Yeah...

Erin, I say go for it, even though half the time I can't follow my own advice.

Other than that...yeah, I'm really boring lately, other than all my boy drama. Good times. He might be coming down to Illinois, though, which would be a ton of fun :)

vday

i think you should go for it erin. what do you have to lose? that's one thing i've learned. it's so much better to go out on a limb than sit and wonder and stew and worry about something, no matter how big or small it may be. life is too short. i definitely think it's a great idea, erin. even if it doesn't turn out to be a love match, you could have a fun night and gain a new friend.

the day after vday is a hard day for me. it's the day i got raped 5 years ago.

in other news, i have another interview tonight with a insurance co. i really didn't want to stay in the industry, but i guess it's where i could make a decent amt of money. i have all my licenses except series 6, which i should probably get. then i could go into the mtg business and make a ton of money.

Valentines Quandry

First, welcome, Sarah....another non-Nikki/Nicolle =) OK. So. Its been 2 years since I have had a guy in my life. The one I want hasn't wised up yet, so I don't want to get disappointed by investing my time in him. *Yes, Nik, thats Joe. Debating pulling a super-cheesy but potentially adorable move. Grew up in a small town, where everyone knows everyone (and their business). So, Troy moved to town his 10th and my 11th grade year. Valentines day, left roses in his locker, but never said they were from me. Years later, ran into him at a bar. He says "you should have told me...you should have had more confidence in yourself". Saw him on the personals the other day, know he is still single and doing very well for himself. Still think he is just as adorable as always. Teaches at the high school back home. So, thinking of sending him a candy bouquet or something not too femine a day or two before Valentines day, with a note that says "If you don't have plans for Valentine's day, neither do I", with my phone number on the card. Survey says? Cheesy, or worth a try?

Wow...blogger...haven't posted on one of these in forever.

Well, I'm sure that, like, most of you, Nikki was the start of all of this :-P So..20somethings blog...I'm not too far into that, I'm only 22 :) In any case...

I'm currently going to grad school in Illinois-my program is in college student personnel. Eventually I hope to work with first year experiences programs (they typically work a lot with both the student services and academic side of things-finding a balance is really important!)

I'm really pretty boring, in all honesty - although one of my friends doesn't think so-but that's only because he hears me complain about all of my boy problems back home...

the job hunt continues . . .

well, the dude emailed me about the job i've been jumping through hoops for and told me he didn't think i was right for the job. gee, how could he tell since he only gave me an UNPREPARED 15 MINTUE INTERVIEW?????? in a way, i'm glad i didn't get it due to the fact that my would-be boss is sooo disorganized. i don't think i could stand that. so, it's back to the drawing board and careerbuilder.com.

smiling for the camera...and a long introduction to my true love: mock trial.

alright...here's a photograph of me. :) it's the best face shot i have up online right now, at least until i can get on a computer to cut some other pictures down to just my face. it's a little old, but i still look pretty much the same. (sad, i know. i'm seventeen in this picture...seventeen!) there's a more recent picture of me up on my blog, from last weekend, but it's me being silly with my boyfriend. anyway...me!



should probably stop blogging now, i guess...it's almost ten o'clock, and i have an hour to go back to my hotel room, iron my clothes, and get all dressed. i'm currently in the urban metropolis of dubuque, iowa...we have a mock trial tournament here this weekend. i'll probably be talking about, or at least alluding to, mock trial a whole lot. basically, mock trial is an academic competition where all the participating colleges get a case that they work on all year, and students act as lawyers and witnesses. they put together plaintiff and defense cases, and then go against other teams, one team playing plaintiff and the other defense.

