Merry Christmalicious!!!

The Eternal Conundrum...

Its 3:15pm and I'm sitting in my office. I've tied up all of the loose ends that I needed to before I leave for two weeks , but I still have a meeting at 4:30pm that I have to stick around for. What do I do for the next hour and fifteen minutes? :(

Update: I decided to take this time to switch my blog to New Blogger. And with a new blog should come a new background, so I changed that too. This took all of 15 minutes. Only one hour to go. sigh....

At this time next week....

At this time next week, I will be here: :)























Arrivederci!

The top 10 things that elves do at night

While I was sitting in a parking lot, waiting for my Knight in a Giant Truck to come change my tire, I saw a piece of paper blowing across the pavement. I thought it was probably something that had fallen out of my car while I was looking for my spare tire, so I picked it up. It wasn't anything of mine, but it definitely made my day a little bit better...it was the paper of an elementary school student titled "The top 10 things that elves do at night." So with no further ado, here it is!

The top 10 things that elves do at night

1. Make toys for the childeren

2. Drink hot chocolate with candy canes in it

3. Tell a story with Santa Claus to the elves

4. Go sledding and make a igloo

5. Go to the ice casel

6. Go check if the raindeer are low on magic

7. Suck on their candy canes

8. Watch Santa fly away in the sky

9. Make candy cane cookees with Mrs. Claus

10. Fall to sleep. Just kiding but just remember, elves never sleep.

I love the smell of rubber in the morning....

This morning I had to be at work at 7:30, so I get up extra early so I won't have to battle traffic on my way. As I get off the freeway and go through my first light, my car starts shaking a little bit. As I go through my next light, it all of a sudden feels like I hit a giant log or something and then just goes nuts. I smell burning rubber and see white smoke everywhere, so I pull over and find this:
Needless to say, I was not at work at 7:30. Apparently no one in North Richland Hills knows how to change a tire (including me!) so I had to wait and hour for a guy my dad knew to come and help me and got to work at 9am. Oh yeah, and I wore white pants to work today. Perfect for digging around greasy tire-changing stuff. What a great start to a day...

Question of the Day

Should I be offended or flattered when I get friend requests from guys on myspace who only have hot female "friends"?

On one hand, they are disgusting. I mean seriously, what girl with an ounce of self-respect would ever want to be associated with a jerk whose only "friends" are girls with their boobs hanging out in every picture? (Don't worry - I always reject the request...and I don't have my boobs hanging out in any pictures!)

But on the other hand...are they saying they think I'm hot? :) Everyone needs a little self-esteem boost every now and then...

Name That Tune!

No cheating!!!

"Myrrh is mine, its bitter perfume
Breathes a life of gathering gloom;
Sorrowing, sighing, bleeding, dying,
Sealed in the stone cold tomb."

I'll even give you a hint....Merry Christmas and stone cold tombs and stuff!

Things That Make Me Smile - Holiday Edition

Just so that everyone doesn't think that I am immune to the Christmas spirit after my last post...I thought I'd list a few things about the Holidays that make me smile. :)

1. Sappy Hallmark Christmas movies

2. When its cold outside (possibly even snowing...contrary to #5 from yesterday) but I'm inside and warm with a fire in the fireplace and #1 on television.

3. Christmas trees!! And Christmas lights!! And anything shiny that involves Christmas!!

4 & 5. The following video includes two of my very favorites: SNL Christmas songs and The Muppet Christmas Carol! Best. Sketch. Ever.



Happy Holidays!! Only 16 Amazon.com shopping days left to have your online orders in time for Christmas!! :)

Pet Peeves - Holiday Edition

1. People who get in their cars in a crowded parking lot and then take their dear sweet time before backing up, even though they can CLEARLY see that people are waiting for their spot

2. When there is a tiny patch of ice on the shoulders of the road, not even in the lanes, and people slam on their brakes before going over the bridge, blocking traffic and making my commute 1 1/2 hours

3. Having a stupid winter cold for 3 weeks that I just can't shake

4. Paper cuts from "Holiday Cards" (not Christmas Cards!)

5. The fact that whenever it snows in Texas, everyone has to pretend they're excited about it and go out and play in it. Its just cold and wet people! (I think I probably mentioned that in a post sometime last year too....but I really hate it!)

My Guilty Pleasure

I am such a sap, but I totally love this show. Every season it comes on, I tell myself its stupid and say I'm not going to watch it, but then I somehow always get sucked in. Tonight was the finale, and although he didn't pick the girl I really wanted him to, it was really a great season. This show and sappy Hallmark Christmas movies are the two things that make me wish I wasn't single. Then I watch Dr. Phil and feel better. Just kidding! (about the Dr. Phil thing.)

P.S.
They showed the next bachelor and WOW. Usually I don't think the guys on the Bachelor are all that good looking (except Firestone. He was cute.), but this guy is HOT. Makes me wish I was skinny so I could apply! Just kidding again! Or am I....

Customer Service is Key

Yesterday I was sick and stuck sitting at home watching all of the awful TV that goes on on Saturday afternoons. I found a show called "Airline" that is a series of mini-documentaries about issues at airports with Southwest Airlines. I watched three episodes and it cracked me up the whole time because each incident showed one of two things: either an idiot passenger or Southwest Airlines being idiots.

One incident in particular involved a flight that from Ft. Lauderdale that was landing in Buffalo with passengers connecting to Cleveland. The flight from Ft. Lauderdale was delayed and the passengers missed their connecting flight. Not the worst thing to happen, but Southwest REFUSED to do ANYTHING to accomodate the passengers to get them home. It was Sunday and the next flight that had seats available was Tuesday. They wouldn't put them on another airline, get them a rental car to drive home, or even pay for a hotel! They wanted these people to sit in the airport for 2 days, and when the people got upset, they called security on them!! It was ridiculous!

The thing that killed me about this situation is that reaccomodation is a HUGE opportunity for airlines to gain customer loyalty. You can gain a customer for life simply by showing that you are making every effort to help them out. But yet, these workers chose to actually say the words "Its not our problem" and when the customers offered suggestions of very reasonable things that would make them okay (hotel room, rental car, refunds so they could rent a car themselves), the airline refused. And the airline industry wonders why the public thinks they have poor customer service....

There were some good incidents on the show too. A lady's bag fell off a cart and was drug 100 ft, shredding nearly everything inside of it on her way home from a trip. That customer service agent called another agent in Vegas where she came from and replaced all of the souveniers that the customer had, plus some extras. Good job Southwest. I guarantee that that lady will always fly Southwest when she can. Just a little bit of customer service will go a long way.

Apparently I'm Suicidal....

It's 1:45pm on the day after Thanksgiving. I'm bored. So I am going to venture out and battle crowds at the Best Buy down the street. If no one hears from me in the next couple of days....send out the search party. Wish me luck!

Mini-Clicked

Ryan hasn't posted his weekly clicks yet, and I'm getting impatient. So here is my mini-version for the day:

• I'd like to introduce you to the dumbest. person. ever.
• Tired of hearing about the "destroyed" or "fictitious" Ancient Wonders of the World? Now you can name your own wonders!
• I'm glad they got this guy off the road!

