California Love..

Just FYI.. The forecast in LA for the weekend... Be jealous, people. Love you all. Blog more later! :)

High /Low (°F)

Sat Sep 01
Sunny
78°/68°

Sun Sep 02
Sunny
79°/70°

Mon Sep 03
Sunny
78°/70°

Tue Sep 04
Sunny
79°/67°

Good God I've blogged a lot today...

BUT THIS ONE IS WORTH IT!

CONGRATULATIONS TO MY COUSIN, KARISSA on her SECOND baby!! Aiden James Kirby was born this afternoon and weighed in at a healthy approximate 7lbs! :)

She now has Karson Charles (a little over a year old) and Aiden James!!

WHAT TIME IS IT?!!

HOMECOMING BLOG TIME!

Kat rocks my world and is keeping it up again this year...but with a new address and a few changes!!

Get to updating, people!!
http://www.tuhomecoming.blogspot.com/

Slip inside the eye of your miiiiiiind...

Why do I have an Oasis song in my head? I dont know. Whatever.

So, I'm fairly certain someone was trying to break in to the building next door...or even mine last night. The sad thing is, I was so asleep that it didnt phase me. lol! I woke up to the "Bang! Bang! Bannnnnng!" sound of someone trying (unsuccessfully) to get in a door from the sounds of it. I actually froze for a second, then thought "No, they're just trying to take one of the window units. Im glad I dont live on the first floor." Yes, I really did think that. What is wrong with me? In my defense, I was really tired... Yeah. Welp, I'm safe today so that's all that matters.

Gracie, aka the escape artist, has struck again.. chewing up another pair of shoes. Her newest thing is to leap from the kitchen (over the gate) and get into my dirty clothes somehow. Then, she strewns them all over the apt (not destroying any of them). You can't help but laugh at her masterpiece of dirty clothes when you see it. The thing is.. she only does it when she wants. Some days, she'll still be in the kitchen..all cute and sleeping. *sigh*

I watched the Real World.. and I think it's funny that Dunbar is getting the shaft. I mean..his name is DUNBAR.

One more thing.. GO TU!! Today, they play the University of Louisiana-Monroe!!!!! Let's go Tul.sa. (clap. clap. clapclapclap!)

All Growed Up

So, last night I went to dinner with an old friend from high school, Brett. (Joy, do you remember him?! :) )I hadn't seen him in literally about 7 years! In high school, we were friends...that tried (unsuccessfully) to date once...as in one. date. lol! Anyway, I remember seeing him walk into my first high school class, Honors History, and thought "Wow, that kid is small...and looks like a suck up....but he's cute." Blaze and I exchanged "too cool for school" glances as he sat at his desk, hands clasped together like a model student. LOL! We spent nearly every class together after that for the next years of high school-including the swim team- and he grew to be WAY taller than me... even when I'm in 3 inch heels (like last night). We also grew to be really good friends.. Anyway, we both went off to college and lost touch...til I ran into his big sister at a bar the other night! I gave her my card and the rest is history!!

We reminded each other about stories we'd each forgotten... like the time he and I got detention. Brett had fixed my tank top strap...and the teacher gave us both detention, thinking we had done something bad.

Apparently my feisty ass also dared him to hit me once.. When he playfully did (it wasnt hard AT. ALL.), I hauled off and slapped the crap out of him. (*oops*) He jokingly said "I learned to never lay my hand on a girl-even jokingly. I nervously apologized and sipped my water.. haha. :)

Anyway, we had a blast and I'm really glad we caught up again! He's likely moving in October, so we promised to hang a little more before he does. It's rare today to actually meet a guy FRIEND, ya know...

Oh.. I also showed him my dog on my camera.. He scrolled through and said "You take a lot of pictures....of your dog." haha.. If he only knew.

Anyway, enough about a person most of you don't know...

BB8 last night. Okay, I'll admit it.. After Angela told me about the kiss, I found it on YouTube. They totally edited it last night to make it look more sweet.. But, hey, it was still sweet anyway.. I think they should have backdoored Dani or ED, but cant be helped.

Are any of you watching the Real World-Sydney? I kinda do.. but not like the other shows.. It's too much chick drama. And why does everyone look like a porn star this time? Gross.

Happy hump day!

