Mystery!

I'm sure a few of you saw that last post where I mentioned my interest in Spalon Montage. I'm sure a few of you also saw the comment from a mysterious stranger named Robbin Julien. I know I did!

Incase you're curious (which I know you are), I emailed Mr. Julien to a) clarify that my name is actually NOT Traycina, and b) follow-up on the connection and send my resume. It was a fruitful networking moment, as he then forwarded my resume to Mitchell Wherley, CEO of Spalon Montage.... who then, in turn, called me yesterday!

I've called him back, but no reply as of yet. Will keep you posted on my search :-)

[ Submit ]

I clicked it. I've officially applied to Spalon Montage. Woot!

After the passing of the first 19 weeks of school, I've decided it's time to get serious about my job hunting. So I came home, finished tidying up my resume, thoughtfully prepared my online application and poof! I'm done!

When considering where I might find myself come licensure and graduation, a few factors have come to mind:

1. I'd like to stay central - no Blaine, no Maple Grove, no Apple Valley (NO!) for me. I need to stay in the Minneapolis area, or at least the first tier suburbs. I think. Brian works in NE Minneapolis these days, and we'll be looking for a home (NOT in Apple Valley (sorry dad)), and settling down somewhere between our two places of employment, so the thought of being "commuters" really isn't our scene.

2. I want to be a generalist - I don't want to have to choose between cutting and color/chemical services. As a stylist, especially a new stylist, I want to really hone both sets of skills and be able to provide for my client's every hair need. Besides - we're not doctors, people. Physicians specialize because they have to learn [-------- this much --------] information about their specialty. I'm pretty sure I can handle the amount of information I need to know about both hair color/chem and cutting.

3. I'm really seeking a professional, high quality vibe. At this point in school, and at this point in life, I feel like I've really put in some good work, and that I kind of deserve to work in that sort of environment. And I'm not the kind of person to eff-up and find herself on Tabitha, so I've got that going for me.....

4. I enjoy the marriage of spa and salon atmospheres. I think that hair services can be very theraputic, relaxing and rejuvenating, and fit well into that ideaology. It also comes back to the idea of a one-stop-shop for all your beauty pampering needs.

5. I hope for the kind of place that attracts a regular clientele - aka NOT a hotel salon. While that idea sounds fun, I really want to have the kind of career where I see people all week long that I look forward to catching up with, and many of whom I could consider my friends. I want to hear updates on life, babies, relationships, jobs, travels, etc. and I don't want to have to small talk my way through the days.

What salon or type of salon do you frequent? I'm all ears!

So, this one time... in beauty school....

(Please notice my attempt at increased frequency. Or then again maybe don't notice so I don't feel obligated to keep it up!)

I know plenty of people that I talk to these days want to hear my tales of beauty school: what we learn about, what we master, where we are now, when we take clients, etc. It's fun to share, because honestly I never knew these things either before starting school! So, here are some fun facts:

What we learn
hair cutting, coloring, chemical services (perms and relaxers), makeup application, facial cleansing and waxing, nails (natural and artificial)

How the program works
We start out 100% classroom and complete 8-week cycles. Every 8 weeks we move up a step and a new class starts at the beginning: The Circle of Life. The program lasts as long as it takes us to fulfill our required 1550 hours of Cosmo school to become licensed (plus exams) -- there are, however, attendance requirements set by the school so it shouldn't take anyone more than a year to complete unless they take a leave of absence or something. I am "scheduled" to be done on August 24th, but due to planned absences (aka: weddings) hope to be done just a few days after. Will definitely be done by August 31st.

Learning
So far, at week.... 14?...we've covered just about everything. As we learn various techniques, we have a "model day" where we bring in a real person to work on - these have happened over the past 7 Saturdays that we've been in school. Starting at 15 weeks, we take our first paying client (if you're keeping track, that's NEXT WEEK), but still have classroom time 1-2 days a week to keep up on "other" skills that we don't always get to practice on the clinic floor.

How to be a client
Why, what a great question! I'm so glad you asked!! ;-) To be a client of mine, just follow these steps:
1. Call Aveda to make an appointment, sometime within my hours (Tu-Sat from 8:30-5pm)
2. Text/email/FB me to let me know when and for what you're coming so I can get you on MY calendar
3. When you check in that day, say you'd like to request Katrina M #67636 -- I will have notified my instructors that I have a request coming in, so magic should occur :-)

Life lessons at Aveda
1. I wish I had done this 9 years ago instead of waiting
2. ...BUT, I'm very glad not to be 18 and doing this, because those kids just don't appreciate it the same way as we "old folks" do
3. Cosmetologists / cosmo students are not the most intelligent people one might find in the world

And so so so much more.

That's all I have to say for now - lots of other things to talk about and discuss, so hopefully I get readers again soon. And a shoutout to Kelley who happened to check and comment on my anticipated return :-)

...and then it was January.

So, remember back in the day when I used to blog? Neither do I.

A few things have happened since I last blogged three months ago. Most notably - I got new curtains for my living room. And they're beautiful and energy-saving! Yay! Oh, and I do hair now.

