My Take On The Abercrombie Situation

I guess I am a little late commenting on this subject, but people still keep bringing it up and I have to say something about it. I don't understand why people have to have so much beef with Abercrombie & Fitch. They are a business just like any other business out there in the world, and they have the freedom to sell what they want, just like any other company. I am not just an outsider looking in, because I have worked for the company since 2010 and I am telling you right now, they are a great company to work for.

First of all, just applying for a job with the company you get to CHOOSE when your interview is, which most companies don't. Then once you get offered a job there, you get to make your own hours. In the computer system, you can actually block out certain days in the week or block out certain times in a particular day that you cannot work, and the manager of the store can't schedule you for those times. I have worked for other companies where you will tell them you can't work a specific day, and they still put you on to work that day. At A&F, if you block out that day/time, then you are not going to work it. A&F is one of the most flexible jobs ever. You can literally work as many, or as little hours as you want. During "floor sets" which happens a few times a year when the whole store gets updated, you have the opportunity for tons of hours, even over time, which many companies out there will not give their employees. A&F is all over the country and the world, so when someone needs to move away for school, or other reasons, you can easily transfer to another store, and that whole process happens right over the phone within minutes.

I just gave you numerous reasons why working for the company is so great, and a lot of those reasons centered around the fact that the company gives their employees CHOICES and FREEDOM. A company like A&F that believes in freedom and letting their employees have power also translates into their company philosophy, of having the FREEDOM TO SELL WHAT THEY WANT. Just like a restaurant can choose to not serve a customer, or sell apple pie instead of key lime pie, A&F can sell smaller clothes and not bigger clothes if they so choose.

I love to shop at American Eagle Outfitters, except whenever I try on pants there, they are always way too long on me. I am only 5' 2", and my legs are pretty short which makes finding pants that are the right length for me, very very hard. I really want to be able to buy pants from American Eagle because they have a nice cut to them and I love the brand, but they just don't make pants that are short enough for me. Yeah, I complain about it to my friends, because it's a total bummer that I have to shop elsewhere for my pants, but you don't see me taking action against the company for it. If they don't want to cater towards girls who have short legs like me, THEN THEY DON'T HAVE TO.

Torrid is a store in the mall close to my house. Every time I walk by the store, I always see that they have great items in there and I would love to go inside and even take a look. The only problem is, Torrid is a plus size store, and they don't make clothes there small enough for me. I actually really like some of the clothes they sell there, but I can't shop there because my frame is too small for any of the clothes there. I can easily complain to the company about how they need to make smaller clothes so that I can shop there, but Torrid is a business and they have the freedom to sell whatever they want, and if they don't want to sell clothes small enough for me to fit into, THEN THEY DON'T HAVE TO.

It really gets me heated that people are getting so mad at the A&F CEO for saying how he only wants certain groups of people shopping at his company. He has the freedom to say that, because A&F is his company. People get mad at A&F for not selling clothes big enough, yet they don't get mad at Torrid for not selling clothes small enough. For some reason people are so damn sensitive now a days. CHILL OUT. You know, there are only about a million clothing companies out there in the world, and just because ONE COMPANY doesn't sell clothes that fit you correctly, you have to go after them? Please, everyone just needs to take a chill pill. You have a problem with A&F, good, shop somewhere else. If you think making a buzz about how much A&F apparently sucks, you aren't going to hurt their business. A&F is an INTERNATIONAL COMPANY. The USA is pretty much the only country in the world that has such a high percentage of overweight people, hence, the USA is the only country in the world where people have trouble fitting into their clothes. Everywhere else in the world people are shopping there, and in the USA, the people who can fit into the clothes are still shopping there. Yeah, people probably hate the CEO of A&F, but that isn't going to stop them from shopping there to get their back to school styles.

Chillin' With A Plain White T

Have you ever met a celebrity? If you have, did you sit with them and just have a normal conversation? I don't mean talking about their career or traveling around the world or anything like that; I mean just hangout with them for a moment in time and see a glimpse of what they are really like? I have, and I didn't even know I was talking to a celebrity at the time.