In other news - I officially accepted a full-time offer today! In the spirit of a "this is what I clicked" post, I'll give you a quick rundown of my interview experience this semester.

• I had interviews here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here. (McKinsey, Dell, American Express, Kelloggs, FedEx, GM, MGM Mirage, American Airlines)
• Got rejected by 2 companies officially (McKinsey and FedEx)
• Pretty sure that one was a rejection by never hearing from them again... (American Express)
• Think I'm about to get a rejection from this one (American Airlines)
• Am still getting calls from two companies (Kellogg's and Dell)
• And after all of that, decided that I really like where I am and accepted my full-time offer with Sabre! Ha! (I love the gnome...)

So thats all I have for today! Tune in tomorrow or Saturday for tales of an unusual camping trip!

P.S. - If you don't actually want to click on all those job links, I put cheats in white font so you can just highlight it. :)

"It's only 2 years..."

Brandon Kennedy wrote a post about success and for some reason wanted to know what I thought about success and what makes people "successful". I started a comment, and realized it was turning into a blog. So now it is! :)

Disclaimer: I am only talking about professional success in this blog...I know that personal success can be measured in so many different ways.

First of all, if I knew what success was, I probably wouldn't be on "interviews, interviews, interviews" as Brandon mentioned! But as I think back on things, I basically find I've been viewing my life in 2 year chunks....After college I said "Maybe I should just go to grad school. Its only 2 years, and then I can do what I really want." Then I decided I want to work in strategy and discovered to get into strategy, they want me to be in consulting for 2 years. So I apply with consulting firms thinking "Its a hard lifestyle, but I can do anything for 2 years..." Then I decide that I really want to be a consultant, and now I find that consulting firms want MBAs with 2 years of work experience. So if my last consulting interview comes up short, I'll stay where I am (which I would be very happy with by the way....Sabre is a GREAT company) and then try the consulting thing again in another 2 years. After all....it's only 2 years. I can do anything for 2 years...

In a lot of ways, this scares me. Although I'm not planning on doing something for 2 years that I absolutely despise, I can see how it could be easy to fall into a trap, always just looking for something a little bit better and never being content where I am. But I really do believe there will be a point where I will get into a job that I don't feel is a step trying to get somewhere else. I'm not saying that I'm going to stay in that job forever - I get bored too easily and would want a new challenge - but at that point my next move would just be to do something that I think is interesting and not simply a means to an end.

So I guess to sum up Brandon's question - I will consider myself successful when I reach a 2 year chunk where I can't see an "and then" afterwards....when my next 2 years is simply for another challenge, and not another step to get where I'm trying to go, that is when I'll be successful.

Gotta go for now....have to finish studying for another interview tomorrow morning! :)

Meet Me In St. Louis....

For the past month, I don't think I've spent one weekend at home.....Atlanta, Houston, Austin, and this weekend on Emily's National Tour....St. Louis! I went for the National Association of Women MBAs conference (the one that was in Boston last year). To make a long weekend's story short, went to some speakers/panels, saw the arch, feared for my life driving down the most dangerous street in the most dangerous city in the USA, and flew first class on the way home. :) Here are some pictures from the weekend.....thanks to Vineeta for actually carrying a camera!

The Mandatory Arch Picture:

The Mandatory "Us in Front of the Arch" Picture:

What happens when you tell people walking in suits to turn around? You get a picture that looks like a cheesey ad for the new Law & Order coming on.
Waiting for a session to start:
Eating at a really fancy Italian restaurant. We wouldn't have gotten in the restaurant except that a lady at the airport recommended it and told us to drop her name with the hostess because she's a VIP there. They made an exception and seated us as a favor to her.....but only after a 1-1/2 hour wait and if we sat in a back room away from the other guests! We felt special and insulted all at the same time....

And that was my weekend! If I ever get pictures from the Houston trip (Ashley, it was less than 24 hours! I flew in at 10 am Thursday morning, had meals and ceremonies all day long, and flew out Friday at 6 am! Don't hate me for not calling!!) I'll post those too.

A Dream Has Died!!

Its official....I will never get to do this:

I'm sure this will make Ryan's "Things I Could Blog About, But Won't" list sometime soon, but I can't believe that Bob Barker is retiring! I mean, I can believe he's retiring, but I'm so sad! Unless we do it soon, Lindsey and I will never get to make our random LA trip to go on The Price is Right. :(

Once a procrastinator....

When I moved into my apartment, I was pretty much dead broke. Therefore, I took any furniture that I could get from anyone who would give it to me. My grandparents graciously gave me one of their beds....unfortunately this mattress was older that I was! It was incredibly uncomfortable. So much so that beginning in May, I started sleeping on my couch because it didn't hurt my back as much.

Needless to say, one of my major purchases that I planned for the summer was a new mattress. So in July, I went to Sleep Experts, talked to mattress salesmen who I think were trained on used car lots, and bought a new mattress. Sleep Experts has a 100 day comfort guarantee, but I was certain I wouldn't need it....until about 3 weeks later. It was seriously just as hard as my grandparents mattress!

But of course, I can't ever do anything immediately; I have to wait until the last possible moment. I was convinced that my 100 days had already passed, but on Saturday, I decided to check. Turns out, my 100 days would be up the very next day! So Sunday afternoon after my morning group project meetings (ugh), I went back to Sleep Experts and said I wanted to trade in my mattress. About 20 minutes later, I had a new mattress picked out and scheduled for delivery today! So now I have another new mattress and can't wait to go to sleep tonight to see if it really is more comfortable than my last two! Better late than never! :)

Today I had the...

worst. interview. ever.

Apparently I checked my brain at the door or something. I'm sure the guy was thinking "Why did we agree to interview this girl??" It was a case interview where I had to analyze a company that makes Cognac. I've never had cognac, but after this interview, I'm certain I would hate it. In fact, I'm glad I'm over 21 so I can go buy a bottle of the stuff and smash it against the wall. Sounds like a fun Friday night activity....

Project Runway

Geoffrey did NOT just win! Everything that came down the runway of his collection I thought was just awful....even from a new york, edgy-type style. I guess this just confirms my lack of fashion sense. But if THAT's fashion, then I retract my point number 3 on my last post.

Uli or Michael should've won.

Sometimes I wish...

• I had kids just so I could post cute pictures on my blog. It gets a little boring over here, I know.
• I was a person who was always on time rather than always running about 5 minutes late.
• I had more fashion sense.
• I was better at keeping up with old friends (enter: blogs and myspace)
• I had really gotten into Scrubs when it first came out rather than being a casual watcher until last year
• I had a roommate (and then the moment passes!)
• I could remember all the really good blog topics that I come up with and then can't remember when it comes time to actually write them.

Interview Weekend

Dell certainly knows how to treat their candidates! They put me up at the Round Rock Marriott on the Concierge Level - the top floor where you have to slide your room key before the elevator will work. The concierge took me on a tour of the hotel when I first got there, my room had a king size bed with down comforters and pillows, (actually, it was probably that synthetic down stuff b/c of people with allergies, but insanely comfortable nonetheless) and every time I needed anything, the front desk knew exactly who I was and why I was there.

