Wordless Wednesday

Slow to post

I'm trying to get back into the swing of things......

Anyway, tomorrow I am taking the GRE. I took it four years ago before getting my Master's degree and found out that I was about 30 points shy of the suggested score to get accepted into USF for my PhD. So, off I go tomorrow. Too bad I planned so long for this and still did not really study for it. I guess I will be cramming tonight. Most of it is just math review and vocab/verbal stuff. Not things that you can really study for. (I do have a vocab book of 500 words, but really, do you think that someone can cram all of them?) I have always been a believer in natural test taking abilities and talent for math tests. I am going to take probably two practice tests, but I feel a lot more prepared just knowing what I am getting into. Also, I have a few more tips under my belt.

The first time I took this test, I did very well on the math and did not so very well on the verbal. Also, I am taking it this Wed since you can take the exam once a calendar month. That means I can take it in Nov, Dec and Jan. (though that would get very pricey.....)

Anyway, I will start around noon, so WISH ME LUCK!! This will help determine if I get accepted for my PhD next fall!

Chillin with E

So, to make sure that I am making the most of Florida, I went to hang out with E. (Well, actually she placed a perfectly timed call and asked me if I wanted to hang out....but anyway.)
It worked out great since I hit an all time low. Thursday a family member was laid to rest and that evening I got the phone call that one of my little cousins has leukemia (an initial diagnosis). Needless to say, I did not take my first tragedy away from the family very well. This news was followed by frantic phone calls sent out to friends for support. Ten phone calls and a forty minute wait later, Captain finally came through.

I got pretty pitiful and even though I felt bad since no one was there for immediate support, I felt even worse knowing that I was putting my pain before that of the rest of the family. (What did my personality test say? Oh. Yeah. Empathetic to a fault.) Now I am getting my support/distraction time with E while awaiting more news.

Pray for little Bret. The specific diagnosis is not in, but prayers are appreciated. He's so little, and we love him so much.

P.S. to family members: Yes, none of you received a phone call from me Thurs night. I needed someone to cry AT not cry WITH. It's a mild difference, but it is there. I know you are always there......

Glorious day

My next invention is going to be a sensation machine. I will discover a way to stimulate the brain so that people can feel the way that I feel. (Much like the gun in the movie Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy that helps men to fully comprehend what a woman is feeling.)

Today I would let you all experience my day sitting outside Panera. The weather is a perfect 74 degrees. It is overcast but still bright and feels much like a NE fall without the horribly cold breeze that blows through your jacket. In fact there is almost no wind and when there is a small gust, it is just enough to blow my hair across my face. The humidity is gone out of the air and I can smell the coffee brewing inside starbucks. I am rotating my ipod between Damien Rice's "O" album and the new Ingrid Michaelson cd. (She sings the Old Navy sweater song with the line "If you're chilly, here take my sweater." and he sang the song that Natalie Portman is walking to in the end of the movie Closer--traumatic flick, but awesome soundtrack.)

I am ready to head home, but to avoid traffic, I think I will hang out here and enjoy the weather a little more. I have another hour and a half left on my battery and will try to catch up on a little bit more work.

Wish you were all here to enjoy this lovely weather and look forward to hearing from you all.

BTW- Jacque, Mel and Nikki: I am coming back to town again on the 16th of November and will be there until the day after thanksgiving. Think perhaps we could do a Sunday brunch or something?

Back to being alone

I was aching for some me time right before I left, but once I'd arrived home, I felt like I needed to call someone. First on the list was X.

Why does his name come to mind first? Probably because even though we have not spoken for almost a month he called last night. I did not answer, but he left a really sad sounding message stating that he was having a rough few days and would I please call him. (Oh Lord, he knows which buttons to push. Yelling and anger don't get to me, but a need for social support just kills me...) BEFORE you all panic, I did not call. But it did lead me to call about five other phone numbers and no one answered right away (Thanks to Faith for finally picking up.)

I had coffee with Evelyn this morning and got so wrapped up in talking that I nearly missed my flight out of Omaha. Everything went smoothly, but I was pretty unmotivated to work once I got in. I'll have to get on that tomorrow.

Anyway, hope all is well with you ladies. I'll catch up with you later.

