What have I been up to?

That is a good question. I will try to make the answer as quick and painless as possible--like a band aid/plaster being ripped off. I have been avoiding my blog for lack of things to say or maybe I'm just a bit over loaded with things to tell. Either way, I think I am finally ready to write again.

Just to recap, I moved from NYC to Harrogate UK in October and this is what I have been up to since then.

I did cry the first week I moved to the UK.
Really the only reason I was crying was that I just missed towels, got all emotional about it and had a little girly cry in the shower. Milestone 1, Check.

Enjoying the balls
Get your head out of the gutter. I mean fancy dress, ceremonial, freak-out-about-my-hair-type of balls. You already know I moved to Harrogate but what you didn't know what that I get to do really cool things here. Like go to formal events and wear pretty dresses. Yeah, it's girly but hey I have those moments too. What Leo woman doesn't like to look hot in a $500 dress (that I got on e-bay for $30).

(Girls love playing dress up)

A girl can't go to balls every day therefore, part-time work has filled two of my week days and the rest are spent searching for work or even sometimes working from home. Not that there is anything wrong with working from home but it is not for me. The very first day of working from home was pretty blissful. I woke up, got tea, had my cereal and spent the rest of the morning in bed under a down comforter while I worked on my sweet macbook pro. This blissful state only lasted about 4 hours.

By 1:00pm I was going stir crazy, I was pretty grossed out by the fact that I hadn't changed out of my sleep shirt and yoga pants. Then, I took one look in the mirror and lost all self-confidence. Perhaps it was the fact that we only had a tiny 'beauty' mirror at the time and the best view I got of myself was from two feet below my chin. Note to all women: the "under the chin badly lit view" could possibly be the most unflattering view ever. On a side note this made me feel bad for kids. They see us at this angle at all times. No wonder adults are depicted as monsters in kids movies.

(I resorted to taking snapshots with photo booth to capture a cute photo for a mid-afternoon pre-shower self-esteem boost after a look in the under-chin mirror).

Anyway, since then we have gotten a large wall mirror from Ikea and until this weekend I was still jones-ing for a full body/full-length mirror. I won a sweet Teak framed mirror at a local auction on Friday and can't wait to gauge the progress of my Harrogate hill runs in full glory.

Remember Remember November
One of the balls was in November and it was very lovely however it was scheduled at the same exact time as the giant bonfire in the Stray. Guy Fawkes Day is on the 5th of November. To all who are not familiar with Guy Fawkes Day, just imagine the 4th of July with a giant bonfire. From the sounds around our flat that week, I think everyone celebrates Guy Fawkes Day for at least a week prior and even a few days after the 5th of November. I got to go to a very nice ball but I did missed my first UK holiday. In fact, I've missed Christmas here as well.

Because Thanksgiving isn't celebrated in North Yorkshire, or all of England, we moved the date and made our own Thanksgiving on Monday the 23rd. While our friends and families were eating turkey back in the states, we went to Spain. We got this pretty sweet deal for a holiday package to Torremolinos. Upon arrival we realized why it was such a sweet deal. Despite our hopes for a sunny retreat from the UK, Spain was pretty cold.
The first day we proudly wore our tourist sandals and warm weather clothes but only to freeze all day and get gawked at by the locals. I think my skirt was a bit too short not only for the weather but also for the local taste. The second day we learned our lesson and bundled up in as many layers as we could find. We wandered the streets and castles of Malaga and Granada, I had my fortune read by an old Spanish fortune teller, without my permission, and she nearly ran us down when we refused to pay. I don't think someone telling me I'm going to have two dark-haired babies is worth €5.

Day 1

Day 2

Note our change in attire from Day one to day two.

Wisconsin Girl in WI
Eric and I trekked back to Wisconsin for Christmas for two weeks and two days. We both met each others' families and I met some of his Portage friends. We cooked a couple chicken stews with me on cutting duty and Eric as the chef, we consumed copious amounts of sugar. I tested my pro-skills at snowboarding and skiing for the very first time and managed walked away despite several diligent attempts to break my neck. I have to thank Eric, Mike and Claire for waiting on me while I fell and then got up again and then fell again. A special thanks goes out to Claire for teaching me that your first time is "all pizza", that "falling down is the hardest thing to do when skiing" and for her company in the lodge when I was just too sore to attempt another bunny hill.

(Daisy, Stella and me at my parents house in Wisconsin. There is no better early morning alarm than two little blonde nieces)

The morning after ski/snowboarding, we took an interim trip to Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon for a hike on the Kaibab trail.When we arrived in Vegas we drove almost immediately to Grand Canyon and spent the night in the car. The next morning we arrived so see the sun light up Grand Canyon. It was amazing. I have been there as a teenager with my parents but never as an adult and we never attempted any type of climb with Mom and Dad. When we got there, we were a bit surprised by the amount of snow on the ground... and in the canyon. So doing the smart thing, we asked the rangers what they would suggest for trails and equipment. We rented 4 hiking poles for the day for $8 and I bought my own pair of crampons for $13.99 +tax. It didn't take me more than a few steps with the crampons on to realize that "this was the best $13.99+tax I have ever spent." I am pretty accident prone, my arms and legs don't like to synchronize. They are frequently letting me down, literally. But with tiny metal bits that dig an inch into mud or ice attached to my feet and poles that jab into the ground, it is much harder to fall down. :D Take that, arms and legs.

I got so confidant skiing I thought I'd try it down Grand Canyon ;-)

Since we flew into Las Vegas and had a hotel there, we decided to drive back and spend some time in a comfy hotel room, shower and find a buffet to chow on. Nothing against Vegas or Vegas lovers, and perhaps if I liked spending my money, shopping for things I cannot afford or looking at naked women I would have liked Las Vegas a bit more. It was good to see the city as an adult but I would prefer a walk in the woods over one down the strip any day.

