Well, I'm home on a Friday, recouping from the drama I caused yesterday morning. I woke up yesterday morning in a slight rush, went straight into the shower, had the water pretty hot, and got slighty worried about my bloody nose, all the while my blood pressure was low and so I fainted. Luckly Rob was there, but I did scare the crap out of him because this was the first time I fainted in front of him and I fainted with my eyes opened (ahh!!!!!) And I when I was waking up, I was fully aware but could not control my body (ah!!!!) and had no clue what was going on. So he got our neighbor to call 911 and within minutes I had police, firemen and the EMTs all in my apartment. Took a ride in the ambulance, spent 7 hours in ER and it was concluded that....since I tend to have low blood pressure, I gotta be careful about taking hot showers in the morning and get a humidifier for my bloody nose. Also my anxiety does not help one bit and even now I feel the panic feelings of yesterday still creeping in my mind and fear that all this can happen again.
Me and Rob learned from all this that we need to slow things down a bit. Our minds are constantly on work or things we plan to do in the future that we have no control over right now and we get frustrated and stressed out. And for me, I get more prone to panic attacks. We need to enjoy and appreciate where we are now. We need to take better care of our bodies and minds. We need to spend more quality time with each other and not quality time with us and the tv.
Anyways!!!!!!!
So I've been using Rob's laptop all this week. I'm managing pretty well, the smaller screen is kind of annoying, 'specially when I can't fit a full window. I noticed that I tend to be on the internet a lot more since it's so easy to sit on the couch with the laptop on my lap. That's not a good thing. I'd like to cut down my computer time, not double it! I think I just need to designate a laptop area, like the coffee table and only use it there, that way I can also use the mouse since it's not easy selecting text with the touchpad. But I like the ease of it all. I like that I can sit comfortably and not in a computer chair, hunched over which causes my should blades to burn.
I still miss my iMac, which still sits on the desk. We'll grab its box tomorrow and put it away. I'll most likely stick to the laptop because I know it's the right thing to do. We'll find a good home my iMac, where it could live happily in a one computer household, heh.
Friday, January 25, 2008
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Suzy's Challenge
I love my iMac. It was my first big purchase I did all by myself with my own money that I earned and saved. Because of that, it's so special to me. But...
As I've wrote before, moving to New York and into this apartment made me realize the clutter and junk we have. While my iMac is definitely not junk, it's a part of the clutter. Rob and I both have our iMacs set up in our apartment. We share a table with our computers sitting back to back. We each have about 3 feet of chair space, which doesn't include under the table because our a large bar blocking the chairs from rolling underneath. Don't even get me started on the cable pile and lack of desk space. And it's not like this problem will go away when we move. Chances are, we'll have even less space or if we do have more space, I'd want my own desk.
Needless to say, it's not fun. But Rob and I just can't share one computer....we're too selfish, too net addicted and our professions both require a computer.
Sooooo.....since I don't mind change, and willing to do things to make our lives easier. I present....
I'm going to put my iMac away and use Rob's laptop and see if I can survive. And if I find that I can function well with it, I will sell my dear iMac and buy a new laptop (maybe an mackbook air!) Not only will it clear up tons of space and clutter, laptops are more energy efficient and use so much less than computers.
*ok, before my iMac i was using a laptop for about 4 years, so it's not that big of a deal, but sometimes it's hard to go back ; )
As I've wrote before, moving to New York and into this apartment made me realize the clutter and junk we have. While my iMac is definitely not junk, it's a part of the clutter. Rob and I both have our iMacs set up in our apartment. We share a table with our computers sitting back to back. We each have about 3 feet of chair space, which doesn't include under the table because our a large bar blocking the chairs from rolling underneath. Don't even get me started on the cable pile and lack of desk space. And it's not like this problem will go away when we move. Chances are, we'll have even less space or if we do have more space, I'd want my own desk.
Needless to say, it's not fun. But Rob and I just can't share one computer....we're too selfish, too net addicted and our professions both require a computer.
Sooooo.....since I don't mind change, and willing to do things to make our lives easier. I present....