Harley girl

This week has been super fun. I had a good time catching up with people from work and also got to go for 2 Harley rides with Brandon. He is so nice sometimes. Last night when we went to head out his third roomate showed up. (Two of his roomates have bikes too so they often head out together.) That meant that I didn't have a helmet to wear since they were all going. So, we all drove over to the Harley store and he simply bought a spare helmet. He really didn't have to, but it was great going with the guys. Here's a pic of him and his sweet bike.



Update: I apologize about the privacy setting. I hope that it is not a big inconvenience for you all, but since a few people now have my blog address, I don't want them fishing for stuff in past blogs. (Even though I think I have only mentioned work a handful of times.)

10/21 Scene 4: just the usual

Update:

I will be back for Thanksgiving courtesy of +p. They planned a session for Monday the 19th, and I'm just gonna delay going right back home for a few days.
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I got an email from another one of the guys from the conference not in the picture. He ended it with:
"I think we had a great group and you were one of the people who made it unique."
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Was supposed to have a meeting with the CEO today and got blown off (i.e. he got distracted by something else). It is rescheduled and I am super excited because I think it will set me up for a few cool projects.
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I signed up for the GRE test for my application for my PhD. It is scheduled for Oct 31st at noon. This will most likely determine if I get accepted or not!
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And to end this little trail, we started a weight loss thing. They measure our body fat percentage and we are supposed to try and lose 3%. Yeah, talk about depressing. Nice way to welcome me back to NE. "Hi, you have borderline healthy BMI! Try and drop a few pounds and just to make it harder, you weigh in again the day after Thanksgiving!"
Oh well, if I win I get $100. Nice....

10/21 Scene 3: TFM

So, two weeks ago I attended a conference in Tampa called Talent Focused Management (TFM). There were lots of cool people there and I am hopefully going to be hanging with them soon. First, there was Jenny (on the right). She is from Jacksonville and we are totally going back to the bar that we partied at on Tuesday and Thursday. Gabrielle is from Vancouver (on the left). She is also awesome.


There were lots of Canadians there and they sure knew how to party. On the right is Dave. He is married and lives in Orlando. He comes to Tampa every so often and invited me to come and hang with him and the little lady. Next in line is Mike. He is super nice and was totally cool with hanging on the dance floor. Third from the right is Victor. What a supercool and funny guy! It took about five drinks to get him out on the dance floor, but then he wouldn't leave. Next is Doug. He was my competitive buddy that would quote Talladega Nights with me. We did "Shake and Bake" about 50 times and kept throwing out lines like "I'm all hyped up on sugar an' Mountain Dew!". Matt is the cutey with the shaved head. He was seriously the charismatic guy that everyone loves, guys and girls. Then, of course, he tells the story about marrying the love of his life this last summer. They have been together for 13 years (they met in 1st grade). Everyone together: Awwwwwww..........


Last but not least it Devon. Yeah. Just look at him. Seriously. Tall, dark and handsome hardly covers it. He was one of the first to hit the dance floor with me. Now, for the first few songs we just did the "white guy move" of pumping our fists while sporting the overbite. But wow...... Stacey needs a passport so she can go to Vancouver.

They all let me know that I needed to come up for a visit. YEAH. Friends!

10/21 Scene 2: Warm fuzzies

So, this last week was my little neighbor girl's birthday (the ones I would wave to outside of my office in Lincoln.) I got her a Hannah Montana purse, fold up brush and lipgloss. Man was she sure excited! Evidently she was actually watching the show when I knocked on the door and handed her the gift.



Jacque on the left just turned 9 and her big sis Katie is 11 (I think....) Katie and her friends came over to +p (Jacque too) and we had root beer floats before I moved. It was very fun and they met two more people that live on "their" side of the building. When they come home, they always wave at Edan and Paige. Paige is in my old office and when Katie and her friend Paige (Paige #2) they started to wave. I could see Katie squinting to see who I was and she mouthed "Is that Stacey?" Once she realized it was me, she started to jump up and down frantically and wave like a 16-year-old at a Justing Timberlake concert.