Back in the U.K!
We returned to the UK the day after Boxing Day and I have been jet lagged since. I'm a bit "off" from the flight and the time difference. I haven't been able to pry myself from bed before 10 am this past week. Luckily I didn't have to work. However, this coming week will be another story and I may need some help getting to work on Monday.

Unfortunately I have been self-diagnosed with car sickness
I know this sounds ridiculous. Yep, I'm a grown woman and I get pukey at the first sight of a roundabout. This is probably an aftereffect of living in NYC for 5 years. I got used to trains and forgot what it was like to ride in a car. I am getting better. I'm forcing myself to. The big plan is to do a long trip in a car in Europe in a year or two. So, I had better either get over my pukey-ness or I will not be a happy backpacker.

Seabands are the newest purchase I have made to combat this rare and horrible disease. They seemed to work throughout the United States. However UK roundabouts are the prime obstacle of this illness. I'm just not so sure if tiny plastic beads attached to sweatbands will get me through a long trip. I guess we will find out.


That is all I have for now. I will close with a few new words or phrases I have learnt (or learnt not to use) this year:

1. Pants: In the UK pants mean... ahem... underpants. My nieces in the US think this is simply the funniest thing ever. They even made me a Christmas card that said "you need new pants" and gave me a gift certificate for new undies. How thoughtful.
   
2. Double Fisting: In the US this means to hold two alcoholic beverages at the same time or even two desserts (I saw it recently on a Facebook image in reference to cookies). It does NOT mean the same thing in the UK... just think about it.
   
3. Oven: Even though the switch on the wall may say "cooker" it is still called an oven in my new NY (North Yorkshire). A real British citizen told me this so I will believe him until I am told differently. He said the switches are made in a different country so it is called the oven but they don't know that where they make the switches.
   
4. Buck's Fizz: To my New Yorkers, when you come to visit, mimosas are called Buck's Fizz here. Buck's Fizz is the original concoction created in... anyone? anyone? Yes, the United Kingdom. It was the first name for an orange juice and champagne cocktail. Later the French changed the recipe and renamed it to a mimosa in Paris.

Crunchy Runs: Overseas style

Just a shortie blog today...

It's fall all over the place and that means a few things: warm sweaters, no more short skirts, drinking coffee at the temperature it was created to be drank at, and crunchy runs (i.e. running outdoors on fall leaves). Last week I joined a running group and so far they do not fail to kick my butt every Tuesday and Thursday from 7pm to 8, 8:30, 9pm. I figure the days in between I am allowed to explore and go on fun runs until I find a job that can pay me for my time and ambition.

So after dropping off NHS applications and applying for as many applicable jobs that I could find, I got out of the flat and went to discover unknown lands (well, unknown to me). Towards the end I started to scare myself a little. It was getting dark and I did not really know where I was while meanering through some farmer's fields. Thoughts of making a desperate phone call started to creap up but it turned out I was just down the road from our flat and all was well. But that would have been quite a story. Lost in the UK less than 4 blocks from home, HA. There you have it: I had a wonderful crunchy run alone in Northern UK this afternoon. If you ever get to Harrogate I reccomend doing it.

(No offense NYC but I'll take this body of water over the East River or the Jackie O. resivoir anyday.)

(This was actually at the beginning of my run and out of chronological order. I put it in because I am trying to figure out what the bird on the left is doing. A back flip? Possibly a mid-air back-stroke?)

Learning English

(Finding my way through Harrogate this week)

After talking to Mom about my family history, I have learned that my ancestors are serial-movers. According to Mom, her side of the family got to America from Germany because they were running away. Now that is what I call running away!

I figure I should follow in the footsteps of my great great grandparents and have moved to a country that is foreign to me. Although my outward appearance blends in seamlessly, the second I open my mouth the librarian, the bank manager, the O2 and McDonanlds’ clerks, and the new running group recognize “this girl is NOT from around here.” That is right, I am the one with an accent now and I have a HUGE American accent.

(The view from my McDonalds "box suite")

Eric (my American bf/roomie) and I had a talk about this. He is not surrounded by the native accent as much but I will probably be and to be honest, I love it. I am really enjoying listening to people talk but then I open my own mouth and sound so different. Weird! I don’t know if I will acquire any sort of accent but I do know that I am already picking up on some great new vocabulary terms.

“Red Boy” “Rent Boy” being the newest one I learned the other day as I was sitting in McDonands taking advantage of FREE internet with the purchase of water and side salad. A group of teenage girls were eating lunch and discussing the term. One of the girls did not know what it meant therefore I was fortunate to not only hear the term but I got a definition as well.

Rent Boy=Male prostitute.
I had originally thought the word was “Red Boy.” It totally made sense to this Wisconsin girl--red light=red boy--makes sense right? I was wrong. Luckily, before I posted this, I had the good fortune to mention it to some Harrogate residents who corrected my error and got a laugh out of my my American translation. Thank you, sooooo much Kariba Creative team!

There are others that I am sure I will be learning. I don’t know exactly what the crag is yet. The women at the running club kept talking about a wedding run where they ran out to the “crag” and had cakes. Sounds amazing and I know for a fact that the cakes were very yummy. I got to have some after my first group run. However, I don’t really know what a crag is. I am imagining it is some sort of land formation. Maybe rocks or a valley? According to my “researcher” roomie: The UK was an area where the glaciers stopped in the last ice age. Being from a region of Wisconsin which benefited from the glacial stopping, I know what glacial rocks look like and it is very pretty.

Here are a couple more terms, which are new and very important for me to know. I will put the English term first then the American Definition and why it is important for me to know.

Boot = Trunk of your car
I suppose if someone tells me to put something in the boot and I didn’t know this I might be very confused. Luckily, Eric pointed out a “boot sale” when arriving in Harrogate. No, no my NY friends. Do not get too excited. There are no Prada, LV, or even Areosoles at this sale. Rather, it is a sale that takes place from the back or “boot” of your automobile.