The interview day was long, but great. I had to be in the hotel lobby at 6:30am, and the day was full of different presentations, meet and greet receptions, and of course, interviews. And the BEST (read sarcasm here) part of the day was when I ventured into Austin in the evening and had my first experience with the fun traffic in the city. I guess I'm just going to have to accept the fact that Fort Worth has exceptionally good traffic and if I end up moving, I'm going to have to deal with bad traffic.

All in all, it was a good time. Not my last interview of the year, but definitely a good one.

I'M LEEEEAVING...ON A JET PLANE...

Okay, I do know when I'll be coming back again, but I'm flying down to Austin tomorrow for an interview. Wish me luck!

And while I'm gone, I leave one question to ponder.....Where has Jennifer Meacham's blog gone???

It's time for another....

Good Idea:
Putting Mentholatum under your nose before bed when you have a sinus infection and can't breathe.

Bad Idea:
Assuming that because Icy/Hot has menthol, it will work the same as Mentholatum and won't burn so badly that it feels like someone is running a lit match up and down your face.

I don't even know what to title this one!

On Wednesdays, I am in class from 12:30 - 2pm and then again from 4pm until 10pm. So today I decided to spend my 2 hour break in Panera close to campus where I could eat my lunch/dinner and use their wireless internet. Its a nice atmosphere, not too busy, comfortable seating, and great food.

So while I am here, I got an email from a company that wants to bring me in for second rounds asking me to call their admin to make the travel arrangements. I call her and she asks if she can put me on hold. As with a lot of holds, it had some nice classical music playing in the background, but I noticed that I was hearing it in both ears.....the music on the hold was the EXACT SAME music that was playing over the speakers in Panera, synchronized and everything! Two completely different companies in two cities playing the same music at the same time. How weird is that??

A Couple of Cakes

I forgot that I had pictures of these until tonight and decided to post a blog about something other than job searching. Those posts will resume this week. :)

This was for a baby shower. I spent several hours making fondant buttons, baking a cake that was 1/2 chocolate and 1/2 white cake, making the top in different colored blocks....and when I picked it up the cake board folded in half and I nearly smashed the whole thing!! Luckily it wasn't too awfully ruined and I was able to fix it for the most part - it just looked a little messier than I hoped.

After the smashing:

All fixed! Well, almost:

The buttons:


I also made this cake for a birthday party. I think she was turning 4 and it was a Purse Party. What purse party would be complete without a purple purse cake?


Thats all for now!

I'm Famous Again!

Its not every day that you open up an email and see your own face in the pretty header at the top, but thats exactly what happened to me today. Fun times in the Neeley School of Business!

Anyone Remember?

Can anyone (more specifically the Altamesa crowd) name where this song came from? I seriously spent my half my drive home singing it to myself - probably the first time I've even thought of it in over 10 years...

I'll cast all my cares upon you
I'll lay all of my burdens down at your feet
And anytime I don't know what to do
I will cast all my cares upon you

My guess is Maggie will name it first. :)

Life's too short to live in Lubbock...

That was my favorite t-shirt slogan that I saw yesterday at the TCU v Tech. I'm sure we all know that I'm happy right now, so I'll keep this short today with a quick recap.

The Good
We won. Duh!

The Bad
No touchdowns! How boring of a game is that? (Although I'd still like to interject here that we won. :) )

The Stupid
While driving to the game (it took me 1 hour to get to campus when it usually takes 15 minutes, by the way), I saw a guy scalping tickets at a gas station. He had the standard "I NEED TICKETS" sign that supposedly lets people know he has tickets without saying it, but then was standing in the back of his truck waving 4 tickets in the air. Way to be discreet, buddy!

And finally, one of the fun pictures floating around right now. Have a happy Sunday!

Early to Bed....Never to Sleep

I discovered something in undergrad that I had forgotten until tonight: there is no point whatsoever in going to bed early.

Every now and then, I would be really exhausted during the day. I would get home and around 9pm realize that I have nothing left to do. So, I'd decide to go to bed. I'd lay down, thinking about how great it was going to be when I woke up the next day so refreshed. One hour, two hours, three hours go by....and I'm still laying awake, cursing the world because now I'm just rested enough that I'm not going to sleep any time soon. I chalked it up to the noise of having 3 roommates that kept me awake.

So tonight, I was tired all day, decided to go to bed at 9:30pm. Apparently I wasn't tired enough because its now approaching midnight and I am wide awake. No roommates to blame now, just the cruel tricks of nature keeping me up. I have truly learned my lesson now - no going to bed before 11pm. Anyone got any Tylenol PM handy?

My Next Science Fair Experiment

Football Season!!

Football season officially kicked off this weekend with both of my teams winning their first games (OU beat UAB and TCU beat Baylor!) This weekend is the first home game for TCU which means the first tailgate of the year!

This year football season takes on a new element for me...I'm doing some consulting work for the Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award, so it will be really fun to keep track of the players on our pre-season watch list while trying to get us some recognition in mainstream American football. Happy Football Season!

I'm Famous!!

That's right....the Emily who made a comment that Ausiello (a TV Guide television critic) responded to is ME! I feel almost as famous as Maggie.

You know you're jealous!

Yesterday, just as I was leaving work, I get a text message from my friend, Chris. No text, just this picture:


It looks like he is having a HORRIBLE time, so I decided to make him jealous by sending a picture of where I was right then:

********

What is the deal with passwords these days? It used to be make up a name, make up whatever password you wanted. I think the only restriction used to be that it couldn't be the same as your username. Now every website makes up different rules for their passwords, making it nearly impossible to remember which password goes with which site. There are seriously some sites that I have to use the "forgot password" link every single time I try to log in. 6-8 letters, must have 1 capital letter, 1 number, 1 special character, no special characters, can't reuse your last 500 passwords, must change password every 60 days, cannot be similar to former passwords, the list of restrictions goes on and on. The more difficult the sites try to make it for other people to guess your password, the more likely they are to make me NOT remember it. All I want is to use my old standard password and go on my merry way. Anything else is really frustrating. DOWN WITH STUPID PASSWORD REGULATIONS!!!!

Smart People on Reality TV

Two posts in one day, but I couldn't resist this one!

On a commercial for the new season of The Amazing Race, one lady says "This has given me the opportunity to travel around the world....money can't buy that."

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think traveling around the world is one thing money actually CAN buy... :) Just a thought.

My Rangers Experience

Several times yesterday, I would start writing a post and realize, "This is no where near as good a story as Maggie's post!" and would stop. Until now. Last night was the second most fun baseball game I've ever been to (#1 being when Katie, Lindsey, and I got a ball from Greg). Lets replay my experience by the numbers:

8 runs scored by the Rangers in the 3rd inning

7 people ejected from the game

6 of my friends that I got to stand up and sing when they played "Deep in the Heart of Texas"

5 dollars for a large Dr. Pepper :(

4 times in a row that I have chosen the losing color in the dot race

3 batters hit purposely by pitchers

2 homeruns by the Rangers in the 3rd inning

1 dollar to get a hot dog last night :)

0 people left on the bench/in the bullpen once Kennedy charged the mound
Definitely an exciting game!

