Friday, December 29, 2006

2007

So this is the obvious time for a cliche post about the new year and what not. Can you even believe that we are going to start 2007? It makes me think of Y2K and the world coming to end and how we're still here, seven years later. I don't like to talk about it, but I've been out of college for five years and high school now for ten years and this is just mind boggling to me. What has happened in all those years? I don't feel like I've been out of high school or college for that long!

The question I want to pose to you, dear readers (the few that are out there) is how old do you feel? Is it a certain age or a range (mid 20's, late 20's)? Does the number really matter? Not really, if you feel and act something different, who cares about the number? Another question that comes to mind is, do you feel grown up? What age do you think society expects us to be grown up as opposed to feeling grown up? This is something I have talked about with my therapist (yes, I said my therapist) and she seems to think that if she were to take a poll, her expectation would be that on average, people start to really feel like an adult in their 40's. That's right, your 40's! The theory is that we just fake our way through life, jobs, marriage, kids, etc., before we start to feel grown up. I don't know about you, but this makes me feel better about myself. I wish people would speak up about it more often.

Thursday, December 28, 2006

Jolly Holiday

So you want to know what's up with me? Here it is.

Thursday, a few co-workers and myself drove up to Cleveland for a Cavs game. I wasn't too excited about it, but it ended up being a really cool experience. We got the behind the scenes tour and inside scoop on the game promotions. I definitely look at things from a different perspective these days.

After the game, I headed to Chinatown and stayed there two nights. Friday, we went to two libraries and visited Sarah at Clipity-Clop. I finished my Christmas cards (finally) and mailed them on our way to Ray's in Kent with Sean. As stated in Rachel's blog, she was a complete bitch to Sean, so I kept the conversation going. I even had the opportunity to rate him on his language skills (I gave him 6 out of 10). Sean was buzzing. It was a grand time had by all (please note the sarcasm here). Saturday, we enjoyed Chipotle (they are opening in Toledo now) and I was off to the turnpike and headed to Toledo.

By Saturday night, I already had my fill of "home" time. Sunday was church, lunch, Bengals game (boo), wrapping presents, decorating cookies, Christmas Eve service at church, decorating cookies and A Christmas Story marathon on TBS. Christmas was nice...santa brought me everything I asked for, so I must have been well behaved this year. My biggest and most exciting gift was The Complete Series of Sex and the City. Now I can watch any episode, any time, all the time!!! I love love love Carrie and the girls and Steve and Aiden and Big ;-) Rachel got me a cool scrapbook stamping kit made by the magnetic poetry folks plus some other really cool stuff. I got new slippers, Macy's gift card, and socks. I was surprisingly the only one in my family that did not open some type of knife on Christmas.

The aunts and uncles came to our house this year (we alternate every year) as well as a couple of cousins. It was a very nice day. We ended with a ride in Rachel's new hot wheels, named Lance.

Tuesday was the annual Day-After-Christmas-Shopping-Trip. I was highly disappointed and found the most buys at Wal-mart of all places. Tuesday night I hung out with Lori and Jim and met their newest family addition, Izzie. Too bad Izzie spent most of the time in the basement. I couldn't get over how much their Great Dane, Grant had grown in the past year. You don't have to bend down to pet him at all and he's well-behaved. Wednesday was just me trying to get out dodge as soon as possible and not being successful. I didn't drive into the Nati until almost 4PM. Luckily, I hit Joseph Beth Booksellers right away and still scored some great Christmas cards for next yeah. Hopefully, I can get them out sooner next year.

Now, I'm sitting here in my office, not wanting to do any work. Hence why I'm blogging all afternoon. Alright...back to playing e-mail catch up. Hope you had a very Merry Christmas!!!

Monday, December 18, 2006

No Comment

why won't blogger let me post comments on anyone's blog????

Rachel - your post about the lady in the laundromat was so funny. She's collecting books with devil in the title...lol. speaking of prada, the episode of satc where carrie and berger go to and wear prada was on last night.
I also would have enjoyed the Yule Ball...sounds like a good time!

Friday, December 15, 2006

"Business Casual"

I'm happy the new boss considers jeans as business casual. I wish everyday was business casual. ;-) Especially when I have new jeans from a shopping trip earlier in the week. Happy Friday!

Tuesday, December 12, 2006

1-1-1

That was our record during Beat Big Ten Week. This week will be reserved as Timeout Week. I’m going to take some time out to reconnect with a few friends, go shopping, decorate the Christmas tree, write Christmas cards, and catch up on e-mail. Will I know what to do with a weekend off? Maybe I'll even go to a Holiday Cocktail party. I’m trying to get in the Christmas spirit, but it’s taking me a long time this year. Perhaps it may be because I wasn’t able to celebrate Thanksgiving in a traditional manner. Side note - my goal is to not buy one more ornament this year, since I have enough ornaments for two complete trees. Good luck to those who have finals this week. It will be nice to see things quiet down for the next three weeks.

Thursday, November 30, 2006

Beat Big Ten Week ... Live!

The Drama,
The Suspense,
The Action,
Be a Witness…

Don’t miss a minute of the action!

Sunday, December 3
Bonfire Pep Rally after the 2PM women’s basketball game vs. Tulane at Millett Hall
Be a part of a new tradition ignited…
Free limited edition t-shirts for the first 100 students in attendance!

Monday, December 4
Petition Drive – Beat Michigan Basketball / Ohio State Hockey at Shriver Center and Bell Tower

Tuesday, December 5
Petition Drive continues – Beat Michigan Basketball / Ohio State Hockey at Shriver Center and Bell Tower
Big Ten Beatdown – starting at 5PM, students have the opportunity to smash an Ohio State/Michigan-themed car at the Phi Kappa Tau house on the corner of Sycamore and Talawanda

Wednesday, December 6
Gametime at the “House of Hoops” – Millett Hall
Women’s Basketball hosts Michigan at 7PM – Wear Red!
A limited number of t-shirts available for students!

