A New Job

So I've finally received a new job! Bye bye retail...Hello career world!

I was so nervous and excited once I got confirmation that the manager I met with wanted to hire me. I spent hours scouring the internet for tips and tricks to getting/adjusting to a new job, what to say or don't say, wear or don't wear, and so on. I asked multiple friends, colleagues and coworkers advice on starting a new job. I want to succeed and do the best I can.

My first week was purely training, and I think at this point I'm settling in well. Everyone I've encountered thus far in the company has been really nice, everyone seems to get along well. It appears to be a great work environment, with just the right balance of fun and work. They also did their own 'Harlem Shake' video during my first week there...which you can watch here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSWbgoPy53Y

I'm currently in my third week at Positive Promotions, which is a company that creates products for marketing/promotional/recognition purposes. Customers can have imprints of images and/or text on any product to help in the display of whatever company or organization they're representing.

I am the new proofreader! So hooray for my English degree being put to work! Now, it's not publishing or media, so I'm not proofing/editing manuscripts or news stories, but it's a start. It's a step in the right direction. I'm looking forward to succeeding and establishing myself here, and gaining as much experience and knowledge as I can. I really like my new job so far, and there is room for growth, which is always a good thing. Maybe in a few years I can try and get into the type of proofreading I want to do (assuming the publishing industry still exists. oh please please do). And hopefully by the time I'm in my 30's, I'll be an editor.




I'm thinking of also promoting myself as a proofreader more. Gain some freelance experience. Maybe get a website going, or at the very least advertise on Craigslist or Facebook. Back in January/February I proofread/lightly edited a novel that a former coworker wrote and I'm constantly proofreading my boyfriend's papers and other assignments while he's still in school. When I was still in school, I often helped other classmates and proofread their work. When I had my internship at Epiphany Magazine, my editor told me I have a natural eye for proofreading. On my own will, I've also read a few different books regarding proofreading and editing to help refresh and enhance my skills. I read a lot in general, so I'm confident in my abilities to proof/edit.

But, we shall see....in the meantime, I'm both really happy and relieved that I have a job where I can utilize my degree. It really does pay off to just keep plugging away, just keep sending resumes out and trying to make contacts. It takes time, a lot of time, but if you don't give up, something will come your way. Someone will give you a chance. Eventually.

Author Spotlight: John Green

So I've read two of John Green's novels, and I highly recommend both of them! If you're a big YouTube user and really into video blogs, you may know him from that. He was/is a "vlogger" before he became a NY Times Best Selling Author. His first novel, Looking for Alaska (2005) was inspired by his time at a boarding school in Alabama.

Looking for Alaska is about this boy who seeks a "great perhaps". The boy (our narrator), Miles Halter (nicknamed Pudge), is an outcast and lacks a social life at home in Florida. So he goes to attend a boarding school in Alabama. He wants a fresh start, and he gets it, along with some much needed close friends. Miles is fascinated by last words, he's read a lot of biographies of famous or historical figures, and memorized nearly all of their last words. He falls for this girl Alaska, who in her own strange and mysterious ways teaches him a lot about life.

When I read the back cover, I assumed that this would be about a boy who falls for a girl who then goes missing and then try to find her. But that was not the case. Something much more intense happens.  With gripping emotions and pensive thoughts, you get sucked in and really question life or feel relieved that someone else has thought or asked the same questions as you have at one time or another. Looking for Alaska makes readers look for a lot.

John Green's second novel, which I read before Looking for Alaska, was great! I mean, I laughed, I cried. It seriously should be made into a movie. (I really hope someone makes a film adaptation!) The Fault in Our Stars (2012) is told from the perspective of a young woman, and Green hit the nail on the head. I can say as a 20-something woman I felt really connected to Hazel.

Hazel, the narrator, is a 16 year old cancer patient who is forced to attend a support group. At support group, she meets Augustus, who is a 17 year old patient in remission (he's also an amputee). Hazel is afraid to fall in love with Augustus, even though there's no denying their connection. She needs an oxygen tank, and knows how sick/weak she is, and she doesn't want to start something she can't finish. However, Augustus won't give up on her, he's too attracted to her. Their bond over a book, turns into friendship, which develops into a true love. We watch as they both go through good and bad, laughs and tears, and it will have you laughing and tearing too.

