This past week was Fiesta here in Santa Barbara. Apparently people drove in from all over to partake in all the festivities. Needless to say it made parking downtown a nightmare, and so Charles and I didn't spend much time downtown this past week. I did go out with a few of my coworkers on Saturday and there were TONS of people. All the bars were amazingly crowded and several places had outrageously high cover charges. But at least I can say I went to Fiesta this year.
The first summer session has ended, leaving Charles with a lot more free time. He's not sure what he'll do with himself; I'm not sure either. But this week, his mom is coming to visit us. I'm looking forward to seeing her and showing her all the stuff we missed from last time she visited. Even though I still have work all this week, Charles will have lots of time. And hopefully, we'll get to see a taping of 'The Price it Right' on Tuesday.
Other then that, not much is going on here. The weather is beautiful, and all is going pretty well. Hopefully it will stay that way for a while :-)
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Working on Being Social
Thank goodness the whole fire business is over. The fire near us is almost completely contained, and because of the firefighters diligence, no homes were lost in the fire. That-- and we also have reliable power.
We did have the power go down one day while I was working at the bank. That was pretty fun-- mostly because our banking skills are very limited without computers. So we helped one customer at a time, keeping everyone else locked out. So we were a little bummed that the power came back on an hour later, but it did take us a while longer to get the network up and running, so at least there was a whole 2 hours of no work in that day.
Since I'm on the subject of work, I recently passed my one year working at the bank anniversary. So Justin, our manager, got me a balloon and card (so did the other gals who started around the same time I did. We also got these spiffy little pins which we now wear constantly). So I sat down with our manager and had the 'what now' chat about my career. So, I'm hoping to soon be promoted to "senior teller" and get a raise and the whole bit. But, that means I'll be moving off of the merchant line next week. I'm a little sad to be leaving the merchants-- but hopefully it will all pay off. If not I can threaten to leave the bank.
I had to tell Justin this story; during my break one day I ran into a gentleman at the drug store next door, and he asks if I work at the bank. He then continues to say that his company is currently hiring an administrative position, and am I good with computers (I reply that I am a big fan of excel, an odd response I know, but the charts are just so cool!)? Then he asks how much I get paid. I am amazed at how rude people in this state can be. I respond that I make enough and enquire how much he's offering. "We offer $25 K starting." "Well," I say, "I make a lot more then that." "Really?" Apparently everyone thinks tellers make peanuts, "Are you the manager or something?" "No, I'm a teller!" He honestly thought we made 8 to 9 and hour! For starters, minimum wage in California is $8.50, and the guys flipping burgers at in-n-out make $10 an hour. Justin kept asking me for more details about my encounter, Why's he trying to take my employees? He offered you how much? You ran into him at the drugstore?
The morale of the story, I better get a raise!
Charles and I have made an effort to be more social, and during the summer this means mostly hanging out with my coworkers. Some, we have found, only care about drinking, but most outings are pretty fun. We've gone out bowling, clubbing, and to dinner recently. I'm proud of us. We even got to go to a special (free!) showing of Dark Knight (2 days before it came out!!) on late at night on Wednesday. Everyone we went with slept through the movie, but Charles and I enjoyed it.
We did have the power go down one day while I was working at the bank. That was pretty fun-- mostly because our banking skills are very limited without computers. So we helped one customer at a time, keeping everyone else locked out. So we were a little bummed that the power came back on an hour later, but it did take us a while longer to get the network up and running, so at least there was a whole 2 hours of no work in that day.
Since I'm on the subject of work, I recently passed my one year working at the bank anniversary. So Justin, our manager, got me a balloon and card (so did the other gals who started around the same time I did. We also got these spiffy little pins which we now wear constantly). So I sat down with our manager and had the 'what now' chat about my career. So, I'm hoping to soon be promoted to "senior teller" and get a raise and the whole bit. But, that means I'll be moving off of the merchant line next week. I'm a little sad to be leaving the merchants-- but hopefully it will all pay off. If not I can threaten to leave the bank.
