A Tiney Girl in a Big World

Road Trips are For...

2009-03-30T22:32:00.004-04:00

reminiscing with Jymez about the "old days", and then realizing how much better we have it now :)
realizing that all music written before 2000 was epic and everything afterwards was crap.
classic quotes:

J-"I love this road, it's like the road of the future- like I'm driving in 2010."
T-"That's like next year."

making a quick stop in Pasco county to pick up some energy drinks and tall boys. Only the necessities of course.
going out with our straight friend and meeting some fantastic gays. Love them.
Attempting to order a million double cheeseburgers from McDonalds.
Driving back to Gainesville the next morning at 9 a.m.
deciding on a whim to stay the rest of the weekend just to go to the Rugby Toga Party.
Running into a conspiracy theorist while shopping for toga supplies. And trying to lose the crazy woman while she followed us around Wal-Mart giving her lecture.
Sushi. mmmmm
Meeting up with a fabulous long-lost friend for dinner and talking for hours. and hours. and hours.
learning the art form and dangers of a new hip drinking game "civil war"

"Civil War?? Is that game for real? Can I google it?"

laughing with Courtney Ortney after a hilarious, but slightly serious, tumble down the stairs.
running barefoot in the rain through the streets of Gainesville to sneak away from the STRANGE frat party.
finally crashing at 4 am after talking some more with my fabulous long lost friend.

Hey, you only get to be young once right?

Living, Laughing, and Loving,
The Tiney Weenie

So Sad It's Over

2009-03-22T14:58:00.008-04:00

Today is my last day of Spring Break '09 and I must say, it was an eventful one. Ok, so I wasn't one of those super hip-and-with-it students who went to the Bahamas or the Keys or anything like that. Lucky students! But I did stay in Jacksonville and had a fantastic time anyways. Who said you have to go somewhere to have an adventure?

My spring break actually started on a Friday because my UNF professors love vacations and think Friday classes are a crime. I completely agree. OfficerTripp and I planned a fantastic beach day full of sunshine, sand, and beautiful ocean. Too bad we didn't check the weather before we left! Ooops. Cloudy skies surrounded us and the winds made it very chilly!
Yuck. Solution to problem = The Lemon Bar. This tiny little Neptune Beach treasure is by far one of my favorite hot spots. This quaint little beach-side hotel bar comes complete with tables in the sand (to capture that good ole' beachy feel), an array of diverse regulars, and of course a view!

The next day we celebrated our friend William's birthday with the annual Williamfest. What an event that was! He informed me that each Williamfest had it's own personality and the previous parties had their own distinctive stories at the end. Want to know what came out of Williamfest '09?
A backyard full of barricades and barrels! EEEEEEEEEEKK was almost exactly my reaction the next morning when I found them! But the party was a ton of fun and a huge success.

[Side Note: We quickly discovered it's a federal offense to steal barricades from construction sites. Please don't call the cops on us, they've been removed. Thanks for the tip Goose!!]

Monday was a back-to-work day for all of us, but keeping up with the Spring Break spirit, OBrien, Siprelle, and OfficerTripp and I planned more festivities that afternoon. It was a beautiful day so there was only one solution = The Lemon Bar (again!). What's a better way to wind down from your day than having a few drinks with good company at our fave beach hangout? Once again, we didn't check they hourly weather reports until driving there.

Any Floridian knows that this is how the great Sunshine State works sometimes. One hour it's beautiful, and then the rainclouds come. No biggie! We'll make the best of it. And we did, nonetheless.

For years UNF has scheduled their spring break week just a little off from every other state university in Florida. The fact that my friends all over the state vacationed separately from me used to bother me. Then I realized how lucky I had it. Thank you UNF for scheduling your spring break to cover my favorite holiday, St. Patrick's Day! My Irish siblings and I decided to hit up Jacksonville Beach for this years St. Patrick's Day, as they have an assortment of traditional pubs. If you are in the area and have a thing for Irish Pubs, I suggest Culhane's, Fionn MacCools, Lynch's, and of course the Fly's Tie. Each one offers great traditional foods and most have daily live music. We spent the day visiting each one and finishing off at Lynch's. I dub this years festivities a success.

The rest of the week went accordingly. I juggled work and sleep and tried to fit in as much social time as possible. It's not everyday I get to spend a week with my favorite people.

The week finally concluded with an evening on the porch at Mellow Mushroom listening to the tunes Nate Holley. I suggest all of you look him up, he is by far our favorite local musician and you can catch him playing most nights of the week. His regular venues inclue the Fly's Tie, Freebird Live, and both the Southside and Fleming Island Mellow Mushrooms. Despite the fact that Florida weather had creeped up on us again the temperature dropped about 15 degrees (OfficerTripp and I are cursed for sure!) it was a blast.

Today is Sunday and I'm so thankful for a chance to relax after such a week! But I can't slow down now. I'm booked for the next month, literally! One weekend in Memphis and one in Tampa and somewhere in there I have a 22nd birthday. Don't worry, my Mac will be going with me to all of these places and I'll be sure to blog and tweet the weekends away.

Until then,
The Tiney Weenie

I Got It!!

2009-03-20T17:41:00.002-04:00

As of today I am the new summer PR intern for the Firehouse Subs' Public Safety Foundation :)

I was absolutely tickled when she called me and offered me the position. I love how employers say "We'd like to offer you the position, if you are still interested." OF COURSE I'M STILL INTERESTED! This internship has a good rep @ UNF. It's one of the few out there where the interns ACTUALLY get to do work beneficial to their education and future careers.

Right off the bat, my first mission as the new Summer PR intern is the Men's Doubles Tennis Tournament here in Jax. It's a three-day tennis tournament that raises money just for FSPSF. Rumor is it's quite the event in the tennis world here in Northeast Florida and players from all over enter the tourney. Sweet deal.

I'm sure the rest of my summer tasks at the FSPSF will be just as eventful, and I'll keep you guys posted along the way.

