Changes

I moved to Chicago almost exactly five months ago.  It's crazy how much things can change in five months.  For example, I went from a ghetto apartment that flooded regularly in Nashville, to living in a 10x11 room in my uncle's house to an adorable duplex in a fabulous neighborhood.  Also, I moved to Chicago completely single...now, I'm definitely not single.  And even more than that, the relationship is going shockingly well.  But the biggest change of all was my job.  I went from working for a major corportation in a fabulous department full of my best friends to working in a tiny basement office with 5 guys and a crazy lady.  Seriously.  I tried not to write a lot about how awful things were at that job because it's not something I want to remember in detail. 

I had convinced myself that I was going to give new-crappy-job at least a year before I started looking elsewhere.  Then things really started to go downhill quickly.  The management wasn't there, the upper-level management had a thing for writing one-off emails full of degrading comments and exclamation points, and no one was actively doing anything to help the situation.  So, being the good Sales Manager that I was, I was researching one of my clients one day and noticed that she worked for "XYZ Meetings & Incentives."  I said, "hmmm...never heard of that" and typed it into Google.  After learning a little more about the company, I looked at open positions.  Turns out, they had one of my dream jobs listed on their site...and I was qualified for it.  But I didn't apply.  I had said I was going to stick it out for a year.  I casually mentioned it to my mom and Jason.  Both of them knowing how miserable I was, they told me to apply THIS SECOND. 

I updated my resume and applied two days later (a Wednesday.)  On Friday, I had a half day and had just gotten home to let Lex out and my phone started ringing with an unfamiliar number.  "Hi!  This is Oliva with XYZ Meetings & Incentives...we'd like to set up an interview on Tuesday."  I'm pretty sure I did a dance in the middle of the street with Lex, I was SO excited.  But I didn't want to get my hopes up because I didn't want to be let down if I didn't get it.

Monday rolled around and it was one of the worst days yet at my crappy job.  Seriously, a new low had been reached and I was so over it.  I believe I texted Jason "Can I quit my job?"  I spent Monday night with my family in town celebrating my uncle's 50th birthday.  I told them all about the interview the next day  and about how nervous I was because I really wanted it.  They assured me they'd all be praying for me.  Jason typed up a massive email about interview questions and prep stuff that scared me and helped me out at the same time. 

So, Tuesday, I call in "sick" to current crappy job.  Can I just tell you how awful I felt about lying to current crappy employer?  Seriously.  I've never called in fake sick...EVER.  At any rate, mom dropped me off at the building to interview.  Two hours later, I walked out.  I fielded about 50 phone calls saying "I think it went well."  Then began the waiting game.  Wednesday passed with nothing.  Thursday came and I got a voicemail from XYZ Meetings & Incentives asking me to call them back.  I called them immediately and left a message.  Didn't hear from them. 

Jason came over that night to hang out and literally, as I was playing the voicemail for him to get his read on it, they called.  And offered me a job.  Holy crap.  I wish I could describe how good that felt.  Relief flooded through me.  I didn't have to go back to crappy current job.  Seriously? 

So, now, as of Wednesday, I'll be working for XYZ Meetings & Incentives as a Purchasing Manager.  Basically, I'll be sourcing meetings and negotiating meeting contracts for a large corporation exclusively. That's it.  ONLY NEGOTIATION.  No planning.  No On-Site. No Cell Phones. Thank you, Lord!!

There are obviously MAJOR benefits to this:
1.  No more current crappy job.
2.  Something I'm actually really good at and enjoy doing.
3.  Word for word from my benefits info:  "Office Hours: Monday - Friday 8:30a-5:30p"  HECK YES!
4.  Business Casual.  Goodbye Suits.
5.  New job is downtown Chicago.  I mean DOWN.TOWN.  No more suburbs
6.  I now get to take the Metra literally INTO my new building.  If you've never experienced a Chicago winter, this is HUGE.
7.  No more crappy current job.

