I hate my car

© Joel Orduna Rivera Photography

That's a lie. I LOVE my car, which is an '02 Nissan Sentra GXE. I've been having problems with it lately and it's gotten to that point where I should just trade it in for a new car. I wanted to keep this car for a few more years but it doesn't look like it's possible. This car has been with me through a lot of things, such as helping me move out of my parent's place, taking the kitties to the animal hospital (where I learned they should really stay inside their crates), and it bares the emblem of two anime shows I once loved; Naruto and Bleach.

This actually is my second car to own. When I first moved here to Vegas, I didn't have my own car yet and I was either being dropped off/picked up by my parents, riding the bus, or getting a ride from Vincie. Due to my parents' poor planning (i.e. not adding me as a licensed driver to their car insurance and not being able to file a car accident claim), I decided to get my own car. My first was a brand new 2006 Kia Rio, which I bought hastily.This was extremely hard to pay on a monthly basis since I was making minimum wage from my first job. Then I got into a car accident a few months after I bought it. I panicked. I still had 4 years left to pay it off and I couldn't imagine how to pay for it on top of the repairs. Luckily (?), the car was deemed a total wreck and I had no obligation to pay for it anymore. After spending too much money on renting a car from Enterprise (which was also a Kia Rio), I decided to buy a car-- again. And better car insurance! By then, I had a better paying job and reasonable monthly payments.

And here we are, six years later after paying it off. Unfortunately, I've learned recently that this model has had poor head gasket issues. Not to mention everything else has gradually broken down, like my sun visor and my compartment. Nissan is still a good car - it currently has over 103,000 miles on it - but this particular car is sadly not. My car seems to get worse and worse each year whenever summer and winter hits, which is more severe in Vegas. Now that summer is fast approaching, I'm faced with possibly spending even more repairs for the car or taking on another car loan and paying it off for another six years.I have a hard time letting go of stuff o_o

Hey, it's an update!

Hey! I have some free time to blog! So, a few things have happened since starting my new job back in December. For one, I'm busy and I like it-- well sorta. Not in a bad way! Let me explain...

Everyday, I come to work either mildly or super stressed every morning. It's mostly trying to go over a list of things I have to do on a daily basis. I know it pales  in comparison to what the engineers have to work on but for me, it's something I'm still trying to adjust to. Keep in mind that with my last job, as far as I was concerned, I only had one thing to do: show up. It was SSDD: Same sh*t, different day. With my new job, however, I found myself doing different things, like working on ad concept for the next month, taking product pics (I'm still pretty rusty on this), shooting and editing video (I'm REALLY rusty at this) or making signage. Even though I get stressed with what I have to do for the rest of the day, at the end, all that stress is gone because I've completed my work. So that's how busy I am.

A few other things since my last update; my Vincie found a new job last month! Even better, we're just 10 minutes away from each other's jobs! We can carpool and meet somewhere to have lunch together when we feel like it. And best of all, he is appreciated at his job. His last job was ridiculously stressful and demanding but I'm happy that he left on good terms instead of quitting out of frustration. 

I also recently visited my parents out in Arizona for the weekend. I was freaking out because I have never flown by myself before. It was nice seeing my parents, my auntie and their doggie, Buddy! It wasn't just a family visit though, I was the family IT person. I advised my family to get a router, a printer, and a GPS for their car since they get lost easily when they drive. I also had to do the set up. It was pretty interesting to see Arizona. It was a lot more... desert-y than Vegas. Needless to say, it looks like I would be making another family/business trip to Arizona soon.

So that's that for now.

Turn of The Century

Last week, I was sorting through my box of stuff from my previous job and I found 3 CDs that I haven't played in a while. These cases are the first and third album but I can't remember why I kept the 2nd album CD in one of these cases.

