Worst Blogger Ever

I know I am. It's alright...I've accepted it.


I've got plenty of time to update now...I am sooooo bored. For the past 2 weeks, I've been in "hurry up and finish" mode at work. Well, guess what? I finished. And now, I'm left with very little to do. I don't know how many more times I can read the news or check the weather. I still need to pack up my desk, but how much time can that take? And, that doesn't need to be done until Friday, and sadly, it's only Wednesday. Thankfully I have lunch plans for the next two days...tomorrow with all my Springfield campus MM friends and Friday with my department (my "goodbye" lunch!). So, hopefully those lunches will be nice and long and take up a few hours of my last few days in Finance. Being a "lame duck" is really lame and I am so ready to work hard! I absolutely cannot wait until Monday - the start of my new career!!!


In other news, I am really excited for tomorrow...my running club begins! I will be running a 5k tomorrow evening at Ashley Reservoir in Holyoke. I went on an exploratory run there last week, so I know where to go and what to expect. This is actually one of the coolest places I've ever run. The running path goes right through the middle of the reservoir, so you have water on both sides! Very beautiful and very unique. Plus, I bet being surrounded by water will make for a nice breeze once summer comes (if it ever does).


In another sure sign of the seasons to come, John and I bought a new grill this weekend! We're big time grillers, and sadly, we've always only had the cheesy $99 grills from Walmart. Well, our ghetto grill finally bit the dust. Our ignitor broke early last grilling season, but we still held off on getting a new grill (despite John nearly set himself on fire trying to light the grill...multiple times). The grill stopped cooking well last year as well. Everything would either burn in like 2 minutes or never cook at all. The final straw was when the grill blew over and broke in one of the crazy wind storms we've had this year. It was clear that our grill had long passed it's prime. So, rather than replace it with yet another ghetto Walmart grill, we decided to invest in a nice one. We picked up our beautiful new Weber gas grill yesterday and it is awesome! Although it was a rainy and windy day yesterday, we broke in the new grill with some very yummy steak and veggie kebabs.


Now, on the not-so-positive side of the seasons to come, John put me to work this past weekend! We raked, then we raked, and then we raked some more. My poor arms were so sore! Bailey loved it though (she especially loved running through and diving into the leaf piles...funny to watch for a minute, until you realize you have to re-rake it all up!). We also picked up the 42 billion pine tree branches that had fallen into our yard during the harsh winter months. And then after that, John made me rake more. He is so determined to have a nice lawn this year (although, to be honest, I thought our lawn was just fine before). Apparently my husband is a grass snob. Sure, there were some weeds, but who doesn't have weeds? As long as we kept the lawn mowed, you really couldn't tell. But, what do I know about lawns? So, in addition to the grill purchase this weekend, we also purchased grass seed, and seed dispenser and Scott's Step 1. Who knew that it took so much work to have a nice lawn. I guess I've always thought that grass was grass and it would just grow. Oh, how wrong I was!


So, clearly we're well prepared for spring and summer. Now, if it would only arrive!

The Big Day...

...is April 7th. That is the day I begin my new career. I can't wait!!!

I still have to be "on call" with my old job for 2 more weeks (through April 18th), and I'm sure they will be calling me for assistance incessantly, but I can live with that. Knowing that there is an end in sight makes all of this so much more tolerable.

And on another positive note, I have tomorrow off for Good Friday!!! Really Good Friday if you ask me :-)

And, totally unrelated but vent-worthy, Bailey has her 5 year appointment on Saturday morning, which will no doubt be thrilling (note the sarcasm). She gets very nervous at the vet (and by nervous I mean completely out of control spastic). It usually takes 3 or 4 people to hold her down for her exam and her shots. Nightmare. I am seriously considering giving her tranquilizers before her appointment.

Yeah, Baby!

So, you can probably guess from the title of this post that I got the job!!! I am beyond excited and so ready for this change. For me, it's not just a job change. It's a career change.

Part of me (a very small part) feels a little guilty for abandoning the career that was my major in college, but after being in the working world for the past 5 years, I realized that finance was just not where my heart was. The only reason I really chose it in the first place was because I had to declare a major, math had always come easy to me, and I was blinded by dollar signs. In college, I thought that money equaled success and happiness. I have since learned otherwise. While it's nice to have, no amount of money will ever bring you true fulfillment.

Working in finance has afforded me many things (pun sort of intended!). I have made decent money and increased my earning power significantly over the past several years. I have been able to live the life I've wanted. I lived in a great (but very expensive) apartment in Boston for several years. I bought a house at the age of 24. I've gone on many fabulous vacations. I've been able to help financially support my husband's dreams. I've been comfortable. And it's been nice. But, the honest truth is I don't really like what I do. I'm bored. I'm frustrated. I cannot see myself doing this kind of work for the duration of my career. I don't know exactly what it is that I want to do, but I know it's not this.