A few years back after I had started working at the Casino, the Plain White T's were performing in July. I remember being really excited about the show because they have quite a few popular songs that have been on the radio and their name is really out there. For some reason even though I knew their music, I really didn't know what they looked like. I mean, I was a fan of the music but I never really took the time to learn about the band members.

Before the show that night I was prepping and getting ready for the show. I remember it was a really hot day and inside the building it was just so hot. I had to take some empty boxes outside out back and I was relieved because I desperately needed fresh air. When I went outside and discarded the boxes I decided to sit down on the back stairs for a couple minutes so that I could cool off. The back stairs is also the area where the tour buses are and where the bands were hanging out. I don't know why I never put two and two together that I was basically hanging out in the area where the Plain White T's were but I guess at the time I was just tired, and possibly a little out of it.

So I'm sitting there, staring out at the parking lot when I see a figure sit next to me on the other side of the stairs. I kind of look over at the corner of my eye and I didn't recognize the person so I kept on looking straight ahead. A few seconds later the guy goes, "Wow, I can't believe I've never been to New Hampshire before, this area is great!" I just looked at him for a second and smiled. (Damn, why was I so unfriendly)

Another few seconds go by before he talks again. "Sooo, are you from around here?" Honestly at the time I don't know why but i just wasn't feeling talkative and now this random stranger is asking me questions like this!?

So I responded, "Yeah, I work here I'm just getting some fresh air before I have to go back inside and get to work." Smooth Mary, real smooth.

Then the guy goes, "Yeah, I'm with the band, gotta get back to work soon too. But hey, what's fun to do around here? Some buddies and I were thinking of going out around here or something maybe you know some places?" Okay, this guy is nice. So I started telling him about some cool places in the area and then he started mentioned some places around the country he's been to and he was actually a really interesting guy. We talked for a few more minutes before I had to go back inside and he had to get back to work with the band.

A couple hours later when the concert had started, the opening band, Mae, had just finished performing and Plain White T's were up next. I was all excited to finally see them up on stage and live in person! The crowd was going crazy! The guitarists and drummer go on first and then all of a sudden the lead singer emerges and MY JAW JUST DROPPED IN THAT INSTANT. The second I saw him step on stage I was in shock. The lead singer of Plain White T's was the guy I was sitting and talking to on the back stairs a couple hours earlier. OMG. How could I not know who this guy was? Did I really have an entire conversation with this guy and not know that he is a huge celebrity who travels the world and is the lead singer of a band?! Yeah, that happened. I met this guy and I didn't get an autograph, or picture, or anything! Ugh!

At first I was so mad because I realized that I had totally just treated this guy like he was any other guy, and I wasn't even that friendly at all. But then, I realized, he probably really liked that. Being a celebrity he always has girls all over him trying to talk to him, get pictures, beg him for autographs and all sorts of stuff. I was the total opposite. He probably enjoyed being able to talk to someone who had no idea who he was. I realized that I had made a celebrity feel like a normal guy for just a moment in time, and that actually made me feel good. I don't have proof that I met him, all I have is the memory. What I do know is, while Tom, the lead singer, is mobbed by millions of people every year, he will always remember me as the regular girl who treated him like a normal guy. (Even if I didn't know it) ;)

What I'm Made Of

Have you ever wondered what you are? When you are talking to someone and they ask, "What are you"?... what do you say? Do you even know? Or if you do have an answer, how can you be sure that it is correct? I've been told by both sides of my family what I am made of, and up until the past year I never questioned it.It's kind of funny, my whole life I've been told I am Italian, French, and Native American, but oddly enough when people try to guess what I am, almost every case people guess that I am SPANISH.

If I go by what both sides of my family say, I am 50% Italian from my dad's side, 43.5% French and 6.5% Native American from my mom's side.