For you MySpacers out there, check out FSPSF Myspace page.

Looking Forward,
Tiney

Second Guessing Myself

2009-03-11T10:56:00.002-04:00

It's now day 3 of the adventures of Tiney and Ringo, and it's only getting pseudo better, I neglect to inform.

Yesterday I woke up optimistic and determined. I was going to drive this dang car, and drive it well!! The voyage to work went pretty well, no stalling but the ride was a bit rough. My shifting could use some work, not gonna lie.

I scooted out of Publix around 7 and decided I needed some serious bonding time with Ringo in order to get acclimated with this whole clutch/gas/shift idea. So I call BFF JRY up.

T: "You sleeping yet?" (it's only 8p)
JRY: "No! I just got back from zumba. What's up?"
T: "We need to drive."
JRY: "MMmm Frosty's are in order."

Off to Green Cove I go, pick up JRY, and we're off.

Approaching intersection at Lake Asbury Elementary. Red Light. First gear. FAILURE. Start up, try again. FAILURE.

There we were, stuck in the middle of an intersection!! My worst fear :/ It took 3 tries to get me out of that intersection. Guh, no bueno.

Wendy's was at least successful. Frosty's are my favorite.

I tried to gain my confidence back for the ride home. I was doing great until I hit Oakleaf. I was 10 minutes from my house and I just bombed the whole thing. Stall outs, jamming gears, bucking car. Whew, emotional Tiney.

Needless to say, my big brother stepped in and helped. Not only did he give me his car to drive to UNF today (thank you!) but he's taking me out for more lessons today. Clearly I need it.

A driving, emotional, basket case,
The Tiney Weenie

15 All Over Again

2009-03-09T21:42:00.003-04:00

Today I had some serious flashbacks to when I was 15. I got a new car and I had to learn how to drive all over again. Let me start from the beginning.

I graduate from UNF this December and as a grad present my Dad wanted to surprise me with a new car :) But instead of just randomly picking one, slapping a big red bow on top, and driving it to my grad ceremony, he decided it might be smarter to let me pick it out. So today we went looking, and there sitting in front of me was the cutest Gecko Green VW Beetle. Exactly what I wanted. One catch - it's a manual. "It's alright," I thought to myself "I've driven manuals before, I can do this."

Wanna know the one perk about being in a crappy economy we are now? You can get a super good deal on a new car. In, Sign, Drive, Done.

Except the drive part. Clearly I was not as talented and coordinated as I expected because I couldn't even drive the car off the lot!! Off to an industrial road we go and about an hour later and a gazillion stall-outs I was only feeling a little better.

My wonderful and trustworthy father drove back to OP, there was no way I was going to make it through 5 o'clock rush hour traffic!! Dinner @ La Nop and an hour later I'm back at it in my partents neighborhood just trying to start the darn thing. After a few frustrating stall-outs I was reflecting for a moment and I literally felt 15 all over again.

Tiney @ 15 (car lessons w/ Dad part 1) "Tiney, you need to hit the breaks when making those turns. Now you're not giving it enough gas. Stop playing with the radio. Tiney, pay attention!"

Tiney @ 21 (car lessons w/ Dad part 2) "Tiney, what gear are you in? You're not giving it enough gas. Put your cell phone down, you don't have friends! Tiney, pay attention!"

Does anyone else see a pattern here?? Oh Dads, you gotta love them!

BTW, this is the new Beetle. It's name is Ringo and I love him!

lovin my Dad and STILL learning how to drive,
The Tiney Weenie

Tongue Twisters

2009-03-04T22:23:00.002-05:00

While watching "The Wedding Date" Sister and I hear this quote.

"Talk about anonymity..."

TINEY: "Dude, I love that word! I just wish I could say it right every time so I could use it more often in sentences."
MICHELLE: : "Try it..."
TINEY: "An-on-ym-ity. An-on-ym-ity. See I got it. am-om-in-ity. Oh shit."
MICHELLE: (laughing at this point) "Can you say cinnamon at this point?"
TINEY: "Yes! cin-no-nim. Wait!..."
MICHELLE (crakcing up at this point)
TINEY: "C'mon, synonym and cim-am-min are legitmate..... crap!!!"
MICHELLE: (rolling off the couch at this point) "Hahaha I'm crying!"

How many years of school did I finish again?

Gaining my composure,
Tiney Weenie

If the NY Times said it....

2009-03-03T19:28:00.002-05:00

For those of you who don't already know, I'm a psych minor. It's intriguing, truly. So when I find an article or website or something that relates to my daily discussions, I'm even more intrigued. An ongoing topic that comes up in all development classes, child psych, and perception classes is how television affects child development.

Does the TV help or hurt a child's development?

Believe it or not people have made millions of dollars off videos and programs that make your baby a "genius" or "the next Harvard grad."

News Flash people. It's not true.

There is such a thing called mirror neurons. The physiology of it is super complicated but to explain it simply, these neurons are dedicated simply to mimicking behavior. Period. So those kids who were saying "cat" "dog" "red" on the commercials learned through mimicking. Their brains haven't actually developed enough to know WHAT that is, just repetition. That's all. So save your money and relax!! Your baby could very well be the next Harvard grad, no videos necessary.

The good news is that no evidence shows that TV harms development like some have said. I'm not a mom yet, but I do know a few. And they've told me flat that the TV is their savior when it comes to some much needed "me time." So go ahead moms, TV away. And later in life when I do become a Mom, I'll feel safe while my kid is in front of the tube.

Taking note for future reference,
Tiney Weenie

Universities at their best

2009-03-03T17:15:00.006-05:00

First, read this story.

I discovered this story via status updates on Facebook.

"The Cobb County Sheriff's Office told WSB-TV Channel 2 the escapee was a prisoner of the Coffee County, TN Sheriff's Department. Police said they believe the man ran from a deputy who was escorting him when the deputy stopped at a Waffle House at Chastain and I-75 just before 4 p.m. Tuesday."

