I may be visiting the west coast, a lot. . .

. . . because Paul find out last Thursdsay that he got into Berkeley!! Wow, talk about mixed emotions on my part. I was sitting in class on Thursday evening when I received a text message from him telling me the news. The first few minutes I was just in shock, then it became harder and harder for me to concentrate in class and I found myself fighting back tears, sometimes not succeeding. Luckily I was able to hold it together and not make a scene. It was the longest two hours! We had already made plans with a group of people that night to head out to Limerick Junction in the Highlands to hear JJ. At first I wasn't sure if I wanted to go, but of course I went and had a really good time. I told everyone there about Paul's news and bought him a few drinks to celebrate. While I know he was very excited, I really appreciated his sensitivity to my feelings that night. He made sure to check up on me from time to time and seemed to sense my mixed feelings. When we got back to my place later that night, I finally let out a good cry. He just held me in his arms and comforted me, which is exactly what I needed.

I am really happy for him. He didn't expect to find out this early, and really didn't expect to get in at all! Berkeley is really selective, so how awesome it is that his hard work paid off. He told me on Friday night that he wants to go visit and make sure that it is a good fit, so I am glad that he is not going to rush into it and make a rash decision. While I am worried about how our relationship will change because of the distance, I am not worried that our relationship won't survive. It will just be a big adjustment, but I think we have been together long enough now to know that staying together and dealing with the distance will be worth it in for the long-term. I just hope that my job enables me to visit him frequently and more cheaply than I could otherwise!! I am so glad that I will be going through a big change with my new job next fall at the same time as Paul starts school. We will both have lots to share with each other as we enter a new phase in our lives. Now, how long will it be before we are in the same city again? I hope to make the most of our time together in the next few months!

Nothing to complain about :)

Hey! I'm not too good at consistently blogging, ha. Life has been treating me well though! Earlier this month I went on a splendid trip to Utah for the DX Ski Trip. Paul was gone most of the month of December visiting family in Thailand, exploring around Taiwan, kicking it in Cali, etc., and then he flew to Salt Lake City to meet up with me for a few days before the rest of the ski crew arrived. It was wonderful to have two days to ourselves to catch up. We explored the communities of Odgen and Logan, Utah, and even ended up driving to Wyoming! We ate dinner at little local spots, checked out a couple of museums, and went to a beautiful park called Antelope Island State Park, located in the Great Salt Lake. It was breathtaking and we were literally almost the only people on the island it seemed like. We even spotted some bison! Skiing in Park City with the 55 GT people was a blast- everywhere you looked there seemed to be someone from our trip. In my effort to become more domestic, I cooked one night for our condo! I got a good bit better and more comfortable on my skis this year and only bit the dust a few times. Paul of course is much more daring on his snowboard- I have several videos of him doing jumps at the terrain park (did catch him falling on camera). One funny thing was that we slept on a bed that came out from the wall, and Amanda and Chris were on the pullout. Meanwhile, Matthew and Dan cuddled in a king-size bed! We felt like we owed it to Matthew, he did plan the entire trip.

Life since the holidays and the ski trip has been pretty normal. Things at work have picked up and we start to interview other potential fellows next week! I've really enjoyed my time at the Foundation, hard to believe 6 months have passed already. Paul and I have gotten to spend a good bit of time together, we've even made it out a few times and went dancing at Vision! Needless to say I've had a few slow, tired Fridays at work. I didn't think I would go to Moondogs once I graduated. . . Paul has sent off his two grad school apps to UW Seattle and Berkeley- talk to me in late March or April, I'm not sure how I will react to his decision. Of course I want him to stay here, but going somewhere like Berkeley would be such an opportunity- I do think about his upcoming decision, our future, my new job, etc., a good bit, but I try not to worry or stress out about it too much as there is nothing I can do about things right now. I've got a great job now that is flexible and not stressful, my boy is here, I have great friends, challenging and fun goals for the new year, an awesome August trip in the works that includes an adventure in Alaska, a solid job for September, a wonderful place to live, good health- what more could I want? I am so blessed!!

I'm still alive!

I've been absent from my blog for a long time, but all has been well in my life. November was a busy, busy month with two trips for work, my birthday, acceptance of a job offer, the Brand Atlanta Campaign, Thanksgiving, GT football, and much much more!! Somewhere in there I did do actual work here at the Foundation, hung out with friends, went on a few dates with Paul, spend a night at home for the first time since August, etc.

