We've got spirit, yes we do!

So my 20 year HS reunion is coming up. wow. 20 years. I really can't believe it. You know for four lousy years, it's amazing how much of an impact it had and has ever since. It becomes a sort of yardstick that we measure our lives by - 10 years since we graduated, 20 years since we graduated, 50, 100, whatever.

Why is high school the milestone? I know that some people have college reunions, but we really don't mythologize college reunions like we do high school reunions. How come we need to compare ourselves to everyone else we went to high school with? What do I mean by compare? Well, have you ever had a high school reunion by yourself? It's no fun, unless everyone else is there. Why are they there? To compare yourself to. "How far did I come?" you're thinking. "Did I do better than that person?" "Do I look better?" "Are they better?" "Are WE better?" See ... we compare ourselves.

Maybe I should try finding another milestone of adulthood to celebrate. How about the 20th anniversary of the time I lost my virginity? They'll only be two of us, but probably a better chance of having a good time (wink wink). How about the 20th anniversary of my first root canal? That's another 18 years from now - no telling what my tooth will look like. Aha! the 20th anniversary of the purchase of my first car. That really was the first time I felt like an adult.

Well, I guess those would be pretty lonely; I'd be mostly by myself (well, except for the virginity thing but I never even got that guy's last name.)

In any event, I plan to lose another 20 pounds by the reunion. It's July 9 (I think). I'm already supposed to meet up with my high school best friend, Amy. She has lots to be proud of - a great husband, beautiful kids, her dream job, and she runs now. Like a lot. She's always posting her times on Facebook. This was the girl who wanted to avoid sweating when I knew her in high school. If I had to compare myself to her, I'd have to admit that I haven't changed that much.

I guess that's what it really is. I don't feel like I've changed all that much. Maybe I need to go to find out if I have.

Go Wolverines!

Can of worms

Whew! Busy. Getting ready for Xmas - I just barely got my Xmas shopping done. And Kati and I kept meaning to get together, but it's Dec 23 before we can finally make it happen. And then I'll drive home on Dec 24. Where I will stay for almost a whole week. I can't believe it. Can I tell you that I will enjoy every minute? Time is a luxury - I hope you appreciate that.

Yeah, that means I am no longer working at former place of employment. I didn't tell many people when my last day was. In fact, it wasn't supposed to be last Sunday, it was supposed to be tomorrow, but somehow wires were crossed and I got cut off. This means that I shall have to buy my brother-in-law's present at full price! Scandalous. I'm not sure I even know how to read the price tag without automatically taking the discount off. Seven years of internal math will do that to you. That whole thing is typical of why I got so tired of the place at the end.

It was a fine place. Some very good people. But there were idiots too - both fellow employees and customers. My sister would have me believe that every workplace has these problems, these idiots working there. But I like to hold on to the dream that somewhere out there is a place where only sensible, clever, and fun people work. A place where team work is second nature. Where people aren't afraid to do something that's outside of their job description.

Well, I love where I work now. Ummm ... I don't know if it's the dream. But we'll see.

Meanwhile, I cleaned out some of the former place of employment memorabilia. For example, I have a small purse that I used for the last 7 years specifically for my old job. It started out that I needed a bag 5" x 7" or smaller to carry things to work: lunch money, necessities, etc. We weren't allowed to take anything larger than 5 x7 into the store. So I had a small purse, given to me by a friend in Japan, measuring almost exactly 5 x 7 that I used. I kept money, fingernail clippers and nail file, feminine hygiene products (when necessary), contact info, and business cards in it. I never cleaned it out, except when I got new business cards. I would replace the old ones with the updated ones with a new address, number, etc. I also kept the business cards of other employees. Like MaryAnn, when she got her Customer Service award, she got new business cards that said "Customer Service All-Star." I kept one. Or Pam Henderson, who gave me a card, with her personal number on the back, just in case I'd need to call her to cover a shift or something. I also have a post-it that has my very first official job offer for a management position. A post-it! Can you believe it? Would you like to know how much I started out making?

$20,808 base salary + $10,192 in commission = $31,000 average yearly salary

not including overtime and bonuses, and the maximum per month for the bonus was $1734. My sales per hour expectation was $35.