This makes me smile :) of course it's a crisis, KSU is currently on lockdown because this man invaded their campus. But the fact that while transporting such prisoner from Point A to Point B the officers decided to make a quick stop at the Waffle House truly takes the cake.

I'm not laughing AT KSU, I'm laughing WITH them.

Next, read this story.

That story is the reason I get to laugh with KSU. One year ago, UNF evacuated their campus because they mistook an art project as a bomb. Ooops :)

loving it,
The Tiney Weenie

What Are You?

2009-03-02T22:08:00.002-05:00

Consumerism was the topic on the plate today. And what a hot one it was.

The issue was branding and exactly how much control advertisers have on our everyday lives. If you ask someone "Does advertising control you?" They would probably say "No." But, after having a heated discussion with Jymez about the difference between Heinz ketchup and store brand, I realized how important brands are to people, whether they know it or not.

A fellow student of mine is a bartender, and she admitted that once while working, the keg for Miller light was empty and she served Bud light as it's temporary substitute. She claimed her customers didn't notice. I bet an avid Miller light fan would. But would the average person? If you didn't drink beer all the time, didn't have a preference, and ordered one and got the other, would you know?

I've always been a fan of brands and how they accent someone's personality. Matt with the White Hat was very annoyed when we first met me because of my incessant questions. "Starburst or Skittles?" I mean, I find those things important.

After taking a moment to think about it, look around me, and jot down in order what I saw, I made myself into a "brand."

I am a(n)....
Apple Mac
Osprey
Victoria's Secret
Target
iPhone
Express
Ford Focus
Bare Minerals
Yankee Candle
Sperry's
Blue Moon, Bud Light,
Shocktop , Sam Adams,
(the list is more avid for beer)

and those are just a few. The big question on the table is did I choose the brands or did the brands choose me?

The VALS Survey is a free survey you can take to find out your consumer personality. Take it and find out how accurate it is. I am an Experiencer/Innovator. What are you?

We're all consumers; it's not a bad thing. Embrace it-responsibly of course!

Today's Experincer/Innovator
The Tiney Weenie

Truly Ginger

2009-02-27T20:52:00.002-05:00

Today I took advantage of canceled classes and beautiful weather and decided to hit up Jax beach for a few hours of sunshine and study time : )

Being health-conscious as I am, I was sure to use plenty of SPF 30 on my super fair complexion. No skin cancer here!

It was pretty windy so I kept my hoodie on and I only stayed a few hours because I had a TON of stuff to do. When I got home later, I happened to glance in the mirror and notice something different about my face..it was pink!!

Sure enough, if you take 3 hour beach trip + SPF 30 + hoodie-shaded face + super fair Tiney = pink faced Tiney.

Only does this happen to me. I can't win.

Loving my ginger-ness,
Tiney

Birthday Month

2009-02-22T20:42:00.010-05:00

I always look forward to February for so many reasons. It marks the midway point to my spring semester, it kicks off the festivities for the spring, and most importantly it's birthday month!! By some odd chance, my friends and fam all seem to have birthdays in February, so my weekends are booked with tons of festivities and fun. As of last night, this month's birthday celebrations are now complete, so I thought I would share them.

The first birthday to kickoff Birthday Month actually isn't in February, but it counts anyways because it's so close and she's my best friend. This year for Jessica's 23rd we went to Mavericks at the Landing to partake in line dancing, mechanical bull riding, and all the fun the western bar offered to us. We did the best we could at line dancing, it's not as easy at it looks! And of course the birthday girl got on that bull!!!!

The next week was all about Sister. The two of us spent Wednesday, her actual 24th birthday, together getting her hair done, drinking coffee, tanning, and at the end we zipped off the Mellow Mushroom for drinks with our favorite people.Then on Saturday, we jammed out to the songs of Journey by a local band at Freebird.

Next it was Jymez's turn. He celebrated is 22nd birthday on Valentine's Day at Lynch's at the beaches. No one seemed to mind the fact that the day was supposed to be a day of love, we drank anyways : )

My goddaughter Dani turned 5 this year, and she celebrated with a while Hello Kitty shindig. She takes after me I think :)

Shortly after Dani's party I rushed to get ready for the SunCruz Casino boat where Shaun chose to celebrate his birthday. 4 hours of slots, craps, roulette, and all kinds of gambling fun! Some of us lost our money, some of us made some money, some of us were seasick, but I think we all had a really good time in general.

FYI you want to know what happens when people start to get seasick and need a distraction??

They make ridiculous renditions of YMCA and then someone records it.

Loving her friends and her life,
The Tiney Weenie

Last Days Are For...

2009-02-18T22:57:00.002-05:00

Today was my last shift at Express :( Totally sad I know. But when it comes down to it, its mid-semester and I need to focus on my schoolwork, I need to find an internship...and not to mention my feet are a little pissed off at me that I abuse them so.

So I finally did it. My manager today even offered to keep me on for monthly floorsets just so I could hold on to the discount. It was tempting, and for a moment I almost gave in, but I couldn't.

Last days always seem to be spent reflecting and remembering. What will I remember about working at Express? Lets see...

When someone refers to Stella, Mia, or Eva, I'll know exactly what they are talking about...
Sizing men's denim still boggles me. "32/30 or 30/32?? Wait...what?"
I know parts of mannequins people should NEVER know, and I can dress 'em like a champ.
I still can't calculate percentages in my head... "What's 20% off $29.99?" IDK whatever the register says.
I know all the words to "Take a Bow" by Rihanna due to the fact that it played at least once a week, every time I worked.
And to this day I still don't understand why that nasty customer urinated in our fitting rooms. Ewww.

All in all I'll miss that job and all the people there. We had some great times. Maybe I'll go back after all is said and done...just maybe.

