheerleader as a Freshman, and made the Varsity team my junior year (I ended up quitting for chorus and theatre, which are my favorite success stories). Freshman year, I took Concert Choir and hated it for the lack of motivation in my peers. I only dreamed of being in one of the competitive upper ensembles (you had to be hand-picked by the director). There was an all-women's ensemble, called Sotto Voce, which I hoped for a chance in...and then there was Chamber Ensemble, which I knew I would never be good enough for. Not only was I in Sotto Voce my sophomore year, and not only was I in Sotto Voce AND Chamber Ensemble my junior year, but I was in Sotto Voce, Chamber Ensemble AND Concert Choir (again) my senior year. (I'm pretty sure I was one of the first to be in all three). And not only that, but Chamber and Sotto Voce placed first in their divisions and first and second place overall (respectively) my senior year at Heritage's National Festival of Gold in Chicago. Howard Coble even mentioned us in the Congressional Records. I was on top of the world. As for my theatre successes, I don't really know where they came from, but they were the most fun. My freshman year: I had never considered doing theatre before, but a friend convinced me to go to a meeting for people interested in working backstage. I went, and ended up having the time of my life as a techie for the spring musical that year (Damn Yankees). Sophomore year: I was in the chorus of Les Miserables (with our local theatre company, which no longer exists), and I was a Protean in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (my school's spring musical that year). Junior Year: the theatre director let slip early that we were doing West Side Story that Spring. I had never seen the show, knew nothing about it, and was content to have been in the chorus again. My mom actually convinced me that I could play the lead, and encouraged me to work on it. So I did, and was cast as Maria. Senior year held a quite dramatic audition (which involved pre-casting, casting by the choreographer, and little input taken from the musical director, who I had worked with the most). With one female lead left and me yet to be cast, a dispute between the Director (who didn't think I could pull off the part) and the Musical Director (who argued it would be a slap in my face to put me back in the chorus after my performance in West Side Story), I was cast as Mrs. Potts in the school's production of Disney's Beauty and the Beast. In the end, I blew away the Director with my diversity. (And I still have people tell me that, although no one could have played Mrs. Potts the way I did, that I would have made a better Belle....I thought Braylin played a stunning Belle though.)

Reflecting on those memories makes me feel somewhat foolish...the past is the past, and hardly projects what will happen in the future. Still, I know that if I take things one step at a time, but don't pace myself (as in, always work my hardest and give my best), then the future will be just fine.

Inspiration or Frustration?

I have never blogged before, but I've recently decided it may be well worth my time. Why? Because my mind is so unorganized and without direction that I think blogging might actually help me out a little. You know, it might be sort of therapeutic. Or something...

I'm sorry....let me introduce myself: I am a college sophomore stuck in between the now and the future, reality and fantasy, truth and...well, what I wish were the truth. A little background information about me: This is the closest to writing in a diary that I will ever come to. It's not my thing. Also, I HATE any form of online networking. Mostly because I think it's fake, and I don't like to waste my time with "fake". My father has always told me "Time is your most valuable asset", and sometimes I take him a little too seriously on that.

So why have I let down my own standards and decided to blog? Because I figure it's a way to put my thoughts and ideas into words that I don't neccessarily have to be held accountable to (at least not right now...my mom gets mad when I "think outloud", as my dad calls it, because she takes everything literally). Also, if there is any chance of direction from getting my thoughts down, it's worth a try for when I am too indecisive. Which is all too often.

But what can I say? I am a small town girl with big city dreams. I'm looking for the fastest and easiest ways to get out of this little town and pursue those dreams. But I am frustratingly torn between how easy it is to pursue them now, and the fact that if I wait just a little bit longer, and push a little bit harder now, then I can lay a much more stable foundation for my future...which either scares me into doing what is safe, or makes me wonder whether I will become the girl who never quite reached her dreams because she always did what was safe.

So what could possibly be keeping me up at 2:50am (EST) deciding to BLOG?? Well, it's probably not THAT huge of a deal to normal people (cause, like, everyone goes through it). But seeing as how I'm half psychotic (a characterisitc I get from having eight siblings and being smack-dab in the middle), and obsessive about having a plan (or NOT having a plan--a characteristic I get from seeing my older siblings not reach their full potentials, and my dad also always saying "Failing to plan is planning to fail."--anyways...)...I am up at 2:50am blogging.

Here it is: After this, my second year at a local community college, I can't pick one of these two simple, fail-proof choices to finish my B.S. in Business Administration:

1. Move to California and finish my degree online through the school I just decided NOT to attend this Fall...

• Pros: I get to move to California and work full-time, potentially for a company that could jump-start my dream career in the Music and/or Film Industry
• Cons: I would have less time to save money before I move (either way, I'm moving to California after college), and I wouldn't have the minor (mentioned below)

OR

2. Stay home (well, move from my dad's house to my mom's), go to the college my older brother will graduate from this year, and that my sister plans to attend next year, and also minor in Art Studies with concentrations in Music and Film Studies.

• Pros: I would have more time to save my money, plus I could get the minor
• Cons: It means I have to wait another two years before I move to California :(

Yep, my delima is that simple. Yet I still can't sleep at night because I have no solution to the puzzle. I'm an insomniac because I'm a motivated big-dreamer...a curse or a blessing? Who knows, it may just be both. So I'll be grateful. And still weigh my choices. As for now, my creative juices are running low, and I've got to get the dogs put away for the night. And myself. I have to be at work in seven and a half hours.

P.S. I knew it would help. Obviously the latter is the most rational and reasonable choice. "The right choice is not always the easiest to make"....as my dad always says.