A Plea to Ban all White Elephant Christmas Exchanges

Every year I get invited to at least 3-5 parties during the Holidays where I am "required" to bring a gift for any one person that may be attending.  I have a real problem with this because this process is neither thoughtful or fun and is a complete waste of money. Not to mention I usually get stuck with some sort of shitty body spray I can't wear or a candle that smells like my Grandma Faye's attic.  It is NOT possible to find a gift that will suit everyone. I also think about the money that is spent on a bunch of crap that people don't need.  What if instead we took the $20 per gift and put it towards something productive like an Adopt-A-Family or a donation to a charity?

Only once in the last 5-10 years have I attended a party where I walked out with something I was delighted with and that was because the theme was booze.  The only way that I can possibly "win" at this dumb game is to hope I get a high number and steal my own gift back.

This year, I am boycotting this White Elephant with the exception of one (of which I will be demeaned if I don't participate).  Do all of us a favor this year and give the cash to something meaningful.

In the past 10 years these are the items that have made their way to my house -

• A Husker themed snuggie - now used as a blanket for the dogs
• Another white blanket with fur - also a favorite with the dogs
• A calculator the size an 8 x 11.5 piece of paper - donated to the Goodwill
• Multiple body sprays - I can't wear these due to allergies so also donated to the Goodwill
• A case of Pabst Blue Ribbon - took a couple of parties and someone really drunk to finish this off
• A CD of the greatest Boy Band hits - still rocking that CD from time to time

I Still Can't Wear Sweatpants

I haven't blogged in nearly 8 months - Eek.  What happened? 
I quit my job, found work to be engaging, fell into the middle of an acquisition, survived football season and decided to get our plans in order to make the move 50 miles west (buy my house!).  One year ago this week I met with the Hudl Team and decided to leave Corp America behind.  Get me drunk enough and I will start talking football - that is how much fun my new job is. 


What have I learned?

1. You don't have to find your lifelong career right out of college even if the financial promises are there 
2. A flat organization is just as fulfilling as a vertical one.  I spend (far) less of my time lobbying for my next job and more time enjoying my job
3. Surrounding yourself with innovative, competitive yet supportive people is key to employee development 
4. Office politics still exist in small companies 
5. I apparently make the best coffee in the office (or I am the biggest sucker to let this thought go to my head so that there is fresh coffee for the office every day - of which I am entirely ok with)
6. I still can't wear sweatpants to work - I just can't (sidenote - leggings are not sweatpants or in the same clothing family)
7. There is lots of wine to still be consumed and places to be seen in 2012 

Shuttle Service at the Airport

Crutching it in the airport

With a recent injury, I embarked on a whirlwind trip to NYC/NJ with the assistance of crutches. 36 hrs of traveling was painful and eyeopening.  

• The golf cart shuttle looking thing is well worth the enjoyment and novelty. I am seriously thinking about using it the next time I am in a big airport regardless of temporary impairments. I felt like I had first class status around Newark. "Look at me lowly commoners, I have door side service. " And if I ever decide to leave my job, OMA doesn't currently offer such service. I smell a business idea.
• The only people not sympathetic to the crutches were the Continental employees. TSA let me cut in line, cut me a break during security, always asked if I needed assistance. I barely could convince Continental to rebook me on a new flight home same day after a flight cancellation. I got more empathy from a customer service rep on the phone who didn't know anything about my injury. I tweeted @continental for some vindication; however, no retweet. Shocker. 
• There was lots of staring.  I am guessing people felt sorry for me or thought I was completely nuts.  
• I was asked at least six times if it was a skiing injury and they all laughed when I explained it could've had something to do with Vegas. Sobriety and responsible footwear are on this month's life goals list.
• An investment in a backpack is a good idea. I swore them off in college for more stylish choices and I have had an affinity for great bags ever since. Thanks to Greg I sported a Cabela's pack. If you know me at all, Cabela's is not my store. Do they make backpacks with cute argyle patterns?
• Everyone wants to help. While much appreciated, just let me crutch it and get out of the way. If I need help, I know how to ask.  

