Stupid Grad School

I've been meaning to post for awhile. Like, months. But stupid school and work and life keep getting in the way. When I started Seoul Cliche it was a means to an end: communicating with my family and friends and telling the stories of my little Korean adventures. What I didn't expect was that blogging would be a great outlet for me. I have a tendency to let a lot of crap rattle around in my head and putting it on paper (read: the Internet) was a great release and allowed me to clear my head.

I haven't posted in months because, well, I've got too much rattling around in my brain to come up with a cohesive thought. Right now I'm in week five of Business Law and Business Statistics, both topics that are turning my brain into mush. Law has turned out to be a bit more interesting than expected, but statistics has got me swimming. I like the idea of statistics, and of how they are gathered. I like analyzing the results and I like drawing conclusions. But getting there? That's dang near impossible. It's like reading Greek. Actually, it is reading Greek, as most of the formulas are written in Greek. For example, this:
is the formula for the mean of a sample. Really, all it says is that the mean (μ) is the sum of results divided by the number of results. It's an average. Why the hell can't they just say that??? Why do I need a Sigma and a Mu and a bunch of other meaningless characters to determine an average?

Anyway, that is where my brain is at. Other than that, things are going pretty well. I've got some fun projects at work - I'm overseeing the rebuild of our website and the remodeling of our demo room, helping with the planning and marketing of a technology summit, doing some graphic design and learning a lot more about copiers than I ever wanted to know. I managed to waddle to the finish line at the Shamrock Run, made my first attempt at snowboarding, paid off the trip to China (departing 6 weeks from today!) and am working on my sideline business with X.

Rob's been helping me with the yard and we've made some really good progress, I'll add some photos on the ol' Facebook. We've got a long way to go still, especially considering we both have geriatric backs. Hopefully in the next month or so we'll be ready for BBQ season. Yippee!!

Slacker

It's been brought to my attention that I am seriously slacking on the correspondence lately so here is a run-down of the haps. I'm using a few bits of an email I sent to my dad, so sorry for the regurgitation pops.

Work: I've been planning our sales meeting on Tuesday, which entails finding and securing event space for 150 people, coordinating catering and hotel rooms and building powerpoint presentations. My boss frequently like to change the plan which means I spend a good portion of my time chasing my tail and making apologetic phone calls. I'm also building a new website for our sales team which is really fun but also trying because I haven't done it since college and, wouldn't you know it, the whole web thing has really changed. I'm teaching myself CSS and relearning HTML... it's fun though. Oh, and they've started laying people off so I guess I should be thankful, no matter how much time I spend silently crying in my cube.

School: This term has proven to be more challenging than last but I'm still really enjoying it. I had a paper due last week that kept me up past midnight for a week strait but I learned a lot about Facebook. Yes, I got to write a paper about Facebook! This week I will be working on a financial analysis of Target.. turns out I got some pretty wicked math skills from my dad and I'm not too shabby at the accounting stuff, although I am still learning what the results mean - i.e. is it good or bad if the dividend ratio is high? I guess I'll figure that out Saturday when I sit down to write. The first day of my accounting class I was pretty sure I was going to die a slow death from boredom but my instructor has turned out to be a pretty funny guy and does a really good job of explaining the concepts.

Life: Let's see, Sabine passed in December and I'm still struggling with that - not that I cry on a daily basis, but it's weird to come home to an empty house. I've been thinking of getting a new pooch but know it would be better to wait until after my trip to China in June. I've paid for a little over half the trip and am considering investing in Rosetta Stone language tapes so I can be little more prepared than I was in Korea. We will have tour-guides, but its always nice to be able to do basic items.. like find the bathroom.

