Potentially Big Changes?

Of course that I can't discuss in depth.  :)

Anyway, work is at its peak of difficulty, but not necessarily from the business sense.  Just after I learned that I would, in fact, be taking over some of my previous colleague's captainships after he left the company, I learned that I would be getting a mentee.  And switching departments.  In about a weeks' time.  Joy!

All told it's definitely not bad.  I moved over to owned brand cards & party, which, while it's completely different from sporting goods, isn't a difficult area to manage.  90% of my vendors are now domestic import, and while I support roughly 2000 SKUs and $380 million dollars in business, this just means the importance on one single item is not as important as in my old area.

A random and minor pain point has been in my new manager.  She is amazing, and super friendly.  The problem arises because her background is in softlines, and often she believes I can pull reporting items or information based on a softlines model, which is vastly different from hardlines.  On the other hand, she's extremely patient, and obviously concerned about my adjustment to the new area, which has been great.  I just want to do well and ensure I can provide her the info she needs, and with the vendor conference coming up in April (I'm a captain for this, too) and trips to China shortly on their way, it's been a little hellish trying to pull everything together.

On the flip side my mentee, Blake, is fantastic.  He's got 5 years' experience with another Fortune 500 company under his belt and has way more experience with reporting and analysis than me.  This has proven useful in the new area, since he can now help me with assignments!  So far his help on issues has been great, and he's going to make a great business analyst when he's graduated in May.

Finally, this past week on Thursday and Friday I found myself in New York, right smack dab in the middle of Chelsea, near Penn Station.  I've never been to the city before, and beyond the insane cab rides and millions of people, I truly felt alive while there.  I really could see myself there.  It's just a matter of understanding what kinds of incentives I would have to make such a change, really.

Last night I watched Freakonomics on Netflix and was particularly drawn by the section on incentives.  The fact that the incentive program for high school students in certain schools helped students with D's and above but didn't affect those with E's reinforces the grass is always greener idea for me.  I can definitely always find something better (in the short term), but it's whether that "money" will last, and what it will do to my life in the meantime.

This has been the true topic of conversation between Chris and I for the past few weeks, since he found out he was not going to be offered a permanent position with Catalyst Studios.  It's unfortunate, as he really did connect with his colleagues and saw them as friends.  However, I think it's just a simple challenge in finding oneself.  He's now got the opportunity to really sit down again and think, "What do I want?"  I'm completely willing to work with him on this, obviously, which led to my trip.

I should know more specifics by the week of April 4th, and I'll tell those that would need to know immediately.

In the meantime, I'm trying to keep things pretty quiet and am enjoying the first signs of spring!  We've got a few party-type things planned for the beginning of April and should be seeing all the friends then.  Hopefully we'll get a chance to host more friends from Madison before too long, and my parents are coming the weekend of Easter!  :)  I'm truly excited to get to see everyone again, especially with the weather nicer!

My focus points for the coming weeks will be:

• Work - fully training Blake so he becomes more comfortable with the business.  Ensure I meet expectations and capitalize on strengths.  Showcase more project capabilities while managers out of office for vendor conference and China trips.
• Reading - I'm reading a lot more lately, and want to continue this habit.  Twice a day, morning and night.
• Exercise - I need to get back into this.  I've been good about crunches and planks at night, but as Chris points out, we should really be doing Just Dance again.  Since he'll be at home starting this week, I say we start this week as well.
• Eating well - This really just includes better shopping/cooking.  We are doing well on this, but I'm not always excited about leftovers for work, and if these potential big changes do occur, this will NEED to become a habit.  Make larger portions for dinner and make them tasty!  Also, potentially prep lunch the night before.
• Research - This has everything to do with the potential big changes.  I just need to keep a level head about the entire thing and start asking people their opinions on information and technique.  This will help ensure I don't go crazy without information!
• Gaming - Not as high a priority, but I did get The Sims Medieval and have downloaded a few shorter games that I can play quickly and win, for accomplishments' sake.
• Organization - Just to make things easier.  Getting magazines and crafting stuff cleaned up, sifting through electronic items, and getting rid of the DVD player and 5-speaker system are top priority here, since it will save space and hassle when we inevitably have to move again

Seems long, but it's random thoughts.  Also I want to post to Pinterest more often.  I like the way it works.  :)

Ambiguity and Then Some

Work lately has been...interesting.  Not bad, just time-consuming and slightly frustrating.