Looking forward,
Tiney

Oh EXPRESS, How I've Missed You...

2009-01-27T00:25:00.004-05:00

It's been about 3 weeks since I've had a full sales shift at my second job, Express. Sure, I've been their floor-set slave and spent countless hours overnight there, but the experience is WAY different.

Let me tell you.

Express used to be part of Limited Brands, Inc. Which, you may or may not know, owns Victoria Secret. Darn, I missed out on some awesome discounts. So anyways - now their not affiliated and got the grand idea to start their own lingerie line very similar to VS. Yay for panty sales! I just discovered this recently and thought it was, by far, one of the coolest things ever. Until we had to damage out two pairs that night because an associate found them in the dressing rooms with "white marks" on them. Excitement plummeting.

My shift had just barely started today when a lady, guestimating late 20's-early 30's wearing nice work attire, walks in the doors. Not really expressing an interest in any particular item, I let her wander and, to be honest, almost forgot she was there. Later, she approaches the cash wrap with 4 of our brand new t-shirt bras in all the fun colors.

"Aren't these just great?" I say "I'm so excited we sell these now."
"Yeah, they're really soft. And I haven't owned a bra since the 8th grade - I guess I should be an adult now and buy a few."

Ummm thanks for the TMI. I didn't know people were still doing the whole "burn your bra" kick.

Oh Express, how I've missed you so. What would I do without you. I now feel really bad for all VS associates. I used to envy you. You deserve a hug, really.

Giggling,
Tiney Weenie

Still Here

2009-01-16T13:43:00.002-05:00

So the verdict is out on my foot - its not broken! Yay, no more post-operative boot!! However, I still have a slight bunion and some arthritis. The podiatrist said my joints were just "messy." Great. Let me take a moment to add them to my pre-existing conditions...chronic migraines, scoliosis, plantar fasciitis... I think I'm falling apart! I think I should let my body know that I'm only 21, it doesn't need to break down on me quite yet.

On the flip side of things, class is back in session and it's looking better than fall. My schedule is much less intense and that means I have more time to see my friends. A short lived joy it will be of course, because I was recently informed that I have to find my summer internship like NOW in order to find a good one. EEEEKKK talk about pressure. I'm suddenly super scared, and this job won't even be paying me! Oh well, Birthday Month is coming up in a matter of weeks and then shortly followed by Spring Break and I'm very much looking forward to that!. I better live it up before I become the busy-body I was last year. Ick.

I'll do my best, I promise.

Trying, as always
Tiney Weenie

Just Wait and See

2008-12-31T11:48:00.001-05:00

2009 is just around the corner. Literally, it's tomorrow. A friend of ours every December makes predictions about his friends for the upcoming year. So I decided to step back, think for a moment, and make some predictions about my crew for the '09 year.

Sister will do some incredibly dumb things. One might find this prediction slightly off key, but for her I think this is right on target. You see, Sister has spent her life doing fairly smart things. She was NEVER the girl at the party drunk beyond oblivion, awoken the next morning on the kitchen floor cluthing a bottle of pineapple rum gathering the memories from the night before through the pictures left on her digital camera. And she almost never lost her keys. Yes this is Sister's time to let loose and be dumb. She will spend her year saying the wrong things, having her blonde moments, and racking up numerous embarassing pictures. And you know what, thats OK. She deserves it!

Todd will continue to conjure up creative loopholes to marry Chelle. Clownsuit? Courthouse? You've come up with some good ones bro, you should give up now and surrender. And I'm pretty sure 09 is that year. Whatever that next step will be, its gonna happen. Chelle will resist the urge to "trade him in for a younger one" and continue to put up with his crap, because she's incredibly patient and, like his sisters, knows how to handle him the best. Take it from the lil sister Chelle, in reality he's really great.

Jessica will no longer need a life coach. It will come in an epiphany. Something will happen and she will begin her typical high-stress-freak-out mode. But this time instead of booking it to Moes for a session with her handy life coach, she will sit for a moment and the answer will come to her. For she will see that the best way to learn is to teach others. And she will be spending months teaching the kindergardners at Thunderbolt Elementary the basics of life and learning. And she thought her education stopped at UNF, silly girl :)

Caydie will probably win some sort of award for being Superwoman. She's 22, has a full-time job, an almost-5-year-old little girl, a loving husband, and a brand new house. Did I mention she got these things a little out of order and within the past few years? And she's still not stopping. In 09, she's going to try and make another baby. I'm crossing my fingers!!

Jymez will get accepted into Optometry school and move away from Florida. It could go one of two ways - Tennesee or Michigan. Tenessee Scenaraio: Jymez moves to TN, starts school, makes friends, drinks beer, football season starts. END of any standing friendships Jymez has at TN and BEGINNING of the biggest bar brawl TN has ever seen. Being the true Gator that he is, Jymez will beat down every redneck Volunteer that questions his Orange & Blue status (or at least attempt to in a drunken oblivous state) and he'll probably end up on TN's most wanted or something. Michigan Scenario: Jymez moves to MI, starts school, makes friends, drinks beer, football season starts. The difference with MI friends is that they, like the Gators, hate the Buckeyes. So together, Jymez and his fellow MI friends will bond over a common hatred and will live happily ever after. The end. Jymez, I think MI is your best option. I'm sure that somewhere in between all of this he will learn more about eyes, irises, glaucoma, and technical stuff. At the same time, he will continue to misspell simple words like "because","gawk", and "financial".

Shaun is going to shock The Entourage. What will it be? Who knows, but some decision or action or even something he said is going to knock us off our feet. You just wait and see.

Matt with the white hat will celebrate his second anniversary with his dog by making 2 more myspace albums dedicated to him. Congratulations Matt & Cash - maybe I'll send a gift. In all reallity Matt is incredibly business savvy and ever since I've met him he has thrown around ideas about how to make more money. 09 is his year. We might be in a recession - but you'll think of something Matt. My vote is for that pizza place you've mentioned once or twice. I'll come hang out on Wednesdays and drink some Blue Moons - on the house, of course, for their favorite patrons.