I headed over to say hi and then had them call their mom to see if I could take them out for smoothies. It was so fun just sitting there listening to a coupld of Jr. High girls going on about their teachers, boys, and what that one girl wore to school last Friday.

I feel like such a celebrity......

The Story 10/21 Scene 1

Okay, so that was rather rude of me to leave you with a cliff hanger for almost a week. When I came back to the office, I immediately started off with a three day training where I am basically in a meeting from 8-5. It sucks, but I thought it would help for me to understand the interview that I have been running studies on for the last year. (I don't do interviews because I don't have the time.)

Anyway, the lady that conducted the training started off with this "I'm so fantastic" speech in the ice breaker activity. She is a "natural born counselor" who "understands people" and can tell people "things they don't even know about themselves". Really?!? WOW!!! Cuz no one else that was in the room can read people, build relationships and counsel. OBVIOUSLY, I am just good at it because I got a degree in it. No natural talent here..... I tried to strike up a convesation about the topic, but she simply shot me down saying that anyone could do what I do.

Nice. No really, as a "natural born counselor", she must have missed the gene sequence that helps her to VALIDATE the feelings of others. Good for YOU! I'm so glad that you understood me. As the training went on, she never once gave me a logical answer. I needed to listen to the answer and "feel" what they were saying. Lady, I don't care how many times you say it to me, I still don't think that "probably" means "yes". On the last test script, she finally explained that the research had been done and it was an acceptable answer. Well, THANK YOU VERY MUCH MISS LIPPY! That was something that could have been brought to my attention during the LEARNING PROCESS.

To get back at me, she gave me a silver level certification (silver is 85% and gold is 90%). I have only heard of ONE other person ever getting below a gold. It's okay, now everyone knows that I really am unique. She follows up this with a little pep talk that goes a little something like this:

"I know that you think you struggled because of your training on the in-depth interview (much more involved with gray areas in coding that I do everyday), but you just need to pay closer attention. You don't focus very well and if you would have just dedicated more time and concentrated harder you could have done better. You have to stop doing other things and emmerse yourself in the interview. Being unable to focus, you need to take extra care to do this in the future: be hypervigilant about it. Eventually it will start to affect your other work if you don't."

MAN. I WAS AANNNNGGRRRYYYY!!!! GRRRR!!!!!

For a place that prides itself on strength-based management, she sure missed the boat eh? (more like missing the Titanic actually.)

Anyway. I'm going to post some storied so that you ladies can have some entertainment. I feel like I've been neglecting you guys since these last few weeks have been so crazy. They will be labeled as different "Scenes", just like a play.

Back in the Saddle again

Well, things have been pretty crazy around here. I had a great time last week at the conference. I attended it with a bunch of clients with about 2/3 of them being from Canada. Man, those Canadians know how to party. Got lots of cards, email addresses and I am looking forward to maintaining the contacts. (There was also a super hottie there. Dang Vancouver for being so far away!)

I headed back to Nebraska for Mel and Nikki's b-day party. It was fun and I ended up making $10 at the slots! Yeah!

So far, things have been pretty good this week. I did have a dramatic end to yesterday, but that is a whole other blog. I'm outta here and hope to get all caught up while hanging with my sister tonite. We are going to rent the cheesiest chick flick we can find at Blockbuster and get us some comfort foods!!!

A lame update

Just a quick note. I am in a weeklong conference. Nothing new since my great day at disney. I am out of my apartment all week with a bunch of clients at the Marriott (only a few blocks away) and I have been having the time of my life. Needless to say, everyone is cool. Also, most of the clients are male, so I am getting along great with them. Canadians make up about 50% of the people and let me tell you, they are funny! Tonite we went out after dinner and had a blast dancing the night away. Just 9 guys, another girl and me! I love the odds. (Most of them are old enough to be my dad, but hey? They're pretty fun!)

updates and pics later....

Sorry Nikki. you have to wait until Sat to see the new haircut. No big change. Just love it to death

Disney again

So, the international wine/food festival is now going on at disney. Erin took me again (probably going to be getting that annual pass. It's $300, but if I were to pay per trip, it's $60 a pop!)