I'm going to put my iMac away and use Rob's laptop and see if I can survive. And if I find that I can function well with it, I will sell my dear iMac and buy a new laptop (maybe an mackbook air!) Not only will it clear up tons of space and clutter, laptops are more energy efficient and use so much less than computers.
*ok, before my iMac i was using a laptop for about 4 years, so it's not that big of a deal, but sometimes it's hard to go back ; )
Friday, January 18, 2008
Suzy's Current Obsession
While we're waiting for Rob to get the AppleTV working so we can either a) watch normal tv or b) rent something on iTunes, I thought I'd write about my current obsession....Swaptree!
Like most Americans, we have tons of crap and want tons more crap all the time. It really hit me how much we had when Rob and I moved to New York into a small apartment from the spacious house in Arizona. We can't even fit half our stuff in the apartment, luckily Rob's parents are letting us store some stuff at their place. Ever since then I've been strict with what I buy, do I really need it or not.
Well, I found a website that helps you "balance" things out. Swaptree is a site where you trade your old books, dvds, cds and videos games with other people. Bought a book and hated it? See if anyone wants to trade it for a book you want. Finished playing that video game? Someone wants to trade for that cd you've always wanted for it. You're getting new things and getting rid of the old things that just cause clutter! And the only thing you pay is shipping. Sweet!
So far I've gotten a book I've been dying to read and two cds. I'm waiting to get another cd and a video game too.
Granted it's not perfect. Like you, most people aren't putting up the latest and most brand new items for trade. For me, I got things that I've been wanting to get for the past few years, not that cd that just came out. Also, you gotta have an open mind...yeah, you paid $60 for that game and someone wants to trade you a $15 cd. Seems unfair, but you have to kind of put it in the sense that that $60 game has been collecting dust for the past year. But even in the past few weeks I've been signed up on Swaptree, I see more and more up for trade. I'm expecting a book that I thought I'd never find on Swaptree nor in the bookstore by us, that's so cool.
Also, they make things easy for you. You can import your Amazon wish list (and a few others). You can print shipping labels directly through them, which means you don't have to go to the post office (although you pay about $2 more, but sometimes that's easier than finding the time to go to the post ofice).
Anyways, I kind of sound like an informercial right now, ha. I'm just excited that I'm finally getting books, cds and games that I've been wanting for awhile now just by trading in things that have been collecting dust. And I think it's a pretty green thing to do; you're not causing more waste, you're balancing it: )
Like most Americans, we have tons of crap and want tons more crap all the time. It really hit me how much we had when Rob and I moved to New York into a small apartment from the spacious house in Arizona. We can't even fit half our stuff in the apartment, luckily Rob's parents are letting us store some stuff at their place. Ever since then I've been strict with what I buy, do I really need it or not.
Well, I found a website that helps you "balance" things out. Swaptree is a site where you trade your old books, dvds, cds and videos games with other people. Bought a book and hated it? See if anyone wants to trade it for a book you want. Finished playing that video game? Someone wants to trade for that cd you've always wanted for it. You're getting new things and getting rid of the old things that just cause clutter! And the only thing you pay is shipping. Sweet!
So far I've gotten a book I've been dying to read and two cds. I'm waiting to get another cd and a video game too.
Granted it's not perfect. Like you, most people aren't putting up the latest and most brand new items for trade. For me, I got things that I've been wanting to get for the past few years, not that cd that just came out. Also, you gotta have an open mind...yeah, you paid $60 for that game and someone wants to trade you a $15 cd. Seems unfair, but you have to kind of put it in the sense that that $60 game has been collecting dust for the past year. But even in the past few weeks I've been signed up on Swaptree, I see more and more up for trade. I'm expecting a book that I thought I'd never find on Swaptree nor in the bookstore by us, that's so cool.
Also, they make things easy for you. You can import your Amazon wish list (and a few others). You can print shipping labels directly through them, which means you don't have to go to the post office (although you pay about $2 more, but sometimes that's easier than finding the time to go to the post ofice).