I discovered Pete Yorn when I bought the Me, Myself & Irene soundtrack. Back then, I was a die-hard Jim Carrey fan and I would buy anything related to him, which included movie soundtracks. (Stupid fact: My very first CD was The Mask soundtrack). I loved his song and I wanted to learn more about this artist. I remember going to his website through Columbia, which wasn't fully set up yet and it only had 30-second .wav clips of a few of his songs such as "Strange Condition", "Just Another Girl", "Life On A Chain" and "Turn of The Century" (the early recording). I was stunned when I looked at the dates on the back of the CD cases; I've been listening to him for a decade. A DECADE. He's old now-- and so am I! I enjoyed his 3 CDs and I even bought his other album when he collaborated with Scarlett Johansson. I stopped buying CDs a few years ago, thanks to streaming music.

Anyways, I found this embarrassing little gem: The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel. Talk about a throwback! I was 18 years old and have only been in Vegas for 7 months when I went to this concert. (Fun fact: My mom had to pick me up at the Hard Rock and she was in tears while driving because we got lost trying to get back home). I especially liked this quote:

"Eeeehh... concerts are awesome. But it's even better if you're not by yourself."

I haven't gone to another concert of his since then and I'm bummed that I didn't get to go when he last performed at The Palms back in 2011. Apparently he hasn't toured at all in 2012 because he was secretly working on another project: The Olms. I hope he releases another solo album soon.

A New Opportunity - Update!

Almost 2 months ago, I posted about getting and accepting a new job opportunity. I gave my 2 weeks notice shortly afterwards and I got an interesting reaction: "Why didn't she do it sooner?" It may seem negative in that context but it was more like reacting to me finally leaving since my position has been admittedly getting stagnant. I worked in different departments and gained enough experience to do different things outside of my department but in the end, it was still a customer service position... or whichever department I would be thrown into (i.e. receptionist, administrative assistant, shipping, etc). Don't get me wrong, it was a good and steady job but I realized it was my time to leave, especially with the fact that I was nearing my 7th year of doing the same thing **cough** with no raise **cough**. 

On my last day, after I was thrown a not-so-surprise party and got a card from my fellow co-workers and supervisors wishing me well, I cried -- IN MY CAR, NOT IN FRONT OF THEM LOL. I was crying because I didn't really realize how much I contributed to the company (I was told that 2 or 3 other people would have to take over my job and, well, do their job) and that I was finally leaving to do something new.

----

So how did I come across this new job opportunity? The way I found and applied for the job position was very, well, cyberstalker-ish and something I don't want to share unless I was personally asked. Sure, I'll make it sound funny but it's still some form of cyberstalking O_O Not to mention that I completely bombed the initial phone interview and second interview (OMG MATH QUESTIONS). I didn't have any connections or knew anyone at the company. I was obviously lacking the skills needed to qualify for the position. And yet, I got a formal offer. I accepted for the position of.... wait for it... graphic designer. Honestly, this was a big deal for me. I finally get to do something creative and artistic! But... I was also over my head.

I was under the impression that I would be working alongside an art director with a small team. NOPE. It was all me and I was given a lot of tasks to fulfill. There were also 2 things that I dreaded doing; Photography and Illustrator. I 'm kicking myself for not taking any interest in Photography - considering that my last job is in the freaking' Photography industry - since I got so comfortable with using my little point-and-shoot and I had this paralyzing fear that me handling an expensive DSLR camera would result in an expensive broken DSLR camera. Worse, I had to handle a Nikon and I barely know how to hold a Canon properly. Meanwhile, Illustrator was a program that I barely used since I got away with making vector-like images in Photoshop with the Pen Tool and Paths at my last job. I can safely say that after a month of forcing myself to learn both, I ended up getting used to it. I can't believe how much I could do in Illustrator! And I can hold a camera properly!

This is the shirt I designed for the company, which was given out today during our early Christmas party. I never thought I could make that design so easily in Illustrator. I'm also inspired by the message we put underneath the robot: "Push." This is a different industry to be in and a much different culture to work in. So I have to push myself and show them what I made of! At least until I pass the probation period!

