Post-grad Update

I still can't believe I'm done, but it is true. I have not been blogging, and sadly, I have no legitimate excuse.

I have been sleeping in, cooking REAL food, working and reading. That means, I am well-rested, and I only eat ramen noodles a few times a week. I am reading The Money Book for the Young, Fabulous and Broke by Suze Orman, which is remarkably interesting. It's teaching me a lot of things that I'd not have known otherwise. It was a grad gift from Aunt Patricia.

Work. Well I do have good news to report here! VZW is doing a staffing realignment so I am becoming a full-time sales rep as of June 1. I will be working in the Lawrence store 32 hours/week, and (drumroll please....) working for the Marketing Department for 8 hours! I will be working directly with the team on special projects. The first one is the Fiesta Mexicana in Topeka in July. I am so thrilled to be able to get some experience. I'll keep you all updated on my Marketing ventures.

As for everything else....

My graduation weekend/party/celebrations were awesome. I was so happy that Lisa came back and we got to walk the hill together. It was so exciting! We had so much fun being the last ones to walk down the hill on the West path, or so we thought. We tried so hard to be the last group, but apparently the East side of the Campanile had a much longer line so those people were rerouted down our side. It was a good effort though.

I will say it is nice to relax. I have more free time to do what I actually want. I have been learning how to use CS4, which is so much fun! I am starting a blog on the industry, and I plan on getting my own website up and running within the next few weeks. I'll be sure to link you all to the page!

DONE DONE DONE DONE DONE DONE

Oh, I cannot even put into words how I am feeling right now. I am excited, relieved, proud, happy, sad, stressed, etc. Mostly, I'm happy and proud. OK, and excited. More than anything, I'M DONE!

I am officially done with all of my college work. I only have graduation and celebration left. Wow, I can't believe it. I did my final presentation today about the plan for the rest of my life. That was the last thing I did in college. It was a great kick-off to my life as a young professional.

OK, let's take a step back. Back to what seems like years ago.... CAMPAIGNS. Yeah, I'm all done. That's right. It is so great to be done. The Pink Team, or should I say The Revel Group, rocked the presentation. We got to go first, which means that the client could leave after our presentation and feel like they had all that they needed. It was an honor. We really wrapped up our campaign nicely. It got a little stressful, but we finished with ZERO all-nighters. On the Friday after our presentation, the university held a summit regarding our final campaigns. The university wants our logo! We are so proud. I am now ready to get out do it all again, only this time I hope I'll be paid for my work.

Graduation is this weekend. As of Saturday afternoon, I will be an official graduate of the University of Kansas J-School. woooooo-hoooooo! I'll update you on the festivities after they happen.

Jobs, jobs, jobs.....? I am excited that now I am going to have time to apply for jobs. That is literally what I am excited for. I'm excited for that. I am also excited to have more time to volunteer, to learn more about graphic design and to read more. Oh, I guess I'm excited for a little pool time, too.

I am ending a huge chapter in my life. A new one is beginning. I can't wait to get my career started. I will update you all soon. I promise I'll be a better blogger.

New Blogger Tool

Alright fellow bloggers, as I was 'stumbling upon' today, I found a sweet blog widget. Lijit.com offers a search engine widget for your blog. It allows your readers to find what they are looking for quickly, and it allows you to see what your readers are looking for. The best part is it's totally free! It's a neat tool to add to the side of your blog to enhance your readers' experience.

I wanted to share this great widget that I found today with all of you. And... if you're not yet stumbling upon, you need to get started! What a great way to find interesting Websites and content!

I can feel the chains breaking

Short and Sweet.

Campaigns will be over this week. I am starting to feel my freedom. I'll post after presentations.

almost done... almost done... almost done... heeeeccccckkkkkk yes. real world here I come.

Spoke too soon

When I wrote my last post, I had yet to hear back from SPM Communications, but I spoke too soon. I received an email on Thursday evening informing me that I had been selected as a finalist for the Katelyn Collier Internship. I was so excited! I had my second phone interview today with Katelyn, the person who the internship is named after. I should hear back from them soon. I'll keep you posted.

On another note, I am home tonight to enjoy some fried morels that my dad found. I love family dinners. I brought Macy home with me. She ran around outside for a little while, and now she is all tuckered out.

I plan on editing some of the plans book tonight. Wild Friday night, right? I guess that's how things go when you're in the last month of your senior year.

OK, Adios amigos. Hasta luego.

Reality countdown...

Well this will be short, as I have to write a 2-page essay on W.E.B. DuBois' lasting influence on today's society, but I wanted to give you all a quick update on me!

I've been getting a little worried about this ever-so-quickly approaching graduation date of mine. Just 24 days until I am a GRADUATE of the University of Kansas. Wow, that is bizarre. I know most of you understand this feeling as you felt it not that long ago... talk about weird. I will no longer say I am a student, which is what I've said for well... the past 17 years or so. I'll always be a student in some way or another, but I will not be enrolled. That being said... I'M READY FOR A CHANGE!

I interviewed with SPM Communications, a Dallas PR Agency, for an internship. I really admire the company. It has a really unique culture that I would love to be a part of. However, I know they've done a second interview with at least one of the interviewees, and I haven't heard back. No news is sometimes good news so I'm keeping my head up. As my mom said, it's only my first interview.