That's what the post-it said. In case you're interested, I did make bonuses, and I ended up making quite a bit more than the post-it said. At first, I forgot the post-it was in there. But then I found it and I kept it, to remind me of how far I had come. Plus it represented good times, a good job, a good boss. I did very well when I first started. Well, ever since. As it turns out, for the six years that I was a manager, I only missed my bonus 5 times. I bonused every other month that we were able to sell. There is a caveat though. For the whole first year that I was in Boston, I didn't bonus, because I didn't have last year figures to compare to and the plan was impossibly high. Maybe that was the beginning of the end.

Yeah, I think you could rightly call that the beginning of the end.

I really liked being instantly rewarded for having done a good job, whether with money or with recognition. Somewhere in the end, it just stopped happening for some reason. I guess I felt like I wasn't ever getting rewarded. It was not a good time, not a good job, not a good boss.

Ok, I'll say it. She wasn't a good boss. She thinks she was. Other people think she was - think she IS. She's able to fudge her way through it because she's pushy. And pushy works on most people. But it doesn't work on everybody. Her inability to recognize that is why she wasn't so great.

Well, she's been gone a while, so that's over. Aw heck - it's all over. It's a little sad.

But it's over.

GingAwesome

oh em gee, it's been so long since I've updated. And I was trying to be better about it.

Do you like my new blog pic? I Pop-Arted myself. I'm rather proud of it. I had taken photos of myself because I had gotten my make-up done by the MAC girls in a Mad Men fashion. I got my makeup done because I was supposed to go this theme party where people dress up pre-1960's. I was going to go when my closing shift ended at the store. I didn't go because I found out during the middle of my shift that I had to stay an hour later than I thought. The store extended its hours. If you're asking yourself why I'm still working there, you must be reading my mind. I just have to get through the craziness of the holidays and then I'll quit and live a normal life.

Whenever I think about that, I sigh. I get kind of a glazed look in my eye, and I look up and slightly to the right, you know, in that far-away way. "Normal ... it must be so grand!" I whisper. People must think I'm weird.

Other normal things that I've been doing:
I've been working.
I've been performing improv.
I bought a hat. (It's a great hat.)

I went home for Thanksgiving and it was awesome! I went shopping on Black Friday and it was awesome. We spent 30 minutes looking for a parking space and it was awesome! I spent an outrageous amount of money and it was awesome! I had leftover turkey with gravy and stuffing and it was awesome! The awesometude of the awesomeness was of such an awesomnity that you would have been blinded by sheer awesomation. I am not overstating this.

Why? you're thinking. Because I NEVER get to go shopping on Black Friday. I'm always rushing back to the store (no matter where I've lived) in order to open or close and work ridiculous hours, while my family plans Black Friday hunting and finds great deals, and later talks about how they love their new things, while wolfing down a turkey and cranberry sandwich made on a leftover roll, with a little bit of homemade noodles mushed in, because my family is weird and mixes carbs like that. I missed that EVERY year. This year, I ate that sandwich with GUSTO! And I don't even like cranberry.

It's my year, baby. I have decided. I never thought when this year started that it would have ended so well, but it did. It is the year of Ginger. And ... it is awesome.

P.S. Casey says that the movie should be finished by end of Jan. Exciting!

Pecan Piiiiiiiiiiiiieee. Pecan Piiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiieeeeeeeee.

So working two jobs interferes with going to the gym regularly - that's what I found out. Boo. I am so tired when I get home from work or before going to work (whatever the case may be) that I just don't wanna go. I can't work up any enthusiasm whatsoever. When I only had the one (low-paying) job, it was easy to get enthusiastic about working out because I guess I just didn't have anything else to do that wouldn't cost any money.
Now I have lots of money and no time to spend it.
Well, not lots of money - I really should be paying off those bills.
I've been venturing into the world of stocks. Ever since I cashed some out to pay for this past summer, I've been playing around in it. I'll let you know how it turns out.
For now, I am planning a trip home for Thanksgiving. It should be fun. And they are serving both turkey and ham.
I did get a new phone - it's not much and it's not smart. I'm saving up to get a Samsung Galaxy Tab but I want to play with it a little more to make sure that I'll like it. No sense spending all that money on it, if I don't like using it.
The New Job is going great, but it's so different from old job. They did give me a laptop - a MAC! I'm relearning computers. "You must unlearn what you have learned," says Yoda. It's mine to take home and whatever. God, why do they have so much trust in me? Does every job do this?
Today, I have to go get a pie. It's from the baker in my improv troupe. It's pecan. Yum.