I had to tell Justin this story; during my break one day I ran into a gentleman at the drug store next door, and he asks if I work at the bank. He then continues to say that his company is currently hiring an administrative position, and am I good with computers (I reply that I am a big fan of excel, an odd response I know, but the charts are just so cool!)? Then he asks how much I get paid. I am amazed at how rude people in this state can be. I respond that I make enough and enquire how much he's offering. "We offer $25 K starting." "Well," I say, "I make a lot more then that." "Really?" Apparently everyone thinks tellers make peanuts, "Are you the manager or something?" "No, I'm a teller!" He honestly thought we made 8 to 9 and hour! For starters, minimum wage in California is $8.50, and the guys flipping burgers at in-n-out make $10 an hour. Justin kept asking me for more details about my encounter, Why's he trying to take my employees? He offered you how much? You ran into him at the drugstore?
The morale of the story, I better get a raise!
Charles and I have made an effort to be more social, and during the summer this means mostly hanging out with my coworkers. Some, we have found, only care about drinking, but most outings are pretty fun. We've gone out bowling, clubbing, and to dinner recently. I'm proud of us. We even got to go to a special (free!) showing of Dark Knight (2 days before it came out!!) on late at night on Wednesday. Everyone we went with slept through the movie, but Charles and I enjoyed it.
Saturday, July 5, 2008
A Visit and Fire
I am pleases to say that all of our utilities currently work. Well, water and natural gas never let us down, but it is awfully nice to have both cable and power at the same time! -- And thus I can blog.
We had the pleasure of my parents visiting last week. I was really glad to see them, and particularly excited to show them around this beautiful town of Santa Barbara. The weather really held out for their entire stay. I was a little worried it'd get fairly cloudy, but it was perfectly sunny everyday. Even though they came down with some serious colds, we were able to fit in a few activities. Specifically, my mom I and went shopping downtown until we were both worn out. I can't usually get Charles into all the art and jewelry stores, so I likes having a different shopping buddy :-) Also, my dad and I went to see the Mission and then the History museum. The mission was a pretty impressive building-- and I didn't know that they still use it today as a church and a library. I especially enjoyed the planetarium they had at the museum, and our presenter asked my dad if he wanted to work there! Apparently it's hard to find people well versed in cosmology (I can't find anything in the night sky except for Orion).
We were all able to tour the campus, and Charles showed off his office (and the view!). I also took them to the wharf and we got to see the ocean and look at all the gift shops. I think they had a good week despite not feeling 100%.
I'm glad my parents came the week that they did, because on the 2nd, a forest fire started just up the mountain. Charles and I saw it when driving to the book store, just a little red dot on the mountain side. Since then it has grown quite a bit. Our power went out on Wednesday, and has been iffy ever since. Our cable was out all day Thursday and most of Friday. I guess I can kind of understand. At the bank on Thursday we got a call from the fire department-- our power would go off that evening since the fire was below the power lines. Needless to say-- closing the bank was exciting. The power kept hiccuping, we had to balance the vault as quickly as we could, before the power shut off. And the sky-- most afternoons the wind blows the smoke towards the coast. The sky turn a reddish brown color, and the sunlight barely gets through. The light is very yellow and big clumps of black and white ash fall from the sky. It's like an apocalypse zone. I just hope that the fire department gets this fire under control soon. Oh, and that the bank doesn't burn down; that would be nice, too.
We had the pleasure of my parents visiting last week. I was really glad to see them, and particularly excited to show them around this beautiful town of Santa Barbara. The weather really held out for their entire stay. I was a little worried it'd get fairly cloudy, but it was perfectly sunny everyday. Even though they came down with some serious colds, we were able to fit in a few activities. Specifically, my mom I and went shopping downtown until we were both worn out. I can't usually get Charles into all the art and jewelry stores, so I likes having a different shopping buddy :-) Also, my dad and I went to see the Mission and then the History museum. The mission was a pretty impressive building-- and I didn't know that they still use it today as a church and a library. I especially enjoyed the planetarium they had at the museum, and our presenter asked my dad if he wanted to work there! Apparently it's hard to find people well versed in cosmology (I can't find anything in the night sky except for Orion).
We were all able to tour the campus, and Charles showed off his office (and the view!). I also took them to the wharf and we got to see the ocean and look at all the gift shops. I think they had a good week despite not feeling 100%.
