look out, New York!

I'm Feeling: soooo stinking tired!
Background Noise: co-workers calling "good morning"

So tomorrow, bright and early, Mark and I head to Detroit to catch a plane to go to New York City to watch the US OPEN!! (I used the word "to"5 times in one sentence... sweet.)

My mom, dad, sister, brother, and sister-in-law will all head there sometime today, and we'll catch up with them tomorrow morning. We get to watch fabulous tennis, stay in Manhattan, eat really expensive food, and celebrate my brother's and sister's birthdays. Hooray!!

I'm really excited to go, although I haven't thought about it as much as you'd expect - the crazy new job is keeping me very pre-occupied lately. In a good way, I guess, but I'll be happy to spend a weekend with my family and focusing on something VERY different from work.

So, I wish you an early Happy Labor Day Weekend - spend some time enjoying your company, and make sure you relax a little bit!!

reinforcement

I'm Feeling: encouraged (and also a little sleepy)
Background Noise: a very busy office

I've been doing some work-related research - looking at career options for business majors, trying to figure out what information I need to best help students... and I stumbled across the Keirsey Temperament Sorter - which is a personality test based on the Myers-Briggs typology. I'm a sucker for personality tests - and I have a kind of unusual personality, in that I'm almost 50/50 in a lot of areas - I can be really introverted and also very social, I'm very logical and process oriented but also highly empathetic... it's weird. So it's fun to retake tests, because on any given day, I'll end up "sorted" into a completely different personality than the day before.

However - today, I'm feeling good about myself because of what I saw when I finished my test:
Idealists, as a temperament, are passionately concerned with personal growth and development. Idealists strive to discover who they are and how they can become their best possible self -- always this quest for self-knowledge and self-improvement drives their imagination. And they want to help others make the journey. Idealists are naturally drawn to working with people, and whether in education or counseling, in social services or personnel work, in journalism or the ministry, they are gifted at helping others find their way in life, often inspiring them to grow as individuals and to fulfill their potentials.

Weird - it sounds like my job!! It's kinda cool to think that I'm well-matched for my professional life - it's encouraging when you feel ineffective or intimidated. The gifts God entrusted to me are being used - and that's comforting.

What personality are you?

time flies

I'm Feeling: mildly irked that pictures won't upload into Blogger today
Background Noise: Feels Like Rain by Josh Schicker

Time is zipping right by lately - the school year was ending before I knew it, suddenly it was the 4th of July, then August and back-to-school rolled around... now, with the new job, things are moving at hyper-warp-speed like never before. In some ways, it's really good = time at work goes very quickly (translation: I'm NOT bored). In some ways, it's kind of a bummer = laundry didn't quite get done this weekend, and I keep playing phone tag with people.

Anyway - I'm liking the new job, although it's been crazy and busy lately - I think it will fit me well and the people seem great (we just need to have the time to actually talk to each other once in awhile).

I had lunch with Julie and Courtney on Friday, and lunch with Jane and Jen today - it's good to sit with people who know you and simply laugh about silly things. Very little pressure or expectation... and once again - the time flies right by!!

ghetto thugs?

I'm Feeling: worn out
Background Noise: I Take My Chances by Mary Chapin Carpenter

These are my ghetto-thug girlfriends from WyldLife (translation: funny white girls from Mason pretending to be tough at camp). It's a fun picture.

I've become one of those people who only knows how to post about work. I'm gonna try to not mention it today.

Had a big weekend: spent time up at TimberWolf Lake (our home away from home), had a big picnic dinner with our Mason WyldLife and YoungLife friends, and last night had a back-to-school type meeting with some leaders for YoungLife. It's good to be back into the swing of the school year, but I'm having some of those "Oh my, my calendar is SO FULL" moments lately. It'll all work out, this too shall pass... but for right now, I'm feeling kinda buried in things.

Probably running some errands tonight - and I think tomorrow evening, I actually get to hang out with my husband, who I haven't been alone with in over a week, I think. That'll be nice.

who? what? huh??

