election night 2012.

 

this time four years ago i couldn't even imagine where i would be on election day.

four years ago barack obama's acceptance speech brought tears to my eyes as i rocked the twins i was nannying to sleep. i felt so hopeful for the future, & my future.

what do you know, four years later & i have had a pretty successful time during obama in office. now i know most of you have mixed opinions about tuesday's election...but can i just say obama made me cry AGAIN? what a powerful public speaker he is. i didn't even vote for him but i was moved (& relieved romney didn't win. seriously, guys.)

anyways, so this election i worked a 12 hour day...doing basically what you see above. my co-worker bailey & i split up the 50 states & used an online tool to track how many votes were counted for each candidate.

she got the top half & i got the bottom half. which means every time i'd get to ohio, i'd cry out "ROMNEY'S AHEAD!" "OK NOW OBAMA'S AHEAD!" "AH CRAP ROMNEY'S AHEAD AGAIN!" it was so intense! i couldn't believe how close the votes came. but in the end, it didn't matter...obama won the popular vote & the electoral college. it was a close race though, & a night i will never forget! i love my job!

 

here's basically what i looked at for 12 hours.

 

luckily bailey brought bacon maple cupcakes...yes you read that right. they were delicious..they had chunks of bacon in them!

also, i wore pink tights. i think that needs to be noted as well that sometimes i am girly. 

 

here we are, in action.

i can't wait to see where i am 4 years from now! 

lack of sleep does a lot to a person.

 

well i survived week one of my new job. barely.

it's safe to say that if you saw me at all last week, you saw me at my craziest... and that's not an exaggeration. poor luke saw everything from crying, laughing, screaming, even throwing temper tantrums. it was bad.

my body does NOT know how to shut down when it's daylight out. i put blankets over the windows, took some tylenol pm, put a handkerchief over my eyes...anything to help my body feel like it was nighttime. but basically nothing worked & it wasn't until i had gone 35+ hours without sleep that i finally crashed. hard.

however, i survived, & even left with some hilarious new memories... here are bits & pieces of my week:

1. after 35 hours of no sleep, i was trying to do math & was NOT succeeding. when i got frustrated i told luke, "THIS SUCKS BECAUSE I'M STILL 3 EPISODES BEHIND!" (instead of assignments)

2. singing teletubbies theme song while driving home from malad, idaho, to help myself stay awake.

3. also jamming pink floyd with all 4 windows down & using my steering wheel as a drumset.

4. running into the door because i was too tired to notice it wasn't open.

5. after trying to sleep for 4 hours with no luck, opening a gallon of ice cream & eating out of it with a spoon. luke says, "wow...are you okay? i've seen you eat ice cream out of the container exactly 1 time, & you weren't doing so hot then..." hahahha!

needless to say it's been one of those weeks. but i am fired up & ready for this week's adventures. hopefully i get some more sleep!

the daily grind.

here i am with fox 13's ben winslow (aka twitter king, aka utah's favorite journalist) right before the 9 o'clock newscast. also, i owe this guy my career.

it may not seem like much of a career yet, but i got my foot in the door thanks to this guy.

it's a dang good thing i know how to make a good cup o' coffee.

everyone at the station was super excited to have me back this week. i'm very excited to be back as well, but still, the warm welcome was all i needed to know i'd made the RIGHT decision. that, & not hearing "I WANT A MOCHA COOKE CRUMBLE FRAPPUCINO" 18 times a day.

anyway, i'm getting used to my new "daily grind." this job is a lot more stressful, but it's good stress...eustress, i guess it's called. i am doing what i love, & i couldn't be more excited! i have been doing this for over a year, but the full-time hours & lovely raise are truly a blessing.

hope everyone has a lovely weekend! i'm throwing a bridal shower for my little sister this weekend, working my last day at starbucks, & writin' lots of newsy-news.

the only downside to this job is that i STILL have no idea what a "weekend" is really like. also, i still work at criddle's cafe (the scones & good tip money are too good to turn down). sigh. someday i'll be back to only having one job...someday.

the best news.

it is with a (not so) heavy heart that i put in my TWO WEEKS NOTICE at starbucks yesterday.
i've been a barista on & off since i was 16, & it was starting to get kind of old. i have loved many of the people i've come to know in my 2 years at starbucks, and the 2 years i worked at barnes & noble. but i realized the other day (or a few months ago) that i can't really do it anymore. it's become too frustrating, aggravating, annoying, & otherwise bothersome. my anxiety is so much worse every time i am there. a typical conversation with our "lovely" customers in the drive-thru usually goes as such:

