Two complaints about the beach January 31, 2008

What could I possible have to complain about in regard to living by a beautiful ocean? Two things:

1) The complete lack of snow.

2) Taco Bell closes at midnight, seven days a week.

The snow thing is mostly being brought up because Columbia (Mo.) is supposed to get a wicked storm this week, and I’m jealous. I love trekking around in snowy weather, especially in The District, when people who have to drive are too afraid to get out and all the bars and cafes are totally empty.  It always made me feel like the city belonged to me and my friends, and that those places were open just for us to enjoy.  There’s nothing like drinking whiskey while tredging through the snow.

My second complaint is a little harder to justify, as Taco Bell isn’t exactly the creme de la creme of the dining industry.  However, I went out of my way to mapquest the closest Taco Bell to my work so I could enjoy a soft taco after a long day, only to find that the fine establishment had closed 15 minutes prior.  I mean, come on! Since when does that place ever close before 1:30 am?  How am I supposed to get my fourthmeal if the place doesn’t even stay open late enough for me to get hungry again?

So, that’s all I have to complain about for now. I’m sure I’ll find more once tourist season rolls in…

NOT working January 28, 2008

I am on my weekend right now.  Today is my Sunday, and then I go back to work tomorrow.

Yesterday, the hub and I woke up at a decent time with the amibition of going to church.  I’d found one online that seemed like it would be worth checking out the night before, so we got gussied up and went on our way, following the google maps directions I’d searched for.  Try as we might, we could NOT find this place.  Looks like we’ll have to wait until next week to stop living like heathens.  Since we were already out and about, we decided to grab some lunch instead.  We at at this place called The Sea Captian’s House, which used to be a boarding house on the beach.  Now, it’s a pretty good restaurant, still on the beach.  They have a room off the coastline that looks out over the beach, giving diners a pretty great view.

After lunch, we wandered out on the beach and flirted with the waves for a bit.  The weather was gorgeous and sunny yesterday, but the water is still extremely cold.  We also went on a decently long run (not on the beach, though).  There’s a pretty well-known marathon held annually out here, and Dan and I have decided to start training for it.  I’ve always wanted to do one, but just didn’t have the hours in the day, what with school, homework and two jobs.  I have a considerably greater amount free time now, and I’d like to get back into great shape again.

On another note, I really need to go to the doctor to have prescriptions and stuff renewed, but my health insurance doesn’t kick in until March 1.  Not having health insurance sucks, and I’m looking forward to being covered again.  Grr.

I spent a bit of time revising a painting yesterday.  It’s one of those things that I started awhile ago, thought I had finished, decided I didn’t like, and painted over.  I did that about three times, but I think I finally like it for good this time.  I have another large canvas to paint so that Dan and I will have some additional art for the walls.  Our apartment is pretty spacious, and we just don’t have that much stuff. We’ve been living in small, dumpy places for a long time, and our possessions show it.  Anyway, I’m not much good at it, but I’m really glad that I have time to paint again.  It feels weird to have hobbies.

Friday night, some friends from work invited us out to go to da club, etc.  It was a lot of fun, and a great way to get to know some work people better.  We started out at some bar, then went to a dueling pianos-type place, then ended up at a dance club called Revolutions.  Now, prior to going to Revolutions, I had seen commercials for the place on the local cable access channel, and even on a few other channels.  The commercials depict a huge dance floor in a two-story club with insane lights and questionably drunk, “older” (think mom and dad/early gramma and grandpa) people grinding up on each other and everyone else.  Let’s just say the ad is accurate.  I can’t deny that it was fun, though.

Dan and I are racking up a list of things for spring-breakers to do when they come to visit us.  You’ve been warned. Now be prepared.

Where is my furniture?/My cat can’t have kittens. January 26, 2008

I finally recovered from the beach stand hot dog incident.  It took awhile.

This week has been abuzz with all things domestic.  Sort of.

Dan and I went furniture shopping last week, and ended up buying a bed, dresser, bedside table, coffee table, end table, and loveseat sleeper-sofa thing.  It’s all sorely needed, as the only furniture we have as of now consists of: A couch, TV stand, desk, and mattress on the floor.  Notice that we don’t have a dresser or proper bed.  Our clothes are in random piles on the floor, and we’re about to go crazy with the lack of organization that is taking place in our apartment right now.

Anyway, we were supposed to get the furniture early this week, but didn’t.  When I called the place, they said it wouldn’t be happening until after Feb. 5, which is no good. We need to organize!  Anyway, Dan called them back and told them what’s up, and we should have at least some of our stuff next week. We hope.

Crash, our cat, finally got to experience the pleasure of having her reproductive parts removed.  We brought her back from the vet yesterday, and she was still totally drugged out and hilarious.

Dan has been fully engaged in the job hunt, and we’re both getting frustrated by what appears to be a lack of opportunities for people with degrees.  Sure, there are plenty of jobs if you want to be a cashier or waiter, etc., but he didn’t work so hard, take out loans for school and earn a degree just so he could get some ‘whatever’ job that he could’ve taken straight out of high school.  We’ve been hoping and praying that something more will present itself, and I’m confident that it will.  I just want him to have a job that he feels happy with.  A job that values his education and makes his hard work worthwhile.

My little sister got a cell phone.  She’s 13, and has been waiting for the day that I get kicked off the family plan ever since she was old enough to answer the phone.  I’m not quite sure why parents have granted her this gadget; I didn’t get a phone until I was 16 and driving, and even then I only got it because I’d had a bad experience getting lost in a scary part of St. Louis on an empty tank.  At any rate, she sends me ridiculous text messages whenever she has the chance, and I have the feeling that she’s probably using her phone during class when she shouldn’t be.  I don’t blame her, but I think she should get busted.  When I was 13, my friends and I passed notes to each other, which required good timing and a bit of stealth.  These days, any idiot can get a message to a friend via cell phone.

