Work Trip (Google NYC + the High Line) & an Update

Sooo, it's been a few weeks since I last blogged. (And quite the few weeks it's been!)

For starters, I went to Istanbul for 10 days! (11, if you count travel.) I have SOOOOOO many photos from that trip, and I promise I WILL post about it! It was quite the adventure. (No, seriously. Pick an emotion... Any emotion -- excitement, joy, pain, frustration, fear, sickness... I did it all.)

I got sick at the end of my trip (as in... bronchitis-sick), so when I got back, I spent some time sleeping and trying to recover before...

I started my new job!! Monday was my first day, and it has been really great so far! I really like my co-workers, and they've been so great to already make me feel like I'm a part of the team. :) It also helps that I'm excited about the work I get to do, and I've jumped right in! In fact, on Tuesday, I got to travel to NYC for work with some of my co-workers. We spent a day (a day of delight!) being trained on how to use Google's tech tools better, and let me tell you that I am BLOWN away by Google NYC! That place is amazing!! I want to move in!

Green screen at the YouTube office!

For starters, they have food everywhere! There's a HUGE cafeteria (so huge there's an entire FOOD TRUCK of just desserts in the middle), and smoothie bars, cafes, and snack stations everywhere. There's a lego room, a workout room, a game room, on-site daycare, dry-cleaning, the greatest lounges everywhere, a Pac-Man arcade game room, an IN-HOUSE masseuse (!!!), AND they ride Razor scooters up and down the halls! Basically, I want to LIVE at Google. (Oh, and the staff and products are pretty great, too. ;) Ha ha!)

So jealous of these Googlers!

Since this was a work trip, we didn't have time to really see any sights. (Though we DID eat our way through Chelsea over those three days.) I made it a point to go running in the morning so I could see the High Line, which has been on my NYC bucket list for a while. It was so pretty!

These folks made my morning!

Pretty, right?? And umm, my favorite blogger (C-lin, I know you'll appreciate this!!) was also at the High Line yesterday! Too bad we weren't there at the same time. ;)

And then, to cancel out my run entirely, I made a stop at the Doughnut Plant! (which has also been on my NYC list for a while.) I don't like donuts/sweets, but I'd heard so much about this place, I HAD to check it out when I realized there was a location really close to our hotel. And let me tell you, the Doughnut Plant did NOT disappoint! These are seriously delicious! My favorite was the coconut lime cream-filled donut (the one shaped like a square), followed every closely by the creme brulee donut, but honestly, I don't think you can go wrong here! And coming from someone who doesn't really enjoy sugary things, that's saying a lot!

In other news, school has started up again, and it's crazy and wonderful to not be going back to class! I'm not *quite* done yet, but at least I'm not in class. It's been kind of hard to stay motivated here at the end, but I just have to keep on keepin' on.

And speaking of school, my BABY-EST BROTHER STARTED JUNIOR HIGH LAST WEEK!!???! I don't know how to feel about this. My little Christopher, all grown up! Spencer is in 9th grade this year, annnd that's everyone in school this year. I can't believe how fast they're growing up! *sniff* (To give some perspective, I was in 9th grade when Spencer was BORN...) Crazy!

Those are the biggest things right now. Istanbul updates coming soon!

Turning the Ordinary to Extraordinary

I had two Visitors' Center Directors while I was on my mission: Elder Pedersen (for most of my mission) and Elder Smith (for the last three months). Elder Pedersen is a successful businessman (check out his mega-successful company Del Sol! I have their color-changing nail polish -- it's amaaazing! -- and my Del Sol bear has a permanent spot in the middle of my mass of bed pillows), and he enjoyed spicing up our weekly Visitors' Center trainings with his sage business wisdom and general peppy good spirits.

On one occasion, he gifted all of us sisters with our very own Zipit purses. The lesson that day was about turning the ORDINARY into the EXTRAORDINARY. Like how the ordinary zipper was turned into something extraoridnary (ie- a purse!). I can't remember the exact application of the lesson to us as VC sisters (possibly about making each tour extra special, because while for us, it may have been the 10,000th tour of the day, for our guests, it was a special experience?), but I think of that lesson often in my life.

And last night, I took something I needed to do, something ordinary (ie- STUDYING) and took it up several notches and turned it into the EXTRAORDINARY (by studying at the Lincoln Memorial!). I just figured if I needed to read/write, why not do it somewhere beautiful? And it was SUCH a gorgeous night, too! I got there around midnight, and there were still quite a few tourists there. BUT! Tourists generally stick around the front of the memorial, while I... went around to the BACK! There was a couple makin' out back there (apparently, they had the same brilliant idea I did about going to the back), and yep, I totally killed their mood. 