I'm Feeling: overwhelmed
Background Noise: hustle-y bustle-y office sounds

I'm betting that my blogging will fall off here for awhile - this new job thing is busier than I remember... I didn't take a lunch hour today, and I haven't stopped "going" since I walked in at 7:50 this morning. Phew!

So far, it's excellent - I really like the people and the work (I think - doesn't feel like I've been working much... just showing up at work), and it's good to be busy with things I'm good at and enjoy. I'm trying to not be my usual self and look too far into the future and get all stressed out. Stay calm, Kate... calm. :)

I'll try to not slip too far behind - I know there are one or two people who check my blog... don't want to disappoint the faithful followers.

Love!

what - no pictures??

I'm Feeling: perplexed
Background Noise: True by Ryan Cabrera

So I can't get my computer to upload pictures... going to have to tackle that one next week, methinks.

New Job Observations:
1. I'm in that weird busy-but-not-busy mode you hit in a new position - lots to learn, but not much to DO yet, since you don't really know HOW to do anything.
2. People are very friendly - I'm learning who likes to pretend to be cranky, and who actually IS cranky (just kidding - so far, I think it's just pretending)
3. My office needs a little personalizing, but I really like it.
4. My feet hurt (I'm wearing real work shoes, instead of my usual summertime flip-flops... gotta make a good impression).
5. I'm excited about all the new things I'll get to do - I think I'll be a lot busier here than in PoliSci - which is good (but I'm nervous that I may have gotten lazy...)

Big weekend - pretty much as soon as I get home from work, we turn around and head to TimberWolf Lake - a place I love - to spend the weekend serving for a family-reunion event there. It should be awesome - I just hope that I can turn off work-brain and enjoy the moments.

Have a great weekend - what are you up to??

quick like a cat

It's been a whirlwind couple of days - I'm at my new desk, in my new office, at my new job. Very cool. I'll try to post tomorrow, then I'm gone for a long weekend - an excellent distraction from the professional - hullaballoo (is there such a thing?) I've been going through the past couple weeks.

Adios!!

bugs and chairs.

I'm Feeling: whelmed (not over or under... just whelmed)
Background Noise: gentle hum of a moderately functional AC unit

Tomorrow is my last day in the Department of Political Science - and I finally got a new desk chair. No, it's not quite like the one in the picture - but it's pretty, it reclines, rolls smoothly, and the fabric hasn't worn out anywhere yet. I'd be bummed, except that it makes a semi-obnoxious squeaky sound whenever you move. So that makes me feel better about leaving it behind... isn't that awfully grown-up and mature of me?

In other news, I have four mosquito bites on my ankles that are driving me absolutely bonkers.

mmmm...

I'm Feeling: full of tasty lunch
Background Noise: She by Elvis Costello

One of my favorite little places to eat in East Lansing is Flat's Grill. They are the home of the "flat sandwich" - which really means that you've got all kinds of sandwiches offered quesadilla-style - tortilla folded in half, with lots of yummy cheese. I just had lunch there - my sandwich, plus chips & salsa and cornbread, and I'm a very happy girl. It's one of those local places that's distinctly East Lansing - gotta love the home-grown goods.

Hooray for Fridays, also... although I'm not quite sure what I'll do with myself tonight. Mark is going to Detroit to a Lions game with his dad and brother. Brooks (our housemate for the year) is on vacation. The night is mine... I just have to decide what to do with it. Any suggestions?

when you're not strong...

This is what we did on the ride home from camp.

It was amazing. :D

healthy eating

I'm Feeling: like curling up with a good book
Background Noise: Down in the River to Pray by Alison Krauss

Last night, Mark and I went to our friend Jacob's 14th birthday party. He has a beautiful, huge, in-ground pool with a diving board, a chocolate lab named Max, a pet turtle named Alabama (Big Al), and there were Cheetos, burgers, hot dogs and ice cream sundaes.

