Here's a Good One

So, today I stopped by my old stomping grounds, UWP, to talk with Tara (who, by the way, may let me shoot off fireworks...another story for another day), and I ran into who would have been my old boss's boss's boss. Following me? He stopped me on the sidewalk and said, "Is today your last day?" I must have looked at him like one of us was the dumbest individual in the world. So, naturally I replied, "Last day for what?" He meant, of course, my last day at UWP....which was a month ago. Without meaning to I said, "Where have you been?" and he said, "Vacation." Oh, that would explain it. Without that little piece of information, I felt a little under-appreciated or even unnoticed. You know, like nobody would have noticed if I wouldn't have showed up for a month... neat.

I love my new job. :)

Week 2, Done!

Well, it seems that I have survived two weeks of work at my new place of employment. Let's recap:

My employment began with me being the first person to work on the first day...and everyday. Well, today we can count as an exception. I showed up at about ten after eight, and I was the second one there. Did I mention our days technically begin at 7:30? I think I'm ok with that though, although it is typically not my style to be tardy. But I know that as soon as things get rolling here, this is not going to be a typical job. Just overhearing some of the meeting times that will be set up in the fall, I'll be working until 10:00 or after most nights. I had better figure out how to be a night person again.

"Orientation" for new staff members is a term, that I have come to find, is used pretty loosely around UD. I think the working definition that they choose to use is something like throwing new people in their offices and saying, "Go!" Oh well. I had been warned of that in advance, so it shouldn't have shocked me. And for the most part, it doesn't matter too much. I just wander around the office asking random questions to random people until I get a reasonable answer.

Things I had to train myself how to do (so far):
-Logging into and using email
-Phone operations and voicemail
-Working hours and dress code
-Where to get my 40+ keys that I need

Things I was trained on (so far):
-The food in the break room is for everyone
-There's $1 refills for coffee and $5 lunch specials at Sylvia's

Despite the obvious rigors of the training schedule over the last two weeks, I feel that I have nonetheless picked up on a lot of things just from digging in. I have found a ton of files on my new computer that have proved themselves very helpful. I have an intern who knows a lot and is willing to share her knowledge with me. I have figured out some of the budget operations, a major achievement for someone who has never worked with a budget of more that a few thousand dollars. At UD they throw around a couple thousand on a single project, so you can about imagine the amount of money they're trusting me with.

So, all in all, I can say that the past two weeks have been a great experience for me. I'm getting a handle on things, asking questions, meeting new people, and learning new things everyday.

It Reminds Me of Snorkeling

Nothing like swallowing a little salt water to clear your sinuses. There has been a buzz around some circles that the contraption known as the Netti Pot is the way to clear out the crud. So, being as desperate as I was, I decided to try it...

And it probably would have worked fine, but my sinuses were bl-ock-ed! So, most of the salty saline solution just went up my nose and into my mouth...slightly uncomfortable.

It actually reminds me a lot of when I tried to snorkel in Mexico. I was so bad at the whole in-through-your-nose, out-through-your-mouth thing that I drank much of the ocean. A Netti Pot is a lot like that if you're not careful.

Go try it. It's quite the experience.

A Wonderful 4th, A Terrible Cold

Despite feeling a little like death due to a sore throat, what I will blame on tonsils, and a suddenly stuffy nose, that I will blame on allergies, or (if you ask Maggie) a mysterious bouncing virus, it was still a wonderful weekend.

I spent all of yesterday in Madison bumming around in some great spots in the beautiful weather...some of the best I can remember. Peter and I splurged on Michael's Frozen Custard...yum! And then we saw some spectacular fireworks. Today, we spent the day in Spring Green at a pool party getting scorched in the sun, eating junk food, and playing a little volleyball when the inspiration struck.

All in all, the weekend was great. I wish that somehow ever weekend could be that relaxed, that laid back, and that fun. In fact, I do believe the world would be a better place if weekends were used for what they were made for-rest! So what did you do this weekend?

Sitting Outside My Office

I have officially survived the first three days of my new job. And they have certainly been an interesting three days...not that I would have expected anything else.

