Hello, Corporate America.

Tomorrow is my first day of employment in the corporate lands. It will be such a huge change from my time at a non-profit mental health facility. Wow.

I finished my past job last Wednesday, and the kids and fellow staff were totally wonderful. Over the course of the day, I received cards, letters, posters, colored pictures and a lovely scrapbook. Somehow, all of their kind gestures made the two years of minimal pay, 14+ hour shifts, scary moments of injury and threats, and all the other sacrifices worthwhile. From the perspective of our kids, it was often a thankless role, but the comaraderie among the staff was my driving force. One of my co-workers had a house party for me on Thursday night, and we all stayed up until 3 am laughing, talking and sharing crazy stories. I will miss each and every one of them so, very much.

So then why move on? When I looked at the people above me in the organization, I did not want to do their jobs. I lacked motivation to move up the professional ladder, and working every weekend was exhausting. The aspects of the position that I liked the most were things like coaching and training newer staff, motivating the team, helping staff set and achieve goals, building strong relationships with the kids and staff, etc. When I left college, HR and human services were the two things that really interested and motivated me. I've tried the human services route, and the aspects of it that were most appealing to me were those that are HR in nature. Therefore, I feel I owe it to myself to move onto something new.

As of tomorrow, my job title will be an HR Consultant Liaison. Sounds all too professional for someone who has spent the past two years going to work in jeans and sweatshirts. The company is a staffing and consulting firm, primarily associated with contract IT positions for Fortune 500 clients. Their headquarters are in NYC, with eight locations in the US and Canada. I have spent the past four days in Maine with my parents, trying to gain some clarity and snap myself out of denial that I have moved on from my other position. Additionally, I have been a frequent visitor to the mall to gather professional clothing items.

6:30 am tomorrow will come all too soon. Walking out the door at that time in business dress will be quite the shock. It's certainly a long, long way from an hourly wage of $13.20, sweatshirts and jeans, and working until at least 11pm four days a week.

New Years Resolution?

So 1 year ago from January three friends started on a journey. We had a bright idea to start a blog, with the hopes that it would stretch our limits while drawing us closer. We started off strong and January of 2010 went off without many hitches (for those newcomers, we were vegetarians). We slowly fizzled out, until we reached the end in September. That month we decided to simply blog - which after 6 days and 2 blogs DIED. Yes it must be in all caps, if that can give any indication to the type of death it suffered. Many could have seen this coming, as I rarely stick to things, but we had high hopes. Still being discouraged, I did not think about or discuss any matters to blogging on January of 2011. I did not even think of New Years Resolutions - what’s the good of them anyways? Just as quick as a year flew by, April appeared before I even comprehended the new year and what that meant in my life. Therefore my new year started to form and take shape in April (I have always been a little slow).

April was quite a month of changes for me. I had just gotten back from arguably the most life-changing trip (third - go -round to Mexico City), and I had turned in my notice at work (for full-time at least). A big step in my world - so no judging. I am off to Peru for the majority of June. Off to TN to chaperone the youth the last week of June. Off to El Salvador in Sept. Off to Mexico City sometime thereafter. Big changes in my life are on their way, and I just hope I am making enough room for them. I am tired of standing in their way.

So here I am, the first of May (close enough anyways) to start my new year. While I won’t be doing crazy things every month, I hope my life this year is so much more interesting that I do not need challenges. My life this year better hold challenges within itself, rather than self-created disasters.

Happy Labor Day

Today is this great holiday in America- Labor Day. It is a day no one actually celebrates, but everyone enjoys their day off work. I on the other hand went into work. Just a small glimpse of how work has been the past month. Beyond the fact that I worked today, it was a rather enjoyable Labor Day. I got to work while most of the company was not there, so I got a lot done. I got off at a decent hour. And I made it to a dance class at the gym, also wonderful because few people were there. Its crazy how on Labor Day people assume everything is closed.

On a side note I cannot believe I actually blogged again- so I apologize if I have little to say. Usually I bottle it all up for my once a month summary, so this twice a week thing is leaving me rather speechless.

I'm Back!

As you can see, I've been gone awhile. I wish I could say that I had a good excuse, but alas I am speechless. I am back though, like the prodigal son- so please welcome me with open arms. It is the first of the month! That being said, you all are probably wondering what on earth our "challenge" is this month. I mean we have already conquered the world (food, crafting, athleticism). This month is going to be a month to redirect, to get back in the swing of things. What better way to do that than to go back to the basics- blogging. We are going to focus.