I can't believe I am 23 now, that sounds so old! I was out of town the week before my birthday, but after flying in from Florida the Friday before my bday on Saturday, Paul picked me up and surprised me with dinner at Fire of Brazil and a one-night stay at DoubleTree Inn and Suites. We had so much fun!! I had a girls' lunch the next day and DX formal was that night, so the fun continued. The weekend finished up with me having dinner with my parents on Sunday night. I wish I could stay in my twenties forever. Many more decisions are going to have to be made during this decade of my life!

My First Offer!

Yay! I have at least one place I could work for next year! I just got a phone call about an hour ago from a man at PricewaterhouseCoopers, and he said that they would be mailing me an offer later this week. I am so excited! This whole interview process has been crazy and is far from over, but I am so relieved to have one good offer under my belt. I was really impressed with the recruiting event PwC held last week and will seriously consider the offer. My perspective and thoughts have changed so much during this process! For a while I not thinking seriously about any of the Big 4 firms because they almost seem too big, but now I am thinking that it might be a good place to start. I am nervous about working such long hours, particularly during busy season, but hopefully all the time management skills I learned at GT will come in handy and I will still manage to have a life outside of work.

If only I knew where Paul was going to be next year! He is still shooting to go to school in California, but he has to get in first, which might not be easy even though I think he has a great chance. He mentioned at dinner on Friday night that even if he was to go to GT, he would look for opportunities to take a year off so he would not get burnt out. I totally understand not wanting to go to GT for 7 years straight, but if he decides to go out of the country for a year, I'm not sure how I will react. We've been dating for two years and I hope he will factor me into his decision, I will be really hurt if he doesn't. I know that we are still young and should be selfish to some extent, but I also believe that we should consider each other in our decisions now if we really want to make this work long-term, and that we shouldn't throw away what we've spent over two years developing. Paul, not that you are reading this, but please think of me too!! It was hard last week to find much time for each other and I got a little frustrated on Friday night and said kind of heatedly something that has been on my mind lately, that I sometimes feel like I am just fighting for crumbs of his time. I've got to keep in mind that I have been busy too, but it's been so hard with his schedule, I really feel like he tries to do too much. He probably wouldn't agree because he gets a "high" from doing so many things, and I get that sometimes too, but I wonder what would happen if he were to cut back and focus on a few things, wow, how effective he could be! (and maybe have more time for me as well :)

For now, I am going to go on about my life, which has been busy at the moment with work, interviews, and the Brand Atlanta Campaign (side job). Kamber is out of town this week, but I won't have much time to be alone in the apartment with the Falcons game tonight, Mock Rock at GT tomorrow night, Frazier and Deeter dinner Wed, and a E&Y recruiting event on Thurs/Fri. Then it's GT Homecoming! Paul is going to pass his crown of being Mr. GT :( What a fun year for him. Go Jackets!

Whew!!

Whew!! This last week has been CRAZY! I don't think I have been in my condo for more than an hour other than to sleep. Last week was very busy at work and most of my time was spent out of the office visiting places such as Paradise Gardens, Odyssey Counseling Center, Ronald McDonald House, Atlanta Ballet, etc. I loved it! But on top of that, I was/am busy juggling the job search and all the fun interviews/socials/info sessions that go along with it. Tuesday evening was spent at Grant Thornton, Wednesday evening at Ernst & Young, and then I had an interview on Thursday with E&Y. They are very impressive and the recruiteer and I had a lot in common, but I am pretty sure the big 4 are not what I am looking for in a company. Yes I would be working for a great name, with good pay and benefits, but would I have a life?? I'm beginning to think not. I know I will be working hard wherever I go, particularly during the busy season of January-April, but I think I would do better in a smaller office, one of closer to a 100 people not 1000, a place that is able to focus on balance a little bit better. My first choice right now is Grant Thornton. I had lunch with my friend Stephanie that works there on Friday and she answered a lot of my questions. I seem to be looking for exactly the same things in a company that she was this time a year ago and she is very happy at Grant Thornton so far. My interview is this Wednesday morning!! Meanwhile, I will continue to be wined and dined by at least 2 of the big 4 that I know of so far, why not??!!

Eleanor and Teresa threw a going-away party for Cristina on Wednesday night that I went to right after my social at E&Y. I can't believe she leaves in a few days! I am so proud of her though. She went out to Orange County all by herself, rented a car, found an apartment and a roommate! I know she was sad to say goodbye to everyone on Wed night, but I think the move will be good and exciting for her, particularly since things with her and Jon have fallen apart. She needs a change. I will miss her lots and can't wait to visit.

