What did we do without the internet?

Thanks, Al Gore. I owe you!

Yahoo Answers is brilliant.

Not sure what to do about the hacking neighbor upstairs? Just ask all the other random nightowls up on Yahoo Answers. You are sure to get some good advice. And some good laughs, too!

SuperMegaJumbo Frustration

I can't write research papers. Academically, I am pretty good at most other types of assignments. But I have NEVER been a good research paper writer.

I think I have enough articles and books to get me about halfway through this thing (6 out of 12 pages). But after that, I don't know what I'm gonna do. Get more, I suppose, but that's flippin time consuming (obviously).

I don't know what I would do though without Nina. She is an excellent advice giver and cheerer-upper.

I am on my fifth page. I'd like to get the sixth one done tonight, but I also think I might just do the bibliography since nothing I write sounds very good right now, every other sentence is passive, and I can't seem to concentrate enough to fix them. Plus I always leave the bibliography till the end, and then I stress out about the proper formatting and stuff and wind up getting it done late or something.

I don't want to stress anymore about this, but I clearly will be doing just that until it's turned in on Thursday.

I am also tired of listening to my upstairs neighbor hack his lungs up. He sounds flippin horrible, it's really gross, but I don't think its too serious cause he and his girlfriend have been in and out of the damn place all day. But he's been coughing all week. Maybe I should leave a bottle of robitussin at the door...

Ok, back to the paper. Man, stupid polysci class, its the most stressful out of all my classes and it's not even my damn major. Lame.

To Do, oh crap!

I have a lot to do in the next 11 days. Then I have two finals.

1. Write my 12 page Afghanistan paper. Due THIS Thursday. Crap. Currently have one paragraph written.

2. Write 2-4 pages on Universal Health Care. Due the 7th, which is not all that far away.

3. 20 page (ish) report about my creation of a 20-security mutual fund. Due the 7th as well. Yuck.

4. Two homework assignments for investments due this Tuesday. Both half finished. Not hard, just hard to prioritize over #1.

Sleep is going to be optional till I get my shit together. This is senioritis at it's worst, I guess. Why I do it to myself, I don't know. But as Thom says, "that's what really hurts."
Ha. Wish me luck. I hope I don't have to go for any second interviews until after Thursday. Not that I don't want these jobs, but man I have no free time.

Highlights from "Black Friday"

I just got home after a lovely afternoon/evening/night/early morning at Target. Godwilling my last day after Thanksgiving ever.

The best things about tonight were:

1. Some hoosier lady coming back over to yell at me for being rude after I told her that we had sold out of the "video rocker". Apparently, I had said it VERY rudely. It was 6 pm, for christsakes. Don't take your procrastinating shopping habits' bad fortune out on me.

2. Another crazy person asking me in a most serious tone at 9:30 pm if we had any tickle me elmo's left. I honestly laughed. But in a nice way this time, and was like, "um, no, not at 9:30, but maybe tomorrow morning at 8 right when we open." Wow.

Other than that, it was just a long day of saying, "sorry we are sold out of that", "maybe tomorrow we'll have more", "the $3.98 dvds are in the red box around the corner and no we do not have March of the Penguins" and "can someone PLEASE answer that hardware call!"

I'm so over it. I really think something is wrong with Americans after I work these weekends. But I personally hate to shop. Regardless, it's out of control, and brings out the worst in people. It has nothing to do with Christmas if you wanna go there, and it just makes people go deeper into debt, and for what? I suppose that nine Christmas seasons at Target has made me a teeny bit bitter, but I don't care. I appreciate the insight about consumerism that I've gained. And when it's all said and done, I'll still do my shopping online, where there are no shelves to mess up, no hoosiers and their 20 kids to listen to, and no slowly creeping checkout lines to waste my time in.

Becoming like my father?

For the past 18 or so hours, I have spent most of my waking moments wearing an apron. And I think I liked it. Dad should be proud.

My eyes are STILL watering from slicing a bunch of shallots, but overall, I think I've done a pretty decent job cooking up some stuff for Thanksgiving. I made Cranberry Citrus Pomegranate Relish last night, and it tastes delish! Then I made "Judiciously Updated" Green Bean Casserole today. It probably took me double or triple the time a normal person would have needed, but I did it, all my fingers are intact, and barring any unforseen circumstances with the casserole in the oven or the transport to Mom and Dad's, things look pretty good.