Who remembers John Basedow?! LOL!

So, thanks to Sarah, I have become addicted to the OnDemand FreeZone workouts, especially the abs. Last night, I went for the 11 minute abs with some hottie gay guy. Seriously, people, at one point, I just laid there and thought "Is he trying to kill me?" lol! Sore today. 6 pack tomorrow. Kidding, but still.. Sheeeez...

I also watched The Hills on the treadmill last night (I am getting in shape if it kills me-which it might) What the HECK is wrong with Audrina that she's going out with that loser again?! If some guy bailed on me at a party and just left me there, I'm pretty sure I'd decline his dinner invite. *sigh* I'm also glad Heidi's parents dont like Spence.. aka Chuckie. I almost gagged on the treadmill when Heidi got up from the table and Spencer looked at her parents and said "What an angel..." If some guy said that at dinner with my mom, she'd likely tell him to cut the crap.

I didn't sleep very well last night. *sigh* My eyes are kinda red.. I think it's allergies. How am I supposed to "get the red out" as visine says, when I have contacts? Do any of you guys use something that works and is contact-safe?

Did you see Miss Teen South Carolina on the Today Show? Hell, did you see her on the Miss Teen USA pageant? LOL! Wow. That's all I have to say. In case you were dead or something and havent seen it:

"Recent polls have shown a fifth of Americans can't locate the United States on a world map. Why do you think this is?"

The South Carolina beauty gave this strange, grammarless response:
"I personally believe that U.S. Americans are unable to do so because, uh, some people out there in our nation don't have maps, and, uh, I believe that our education like such as in South Africa and, uh, the Iraq everywhere like, such as and I believe that they should, our education over here in the U.S. should help the U.S., er, should help South Africa and should help the Iraq and the Asian countries, so we will be able to build up our future for our children."

Because I dont like him..

Mitt Romney never did anything to me. But, for some reason, I find it extremely entertaining to read his flubs and pray Americans are not stupid enough to elect this guy. I mean.. I dont even have to take party sides to make fun of him. Anyway, been compiling in a draft for a bit and decided to post. Because I can.

"One of the ways my sons are showing support for our nation is helping me get elected because they think I'd be a great president."
-- Mitt Romney, explaining today why it's okay that none of his five sons enlisted in the military.
America thanks you, sons of Romney, for your brave and noble sacrifice on behalf of this great nation.

"PETA is not happy that my dog likes fresh air." --Presidential candidate Mitt Romney, on why he strapped his dog to the roof his car.

"Liquefied coal, gosh. Hitler during the Second World War — I guess because he was concerned about losing his oil — liquefied coal. That technology is still there."
(April 19, 2007)

• Romney ruminated on Hitler's scientific achievements unprompted, in a Q & A about energy policy. As the New York Sun's Ryan Sager said at the time, you wouldn't think that anyone running for president would have to be told, "Don't mention Hitler in a positive light."

"Her positions are not terribly relevant to my campaign."(May 10, 2007)
Anne Romney's $150 donation to Planned Parenthood over a decade ago is, in itself, not that surprising or scandalous. After all, the Governor was pro-choice in 1994 — he's gone out of his way to say he isn't any more, but hasn't ever tried to say he never was. What is surprising is that the man who's tried to superglue himself to "family values" would throw his wife under the bus to reporters with nary a second thought.

I guess you people are busy. Whatever.

No comment love. Fine. Hookers. ;) Teasing. Good Monday morning! Some things:

- I had to call 911 on Friday night b/c my neighbors (the extremely artsy "I have no idea what I'm doing with my life" people in the next building) had a party. Something made a group of them angry enough to fight in the street.. Well, attempt to fight. It was more just screaming. I called the city's finest. Right. So.. herein lies my annoyance. The police (1) stopped ME when I was PARKING in front of my apt b/c I didnt use my blinker. Morons. and (2) really caught a criminal when they caught my slightly-intoxicated friend and nailed him with a lot of bogus charges (seriously..."failure to break long enough before a turn" Right). BUT, they couldnt manage to get to an ACTUAL disturbance for 15 minutes. Yeah. 15 minutes. the morons were back inside by that time. *eye roll*

- BB8: Jessica needs to win. Seriously. Can you believe they got naked on tv?! WHAT?! Booyah! lol!

