Phrase of the week: "At least you still have your job"

On Monday my company announced that some people had been laid off. Apparently we weren't doing so hot financially speaking.

I work for a small company and I know everyone who was laid off. Needless to say this has been a rough week. It's sad to realize that people I have been working with for 2 years can no longer work here.

But at least I still have my job.

That's the new phrase at work. Unpaid overtime? At least I have my job. Work assignments I don't like? At least I have work assignments. Cut in benefits? Well that still sucks, but at least I have them.

This is the first place that I have worked that this has happened. Well I guess one guy got laid off at my old job but he needed to be fired so a lay-off was actually being nice. It's a lot different when good workers have to be let go.

It's been interesting to see how people are handling it. One person isn't talking to anyone. Another just sits at their desk and cries. Another dishes out the guilt trips to those who "survived". Another jokes about it and another ignores it.

This week has been a regular buffet of emotions with a side of an added work load. I do have to say that it is much easier to be a survivor when no one in a similar position to mine was laid off. At least I don't have to think about coming out above a friend.

And no matter how rough of a week it has been for me.... at least I still have my job.

Chi Town

I went to Chicago last weekend with Amberly to visit our friend Chris. It was a lot of fun with lots of laughter. I don't have tons of time to post as I need to go to work and need to shower before that but here is a picture of an ingenious Chicago resident's solution to a busted mirror:

Why have rules if you make exceptions?

That's my cousin's cute kid throwing leaves at me last fall.

Recently he and his sister were taken to the Ohio Caverns to explore the caves. At the start of the walk, the cave tour guide was explaining to everyone that "we have to be careful not to touch anything in the cave." This brilliant kid quickly raised his hand and pointed out that his feet were touching the cave and he couldn't NOT touch anything. The tour guide agreed and amended the rules to allow for feet to touch the cave.

A ways into the walk the group spotted a bat and the tour guide stopped to talk about it. The kid once again raised his hand and made a brilliant observation. "The bat is touching the cave. He's not supposed to be touching the cave."

Yep. He belongs to our family.

A Hot Air Balloon Story

Today I was reminded of a situation that wasn't funny at the time but I can laugh about it now.

Last summer I had a really bad day, and we all know that the best things to help you deal with those days are crying, ice cream and swings. So I went and bought ice cream and sat at a park and cried. It was a great self-pity party.

As I was sitting there a hot air balloon company pulled up with their trailer. They started setting everything up and then people started showing up. This is what I really wanted since I was bummed and crying - PEOPLE! Up to that point I was the only person in the park. People, please stare at me with a mixture of pity and fear. Please crowd together and ruin my pity party. Please. I wish I had thought to invite you. This is fabulous. Next time I will.

Soon more people showed up. And then more. And then some more. And then finally the birthday girl showed up. Some teenage girl's parents had given her a hot air balloon ride for her birthday. I was so happy for her I cried some more.

And then I walked through the crowd with my tear-stained face because the birthday mobile was parking me in and I decided it was time to leave.

Maybe if I had stayed longer they would have offered me a ride.....

Hi. My name is Andi and I like public speaking.

Last night I spoke to a bunch of graduating seniors about life. It was a lot of fun. And while I spoke too fast, my speech was too short and I didn't pause enough, I think it went really well. Since I have nothing else blog-worthy, (except for the trunk monkey videos) I have posted my talk. Ignore any grammar errors. Assume I fixed them as I spoke.

************

When I was trying to decide what to talk about tonight, I thought about all the speakers that spoke at my graduation events. I tried to remember all the wisdom that they had imparted to me 5 years ago. And then I realized that it doesn’t matter what I talk about because no one will remember it in 5 years. So now that the pressure of saying something wise, wonderful or encouraging is off I can speak candidly with you about what I have learned about life through college and now entering the workforce. There are 3 things that I have learned that I would like to share with you tonight.

