Ok I knew the air in my hometown (Visalia, California) was bad. But this shocked me! The cities in BOLD are very very close to Visalia. so keep that in mind. Woo go Central Valley!
U.S.City Air Quality Ratings
Every year, the American Lung Association uses air-quality-index data from the EPA to rank the air in U.S. cities from most to least hazardous.
Bad Air-Highest in ozone (ranked in descending order):
Bakersfield, California
Los Angeles, California
Visalia, California
Fresno, California
Merced, California
Houston, Texas
Sacramento, California
Dallas–Fort Worth, Texas
New York City
Philadelphia
Highest in particulate matter (ranked in descending order):
Los Angeles, California
Bakersfield, California
Pittsburgh
Visalia, California
Fresno, California
Detroit, Michigan
Hanford, California
Cleveland
Birmingham, Alabama
Atlanta
Good Air-Lowest in ozone*:
Colorado Springs
Daytona Beach, Florida
Des Moines, Iowa
Honolulu
Lakeland, Florida
Palm Bay, Florida
Port St.Lucie, Florida
Salem, Oregon
Salinas, California
Spokane
Lowest in particulate matter (ranked in descending order):
Cheyenne, Wyoming
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Honolulu
Great Falls, Montana
Tucson
Anchorage
Farmington, New Mexico
Bismarck, North Dakota
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Rapid City, South Dakota
*A sampling of the most populous cities on the EPA’s list, unranked.
You know what? I still love this city. I wouldn't have wanted to be raised anywhere else.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Friday, June 27, 2008
HOT HOT HOT
I'm going to PALM SPRINGS this weekend. My uncle used to have a condo there so I've been there a couple times when I was 8 or so. I went again in January for Youth Retreat at church. And now I'm going again for Senior trip at church. Except they already left and guess who had to stay here and close at work. ME. So as soon as I get off here in twenty minutes, me and a couple guys who couldn't make it earlier are driving all the way to Palm Springs. It's going to be like 120 degrees there and I'm going to LOOOOVE IT. Good times to come. We were supposed to go to Disneyland today but that didn't work out and I'm pissed cause I can't go again until August but oh well I guess. Leaving for the heat beats staying at my cousin's house BORED OUT OF MY FREAKING MIND. No computer, nothing to do except watch Veggie Tales with the baby. This my friends, is a whole other post for next time. Peace Out.
Friday, June 20, 2008
The work blog.
I am starting this new blog now even though I have been blogging on Xanga since the ripe age of 13. You can check that out if you want, it's like my whole life on file. It's probably really embarrassing actually if you keep going farther and farther back into my teenage years. www.xanga.com/this_light_shines. Just seems like all my friends are going with this blog now and I like to comment! And no one reads my xanga anymore. Sad day, yes. I know. I'll still keep it updated though, do not worry.
This is basically going to be something for me to do at work because it will keep me busy. I am excited to start fresh on this blog. Xanga can be my TEEN blog and now I am in my twenties (ugggggh i hate saying that) so this is way cooler. (I've matured so much, can you tell?) Right now, all I am doing in life is working full time and living at my cousin's house in Buena Park, across the street from Knott's Berry Farm. I hear screaming tourists non-stop. Not because they are being attacked, but because they are riding the rides hahahaha.
Let me talk about work some more so people can know my life. I know you care. I work at an Insurance office in La Palma. I'll never know how I got this job because my resume was pathetic. I worked for 2 days at Aeropostale, I had been hired to sell knives but quit once I found out THAT's what I would be doing, and worked for a month at a boutique in downtown Visalia with my friend. OH and can't forget working on campus at the beloved Eagle's Nest restaurant at Biola. I hated that job with a passion, but now I can say I have served my duty in the food service industry. So somehow I got this job because they were looking for a girl from Biola (they wanted a Christian girl obviously). So I've been here since August 2007. Almost a year. I started out hating it because I thought it was boring. But then realized that I was getting paid to sit in an AC office and work a computer. The phone rings in random intervals and not frequently. So when I discovered that since I have my own office here, I could go online and do whatever I wanted, life was great. Now I know tons about insurance and am learning everything there is to know about running this office. My resume has gained so much haha. My daily ordeals include but are not limited to:
-Answering the phone and consoling angry customers. (also trying not to lose my cool when they yell at me. also trying not to laugh when they yell at me hahaha).
-Talking on the phone. Mostly to the insurance headquarters and finance companies. I verify coverage on certain clients and make sure their policies are up to date. Things get very complicated.
-Taking lots and lots of messages. DETAILED messages. I learned this the hard way.
-Answering many questions about money, coverage, billing, and finance companies.
-Faxing. Lots and lots of faxing. I am a pro faxer. Mostly to finance/mortgage companies.
-Scanning. Lots and lots of scanning documents. Also a pro.
-Handling money. Making receipts. Applying payments to certain policies. This is one of the hardest things because it is VERY easy to miss one of the policy numbers or the credit card number and I have gotten in major trouble a couple times. But I think I do great for a rookie secretary.
-Printings lots and lots of documents to send out to customers.
-Typing letters to customers. (and forging my bosses signatures haha. If I asked them to sign something everytime, I would never sit down.)
-Making birthday cards every Friday. (this takes HOURS to address every freaking envelope).
