A Change Of Heart.

I was thinking about what I said a few posts back about how recently the sun has been making me feel out of sorts. And I've decided that it's really not so bad. In fact, it's been kind of nice. You might say I've been warming up to the sun. HA! Pun intended. The nice weather was my savior on Monday morning when I showed up for work not one, not two, but FOUR HOURS EARLY! "Wow Lauren, you're incredibly punctual. And apparently you have no life". I am, in fact, very punctual. But the schedule was changed Sunday night without my knowledge and my 8am-12pm shift got changed to a 12pm-7:30pm shift. Since I hadn't eaten yet I went in search of breakfast. I walked east on Fulton toward Divisadero hoping to find something that wasn't a mini-mart or liquor store. I finally did a block or two up from Fulton but I can't for the life of me remember what it was called! Some reviewer I am. Anyway, I ordered an omelette and it was the strangest omelette I've ever had! Still very good, but it almost had the texture of moist ciabatta bread. It was italian sausage, cheese, and veggies. I attempted to read the newspaper while eating my breakfast because I would have felt that much cooler. Unfortunately I've always only been a comics kind'a'girl and they were nowhere to be found in this particular section of the New York Times. So that was a bust.

I had been hoping that getting breakfast would shave a considerable amount of time off my wait but it never takes as long to order, eat, and pay for food as I think it does. I decided to use the next few hours to take a walk in the beautiful sunshine (at this point I had welcomed with open arms the spring-like weather) and take some pictures of interesting houses. Unfortunately the majority of the pictures I took were either terrible, blurry, or both. That being said, here are a few that made the cut (barely):

A portion of the mural on a wall in the cafe. The colors inside were so warm and bright. A lot of very vibrant reds and yellows.

Tile mural on the outside wall of a Starbucks on Masonic. It's even prettier in person.

Sunshine filtering through the trees. I love this time of morning when the sun is out but the air is still cool.

Beautiful stone driveway. You don't see a ton like this in the city.

Sunrise on Fulton. To the immediate left is Saint Ignatius Church on the USF campus. Which brings me to my next point: my new job! I wasn't sure if I wanted to advertise where I'm working, for privacy purposes, but seeing as I'm pretty sure the majority of people viewing this blog are people I know, I figure it's okay. I'm working as a cashier in the USF bookstore during the "rush". The beginning of each semester is a college bookstore's busiest time so they hire temps like myself to ease the load. And I have to say, I am loving it! The people I work with are so nice, and while it is busy, I never feel hectic or stressed or under pressure. This could be due to the fact that the USF student population is about one third the SF State student population, so "rush" at USF is a slow day in my neck of the woods. Regardless, I really enjoy this kind of retail and think I may have discovered a new skill. I've always loved working with people on a professional basis, but I think this job is making me more outgoing in general. I've been smiling more and there's a new pep in my step. However, I have been having to fight the urge to say "I love you" after every transaction pahahahahahaha! Before you think I am a total and complete Creeper McCreeperton, let me explain. When I say goodbye to my loved ones, I usually finish it off with an "I love you". It's become a pavlovian response to the end of an interaction and I have literally had to bite my tongue to keep myself from professing my love for perfect strangers. I think I have a handle on it now, though, so don't you worry.

I know it's supposed to be a temporary job but I really hope they keep me on because I enjoy it so much more than I expected. The only downside is the commute (one hour each way) and the bus fare ($2 each way, which adds up). Plus I'm exhausted because I wake up at 5:40, go to work, come home, go to classes well into the night, come home, try to pass out, and find that I can't because all of the things I couldn't think about during the day suddenly come rushing into my head. That and we seem to have gotten some new neighbors above us who apparently think Tuesday night is perfect for a beer pong tournament and a friendly game of Toss The Elephant And Drop It. So you wonder how I've been getting through my long days? I will share with you my secret to survival...

Perhaps some of you are familiar with this amazing website. Perhaps not. But now there is a book. Portable hilarity that has had me crying for two straight days. This is not a plug for USF Bookstore products, I swear. I discovered it Monday, and when I got there a few minutes early on Tuesday I pulled it off the shelf to kill some time. Well, needless to say I embarrassed myself cracking up in a bookstore that I thought was empty but was in fact full of construction workers. Typical. I keep wanting to bring it with me to class and on the bus but that would be a terrible, terrible idea if I ever want to make friends again/convince people that I'm not touched in the head. I think I'm gonna start sharing some of the contents of the book with you all because it's too good not to spread around. I must get ready for class now so I bid you all adieu and I promise that there will be more artistically driven posts in the near future! Hope you all are having a magical Wednesday!

-LG