Job hunting

Aloha!


I need to figure out what to do after this semester ends. Since this is my final semester of undergraduate studies, I'll be graduating around May next year (assuming I don't fail two or more of my classes here). And then what? Honours? Master's? Master's of Education? I know for certain that if I do decide to continue studying (which I probably will) it will take place after at least a six-month hiatus. Because four years out of a minimum three was just too much.

A negative blanketed by positives

...is still a negative.

Aloha!


Unfortunately I didn't get this job that I really wanted and am perfectly suited for. Here's how it went down:

Colour me overwhelmed

Aloha!

So I've moved out of the hostel and into my... Apartment? Unit? I don't know what to call it. I spent the past few days really looking forward to this - to finally unpacking all of my luggage and really settling in. And when it finally happened, BOOM, all my unpreparedness hit me like a big yellow school bus.

At the risk of sounding cliché, it all happened so fast. One minute I'm in a cab learning about how the driver's old roommate mixed paint in the driver's rice cooker, and the next minute I'm thrust in this overwhelmingly thick haze of independence. I want my mother.

--Flashback--

I am at the post office for the second time in less than a week. Again I find myself mailing a cheque, to the same address as before. This time though, I mail it to the entirely wrong zip code causing mayhem within the postal services, inconvenience for the recipient and general lolness for the sender.

--End flashback--

As it turns out, that second cheque did arrive safely at its intended destination. And by the looks of things, it wasn't even necessary - the money was credited towards next month's rent. Awesome.

First order of business: find room.

My room is on level 15 (of a possible 17) and at the end of the hallway. It is conveniently far from the elevator, meaning I won't hear a "ding" every time someone goes down. Poor Fumie - one of the Japanese girls I met the other day at MIX orientation - has to suffer that pain.

Second order of business: meet roommate.

Brian (I totally forgot his name) is from Maui and is studying at Kapi'olani Community Center. His girlfriend Nikki is a cheerleader at my uni. They both seem nice and so far we've gotten along well. Hopefully he wasn't being serious when he suggested I buy alcohol for them. I'm not used to 21 being the legal age to drink. It seems like such a foreign thing.

Third order of business: purchase sheets.

I spent a ridiculously long time at Sears looking for sheets and towels. It was the most confusing hour and a half of my life. What the heck is a "fitted sheet"? A "flat sheet"? A "sham"? "Comforter"? This is the stuff I need my mother around for. I seriously wanted to cry in the middle of the store.

Next: find out exactly what I just bought.

Fail. A fitted sheet, as it turns out, is the thing that wraps around the mattress. I bought a pack that includes one of those, plus a flat sheet and a pillowcase. So now all I have to sandwich myself between are the top and bottom sheets. I'm counting on the weather not getting too cold while I'm here. It's been good so far. *touches wood*.

Finally: find out which keys open which doors.

I have a room key, a laundry key, a "Fob" key, and tomorrow I will receive my mailbox key. One thing I couldn’t figure out was the Fob key. It is an electronic swipe key shaped a little like a guitar plectrum, used to open the entrance doors and access the elevator. I am at long last learning to ask for help :)

I’m going to stop now, particularly because I need some rest. Tomorrow I’ll pass by the Waikiki Aquarium and see if I can get a job there. Technically, since it is run by my university, I can work there if they have a job for me. Fingers crossed.

Mahalo!

Yogurtland

Aloha!

I normally try to post just one new blog entry per day, but you guys deserve to know about this wonderful, magical place known as Yogurtland.

I am really considering getting a part-time job here!

It's like the yogurt version of EasyWay. Seriously!

Step 1: choose your yogurt

Step 2: add your toppings

Step 3: weigh and pay

I, being completely new to this concept, only managed to squeeze out a strawberry yogurt with mixed jelly topping. Next time I'll start with mixed fruits, then add the yogurt, and top off with something new... Oh, the possibilities! Step 3 was the funniest:

"Would you like to have it here, or take away?"

*Unnecessary delay* "Take away please"

"And would you like a cover for it?"

"Um, yeah... Thanks!"

"How about some ice - would you like me to put it in a bag of ice for you?"

*Another unnecessary pause* "Sure!"

It's yummy, yeah, but next time I'm going ALL OUT.

Would you like some yogurt with your bag of ice?

I've had a taste of it, but since I ate my Souper Meal already (which I was originally intending to have for dinner), I'm saving the rest of this beast for later. What I'll do with all the ice, I don't quite know.

Mahalo!