To say that I'm excited is way off base.  I'm thrilled and so relieved at this opportunity.  So many people would look at this and say it was a "happy accident" that I was researching a client that day...but I know better.  This is another instance in my life where God just makes Himself so obvious.  I don't know how someone could look at this series of events and NOT see God's hand all over it.  Some days, I don't know what I did to be so truly blessed...but I know that I am and that I'm thankful.

~I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. - Philippians 4:13~

Where did the summer go!?

So more than a few people have informed me that I suck at keeping up with my blog...and they're correct.  I absolutely cannot believe that it will be August in a few days!  I feel like summer was just beginning and now they're putting out back-to-school stuff!?  What??  At any rate, it has been an interesting time this summer!  I have literally gone non-stop since the end of June! 

In June, Jason and I had the pleasure a true Chicago experience!  Neither of us had ever been to a Cubs game at Wrigley field, so he and a bunch of his work friends arranged awesome tickets for everyone!  It involved drinking before noon, spending way too much money on souvineers, a really hot summer day and a lot of laughs!  We had such a great time and even though we were literally in the highest seats in the stadium, I think they were the best!

Then in July, I decided it was a good time to become a total blonde again.  More importantly, we were able to spend Fourth of July weekend at Jason's lake house in Southern Indiana with Brett & Megan!  It was so good to catch up with them and spend the weekend just relaxing and hanging out in the boat with Jason's family and our friends.  I may have pushed it a little too hard while tubing and couldn't put on jackets for about four days.  No one tells you how much it sucks getting older!  I don't have many pictures from the Fourth becuase my camera sucks and we may have broken Jase's while in Miami, but a few were taken!

Then the weekend after the Fourth, I finally got to move into my new place!!!  Holy crap did it take a lot of work to get it ready to be lived in, but I couldn't be happier with it!  I'll do a separate post with the total tour at some point, but this is a picture of the outside.  Amanda (my roommate) and I have the third and fourth floor.  It's absolutely adorable!  I must say that Jason was absolutely an amazing help.  He stayed up half the night painting with me for the entire weekend.  Seriously.  It looks a million times better and I'm so thankful for all of his help!

So then the weekend after I moved in, my friends from Nashville came to visit!!  We'd been planning that trip for a while and I was about to jump out of my skin I was so excited to see them!  Stacia, Charlie, Jen and Matt made the 8 hour drive all the way from Tennessee to spend a semi-long weekend trucking around in Chicago!  It was super interesting with the Transformers 3 movie closing down Michigan Avenue, me having to work and them staying out by the airport (boo suburbs), but it didn't matter!  I was just glad I got to see them!  They were my life in Nashville and my life here just doesn't feel complete without them! 

We ate at some of the best restaurants EVER.  Fronterra and Table Fifty-Two come HIGHLY reccomended by this crowd of foodies!  After dinner on Sunday, before they all left, we went to the beach to take some pictures of all of us (STACIA - Put your dang pictures on FACEBOOK!!!)

Jase&Matt bonding over espresso machines.

My favorite people and my favorite city!  (Only missing my favorite Babykins!)

Jase and I in our city!

 

Then this past weekend, Ann had her first shower for her wedding coming up in October!  It was absolutely gorgeous and I couldn't be happier for her!  I am SO blessed to have her in my life...especially given the way we met!  Who would have thought my pot-luck freshman year roommate would be one of my best friends more than 8 years later!  I'm super excited for her October wedding, especially after seeing her in her dress!  I'm still in shock that we're old enough to be getting married!  What happened to college??

Ann and her Bridesmaids!

