UGH

Have you ever been sitting in a room, watching someone shake their leg? Well I have and it drives me crazy. Most people have a few pet peeves that really get to them, but not me! I have tons of pet peeves or little quarks.

My number one pet peeve is when people don’t match. I can’t stand when people where things that don’t go together, or the colors don’t fall together. I have been getting used to what people wear and not matching, but if I’m going anywhere at all I always need to match. My clothes match when I go out, when I work out, and even when I’m at work. Along with this matching my clothes my underwear and bra must match as well! One other thing that pisses me off is people who wear Nike shoes and Adidas sock. I really don’t like Adidas.

                Going out to eat is always a priority of mine. I love going to all different kinds of places, but one downfall of going out to eat is that different restaurants have different brands. I feel that if a restaurant doesn’t have coke products it isn’t really worth going to. I need to be able to drink a refreshing diet coke to enjoy my meal, without it isn’t really worth eating to me.

                I also cannot stand when you are texting a person, and you are having a full conversation. You send a text, they send a text. Maybe like takes 1-2 minutes. Then all of a sudden it takes them 30 minutes to text you back. Also it bugs me if someone who sends you a text saying what’s up, and you reply within a few minutes, and then they don’t send you anything back. Don’t start texting if you’re not going to reply it’s stupid.

These are just a few of my main pet peeves, I have many many many more!

FINALS

Since I’ve started college, I feel like I have been most stress over this semester’s finals. Although I only have 3 final tests, it seems like a lot to handle. Although I’m nervous and am hoping for all good grades, I’m just as excited. I can’t wait for winter break!

This semester I have taken less credits in classes than previous semesters, but I have felt overwhelm most of the semester. I feel like some professors don’t understand most students who are going to UW Sheboygan work full time or part time jobs. I know it shouldn’t be an excuse, but I feel like sometimes a professor thinks you only have that one class.

I’m glad some of my finals this semester are projects and papers, rather than final exams. I feel that making an exam worth 200 points can become really intimidating. I think it puts a lot of pressure on students, if you have 5 classes and 5 final exams. I know I personally get really stressed and feel like there is never enough time.

Although I’m stressing over finals, I am very excited for classes to be finish, having a month off of school sounds amazing. I am looking forward to all the fun winter activities that come with snow.(if it ever comes). Even though I’m really looking forward to the break, I’m excited to come back to school to start all my new classes!

Christmas Time!

Working at the Osthoff you deal with many kinds of people  and different events. Now that were in December, we have lots of events going on. We have lots of Christmas parties, breakfast with Santa, brunch with the reindeer, and the Christmas Market. Each of these events symbolized Christmas traditions.

For the first three Saturdays in December the Osthoff host breakfast with Santa. This is a buffet style breakfast made for kids. The buffet is tiny just for the kids, it’s filled with fruit, decorated cookies, snowman shaped cupcakes, pancakes with every topping you could want, and much much more. While eating, Santa walks around the ballroom and each kid get to sit on his lap and take pictures.  After breakfast is over, the kids can sign up to decorate cookies and make ordainments.

Brunch with the reindeer is a little different, its more formal. It is also a buffet style meal. It has lots of yummy food. There is prime rib, different salads, lots of hot food, and very very delicious desserts. While this is going on we have reindeer outside families can pet and visit with.  Also Saint Nicholas walks around for the kids to see and visit with.

If your looking for some good food, and some great family time. I definitely recommend coming to brunch or breakfast. Even if you aren’t, you should definitely check out the Christmas Market it, it is a German based Christmas Market. Lots of different booths to look at!

BLACK FRIDAY

I have only gone out shopping twice on black Friday. The first time was 3 years ago, and I just went this year. I know everyone always talks about the great deals that your able to get on black Friday, so I thought why not try it again.

The first time I went out on black Friday, I only went to one store. I went to best buy. I sat in a line with 100-150 other people, the line wrapped around the building. Some people pitched tents up and had chairs to sit on. Since it was my first time and my sisters, we just brought some blankets to keep ourselves warm. While sitting in line we started making small talk with the people around us. They seem pretty nice at the time. Eventually the store open, and we began to walk in. Very quickly those nice people began very rude and pushy people. We were able to get our laptops we patiently waiting in line for, but It open my eyes on the people around us.