- I am bored with my hair, but I'm staying strong. Growing it out a little isn't easy, people. Who knows how to create a "blow out?" Tell me how. I shall try to use velcro rollers. Get ready for the excitment. Recommend a good volumizing anything? My hair is so fine that most stuff is too weighing.

-Have I announced that Maureen got a doggie??!! Well, she did! She got the cutest little dog and named it Bunnie..b/c it literally bounces/springs from where it's standing into the air. I'll post a photo soon. :)

- Other things. I cant even stand to look at Michael Vick. I hope he drops the soap in jail. That's all.

- This is going to be the longest week ever.. playing catch up on stuff I had to put off for sales rally...and getting ready to go to LA! :)

Paparazzi v. Jax...I win.

ALSO.. you'll notice I dont have any photos. :( I (gasp) forgot my camera!!!!!!!!!! WHAT?! Well, it's been acting up anyway. The lens isn't closing and the color quality has been sucking. Soooo.. today... I got THIS!!!!!

I've been researching on cnet.com for cameras for awhile, but didnt want to splurge. I'm trying to SAVE money afterall. But, c'mon people, what's the one thing that makes me happier than friggin anything? Yeah. Taking pictures.

Sooo.. here's what I did. Aaron got me that awesome digital photo frame for my bday. BUT, here's the deal.. I couldnt leave it at work b/c I dont trust the maintenance people. Plus, I'm not home long enough in the evenings to plug it in and watch the photos. So.. while it was seriously one of the most thoughtful gifts ever, I hadnt even gotten to use it yet. Well, I also couldnt get it to download from my computer, either. So, (with Aaron's support), I took it back and got credit towards the most AWESOME camera EVER! I'm soooooooooooooooooooooooooooo happy!! It's seriously the camera I would have wanted, but not bought for myelf.. So, HOORAY!!!

I did, however, give up my loyalty to Canon. This camera compared to the Canon one was just better for me...and easier to use! Plus, it has a feature that I can take pictures super fast in a row! Oh.. and I got a new memory card (b/c I had to).. that holds 600 photos!!!!!! Get ready, people!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My trip to LA this weekend is gonna be FULL. OF. PHOTOS! (insert a really excited squeal)

Think outside the bun...

Gratuitous photo of Gracie as I tried to unpack my bag.

She grabbed some hangers and made a bed while I was on

the phone.. :)

Weekend=outstanding! Saturday, Sarah, Lawson, Casey, Erin (Lawson's roomie), Paige, and I all headed to Brookside for a few drinks since Lawson was in town. Andrew (Sarah's hubby) drove some of us (I bet he regrets that-lol) :) We ended up dancing at Prive...til we called Andrew to come get us and then decided on 4th meal. Yes, that's right, we headed to Taco Bell. If cops are trying to catch drunk people, why are they not at Taco Bell? Seriously. The line was in the street for the drive through (yes, we waited). People were jumping out of their cars and running around Taco Bell's pking lot. (Again, Andrew gets points for waiting for food during all this).

The fun didnt stop there.. Oh no.. We decided to keep re-living college and take our Taco Bell...and eat it in the lawn of the Chi O house. Yeah. What? Good thing it was freaking RUSH and the alumni were eating Taco Bell at 3am in the yard. Classic.

During all this, I started writing down what people were saying b/c I thought it was funny.. Today, I have NO idea what context these were in but... Here are the quotes:

"And then me and Jax were there and I was puking in your hotel room."

"Nope. That didn't happen."

"It's tri delts... like back in 99."

If you can fill me in on any of those, please do... lol! :) Hope you had a great weekend!

Friday

I'm playing catch up at work since I've been out, so short blogging... Things..