Thursday, December 7
Gametime at the “House of Hoops” – Millett Hall
Men’s Basketball hosts Michigan at 8PM – Wear Red!
A limited number of t-shirts available for students!

Friday, December 8
“Road to the Joe” … Check out the CCHA Trophy as it tours Oxford on Friday and Saturday.
Here’s your chance to feel like a Champion! Get your picture taken with the trophy and the Shakerettes!

Saturday, December 9
Miami Ice Hockey battles Ohio State at Steve Cady Arena in the Goggin Ice Center, the puck drops at 7:05PM.
The CCHA trophy will make its final stop at Goggin. There will be giveaways and College Joe will be throwing out t-shirts between periods. Student seating available!

Wednesday, November 29, 2006

Fall

I'm loving the rain today. I also love that it's 65 degrees on November 29th.

Monday, November 27, 2006

Thanksgiving

I had a splendid Thanksgiving. One quite out of the ordinary for me. Because of our awesome football and volleyball schedule, Miami played a home FB game on Friday at noon and a VB tournament Friday and Saturday. I wasn’t able to go home for the first time and I feel a little bit bad for saying this, but honestly, it didn’t bother me. Probably because it didn’t even feel like a holiday to me. I enjoyed the students being away and not many people in the office. I took my time preparing for the weekend events and watched BBC's, "What Not To Wear"(ALL day). I did 5 loads of laundry and hung out with Tally. My time at the office was limited, (thank goodness I have a university laptop now), and there were no raccoon visits in the Yager Press Box (they were probably eating turkey with their family). The rest of the weekend was pretty good. Time spent with friends and co-workers, as well as on my own, is something I’m definitely thankful for.

Is anyone else not in the mood for Christmas yet? I didn’t get out any decorations this weekend. Maybe it’s the perfect 65 degree weather. I love it! Hope you had a good holiday and time to relax.

Thursday, November 16, 2006

Top 5 Luxuries I hope to One Day Afford

Yes, I'm stealing from Rachel's blog.

1. A life away from work.
2. Travel
3. Nice(r) Clothes
4. My own house w/ amenities
5. Digital SLR Camera and time to take pictures (goes along with #1 and #2)

Monday, November 13, 2006

I came here to post and now I can't think of anything to write.

I didn't do much yesterday, but watch a couple movies and sleep. To be honest, that was the plan for the day, besides bible study, church, and Desperate Housewives, of course. The Lake House isn't a great movie, the concept just didn't catch for me. Things are still just as busy here, with basketball season starting. I need balance with work and life...still trying to figure that out.

So glad that I'm caught up with the rest of the world on LOST, but disappointed that it's not on again until February! See how sad my life is? Ha ha.

Sunday, October 22, 2006

New Post

Here it is folks, a new post. For anyone that is still out there visiting me. I had a day off, yesterday. I took off most of today, but now I'm here in the office, getting some things ready to take home. The weekend was good with Rachel visiting, oddly enough, the last day I had off she was also here. Am I allowed to start sentences with, "oddly enough?"

I'm still trying to survive in the new job in the midst of football, volleyball, ice hockey, and soon to be men's and women's basketball before we know it. Think of me as I visit a new doctor on Tuesday...great anxiety comes with that. OK, that's all for now. Will try to post again in less than a month! Later :-)

Sunday, September 17, 2006

Not much going on here besides work. I think I'm starting to wear myself down. It was an ok weekend as far as work, but a good visit with the sister mixed in. Glad I got to see Becky too! Even though I live here, I've only been uptown a few times since moving. Since Steinkellar was a little busy at dinner time, we ate at Skipper's on Saturday, then went back to the Stein for a drink. At home, Rachel worked on her Who Dey sweatshirt while I feel asleep on the couch after a looong day at work. Sunday was a LOST marathon, my Who Dey sweatshirt, dinner at First Run (now Brick Street), and more LOST. Hope everyone had a good weekend!

Saturday, September 09, 2006

Rear Ended

My roommate and I were in a car accident yesterday. We ran home for lunch and we on our way back to the office when we were rear ended by a semi. No one was hurt, except Angie's poor Camry; there is a lot of damage. The whole back end of her car will probably have to be replaced. Since I wasn't driving, I wasn't paying any attention and it took me about a minute to realize what had happened, that we had been hit. I walked to the police station, it was less than a block away and the officer was there momentarily. Angie and I were both pretty shaken up and decided it wasn't a good idea to work late and that we needed McDonald's for dinner. ;-) Unfortunately, we're still waiting on the police report, so Angie can file the claim with her insurance. So, another thing to add to the madness in my life right now. I'm sitting here at work, listening and watching to the Miami football game on www.espn360.com trying to get a little work done when most of our staff is at Purdue.

Side note - the head coach at Purdue went to my high school!

Saturday, September 02, 2006

Week of Firsts

This has definitely been week of firsts for me. I made it through my first soccer game, first football game, and my first volleyball match as the Asst. Dir. of Marketing and Promotions. In fact, I'm acting as the entire sports marketing department until Tuesday. The FB game was the big one that I was worried about. It's a major production, especially with the videoboard. I have really enjoyed learning about the videoboard and loading stuff onto it and running it, even if I do run into some wildlife every once in a while. I am lucky to have good people who helped me out on game day! They made it easier on me. I'm so glad the first one is over and now I can have a better idea how to iron out a few things for the next one. Too bad the team didn't play as well as we imagined.

Friday, August 25, 2006

wildlife

Wildlife spottings while working in the football stadium press box after 9pm:

1. Very scary bug with nasty long legs and emormous body; flying capabilities.
Solution: place garbage can on top of bug so i don't have to constantly keep my eye on it.