This year I had a new plan to go out. I actually wanted to look around at a lot of different stores. My sister and I had a plan to go to the Oshkosh Outlet malls. The first store we went to was coach, which I found funny because they had the same sales going on, that you can get at anytime of the year. The second store we went into was NIKE. They had 20% off of your purchase. I thought that it wasn’t a huge money saver, but it was better than nothing.

As we went to other stores, the more I realized the sales that our talked about on black Friday aren’t really saving you much money at all. I felt that now until Christmas day that stores will have the same sales, just as different times rather than all stores in one day. I kind of feel now that black Friday is very over rated. I know I will more than likely go shopping again, just because I enjoy watching the people going crazy over things.

movies

Today I saw the movie Jack and Jill at the Sheboygan cinema. I thought over all the movie was pretty good. I was laughing a decent amount so that was a good sign. The only problems I had was the people in the audience.

While I was in the movie there was this lady in there.  Every single time there was a funny part or something happening in the movie she would freak out and laugh hysterically. I would understand if it was actually funny, but half the time is wasn’t even funny. It was extremely annoying.

The next thing that bothered me was this younger gentleman. Every two minutes he would take out his cell phone and text someone back or check the time. It got extremely annoying constantly seeing the light. Before the movie it clearly states to not use your cell phone.

Normally when I’m in public I tend to be respectful of other people and their things, it seem like neither of these two cared. I get the woman may laugh like that, but has she ever thought other people are trying to watch the movie as well. The younger guy could have easily followed the rules and I could have had a much better experience.  I’m just wondering is there some type of cut off where it’s okay to say something, without being rude yourself.

7 mile fair

The first time I went, I was very intrigued and skeptical about it. Once I got there it became very interesting.  Seven Mile Fair in Milwaukee is a very interesting place to go shopping at. It has lots of different culture type things in it, and sometimes a lot of junk. I have been there a few times, and each time I go I always find things I like.

Seven Mile fair is a place that reminds me of a flea market, some portions of the fair are like a flea market a lot of junk sold in one place. There are stands set up in a large building and outside of the building filled with tons of products. Other parts of the fair have newer clothes, hats, shoes, and much more. That’s what I like, because I can always find great deals on things I like. They also have a farmer’s market portion of the fair. Although things are cheap, sometimes you may get ripped off or you may get cheap product.

The seven mile fair also has different rides, and fun things for kids to do as well. They have many different types of food offered there. Most of its good, my favorite thing to get there is rice water. I also really enjoy the different types of Mexican candy they have.  

My first thoughts as I walked through were how many different kinds of people were there. There were lots of Hispanics and some African Americans.  There went to many Caucasian people there. The way the families react with each other is something I find really fascinating. You can observed and see the way the different subcultures interact.

If you have never been there I definitely suggest you go!

Believers in Christ

I work at the Osthoff hotel and resort as a banquet server, so working there brings in all different kinds of people each week. Sometimes we have weddings, business groups, or high schools. This past weekend we had a religious group. The group that was there were the Believers in Christ. They have come to the Osthoff on this church retreat for thirteen years.

The group was completely made up off all women, specifically two hundred African American women. The women were very respectful and many of them proper. They are extremely religious and express it in many ways. The main way this past weekend was in church service. These ladies’s were preaching, singing, and dance to become one with the lord. Some things they did were very unique and interesting to watch, such as the flag twirling. While other things frighten me a little, I think because I’m not a very religious person.

Being a banquet server, we served them many meals throughout the weekend. Each meal was set up and given in the buffet style. This allowed the women to go through as many times as they like and take as much as they wanted. As I started to clean up plates, I came to realized how wasteful the women were being. I didn’t clear one completely empty plate the whole weekend.

After watching the women waste so much food, I began to think. These women are suppose to be extremely religious and caring, but they had no care in the world of how much food waste was happening. I found it to be very interesting that being all proper that they would waste as much as they did, along with how involved and how deep they getting into praying and becoming one with god.

Paying Bills

Have you ever paid your bills online? Well I have. Some say online bill pay is beneficial, convenient, and faster. Others say it’s unsafe, and impersonal. How do you feel about online billing?

I’m always hearing about people having their bills directly taken out, or going online to pay bill with a credit card, debit card, or e-statements. I am very skeptical about paying my bills online. I know they say it’s safe, but I personally feel like once you have it on the internet anybody can find it and access it. Some people may only use it for your money, but others than can take it farther and steel your identity.