ME: "thanks for choosing your south ogden starbucks, my name is lauren, how are you today?"
CUSTOMER: "TRIPLE NONFAT NO FOAM EXTRA HOT LATTE"
ME: "okay, what size will that be?"
CUSTOMER: "AND A BIRTHDAY CAKE POP!!!!!!!!!!"
ME: "okay, but what size is your drink?"
CUSTOMER: "i don't know, regular."
ME: *cursing in my head* "we have a small, medium, or large size. which size would you like."
CUSTOMER: "no whip cream, okay?"
ME: "okay, lattes don't come with whip. did you decide what size you want?"
CUSTOMER: "regular."
ME: "....okay. anything else?"
*customer pulls through before i can say anything else*


needless to say, i've never doubted the human race more than when I work at starbucks. selfish, horrible, rude, undoubtedly too-rich-for-their-own-good people bark commands at me and roll their eyes at me like i'm an idiot. i realized last week that it was more than due time to put my notice in when i found out my very own store manager has many words to say behind my back...mostly talking crap to anyone who will listen about how i have another job (because, you know, how rude of me to not live off of 8.50 an hour....)


i realized how over starbucks i am when i was talking to an older man while making drinks last week.
HIM: "now make sure that's a dry cappuccino. i'll tell you when to stop making foam. none of you know how to do it right."
ME: *because he seems to know better than me* "Okay, sir. no problem. How are you today?"
HIM: "i'm good. just make my drink."ME: probably rolled my eyes...just a little bit.
HIM: "The problem with your generation is none of them know the value of hard work. none of you understand what it's like to be on your own - that's good, no more foam, please - all of you have mommy's and daddy's who never spanked you & pay for everything so you can do as you please."
ME: *pouring his drink* "i'm sorry sir, a lot of people my age are that way."
HIM: "Don't apologize, you can't help the way you are. I bet your mom and dad pay for everything you own. I bet your mom and dad think you learn better that way. i bet your mom & dad let you work here part-time, so you feel like they're not helping you."
ME: *fuming, at this point* "Actually, sir, my dad paid for my first year of college but I have been on my own ever since. I have worked at least 2 jobs since I was 20, to not only pay for my bills, but to pay for my college education so I can be something other than a barista for the rest of my life."
HIM: *awkward silence*




So needless to say I am tired of being talked down at. Though that's not the only reason I quit.... 
Fox 13 has offered me a job!!!! After months of on-and-off freelancing, I am finally "in" when it comes to a job that I love!!!!!!!!! HAPPY DANCE!
anyways, enough ranting. I felt like I lost 20 pounds when I told my manager I was leaving. I'm going to Seattle next week, but  needless to say I didn't feel like I owed the Starbucks company much, considering certain experiences I won't post on the Interwebz. Regardless, a better future is in store, though I will never forget the GOOD memories I have of Starbucks:

bowling in park city for our store party.

going on a little bullet bike ride, instead of sweeping the lobby.

my coworker josh, always playing funny jokes on us.

wonderful times at the centerville store.

laura getting fake arrested by our cop regular, officer bryson.

laura is pretty much my favorite coworker of all time.

pride with my favorite south ogdenites.

thanks for the good memories, guys. i mostly loved everyone i worked with. but i am so glad to be starting a new chapter!

the weekend = lauren goes to work.

that's right folks. these past 2 days have been my "weekend" of sorts (where i only work 4 hours one day, & only 6 hours the next day!) & now it's back to the daily grind of working doubles, trying to make enough money to be able to go to school 5 days a week in the fall. did i mention how stressful senior year is!? holy freaking cow! 
anyways, sometimes going to work for hours at a time isn't so bad. especially when one of south ogden's favorite regulars takes me for a spin through the drive thru to get my black tea lemonade:

ps did i mention i hate bullet bikes? i wouldn't let him go any faster than 5 mph. he kept chuckling at me for screaming every time he had to turn the wheel.

someday i'll get over my fear of bikes... & get a vespa.

this tops my most embarrassing moments.

so yesterday at work i reached an all time high of embarrassing moments (including when i passed out in the 5th grade and peed my pants.) it was a normal day at fox 13 studios, and I was AP for the 5 PM newscast. At 5:55, I was gathering all my things and somehow...I don't even know what happened, or if it was my fault, or HOW it happened...I get KONKED in the head with something....and all of a sudden everything goes white and smoky.
Of course, I froze. And I'm in a tiny room with the other producer, director, and graphics people and everyone is screaming, "FIRE!!!!"
So eventually after I stop being frozen (I tend to do that) I hear, "Open the door!" So naturally, since I'm closest to the door, I open it, and my director Dan comes running out of the room with a fire extinguisher that is just exploding. I'm not even kidding, I've never seen anything like it in my life.
So since we were in news control (a smaller room separate from the actual newsroom,) everyone in the newsroom starts freaking out. Bob yells, "There's a fire!" And everyone starts freaking out. Finally, our News Director Renai herds us all into another room and Dan runs the fire extinguisher outside to finish going off.
The best part is that we were supposed to come back after a commercial break, and we had to call Master Control and tell them to just run more commercials. So we even had to end the newscast early.
FAIL!!!!!!
And these are the results of my absolute clumsiness:

yeah... it's still not to the point where I can laugh about this yet, even though everyone else in the studio thought it was rather hilarious.