I was rear-ended by a cargo van on my lunch break a few weeks ago and he did more damage to my neck and back than he did to my car. He claimed he was going about 5 miles an hour but considering he destroyed the steel reinforcement beam on the back of my car I beg to differ. Anyway, I get to go to the chiropractor and get massages three times a week for the next twelve weeks. I've also started seeing a naturopath/ accupuncturist/ hippy doctor and really like her. The irony of the whole injury is that i was on my way to join the gym when I was hit. R and I were planning to run a 5k next month but it looks like I may be walk/jogging it... I'm still down 35 pounds but stalled and need to lose more so I need to up the exercise.

Still seeing the boy, going on 5 months now, which is a record for me. He is still wonderful - can't complain about a man that cooks and occasionally vacuums your house, even if it is might be because your house is so disgusting he can't stand it.

And that's about it. Have a Christmas party to attend tomorrow (our office party was cancelled due to weather) and might go to the closing party at Jerry's, everyone's favorite wine bar. I'm pretty sad that they are closing. Stupid economy.

The Year in Blog

2008 has probably been the most interesting and favorite of the last few years. In January I was honored to be one of the lucky few attendees at Sara Lou & Stew's fabulous Timberline wedding. I'm not sure I had ever had so much fun at a wedding before, and I'm not sure I've ever been so cold in a hot tub! Soon after, in February, I was asked to take a big trip for work and started the long preparation & freak out process. I started blogging, and so did Sabine. Sadly, Sabinedog's blog seems to have been removed from the internet - too bad, because her posts were hella funny!

On March 7th, I departed for my two month adventure in Seoul. Flying to Korea in 1st class was the last easy thing about the trip, but I had a lot of fun and learned many things about the country, the culture, my job and myself. Highlights for March include staying at The Dormy, seeing Jason Mraz, learning about the layoffs at home and drinking Soju with friends.By April I had started to get a little homesick but was still trying to make the best of the trip. I got to see the entire city from Namsan Tower, along with the amazing cherry blossoms. I went shopping in Insadong and had the best night of my trip at Lotte World!

When I landed in California the first thing I did was send a text message to all my friends that said "I love this Country!" Being home had never felt better and I spent most of May enjoying the company of my friends and my dog. I bought my lovely little mac and started making plans to leave my employer.

BeansandNuts was born in July, I hired little Russian men to work on my kitchen, signed up for a great diet program and I attended my second wedding for the year. X and I took a little camping trip to Ft. Stevens State Park with the dogs in August. When I returned, I gave my notice at work and willingly became unemployed for the first time in five years.

The MBA program at Marylhurst seemed like a great fit, so I started classes in September and began making friends. I was down 30 lbs on my diet and I turned 30 years old! Jayna and Eric came to visit for the Miss White Trash Pageant, I attended a pub crawl, and I met the man. I think September might have been my favorite month. After just one (amazing!) month of freedom, I accepted a job in October. I went to see Matt Nathanson with a hot date and attended two more weddings - a small courthouse ceremony and a charming beach wedding that ended at the Sportsman Pub and Grub.

Obama won the election by a surprising (to me) landslide in November and I had an absolute blast with my date for Denim & Diamonds. For Thanksgiving, I traveled to Tucson for my fifth (& Final!) wedding of 2008 and reconnected with some amazing friends that I missed more than I ever realized. December brought the tragic loss of my Sabine but also a great, joy filled White Christmas and the birth of a close friends baby boy. I spent about 7 days strait lying on my butt and playing on the internet because I could not leave the house - the snow was beautiful but I'm glad to be mobile again.

As amazing as 2008 was, I think 2009 is going to be even better. I don't think there will be five weddings this year, but you never know.. in the meantime, I'm looking forward to continuing school, learning to snowboard, spending more time with my friends and my guy, meeting the new babies that have arrived or will be arriving soon, attending the Newport Seafood & Wine Festival and going to China. I hope each of you had a great 08 and have an even better 09!!

XOXO

More of the same

Time keeps going by so quickly -I can't believe 2008 is nearly over! A quick run-down of what I've been up to over the last few weeks:

• I've settled into my job and started making friends at work. It's not the ideal personality fit for me and sometime I want to shake my boss like an infant, but it doesn't make my cry. Usually.