Essentially one of the vendors we work with to supply product is disputing a testing protocol that we have set for this particular item.  Because of this dispute (which, in my mind, is founded at least partially in truth and a viable discrepancy between our company and the 3rd party testing company), I have been busting my ass for the last 2 days, then mysteriously spent most of this morning creating a powerpoint to supply our Lunar New Year team luncheon.  That along with a store run to supply some trail mix treats and, of course, buy the next Sims 3 expansion.  So....

All in all, work is going well.  The current issue is that I am the first person discussed when it comes to new captainships or leadership roles within our area.  Seriously, though, if the open role is ambiguous and ill-defined - you can bet I'll be adding that to my to-do list for the next 6 - 9 months.

AND, due to a team member disclosing this afternoon that he will be leaving the company shortly, I may even get a chance to take on 1 or 2 of his captainships.  Oh joy!

It's just a question of if I'm happy enough to stick it out, really.  There are other opportunities present right now, and at the very least I know that I should explore these options.  Also, having an opportunity to meet a group of much more laid-back yet passionate professionals has really opened my eyes.  Much of the time, I simply don't feel that I fit in, and that creates this nervous tension that surrounds my day-to-day actions.  I'm not sure if the current opportunity would necessarily offset this tension, so if anyone would like to point out any fantastic openings (particularly with Nintendo, LEGO, Blizzard or otherwise similar corporation), please do so!

Really though, to be truthful with myself - I am happy with what I do.  I enjoy the global portion of my career, and I absolutely love working with our overseas teams.  As time goes on, I can see myself moving toward a position that will even further elevate the things I enjoy doing.  My current concern is whether Chris is also happy in his career options present to him, and whether we could be better off in a place that caters more to the industry availabilities.

On a side note, I really need an addiction for this crazy show on TLC.  I mean, I've enjoyed smelling laundry detergent as much as the next person, but sleeping with a hair dryer?  I wish I had something so crazy about me to balance it all out.  :)

Mission (Mostly) Accomplished

Short and sweet.

Most everything on the to-do list from yesterday is complete!  The only things I have yet to finish is reorganizing the craft stuff, which is going to be a slightly bigger job than anticipated since it's going to involve throwing out some things, too.

New bins in the living room, and the video games are now downstairs, which is awesome.  We've got a shoe rack in the closet, and it's freaking amazing.  I also picked up some new fabric bins to replace my cardboard boxes holding underwear, bras and stuff.  Pretty nifty.  :)  And we ended up donating everything to St. Vincent's since Buffalo Exchange wouldn't take anything (to be fair, nothing was really brand name or "in"), which made me feel pretty good.  We even ended up donating three really nice bags, two of them backpacks that were completely still usable.

I still need to go through the remainder of the craft stuff and fill my binders with the ripped out stuff from various magazines and such, which is a project for another weekend, to be honest.  We were also successful at cleaning this morning, exercising, and enjoying a great brunch (berry pancakes with pears on the side).  Probably won't be off to bed for quite awhile (since I still want to indulge in more video games....), and I'd like to read more tonight, too.

This next week might suck a little, but at least tomorrow I'll get an opportunity to finally see Chris at bowling (in his super-tight full body spandex suit in shiny silver!) and will pay off some bills.  Woo!

Organization Therapy

Feeling completely and totally inspired today!  With a nod of creative inspiration from Pinterest, a website a friend of mine asked people to follow her on, plus my own stubborn initiative to get organized since moving to this new apartment, I think today calls for a little organization therapy.

I'm definitely one of those people that sleeps better when everything is in its place.  Don't get me wrong; I'll definitely leave little messes here and there, but if things are glaringly disorganized, I have issues breathing without annoyance.

