I Need Your Help!

Ok, so as of this morning, nothing was going on in my life. That has changed. At 2 PM today, I had a preliminary phone interview. I'm going to try to outline most of the points and I really want to hear back from y'all and get some outside advice. Please please please!

Here goes...this job would be another internship that pays the same amount as my current internship. Except it is in Orlando, Florida. My parents have said they will be able to help me out financially, but I would still need to live pretty basic. It is a marketing internship with a prominent new hotel opening in the fall, but would be giving me more sales experience and not as much creative marketing experience as I had hoped. One big downside is that I would have to find a roommate and place to live. Also? If I get the job, I would need to start ASAP...meaning in 3-4 weeks. This is a problem because I will basically be paying rent for 2 apartments for a month.

As for the interview this afternoon, things went pretty well. I could have done better though. It is like I prepare for a few questions, but not the ones they ask. It's so frustrating because I get tongue-tied and wind up saying "uhhhhhh" the whole time. Anyways, when I wasn't saying "uhhh", I was busy trying to BS my answers. If only they could give me a heads up on which questions they will ask...like they do for the celebrities on talk shows!

Well at the end of the conversation, the guy tells me that I really need to research how hotels do most of their business. Meaning, how they market to big companies and associations to get them to bring their business meetings to this specific hotel. How in the world am I supposed to RESEARCH this?! 

So I beg of you...any and all advice! Do you think I should take the job (if it is even offered)? Do you know anything about hotel marketing or anyone you think I could learn from/read about? Any and all help would be greatly appreciated!

Life and stuff.

I haven't been blogging much, because there is nothing going on in my life. I'm still working the same job that I have been working for 2 years. I am out looking for other opportunities, but as it turns out, the first thing companies get rid of in an economic downturn is the marketing activities. I just graduated with a marketing degree. Yay me.

Navy boy is still in Rhode Island, but comes home in like 2 weeks! He just told me that when he gets home, he will be here for a week then have to go down to Pensacola where he will eventually start flight school. Depending on if flight school is back-logged, he could come back home for a couple of months.

The thing that bothers me most about the military is how uncertain everything is. There is never really a long-term plan because they can just up and surprise you and say, "Hey you. It's time to go here." Oh well, I've decided to not get too emotionally invested unless he finds out he can definitely come home for a few months.

Hopefully, I will get a sweet job somewhere (preferably in another city/state) so I can start a new life and start moving forward. I feel like if I stay here, there are not that many opportunities, and I will just be doing the same thing over and over and hanging out with the same people over and over. I'm ready to meet new people and have new experiences. So I guess that is my goal.

Anyways, I wish I had more exciting things to write about, but I don't. I hope everyone has a great Memorial Day weekend!

Foodie Friday!

One recipe from Cinco de Mayo (others will follow next week):

Chicken Enchiladas (original recipe thanks to Rachel Ray, but I've tweaked it somewhat)

Ingredients:
4 c. chicken broth
4 pieces boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 bay leaf
1 spring fresh oregano (or 1 tsp. dried)
1 large onion, chopped
1 sm. can tomato paste (6 oz I think?)
2 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. cumin
2 1/2 c mexican blend shredded cheese
Pkg. small corn tortillas
Salt & Pepper (if needed)

Sauce:
4 c. tomato sauce
1 tsp. ground cayenne
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. chili powder

Method:
Bring chicken broth to a boil and add onion, oregano, bay then chicken. Cook about 10-12 mins. or until chicken is cooked through. Bring chicken to cutting board and let cool. Remove onion from broth (with slotted spoon or strainer-but save some of the liquid!) and place in a separate bowl and add tomato paste, chili powder, cumin. Use two forks to shred chicken and place in bowl with other ingredients. Add some of cooking liquid if mixture is dry (I usually use about 1 c). Season with S&P, if needed.

While chicken is cooking, combine all sauce ingredients in small sauce pot and warm through. Place tortillas (I usually need 8-12) in paper towel and warm in microwave.

Preheat broiler. Spoon about 2-3 tbl. chicken mixture in each tortilla and place seam side down in large casserole dish. Repeat until chicken mixture is gone. Pour sauce mixture over entire dish and then cover with cheese. Put under broiler for about 5 mins. or until cheese is melted.

ENJOY!

How am I Still Alive?