Healthy = Disgusting

I have a confession to make. I hired a personal trainer. I had a trial membership at 24 hour fitness for a couple of weeks and upgraded yesterday to a full membership with a personal trainer for 5 sessions. I wasn't planning on telling anyone because a) chances are I'll probably flake out on it like i usually do and b) with Stephen's new blog format and Lindsey chiming in and saying that she joined a gym, it would look like I was just jumping on the bandwagon when it is actually just that two weeks ago I saw an old friend who is built like me that was all skinny and cute and it took away my "I'll never be able to look that good because she's not my body type" excuse that I usually use when coveting someone else's figure. The next day I started my free trial. But thats not what I'm here to blog about today. I just had to admit to that fact because otherwise you'd think that I bought the bars that i'm about to talk about on my own accord, and joining a gym is much less embarrassing than buying horrible health bars in free will.

So with my personal training package, they gave me a big box full of Apex Quick Energy bars and cookies and shakes, etc. I've never been much for the health bars, but I brought one to work with me today thinking it might be a good snack at the end of the day before I go work out. And they were free! So 3:30pm hits, my afternoon tiredness sets in, and I think "Hmm...time for some Quick Energy." I pulled out the bar that had the most promising name - Oatmeal Raisin. The picture on the outside shows actual oats and actual raisins, so I'm thinking granola bar. They were thinking fake-icing covered powerbar. If there are 2 things that I hate, they are fake icing and powerbars. I've been sitting here trying to eat this thing, I've eaten about 2 bites and can't take anymore. It is absolutely disgusting. It says "an excellent meal replacement bar" on the side....it'll replace a meal cause after 1/2 bite you lose your appetite! This is just affirming my theory that people who buy health food, shakes, bars, etc. are insane.

Roomie Weekend 2006!

When I graduated last May, it was the end of an era. It was the end of the fabulous Apt 524 roomies that were together all 4 years of college. So when we left, we all agreed to have at least one weekend a year where we all get together to do something NOT associated with ACU (so Homecoming, Sing Song, and other ACU events don't count.) This was that weekend! My old roomies all came to Fort Worth and stayed with me last night for our first annual event. Deborah came from Houston, Lindsay from Abilene, and Nichole from Dallas. I treated them all to a dinner at P.F. Changs (because I"m the bad roommate who hadn't bought anyone a birthday present yet....) and then we went to Pete's Dueling Pianos in Downtown. From there I proceeded to tell one of the piano guys that it was Lindsay's birthday (it really is this week) and for a nice little tip, he called her up on stage and had her sit on the piano while everyone sang "You've lost that lovin feeling" to her. We also had our traditional late-night Whataburger taquito run (which we used to do at least twice a week) and then had lunch together today. All in all, it was truly a fabulous weekend!

Life + Flashing + Eyes = NOT GOOD!!!

Returing to the fabulous "I Click Stuff Too" post, a website told me that my date of death is Friday, July 14, 2062. This was before I became a commuter. I now believe that my death date has been moved up immensely and is now accompanied by an exact location: The intersection of Hwy 121 and I-35 trying to merge onto I-30.

This map shows what I have to do everyday in red along with what the rest of the world has to do in blue. You can see where there is a little bit of conflict. When I get off of 121 every day on the way home, I have to cross over 6 lanes of traffic, 3 of which are merging as well, to get into the correct lane to exit onto I-30. And the other 5 lanes are trying to merge in the opposite direction because the I-30 lanes are exit only. And the merging lanes are usually full of semis because it is heading South on 35. And the really fun part: I have about 30 seconds to do it.

How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying

You know those people that are just lucky and things seem to work out for them without them actually having to do anything? I have decided that I am NOT one of those people.

Lets all remember by 7 interviews before getting on at Sabre, being passed around and really having to work to get where I am. I chalked this up to my lack of work experience - I was at a disadvantage compared to others. So now I'm in my job, its getting to be the end of the summer, several of my fellow interns are getting offers to extend their internships into the next semester, and I have heard nothing from my boss. I only have class 2 days a week next semester, so I would really like to work.

I finally decide I had just better ask if there was an opportunity. My boss said that he had never had an intern stay on during the semester before, but that he would see what he could do. Three days later, I get the offer to extend! Of course in between there was a lot of confusion, apparently the processes had already started for the end of my internship and now have to be reversed, but its all okay. And it was frustrating because rather than just having my position naturally be extended like a lot of other people, I actually had to proactively make this happen. And what made it even more frustrating is that my best friend at work IS one of those people who things just happen for...they were talking about her extension in the first week of her job!

So this is how I've come to the conclusion that I am not one of those people that things are just going to happen for. Its not work experience holding me back anymore, its just a fact of life. I know that I am going to have to fight for everything that I get, and thats okay. But if I have only learned one thing this summer, it is if you want something, go for it. Make it happen. Cause the worst thing that can happen in asking for what you want is for someone to tell you no and you go away knowing that you did absolutely everything you could....but it could turn into a job for the next semester. :)

GRRRRRR!!!!

Two absolutely heinous crimes were committed tonight. I am not a happy camper.

1. Allison Holker was eliminated from So You Think You Can Dance. She should have been the overall winner. Its ridiculous.








2. They announced the dates for the SYTYCD tour (thats what the screenshot is). I know you can't read any of the locations in the picture, but if you go to the website and look, none of the performances get anywhere even CLOSE to Texas or the south (no, Florida does not count as the south.) I actually wanted to go!

So I guess its time for ***Shameless Plug of the Month!***
Anyone want to Meet Me In one of the locations for the SYTYCD tour? And I'm really not kidding either. Just leave me a comment and let me know!!

Katie the Rookie

Apparently Katie hasn't figured out yet that if you take the pictures, we expect a post, and this story is too good to let go to waste. Hopefully she'll still post the pics and/or send them to me because I want copies anyways! :)

Last Friday, Katie, Stephen, Lindsey, and I went to see Lady in the Water. It was opening night, so we bought tickets online and got there an hour early to get our favorite seats in the first row of the stadium seating with the bar to put your feet on. So we sit down, start watching the pre-movie show (since its not a slideshow anymore), talking, etc. The movie is supposed to start at 10:30. 10:28 - The lights come on and the fire alarm starts going off! But this is a talking alarm that says "WARNING! WARNING! AN EMERGENCY HAS BEEN REPORTED!!! PLEASE EXIT THE BUILDING!!" (which Katie hears as "An EXPLOSION has been reported". Definitely gave her a hard time about that one.) So what do we incredibly smart Americans do? Nobody moves. A completely packed theater and we all just sit there, certain its nothing.