Anyways, I kind of sound like an informercial right now, ha. I'm just excited that I'm finally getting books, cds and games that I've been wanting for awhile now just by trading in things that have been collecting dust. And I think it's a pretty green thing to do; you're not causing more waste, you're balancing it: )
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Let's Try This Again
Happy New Year!
It's a shame that we started this blog in hopes of writing about our new life here in New York and the adventures we have and we've only posted a few times. Sure things got stressful and boring at times, but we still had some great awesome moments! So, with this being a new year, what a perfect time to start again! But first let's do a small recap of the past few months!
Rob got to go to Mexico with his job for their "annual meeting", while seeing some ruins along the way. Sweet job, huh?
We celebrated our one year wedding anniversary by going to Pennsylvania. Bed and Breakfast, local beer, cows, farms and wine...how much better can it get?
We also went up to Maine to see Rob's good friends John and Kristen. They threw a pretty cool Halloween Party!
November we went back to Arizona for the first time since we moved. We celebrated Thanksgiving and my nephew's 13th birthday.
Christmas brought me a tattoo from Rob! Woo hoo!!!
We did some other things in between. Saw a few art museums in New York City. Me dealing with snow for the first time. Rob is playing ice hockey again and I iceskated for the first time in over 10 years. Rob also is learning the guitar!
Things finally feel normal now and we're excited and pumped to keep moving forward. We have a few plans for 2008, some which are so huge that I dare not mention it because it's all still up in the air. And we'll try to keep this blog updated and share our adventures with everyone.
It's a shame that we started this blog in hopes of writing about our new life here in New York and the adventures we have and we've only posted a few times. Sure things got stressful and boring at times, but we still had some great awesome moments! So, with this being a new year, what a perfect time to start again! But first let's do a small recap of the past few months!
Rob got to go to Mexico with his job for their "annual meeting", while seeing some ruins along the way. Sweet job, huh?
We celebrated our one year wedding anniversary by going to Pennsylvania. Bed and Breakfast, local beer, cows, farms and wine...how much better can it get?
We also went up to Maine to see Rob's good friends John and Kristen. They threw a pretty cool Halloween Party!
November we went back to Arizona for the first time since we moved. We celebrated Thanksgiving and my nephew's 13th birthday.
Christmas brought me a tattoo from Rob! Woo hoo!!!
We did some other things in between. Saw a few art museums in New York City. Me dealing with snow for the first time. Rob is playing ice hockey again and I iceskated for the first time in over 10 years. Rob also is learning the guitar!
Things finally feel normal now and we're excited and pumped to keep moving forward. We have a few plans for 2008, some which are so huge that I dare not mention it because it's all still up in the air. And we'll try to keep this blog updated and share our adventures with everyone.
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Too much green?
I've always been the type of person to try and do good for the environment. I remember what school taught me and by watching Captain Planet. A couple years ago, I really started to try to be green...not super green, but make more of an effort. After Al Gore released An Inconvenient Truth, you started to see more and more of an awareness. More books, more blogs, more people talking. It was wonderful! I learned a lot!
When we moved to New York, our shower had a small leak that due to laziness and lack of time, the leak turned into a steady stream. I was disgusted with myself, I claimed to be a person who tried to live green and earth friendly while my bathroom was wasting not only tons of water but gas too because it was coming from the hot tap. My passion for being green took a huge fall, and I just did the easy normal things. How could I claim to be a green person, when I was wasting so much water. I felt like a hypocrite. So, I just laid low.
Yet, all the while I saw the media just boom with "We have to be green and save the planet!!" I was excited! Finally, people are getting the message. But then it just started to grow more and more...and more. And with my shower haunting me causing me to step back and watch everything rather than take action I felt that, while it's awesome that the media is pushing and getting the message out, it's getting too much. With last week's NBC's green week, and every show had some small "this is how you can help" story I felt that it had become a fad. It's the cool thing to do now! Let's all help the planet! I'm a big company and see, I'm being environmentally friendly! But how much of that is truth? Are these big companies really making an effort to change? Or is it all surface and show, while in the background they too have a leaky shower?