My week began at my old office cleaning out my cubicle, making lists, tidying things up, all the things that one would usually do when leaving an office. Then we had one last lunch at the Asian Cafe...yum, and discussed the near future. I quickly realized that I was already a helicopter parent...the very thing that drove me out of my mind during registration this year. But when I really stop and think about leaving my "kids" to do their jobs at registration without me, I get all worried and want to be there with them. The Peer Advisors are very capable adults that can do their jobs well, so there is no reason for me to be there. I just wish I was.

But I digress. The very next day, Tuesday, I went to my new office. I was the first one there by quite a while, but, to my defense, no one had told me exactly when to be there, so I just had to guess. And, also in my defense, it is apparently a theme in the office to show up a bit late. But that's neither here nor there. There were some appointments set up for me on the first few days that included lunches and friendly encounters. At some point during day two, I met my new boss for the first time. She's new too, so that's exciting.

And this morning, I sat outside my office for a good two hours because I don't have any keys yet. The secretary forgot to tell me she wasn't coming in today. Mark, a nice guy that I work with, finally called security to help me out.

I will say that there have been some exceptionally positive aspects of the last three days. The first day, I got my photo ID all done, I answered the phone once, and there was a piece of mail in my mailbox with my name on the outside. Day two, I met my boss, took a tour or two, and started decorating my office. And day three, I managed to accidentally stumble upon my email account and I checked it and sent replies. So, I guess, it's all good. More to come on the new job front later.

Head Above Water

Barely. Strangely, it doesn't take much for life to go from normal, comfortable, and settled to frantic, crazy, and unexpected.

Here's an update...more to keep myself up to date that you. I'm trying my hand at dating. That's exciting (right, Peter?). I'm working my last week of work at UWP. I haven't had any time to think about that yet, but I would imagine some time on Friday, my last day, it will catch up to me. So, ask me on Saturday how that went. I'm starting a brand new job on Tuesday. I have no idea what I'll be doing, wearing, or learning, but I'm sure it'll be fantastic. I'm looking for a new place to live in coordination with my new job. I have lots of numbers to call and not a lot of time to call them. My apartment was dirty, now it is clean. My shoes were worn, but not I have a new pair. And my life was nuts...and now it's more nuts.

So there it is. Call me sometime next year. Maybe I'll be sane and calm and settled, or maybe not. Got to love this crazy life! Is it possible to be exhausted and excited at the same time?

*Sigh*

*Snore*

Dear Mom

Dear Mom,

Remember back to when I was in high school, and Mitch, and I were home together for some reason, and we found that spider in the closet? You know, that spider that was so big and gross it had made a web that covered the whole darn closet in an hour? That whiteish colored nasty spider that could have straddled a dollar bill and probably could have outrun me?

Now, I know I have a tendency to over exaggerate stories and blow things out of proportion. But I feel like I've got a pretty good grip on reality here. Remember how Mitch and I called you home from work in the middle of the afternoon to kill it because we were too chicken?

Well, I just wanted to tell you that Saturday I met that spider's cousin....in my bathroom. A giant light brownish long-legged thing was just hanging out above my shower. I wanted so badly to call you over to my bathroom to kill it for me, but that didn't seem logical. I thought about calling someone else, but it was 6:00 in the morning. So I went about the task of deciding how I should kill it, knowing no one would come to my rescue. I quickly grabbed the fly swatter, but it didn't seem to have quite enough distance between my hand and the animal hanging from my ceiling. I decided upon the vacuum. Not the little dust buster that charges in my windowsill. (I was told once that bugs can and do crawl back out of those.) No, no. I grabbed the big ol' vacuum and all its attachments. After a quick assembly of the long narrow tube, I stood at the bathroom door staring down my opponent for a good five minutes. I probably would have stood there for the whole day, but that darn thing started "running" toward me through its web like a man on a mission, and I got scared. Kill or be killed was my mentality, so I sucked the beast up.

So, Mom, the moral of this story is, I still need you and Dad. Not just to be my spider killers. I just like to have you around. So, don't stay away too long.

Love you!

Enough is Enough

At what point do we say, "Enough is enough!"? Well, I have a feeling that we've all already far surpassed that point. Think over this past six months. 2008 started out with massive amounts of snow, fog, and other strange and random weather events. The spring was short and fairly uneventful, but now summer is coming in like a raging lion that just got stung by a bee...and stepped on a thistle...and ate rotten meat....you get the idea.