I must say - the delights of birthday parties do not diminish with age. I had a blast playing in the pool with my teenage friends, and I ate a burger, a hot dog AND my whole sundae (on which I put every available topping, including 2 cherries). I even got a treat bag to take home with me. It was a fabulous way to spend Tuesday night, especially with all the things going on with work these days.

don't leave, all the plants will die!!

I'm Feeling: a little emotionally worn out about leave-ing (get it? LEAVES... I know, I'm reaching...)
Background Noise: It Doesn't Matter Anymore by Eva Cassidy

I've embarked upon the journey (entirely new to me) of quitting a full-time, professional position. It is so much harder than I thought it would be. Of course, it's big news, so everyone wants to talk about it. Some people are excited for me, some are disappointed that I'm leaving, some are hard to read, some are stand-offish. Mostly, it's nice that people care - but I never really realized how hard it would be to leave a job I've worked hard at, co-workers I've come to respect and care about, and students I've gotten to know and enjoy over the past two years.

Enough brooding. Suzanne put this in her blog, and I thought it would make a nice distraction for me.

The first player of this game starts with "5 weird things/habits about yourself". In the end you need to choose 5 people to be tagged and list their names. The people who get tagged need to write a blog about their 5 weird things/habits, as well as state this rule clearly, then tag 5 more victims. Don't forget to leave your victim a comment that says "you're tagged!" in their comments and tell them to read your blog.

1. I separate all my silverware in the dishwasher. This makes putting them away SO much easier, it's not even funny. And, I have to have them all pointed up - except for sharp knives, obviously.

2. I don't care which way the toilet paper comes off the roll - I've realized human beings CAN adapt to either setting.

3. I (like Suzanne) make spreadsheets for fun. If I get a chance to use a couple of formulas and do some color-coding... even better.

4. I love to be organized, but when things get out of hand, I tend to like to cover them up and ignore them. Clean folded laundry that needs to be put away will stack up... the dishwasher will remain full of clean dishes, my flower beds become overgrown with weeds the size of a small child... It's not a great strategy, I'll admit.

5. I've become one of those people who won't leave the house without mascara on. I don't wear much makeup, but I've convinced myself I look like Frankenstein if my hair isn't washed and my eyelashes aren't coated with some sort of colored goo.  

my life is good

I'm Feeling: blessed, nauseated, calm, nervous and eager all at once (it's busy over here!)
Background Noise: none because my computer is being cranky

What an amazing week!! I got to spend 5 days with 14 absolutely hilarious, sweet, silly, and genuine middle school girls (some pictured on the left) at camp - we got wet and messy, stayed up til 2:30am braiding each other's hair, laughed a lot, went tubing, mountain biking, rock climbing, conquered the ropes course, screamed and sang and prayed and learned about Jesus. You can't ask for a better time. I could blog for weeks telling you silly stories - so if you want to hear some, just ask.

Also - Monday, right before we left for camp, I was offered a new position - working for the College of Business at MSU - and I accepted!! I'll be advising, teaching a freshman seminar on leadership, and helping to coordinate the C o B's new residential program for freshman. I'm super excited about the new job, and simultaneously feeling like puking because of quitting my current job and all the weird, random loose ends I have to tie up here. It's a really, really good move for me, but it's still hard to leave my current position. I pray that the next few weeks pass by quickly.

The job thing helps with my roller-coaster emotions - that was one of the big things that was up in the air that I couldn't control. Camp is always fabulous, because you get to forget about regular life for a week and just laugh and eat and praise God. Thanks for all your faithful prayers - hopefully I have lots of good stories to post soon!!

whirlwind, anyone?