i did it for three years in college, and now that i've graduated but i'm still living near campus, i'm coaching the team this year. most of my close friends do mock trial or coach it here at university of chicago, and my boyfriend did its, and now coaches it, for the university of kansas. i have every intention of staying involved in mock trial next year when i'm in law school...although if i have my druthers and get into wash u, i'll be coaching it there. that'll be interesting for two reasons...first of all, our team doesn't much like wash u because they have a tendency to play a little dirty. that, i feel, i can help change if i coach there. the second hindrance might be a little tougher, though...their head coach can't stand me. my boyfriend and i judged a round of theirs back in october, and they broke a cardinal rule--the wash u team talked to their coach in the middle of a round. it's explicitly written in the rules that you can't do that, so we each docked the wash u team several points and wrote it on the ballots, in addition to telling the person who ran the tournament. at another tournament a few weeks later, their head coach saw us again (he had been assigned to co-judge a round with my best friend, so he was walking over with him, me, and my boyfriend), and treated me and my boyfriend so coldly. so...who knows what'll happen if he's too mad at me for laying down the law to let me coach. i guess if that happens, i'll coach chicago in absentia. i really don't want to do the coach-in-absentia thing, though, it won't be enough contact with the activity just to get speeches and examinations to read through on email.

alright...enough with the intro-to-mock-trial. i really need to get ready.

Organization

since no one knows anyone in here, really, would everyone mind emailing me a pic of their face so i can put it in the template along the left-hand side. it doesn't have to be a serious pic. that might alleviate some confusion since we all have the same name. my name is both nicolle AND nikki, which is even MORE confusing. i go by nikki the redhead to help differentiate. is that ok? my email is pookielocks@yahoo.com
Here's mine!

Dazed and Confused

This is my first official post to Misstify!

About me: I'm 26, and I live in Cincinnati with my husband and our adorable puppy Quinn. We bought a house recently, and I am working for an up-and-coming design firm doing packaging design. At least for now.

As of today, I have TWO (that's right!) offers for other jobs, and I'm having a heck of a time making a decision (which is *supposed* to be made tomorrow). My options are designing for a Children's Hospital, or a very prestigious branding firm in Cincy. Both are amazing opportunities, and just the pick-me-up I need after some rough months with my current employer, who previously had me feeling like I was just awful in the creative department.

Anyway, I will post some updates on what is happening, but I'm VERY preoccupied with that. I will definitely have more to say.

Why is it so distracting? I can't get anything done at my current job! It's so exciting!!

expecting it or not...a response to Erin.

first of all...this is my first post here. my name is nicolle...i'm 22 years old, i live in chicago, and i'm taking a nice year off before law school (so i probably won't have a lot of career-type insight here.)

anyway, i don't think you can plan to "least expect it", especially if you think you want a relationship at all. it's really the right thing to do to throw yourself into everything else... i guess i was in kind of a different situation...in may of 2003, when i was 20, i broke up with a guy because he was thinking long-term commitment, while i was still in college and had a hard enough time thinking ahead to the next week. over the next year or so, i swore i'd not fall in love until i was old and grey...that i was going to keep to flings with whoever i wanted, whenever i wanted. i went to concerts all the time, finished college, and spent tons of time doing mock trial (although i was technically a political science major, i practically majored in mock trial, and most of my friends do it too). anyway, i guess i didn't "least expect it"...but more just didn't want it.

then, last april, sparks flew, and i got together with a guy i met on another mock trial team. i went from single and vehement, to taken--and in a long-distance relationship to boot. we're still together, although sadly still long distance. he is just right for me. i can talk to him on the phone for hours and hours. i feel home when i'm with him. and, i don't have the urge to pick up and sleep with that hot girl at the bar, or that hot guy at the baseball game, like i did when i was single, or even near the end of my previous relationship (or during my failed attempt to date again a few months before, in december of 2003).

i guess, my point is...meeting someone special is something it's okay to hope for, but it's not something you can plan for. both of the serious significant others i've ever had i've met through mock trial...so just being involved in stuff you're interested in is a good plan. it's not a guarantee...but nothing is.

Holy crapola

Nikki, nikki, and nicholle. And Erin. =) What fun it is to be the odd one out. So, nesting, nesting. Four weddings so far planned this year. Two births. One adoption. Then there's me! I am very happy for all of the people in my life, but goodness I need to start working at a day care or something....get over the desire to have one of my own!!! I think the next thing I am "throwing myself into" is going to be real estate. I enjoy it, and will have the money in a few months to take the classes and get liscensed. Then, even if I do not practice regularly, I can be there for friends and family. Sounds like they will need me, with all the family expansion =) But, I think its good to keep your mind active, and a few classes may just do the trick. What do you guys think?