I survived thanks to a very empathetic and entertaining travel partner who also got to enjoy in the perks.  No way I could've made this trip alone.  Crutches are now gone and I am on to mastering stairs.  Still working on the responsible footwear goal.  

Type A Overdrive

I think it is pretty safe to say that I am a Type A personality most of the time and stress only heightens it.  This week, I got to check something off my New Year's resolutions list: quit my job.  Well my original goal was to find more job satisfaction, but I have a feeling this new opportunity will create quite a bit of that. Check it off the list!

Changing jobs can be stressful and it was starting to eat at me, especially with sleep.  Several times I caught myself sleep walking, sleep talking and waking up in the middle of the night dreaming that I was going to be escorted out by security.  Although, my running schtick is still in full force.  While I don't love it, I love the 8 lbs that have disapeared, although I wouldn't reccomend the "I am neurotic because I am quitting my job" diet.  Thankfully that is just a current fad. 

Here is the gig: http://www.hudl.com/.  Bottom line, I am ecstatic to start. 

Don't You Know This Life Goes On

This week I am further reminded that grief is a process. It seems to sit on your shoulder and when you least expect it, knocking you to the floor. With both Jess and Bob, there was the possibility of paralysis or a traumatic brain injury if either had survived. I often think what life would be like in that scenario. I used to say that it was probably better that they passed because both were such able bodied people and that it would've been particularly difficult to see them go through a recovery. That statement alone is a way to justify the outcome by compartmentalizing the pain in the short term. No one teaches you how to deal with this. I have tried running, sleep aids, vacationing, wine, throwing myself into work, journaling; it just makes the day a little easier yet, it doesn't fully fill the void. Not that I have tried, but I wouldn't recommend any of these remedies at the same time.


My memories with both of them currently stand still in time. I will get older, experiencing life as it comes, while the two of them are forever 21 and 26. On my way to work in the middle of our recent snowstorm, David Gray came up on shuffle. Very fondly, I can recall even what the air felt like that particular night when 5 girls sat on the VIP rooftop deck listening to him sing "This Years Love" live. In addition to the concert, we all laughed about Jess's new collection of mason jars which she had scoured CraigsList for, meeting lots of interesting people all in the name of table decorations for her upcoming wedding. My last memory of Bob, we were in Orlando reflecting back on memories and guessing what our next steps were long after a reception had ended, and then he left me with a hug that is still imprinted on my shoulders. I have tried to take those memories and replace them over the last images I have of the two of them; Jess in the ICU on a respirator and Bob in his favorite suit in a casket. Vivid and somewhat morbid, I know. Perhaps its part of the human experience to sort through shock in order to find clarity, one day at a time.

Course Catalog Circa Post Graduation

Graduation was now 4 years ago.  That in itself is a sad statement.  So while I am reliving my glory days, below is a list of course offerings I wish they would've had available at the Good Old Nebraska U. Maybe there is room in Post Graduate Studies?

How to Manage Your Current Quarter Life Crisis.  I was supposed to graduate, have it all figured out and enjoy a life long career doing something meaningful.  One out of those three is currently happening.  Where is the manual or self help guide for this, and one that doesn't include wine?  Quite possibly, I need to go back to 9th grade and take one of those aptitude tests.

Sharing Your Bank Account.  I would say the most challenging thing upon immediately getting married was maneuvering this one.  Greg asked me to make a budget and after all of the typical expenses (cable, electric, etc.), I had the category "all other."  This consisted of shoes, Starbucks, J Crew and many other necessary expenses and the amount spent was variable each month.  Basically meaning that I spent whatever I wanted so that I didn't overdraft.  The "all other" category was one of those compromises that came with marriage. 

Wait, What Happened to My Tax Return?  Every year I loved April.  It meant about $500-700 extra in the bank account right around the time it was ideal to replenish it after Spring Break. I had a real appreciation for Uncle Sam or let's call it a mutual understanding. Once I landed a real job, I actually had to pay the government and due to a little contracting work on the side, I was audited not once, but twice.  And the IRS means business. They started sending certified letters and Greg even told the mailman that I was actually going to prison for tax evasion (not true).  I am now in good standing with the tax man.