One of the things I loved most, is that Green didn't sugarcoat the characters' illnesses. He really showed how cancer can effect someone. The characters, like real people, have good days and bad days. Everything is not as pretty as it sometimes is made out to be. I feel that sometimes cancer is downplayed because it is so common (unfortunately) or that in movies or other mainstream media, the characters look happy all the time or if they have lost their hair  it's glorified. Cancer, depending on which type and depending on the person, can be simple or not have many effects. Or it can be brutally painful or grotesque.


Both novels were great, I finished each of them within two days. Green does a great job of developing characters that feel like real people, and the story lines take you down their paths. You share the emotions of the characters. Not many writers can create characters that connect with readers the way Green does.

The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight

"People who meet in airports are seventy-two percent more likely to fall for each other than people who meet anywhere else.....Did you know that people who meet at least three different times within a twenty-four hour period are ninety-eight percent more likely to meet again?"

-Oliver, from  The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight



So I just finished reading The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith and I adored it! I highly recommend it for any teen/young adult female who loves cute love stories. Not your typical romance novel, but one that could actually happen in real life. This novel actually reminded me of my own "love"at first sight, ironically also with a British Bloke, and on a trip.

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It was the summer after my first year of high school. I was going to be 16. My family had a cruise planned as our annual family vacation. My parents chose a short one, five days and four nights, since none of us had been on a cruise before and we weren't sure if we had "sea legs". (I definitely didn't, seeing as I was sick most of the trip) We were sailing out of Florida to the Bahamas.

The ship sat in Port Canaveral for a few hours before we were to set out to sea. We arrived early, had our bags brought to our rooms and unpacked before exploring the ship.

My dad and brother had walked ahead, I was lagging behind a bit with my mom. So far I hadn't seen anyone around my age and was quickly doubting the trip. Then from where we were, on a floor that overlooked the main entrance of the ship, I saw a boy. He had long dark hair and looked to be around my age, and my type. Sort of punk rocker looking, with dark fitted jeans and a band t-shirt on. He happened to look up at the exact moment I was looking at him. We made eye contact, and I'm pretty sure I didn't smile and just looked away as if I hadn't been staring awkwardly. When I looked again, he and his family were gone.

Later that night, I was going to go to this "teen club" on the ship while my younger brother was off at some supervised kids thing on the pool deck and my parents were grabbing drinks at one of the bars. I didn't even get in the door, the music was some awful rap stuff and I was in no way going to be surrounded by a bunch of wangsters. I had enough of those at school to deal with. Plus I was a little nervous being the only white girl in sight, especially of the punk/freak persuasion. I didn't wanna get tormented while on vacation. So I walked away and took a seat on a set of stairs. I sat for a bit, wondering where I could wander off to until it was time to check in with my parents. As I got up and began to walk I was ambushed!

This tall, slim, dark, figure had grabbed me and spun me round. I got dizzy and thought I was dreaming. "I've been looking all over for you!" said this enthusiastic voice in a British accent.
When he finally stopped spinning me and held me out at arms reach, I realized it was the boy I saw earlier in the day. "Me? How could you look for someone you don't even know?" I replied. "Ah typical American....well I saw you earlier, and thought I had to meet you" he said. I think I mustered some sort of 'hmph' or 'huh' in reply. We made our introductions, and then wandered the ship together. At some point later in the night, we were outside and staring out at the ocean all around us. The thing I won't forget most, is the moon. It was a huge full moon, and it was red! Which only happens during particular eclipses. It was beautiful, I've never seen one before, and I haven't seen one since. He kissed me while we were looking at the moon. It was sweet and straight out of a book or movie. I won't forget it.

We spent the entire trip inseparable, except when it was dinner or family time. I even began picking up on his accent. He was a vacation fling. We exchanged emails/screennames/myspace info before saying goodbye. We at least managed to get one photo together, before parting ways.

We stayed in touch immediately after the cruise, mostly through email. Then we stopped talking for a while, and we haven't seen each other since, except through pictures on Myspace and Facebook. Thanks to Facebook we're still able to communicate, even though we haven't, but it's good to know we can. Especially after our brief, special connection. Our own "love" at first sight.

Fencing

I LOVE FENCING!

Fencing changed my life. It helped me lose weight, be healthy, gain friendships, learn patience, teamwork, and hard work.