2. Two racoons, wearing black masks over their noses, scurrying toward me and staring at me.
Solution: scream as loud as possible so that they turn around immediately and run out of the press box.

Thank God Rachel was on the phone with me, I was completely shook up. From this point forward, she, or someone will have to be on the phone with me if I am working alone in the press box after hours.

Monday, August 21, 2006

Promotion

Effective today: I am an unclassified employee.

Wednesday, August 16, 2006

Kind Request

Please be patient with me as I am working an insane amount of hours in the next few weeks, thanks to Ice Hockey Seat Selection and Football Season. I think I may be doing the jobs of about 3 people right now. You can send a few prayers my way if you have a chance. I guess I wanted more responsibility with my job and that's definitely what I'm getting (without the pay, I may add). Woohoo!

Thursday, August 10, 2006

License Plates

First of all, my former landlord is a bastard. A certified letter arrived in their PO Box on August 1. It is now August 10 and they have yet to sign for it. Rent checks are due on the 5th of the month, so obviously they’ve been to the PO Box.

Second, have you ever played the license plate game on vacation? Lori and I played and I really started to get into it. We saw the following list while we were traveling:

Kentucky
Ohio
Tennessee
North Carolina
South Carolina
Florida
Georgia
California
New York
Wisconsin
Minnesota
Iowa
Illinois
Indiana
Connecticut
Massachusetts
Pennsylvania
Michigan
Missouri
Mississippi
Louisiana
Alabama
Arkansas
Maine
Virginia
Maryland
West Virginia
Washington D.C.
New Jersey
Vermont – possible citing, not able to verify

On our way home, I was hoping to see at least one more that we hadn’t seen yet. Not too long after that, I saw Arizona and was pretty excited! Then, as I edged up on a car, I could tell it was a different one, but had to get closer to read it. Oh my god! It was NORTH DAKOTA!!!!! At this point, I’m overcome with excitement and see another new one right away, Washington! How cool!! I thought those were all pretty rare since they are out west. Anyway, I’m amused by the small things and I really missed playing the license plate game.

North Dakota
Arizona
Washington

Wednesday, August 09, 2006

Back

So I was at the office again real late last night and now I'm real tired. The trip was great overall. I don’t think I said before, my friend Lori and I drove down to Charleston, South Carolina for some history, camping, and beach time. There were plenty of mosquitoes and heat and humidity. Lori may not agree, but the camping was fun and it made me think how grateful I was to have gone on so many family vacations and camping trips. Side note: an RV with a.c., full electricity including satellite dish is NOT camping even if you are on a “campground.” I guess I will give the full story later. It would have been great to have one more day, but back to work it is. Plenty to do around the office!

Wednesday, August 02, 2006

Vacation

I'm off for some fun in the sun these next couple of days. Luckily I got to move all of my office area to another area today instead of getting stuff done that I needed to before leaving. And now I'm in the office at 9PM organizing my new desk so other people can move while I'm gone, when really I should be packing for camping trip. Woohoo! Take care and have a great weekend ;-)

Sunday, July 30, 2006

Landlord Issues

OK, so you all know that I moved a month ago. I finally talked to my landlord on Thursday about my security deposit only to find out that he's not giving it to me and there's nothing I can do at this point. After talking with Rachel and we were both really pissed off about it, I decided to write a letter. We think that it is ridiculous that he's not giving it back.

1. It wasn't that dirty, I only swept the floors, but that was b/c it was filthy when I moved in. He says I left the stove, refrigerator, and windowsills not wiped off. Whatever...it was an absolute mess when I moved in.

2. After some librarian-detective skills Rachel found there is an Ohio Landlord Tenant Law that states all correspondence must be done in writing (home boy hardly EVER answer the phone let alone correspond in writing) and within a reasonable amount of time, such as 30 days.

3. Ohio Landlord Tenant Law also states that he must provide an "itemization of deductions" from my security deposit. This translates to, there ain't no way in hell that he paid someone $450 to clean the stove and the refrigerator, so you might as well just give me my money back, biotch!

It's so sad b/c these guys probably do this to everyone who moves out of any of their buildings to make some mad extra cash. These people never did anything to improve the building. I didn't even have a light switch that worked when I walked into my apartment and most of the windows didn't function properly. Why are landlords usually so negligent? I haven't known too many that were great at what they do, especially for raking in a lot of profit on rent. Anyway, I was extremely mad and hope to get some type of compensation for my letter. Hopefully my small threat will weaken their stance.

Wednesday, July 26, 2006

Update

I HAVE AUDIO! AND TIME! Thanks to Joe and somewhat to my resourcefulness. Although, I still don't think I can charge my cell phone.

Notice

When writing e-mails to co-workers, PLEASE PUT SOMETHING IN THE SUBJECT LINE! This makes the e-mails easier to sort and organize. For crying out loud, it can be anything referencing the subject of the e-mail. Thank you.

Monday, July 24, 2006

Car Audio

The ending to a great weekend in Kent, OH was not so great. I’m driving and trying to plug in my cell phone charger b/c the phone battery is barely hanging on. All of a sudden, my clock and car audio are both out and the charger isn’t working either. I pull off at the next exit to see if I can figure out what the deal is. No such luck. I spend at least a half hour trying to go through the manual, figure out what fuse goes to what function, and pull out the fuses I think might be the problem. Those stupid little things would not budge, even with the “pull out” tool provided. Bastards! I finally give up and get back on the road. Called Rachel, called my dad, both quick calls and my battery starts beeping in my ear. So not only can I not tell the time or listen to music for a 4-plus hour trip, I can’t even talk to anyone. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for turning off the radio every once in awhile to be silent, but not for 4 hours. I stopped at a gas station to ask if anyone knew how to change a fuse, but nope. I tried again myself for another 15 minutes or so before giving up and getting back on the road. To the silence.