Now for the breakdown of focus. Focus has been a theme of my life in the past few months (although not with the blog- clearly). I have been questioning a lot in life, as most young adults do. Where is my focus? While I do not have the answer to that, hopefully expressing feelings and all that mush will move me closer to the right direction by the end of the month.

Hopefully you will hear from me soon (and a couple of days soon, not months).

Whoops

So I realize the title gives it all away, but that is about all I can say about this month- Whoops. Whoops that I failed on the giving up of caffeine and whoops on never blogging. To give myself a little credit I stuck with no caffeine until June 22. So I guess I made it through the majority of the month. For those of you that do not know me I should fill you in on 3 of the best items ever: Chocolate, Coffee, and the best of all Diet Mountain Dew. Just for the record, I do not know how I made it 22 days.

Let me try and paint you a picture of the point of no return. I am leading a high school work camp trip to Savannah to roof. We meet early on Monday morning and naturally I had to wake up super early to pack. I make it to the van, deal with paperwork, and load up all the kids- with zero assistance from caffeine. Go me! I manage to make it though countless gas stations (how teenagers have such tiny bladders- I will forever be baffled) without a Diet Dew or a candy bar- its basically heresy. So we wake up the first morning and head to our job site to roof a house. At this point- I'm still doing good. We get off the roof around lunch and I notice this bag of sodas, and of all the sodas that could be in that bag- there are diet dews. But they are warm. So I am still doing alright. We get near the end of the day and the sodas have managed to find their way into the bag of ice. We hop back in the van after a 9 hour workday roofing a house in the heat and the dews are screaming at me....I cave.

So it was all she wrote... I had coffee the next morning, sweet tea at lunch, and all the chocolate I could find, including a few trip to the DQ. I handed over the challenge rather quickly. If I were to make excuses I would claim that unlike vegetarianism- I do not see any ultimate value or lesson learned in giving up caffeine. I am forever grateful that I was a vegetarian, but the no caffeine never changed me as a person. Oh well...until next month.

No Longer Running on Dunkin'

This month we are trying to go "caffeine-free" for 30 days. Six days in, and I'm already suffering. Let me just be clear...caffeine free means no tea (unless fruit tea), no coffee (no decaf either), no soda, and no chocolate. If we manage 30 days, it will be quite the feat.

There are several reasons why this challenge is hard for me...1) I can see a Dunkin' Donuts from my doorstep, and it is very tempting. Last week, I went in there for a bagel and managed to leave without a coffee for once. 2) I work really long hours. Most of my work days are 12-14+ hour days. On Tuesday and Wednesday, I was super crabby at work, and my energy levels were definitely depleted. Almost everyone at work lives on caffeine as a way of life. 3) I *love* Trader Joe's chai latte mix. At one point last month, I had three containers of the mix in my cupboard. You can have it iced or hot, and it's so delicious. 4) I come home from work sometimes and eat chocolate after an especially tough day. Or my co-workers and I sit in the staff office after a hectic night and binge on chocolate chips while we consider all the craziness that went down that evening. 5) Dunkin' Donuts are EVERYWHERE in the north east! Like I said, I have one I can see from my doorstep, I pass another on my way to work, and there are two others in my town. Their damn commercials make me crave coffee. Ughhh.


Unfortunately, I already have a confession to make...on Friday, I went to NH to get a new laptop (Hurray!), and I planned to see my 94 yo great aunt (she's awesome, by the way, she gave my family a 6' tall British solider one year for Christmas). In between those tasks, I went to the beach, and I can't go to the beach without ice cream afterwards. I was totally not thinking when I ordered my ice cream, and half way through eating it, I realized I was eating chocolate chips. Oops. AND then yesterday was Free Ice Cream Day at Friendlys, and I took a couple kids from work. The Reeses flavor sounded so good, and I could not resist (and the guy serving the ice cream was staring at me lovingly and I felt pressured to make a decision because our interaction was getting awkward). Sooo, I guess I have already screwed up this challenge because I had two scoops of ice cream which included chocolate.

The bigger challenge will be the no coffee, TJ's chai tea, or Diet Coke. Help meee.

Victory

Hi Strangers! I know I know, before you begin fussing- it has been far too long. On another note, this past month we continued running. You would have been so proud- JMo and I completed a 5k. While I will not reveal our time- we met our realistic expectations of being under 40 min! It was our first 5k and all.