But my sister has always paid a good portion of her bills online and she has never run into a problem with theft. It’s one less step she says. Instead of having to write out the check, and mail it in, it come directly out of your account in a very short process.

What do you find better, paying your bills online or doing it the old fashion way writing out a check and sending it through the mail? On top of that I feel like online bill pay is just one more process that eliminates interactions between people. I’m still undecided if it’s actually safe or not, but I slowly am starting to do it more.

ONE TREE HILL

                For anyone who doesn’t know One Tree Hill is the best show ever. One Tree Hill has been on tv since 2003 and is currently going to be on its ninth season. It was created by Mark Schwahn.  One Tree Hill is a story based off a Tree hill located in North Carolina. The shows first story line began around the lives of two half brothers. Lucas is one and Nathan is the other. Nathan was raised by their shared father (dan) and his new wife, but Lucas was raised by him mother and his uncle Keith who is Dan’s brother. Lucas any Nathan share a farther, but they both share the loved to play basketball as well.

The first few season of one tree hill focused on the lives of the main characters going through high school. Some of the main characters were Payton, Brooke, Hayley, Mouth, Lucas, Nathan, and Skills. It had lots of drama between people breaking up and getting back together. In recent season, it has shown the lives of the main characters grown up and how they have moved on and started their careers.

One thing I really like about One Tree Hill is how they involved musicians and bands into the show. Being and playing music on One Tree Hill has help many of artists come up. Gavin DeGraw and Kate Vogel were very involved in playing music on the show.  The show has a club called TRIC were many famous singers have guessed starred on the show and played at the club.

It’s very sad to know that this year the final season of One Tree Hill will be coming to an end. Although it’s just a television show, it relates many of the issues the characters had to issues normal people can have. I personally like the earlier season better, but overall it’s a good show. I definitely suggest if you haven’t watched it, to give it a try!

Village INN :)

If you ever in New Holstein, Wisconsin make sure you stop by Village Inn. Village Inn is an amazing restaurant. It has all different options of food. They are known for the famous steak sandwich, but they have plenty of other delicious food. They have pizza, chicken, burgers, fries, and much much more.

The best thing to get at Village Inn, is their taco pizza. It’s the most amazing thing you can eat. I haven’t found a place anywhere else that has better taco pizza. In order to eat the taco pizza you need the sour cream you top it off. Some people put taco sauce on it, but I’m not a fan of the taco sauce.  I always order my pizza, with a side of fries. The fries there are nice and crispy, but the insides are soft and yummy.

Village inn is a really friendly place; the Desombre’s are the nicest people you will ever meet. Tim is always there whenever I go and he is really pleasant. Although sometimes there services aren’t in tip top shape, they get the job done. They aren’t constantly on you, they let you breath and eat your food. Some people may look at that as bad service but I like the really relaxed environment.

Every time I go to village in, it’s a great time. It’s a restaurant that welcomes all, you don’t feel excluded when going there. They have very family friendly as well. Although they remodeled recently they now have a bar inside of it for the adults as well. So the next time you’re in New Holstein stop in at village in for the great food!

Facebook

Obviously a good portion of people have face book or some type of social networking group they belong too.  Social networking has been around for a long time. I remember when I was younger how I would msn messenger with my friends, put up my display pictures and talk to all my friends. I thought it was the coolest thing ever. As I grew older I joined other social networking site. One being MySpace, and then eventually joining face book. I wonder how much face book impacts people’s lives.

Face book has a lot of positive aspects to it. It allows you to find old friends, keep in touch with family, and share your life with people you know. It allows you to put your feelings and thoughts out there for someone else to see. I know some people say, it makes them feel better and that people care about them. I really enjoy looking at pictures of my family and friends and I’m sure many other people do as well.

Each time I go on face book, I find myself to be annoyed and seeing the negativity in it. I see girls and guys who are constantly updating their status, where they are, and who they are with.  I just think, like do these people have nothing better to do, or are they addicted to the feeling of knowing that someone could potentially like their status or comment on their pictures. These people are so involved in the social networking it scares me. It’s like some people put so much out there, that someone could easily come find them and kidnap them or kill them.  Not only bad things like that, but I see the bullying on face book, and how hurtful kids can be to each other. I’ve read the stories about teenagers killing themselves over face book problems.