I'm glad my parents came the week that they did, because on the 2nd, a forest fire started just up the mountain. Charles and I saw it when driving to the book store, just a little red dot on the mountain side. Since then it has grown quite a bit. Our power went out on Wednesday, and has been iffy ever since. Our cable was out all day Thursday and most of Friday. I guess I can kind of understand. At the bank on Thursday we got a call from the fire department-- our power would go off that evening since the fire was below the power lines. Needless to say-- closing the bank was exciting. The power kept hiccuping, we had to balance the vault as quickly as we could, before the power shut off. And the sky-- most afternoons the wind blows the smoke towards the coast. The sky turn a reddish brown color, and the sunlight barely gets through. The light is very yellow and big clumps of black and white ash fall from the sky. It's like an apocalypse zone. I just hope that the fire department gets this fire under control soon. Oh, and that the bank doesn't burn down; that would be nice, too.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Plumbing Disasters and More
Last, week I came home to quite the surprise. Sometimes I come home to a slightly funky smell; I usually blame this on the fact that we live in college town and by a few of the frats. Usually turning on our new little fan helps. However, when I venture in I notice that the fan is sitting in a puddle. Further still, and I realize that the bathroom, half the bedroom, and the living room are flooded. And not just with water. But murky sewage water. The sink was full of of gross water which apparently had spewed everywhere at some time during the day. Even the kitty was hit. Her paws and side had water all over them, and she kept prancing through the water.
I called Charles,"Hey Honey, how's your day? Good, good. Hey-- just wanted to let you know our place is flooded. Yeah, thought I'd let you know before calling a plumber. Love you too!"
After unsuccessfully trying to reach our property manager, I called the plumber anyway. This is something on which I didn't want to wait for Hilary, the property manager, to get back to us. Thankfully roto-router works late, so we had a plumber here within 15 minutes. You know it's bad when even the plumber is amazed by the situation. He was able to remove the standing water and found the clog that started the whole ordeal. Apparently our upstairs neighbors clogged the sink and the clog was situated so that all their sewage came back up through our pipes.
And then the apartment smelled like sewage-- and only after threatening to bring in a health inspector did Hilary send a cleaning crew.
Other then that, life has been a little more mellow. I didn't get the promotion I applied for a few months back, but I do get promoted to senior teller which includes a pay raise, so I can't complain too much. Plus, the girl who did the get the position I originally applied for is really nice and easy to get along with. Since our bank failed the previous audit, we're getting audited soon, so my supervisors have been going a little crazy getting ready for that. I'm sure I'll be fine with it.
Charles is doing well. I'm so proud of him; he's receiving an award from the math department for being a great student. Only a few students get it-- so he's doing pretty well :-D He'll also receive his masters by the end of the quarter. I think everything he does is pretty cool-- but I think I'm allowed to brag about him a lot. He's great!!
My parents are visiting us later this month. I'm super excited-- I've told all my coworkers and many of my customers. We might even bring kitty to the groomer before they come so she will be presentable. I never knew white cats showed so much dirt!
I called Charles,"Hey Honey, how's your day? Good, good. Hey-- just wanted to let you know our place is flooded. Yeah, thought I'd let you know before calling a plumber. Love you too!"
After unsuccessfully trying to reach our property manager, I called the plumber anyway. This is something on which I didn't want to wait for Hilary, the property manager, to get back to us. Thankfully roto-router works late, so we had a plumber here within 15 minutes. You know it's bad when even the plumber is amazed by the situation. He was able to remove the standing water and found the clog that started the whole ordeal. Apparently our upstairs neighbors clogged the sink and the clog was situated so that all their sewage came back up through our pipes.
And then the apartment smelled like sewage-- and only after threatening to bring in a health inspector did Hilary send a cleaning crew.
Other then that, life has been a little more mellow. I didn't get the promotion I applied for a few months back, but I do get promoted to senior teller which includes a pay raise, so I can't complain too much. Plus, the girl who did the get the position I originally applied for is really nice and easy to get along with. Since our bank failed the previous audit, we're getting audited soon, so my supervisors have been going a little crazy getting ready for that. I'm sure I'll be fine with it.
