just because i thoroughly enjoy SNL Weekend Updates pre-election
check it out
Friday, October 17, 2008
Blog Makeover
Round three, lets see if I can keep it up this time. I added some different colors so I figured it might help me stay a little bit more interested. So on a blog I suppose I'm allowed to say what I want and comment on what I want and analyze what I want how I want. Well here is an article that I read from the Anchorage Daily News about the target that just opened which I found extremely disturbing and Im sure any of you who live in a state that have target will agree with me that it is slightly disturbing. Im starting to worry about the fate of my fellow alaskans.
Long wait is over for Alaska Target shoppers
After trial opening for VIPs, two stores open today
By JULIA O'MALLEY
jomalley@adn.com
Published: October 7th, 2008 10:39 PM
Last Modified: October 7th, 2008 03:12 PM
What is it about Target, that everyday Outside shopping fixture, with its acres of parking, wide aisles and discount swank, that makes Anchorage people freak out?
Is it the knock-off snakeskin handbags? The Chihuahua-sized Halloween costumes? The mod bottles of environmentally friendly, lavender-scented toilet scrub?
There were no real answers Tuesday night as the first batch of VIP shoppers flooded into the chain's new east-side store, only awe. For the first few minutes most people -- they were a group made up of specially invited community members and relatives of employees -- pushed their apple-red carts empty as Alaska band Pamyua played tribal funk from a spot cleared out near kidswear.
"It was like they were giving it away for free, how excited I was," said Deirdre Cronin, running her hand down the soft cotton of a little girl's shirt. At first she couldn't decide what to buy, there was just too much to take in.
"But I'm over that," she said, gesturing to a blouse and pair of jeans in her cart.
Before 6, as a giant Target-red hot-air balloon inflated in the parking lot, the much anticipated retailer cracked opened its doors to an eager, shivering crowd. The store and its Wasilla counterpart officially opens this morning at 8. Long lines and crowds are expected.
Before the shoppers came inside the perfectly organized, untouched Anchorage store Tuesday night, the "team members," as salespeople are called, did a few warm-up cheers in their red shirts embroidered with Alaska flags and Target bull's-eye logos. A manager yelled, "You want to ask them what?"
In unison, they called back: "Can I help you find something?"
The store is 172,000 square feet (about four acres), parked on what was once woods off the Glenn Highway near Bartlett High School. Between 350 and 400 employees have been hired to work there.
Tuesday's shoppers strolled by little tables stocked with appetizers -- meatballs near the shoes, tiny desserts by the detergent aisle, "Targetinis" (a mix of sparkling cider and pomegranate syrup) by baby accessories. Each would leave with a swag bag decorated with Target-logo salmon and containing a stuffed Target dog wearing a kuspuk. At one point, someone in the band started singing "We be shoppin', we be shoppin,' " to the tune of Bob Marley's "Jammin."
Is it risky to open a new store just as the national economy is sinking, when consumer confidence is down and people seem to be shopping less and saving their cash? No, said Brie Heath, a public relations person in from Minnesota, who surveyed the sea of customers. The store has low prices, making it attractive to shoppers when budgets are tight. Their stylishness helps them draw customers over the competition, she said.
Linda Thompson walked with purpose to frozen foods. She was in the market for beef enchiladas, she said. And kale in a can. You can't get that anywhere.
"We've been waiting forever," she said.
Debbie Boland, a little breathless, stood at the head of a line for a Nintendo Wii, holding a slick "Wii Fit" used for workout video games. It was the newness that people wanted; they wanted different things to buy, she explained.
There was something validating about having another major chain store, many shoppers said. As if a Target made Alaska less remote somehow. As if being able to buy what people Outside could buy shortened the distance between here and there. As if, somehow, access to stylish discount housewares meant the city had arrived.
"It's huge for Alaska," Boland said, just as another shopper, sipping a Targetini, rolled by.
Target has VIP's now? "We be shoppin" Targetini? Come on....
Long wait is over for Alaska Target shoppers
After trial opening for VIPs, two stores open today
By JULIA O'MALLEY
jomalley@adn.com
Published: October 7th, 2008 10:39 PM
Last Modified: October 7th, 2008 03:12 PM
What is it about Target, that everyday Outside shopping fixture, with its acres of parking, wide aisles and discount swank, that makes Anchorage people freak out?
Is it the knock-off snakeskin handbags? The Chihuahua-sized Halloween costumes? The mod bottles of environmentally friendly, lavender-scented toilet scrub?
There were no real answers Tuesday night as the first batch of VIP shoppers flooded into the chain's new east-side store, only awe. For the first few minutes most people -- they were a group made up of specially invited community members and relatives of employees -- pushed their apple-red carts empty as Alaska band Pamyua played tribal funk from a spot cleared out near kidswear.