• I had a wonderful trip home to Tucson and reconnected with some great friends. It's incredible when you get together with someone after 8 years and it's as if you were never apart. Tucson is also an incredibly small town disguised by a decent sized population. Everyone is connected somehow and I had a lot of small world moments... some of them more surreal than others.

• I made it through the first term of school. I still have a few non-grey hairs and I've lucked into a few great friends. In fact, I actually enjoyed it so much that I've toyed with the possibility of taking three classes next term. But that's really just insane.

• I had a little health scare - found a lump in my breast which resulted in my first mammogram and an ultrasound. I'm fine, nothing to worry about, but having your boob squished between two sheets of plexiglass certainly isn't what I'd call fun. Ladies ( and lady's men!) - be sure to Feel Your Boobies. It's important.

• I seem to have moved from casual dating to having a boyfriend, which is new for me and totally cool. Sadly, my past relationships have left me with a constant self-doubt that I'll do something to mess it up or that he'll turn out to be a louse. But I'm working on that and learning that nice guys really do exist.

• I went to Best Buy with the intention of picking up some gifts and instead bought a flat panel TV. Yeah, good use of money for a grad student with a crappy paying job, huh? But it really does make the living room seem about 45 times bigger, and I got a good deal. Really, I did! (P.S. Please don't stop sending money Daddy, I promise it's not all going to electronics - that's what credit is for!)

• I got nearly all my Christmas shopping done with nearly 2 weeks to spare - some sort of record for me. Thank you Amazon.com! Now, if only I could get around to sending last years cards. Also, for some reason I've actually started to think good thoughts about Christmas and have even considered buying a tree. WTF? It's as if I've entered some sort of domestication phase. Pretty soon I'll be working on a collection of Nutcrackers or snowmen. Creeeepy.

• I'm making plans to learn how to snowboard this winter (or at least learn to fail miserably at snowboarding) and am starting to think about plans for NYE.

And that's about all that's fit to print. I want to spend some of the Christmas "break" working on the kitchen or on eCards but mostly I plan to relax, which means I will probably be a lump for the next few weeks. But, I've got X's sweet, blind, deaf and incontinent dog for the next few weeks so that'll keep me on my toes. Did I mention that the poor beast has only three teeth left? Poor thing can't even keep his tongue in his mouth... You should see the aftermath of dinner time. Good times.

No More Caffeine!

Seriously. My boss came into my cube this afternoon drinking a diet Pepsi and it looked soooo good that I just had to have one. And so here I am, at midnight, still up and running. Blargh.

But, it was a good day. I got taken out to lunch by one of the sales managers and a rep and had a great time. It's nice to have some social interaction outside of the morgue that I work in. I learned something about the company, the merger, and my boss. And I think I may have made a new friend. This new job is not perfect, but I'm starting to settle in and the rest of my life is going so well that it's just a side issue.

For the few Re-Pubs that read this site, I'm sorry for your loss. But, realize that all change is painful but also necessary for our growth. You've had a good run but things ahven't gone so swimmingly - maybe things won't be as bad as you think. I mean, four years ago I was ready to move to Canade, but here I am still breathing. And you should be proud that you have lived to see the first minority elected to the Presidential office in America. Regardless of your love, hate or apathy for the candidates that's fricking historic and hella cool, so quit whining. Nothing lasts forever and you will survive even this.