The Olympic sport that is fencing, dates wayyy back to the Middle Ages, possibly even before. It originated in Europe, with the first fencing weapon (don't say sword!), the Rapier. It was light weight, and used mostly for practicing dueling. It most closely resembles today's Foil.

Click here to read more about the history of fencing

There are three weapons; Foil, Epee, and Sabre. Each weapon has it's own set of rules and the equipment varies as well. The foil is the lightest of the three, and usually used as a beginner weapon for those new to the sport. The main target area is the chest and torso. In competitive (electrical) fencing, foil fencers wear a lame to show the target area and record touches (points) during a bout. In foil, you can only hit with the tip of the blade. There are also rules of right-of-way, which is how scoring is determined.

Sabre has a larger bell guard, and resembles more of a Calvary sword. Sabre fencers can score touches by the point, as well as by slashing. Sabre is very fast paced, and also has rules of right-of-way, but to the beginner it is difficult to see because of the speed. Sabre's target areas are from the waist up (chest, torso, arms, head). Sabre fencers too, wear a lame.

Then there is Epee, my love. Epee also has a large guard, but its shape is similar to the foil because you can only score with the point, so you don't need protection from slashing. Epee is somewhat of a free-for-all, there are no rules of right of way. You can hit anywhere on the body, from fingers to toes. And you and your opponent can hit at the same time and both receive points, unlike the other two weapons. Epee requires a lot of patience because of it's free-for-all nature.

One of the things I love most about fencing, is that it teaches you how to work on a team and as an individual. While you're a part of a team, you don't all compete at the same time like in soccer or football. You go one at a time. So it is a matter of how you do as an individual that affects your team. So you need to do well, not only for yourself, but for your team as well.

From left to right: Epee, Sabre, Foil

I started fencing my freshman year of high school, thanks to a former friend who had interest in joining the school team. She asked me to come with her to the preseason team meeting so she wouldn't be alone. I agreed to go, since I had only seen fencing on TV or in movies, thinking it'd be cool to see in person. I can't recall what the coaches and some varsity team members said during the meeting, but I was hooked. I signed up then and there.

I was a little out of shape, having not played softball or done horseback riding in a year or two. The practices were intense. The coaches didn't do cuts like other varsity teams because their practices were so vigorous that people cut themselves. I didn't think I was going to make it past the first day, but I wanted to prove something to myself, and I really wanted to get a weapon in my hand and I knew I wouldn't until after the first few weeks of conditioning.

While I stuck with it, going to practice every day, even Saturdays and Holidays, my friend who originally had the interest slacked off. She missed practices, or would show up and not participate. She didn't want to fully quit, but didn't really wanna do it either.

I was on the Junior Varsity squad my freshman year, I learned a lot. I made a lot of new friends. I lost weight and was being healthy and active. And I fell in love with the sport. I joined a club over the summer, where I practiced for two hours, twice a week, to stay in shape and get better for the next season. I continued this practice regime every summer.

My sophomore year, I learned even more, and I got my chance to enter a big tournament. It was the Brentwood Holiday Tournament. I wasn't scheduled to compete, but this older girl, Angela, who I looked up to a lot on the team because of her personality and fencing skills, pulled her groin while warming up. My coach asked me to take her place. I was so nervous but so excited. It was an individual tournament, so I didn't have the pressure of letting anyone but myself down. I didn't place in the tournament, but just participating in it fed the hungry competitive nature I had inside. It made me want to work harder and compete more.

My senior year was the most memorable year, I placed at every tournament that season, and finished with a winning record. My team as a whole placed 2nd at the County Championship. And I earned the James Nelson Memorial Award, which is given to one boy and one girl fencer every year, nominated by the coaches for their efforts on and off the strip. It's the award I'm most proud of, of all my medals, plaques, and trophies.



I went on to fence at Hunter College. Hunter is only a Division 3 school, so it's not competitive, and I didn't get any scholarship for fencing. But I didn't care, I fenced because I loved it. My freshman year I was as at my peak, picking up where I left off in high school. I placed in nearly every tournament, and had a winning record for the season. My sophomore year, I was in a bit of a slump and did fairly well. Not as well as I wanted to, being as competitive as I was. Then the summer before my junior year, I was in a bad car accident. I suffered a severe concussion, and had symptoms that lingered for over a year, and both of my knees were crushed in the car. I had constant pain, every single day. I couldn't stand or walk for long periods of time. I attempted to fence, but couldn't do it. I fenced terribly because I was in too much pain to concentrate and too much pain to practice as often as I should have. I fenced in maybe two or three meets/tournaments and had to stop. I tried again my senior year of college, but again, couldn't do more than a few meets/tournaments. It was too painful.