-Sending out handwritten reminders about late payments and expired policies.
-Putting stamps and labels on EVERYTHING.
-And making sure I keep track of the stamps. Seriously. Each boss has their own stamps. If I don't keep track of who's is who's, then chaos ensues. We go through tons.
That sounds like a lot but it's only about an hour's total worth of work a day. So that leave the rest of my hours free to pretend I'm busy and do what I want until the phone rings again and I get another task. My bosses are teaching me how to give quotes for Auto, Home, and all the other insurance policies. It's scary, I don't want to do that but I guess I should know. I love my bosses, they make me crack up. They went to Master's college so they like to make fun of me since I go to Biola.
Anyways, I am talking about work so much because it's my whole life right now. I went home for the summer for a couple weeks thinking I had lost this great job due to the fact I didn't have a place to live. But I was praying to get called back here because I was miserable at home. With allergies and my family not wanting me around. I was also out of money big time. And my car registration is due next month. I also knew that if they called me back, that means they didn't hire someone else so that means I HAVE THIS JOB AGAIN ONCE FALL COMES. It is great because it is flexible. It's when I can come in everyday and get the work done. I feel ok asking for days off and leaving early. It's perfect for college. No working nights or weekends either.
So see, it made me very happy at the time. but now I am bored out of my mind because after work everyday, I go back to my cousin's house and do nothing. I need to start making those kids from my youth group here hang out with me.
This is basically going to be something for me to do at work because it will keep me busy. I am excited to start fresh on this blog. Xanga can be my TEEN blog and now I am in my twenties (ugggggh i hate saying that) so this is way cooler. (I've matured so much, can you tell?) Right now, all I am doing in life is working full time and living at my cousin's house in Buena Park, across the street from Knott's Berry Farm. I hear screaming tourists non-stop. Not because they are being attacked, but because they are riding the rides hahahaha.
Let me talk about work some more so people can know my life. I know you care. I work at an Insurance office in La Palma. I'll never know how I got this job because my resume was pathetic. I worked for 2 days at Aeropostale, I had been hired to sell knives but quit once I found out THAT's what I would be doing, and worked for a month at a boutique in downtown Visalia with my friend. OH and can't forget working on campus at the beloved Eagle's Nest restaurant at Biola. I hated that job with a passion, but now I can say I have served my duty in the food service industry. So somehow I got this job because they were looking for a girl from Biola (they wanted a Christian girl obviously). So I've been here since August 2007. Almost a year. I started out hating it because I thought it was boring. But then realized that I was getting paid to sit in an AC office and work a computer. The phone rings in random intervals and not frequently. So when I discovered that since I have my own office here, I could go online and do whatever I wanted, life was great. Now I know tons about insurance and am learning everything there is to know about running this office. My resume has gained so much haha. My daily ordeals include but are not limited to:
-Answering the phone and consoling angry customers. (also trying not to lose my cool when they yell at me. also trying not to laugh when they yell at me hahaha).
-Talking on the phone. Mostly to the insurance headquarters and finance companies. I verify coverage on certain clients and make sure their policies are up to date. Things get very complicated.
-Taking lots and lots of messages. DETAILED messages. I learned this the hard way.
-Answering many questions about money, coverage, billing, and finance companies.
-Faxing. Lots and lots of faxing. I am a pro faxer. Mostly to finance/mortgage companies.
-Scanning. Lots and lots of scanning documents. Also a pro.
-Handling money. Making receipts. Applying payments to certain policies. This is one of the hardest things because it is VERY easy to miss one of the policy numbers or the credit card number and I have gotten in major trouble a couple times. But I think I do great for a rookie secretary.
-Printings lots and lots of documents to send out to customers.
-Typing letters to customers. (and forging my bosses signatures haha. If I asked them to sign something everytime, I would never sit down.)
-Making birthday cards every Friday. (this takes HOURS to address every freaking envelope).
-Sending out handwritten reminders about late payments and expired policies.
-Putting stamps and labels on EVERYTHING.
-And making sure I keep track of the stamps. Seriously. Each boss has their own stamps. If I don't keep track of who's is who's, then chaos ensues. We go through tons.
That sounds like a lot but it's only about an hour's total worth of work a day. So that leave the rest of my hours free to pretend I'm busy and do what I want until the phone rings again and I get another task. My bosses are teaching me how to give quotes for Auto, Home, and all the other insurance policies. It's scary, I don't want to do that but I guess I should know. I love my bosses, they make me crack up. They went to Master's college so they like to make fun of me since I go to Biola.
Anyways, I am talking about work so much because it's my whole life right now. I went home for the summer for a couple weeks thinking I had lost this great job due to the fact I didn't have a place to live. But I was praying to get called back here because I was miserable at home. With allergies and my family not wanting me around. I was also out of money big time. And my car registration is due next month. I also knew that if they called me back, that means they didn't hire someone else so that means I HAVE THIS JOB AGAIN ONCE FALL COMES. It is great because it is flexible. It's when I can come in everyday and get the work done. I feel ok asking for days off and leaving early. It's perfect for college. No working nights or weekends either.
So see, it made me very happy at the time. but now I am bored out of my mind because after work everyday, I go back to my cousin's house and do nothing. I need to start making those kids from my youth group here hang out with me.
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