School has been good, great, okay, interesting, frustrating.... all those things that school usually is. I enjoy delving into my chosen trade, and the learning process therein. But of course there are ups and downs, high points and low points, days I love it and days I just want to get the hell out of there.

When one comes into my house, there are a few key indicators of life as I know it these days:
1. My miscellaneous "traditional" school supplies - textbooks, my book bag, and items I've used for some of our recent projects (I cut pictures out of magazines in my school... Academia at its finest).
2. Indicators of new study habits - aka scissors, a cape, clips, spray bottles, etc. all from doing cuts and colors outside of school. Not exactly studying, but kind of.
3. A closet full of black clothes
4. A distinct scent of Aveda - it's in my hair, on my face, and all around the house. In my shower right now, one would find ALL of the following: rosemary mint shampoo, smoothing body polish, rosemary mint body wash, carribean therapy body cleanser, carribean therapy body scrub, pure abundance shampoo & conditioner, and black malva shampoo & conditioner. Oh, and soothing bath salts. This doesn't count any of the skin care or hair styling products.

But I've noticed some other changes that I don't love:
1. I've become a communication ritard - you see, I no longer sit in front of a computer bored out of my mind all day, nor am I within reach of my cell phone. I miss calls, emails and texts, or I have just enough time to see that I've received a text, but not enough to actually reply.... and couple that with my awful short-term memory and you get ritard-status.
2. Somehow I'm more of a home body introvert once I walk in my house. There are a few other factors in play, here, but those dig a bit too deep for right now.
3. I spend my day standing in front of a mirror.... you can imagine the effect that has....

And there it is.

It's now 1:00am and I'm over-thinking this blog entry, so I must to bed. Hopefully this is the first in a long streak of blog entries.... and hopefully those future entries are much more awesome than this half-asleep snooze-fest.

Stop the bus, I'm getting off!

Bus = Fairview.

I'm done! Wow!! I've been working there full time for over seven years. It's a bit unfathomable that I won't be doing the daily grind anymore. I won't be seeing the same faces, or doing my open enrollment, or coordinating the Holiday Giving Program (one of my favorite parts), or getting my benefits, or carpooling in the mornings with my hubby....

It's the end of an era.

And I'm going to sleep in tomorrow like I've never slept in before. Ahhhh.

Consider me orientated.

Yes, I know that's incorrect.

Went to orientation yesterday to get me orientamated. Woo hoo. I was super anxious before getting there and then I realized it was just a boring school orientation :-)

Here's the breakdown:
- Check-in
- Pay kit fee (sadly, we didn't get the kits)
- Awkwardly look for seat
- Introduce self to girl sitting next to me
- ....and her mother... ? Oh, she's 18, got it
- Look around room
- Judge people (see below)
- Watch DVD about Aveda
- Play getting to know you game (see below)
- Listen to admissions lady talk about policies, dress code, blah blah blah
- Take ID picture (good thing I look decent)
- Done more than 1.5 hours before it's supposed to "end" (nice scheduling, folks)

First, I'd like to address the "getting to know you game." You've all played it before. It's a piece of paper that has a grid with boxes in which are phrases like "Has been to Europe" and "Has never broken a bone." You go around to see who's name you can fit in the boxes. Except they made theirs into a bingo, and made it a competition.... so it was done in like 2 minutes, if that. Wow, because I really got to know so many people (the three at my table and three-four others) during that process.

FAIL.

Secondly, the people..... the judging... You could feel the eyes glaring around the room giving each other the once-over. I like to think that when I do such things, pan across a group and judge people, at least I look fairly pleasant and normal doing so. Not so for Ms. Stink Eye over there.... couple that with the overdramatic hair toss and I'm practically laughing aloud at the ridiculousness. And the hairstyles... my my, the hairstyles....

To be honest, the judgmental behavior is a bit of my concern for my new career. While I'm a self-declared amiable person, I wonder what it'll be like to be surrounded on a daily basis by vanity and cattiness. Will I constantly have to endure characters straight out of "The Plastics?"

OK, I'm thinking too hard about this post.... ciao for now!

Finally.

I have officially secured funding for my entire Aveda Institute tuition.



So suck it, Financial Aid process.

As it should be.

Financial Aid is frickin' difficult. The process is complicated, confusing, and *just for amusement* a pain in the ass. Here's my latest:


Aveda: Go to this website and apply for your Stafford Loan.

Stafford site: Sign your loan with your handy dandy PIN.

Me: <<enters PIN>> Huh, this was *surprisingly* easy.

Stafford site: Oh shoot, your last name on your App and your last name on your PIN don't match. Go apply for a new PIN.

Me: Futher muckers.

PIN site: I will fuck your shit up.

Me: Yeah, I know...

PIN site: Click here to apply for a PIN.... fill in all this information... and this... enter your SSN 6 times... oh wait, it looks like you already have a PIN. You can't do this then. Sorry!

Me: So.... ok back to main menu, how about Update PIN info...