On a semi-related note, I think it would be a *brilliant* date idea to come here with a movie and a laptop! (amiright??) Blanket and cuddling not optional. :)

I will NEVER get tired of taking monument photos!

President Lincoln makes a good stud buddy.

Ahhh! I love this view and want to have it for always!

what I looked like after two hours of reading...

I emailed this one to my missionary brother and his comment was, "Wow, nice hair." Umm, thanks? Ha.

Lesson reaffirmed: when you're stuck in a rut or faced with something "ordinary," go to the Lincoln Memorial! get creative and find a way to turn it into something "extraordinary!" (Bonus points if you get homework done, while you're at it. Which I did, btw!) Thanks, Elder Pedersen! :)

An Accurate Portrayal

image by Violet May via Design Mom

I went on a walk with Caitlin Tuesday morning, and we caught up on life, school, her trip to NYC, etc. It was so great! In the course of our conversation, we talked a little about my blog. She commented on how fun my summer looks, how lovely the photos are, etc. etc. And I was like, gurrrl, please! (or, please, girl! as my roommate Whitney might say.)

*a brief sidenote*

I started writing this blog as an alternative to keeping a journal (and again, I don't blog publicly about my deepest, innermost private things, but I DO tend to share a lot of things here. (Which I still find strange, btw. But I've always felt surprisingly OK about leaving this space public, sooo I'm just gonna keep rolling with that feeling for now.). I've been reading a lot lately on LDS.org about Family History, and in the list of "things we can do" for our genealogy, they ask the question: "What are you doing now to preserve your personal history?" And I thought, hey! My blog = my personal history! (or at least a part of it.) I don't hard copy journal as much as I'd like to, and I often forget things if I don't take photos of them. My friend Jeffie G. mocks me because I take SO many photos, but that's honestly another reason I do it; if I don't photograph something, I'll probably forget it! It's sad, but true. Case in point: every Sunday night when I go to e-mail my brother, I have to scroll through my iPhone photos to remember what I did that week. But that's not what this post is about.

*end of sidenote *

So, yes, "Gurrrl, please!" And I thought of all the things that have filled up my summer. The things that aren't on this blog. The things that live in my heart and in my head, and the things that are maybe too boring/mundane or stressful/personal to photograph/share? But if I am to preserve my personal history or even to show my real self (is that what I'm trying to do? A saber...) via this blog, I suppose I should provide a more accurate portrayal.

With that in mind, let me share a little about my two biggest anxiety-inducers this summer:

A- Finding a job.

B- Finishing my graduate degree.

Don't get me wrong; I worry about plenty of other things, too (making time to exercise, how to balance my time in general, how to put myself "out there" with regards to dating, when I'm going to finally make time to paint the rest of my dining table/chairs (oh, and how to figure out what size screws the table needs? the top of my dining table is currently perched precariously on top of the base... but that hasn't stopped us from eating/playing games on it!), family stuff, how to find cheap couches and a new area rug because I really really hate the ones we currently have, thinking about selling some clothes/shoes I never wear because my room is too cluttered but WHEN the heck do I have time for that and WHERE would I sell them?, looking for ways to share the gospel on a daily basis, fretting about how the humidity will affect my hair, what I'm going to wear? (ha.), etc., etc.).

But my biggest priorities are the two mentioned above. Blogging about being jobless, about networking, about e-mailing resumes isn't very exciting. The process of looking for a job is often very overwhelming . I described it to my bishop's wife on Sunday as somewhat akin to dating (I also compared my search for the "perfect" pair of nude wedges to dating, but that's neither here nor there.) in that you have to put yourself "out there," make a good first impression, connect with the right people, keep an open mind, make yourself vulnerable to potential rejection, walk that fine line between expressing enough interest and acting desperate, etc. Both are no crazy sometimes, but I hear that both are worth it? In the meantime, they are both stressful. And time-consuming (at least the job searching is).

And graduate school... Ah, graduate school... I walked at the Commencement Ceremonies in May, but I'm wrapping up my last few classes. That includes two classes this summer, finishing a course from LAST summer, testing out of a class I don't really want to take, and a trip to Turkey in August (for which I've yet to buy a plane ticket on account of the whole not having a job thing...). And it's SOOOO much harder to focus on school when everyone around me is playing and having all sorts of summer fun! My case of #FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) is perpetuated to the Nth degree when I'm in grad school during the summer. Add to that my very short attention span, and well... it's hard. The school part will be over in about six weeks, but it's daunting to think of all that needs to happen BEFORE that in order to GET to "the end."

