Liza

Tomorrow is my last day here!!! I'm so happy!! Of course I still don't have much work to do, but it's ok, I'll just hang out here until I have to leave at 4pm today. I'll probably just super organize everything so no on calls me after I'm gone asking how to do this and that.

The Knicks game was enjoyable. Those basketball players are BIG guys. I'm not sure if it was because of our seats, but it didn't seem as EXCITING as i thought it would be. Maybe it's because I'm not a big sports buff.

I finalized Lena's birthday present. I hope she loves it. I'm all done with it a whole week early and now I can't wait until I give it to her.

Last weekend was a blast.

Friday night Eddie, Lena, Janet, and I went out to Chevy's to celebrate Eddie's getting a raise at work. I'm so proud of him. He got more than he was expecting, which is great. He said that it might make his leaving a bit harder, now that he's making more with the company. He's gonna have to start his job search soon. He really hasn't done much, and was hoping to start a new job in the beginning of 2007, which now seems very unlikely. I really haven't been helping him too much, but I feel like this is something he needs to do on his own. Although I do feel guilty for not helping. I just have to train myself to not do things for him. He's a big boy, he can handle it on his own, right?

Saturday was fun-filled. Eddie and I went to see Borat, which was a funny movie. We had a great time watching this man embarrass himself over and over again. Afterward we went back to his place to get ready for a date we planned in Perth Amboy. On the way, we ate almost a WHOLE BOX of Entenmann's chocolate chip cookies, yum. After our date, we met up with Trish, Shamz, and Orlando at Juan's house party. The crowd was interesting, very diverse. We left right on time, because I heard that someone had a seizure and there were some cop issues shortly after we left. We finally got home and fell asleep well after 5 am.

And of course, I had to be up at 9 am the next morning to get ready for the 9th Annual Chocolate Show. I met up with Lirilith in the morning, met a bunch of her friends at a birthday brunch, and from there we went on to a yummy chocolate show, where we were ID'd for wanting to taste the chocolate liqueurs, and I was all chocolated out by the end of our visit. She was no where near done, though :) We then met back up with the birthday brunchers for dinner where the guys did all the cooking and the girls did all the sitting.

When I got back to Eddie's I surprised him with some delicious brownies I bought for him at the show and he had a surprise for me as well. It was a movie!!! So we watched the movie and went to bed.

Last night Trish and I went to a knock-off purse party/happy hour at a place called Dexter's. We each got a cool new bag and some chicken dumplings while we talked about the world and all of our crazy ideas and happenings as kids. We decided to go see a psychic about a co-op she saw and fell in love with, but the psychic was closed, so we decided to end our evening early. Which is good, because we have a habit of staying out way too late on week nights.

Tonight I will be attending a Knicks game at MSG. I've never been to a basketball game before. I'm hoping that it'll be entertaining.

Today, we've been interviewing for my replacement. Number 3 just walked in. Number 1 was pretty good. Number 2, a waste of time. We'll see what Number 3 has to offer. More on Numbers 4-6 later.

So back in mid October, I went on a job interview for a company called Pinnacle Foods, or something like that. I thought I totally bombed the interview, getting the name of the company wrong, feeling like I was completely unqualified for the position, it seemed to me that the interviewer cut the interview short... I was actually just thinking about it and wondering if I should have told the interviewer "Thank you very much for taking the time to meet with me, but I think we both know that I'm completely wrong for this position." But of course I didn't say that.

I just got a voice mail on my cell phone. They loved me and want me to work for them!!!! What!?! How?!? I don't get it.

So this has been my daily conversation with my supervisor:

Phone Ring

Me: Good afternoon, Rapid Recovery, how can I help you?

Him: Liz (I hate it when he calls me that), any checks today?

Me: No Sam, we didn't get any mail today.

Him: So, no mail today, right?

Me: Right.

Him: So, how about checks, did any come in the mail today?

Me: Nope, no mail today, no checks today, the mail box was empty.

Him: How about the post office box?

Me: The po box was empty too.

Him: So, we didn't get any mail today?

Me: Sam! No mail came to our company today.

