www.etsy.com/shop/sewmelo
Her products are SO convertible that the possibilities are endless! You could wear it in your hair, on your coat or sweater, even accessorize a purse or scarf! I love them and I hope you do too!
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Sew-Melo is So-Me!
As I'm about to board the plane to Raleigh I'm really excited to get back to a land where "handcrafted goods" are chic! Most of you know that I'm a bit on the "Krafty" side, but living in LA has squelched that :( However, I've been inspired by my friend Melody who's started her own small business making these adorable floral pins/hair accessories! I'd like to think that I inspired her as I've been known to wear a fascinator or large flower in my hair, but with her talent and creativity I'm sure she would have come up with this idea w/o me! I was looking at her site last night and just can't decide what I want so I'm anxious to see it in person. Take a peek for yourself!
www.etsy.com/shop/sewmelo
Her products are SO convertible that the possibilities are endless! You could wear it in your hair, on your coat or sweater, even accessorize a purse or scarf! I love them and I hope you do too!
www.etsy.com/shop/sewmelo
Her products are SO convertible that the possibilities are endless! You could wear it in your hair, on your coat or sweater, even accessorize a purse or scarf! I love them and I hope you do too!
Change of Scenery
Hey all!
I decided to switch things up a bit as I'm in transition. Granted, this time I'm only moving about 5-6 hours north and not driving across country, but I couldn't resist using this great header that my friend Tiffany made me!
Tiffany lives just outside of Raleigh and is a friend from my Providence days. Not only does she have amazing taste in music and have some of the funniest facebook status updates, but she also is very creative in the graphic arts department! If you're looking for a header for your own blog you should think about contacting her! Her email is tiffany.dorrin@gmail.com.
The Sketchiest Thing Ever!
Sometimes I really wonder how these things happen to me. When I tell friends about what has just transpired in my life I often here "That would only happen to you!"...But WHY ME?! A few weeks ago I posted about my mini fender bender and the following is the story on how it got fixed.
About a month or two ago a friend of mine had purchased a car, and through her I became "friends" (using that term loosely) with the manager of a Hyundai dealership. At that time he had seen the scratch running the length of my car and quoted me $300 to fix it, which to me was ridiculous as my previous estimates had been $1700+. After this new fender bender I thought, "What could it hurt to just contact him and see if he can help?". In God's perfect timing I had just received my check from the city of Cumberland to cover the expenses needed to repair that scratch, and I was running out of time here in LA to get it taken care of, so I emailed Idan, the manager. After a few emails we set up a time to meet and this is where life gets interesting.
First, I get to the dealership at the expected time and can't find him anywhere. I felt silly walking in and asking for the manager and kindly telling all the sales people that I was not interested in buying a car that day, I needed to speak with the manager. Needless to say, this piqued their curiosity. After no one could find him I took their suggestions and pulled my car around to the service dept to have them take a look at my scratch & dent. They referred me to a place across the street saying that they don't do body work. I go to the place across the street, who then also refers me to a collision center across town. 2 hours later with an estimate of $2500+ and 5 days of work I'm wondering why I even bothered to go this route. In a last ditch effort, I go back to the dealership where Idan is and has been waiting for me. After explaining where I've been he assumes the "Protector" role and says that he will speak with his staff as that was unacceptable, I'm a preferred customer, etc. He then takes my keys, drops my car off with his friend, and I have to wait for over an hour in his office with him! Now this is just awkward as a) people are buying cars and making deals so lots of big numbers with $ signs are right there in my face, and b) he's a divorced father of 2, Jewish man, dressed in those pimpish striped suits, with that comb-back hair where you can see the scalp...are you getting the picture? Oh, and he wanted to know how my boyfriend was...you know, the one I don't have! Finally his friends says he's done with my car, he goes to pick it up, and now it's time to get down to business.
I hope you are sitting down, this is where things not only get sketchy, but also a little riske'. He leans over the desk towards me, clasps his hands, lowers his voice, and says "Ok, so I talked to my friend, explained that you were an old friend, and that I owed you a favor...and he said that he could do it...in one day...for $500 cash." Now everything in my body is screaming RED FLAG! $500?!?! That's $2000 LESS than the estimate, how can this be? Without thinking first and applying my filter, I blurt out "Is this legal?" I then follow up this question by stating that I am not going to smuggle drugs or perform sexual favors, so is the deal still just $500? Crazy, I know, but I had to throw it out there. I mean, I am living in California, the land of possibilities. After he clarified that it was just the $ and no other "favors" I decided to go ahead with this one of a time deal.