1. I think there was a ghost in my hotel room. Seriously.
2. Our hotel was "historic" and had guests such as Al Capone, Marilyn Monroe, etc at one time. Kinda cool.
3. Hot Springs is nowhere I could ever live. Seriously. I am way too high strung-officially.
4. What is with the healing baths? That's gross. I dont know about you, but I'm not crawling in some un-chlorinated bath water with some other people who are all SICK and looking to be healed. Um. No. Thanks, though. *sigh*
5. I'm sleeeeeeeepy.
6. Meeting went well. My boss says it was a "home run" so that's good.
7. Our hotel actually kinda made me sad. It boasts 480 plus rooms, has an outstanding history, is extremely well-preserved, etc. But, it has a bad owner who doesnt understand "re-investing" and seems to only update what's necessary. I am pretty sure it will go under and then be looted or something. I love places with character, so it just makes me sad, that's all. My Ghost in my room will have nowhere to go. (seriously, people)
8. If I hear the song "Life is a Highway" one more time, I think I might throw things.. (we sell LIFE ins and Auto ins..so we used the song a lot thinking we were clever)

Other things:
-I want to see the Nanny Diaries. Come with me?
-BB8 was SO good. I was tired, but stayed up to catch up with it.
-Maureen rocks my world and did a great job with my Gracie.
-I need new eyeshadow. I wear Mac, but they always talk me into something too dark or too "stagey." Brand recommendation needed. Thanks.

Might blog more later. Trying to get outta here early today since Im the only one from my sales rally that came into work today. Gah.. it sucks being this responsible. Right. lol!

Things I've learned since last week...

1. Sarah rocks my world. Why? B/c she told me about the "freezone" on Cox In Demand. As she said (and I agreed), it's the button on your remote that you accidentally push and think "shit! Am I paying for something?" and quickly exit out. Welp, there's a free zone within that button o fun! ANnnnnnnd... it has an exercise channel.. a really good one! So, thanks to Sarah, I did a 15 minute abs workout with some cute little blonde chick on tv. It's great! I mean.. you can pause, ff, etc! They have ALL kinds of workouts-short, long, abs, cardio, etc. (There are also other channels.. like a sundance channel, etc) :)

2. Audrina dates narsty guys. Last week, I thought Lauren might be a little single white female, but this week.. I think Aud is just crazy if she dates that burping moron. Ew. Annnnd... hooray for Heidi! hahah! I loved that painting thing.. "It's a surprise!" hahahaha! Outstanding! I think Spencer is trying to look less like a tool this season. Must suck to see MTV portray you as a player wannabe with a Chuckie doll face.

3. There is apparently a case out there called "Williams" or "Williamson" or something that is very popular with the PD. (sarcasm noted) If you question a (likely illegal) search of your friend's car saying "What is your probable cause, officer?", he will likely say "Um.. havent you heard of the Williams case?" I guess that wasnt on the bar exam. Right. But, my bet is that you'll likely just agree with him if you've had a glass of wine or two b/c a public intox doesnt sound fun in your head. Yeah. This was just a hypothetical. Uh huh.

4. Sushi. is. good. Sarah, Kari and I grabbed some raw fish last night. Hooray for girls! Brooke, Jenny and Kristen need to get un-busy and come play next week! :)

5. Chicago is THE city of summer..as written up in a local mag and straight from the boyf's mouth! :) He's having a blast and doesnt even really know many people yet. I cant wait to go when it's still warm here in a month!!

6. MADD is having it's anniversary this month.. and they plan on nailing a zillion DUIs before Labor Day. While this is a GREAT campaign, be careful. I've never seen so many police pulling people over the second they get in their cars on Brookside. Personally, I like the campaign...but two beers or a single glass of wine could fail a breath test. So, since they're being EXTRA crazy, just be careful... Also, quick friendly advice: If you're with someone that get's pulled over and you have also been drinking, do NOT say you'll move, park, whatever the car even if asked. You're a passenger. Stay that way. This can be a trick...if you even OPERATE the vehicle, you can be subject to a DUI.

*** Finally, THANK YOU to Maureen for watching Gracie while I'm gone at AR sales rally for work!! :)) Gracie just went over there the other day with me so she was extra tail waggy when I took her there this morning. :) ****

Like a Prostitute...