Happy New Year!
Tiney

Please, pay attention in school...

2008-12-23T21:01:00.003-05:00

It has recently come to my attention how important spelling skills are to the human race. Sure, everyone makes a typo now and then, flips the occasional letter or mixes up a word or two. However, sometimes these mistakes really define people.

I shake my head when driving down the road and the local farmers stand has "canaloupes" for sale. Silly rednecks, they can't pronounce their T's.

I laughed hysterically when I noticed that a friend posted her wedding photos. She had numerous pictures when her and her husband were exchanging their "vowels." What's a wedding without your A-E-I-O- & U's?

I see a bunch when I file papers at work. It's always nice when employees get "vary good" comments on their evals and such. There are "acceptions" of course, not every employee is a shinning star.

While standing in line at the UNF campus, I felt some serious irony when I noticed one spelling mistake. The administration wanted the students to be "courtouse" of others, and turn off their cell phones while standing in line. You'd expect more from a college environment...

My best guy friend Jymez is classic for making spelling mistakes. Let me remind you that he's a graduate from the University of Florida majoring in Biology and Chemistry and know all kinds of isotopes and molecules and things I'll never be able to wrap my brain around. I just want to point out that he still has the statement "...'gock' over this awesome body..." on his myspace. Way to go Jymez :)

The best by far happened to me today. While thumbing through the time off requests, one in particular caught my eye for some reason. A second glance proved me right. An associate needed a special schedule because, and I quote "I have two 'testes' on Monday." Who knew that in just two letters, you could change medical procedures into genitals....

Did I mention all of these mistakes were made by well-educated, grown adults?

Enjoying it everyday,
The Tiney Weenie

Graduation

2008-12-14T13:11:00.008-05:00

Well it finally happened, Sister finally graduated and what a (4 day) weekend it was. Well let's start from the beginning...

Friday morning....

The phone rings at 8:07 a.m. waking my somewhat-hungover self up. Seriously? My alarm isn't supposed to go off for another half hour or so. Behold it's my mother in somewhat freak-out mode asking my 20 questions...
"What time are you leaving?"
"Are we picking you up?"
"Who's getting Todd?"
"Who has the tickets?"
"Why haven't you figured out the plans yet?"

I don't know the answers to those questions...but I do know I get to sleep for 30 more minutes and THEN deal with it.

Later that morning I have a short text convo with Dad.
"Are we picking you up?"
-"Nope"
"K."

If only both parents were so simple.

So I crawl out of bed. Toast a bagel. Jump on Michelle in her bed. And the morning gets started.
Rush out the door, swing by and pick up Todd, and zip off to UNF.

Despite the fact that Sister forgot her tassel at home, my bad driving almost killed us, and we were running late, she walked with her fellow graduates on time and with a tassel.

Friday Afternoon....

After we had lunch with the family I fought weekend traffic back to Orange Park to what I thought was a simple podiatrist appointment. I was horribly mistaken.

"I'm not sure what exactly you did to your foot. We are going to need to take some x-rays to find out more. Until then we are going to put this really inconvenient boot on your foot for a whole week. It's ugly, uncomfortable, and you're going to hate it however I feel it's necessary to prevent further injury."

...Ok so that probably wasn't a direct quote, but thats definitely how I perceived it. No joke this is the SECOND time my podiatrist has ruined a good "cute shoe night." Instead of my black leather knee-high boots, I had to settle for ONE left black flip-flop and a post-operative boot. Thanks.

Friday Night....

Boot or not the celebratory part of the evening went fairly well. Sister chose to go to Harmonious Monks to kick off the festivities. There was lots of beer, music, and dancing on the chairs. Don't worry, it's totally allowed.

Afterwards we were persuaded into going to a little post-party back in the Island. The plans kinda fell through, so we decided to go home.

"Um Sister, we can't leave yet."
-"Why?"
"I don't have any keys..."

True story. I have a bad habit of losing my keys, and it chose tonight to haunt me. Regardless, it was about 3:30am before we got back home.

The rest of the weekend went a bit more smoothly. Yesterday we had some family come up from Tampa and we had a big dinner, watched some hockey, groaned over the heisman ceremony, and had a really nice bonfire. Oh, I can't forget the homemade limoncello - good stuff :). Oh, and I found out this morning that my keys were under a pair of shoes at our friends place. Random, but not shocking for me at all.

Hanging out in my post-operative boot,
The Tiney Weenie

Not your traditional holiday...

2008-11-28T12:02:00.003-05:00

Pre-Thanksgiving rush
Ghiradelli brownies baked in half the time. Deliciousness.
upsetting Sister because the brownies were essentially not for her.
too bad.
knocking out a good 8 1/2 hours @ the Pub
Kim's Birthday, Zoso && some delicious Blue Moon's
"Sister, we're gonna have to make a stop, I'm gonna need some Cherry Bawls."
running into my manager at a little post-concert drinking.
"Is this considered inappropriate?"
Cherry Bawls kicks in.
Beer pong and post-party til eeaaarrrrlly morning.

Thanksgiving Day.
hangovers are evident for Sister && I.
Macy's Day parade - for about a minute.
Starbucks & a roadtrip to visit Mom at work.
"I'm so glad the crazy wing isn't next to 5 Center anymore."
espresso has nothing compared to my now evident exhaustion.
Driving all over Jax because my hungover butt missed a turn.
"Sister, I'm pretty sure I'm about dead right now..."
just a little Roomie naptime ... for about 3 hours.
still kinda hungover. ick.
indulging in hours with the DVR.
arguing over which is better - The Notebook or Sex and the City.
i still support my case.
off to bed early - Express @@ 6am for Black Friday

Before you guys think that me and Sister are wreckless alcoholics with no family love or concern for holiday traditions- our Thanksgiving is being celebrated with our lovely family on Saturday. We were just taking advantage of a day off ... and free shots :)

Happy Thanksgiving,
The Tiney Weenie

just a little update...