The following Monday I find myself again, sitting awkwardly in his office for another hour, catching up on life, discussing our Christmas and Hanukah celebrations, relationships or lack thereof and then finally he announces that he's taking me to the mall for the day so I don't have to wait with the "other customers" in the waiting room. I'd come prepared to find a job, had my mac and folders and was gonna do business...so I did, from the food court! I had one interview in the food court and another in the dressing room of GAP. I can't even imagine what people were thinking as they were trying on clothes and hearing me say things like, "I love sick kids", "the more tubes the better", and "I feel really comfortable with drugs". Hahaha. I did do a little bit of shopping as I had some gift cards from Christmas that were burning a hole in my pocket...but just a little! While there I picked up a gift for I* as a "thank you" since the man was saving me $2000 and 5 days worth of work! The previous week he had asked me to coffee and I turned him down, but that gave me an idea of what I could do for him. After the 3rd call from I* that day to "check on me and my shopping" he finally said it was time to come back to the office and sent a car for me to be picked up. We go back to the office and he sees my bags and wants to know what I bought, so I gave him his "gift" which he took to heart more than he should have! It was just a mug and instant coffee but you would have thought it was the best and only gift he'd ever been given. All his sales associates are at the door to watch our exchange, awkward, and one of them even made a comment to the effect of "Isn't it crazy how your friend came here to buy a car and now you've found love? You two will make such cute babies!" Seriously?!? Who do you think you are to say that? Needless to say, I was shooting daggers his way. Once things calm down we get to business and I* informs me that my car will not be ready that day but will be done the next afternoon. Now this is an inconvenience for me as I'm over an hour from LA and need to work night shift the next night, but I* being the sweet & thoughtful man that he is (gag me!) wanted to show me that he "can provide for me" (his words) and instead of allowing me to get a rental car he gave me a car off the lot! At least he didn't offer for me to spend the night!
Dumbstruck by the turn that my life has taken and the fact that I survived LA rush hour in a new car I now find myself on my couch eating dinner at 7...and then I start getting personal text msgs from him! He wanted to know if I got home ok, and did I like the car, and continue to thank me for his gift. Now I'm just trying to play down the gift , move on, and stop this new level of our relationship and reply "Well instant coffee is the least I can do"...his response "So what's the MOST you can do for me?" This is when a) I vomited in my mouth b) I went speechless ( a rare event for me) and c) I knew this was a bad situation. At this point I was wondering if the price tag was really worth it! I didn't respond and several minutes later he apologized, saying he was joking, knowing that I'm not "that kind of girl". I was dreading going back the next day but God, being merciful let me wake up to a text from I* that "something had come up and I'll be out of office today, speak with James for your directions".
So I drive up to Valencia, go to the dealership and speak with the appointed salesman for my "directions". Literally, the man starts the conversation off by saying that he is not a part of this deal, his hands are clean, etc. then proceeds to tell me "Go across the street and you will see an alley, go down the alley and hang a left when it dead ends, then follow along the garages and you'll see a white one on the end that looks like it's falling apart, go there". I thought he was joking, that was just so sketchy, but he wasn't...so I threw up a prayer and did as instructed. I found my car, took a quick peek at it, then tried to find the safest way to go about this. I saw a mechanic walking and stopped him to ask for help, he looked at my car to check the work ticket of who worked on it and what they repaired but there wasn't one...so he directed me to "the shed". As silly as it might seem I indentified myself to him, gave him my name and work location and asked him to check if my car was gone in 10 mins and if not to come looking for me! I walked to the garage with my $500 cash stuffed in a Christmas card and sure enough, they didn't even speak English. We managed to make the "transaction" and after counting the money he tossed the keys at me and I RAN (that's a rare occurrence for me). After locking the doors, I sent I* a quick msg to let him know I got my car and it looked great and then headed to work. He sent back a msg "Great! I hope this isn't the last time we talk. Hope to see you again soon." Sorry, but it was the last time.
I made it to work with just minutes to spare and a crazy story to tell my coworkers. I hope you enjoyed my adventure as well! P.S. I did get the job I interviewed for and will be starting at Stanford's Children's Hospital (Lucile Packard) in Palo Alto on 2/7!
About a month or two ago a friend of mine had purchased a car, and through her I became "friends" (using that term loosely) with the manager of a Hyundai dealership. At that time he had seen the scratch running the length of my car and quoted me $300 to fix it, which to me was ridiculous as my previous estimates had been $1700+. After this new fender bender I thought, "What could it hurt to just contact him and see if he can help?". In God's perfect timing I had just received my check from the city of Cumberland to cover the expenses needed to repair that scratch, and I was running out of time here in LA to get it taken care of, so I emailed Idan, the manager. After a few emails we set up a time to meet and this is where life gets interesting.