Because of this, I've recently been wanting to revamp the closet space Chris and I share.  To be fair, I make up 3/4 of the space currently, and am having problems reaching basic essentials on a daily basis: bras, underwear, socks, etc.  This just isn't something that starts my day off right.  Also, with my (not so recent) addition of a few extra pounds, I've still got old pairs of jeans that need to be gotten rid of.  They're not going to fit again, and having them around just make me anxious and takes up too much space.

Weekend mission:

• Bring down the Wii, GameCube and Xbox games from upstairs and put into the current DVD-only shelving.
• Potentially bring down the 1 bin of game guides related to those games (you read that right, just the 1 bin.  We've actually got 2 bins of game guides.  Eep.)
• Clean out the one full ottoman of games and place in appropriate bins.
• Buy more fabric bins for DVDs - organize into shelving downstairs.
• Potentially buy more fabric bins for coloring books and puzzle books and put back upstairs.
• Go through closet:
• Clean out old sweaters/shirts
• Clean out old jeans
• Clean out old bags/accessories
• Re-shelve/organize if necessary
• Take clothes to second-hand shop for potential cash
• If no cash, donate
• Or put on Craigslist, depending on item
• Buy shoe rack - place all shoes and re-organize safe/important documents in closet
• Check crafting bins for any throwaway items, especially arts bin with old markers/pens/etc.
• Try to consolidate into 4 bins already have, determine what other items needed from here
• Put Lego pieces away (extras that need to go upstairs from all the building I did this week)
• Place Lego sets on shelves/dresser/counter/craft table

And that about does it.  I know this insane checklist might seem a little extreme, but most of these things won't take too long, honestly.  And...they are things I've been meaning to do for awhile.  I'd like to try and get everything above (except maybe crafting bins and Lego stuff) done before Chris gets home from his bicycle photo shoot (don't ask, I don't know either), so we can hit the road and get any shopping done early.  Also, we need milk.  :)

If possible, that would leave us with the remainder of today and tomorrow to indulge in video games, good books, and potentially crepes!  Woo!

In other news, Just Dance 2 is freaking amazing, and I'm on day 3 of the extreme workout - already feeling thinner!  I think I've also (seriously) lost about 3 pounds since 2 weeks ago (post-holiday stuffing), but that could just be the scale.  Who knows.

For me I guess it's not all about the weight (although I know I'm definitely about 15 - 20 pounds over what I should be), but more about the definition.  My stomach used to be insanely flat.  My hips are much bigger than they used to be, but shaving off some inches here and there should not be a problem.  Most of my challenge so far has just been to get up, move around, and burn some calories.  That and watching my snacking, which hasn't been too difficult, honestly.  So overall, on the way to success!

No other news for those "in the know," and my gut is telling me nothing big will happen any time soon.  But, a girl can dream, and, in the meantime, GET ORGANIZED!

How to Celebrate a Birthday

I stayed home from work sick today - waking up with a fever/aching back and head is never fun, and I really didn't feel like dealing with that on top of staring at a computer screen all day.  After Chris left for work I passed out on the bed (for 2 hours, amidst waking up several times to the cats fighting each other relentlessly) and finally awoke to stumble out to the living room and "indulge" in the world's most crappy television shows, slipping in and out of consciousness until the early afternoon.

I then awoke to a door opening, people stomping boots outside and scraping shovels.  The Laurel Village crew had come to clean off our porch (for the 3rd time this winter?), and the cats were terrified.  Later, well after the crew left and I mumbled thanks for not tracking too much snow in the apartment, I found Mishkin huddled in the corner of the tub.  I had to lure Mao out from under the bed with crunchy treats, too.

Beyond today, though, the week hasn't been all bad.  My birthday was yesterday, and I turned a whopping 25.  As Chris's mom was nice enough to point out, I'm now officially a quarter of a century old.  I don't feel it, but when I think about it and where I am in my life, I can honestly say I'm happy.  Even with some of the ambiguity that's going on in my life right now, I can say I'm proud of where I am, who I spend my time with, and what I spend my time doing.  Always good for a 25th birthday.  :)

My parents got me this, which took up a good 3 days' time after I received it.  They also got me a beautiful ring from Tiffany & Co.  (!), with a great engraving that speaks to them being proud of me at this stage in my life, too.  Also excellent.  Chris made me a fantastic breakfast of pancakes and a freshly brewed latte, which was delicious.  He also made blueberry muffins for a late-night treat.  I bought myself a new purse from Marshalls, as well as another Lego set.  It's weird; this Lego addition didn't really start until fairly recently, when the 3-in-1 Creator sets started making appearances in big box stores.  Since then I've mostly built from the instructions, but I think once I get a better organization of my sets/pieces, I might be able to start playing around with my own designs.