Don't step on my purple suede shoes.

New Job is great. We've had a little bit of a delay but we are making the best of it. It gives us more time to do things properly. However, it does leave me with a little free time at work. Which is not something that I'm used to.
See at Old Job, there was never a moment to rest. I always had a pile of stuff to do. And even when it was done, there was always next week's pile to get a head start on. And even when THAT was done, I could be on the floor selling. Which would then put me behind on the week's pile of stuff to do. Always moving, always something to do. Go, go, GO! Sometimes, something would be time-sensitive, for example, sales don't start until a certain day. But there's so much to be done for a sale, and you can't really do it in advance because the sale doesn't start til a certain day. My friend Maryann used to call it "Hurry up and wait!" I always thought that was hilarious. And it kinda feels like that now.
For now, I'm trying to enjoy what an office life is like. It's pretty cool. Even cooler? Holidays. That's right. Holidays, not having to work on 'em! What's up with that, world! It makes me giddy. Thursday is Veteran's Day and I freaking have OFF! I don't even know what to do with myself!
I just had this past weekend off. At Old Job, this past weekend was a big deal - first weekend of a major sale. I did NOT work! My manager gave me the whole freaking weekend off. Bless her little heart, which is Southern for "Crazy!" But I'm not the manager, and I like not being in charge there anymore. What kind of shenanigans did I get myself into? I went there and bought a pair of PURPLE SUEDE BOOTS! Somebody hold me back! So freaking awesome!

I used to love shopping. I have Billie to thank for that.

Anyway I am now using my time to do all those things that I've always wanted to do. Like buy mouthwash sew clothes clean room do laundry podcast! Some friends and I came up with an idea for a comedy sketch and I decided it would probably be best to do it as a podcast. Basically, a collection of us girls would watch a section of a bad action movie and critique it as we do so. I know it doesn't sound that funny, but when we came up with the idea, we were watching Road House, and it was freaking hilarious.
Another thing I want to do ... get back to writing sketch. A friend of mine has really inspired me. He's putting on a one man show that he's written himself. I am so envious and I can't wait to see it.
I also want to get back to dating. Well ... you know ... cuz.
FYI, improv is going well too. We got another girl in the troupe! Woopee! It was fun for a while being the only girl, but it's nice to have more people and it's nice to have someone to do girl jokes with. Not that girl jokes are that hard to get, but they somehow seem funnier to other girls. It's a mystery.

Weight gain. Boo. I gained four pounds. I think it may have been because I wasn't taking vitamins. I overate because I was ravenous all the time - could that have been a vitamin deficiency? And I was bored with the exercising. So I took a week off. I ate whatever I wanted. And then I hit the gym again and started watching my diet. It's been a little difficult eating properly because I'm buying lunch these days. But I'm trying to get back to packing lunch. Cheaper and better for me. And I switched up the workout by going to a dance workout class once a week. Fun but also humbling. My clubbing days are definitely over. I no longer have the funk. I haven't been on the scale since because I just want to get back into the groove of things. But 180 is the wall. I've always had trouble getting past 180.

Congratulations to Dave Winning for running the NYC marathon! WOW!

So that's all I've got for now.

I'm all growed up now.

I got my first paycheck from New Job! Woohoo! I went and splurged! I went on a shopping spree! I was so excited!

What did I buy?




Mouthwash!

Yeah, that's right - mouthwash! I was so excited! I haven't had mouthwash since May! Not that I needed it. I had an appointment with my dentist just last week and they said that my teeth and gums looked great. It's just that I love mouthwash. I feel a little more confident with it. But when you're on a tight budget, it's one of those things that you take off your list of groceries to save a few bucks because, well, the dentist can tell you that your teeth and gums are great without it.

