Any minute now I feel like there is going to be a flashback reel replaying the last year of my life. It's been a crazy year and as I celebrate my one year anniversary at work tomorrow, I know even greater things will come with time. I still remember my first day last year. I was scared to death that no one would like me and that I would not be able to do the job. Well, both of those turned out to be completely false. I have some of the greatest friends at work, including my best friend and I've succeeded with flying colors when it came to all of the stuff thrown my way. (Ok, maybe not with flying colors and not without partially losing my mind, but it has definitely been a learning experience!)
So here are some of the highlights of the last year:
- Trying to get my desk and computer up and running with a 50 foot network cable stretched across two rooms because nothing was ready in our office.
- Working out of boxes for the first two months because we didn't have filing cabinets.
- Learning to clothes the month-end books just 11 days after starting at the company and having to call my boss in England because I was stuck.
- The first Parties at the Plaza with the work crowd.
- My first trip to C-town with M last September. We had no clue what we were in for!
- Bowling with J and a few others and throwing my bowling ball behind me rather than down the lane. (I will never forget how hard J was laughing at me for that one!)
- Taking J out for his birthday and him spilling his beer all over M.
- Going to the Bottleneck Blues Bar numerous times with J, C, M and the rest of the crew and dancing our butts off.
- The Party Planning Committee succeeding at throwing the happy hour of the year celebrating J's promotion to Laredo Operations Manager.
- The Christmas party at Cannoli's where I spent much of the evening hob-knobbing with the owner of the company.
- The trip to C-town 3 days before Christmas where M and I had to learn billing and then take over when the "Christmas flu" was going around the office.
- Finding the drive-thru liquor store in C-town and driving around to find the houses of everyone who lived down there before they moved to St. Louis.
- FedExing cookies to Laredo for my bestest buddy.
- Going out with M for New Years and calling C and J at midnight to wish them a happy 2006.
- Spending my birthday dancing the night away with my coworkers at America's Pub and Patrick's.
- Having an "AR meeting" at the Eastern Conference Center with the President of the Company, Director of Operations, Billing and Accounts Payable.
- Going to Kobe Steakhouse of Japan with the President, Owner, Director of Operations & M and catching a flying shrimp in my mouth and also having the owner spit water on me after the president told a very funny joke.
- Watching the Owner play the air guitar when we went out for drinks.
- Getting AR down to 13%.
- Having everyone think M and I are fighting because we're switching desks and she moved to another part of the office for 2 days while her desk is being built. (This was late last week and today and it was hilarious to watch because we're closer than ever...but everyone was worried.)
- Becoming "Carrier of the Year" and finally settling in after a long 11 and 3/4 months!
- And finally, today...packing up my desk and putting everything aside this afternoon so that my new desk can be built in the morning. Tomorrow will start out just like my first day last year!
One final note, I would like to say thanks to Josh for putting up with me over the past year. (Heck...the past 3 years for that matter!) But really, if there was one person who had faith in me from the beginning, it was him. I still remember the day of my interview on July 1st last year and then him coming up that night to spend some time with me. He knew that night that I would get the job and do great things even when I wasn't so sure of myself and I appreciate that tremendously! And no Josh, I'm not moving to Texas anytime soon...you're stuck with me in Missouri!
Ahhh...the memories! Anyway, I'm in for a fun-filled day tomorrow. Besides trying to get my new desk organized, I have to get ready for my weekly meeting tomorrow afternoon and get all of my other Tuesday duties completed. It should be quite the day....and I'm definitely looking forward to coming home tomorrow night and celebrating with a Smirnoff!
Monday, July 17, 2006
Thursday, July 13, 2006
Then vs. Now
Ok, so before I go make my frozen margaritas for the happy hour before the Cardinals game tomorrow night, I have decided to fill out a survey and post it on here rather than email it out. This one is a little different than the ones that have seen in the past and I thought it would be a breeze to fill out, but it was a little harder than I imagined...only because I had a heck of a time thinking back to what I was up to 5 years ago. That seems like so long ago now, especially since so much has changed for me in that amount of time. Here are the results:
5 years ago...