Charles is doing well. I'm so proud of him; he's receiving an award from the math department for being a great student. Only a few students get it-- so he's doing pretty well :-D He'll also receive his masters by the end of the quarter. I think everything he does is pretty cool-- but I think I'm allowed to brag about him a lot. He's great!!
My parents are visiting us later this month. I'm super excited-- I've told all my coworkers and many of my customers. We might even bring kitty to the groomer before they come so she will be presentable. I never knew white cats showed so much dirt!
Monday, May 26, 2008
Memorial Day
Well, we're certainly having a productive Memorial Day. Charles and I went shopping yesterday and ended up getting a new TV stand and mattress pad. He already assembled the TV stand, but we have yet to put the TV on it. The mattress pad already made it onto the bed. It's one of the temperpedic memory foam pads. It's so soft and squishy, and it really helps with any back pain.
Just last week we celebrated out one year anniversary. It didn't feel as big as I thought it might-- but we did a few things to make it special. Charles bought me flowers. I've done my best to keep them safe from the kitty-- which means they're displayed on the highest shelf we have in the living room.
Work is going. They put a hiring freeze on our market-- which explains why I didn't get that promotion yet. Justin says he's holding the position for me, so hopefully by next quarter I'll get it. In the meantime I'm doing well in my current position. I took a week off earlier this month, and it seems that they had a hard time without me. It's nice to feel important.
Charles is doing really well with school. He only has two weeks of classes left and finals. Then he has a few weeks off before he starts his TA duties for the summer. I look forward to having him home-- it's so nice being able to come see him during my lunch break, and he gets all kinds of things done when he's home :-)
So one year down, and we're still happy and still smitten with each other. I don't think we're doing bad at all!
Just last week we celebrated out one year anniversary. It didn't feel as big as I thought it might-- but we did a few things to make it special. Charles bought me flowers. I've done my best to keep them safe from the kitty-- which means they're displayed on the highest shelf we have in the living room.
Work is going. They put a hiring freeze on our market-- which explains why I didn't get that promotion yet. Justin says he's holding the position for me, so hopefully by next quarter I'll get it. In the meantime I'm doing well in my current position. I took a week off earlier this month, and it seems that they had a hard time without me. It's nice to feel important.
Charles is doing really well with school. He only has two weeks of classes left and finals. Then he has a few weeks off before he starts his TA duties for the summer. I look forward to having him home-- it's so nice being able to come see him during my lunch break, and he gets all kinds of things done when he's home :-)
So one year down, and we're still happy and still smitten with each other. I don't think we're doing bad at all!
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
No Good News
I've had a little bit of a rough time recently. A few weeks ago I applied for a supervisor position at the bank. Every one at the branch was routing for me, so I though I had a good chance of getting the job. So I applied and interviewed. I thought it went well...
So then Justin, the assistant manager, pulls me into his office and tells me that Holly, the regional manager, recommended against me getting the promotion. She blamed it on my sales. So, Justin said they'd keep the position open and that I have a month to improve my sales. So, SELL SELL SELL!!
I think perhaps that the bank isn't promoting anyone at this point. We all thought Justin was a shoe in for manager, but he hasn't gotten the official tittle yet.
So Friday morning, I came into work super early to open the bank so that I could take off early and have the day off. And luck be it that the auditors came on Friday! So I didn't get quizzed and scrutinized like the other tellers. Very cool. However, our branch failed the audit. I like to think it's because we're operating on minimum staff and no manager. That certainly doesn't help.
Taxes were do the other day. I know this because the bank was packed with people who needed cashier checks payable to the 'united states treasury'. I didn't realize that so many people waited last minute to do their taxes. Charles did ours earlier this month. He filled out the forms all by himself-- I'm amazed he could decipher those things. So hopefully we'll get lots of money back soon.
I finally heard back from UCSB about my grad application. They said no. People seem to have a hard time grasping that since I was rejected, I can't take any classes. The reaction I most often get is, "Oh, that's too bad. But you can still take a few classes." No I can't. They don't want me. No school for Beth. :-(
So, the past week has been an overall bummer. I'm thinking I should look for a new job; I don't know. Charles just wants me to be happy. Once I recover from this double blow, I'll think about how to proceed.