I'm slammed today preparing for this week's sales rally in AR. So, all I've got for ya is a fwd that Mary sent me that makes me crack up every time I read it:

Working in the legal field:
1. We work in weird shifts ... Like prostitutes.
2. They pay you to make the client happy ... Like prostitutes.
3. The client pays a lot of money, but your employer keeps almost every Ipenny ... Like prostitutes.
4. You are rewarded for fulfilling the client's dreams ... Likeprostitutes.
5. Your friends fall apart and you end up hanging out with people in thesame profession as you ... Like prostitutes.
6. When you have to meet the client you always have to be perfectly groomed ... Like prostitutes.
7. But when you go back home it seems like you are coming back from hell... Like prostitutes.
8. The client always wants to pay less but expects incredible things from you ... Like prostitutes.
9. When people ask you about your job, you have difficulties to explain it... Like prostitutes.
10. Everyday when you wake up, you say: I'M NOT GOING TO SPEND THE REST OFMY LIFE DOING THIS SHIT"..... Like prostitutes.

"Those are the keys to my corvette"

So...long story short, some people went out for Laura's bday at Prive. There was a twister game. We politely bent in our dresses and posed..of course...multiple times... They dont have but one girls' bathroom. So, Sara and Laura opted to take over the guys room...with guy leaving it.. They werent exactly being patient while this guy fixed his hair and it was hilarious!!!
Girls. Dancing. Photos. :)
There are stories from Sat that are inappropriate to type on my blog, but let's just say I thankfully stuck to my "I'm not driving when I drink anything" mentality. Unfortunately, not everyone did the same thing. Made for a long night.

Side note: Did you know that.. as an atty...I can have a "get out of jail free card" that I buy...and if a friend gets arrested, I can use it to get them out of jail under my custody?! Crazy! Just learned about this....

I hope you all had a great weekend!

WHY...

1.. am I still up? I'm so tired!!
2. am I retarded?! I have a long story, but I'll try to make it short. I started my job in June. I was told "paydays" were the 6th and 22nd. I got paid on the 22nd in June. So, okay.. in July, the 6th was a Friday (I got paid) and the 22nd was a Sunday (so I got paid on a Friday). I got a pay notification today (aka the 16th) saying I was getting paid tomorrow. This is when I realized (after I asked) we get paid every other Friday, NOT the 6th and 22nd. I'm retarded. The July dates just happened to follow the June ones. Wow. Everyone laugh now. *sigh* At least my budgeting isnt as FAR OFF as I though though. I still wont be featured on Cribs any time soon, but hey.. I feel better.
3. ...did Maureen and I guess that Sabra was going to win tonight and she DID!?! WOO HOO!
4. ...did Daniele win HOH again? Whatever.
5. ...did I put Shoop as my new myspace song? (Easy answer..I rock)
6. ...am I SO happy it's FINALLY FRIDAY?! I feel like this week has been FOREVER long.
7....was there only one female smurf? Dirty.
8....do I have to end on an even number? Hell.

"You might have just wasted your $$ on a traffic ticket, Jax...."

"....but guess who's having the Best Week EVER?!" SOMEECARDS! Thanks, A love for the awesome-fabulo-tastic funny ecards on your blog!

Everyone knows I have a weird sense of humor, but I chose to post some rather tame ones.. Go read them and send to people.. They're funny as hell!

I'm in the dark....

Literally. To conserve energy with this heat, our company turns down the lights in the hallways. I mean.. you can still see, but it's pretty dark. It looks like we're closed until you head into a dept and it's like "ahhhhhh" (insert Jesus-chorus-music). Strange.

In other news, I paid my damn traffic ticket today. Bastards. Can a girl save some money? For real. I am not going to whine and bitch (too much) b/c we're all twenty-something...and we're all trying to save....and we're all seeming to come up short from time to time when it comes to what we'd LIKE to have in our accounts versus what we DO have. *sigh* I rather drained my rainy-day savings when I was out of work and cant seem to get back up there when I have stupid superfluous failure to use my blinker tickets ($120), misread gas meters from winter ($262), etc. etc. etc. Can a girl get a damn break? Sheez. If I could do it all over, I think I might have just paid off my car.. since I have so little left on it. It's a pain to think about per month but I cant really AFFORD to pay it off now *Insert frustrated face* I have even organized my financial stuff on http://www.wesabe.com/ (it's awesome just FYI) and I dont think Im really doing anything wrong. Just seems that the past few months excess bills are raping me. Annoyed.

(However, I will say that I figured out the mistake Sprint made in my CRAZY bill I referenced last month and they not only credited my acct for that amount, but also credited the amount I had spent the past couple months due to their mistake.. HOORAY SPRINT) :)

ALSO, why does it seem that there could be a gang war at any time outside the courthouse and/or municipal courthouse. For serious. I felt like Elle Woods walking into South Central LA to pay my speeding ticket to the oh-so-friendly desk worker.