This time we were at Epcot. In addition to the regular mileau of rides and such, they have a lake that is surrounded by a village. Each new building is a different country. For the festival, there are additional booths and each country has little gourmet foods to try and wine/beer. Since it was hot and we were doing lots of walking, we passed on the liquor. But the food rocked! We had potatoe pancakes from Ireland, brats and kraut from Germany, quiche from France and my favorite...the manti from Turkey. It is a meat ravioli (not pasta, more like a potsticker) and it was covered in a yogurt sauce...I went back for seconds at the end of the night.

Here's a pic of "Germany"


There was quite a bit of entertainment too. In "China" they had acrobats:


In addition to gorging ourselves on the food, we also hit up a few rides. First off, we did Mission Space before we ate. It simulates a takeoff in a spaceship and you head in to land on mars. I have to admit, I did feel pretty sick just like the warning said. (Not to mention the lady that exited before us did indeed get sick....)

After that, we headed to Finding Nemo. Out front they had a few seagulls that would say "Mine" as you walked by. Inside you enter into a ride where you pass windows that look into the simulated ocean that Disney created. Then, projected into the viewing areas you get to see characters from finding nemo!!


The jellyfish forest was pretty cool too! (They were actual objects, not images.)


Soarin was probably my favorite ride though. You feel like you are hang gliding since the ride actually lifts you off of the ground, leaving your feet dangling. As you fly over mountains, through valleys and over the ocean you get a full sensory trip. They have little vents over each seat where they blow "wind" at you and when you pass over pine trees, you actually get a pine scent. (The orange grove was my favorite!)

I like heading there with E too because she takes me to the less exciting be equally cool parts. For example, in the US portion, there is a show with animatronics (life like robots, like the president exhibit from my first trip). It starts off with Mark Twain and Ben Franklin talking about the development of the US. There is movie screen behind them that shows portayals of all that our country has endured and more animatronics pop up. Native Americans, Susan B. Anthony, Civil War Soldiers. Then at the end, they have a montage of faces that soar across the screen. It's quite moving to see all of our American heroes and photos of momentous occasions. I was coping pretty well until they had JFK with a voic over for "Ask not what your country can do for you..." followed by his flag covered casket and JFK Jr. saluting it. Man. That little boy gets me everytime.

At the end of the night, we were pretty exhausted, but E convinced me to stick around for the fireworks show (each park has one). It is shot out over the lake and they have boats/barges that they detonate the fireworks from. Perhaps the coolest part is the spinning, light up globe that coasts out halfway through the show. In the finale, it opens up and more fireworks shoot out of it. Hope you have all had an exciting last few days. I know I'm lagging in this bloggin thing, but I'm working on it.

Wordy Wednesday

Katie has joined us in the bloggin world. YEAH! With the remodeling of her house, a walking and chattering baby and a new little kitty, she finally feels like she has enough to talk about. (Obviously, I needed no such excuse.)

Check her out, she is midwesttwingirl, and a link can be found in my friends section!

deepthoughts/mood swings Part II

Okay, so I wrote my first post on my lappy earlier and felt that it needed to be posted. Since I wrote it, I got a call from work that they want me back in town the week of Thanksgiving. YEAH! Coming home for some more family time/NE fall weather! Also, I started a little competition with my sister. She wants some motivation, so I am going to whup her but in a little workout challenge. We signed up for a free trainer program online and will compete to see how much better we can do. The P@n@r@ that I am at is across the street from my workout place.....

After dwelling long and hard about my previous post I started to feel better. I headed over to Panera and checked my emails and such. As I checked OMs musing about turning 30, I realized that I'm doing good, just like she did. Now, I always thought that I would have found Mr. Right by now and we would be getting married and thinking about kids. (I was a pre-med student, so I know the health benefits of having your first kid by 30....Silly to focus on, but there it is. Not to mention, if I wait until 35, my chances of multiple births increases exponentially. Like I need to increase the odds?!?)

As I get older, I have started making and/or goals. I am sending out applications for graduate school in January. I am applying for industrial/org. psychology. You know, consultants like The Bobs from Office Space? OR, if I am not accepted, I will live a few more years down here and probably head back to NE to attend the UNO program (I am much less enthusiastic about their program, but hey, I've heard it's good.)