So little time

I keep meaning to post but then I get distracted. It's been a good week... here is a little recap, in case you've missed it:

• We completed our team project and received a perfect score on both the paper and the presentation

• I signed up for a two week trip to China. Two of my teammates have signed up as well so I already have friends

• I spent 8 hours catching up on my graphic design freelance projects and can *almost* breathe now

• I designed a 16 page booklet for work, manually printed 400 double sided copies and then had to throw it out due to poor printer quality. I'll be reprinting all day Tuesday but on a (hopefully) better machine

• My awesome mom bought me a plane ticket home so I can go to B's wedding and have Thanksgiving with the folks. I'm also looking forward to meeting little Paiger while I'm there and catching up with old friends

• My dad has been sending me little checks in the mail and I'm so incredibly thankful

• I've been on more than a few successful dates with a lovely man that is not an asshole, which is a totally new thing for me

• The girls and I went to see Disney's High School Musical on Ice, which was a complete disaster, but X let me wear her purple hat that almost made up for it (see below) and there was a yummy Crow Bar salmon plate involved too

• I had happy hour with Steddles, at the Crow Bar, again. I love that place!

• Snowpatrol release a new album and I just downloaded it - squeeeee.

• I'm going to see Matt Nathanson on Sunday so I downloaded that too - I don't want to be the only one that doesn't know the lyrics!

• I lost another 2.5 lbs this week bringing my total up to 30 lbs since June!



And that's about it... I am going to try harder to blog, I'm tired of ya'll pestering me. ;)

Too Awake

I should be sleeping. But I made the unfortunate error of having caffeine tonight and am now jazzed. I haven't had much of the jittery stuff since I started the diet so now I'm losing my mind. All I had was a diet soda but man, I'm wired. I indulged because I figured I'd need it to stay up to pack and prepare for this weekend. My friend L is getting married Saturday, so, tomorrow after work, I'm heading to the coast for two nights. I'm very excited about getting out of town, but also nervous because:

A. It's a beach wedding. In October. In Oregon. I'm going to freeze my ass off.
B. I have a paper due on Monday that is less than 1/2 written
C. I will probably be the only one there without a date. I hate that.
D. Did I mention that I am going to freeze my ass off?

Anyway, a big group of people went in on a house that is in stumbling distance of the beach and the reception. It is bound to be a total blast! I'm taking my laptop so I can do a little work on Saturday morning before the ceremony. Then, I drive home on Sunday to hopefully have lunch with X and her visiting friend J with an H. Sunday night I have a meeting with my classmates to go over our powerpoint presentation for Thursday.

We had to write and present an executive summary on a case study. It's not as bad as it sounds. The article (about layoffs) was actually interesting and it's been one of the smoothest group projects I've been involved in. I'm not sure if it's just dumb luck or if things change in grad school, but I was dreading the team project based on past experience. But for once, I'm not completely stressed out and pissed because I'm doing extra work. Sweet!

Work is going better too. My boss is still a bit scattered and that's rough. I think he has just been doing the job so long that it's all in his head and downloading that to me is difficult... but it's coming along. Once I have a little more ownership of my projects it'll be smooth sailing. I spent most of today designing collateral, so that's not a bad deal.

To top a good week off, I got a check in the mail today from my dad - what an awesome surprise! It's amazing how blessings have a way of showing up right when you least expect them or when you need them. Thanks Daddy!

Pooped

It's been a long, exhausting week and I am ready for a vacation. On Monday I started my new job and, although it got off to the bumpy start, I'm really liking the work. Unfortunately my body decided that Monday was also a good day to catch the plague. By the time I got to class on Monday night I was coughing and feverish and miserable - but I couldn't exactly call in sick to my brand new job. Ugh. I somehow survived the week and hopefully managed to not infect the entire office. Hooray for hand sanitizer!

On Friday I went in late because my brother & new SIL got married at the courthouse (Yay!) and I couldn't miss that. I had to skip the photo shoot and brunch, but at least I was there for the quick ceremony. It was great to see how many people showed up at this fun little event. Friday night was spent having dinner with the family, and Saturday was spent making returns to Ikea and shopping for shoes followed by a great date. This afternoon I did more shopping and had happy hour with a friend visiting from Arizona. All in all a fantastic weekend.

But now I've got two team projects for school, a ridiculous amount of reading, about 15 hours worth of freelance design work to do and no time to do it. I need to start planning my time better... maybe an iPhone would help? Or maybe just an iPod touch... someone's got to spend all that financial aid money, right? Or, I could just stop sleeping and having fun. Nah.