PTO 101.  How do you stretch 10 vacation days over the course of an entire working year?  Granted there are 10-12 paid holidays, but seriously, that is tough.  I shall now ask all of my friends to refrain from having fun out of town weddings and rank in order of importance all of the potential vacations I would like to take.

Business for Dummies.  I have tried to read the business books: Good to Great, Seven Habits, Switch, etc.  The closest thing I can come to is a healthy appreciation for the NY Times mostly because they have a Style section.  I am addicted to the news so through osmosis, I pick up on what is going on.  Unless its less than 10 pages, my interest starts to wander.  

 

Summer is a Verb

For the greater portion of my adult life, I have worked to be one word. Preppy. Not to be confused with “prepster.” I am not into music and eclectic authors, but rather houndstooth, driving moccasins, family crests, Ivy League, etc. Recently my sister told me that my outfit (complete with a tweed jacket, a plaid shirt with ruffles and riding boots) screamed, “I just returned from riding in the Hamptons.” I couldn’t have been more thrilled with the compliment. In honor of all things preppy, I read the revised version of the Preppy Handbook that has been updated for 2010 – True Prep by Lisa Birnbach. It’s basically a bible for all things I aspire to be in life. Below are a few antidotes from this delightful book.

On the “staff” (no longer referred to as the hired help): Your Chef. We used to call her the “cook.” But “chef” sounds so much nicer, and in truth, he or she has apprenticed at some great restaurants in Europe.

Regarding the second home: A second house is not a trophy. It is a guarantee ensuring that you are at ease in the ultimate playground of prepdom, Nature herself. Depending on where your place is, you will learn skills indigineous to your community: sailing, tennis, skiing, golf, antiquing, snowshoeing, squash, sunbathing, and Nordic skiing.

Rules regarding children: Keep them in the dark as long as possible. (When they are little, they don’t need to know that private planes aren’t normal).

The book also outlines a host of other information: the history of loafers, true prep master reading list, appropriate boarding schools, a “how to” on planning a second marriage, etc.

No one likes running

And everyone knows that I suck at anything athletic. So it is safe to say that running and I have a love/hate relationship. I am going to begin this journey with self imposed patience. Along with that comes a sweet workout playlist (thank you Jesus for Girl Talk), new running insoles, and a couple of running "coaches." They will be repaid with wine after May 1. There are also a few of girlfriends who are new at this running thing, joining me. It's also for a great cause. In honor of Jessica Lutton Bedient, we are raising money for a school in Tanzania.

There are 21 weeks until the half. This is going to be delightful.

New Years, New Rules

New Years resolutions have never been my thing or more, keeping them has never worked out. Resolutions in the past have been nothing monumental: lose 10 lbs, work out more often, stop drinking pop, etc. Like the usual trend, those resolutions tend to fall of the wagon. I have been looking forward to 2011. The year of 2010 was not particularly kind to me. It came in like a lamb and went out like a ravaging lion. Professionally I have struggled with the idea of fulfillment and success; both unusually hard for me and my severe case of "over-achieveritis." Personally, I lost a best friend and that was emotionally devastating. I am further reminded that the grieving process is quite sobering and lengthy.

So my resolutions this year

1. Find meaning in my day-to-day work and learn to enjoy it. This is by far the most challenging goal that I have. Progress report on the way.
2. Volunteer more often. I am further reminded that when I do, it's empowering.
3. Bring my lunch to work more and make an effort to cook meals at home. This is purely out of shear laziness and the fact that my husband has actually gone backwards in his cooking skills. Unlike him, I cannot live off homeade nachos, leftovers, and pizza.

My friend that passed away was a very good runner. Her husband is encouraging family and friends to run the Lincoln Half (or Full) Marathon on May 1, 2011 and raise funds to build a school in Tanzania. While I am not too keen on the running idea, I am going to make an effort to be a part of this whether it is the running component or by volunteering at the actual event. I have been told by a number of people who despise running that after the first 6 months, it gets better. This may be a battle of patience and willpower.