Once I have my degree, I will seek out the Director of Research position at T+. OR, I just might find a new opportunity. (Negotiating salary is hard and there is a lot out there for I/O psychologists.

I always thought kids before 30, but since Mr. Right is not here, no kids. So, I can either wait for his appearance OR I would like to look into being a foster parent. I would travel back to NE before taking this on so they are offered the full family experience.

Life happens. Therefore, my goals are flexible. I like baskets so I may as well put my eggs in multiple baskets for that greate montage/chotchkie look!

Deep thoughts....by S. Dangler

I can feel it growing inside of me. This pharmaceutically induced depression. It’s weird. I wake up in the best of moods. Motivated and confident I get ready for the day. Part of this routine is once again popping my daily pill to help make being a woman a little more tolerable. I’m 26. My body should have figured it out years ago. Unfortunately, mine has not. Nearly two hours later, I start to drag. Regular things start to affect me more than usual. One of my favorite singer/songwriters Damien Rice nearly puts me into tears. Too bad for me, he is on my ipod work playlist. He sings of unrequited love and meaningful moments in such a lovely way that it is now bringing tears to my eyes and thoughts to my mind. Doug. (Ev, please try not to gag.)

I have not thought of him in a long time. We were together almost every night, studying down the hall from each other in the psychology building. At about 10 pm, one of us would text the other or journey down the hall so we could make the four block trek to St@rbucks. I enjoyed his company so very much. Then, we began doing lunch together. Being friends with his roommate, the whole group would get together on the weekends too.

We just clicked. He had this quirky sense of humor that I loved about him. People would speculate that we were a couple, but he had a girlfriend back in NY. However, as we started to get closer, there would be these moments. One night on the way back from a coffee run, he brought it up. He was interested. Then it went awry. Instead of saying something romantic or meaningful (hey, he introduced me to Damien Rice), he said we should kiss to see if there was a spark between us. Unfortunately, he still had the girl in NY. But he didn’t want to end that if we didn’t “have” anything. I brushed him off. I told him he had a girlfriend and I would not do anything with him until that was done. Another girl from our cohort had no such qualms. Therefore, our friendship ended and they became a couple.

I miss him. Why do I miss these people that added no value other than entertainment to my life? Obviously he had little to no respect for me, but I still miss him. I discovered a new artist that he would love. I want to send him an email. My heart says it is okay but so far logic has been able to prevail. Blah. I hate these feelings. Why can’t I let people go? Everyone else seems to have less of a problem moving on, but not me.

Stupid meds.

Neglecting my peeps

Okay, so I know it's bad when I get an email from Nikki and a call from my mom in one day. "Is anything wrong, you aren't blogging?"

Nope, nothing big.

Thursday and Friday I continued to work. (Well, Friday I was pretty unmotivated after spending two hours on the phone.) Also, since they can never seem to send me the conference number for my afternoon meeting, I get really frustrated after a frantic 20 minute search.

Saturday, I slept in and then headed for the pool after a light lunch. While there, a young guy came up and said that they were getting together some people for croquet, grilling and some beers in the courtyard. So, I met some more neighbors. Three younger guys my age, a couple with a little girl, a divorced dad with three kids, a girl about my age and an older couple. They were really fun to hang with and two of them hang at the pool quite a bit. We had burgers, a few beers and played that bean bag target game (Jacque, I believe you guys use washers). After hanging for about 5 hours, I headed home to shower. Then, off for drinks with my neighbor Greg. We had a good time, but I could tell that he was just exhausted. He's been working really long days.

Sunday I once again slept in. Headed for the gym for over an hour and then came home to finish my ultimate chick flick (The Prince and Me). I love watching cheesy Jr. High flicks and eating comfort foods. Had a few more Andes mints (straight from the freezer mom) and finished my Coke from lunch. Then, I finished painting my bedroom. It look amazing! I'm hoping to get a rod for my curtains and then I will post a few pics.

Nothing much else. X is back to calling again. He brought up the fact that he wishes we cold give our relationship another go. Ohhhhh......I get it. Checking on the internet confirms it.....Yup. It was a full moon on the 26th. This was mentioned on the 29th. Stupid men and their stupid moody cycles. Hope none of you had to also deal with this.