After I made the scary decision that it was time for me to make a career change, I had to figure out what I wanted to do. So, I made a list. What are the things that I like most about my job and what is my job lacking? And after a lot of thinking, I realized that my favorite things to do are to be creative (and I don't necessarily mean in the painting a picture sense, but rather just innovating and finding new and better ways to do things) and to work with people. I want to feel like what I do makes a difference. And my current job gives me very little of that. Some days I feel like all I do is sit at a computer and crunch meaningless numbers. Fulfilling, huh?

So, with this information in hand, I set out on a search to find something that incorporates all the things that I enjoy and less of the things that I don't. And as fate would have it, I stumbled across this position accidentally. I never would have applied for it on my own because of my own self doubt. This is a zone 4 position. I know that means absolutely nothing to most of you, but here in the MM world, it's a pretty big deal. It's tough to get to that level and only the top performers and most experienced professionals are 4's. I don't know anyone here that has attained this level after only 5 years of professional experience. So, I pretty much figured that no one would consider me for a zone 4 position, especially in a field that I have very little experience in. Well, I guess I should not have doubted myself! My HR contact suggested that I consider this position. When I saw the job description, I couldn't believe it. It had me written all over it. I knew I could be a rock star in this job, but I just didn't think anyone would give me the chance to prove it. But, as luck and fate would have it, someone did. And I could not be more excited about it.

I am going to be working with the Operational Effectiveness organization to "Independently and regularly resolve situations affecting compliance, operational, and regulatory issues, utilizing in-depth knowledge of products, state/federal regulations, and company policy. Develops and implements procedures for resolving organizational compliance issues, making recommendations from a Divisional/cross-Divisional business perspective. Collaborates with business areas to develop or modify business operating policies and procedures to ensure compliance with applicable regulatory agencies and governances. Identifies training initiatives created by new regulations or knowledge areas needing further educational support and oversees and or develops and provides training." In addition, there will be a lot of process improvement work and a lot of collaboration with many different individuals across the organization. This position allows me to assess our business and come up with creative and innovative new or better ways to do what we do and then help people implement theses new processes. This position allows me to work with all sorts of people all the time. This position helps ensure that our company continues to operate in an efficient and compliant capacity. So, clearly this position embodies all that I am looking for in my career. How perfect is that?!?

Now all that's left to do is negotiate my transition date with my current manager. I know he'll want me to stay through first quarter close. I certainly don't want to go through yet another financial close process, but I can certainly get through it if necessary, because I know it's my last one ever!

So, on to a new adventure! I am so proud of myself for taking a huge risk and going outside of my comfort zone to try something new. I am proud of myself for going after and seizing this great opportunity that I once thought I'd never even have a shot at. I am so excited I can hardly contain myself. I have a feeling that this is the start of something really great!

The Waiting Game

I just need to vent somewhere...

The wait to find out about this job is killing me! John kept saying that he thought I'd find out today (no clue why he thought so), but I am starting to feel like I'm never going to find out. I truly believe in fate, so if this doesn't work out that's fine. It just wasn't meant to be. And, eventually, I will find where I'm supposed to be. But if it does work out, how wonderful that would be! Either way, JUST TELL ME ALREADY!!!

Ok, vent over.

Updates Galore!

Whew! It's been a crazy few days in Melissaville. I woke up on Friday with a very sore throat. Not good! I haven't been sick once all winter, not even a sniffle. I was so hoping to make it through these gloomy months unscathed, but alas, I was not so fortunate.

After leaving work at noon on Friday (although I did work all afternoon from home...I heart remote connection!), I began to feel a little better, so John and I ventured over to Crystal and Marty's house for "game night". There was a group of about 15 there and we played "Pictionary" and (after a few too many cocktails) "Charades". It was a little sloppy and a lot of fun. But, sadly, I think my carelessness (a.k.a., wine, champagne, and some Smirnoff Raspberry drinks) came back to bite me in the arse.

Saturday I was not feeling so hot, but I did muster up enough energy to try another new "Turbo Jam" video. After sweating it out for an hour or so, I had to get ready for the Century 21 Gold Ball at the Hotel Northampton. The ball was nice...good food and drinks and very good company. John's colleagues are so nice and so welcoming...truly a great group of people. We both were feeling a little tired and under the weather, so we attempted to make it an early night. But, my dearest darling husband locked his keys in his truck! Left 'em right in the ignition. Can you even believe it! And, to make matters worse, just last week, AAA called him to see if he wanted to renew his membership and he said NO! Thankfully one of John's colleagues who does have an active AAA membership was kind enough to call on our behalf and get someone to come open the truck. We had to wait over an hour for someone to show, but that sure beat John breaking his window (which he actually suggested he do...seriously why do men think like this?).