"It was like they were giving it away for free, how excited I was," said Deirdre Cronin, running her hand down the soft cotton of a little girl's shirt. At first she couldn't decide what to buy, there was just too much to take in.
"But I'm over that," she said, gesturing to a blouse and pair of jeans in her cart.
Before 6, as a giant Target-red hot-air balloon inflated in the parking lot, the much anticipated retailer cracked opened its doors to an eager, shivering crowd. The store and its Wasilla counterpart officially opens this morning at 8. Long lines and crowds are expected.
Before the shoppers came inside the perfectly organized, untouched Anchorage store Tuesday night, the "team members," as salespeople are called, did a few warm-up cheers in their red shirts embroidered with Alaska flags and Target bull's-eye logos. A manager yelled, "You want to ask them what?"
In unison, they called back: "Can I help you find something?"
The store is 172,000 square feet (about four acres), parked on what was once woods off the Glenn Highway near Bartlett High School. Between 350 and 400 employees have been hired to work there.
Tuesday's shoppers strolled by little tables stocked with appetizers -- meatballs near the shoes, tiny desserts by the detergent aisle, "Targetinis" (a mix of sparkling cider and pomegranate syrup) by baby accessories. Each would leave with a swag bag decorated with Target-logo salmon and containing a stuffed Target dog wearing a kuspuk. At one point, someone in the band started singing "We be shoppin', we be shoppin,' " to the tune of Bob Marley's "Jammin."
Is it risky to open a new store just as the national economy is sinking, when consumer confidence is down and people seem to be shopping less and saving their cash? No, said Brie Heath, a public relations person in from Minnesota, who surveyed the sea of customers. The store has low prices, making it attractive to shoppers when budgets are tight. Their stylishness helps them draw customers over the competition, she said.
Linda Thompson walked with purpose to frozen foods. She was in the market for beef enchiladas, she said. And kale in a can. You can't get that anywhere.
"We've been waiting forever," she said.
Debbie Boland, a little breathless, stood at the head of a line for a Nintendo Wii, holding a slick "Wii Fit" used for workout video games. It was the newness that people wanted; they wanted different things to buy, she explained.
There was something validating about having another major chain store, many shoppers said. As if a Target made Alaska less remote somehow. As if being able to buy what people Outside could buy shortened the distance between here and there. As if, somehow, access to stylish discount housewares meant the city had arrived.
"It's huge for Alaska," Boland said, just as another shopper, sipping a Targetini, rolled by.
Target has VIP's now? "We be shoppin" Targetini? Come on....
Monday, August 25, 2008
Beautiful View!
Today was my first day of school. I moved into my new apartment on thursday (YES I am no longer homeless!) I am living on campus with some girls I lived near last year. They are all very sweet, very caucasian, and very blonde, so as for now i fit in. there are six of us living here in this little three bedroom, two bathroom apartment, with a large combined living room, kitchen, and patio. But by far we have the best view on campus. This comes from being on the third floor, which moving in was the biggest leg work out of my life, but i think it will help to keep me in shape this year. i am in the small back bedroom, which may sound miserable, but it is the one with the best view. Right now I just woke up and was able to watch the sun set beautifully behind the mountains. I can see over the foothills and even on to some of the snowy peaks. Its great. I live with a girl named lynsey. Initially I was worried about rooming with her, but so far things have been going well. I had four classes today which all went well. Most of my classes are global studies and history. They seem kind of difficult, but ill hope for the best. most of all i am looking forward to my french class. yay. tomorrow i just have one which will be nice. So as for now i have a mandatory floor meeting. now ill get a chance to meet everyone i live around. so hopefully that will be good. more updates later. love love
Friday, August 22, 2008
TOO MUCH
so long without writing, so much to say, so much has happened, so much alaska, so much sun burn, so much tom petty, so many people at school. i dont want to write about it all now. school starts monday. thats all for now. love love
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
homeless
the last few days have been quite the experience. i moved out of my campus apartment on monday and have been couch hopping for the last two nights. i put most of my stuff in storage and have only what i need, some clothes, two books, and some bathroom stuff, in the back of my car. all of my housing stuff for the fall, all of my options, have fallen through, leaving me homeless the last few nights, and also when i return in the fall unless i work something out asap. nothing seems to be working in my favor though. one night i was able to stay in my friend shannas guest bedroom. that was nice, they served me dinner and were very hospitable. in return i clean more than i left, leave a nice note, and maybe even some flowers, then disappearing before they arrive home from work. it happened today again when i stayed on my friend nicoles futon. they were very nice and even let me go out and use the apartment complex pool. it was very refreshing. the next morning i cleaned and left before they came home. during the day well yesterday i went to school and used the computers in the student union so that i could play spider solitaire. and today i am at the press because they have free wireless which i have not had access to because in the homes i stayed at they didnt have it. so now im just relaxing eating my blueberry bagel and drinking my large iced soy yerba mate and writing about my boring life of couch surfing. one thing im really interested in trying out, just for one night, is the Boulder International Hostel (http://www.boulderhostel.com) ive never stayed in a hostel but after reading about it, it sounds great and a fun community for a night or two. the only thing is that you must be an out of colorado resident which works perfect for me. maybe someday when i have someone who will go with me i will stay there for a night and make up an amazing story of my travels. but as for now im in the coffee shop for the next few hours until aaron will take me to the airport to fly home where i will be homeless no longer!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thursday, July 24, 2008
being grown up is hard
living in colorado this summer on my own while not going to school has been difficult yet eye opening. ive learned a lot about living, working, going about ways to find money when you seem to have none, and ive also learned how to cook (i know, cooking is a pretty big deal). i feel that ive come a long way and its forced me to grow up in some ways a little faster.