Finally, after all the dust settled from the craziness, my mom brought my puppy back up to me (after almost a month) and also put together my entire apartment in one week.  She also decorated Jason's as well...because, why not!?  Both places look about a million times better than before.  I really don't know what I'd do without my momma :)  It was sad to have her leave, but I'll see her this weekend!  We're headed back to Indy tomorrow!  It seriously just never stops.  My little brother's best friend (and my secondary little brother) Zacky, will be getting married to a wonderful girl - Jessica - tomorrow night!  Then Saturday night, Jason's friends from B-School are getting married at IU.  So we'll be down there to celebrate that!  It's such a crazy life, but right now, I'm just glad that I get to live in my city, see my friends & family and have my puppy around!  I promise to put more pictures of the apartment up once I get them!  Hopefully I'll average more than once a month for this thing! :)  But for now, check out this cuteness:

South Beach...bringin' the heat!

So, on June 5th, this handsome guy turned 29.  I had been planning his birthday weekend in Chicago for weeks a few days when he sent me an email.  Flights to Miami and San Francisco were WIDE open...did I want to go to the beach?  Um...yes!  Of course!  So, Friday night we hopped a flight to Miami!  Very last minute and very fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants.  There are two things I am not: Very last minute and very fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants.  I plan meetings for a living...key word being p-l-a-n.  I make binders for going on vacation...seriously.

At any rate, the minute we landed, Jason Pricelined us a fabulous South Beach hotel - The Raleigh. The rooms weren't anything to write home about. But the pool? The pool was fabulous.

Even better than the pool was the beach:

After learning the drinks at the hotel were ridiculously expensive, we went out to buy our own and sat on the beach the rest of the day.  We went and rode the jet-skis out in the ocean, took naps in the sun and just generally goofed around.

After all the fun in the sun, we got dressed up to go to a yummy dinner right on Lincoln St. in South Beach.  I wasn't too sure of the Argentinian cusine, but Jase picked a fabulous place (no big surprise, he has great taste). I always forget to have someone take a picture of us when we're dressed up, dangit.

(Jason kept yelling at me because I was on the phone updating Facebook every three seconds.)

Since our flight didn't leave until Monday morning, we spent the day Sunday walking down the beach and shopping around "A1A - Beachfront Avenue!" (Bonus points if you can name the song we kept singing the ENTIRE weekend.)  We stopped and got some very yummy drinks that ended up being WAY stronger than planned.  We realized this in the middle of Kenneth Cole.  Super classy:  it's how we roll.

After goofing around at the pool for a bit longer, we packed up all our stuff and headed the airport hotel.  By the time we got there, Jason had work to do and I had TV to watch.  We ended up ordering Papa Johns (which made us sick) and heading to bed because we had to wake up at the ridiculous hour of 4am to catch our flight home.

I have to say that while the weekend I had planned originally was going to be fun, this was so much better!  I'd been begging asking Jase to go to the beach and he definitely heard me.  It was great to spend time away from the City exploring somewhere new together.  Traveling with someone isn't always easy.  We definitely had our moments of snippiness (mostly on my part...shocking).  We're both learning how to communicate what we want and our expectations for each other because not everyone functions the same way. 

For instance, I forget to eat a lot of times.  Jason doesn't.  He has to speak up about when he's hungry because the poor man will never eat if he doesn't.  Also, when my family goes on vacation to the beach, we are at the beach all. day. long.  Jason gets bored sitting anywhere more than an hour and likes to go see things.  We didn't know these things until we had to hash it out on Sunday.  But now, we're aware of it and on our next trip, we know how to handle it.  It's all an adjustment, but I think it's more what you make of it and how you address differences that matters.

Overall...a fantastic weekend with a great guy! Neither of us wanted to wake up and come back to work, but I am pretty thrilled to see this little thing when I get home :)

Floods

I found this on a random blog and it hit me hard with all the flooding in Nashville.  It's such a beautiful point of view, I thought I'd share it.

"Pick A Road
[originally posted: June 30, 2008]
 You know the Robert Frost poem about two roads diverging in the woods? It's been popping into my head a lot lately and makes me wonder if it may be how God works with free will.