If that wasn’t bad enough, I took some tiny back road off of 71 b/c it was a straight shot to little tiny Oxford (it sucks living 30 minutes from ANY major highway). In the complete dark and silence, I’m winding my way through this road, not having any idea where I am and had to turn around twice. Finally, I made it to Lebanon and route 63, which is what I wanted in the beginning. After all that, I got home about 12:30. And still have no clock, car audio, or functioning cigarette lighter. Great.

Thursday, July 20, 2006

Painting Fun Part II

Last night I got to see Potchy’s new house, hang out, and help her paint the kitchen. The house is great (far from me though) and she’s done an excellent job with all the painting. There was a bit of trouble getting the right color of green, I think there were actually about 6 samples of green in different areas of the kitchen. Asparagus was finally the winner. We were only able to finish one coat last night, so I’ll be anxious to see the final product after coat 2, and possibly coat 3. I’m excited for her and Shaun’s upcoming wedding, can’t wait to see how everything turns out. I even had a hand in helping with the ADORABLE invitations and a small portion of the programs. I would put up a picture of the invite, but I’m behind the times and haven’t gone digital as of yet due to insufficient funds.

Sunday, July 16, 2006

Saturday Happenings

My Saturday was adventure filled and action packed, a rare occurrence for me. It actually started on Friday with a "camping" trip that turned into watching movies in the AC. Saturday we (5 of us total from our Lifespring Bible Study) woke up and drove to Brookville, IN and went canoeing on Whitewater River (not the most glamorous spot in IN). We were swim-suited up and lathered with sunscreen ready for our canoeing adventure. I'd never been. It was a lot of fun. We traveled the 13 miles down the river in about 5-6 hours. We stopped several times for swimming. Swimming wasn't really ideal b/c the current was stronger than it looked. The 13 mile trip was pretty long and we weren't sure if we'd ever make it to the end. We did finish, and pretty successfully. No one tipped over...Becky and I fell out once b/c we leaned the same way, but technically we did not tip! Another tidbit of information - we were one of the few sober groups out on the river yesterday...and there were a lot of people!

After such a long day, we decided on dinner at the CB was well deserved (we did work our arms pretty well). From there, I headed back home to shower and change and then drove back to Cincinnati for a co-workers party. I arrived at the party late, but in time to make the flip-cup tournament (yay!). I'd never met most of these people before, but they are some serious flip-cuppers. There was a seeding round before the tournament began and then it was round robin. Our team came from behind to win the tournament! How exciting! However, I'm still mad at the co-worker who hosted this party b/c he's leaving to get his doctorate. Good for him, bad for me (and our department). Stay posted for upcoming changes on the workfront.

Sunday, July 09, 2006

bathroom faucet

So, the most exciting thing of the day was when I cleaned out the little screen and filter thing that the water comes out of on my bathroom sink. Before, it really annoyed me b/c the water sprayed in every direction and got all over the area outside of the sink and there wasn't really a concentrated stream of water. It's so much better now! I figured it was an easy solution.

Other than that today, I just read a lot and worked out. I hope to get back into the habit of visiting the gym like I need to. Bible study was tonight with church after. I had to hoped to organize my closet, but maybe I can still work on that tonight (tomorrow is more likely). Too bad the weekend is over.

Friday, July 07, 2006

Weekend, continued

I didn't fit everything into my Toledo visit that I had wanted to. Currently, there is an Ansel Adams exhibit at the Toledo Museum of Art and then, since it was raining most of the weekend, I didn't get to use the pool at all. Also, I had thought I would have time to catch up with a few friends, but ran out of time (sorry Lori, will have to meet your puppy next time). ;-(

Tuesday, I drove back to the greater Cincinnati area for a BBQ with some co-workers. It was a good time, but I missed out on a real fireworks display. Might have to plan a Sawyer Point Labor Day Adventure!

Fashion Sense

Could someone please explain to me why, when I was 10 years old, I would wear a t-shirt that fits me in present day? I'm at the very least, a good 50, maybe 60 pounds heavier than when I was 10 years old. As I was going through and trying on old t-shirts from various vacations and Girl Scout camps, I was amazed that those are shirts I can still wear. Some of them are too big for me to wear now. WHY DID WE WEAR OUR CLOTHES SO BIG IN THE LATE 80s, EARLY 90s???

Last night I wore my Math Counts t-shirt (8th grade) to work out in and it was so comfortable...I'm so glad I didn't put it in the throw-away pile.

Yes, I realize this post is pretty much meaningless.

Wednesday, July 05, 2006

Social Networking

What does everyone think about the social networking sites? Rachel has been bugging me to join Myspace for awhile (and blogger before that!) and now Facebook. I feel like I already spend enough time on the internet as it is. On the other hand, it does sound like fun. From what I've heard, Facebook sounds more appealing.

Any thoughts?

Sunday, July 02, 2006

from Toledo

...on my parents' circa 1996 slow computer. I haven't been home since Christmas, so I was feeling guilty about not visiting and decided to take a long weekend. It's been ok so far.

Yesterday, before leaving the Cincinnati area, I stopped to meet Scout and Mdog. We had a nice lunch at Macaroni Grill (yummy) and caught up on things since the last time we were all together, which had been too long, probably about a year. We all lived together in 211, the Mello House, my senior year of college. We were remembering and laughing about the good times of college and the MUMB and then talking about current stuff too. It was great, as always, to see them!!!

Haven't done much in Toledo, visited with my parents and friends last night, church this morning, and a random shopping trip to Lowe's and Giant Eagle. I ran into a high school classmate at the grocery store. Very interesting that she has an 8 yr. old (was pregnant at the end of high school and apparently know one knew), got married in July of '97 and then got her GED, is not happy in her current marriage, etc. She didn't really ask anything about me, except where I live and that was fine. We'll see what the rest of the weekend has to offer, besides hot and humid-ness!

P.S. I'm sorry to those of you who couldn't take Monday off.