Coriander Leaves= Cilantro
This is probably not a UK/US thing but it is something I needed to learn. In NYC we called the leaves of the coriander plant cilantro. Just like it says in my Microsoft Word Encarta World English Dictionary. However, I was not informed that they were two in the same before I went to Asda to get fixings for guacamole. Normally, I would just smell the stuff since it looked like what I knew to be cilantro but they had it completely sealed and I could not smell it. I was going to take a leap of faith but then spotted a whole coriander plant for sale on an adjacent rack. When no one was looking, I took a tiny leaf to sample and sure enough… I learned in Harrogate’s Asda that coriander leaves are cilantro.

Plasters= “Bandaid” or plastic bandage.
I found this out while in Boots drugstore (again, this has nothing to do with footwear). I was looking for bandages for my sore knees that I fell on a week ago in NY. Anyone who knows me, knows that this is a very critical piece of information. As an American child, I was known as the “band-aid kid” because of all of my injuries. I suppose if I were a UK kid I would have been known as the “plasters-kid.” Hahahahaha, that cracks me up a bit.

Chips=Fries
Yes, I know this is one of the most popular terms and I know it pretty well, I’m not confused by it. The reason it is important to me here is that I do not have the internet yet. ((Hold on, I’m piecing this one together.)) Since I do not have the internet at my flat, I need to go to McDonalds to get it for free. This means I spend a few hours a day at McDonalds. Eric is teasing that I will soon refuse to get out of bed without the promise of a Big Mac and shake. So, with all the time I spend at Micky D’s, it really tickles me to see a tiny blonde British child say “Chips! Chips! Do I get Chips?!” I have to reform my preconceived notion of the McDonald’s “fry smell” to mean “chips.” It is not solely the idea of fries, it is the fry smell that is McDonalds. I have to learn that that smell is chips not fries. Oh dear, now I am confused.

Anyway, I am also learning a lot about a culture. At first glance, it is seemingly identical to the one I grew up in but at second glance… I am found a bit lost. I am also learning the English way of living. Apparently, you do NOT have tea at teatime. That was a lesson I learned from my designer replacement Victoria before I landed in this sunny isle. Vic is from Oxford and lives in NYC. She filled me in on UK living while I filled her in on marathon running. It was a fair trade off methinks but I wish I had a pocket Vic right about now. I would get so much more use out of her here.

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(The Stray((I think that's what it's called)), and yes, it is sunny!)

Side Note: I bet you caught me say “this sunny isle” and maybe you thought I was being a bit facetious but I am not. It has rained one day since I landed but other than that, it is very very sunny here in Harrogate. I could possibly get a tan if the temperature rose a few degrees. ☺

Island Hopping: No longer Wisco Girl in NY

(A going away gift Cathy got me. It's a Wisconsin Girl in NY key chain. How appropriate)

I really should have thought about naming this blog a little more when I did it. It is the morning of the day I leave NYC and the United States to learn a new accent and explore another island culture. I am pretty excited. I got to wake up super happy--which I have been doing a lot of lately--and now I'm listening to one of my favorite morning bands--Polyphonic Spree.

This week was a lot of goodbyes, parties, and getting my fill of NYC things. It was a great week. Eric said "How you leave a place really affects your overall memory of your time there." I know that I've been very down about NYC for a while now but this past week reminded me of the reasons I stayed here for 5 years. Oh crap now I'm crying a little.

I ♥ NY people
Like I said in a few blogs, NY is people. What makes NY amazing for me is the MILLIONS of people. Luckily out of those millions I was able to find some really great friends. These are the people who have been there for me in many ways. I am alone in NY but I really am not. If I go into it too much I'll have tears all over my keyboard and then be pissed when I can't watch a movie on the flight tonight. So I'm stopping there. I ♥ NY people.

I ♥ NY's Coney Island
In my last post I mentioned wanting to get to Coney Island and I did. It's not fun or exciting but totally solemn. Basically it is a broken down amusement park and there is something I love in that. I broke my attraction to the least attractive amusement park down to three reasons when I was there:

1) Nathan's Hotdogs. It's totally fine to have a completely unhealthy lunch, drink a beer at noon. That was my one meat splurge when I was totally vegetarian. I would sneak out to Coney Island, have a hotdog, then tell all my friends how I cheated on my vegetarianism. I know whatever is in hotdogs should make me run in another direction but you just can't imitate them at all with fake meat.
2) I always witness some bizarre activity going on while I'm there. Last time it was a group of Polar Bear swimmers in March or April and then this time some Jewish guy was reading his giant prayer book while throwing food at seagulls. The gulls went absolutely nuts and it was actually really pretty (I have photos).

3) Lastly, Coney Island is a place where you can be alone but not. It's desolate and everything is run down/broken. It reminds me of the amusement park at the end of Big and for some reason I really love it. Maybe I secretly think the magical fortune telling machine will be out there someday. That would be so cool.

(The guy feeding gulls and reading his prayer book at Coney Island, so pretty!)

I ♥ NY food
Specifically I love being able to eat different types of food at any time. At any hour in NY you can get Tapas, Southern, Peruvian, Mexican, Indian, Ethopian, Thai, Diner food, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, Italian, Pizza (it's NY it HAS it's own category here) and more. Food brings people together, nourishes them, and can be an adventure to try new things. Also, on top of missing the food I will miss the dinners with my friends, co-workers, and colleagues. It's not the Pecan Pie Sunday or Fried Goat Cheese with Honey and Carmelized Onions that I miss. It's the sounds that come out of our mouths while eating them. It's the act of never being the one to eat the last bite because you are with your best friends and want them to have it. That is what I will miss.

My new "HOTLIST" of NY eats:
Buttermilk Channel
Shanghai Kitchen (formerly known as Moonhouse)
Seoul Garden
Sala 19
Johns Pizza
Clinton Street Baking Co.