Since I had to work yesterday (I took off Monday to have a long weekend, instead), I took a trip down to the Macy's cafeteria and grabbed an absolutely delicious cupcake before the afternoon set in.  Sugar rush!  We still have some German chocolate cake in the cupboard, so maybe we'll make that this weekend into more cupcakes to share.

The weirdest thing about my cupcake run was the response from everyone else at work.  Not only were most people not willing to walk there, but some cited our earlier conversation about New Years' Resolutions as the reason.  Now, I'm all for sticking to resolutions.  I didn't say they had to buy anything, but it would have been nice if they would have at least shown a mild interest in spending the 10 minutes walking there with me.  Also, so many were adamant that they can never eat "that kind of stuff," and that to me is just complete bullshit.  If you can't fucking celebrate at least once as part of your goddamn diet, then you might as well slit your own wrists.  It just made me so angry - why bother dieting to no avail to look good a beach when you're not happy with your life when it's over?  No point.  Plus...I couldn't live without chocolate.  Just that simple.  And I don't think you need to give all that up and diet all the time to be happy with yourself or your body.  I think you can have both.

Other than that we've been doing some more cooking, with this week's dish a homemade slow cooker chicken noodle soup.  Slow cookers are, quite possibly, one of the best decisions for easy dish prep for leftovers for the week.  If you don't have one, get one.  Now.

We've been pretty good about our sit-up regimen each night, and except for a few days late, we've also been doing Zumba Fitness.  I'm also thinking about picking up Just Dance 2, since I've read and heard rave reviews about it. 

I've got a very sweet Mao kitten on my lap now, and she thinks the laptop is hers, so I guess this post is over.  God I wish I was a cat sometimes.  But then I wouldn't be able to do any Lego construction, so....

Tradeoffs.  :)

I Think the Cats are Going to Break their Condo...

This past week has been, in a single word, crazy.  Not only was work incredibly busy and one night I actually had to stay until 6:40 to get through all my e-mail, but with my manager out of office for a business trip on Thursday and Friday - we had to work through some major testing failures on our own, which is always a trip when the manager's out!

I did get a chance to go see Black Swan with Chris this week, though.  Fantastic movie, really.  I took some time and read reviews after the movie and was surprised to learn there was so much hatred for the movie.  Many people called it contrived, and noted that although the acting was excellent (doesn't that usually make half the movie!?!?), you could tell that Natalie Portman wasn't completely skilled in ballet.  Um, what?  Were we honestly seeing the same movie?

First off, Natalie Portman trained in ballet for 8 years while younger, and then recently started up, so she does have the training.  She fooled most people, anyway, since many mentioned how fantastic her dancing was, including my former-ballet star senior manager.  Second, the acting was absolutely fantastic.  Originally, the script was meant to capture the nuances of stage productions, but it was changed to ballet upon Aranofsky's request.  I think this gave an opportunity to throw everyone out of their element and gave Mila Kunis a great opportunity to give a grittier side of the role.  Also, to say that the characters weren't developed enough is part of the story, in my opinion.  We're meant to be thrown into the middle of the action of Portman's life, and Mila is one new addition that she doesn't understand and doesn't take the time to do, either.  The entire movie is played out so we can see everyone's actions and reactions, but we're really just seeing what Portman sees.  We're inside her mind, living out the life she's made for herself, including her interactions with others.  Truly, this is a psychological thriller at its finest.

And yes, I agree that the lesbian sex scene was a little graphic.  But, we were, to iterate, inside of Portman's mind, and who's mind isn't graphic?  And even though I'm not specifically attracted to women, I have to admit it was a great pairing, and still more great acting on both sides.