Stephen goes out to the lobby to see what is going on and calls us to tell us that they were making everyone evacuate. Do we listen? Nope! Lindsey, Katie, and I refuse to give up our "bar seats." Finally, after about 15 minutes, a security guard comes up to Stephen to tell him he needs to leave, and Stephen's response is "Do you know that Theater 7 is still packed?" (thanks for selling us out Stephen!) So they come in and make us evacuate. We leave our drinks at our seats, put a Mamma Mia playbill over Stephen's seat, and head out. We go out to the lobby and basically wander in circles, never quite making it out the door in hopes that we could still be at the front and get our seats back. We still wanted to see this movie.

Pretty soon, they start handing out the free passes. We are a little upset, but we walk up to a girl to collect our pass. Then we realize that everyone but our girl is taking up the ticket stubs before giving a pass. So we go to someone else to get another with our stubs. Katie can't find hers, so she starts digging through her purse. Then we notice several stubs on the floor. Thrifty Katie starts going around and surreptitiously picking up the extra stubs. All of a sudden, we hear someone call out a name and realizing they were reopening the theater, Lindsey takes off running about 100 miles an hour! She nearly takes out a couple of small children, but who cares? She got our bar seats back! Katie, having been in the middle of a stub pickup when the theater reopened, didn't get in before they posted someone at the door to take up the free passes before entering the theater. A problem for anyone else, but not "25 ticket McBroom"! Katie hands him a stub off the ground and says "I haven't gotten a pass yet!"

So, 1 hour, 10 free movie passes, 2 crying children, and several interesting pictures that we took in the lobby cause we were bored later, we finally got to watch our movie. Some people said it was burned popcorn that caused the alarms to go off, some people said electric fire in the elevator, while still others claimed it was a suspicious package left in the lobby. We'll never know the true cause of our adventure, but I'll always claim the suspicious package because it sounds much more dramatic. :)

LIMBOOOOO!!!

A couple of months ago, I posted about going to a Mexican Wedding with my friend Jaime and his girlfriend, Melinda. This weekend was Melinda's birthday which means.....another party! Melinda is also leaving on Thursday to go to Mexico to teach English for a year, so it was a farewell party also (with the running joke being "Melinda's being deported.") It seemed like a normal party at first - eating some Cousin's barbecue, talking over the DJ playing music that no one was dancing to - until they brought out.....the hula hoops.

That's right, we had a hula hoop contest. Once that was over, I thought that would be the end of it, until they brought out.....the limbo pole! We limboed!!! I haven't done a limbo contest since I was about 8 years old, and I think that was on roller skates at the Crowley Skating Rink. That, combined with the fact that I am 5'9" and not in any sort of good physical condition, I was expecting to be out after the first or second round. But I made it through all the way to the 2nd to last round! Top 6 baby! The funniest part was the other girls left towards the end actually knew what they were doing, to the point to where they were giving me advice on limbo technique! The next round after I got out was the end - all out but one.

So now, its the day after the limbo and I am SO SORE! My quads and my back are killing me! Apparently, I am never going to leave a party that Jaime or Melinda invite me to without being sore the next day. Mexican parties are workouts!
Me and Melinda at the wedding in May.

Not just a pretty face here... :)

I've got the brains too!

In case you haven't heard, it is HOTTTT here in Texas. Like, the high was 106 both yesterday and today and is forecasted at 104 tomorrow. We have parking garages at Sabre and usually its not hard to find a spot; a lot of people would park in the surface lots too. Not right now. I got to work before 9 am and the entire garage was full at my building. So I had to park on the roof level. At the 2 of the roof corners, there are towers where the elevator shaft and stairwells are. One of these had some shade this morning and of course all of the cars up there were right around it, hoping for a bit of the shade. I thought to myself, "What good does it do to have shade now? It will still be an oven when I get OUT of work." So I went and parked at the other tower, all by myself and in full sun exposure just to see (and maybe a little out of bitterness that I hadn't gotten to the shade first...). So when I came out to my car this evening, here is what I found:





The poor suckers who parked in the shade this morning





My Durango in the beautiful, beautiful shade! Haha! I win!

Jennifer Connelly? Really?

Back in March, I took a stab at one of Ryan's "This Is What I Clicked" posts only I called mine "I Click Stuff Too." One of my links was to a facial recognition site that can supposedly tell you which celebrity you look the most similar too by uploading a picture. My original line said, "Ever wondered what celebrity you look like? This site can tell you! Apparently I look like Jennifer Connelly....I wish!"

Fast forward to today....

I went to get lunch in the Sabre cafeteria. The head chef usually mans the line that has what I refer to as "real food" (not sandwiches, salads, or burgers) and today they had a chicken dish that looked really good, so I got in his line. Right as he was handing me my food, he said "So how often do you get told that you look just like Jennifer Connelly?" (And I could actually say that I HAVE been told that!) Of all the people to pull out of the air, he chose Jennifer Connelly. I still don't see it, but its a weird coincidence, don't you think?



Edit: Okay, after looking up pictures, I can see it a little bit. Except she has that beautiful color of hair that I am dying to have. And she's a lot skinnier. :)

Also, important safety tip: Don't search Google Images for Jennifer Connelly. Turns out she was a bit of an exhibitionist at one point and the search turned up NUMEROUS inappropriate pics...

"The Shirt"

This is a picture of me and some of my friends at dinner for a friends birthday. The only reason I'm posting it is because I am wearing "The Shirt" that everyone wanted to see. Got 2 more compliments on it that night.

Guest Blogger Today! (seriously we got this email at work. ha!)

Hello Luverlys,

It’s the Roaming Gnome here. I was absolutely gobsmacked when I heard I was up for election into the Madison Avenue Advertising Walk of Fame. Have you had a chance to stuff the ballot box for me yet? I’d hate to think of the ribbing I’d receive from my fellow gnomes if I lost out to those pesky Keebler Elves.

It would be smashing if you could vote for lil ol’ me. And since they’re keeping me honest with only one vote per computer, I’d be tickled pink if you pass this link along to your family and friends:

http://advertising.yahoo.com/advertisingweek_06/icon_poll.html


Toodle Pip for now,

The Roaming Gnome

Two Posts In One

The Boring Post:
I know this is uninteresting but I have to say it cause it made me feel so good. I was one of the unfortunate people who didn't get work off yesterday. The whole building was pretty much empty besides my group. So we were having a meeting about a new pricing model that we were going to present to the product managers on Wednesday and I discovered a huge error in what we had. My boss was really impressed that I saw it and then we spent about 5 more hours fixing it. A small victory in my world! Okay, on with the interesting...

The Interesting Post:
For the past couple of days, my car has been feeling weird. Something in the front left side felt like when a washing machine gets unbalanced and starts freaking out in the spin cycle, but I didn't have a flat tire or anything. So my boss let us off early since no one was there and I decided that it was scaring me, so I stopped at Discount Tire to see if something was wrong with the tires. The guy thought my tires just needed to be balanced. About an hour later, he comes back in and says "Ms. Tate. I think we found the problem" Not a good sign.