I guess I’m wondering why do people get so involved in face book and the cyber world.  Will there ever be a limited to how much information you should be allowed to have out there and what you are able to say on there.  When will there be a cut off, or will the problems get worse? If you had to pick do you think face book is positive or a negative??

harmful or hurtfull?

Today, I spent some time with my family. We went to Meuer’s farm. This is a farm that has activities for kids. You could go on a hay ride, go through a corn maze, shoot corn cobs out of a gun, have duck races, go down the tube slide, and lastly see the animals. The farm is a fun time for kids. While I was there I began to recognize the use of technology.

I had gone through the first potion of the corn maze, but my 1 year old niece was getting tired, so I stayed back with her and sat at the picnic table right outside of the maze. While at the corn maze I started to observe the people.

The first group of people I observed was a family a mom, dad, and son. The son was no older than 10. The first thing I realized was how much technology they all had been using or had along. The dad has his phone with an ear piece, the mom had her smart phone with an I-pod. Finally I looked at the boy and he also had a cell phone and a pretty high tech compass. As I listened to their conversation I learned that the boy was getting yelled at for making prank phone calls with his friend earlier that day. The mom told him the dangers of his phone being traced and someone being able to find him, or the police coming and the possibility of him getting into trouble.  I thought at that point, maybe it wasn’t such a smart idea to allow your 10 year old to have a cell phone. They carried on their conversation; the dad was talking to the son about his compass and how to use it. Then I thought it was a good idea to bring the compass and a great way to teach your son about directions.

The next group of people I observed was two older women, around the age of 60. One of the women was sitting at the picnic table watching the other. She was watching the women try to figure out how to answer her cell phone. So she suggested to her friend to hit the send button, but that didn’t stop the phone from ringing. The phone eventually stopped ringing. I then thought to myself, maybe this woman shouldn’t have a cell phone if she doesn’t know how to answer it.

Then I saw a grandpa and his granddaughter coming up to the corn maze. They had walky talkies. I thought that was really cool, the grandpa was going to stand outside of the corn maze and read the clues to the granddaughter as she worked her way through the maze.  I felt using these walky talkies was a great and beneficial way to use technology.

As the day went on I kept paying attention to technology and the way it was use. Sometimes it was helpful and beneficial and in other cases it was more harmful than anything. I know when I was growing up I grew up with a lot more technology then my parents. Although I grew up with it, I still remember my parents sending me outside to play, and I couldn’t come in until way later, I wasn’t able to sit inside and watch tv or play video games. I just think as I watch my nieces and nephew grow up is technology really helping them or hurting them, not only them but society as a whole.  My questions; is technology helpful or harmful? Does it really truly benefit us?

The Osthoff Hotel and Resort

The Osthoff Resort is a four dimond resort located in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. I have worked here for three years. I am a banquet server and bartender. It's a really nice job to have, its definately a bonus having your sister as a boss. (Most of the time)

Banquet life-
Being a banquet server, we are required to wear a uniforn. That uniform consist of a white shirt, with a black and gray checkered vest, a long skirt for girls and black pants for the guys. Girls also must wear tights, and to top it all of each of us get to wear a wonderful black bowtie. We walk around looking a lot like penguins. Each day/night we come into work and have to set each room for the event, go through the dinner, lunch, or breakfast service. Then we must clear and clean up the tables in the front of the house. After that we have a list in the back of the house we must complete each and everyday!

Banquet Peolple-
There are people of all ages working in banquets, from the age of 16 to 70. It gets really interesting learning about each different person. But at the Osthoff we have many family members that work together. Which brings a lot of drama into work. We have several mom/daughters, mom/son, siblings, and friends of co-workers who work here. Outsiders don't feel very welcome at first. Many don't last very long, but now and then we get some that make it through the drama and the intense work hours.

The show-
I have a brillant idea that we should have a reality tv show about us, because so many people know each other, lots of drama comes out. We have some backstabbing going on, some yelling that goes on, and a little bit of romance. Overall we love each other and do our best to work together as a team, and make our customers happy. Having a tv show would be pretty cool, it would definately open some people's eyes up about who they really are, how slow they really work, and in general people would find out much more about themselves.