Sunday morning I felt pretty darn good! We slept in, went out for a mighty delicious brunch, went grocery shopping, and then went to the movies to see "Fool's Gold" (where we pigged out on all sorts of yummy, fattening movie snacks). I actually liked the movie...I thought it was very cute and I sure didn't mind looking at a shirtless Matthew McConaughey for 2 hours. But after getting home that evening, the sickness hit me like a ton of bricks! Runny nose, cough, fever, body aches. Yuck! I had to stay home sick from work on Monday on account of my feeling so poorly. I slept most of the day and did absolutely nothing. I barely moved from the couch all day. It definitely paid off, though, because I felt a million times better yesterday, and I feel even better today (except for the muscle in my neck that I pulled trying to itch my own back in the middle of the night). Hopefully I'll be 100% before my trip to Boston this weekend. Fingers crossed!!!

And on a final note, there may be some developments of the job/career front for me. I won't say too much right now, so as not to jinx myself, but this could be something great!

Birthday Bonanza

Apparently our parent's generation was really bored about 27 years and 9 months ago, because it seems like everyone we know has had a birthday within the past couple of weeks. We've been out to celebrate two birthdays in the past two weeks alone.

First was Dave. For Dave's 27th birthday, we went to dinner at Mama Iguana's in Northampton (mmmmm...burritos!) and then followed that up with some bowling (which of course I did not object to). Here are some pics from the night:

Dave behind the bar using some special vibrating Guinness pouring contraption!

Me participating in one of my favorite hobbies...bowling!

It's a little tough to see, but Dave only got a 59! We're still picking on him for it!

This past weekend it was Steph's turn. We celebrated her 27th birthday by going out to dinner at Osaka in Northampton. I was really excited to go there because I had heard great things about it, but it was a total disappointment. We didn't get seated until nearly an hour after our reservation (granted there were 13 of us and I can understand that it might be a little hard to accommodate that many people), our service was so super slow, the portions were really small and the food was not that great (the soup was very fishy tasting - and there was no fish in it, the edamame was so salty is was almost inedible, and they didn't even serve noodles with your meal - you had to order it as a side, and of course, pay extra for it). I might be willing to go back to try their sushi (which I've heard is very good), but never their hibachi. I'd much rather go to Goten or K's for hibachi. I'm sure, however, that if I do go back, it will be without John because, after that experience, he refuses to go back. Other than the poor service and food, the night was fun. Here are a few pictures for your viewing pleasure:

At Steph's house before dinner (notice how pale I am compared to everyone else...gosh I need a tan!)

Me and the hubby before dinner (and lots of Saki!)

Steph and her boyfriend Andy

Our dinner being prepared...always fun to watch!

John's response to the service and food!!!

And finally, as previously promised, here is a picture of John and I on our 7th anniversary. Awwww!

Mother Nature...She Ain't No Friend of Mine

Blinding sunshine, temps cruisin' up into the 40's, the sounds of melting ice dripping off of trees and houses, muddy puddles left behind by melting snow, all sorts of people out and about in the neighborhood running, walking their dog, taking a leisurely stroll, etc... My goodness...you might think it's spring in New England!!!

But wait! Not so fast. After a few glorious days, winter is rearing it's ugly head again. Tomorrow will bring a nasty wintry mix of snow, sleet, and rain followed by a week of temps in the 20's. Well, I don't know about you, but I am fed up with this! I want spring to be here already. I want sunshine. I want warm breezes. I want to see flowers sprouting and trees budding. I want the birds back! It has been a very long winter and I am officially done with it. I am dying to ride my bike, go for a jog where you actually go somewhere, play some tennis, go for a hike, eat ice cream (well, that's really a year-round activity for me, but I can somehow justify it in my mind when the weather is nice). I want to roll the car windows down and feel the wind on my face. I want to wear bright colors and open-toe shoes.

Yesterday I had visions of all these wonderful things. As Bailey and I were on our glorious hour and a half long walk soaking up the endless sunshine, I was thinking that this really might have been the turning point. Wonderful spring weather actually felt like it could be reality sooner rather than later. I could tell that Bailey felt it too. She strutted her stuff all over town like she knew we were on the verge on something fantastic. She had a renewed vigor in her step and a twinkle in her eye. I'm sure as all of my springtime visions were whirling around in my head, hers were too. Long walks with her beloved doggie-mama, playing fetch in the park, car rides with her head out the window, romping through the woods on our long hikes, swimming at our special spot, squirrels to chase everywhere! Oh, what a life to live!

Well, today we both got a big old slap in the face as we watched the weather report. Mother nature was only teasing us. Yesterday's fantastic weather is gone just as fast as it got here and we are reminded that we are far from being done with the winter blues. So, it's back to scarves and mittens, back to shoveling snow, back to running on the treadmill. Ugh! And we aren't the only ones that feel this way. Just this morning my mom and I were discussing developing a "two year plan" to move somewhere warm. A big part of the reason that I still suffer through this dreadful weather is because I want to be close to her. But, if she came with me somewhere warm?!? That would be perfect! All of my weather woes would be solved! Now I just need to convince my dad, my sister, my in-laws, my friends, and of course, my husband that we need to go south. Do you think I can do it?