Freedom

My last day was somewhat uneventful. I passed most of my work off earlier in the week so I just had to clean out my computer and pack up my desk. We had a little lunch party with the PA group, which was nice, and I gave everyone one last hug. As I was leaving my cube for the last time Hurricane literally came running over to say goodbye, which made my day.

Miss V helped me get my stuff in the car and gave me my final hug. It wasn't until I got out of the parking lot that I fully lost it and had to pullover to cry. The truth is, no matter how much I've struggled with my job, I absolutely adore my coworkers and it feels a bit like leaving home. I have no doubt that I made the right choice for me, but it still hurts.

So, today is the first day of my unemployment adventure and I'm allowing myself to mourn just a little bit. Starting tomorrow I will be productive and will do things like clean my house and pay the bills or paint my kitchen and make plans for the future. But today, I am still like a vegetable and I'm throughly enjoying doing nothing. Thankfully Law & Order is always on somewhere.

Flowers

I was sitting at my desk eating some lunch when the FTD guy showed up with a beautiful bouquet of flowers. What a lucky girl I am to have such a supportive group friends and family. Thank you Sara & Stew for making my day!

On the job front, I had an interview on Monday with Logitech for a marketing position in their International packaging department. I was super excited about it but during the interview I got the distinct feeling that they were seeking a mid-level professional that would work a lot of overtime but were only willing to pay an entry-level salary. Also, one of the interviewers reminded me of a troll.... short, round and super grumpy. I know that's a mean thing to say but she had a scowl on her face the whole time and I talked down to me like I was five and incapable of grasping basic concepts. Needless to say, I don't think I will be taking that position.

On a strange and ironic note, it's been brought to my attention that -OMITTED- is looking for a part-time temp to do some data entry and odd projects. I'm not sure if it's a long term stint or not but it could work out while I go to school. **edited for content**

Basketcase

I just sent out my "farewell" email and I'm a wreck. I've already cried twice today. Sigh. It's going to be a tough few days.

Meltdown

We had a big offsite today for work called Design Day, where hundreds of designers got together to "get inspired" at the Portland Art Museum. We had a similar event a few years ago that was a lot of fun so I was pretty excited about it. But today... well, today kinda sucked. The entire event was set to take place in the ballroom and basically consisted of watching videos and listening to speakers. There was a lot of amazing work but it was so stagnant and focused on footwear. I felt really disconnected.

I went out for a cup of coffee and a bathroom break, and started a conversation with a few coworkers. Some Nazi came running over and yelled at us about needing to be "engaged" in the activities. Seriously lady? Then, after lunch, we lined up to get our photos taken by this amazing photographer. Our art director was trying to get everyone together for a group shot but we ended up getting cut off right before we reached the front of the line and got yelled at again. Apparently two 1-hour long sessions were all that was alloted for 500 people to get their portraits done. Brilliant.

The idea of a Design Day is a great one but I don't do well with "forced fun" situations and with people being unnecessarily rude. **edited for content** I left early. I'm disappointed that I missed a few things and I feel a bit but the whole situation was just more than I could handle. I also think I ate something my body doesn't like so I'm feeling rather icky.

I'm at home now and it's hotter than Hades. I guess it's supposed to get to 100 degrees tomorrow - I think I need to find an air conditioned cave to hide in.

The deed is done...

8.28.08 is going to be a big day for me. I’m simultaneously thrilled and terrified. But mostly – relieved.

Deep, cleansing breathes.

Why I heart my job

Note the sarcasm, it's dripping out of my pores. For your entertainment here are some highlights from my morning:

Event Invite from coworker #1

Let's get together for a little celebration of August birthdays, AFDB style! (Aluminum Foil Deflector Beanie). To keep our sanity and deter the bad vibes, crazy merchants or aliens that may approach our work areas each day - we thought we could make Aluminum Foil Deflector Beanies! Bring your creative mind and appetite, we will munch on some sheet cake while folding our foils..... http://zapatopi.net/afdb/

Umm, seriously? This was followed by two email updates to the time & place and an email requesting we add our birthdays to a list so that we can plan some more really creative parties! Wheee!