How old were you?: 18
What school year were you in?: I was getting ready to start college
Where did you go to school?: I had just graduated from Hazelwood East and I was getting ready to start McKendree College
Where did you work?: Korte as a part-time accounting clerk
Where did you live?: Highland, IL
Where did you hang out?: mostly at home or at my high school friends' houses before we all went to college
How was your hair style?: shoulder length and light brown
Did you wear braces?: no, that was back in junior high
Did you wear glasses?: yes
Who was your best friend?: my cousin Mary and my mom
Who was your boyfriend?: I was single
Who was your celebrity crush?: Ricky Martin
Who was your regular person crush?: Greg...he was my conversational spanish partner senior year in high school
How many piercings did you have?: my ears double-pierced
How many tattoos did you have?: zero
What was your favorite band?: Journey
What was your worst fear?: not fitting in at college and not graduating within 4 years
Had you smoked a cigarette yet?: no, smoking is not for me
Had you gotten drunk yet?: no, I didn't really drink then
Had you driven yet?: yes, I had been driving for two years
Had you had sex yet?: no, I had always planned to wait until marriage
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HA HA HA!!! LETS SEE WHERE I AM NOW!!!!!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
How old are you? 23
What school year are you in?: I am happy to say I'm finished!
Where do you go to school?: in the real world...that's a school within itself
Where do you work?: at a transportation company in St. Louis, MO...I'm the Accountant
Where do you live?: Hazelwood, MO
Where do you hang out?: Sybergs, Bottleneck Blues Bar, Trainwreck, M's house
How is your hair style?: long with blonde highlights
Do you wear glasses?: I wear my contact more, but yes.
Who is your best friend?: M and my mom
Who is your boyfriend?: Josh
Who is your celebrity crush?: Kenny Chesney
Who is your regular person crush?: J in Laredo...he's a great friend and I love his Arkansas accent.
How many tattoos do you have?: zero and it is staying that way
How many piercings do you have?: my ears are still double-pierced
What is your favorite band?: Shinedown
What is your biggest fear?: failing at life or my job & letting down my family and friends
Have you driven yet?: yes, for nearly 8 years
Have you smoked a cigarette yet?: no, and I'm not planning on ever smoking one
Have you gotten drunk yet?: throwing up drunk no, but I have been quite buzzed a few times
Have you had sex yet?: yes, my attitude on sex before marriage changed a little
So there we go. Now I'm off to make my margaritas. Four of us from work are going to the Cardinals game tomorrow night and we thought we'd throw a little tailgate party. It is going to be a blast and I'm sure I will have a few stories to post. The seats we have for the game are awesome too since they are company ones. Hopefully the Cards can pull off a win or I'll even settle for seeing Pujols hit a homer!
5 years ago...
How old were you?: 18
What school year were you in?: I was getting ready to start college
Where did you go to school?: I had just graduated from Hazelwood East and I was getting ready to start McKendree College
Where did you work?: Korte as a part-time accounting clerk
Where did you live?: Highland, IL
Where did you hang out?: mostly at home or at my high school friends' houses before we all went to college
How was your hair style?: shoulder length and light brown
Did you wear braces?: no, that was back in junior high
Did you wear glasses?: yes
Who was your best friend?: my cousin Mary and my mom
Who was your boyfriend?: I was single
Who was your celebrity crush?: Ricky Martin
Who was your regular person crush?: Greg...he was my conversational spanish partner senior year in high school
How many piercings did you have?: my ears double-pierced
How many tattoos did you have?: zero
What was your favorite band?: Journey
What was your worst fear?: not fitting in at college and not graduating within 4 years
Had you smoked a cigarette yet?: no, smoking is not for me
Had you gotten drunk yet?: no, I didn't really drink then
Had you driven yet?: yes, I had been driving for two years
Had you had sex yet?: no, I had always planned to wait until marriage
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HA HA HA!!! LETS SEE WHERE I AM NOW!!!!!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
How old are you? 23
What school year are you in?: I am happy to say I'm finished!