I can never remember a year like this one. And I can honestly say that I've had enough. Today I sat on the floor in an interior hallway for forty minutes or so hiding from the threat of yet another tornado.

And I had to miss my first American Players Theater (check it out: www.playinthewoods.org) with Peter. We were both pretty bummed about that.

Summer is crabby, and so am I.

(Not even joking, as I was writing the last line, my power went--and stayed--out. Not funny.)

What's the word to use here.....

Sunday was quite the eventful day for me. I went to church and was asked to sing lead for a set in the worship team. I can't say I'm all that big of a fan of singing lead. It's just a mental thing, I guess. Something about hearing only your voice reverberating back to you through an echoey sanctuary is unsettling. But I sucked it up and did it. And it was fine.

After church, I drove through the rain to Madison to spend time with Peter. We watched his brother play in an amazing band, Harmonious Wail, which I absolutely loved. Then we walked State Street, in one direction dry, in the other, in some sweet rain. We ate a snack at a Vietnamese restaurant, which was also great.

I met Peter's dad for the first time back at the house. And Peter was right, his parents are pretty cool. After re-meeting his mom (we had met in New Orleans once upon a time), we all went to church. This in itself was an experience.

Blackhawk church in Madison is like, as Peter described, an airport terminal. There is a big information desk in the middle, computer kiosks, coffee bars, a whole children's ministry wing, and more than one sanctuary. For a kid who grew up in a church of about 50 regular attenders, it was a lot to take in. After getting my barrings, the service started, a recording of the morning service. The topic of the sermon? Awkwardly enough, marriage. As Peter and I, extremely new to each other, sat between both his parents, neither of us looked at each other or either parent. It was just a strange moment full of good advice, but I don't think either of us knew how to take it. We laughed later about it just being...well....yeah.

After that, it was pouring like the dickens out of extremely ominous looking cloud formations. We decided to head back home and eat a pizza where it continued to rain and rain and rain. The radar was red and yellow everywhere, which is never a good sign. Just before 10:00, I decided that I should make a break for Belmont. And although I made it home safe and sound, I can't say that I exactly loved every minute of it. The blinding lightning and car shaking thunder with the occasional white-out-ish condition, made it just uncomfortable enough for white knuckles and a slight amount of perspiration.

Needless to say, this weekend was, well....yeah. It was....wonderful, strange, fun, scary, awkward, comfortable...what exactly is the word I'm looking for here....

Stink Eye

Do you know what the Stink Eye is? I'm sure you do, if not by name.

You know that look someone gives you when they're annoyed by you? That look that tells you, "What the junk do you think you're doing?" That look that makes you want to roll your eyes because the person giving it to you is usually full of crap?

That's the Stink Eye.

I've been getting it all morning. And to that, I roll my eyes. It really is time to go.

Seriously.

The Big Winner

Today, I have to admit that I'm pretty tired and even a little grumpy after a long tough weekend of working hard and playing hard. Work didn't start (or continue) with the greatest, most joyful demeanor, so I got a little short with people and headed outside for some alone time. It was very nice. But somehow, no matter how grumpy I got, it was still my day.

This morning, I get a phone call at work rather unexpectedly. "Hi, this is Jessica from Subway, and you're our weekly winner. You can come pick up your free meal whenever you'd like." How fun! All those weeks of putting my business card into their little box finally paid off. I admit that I gloated a little bit to Tara, who almost always has a scoff for me when I drop my cards in.

Then, even more ironically, this afternoon, Quiznos calls me to let me know that I have won a free meal from them and I'd be entered into a $500 cash drawing tomorrow. Nobody wins this stuff...and certainly nobody wins this sort of stuff twice...in one day. How sweet would the $5oo be? Hopefully tomorrow will be my day too.

Hard Work

This weekend I spend most of my time in Parkersburg helping where I could. I was assigned kitchen duty on Friday, which honestly, I was initially a little bummed about. I really wanted to be out in the field, picking up debris, sweating and sun burned. But what I didn't realize was that God had plans to have me help where I was needed most.