now with the fall semester just around the corner and trying to decide what to do or where to go with my life, ive learned to make decisions, which is something that im not very good at doing. im working on becoming a part time student, enrolling in the community college as well as ccu, and then trying to decide if i will fully transfer in the spring. along with this change it has brought about the opportunity to live off campus and not have a meal plan which will save me (and by me i mean parents) somewhere around 6,000 dollars im thinking. let me tell you, trying to find an apartment is tricky. im sure most of you know this because you are all older than me, but still. my main goal is to find a place with someone i already know, so we will see if that option goes through or not. as a part time student i can still live on campus and just pay rent month to month, but im not to anxious about staying on campus.
in the fall i hope to learn more about money (and by learn i mean make) and budget more, and be able to spend more of my own money than my parents. i also plan to ride a bike a little bit more than drive until the wretched gas prices go down. so growing up isnt all that enjoyable, but at least im still having fun down here. i guess thats what really matters. i will be home in 13 days and counting.
now with the fall semester just around the corner and trying to decide what to do or where to go with my life, ive learned to make decisions, which is something that im not very good at doing. im working on becoming a part time student, enrolling in the community college as well as ccu, and then trying to decide if i will fully transfer in the spring. along with this change it has brought about the opportunity to live off campus and not have a meal plan which will save me (and by me i mean parents) somewhere around 6,000 dollars im thinking. let me tell you, trying to find an apartment is tricky. im sure most of you know this because you are all older than me, but still. my main goal is to find a place with someone i already know, so we will see if that option goes through or not. as a part time student i can still live on campus and just pay rent month to month, but im not to anxious about staying on campus.
in the fall i hope to learn more about money (and by learn i mean make) and budget more, and be able to spend more of my own money than my parents. i also plan to ride a bike a little bit more than drive until the wretched gas prices go down. so growing up isnt all that enjoyable, but at least im still having fun down here. i guess thats what really matters. i will be home in 13 days and counting.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
a sun came
my life is a jumble. i cant wait to come home. only two and a half weeks of work left and then ill be back in the great state i call home. hopefully this trip will be filled with some trail running, nice bike rides, rock climbing, and hopefully a camping trip. after being there a week i will leave with laura and her family for washington where we will see tom petty in concert. yay. then hopefully we will go on a short back packing trip. yay. then a few days later we will see jack johnson in concert. yay. from there i will return back to colorado just a few days before school starts. here is where it becomes messy.
i think i will only be a part time student at ccu and take other classes at red rocks community college. all of this is for the purpose of getting into my dream school in boulder. by being a part time student that gives me the opportunity to live off campus which would save me about a thousand dollars not to mention the fifteen hundred that would normally be spent on a ridiculous meal plan. so it would be the most amazing thing if i could find some girls to share a place with off campus. i can only hope. but as for now i have a lot to do to get this all in place. tomorrow i will go to red rocks and talk with an adviser, then i need to talk with my ccu adviser, and then i also emailed a cu adviser for alaska and hopefully i will meet with her soon. so thats my life for now. hopefully everything will get done soon. thats about it.
i think i will only be a part time student at ccu and take other classes at red rocks community college. all of this is for the purpose of getting into my dream school in boulder. by being a part time student that gives me the opportunity to live off campus which would save me about a thousand dollars not to mention the fifteen hundred that would normally be spent on a ridiculous meal plan. so it would be the most amazing thing if i could find some girls to share a place with off campus. i can only hope. but as for now i have a lot to do to get this all in place. tomorrow i will go to red rocks and talk with an adviser, then i need to talk with my ccu adviser, and then i also emailed a cu adviser for alaska and hopefully i will meet with her soon. so thats my life for now. hopefully everything will get done soon. thats about it.
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