I ♥ NY
So yes, I still ♥ NY. I'm just not suited to live here anymore. I really do miss greenspace. So, I am about to hop a plane to a very green place where there is a yard, a palm tree, washer, dryer, a red fence, a bike/running path, some roudy children that need a talking to, and a lot of adventure to be had.

So.... as My friend Shannon would say "Peace out NY"

The Final Countdown.

Finally I can blog about my big move. I have announced it at work and I will be migrating to the United kingdom on October 3rd. It is a big move for me but I'm not really scared just very excited and SO ready to leave New York.

I have grown a love-hate relationship with New York and it is time for this Wisconsin girl to move on from NY to the UK. It is only a minor acronym change after all.

I won't go into extreme details but Eric asked me to be his new roomie in April and it didn't take long for me to say respond with a yes! Since then, I have been plotting my exit strategy from NYC. I am exactly two weeks from being a UK migrant and am sitting in a very bare apartment. I sold my chest of drawers yesterday and my couch last week. I only have a few more things to pack up and I am out of here.

Part of me keeps thinking I should want to do one last tourist thing or one last dinner or one last party. Honestly, I don't want to do any of that and if I could have left a week ago I would have. Maybe I'm not sentimental or maybe I am just really ready to move on. New York has been good and bad to me I think there are stages of being a New Yorker. From what I remember there are year markers. When you move to NY you stay 1, 3, 5 or 10 years and if you make it past 10 you are a lifer. In May this was my fifth year and I have been ready to move ever since.

I also was thinking of a list of places and things that only happen in NYC that I will remember and miss a lot and have come up with a very short list:
-Lonely Coney Island trips
-Runs in Central Park (though I have been sick of the scenery for some time now)
-Battery Park (I just like this area of the city)
-Great sushi after the gym
-Cheap Chinatown meals (Moonhouse/Shanghai Kitchen)

That's about it. I will not miss riding the subway or drinking expensive drinks, visiting fancy restaurants, paying way too much for dinner, seeing Times Square, having bed bugs (a few years ago), getting told to "get out of the f*#king way", lugging my laundry across the street, traveling hours to go 2 miles or getting "the look" if I missed a pedicure in the middle of summer.

Overall this place is just too pretentious for me now. I will miss several people however. I found that it was not the place that made me stay for five years but the people who I love so much. They made New York City my home. I will miss the following (in no particular order):

Teda Totts, Sarah Schlow, Bailey, Lily, Logan, Dave, Cathy, Aren, Lauren, Taylor, Jedd, Kai, Richa, Billy, Jeewon, Claire, Mark, Mike Ditomo, Mike Renaldi, Merv, Bridget, Terrance, Leah, Leigh, Kim, Nicole, Sarah J., Elizabeth Faye, Joni, Casey, Rob Cappoli, Abigail, Anne-Marie, Norma, Pamelia, Susan, Sharmane, Liz and Cedrick, Delia, Austin, Virginia, Victoria, John, Denise, Jackie, Sammy-o, The coffee guy on the corner of 49th and 7th, The waitress at Shanghai kitchen and more.

That's it for now, I want to go for a run in Central Park.

A "Morning" In The Life

Good Morning Sunshines!!!

I'm writing this hoping that whomever reads it will respond with their typical AM routine. wherever you live— NY, NJ,WI, IA, UK wherever.

For as long as I can remember, I've been a happy morning person—Minus a two year span that included Grad School. I think it is all my mother's fault. She has always woken me up so nicely and gently and she uses this giant smile that would fill anyone with love. So, she raised me to be a happy morning person—I swear it's not my fault.

A great example of this was my first year at UW-Stevens Point. I roomed with my best friend Dana and would wake smiling happy and say "Good morning Sunshine!" to Little D as I woke up. Dana however, is NOT a morning person. On the contrary, she would sometimes wake up, messy haired, groggy eyed and say "F#*ck!" as she greeted the day—I imagine the majority of people are like this but like I said " It's not my fault, it's my mom's." Little D and I were like the odd couple (I was the disorganized artsy one and she was cranky first thing in the morning).

(Little D with her messy hair the morning after her bachelorette party)

So this happy morning thing has followed me a little bit to NYC but to be honest it has faded. The stressful morning routine of NYC lifestyle and fighting for a seat on the train combined with grad school took me down a notch. However, I figure if I write about it maybe I'll find something that does make me happy.

My typical morning (Post Grad School) is like this:

• 6:00 Teda Meows or scratches something, I throw a pillow at her and go back to bed.
• 7:08 Open my eyes and check the time and go back to sleep.
• 7:15 The phone alarm beeps. I hit snooze repeatedly till 7:30.
• 7:30 I make Teda come to me, pet her for a bit then get out of bed to shower off her hair. I do like this part a lot. I don't really have to do anything but tap my chest and that gray fur ball is on top of me purring and cuddling. It's so great.
• 7:30-8:00 Shower, get dressed and listen to the iPod on shuffle. This part also makes me smile and if it's an exceptionally great shuffle I get to dance and sing while I pick out my dress for the day.
• 8:00-8:15 Leave home, usually take out any trash, then walk to the NW train. It's about a 10 min walk to the train so this is actually a decent part of my 35-40 min commute in the morning.
  
• 8:15-8:30 Get Green Mountain coffee and a soy yogurt at the local health food store. This is a love hate activity. I love the coffee and the yogurt but for some reason the clerk makes me feel as if I am a burden when I need ice for my iced coffee. And I usually just forget stopping if I didn't bring enough cash (they really dislike letting you use your debit card even tho you can).
  
• 8:30 Get on the train and sit (or stand) until we get to midtown. This is the part of the morning that I dislike the most. By the time I get to the train I'm either sweaty, freezing or wet and then I have to compete with everyone if I want to get through the door, let alone get a seat. I think if I did not have to get on that train I would still be the happiest annoying morning person ever.