First of all, let me tell you what I have been told what I am based on what my family has told me. My dad's side of the family all claim they are 100% Italian. Okay, well this is the 21st century, and considering these claims are based on stories that their ancestors have told them for decades and decades, I personally find it VERY hard to believe that at some point or another there wasn't someone in my family who had a baby with another person who wasn't Italian. I am probably going to get a lot of crap about this from my family but look at it this way. If a woman in my family got married to another Italian man, and at some point during the marriage she strayed and got pregnant from some different man, WHO WAS NOT ITALIAN, do you really think she is going to tell her husband and family that she not only cheated on her husband but is also having a baby that is not Italian? Yeah, didn't think so. She is going to say that the baby is her husbands, and then everyone is going to believe that the baby is 100% Italian, when in fact that baby is only 50%. That baby is going to grow up thinking it is 100% Italian, then is going to marry someone who is 100% Italian, and have kids who are supposedly 100% Italian when in reality they are only 75%. Generations go by like this. Stuff like this happened all the time back then because life was more conservative like that. So yeah, when my dad's side of the family tells me that they are 100% Italian, I'm taking it with a grain of salt.

I am not just picking on my dad's side. My mom's side of the family claims we are just French and Native American. Apparently my grandfather's side of the family is all 100% French. Now, like the hypothetical situation I mentioned above, this may not be totally true, even if they don't know it. My grandmother's side was apparently French with some Native American in there. If you have seen any of my mom's side of the family, it is undeniable that Native American is in our blood, but just how much, that is the question.

I am proud of every nationality I carry in my blood. I like being French and Italian, but I am most proud of being Native American.The past couple of years I have talked to a few family members about genealogy, and I have expressed how even though I love the stories, and I totally respect what I am, I really want to know EXACTLY what I am. I have gotten mixed reviews, but for the most part very supportive reactions. I want to take a genealogy test that will tell me exactly what percentages I am. My family knows that once I take this test it is going to reveal a lot of information about my family, and in doing so it may reveal that they are not exactly what they have thought they were their entire life. How am I going to take this test? Here's the link:

https://genographic.nationalgeographic.com/

I plan on taking this test before the end of the summer, seeing that it is $200.00, I need to wait to see how my finances will work out. The link here is the homepage to the website, and if you click on it you can explore the geno project and learn more about what the test covers and how it works. It is not a matter of IF I will do this test, because I AM going to. It is time that I learn what I am made of, because maybe for generations stories were enough for people, but stories aren't always accurate, and science is. If you have ever really wondered what you are made of, I encourage you to look into the geno project. There are many DNA tests out there similar to this one, but from my research this test from National Geographic has the best results from a larger pool of data!

Lying Is A Dangerous Game

So. I have read many books in my day, and I have watched many T.V. shows. I know they are just movies and stories and it's not real life, but if there is anything I have learned from those stories is that lying NEVER works out in the end. Just take a minute and think about some of the movies you have seen. In a lot of them, one person lies to another person about something for whatever reason, and before the end of the movie the person lied to finds out somehow, and then there's a big problem. What happens next is there is mistrust, and usually some big dramatic scene where the person lied to walks out. The only thing that ends up fixing it is the person who lied has to swallow their pride and tell the complete truth, in the hopes that they will be forgiven.

Now, here is where movies are just not realistic; in order to create happy endings in these stories, there needs to be forgiveness and in many cases the lying that happens not only gets forgiven but it gets forgotten. Ladies and gentlemen, I am sorry but life does NOT work that way. In movies they make it seem like lying isn't as big of a deal as it actually is because in the end everything works itself out. NO! No no no no no no no. If you are one of those people who believe that you may as well just stop reading this post because what I am about to talk about is not going to make it through your skull.

I can admit that I make a lot of mistakes. In fact, I make tons of mistakes all the time, BUT I OWN UP TO THEM. I have a big mouth and well, there's no filter with it. What is the result you may ask? TRUTH. I speak the truth. I can't lie and don't know how to lie. If I actually tried to, I would be so dreadful at it that it would just make me look bad. I just choose not to lie.... period. And I'm serious. There is absolutely no point whatsoever to lie. Think about a time where you have lied to someone. Once you say that lie, you have to keep covering it up whenever that situation/topic gets brought up. Now what you have done is create more work for yourself because you have to remember what your "new" story is. Why would you want to stress yourself out over trying to figure out how your going to change a story to not get yourself in trouble or protect someone's feelings?

There are many reasons why people feel the need to lie, and I understand that, but honestly, in almost every case, the truth comes out and the person who lied usually ends up saying "FML" to themselves (or literally outloud) because they put themselves in a worse position than they did if they had just said the truth to begin with.