But to tie everything together, let it be known that I feel very grateful for the opportunities I've had (currently have) in my life, and I'm grateful that my "problems" are such blessings. I mean, seriously. Do you know how many people in the world would LOVE to get an education and can't? My own parents didn't get to go to college, for crying out loud! Heck, my grandmother never even learned how to read, and here I get to go to graduate school at a world-class university, studying a field I love! Such a blessing! :) And as I'm job searching, I feel very grateful for the help of so many friends and colleagues who give me advice, critique my resume, share opportunities with me, and recommend me to others. I feel hopeful and grateful, and I know things could be much worse.

When I look back at this time of my life, at this summer, I want to feel that my time was well-spent, that my choices were well-made, and that my direction and my attitude were correct. Most of all, I want to make sure that I'm always (not just now) accomplishing good things. Maintaining this blog will provide me (and others, I suppose) a way to look back quite literally, and I want to remember that there was more happening beneath the surface of the parties, picnics, and playtime. Because it's during those "other" times -- the times that we often feel are too mundane or drab to blog about -- that real personal growth occurs. And boy, am I growing! :)

GSPM Class of 2013 Pre-Graduation Party

Mom, me, Dad

So... It's been a couple of weeks since my last post. That's because I've been busy graduating and having my family in town! I have a couple of summer classes to finish up, but it was still really exciting to walk with my classmates last week. Grad school has been one of the hardest things I've ever done, and I had a lot of emotions throughout commencement weekend.

On a lighter note, I also have a LOT of photos and fun things to share from graduation and the week and a half my family was in town! For now, I'll leave you with a few shots from our pre-graduation party last Friday at 201 Bar on Capitol Hill

Parents + me + GSPM Director Former Congressman Mark Kennedy (R-MN) 

Jay + Jay's parents + me + my parents

me, Alex, David

So, it turns out the Former President of Mexico (Felipe Calderón) was at our party! His sister graduated with a Master's degree from one of the other programs, so he was there to celebrate. Unfortunately for the poor man, he got bombarded by shameless people like us wanting to be photographed with him. Sadly, the first photo, with my dad in it, didn't turn out. :(

me, Lupita, sister, Pres. Calderón, Mom

I got to bring +3 to the party: my best friend, Lupe (who flew in from Utah!), and my two DC friends, Stephanie and Andrea. 

Our end of the night supermodel shot. ;)

Unfortunately for us, we hadn't eaten dinner before the party. (We thought there would be real food there, but alas... All we found were little chicken bites on sticks.) So we peaced out of the party a little early and went over to Silver Diner in Rockville for some late-night eatin'.

So good!

We had a blast, and our tummies sure were happy! I really enjoyed getting to celebrate with my parents, classmates, and good girlfriends. :) I can truly say I wouldn't have made it through this program without support from my family and friends. From listening to my frustrations to encouraging me when I felt utterly overwhelmed... Thanks for everything, guys!! I sure do love you! :)

(And now, stay tuned for more graduation/vacation photos coming soon!! And I promise they won't ALL be such terrible iPhone quality photos!)

Finished With Finals!!!

Yesterday at 9pm I had one of the world's greatest feelings. Like letting your breath out after holding it in for five minutes. Or coming up from the bottom of a pool after being underwater for who knows HOW long (AND you're afraid of water...) and finally being able to gasp for air!

via

Yesterday at 9pm, I finished my last final for the semester! It's not nearly as exciting as all of my classmates, with whom I started my grad program nearly two years ago, who took their very LAST final of grad school EVER last Wednesday! Not gonna lie: I'm pretty jealous! But I have a few short months and a few more classes to plug through, and pretty soon, I'll join them on the other side!

After our exam last Wednesday, our awesome professor (whom we all LOVED) took us to Elephant and Castle for a round of drinks on him (thanks for the mint limeade virgin mojito, David!).

And now, a few fuzzy iPhone shots of our celebration!

The Digital Advertising gang. Alas, our professor left before we took photos. :(

Drew is such a punk. He kept photobombing our girls photos, so I left in his evil eyes. Heh heh! ;)

I'm really excited and proud of everyone. I can't wait to wear my cap, circus tent gown, and hood (guys, I get a hood!!) with all y'all in a few weeks! #RaiseHigh #GSPMforLife!