So then Justin, the assistant manager, pulls me into his office and tells me that Holly, the regional manager, recommended against me getting the promotion. She blamed it on my sales. So, Justin said they'd keep the position open and that I have a month to improve my sales. So, SELL SELL SELL!!
I think perhaps that the bank isn't promoting anyone at this point. We all thought Justin was a shoe in for manager, but he hasn't gotten the official tittle yet.
So Friday morning, I came into work super early to open the bank so that I could take off early and have the day off. And luck be it that the auditors came on Friday! So I didn't get quizzed and scrutinized like the other tellers. Very cool. However, our branch failed the audit. I like to think it's because we're operating on minimum staff and no manager. That certainly doesn't help.
Taxes were do the other day. I know this because the bank was packed with people who needed cashier checks payable to the 'united states treasury'. I didn't realize that so many people waited last minute to do their taxes. Charles did ours earlier this month. He filled out the forms all by himself-- I'm amazed he could decipher those things. So hopefully we'll get lots of money back soon.
I finally heard back from UCSB about my grad application. They said no. People seem to have a hard time grasping that since I was rejected, I can't take any classes. The reaction I most often get is, "Oh, that's too bad. But you can still take a few classes." No I can't. They don't want me. No school for Beth. :-(
So, the past week has been an overall bummer. I'm thinking I should look for a new job; I don't know. Charles just wants me to be happy. Once I recover from this double blow, I'll think about how to proceed.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Looking Ahead
Well, after the whole ordeal with my appendix, I took a couple of days off of work, and returned by Wednesday. I felt bad about missing SO much work (I had to have a doctors note so my surgeon wrote --Please excuse Beth from work. She had surgery) but all of the customers I told were surprised I came back so early. I did take it pretty easy-- I sat all day, and had my coworkers do all the lifting for me. So any time I needed to get money from the vault, I'd just watch Alan as he took all the money out of the vault and piled it on the cart, roll it to my station, then put all the money in my drawer for me. It was pretty nice actually, but I'm glad to be feeling better. I enjoyed taking uber painkillers-- but being almost normal is much better.
So, once I felt better I decided to make some changes. Specifically at work. I still don't know if I might get into UCSB, but until then I figured I could put my name in for a promotion. So I applied for the position of 'Sales and Service Specialist'. I wanted to because I am sick of a lot of the pettiness of the other tellers, I want to take on some more responsibility, and the position was open at our branch. So as SSS, I'd act as a teller supervisor and I'd also be able to do a lot more tasks to help the customers. Working with customers is probably one of my favorite parts of my job-- and it will be nice to be able to open new accounts and other things I can't do as a teller. I've got an interview on Thursday, so hopefully all will go well.
Last week was Charles's Spring break. I kind of envy him for having a week off, but it was nice being able to go home and see him every day at lunch. He had plenty of time to play games, watch Discovery Channel specials, and of course work on math stuff. He has a much nicer schedule for next quarter. I'm sure looking forward to him having more free time-- and I'm sure he is too. I was so proud of him-- he was so attentive to me while I was sick and still didn't get behind in any of his classes (even though most of his classmates were behind) and pulled through with all A s. I couldn't ask for anyone better :-D
So, once I felt better I decided to make some changes. Specifically at work. I still don't know if I might get into UCSB, but until then I figured I could put my name in for a promotion. So I applied for the position of 'Sales and Service Specialist'. I wanted to because I am sick of a lot of the pettiness of the other tellers, I want to take on some more responsibility, and the position was open at our branch. So as SSS, I'd act as a teller supervisor and I'd also be able to do a lot more tasks to help the customers. Working with customers is probably one of my favorite parts of my job-- and it will be nice to be able to open new accounts and other things I can't do as a teller. I've got an interview on Thursday, so hopefully all will go well.
Last week was Charles's Spring break. I kind of envy him for having a week off, but it was nice being able to go home and see him every day at lunch. He had plenty of time to play games, watch Discovery Channel specials, and of course work on math stuff. He has a much nicer schedule for next quarter. I'm sure looking forward to him having more free time-- and I'm sure he is too. I was so proud of him-- he was so attentive to me while I was sick and still didn't get behind in any of his classes (even though most of his classmates were behind) and pulled through with all A s. I couldn't ask for anyone better :-D
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