Finding a New Norm

It's hard to believe I've been home in Austin for six weeks and at my new job for more than a month. The adjustment has at times been a struggle, but I've found such joy and peace feeling like I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be right now. I miss college life, especially with everyone starting back to Baylor last week, but despite having the Baylor blues, I'm finding my "new normal."

Transitioning to life with a full-time career was rough. In college, I avoided 8 a.m. classes at all costs. Now, my usual week-day schedule is as follows...

5:45 a.m. - Alarm #1 hits me like a ton of bricks.

I roll over and snooze for 15 more minutes.

6:00 a.m. - Alarm #2 goes off.

Most days I try to have my feet on the floor after this alarm, but depending on the day and my to-do list waiting at the office, I may steal 15-20 more minutes of shut-eye.

7:15 a.m. - My goal to be out the door. Traffic before school started was awesome; usually just a 20-30 minute commute to downtown. Now that the working parents and Longhorn crazies are on the road, it takes anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour.

8:00 a.m. - I'm at my desk and the workday begins! I'm thankful that I work in a flexible environment where there's no true "late for work" unless a meeting is scheduled that early. If you're having an off day (which is surely bound to happen), no one raises an eyebrow if you come in a little later than usual. They trust you to make up the time by staying an hour later, or by working through your lunch. I really do try to be a morning person and get things accomplished early in the day, but it's nice knowing there's a little bit of freedom to set my own schedule.

Noon - I usually work through lunch. The marketing team was SUPER busy before two of us newbies were hired. We're still playing catch-up as they try to get us trained, so working through lunch is a great way to get things crossed off my task list. I'll bring food from home and save money by not eating out.

5:00 p.m. - When the traditional "end of day" rolls around, you won't find many of us fleeing the office. We're usually working on tight deadlines, like tonight when I didn't leave until after 6:30. As much as I'd love to be headed home, I've also found that if I rush to leave at 5:00, I'll sit in traffic for an hour at least. If I work until 6, I cut my commute in half. Working late seems like a wise decision - I'm making money while saving both time in the car and money on gas!

So there you have it, my work life in a nutshell. Do I enjoy it? Yes, I really do. Is it always fun? Definitely not. But seeking the joy and focusing on the little triumphs of my day keep me level-headed and happy. I know that I'm so blessed to have the job I do. And on that note, it's time for this little career woman to relax for a few hours before heading back to bed.

Saying Yes to the Dress

Next to getting engaged, finding a venue and setting a date, picking the dress is the next most important detail of a wedding. Mom, Sarah and I started looking at dresses over Easter break, the weekend after Thomas proposed, and my search for the perfect wedding dress took me more than three months. After visiting five bridal shops and trying on almost 20 dresses, I finally found the dress I'll be wearing in 370 days!

Last weekend, we made dress shopping a family affair! Sarah flew home after her summer exams for us to return to Serendipity Bridal, where Sarah and I had previously found a dress I loved. I put the dress on, walked out to the couches where Mom, Dad and Sarah were waiting, and everyone loved it! I finally had that moment where I knew it was the one. I could envision myself walking down the aisle to marry the man of my dreams in this dress, and that's how I knew it was time to put an end to my search.

There were no tears, which I wholeheartedly expected on my dad's part, but it was still a joyous, blissful and exciting experience as I finally said YES to the dress!!

A champagne toast to celebrate!

On an unrelated note, the job is still going well. Last week was busy, and I was at the office for 12 hours on Wednesday working on a deadline. It's been enjoyable for the most part and I love the office environment where I work. Here's a picture of my little corner!

Playing Catch-Up

A funny thing happens when you become employed. A significant amount of your free time goes missing.

By the time I get home from work, especially with Austin traffic, I only have a few hours after dinner to relax and unwind before it's time to start thinking about crawling back in bed, just to wake up and do it all over again the next day. So I'm finally getting around to blogging!

Last weekend, Mom and I drove down to Zilker Park near downtown to enjoy one of Austin's best summer festivities, the Zilker Hillside Musical. Each summer at the park's outdoor amphitheater, Zilker Theater Productions puts on free performances for three or four weekends, and this year it was one of my favorites - Footloose! Everyone brings picnic blankets and coolers full of snacks, and the show begins when the sun goes down. The show was incredible and I even had a friend who was in the ensemble. Great job, Kyle!

The rest of my weekend included downtime with Mom & Dad, dinner at Trudy's with some girls I've met from my new church (The Austin Stone), a great Sunday sermon at The Stone, and brunch at Le Cafe Crepe with Jennifer, one of my sorority sisters who is now working in Austin.

Monday morning came all too early, but I was really excited for my first day of my new job!! I'll save all the details for a different blog post, but I'm really going to enjoy it. It feels a little like drinking out of a fire hose with all of the information I'm trying to learn, but I'm on a great marketing team and everyone is so helpful and encouraging. When I get discouraged or anxious about never understanding it all, I have to remember that it's only been a week. Every job has a learning curve, and I'm excited to go back on Monday and continue "adding to my toolbox," as my boss says.

Gotta run. We're hitting the road this morning to Arlington to see Brynn & Neil tie the knot. Let the wedding festivities begin!

Hello Employment!

God is good, all the time. Thank you, thank you, thank you for your prayers for my search. Almost two months after graduating from Baylor, I have a job!!

Starting July 25th, I'll be a Marketing Coordinator for a civil engineering firm in downtown Austin. I'll be joining a team of two Marketing Specialists and we all report to a Senior VP who is the Director of Marketing. My job description includes social media and a corporate blog, helping with client proposals in InDesign, working on various marketing campaigns, and planning events and trade shows.

This time of waiting while applying for my first job was really a learning experience. I get anxious in the face of uncertainty, so not knowing my next move after college was a little discouraging. But the wait is over, and I feel like I've grown a lot. I've learned to truly rely on the God who knows my future, and rest in the peace that He's in control.

I wish you could see the job search notes I have in a notebook. Anyone who knows me knows that I'm organized and strategic. I have pages and pages of job opportunities written out, outlining my plan of attack, so to speak. As I received rejection emails (for lack of a better word) or saw the job postings disappear from the company's website, I'd cross things out with a thick red marker. I tailored my resume and cover letter for each potential job, saying a prayer as I hit submit or sent the email. I think I applied to more than 20 jobs in the Austin area. I had a few interviews, a few empty promises ("We'll call you next week!" - yeah, STILL haven't heard back from one job), and got my hopes up more times than I can count. But now I can rest. My search is over. I have a job!

I'm so very excited for this next step in my life! The thought of working in a high-rise office building and getting to add new clothes to my professional wardrobe makes me a little giddy. I'm sure I'll grow tired of the bumper-to-bumper traffic driving downtown everyday, and after a while an 8:00-5:00 work day will become mundane, but I'm confident that a full-time job is going to be a challenging and exciting journey.

Here we go, finally putting this Baylor degree to work. I can't wait!