I go out there with him and he tells me that I have basically been driving a time bomb. They took one lugnut off of the wheel and the wheel was barely hanging on to the axle. Turns out the wheel bearing was loose and about to fall off. The guy tightened it as much as he could, but told me to get it to a certified mechanic as quick as possible and to drive as little as possible. Thats a great thing to tell someone who has an hour commute every day on 4th of July week! So if you don't hear from me in the next week or 2, its because the wheel fell off of my car and I'm lying in the road somewhere (I'm not being dramatic at ALL)! :)

Is It Worth It?

The Scenario:
A little over a week ago, I went to Southlake Town Square for lunch as I do every now and then. As I was driving around looking for a parking spot, I saw a really cute shirt in the window of White House/Black Market. I knew it would look good with some white pants I had just bought that I wanted to wear the next day so I impulsively bought it....for $62.79. I immediately had buyers remorse thinking how in the world could I have just spent that much on a shirt? I vowed that I was going to take it back (probably to the one on University so I didn't have to see the same sales people!) Fast forward one week later: I wake up for work, I'm running a tiny bit late and realize that I have no clean laundry except my white pants and, you guessed it, the new shirt still wrapped up and in the bag. I decide that I have no choice and wear it. That day I got SIX compliments on my shirt - half of which were from guys who NEVER compliment my outfits (and no its not revealing). So now I'm wondering...can 6 compliments make a shirt worth $60?

Point:
I very rarely get compliments on my outfits. It made me feel so good all day long. And I'm making money now, I'm single with no responsibilities. Why not reward myself? Plus, I used to spend hundreds of dollars on formals that I would wear once, maybe twice, and never again. This shirt is something I will actually wear. Its totally worth it.

Counterpoint:
Are you kidding me? Sure I may be making a little money now, but in 2 months I've got to go back to the world of the broke grad student. Being frivolous now is a stupid move. And will those 6 compliments really feel that good when I can't even afford to buy food at the end of next semester? Totally not worth it.

Any thoughts from my readers?

By The Numbers: Emily's Golf Edition

2 Friends that bailed on our game (including the one who knew what she was doing)

9 Holes played at the Benbrook Par 3 golf course

98 degrees farenheit yesterday

0 Areas of shade on the course

4 Golf balls used in my game

3 Golf balls lost in the "lake"

7 Average strokes it took me to get the ball in the hole

27 Par for this course

66 My score on this course

1 Guy on the course (and a lawyer at that!) that asked me on a "golf date" for next week! :)

Look out Annika Sorenstam!

About 5 years ago, I was dating a guy who worked in a golf pro shop as some of you may remember. :) Somewhere during my 1st semester of college that year, I decided that I should take golf class at ACU because he wanted to go play with me. I had to take an Exercise Science class anyways...and this one didn't require the horrific ACU exercise science uniform. So that Christmas, Didad (Maggie and Katie's grandfather) made me a set of golf clubs and I embarked on my golfing journey. One semester later, I vaguely knew how to hit a golf ball and played my first game in which I shot a 97....on 9 holes. Other than hitting golf balls at a driving range one time during finals my sophomore year when I was in a really really bad mood, that was the end of my golf career.

Until now.

Last semester, Christina, another girl named Vineeta, and I decided to take golf lessons through TCU continuing education. We took 6 lessons (actually I only took 5 - I missed the last one) and our teacher was absolutely fabulous! I started off only slightly worse than I left off 4 years ago...and to be totally honest only ended up slightly better than 4 years ago! But tomorrow, I'm venturing back out into the world of golf to play my first real game since the end of my ACU class. And let me tell you, its going to be a really funny sight - Me, Christina, Vineeta, and our friend Jasmine (who actually knows how to play). Ironically, we're playing at the course that the afforementioned ex worked at that started this whole mess! How's that for life coming full circle?
















Me tomorrow!

For Stephen

Its Official

I got the scholarship. Its a little overshadowed with the whole Mavs thing...but its still good news! :)

Is that a "yes" or a "no"?

Last semester, I got nominated for the Texas Business Hall of Fame Scholarship, a scholarship for MBA students in Texas (I know, stating the obvious). Two Thursdays ago (June 8), I finally had my interview, the last step in the application process. My interview was really funny in itself...i'll make another post about it right after this one. But for now, I need your help in deciphering the letters that I just got.

Saturday, I checked my mail and had a letter from the TX Bus Hall of Fame. It was a small envelope, so I was pretty certain in was bad news...and I was right. "Dear Ms. Tate....I am sorry to inform you that you have not been chosen as a scholarship recipient this year....." I was a little let down, but okay.

Today, I checked my mail and had another letter from the TX Bus Hall of Fame. Small envelope again, and I thought to myself "What, did you feel the need to rub it in?" I almost throw it away but then decide to open it so I can post on my blog about getting rejected twice....but it says, "Dear Ms. Tate, On behalf of the Texas Business Hall of Fame Foundation, I am pleased to be the first to congratulate you on being chosen as a 2006 Scholarship Award Recipient...."

Both letters are dated June 15, 2006, so I can't even claim that the later date is the real one. Did I get it? Did I not? (I'm assuming I got it until proven otherwise. Ha!) I have included pictures of both as evidence. Can you pull any meaning out of them?















And if you're still with me...keep reading! My interview story is actually really funny.

The Interview

When I first got nominated, I was told that interviews would be conducted in April. May comes, and we haven't heard anything. So the MBA program administrator makes some phone calls to find out what was going on. MANY emails later, we move the date around about 5 times and set it up for June 8th. The email confirming the appointment gave me the name of the man who I would interview and the address of his "office."

So I take the morning off work, get all dressed up in my suit (with the hems still held up by safety pins!) and start following the mapquest directions to Dallas. I get in the area, and cannot find the street Manchester that is supposedly off of Northwest Hwy. I drove up and down the street for about 30 minutes, had my cousin Allyson on the phone trying to figure out where it was, and I was going nuts. This was a huge interview and I was late - a MAJOR faux pas. I finally realize that it is not called Manchester when it intersects NW Hwy and find where I am supposed to go. I get there really upset, and realize this isn't an office....its the guy's home address!

Another girl that was interviewing was already there and said no one was home. So we called his office and found out that they had given the wrong address! His office was in Lincoln Center right off the tollway. He had been waiting thinking that we had forgotten or didn't care or something! So we drive to his office (I'm feeling very lucky because I have been given a 2nd chance after being 30 min late for my 30 min interview!) and I go in to interview.

I am flustered after the events of the morning, i know i'm going to get back to work an hour later than planned, and although the interview went well, I knew that the other girl in the lobby would be a really good interviewee and I'm sure that the other candidates are great as well. I had to set myself apart. So I decide to be bold. I still can't believe that I said this, but it just came out of my mouth. Right as I was leaving, I shook his hand and said "I just want to leave you by saying that I know that I am the best candidate for this scholarship. With my commitment to Texas business and drive to succeed, I plan on making a contribution big enough to be inducted in the Texas Business Hall of Fame someday, so why not give me the scholarship now as well?" He thought it was great! He started smiling really big and was like "That is just great. That is good to know." Did it work? Well....verdict's still out I guess!