PIN site: Thanks for coming in to update! Change anything but your last name and SSN!

Me: BALLS.

PIN site: If you want to change your name, you'll have to update it with the Social Security Administration. Then after you do that, you'll see rainbows and fairies and puppies and ice cream!! And we'll give you a LOAN! Hooray!!!

Me: .....I did that in JANUARY...

.....

So then, I decide mayhaps I should email their customer service peeps to see what the fug is up. And I get copy & pasted responses THREE SEPARATE TIMES telling me to apply for a new PIN. APPLY FOR A NEW PIN they say.... sheesh, what a clever idea except it's NOTFUCKINGWORKINGSGSHDKFJHKSDF.

::::shoots self in face::::

Back in action.

After a nice lonnng weekend, an adventure to Chicago and a crazy return back to work, I am here. Have thought a few times about blogging, but I'm not entirely sure that I have a true theme for this post.... it might be one of those boring life updates where I tell you about the lame minutae of my days and "this is what I ate for breakfast kind of crap." Lucky you.

But, in actuality, it's just going to be this teaser of a post. Things are just nuts here and I can barely formulate a thought, and those I can muster up are to be used for figuring out my financials for school.

Did you know I go to Orientation in TWENTY days?!? omg. And school starts a week after that! Craziness!

Hmmm.... which is best?

So here's a question only you fine folks can help me answer....

When I'm in school, after I've completed the "alpha phase" (first 16 weeks), we have the option of going to the second shift, meaning M-F from 12noon to 9pm. This would be instead of the Tu-Sat 8:30 to 5pm "standard" schedule. I honestly don't know which one I'm leaning towards....

Initially, I'm tempted to say the second shift: I'd have my Saturdays free! But the thought of losing ALL my weeknights is a bit displeasing.... and honestly, would I really get ANYTHING done between waking and starting school at noon? Unless you call getting up at 9:30am, surfing the internet, watching "10 Years Younger" on TLC and putting on makeup for a good hour "getting something done." My guess is no.

The other part to this pros v cons conundrum is a big motivator: TIPS. When you're a student at Aveda and performing services on client on the floor, you don't get any part of the flat cost, but the tips are allll yours to keep... !! That means I'm making money while in school..... to pay off my student loans of course ;-) Seriously though, do you think I'd be more successful with 5 weekday evenings, or 4 weekdays and a FULL Saturday? My inkling is toward the former, but perhaps I underestimate the power of a weekday.

Thoughts of the two options swirl around my head.

While I'm tempted by the 12-9 M-F, I honestly feel the original schedule is the better choice. It offers me weeknights (to spend time with my hubs, part time job, etc.), gets me out of bed to have a full and effective day, allows me to keep my Friday evenings, still gives me Saturday evenings and Sundays, AND I'll get full Mondays with which I may do whatever I please (exciting things like doctor/dentist appts and trips to the DMV! Hooray!).

What do you think sounds like the better option? Share your thoughts with the group?

Hey, turns out you're reading this!

Not sure who you are, though. Just saw on my google analytics that you're here -- some directly, some from emailing links in gmail, some from who knows where. But the good part is that you're here.

A few things:
1. I saw the Green Durango in it's usual parking spot a few weeks ago..... I shook my head.
2. School starts six weeks from yesterday and I'm freaking a bit. Trying to get loans and such in order while also maintaining some sanity.
3. My birthday is Friday and... well... I just don't feel it. This week is a bit stressful, after all. But still.... sad face at you, 27 :-(
4. The combination of financial anxiety before school and my birthday makes for a hard choice between practicality and frivolity. I try to strike a balance, but it's harrrrrrrrd. Especially considering I've been searcing websites and picking out things I love but can't have. Namely house decor and the like. Sighhhh.

OK, I'm about to crash sitting here in the recliner. Ta ta, lovely friends!

THE update:

I signed my life away at Aveda the other day. Oooooo!!! It's very very exciting and very TERRRIFYING at the same time. I'm thrilled at the prospect of getting a formal education in something that's been a long-time passion, but also scared at all the risk involved in delving into a new industry, especially one as fickle and inconsistent as beauty.

A few things:

I have to wear all black all the time: full-length pants, solid black tops and close-toed shoes. This means my wardrobe needs some serious updating. I have two pairs of black pants - one that's a little tight (ehhh) and one that's 3" too long on the leg (regulars are way short and talls are too long...). I have maybe two solid black tops that will suffice. And as for pairs of shoes - there's ONE I could last in all day. OY. I forsee a couple of bucks being spent on clothes to last me my 11 months of school. Huzzah.

I messaged my stylist, Kim at Cole's Salon Eagan Station, via Facebook and told her the good news. I also asked if she had any names I could contact to inquire about potential jobs upon graduation.... WELL, Kim said that Nikki (a girl I went to HS with who has worked reception at Coles for years) had mentioned me to their manager, as had Kim, so now the manager is all excited to meet me! I haven't even STARTED school yet, and I'm already desirable. What an awesome feeling!!!

OK, that's all for now!