June 2012 in Review

 

 

I'm ready for life to slow down, and to get back on here and document more of it! For those of you who want to keep more up-to-date tabs on my life, you can find me on Instagram under pinkargyle. :)

Transitions--A New Job, A New Career

On Thursday, I quit my job. After 5 years of working on a project that recently came to a close, I quit my job. And part of me knew that everything would be okay, and that my boss would be kind and courteous and wish me luck, but then there's the irrational paranoid anxiety crazed part of me that was really, really scared. But like most everything else I tend to have unnecessary meltdowns over, it was okay and easy. I walked in, said how much I had enjoyed working there and how much I would miss my coworkers, and gave my last day. She told me how much she appreciated what I had contributed to the company and that she would miss me, and then I exited her office to tell my fellow editors the news as well. That's the sad part of this post.

The good part of this post is...I got a new job! Irrational paranoid anxiety crazed me is paranoid that typing that will somehow take it all away, but I like living on the edge, so I'm going to type it again--I got a new job! Some of you who have been reading a long time know that I have been living a marathon of a professional life. For the past three years, I've been working full-time and going to graduate school part time to complete my MLIS (Master's in Library and Information Science) to be a librarian (yes, librarians needs master's degrees!) This schedule has taken its toll. I have little time on weekends, I don't get to do as many fun things, and all my creativity is zapped from writing and reading for school. I've got the words "burnt out" stamped to my forehead.

With the economy in the crapper, libraries being consolidated and closed left and right, I was not counting on anything. I figured that after graduation (t-minus 6 days until my last assignment is due! oh. em. gee.) I would start job hunting and polish my e-portfolio, maybe volunteer or take another internship. I never thought I would be so lucky to have a job lined up right after graduation. Since I've been absent from our blog circle of style-savvy, creative, supportive women, I've been lurking at library school and library job hunting blogs (and the occasional HR blog) to read about career advice. Reading about everyone's experiences was driving me to new heights of anxiety because my future career outlook looked damn right dismal.

So I feel VERY lucky, and I think (and truly hope) this is going to be a good fit. I'm really thankful, but nervous. And I'm ready to celebrate.

Pale blue, yay or nay?

Mission: Find a dress for the purpose of graduation, potential summer dinner dates out with the boy, and upping Mo's happiness meter just a little.

Subject in question: Eva Franco's Belle of the Butterfly Garden via ModCloth. Subject gets extra points for the cute butterfly print, v-neckline, and light, airy summer style.

Question for my readers: Does this pale blue color go with my skin tone? I tried to think of clothes I own, and I can't really remember light blue being in there...sea foam green, yes, but no light blue. Orange for instance looks kind of odd on me, and yellow is also a hard color to pull off (but I still wear it because the shade makes me happy.) I don't know if this pastel blue color will like me or not.

But I sure do love the butterfly print.

Do you have colors you steer clear of? What do you think of the dress?

Safari Park Half Marathon Recap

[My sister and I (I'm on the left) after completing our first half marathon, the Safari Park Half Marathon. We finished!!!]

Yesterday, I ran my first half marathon with my sister at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. I have been training for the past few months, and I was nervous because I've encountered some obstacles (a hurt knee, breathing problems, chafing, oh my!) during my runs. My biggest fear was training and then not finishing (there is a 3 hour time limit.) I'm happy to report that I not only finished, but also had a lot of fun during the process. I was smiling most of the time from all of the entertainment along the course (music, animals, rousing supporters,) and watching the other runners' excitement.

The race started early at 6:30 AM, so we were out the door by 5:00 AM and arrived a full hour early at the start line at the North County Mall. It was FREEZING, the porta potty line was ridiculously long, and I was rethinking purchasing this cumbersome iPhone clip-on case I bought the day before. It sure was annoying my hip bone, but later in the race I hardly noticed it anymore because my other body parts probably hurt more at that point, ha!

This is what it looked like next to our pace group, all the way back at 11 minutes:

Above is a timing chip. I didn't know this until the half marathon, but our time is recorded via this little chip. As an added bonus, it's super cute and a nice keepsake. I was checking mine out right before the start buzzer. 

When we first started running, we were shoulder-to-shoulder and I saw the sea of people moving forward. I started running with my sister, and then got lost in my headphones and gained more momentum after mile 1. I think that I went the fastest from miles 1 to 6, and didn't even stop for water or powerade. There was a baby cow at one hydration station that people were petting, and I really wanted to stop and pet her too, but all I could think was "nooo, 2:30 pace! 2:30 pace!" Me passing up saying "hi" and petting a baby animal takes extreme circumstances, like finishing at my goal time. When I took this photo, I was feeling pretty good:

But when I reached mile 6, there was the. scariest. hill. ever. 

[Photo from half marathon runner Lucy Bender]

Really steep. Sand. Dirt. I had to walk. It was nothing I had tried to run before, and unfortunately after this hill I lost momentum. But I kept going! And going! And going! 