So, see it if you get a chance.  :)  It's not a movie I would purchase, or necessarily pay for to see again, but the first time around was great, and really made you think.  I would also recommend some of Aranofsky's other films, if you haven't had a chance to see them.  Pi is a little mindbender, but definitely worth a watch.  Requiem for a Dream is probably one of my favorite movies, since it is another psychological thriller with a focus on what drugs can do to the mind and society.  Finally, The Fountain is a beautiful, subtle film, depending on the severity of the physical illness to shine through the gorgeous soundtrack and colorful landscapes the actors are thrown in.  I first saw this movie in China, so maybe that was part of its allure, but really it's one of my favorites.  I haven't seen The Wrestler yet, but I've heard it's excellent, so it might have to make the Netflix list eventually.

In other news, I had a "get-to-know-you" status at the Northern Campus location of my employer (this is what we call them, truly), in Brooklyn Park, MN.  I found out that there are a couple of positions open in on area that I'm extremely interested in, Global Compliance.  The role is focused on relationships with vendors and helping them ensure they are always following political, governmental and internally-negotiated rules and regulations.  I've spoken to my manager about this, and although I've only been with the company now 9 months, she thinks that she can work with our divisional manager to get the go-ahead for me to apply to this other position.  Mostly because there's a potential there wouldn't be any openings for about 2 years if I waited...

So while this might be a small wrench in the NY plan, that can still be a goal.  Chris isn't 100% sure on his future with his employer yet, so we'll need to discuss.  Plus a move like this could be really good for me, if offered the position.  We'll see, we'll see.

Off to Zumba fitness with Chris, finally play more WoW (after a 4 day hiatus, can you believe it?), and potentially go out to dinner with a friend.  Beautiful days call for relaxation.

How to Poop in Public

Or, in my case, how to fail.

So I'm at work today.  I feel the urge.  I head to the bathroom, grabbing my phone on the way.  Might as well check my e-mail while I'm in there, right?  I come through the door and, of course, there's 1 taken stall out of 6.  (To be fair, this bathroom really only has 3 completely usable stalls at any given time; you can only pee in the remaining 3 stalls, which either leak, don't flush properly, or are in the handicapped stall).  I get in, sit down, and prepare to wait until the other patron is finished, right?  This is how it's done.  You get in, you do your business.  If there's someone else there, you wait politely (for like 3 full minutes) until they leave to go.  If they don't leave within that time, then you have license to get upset.  So...get this.

I wait.  And I wait.  And I get to the point where I almost can't wait any longer.  And then I hear it.  The flipping of magazine pages.  ARE YOU SERIOUS?!?!  I thought the idea of me bringing my phone in was bad enough!  But no, this woman seems to think the bathroom is a break room.  A place for her magazine perusal!  My thoughts flash quickly to our team lunch table, where we have stacks upon stacks of these magazines to skim through.  Was this one of our magazines?

As I was ready to actually shout out to this woman to leave, reprimanding her for her obvious lack of bathroom etiquette, 3 other people poured in.  Of course.  So, I figure I'll wait until one goes, flushes, and then I'll make my move and head on out before I have to deal with the Idiot.  What happens then?  While the bathroom is silent except for a slight rustle of clothing or shoes on the floor?

My phone vibrates.  And not just a minor vibration.  I'm talking those extremely loud and noticeable vibrations.  The kind you hear across a room and think, 'Was that my phone?'

Yes, it was your phone - IN THE GODDAMN BATHROOM.  Most embarrassing thing.  Ever.

Other than that, I survived Monday quite well.  A meeting was set up for tomorrow that might provide some good fodder for discussion, but it would require me explaining the "silos of communication" that exist within the pyramids of command at my place of employment, so I'll refrain for the time being.  Another time, another time.

I've never felt so accomplished at 7:30 before...I've eaten a (mostly) healthy dinner, exercised, and am now on the computer, doing my daily research and blogging.  Wonderful!  I've even rewarded myself with a no-calorie, no-aspartame soda (Coke Zero ftw!) to celebrate.

And now I'm off to indulge in games until Chris gets back from his bowling league (no, seriously, you read that right) and we can read/cuddle/sleep.  Let's see how long it takes me to become annoyed with my WoW achievement, shall we?