Third Time's the Charm

What am I thankful for this Thanksgiving?

Well, first I'm thankful for my family. Second, science. Third, my culinary skills.

My mom was recently diagnosed with cancer for the third time - the second time this year. We have 100% confidence that she will pull through and beat melanoma for the third time. Third time's a charm, right? Unfortunately this means we will all be spending this Thanksgiving at the Massey Cancer Center at MCV. Regardless, I am thankful that we can all spend the holiday together, hospital or not.

This also means I am stepping up to make Thanksgiving dinner this year. I'm not sure if I am more nervous or excited. I love to cook but this is my first time making a turkey. Even if I burn it or leave an important ingredient out, my family will still forgive me and tell me it's the best turkey they've ever had. Being the perfectionist that I am, I want this to smell and taste just like my mom's Thanksgiving dinner that we know and love.

So where does science fit in? I'm thankful for the tremendous developments in science and technology that allow for treatment and remission. While we're all hoping never to have to set foot in Massey Cancer Center again, I'm just thankful science has bought us all more time, and optimistic that this will be the final surgery.

I hear that life never throws more at you than you can handle, which is why I'm ready to make a Thanksgiving dinner we'll always remember.

The Importance of a Handshake

Everyone knows actions speak louder than words, so when we're meeting someone for the first time, it's important to make sure your actions are reinforcing your words; i.e., the handshake.

I know too many people my age who give the wimpiest, bones-fall-apart-in-your-hand handshake. If you want to convey insecurity and uncertainty, then you know what to do. Think about it, is this how you really want to portray yourself to others? You never know who's hand you're shaking. This person could be your next boss.

With that said, I always give a good, firm, structured handshake. It screams confidence and a firm handshake from a female will always be remembered. If you want to further analyze, it shows that you're not afraid to put yourself out there and take initiative. A handshake can mean a lot of things but should never exude your insecurities.

I recently shook a guy's hand and he said, "Wow that's quite a firm handshake." I get this comment often from males. Don't worry, guys, I'm not crushing your bones, I'm just making sure my hand holds its structure. Anyways, this guy follows his comment with, "It just means you're making up for something." Insult me if you will, but if a firm handshake means I'm making up for something, what does it say about you?

Knack for Writing

I started my college career working on a degree in Mechanical Engineering and after the first semester in the program, I knew immediately this was not a career for me. Since I am not the type of person who just gives up, I continued my studies for a few more semesters. After two and a half years, I had finally had enough and then realized that I was back at square one: what was I going to do now?

I spent the spring semester at community college taking general classes and some that interested me, one of which was Electronic Graphic Design. Having taken a graphic design class in high school, I decided this could be fun. My professor assigned us several projects, a few of which were advertisements. By the end of the semester, I realized that this was the career for me.

I enrolled in the Mass Communications program back at VCU and started the program that summer. I worked my way through the two year pre-major courses in two semesters and finally started on the courses that dealt with the rest of my life. I studied design, copywriting and media planning.

With various options available to one seeking a degree in Creative Advertising, I was almost positive I wanted to pursue a career as an Art Director. Then I took copywriting. I always had a knack for writing, though I had never enjoyed writing papers and essays because they were so formal and complex. I like to believe that I think and speak in a simple way, and when I discovered copywriting, I finally understood my place in the world.

Having graduated about two months ago, I have yet to submit my résumé, cover letter and samples to potential employers, but I'm enthusiastic about the job search.

Every Job has its Challenges

I believe one of the worst jobs in the world is waitressing, mostly for the fact that someone else is determining your pay. On the other hand, waitressing can be a very rewarding job, but not so much for your feet.

There are times when I believe that people are too harsh on their servers for reasons beyond their control, i.e. when the cooks screw up your order. In our defense, we cannot monitor everything that goes out to the tables, but we do try. We try to take care of everything, but that's also the upside to good teamwork.

I have been waiting tables for almost three years, give or take some time. While I enjoy the social aspect of the job and the never-ending work helps the time pass, I really am starting to develop a negative relationship with my evening job. I realize that most people have never worked in a restaurant and fail to realize the dynamics of a restaurant. They often seem to forget who is preparing their food. Of course there are times when servers screw up and put the order in wrong, but if something is overcooked or undercooked, it is clearly not the server's fault. While servers have to deal with the customer and practically lay at their feet and beg them for forgiveness, why can't they get a little leniency at the end of the night?

To make your dining experience more pleasant, here are a few tips for the tipper:
- Servers, like the rest of the working world, have bad days too.
- Verbal tips do not help pay the bills.
- It is not necessary to yell at your server. We are perfectly capable of understanding your indoor voice and are more willing to fix the problem when you cooperate.
- We don't ignore you, so we would appreciate acknowledgment in return when we greet you and those you are with.
- You are not our only table, so plan ahead and try to avoid asking for something different every time we approach you.

Grocery Store Madness

For me, one of the most irritating places on Earth is the grocery store. Or as some woman in line with me at Wal-Mart once called it, the food store. I don't like going grocery shopping, and I especially despise having to drag it all home with me when I am done. But the buck doesn't stop there. I have to put it all away when I get home, which in our apartment, is another whole project in itself.

The main reason I don't like the grocery store is the unintelligible setup. Yesterday, I walked the length of Kroger three times looking for breadcrumbs. Any logical person would think to look in the "Baking Needs" aisle, where they have oils and spices. Why else would you need breadcrumbs? You certainly don't just eat dinner with a side of breadcrumbs. They are just about as important as pepper, so do explain to me the logic in putting them in the pasta and spaghetti sauce aisle?

I'm not sure about the other Krogers lurking around this city but I don't understand why they need to separate things like deodorant, makeup and shampoo from band-aids and Ibuprofen. So in addition to the pacing for breadcrumbs, I scoured the wrong section again just to find the deodorant. The Kroger near me has an entire section at the front of the store dedicated to hygiene but you can't find deodorant there. Nope, it is secretly lodged in it's own aisle between "Household Needs" and "Cereals."

While I complain about the misplacement of items in the grocery store, I am thankful that they provide you with shopping carts while you try to live in the mind of a stocker and wonder where you would be if you were breadcrumbs. I believe the person who invented shopping carts was really thinking about those people like me who just get sore and frustrated from carrying everything you're going to eat for a week. I'm not sure I would ever go grocery shopping if all I had was a basket. After several aisle races, things like milk get heavy.

Which brings me to my next favorite part about grocery stores: the parking lot. If you're going to use a cart, think about how much energy you just saved from having to carry everything. So just use a bit of that saved energy and put the cart back where it belongs. Do not push it into that parking spot I'm about to pull into, yes, you who thinks I'm not watching. Do it and I just might go inside and relocate some basic items for you, so you get to spend your next shopping trip running all over the store.

Back in Black...and Gold

Last month I graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University with a Bachelor's in Mass Communications and it got me wondering...why am I not communicating? So here's my solution: a blog.

I kept a blog during my internship/travels/adventures in Switzerland. I really do miss entertaining my family and friends. This time I want to entertain everyone because I like relating to people and making them laugh. So here's my blog, enjoy.