Where do you go to school?: in the real world...that's a school within itself
Where do you work?: at a transportation company in St. Louis, MO...I'm the Accountant
Where do you live?: Hazelwood, MO
Where do you hang out?: Sybergs, Bottleneck Blues Bar, Trainwreck, M's house
How is your hair style?: long with blonde highlights
Do you wear glasses?: I wear my contact more, but yes.
Who is your best friend?: M and my mom
Who is your boyfriend?: Josh
Who is your celebrity crush?: Kenny Chesney
Who is your regular person crush?: J in Laredo...he's a great friend and I love his Arkansas accent.
How many tattoos do you have?: zero and it is staying that way
How many piercings do you have?: my ears are still double-pierced
What is your favorite band?: Shinedown
What is your biggest fear?: failing at life or my job & letting down my family and friends
Have you driven yet?: yes, for nearly 8 years
Have you smoked a cigarette yet?: no, and I'm not planning on ever smoking one
Have you gotten drunk yet?: throwing up drunk no, but I have been quite buzzed a few times
Have you had sex yet?: yes, my attitude on sex before marriage changed a little
So there we go. Now I'm off to make my margaritas. Four of us from work are going to the Cardinals game tomorrow night and we thought we'd throw a little tailgate party. It is going to be a blast and I'm sure I will have a few stories to post. The seats we have for the game are awesome too since they are company ones. Hopefully the Cards can pull off a win or I'll even settle for seeing Pujols hit a homer!
Friday, July 07, 2006
Burning Bright
For some reason I feel like posting and I really don't have a whole lot to say. The week has gone by and I haven't done anything besides work and come home every night to an empty apartment. Tonight we went out for drinks at Casa after work, but that only lasted about 2 hours and now I'm back home. That's for the best though because Nicole is spending the rest of the weekend with me and I don't need to be hungover for her visit. Plus, I'm really looking forward to shopping and swimming and spending time with her.
In my spare time I've been listening to a lot of music. Ok, not really, I've listened to the same CDs over and over again and I'm absolutely loving the 2 Shinedown CDs I have. J got me hooked on them before he left for Laredo and I must say his taste in music is superb. Well, I actually started listening to all of the words I've been belting out lately and for some strange reason I'm stuck on "Burning Bright." I think the song is a good representation of me and some of the stuff I've gone through in the past 7 or 8 months. I'm sure there are only 2 people right now who understand why this fits me so well. Who knows -- it might only be one.
In any case, I've decided to post the lyrics. Usually I'm not the type of person to do something like that, but considering I think this song describes me to a tee, I thought I'd let everyone in a little bit. If you don't know how exactly this applies to me, that's ok....I'm not expecting you to, but I just thought I'd let others in on how I currently see things.
So, here we go:
"Burning Bright"
I feel like there is no need for conversation
Some questions are better left without a reason
And I would rather reveal myself than my situation
Now and then I consider, my hesitation
The more the light shines through me
I pretend to close my eyes
The more the dark consumes me
I pretend I'm burning, burning bright
I wonder if the things I did were just to be different
To spare myself of the constant shame of my existence
And I would surely redeem myself in my desperation
Here and now I'll express, my situation
There's nothing ever wrong but nothing's ever right
Such a cruel contradiction
I know I cross the lines its not easy to define
I'm born to indecision
There's always something new some path I'm supposed to choose
With no particular rhyme or reason
I'm sure that when the guys of Shinedown wrote this song, they weren't thinking of me and the meaning I got from it, but I bet if I went back and explained myself to my friends it would make a lot more sense. However, I'm not going to take the time to explain all that. Don't worry...I'm not emo or anything like that. In fact, if you don't know who Shinedown is, they're good ol' Southern Rock. They've got the strong voices that make me quiver when I hear their songs, especially the acoustic versions.
Anyway, if you have any questions regarding any of this, feel free to send them my way. But, I feel so much better just to get this out a little bit....even if everyone else is lost.