I'm Feeling: the calm before the proverbial storm!
Background Noise: I Heard It Through the Grapevine by Marvin Gaye

Busy week/weekend - here is a quick run-down:
Thursday:
Cedar Point! We dodged the rain almost the entire time (thanks, God!) and rode the Raptor twice, the Magnum, the Millenium Force twice, a couple of really wet water rides, the Gemini, the Twister, Distaster Transport twice, and Top Thrill Dragster (pictured). I have never screamed in such genuine fear as I did on that ride. It was fun, but it's more than mildly terrifying to go from 0 to 120 mph in 4 seconds, and be shot up 400 feet in the air, only to plummet back down. The plummeting is my favorite part, by far.

Friday:
Job interview (no news yet, I'll keep you posted)
Sleepover with 5 middle school friends - Nat, Courtney, Huntar, Maria and Christy. We had chocolate fondue, set up a bracket for Connect Four (look out - we know how to party!) and ate cookie dough while watching Harry Potter. My life is pretty good.

Saturday:
Cleaned up from the tornado that swept my house the night before
Dinner and church with Chris and Mark
Dairy Hill for ice cream (yum!)
watched a movie

Sunday:
spent our life savings at Meijer (we should buy stock)
planted flowers/plants and pulled weeds
cleaned the house so as to impress our new friends Dan and Suzanne
had dinner with Dan and Suzanne - again, lots of fun, laughing, getting to know each other a little better. They're fun, and their kid is fun. What else could you ask for?

Today:
Catching up on emails/voicemails, seeing some students before I leave for...

Tomorrow:
WyldLife camp at TimberWolf Lake! Seriously fun - but I need to pack and get my act together before tomorrow morning!!

confessions of a mid-twenties wacko

I'm Feeling: like a hungry monster lives in my belly
Background Noise: Beautiful by Bethany Dillon

I have a confession to make. (sidenote: blogging is really good for stuff like this - it doesn't seem like you're talking to anyone, so you can say whatever you like, but at the same time, you know you're spilling your guts about necessary things. Sidenote finished).

My confession: I've been really emotional/mood-swingy lately. Not a clue why. Everyone's first response: "Are you pregnant?" Nope. Second response: "Are you PMS-ing?" Not for two weeks straight, unless my body is reacting to some sort of radiation that has exposed me to unheard-of hormone levels. Third response: "Are you exercising regularly?" Not exactly, but then, I never really have, so there's no reason why my body should suddenly decide to freak out about it.

I'm a person who likes being busy, I like having lots of things to do... but I also like to have some measure of control over those things. Right now in my life - there are a few things that seem so far beyond my control - things that need to be decided, things that need to change, things that I've been dealing with for a long time that don't ever seem to resolve themselves... I've psycho-analyzed myself and decided that this combination is why I've become an emotional pod-person.

In summary - please offer up some prayers for me - I need peace, I need to turn things over to God's sovereign hands, and I need patience as some things will only work themselves out with time. And Mark needs prayer too, because he has to live with me through all this.

If we hang out in the near future, and I (out-of-the-blue) get all weird and teary-eyed and quiet... just wait a few minutes, try to make me laugh, and know that it has nothing to do with you.

(p.s. the picture is of an ancient confessional - where you pour out your guts to the priest... not some scary haunted jail or something, which is what I think it kinda looks like...)

soup and interviews

I'm Feeling: so full
Background Noise: hallway chatter + James Taylor's crooning

We always go to Olive Garden when our friends at work have birthdays - so Jane, Jen, Kay and I went out to eat today for Kay's birthday (which is next week, but schedules demanded an early celebration). Delicious. It's also a really funny group of people - I'm the youngest by about 18 years, and Kay is a techie, Jen works in Career Services, and Jane and I are both more student affairs-y people. But mostly, we all laugh a lot at stupid things and have a good time.

I have a job interview on Friday - still at MSU, just working in a different department doing slightly different things. Job interviews stink - and I'm not sure if knowing that people are "talking me up" prior to the interview makes me feel better or worse. Is it better to keep expectations low or to have their opinion already be formed that you're amazing so that it doesn't matter what you say? At any rate - pray for Friday!! Updates are forthcoming.

I need a break from work, I think. Good thing we're going to Cedar Point this week and camp next week, otherwise I might lose my mind.

conjunctiva = kangaroo?