That is all. Oh, and I woke up and thought it was Thursday. That sucks.

Lightbulb as I was writing this: Maybe I could pick up some contract legal work a few hours a month to earn a little extra cash and keep my legal skills honed. Hmmmm...opinions? Recommendations?

DING! DING! DAMNIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Alright, before I get to the cuteness that my dog is... I am going to vent about DING! by Southwest. Let me preface.. I am not a moron. I have downloaded this program on other computers, just never on my personal one. Well, I cant do it at work b/c we have a blocker. So, I tried to do it at home..and the damn thing downloaded...and lets me know when there are updates...but wont. let. me. get them! It's like "Ding!" all pleasant and as if it was smiling really big like "Look! Good Airfare!" I try to open it and IT WONT CONNECT!

I called Southwest.. to no avail. I called Cox (thinking there was a weird firewall). Again, nothing. I even downloaded it and deleted it like 5 times. NADA. It still taunts me. The cox guy said it might be my router. What?! He said routers can block some stuff. Well, f that. Until I figure it out, I will continue to hear the "ding ding dinging" in my little annoyed ears. That is all. Now for Gracie.

Bathtime pre-Aaron's visit. One unhappy pup! LOL!
"What the hell? Now you want to BLOW DRY me?!"
"Damn, I'm hot." ;)

10.13.07.

Hello, my fellow TU lovers! Homecoming is going to be CRAZY this year!! Plus, are you going to the OU/TU game? Someone..aka me.. is ready for some football! I dont know what got into me today... but I'm ready for.. cold weather-blanket over the legs-hot chocolate-penant waving-jumping in the stands-FOOTBALL! Doesn't that sound good?!

Hey, seriously.. I know people are coming to Homecoming, but those of us that are close.. whatcha think about the OU game, too? Maureen and I are definitely in, but you guys should join the cool kids and come watch us get creamed! lol!

CHIPS AND SAL.SA.

Scary people.

I have come to find out that a large number of people in my office are terrified of my VP. When I say terrified, I mean, would run around fanning her all day if they think it would make her happier or make her like them more. I've got news for these people, someone who actually gives you POSITIVE feedback, is extremely energetic, albeit demanding and driven, is not. that. scary. Have these people never worked with REALLY short-tempered people or am I just missing something?

I mean.. although I have great respect for this person as a lawyer and would definitely assert that her intelligence rivals most execs I've met, I almost peed my pants when, at my old job, this woman yelled...slammed things...and exclaimed "G** DAMMIT!" from the kitchen. Why, you ask.. Well, duh.. we were out of water. I mean that's enough to make anyone curse and scream, right? Uh huh. Coping skills, people... Coping skills.

I think I just came from a high-stress environment where the job in itself is adversarial. Leaving that behind with daily personal things is often not so easy in an office full of lawyers. So, in comparison... this really isn't anything. One person that's demanding and intense? Not so bad. Plus, I rather LIKE stress. I mean.. I DID go to law school after all. There's a part of me that gets a rush from it.

This is in NO WAY to discount the fact that my VP commands attention and expects perfection. But, to me, I dont think that's asking too much. There are often things out of one's control that make things imperfect. I will likely do something at some point that royally pisses her off. That's life. I still try my hardest. But, do I live in fear like a couple other people up here that her mere gaze will turn me to stone? Um. No. I have better things to do...like work.

I think my favorite was when, there was a problem with a powerpoint slide and I just went straight to her to resolve it. A couple other people were shocked that I seemed to be that brave. What?! Newsflash...if I try my best and she hates it, that's her problem, not mine.

Gah.. I've learned so much in my short little career out of school... lol!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MAUREEN!!

A quick shout out to my favorite reality show addicted friend! :) She's in Baltimore for the week, but HAPPY BIRTHDAY, chica!!!! She turns 25 in about 15 minutes (on Monday) :)

This photo is from her bday LAST year after BONSAI birthday at Osaka! haha! :)) Hooray, Maureen!!! See you soon!!

COMH...and Gracie :)

Hello people! I'm back from the big D! So.. in a nutshell....