Halloween 2012

Well, technically we're not doing anything on Halloween tonight (we're working) but we did get to dress up for an early Halloween party from this past weekend. He hanged out with the Teruel family the whole day and went to a costume party later on the evening. It was incredibly last minute but Vince dressed up as Dipper from Gravity Falls, which we know will become a household name like Phineas & Ferb one day.... SOON! Our friends Joel and Pam also brought lil Marceline to her first Halloween Party but we hanged out in the lower den area so it was quieter for her. We spent the rest of the night playing a new form of Uno with a confusing mod card.

I had to take off the hat and the wig 2 hours later. It was giving me a huge headache x_x This was probably the first time - in a long time - that I got to dress up AND have fun for Halloween :)

A New Opportunity

"In case I don't see you... Good afternoon, good evening and good night." - Truman Burbank

Pffft, I know this looks cheesy but I went this image to mark something big for me: a new job opportunity. It's a bit scary because I'm leaving something that's been so familiar with me but at the same time, I've always wondered if there's more that I can do. It's a whole new field but at least it'll be something I can do creatively. It's risky because I would have to start over in something new and different but I had the same reservations when I came to work here when my previous experience included food preparation and working at the movie theaters.

So, I'll be like Jim Carrey's character at the ending of "The Truman Show"and boldly step into the unknown... in 2 weeks.

Game Log

Last month, I caved in and bought myself a Nintendo 3DS (in Midnight Puple to boot).

(Well, it was more like an angry purchase because I wanted to do something for our Labor Day Weekend. After being shot down to do anything that involves driving out of town, Vince and I decided on hiking. Then his computer, "Gilgamesh", flaked out on him. Needless to say, it took up the whole weekend with shopping around to find computer parts and spending hours trying to find out what's working and what's not. Even after several coin tosses saying "NO" to buying it, I went ahead and got it. ANYWAYS...)

I chose Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance as my first game. I'm a fan of the series but only for the main story line. I have never played any of the side stories (Chain of Memories, Re: Coded, 358/2, Birth By Sleep) and I spent (wasted?) a lot of time reading up on the stories and characters. So why pick this title? Aside from the great reviews, I heard that this game actually moves ahead with the main story line. Not only that, KH: 3D graciously tied to and summarized the side stories of the previous games. Even though it's been six years since I last played KH:II, it was so quick and easy to get familiar with the game mechanics. Storywise, it was a bit hard to grasp but I'm just happy to see some progress. Sadly, I read that Square Enix is moving ahead with an HD ReMix of a few KH titles so it may be a while longer til we get KH:III.

I beat KH: 3D just in time for Pokemon Black 2. There's usually the first two games followed by a third one with extra features (i.e. Red & Blue with Yellow, Gold & Silver with Crystal, Ruby & Sapphire with Emerald and Diamond & Pearl with Platinum,). It was quite a surprise that Black and White came out with a full-fledged sequel. Even as an avid Pokemon player, I'm still amazed with how much they keep adding to the game. It's best played if you also have the Pokemon Dream Radar app too for the 3DS. Prior to getting the game, I played around with the Radar app and got some neat stuffs like items and other low level Pokemon. You can send this data to the game cartridge-- and it makes a BIG difference as soon as you start the game. After I get the starter Pokemon, I usually explore and try to catch Pokemon to add to the party before the first Gym battle. With the Radar app, I already had access to items and other types of Pokemon that normally wouldn't be available til later on in the game. In fact, I already have two of the three horrible looking legendary trio of Tornadus, Thundurus, and Landorus (in Therian form). 

So... Pokemon Black 2 is going to keep me occupied for a while until Professor Layton 5 and Adventure Time comes out.

Backlog:
Pokemon Conquest (3DS)
Mass Effect 3 (Xbox 360)
Sailor Moon: Another Story (SNES simulator on my Droid 3 :D)