How I felt last Friday:

As soon as I got my pay stub from work, I immediately thought of this clip from Friends...particularly the line, "Who is FICA? And why is he getting all my money??" I'm still happy to actually have money, but in my first paycheck $700 was taken out in taxes, social security, etc.!! I knew a lot would get taken out, but by a lot I thought it would be like $300 or so. Welcome to the real world, huh?

1 Year Ago Today!

My friend Ashley Bruner married a great man named Matt and became Ashley Lee! Unfortunately, this was also the last time that I saw her because we both got crazy busy and never have been able to get together! Hopefully that will change soon, but for today, Congrats Ashley and Matt!


I think this picture is fun....and probably not one that her real photographer got, so thought I'd post it instead of a typical wedding picture. :)

Twas The Night Before Sabre

Twas the night before Sabre, and all through the room,
The intern was ready, as one might assume.
Her paperwork ready, her shirt pressed with care,
She picked up her suit pants - her favorite pair.

When all of a sudden she jumped in great fright
Realizing something wasn't quite right.
She meant to do it earlier but had messed up again.
She had forgotten to get those pants hemmed!

But rather than panic she came up with a plan:
Safety pins and markers would get her out of this jam.
She pinned up the pant legs and colored pins black
So no one would know her hems weren't intact.

The moral of this story I shared with you today
Take your pants to the tailor when you buy them, right away!

Mexican Wedding Fun!

One of my good friends in the MBA program is a guy named Jaime. Jaime is Mexican. Not Hispanic, he is "speaks fluent spanish, part of the family still lives out of the country, had Mariachis at his birthday party, mom makes the best food ever but speaks no English" Mexican. So he calls me on Friday and says "Have you ever been to a Mexican wedding?" I said no and he said "They're not like White people weddings where you have to RSVP and everyone knows everyone and stuff...its just like a big fiesta and you need to come." So I did.

The wedding was at the Texas Girls Choir building. I showed up around 7:30 or so and the party was already in full swing. We ate some fantastic Mexican food, they had an open bar with beer, wine, and tequila (I had to have some tequila....my Mexican wedding experience just wouldn't have been complete!) and a Mariachi band played for 2 hours. Apparently Mariachi's cost about $600/hr, so 2 hours was a BIG deal! Right at the end of the Mariachis, they did the bouqet/garter tossing. So I go out on the dance floor expecting just to gather in a clump when Jaime's cousin says "Get ready to run!" Before I could even say "What??" my hand was grabbed by the girls next to me. The bride and groom stand on chairs in the middle of the dance floor while the mariachis play a song and an aunt led all the single women running in a line around the room, snaking through the dance floor, the tables, into the hallway, back through all the people watching, etc. for about 4 or 5 minutes! I was exhausted! Then they threw the bouquet and the boys did the same thing before the garter.

After that, the boys stripped the groom down to boxers and a tshirt and started throwing him up in the air! Once he got redressed, the money dance started. Girls and guys in pairs stand in line to pin money on the bride and groom and dance with them. So I danced with the groom. Then the 2nd band came - a mariachi polka band! We danced all night long. I danced with all of Jaime's cousins in true Mexican dancing style which I like to describe as Country dancing on speed. I had no clue what I was doing, but most of them were really good dancers and I was able to just follow. It was seriously a workout! I am sore today!

I had so much fun being the token white girl at the Mexican wedding...even though I couldn't talk to half of the attendants because they didn't speak English! But who needs to talk when you've got Mariachis to dance to!

P.S.
If Patty is reading this I'm sure she is freaking out right now! DON"T SAY MARIACHI!! (who can name the reference? Trey?)

Now THATS a finale!

Last year I was really disappointed with the season finale of several of my favorite shows, including Lost, Alias, Grey's Anatomy, and (half of) Gilmore Girls. This year, I was still disappointed by Gilmore Girls, disappointed with the series finale of Alias, and pacified with Greys. The problem with a lot of finales is they feel like they need a huge cliffhanger and do something really drastic that is totally contrived just to make one.

But Lost on the other hand - every show on television needs to take notes. THAT is the way to do a finale! The big twist of explaining how the plane crashed was just wild enough to be awesome but real enough to be plausible. The way they set things up for next season puts people in enough of a predicament to allow for a lot of future material but not so bad that it makes me mad for the entire off season (cough..Gilmore Girls....cough cough). And the very final scene introducing a new character.....I am pumped. It was just perfect. Way to go Lost! For a show that has annoyed me more than once, you really pulled it together with a season finale that truly lived up to the hype.

The Big One!

The Colonial has come and gone...I spent the last 6 days driving fully loaded Cadillac Escalades (sooooo cool!) around in circles and meeting a lot of neat people. I didn't have any Teixiera sightings this year, but I did meet a lot of cool people. Here are a couple of stories from the week:

1. As people get in the car, I usually try to make some small talk and learn about the people. I'll ask if they're there following a particular golfer, what they do for a living, etc. Well on Friday, a couple gets in my car and for some reason, the question came out of my mouth, "So are any of your favorites on the leaderboard today?" Never asked that question before, but it just came out. The man said "Awww, no our guy was awful today!" and the lady hit him and said "Oh you be quiet!" So I said "Who is it that you are following." The lady's response: "Our son is in 2nd place today." It was Stewart Cink's parents! I ended up driving them the next day too. They were really nice. Cink ended the tournament tied for Fourth along with Ben Crane, whose caddy I drove on Wednesday. :)

2. I drove the owner of Patron Tequila and Captain Morgan Rum today. He got in my car and we were talking about his company, their tequila, etc. If you don't know, Patron is a very expensive tequila and is apparently "really smooth" (whatever that means.) So I joked with him saying "You should have brought some free Patron to tip your driver with." He thought that was really funny, and we talked more on the drive back to his car. When we got to his car, he said "So what is your name?" I said "Emily." He said "Emily, I am about to make your day." And hands me this:
Two years of driving at the Colonial and on the last day, the second to last person I drive, I finally get one of the legendary $100 tips! I didn't think they actually existed! He definitely made my day - actually made my week! I finally got The Big One. :)

I may post more stories later this week as they come to me. Stay tuned to hear tales of drunken idiots.

Byron Nelson and Colonial

Yesterday I had the joy of attending the final round of the Byron Nelson tournament with my cousin Allyson. I was hoping to post some fun pictures...until I realized that you're not allowed to take in any cameras or cell phones. :) It was pretty fun. Hot outside, eerily quiet for the amount of people there, lots of walking, but once we set up camp at the 15th green, it was fun. But I definitely reminded myself why its been about 5 years since I've actually attended the Colonial.