Of course that's not the only thing I splurged on! Don't be ridiculous, I bought other things too. I bought a new toothbrush! It was exhilirating - I'm not gonna lie. I also bought face cleanser - hadn't had that since, prolly August. Course, that was really more cause they stopped making my usual face cleanser and I was investigating which products would be best.

It's just that I was living on such a tight budget that I really did have to deny myself the simple luxuries, like mouthwash, a new toothbrush, face cleanser, and face lotion. For face lotion, I dug out all of the samples that I'd had from Old Job and started using those. Interesting tidbit: Estee Lauder makes me break out. Who knew. Fortunately, all my other toiletries lasted through my fiscal crisis.

I did run out of multi-vitamins. Didn't go buy new vitamins. I definitely need to get some of those, though. I'm a big believer of vitamins, ever since my 3 month jaunt around the world (with vitamins) prevented me from getting a cold for 2 years.* What did not run out? My Flax Seed Oil and my Gingko Biloba, NEITHER of which HELPED one iota the way that they were supposed to. Am I smarter? No. Did my blood pressure stop being too low? No. I wish these HAD run out so that I would have the pleasure of NOT buying them again. Hmmph!

I had cut back on the drycleaning also. I hadn't had a thing drycleaned since May, maybe April - I can't remember. I dropped all of it off this week = $99.50!!! That's actually not too bad considering it's 6 months worth of drycleaning. Although I really shouldn't tell you how many times I rewore some of those things.

AND I finally got my boots repaired. I took them to London with me and that's when I noticed that the bottom of the heel on the right shoe had fallen off! I still wore them. This is a no-no, as it wears down the heel more than the other one and then replacing the little rubber nub is not enough to even out the wear. I knew this having been in the shoe business. But what can you do when you're on a tight budget? Well, you wear your boots in London, that's what you do.

I just thought it was a monumental moment when I went to the grocery store and spent over $60. During the Ginger Russell Fiscal Crisis of Ought'10, my weekly budget at the grocery store was $30. Now I'm half-Korean and I knew I could make that work, so I wasn't worried. But that was meals for a week. No eating out. I maybe could sneak a coffee in or so. But no more eating out.

I wasn't always so good at sticking to the budget.


Thank God the crisis is over.

*I never told you about that? It's true.

What do you call it when you think it's great, but it's not?

Other weight-loss problems? Sure.

My shoes don't fit anymore. I slide out of all of them. I used to have this beautiful pair of green suede shoes with a little velvet bow - I always got compliments when I wore them. Heels come right out, pants gets stuck in them, I almost trip. ARRRGH!

I'm digging out the shoes from the back of my closet (you know, the ones that used to be a little too tight, but I thought they'd stretch) and wearing those.

None of my winter pants fit, except for a grey wool pair that my sister bought me years ago, that never fit because they were about 2 sizes too small. Now they're about 1 size too small, but at least I can get in them. And when I say that my winter pants don't fit, I mean that they won't stay up. They fall straight down to the ground. Great, right? ARRRGH!

Bad news though - I've gained 2 lbs. If I want to lose more weight, I have to start dieting seriously. This sucks because I've always known that I'm not too good at it. I did well on Weight Watchers and that left me with some good habits that I'm trying to stick too. I did well this summer because finances forced me to pack lunch, which put me in a great position to eat better. But in the new job, I'm eating lunch every day at their cafeteria, where I tend to overeat. And because I'm working weekends also, I haven't even had time to go shopping for food. And so I give in to exhaustion and eat out -also very poorly.

If I can just get through the holidays without putting on more weight ...

The other thing that's bothering me is that the weather has been keeping me away from running along the river. I didn't realize that the gym wouldn't provide as good a workout. And I really HATE the treadmill. Seriously, I'm just angry at it now. I can't do any of the other machines because those feel like even less of a workout. I did go to one of the dance exercise classes last week, which felt good. Interval type training, worked up a good sweat, felt stupid - all the earmarks of a great workout. So I'd like to try incorporating that into my workout regime. Maybe I just need to invest in some warmer workout clothes and keep up the run along the river. Really? Why is this getting harder?

This was supposed to feel good. ARRRGH!