Friday, June 30, 2006

My Condolences

To the Walker family. Former head football coach at Miami University, current head football coach at Northwestern University, and member of the Cradle of Coaches. Please keep this family in your prayers.

I know she doesn't read this, but Abbey (and Brian), I'm thinking about you!

Thursday, June 29, 2006

help!

Does anyone know how to clean a bathroom in a town where the water is VERY hard? I'm not having much luck.

Monday, June 26, 2006

It's official.

I don't live in Cincinnati anymore. It was sad listening to the radio this morning, thinking that I don't have to even bother with the traffic updates. Everything is moved, but there is a lot of organizing to do.

Thursday, June 22, 2006

Band for a Lifetime

My turn after Mdog and Rachel. Choose a band/artist and answer ONLY in titles of their songs. I chose who else, but Lifehouse. You should check out the lyrics to some of these songs, they are great!

1. Are you male or female? Only One

2. Describe yourself: Somewhere In Between

3. How do some people feel about you? Cling And Clatter

4. How do you feel about yourself? Better Luck Next Time

5. Describe your ex: Somebody Else's Song

6. Describe your current significant other: Unknown

7. Describe where you want to be: Into The Sun

8. Describe how you live: Days Go By

9. Describe how you love: Am I Ever Gonna Find Out

10. What would you ask for if you had just one wish? Take Me Away

11. Share a few words of wisdom: Hanging By A Moment

12. Now say goodbye: The End Has Only Begun

Wednesday, June 21, 2006

Goodbye

There are only two days remaining in my sometimes 45, usually 50 minute commute. This sound weird, but I think I might actually miss it. I rather enjoy the time to relax in the morning, I'm going against the traffic, so it's a smooth trip. What I don't like, is having to leave my house at 7:05 (usually 7:15) in the AM and getting home later in the PM. Now, I will have more time, hopefully put towards more quality sleep, exercise, and attention for Tally. No commute means little time for music and audio books, less gas money spent, and fewer miles on the car. Can you believe I've put 18,000 miles on my car in 7 months?

Does anyone else have a commute? If so, do you mind it? I have to enjoy my next two mornings!

Tuesday, June 20, 2006

Reunion Weekend 2006

I had my first true Reunion Weekend experience this year. Last year, I only helped/ran the Reunion Road Run. But this year, I was involved with more activities. I worked the Reunion Road Run in the morning (here at 6:15am!) and after clean up, some of us workers and volunteers went to breakfast. I returned to my future home in time to change for the Student-Athlete Reunion in the fairly new Gross Student-Athlete Center. It was neat to see a bunch of football, baseball, swimming, track, and other assorted athletes get together from the various classes, but the class most represented was the Class of 1956, for their 50th Reunion. I couldn't help but think about if I will come back to Miami for Reunion Weekend in 45 years. At the Student-Athlete Reunion, I worked registration until the program started and then left for Alumni Band rehearsal. I wasn't going to play, but one of my higher ups talked me into it, I think b/c of the low turnout. It turned out to be a lot of fun. Now, I think that any chance I get to play I have fun. My worry was that I wouldn't know anyone, but there were a couple familiar faces. We rehearsed for about an hour before heading up to the Hub for the Parade of Classes. There wasn't much organization with the parade, but everyone gathered as Dr. Shriver spoke of Miami history before we made the walk to the Alumnifest area (south quad). There, we gathered to here Dr. Garland's last public address before his retirement and we dismissed for dinner, music, and fellowship. An hour later, Alumni Band played for each tent (a tent for each decade of classes) and then were free to enjoy the festivities. It was good conversation with some fellow bandos and colleagues.

I recommend any Miami Alumni to register for next year. It would be great to get more young people there to show the older classes that we have pride in Miami as much as they do. Go 'Skins!

Friday, June 16, 2006

Miss Crow

Why did I ever think that I didn't like Sheryl Crow and her music? I am currently loving every minute of her greatest hits, even the songs I used to hate. She's awesome. I want to be like Sheryl! That means I want to have a great singing voice, learn the guitar, be muscular and fit after age 40, and date Lance - I'm so sad they broke up though).

Tally

Photobucket - Video and Image HostingSo, it's time to do a post on Tally, my roommate of 4 years, my only roommate currently. I don't know what I would do without her! She is so cute (the picture doesn't do her justice, she's just not very photogenic) and it's great to have her around. Tally can be a bit needy at times, she likes to lick pretty much everything, especially your skin, walls, pictures, the straps on a back pack, etc (yes, I realize this is weird). I don't mind her licking my arms or hands, but when that little sandpaper-like tongue wants to go for my face, I draw the line. She requires a lot of attention and can be very vocal sometimes. I always wonder what she is saying and thinking, because animals definitely have individual personalities and I just want to know what she is talking about. Cats are so forgiving, I can push Tally away from me and ignore her at times, but then she will immediately come back asking me to pet her and that is comforting.

When we move, I think she will enjoy life a little bit more (what's not to like when all you do is sleep, eat, and look cute?). Tally will have another person from which to receive attention, I will not be gone for such long stretches of time, and she will have more space to roam around (different places to sleep). It will be an adjustment for her, so I always worry how she will handle a new environment. Wouldn't it be nice to be a cat sometimes?

Wednesday, June 07, 2006

Painting Fun

I just got home from painting my new bedroom (in Oxford). It's a pretty sky-ish blue with just the tiniest hint of green. More specifically called "Dreaming Blue." Whatever that means. I'm pretty excited about it. I hope the calm, cheery atmosphere will help with my depression. It will be nice to kind of start over in a new cozy home with a new roommate, even if it is in a small college town. I love being independent and living by myself in the city, but my place lacks natural light and is not maintained to it's fullest potential (what exactly do landlords do with rent money?). Plus the key factor is that this is a good move financially. Yay for a blue bedroom!