Listen here, I am a full time college student who has a billion things going on and I have 10,000 things to do and remember at all times. My brain never has a day off. I don't have time or energy to lie. Do you know how awesome it feels to not have to worry about what I say around people because I haven't lied to anyone? It feels really good. I don't know how people do it honestly. If your hanging out with a group of people and you start to tell a story and then realize mid story you can't say certain things because you lied to someone in the room about that exact story, dude, your in trouble. WHY WOULD YOU WANT TO MAKE YOURSELF FEEL THAT WAY AND RISK GETTING CAUGHT.

Honestly people it's really quite simple.... If you don't want someone finding out about something you said or did, then DON'T SAY OR DO IT IN THE FIRST PLACE. Now, is that so hard to do? You obviously are lying to that person to spare their feelings or not get yourself in trouble, so here's a thought, how about you just don't do or say that thing in the first place, and then you don't have to lie about it. IMAGINE THAT! The fact is, just too many people think it's okay to lie and I don't think people realize that just being honest and upfront about things in the first place is better than getting caught. Don't let that person find out you were lying, just tell them straight up. Though it may get you in trouble or hurt their feelings, if you make a mistake, OWN UP TO IT.

Boating Life

So this weekend I took a little break from blogging, because, well, I basically took a break from everything. I am sure many of you reading my blog are not from New Hampshire, but if you ever find yourself in the area, take the time and go to Hampton Beach, NH. There are so many things to do in New Hampshire. You know, a lot of people think that New Hampshire really doesn't have a lot to offer, but we do. New Hampshire is one of the few states where there are the mountains, lakes, rivers, beaches, farms, and heavily wooded areas. Where I live in NH, I am only 1 hour away from ski mountains, 45 minutes from every major beach on the coast of Maine, NH and MA, I'm less than an hour from Boston, and am also near tons of lakes. My state is THE place to be if you are the outdoorsy type. The one thing I really enjoy though, is the boating life.

My family has a boat and we keep it in the marina near my house. I have had the opportunity to learn so much about boating and I love it. My mom just recently got her boating license and it's been so cool watching her learn the ropes and it's inspired me to learn too. I just got the book for it and I'm currently studying to get my boating license. Hopefully, I will have my boating license in just a few short months! Or at least by the end of the summer! I've discovered that being out on the open water is something I really enjoy, and I don't mind the hard work it takes. I've been telling some friends about how someday I want to get my own boat and really put my skills to the test. I get a lot of raised eyebrows because I'm a girl who is doing something that is really male dominated. I know girls who have their boating licenses, but mostly just so they can ride jet skis on a lake.

I think it's cool though. I want to be able to show my friends a good time and I will feel so proud of myself if I am able to do that using the skills I am working really hard at perfecting. Also, I think people don't realize how many females actually are into boating. There are actually a lot of women down in my marina who are into boating just like me. It's really awesome being surrounded by women who also share the same hobby as me now. It makes me feel good that I have plenty of people there who are helping me learn how to be successful at this. Some of them are older, and a couple are my age, but regardless of their age I still feel like they are going to be my life long friends, and in a different way than any other friends I have ever had.

I encourage all you women to do what you love, even if it is male dominated. I feel like sometimes girls shy away from doing things they really like because they are afraid of being judged by boys. I can easily just tell you that you need to be more confident in what you do and not care about what boys think, but I know that it isn't that easy. I've been in that situation where I haven't done something because I was afraid that people, like guys, would think I was being too boyish or not feminine enough. Want to know what I think though? I think that if you are a girl and you are confident and doing what you love, that right guy is going to think that whatever you do is sexy, even if that means you are doing dirty work on a boat!

Music To My Ears

I have been asked a bunch of times what is so appealing to me about bands like Sublime, Radical Something, Jack Johnson and others like them. Okay, first of all, what is there not to like? But seriously, I actually have reasons and history behind why I listen to the music I listen to. I could give you the short story and just tell you that I stumbled upon some Jack Johnson songs back in the day, but that would be leaving out vital information about why the music means so much to me. So here it goes:

When I was in the 8th grade, I had a young science teacher. He was definitely fresh out of college and considering he was our only male teacher that year, yes a lot of us girls thought he was cute. (Which now that I think about it that is pretty creepy because he definitely creeped on a lot of us) Anyway, he wanted to be the "fun" teacher so before every class, he would have music playing as we walked in. What kind of music? JACK JOHNSON. My science teacher was a huge Jack Johnson fan and wanted to share his music with all of us. Some days he would play one of Jack's music videos on the T.V. in the room, and if there wasn't a music video for a song, he would just play the song.

