I'll hand it to you, mom/SVSU friends.

My mom started a blog. Following suit was my older sister, myself, and now my uncle.

What a trend setter.

It's been rumored a couple of my cousins may also start them.



Allow me to explain something quickly. My restaurant is located in a downtown hotel, only a short SkyWalk away from the RCA Dome (which is now being torn down, I believe Dealer Expo was the last event held in it), the Convention Center, Conseco, and a number of other attractions in downtown Indy (Circle Centre Mall, Monument Circle, the Capitol). So, obviously, when there are conventions, and the mall isn't open, the only place to eat a cheap breakfast downtown is the McDonald's I work in. You can go to One South, which is located about 50 feet away, but you'll pay about $17 for your breakfast (which is why the only time I ever went there was with my family, and I didn't have to pay). One South is really good, and the workers are really nice (our back entrances are next to each other), but not worth $17.

Anyway, wow...off the subject.

Campus Crusades for Christ was in Indy at the beginning of the year, for a few days. Their convention was only a few thousand, so it was fairly small. Anyway, I was helping to take orders, because I didn't staff any extra people for the convention (okay, I forgot about it), so I was running between a register, getting food, and in the grill, for most of the days of that.

So all conventions come with (dorky) name tags. It's how you get into the Convention Center. No tag, no entry. So, of course, they have all sorts of information. Names, where they're from, sometimes what hotel they're in, all sorts of good stuff (I usually only care about where they're from).

The whole time, I had been thinking "I wonder if anyone from SVSU will be here".

Sure enough, not long after we opened, a guy's tag said "Saginaw Valley State University", to which I said "SVSU! I'm going there in the fall!" To which he replied, "I go there right now!"

Anyway...I looked as his name, and since it was incredibly common, I remembered it. I later found him on Facebook, and we actually talk sometimes, and he's a pretty cool guy, thus far (seeing as we don't really know each other...at all).

Last night I was looking at groups on Facebook, and came across a ton of SVSU groups. And as I was looking, found a couple of the Campus Crusades groups.

And then found some of the videos they made from when they were in Indy.

The whole time I was watching the videos, I kept thinking, "Wow! Indy looks so fun, I wish I could have been there!"

Then I realized, I was there. I live here, and only live like, 15 minutes from the hotel I work inside of.

There is no point to this. Simply that I'm excited to get to SVSU. I found out I don't have to live in the freshman dorms. In fact, I found out I'm not even allowed to live in the freshman dorms. That's amazing.

One of my friends was going to be one of my roommates, but he actually backed out, because he needs to save money for going abroad, so he can graduate (which makes sense, since he's an International Relations major).

Lastly. For those of you who don't know, I was unfairly discriminated out of guessing who my mom is talking about in her latest blog. What's really unfair, she hasn't even given me a reason yet, as to why I wasn't allowed to participate.

But I do know the answer now. It took me forever, but I finally remebered.

Three year old explains Star Wars.

I think she understands the movie better than I do.

A bit about me.

So I left a comment on a friend's blog, regarding a comment someone else left her. More than anything, it was sort of poking fun at the comment's free seemingly amazing advice. This person took it pretty seriously, attacking me, over and over, as a person, after stating I shouldn't comment on anything she says, since I don't know her. I found that interesting.

So I decided to change that. I've kept this pretty tame, mainly because I don't use a blog as a creative outlet (apparently to the disgust of my older sister).

I'm 21 years old. It seems old to me, however, I know it's still very, very young. I liked being 20, though. It was a clean age.

I live in Indianapolis, and love it. I'll miss it greatly when I move this summer. Other cities I love are Detroit (yeeeaaaah, Detroit), NYC, DC, Arlington, and Moncton. I hate Grand Rapids. And Chicago.

I haven't lived in the same city more than a year since I graduated from high school. I think that will be the hardest part of finishing college (finally).

People are always my ultimate priority, often to the dismay of my parents. When it comes to friends, nothing will stand in my way, including resources (money).

I speak a ton of spanish, because a majority of my friends are hispanic, who don't speak a lot of english. Plus, I love other cultures, and I love learning spanish. Spanish gives me what feels like a freedom in speech that english simply does not.

My legal name is Michael, but I've grown to like Mickey much more. And it's what people have started calling me, except at work (except two of my friends at work, who just think it's funny), where I still go by Michael, simply because of professionalism.

McDonald's is my current career, and I see nothing wrong with that, because I am on the inside, I know I make good money, and I know how seriously my job is taken by myself, and others around me. Not to mention, even if I end up doing something else, I don't see the sense in holding myself back from opportunities, if I'm able, and ready to access them.

I have two sisters, whom I adore. We love each other for about ten minutes whenever I see them, before we start arguing, and no doubt, it's always decided I started it.

I love my grandmas. A whole lot. Both for completely different reasons. My paternal grandma and I share a sense of humor only the two of us understand, and we use that to bond (much to the horror of everyone else, who think we're just not getting along). My maternal grandma only wants the best for us, and if that means going half-way across the world, I have no doubt she'll visit, if she's able. Neither understand me, the way I dress, my hair, my piercings, but they don't let it get in the way.

My parents and I have an interesting relationship, but a good one. The farther I live from them, the better we get along. I miss them everyday. I'm excited to live closer to them for a few years, and I hope our relationships only get better.

I'm what my friends refer to as a "crush slut". (Sorry, mom.) Basically meaning I have, get, and end crushes all really quickly (a week, tops).

My friends are my world. The three closest, Emily, Michael, and Joni. I've known Emily and Joni my whole life, and they're completely irreplacable to me. I haven't even known Michael two years, but we became close very quickly. I can't ever say enough good things about those three. Each have helped me in their own ways, several times in my life (even Michael, in the short time I've known him).