(Happy Kate one winter morning before the train)

So that's it. It's not quite as exciting or rhythmic as the Beatles "A Day in the Life" but hey it's what I do.

My resolution to get my AM happiness back? I dunno maybe I should walk to work or get a bunch of freelance design work so I can work from home.

Forgetting How Good

(An eco-elephant to help me remember by Advertising Agency: Ogilvy & Mather, Mumbai, India)

I'm starting this at work so I don't forget again. I am making a note-to-self that I need to remember how good it feels to accomplish something. I'm on a little accomplishment high today after finishing a pretty big goal last night. Woot!!!! I feel great today. :-)

Being extremely driven by a challenge, school was a constant fix of accomplishment for me and the high was amazing. I had so much energy, so much drive and felt great (and tired) for two years straight. Coming down from that high has been a journey. I'm still struggling with the void of such rigorous program in my life. However, I need to remember to feel great all the time and not just when I accomplish something.

So there it is, my reminder. Now on to my next goal!

song of the day: Regina Spektor--Folding Chair

NYC Office Etiquette: According to Kate

If you haven't figured it out by now, I am in a creative profession. For all of you who have envied, despised or lusted after a position in "the creative department," it's not all it's cracked up to be. We are usually the last to get any information that is vital to do our jobs. On a daily basis we have no more than 30 seconds to come up with a great looking & sounding solution. And since art is objective, we get to hear EVERYONE's opinions. I know you may have taken art history or an InDesign course as an elective in undergrad but please let the creatives handle creative. However, since I know you're all itching to know... Yes, we do have more fun.

(Me, having fun!)

Anyway, the other day in my creative area (8 drab cubicles full of colorful people), Cathy and I were talking about birthdays because it is officially Leo season. Most of our department is comprised of Leos. It's not unusual to find a couple Leos in a creative department and I'm sure if you'll have one or two in your "design studio" if you ask. Anyway, Cathy and I were discussing what we should do for a co-worker's birthday and it got me to thinking: "there is a whole set of rules for office etiquette." So, I thought I'd put my Wisconsin Girl spin on it and here it goes:

Birthdays Rule:
First of all, upon landing a job in a NY "creative department" you should find a friend. Be careful to pick wisely because you and this friend are mutually responsible for making each others' birthdays (within the office space) spectacular and the talk of the office. This means whomever you choose as your office BFF must know what type of cake, pie, frosting, and diet that you require for your big day and you are obliged to return the favor. This also means that if you do not establish a reliable office buddy... you're screwed. Well not necessarily, the entire department might feel a need to do something but this is not guaranteed. So if you want a balloon and cake (or pie) to show up on your "21st" b-day, make sure you find your office soul mate.

Tips: Look for the guy or girl who is very organized, seems to remember details and keeps an address book. Virgos are organized, Leos are loyal, Cancers are extremely friendly and Libras have a good sense of balance. Buddy up to any of these and you're golden (maybe).

(Me and my "Office Buddy" and friend Cathy. She's great for after-work drinks, movies, b-days, lunch and much more. I scored big time.)

Purse Advil vs. Drawer Advil Rule:
This one is pretty simple and most of you who are "in the know" will have learned this from the TV series Mad Men. You should keep your drawer stocked with some sort of headache relief pills. However, in "real" creative departments there may be categories of "Advil." First, it's important to know that generic Ibuprofen is the same as "Advil" but much cheaper at Duane Reade. Secondly, since you are--or desire to be--in the creative department, you now leave your standards at the security turnstile. It no longer matters if that "Advil" had been at the bottom of your purse immersed among lip gloss and loose change. When it's needed, you and your co-workers will consume "bottom of the purse Advil" or even "bottom of the drawer Advil."

Tips: "Purse Advil" is a little fresher and cleaner than "Bottom of the drawer Advil" and when possible go for the "in the bottle gel capsule Advil." But never be snobby, because you never know when a headache will hit.

Lunch Rule: Lunch is very similar to birthdays. You should establish a lunch partner, it does not have to be the same as your birthday buddy. Personally I love to eat early and have chosen the perfect lunch partner.
It is 12:15. Cathy calls..."I'm starving"
I respond "OMG, I was just thinking the same thing. I'm going with you"
Cathy says "Okay lets' go"

Tips: The keys to a successful lunch partner are similar mealtimes, similar diet preferences and similar budgets. If you like to eat at 1200 and you pick a lunch partner who can wait until 1400, you might have some difficulties.

Water Cooler (when we are lucky enough to have water) Banter Rule:
Water cooler banter is very common in the creative department. So common that it's kind of the norm. In my office we completely forgo the actual water cooler and just talk over the cubicles. To some this would seem annoying... and yes sometimes it is. Those who are annoyed (including myself) will put their headphones on. This is sort of a prerequisite to working in a creative environment. Normally the creative department is stuffed into a closet and like it or not, creatives talk.

Tips: This one is pretty simple, bring an ipod, headphones, and when partaking in banter: look both ways and have an exit strategy. The phrases "So, I'll send you those files..." is a pretty good strategy but the more creative you are, the better.

Smoking Rule:
As an ex-smoker, I'm not an advocate of office smoking. However, as a new Mad Men convert, I understand it may be integral to some peoples' lives. If you must smoke, keep it to a minimum and do try to quit.

Tips: Essentially NEVER smell the elevator or the office up. Take a walk while you smoke, do not use perfume to cover it up, wash your hands (Purell does not count as washing) and please try to quit. I know it's hard, I've been there, but try.

So that's it for tonight, I have a few more: "Punching out", "Happy Hour" and more but I'm sleepy. I worked today.

When is it time to purchase Rain boots?

(snapshot of the weather forecast from weather.com)

That is the anticipated weather report for the next 10 days for NYC.

