Athena's: Goddess Of Jewelry

 Yesterday my job Led me and my boss downtown to the container park. I had only been there one other time, but it was late so all the shops were closed and I was kind of drunk. I was afraid the shops were going to be full of stereotypical Venice beach style shops with nothing unique when I went to my meeting at Jewelry By Athena. It's a small shop located on the second floor that grabs your attention pretty quickly. Necklaces hanging on the open door because the shop is too full to hold them all. When you walk in there's an older woman behind the counter who greeted us politely by the name of Athena. I wish I had taken a picture of her, because she was picture perfect and exactly what comes to mind when someone talks about their amazing grandmother we all want. She told us how she made everything from hand and only started doing this work 4 years prior! That alone was inspiration that you're never too old to learn something new or find your talent. Her employee Kandi whom I had been talking to over Facebook came in and was one of the happiest people I've met. After explaining the pitch to them we asked to take some pictures of their work to see what we liked and they insisted we try everything on and it turned into a full blown selfie fashion show! As a girl who isn't that fond of jewelry and especially the chunky kind, I worked up the courage to try on a couple dainty pieces I found. They were nice, But I then found myself reaching for the big bright blue stone inlaid in gold wrapped wire and matching chain. I was hooked! I really wish I had worn a better shirt, my boss had on a black tank top that went with everything and I was completely jealous. But even though the Egyptian style green gym and gold band necklace you see above clashes with my baby pink floral shirt, you can still see how beautiful it really is. I could see me pairing it with
a simple top and feeling like a powerful Goddess. Or the one right below it with something bold and feeling like an ethereal being. My boss tried on one that was almost a choker and was titanium that looked like it belonged on her neck. These two were my favorites, but I honestly wanted everything in her shop. I plan on coming back for something amazing but in the meantime will have to settle for hopefully doing business with her.This is the kind of shop that deserves customers.

Most embarrassing moment in College!

First let me start off by saying a couple things. Yes I've cleaned my apartment it's one of the reasons I haven't had any writing material recently. Yes I plan on covering an actual event in my next piece, but not today! Now onto the topic at hand. I was out and about today and chugging my favorite green tea from my favorite water bottle to keep my spirits and caffeine intake high. I couldn't help being reminded of my most embarrassing moment in college at UNLV that happened just last semester, and involved this water bottle. I was on my way to my Asian Studies class which was my favorite but was also later at night on one of my busier days. I had also been freelance writing for a business man here in Vegas so I was really tired and decided to switch out my water for some diet Dr. Pepper AKA my weakness at the time. I usually had a small water bottle with a twist on lid I used for soda so my water bottle wouldn't develop a funky taste. The small size also helped me from getting more than I should. Well today I had forgotten it and decided what the hell, I'll just use my regular one this once, no biggie. As you can see this water bottle is not a twist cap, it's a pressure cap with a straw. So I got to class early like always, sat down, opened my bottle....and it ERUPTED!!! I don't mean it got on the table some or fizzed over. I mean it shot out in a beam that almost touched the ceiling and got everywhere. It was all over the table, the floor, and of all over me. Everyone watched what happened in silence as it happened. After sitting there for what seemed like forever just staring into nothing thinking "what have I done", I stood up and walked out. I really wish I could have heard any conversations that happened when I left because I'm sure there was some. I passed the professor who just gave me a weird look. Now don't think I'm the evil kind of person who would actually leave and not come back with a sticky classroom behind me. I went into the bathroom to wash myself off a bit and grabbed as many paper towels as I could and headed back. I walked into that classroom and cleaned up every bit of sticky soda that was there, washed off my water bottle, and sat down just in time to start class. I still drank what was left in my bottle, I just kept the lid off and never talked to anyone in that class. I did however have to give a presentation not too long after about Hmong culture and you would be stupid to think I didn't have that on my mind the whole time. Mentos-Coke via photopin (license)

I have a problem!