2008-11-23T13:49:00.002-05:00

It has been a whirlwind of crazy here in Jax. To start, the weather dropped about 20 degrees suddenly last week, bringing in all the perks that cold weather has to offer - like keeping us Floridians from enjoying our outside activities and of course bringing in the germs. De and I have been incessantly sick for the past two weeks and we just can't seem to shake it! Sister is lucky, she hasn't picked up on it yet. Clearly I need her immunity secrets.

Illness couldn't come at a worse time as exam week is nearing. I like how schools strive to make exam week one condensed week of full-on crammed education, when in reality it's a little over two weeks of full on stress and torture. Don't worry, I've already bought a pack of energy drinks for the occasion. Not only are there exams to be taken, but there are 10-page papers to write, Media Kits to put together, 30-minute presentations that need to be completed, full PR campaigns to finish up, and whatever law stuff De has to do. It's a lot...I just don't know the gritty details as well as I know the PR track. Our household is already feeling the brunt of it. My weekend was spent at home with Media Law and some antibiotics. And today me and De have locked ourselves in our rooms studying. Yipee.

Thanksgiving is next week, and normally this is a nice little break right before exams for all of us to breathe, relax, and enjoy our families. Scratch that - it's 2008 and we're seniors now. Besides the oh-so fufilling school work we have to complete, Sister and I have jobs that demand our time around the holidays. The day before Thanksgiving is a madhouse at the Pub, who knew so many people waited until the last minuted to buy turkeys. Thankfully the stores are closed Thanksgiving day, we get at least ONE day off this week :) . Then comes Black Friday. Come visit me at Express early that morning, I'll be the one folding the denim, ringing customers, and pulling apart the catfights at 6 am. Gosh, I miss that place.

It's ok though, working almost 40 hours and trying to pass Media Law isn't THAT bad. It will be worth it in two weeks when it is finally DONE! Sister graduates Dec. 12 and we are so ready to party! I'm in need of some good social interaction -- and a beer -- to lift myself out of this student slump.

Survivng until then,
Tiney

I'll Be Better At This Later...

2008-11-16T22:36:00.002-05:00

I'm starting to think that I'd be a better college student once I graduate. I find it kind of crappy that I'm a full-fledged, working student and I don't get to enjoy the "college student" things that others do. I'm genuinely curious as to how others do it, managing their time for class, work, and all that being a twenty-something has to offer. Maybe they don't work, maybe they don't study, or maybe they don't sleep. I don't know their secrets, but I want to.

This semester is kind of intense, this month especially. Suddenly it's November it's final-paper-this and group-project-that. Not to mention my professors are set on having finals early. Can I get a break please?!

Meanwhile on the social side of things, the world is booming with things to do and I can't do any of them. You guys are going to the game this weekend? A social? A party? A concert? Yeah sure, you can count me in, I'll be there! ...when I graduate.

Feeling a little bogged down,
Tiney

phantom of the opera

2008-10-13T22:28:00.003-04:00

I appreciate music, I really do. The Communication majors at UNF have to share Building 45, the Arts and Science building, with the fine arts majors. Fortunately for us, that includes the music majors. Fortunately for us, some of our classrooms are mixed on the floors. Fortunately, I have a media law midterm today. Fortunately, there is an event going on in the Lazarra performance hall and can be heard throughout the whole first floor. Fortunately there are dozens of practice rooms upstairs full of practicing horns and (really bad) opera singers. Unfortunately, no one has tomatoes to throw at her and shut her up.

loving our music majors,
Tiney Weenie

Beautiful Disaster

2008-10-11T19:43:00.003-04:00

Having a broken fridge sucks big ones. Really.
But do you know what the beauty of a broken refrigerator is?

I finally got to clean out all that crap that really needed thrown away.
Especially 3 bottles of ketchup...just not necessary.
I discovered some wine bottles that need to be finished off. Gotta take care of that!
It brought to my attention that I don't drink the fantastic variety of beer (or liquor for that matter) that the roomies and I have in stock.
And it finally gave me a reason to bake those delicious mini brownies that I bought.
Can't let chocolate go bad.

Enjoying her treats,
Tiney

Wednesdays...

2008-10-09T00:26:00.002-04:00

Wednesdays are for....
-waking up early
-being here for the fridge repair guy
-booking it to class
-fighting for parking, settling for lot 18
-a PR Writing exam
-editing Jymez's essay
-a Crisis Communication exam
-driving through the rain - gotta love Fla
-rushing off to a very slow Express
-staying 2 hours late to change the marketing for the Columbus day sale
-helping a friend in a time of need, no matter how late

Oh how I love Wednesdays...

Fading fast,
Tiney

The Verdict

2008-09-26T21:34:00.003-04:00

Instead of driving 30 minutes - I drive 5
Instead of crowded - I have spacious
Instead of old and dirty - I have new and pretty
Instead of the smell of melons - I have the smell of flowers
Instead of treading down aisle 13 - I tread up and down stairs
Instead of pristine and organized - I have sloppy and disarray
Instead of 180 familiar faces - I have 130 strange ones

I love it : )

Jumping in,
The Tiney Weenie

that's just not "fair"

2008-09-19T22:34:00.002-04:00

I'm fully aware I am fair skinned. I have red hair, blue eyes, freckles, and light skin. I got it - I'm a ginger. You can always tell when I'm blushing, my skin turns pink when I get hot, and I'll never be bronze - SPF 30 rules my world. The subject typically gets thrown into the spotlight during particular events, makeup shopping being one of them.

Oh the joys.

So I was in Ulta Beauty today picking up a few Bare Minerals products that I was running low on. Ulta, like many other high-end cosmetic stores, has sales clerks at each counter to assist you in getting the colors and products you need. Here we go...