Gross. You do not want to see the past 15 days either. It looks very similar.

Where do I live anyway? I did not sign up for this. NY summer begins promptly at the end of May and the beginning of June. Immediately the temperature rises to about 78-85 degrees Celsius, the sun comes out, air conditioners go into windows, hemlines rise and collars lower, the cat calls get louder and everyone drinks their coffee or tea on ice. NY is like this all summer and doesn't let up until late August or September.

NY is not: the loudest thunderstorms of your life, rain jackets, galoshes, wet pants, wet seats on the train because someone HAD to put their umbrella on the seat, or hot coffee at the end of June. It does not rain, then rain, pour, sprinkle, thunder storm then keep raining in NY. I guess someone did not tell the weather.com people this and unfortunately I'm experiencing a new NY.

I wouldn't mind sooo much but this has gone on for over a month and when I came back from Wisconsin everyone was considering ME tan! Something is not right with this picture. I tend to go back to the idea of cough cough... climate change. My parents like to disregard the whole climate change "theory," as they would call it, and defer to the more widely accepted idea that our plant's poles are shifting.

I personally think it's pretty reasonable to think bad carbon molecules and greenhouse gasses--that we create through processing fossil fuels and eliminating rain forests that would otherwise consume them--are trapping sunbeams into our atmosphere and then warming the planet creating irregular climate patterns. Or it could be both but if you want to think it's only that the magnetic poles are switching, that's cool too. Either way, this weather pattern is not normal. 80 degrees in Wisconsin in early June and 50 degrees in NYC in Late June? You decide.

On the bright side of this dark weather pattern, I love running in the rain and I have always wanted rain boots and a clear umbrella but I only think about those things when it is raining. So lately I've been enjoying wet outdoor runs and if this keeps up I may just remember to go buy some cute rain boots and a clear umbrella. Or maybe I'll get this one by one of my favorite Graphic Designers.

"Not Worth"

At 9:14am this morning I received two kinda disturbing anonymous txt messages. They were not disturbing because of the content but because they disturbed my peaceful sleep and lovely dream about driving around in England. I was on the wrong side of the road and everything!!!

The texts stated:
#1 he knows about your blog. hope you are ready for personal and possible legal implications.
#2 make sure he has nothing on you. not worth risking your reputation. from a friend
(exact punctuation, capitalization and spacing, for accuracy)


Holy cow!!! Someone is actually reading this!?!?!?!? I'm floored. I just write on here to vent and a couple friends stop by to say hi or see what I'm up to. It's like an open Facebook account but it's okay to talk only about myself on here at all times because, well, it's MY blog. :-)

So anyway, back to the purpose of this little blog all about me. I have since deleted my previous blog post 'And the Award for All time worst "Random Act of Guyness" goes to...' This post was a true story about my really bad ex-boyfriend who lied to me about having cancer so that he could cheat on his girlfriend and me... it's complicated but regardless I'm over it.

Txt #2 was right in two words "not worth." The whole thing was not worth my time, energy or anything for that matter. I've been over that situation for quite some time. So much so that I'd almost forgotten about it. I'm good at starting over, I've had to do it a lot. So I figure why not erase that little post just as I've erased that sleazy guy from my life? And with the miracle of techmology, I was able to do that in less than a minute. Woot for techmology!

Hmmm.... I am just assuming that "Random Act of Guyness" is what the anonymous txt was about. Shoot, what if someone is denying that I'm their friend or Eric is upset that I revealed my attendance at the Xmas party in Hawaii? Geeze I hope that's not the case.

Side Note: In case anyone--Since I now have admirers--is wondering, Yes everything I write on her is 100% truth. I don't feel the need to lie about anything here... I just tell it as it is. Besides that would be like making up your facebook status.

Wisconsin Girl in Wisconsin

Whoop! Whoop! was the theme of my past week +2 days in Wisconsin. My BFF Dana got married and so I flew from NY to WI with costumes, dresses, makeup and books to celebrate her marriage and party like a Wisco girl.

I'm in the airport on my way back now and I'm a bit early so I thought I'd write up my little adventure.

Day 1-2: The Flight from 90 degree hell
I thought I'd be all smart and get one final day of work in before I left NYC. I'm a freelancer so no work = no pay, yuck. So somehow (a $12 cab ride) I got my 47.8lb checked bag, a backpack, and a carry on from Queens to Rockefeller center (aka work). After work, with the help of Cathy, I got my stuff to a train then through my lady-charms I found a nice man to help me get my bags to the Northwest check-in counter in Newark. (fyi, this was the easy part).

Once I got on the plane it was... on time? No, it was not. It was delayed but only after everyone was on the plane and they established the fact that we would NOT be getting AC--on an airplane where the temperature was 90 degrees--until we took off. I hear getting stuck on the tarmac is the new cool thing to do so I got to do that and I'm now part of the cool crowd. Unfortunately, my flights ended up getting all messed up because I was partaking in the tarmac wait trend.

I am an optimist but also a New York City resident and I know that if you want to make something happen you have to act, immediately. So I did. The tarmac wait gave me time to make several phone calls and at the end of it all I had secured my spot on two later connecting flights and sweet talked a very nice Enterprise worker to wait for me to arrive at 11:26pm (2326 for those who speak military time). The end of Day 1.

Day 2: Ready, Set, Bachelorette Party!!!

(Dana, doing the honors of first flabongo)

The reason I went to Wisconsin a week before the wedding was to host Dana's Totally 80's Bodacious Bachelorette Party at my parents cabin on Pickerel Lake.

This was pretty freaking great. Dana kicked off the night with a 'flabongo.' This was a new thing to me but from observing the rest of the guest's skilled flabongo techniques, I could tell it's been around Wisconsin for some time. Note to NY, it's time to ditch the $9 beer nights and start flabongo parties, they are cheaper and more colorful.