Hope everyone has a great weekend! I'm going to relax before my fun-filled weekend starts tomorrow morning!
In my spare time I've been listening to a lot of music. Ok, not really, I've listened to the same CDs over and over again and I'm absolutely loving the 2 Shinedown CDs I have. J got me hooked on them before he left for Laredo and I must say his taste in music is superb. Well, I actually started listening to all of the words I've been belting out lately and for some strange reason I'm stuck on "Burning Bright." I think the song is a good representation of me and some of the stuff I've gone through in the past 7 or 8 months. I'm sure there are only 2 people right now who understand why this fits me so well. Who knows -- it might only be one.
In any case, I've decided to post the lyrics. Usually I'm not the type of person to do something like that, but considering I think this song describes me to a tee, I thought I'd let everyone in a little bit. If you don't know how exactly this applies to me, that's ok....I'm not expecting you to, but I just thought I'd let others in on how I currently see things.
So, here we go:
"Burning Bright"
I feel like there is no need for conversation
Some questions are better left without a reason
And I would rather reveal myself than my situation
Now and then I consider, my hesitation
The more the light shines through me
I pretend to close my eyes
The more the dark consumes me
I pretend I'm burning, burning bright
I wonder if the things I did were just to be different
To spare myself of the constant shame of my existence
And I would surely redeem myself in my desperation
Here and now I'll express, my situation
There's nothing ever wrong but nothing's ever right
Such a cruel contradiction
I know I cross the lines its not easy to define
I'm born to indecision
There's always something new some path I'm supposed to choose
With no particular rhyme or reason
I'm sure that when the guys of Shinedown wrote this song, they weren't thinking of me and the meaning I got from it, but I bet if I went back and explained myself to my friends it would make a lot more sense. However, I'm not going to take the time to explain all that. Don't worry...I'm not emo or anything like that. In fact, if you don't know who Shinedown is, they're good ol' Southern Rock. They've got the strong voices that make me quiver when I hear their songs, especially the acoustic versions.
Anyway, if you have any questions regarding any of this, feel free to send them my way. But, I feel so much better just to get this out a little bit....even if everyone else is lost.
Hope everyone has a great weekend! I'm going to relax before my fun-filled weekend starts tomorrow morning!
Tuesday, July 04, 2006
Independence Day
Happy 4th of July! While most people take this as a day off to relax and sleep in, I was up at 7 am. So much for taking it easy!
Anyway, good thing I'm up because there is a lot to report on and this is the first chance I've gotten to update. Last week went by in a blur, I was busy the entire week and finally when I got home last night I just sat there and vegged out on my couch for the night. I had dinner with Shell to start the week last week. I got off of work at 5 and high-tailed it home to change clothes and drive back to the neighborhood I grew up in. Usually it doesn't take that long to get there from where I live considering it is only like 12 miles away but with traffic on the highway it took me over 45 minutes to get to her house. It was nice to be able to catch up with her, especially since we've been friends since first grade and I haven't been the greatest at keeping in contact with people I grew up with. When I graduated from high school, I always thought I would keep in touch with that close-knit group of friends and now 5 years after graduating, I barely keep in touch with one of them. But, I will say I had a lot of fun hanging out with Shell and we both decided we'll have to make this a regular thing.
Last Wednesday, I drove back over to my Grandma's in that same exact neighborhood and had dinner with her, my step-dad and a friend of my Grandma's. Traffic that day was even worse and all of the highways were closed due to the President being in town for a fundraiser. By the time I made it to my Grandma's I had sat in traffic for about an hour and a half and I was a little peeved when I did finally make it to her house and in my personal opinion, Sen. Talent made a big mistake by inviting the President. He's definitely lost my vote, and not because I dislike Bush (don't get me wrong though, I don't think he's the greatest) but because they shut down the highways at rush hour and that's just wrong!!! But, dinner ended up being a lot of fun. My Grandma's friend actually works for another local trucking company as a fleet manager so I spent most of the night talking trucking with him. I think he was impressed that I knew so much for being so young and only working at a transportation company for 11 months. I actually impressed myself too...I have learned a lot in that amount of time!