 I know, it's scary to think about how my brain works, isn't it?

 Bear with me. I've been watching a lot of news coverage about the horrible effects of the floods around my area. At first it was a constant state of urgency about the water levels and people needing to evacuate different neighborhoods. One news station was running solely on generators and kept apologizing for the fact they hadn't showered in three days because they were in the heart of the hardest hit area and had no running water.

 To be honest, that part of the tragedy was easier to watch.

 Now we are hearing about the long-term effects. The contamination. The waste. The ruined homes. The plans to demolish. The homeless. The jobless. The exhaustion. It breaks my heart. And somehow, so many of the people interviewed talk about the hope they feel, the resolve to rebuild and make their lives strong again. You can tell it's at the core of who they are, because it's their instinct to believe in hope even when their eyes are so very weary.

 There was recently a news piece about a church community that had lost their building, and another faith denomination had offered their church as a place of worship. The interviewer was asking different people about their situations and how their faith has pulled them through. Some people said they knew things were going to be ok and they couldn't make it without their faith. Others just simply said they didn't know how God could do this to them. And I think it's a valid question; when you talk about God having a plan for us... then wouldn't the bad stuff be in His plan as well? But that question lacks a key component: free will.

 Free will means that stuff is going to happen. We make choices every day that affect the outcome of our lives. We choose where to live. We choose who to marry. We make decisions about our education or having children or where to have dinner. People with more power in society decided where to build towns and levies and infrastructure.

 And then it rains.

 I don't think God looked around this Earth and decided one day to mess with the people of Iowa. I think all of our decisions and our ancestors' decisions came together with a natural rain and it created an opportunity for a flood. Free will. Stuff happens. Could God stop it all? You bet. But He promised us He wouldn't. He gave us free will and the opportunity to make ourselves strong again.

 That's where the poem comes into play. (I told you my brain would take you there eventually.)

 I think in front of every person who is hurt, God lays out paths in front of them... roads, if you will. I don't think one is necessarily better than the other, but they are choices for us to make. You can rebuild your home, you can move away, you can relocate to higher ground. And whichever road you choose to walk down, I think God is on it making sure you see the potholes you could fall in, the pebbles you could trip over and the sunshine that could warm your face through the trees. In every instance, I truly believe He is putting the possibility of blessings on your path if you're willing to reach out and take them.

 I'm not so crazy as to believe any one of the roads will be easy. You might choose a road of self-pity and despair for awhile, but eventually you'll stumble on a blessing that will make your path smoother. It's not about God making sure bad stuff never happens. It's about the fact that He holds us when it does. That's what dad's do best. They don't stop you from trying new things. They don't tell you not to take any chances. They cheer you on when you choose to try. They tell you that anything is possible. And when you mess up, when you fail, when you fall... a dad picks you up, brushes you off and wipes your tears away. Then he tells you to try again.

 The flood victims are in the stage where they need to be brushed off and their tears wiped away, but I believe with my whole heart that there will be roads diverging in front of them, and God will be there cheering them on as they try again. Because that's what fathers do."

Through the Looking Glass

Some days, it's really easy to look back at the past and wish you had done things differently or that things had gone the other way.  Today is not one of those days. 

While working goofing around at work when I should have been working, I was on Facebook.  I got the stupid idea to look up Jerk.  So I did.  I've done this before (almost a year ago) and it just absolutely sent me into a depression of "what ifs."  What if he and I had been able to work things out?  What if I'd stayed with him despite how crappy he was?  What would my life be like?  And worse than the "what ifs", is that part of me still wanted to be with him...despite the crappiness.  Stupid, right?

But today, I looked at the picture of him and honestly thought "What in the hell did I see in him!?"  I thought about how awful I felt when I was with him and how truly selfish he was.  I even looked at his picture and said "huh...he's not even that cute!"  Needless to say, this is a huge improvement.  Because that time in my life was awful, it makes me appreciate just how good I've got it now and how far I've come. 