Him: Ok.... no mail.... I wonder why... are you sure the mail man came already?

Me: Yes, Sam, the mail man came today. No checks and no mail today.

Him: Ok.. no checks and no mail, right? Well get back to work. Bye.

We have had this very conversation or a variation of it every day this week. Ugh...

I've been having a very entertaining past couple of weeks. It all started on October 20th when I went to a Haunted House with a bunch of friends. We all went out to eat afterwards and stayed out all night. The next day Eddie and I took a bunch of pictures of ourselves at a few parks because we're vain. We went to a couple of Halloween parties with a group of friends, saw a bunch of plays at Rutgers and NYU, went to a Baptism, the Halloween Parade in the city, a Devils hockey game, and out to dinner - all done with groups of friends.

It's been so much fun, I've decided to organize a murder mystery weekend, a night out to the the umbilical brothers perform, and a party that I really cannot talk about yet. And maybe it's contagious, because I've been invited to a Chocolate Show, and a house party in the upcoming weeks.

And not too long after that, I'll be attending a holiday party in New Brunswick, and going to Florida for a few days. I'm so happy!!!

Totally got the job!!! Now it's time to be excited!!!

So... I got lots to talk about. But for now, I'll keep it short.

I just got a phone call from the HR department at BCBS. She said that so far I'm first in the running for the position!!!

She said that one of the directors that I interviewed with really liked me and he wanted some professional references to follow up with.

Ok, let's not get too excited yet....

I'm feeling quite excited about tonight. It's been a few years since I've done anything for Halloween, and it just makes me giggle that I have plans to be out and about in costume :) (although I'll probably freeze all night!!!)

Speaking of costumes, Eddie's looks great. Not as authentic as he'd like, but pretty darn good. He still doesn't know what my costume is, and said it's not fair that I get to see his costume and he doesn't even know what mine is yet. Oh well, too bad... (i just have to figure out how to do my hair and makeup)

Lena's costume is so cute. It matches her perfectly. I'm glad that she's been coming out with me more often. There's something about the closeness of our relationship that I can't find anywhere else. I have friends that I consider to be my sisters, but there's nothing like the real thing.

I got in touch with an old friend (from grammar school)not too long ago. I organized a group outing to a Haunted House and he was part of the company. It was nice seeing him again after 11 years. He'll probably be at one of the parties that I attend this evening. He said he's gonna dress up as a panda... He said that it's a girl magnet, too funny.

Have you guys heard that "Cousin's Paintball Commercial?" I hate it.

I just found out that 2 more people will be let go on Friday. My supervisor can't tell me who until Friday though. He also said, "Don't worry, you're not one of them."

There are only about 12 of us left in the company, on Friday we'll be down to 10.

Can someone PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE tell me why I paid my car bill twice this month? Because I have no clue why I would do something that silly.

I had a bunch of family over on Monday night for the holidays. It felt great having a full house of people, especially people you grew up with and don't see very often anymore.

I'm tired today, I stayed up all night with my mom talking and gossiping.

Project Runway is over (Yay!!! Jeffrey won!!!!). Now I have my Wednesday nights free again, unless I start watching Top Chef.

So I went to the bank this afternoon to cash my paycheck. I stopped depositing it into my account because they keep bouncing and charging me for the bounced checks.

The bank teller said, "I'm sorry, there are no funds available at this time, please try again tomorrow, maybe there will be additional funds in the account."

That means I've been working for free for the last 2 weeks. I really hope something comes of my interview next week. I can't take this anymore.

I need to get as far away from this company as possible, as soon as possible. Would it be horrible of me if I don't give in 2 weeks notice if I find a new job? I'm starting to think no.

Is it just me or are bosses getting more and more stupid? I'm not sure how my supervisor got this job, he brags about how knowledgable he is in the healthcare industry, but proves over and over that he knows nothing.

So I just found out that 4 more people were let go from my job. The numbers are dwindling... and the rent for my office hasn't been paid for September and October. November rent is due soon. The Director of Ops told me to pack up and get ready to be evicted soon :/ I don't know how much longer this company is going to stay afloat. There are rumors that we'll be shutting down our Florida office too, because we can't afford to keep it open. I've been saying that I'm not desperate to leave this place yet, but maybe I should really start looking to leave ASAP, notice or no notice.