Eventually I got into the park, and got excited when I was nearing the end and saw this sign. 

[Photo by Georgeanne Irvine, San Diego Zoo staff]

I finished 2 minutes after my goal time of 2:30. Good enough for me! And now I have this shiny medal and wonderful memories of our first half marathon. 

 [Basking in our victory after the race] 

I can't wait until next year. We're already planning our costumes. 

Next up, I've signed up for the Color Run. I'm officially hooked. :)

Up to 9 Miles!

[Some snapshots from today's run: Lake Miramar, my Asics, a great song to run to, and my snacks of choice]

The half-marathon is in 3 weeks (eeek!), and today I made it to 9 miles! Although I love the challenge, I never anticipated how much training would affect my body. In addition to the aches and pains I had at the beginning of my training, I have now been having trouble breathing. I visited the doctor and hope to be better, but all this running is taking its toll! Vitamin Water and Powerade have also become my best friends, because the electrolytes have helped counter some nausea I was feeling after running. Nausea + aches + gasping for air = no fun. But I feel such accomplishment when I'm done that's I think it's all worth it.

I'm also just 6 weeks away from graduation. When I was getting married, all I could think about was the day of the wedding (July 3rd). Anything else after that just seemed non-existent. I have that same feeling about graduation. I just keep working toward that first week in June and I can't think beyond that. All in good time...and once graduation is over, I'm up for the next challenge! 

I know I've been absent, but trust me, my life is very boring right now...hence the lack of posts. My life can basically be summed up by school, career, running, cuddling with the boy. Career, running, cuddling with the boy, school. Cuddling with the boy, school, running, career. 

And sometimes I sleep. :)

Springtime in Philadelphia

I went to my first professional conference (go librarians!) in Philadelphia (my first time in Philly) last week and had a wonderful time. I was a little anxious about being out of my element at a conference for a profession that I don't fully call my own yet, but all in all, I had a great time. It helped that my hotel room was spacious with a beautiful view, that mouth-watering food could be found around every corner, and that spring was blooming in the city.

This was the view of Broad Street from my hotel room:

 [Lucky me got a corner room!]

When I wasn't mingling with librarians, I spent a lot of time at the Reading Terminal Market, which was (much to my delight) right across the street from the convention center. I wish something like Reading existed in San Diego! There were so many delicious treats--flowers, candies, cheese steaks, pretzels (oh the pretzels--I've never had such a good pretzel!), cupcakes, vegetables, meat, jams and jellies, coffee--loved it all. Did I mention the pretzels?

The Market is indoors and has rows (or "avenues") of vendors, like this one:

I was particularly lured in by the sweets: 

 [CANDY AND CHOCOLATES! Where do I even start??]

 

These sticky buns at Beiler's Bakery were also incredible--sticky and sweet and made right in front of us.

And the flowers were beautiful! While I was there, the east coast was having a heat wave while San Diego was rainy and frigid. Craziness.

 

 

And finally, I cheated. I didn't actually eat a cheese steak, but instead had this roast pork sandwich from DiNic's, complete with sharp provolone and broccoli rabe. YUM.

To work off a fraction of the food I just showed you, I ran from my hotel all the way up the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, a la Rocky Balboa.

 

[Watch out half marathon! I'm comin' for you!]

I did a good amount of career soul searching while I was there, but was happy to have had breaks to eat, smell the flowers, and pump my fists up the steps of the museum.

Philadelphia, what a wonderful city.

Hi, Remember Me?

[I got a haircut with more fringe and bangs.]

[The amazing Abbie sent me these awesome running socks! I felt so loved opening the package. Thank you Abbie! Abbie's also got a great business cooking, Girl Friday Events+Design, soon to come here.]

 [The boy promises a trip to this tree house to commemorate being together for 10 years. I hope it happens! You can drool over its magical splendor here.]

While you're looking at the photos, you should play this song:
[The lovely Priscilla Ahn]

 [I'm thinking about doing this to our bedroom wall. Our bedroom is BORING. It's got nothing on the walls and looks depressingly sparse. This would either make me dizzy or really happy.]

In other news that don't have pretty pictures attached to them...

I am 93 DAYS away from graduation!!! The boy and I already booked a place in Seattle and are now looking into spending some extra time in Vancouver. I'm excited!

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Next week, I'm attending my first professional conference in Philadelphia, so I'll be surrounded by librarians. It's going to be eye-opening and a good start to my career.

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Training for the half-marathon is hard, but I'm getting there. It was really hot on Sunday when I did my run, and I got too tired and *sniffle* walked. I hope for a better week of training!

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I'm almost done with a huge work project that has taken 4 years. I'm so close to being finished, and I'm not sure I'm going to believe it's done when it really is. A celebration is definitely in need when it happens.