"I like school supplies … not snow"

Another weekend here and gone … but it was amazing, and I am so grateful for the time I had. Some of the weekend was spent in Marquette with Derek, doing nothing but shopping downtown, eating Thai food and relaxing in a place where no one knew or needed us. No meetings to run off to or phone calls that we had to take … it was so nice. I love downtown Marquette … the buildings, small-town shops, pottery making classes .. the whole thing. And of course, a few lattes from Starbucks always brighten my day. 

The other part of the weekend was spent helping my parents move into their new home. I am so happy for them, and so grateful for this house. Finally, a place of their own away from the business … and its so great to see my parents so happy. My mom is having the best time decorating and “nesting” I guess you could say. My dad is happy in his own way …  to have new things and a place away from the hum of the machinery and constant telephone ringing. I couldn’t be happier for them, and it’s SO nice to go visit them there. The new place really seems home to me, even though I’ve never lived there… I like it  

The Rally is over … but now I’m busy with photography assignments and organizing a lecture for my marketing team. I’ve been asked to give a presentation on Adobe products and Design … but its so hard to narrow it down. Where do I start with people that know

nothing about design?? 

In local news, the first snow was today which I greeted with an extra half hour of sitting in bed with a cup of coffee. Nope, I’m not ready yet. I like fall … I like school supplies and leaves, warm apple cider with cinnamon rolls … not snow… not yet. Lord only knows where my hats and gloves are … 

But anyway, I’ll run to the store today and see if I can find a cheap pair of fuzzy boots … I best be getting on with Monday … 

waking up is hard to do …

After an amazing weekend … (pictures to come soon … ) I’ve found it very difficult to accept that this week has begun and that the work day exists. I’ve been struggling for a while now with waking up at a decent hour to begin my day … but now its just getting ridiculous. I feel as though my whole day is gone without me being part of it. I bought a third alarm clock to remedy this. One is my cell phone, placed by my ear. The next is on my dresser, a pleasant alarm with options of bells, chimes, or whistles. The third and most obnoxious is the dreaded beeping alarm clock … placed outside my bedroom.

If this doesn’t work …. I don’t know what will.

My design work is complete for the pro rally … both the volunteer poster and DC Shoe Photo Contest flyer are done and on there way to be printed … HALLELUJAH! Now, this weekend will be consumed by the rally … but it will be fun, as I actually get to meet and work with a lot of the racers, including Ken Block … owner of DC Shoes … yes, SO EXCITED.

I do have great stories and pics from this weekend that I will post next …. Ciao.

Hand shakes and Resumes.

I finally did it. I went to the career fair. For the first time in the 3 1/2 years I’ve been here I dressed up and wore really cute shoes to talk to …. one company. 

Most STC majors don’t even go to the career fair. We have maybe 6 companies that ask for our major and about 5 of those are companies such as the Navy, Department of Defense, etc, etc …  basically the companies that ask for everyone and that no one really wants to work for. I have a leg up because I’m involved in marketing activities, but companies looking for marketing people want marketing majors. I could have handed out my resume in hopes someone would actually take the time to review what I’ve done and call …. but I guess I thought it just wasn’t necessary. We still have winter career fair anyway, and I’ll have more than one day to prep for it. 

I did talk to the one company that I liked and that specifically asked for my major.  I really enjoyed what he had to say, and I was very happy that I finally made it to the career fair … though my own strength didn’t get me there. 

Also this week, I met up with a rep from GM. She explained all about digital marketing and how it is sweeping marketing strategies in every area — exciting stuff. I was a little frightened by this information … not so much because of digital marketing, but because of the looming question … “what’s next?” Digital Marketing isn’t so bad, its what I’m afraid will come after it … retinal scans, implanted chips, who knows? 

I’m still designing promotional pieces for the Lake Superior Performance Rally. My volunteer poster is at the printer today… and now I’ve been asked to make a small spectator guide and a small flyer about a photo competition that DC shoes is putting on. So today at AMA I’ll get my team to give me some input on that. Before the month is up, I also  need to formulate a presentation about Adobe products and design. How do I even do that? There’s SO much I could say about design … I need to figure out what is most important for marketing majors to know. They need to know the basics so they can work with advertising agencies and collaborate with them much easier. It was a shock to me that they don’t know anything outside of Microsoft word and publisher. Especially with everything going digital now, people need be made aware that Microsoft is not the way to run advertising. 

After spending 5 hours in the photo lab yesterday, I finished my first print in photography. Developing the photos was easy compared to the print process. And printing isn’t even that hard, its just tedious as you try to get proper settings, optimal contrast, etc. But I did enjoy it… now I’m just waiting for my film to come in so I can take more photos this weekend. 

I’m hoping to take a trip this weekend …. just somewhere away from here. This week alone made me want to pack up everything I needed to drive to Kalamazoo for a cup of Waterstreet coffee. Derek decided after my breakdown yesterday morning that I needed to get out of town for a bit … but we’ll see what happens. 

Still don’t know where I’m going for Thanksgiving … I should probably make up my mind.  

dark week

I almost smell snow …

… almost.

This week holds the career fair, last minute rally-race panic and trying to remain myself in the midst of chaos. I get really introspective and reflective this time of year. Absolutely the result of a life-change this time 2 years ago. A good life change, but probably in the top 3 of difficult things I have gone through yet, not because of what it was … but because of what I needed to learn from it.

No “woe is me” … I’m glad it happened, and more than happy with where I am now … I’m just reminded of it this time of year, lost in the vivid memories and static play by play of each aching feeling I had then.

Aside from my “dark week”, I’m gearing up for a tough month with quite a few projects with big clients. Tomorrow we have a lunch with a GM rep, as well as a discussion afterward on a new form of marketing, which apparently has a lot to do with what I am already being trained to do. Neat. After that the week barrels into many hours spent in the photo lab and even more hours pouring over a take-home exam that involves much coloring. Yes … coloring.
So … before the week starts, I’ll get to bed early … and start the day off with a prayer and some yoga… and of course an amazing cup of coffee immediately following.

one night in Kzoo…

I miss these girls. I remember when Ang and I made a special trip to downtown Kzoo. It was just us and it was just perfect. No cup of coffee ever tasted better. I remember both of us were feeling pretty blue … both realizing that our lives were changing right before our eyes with no real way to stop it, no time to ask why … just hang on and enjoy the ride. That trip was the hardest thing for me to do … it meant forcing myself to be vulnerable around people I’d never met, doing things I’d never done, and leaving people behind I never thought I could. I never felt more alive than I did on that trip, and especially that night in Kzoo.

One night in Kzoo … I drank a cup of coffee, cried tears that didn’t make sense…. and fell in love with a city. Not only does it contain some of the world’s best coffee… but it is home to some of the greatest people I’ve ever met.

greatest cup of coffee