I had never heard of Jack Johnson before this point, and I fell in love with the music right away. His voice was simply music to my ears; always so soothing. I literally never skipped that class. Even if I was feeling sick I still went to that class because I was excited which Jack Johnson song my teacher was going to play that day. I also liked it when my teacher would talk about how he discovered Jack Johnson, and shared memories from when he went to one of Jack's concerts out west. I realized that year that I wanted to go to those kinds of concerts, I wanted to find more music like Jack Johnson, and even more, I wanted to meet Jack one day.

The summer before going into high school I started to really search for music and discovered not only great new music that none of my friends listened to, but I also learned a lot about life in other parts of the country, like California, Hawaii, and some islands in the Caribbean. I was a girl in junior high, trying to figure out who I was, and I kind of found myself in the music. Which I know sounds like totally weird, but it's true. I really discovered my true style.

The music also inspired me to apply for a job at Hollister Co. Of course I really liked the clothes too, but come on, how could I not want to work in an environment where I can listen to really chill music, and see Huntington Beach, CA at all hours of the day? That company was my way of being able to live the life I feel like I belonged in. I have to thank Hollister, if I didn't work there, I may not have discovered Radical Something. One of their songs, "California" was on our playlist one summer and catapulted me in to listening to more bands like them. After going to their concert, and also working at a small concert venue, I realized what makes their concerts so awesome.

I would never want these bands to become big enough to where they are selling out stadiums and arenas because the concerts aren't as intimate. Why do you think Jack Johnson never plays in big places? To an even more extreme, why do you think he only plays in Hawaii and the west coast? Because that is where the heart of the music comes from, and with this genre of music you need to keep it real. Honestly I'm glad that not a lot of people like this genre, because everything that becomes mainstream gets tainted. The last thing I want is the music that made me who I am today be soiled by constant media, and have it be listened to by millions of people who don't even understand the meaning of it.

Well, there's my rant for the day. Also, I was really inspired to write about this topic right now because like I have proclaimed in my blog a couple days ago, I am now a "pencil-pusher".. so naturally I need distractions from work. ;)

Oh, and can we just talk about how cute Jack is??? Of course he's not single though! :(

Change of Direction

I can't quite explain how I got to this point in my life, but ladies and gentlemen... I have officially become a pencil-pusher. :( For those of you who may not know what this "pencil-pusher" reference is, basically, I sit at a desk for about 8 hours a day, staring a computer and filling out paperwork.. which will then be uploaded onto a computer.

My whole life I have bounced between so many different career options. When I was a kid, I wanted to be a dancer. Then when I was 8 years old and found out I have Hashimotos Hypothyroidism, then I wanted to become an Endocrinologist. Then in high school, I decided I wanted to be a Spanish teacher because I was able to pick up the language to quickly. My freshman year of high school I went on a field hockey tour through Europe, and all of a sudden I wanted to work for the Travel Channel and travel around the world and uncover the world's hidden gems.

I can tell you all right now that I have changed my mind about 100 times about what I want to do for a career. I was watching Oprah one day back in high school where a guest speaker said, "Figure out what you love to do, then find a way to get paid for it." Hmmm, sounds simple enough... oh wait, I change my mind about what I love about every 60 seconds. Honestly, it's not that I stop liking what I am doing, or become bored of it, but when I start to think about it more as a career, it either won't pay me enough to even have a halfway decent standard of living, or the reality of making it a career takes the whole fun out of it.

In conclusion, I am going to be a junior Business major at UMass Amherst this fall and I am more confused now than I was when I was 6 years old. Go figure. If there is one thing I do know though, after this internship is over, I am not going to be applying for any more office jobs. I need something that is a taddddd more exciting.

So, if you have any ideas of how I can make a change of direction as far as my career goes, please contact me! Not that I am sounding desperate now or anything... ;)

Ciao!