The first hour or so, I wasn't sure how exactly to jump in, but after that, I had someone show me around so I could see where all the supplies where stored. After that, I hit the ground running. I filled coolers, stacked plates and napkins, cleaned tables, unloaded shipments, climbed around in semi trailers. By the end of Saturday, I was still working (with only about a seven or eight hour break), but I knew the lay of the land and tried to be as helpful as I could. And I was beyond honored when the woman in charge asked me to relieve her for the next few days. I choked up when I told her that I couldn't.

My heart is still in Parkersburg tonight. My heart is still climbing in semi trailers and unloading a full truck of bottled water. And my heart is with Sandy, Deb, Mary, Judy, Heidi, Neil, and all those that I coordinating meals for hundreds of people who really really need it.

And you know what? Working hard feels really good. Tonight I'm stiff and sore beyond belief, but I know that my little bit of suffering made the lives of the people of Parkersburg and all the volunteers hopefully just a little bit more comfortable. Thank you, Lord, for giving me strength and gifts to serve where you lead me. May I never take my many blessing for granted.

Destruction

I can't begin to know how to write about this. As all of you know, an F5 tornado ripped a 43 mile path through Iowa this weekend, destroying anything in a half-mile path. It is a sight unlike any other, like an explosion or a war zone.

Families have lost everything they know in as little as 30 seconds. As I sit useless in my apartment tonight, I know the best thing I can do is pray hard for all those affected by this powerful destructive force. And although I'd love to be there helping in the clean up, I know that families and volunteers are working hard with a resounding sense of unity.

There is hope in all of this. The people of Iowa are strong and resilient. The winds break walls, but not spirits. Parkersburg and New Hartford and all those affected will stand tall and work hard together to make things better than they ever were.

We are so fortunate in this world. We've been given so much and are so incredibly blessed. So count your blessing tonight. Give thanks to God for the many wonderful things He gives us in life like family, strength, and constant love and care. He is in control...even in unfathomable chaos.

Whaaaaaaaaa!

The following is a true story.

This afternoon, I was sitting at my desk, actually being productive (which hasn't happened so much these days). I was working in Word to develop an artistic invitation to the Peer Advising retreat that is coming up around the corner, checking my email, and ok, facebooking.

A sudden and extremely loud wailing blared from near my end of the office. I looked around, somewhat annoyed, and assume that the fire alarm had gone off in an absurd, solid tone wail. I continued to work until I noticed that people were beginning to gather around my desk.

A few seconds later, Heidi had grabbed my laptop off of its docking station and began wildly hitting any button and unplugging any cord she could find. I did what anyone would do in that situation: I said, "What the heck?!?" and then got up and walked away. Upon a manic shutdown, the wail had been silenced, and it was confirmed that the insane noise was indeed from my little laptop. Seriously. It was as loud of the fire alarm.

Turns out, sometimes your internal microphone in your laptop can turn itself on without any touching of microphone controls. And if said microphone happens to be turned up loud enough and the accompanying speakers have also somehow been turned up loud enough, the result is a "WHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAA" that very closely resembles a fire alarm.

Needless to say, I was pretty embarrassed, but I could only be so embarrassed because the IT guy that came to rescue me had no solution to my little problem. I can only assume that he must have been just as embarrassed. All I'm saying is, watch out. This could inexplicably happen to you. Keep an eye on your seemingly well-behaving laptop; it could revolt and try to blow itself up.

"Hello, this is OnStar."

I feel that I will forever pay for the OnStar system for my car, as I discovered this weekend. I managed to lock my keys in my new car while visiting my grandma, and my spare set was in my house in Belmont. The rest of the incident went something like this:

Dad: What's information's number?
Me: 411
Dad: *dials 411* OnStar, please.
Me: *grabs phone*
OnStar: Hello, this is OnStar... ... ...Alright, ma'am, I'm going to unlock your car for you now. Have a great day.
*click*

What a sweet feature! I will pay pretty much whatever it takes to keep that little ditty around. :)

Beautiful Sunny Day

All day today as I was in my cubicle, the sun shone through the giant windows that are at my back. And all day, I wanted nothing more that to get outside, get some healthy color, boost my vitamin D, or whatever, but I couldn't. Then, the very instant I get home, when I have every intention of going outside to revel in the aforementioned sun, it begins to rain.

I'm glad Monday's over.