Thursday and Friday, Tom was in town so Joe, Lindsay, Tom and myself went out after I got off of work. Thursday we went to Fast Eddie's and then to play pool and then Friday we went to Hooter's at Westport. I wasn't much fun to hang out with though, I was worn out and I probably seemed out of it both nights, but that's what you get from me when it's the end of the month and I've got a million other things on my mind and I'm working a ton of extra hours. Friday night I had month end and nothing went as scheduled and that didn't help and as a result, I had to go into work on Saturday morning to see if I could fix the mess. So Saturday, I got up and got ready for work and went to breakfast with Tom before he set out for Oklahoma and then worked a few hours fixing nothing, but at least getting started on everything needed for July.
Saturday night ended up being a complete blast! M was having a graduation party for her daughter who recently graduated from high school and the work crowd was invited along with all of her kids friends, both sides of the family and other friends. I came a little early to help M get some things set because I knew she would be stressing a little as it came down to the wire. Well, I ended up not leaving until like 3 in the morning! All of the 20 somethings that were there ended up causing a few problems and I was trying to talk some sense into them. Imagine that...me -- another 20 something trying to talk sense into others! Actually most of the time I was there I was with the older crowd because I know most of them from work or they are friends of M's that I have gone out with before so I felt more comfortable with them. The President of the company I work for ended up coming and I got to talk to him for quite awhile which was a great relief to me. Actually, he pulled me aside and talked to me about work for a bit also and come to find out he is extremely pleased with what I have done so far. It was a big help for me to hear everything from him because I think I'm doing a decent job, but until you hear it from the President of the company, you never know if it is true or not. We also talked about how my year anniversary is coming up and that I will have my annual review with him around the 18th of July and he assured me that I have nothing to worry about. I know I have some improvements to make and I'm always looking to move forward and I think he realizes that too. Overall it was a great night!
Sunday I headed over to my mom's to do laundry and for BBQ. And because I was up so late the night before I ended up napping most of the day in between switching laundry loads. Not sleeping a lot during the week definitely caught up with me! But it did help me feel refreshed for work yesterday and it ended up being a great day. The next few weeks are going to be slower for us operationally but that should help the administrative side get caught up with our backlog and by the time we get through this little slump (it's a yearly slump due to the automotive industry taking a two week hiatus to change over the plants). Although from what I heard we shouldn't be nearly as slow as last year because we have found quite a few logistics companies that need our help moving the loads that they broker out.
As for the rest of the week, it should be fairly smooth. Tomorrow is M's one year anniversary at work and I have something up my sleeve for that and I have an AR meeting with my buddy C. Friday we're going to try to go out after work. It's been quite a few weeks since we've gone out after work and I'm having dancing withdrawals so I think we're going to go up to the Bottleneck Blues bar.
And finally, I'm looking forward to Saturday. My aunt called me last weekend and asked if my 9 year cousin could come spend the night at my apartment this weekend and of course I agreed. My cousin is the absolute cutest and considering I lived with her for nearly two years and she's like a little sister to me I love getting to spend time with her. I'm sure it will be a jam-packed Saturday and Sunday for us but I know it will be fun!
Anyway, good thing I'm up because there is a lot to report on and this is the first chance I've gotten to update. Last week went by in a blur, I was busy the entire week and finally when I got home last night I just sat there and vegged out on my couch for the night. I had dinner with Shell to start the week last week. I got off of work at 5 and high-tailed it home to change clothes and drive back to the neighborhood I grew up in. Usually it doesn't take that long to get there from where I live considering it is only like 12 miles away but with traffic on the highway it took me over 45 minutes to get to her house. It was nice to be able to catch up with her, especially since we've been friends since first grade and I haven't been the greatest at keeping in contact with people I grew up with. When I graduated from high school, I always thought I would keep in touch with that close-knit group of friends and now 5 years after graduating, I barely keep in touch with one of them. But, I will say I had a lot of fun hanging out with Shell and we both decided we'll have to make this a regular thing.
