Finally, a day off

You guys, I got promoted!!! 

Two months ago. Yes, I'm ashamed for not telling you sooner.

But I did! I'm now the assistant manager at New York and Company, a job that comes with 40 hours per week, a $4.50 per hour raise from what I was making before, paid time off and the added option of health benefits (if I ever decide I want off my parents' health plan or turn 26, whichever comes first). 

But those 40 hours per week mean that between work and school, I don't have a day off. Ever. Unless I ask for one two weeks in advance.

Which I did two weeks ago. So on Wednesday, I had my first day off in two months, and celebrated by going to a spring training game for the San Francisco giants (the first one of the pre-season, and against the Oakland Athletics).

Josh humored me and went to a SF Giants game, but insisted on wearing
a Phillies jersey. Now that's dedication! Image via Instagram.

Josh, though he cares nothing for either of the teams that played, was a trooper and went with me so I could watch my boys in orange. But just to make sure no one mistook him as a lover of the west coast, he wore his Phillies jersey. 

I told him I thought he was a dork for wearing it, but secretly I wouldn't have it any other way. His passion for everything Philadelphia is part of what I love so much about him.

We ended up leaving the game early—it was kind of a boring game with the A's so far ahead of us the entire way, and I, used to being cooped up inside 24/7, was starting to burn in the blazing February sun. I guess spring training is in Arizona for a good reason. 

As a side note, I just realize both pictures of Josh I've posted here have been of us at baseball games. The funny thing is that we've only been to two.

Midterm Assessment

Dear readers,

By now perhaps you are wondering where I disappeared to. Don't worry; I'm still here. But it has been a super busy couple of months. Allow me to explain. 

First, there's school. As academics go, this semester is much easier than others have been. I'm only taking 14 credits, and that includes my internship two days per week. But the internship lasted only until last week. Almost all of my classes are journalism classes — a Borderlands of the Southwest seminar (formerly called Latino and Transnational issues), Graphic Design for Print and Web, and Advanced Online Media. There's also a Small Business Operations and Planning course online that started last week. 

Fourteen credits doesn't sound like a lot. But the internship with Virgo Publishing required 15 hours per week. There was also a lot of stress involved. It was a lot more busy work than I expected and up until the last week, I had nothing with my name as a byline. Thankfully I came away with two clips for my portfolio. You can read one of them, a story about Starbucks and Evolution Fresh opening a new production plant, here. The other, a profile of a gastroenterologist who uses humor to ease her patients' fears, has yet to be published. Highlights of the internship were a giant orange coffee mug and using a cassette recorder to tape interviews ... except for the part where I ran out of tape in the middle of an interview and spent five minutes awkwardly apologizing for having to rewind.

Me with the giant orange coffee mug. And that polka-dot shirt? Yeah, that's from NY&Co.

But school isn't the only reason I've been busy. Up until last week I was working about 23 hours each week at New York and Company. At the end of this month I'll have been there for 90 days, which means I'm eligible for a promotion from sales associate to keyholder ... which is just a step down from assistant manager. My store manager has already talked to me a few times about the new position and has encouraged me to leave room in my schedule next semester for the job. That would require 30 hours a week minimum, but would come with a pay raise as well. Apparently I've been doing well in the position I'm in. Last week I had the highest average dollars per sale (ADS) and units per transaction (UPT), all of which employees are tracked on individually. And the previous week I scored the third most credit applications. 

I've also been shopping there a lot. Too much, actually. I have so many new outfits to show you. But more on that later. Right now my bedroom is in no shape to take mirror selfies, although my full-length mirror is finally hung!

How have your semesters been? Let me know in the comments section below!

Outfit of the Day - July 31

Day two on the job! New York & Company has a dress code of black and/or white. As you may know — and as you'll soon figure out — my closet already consists mainly of blacks, grays, whites, tans, creams and navies (neutrals go with everything, including each other!), so in theory, dressing for work shouldn't be a problem for me. I have my entire closet to choose from.

But some rules are easier to follow when you don't know they exist. I had the hardest time choosing my outfit today because I really really really wanted to pair a yellow blouse with a red skirt, and I couldn't. 

In NY&Co's defense, the main thing stopping me was the lack of a yellow blouse.

Sweater: New York & Company. Jeans: American Eagle (via Goodwill).

Gold chain necklace: Charming Charlie. Gemstone bead necklace: unknown.
Brown basket-weave flats: Target. Leather and bronze-studded watch: Charming Charlie.