Which brings me to the Colonial! It technically starts today with practice rounds today and tomorrow, the Pro-Am on Wednesday, and the official tournament Thurs. through Sun. You may be asking why I know the schedule if I haven't been in 5 years and am not planning on going this year. Its because for the 2nd year, I am going to be driving Cadillacs between the VIP lots and the clubhouse. Last year I had a very unfortunate experience in my driving. I am hoping to encounter the situation again only to come out on top this time! If any of you are going to be parking in the member or VIP lots this week at the Colonial, keep an eye out for me. I'll be the one in the fully loaded Cadillac while you're sweating in the hot sun. :)

They Finally Did It

Well, the afforementioned ghosts of the Log Cabin Village finally got the best of me and my phone. On Friday my friend Christina called me to go to lunch in the middle of running errands for the graduation hooding ceremony that night. When she got to my apartment, my phone had randomly turned itself off. I push the button to turn it back on...and it doesn't turn back on. So I got to spend a fun-filled afternoon at Cingular trying to get everything taken care of to get me a new phone. 3 hours later, I left with a phone fresh off of the truck that was actually ordered for someone else but they decided to give to me instead because they had taken so much time. Good things come to those who wait. :)

So I know that I am behind the times and 90% of cell phone users already have this one...but look how pretty! And its pink!

The Ghosts of the Log Cabin Village

The path from my apartment to TCU involves me driving south on University from I-30. I drive this path at least twice a day, many days more than that. Anytime I am on my cell phone while driving to campus, there is one spot where the call gets disconnected every single time. I will have full bars on my phone, it will suddenly drop down to zero bars, and then right back up to full. This has been happening all year long. Extremely annoying.

So yesterday I was driving down the street talking to my mom when it happened. But this time, I noticed where this "dead zone" is - it is the full length of the Log Cabin Village. I will have full reception, I hit where the cabins start and it drops to zero, and then back up to full reception immediately after the last cabin right before Park Hill Dr. So now I have determined that my cell phone problems are caused by ghosts in the Log Cabin Village. They are stuck in the 1800's when there weren't things like cell phones and don't want anything that wasn't from their time to work properly. So the cell phones drop out and then pick up when you're out of their territory. Somebody call Jennifer Love Hewitt and cross them over so that they will stop interrupting my important phone calls!!

Oh Blogger, Where Art Thou?

All of my blog buddies...I am begging you! Please post soon! Every day I have been coming to my computer in the middle of my Integrated Project Hades, hoping for a little relief through some fun stories, neat pictures, and general updates. But alas! Everyone on my blogroll (except for Megan) has reruns!! Not that I can say much, and I know we're all busy. But just a little shout out to your readership would brighten my day...which I promise you, needs brightening right now. :)

The Most Frequent Conversation Today

As I said yesterday, I am on a team with a couple of interesting people. In my 4 hour meeting today, I think three hours of it were taken up by variations on the following discussion:

Me: We can't do that
Them: Why not?
Me: Because its not an option in the simulation
Them: Why not?
Me: Because the simulation writers didn't make it an option
Them: So why can't we do it?
Me: Because there is no way to put it in the system. Its not in the simulation.
Them: Well that doesn't make any sense. I want to do this!
Me: We can't do that
Them: Why not?
(loud crash as I throw myself out of the window of the third floor team room we're in)

P.S.
Thanks for the birthday wishes! And Megan, it wasn't belated. It was May 2. :) And Ty, you're just sick. haha

Thought and Quote of the Day

Thought of the day:
Why do fast food mexican restaurants ask you if you want hot sauce? They're going to give it to you anyways. They ask "Would you like Hot Sauce?" You say yes, they give you hot sauce. You say no, they give you hot sauce. You say "Do you speak English?" They give you hot sauce. I bet they could cut some overhead if they'd stop handing out so much hot sauce.

Quote of the day:
Some of you might have heard that for our Integrated Project, they broke up the team that I had formed and reassigned about half the class randomly. I get put on a team with a lady in our class who is....we'll leave it at "interesting." It hasn't been nearly as bad as I was expecting it to be (although its only been 2 days....8 to go!), but I have gotten some really funny quotes out of it, such as the following:

Today, we were talking about passwords people use on the internet. A guy in my group said, "I know a lot of people use their kids names and birthdays as passwords. So sometimes its really easy to figure out if you're not careful."

She says, totally serious: "That's why I use my kids' names and their conception dates."

Its going to be an interesting week. Please pray for my sanity.

A Letter to My Love

My Dearest McDonalds,

It is with great regret and deepest sorrow that I write you this letter. I feel the time has come for us to go our separate ways. We’ve had some great times over the past few years, but this is just something that I have to do.

I know what you’re thinking – there’s another restaurant. And I promise you, I am not just running into the booths of another burger provider. I know we had the whole Whataburger incident last year, but I told you then, and I’ll tell you again, it meant nothing. It was just lunchtime and you were too busy for me. I had to get food somewhere! But it is your chicken nuggets that I crave; no one else’s can come close!

You say you can change, and I know that you’re not lying. But its not you, it’s me. You have tried your best to offer me grilled chicken sandwiches, asian salads, and other healthy options, but as long as you have those delicious fries on your menu, I will always just fall back into my old habits and we both know its not good for either one of us. I can’t live in this kind of codependent relationship anymore. The best thing for me right now is to make a clean break. Pretend we never met. Believe me, this is harder on me than it is on you. You will find other college girls to share your golden arches with, but me; this is then end of my fast food excursions. I’ll always look back on our times together with fondness, and I hope you’ll think of me in the same way. I wish you the best of luck in the future.

With love,
Emily

Just for Stephen....

Since I have definitely MIA over the past few weeks (crazy busy!) and Stephen is claiming I'm just a cast member of Pleasantville, a jab, I'm assuming, at my black and white profile picture, I have changed my picture to one that is a) in color and b) more recent than 4 years ago. Enjoy.

I am also posting a picture of me with a couple of members of the 80's cover band that I talked about a while ago, The Spazmatics! They were here last friday during the Main Street Arts Festival, so a few of us went and saw them. Integrated Project starts this Friday, so it may be awhile before I post again. Then again, maybe not. I'll keep you on the edge of your seat. :)

Studying Fun

So I'm in a TCU team room right now with two of my friends, Andrew and Alfredo. We are supposedly studying for our Operations final that is tomorrow, but keep getting distracted. So I started singing a little song and without prompting, each person added on a line. It actually came out pretty well. Sing to the tune of "Frere Jacques" - Hope you enjoy our studying humor, cause its not far from the truth! :)

Emily: Motivation, motivation, where are you? Where are you?

Andrew: Someone come and help me! Someone come and help me!

Alfredo: I am screwed. I am screwed.

We also have studying fun with the quotes on our Google Talk. On Friday, we had our IT final which consisted of analyzing a case study about Schwab. My gtalk quote paid homage to Billy Madison by reading "Stop looking at me Schwab!" Right now, a guy named Hud has up a quote that has me cracking up because I just think of Trey, Kody, and the Bammel VBS a few years ago. His says "I'll price break you!" Okay, I know that none of these are really THAT funny, but we have to cling to what we can get - its MBA finals week.

Race for the Cure

So I wrote a post detailing the events of last Saturday at Race for the Cure. Then I realized it was really boring. So now I'm summing it up in 4 short phrases: I came, I saw, I ran, I went to Yogi's for breakfast. :) Here is a picture of a few of the people that were on my team. We really had a great time. Thank you to everyone who donated and hopefully we can raise even more next year!