First, I get to the dealership at the expected time and can't find him anywhere. I felt silly walking in and asking for the manager and kindly telling all the sales people that I was not interested in buying a car that day, I needed to speak with the manager. Needless to say, this piqued their curiosity. After no one could find him I took their suggestions and pulled my car around to the service dept to have them take a look at my scratch & dent. They referred me to a place across the street saying that they don't do body work. I go to the place across the street, who then also refers me to a collision center across town. 2 hours later with an estimate of $2500+ and 5 days of work I'm wondering why I even bothered to go this route. In a last ditch effort, I go back to the dealership where Idan is and has been waiting for me. After explaining where I've been he assumes the "Protector" role and says that he will speak with his staff as that was unacceptable, I'm a preferred customer, etc. He then takes my keys, drops my car off with his friend, and I have to wait for over an hour in his office with him! Now this is just awkward as a) people are buying cars and making deals so lots of big numbers with $ signs are right there in my face, and b) he's a divorced father of 2, Jewish man, dressed in those pimpish striped suits, with that comb-back hair where you can see the scalp...are you getting the picture? Oh, and he wanted to know how my boyfriend was...you know, the one I don't have! Finally his friends says he's done with my car, he goes to pick it up, and now it's time to get down to business.
I hope you are sitting down, this is where things not only get sketchy, but also a little riske'. He leans over the desk towards me, clasps his hands, lowers his voice, and says "Ok, so I talked to my friend, explained that you were an old friend, and that I owed you a favor...and he said that he could do it...in one day...for $500 cash." Now everything in my body is screaming RED FLAG! $500?!?! That's $2000 LESS than the estimate, how can this be? Without thinking first and applying my filter, I blurt out "Is this legal?" I then follow up this question by stating that I am not going to smuggle drugs or perform sexual favors, so is the deal still just $500? Crazy, I know, but I had to throw it out there. I mean, I am living in California, the land of possibilities. After he clarified that it was just the $ and no other "favors" I decided to go ahead with this one of a time deal.
The following Monday I find myself again, sitting awkwardly in his office for another hour, catching up on life, discussing our Christmas and Hanukah celebrations, relationships or lack thereof and then finally he announces that he's taking me to the mall for the day so I don't have to wait with the "other customers" in the waiting room. I'd come prepared to find a job, had my mac and folders and was gonna do business...so I did, from the food court! I had one interview in the food court and another in the dressing room of GAP. I can't even imagine what people were thinking as they were trying on clothes and hearing me say things like, "I love sick kids", "the more tubes the better", and "I feel really comfortable with drugs". Hahaha. I did do a little bit of shopping as I had some gift cards from Christmas that were burning a hole in my pocket...but just a little! While there I picked up a gift for I* as a "thank you" since the man was saving me $2000 and 5 days worth of work! The previous week he had asked me to coffee and I turned him down, but that gave me an idea of what I could do for him. After the 3rd call from I* that day to "check on me and my shopping" he finally said it was time to come back to the office and sent a car for me to be picked up. We go back to the office and he sees my bags and wants to know what I bought, so I gave him his "gift" which he took to heart more than he should have! It was just a mug and instant coffee but you would have thought it was the best and only gift he'd ever been given. All his sales associates are at the door to watch our exchange, awkward, and one of them even made a comment to the effect of "Isn't it crazy how your friend came here to buy a car and now you've found love? You two will make such cute babies!" Seriously?!? Who do you think you are to say that? Needless to say, I was shooting daggers his way. Once things calm down we get to business and I* informs me that my car will not be ready that day but will be done the next afternoon. Now this is an inconvenience for me as I'm over an hour from LA and need to work night shift the next night, but I* being the sweet & thoughtful man that he is (gag me!) wanted to show me that he "can provide for me" (his words) and instead of allowing me to get a rental car he gave me a car off the lot! At least he didn't offer for me to spend the night!
Dumbstruck by the turn that my life has taken and the fact that I survived LA rush hour in a new car I now find myself on my couch eating dinner at 7...and then I start getting personal text msgs from him! He wanted to know if I got home ok, and did I like the car, and continue to thank me for his gift. Now I'm just trying to play down the gift , move on, and stop this new level of our relationship and reply "Well instant coffee is the least I can do"...his response "So what's the MOST you can do for me?" This is when a) I vomited in my mouth b) I went speechless ( a rare event for me) and c) I knew this was a bad situation. At this point I was wondering if the price tag was really worth it! I didn't respond and several minutes later he apologized, saying he was joking, knowing that I'm not "that kind of girl". I was dreading going back the next day but God, being merciful let me wake up to a text from I* that "something had come up and I'll be out of office today, speak with James for your directions".