My dad was there too. Okay, yeah weird my dad was at the bachelorette party? Yes, he was the DD for our pontoon boat. After a few drinks and kabobs at the cabin we took off with Dad and the neighbor on their pontoon boats. There were pontoon races, pontoon flabongos and pontoon 80's dancing.

It was a great day and night and the pics say all you need to know.

tip: It might be a good idea to sanitize the 'flabongo' before, after and maybe a few times in between. A few of us (including myself) now have sore throats. ew.

(Me and Little D)

(Dad with the cops. There was an incident with cops but Dad took care of it)

Days 3-5: RRC (Rest, Relaxation & Cheese)
This title kinda sums it up. I rested, hung out with my family, read some books, ate cheese, drank beer and hung out with friends.

A couple of highlights from these days were: Seeing my god son take his first steps, A sleep over with my nieces and nephew and kayaking down the Eau Claire River with an old friend from high school.

(My nephew Silas entertaining himself and me after bath time)

Days 6-8: Party, Party, Party, Wedding
On the Thursday before the wedding Jacci came up from New Orleans and I drove to Appleton to party with Dana & her future sister in-law Janelle and Jacci & her real sister Jessie. We (or I) played "See what a Wisconsin Cosmo tastes like in every bar in Appleton." It was an interesting and slightly painful experience but I ended the night with water and ibuprofen so I was tip-top the next day.

This was key because the next day was the rehearsal. After rehearsal we partied more, drank more and hung out on a creek with a campfire and the moonlight. It was awesome.

(Rehearsal. This was a very serious rehearsal. I am not trying to climb on Janelle, I'm practicing in case of... ummmmm choking? Oh, and the boys are hydrating with water)

(Dana, nervous and getting ready to be a wife)

Then there was the wedding day. Dana is kind of a nervous person to begin with so getting married is probably the scariest thing she's done yet. Somehow (force feedings of pizza and mimosa) we got her through it all and everyone had a great day.

Note: It's a good thing that rain is good luck for weddings because Dana got married outside in the rain and then it down poured the entire day after the ceremony.

Day 9: Now

(Me enjoying my last bag of cheese curds for a long long time)

I drove back to the airport early so I could see Mom and Dad once before I left and we just had lunch and they left me here. Now I'm waiting and writing. I should read or do some work but I didn't want to forget too much before I wrote it down.

There are so many more details to go with the trip, like: falling out of a kayak on a trip that should have been 3 hours but was 5, following 2 bald eagles down the river, giving fishing a 10 minute shot then giving up shortly after, picking my nieces up from their last day of school and watching Stella skip a bar on the monkey bars, and many more experiences. All in all I had a great time I think this story covers the gist of it.

Trip Theme Songs (an idea I stole): Rainbow Warriors-CocoRosie, Float On--Modest Mouse, Ha Ha--Emiliana Torrini

And boy did that fat lady sing...

(My Real Family ((Mom & Dad)) and my work family ((Anita, Sarah J., Rob, Elizabeth...Cathy, & Blake).

(And just a few from my ex-school family, Casey, Me, Mike & Renee)

Yay, I'm finally all done with school, graduation parties, and drinking away the slight depression that follows the ending of an era of my life.

This past monday was my big graduation day at the famed Radio City Music Hall. Yes for all of my musical friends, I did get to walk across the stage and sorry Aren but I got to be there before you.

Mom and Dad flew all the way from Antigo, Wisconsin to see me graduate. It was pretty cool. They have visited me twice in the past 5 years and this was the 2nd time. I didn't think I would care if they came or not but I realized on graduation day––as I was standing outside of Radio City Music Hall–– it would really suck if I didn't have someone waiting for me when I was done. I'm really glad they made it and I really enjoyed their visit it meant a lot that they could share that moment with me. We saw a Broadway show with Angela Lansbury, rode the tourist bus to Harlem and back, ate some exotic foods in Chinatown and k-town, and got tipsy in their hotel room. It was fun.

I think I'm finally adjusting to not having homework to do. My initial instinct is to do ABSOLUTELY NOTHING AT ALL and I have been doing quite well at that since the last day of class. Well, that's not totally true, I've been partying a lot and watching a ton of Netflix. But I do think I'm getting to the point where I'm ready for my next big adventure and to start working towards it.

I've decided to try something new but in pure fear of counting unhatched chickens I'm not going to post it on here yet. I have lots of planning to do before I'll do that. But It does required that I move out of NYC... So that's enough of a preview to my big plan for now.

There are also some immediate plans I need to get out of the way and I'll broadcast them loudly for all to hear (or read). They are:

• Finish my Spin Instructor certification (just completed!!!)
  
• Throw the awesomest 80's Bachelorette party for my BFF Dana (Next weekend)
• Gather as many freelance projects and clients as possible (hint, hint, for anyone reading this, Hook me up!!!)
• Update my website/business cards/Resume/CV
• Design a super sweet Logo for a Life Coach/Creative Wings
• Design another banner for Words At Play (going for better than the last one I did)
• Run another Marathon this year (in NY or elsewhere, I hear in Germany they drink beer and eat bratwurst after their done)

(See I really did it, I'm now a Certified Spin® instructor, yay!)

(My Totally 80s Bodacious Bachelorette Party Outfit... hells yeah! I'm way better at dressing 80s now than I was in the 80s)

So there's my short list. I'm still a busy busy girl I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have it any other way.

I woke up this week realizing that although Dad was a cop for 30 years and worked at one job, he was actually an entrepreneur at heart. He was always doing something on the side, building houses, mounting game (yes taxidermy), cutting wood to sell or boughs for wreaths. Anyway this made me realize I think I have a little bit of that in me. I like design, and maybe I'll be a designer/manager for a job but I'm also going to try my hand at the Spin instructor thing, and see what else I can dabble in to keep my curiosities satisfied. I might even pick up my camera again and start shooting again. But I'm happy like this and just doing what my heart tells me to do.