Tuesday, June 06, 2006

Chicago

OK, I should have posted on this earlier. I went to Chicago over the Memorial Day weekend. Well, Portage, IN, then Chicago, then back to Portage, to be exact. It was an interesting trip. Hotter than hell, for sure. In Portage, I hung out with my high school friend, Rachel, her husband, Eric, and their son, Malachi. Malachi was born in November and this was the first time I met him. He's a very cute baby. I will admit that I was a bit weirded out by the whole baby thing. It just seems like we are still kids ourselves.

Saturday, I went to visit my grad school friend, Miriam in Chicago. She lives on the South Side of Chicago, RIGHT BY THE LAKE. It was so pretty, we took a walk along the trail and park near Lake Shore Drive. It was so neat to have the nature area of the park surrounded by the city. We ate dinner downtown at Brazzoz, a Brazilian Steakhouse. Very good. It's like a meat buffet. You go up to get your salad and then the waiters bring around 16 different cuts of meat and you can take it or decline. They keep coming until you tell them to stop by turning a card over by your place setting.

Anyway, Sunday, we worked out at the YMCA and participated in a step aerobics class. I thought I was going to die, but I managed to barely make it through the class. After our workout, we headed downtown for a little Michigan Avenue shopping. Since it was so hot, we were moving slow. It was fun to go to H&M, Ghirardelli, Gap, Banana Republic, Marshall Fields, Niketown, etc. etc. Stores are so much bigger there! After a long day of shopping we headed out for some Chicago style pizza at Giordano's. Very yummy. I was back to Portage Sunday night.

Monday was spent just hanging out, doing Malachi's morning routine. Eric went to work at 2pm, then Rachel left at 5:30pm for work. That left me alone with Malachi for 6 hours on my own. I did volunteer for this. He cried for the first hour (normally a happy baby) and didn't take the bottle. Luckily after that first hour he only cried when I left the room to go to the bathroom or something(I wasn't neglecting him, it was just an extension of the living room). He ate his dinner, and went to bed just a little past the scheduled time. Whew. I can't imagine having kids. Good luck to those of you who do. My thoughts could change further down the road, but definitely not the thing for me. Tuesday morning I headed back to the Nati. I know this is long, but I just wanted to post the story.

Sunday, June 04, 2006

Signs

I figured out one way to confirm whether or not your landlord has received your intent to vacate letter. Wait for the "For Rent" sign to pop up in the yard. It's official.

Thursday, June 01, 2006

Interesting Article

terrorist or marriage material?

the hatch

so i finally know what is in the hatch. i'm hoping they will play the rest of the season of LOST in order this summer so i can catch up and be on track for the start of the third season. now, i'm just waiting to find out what happened to those people on the raft.

Tuesday, May 23, 2006

MLGC

OK, so I must post about the weekend devoted to the Marvin Lewis Community Fund, my former internship. Sunday was the 3rd Annual Marvin Lewis Golf Classic (MLGC) at Shaker Run Golf Club. In the past three years, I have spent countless hours at the community fund, and keep going back for more (Mary and Terri can relate).

Terri and I were assigned to be the Volunteer Coordinators this year, serving as the point people in the volunteer holding area. We checked in all volunteers, morning and afternoon shifts, gave them their t-shirts, information packet, and name tag with MLGC lanyard and tag was signed by Coach Lewis himself, and instructed them where to go and what to do. We were in the "old" clubhouse all day (not glamorous) - all day meaning 6:45am until 8pm. We were constantly asked questions and continually entertained by the volunteers. It amazed me that people were so concerned about their t-shirt size.

"What do you mean you don't have a women's medium?" (The women's small would fit a 5 yr old and the women's large would fit a 7 yr old - there was barely an inch difference in size)

"Our names won't be on that list, we are so much more important than the people on that list!" (wouldn't we have known who they were?)

We finally made it down to the Auction Tent at about 6pm, this is where the golfers finish the day with an after party. There always a live band, tons of decorations, food, and silent auction items. In the past, Terri and I have been in the Auction Tent decorating, so we were glad to get down to the party to see how it turned out. It was kind of nice that we didn't have to deal with the auction closeout (good job Mary).


All in all, it's fun day where the Bengals, local celebs, and other athletes and coaches come out to support Coach's community fund and help raise money for kids in the tri-state.
Terri - Thanks for the pictures. Good thing one of us has gone digital.

WHO DEY!!!

Thursday, May 18, 2006

The Jane Austen Book Club

by Karen Joy Fowler

This is the third book I've read with my new book club. We got together tonight to talk about The Jane Austen Book Club. Five of us showed up for discussion. The usual bistro where we meet was closed for the evening, so we walked down the street a few blocks to find a small pizza joint. We all enjoyed the discussion about the book rather than the book itself.

Synopsis - There are six members (5 women and 1 man) of their book club and they've decided to read each of Jane Austen's six books. Most of the members have already read Austen, it's like they have an obsession with her. This book is mostly about the book club meetings and getting to know the members of the club, how they met, and how they perceive Austen's writing. Over the six months of their meetings, marriages are tested, relationships begin and end and begin again, and each finds love.

Only one person in our book club has read a novel by Jane Austen. We thought their were too many characters named, especially from the Austen books, and made it hard to follow. At times, it was confusing as to who was narrating. In our discussion, we talked about general life complexities (confrontations, happiness, unhappiness, and genealogies) and tried to dissect the characters a little more.