Maybe it will seem less embarrassing tomorrow...

occupy slc photos.

today for work i got to go downtown to be part of the occupy slc fun!! getting paid to protest is the best, if you ask me. anyway, they asked me to take some photos for a photo gallery for the website. i was given a NICE camera (and i mean...nice) and a car (very conspicuous, covered in fox 13 decals) and sent downtown to capture all the awesomeness! here are a few favorite photos:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

check out the rest of the photos i took here! also, here's a picture fox 13's ben winslow snuck of me getting pics of all the action. so much fun!!!

an evening in park city.

last week i went to the centerville starbucks store party. even though i transferred to a store in ogden, i was lucky enough to still get the invite to red rock brewery for dinner and drinks, and jupiter bowl for some awesome bowling and music!
it was a really good time, and it made me miss all the awesome people i worked with for the past year. here are some pictures from the evening:

guess we weren't ready for this one...ha.

all of us outside red rock.

bowling!

on our way home we saw a MASSIVE fire from the freeway. i called fox to ask what was going on and they said it was a human caused fire...so of course a few of us went as close as we could to see the fire for ourselves. it actually ended up getting within several hundred yards of people's homes...so glad the firefighters got it put out!

it's official.

i've known for a little over a week now...but fox 13 has asked me to freelance for them! 
i work as an associate producer part-time, and i love it!
it pays DOUBLE what i make at starbucks too, so that's a bonus ;)
i'm super excited for this great opportunity. it will lead to an awesome full-time job when i finally graduate!

i will miss..

all my awesome coworkers at the centerville starbucks.

this week i start my new adventure at the south ogden starbucks...and i'm so nervous.
i loved the people i worked with here, and the memories we made:
-playing practical jokes on franny, our manager.
-meeting ty burrell, the actor who plays phil on modern family :)
-laughing at laura when customers walk in on her in the bathroom. ha!
-fly killing contests
-the competitions of who could sell the most via
-sitting outside with the amazing regulars who became my friends
-dance parties to lionel richie, olivia newton john, and europe!!
-i'll even miss being made fun of for being the accident-prone barista!

the centerville store will always hold a special place in my heart. it was where i learned some great things. and also where i got reacquainted with my boyfriend...so thanks centerville. i owe you a LOT.  :)

the newsroom.

 

welcome to where i've spent the majority of my summer.

with the studio currently undergoing renovations (as in pretty much getting completely rebuilt), we have all been squished into the area behind the anchor desks... not a lot of space for anchors, reporters, editors, producers, etc etc. tension runs high sometimes, especially when there's a lot going on! i've seen people at each other's throats, yelling, or wondering where their live shot is, or having to step outside to BREATHE. too much togetherness sometimes!
however there's also been amazing memories made here. bob evans loves singing musicals, hope has the best sense of humor ever... i also love gene kennedy's band drop dead julio who we love to sing in the newsroom on the weekends. ben winslow will always be my personal favorite since he got me the internship...he is a "robot" of news since he always seems to know what's going on.
the producers are all amazing and so patient with me as i pick up on how to do everything! other than the occasional slow news day where we sit outside and BBQ or read, there's always something going on and something needing to be done.
i truly love the busy lifestyle of working in news...even if it gets a bit crazy sometimes!

DIY.

i've been on the lookout for do-it-yourself projects over the past couple days. the boredness that ensues between 7 and 9 at my internship is getting to be a little too much for me. so i figured i ought to come up with some things to do to occupy my time! these cute bracelets are sure to keep me entertained...i'm off to buy thread tonight after i leave fox 13 studios actually.
other things on the list of stuff to do during slow hour:
-work on my portfolio
-reread the hunger games series
-apply for jobs [starbucks is getting a little old for me]
-offer to write more stories!!

despite the slow times between when the 5 o'clock ends and the 9 o'clock begins...my days consist of being busy busy busy.
today was no exception. i work 17 hours total! today was a great day at the bucks though...we got to make coffee for ty burrell, the actor who plays phil on modern family!!

 

here he is signing autographs for all of us starstruck baristas.

and for those who are curious, he drinks black coffee...a manly man.

and he had a sexy beard. and was one of the nicest guys ever! 

weekend in pictures.

it was a lovely quiet weekend for me, consisting of double dates, homemade fajitas, despicable me, live music, working, superbowl fun with the family, how to train your dragon, and sunday mornings reading the paper. here's a couple shots i managed to take along the way.

watching my friends band the descriptive play an acoustic set in ogden.

sundays with my favorite shift, laura. [who is also who i went on the double date with on friday.]

learned to play texas holdem...and might be kind of addicted to it already.

football shaped rolls for our superbowl party.
[go packers!]

nerdin' out with my favorite nephew.

life is wonderful.