Emails from coworker #2

All items for the following teams/styles are incorrect. Please rebuild 300 files...

I'm paraphrasing, but this has happened 3 times so far today.

Computer Crash - Reboot. Twice.

Email from Boss #1

Anyone have the desire to help out with some Design work? REMEMBER – This needs to be done OUTSIDE of your regular 40/hours PA work time.

Hmm... you want me to do a bunch of extra work that benefits the company, but you don't want to pay me for it? Gee, sign me up!

Email from Boss #2

As originally discussed/agreed for flex Summer Hours, you may be requested to skip a Friday off. Please make yourself available for the 1/2 day of the scavenger hunt (8/15). This is a team building event and it only benefits when the whole team participates.

Sorry, I'm out of town so I can't make it to the "Scavenger Hunt." I'm really bummed I can't spend the morning running around campus looking for easter eggs like last time, I'm sure it'll be a real hoot.

Do not ever...

...check your work email on a perfectly nice Sunday afternoon. It will only make you want to call out sick for the week. Sigh.

Other than that, the weekend has been good. I managed to get a coat of paint on almost all the walls and tore up most of the remaining old flooring. So I just have to do some cutting in and then I'll be moving on to the trim and the fun stuff. It certainly is hard work but it feels great to get a bunch of stuff accomplished.

My goal for this evening is to apply for at least one job, cook some yummy food, clean up my kitchen mess and then catch up on my reality TV. Design Star season finale! Yippee!

It's been six weeks?

It's funny how time flies. I'm sorry it's taken me so long to post and I hope the new name is clever enough for you. I know you are a very choosy audience. Here is a (not very) brief rundown of what's been going on since I got back from Korea.

• I returned to a 2 month backlog of work, even though I told everyone that I would still be working my regular job and to please keep me in the loop. Apparently that translates into "let's save things up for Kate, she'll be so excited to come back to extra work when she returns from 2 months of lying on the beach in beautiful, tropical Seoul, Korea." And, no, I'm not bitter at all. Thanks for asking.
  
  
• A lot of restructuring has been happening around here and I'm not happy about most of it. I can't go into detail because, you know, people have gotten fired for blogging about work before. And I don't want to get fired - it would take away the fun of quitting.
  
  
• I bought a new computer, wacom tablet and digital camera. It's been a long time coming and although handing over that money to Apple nearly made my heart explode it was a great investment and I can write it off as a business expense. I don't know how I survived without my little laptop. It's badass.
  
  
• I took Friday's off for the summer. It was one of the best decisions I've ever made. Now, if only summer would arrive in Portland...
  
  
• I got real motivated and took on a bunch of new projects. I did some logo designs, did another stretch assignment at work, updated my resume & portfolio and started meeting with local design recruiters. I'm determined to be a graphic designer, and hopefully for a company that actually values it's employees. Again, not bitter.
  
  
• I had very little social interaction while overseas, what with that little-tiny language barrier. So, upon my return I was a social butterfly. Nearly every night I was out to dinner or happy hour and had something going on every weekend. It was awesome getting to see all my friends, but I wore myself out a bit.
  
  
• I got hella sick. It started with a cold, which upset the delicate balance of my intestines, leading to a nasty IBS flareup and I ended up having a pretty intense couple of weeks. But, I was able to catch up on all my favorite TV and apply for some jobs.
  
  
• I had a fairly traumatic experience at the Aveda Institute with X. However, once I washed my hair and put some product I looked less like a poodle and learned to love my new hair.
  

So, that's it in a nutshell. I have some exciting plans for the weekend, including some phone calls, wine tasting, a BBQ and a family brunch. I'll try to post more often and keep ya'll updated.