Luckily, BCBS called me back for an interview. I'm scheduled for a week from Monday. I'll have to leave work early to make it to the interview.

I bought my halloween costume 2 days ago. I really like it, it's a Warrior Queen costume, think Xena, the Warrior Princess :)

I'm super duper tired today. Dijan, a friend of mine from Germany, is going home for 2 weeks on Friday so a group of us got together last night to hang out at a hookah bar. I didn't get into bed until 3:45 am. She'll be back in November and will be here until next September, then it's back to Germany for her :( It makes me so sad to think she has less than a year left before she has to leave. The only comforting thought is that I'll be in Germany in about a year to visit her!!!!

I had a preliminary job interview yesterday with Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield. The position is really interesting, supporting 2 managers for a new department in the company, I won't bore with details (insurance company talk is not exciting). The woman I spoke with yesterday, I'm not sure exactly what her position is, but I'm guessing she's in the hr dept, said that I'd be GREAT for the job. So fingers are crossed :)

I also am meeting with someone today at an agency for another job in Parsippany. I think I'd be FABULOUS for this position, hopefully the company will think so too.

Ok enough job talk. I don't wanna think about it anymore.

In other news, 3 days left of Ramadan. I can't wait until I can start eating normally again!!

I got my hair fixed a few days ago. Hallah just messed it all up and I couldn't stand it anymore, no pink highlights though. Maybe next time.

Oh! Phone ringing. Gotta go.

Is it just me, or is the day dragging along? With all the work I've accomplished this morning, I feel like it should be 2pm already. I think I'm just having one of those days, you know? The kind where you just wanna sleep in and cuddle under the covers.

So I went on the interview yesterday. I don't want the job. I also think that I'm wrong for the position. So hopefully, I won't be getting a call back. The company is called Pinnacle Foods. The lady who set up the interview for me told me the company is Pinnacle Food Corp. (2 very different companies). So on the interview, the interviewer asked me what I know of the company, and I told her what I'd read on the Pinnacle Food Corp. website. She was like, "Ugh... that's not us." Yeah, great first impression...

I went halloween costume shopping yesterday, not sure if i found anything that I liked. I tried on a Kimono costume, athenian goddess costume, and pirate costume. I was hoping I'd fall in love with one of the costumes, but nothing really jumped out at me. I'll try again today after work. There's a store right by my job, so I'll go there. And at 4 pm I think that the store will be pretty empty so I can take my time looking at costumes and not bumping into all the people like last night.

Eddie knows what he wants his costume to be. We'll have to go shopping soon to get all the accessories and costume together. I think he made a good choice.

My mom knows about Eddie!!! Yup, it's finally happened, everything is out in the open now. I know you're dying to find out all the details!! Well, none will be posted here, Ha!! ;)

I have a very strong urge to dye my hair today. I've always wanted pink highlights.... :)

I think my mood has lifted in the course of writing this entry (maybe cuz I'm thinking of shopping, hehe). Ok, time to take advantage of this good mood and get back to work.

Fasting is giving me a headache today and making me sleepy. Only 1 week left. I have another interview today. Hopefully I won't fall asleep on the interviewer. I don't think that'll get me the job.

I'm going halloween costume shopping today. I don't know what to be yet.

I've actually been working today. Gonna get back to it.

So I have done absolutely nothing at work today. Well, nothing work related anyway. I have Myspaced, applied to jobs, checked emails, sent a bouquet of flowers, and listened to the radio all day AND I was half an hour late to work today.

It's not my fault, our system has been down all day and all of my work is directly related to that system. And since I'm in the office all alone, I have no one here to bother me.

I'm really going to miss this freedom to do nothing all day and get paid for it if I ever find a new job. Speaking of new jobs, I had an interview last week for a position with Real Mex Restaurants. I haven't gotten a call back from them so it looks like I'll have to keep looking. Fortunately, I have 2 more interviews next week. I'm not desperate to leave this place yet, so I'll just continue interviewing until I come across the right position.