Last Wednesday, I drove back over to my Grandma's in that same exact neighborhood and had dinner with her, my step-dad and a friend of my Grandma's. Traffic that day was even worse and all of the highways were closed due to the President being in town for a fundraiser. By the time I made it to my Grandma's I had sat in traffic for about an hour and a half and I was a little peeved when I did finally make it to her house and in my personal opinion, Sen. Talent made a big mistake by inviting the President. He's definitely lost my vote, and not because I dislike Bush (don't get me wrong though, I don't think he's the greatest) but because they shut down the highways at rush hour and that's just wrong!!! But, dinner ended up being a lot of fun. My Grandma's friend actually works for another local trucking company as a fleet manager so I spent most of the night talking trucking with him. I think he was impressed that I knew so much for being so young and only working at a transportation company for 11 months. I actually impressed myself too...I have learned a lot in that amount of time!
Thursday and Friday, Tom was in town so Joe, Lindsay, Tom and myself went out after I got off of work. Thursday we went to Fast Eddie's and then to play pool and then Friday we went to Hooter's at Westport. I wasn't much fun to hang out with though, I was worn out and I probably seemed out of it both nights, but that's what you get from me when it's the end of the month and I've got a million other things on my mind and I'm working a ton of extra hours. Friday night I had month end and nothing went as scheduled and that didn't help and as a result, I had to go into work on Saturday morning to see if I could fix the mess. So Saturday, I got up and got ready for work and went to breakfast with Tom before he set out for Oklahoma and then worked a few hours fixing nothing, but at least getting started on everything needed for July.
Saturday night ended up being a complete blast! M was having a graduation party for her daughter who recently graduated from high school and the work crowd was invited along with all of her kids friends, both sides of the family and other friends. I came a little early to help M get some things set because I knew she would be stressing a little as it came down to the wire. Well, I ended up not leaving until like 3 in the morning! All of the 20 somethings that were there ended up causing a few problems and I was trying to talk some sense into them. Imagine that...me -- another 20 something trying to talk sense into others! Actually most of the time I was there I was with the older crowd because I know most of them from work or they are friends of M's that I have gone out with before so I felt more comfortable with them. The President of the company I work for ended up coming and I got to talk to him for quite awhile which was a great relief to me. Actually, he pulled me aside and talked to me about work for a bit also and come to find out he is extremely pleased with what I have done so far. It was a big help for me to hear everything from him because I think I'm doing a decent job, but until you hear it from the President of the company, you never know if it is true or not. We also talked about how my year anniversary is coming up and that I will have my annual review with him around the 18th of July and he assured me that I have nothing to worry about. I know I have some improvements to make and I'm always looking to move forward and I think he realizes that too. Overall it was a great night!
Sunday I headed over to my mom's to do laundry and for BBQ. And because I was up so late the night before I ended up napping most of the day in between switching laundry loads. Not sleeping a lot during the week definitely caught up with me! But it did help me feel refreshed for work yesterday and it ended up being a great day. The next few weeks are going to be slower for us operationally but that should help the administrative side get caught up with our backlog and by the time we get through this little slump (it's a yearly slump due to the automotive industry taking a two week hiatus to change over the plants). Although from what I heard we shouldn't be nearly as slow as last year because we have found quite a few logistics companies that need our help moving the loads that they broker out.
As for the rest of the week, it should be fairly smooth. Tomorrow is M's one year anniversary at work and I have something up my sleeve for that and I have an AR meeting with my buddy C. Friday we're going to try to go out after work. It's been quite a few weeks since we've gone out after work and I'm having dancing withdrawals so I think we're going to go up to the Bottleneck Blues bar.
And finally, I'm looking forward to Saturday. My aunt called me last weekend and asked if my 9 year cousin could come spend the night at my apartment this weekend and of course I agreed. My cousin is the absolute cutest and considering I lived with her for nearly two years and she's like a little sister to me I love getting to spend time with her. I'm sure it will be a jam-packed Saturday and Sunday for us but I know it will be fun!
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