One passage I shared with the group that struck me as interesting:

"When I was driving to the hospital, I thought if Allegra (her daughter) was all right I would be the happiest woman in the world. And she was, and I was. But today the sink is backed up and there are roaches in the garage and I don't have the time to deal with any of it. The newspaper is filled with misery and war. Already I have to remind myself to be happy. And you know, if it were the other way, if something had happened to Allegra, I wouldn't have to remind myself to be unhappy. I'd be unhappy the rest of my life. Why should unhappiness be so much more powerful that happiness?" (Sylvia)
"One difficult member spoils a whole group, one disappointment ruins a whole day." (Jocelyn)
"One infidelity wipes out year of faithfulness." (Sylvia)
"It takes ten weeks to get into shape and ten days to get out of it." (Jocelyn)
"That's my point. We don't stand a chance." (Sylvia)

Are you unhappy? Do you have to remind yourself to be happy? I definitely find myself falling into this trap.


**I realize the 4 people who read this blog are probably in shock. Yes, there really are 3 posts for today, even a long one!

Teddy Grahams

I have to mention that I'm eating Teddy Grahams today as a mid-morning snack. A co-worker, who is back part time from maternity leave, gave them to me as a gift from her newborn son. His name is Teddy. So cute!

On time for once

Believe it or not, I was on time to work today. 8:00AM on the dot. You see, this is my goal for everyday, unfortunately all through the winter I've had trouble leaving my house anytime before 7:12 or 7:15, causing me to get to work at about 8:10. I realize this isn't a huge deal, but if I could just get myself out of bed in the morning I would probably get off to a better start. Instead, I choose to rush around like a maniac trying to get out of the house. I just cannot get up. I set about 5 alarms, 3 on my cell phone, 1 on my clock radio, 1 on my stereo. All going off at different times and I either ignore or snooze repeatedly. How exhausting b/c they are set at different spots around the room and the stereo is in the dining room for goodness sake. You'd think if I was getting up to turn down or turn off the music or alarm, I could just stumble into the bathroom and start getting ready. But no! I just go back to bed. I've actually had this problem for quite some time, occasionally, I will go through phases where I do ok, but usually it's a problem. I'm a night person, so I stay up too late, causing part of the ridiculousness. Maybe I need to be more organized with my time so I'm not so rushed. Maybe I just need more rest. Hmmm.

Thursday, May 11, 2006

$$

Did I really just pay $4.29 for a Mother's Day card? And it wasn't even one of those fancy schmancy cards, I just liked the text. Why do they have to be so expensive? Geez.

Texting during prayer?

Does anyone else find it offensive to hear someone playing with their cell phone during a prayer? I mean, are we so available to people that we can't put down our phones long enough to have (or listen to) a conversation with God?

Monday, May 08, 2006

One Year Anniversary

OK, I just typed a post and lost it. Geez. Anyway, I can't help but think about starting here a year ago. I can't believe it's already been that long! A lot has changed in my position since I started, and I would like to see more changes still. Like with any new job, I was wondering how I would fill my hours and trying to find anything to do to get acquainted with my new environment and "home," if you will. Tonight, I have a thousand and one things on my To Do list and just hope that I'll get through everything I need to this week. I'd like to think that the hard work I've put in has made a good impression. Even though I have mixed feelings about my job, I really feel that I've grown and learned a lot. I'm thankful for my experience here and interaction with interesting people. It's a good feeling, knowing that I'm getting the most out of my position and building a foundation for a real career (trying to be positive).

And...

...maybe it's time to replace Bruno. We'll see about that.

Thursday, May 04, 2006

nothing in particular

so, i don't really have anything to post about, but i figure since a week has gone by, i should write something.

the biggest loser (earlier post) still isn't going very well with all parties involved. hopefully we can make something happen in the last month.

so i'm set on the fact that i'm moving to oxford in june. it will be very weird, living in a college town. the savings on rent (renting from a friend with a house), gas, and time (commute) seem to be worth sacrificing life in a mid-sized city. fear not, i will still attend church at lifespring and continue other activities in the nati. maybe it will be the happy medium.

as far as trips for the summer, i need some ideas and travel partners. i'm thinking about going to chicago for memorial day weekend. i have to visit a couple friends and a baby (Malachi). i also need to head up to northwest ohio, since i haven't been home since christmas. i'm welcome to other ideas for a real vacation. i have to take time off in the summer, b/c once football season hits, good luck in having spare time before christmas!

i know i'm obsessed, but i can't get enough of sex and the city. i love it, love it, love it. currently renting season 3 from the library. the episode of charlotte's wedding gets me every time. every time i watch it, i cry.

that's all i have for now.

Thursday, April 27, 2006

retraction

I retract my last comment about being a loser. I have to learn to not say that anymore and be more positive. I am not a loser for not posting on my blog; it's a good thing that I did post rather than continuing to put it off.

Wednesday, April 26, 2006

i'm a loser . . .

. . . for not posting on this thing for about a month. not that there is anyone out there to read it anyway.

How well do you know me, for instance, did you know...

Four of the jobs you have had in your life:
1. Marketing Coordinator, Miami University - Oxford (I made up that title)
2. Substitute Teacher, Norwood City Schools (almost Cincinnati)
3. Photo Lab Technician, Meijer (Toledo) - also a made up title
4. Tournament Intern, Jamie Farr Kroger Classic (Toledo)

Four movies you would watch over and over:
1. Red Dragon
2. Forever Young
3. My Best Friend's Wedding
4. Sex and the City - well, it's shot like a movie ;-)

Four places you have lived:
1. Toledo, OH
2. Oxford, OH
3. Cincinnati, OH
4. About to be in Oxford, OH again (ugh)

Four TV shows you love to watch:
1. Sex and the City
2. What Not to Wear - if i only had cable!
3. Ed
4. King of Queens

Four places you have been on vacation:
1. So Cal
2. NYC
3. Jackson, North Carolina
4. Washington, IN.......it's about time for another!!!