We finally got the shower fixed and as sad to say, I'm excited again to get back on track of my green life. But now, I'm just overwhelmed by all the content that's out there now. In barely 6 months it's exploded!
I'm curious to see in a few years how passionate everyone is about all this. Will things truly get better? Or will the hype die down leaving the few dedicated alone again? It's happened before, the rainforest of the 90's, the saving water and electricity of the 80's. Now, being green of the 2000s.
I won't back down again. Even if I have a 1000 leaky showers to fix. I will do my best! I won't be perfect, but I'll be in it for the long haul. I won't be part of the fad.
When we moved to New York, our shower had a small leak that due to laziness and lack of time, the leak turned into a steady stream. I was disgusted with myself, I claimed to be a person who tried to live green and earth friendly while my bathroom was wasting not only tons of water but gas too because it was coming from the hot tap. My passion for being green took a huge fall, and I just did the easy normal things. How could I claim to be a green person, when I was wasting so much water. I felt like a hypocrite. So, I just laid low.
Yet, all the while I saw the media just boom with "We have to be green and save the planet!!" I was excited! Finally, people are getting the message. But then it just started to grow more and more...and more. And with my shower haunting me causing me to step back and watch everything rather than take action I felt that, while it's awesome that the media is pushing and getting the message out, it's getting too much. With last week's NBC's green week, and every show had some small "this is how you can help" story I felt that it had become a fad. It's the cool thing to do now! Let's all help the planet! I'm a big company and see, I'm being environmentally friendly! But how much of that is truth? Are these big companies really making an effort to change? Or is it all surface and show, while in the background they too have a leaky shower?
We finally got the shower fixed and as sad to say, I'm excited again to get back on track of my green life. But now, I'm just overwhelmed by all the content that's out there now. In barely 6 months it's exploded!
I'm curious to see in a few years how passionate everyone is about all this. Will things truly get better? Or will the hype die down leaving the few dedicated alone again? It's happened before, the rainforest of the 90's, the saving water and electricity of the 80's. Now, being green of the 2000s.
I won't back down again. Even if I have a 1000 leaky showers to fix. I will do my best! I won't be perfect, but I'll be in it for the long haul. I won't be part of the fad.
Stop. Rewind.
Oh the high and happy feeling of getting a new job! Then to find out that Gymboree is indeed THE JOB FROM HELL!!!!
Yes, I am in my last week of working at Gymboree. Two months of bad management, poor communication, moldy ceiling tiles, mice, stupid hours, small paychecks, stupid franchise/corporate bullshit, moms yelling at me for things I didn't do and being forced to work on Sundays had caused me to quit. And I can just keep going. Never had I dealt with anything so bad before, and this is coming from someone who put up with Kinko's for a couple of years!
About two weeks ago, I met with an awesome kick ass temp agency, Vanguard and immediately they got the ball rolling on finding me something. They knew what kind of artist I was, saw my strengths and my weaknesses and were so positive about it. And at the end of the week, I already had an interview! Then the following Monday, I had a job!! It was almost too easy!
I now temp/freelance at Amscan , where currently I do photo retouching in the gift's department. I get to spend all day in Photoshop, that's freaking awesome! And that's only the beginning! After a while working there, my friends at Vanguard are going to try to get me into the actual art and concept department where I could design art for party supplies. Sweet! And I get paid very nicely. Also, I'm helping with a sweet boat logo for a cat vet: )
This means that I won't be going back to school. While being an art teacher still sounds great, I don't feel like spending that time and money when we can save for a house and start a family in a few years.
All I wanted was for someone to see my talents and give me a chance. I wanted a steady job that I enjoyed and felt that the time I spent in school was worth it. With Vanguard and Amscan, I feel like that and that's a very good feeling.
Anyways! Yes, we are sadly ignoring this blog, but I think life in New York is finally starting to settle down and I feel happy enough to blog and do the other things I have been neglecting. I'm going to get Rob to post about his (and our) busy and awesome month of October.