The first thing that I have learned is that life can be downright embarrassing. Now anyone who has made it through Jr. High knows this, but it doesn’t get any better as you get older. As you move into the next phase of your life you will have what I call “freshman moments”. These are times that, in a dramatic fashion, you will show the world that you have no clue what is going on. One of my freshman moments occurred when I was a sophomore at Wright State. Wright State has these tunnels that are a confusing maze that connect the buildings on campus to each other. These tunnels are great ways to get around campus when it is raining or snowing they are also a freshman’s worse nightmare. There is no rhyme or reason to the tunnels and if you miss turn off you need, you can’t circle around and catch it again. You have to turn around and go back to correct tunnel. When you turn around everyone knows that you are lost and are probably a lowly freshman. One day my sophomore year, I was deep in thought and had missed my turn in the tunnels. Where I needed to turn around there was a study lounge. I’m not sure why they placed a study lounge in a tunnel, but there it was. Several tables and chairs and tons of students that would now see me head back in the other direction. I figured I could discreetly turn around draw very little attention to my freshman-like behavior. I would have gotten away with it if it hadn’t been for my treacherous backpack. As soon as I began to turn my zipper broke and my books hit the floor with a loud bang and slide all over the tunnel. I couldn’t have looked more clueless if I had tried. Life will be embarrassing. You can either laugh at yourself or you can quit trying. You will also see people in their embarrassing situations and you can choose to either judge them for these acts or laugh with them and move on.

The second thing that I have learned is that life is always full of surprises. My friend Amberly continually reminds me of this. I think that more random things happen to her than anyone else. One day as she was walking through the parking lot to class, she ran into the side view mirror of a car and it fell off. Not wanting to just leave it on the ground, she opened the door of the car to set the mirror in the back seat. As soon as she had opened the door a cat jumped out and ran off. Now she has broken the guys mirror and let his cat loose. She ran after the cat and with the help of another student, eventually caught it. Feeling responsible for the mirror and the traumatized cat, Amberly left a note for the owner. It said something to the effect of “I broke your mirror off and put it in the backseat. I also rolled the window down a bit so that your cat could breath. I am willing to pay to have the mirror repaired, please call me. Sorry. Amberly.” When Amberly returned from class she had a voicemail from the owner that said something like this, “Hi. This is George the owner of the car you left a note on. I just wanted to thank you for returning my mirror, it falls off all of the time. I also wanted to thank you for rolling down my window a little. I don't own a cat so I don't know who’s cat is in my car but I am glad it could breath. So again, thank you and you don't owe me anything for the mirror.” Unexpected things will always happen in life. We can either let them stress us out or we can be flexible and change with them. As you make plans for your future, realize that God may change them and you can either get upset or laugh and move in new direction. Hold your plans and dreams in open hands and let God change and mold you into the man or woman He wants you to be.

The third thing that I have learned about life is that God will continue to humble me and check my pride. I make no claims to being gorgeous; I will leave that and all the headaches that go with it to someone else, but I must admit that there was a day when I thought I looked especially good. I had a new outfit, new hair color and new shoes; I had it all together. I was pondering how good I looked and how many compliments I would get on my stunning new clothes as I was out running errands. I even practiced my walk. You know the one. Head held high, arms swinging with purpose, the sideways glances to see who is noticing you. The walk. I was on top of the world. Being on top of the world requires a lot of thought about your looks. These were soon interrupted by the plate of glass pressed against my face. Yep, you got it. I walked right into the exit doors of Kroger. Everyone was looking at me then. At that moment, the little voice inside my head whispered, "Vanity hurts", like a banged forehead. That was just one time that God, in all His irony, took me down a couple notches to where I needed to be.

As you move forward with your plans and your future remember that life will be embarrassing, surprising and humbling. If you place your confidence in your ability, your looks or your plans, you will be sorely disappointed. Jeremiah 9:23-24 says this, “Thus says the LORD, "Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things," declares the LORD.” In your life you will be embarrassed, surprised and humbled, but no matter what life brings you, seek to know and understand the Lord. For that is the only thing worth boasting about.

Thank you.

What you have to look forward to

How was my day at work? It was kind of like this Dilbert. Thanks for asking.



But now I have a cat on my lap, am fixing dinner and getting ready to read my Bible. It's getting better.

Tomorrow I get to speak to a bunch of graduating seniors and tell them what fun it is to grow up. Oh the irony.

Happy May Day!

This is my first May Day in my apartment and I wasn't sure if I should give my neighbors baskets or not. I was afraid all my efforts to get to know them and be friendly would be seen as creepy. (For those of you how don't know, May Day was traditionally celebrated by anonymously leaving baskets of flowers and sweets on a neighbor's doorstep.)

I decided "Ehhh... What the heck" and made baskets for my neighbors. I didn't leave them anonymously but I did leave them.











Two of my neighbors came by to introduce themselves and thank me. Yeah! I think it made their day. I also don't think they see me as creepy. In the words of one, "You seem like a pretty cool chick." Sweet.