Cushioned Landing

When I really should be working, at 2:40 in the afternoon, I am instead enjoying...or should I say trying to enjoy a Butterfinger Bar. The building that I work in has a sole vending machine that requires a nearly half mile walk of shame to get to, but it does contain good things such as Snickers, Butterfinger...well, who really needs anything else. But there is a predicament with having Butterfingers in the third row up in a vending machine. They are, in fact, fairly brittle and breakable. And when dropped from the third row of a vending machine, they tend to, well, shatter. And this afternoon, this all led me to ponder why vending machines don't have a padded tray for goodness like Butterfingers to fall into. It would avoid the whole trying to lick up shards of chocolate and peanutbutteriness from my desk action altogether. Your thoughts on the matter?

It Had to End This Way

Go figure. I should have even called it or bet money on the fact that my travel season would end in a most unusual way.

First, this week I had the privilege of driving fleet car #12. For those of you not familiar with fleet car #12, let me elaborate. Fleet car #12 is one of the oldest cars in the fleet, and as a Taurus, as most of the fleet are, it would usually be considered reliable even at 160,000 miles. And I will admit that fleet car #12 has never stranded me anywhere, it has had some hiccups that I would prefer not to deal with while dealing with Chicago traffic. For instance, the gas pedal sticks at the top, so most often in situations where one would be required to accelerate, nothing happens until *bam!* you're catapulted into hyper-drive. And a problem that is fantastic to couple with acceleration challenges, are the brakes. The breaks are the opposite of touchy, and practically standing up in the driver's seat is required to make a full and complete stop. Besides that, fleet car #12 smells something terrible...it reminds me of rotting food, but from a distance...the smell of approaching a dumpster from a half mile away, downwind. And finally, fleet car #12 has a strange bar or cord that I would imagine is holding the driver's seat together, but it is on the person side of the padding rather than the inside. Most days after driving fleet car #12 I feel a slight bruise on my spine...quite uncomfortable.

Although the fact that driving fleet car #12 was not especially pleasing, that was not the most strange part of my day (note, it is only 10:00). I began my day by picking up said fleet car #12 at 6:45 and got on the road to head to my last school visits of the semester. By 8:00 I had two voicemails on my phone. I would have caught the calls had I not been singing extremely boldly in said car. Within fifteen minutes this morning both of my last two schools had called and told me not to bother showing up. No students were signed up, and it wouldn't be worth my while. By doing some quick mental math, one can gather that I had already driven for an hour in the south and easterly direction. An hour. So, with an exasperated, "What the heck!" to Tara, I turned around in Nora, Illinois, where the local (there may only be one in that town) was walking to get his mail and provided me with a curious look while I was making a u-turn near his house.

So, now, at 10:00, I have already been "working" for three and a half hours and I have accomplished absolutely nothing but wasting gas. But hey, gas is cheap, right? Welcome to my daily life in recruitment. The spring travel season had to end this way.

'Cuz We Need a Little More Rain...

So I found myself in Peoria, Illinois yesterday. I just ran down there quick to visit a few stu-well, schools. (I didn't see any students, so I guess that's not what I went to visit.) But while I was there, the strangest thing happened. The weather turned bipolar. I had never seen anything quite like it. One minute it would start to rain, and because it was so chilly out, it would quickly turn to sleet, then hail. That would last about ten minutes or so, and then the sky would clear and the sun would shine for fifteen minutes or so. Lather, rinse, repeat, and that's what happened all day long.

And as I drove back north to Platteville, it continued to rain, and streams and rivers continued to be well out of their banks, and fields continued to sit with water. I can say with certainty that we don't need any more rain. But if you read enough reports and almanacs, or listen to wise and knowledgeable Tara, you'll learn that this growing season is supposed to be too dry to grow good crops. I guess I'll have to see it to believe it. And if this is indeed true, why aren't more people scurrying to collect all the excess water to utilize later when everything dries up? Something to think about.

And the forecast for the week doesn't look promising. Thursday and Friday are projected to bring more rain and thunderstorms. So get your rain coats and goulashes...and maybe you're small fishing boats propped up in the street...the fun's not over yet.

And in Late Breaking News....

And in late breaking news tonight...

I went waaaay over my cell phone plan this month. And I do find that weird considering that most months I don't even come close. It makes me wonder what the heck I was talking about this month that was so much more pressing that any other....