I'm Feeling: chipper
Background Noise: The Rain in Bombay by Caedmon's Call

Okay... so this morning was the last official morning of freshman AOP (academic orientation program, for those not up on MSU's acronyms) for the summer. Hooray indeed. I love AOP, but this week has been exhausting, for some reason. A couple of students this morning almost made me twitch... so I was looking for some kind of interesting picture to post today, and I typed "eye twitch" into Google - and this came up. I had no idea that any part of my body could be compared to the pouch on a kangaroo, let alone my conjunctiva.

I had a stellar night last night - I completed my first original watercolor painting (as an adult), had cheeseburgers with the Grangers, spent time with Jay the Cowboy, and had coffee with my new friend Cheryl. Cheryl and her husband Dale have lived in Mason for 14 years, they have a farm with pigs and lambs and cats and dogs, and they have 3 kids - 2 in college, 1 at Mason High School. They're awesome - I had a really good time with Cheryl last night. Hopefully there will be a second date.

I'm saying that a lot lately. Maybe too much for a married lady. Good thing Mark is not the jealous type.

nerds and insults

I'm Feeling: cerebral
Background Noise: Fear by Sarah McLachlan


So I found a link to a quiz online that will tell you how "nerdy" you are. I think that the very fact that I clicked on the link makes me a nerd. And the fact that I by no means need a computer program to tell me I'm a nerd. I scored in the 76th percentile - meaning I'm nerdier than 76% of the people out there. Does it make me nerdier that I like being nerdy - or does that make me cool because I'm OK with myself... ??

Moving on... we had dinner with Dan and Suzanne last night - Mark managed to tell them that the way they met and started dating was lame, and I think I left half of my dinner in their fondue pot. And it was a blast - great food, really cool kid to hang out with, and we laughed an awful lot together. Which is cool, because hanging out with new people for the first time is always a little nerve-wracking. I think there will be a second date though... we'll have to think about how we can possibly offend them next time... :)

i heart ribs!

I'm Feeling: anticipatory
Background Noise: This Charming Man by DeathCab for Cutie

I had the most delicious barbecued ribs EVER this weekend, courtesy of my brother's not-so-secret love affair with grilling. Seriously - they were amazing. And I think every one of us who ate them fell asleep for at least 5 minutes within an hour of our meal. We were all so sleepy-content-full.

I have a feeling this is going to be one of those weeks where you're busier than you think you are... I have some big stuff to plan, people to see, work to do - hopefully it all goes smoothly. Just gotta keep perspective - big picture over details. My problem is - I like details. I like little things that make all the difference. However, I think detail-lovers also tend to be stressed out. I'd rather not be stressed out this week.

It's supposed to be 92 degrees today. Hooray for sweating when you're not even moving!

sweeping the clouds away...

I'm Feeling: useful
Background Noise: If This Is Love by Deana Carter

On Tuesday, the FedEx delivery lady stopped by my office, which is unusual. Even more unusual, she left me the box that was sent from FTD.com - which means that it was full of flowers. In two years of working here - not once have flowers come to my office.

I find these lovely yellow flowers inside, with a fun green vase, and a note from an MSU student whom I've never met, but been in contact with via email for the past 9 months or so, helping her sort out her various graduation issues and anxieties.

They make a very sunny addition to my office, and it's always nice to get a token of appreciation from the students I work with.

In other news, I got to take an unexpected road trip last night. Mark called (he's camping in Irons, MI with his HOSA state officers this week) and asked if I could meet him in Clare (halfway to Irons, about 90 minutes from Mason) to bring him an extra set of car keys, as his are now somewhere at the bottom of the Pine River. So I spent three hours on 127 last night in my un-air-conditioned car... luckily, I had nothing else planned for the evening (except bury my nose in my new book that I'm addicted to...) And this way, my husband is able to drive himself home today. I like him enough to not want him stranded in Irons, MI indefinitely.