See ya!
~Suzy
Yes, I am in my last week of working at Gymboree. Two months of bad management, poor communication, moldy ceiling tiles, mice, stupid hours, small paychecks, stupid franchise/corporate bullshit, moms yelling at me for things I didn't do and being forced to work on Sundays had caused me to quit. And I can just keep going. Never had I dealt with anything so bad before, and this is coming from someone who put up with Kinko's for a couple of years!
About two weeks ago, I met with an awesome kick ass temp agency, Vanguard and immediately they got the ball rolling on finding me something. They knew what kind of artist I was, saw my strengths and my weaknesses and were so positive about it. And at the end of the week, I already had an interview! Then the following Monday, I had a job!! It was almost too easy!
I now temp/freelance at Amscan , where currently I do photo retouching in the gift's department. I get to spend all day in Photoshop, that's freaking awesome! And that's only the beginning! After a while working there, my friends at Vanguard are going to try to get me into the actual art and concept department where I could design art for party supplies. Sweet! And I get paid very nicely. Also, I'm helping with a sweet boat logo for a cat vet: )
This means that I won't be going back to school. While being an art teacher still sounds great, I don't feel like spending that time and money when we can save for a house and start a family in a few years.
All I wanted was for someone to see my talents and give me a chance. I wanted a steady job that I enjoyed and felt that the time I spent in school was worth it. With Vanguard and Amscan, I feel like that and that's a very good feeling.
Anyways! Yes, we are sadly ignoring this blog, but I think life in New York is finally starting to settle down and I feel happy enough to blog and do the other things I have been neglecting. I'm going to get Rob to post about his (and our) busy and awesome month of October.
See ya!
~Suzy
Monday, September 10, 2007
Who'd have thought?
Well, I finally got a job! And it's something I thought I'd never do.
I work at Gymboree where I will be teaching little kids art, music and even actual nursery school!
I came to the realization that I'm not quite cut out to work in the design field. I may be a rock star at Photoshop and Illustrator, it's just that without InDesign, Quark and other things like that, no one's really going to hire me. I'm not a designer, nor do I want to be or conform to be. I like to draw and do art. Rob suggested I try going back to school to be an art teacher, something I've toyed around with for a while. Going back to school is huge, expensive and takes time, but the thought of being an art teacher fills me with much joy. After much talking and researching, I'm going back to school most likely next year! I'll get a bachelor's in art with a minor in education, which I can transfer lots of my credits. Nothing is final, but I hope it works out.
So Gymboree! The same day we were talking about me going to school for art teaching, Gymboree posts a position for an art and music teacher with no education degree required! Blah blah blah and I got called for an interview!! Now in my last week of training, I'm very happy and have tons of fun playing with the kids and I can't wait to have my own classes. And it fits because I will still be able to go to school at the same time when I do decide to start. Dude, I'm getting paid to be loud, sing and play...how cool is that?
I work at Gymboree where I will be teaching little kids art, music and even actual nursery school!
I came to the realization that I'm not quite cut out to work in the design field. I may be a rock star at Photoshop and Illustrator, it's just that without InDesign, Quark and other things like that, no one's really going to hire me. I'm not a designer, nor do I want to be or conform to be. I like to draw and do art. Rob suggested I try going back to school to be an art teacher, something I've toyed around with for a while. Going back to school is huge, expensive and takes time, but the thought of being an art teacher fills me with much joy. After much talking and researching, I'm going back to school most likely next year! I'll get a bachelor's in art with a minor in education, which I can transfer lots of my credits. Nothing is final, but I hope it works out.
So Gymboree! The same day we were talking about me going to school for art teaching, Gymboree posts a position for an art and music teacher with no education degree required! Blah blah blah and I got called for an interview!! Now in my last week of training, I'm very happy and have tons of fun playing with the kids and I can't wait to have my own classes. And it fits because I will still be able to go to school at the same time when I do decide to start. Dude, I'm getting paid to be loud, sing and play...how cool is that?
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