Alright, that's about it.

For those of you that care.... My dauger is better than ever! She's fully recovered now, and I really think the doggy acupuncture made her feel a lot better than before. Here she is... sticking her tongue out at YOU!

It's been a while...

But more has happened than you think.

I've been a super busy bee for the last month. I went on my final Spring Break, my dauger ran away and was hit by a car, I worked my tail off for campaigns, I spoke with HR at VZW about potential jobs, and I did my normal routine.

I'll start with what was most devastating. Macy dog got hit by a car! No worries, she's OK (otherwise I'd still be in mourning), but it was scary. Let me backtrack a bit... On Friday, March 26th, I had plans to go out with my BFFs from HS Amanda and Nicci. However, those plans were cut awfully short when I got a call that said Macy had ran away. I sped to Blake's apartment as fast as I could just hoping not to see Macy injured on the way, and was informed upon my arrival that she had darted so fast no one had any idea where she had gone. So I drove around for an hour or so but to no avail. I finally retired and attempted to get a little rest.

In the A.M., I decided I'd check the Lawrence Humane Society. I called, and they checked the found reports and told me they thought they had her. Sure enough, it was Macy. She ran to the Beverely Hills of Lawrence, Kan. (Did I just write in AP style on my blog? I'm such a journalist) A kid in HS had seen Macy in the street, and he and his family took her in for the night. I'm so thankful! OK, so that was great.... but that's not the end.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention earlier that I got sick last month, too. So I went to work the following Monday, but I wasn't feelin' so hot. Well maybe I should say I was feelin' reallly hot, like fever hot. So my manager told me I needed to go to the Dr. to see what was wrong. While in the waiting room, I got the call of doooooom. That's the call that said Macy had been hit by a car and that she was peeing blood. I damn near had a heart attack. I thought for sure she was a goner. Little ol' Macy dog gettin' hit by a car doing 40.

After I saw the Doc, I was told to go home and rest. When I got home, Macy was all swollen and covered in blood, which reinforced my negative attitude. Lucky for me, I have a fantastic bf that makes me feel better when I'm sad. Blake came home and told me that everything was going to be OK and that Macy was a tough girl. After I spoke with the vet, I decided to take his advice and wait until the A.M. to take her in. That evening she stopped peeing blood and the swelling went down, so I didn't take her to the vet the next day, but I assure you, she was treated like a queen on her deathbed. It was the next day that the sad news came. Wednesday morning she couldn't walk. Well, her front legs did but her back legs, not so much. I had to take her home that day anyways as I was leaving for CO the next day (oh yeah, I was also on a national no-fly list last month) so I took her to my mom's and she took her to our vet for me while I was at work and school. Turns out, Macy is abnormal and has something weird goin on with her spine. In the end, she had to get doggie accupuncture and she's all better now.

OK, sorry about the detail. I know no one cares about Macy girl like I do, but keep in mind she is my dauger.

Now for the fun stuff. I WENT ON SPRING BREAK TO PANAMA CITY BEACH, FL AND HAD SO MUCH FUN! I went with my friend Katy Saunders, her friend from VA, my roomates and our friends. Katy and I drove down with Glenda, the GPS. It was an awesome trip. We had sooo much fun driving, stopping in local businesses and searching for locally brewed beers for Katy's bottle cap map. We also had a little troubs in PCB. The booking agency we used, which I will not name, did not reserve our rooms with the hotel. So, when we arrived, we were told we had no place to stay. After several hours of being jostled around, they found us a place to stay, but we had to split up into two rooms. I'd say we went from Hilton-esque to Super 8. The girls we were with complained a lot about it, but Katy, Alex (her friend) and I just laughed it off and headed to Coyote Ugly. Our hotel ended up being awesome for SB. Everyone there was so much fun, and we had free beer from 12-2 and a liquor store in the lobby. While I was there, I couldn't help but watch the way people were drinking. I was inherently doing ethnographic research for campaigns... It has fully consumed me! Well, I have lots of other funny things to say about the trip, but no one seems to think they're quite as funny as those of us that were on the trip. Oh, I will say I can cross being buried in the sand off my Bucket List.

On to the next thing... CAMPAIGNS! Well, my team is phenomenal to say the least. Pink Team fo' life, baby! We all work so well together, I couldn't ask for a better team. I'd say we are really fortunate seeing as how we didn't all know each other coming into the class. Everyone is a team player and a hard worker. We've been busting our tails trying to avoid the week full of all-nighters that seems to be inevitable. We present on 5/5 so it's quickly coming to an end. I'm sure my next post will be all about campaigns, seeing as that's what my life's all about these days, so I'll leave this here.

HR. Well I spoke with HR at VZW and didn't get good news. I basically heard that it would be possible to get into Marketing there, but it would take a few more years at my current location. I have decided that is not the route I want to take, so I have been exploring other career options. I have an interview with SPM Communications in Dallas, TX, for a 3-6 month internship on Friday. I am really excited about it. I've read about them before, but I am reading more and more about the company and I really like what they do. I mean, they do PR for food. I'm perfect, right? My family and close friends know the answer to that question.

OK, I am going to hit the sack. Long day tomorrow. I'll post more often, I promise.