Oh but first I have to pick up my diploma.

Phase III: And You call yourself a DMer?

(the goodbye party that the 2nd year DM class threw for us... it was great)

I just finished my degree in Design Management which is defined as:

The identification and allocation of creative assets for a sustainable strategic advantage.

In plain English, Design Managers (DMers) figure out what they've got for themselves or organizations that is awesome and that no one else has, then they find out where the cracks are and guard them so no one else can poke at them, Set up their awesomeness to not do to harm others or the planet and if possible benefit people and the planet, and then make some (lots of) money while doing it.

I've been in a funk (and finding out my fellow DMers are in the same funk). So today I put down the German Chocolate Cat Tongues and had a *smacks the head* moment....DUH I need to analyze my problem and discover my "key findings" so that I can develop personal recommendations. Whew!

This revelation came after IMing with a classmate yesterday and then by chance I happened to run into two more classmates last night while I was out with Sarah S. (Merv on the V train and Lydia while I was having Red Mango).

All signs point to getting my DM on so Here we go: We'll start with the first tool we learned in school... S.W.O.T (or S.P.O.T if you're Richard). P.S. this will be a little hard cuz SWOT is meant for analyzing a company but hey it works on everything... I think.

(SWOT courtesy of Wikipedia ((couldn't find SPOT tho)).

Strengths of the Completion of Grad school

• Realization of Free-time
• A Degree that "will get me ahead in life"
• Beginning of a new Era
  
• A Huge toolbox of DM tools
• Network of DMers
• Advantage over other job applicants
• A really silly but cool cap/gown/sash-thing
• Time to develop own thoughts/ work on DM

Weaknesses (Problems if you're Richard)

• End of an old Era
• Loss of continuous intellectual challenges
  
• Missing classmates and routines
• Not being challenged to present
  
• Not being challenged

Opportunities

• Expressing ideas to new people
• Spreading the DM love
  
• New ventures/jobs/opportunities
• A changing economic climate
  
• Techmology (Listen to Merv: Twitter, Facebook, Skype, blogspot, Etsy, and more!!!!)
• Websites/Newsletters/Eblasts (create our own community)
• Our own DM network=our own DM organization? Free?
• DMI (get involved)
• The Pratt review/Catalyst
• more tk...........
  

Threats

• Lack of courage (but Jackie's class fixed that)
• Current jobs lacking support
  
• Global meltdown
• End of the world
• Massive Swine Flu Epidemic
  
• Becoming Disconnected!!!!

Key Finding from SWOT:
I'm fearing losing touch with my classmates and still want the challenging atmosphere we gave eachother.
--------------------------------------------
NEXT: I'd like to run through the Deming Cycle with the Key Finding and see what I come up with.

(The Deming Cycle courtesy of Wikipedia, I personally am intrigued by the orb in the center)

Plan:
I will not loose contact with my DM classmates. Sorry dudes, your stuck with me. I will create some sort of community to keep us on a touch-base level. We're some smart assed people and I'd hate to lose that. Lydia mentioned a website? I'm interested. I always thought a Skype/conference call night would be hilarious.

Do: Okay so this I now need to Do. I will send this blog to all of my classmates and they'll know my intentions and craziness at a new level. Then if they still want to talk to me... we'll KIT.

Check: Richa is good at checking on things so I'll put her in charge of this checking part. Richa... you need to check on this. Thank you! And in Richa's absense I think I'll appoint Nicole to check on it. She's a good checker too, but I don't really trust that Mike character, he was sketchy.

Act: Based on Richa's or Nicole's checking... we will act and make the changes necessary. So if this plan ends up being a website... or a conference call or just a stupid 'Wisconsin Girl In NY/UK" blog... we'll make the changes Richa or Nichole deem necessary then start the lovely Deming Cycle over.

Ha, there we go, one problem solved and it only took two tools... Well for now. I think I might have missed some Key Findings (like the insy weensy challenge at work thing) and may need to go back but that's enough for tonight. Maybe tomorrow I'll attempt a value chain exercise or go crazy and run it through the acclaimed GADMAP process.

Phase II: Happy/Sad

Okay so I've moved on to the next 'phase' of ending school.

I'd have to say this phase is very conflicting and annoying and I hope it passes in a day just like "forgetting something" did. I woke up really really tired today and I went to bed early compared to what I usually do. I had charlie horse cramps all night and bizarre dreams that had nothing to do with school or work and I don't remember them now but I didn't like them much.

I think I actually picked my outfit to match my mood. Red & Gray = Happy & Sad. I wanted to wear bright colors today since it's been sooooo gloomy outside this week (rain rain rain). But then I realized my office is like an icebox in Antarctica and so that I didn't have to huddle next to my G5 tower for warmth all day, I put a long sleeved gray "cardigan/robe-like thing over the top." It's usually my favorite cover-up cuz it feels like going to work in PJs but I always get a million compliments on it. However, today I just feel dopey.

(a peek at today's outift with the bland office floor backdrop. Oh and I forgot to mention I even pulled out the flower shoes, I really wanted to be happy today, I'm covered in flowers and butterflies that aren't doing the trick)

After a rather irritating morning meeting, I decided to try to fix my mood. I kept looking at my sad chipping nails thinking... I want to fix these, they look bad. So I decided to be a complete risk taker and actually leave the office to venture into the outside world during lunch to get my nails done. It's really something I've never done so I thought the excitement of actually taking a half-hour lunch would put me straight. Nope... But I do have some really hot nails now. I went for the hottest color thinking it would perk me right up. Don't get me wrong I love them!!! But it didn't do the trick and I think I'll need to take more drastic measures to move on to Phase III, whatever that will be.

(My nails in OPI My Chihuahua Bites. I don't have a dog but my cat does bite)