And as far as things to be thankful for this year, aside from all of the obviously wonderful people I know, is that I had two really great (albeit LONG) interviews this week, both of which I have a strong feeling that I will be offered a position. I'm lucky to be in this position before I've even thrown my cap into the air and all that, and moving on to bigger and better things BEFORE Christmas is clearly quite appealing. Wish me luck, and I'm sure I'll need advice weighing my options in the next few weeks.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone, and PLEASE make sure to stuff yourselves silly, drink lots of good wine, have lots of good conversation, and make it home safely and happily. And be nice to all the retail employees you come across the next few days. ;)

The interview

It went well. I got there super early and waited in my car forever. I was incredibly nervous but thinking about how over Target I am and how close I am to graduating so I kept myself reasonably calm. Pam, the woman I'd be working for interviewed me. It was really casual; she told me about the firm, and herself, and how she got into the financial planning business, as well as a bit about the job I'd be doing, where I could go with it, and why her previous assistant quit.

First off, it was clear that the office is business casual, and actually only 7 people work there: three planners, and a few assistants. I'd be the assistant at the door with a desk in the "lobby" but otherwise I would just work for Pam. They don't share clients or employees, but they all have similar philosophies about planning and all have their CFP designation.

She seemed really nice and she was impressed by all the courses I have taken that relate to the field. UMSL is one of the few colleges in the state to offer a program for financial planning, and is the only one in St. Louis. Needless to say, I think she liked the fact that I wouldn't have the learn that part of the business from the ground up.

She didn't really ask me too many of the stereotypical questions, and actually she didn't even really write much down at all. But she was very friendly, and seemed really down to earth. All in all, I think it went really well. She is interviewing this week and next, but she asked when the earliest I could start would be, and I told her all I needed was two weeks notice.

We briefly discussed money, and I told her my range was $33,000 to $43,000 dependent on benefits and job responsibilities (it seems like there are a lot of responsibilities, with room to grow). She offers vacation days right away, retirement savings after a year, and no group medical, but they do have a plan I can join through which would probably be cheaper than going it alone. I think it's an HSA like at Target but oh well. She said she had to pay more because she didn't offer medical, which sounds great to me!

All in all, I have a pretty good feeling about it. I still have another interview on Wednesday in Clayton, and I think it might be very different that this one. It's also potentially for an internship but I am going to use the fact that I am interviewing for a full-time position at a similar firm as leverage if possible.

The only thing that would suck is of course, working in Chesterfield. Aside from Nina being nearby for a little while, I have absolutely no desire whatsoever to work there or have anything to do with it. Plus my car doesn't like the idea of that commute...though I need a new one anyway. But I better be on the upper end of that salary range if I want to get a car, otherwise I'm gonna be paycheck to paycheck just like today. And I can't forget about all FOUR of my student loan payments that are gonna be due here in a few weeks and months. Yucko.

Well, wish me luck. I hope I'm offered a job, and I hope that I get to quit Target soon!

Elmo

I might be the best godmother ever. This is what my godson Jacob is getting from his favorite godparent for Christmas, and I think it's flippin great. He loves Elmo, and this toy cracks my shit up!

On that note, I wish I could just add youtube videos to my blog, but it doesn't recognize my account or something. This is the second time I've tried. Gerald, you sometimes put videos up, how did you do it?

Another application

I applied at another CFP firm, this time it's for an internship that pays $10-$15 for 20hrs/wk. Not bad. I'd have to stay on part time at Target, until I got something more permanent, but it would look awesome on my resume, no doubt. And as for my other interview, it's scheduled for 4pm next Monday. I have a lot to do to get ready, and a flippin' 15 page paper and a group project to worry about, too. Aahhh!! I can't wait for this semester to be over with, but the prospect of getting out of Target before Christmas just keeps me going.

I GOT AN INTERVIEW!!!!!!!

Kind of a big deal.

It's with a CFP (certified financial planner) in Chesterfield. She has her own practice, Sterling Financial Advisors. Here's the job description:

This is an excellent opportunity for a candidate wanting to get into Financial Advising/ Sales. Opportunities for advancement are available for the right person.

Administrative
Servicing client phone calls
Processing client applications for investments
Following up on pending business
Maintaining producer licenses
Maintaining client database (Junxure)

Portfolio Management
Prepare client investment reviews
Download and maintain data in performance database (Centerpiece)
Monitor/analyze news regarding preferred mutual funds and managers

Other
Lobby workstation requires friendly/professional interaction with clients
Contact with property management company regarding office concerns

Qualifications:
Proficiency in MS Excel, MS Word and Internet
ParaPlanner designation within 6 months of employment
Attention to details is imperative, financial experience is not
This is a position for a focused, proactive person interested in being part of a growing independent financial planning practice. This mature individual will assist with managing my existing clients as well as helping to develop new client relations. I need someone who is flexible and creative; organized, efficient and can handle several tasks at once. This job requires the ability to be an excellent team player, yet must be equally adept at working independently


YAY!!!!!!! I have to set up an interview with her for either next Thursday or the following Monday. Probably Monday. I need a suit and all kinds of stuff. Katie, I wish you were here in St. Louis to shop for me!