-"Can I help you?"
"Yeah, I need some more concealer. I think it's called bisque or something."
-"Honey bisque, summer bisque, dark bisque, or just the bisque?"
"Um, the light one?"
-"Really? Are you sure?"
At this point, I'm wondering if this girl is retarded. Clearly she can see my skintone. Clearly she is not blind. "Honey" and "dark" just aren't a good match.
"Really. Oh and I also need some more foundation, in the Fair shade."
-"Fair? Wow, you really are pale."

Thanks for pointing out the obvious, Miss Olive-Complexion-Clerk with your dark brunette hair. In case you didn't notice, I'm a red. And the term is not "pale" its "fair. At least my skin isn't compared to a smelly fruit used to make oil and garnish martinis.

Sticking up for gingers, and other "fairs", everywhere,
Tiney

It's About Time

2008-09-18T16:50:00.003-04:00

click. send. score.

It is a rare opportunity that one would get the chance to send their own permanent transfer information via email, and let me tell you I thoroughly enjoyed it. As of Saturday, September 27th I will be the Administrative Coordinator at 128 - in Publix talk that means I'll be working at the Oakleaf store right by my house.

I'm tickled, I really am. I get to meet a slew of new associates, a new range of customers, and I get to reunite with some old friends.

But there are some things I'm definitely going to miss about 502. I'll miss Manny's daily greetings, Steve's intellectual conversations, and Mrs. Jenny's hugs - oh and her strawberry bread. I'll miss the smells. Which sounds weird but my office always smelled like melons in the morning and I kinda liked that. I'll miss opening the store with Alex on Saturday mornings, eating breakfast treats and delaying my payroll as much as possible so I could hangout in the office with him. These people are like my second family - all 180 of them, and I know so much about them. Birthdays, children, granchildren, vacation spots, spouses, the works. I've been there through pregnancies, graduations, weddings, & promotions and I've watched dozens of the "little ones" turn the big 1-8, some of which I even hired.

I'm sure my new store will have similar experiences, I just have to give it a chance. It's time to get personal 128!

Looking forward,
The Tiney Weenie

I'm Sorry But...

2008-09-11T19:17:00.004-04:00

Today my ethics were questioned, my self-esteem was slightly bruised, and my sanity was pushed within inches of its limits.

Fists were up, I was ready to fight.

Corner number 1 - The almighty Tiney, sticking up for all that is right and good in this world, and Publix of course.

Corner number 2 - crazy, insane department manager. With some ally help from the asst. department manager.

Match 1: Loss Prevention. So the Loss Prevention specialist from Corporate came into today to inspect our store to make sure everything was running smoothly. No biggie, as long as the drawers are locked, money is secure, etc. Being the A/C, she asked me for a few favors, one of them being to circle any inactive associates off a list of names. Sure, no big deal. So I circled any transferred/resigned associates off the order gun and cashier number list. In walks crazy, insane department manager, inquiring about my encounter with the Loss Prevention lady.

"Oh, she just wanted me to circle the inactive associates off some lists."
-"The cashier list?"
"...Ya"
-"Who did you find, how many?"
"Well, I mean about 7 or so associates like ...(listing associates),"
-"I really wish you had not done that. I told her those lists were fine"
"Those associates haven't worked here in months and she asked me to do it. What was I supposed to do, tell her no -or lie?"
...getting huffy at this point...-"Whatever it's fine now I guess."

Place B-word adjective here.

Main Event: The Cabinet Crusade. It has been recently brought to my attention that my uniform cabinet blocks the mini door window in my office, thus blocking the view of my desk from the outside. My b, didn't think about that when feng shui-ing my office. So I started keeping the door open when I was working at my desk. Simple solution, no shopping, $$, or moving involved. Not good enough apparantly - it still has to go. Talked to the store manager, he says the cabinet can stay it's no big deal. Second simple solution? Not so much. This is where the crazed tantrum takes place full of slammed keyboards, awkward bystanders, and a lot of yelling. No exaggerations, she must have learned it from her grandkids. Place C-word adjective here, we've graduated the vulgar language to the next level. 15 minutes go by and I'm staring at the ceiling, maintaining my cool and pseudo listening as I've heard most of it before. Seriously, where do you get your info from, Staff Gossip Weekly? Thankfully the store manager comes in at the perfect time and, in so many words, says Tiney's doing fine, you're being crazy, let's all be friends.

And Tiney is the winner! With ally support from her store manager, of course.

A few awkward hours go by as I still have more of my shift left, and quite a few apologies fly my way for the "blow up" that occured earlier.

Fine, I'll take your fake apology with a fake acceptence. We can pretend that everything is better now and it's all smiles, cupcakes, and sunshine.

I'm sorry but, in reality you're psychotic.

Continuing to try,
Tiney

P.S. I was so consumed with the mess earlier I didn't get to enjoy the upside of my day. The kids from the YMCA wrote me thank you cards for the tour I gave them about a month ago. Needless to say they are now hanging in my office, at least to remind me that some people still appreciate me : ) I'm sorry to those who said it was a waste of payroll - transfer the time accordingly.

Will There Ever Be A Day...

2008-09-10T11:30:00.003-04:00

My sister and I have worked for the same company since - well basically since we've held jobs. Oh, the lovely years spent at Publix. We've worked in various stores, worked for hundreds of different managers, watched about a dozen of our friends move up the line, and dealt with thousands of off-the-wall employees. Not to mention the millions of daily customers we greet. By now, the two of us have moved up and out and no longer work in the same stores. I'm the Administrative Coordinator in Fleming Island, doing personnel stuff and payroll and dealing with an absolutely psychotic department manager. And she is Customer Service in Middleburg, running the front end and helping customers and dealing with a retarded assistant department manager. Every night the same thing happens. Sister works late, getting home around 11, while I work the mornings, so I'm already home. She'll start making her late night dinner, and we chat. Oh, our Publix chatter. They say it's not healthy to take your work home with you - clearly that doesn't apply to us. Our conversations typically go something like this...