Thursday evening was fun, other than the fact that I sat in traffic with my parents forever trying to get from my condo to Tech Square for dinner. We had a football game and the traffic was incredible. Paul was waiting for us at the Globe when we arrived, thank goodness they held our reservation! It was a rather expensive meal of wine and things such as grouper and duck, but I know my dad enjoys treating us, particularly Paul. He is so good with my parents! I never have to worry about him meeting any of my family or friends, talking to people and making other people feel comfortable comes so natural to him. The game was not spectacular as the weather was gross and Tech did not play well. Paul and I only stayed until half time as we had some clean up to do. . . We finished off the night by finally making it to Moondogs for Griff's 21st bday. I never thought I would go to Moondogs after I graduated, but Paul has gone some this semester and I think this was like my third time in recent memory. Needless to say, Friday morning at work was rough!! All day was rough actually as I had not gotten much sleep all week, but I don't regret it.

Moving Forward

I'm just winding down after a good weekend here in Atlanta. Paul and I finally got to go on a date on Friday!! Once I got over the fact that he was over 3o minutes late and didn't call because he didn't have his phone, I had a great time :) We had a quick dinner and great conversation on Ponce and then headed to Fernbank for Martinis at IMAX. It was so much fun!! We both got a martini and spent some time people watching and chatting outside. As we were waiting for our movie to start, we were thoroughly entertained by one of the ushers and the search for Charlie, someone's date who was late because he was getting a martini. Later that evening we went back to my place for a bit and chatted with Teresa and Kamber- Teresa proceeded to make numerous hints about how Paul should stay here next year, was actually quite humorous and I don't think he minded too much. I agreed to camp out with Paul at DX last night at his request, but it was nice because the house was basically empty- most of the guys were had already left on the DX retreat and Paul had offered to stay behind to take me out because his plans changed for this coming Friday. The date came at a good time and was much needed after our conversation last Friday, so I was one happy girl.

Saturday's entertainment came in the evening when I helped Brittany Copeland celebrate her 21st. We started off the evening at Noche with her roommates and a couple of other girls, but since I was the only one 21 other than Megan McLees, I was in charge of taking her out. We ended up getting together with Jeff and Tim and their friend Matt, and we all got in a taxi after some pregaming and headed back to the Highlands. It was a good evening where Brittany and I only paid for one drink at Limerick. The boys got to feeling pretty good and things got a bit out of hand as we tried to go home. Brittany and I ended up in a taxi with Matt. The great thing was that Tim high-fived Matt as he was walking by the taxi and threw a $20 bill in the taxi! I took it from Matt and used it to pay for our taxi :) When we got back to our place, we had a lot of trouble getting passed-out Matt out of the taxi, but he eventually got out but would not come in. Evidently, he ended up settling behing the dumpster until Jeff found him several minutes later. Glad Brittany and I ended up safe and sound inside my condo!

My Thursday Mornings

Wow, am I thankful right now for my health, to be able to walk. For the past 3 Thursday mornings I have been going to the Shepherd Spinal Center at Piedmont Hospital. I am part of the 7-8am Breakfast Club. It is me and about 4 men 70+ years in age who go around feeding the patients breakfast. I have a good time with those men and they love to tease me. One man named Paul has been going there to serve breakfast for about 20 years!! This morning was really great. Last week, I had the pleasure of feeding a 19-year old boy from Greenville, SC. He had the best attitude and manners, just great to be around. He told me that he has a good chance of walking in a year, so that was good to hear. This morning in the waiting room while we were waiting for the food to come out, I was talking about my experience with him last week. Little did I know that his father was in the room! He said that his son had been driving home from work and had gone off the road and flipped his car. He was learning how to give his son a shower this morning so I just got to go in and say "hello" briefly before that process began. I did however get to feed another man this morning from Raleigh. The first time I went in I thought he was asleep, but then one of the men came in with me and woke him up. The patient's name was Andre and I found out his story as I helped him drink 2 boxes of milk, a chocolate shake, and cranberry juice. He must have been about 45 or 50. He said he was just playing around on his 9-year-old daughter's skooter one day, hit a patch of grass, flipped over and broke his neck. That was about a month ago. He has 2 other children and a wife of 16 years. His says his family has been great so far, but he confided in me that he is extremely anxious about the burden he will be on his family in the future and basically said that he is wondering if it would have been better if he had passed away. Wow, what deep thinking for me to do so early in the morning!! I tried my best to offer him encouraging words and told him that I would want my father alive no matter what, particularly if he was still able to talk with me, advise me, and watch me grow up. Andre said he really appreciated what I had to say, and man, did that make me happy. He had been a lawyer for 20 years and hopes to some day get back to work, even if he only has limited use of his arms. I told him that they are able to do so many things this day in age. I hope he is able to go back to work too. I can't imagine. . .