The Need For...Sleep?

The transition from college to a career has been a challenging one in many facets but one in particular: I have to get up before 8am every day. I have never been much of a morning person and even the last year at school have really discovered that I am losing my ability to just skip out on sleep. The years of my freshman and sophomore roommates convincing me to stay up all night at the beach and then survive a whole day of classes ceased to be feasible by the time graduation rolled around.

This makes things particularly difficult when one MUST now be up early and yet one LOVES being out late! I think eventually I will learn just the perfect balance but this week I stayed out a little too late once or twice and then Andrew paid for it on our Friday night date...I was asleep by 11pm. So much for a movie that night!

The highlights of this week's late night adventures included a return trip to my all-time favorite coffee shop, McClain's.

Located in downtown Fullerton and open 'til 4am it was a refuge for all late-night study sessions while at Biola. Now it is a little too far to visit frequently but when a dear friend from Biola suggested a coffee date I un-hesitatingly agreed to drive down to her neighborhood for a visit to my favorite little spot. It was the scene of a wonderful girl chat and female bonding time which was much-needed considering I do not work with ANYONE my age and a lot of my local friends go to a grad school near where I am living and working but are home on summer vacation. So I have been a little friendless.

The second late-night highlight included my best friend Becky who was in town visiting from San Francisco, Disneyland 'til midnight, and a ride on the new Star Tours!

I suppose the trick is a lot of coffee and dedication to getting up with the FIRST alarm but I'm still working on the latter of those...ah well, the quest for a well-balanced and well-examined life continues!

My Red Jetta

This last week has been full of a mission. Just one goal consuming all of my attention: I needed a new car. I have been driving a 1992 Lexus SC400 for almost three years now. It has been a very reliable little car up until a few months ago when it started costing a few hundred dollars a month just to keep it running. Then last month it was a $700 bill for a tune-up and a starter and this month totaled a little less than $600. In addition to that, I had heard from a few reliable sources that my transmission was nearing the end of its days. Well no wonder, the car had over 176,000 miles on it!

Thus, I came to the decision that I must get a new car. I researched used cars and gas mileage and types and brands and insurance ratings and financing and all of the mess that is involved in making a decision about a new car. After five whole days of dealers and car lots and phone calls and research I found myself at the Volkswagen dealership of Pasadena. And I found the one. A 2011 Volkswagen Jetta SE with 13 miles on it, great gas mileage, good insurance ratings, and a really affordable monthly payment for a 3-year lease! Three days and 12 hours in the dealership later, she is mine and her name is Vicki.

So now I would like to introduce her to you! A 5-cylender engine, bright red exterior (obviously), black leatherette interior, satellite radio, blue tooth, “butt warmers”, lots of trunk space and just the cutest little fit for me you ever could find! I could not be more pleased and have been loving every second of driving her around. I also am officially a car-lease expert, thanks to the head of my marketing department who took it upon himself personally to oversee the “help poor little inexperienced Melissa not get duped” process. So call me if you want to lease a car!