May (Thus Far)

I know, I know. We're only five days into May, but here's some stuff from the last few days:

>>> My friend Jason got engaged this weekend! Back in September, we had a conversation about how much he liked this girl, but he was afraid to ask her out, etc. etc.. She was really nice to everyone, so he couldn't tell if she actually LIKE liked him, or if she was just being her usual nice, friendly self. I told him to not be a chicken and just ask her out! The worst that could happen was she'd say no, etc., and he did it! He asked her out! And guess what?? She LIKE liked him! And now they're engaged!! The moral of this story? 

"When in doubt, ask her(/him?) out!"

Remember this adorable picture of me with them from this post??

>>> Camille and I wore our Saltwaters! It was a hard decision choosing to buy the fuschia pair (mostly because I'm afraid of looking like I'm six years old), but I love the color, so whatevs! Who cares if I meet a six-year old with the same shoes, right? (Right??)

For reference, I wear a size 6 shoe, but the size 4 kids fits great! If you wear up to a size 7 in women's and are interested in buying a pair of these sandals, let me HIGHLY suggest you buy the kids' sizes. They're usually cheaper, and they look exactly the same! Also, AMAZON has Saltwaters for cheaper than anywhere else I've seen! (I paid just over $20 for mine!) This is the link I used. (Don't worry; it has adult sizes in a few colors!) You can see the price has gone up from when I bought mine, but they're still a pretty good deal!


>>> Steph and I rode our bikes to church again! (And this time, we rode them back, too!) In hindsight, it probably wasn't the smartest idea to ride 13 miles roundtrip on Fast Sunday (I may have had a few sips of water when I got home... Ooops.), but it was so fun! I look forward to many such bike to church outings this summer!

Guys, I rode in a PENCIL SKIRT! High fives for all! (photo by Steph)

(photo by Steph)

>>> I watched my friend Ali's little girl for a few hours one morning. Ali just had a brand new baby boy, and I wanted to give her a few hours off from double-baby duty. But this woman, I tell you, she is definitely an overachiever. What did she do with her morning off? Did she take a nap? Relax? Take some me-time? Nope! She painted her front door! Crazy girl...

Isn't her daughter adorable?? Such a cute, smart kid!

>>> I finished a paper for one of my  classes that literally took every ounce of courage and faith and energy I had to finish... I even resorted to googling "Grad school inspiration," because I felt SO demotivated... What I found was actually pretty amazing. There's a website called www.writtenkitten.net, and I did a little trickery to find the puppy version of it! Essentially, there's a space for you to type your paper, and every time you write another 100 words, the website shows you a new photo of an adorable puppy! So brilliant! That and Spotify (and God? praying? Gah!) are what helped get me through one of the hardest, most frustrating papers of my grad school career...

>>> The CES Fireside tonight (CES = Church Educational System. These "firesides" are 1-hour broadcasts targeted to young single Mormons. The speaker usually picks a topic (such as faith, etc.) and gives a talk about it.) was A- awesome. B- about President Monson. (Pres. Monson is the current Prophet and President of the LDS Church.) My favorite part was when Elder Walker said President Monson is a lot like Nephi. Why? Well, you may or may not know that Nephi is my BoM (Book of Mormon) "crush." (I know... That's SUCH a nerdy Mormon thing to have!) Nephi is just the greatest! He's faithful and obedient, he likes to learn and asks questions, he's ever the optimist, he's "large in stature" (I maybe like tall men? Yes, I know I'm 5 feet tall...), what's not to love?? President Monson is equally amazing. And let's not forget he's a UTE! ICYMI or want to watch it again, the broadcast is available online here.

via

Aren't President Monson and his wife just the cutest??  (via)

Speaking of everyone's favorite spiritual crushes, how adorable is this photo of young President Uchtdorf?? (Pres. Uchtdorf is another LDS Church leader.)

via

>>> I got hit on at the public library on Friday (where I spent the ENTIRE day. 10am-6pm...). A guy came up to me and asked if I'd watch his laptop while he ran out to his car. I said sure. Then he handed me a note that said, "Hello, I couldn't help noticing you, because I found you quite beautiful. By the way, my name is  (something illegible that starts with an A?), and if possible, I'd love for us to get to know each other and possibly exchange contact info. Regards, A?)" It was all very unusual. Unfortunately, I was NOT interested, but I made sure to be kind and gracious in my response, because it takes a lot of guts to walk up to a stranger and say that... Also, it made me wish Mormon men would be as assertive as non-Mormon men. Confidence is attractive, fellas! Try it some time!