Four websites I visit daily:
1. MURedHawks.com
2. Audioblitz
3. aol.com
4. I'm already at the computer too much

Four of my favorite foods:
1. sandwiches
2. salad
3. bread
4. cheese

Four places I would rather be right now:
1. on a beach
2. sleeping in my bed
3. reading in a warm apartment
4. in another time zone

Four people I am tagging that I think will respond:
1. matthew
2. mark
3. luke
4. john

Four things I always carry with me:
1. keys
2. chap stick
3. ID cards
4. cell phone - almost always

You've been tagged, so here it goes....delete my

answers, replace with your own and post it or e-mail it.

Sunday, April 02, 2006

final four

I have to share about my final four experience. I'm so excited to cross one off my "To Do by 30" list! I scored a couple tickets this week for my mom and I to attend the Final Four. We headed to Indy for the Big Dance and had such a great time! If you love basketball, college basketball, I reccommend going. There were tons of activities for kids before the game and just so so many people there for the event (probably aorund 43,000). It was really neat to be there, having watched it on TV pretty much every year of my exsistance (give or take a few years).

We scanned the crowd for any famous people and only came up with a few: Adam Morrison, Lute Olson, Jim Boeheim, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Peyton and Ely Manning, and various other people we may have recognized, but couldn't put a name with the face. I was hoping to see Roy Wiliams and Reggie Miller while mom was scouring the crowds for the ever popular Coach K. Even though we were up in the rafters, we could see every place develop and used our binocs to see the closer details. I'm already thinking about whether or not I can go next year. FYI - I'm cheering for UCLA in the Championship - Go Bruins! Image hosting by Photobucket

Friday, March 31, 2006

biggest loser

so a couple of my friends and i started this biggest loser competition about a month ago. we tried to get a bunch of people to join, but no one was willing to do it. we weigh in every 2 weeks and go by percentage weight lost. tomorrow is our second weigh in and i'm pretty sure that i've gained 3-4 pounds. why am i so motivated to go in the opposite direction than i should be? i don't even care if i win the competition, i just want to lose the weight i gained through the winter.

this is so unbelievably hard for me. help! springtime please give me a jump start!! i really hope to see progress in 2 weeks.

Saturday, March 25, 2006

nyc

so we're back from nyc and i finally started to unpack my bag. yikes. overall the trip was a good one, even though it seemed everything we tried to do got messed up.

thursday/friday morning - drove the 600 plus miles to nyc, taking turns driving and listened to almost half of a long way down by nick hornby. made a questionable stop in newark, new jersey at an ihop and we were on our way through the lincoln tunnel at 6am!

friday - we did the today show, tried to get conan tickets (which ended up just taking up a lot of our day), checked into the hostel, watched a little of the st. patty's day parade, bought our metrocards, walked many blocks of 5th avenue and 34th street, and ate fish and chips at a pub. we were so exhausted after driving all night!

saturday - sex and the city tour! we got to sit on carrie's stoop, eat magnolia cupcakes, drink cosmos at scout, and see some of the locations from the show. it was neat to see where the girls hung out and good way to learn a little bit about the city. after the tour, we went to soho and browsed some of the couture shops and made our way to chinatown just in time for everyone to shut down their shops. so then we went to the financial district only to find our subway route wasn't running that day, we eventually made it to ground zero, after dark. went back up to the upper west side, where we stayed, and grabbed some asian cuisine.

sunday - got to times square by 11am, after a yummy bagel at a local deli, to get in line for matinee broadway show tickets. hairspray - sold out, the producers - too expensive. unfortunately we had to go to the off broadway shows and blindly chose Family Secrets. not bad, but not spectacular. before the show we shopped at the world's largest department store - Macy's...my miracle on 34th street! i found some cute tops, pajama pants, and a nice handbag. rachel found a comfy TH robe. the evening was spent cruising the hudson river around the south side of manhattan and getting the lowdown of the city from a true new yorker. i wasn't ready to be done for the night, so i suggested a movie. we saw transamerica at a theater in times square. luckily the subway runs 24/7 so we made it home....late at about 2am!

monday - packed up our stuff and trucked it over 8 blocks to the car and then caught the bus to the guggenheim. unfortunately, the unique architecture of the building was masked by scaffolding on the outside, but we did get to see the spiraling inside. too many sculptures and not enough paintings, but still a neat experience. we decided to head home after the gug. i snapped a few last pictures from the car, the sky was bright blue with fluffy white clouds, looking good next to the high rise buildings. continued to listen to a long way down and tried to stay awake. made it home at 1am - definitely did not want to go to work in the morning. i felt like i needed a day on the beach after visiting the business of the city.

i thought that i wanted to live in new york city, at least to try it for a short period of time. i think i would feel way too lonely there and it seemed very overwhelming to me. i still have respect for the city though and all the different types of people who reside there, it's such a curious place to visit. who knows where home is for me! now i'm back to my regular life in cincinnati.

Wednesday, March 15, 2006

quote

oh, you're so brave in your sandwich

Monday, March 13, 2006

bittersweet

So, Miami is in the NIT and after a little confusion, I find out that we indeed are NOT hosting and the game will be played at Butler. This is bittersweet b/c I will have a lot less work to do to prepare for a home tournament game. But, I will not be able to even go to the game b/c I'm running the music at high school basketball games here (why we couldn't host the NIT), so Go RedHawks! Also, I can officially get excited about our trip to NYC later this week!!! Yay!

Sunday, March 12, 2006

selection sunday

for several years, i've greatly anticipated selection sunday and all the excitement surrounding march madness. this year is unfortunately a little different. i haven't kept up on college basketball all year, so filling out a bracket will prove to be very interesting (still love those upsets though - we've already seen some good ones during championship week)! i also have bittersweet feelings about mu making the nit. if we host, that will throw a lot of work my way in a short amount of time and loss of money already tied into a nyc trip. on the other hand, i still love the redhawks and want them to succeed. so we will await the announcment of the dancing 64 to hear what leftover teams are picked up by the nit.

Saturday, March 11, 2006

first post

in keeping form with most first posts...we'll see how this goes...i apologize in advance for anyone who reads my writing.