I'm cursed with bad diction, a high pitched voice, and I'm pretty metrosexual (if you need a definition, please ask, don't make assumptions...).

I'm smart. Very smart. I learn extremely quickly. I usually can be shown something one time, and I learn it. The reason I never did well in school is because I didn't care about what I was learning.

Music used to be my life, more or less, until about the last year and a half. I just let it go.

I've had four roommates in the past. I've only chosen three. Two girls, and two boys. Two white kids, and two black kids. Three out of the four were good. The only one I didn't pick was the dud. : ]

I support immigration reform. Completely. For several reasons. The two I'll share: I think hispanics, in general, are much better and faster workers. Also, they don't think any job is beneath them.

I love America, but am often tired of how "proud" we are.

I think that's all for now.

&hearts

(Ha ha.)

Oh yeah.

I took my plugs out.

My ears look weird.

My boss keeps saying, "No, Michael (I still go by Michael at work, in most cases), they look normal. They're not so tacky now."

And a lot of the Assistant Managers from other stores simply refer to me as "Michigan". It was made very clear in a class one time, with them, I was not from Indiana.

My career.

I think it's about time to admit McDonald's is not only my job, but simply my career. A lot of people would scoff at that, however, I do happen to have a cousin who worked himself very high up in the company, so luckily, in my family, it's seen as a pretty good option.

However, I don't think very many people in my family really know what I plan on doing, and they all know Shae plans on being a professor, Katie with her quilt store. And myself with McDonald's.

I had a conversation yesterday at a meeting, with one of my friends from the store I was at before I started working downtown. How we both love McDonald's, and love our jobs, but simply want to know that someday, we'll be out of the restaurants. And sitting in this meeting, with probably 140 other Assistant Managers from all over our Co-Op, they asked everyone who had been with their company (there were a lot of franchised managers there), more than ten years, to stand up.

I don't want to be an Assistant, and be able to stand up, being with the company ten years. That's just depressing. It means I would have probably only been promoted one more time.

So let me quickly tell you something interesting. Every single McDonald's Restaurant Manager in the world goes to Hamburger University. HU is located at our World HQ, near Chicago. There are teachers there, of course, to teach in several different languages. That is the job I want.

As very few of you may know, I speak a lot of spanish. Most of it I learned in high school, and a lot I pick up at work, and lately, have noticed I can have whole conversations in spanish, without even thinking now.

Back to HU for a second. And why I'm so motivated to learn more spanish. Out of all the people who work for McDonald's (and this does include franchises), there are only 30 teachers at HU. 30. So on a bigger scale, the job I really, really want, out of the roughly 6 billion people in the world, only 30 people can have.

So my first instinct was being bilingual would give me an advantage. But I realized I'd need to be completely fluent. I then realized that being trilingual would be even better.

So I decided to go to SVSU in the fall (I picked there for several reasons), and double major in french and spanish. I'll then come back to Indy, and trying to get into Training here...and then hopefully keep going on to Oak Brook (I left some details out in there, but you'll get it, you'll get it).

And my mom said my blog is boring. It's not boring.

Black Inside.

Lately I've been hearing/dealing with a lot of racial issues at work, mostly between a few of my hispanic and black employees (seeing as we don't really have any white employees). Anyway...I found this video tonight, and I'm glad I'm not the only person who finds racism a difficult thing to understand.

Karma Police - Radiohead.

I love this song. Completely.

My day?

Oh, I worked open to close (17 hours), because I have no managers.

We had a price change, which is more than a pain in the ass.

While I was fixing things for the price change, it was pretty busy, there were a lot of customers, and a piece of the menu board fell, and hit me directly in the face.

I started bleeding.

I hate today.

I'm going to sleep, so I can do this exact same thing tomorrow (hopefully without the facial injury).

Happy Martyr's Day

It's Valentine's Day.

I somehow ended up with the "day off". Meaning before 8 AM I had already taken two phone calls from work.

It's more than trendy to hate Valentine's Day, I agree. I wholeheartedly think it's a nice gesture, but still a bit unecessary. I'm not jealous, sad, or lonely. I simply think that it's a strange holiday. To pick one day a year to show someone you love them.

I know, I know, I know. That's not what it is. You show you love them with gifts. I have no problem with that. Everyone likes gifts. Getting them, giving them, it's all fun. However, didn't we just do this three months ago? Couldn't we push Valentine's Day back a couple months?

My roommate has been getting gifts from his boyfriend all week long. They're nice little gestures. He moved three giant balloons into the dining room, which I pretty much thought was a person that had broken into our apartment at 2AM, when I got up to get a drink.

I guess I just don't see the entire point. I guess I'm missing the big picture here. As long as I can remember, until very recent years (basically because I haven't lived with my parents for about two years), I've gotten candy every year. It was nice, I like chocolate, whatever. But why?

I guess if we had a reason for the celebration. More than martyrdom (which is really all this is about), I'd be more inclined to go all out for it.

My poor future wife. If I even remember about the holiday, I doubt it'll mean much.

I feel like doing something. I wish I knew more people here. The only friends I have work during the week, regular 9-5 jobs. I work, well...all the time. I get a day off every couple weeks right now.

I've segwayed into nothing. A sign I should be done for the day.

Under Pressure?

So, naturally, upon discovering my mother of all people now blogs, it seemed only fair to have one that everyone can read.

The title, though controversial, is simply keeping in line with what seems to be a theme in my family. Dirt roads?

I'll be keeping this short, but I'm sure I'll write in this soon.