So prior we get a good nights rest, wake up early, make eggs, and dress in matching tye-dye. We hop in the car and drive to the Y, only to immediately get freaked out by all the people that legitimately look like runners. After a few minutes of positive thinking, we rush to the registration to pay our entry fee- so that we cannot back out. Briefly we get really excited about our free t-shirts, then we see these women running around- warming up. How on earth can you waste your running ability before the race? We walk a lap, and decide we are ok.

Standing in the back of the crowd, the whistle blows, and we are off! We run and run and attempt to drink water while running (way more difficult than it looks). While we remain near the back of the pack we finish! The second to best part of it was coming to the finish line and have these kids yelling- Go 4-1-4! You can do it 4-1-6! I almost burst into tears. We come near the finish line, and the lady tells one of us to pull in front of the other. Being the wonderful honey she is, JMo said- I wouldn't dream of it. So we crossed the line together.

The first best part was that JMo and I tied in our age range, and now have the first and second place trophies sitting on our kitchen shelves. (I'll leave you to figure out that puzzle)

SUCCESS!

On Sunday, I completed the 5k! :-) It was really exhilarating and I'm so thrilled that I was able to reach my goal. I managed to run all three miles too for nearly 30 minutes. And even though the 5k is over, I went running today...we'll see if this continues. But for now, I feel so pleased that we are accomplishing goals and following our plans. Jesse and Jmo are running their 5k in K-ville on Saturday - you can do it ladies!!! I'll cheer you on, even from hundreds of miles away. :-)

Counting Down

In six days, I will run my first 5K. I say run because I am hopeful that the training I have done for the past six weeks will pay off and there will be no walking involved. This morning, I realized that the 5K might be easier in some regards than the training...I will be excited, there will be other people there, two of my friends are running with me, it takes place on a beach. These are all things that might get my adrenaline going more than just running by myself.

The first several weeks of this running gig, I followed the plan from Runner's World well. First week - I ran two minutes, walked four. Second week - I ran three minutes, walked three. Third week - I ran four minutes, walked two. However, since week three, I have diverted slightly from the training plan. The fourth week I was running five minutes and walking one, which made logical sense to me, but afterwards, I realized the training plan has you gradually ease into that amount of running. Last week, I started doing seven and eight minute intervals with two minutes walking in between. I just got back from running and I ran two 13 minute intervals. This is progress, and it feels good.

My boss has run several marathons in recent years, and on Friday, I told her that I was running my first 5K on May 16. Her advice to me was to listen to my body. I'm glad I heard that advice, because on Thursday I had taken the day off as my knee was starting to bother me. I researched a little online and realized that I was feeling my patellar tendon, just below my knee cap. I decided a day of rest and ice with elevation might be a good idea. Unfortunately today while I was running, my knee felt the same way, so I will be icing it soon.

So that's the update. We still have not decided our challenge for May, but seeing as we are all doing 5Ks maybe it will be an extension of April running to reach our goals.

Part of an Elite Group

So unlike the past two months, my lack of blogging does not properly indicate my participation this month. I have been running! Albeit less than expected- I had been aiming for 4 times a week, yet sadly the first two weeks I ran 3 times and last week I ran twice. While it doesn't take much time to run, I am a girl and have to factor in showering and fixing my hair afterwards. It is crazy how much my stamina has increased. I am only at 5 minutes running, but hey better than what I started at. At this rate though it will still be a miserable marathon.

Funny story- today JMo and I just felt crappy and tried to go out and run. We ran our first 5 minutes (almost died), walked, dropped down to running 3 minutes, and then gave up and walked home. I just cannot make myself do something I don't want to - and I am also really good at convincing people they do or do not want to do something. Hope nobody saw that failed attempt.

The coolest thing about running is not that I am getting in shape, or that my butt is getting tighter, rather it is the feeling that I am one of "those" people. I am in an elite crowd of the dedicated runners. Never would I have ever thought of myself one day being in the running club, but here I am. Sort of- I guess I'm one toe in. But still... The other day JMo and I went to the track by my house to run, except when we parked we realized all these soccer practices were going on. We are definitely not at the running in front of people stage, we we opted for running down the road to a neighborhood. I felt so legitimate running on a road that had lines- it was exhilarating. Everyone should try it once.