In other news, Eddie's older brother has not been well. We sent him a bouquet of flowers, a box of chocolates, and a get well balloon through proflowers.com. He will receive them tomorrow.

Ramadan is over in a little more than a week. Then I can go back to eating like a normal person. Yay!! I'm getting hungry just thinking about food... only 3 hours left, I can do it!

I'm going to Rutgers today to meet with the director of the theater dept to discuss putting on the alumni show. I hope we can work something out. I'll be happy if we can finalize a date and a show today, although I doubt that'll happen. If this goes well, I hope to make this an annual event.

I might be going to Fright Fest tomorrow. I guess the weather will decide whether or not we go.

Ok, it's quittin' time. Have a great weekend everyone!

September 1999. My first week of college. Friday morning. I left my College Algebra class and went to the Student Center for some breakfast (It was still pretty early in the morning and the campus was still empty). I had a lot of time to kill before my next class. I didn't know anyone yet, so I grabbed something to eat and sat down (alone), determined to read a book for my African Culture class. So I sat there, with a bagel in one hand, a book in the other, when I heard someone speaking. And since I didn't know anyone on campus yet, I thought, "Well, he can't be speaking to me." But sure enough, he was.

He asked me if anyone was sitting in the seat next to me, and before I could answer he plopped right down with a big smile on his face. And then, not even 30 seconds later, another guy took a seat at my table as well. I knew who they were, well... I didn't KNOW them, but they were in my College Algebra class.

The first one who sat down introduced himself as Josh, the other was Naveen. They were both tall, nicely dressed. Josh, I found out, was from Nigeria and Naveen was Indian, although he was born in the States.

I'd noticed Josh earlier that morning before class while we were all waiting in the hall for someone to unlock the door to the classroom. He was looking at me and it made me pretty self conscious. I thought that maybe I had something on my face, or that my hair was looking horrible, after all it was pretty early in the morning and I had to drive to Newark from home. I quickly forgot about it once I entered the classroom.

Anyway, Josh started talking up a storm, about this and that, Naveen laughed along. All I really wanted to do was read my book and not be bothered, but they were so animated, funny, happy- I figured that the reading could wait.

Ever since that day, Josh, Naveen and I would sit together during class and hang out on campus. Josh admitted to having a crush on me and that's why he was staring at me in the hall way that first day and why he came to sit with me afterwards. Naveen just came along for the ride, although he told Josh to leave me alone and let me read my book in peace.

All throughout college, I always made time to hang out with these 2 guys. They were my VERY FIRST college friends, and I really really liked them. After college Naveen and I lost touch... I'm not sure how to find him actually, but hopefully I have some of his contact information somewhere.

Josh, on the other hand, I've always stayed in contact with. When I started dating Eddie, we stopped speaking as much as we once did, partially because I was preoccupied with my new relationship, partially because I graduated college and was trying to get myself adapted to this new phase of my life, because life happens. But we always made it a point to catch up with each other with text messages or phone calls every so often.

A few months ago, I called Josh for one of our "catch up" conversations, except I was told that I dialed the wrong number. I tried again and I got the same result. I refused to believe that I had no way of contacting him, and about a week later I tried the number one last time, no luck. I was feeling pretty hurt. I couldn't even take his name out of my phone, because then it would mean I'd lost EVERY connection to him. I know that we didn't talk that much anymore, but I do care for the guy and didn't want to face the possibility of never talking to him again. So I had no choice but to wait until he called me, but I never got a phone call.

About 2 or 3 weeks ago, I finally gave up on trying to find him. I'd gone through all my address/phone books at home and online but found nothing. I figured that it would be ok since he's really not an active part of my life anymore anyway.

Yesterday morning I checked my Myspace account and saw a message with the subject heading "long time sweetheart!!!" and I knew exactly who it was. I didn't even have to look at the picture, it was Josh!!! It turns out that he lost his phone a while back and had no way of contacting me. He stumbled across merenbootygirl's myspace account and found me through there. I was sooooo happy that he found me. We had a nice conversation last night and now I feel like a part of me that was missing is back in place :)