How nerveracking!!!! And how awesome that there is a chance that I WON'T be at Target this Christmas :)

I bought my cap and gown today

But before I get to do any walking around in it (in flats, they were out of my size so I had to get one made for short-er people), I must finish a bunch of obnoxious stuff:

1. 15 page polysci paper about the war in Afghanistan. This is the scariest assignment of them all, and I should probably be figuring out my thesis and doing research right now.

2. 3-5 pager on Universal Health Care- luckily Massachusettes just implemented a plan, so I should have plenty to go on there.

3. My last group project ever! (as an undergrad...who knows if I'm really gonna be done with school, right?). It's next Wednesday, my group sucks of course, and I have to use their answers to write my answer and no one has done anything yet. Oh yeah, and it's a company analysis of Ford. They kinda suck these days.

4. Two regular homework assignments, one about bond pricing, the other about derivative securities. Thrilling.

5. A portfolio project where I create and analyze a $10,000,000 mutual fund of 20 securities. Supposedly it's gonna be 20 pages, and lots of excel graphs and tables. Fun.

6. Two finals, but I'm not worrying about those until classes are over on Dec. 7th.

And I'm really so over this. I'm over my job, I'm over rushing to get to class, I'm over not EVER sleeping in, I'm over staring at the damn computer when I'd rather be outside or working out, and I'm over being poor. I want to have money on payday, not barely enough left after paying all the damn bills so that I feel guilty for buying a bag of groceries at Whole Foods instead of Schnucks.

Like whoa.

For the first time in my politically-aware life (obviously, since I was only 12 in 1994 when the GOP took control of Congress), the Democrats have BOTH the House and the Senate. I think my mind is just blown. I can't wait to see what will come of it. It's an enormous relief/sense of excitement to think about what the political news will be. Instead of "more of the same" and stagnating right wing agendas, could we possibly be ready to experience a few liberal improvements? Instead of just making me more and more disappointed, pessimistic, embarrassed, and sad, could our government ACTUALLY make something better? Considering our country's condition in '94, and the HUGE desire for new strategies all around, I think so.

(And stem cell research for all!)

Election Update, FYI

Here's a handy reference to the Missouri statute governing recounts. It may become relevent here in the next few hours.

What about recounts for non-candidate issues? When do those get recounted?



11/9: YAY FOR NO RECOUNTS!!!

Election Nights

I've worked the majority of Tuesday nights for the past 7 years or so. I have worked a lot of election nights (including the Gore/Bush '00 debacle). I usually work early the next day. But, I CAN'T possibly go to sleep without knowing the outcome. I am an optimist, so even if my candidate is currently down 4% with 65% of precincts reporting, I'm still holding out. Same with the proposition I'm desperately rooting for. It's killer.

Right now, I have 5 tabs open in my browser: this, npr, msnbc, cnn, and bbc. I'm obsessed. I could just be doing some homework, and check up after a half hour or so, but I've decided to stalk the news websites instead.

Well, in other news, I have 40, almost 39 days left until graduation. And only 23 more shifts at Target until then, too. Actually, make that 22 if I get the day off for Maggie and Beth's graduation down in Springfield. Pretty exciting. I have yet to get a good hit from any of the many resumes I've sent out, but it seems like everyone wants people with actual degrees. Not someone who has, oh, 8 1/2 years of work experience and ALMOST a degree. But whatever.

I plan on bombarding many potential employers about two weeks before I graduate. I'm going to have to write a million cover letters, but I'm going to make sure that they don't sound contrived. I would seriously flip out if I actually had a job offer BEFORE Christmas. Even if I couldn't start until after the new year, just knowing that I was getting out for sure would be amazing.

Here's another election related bit of info I learned tonight: I asked our store manager (who's pretty in the know, not just a corporate robot) what the impact the raise in the minimum wage in Missouri would have on our store. I was curious because we currently hire people at what would be the new minimum wage, and I had a feeling that Target wouldn't ever pay people the minimum, because it makes them look bad. We've been having hiring issues lately, and we are all sure that our low starting wage doesn't help. We've asked HQ for an increase in our base pay three times this year, but they've denied it every time. But Tim, our manager, said that most likely HQ wouldn't ignore this. So...not only will Target folks in MO make more than the Jan. 1 minimum wage of $6.50 (which is also tied to inflation), BUT there would most likely be pay increases across the board to allow for continuity- those of us well above the minimum would get a proportional increase. Brilliant, since I still don't think I make enough, and I'm not even capped (though fewer and fewer team leads seem to be staying long enough to be eligible for wage ceilings, but I digress).

Ok, well, I'm off to stare at the ever-narrowing gap on cnn, msnbc, npr, etc.