T-"My manager was absolutely ridiculous today. She told me to get rid of the cabinet in my office because she couldn't SEE me at my desk through the door window when she walked by. This is, of course, after she went through my mailbox, took out the memos from the store manager and responded to them before I even read them. Psycho much?"

M-"That's ok. My manager is leaving us post-it notes on the Lotto machine reminding us to balance it 5 times a day. And taping e-mails on the back office door. And she sent all my cashiers and baggers home early leaving me short handed the rest of the night. Oh, and she's writing 'nasty grams' about all the wrong stuff we are doing and putting them in our personnel files."

T-"Dude- I bet your A/C is throwing them away, that's ridiculous! The CSTL at my store is simply retarded. She tried to type a memo to the cashiers warning them about coupon fraud. Now Sister, spell exceptions for me."

M-"E-x-c-e-p-t-i-o-n-s."

T-"Yeah, try 'No a-c-c-e-p-t-i-o-n-s.' Idiot."

M-"Nice. Yeah, at my store, the assistant wants to be sure that 'acuracy' is maintained at all times in the Lotto til. Nice one."

T-"Hey Sister, do you think there will ever be a day when we come home and don't have stories to tell?"

M-"Not as long as we're at Publix."

Trying to keep things "a pleasure,"
Tiney Weenie

Work

2008-09-03T01:12:00.003-04:00

6:45 am - Alarm goes off - Tiney is up.

Off to Publix I go. 8:30am - I'm there
About 1/4 of the store didn't punch in - Wasn't time clock punching 101 part of your curriculum?
File evaluations.
Run a register.
"What do you mean you didn't get the transfer request? I emailed it to you twice! No, I will not send it again, check your friggin' inbox."
File some more.
Open a register again.
"Sure I'll be glad to send you her information now. I'm glad you and your store manager found the transfer request last week, approved it, and never called. Thanks for all you do!" Genius.

zip home. quick bite. change clothes. Round 2.

Off to Express. 5:00pm - I'm there.
"Can I help you find anything?" NO. "Do you need help finding your size?" NO.
Fine, didn't really want to help you anyways.
These are too long "Here, try some in short." These are too short ... Well get yourself a new pair of legs darling!
Some marketing bimbo at corporate emails up and says signs need to changed by opening tomorrow.
Not bad - except that 33 men's 1MX dress shirts need to be folded.
About 5 min. to refold a shirt correctly x 33 shirts - you do the math.
12:04am - finally punch out.
Too late, still locked in the mall. SECURITY!

1:39am - still going, but fading fast.

Clearly I'm out of my mind to have two jobs and be a student.
Just another day, full of aching feet and throbbing back pain.

Doing it again tomorrow,
Tiney

Oh, How I Love My House

2008-08-31T15:50:00.004-04:00

Have you ever heard the saying "Whatever can go wrong, will go wrong"? If you are a new home owner, you know this saying well. It seems that when you own a house, when one thing breaks something else wants to at the same time. It's Murphy's law at it's finest. And in my house this event occurs frequently, from slab leaks to broken water heaters to sometimes no A/C. No bueno. Granted we've been in this house for 3 years and we're really blessed, it is just frustrating. Once, we had a slab leak. While trying to fix the slab leak, the fix-it guys break the water heater. Nice. Ok, so the house needs re-piped or something for the slab leak. We're told the new pipes aren't copper and the house needs to be grounded so when lightning strikes our electronics don't fry. Alright, fine. The handy fix-it guys put the grounding pipe right through our cable line. Seriously. Could anything else go wrong?

I wake up this morning to a very still and stale room. Ick. My ceiling fan is not spinning and I'm trying to decide which roomie to yell at first for coming in my room and turning off my fan. I look at my iHome and the screen is not it's usual bright blue color. Great, the power is out - good thing I didn't need an alarm. I go to the bathroom and flip the light switch, remembering that those are broken too, brand new bulbs and all. Good thing it's a sunny day in the state of Florida! I see a note on the mirror from De, typical as we frequent the post-it conversations, stating:

"Hey Tiney! Power is out in my room only, for some reason! Matt will over this morning to
bring the mini fridge for us. Text me if you need me! XOXO Dee"

Sorry Dee, you and I are in the same boat.

Every time the Roomies try to show their social competency by having a group of friends over, something breaks. And this weekend is my lucky weekend. Of course Sister and Dee have to work this morning until 4, so here I am all day cleaning my house with the broken lights, no power in two of the bedrooms, and a soggy yard thanks to Hurricane Fay. Great. Magically I manage to clean the house, switch the fridges, do some laundry, buy the food, chat with Sister about her day at work, and prepare the backyard just in time for the first guests. Time for a beer...

Sippin' a Blue Moon,
Tiney

So, Here I Am!

2008-08-31T10:53:00.003-04:00

So I'm pretty new to this blog thing, at least on a website like this. But I figured, why not? If people want to read about what's going on in my world, then I'll deliver! So just a little intro about me/clarification about my blog. I'm a 21-year-old student at the University of North Florida here in Jacksonville majoring in Public Relations and minoring in Psychology. Weird, I know. I live with my sister Michelle, also a PR student @ UNF, in a house in Jax with our roommate Deanna who is a student at Florida Coastal Law. So basically we are a bunch of college girls trying to deal in this crazy world! There are two Michelle's in my life, one of course being my sister and the other is my brother's long term girlfriend, whom we love! So from this point forward, it is just Sister and Michelle to avoid confusion : ) . And then of course there is Todd and Shaun. Todd is my brother and Shaun is my pseudo brother as he's been right by Todd's side since practically day 1 in the Air Force. That's pretty much the core of the people in my life, I'll introduce more as we go. So that's it, here I am!