Smoke in the Air

Over the past few days there have been fires here in the LA area, but the big one is pretty far from me. We had one up on the hill above me, but they put it out pretty quickly and I was out of town so I didn't even see it. It makes me pretty sad to think about all of those people who are losing their homes, anyone who is hurt or lost in the fire, and the memories that go down with the flames. Pictures, family heirlooms, that special something that you thought you'd ALWAYS have. Makes me appreciate what I have even more because I never know what may happen in life. Isn't it funny how it takes these kinds of things for us to realize what we have...even when it has no affect on you at all.

So with all of these fires raging, the air has been filled with smoke. I was standing on the 11th floor of my building today looking out over downtown and the hills where the fires are at and everything was just covered. It looked like earlier this year when we had perpetual fog for like 3 months straight. When you looked at downtown, you might think you were looking at Gotham City by how eerie it looked. I only wish I could bring my camera into work and take some pictures because it's not something that you see everyday.

And what have I learned from all of this? How beautiful the world is, even when destruction hits. Also again, how we need to be appreciative of everything we're given, all of the family and friends that we have, and all of the many blessings that we are bestowed on a daily basis. I need to remember these things more often because for me, life gets in the way and i tend to do a lot of complaining. Complaining about the little things which in the long run don't matter.

Until next time, tootles!

Football season!!!

Yay for football season! I am such a big fan of college football that I can hardly contain my excitement when it finally rolls around. There are so many things to like about it, but I don't know if I can list them all. My favorite thing is going to a home game at the Rose Bowl and cheering my lungs out for the Bruins. It is such an exhilaration when you're there w/50k+ people screaming for the same reason. Our first home game was against Tennessee and it was such a blast. We totally won (and then went on to lose to BYU this past weekend) and my friends and I had such a good time.

This year we have a new coach, Rick Neuheisal. So far, he's impressed me with the way that he handles himself with the team, the fans and the media. I really like the way that he gets everyone involved in the program. Earlier this year, I was able to go to a Ladies Bruin Football 101 clinic with him and our two coordinators, Dwayne Walker and Norm Chow. It really impresses me that he makes sure to reach out to everyone in the family. I'm hoping that he takes the UCLA Football program to a whole new level in the coming years.

Anyway, just a few of the things that I love about football:

• The competitiveness of the fans - everyones KNOWS that their team is #1 ;)
• The heart of the players - the players go out there week in and week out and give it their all for their school, family and team
• The craziness of it - you never know who's gonna upset who this week....
• The traditions - I love the 8 clap, the 65 year old cheerleader, the alumni band...I love it all!! It just makes me feel like home when I'm at a home game!!
• The tailgating - there's nothing like meeting up with old friends and making new ones when you go to a home game. I've gone from going to 1 tailgate per game to like 3 or 4 now...and I seem to add 1 or 2 per year!
• ESPN's College Pick 'em - I know I never win this, but it's still fun to try! I anticipate getting the email from JayDee every year just so I can try and beat my family!! Go Bruins!! (and Beavs when we're not playing them ;) )
  

I'm sure I could list so many, but I better stop now. Go Bruins!!!

Managing

Well this is my official first week of managing. Granted I don't have the title as "manager" yet, but soon I will. Currently I am the acting manager while my manager is out on maternity leave (no baby yet!). It's a lot crazier than it looks, especially when your right hand person is out of the office for a few hours. I mean, I worked 11 hours without lunch and I didn't even realize it!! I can't believe how many things there are to do when you're a manager. But of course, I love it!! It's actually a really awesome experience because I get to try out the job before I take it so if I end up hating it I know! Although I have to say I don't see how I could hate it. It's pretty fun. I get to oversee everyone's work and make sure things are running smoothly. I guess I'll just have to see 3 months from now if I'm saying the same thing. But for now, it's all good. If you have any managerial advice, please let me know, as I could use all that I can get, just starting out and all. Anyway, doing this whole managing thing has gotten me pretty tired which means I need to go to bed earlier than I'm used to. But I'll be back....to write more on this little adventure that I'm on....

PDX

Wow!! I never knew there were airports out there that had free wireless internet!! This is the coolest thing right now! I get to be online while I'm waiting for my airplane to board instead of playing solitare and it's free. This is not a fun wait either because I just left my adorable niece w/my sister and I don't know when I'm going to see her next. That's always the worst part about leaving my home town. Hopefully I will be able to see her again soon before she gets too big. Anyway, this free wireless internet is definitely something that every airport needs. If I traveled for work, I would want to travel out of all of the free wireless internet airports so I could always have something to do. It beats falling asleep and missing my plane (not that I've ever doen that before....). Anyway, I hope you all have a great Christmas because it should be a fun one. I am sad that I only got to be home for a few days, but it was a nice time while I was here. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!

Hawaii

Hawaii is such a beautiful place. One of the most romantic places...where so many people go for honeymoons or to renew their vows. And here I am, witnessing it all. There is beautiful weather here (besides the sparatic wind and rain). The water is so blue. I love it here. Why can't I just move here??? If you ever get a chance to come, be smart and just do it. You won't regret it!!

Blog

blogs....ugh!

Accomplishment

Ah to end a day getting so much accomplished just makes it so much easier to sleep at night. I feel like I woke up today feeling like nothing would end up right and everything just fell into place. Well except for the fact that I went into work 2 hours late because I was so tired and then when I finally got up to go realizing that my water was off for who knows how long...that was the worst thing that happened all day. Otherwise I had a customer call me and tell me they want to work with me and refinance...my manager was ecstatic (as was I) and then later having another customer call to tell me the same thing! Needless to say I did work a long day but in the end it was worth it. And I even ended it on a good note getting some exercise. These are the days that I live for when alas, I can fall asleep content, knowing that only more good things can happen tomorrow...zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz