Rehobeth

Matt and my first vacation together as a couple was Rehobeth Beach, DE.  It was five years ago.  We had stayed at a cute little beach house with my friends, Katelyn and Tommy.

We were so in love and we still are except on the mornings when I am first getting up and Matt complains to me about things that is out of our control such as the change of the season.  On those mornings, I want to punch him in the forehead so he can have a good morning too.

Two weekends ago, we went back to Rehobeth/Bethany Beach with Sam, Z, Natalie, Josh, Kenny, Ally, and Jenna.  We were in great company and had a fantastic weekend.  I went outlet shopping with the girls and the guys drank mangoritas at three in the afternoon.

Matt and I both agreed that we want to purchase property there because we have had some great memories there as a couple. 

Robbie & Christi's Wedding | October 4, 2014

How To Be Productive

While (wasting time) on Reddit, I had stumbled upon this info graph:

I have been going to bed and getting up earlier.  Granted, it's my new job that has forced my new schedule but I have definitely seen positive results in the past seven weeks.  I have more energy throughout the day, minimal mood swings, clarity and better judgement.

October

There were so many things that I had anticipated on doing this past weekend, such as working on this blog post (it's been over a month since my last post), hiking with Matt, and switching out seasonal wardrobe.  None of that happened but I did host an impromptu dinner with Sam and Z, whom I haven't seen since August, and I got to see Ellie belly last Sunday.

It's nice to catch up with friends and it's even better to reflect on your life especially right before the holiday season - my holiday season starts with Halloween.

Weekend of September 19th - 21st: Matthew and I had dinner at Cunningham's with Barbara.  Matt decided to try a raw oyster and I think he enjoyed it.  He doesn't want to admit it because he's cheap.  Matt and I spent the rest of the weekend in the Pasadena area: Saturday, we hung out with D.J. & Anna and then saw Top Dead Center at The Brass Rail Pub with Sabrina. On Sunday, we went to the Navel Academy to attend to my little brothers' Sea Cadet promotion and picnic.

Weekend of September 26th-28th: Matt and I attended James' cross country invitational at Hereford High School then we rush home for me to get ready for my facial appointment at Vita Revive.  After my appointment, I ran some errands and packed an overnight bag for Leah and Layla's birthday sleepover.  Matt was hosting Robbie's bachelors party that night instead of getting a room downtown, the guys were going to crash at our place in Towson.  After a sleep deprived night with girls ranging from four to nine, I hung out with Ck and Emilia, whom at the time had just turned one!  They were in town visiting because Joe and his company were participating in an east coast convention.

Tuesday, September 30th, Matt and I met up with Ben, Mike, Joe and Ck for dinner at Luna Del Sea.  I am so glad I was in great company because the food there was disgusting and that I got to see them even just for a few hours because they all live out in L.A.

Weekend of October 3rd-5th: My birthday weekend and Robbie & Christi's Wedding.
My birthday was on the third and not to break tradition, I didn't get to go all out.  So, Matt and I bought myself a bunch of nice novelty items such as:

• Flowers delivered to work even though I was only there until 11:30 am
• Tory Burch Ella Tote in Black 
• Lands' End Parka in Navy
• Tarte Rain Forest After Dark palette
• "I'll put a spell on you" (Hocus Pocus) baseball tee in green
• LORAC Pro palette
• Kat Von D Studded Kiss Lip Set

The first five items were from Matt and yes, I gave him a list of things I wanted -  a month in advanced.  I am a woman who knows what I want and don't have time to be passive aggressive and or returning shit that I don't want.  The rest of the weekend was spent partaking in wedding festivities.  Funny story, the plan was to camp with our friends after the wedding and when it was time to put up the tent, Matt and I realized that we had everything except for the tent itself.  We were borrowing my parents' gigantic tent because people had express interest on staying in the tent with us.  My point is that I am never going to ask my siblings to do anything for me again.

Weekend of 10-12th: We spent the weekend at my parents' house in southern Maryland.  It was an interesting weekend to say the least.  I tried Marie's Diner for the first time in my life and I loved it.  It was also the weekend of my younger siblings' homecoming so my parents took Matt and me to dinner at Paul Kee in, my hometown, Wheaton while they were at the dance.  It was delicious.  Matt and I gorged on so much amaz-asian food that weekend.

Last weekend: As mentioned earlier, Sam and Z came over to our place for dinner Friday night. The entree was crispy cheddar chicken with baby red mashed potato and steamed broccoli.  Matt and I had also put together a simple charcutrie plate because we went a little overboard at Trader Joe's last week.  Last Saturday, Matt and I got up early and ran errands.  We ended the day with dinner at Nando's Peri-Peri and watching Life of Pi on demand.  We went over to Sam and Z's place for football Sunday and I got to cuddles with Ellie!

New

 

During my last week at the law firm, I was out Wednesday of that week to travel to southern Maryland.  My idiotic sister, Cristine, needed my help with paying for her college textbooks.  Cristine is the most frustrating and difficult person I have ever dealt with in my life and that is an understatement.  While dealing with my frustrating sister, Robbie quit that day.  Do I blame him?  Absolutely, not.  My biggest complaint about my last job was that I was not getting compensated adequately.  In order to attract and retain talent, a company must compensate competitively and support their team.  I wasn't getting either.  The following day was so bad that I had my shit packed up by two pm just so I wouldn't feel obligated to go in on my last day.

Anyone who knows me, won't find it surprising that I went in on my last day haha.  What can say? I am an ethical person.  In hindsight,  I shouldn't have bothered going in.  I left early because there were hardly anyone in the office.  I said my goodbyes to those that were there and then I went shopping!  Matt took me out for a celebratory dinner at like 4 or 5 pm.  We were the only people in the restaurant haha.  That night we met up with my friend, Sabrina, at The Brass Rail Pub in Pasadena, MD to meet her new boyfriend, Erik, and watch him perform with his band: Top Dead Center.  Later that weekend (Labor Day weekend), Matt and I visited my family in Philadelphia and Robbie & Christi at their place in Elk Neck, MD.  

I had four days off before I started my new job which meant re-organizing my life and shopping.  I had donated two medium boxes worth of clothes that were occupying my trunk for years.  I am so happy that I drive a SUV.  A former co-worker of mine who had left the firm in 2012 contacted me to tell me the law firm had reached out to her regarding a vacancy, my former position.  Well, that escalated quickly.

Last week was my first week at the engineering firm.  Everyone at the law firm warned me about the traffic on the west side of 695.  I was so nervous and anxious about the traffic during my days off that I didn't really enjoy them.  I was so stupid.  I just want to say that I enjoy my new position very much, so much that I have been getting up early to go into work.  I love getting up early and doing so has me even more productive each day!  It's safe to say that I am happier because last night I made dinner and baked muffins.  I only bake when I am happy :)

Last weekend was perfect Autumn weather.  I am so excited for Fall! Matt and I went to my former co-worker and Matt's golf buddy, Sean, for his annual cookout on Saturday.  We also met up with Ryan and Emily that night and had dinner at HoneyPig.  It was their first time there and I found it amusing that Ryan was so perplex about eating food hahaha.  Emily and I were on a mission to find bubble teas because Ryan had never had one before so his reaction to it was great.  The rest of the night just consisted of talking and hanging out.  Last Sunday, Matt and I organized and cleaned our room before the Redskins game.  

One Week

One week down, one more to go!  In other (good) news, I found a replacement for my position - my boyfriend's bff, Robbie!  Last Saturday, at Sam & Z's cookout/bonfire/gathering/etc. Robbie's fiance, Christi, said that they are willing to move closer to Baltimore under the condition that Robbie gets a job in Baltimore.  I made that shit happen in less than a week.  I get to train him on Monday!

I have taken a position at a civil engineering firm in Columbia.  It is 27 minutes away from my house without traffic.  My commute is going to suck but I am getting over a 28% raise.  I think that is an awesome trade-off.

This weekend is a busy one for me.  Birthday festivities for Drew in the city tonight, and company picnic followed by a Nats game with James, Justin, and Matt tomorrow.

My Resignation

My resignation for my current employment is effective today.  There is a mixture of emotions I am feeling but the overall feeling is happiness.  In the past year, I have gone to a total of five interviews.  While that number does not seem high, I was also a full-time student at Johns Hopkins University and worked 30 hours a week.  I can't even tell you how many times I've submitted my resume - hundreds, thousands, etc. times a day!

Previously, I was filled with doubt.  I felt that I wasn't marketable and my experience were obsolete.  I have made a promise to myself that if I am ever in the position of acquiring talent (HR) for a company, I will dutifully send a follow up to those who did not get the position they had interviewed for and the reason(s) why.  I feel that is only fair to those prospects struggling for employment.  Granted, that is what career services are for but in my opinion, I don't find them helpful.  Case-in-point: Hopkins' career services advise me that my resume wasn't detailed enough but I needed to keep my information down to one page.  Um, what?!

Networking, recruiting companies, match.com, e-harmony, what's the difference?  I am not afraid to admit that my first impression is assertive, bossy, whatever.  I don't judge people by their first impression and with the millennials who are tech savvy, is it fair to judge interviewees by their first impressions?  There are many articles stating that narcissistic individuals are the ones who interview well.  In my honest opinion, I prefer someone's work to speak for them.  I much rather have a quiet, awkward, hard-working, team-player who is incredibly smart than have a sociable show-off who does mediocre work.  #Team Underdog FTW.