Can we talk for a moment about my hoarding obsession? It makes no sense! I hate clutter and long for a modern, minimalist style, with a touch of zen. What's keeping me from this? A fear of throwing anything out that I've had for as long as I can remember. The other day I looked around and screamed "I just want to throw all of this away!" I then picked up a tiny water bottle and said "I might need this", and set it down. Maybe this is the complex that comes with a person who has no sense of permanence. Or because being poor has led me to believe if I run out of things, what will I have to do? But the oddest part is that you would think someone with this mindset would have the sense of style that comes with it. Maybe a rustic or Liberace mess. But just looking at anything like that gives me anxiety, which is the reason I always have anxiety. So I should just throw everything out once I'm done with my perpetual laziness. I should probably be a good blogger and show you before and after pictures, maybe even some of the process. Then again that would mean you seeing how horrid my abode is. Maybe just of the closet? I wallow in a life of hypocrisy everyday that I'm too lazy to clean. Part of me knows I should just hire a maid, one of those naked ones I always see advertised on Craigslist. Yes, I would like that but alas I need to do this alone.

2 weeks of Easter

I haven't cared to celebrate Easter since I was told I wasn't allowed to participate in those egg hunts for 13 and under, which was when I was about 16. What can I say? There's perks to looking young and one of them was my favorite holiday activity. We seriously need an adult version, get it together! While scouring Craigslist I see an ad to be the Easter bunny for a couple weeks and jumped on it. Having to stand there in a costume hugging kids for a couple hours a day and get paid? Sounds pretty sweet. When I got to the interview she liked me so much she offered to make me assistant manager (I couldn't get manager because I didn't have a car). I was stoked because this would be almost a real job and look amazing on a resume.For the most part the job was easy enough, learned on the spot, and the parents were fairly nice albeit a little too anal about how their child's picture with the Easter bunny is going to look. The suit was hot and sweaty, the mall was outdoors and hot enough it melted our keyboard. Twice. The part I hated was they didn't offer overtime. For the days I worked over 8 hours they transferred the extra to other days and I couldn't work over 40 in the week. The last day was also the first day of a pay period so I didn't have these restrictions. I got there before anyone else and a few hours in our district manager showed up saying she wanted me at her mall since she was short staffed. She promised at the end we would throw everything in the storage to deal with tomorrow, then give me a ride home. She had also praised her team so much, when we got there her team was so whiny and rude I couldn't believe it. We closed an hour later than we were supposed to and she decided she wanted to box up everything right there. I almost passed out a couple times but persevered through an almost 17 hour shift. I laid in bed for 2 days which is why it took me so long finally crawl out from my blankets and write this. That and the fact that I went back and forth on whether or not I should. Mostly because God forbid anyone at the company sees this and gets mad when they're still holding my paychecks. On the plus side we made enough to get the bonus, which means I get about 19 extra dollars altogether.Happy Easter everyone!

A Review Goes Awry

So I had my first official blog post all picked out and was STOKED for it. My girls Dorothy Wang and Morgan Stewart threw a Spring Break party here in Vegas. They are the stars in one of my favorite shows Rich Kids Of Beverly Hills, which airs on E! I was going to write an amazing review of the party and maybe even speak with them, since Morgan is the reason I was inspired to finally start the adventure that is this blog. I called my friend Jayde, who promised she could get us in and the fun would start as soon as I was off work. Alas, I'm the kind of girl who never has my plans go right, my life could be a boring sitcom on TV Land. Our trip started off by going to whole foods to pick up the fixings for dinner compliments of her bf. We then went to his place and chilled by the pool, drinking chai with liqueur and taking selfies. After having an amazing burger and watching them hack apart a fish that I'm sure tasted delicious if I could stomach seafood. I was in high spirits as we picked out our outfits and headed to my place to get ready. But the second we entered my tiny apartment with no AC, Jayde was passed out on my couch bed (yes, I have a couch bed). I assumed she was still a little drunk and would be fine after a little nap, and proceeded to get ready. I soon realized this was not intoxication, it was from the heat and there's no way she was going to make it. Especially not to a club filled with warm bodies dancing. So while I didn't get to go to the party, my day actually went better than I thought. I have this tendency where if I make plans that are too good, I never believe it will happen until I'm there. So I at least half believed I would be stuck at work all day and come home to watch tv. I still got to lay by the pool, eat amazing food with good company which was worth it in my book. I was pretty bummed watching the Instagram pics and snaps of the night I missed, but I'll see you next time Morgan Stewart and Dorothy Wang. You know you can't stay away from Vegas!