For example, I've always known I have a great family.  But living in Tennessee, it was hard to see them because they were all at least 5 hours away.  But, because I'm in Chicago, I got to love on all of my cousins and play in the water at my favorite place on earth.  We jumped and swam and ran and played charades and just enjoyed each other's company.  It's so much fun to see the world through the kids eyes and scary how fast they're becoming little adults.

Secondly, had I not gone through everything a few years ago, I wouldn't have some of my best friends: Jen, Matt, Stacia & Charlie.  They all came into my life at the exact right time and I really wouldn't trade the memories made with them for anything.  God definitely knew what he was doing with that situation.  I could go on and on about these people and how much I miss them, but I won't.

Lastly, being in such a crappy relationship has made me excited to find a good and right one.  Not trying to jump any guns here, but I'll just say that for now, I'm really happy.  Someone is here for me to bounce ideas off of, to challenge me in my thinking and most importantly, to make me laugh.  I'm not sure I've laughed so much in a long time.  Even when I'm being an insane girl and claiming he chose an apartment over me and my dog (seriously...stupid), he just hugs me and lets me know that he actually cares about me and he would never chose anything over Lex & I.  What's more, is I actually trust him.  I didn't trust Jerk - and for good reason.  Now, it's not even a thought in my head because I know Jase wouldn't do a thing to intentionally hurt me.  It's refreshing to be able to say that.  I'm still proceeding with caution because I always do, but it's fair to say that I'm happy with where I am.

In all, it's such a relief to see how far I've come and to know that I've learned from my mistakes and also been blessed from my mistakes.  I may not always know what I'm doing, but I'm so glad that God does.

Series of Bad Dates: Part One

I have been on a lot of bad dates.  It's a blessing and a curse really.  On one hand, I have to live through them.  On the other hand, I get to tell really good stories to all my friends and we have a laugh over it.  Not to brag, but I usually win the "I had the worst bad date" award.  So, in honor of that, I figured I should write them down. 

So, today we're going back about nine months to a date I had with a guy we'll call "Clown."  As previously discussed, I decided to sign up for personal training at my gym in Nashville.  In order to do so, I had to meet with the director of personal training.  I had been forewarned that the guy was pretty cute...but a little on the short side.  So I go to my appointment, and the guy's actually cute.  Unfortunately, the guy is also two inches shorter than me. I'm 5'4"...so this guy was S.H.O.R.T.  So we talk for half an hour about everything I dislike about my body and how I want to look.  Just so you know, it's really hard to tell a decent looking guy that I hate the way my butt looks. 

After I sign my life away to the personal trainer of his choice, he mentions that he's on Facebook and I should find him.  I was all "yeah right" and left.  Then the next morning, I had a friend request.  And then we started talking on Facebook (so romantic.)  Eventually, I agreed to go out to dinner the night before Thanksgiving.  He asks what I like and I tell him I'm a "pizza and beer" kind of girl. 

The night before Thanksgiving comes around and he picks me up at my apartment to go to dinner.  Of course, he drives a pimped out Suburban.  This should have been my first clue that he had shortman's syndrome.  Then, we go to a Cuban restaurant.  Pretty sure he missed the pizza & beer memo.  You'd think the conversation would make up for this fact, right?  Nope.  Througout the course of the night, the following things came out of his mouth:
- "My friend and I were tripped out on X...and we flipped a car."
- "Back in the day, I was all doped up...and I flipped another car."
- "So this one time, I was high and..."

My mouth is just gaping open.  Me, who has NEVER done drugs of any kind in my life is out on a date with this moron.  Awesome.  So, we're going back to my apartment because I have to work the next day.  Along the way, we pass the strip-clubs in Nashville.  Stupidly, I said "I never understood why guys want to go to those places.  Among everything else, why pay for something you can't touch?"  His response is something I will never forget.