I was taking COMH pics and this is what Gracie was doing. She seriously looks like it's PAINFUL for her to stay awake when I keep her up past her bedtime. It's quite cute.. b/c if I pick her up, she just goes limp like "Ugh.. I am sleeeeeeeeping...Stupid human."

On the way back from Dallas, I stopped at my first IKEA store!! :) I wanted Brooke to come shopping with me, but IKEA got me first.. lol! I got some awesome stuff and then came home adn went to Pier1 with my bday gift cards the next day to find other stuff to match...like these awesome candle holders....

My whole thing was that I have SO much orange/red stuff...and I'm tired of that. I wanted more blue/green, but didnt want to spend a lot of money re-do-ing everything.. then this PILLOW appeared.. It has BLUE and GREEN and RED and ORANGE! I can incorporate!! HOORAY!! (note the red/orange candles in the bkgnd that I DONT have to get rid of now!) HOORAY AGAIN!
Whew.. okay.. so I also got a kick ass floor lamp for about 10 bucks, an area rug for 14 and a cool shelf for 9. I cant put up the shelf...but as soon as I get help.. brace yourself for the fun.

My first sales rally was a true learning experience..

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

1. When I'm told "Oh, you dont have to be at breakfast until 7:45 or so" that actually means 7:15. Thank God I'm a control freak and was early.

2. When told "fill up the rental on the way back," that means "There's a gas card in the folder to use" (I used my own credit card. Jackass)

3. When dancing commences after the dinner, apparently I must dance in order to prompt others to dance. I also must participate in the CONGA line with some of the older (and drunk) agents.. haha.. It was hilarious! Thank God for me having little inhibitions....(there are photos on my work computer that I'll get off and post. .Trust me..they're a laugh)

4. When told NOT to prepare message points for a breakfast meeting, prepare them anyway. *sigh*(source of major stress)

5. Don't leave your work cell in the rental car when you return it (oops)

6. Dont park on the opposide side of the rental return thereby making me have to walk around the perimeter of the building...

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

All in all, it was stressful, but an excellent learning experience..and there was nothing like looking out on that meeting and realizing I had really orchestrated it. I mean.. we have an event planner (she's the one whose job I took actually) but as for the speeches, agendas, scripts, powerpoints, cueing the mics, the slides, the videos, etc.. that's all me. I sit in the back with the audio guys and basically loudly whisper things like "cue X's mic..." and "freeze this slide.." and "cue video in 5"...It feels very "producer" LOL! :)

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I think the hardest thing is coming into a job where nearly everyone knows everyone else...and everyone who works closely with my VP knows her a zillion times better than I do...and apparently she's a bit hard to impress...I know it will come with time.. but for my first meeting, I did a good job.. but will do some things differently for the meeting at the end of the month. The stress was crazy..but it was "good" stress as opposed to some I had dealt with in recent times elsewhere. Let's just hope I get positive feedback...I still really like my job... but IKEA was an awesome stress reliever after the rally...

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Hope everyone had a great weekend! :) Blogger spacing is being a bitch. Sorry about the weird plus signs.

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Confetti Guns are dangerous?

1. Apparently the hotel for our rally wont allow the use of confetti guns. Damn. (I love my job!!)
2. Heard on the news this morning that a new study on the human brain reveals that a brain "in love" looks similar to a brain that's on drugs. Um. That explains a lot. I shall research this more.
3. It's a good thing I'm a control freak. Our MC for the meeting told me he really didnt need a speech/message points. I went ahead and wrote them anyway. Good thing. He can't MC the meeting (which I leave for tomorrow). YIKES! So, (happy sigh) we already have stuff to transfer over to someone else. :)
4. Nicole confirmed. She is preggers. Shocker.
5. I've been looking at flights lately and lemme just say.. Southwest is NOT the cheapest anymore. Ghetto.
6. Did I mention that my VP loved the speech and powerpoint I did for her? Yeah. Well. Not to toot my own horn.. but TOOT!
7. Aaron's officially somewhere on his way to China. :) He gets around the globe more than anyone I know. Be safe if you can read this, A! :)
8. HAPPY AUGUST!!! Where did the time go!!??!! Can you believe I started at my job almost 2 months ago?! Whoa.