So I drive up to Valencia, go to the dealership and speak with the appointed salesman for my "directions". Literally, the man starts the conversation off by saying that he is not a part of this deal, his hands are clean, etc. then proceeds to tell me "Go across the street and you will see an alley, go down the alley and hang a left when it dead ends, then follow along the garages and you'll see a white one on the end that looks like it's falling apart, go there". I thought he was joking, that was just so sketchy, but he wasn't...so I threw up a prayer and did as instructed. I found my car, took a quick peek at it, then tried to find the safest way to go about this. I saw a mechanic walking and stopped him to ask for help, he looked at my car to check the work ticket of who worked on it and what they repaired but there wasn't one...so he directed me to "the shed". As silly as it might seem I indentified myself to him, gave him my name and work location and asked him to check if my car was gone in 10 mins and if not to come looking for me! I walked to the garage with my $500 cash stuffed in a Christmas card and sure enough, they didn't even speak English. We managed to make the "transaction" and after counting the money he tossed the keys at me and I RAN (that's a rare occurrence for me). After locking the doors, I sent I* a quick msg to let him know I got my car and it looked great and then headed to work. He sent back a msg "Great! I hope this isn't the last time we talk. Hope to see you again soon." Sorry, but it was the last time.
I made it to work with just minutes to spare and a crazy story to tell my coworkers. I hope you enjoyed my adventure as well! P.S. I did get the job I interviewed for and will be starting at Stanford's Children's Hospital (Lucile Packard) in Palo Alto on 2/7!
Monday, January 3, 2011
Christmas in Cali
I can't believe Christmas is over...and yes, I'm just getting around to posting about it! As most of you know, I was in Cali for Christmas and it was definitely a hard day to be away from family. I worked night shift that week which was probably a blessing in disguise. My family and I sent each other a few packages, which we took turns opening over the phone. I'll try to help you imagine my conversation: "Oh, there is a big brown box, it has a UPS stamp on it, wow, it's taped really well!" yeah, welcome to my Christmas. You may be wondering what I got for Christmas so I'll indulge you. Its hard to buy for me as I'm on the go every few months and have size limits (due to the size of my car) but my family did a great job surprising me with a carry-on sized Vera Bradley bag-never even thought to ask Santa for this!, a waffle/pancake pan from Williams & Sonoma- I'm a sucker for breakfast food, a Cuisinart Chopper/blender- love a good homeade salsa...and some pending gifts from the sister still! During my Christmas Blues slump I went shopping for my favorite little boy at work and bought him some great little gifts! Seeing his face when he opened them was priceless! I'm so thankful for him! He's brought me so many smiles here at work. If we are facebook friends you can see a picture of me and my little friend under my tagged photos, that was taken by his mom. For "privacy" sake I am not posting it on my blog.
After working Halloween and learning that Mattel Children's gives out costumes/toys then I was anxious to see what they would do for Christmas. A staff nurse explained to me that they give out specific presents to each child based on age, etc. and even some siblings get presents too! I was excited to play Santa and leave these gifts at the end of my bed, however I got the one kid on the unit that didn't celebrate Christmas...a Jehovah's Witness. So sad, the mom turned away all the gifts. At first I was sad the kid didn't get any gifts, even though I know they don't celebrate any kind of holiday. But my sadness grew when I realized that on this one day a year when most people DO acknowledge God, this family wasn't acknowledging the greatest gift ever given!
So that's my little Jesus rant for this post. I really hope you all had a wonderful Christmas spent with your families and friends!
After working Halloween and learning that Mattel Children's gives out costumes/toys then I was anxious to see what they would do for Christmas. A staff nurse explained to me that they give out specific presents to each child based on age, etc. and even some siblings get presents too! I was excited to play Santa and leave these gifts at the end of my bed, however I got the one kid on the unit that didn't celebrate Christmas...a Jehovah's Witness. So sad, the mom turned away all the gifts. At first I was sad the kid didn't get any gifts, even though I know they don't celebrate any kind of holiday. But my sadness grew when I realized that on this one day a year when most people DO acknowledge God, this family wasn't acknowledging the greatest gift ever given!
So that's my little Jesus rant for this post. I really hope you all had a wonderful Christmas spent with your families and friends!
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