Graduation went well, and I was successfully drunk for about a week straight. The festivities began on Cinco de Mayo when Roommie and I threw a small dinner party for some friends. I made Chicken Enchiladas, Guacamole, and this dank grilled corn salsa (I will post all of these recipes for Foodie Friday tomorrow). We basically had a great time, great food, and of course, some wonderful margaritas. Long story short, we started hanging out with a friend (we will call him “Tuck” for the purposes of this blog) that we hadn’t seen in a while. He also brought over one of his friends. I need to think of a nickname for this kid, but nothing comes to mind except he has a funny laugh – and does it all the time. But that is kind of hard to put into a nickname, so for now he will just be “Tuck’s Friend”…let me know if you come up with something better.

Tuck’s Friend had just broken up with his girlfriend of 4 years about a couple of days into our party bonanza. It may or may not have had anything to do with the fact that he was hanging out at our apartment for days on end. But nothing scandalous happened! I promise!! He is so not my type. So of course, this event just propelled more and more partying then graduation came and that didn’t stop anyone.

Finally Wednesday of this week rolled around and we figured we should probably clean up our act. There was no going out last night, but I can’t say the same for tonight. The local trendy outdoor mall here hosts a beach music night every Thursday. It is fun to go see all the pretty dresses (90% of which are Lilly Pullitzer), dance and drink.

I’m super psyched about hanging out with Tuck and Tuck’s Friend so much. They are funny and nice southern boys who like to have a good time. And they respect Roomie and I so it won’t get all weird like some girl/boy friendships do. Yay for new friends! Ha.

Anyways, got to get back to work. But I did talk to Navy boy a couple of times this weekend, and he should be done with the hard part of OCS this week and be able to have his phone and go out on the weekends from now on. Woo! Less than a month till he is done! I hope he gets to come back to NC so I can actually spend some face-time with him!

Tomorrow!

I've been MIA mostly because I've been partying for the past few days in a drawn out celebration of the end of college. Tomorrow is graduation, so the partying continues when I leave work today for another 3 or so days. Ah. My body is getting worn out. But I can't stop! I've got friends coming in town and plans here and plans there. Got. to. push. through.

In other news, nothing is going on in my life. I haven't heard back about a job that I REALLY WANT, and Navy Boy is still up in Rhode Island but gets done in less than a month!

Have a great weekend y'all!

Graduation Countdown

It is officially 7 days away now. But I feel like that doesn't even matter. I had my last exams Thursday, so I am actually done with college. It felt really weird. Bittersweet is definitely the perfect term for the situation. Bitter because it means I have to be a real adult now and can't use the 'oh I'm a college student' excuse. And sweet because that means NO MORE TESTS AND GROUP PROJECTS!

Some things I will strangely (or not so strangely) miss about college:

• The Library - although the reason for going there always sucks, once I get there it is like a little adventure. Me and my friends always become giddy...throwing paper and whispering. Also, at my library coffee shop, they serve these things called Tiger Brownies. They are TO DIE FOR. I need to find a recipe, but it is like chocolate chip cookie and brownie in alternating columns on top of a coconut crust. I'm salivating just thinking about it.
• The parties, duh.
• The extremely HOT boy in most of my business classes.

Some things I will NOT miss about college:

• The school work, duh.
• The hideous smell of manure when they put new soil all over campus twice a year.
• Trying to look busy as you walk to class to avoid talking to random acquaintances.

I found a graduation dress this past week. It is Lilly Pulitzer, and even though I said I was disappointed with her collection, I must say that this dress is not on her website (and I can't find a picture of it anywhere). But I'll keep looking and post it as soon as I have something. In the meantime, this weak description will have to do: pink and white design, with white boat neck collar and a key hole near the collar in the front and back.

Foodie Friday

Foodie Friday! Woo! And y'all...I LOVE this one. It is Ina Garten's BBQ sauce that she uses to put on Chicken. But I guess you could really put it on anything you would normally put BBQ sauce on (pork chops, tenderloin, ribs, etc). I make a big batch and use it throughout the week since I am only cooking for one.

BBQ Sauce

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups chopped yellow onion (1 large onion)
1 tablespoon minced garlic (3 cloves)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup tomato paste (10 ounces)
1 cup cider vinegar
1 cup honey
1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce
1 cup Dijon mustard
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 cup hoisin sauce
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1/2 tablespoon crushed red pepper flakes

Method:
In a large saucepan on low heat, saute the onions and garlic with the vegetable oil for 10 to 15 minutes, until the onions are translucent but not browned. Add the tomato paste, vinegar, honey, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, chili powder, cumin, and red pepper flakes. Simmer uncovered on low heat for 30 minutes. Use immediately or store in the refrigerator.

FYI: I took this right from foodnetwork.com. But I just had to spread the word because it is DELICIOUS!