And with that, I'm off to bed. I'm working for a few hours in the morning and then studying for my LAST FINAL OF THE SEMESTER!!! Think of me at 7pm and say a li'l prayer for me?

The Weekend

This weekend, I:

- Ate a lot of oatmeal and mashed potatoes. I'm still not up to eating actual meals... (Though I did eat a bit of pasta salad and frozen pizza on Sunday. And chocolate-chip blondies. I definitely ate one of those!)

- Played softball with the Utah alumni team! We lost both games, but the real story is what happened to one of our team members. She just had a baby eight weeks ago, and in the middle of our first game, she was playing shortstop and got hit in the face with a ball! Her sunglasses shattered, and the glass shards spread across her face. Needless to say, she was gushing blood (like... GUSHING. I was actually surprised to see how instantly red her face was from the blood... Not a sight for weak stomachs, folks. I was torn between fascination and marveling how much more blood she could have still in her.) and the diagnosis was that she'd probably need stitches. She's amazing, though; she didn't even cry! Not a single tear! She iced her face, her husband bandaged her, and she kept playing! And then, as if that weren't enough, she nursed her baby between innings! I guess compared to giving birth recently, a softball to the face was NBD? idk, but she's incredible!

Bucket list item: check!

- Rode my bike! 

On Saturday, for 4 miles (roundtrip) from the metro to the Mall for softball. 

Photos like this sure make me wish I could afford one of THESE helmets! My hair would look infinitely better...

And on Sunday, Stephanie and I rode 6.3 miles to church! In our skirts! (NOT in heels. They got to ride in my basket. :D)

Anyone have non-ghetto suggestions for how to properly attach my rigged bike basket?

- Took a 2-hour nap on Sunday. I think I overestimated my state of "getting better," and I wasn't feeling so hot on Sunday.

- Did a lot of homework... Being sick for an entire week means you lose a lot of precious time for schoolwork and real work. 

- Met with my friend's boss re: filling in for a bit as her personal assistant. She seems really nice, and I'm definitely grateful for the chance to make a little extra $$ (that Turkey trip sure isn't gonna pay for itself!).

- Tried to prepare myself for the coming week. This meant weekly planning (yep, like a missionary), errands (groceries, more drugs and such), cooking (pasta salad, beans, mashed cauliflower and potatoes (are you seeing the squishy food pattern here?), choc-chip white bean blondies), and committing to sleep at LEAST 6 hours (maybe 7?) every night this week. 

This is how I'm planning my life these days. Via tape and post-its on my bedroom wall. It's super helpful!

I have a presentation in class tonight, a final project/presentation for tomorrow night's class, a final exam on Wednesday, a final project due Friday, and a final exam next Monday. The end is in sight!! Wish me luck! Food/back massages/prayers welcome! ;)

Some Things That Happened in March

School and other things have kept me extra busy these past few months, and my poor blog has been sorely neglected. Lemme take some time to catch you up on the month of March. This is what happened in March (besides my 4-year mission mark, Amish country, overboard Target-shopping, etc.):

I learned how to make bagels!!

I jumped on the "coconut oil" bandwagon. (Because it's apparently cool right now to slap this stuff all over your food AND your face.)

My sister GOT ENGAGED!!

I saw the David(-Apollo) WITH David.

I decked out our table for Easter, and the color yellow made me smile! (And Mara included this in one of her "yellow happiness" posts!)

yellow daffodils + yellow easter chicken = :D

I made a Union Jack cake for Stephanie's birthday!

If you look closely (and squint a little?), you can see the criss-cross of the Union Jack in the bottom photo.

I (finally) went on a date to Take 5! So fun! (It was on my DC Bucket List, remember?)

I braided my hair and matched my lip color to my shoes. (What? No one else does that?)

Cliche on SO many levels...

I applied for graduation and ordered my regalia!!

(and then I took a picture with George in my Utah gear after getting out of the gym.)

Shum Shum came to visit!

I went to a CHEESY 90's themed party with some friends.

They had a "glamour shots" booth! Clearly, I cannot keep a straight face...

We said auf wiedersehen to Torben, who finished his thesis early and moved back to Germany to work for die Gruene.

The weatherpeople said it was going to snow... and it actually DID!!

SHOCKED that the weatherpeople were right!

I baked cinnamon rolls for Easter brunch at Melanie's.

This was pre-baking & pre-icing

My visiting teacher was awesome.

After three years of living here, I finally made it to the National Kite Festival!

You can't see it, buuuut that's a Barbie kite! #notashamed

April's been good so far, too. Maybe I'll catch you up on it one of these days. ;)