TOMORROW, hopefully, will be the last day of serious presidential election coverage for us until November, at least locally.  The Democratic primary will be taking place, as the GOP primary already happened the previous Saturday.  It’s been exciting and fun to be in the midst of all this coverage, but I’m about ready for a break.  I kind of wonder what I’ll be reading about for the next few weeks after all this noise dies down.

I’m gonna say that’s about it ‑ for now.

Finally, a day off January 22, 2008

So, yesterday was my first day off since Dan and I got married.  We wandered down by the beach, which was empty, beautiful, and COLD.  We found this little diner/bar-type place, where we proceeded to drink a pitcher of very good margaritas.  I had a hot dog, which tasted delicious, but was a terrible, terrible idea.  We went to the Ripley’s Believe it or Not museum, which was pretty cool but probably not worth the money it cost to get it.

I spent the rest of afternoon eating Tums because my stomach was rejecting the hot dog.  Then I painted while watching Ghostbusters and Knocked Up.  Stomach pains aside, it was a pretty good day.

Word of advice: Stay away from hotdog stands on The Strand.

News and the like January 18, 2008

So, it’s been a bit since I’ve last written, and a lot has changed.

To begin, I am officially a married woman.  That is, once my dad signs and sends off the marriage license.  Dan and I had an intimate, beautiful ceremony with our immediate families, grandparents and a few close friends on Jan. 12 in St. Louis.  I’m so happy to have him as my husband, (wow, it’s weird to call him that now) and we flew back to Myrtle Beach together on Jan. 15 to officially start our life together.  Since then, we’ve been organizing the apartment and putting things together so that we can truly call our home our own.

I jumped back into work on Wednesday, and things there are still going well.  The GOP primaries are coming up tomorrow, and I’ll be working.  I imagine it will be a late night, and I won’t be unhappy when all of this election business ends.  It’s all I’ve been editing for the past few weeks, and I have the feeling that that’s not going to change any time soon.

Dan and I have also been doing some serious shopping, as we’ve come into a ton of gift cards lately.  Our latest purchases include a bed (we’ve been sleeping on a mattress on the floor), a dresser (our clothes are also on the floor), a bedside table, a coffee table, a lamp and some other random house stuff.  Hooray for not being in college anymore and not having to worry about roommates ruining your things.  We can actually afford to have some nice stuff and not only can we afford it, but we can also enjoy it without the constant threat of it being accidentally ruined by careless drunks, etc.

I am happy and excited to have started this part of my life. There’s a lot going on, and there will be for quite some time.  I’m thankful that I have friends and family to share these things with me.  It’s only been a month since I graduate, and so much has already changed!

Ready, set, GO! January 10, 2008

Work updates:

*I made it through my first week of work without breaking anything or burning the building down.
*I really enjoy my job so far, and the people I work with make it very pleasant. We’re gearing up for the republican debates, which are taking place here in Myrtle Beach. The city has put together a very Mount Rushmore-esque sand sculpture for the event. It’s pretty much hilarious. However, it’s really cool to be part of the upcoming election. Yes, I worked at the Missourian for election stuff, but this is the first time I’ve worked for a paper that does its own local coverage of national politics. It’s fun, and my political muscles are growing so quickly it’s like they’re on steroids.

 

Wedding updates:

*I was able to set up my work schedule so that I have back-to-back weekends coming up. That means four days off in a row. I’ll be flying to St. Louis on Saturday morning and come 3 p.m. that day, I’ll officially be Mrs. Daniel J. Story.

-BUT-

*Don’t worry – I’ll be having a full-on ceremony some time this fall, and everyone will be invited.
*Anyway, I’m really, really excited. For a wedding present, my mom and dad booked the presidential suite at the Drury Plaza for us for two nights. I don’t know a lot about the room, but I’ve heard that it’s out of control. Needless to say, I can hardly wait for this weekend to arrive.

Considering that my life for the past two weeks has consisted of working out and watching reality TV and episodes Clark and Michael online, this change is most certainly welcome.

Day two down. January 2, 2008

So, I never updated with how my first day of work went, so here goes:

It was good, and honestly there’s not too much to report. My first day was a holiday, so there weren’t as many people in the newsroom as usual, which is a good thing. It let me ease into meeting people. The biggest thing I have to learn is the computer system and the local style. Once I get those things down, I’ll start feeling a lot more comfortable. Some of the people I work with were throwing a party for New Year’s, and they invited me. I was really tired, but I went because I really want to meet some people out here and make it apparent that I’m interested in getting to know my coworkers. It ended up being a lot of fun, and I stayed much longer than I’d planned. The party was still going strong when I left at about 3 a.m.

Today was really, really slow at work. There was hardly any copy to read, and there were a lot of copy editors on tonight. They let most of us go at about 11, so I got to do some grocery shopping, etc.

Dan needs to hurry up and get out here, fast. I am going to waste away without him cooking for me. I’ve been eating egg sandwiches, salads and yogurt since he left. We’ve changed our plans a bit, because he really needs to find a solid job before his student loans start coming in. Not to mention, I miss him. It’s looking like we’re going to do a civil ceremony with our families within the next few weeks and then have a “real” wedding and reception for our friends later this year, most likely in August or September. I’m ready to start my life for real.

TOMORROW: I actually go through orientation, which I’m assuming just means loads of paperwork. Hopefully, I’ll find out some important stuff, such as: how to get paid, getting health insurance, acquiring vacation time and the like.