Literary relief

The past few weeks at work have been stressful, exciting, and sometimes overwhelming. With regular day-to-day tasks, intense project work, meetings, and a few curve balls, I've pushed myself to find balance by exercising more and reading. The work gym finally set up the ExpressoHD machines properly, so I've been really enjoying my evening bicycle rides.

I stayed home with Forrest over Labor Day weekend to catch up on TV, eat healthy food, and most importantly... sleep to my heart's content. I've also just finished Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed. Chelsie recommended it to me when we were on doing our regular hikes over the summer, and I'm so glad that I finally got around to reading it. I found some moments in Cheryl's story to be really bizarre and disturbing, but overall I appreciated how brutally honest she was in sharing the raw moments of her adventures. I can tell how close I felt to the author because I use her first name (as if I know her, HAHA).

The weather is cooling down, and football season has begun. My fantasy league collapsed at the last minute, so I don't have any interest in watching football this season. Maybe it was meant to be, because now I have time to watch some hockey! Although, I must admit, I am pretty disappointed that I don't have a league.

I signed up for a couple of short writing classes this semester, because I'm afraid that I won't be able to juggle the craziness at work with the stress of school/homework. Especially with our HK/Korea trip coming up in a few months! I think I can focus on school more next semester, and still be on track.

But I do have an exciting update! I finally requested a standing desk at work, and they installed a really awesome power-adjustable desk that has an LED silicone lever thing. I also upgraded to a Herman Miller chair. WHY DIDN'T I ASK SOONER!? :)

Visitors, Ursher, Thanksgiving in Portland, and MORE WEDDING!

Jon and Kathie were in town a couple of weeks ago! And Melissa's friends were also here for the weekend. We went to Aston Manor, and had SO MUCH FUNS.

We also saw USHER at Key Area!! Dude. DUDE. That body, those dance moves, and that voice. I'm so glad we went!!! As good as Beyonce? Almost. But I didn't cry like a baby, like I did at the Bey & Jay concert earlier this year, so probably not on the same level.

For Thanksgiving, Matt and I drove down to Portland, where Gary, Chad, Tiana, David, and Kevin were! John just moved back, and Charles came down too. I was so exhausted from PMSing.. unfortunately. But I still had a really good time. Thanksgiving dinner was gluttony, as per usual. We played games, watched movies, and even went to Punchbowl the second night! *YESSS!!!!* Totally bowled, and I haven't bowled in maybe ten years? We failed at Black Friday shopping. The only thing I bought... wasn't on sale. Ugh. Why do I keep trying?

We brought Forrest with us to Portland, and he was all shaking and anxious from being in a new place with so many new people. He wouldn't eat any dog food, but we managed to get him to eat some turkey. He wouldn't even eat his bully stick or his treats, which he normally will do ANYTHING for. Oh well, he lost some weight. And he got to sleep in the bed with us for both nights! He was ridiculously happy to be home, I guess he's just a homebody like me. First for everything though... first road trip! :)

And then we drove back Saturday morning, THROUGH SNOW, for the wedding! Lisa and Quanh got married in the ID, and it was pretty cool catching up with Matt's old coworkers.

And then this week at work we are sandboxing. OMG. I was so stressed out last week when we started delving into the use cases, and I'm so tired. This week I have things more under control, so I'm not feeling like smashing my head through my monitor, but I'll definitely be glad when it's all over. The experience is VERY VALUABLE to me. I've never been so involved with a project of this magnitude, and even though it is a lot to handle I am enjoying every bit of the learning experience!!

I have so many things to be grateful for this year. A great job, a loving boyfriend, a supportive family back home (and two amazing cities to call home), a wonderful puppy, and my health. Everything is awesome!

Tech Life

I got a new job, what a relief! It's definitely next-level in terms of technical concepts, and I'm absolutely surrounded by smart people. I'm drowning in brains. Such a nice change from being surrounded by incompetent people in previous jobs! Great benefits, excellent location, and tons of perks. I love being in a challenging environment where there's so much room to grow, and people are so helpful and intellectual that it's impossible not to.

This is what I needed to really stay in Seattle. The opportunity at hand is certainly a milestone in my career and I'm going to love it for a long time - I can already feel it.

New Year, New JOB!

So far, 2013 has been fantastic.

Firstly, I finally got some SNOW! But more importantly, I got a new job. =) I know, I know... I just started working at Expedia a few months ago. I did enjoy travel writing and I had some pretty interesting coworkers. I received a contract extension last week... but I also received a LinkedIn message from a recruiter shortly after accepting said extension. The message mentioned a Technical Writer opportunity that I would be qualified for. And it surely sounded interesting! So I called back, and before I knew it I was interviewing with the manager.

The interview could not have gone better. I mean like literally, there is nothing else I could have brought to the table in retrospect. We talked phones, work environments, and the industry for a solid hour. Longest and best interview ever! I'm so excited to be writing about phones again, I couldn't think of a job that I want more at this point in my career. The best part of all was getting an offer for the job even before I got home from the interview. Got 'em!

I have one week off before starting my new gig, and I've been wanting to start a new blog. So I did! Enjoy.

Perks & Possible Obstacles

Today I finally got some real responsibility at work! I picked up a Benz from a customer's house, and a BMW from the detail shop - driving luxury cars, HELL YES! This is part of the job that I didn't even think about, that a perk would be getting to try out fancy Euro cars! Pretend ballin', 20 minutes at a time. I also was allowed to answer the phones and balance the books by myself. I'm learning things quickly and I think I've made a great first impression. Three days in and it's finally getting less boring. :)

The downside is that the shop car is a manual VW. I haven't driven stick since high school, or shortly after. And I'm pretty sure I can't do it anymore. If we don't get another shop car I'll have to learn. I suppose I'll have to learn anyway in case I need to pick up/drop off a customer's MT car. Yikes!