Thought for the day. Boys are stupid. Get an email from someone on a personals site that lives an hour away and said he very rarely comes to my town. Now, maybe I am being too picky, but to start a relationship with someone far away is much different than starting a relationship and then being separated by the miles. I don' t know how I feel about a weekend relationship. But I guess its a step in the right direction. Have a great weekend, all! =)

uber frustration

i put a suit on and drove all the way over to the interview to have it last just 15 minutes! the guy was totally unprepared. they had just moved into a new office yesterday and everything was in boxes. he said "your resume is in a box somewhere. sorry." it was a waste of time. i should know by friday if they are still interested in me. it's hard to tell if they are or not since his cell phone kept ringing the entire time!! grr!!!

i've been giving some serious thought to get a grad degree in some type of business so that i can get a better-paying job. any ideas?

Career-Minded Madness

So, how did the interview go? I sure hope you scored the job....extra money is certainly a relief. You could do what I did....haev a relative that everyone was certain had nothing pass on, and leave you $12k. That will put a dent in the bills. I miss my aunt dearly, but I know that she would be pleased to know that she was eliminating a world of stress for me.

As for the job front here. I will be "celebrating" (if you can call it that) my 5 year anniversary at my job this year. It has been a great place to work thus far, and they have taken good care of me. But, I have to ask myself the painful questions....do I want to work with lawn and garden equipment for the rest of my life? I don't "lawn and garden" at home, do I want to keep it up for work? I went to a trade show...the World of Concrete. Woo-freakin-hoo. Let me tell you. 50,000 people interested in concrete, not the most exciting place to be. Made me realize that after 5 years, I still don't know anything about how to build a shovel, nor do I ever want to. Real estate...I could do that. And want to get liscensed this year. But, if I start that part time, will I interfere with this job? Or will I have the nerve to move on to a life of commission and uncertainty?

interview tonight

so, i finally got a personal interview at devry, where i've been trying to get a job as an admissions advisor. apparently i would start out making $10k more a year than i am now, plus have full health benefits from day one with united healthcare (whom i used to have and simply loved). the only drawback is that it would be for online students, so i'd spend the majority of my day on the phone. i think i can manage when the end result means $10k more a year!! plus, they take a trip at the end of the year if the entire "team" qualifies for something or other. i know that i'd be good at the position, but i'm not sure how to convince them!! i'll give a full report tomorrow. keep your fingers crossed.

no clue

i NEVER thought i'd be dating my bf, m. i was, for lack of a better term, "friends with benefits" with his best friend/my friend from college when i met him. we were instantly attracted to one another, but i was still seeing j. j treated me like shit and i would have much rather dated m back then, but m knew j really cared about me and wouldn't jeopardize their friendship. that was 4 years ago. when j moved to california, m came back into the picture and we've been together for almost 2 years. i never ever thought we'd get to date. now, as for if he's "the one" i don't know. everyone says you should know right away. all i know is that it took m and i about 2-3 years to get together in the first place. so, erin, stranger things have happened. it's probably just someone you haven't met yet. on the bright side, you're still WAY younger than old me! haha! you've got plenty of time to meet someone. i'm the old maid!

"It will happen when you least expect it"

OK. So I agree that if you go looking for love you won't find it, and it will happen when you aren't paying attention. But the question that no one seems to be able to answer is: How do you stop looking for it? I am a 25 year old, successful single woman. I own my own home, have a career of almost 5 years, have a dog, nieces, and a nephew. All the things that make me feel like an adult, it seems, except for a relationship. Now, on life's checklist, its the only thing left. I have thrown myself into all the other areas of my life. I have a close knit group of friends. I am the maid of honor in my best friend's wedding, and have plenty there to distract me. I am the owner of the local branch of a national website with over 5,000 members in the Columbus area, so that takes plenty of time to maintain. I adopted a plattoon overseas. I am a member of a group that fosters pets for soldiers that have to go overseas and have no one to help them, so that they can keep their pets. What more can I do to distract myself? So, my question to you girls is, how do I "least expect it?"

invites

i've sent invites to nicolle, staz, kat, the other nikki, and sarah. never met any of them in real life, but i have things in common with each of them. hopefully they'll join! it's lonely in here all by myself.

The Beginning

soon this will be a group blog for women in their 20's. if you'd like to join, email me at pookielocks@yahoo.com and tell me how you could contribute.