"Oh, yeah...me too!  I mean, I'd rather pay a $6 cover at a bar and pick-up a chick for the night than go to one of those places!"  Seriously.  Word. For. Word.  But, Clown didn't stop there!  Oh no...he launched into a monologue about sleeping with people: "I can't understand why people would want to wait until they get married to have sex...that's just stupid.  And then there's other girls who will sleep with a few guys and then freak out and never do it again.  Or, my friend is getting married and his fiance is holding out on him until the wedding!  That's just crap...people are stupid." 

Um, hello?  KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE BEFORE YOU START SPOUTING THIS CRAP OFF!!  He didn't know it at the time, but I fall directly into one of those categories.  And I was not amused.  I should have said goodnight and never thought of him again.  But, I'm clearly not that smart. 

We start watching a movie on the couch and he asks if his car is parked right outside my apartment.  Um, yes...you did just walk in that door.  He then proceeds to tell me that he has a vice I wasn't aware of.  He dips.  And proceeded to do so in my living room, on my couch, on our first date. 

Needless to say, we didn't go on a second date.  Ever. 

"It's a Deep Burn"

I have a very love/hate relationship with working out.  Growing up, I was a gymnast for ten years and also did diving for four years.  I was never one for team sports - anyone who's seen me play kickball can attest to this.  Anywho, for those sports years, I was in pretty rockin' good shape...we did weights and throwing yourself off a 12 foot springboard will give you a decent cardio workout.  But, then I got to high school and decided that I would rather socialize with my friends (read: watch Trading Spaces/run around Super Target) than be committed to a team sport.  I've always had issues with commitment.  So, I quit sports and ran around with my friends.

Then college.  In college, you have FREE access to a fabulous gym and pool.  You can even take athletic classes such as swimming, aerobics, and bowling. I took all three because I'm an over-achiever.  I also took flower-arranging.  Many thanks to Jess for "helping" me pass that class.  During college, I probably went to the co-rec a total of 20 times in four years.  I also didn't do much in swimming/aerobics classes because I was too busy socializing.  Shocking.  The thing is, I didn't have to work out.  I was eating whatever I wanted, drinking frat boys under the table and managing to stay the same size/shape I was in high school. 

Then college ended. 

Turns out, after graduation, that "drink whatever, eat whatever and never, ever work out" regimen doesn't work the same way.  It was a subtle change that I didn't even notice until I started looking back at pictures. Now, almost four years later to the day, I'm 20 pounds heavier.  Um, hello!?  Not ok in my book.  I realize that 20 pounds isn't a lot, but I have a very small frame and I'm short.  It shows and it bothers me.  I did random workouts (stupid Jillian Michaels Shred...she CAN kill you in 30 minutes) and a few assorted things, but nothing ever stuck.

So, while still in Nashville, I joined a gym and signed on for personal training (Note: it's not cheap and I don't recommend going on a date with the director of personal training.)  However, I managed to get into a great routine with the training and going to gym at night.  At one point, it was up to five times a week.  For someone who counts walking up one flight of stairs as a workout, this was huge.  I was actually starting to see results! Then I got a job in Chicago and it all went out the door. 

Because of my living situation right now, I haven't been able to join a gym.  So, I did a bit of research and found this: Couch to 5k.  What!?  A work out program for people who enjoy sitting on the couch?  Sign me up.  See, I've always wanted to love running.  My friend KK runs marathons for fun.  She actually said she'd run a half-marathon with me just to help me.  I think she's insane.  But, at the same time, I'm jealous!  She was a swimmer in high school and learned how to work out...and subsequently fell in love with it.  Now, she's a little work-out freak. I want to be a workout freak.  No, I will be a workout freak.  I just have to convince myself that it'll work...and then go buy a DVR because I can't miss Idol.  I figure if Megan over at Tale of the Trees can do it, so can I!  (Looove her blog by the way!)

Game on, Couch to 5k.  Game on.