That's me on the right

Now, almost 4 years after my accident, I've found a new way to get involved with fencing again. I can't personally compete, my knees are still too weak (even after surgeries on both), but I am teaching others.

One of my friends is the current coach at Centereach High School, this past fall he opened a fencing club in Sachem. As of now, the club only meets once a week, but has sparked a lot of interest. There's two classes, and combined there's around 30 kids. The first session is coming to an end this week, but there's a new session starting up again next week. The kids range in age from elementary school to high school, and you can see some of them are just doing it because they're being forced to, but others love it. They are at the gym early every week, always smiling and eager to please the coaches (Anthony and myself). I love that I can be involved with the sport I love, and I love even more that I can spread/teach it to new people. I hope that this club eventually evolves into a varsity team for the school, and I also hope that one day I can be a full-time coach.

Search for Sachem Fencing Club on Facebook and Like it!

You can also contact coach Anthony Mattera at 631-438-2842 or sachemfencing@gmail.com for more information about the club.

Loud, Angry People in Public Places

Why is it that some people feel the need to freak out in public?
Why is it that you need to scream at the innocent employee for the entire store to hear?
Do you really think that by being nasty to people is going to get you anywhere?


I was in the DMV the other day when this man started yelling at the poor woman behind the counter, he was so loud the entire population turned to stare at him. It was like right after lunchtime too, so the place was packed. I mean seriously, everyone is irritated when they go to the DMV because there's always a huge wait and like 3 people working. But it's expected, so you should prepare yourself to go there.

So this man got me thinking, especially for anyone who works (or has worked) in retail I'm sure you've got your share of horror story customers. You know, the ones who get nasty at you when you don't make the rules, you just enforce them. The ones who think you don't know what you're doing, so they need to see a supervisor or manager. And then when said supervisor or manager comes over and repeats what you say, they raise their voice, curse, and draw attention to themselves from other customers/employees.

I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY PEOPLE THINK IF THEY START FLIPPING OUT THEY'LL GET WHAT THEY WANT!

It's ridiculous. There's no need to disrespect another human being because you're outside of a return policy or don't have the right paperwork, didn't give yourself enough time to run an errand (like why would you do it on your lunch break, you're already pressed for time), or whatever the reason.

I hate when people give in though. Just because they're acting like a psycho doesn't mean you should misplace your self respect. I refuse to help people like that, I don't give in to what they want. The people who do, often times just do it to get them to leave. But you know what that teaches? Nothing! So the next time the same person has an issue, they're just gonna piss and moan to get what they want.

I've never worked in a restaurant (unless you count Cold Stone Creamery when I was like 16), so I could only imagine how that can be....Then again, don't mess with people who deal with your food. (I know I don't want spit or anything worse in my dinner)

Now to be totally honest, not everyone is like this. Most people in fact are calm or understanding. It's just the few that act this way, that make me angry. It's upsetting too, when you're the one getting screamed at for just doing your job. I thought the woman at the DMV was going to cry. I mean the guy wasn't yelling at her directly, it was the DMV he was pissed off at, but she was taking the brunt of this strangers frustration.


Moral of this rant –– be more understanding and respectful of each other.
I think with technology, people are losing their sense of compassion. Everything is done through a computer or phone, we're forgetting about feelings, not our own, but that others have feelings too.

I'm an Awful Blogger

No, really I am.

I know blogs can be about anything and are different for everyone, but most people (or so I think) write consistently on their blogs. Which I obviously don't.

I don't even have a set theme, which I've noticed more popular/successful blogs have. I guess you could say mine is mostly about post college, graduating, and trying to get a job and grow up, etc. But I (want to) write about a variety of things because I have a variety of interests.

Now I still haven't kept my promise to myself to write more, and I also haven't posted any things I've previously written just to get it out there. I really need to set a reminder to myself.

That's genius! I will set a weekly reminder on my phone so I sit myself down to write. Oh the beauty of technology! Why didn't I think of this sooner...setting my phone as we speak...



More to come!



*P.S. Onward didn't get the job as they thought they would, which = no room for me. Bummer. So I've continued to keep on trucking and keep sending my resume out.*