The Fantasia of an Optimist

And so it goes

I know that life is not fair.

But some things you just do not expect to hit close to home.

Best wishes Porubcan family. You are in my thoughts.

posted by Katie80 @ 5:06 PM 0 comments  

Office Haze

At times, the days seem to drag on forever. Regardless, the weeks continue to fly by.

Today is a hazy morning. I can not see the Chicago skyline from my desk. My eyes follow the countless cars speeding along the interstate. After work I will join the madness on I90W to spend a night in Madison. It has not been much more than a month and a half since I moved out of the city, but I still find myself wondering if I will feel more like I am visiting than returning 'home'.

posted by Katie80 @ 7:19 AM 0 comments  

Culture Shock

I do not think that you have to go thousands of miles away to be challenged and feel outside of your comfort zone.

I do not think that you need to travel over the ocean to feel a language barrier.

Sometimes, a culture completely different than that one you are used to, is much closer than you think.

Insurance is hard. The technical terms and jargon are confusing. The business school prepped me for the corporate culture, but just like with AIESEC exchange prep, it did not fully prepare me for the new environment I am in.

posted by Katie80 @ 6:22 AM 1 comments  

66 HDB

Last year I was lucky enough to watch Nathan's Famous International Hotdog Eating competition at Coney Island in person. This year I had to settle on watching it on TV. The American's reclaimed the yellow mustard belt with a new world record- 66HDB in twelve minutes.

One similarity between last year's 4th and today... I am celebrating the holiday alone.

posted by Katie80 @ 10:31 AM 2 comments  

Time in Between

I have time in between digesting my Lean Cuisine and creamed corn to fit in a quick blog before I head to the gym.

I spend a lot of time thinking about the roots of my motivation. The first two years of college I was a neurotic studier. I always knew everything that I could before going into an exam. Then I got in to the business school. I still would go to class (occasionally) and always did well on exams, but the drive was gone. I knew that chances were likely that I would be offered a good internship, job, etc. with the grades I had, and studying the extra hours to perhaps do better than the genius children that ruled the b-school curve did not really interest me. So, I floated along the last two years of college. Soaking up some knowledge and blowing off the rest.

Today, and for the next ten months, and I find myself essentially being paid to study and learn. In no way is my pay now, or at the end of the program, related to my 'academic' performance. However, I am now leaning back towards my neurotic study habits. I am mystified, but pleased in this change.

Neither of the last two paragraphs are here nor there.

Except that they are.

posted by Katie80 @ 5:26 PM 0 comments  

Life... Post-UW

I am two weeks in.

Schaumburg is your typical suburb. It is also home to the mall that receives the most foot-traffic in the Midwest. Not good news for a girl with a 1,875% increase in monthly salary. So far, so good. The plan is to stay far, far away. I will not let Woodfield get in the way of my savings plan...

There have been lifestyle changes the past couple of weeks. I no longer have to clean... anything... ever. The hotel cleaning service comes everyday and washes my dishes, changes my sheets, gives me new towels, and takes out my garbage. This is a luxury that I am not used to, and to be honest, am not quite comfortable with yet.

I have found somewhat of a daily routine now that I have started working. I wake up at 6:30am and leave for work at 7:45am. I leave the office at 4:45 and do all of the following in no particular order- go to the golf course and hit some balls, workout, and eat dinner. Then I either read the newspaper or a book and head to bed around 10:00pm. The hotel has a free happy-hour every day from 5-10, so sometimes a drink or two falls in as well. Seeing my schedule on paper makes me feel old, but I have enjoy every second of it.

Tonight, my fellow associates and I are celebrating our first paycheck by going out for sushi. Afterwards I am heading downtown to stay with the girls.

I have been thinking a lot about motivation lately. This may materialize into a blog in the near future.

In short, life is crazy in a very nice way.

posted by Katie80 @ 11:48 AM 1 comments  

Moonbeams in my Hands

I am at a really good place in life right now. I thought that I was headed the right way, but now I know for sure.

Wednesday night I flew to the Twin Cities for two days of meetings with all of Zurich's Construction Associates from programs past. I was basically shitting my pants in fear, wondering what I got myself in to... However, all it took was 15 minutes of introductions on Thursday morning to ease my apprehension into excitement. I remembered why I loved my internship last summer and what makes Zurich Construction a unique and fabulous place to work. And if I had any doubts left in my mind they surely dissipated when I found out that Thursday night's team building activity was a bar-crawl through downtown Minneapolis on a 17-person bicycle, ending at dinner, followed by a night of open-bar.

After a final drink at the airport Friday afternoon with my new co-workers, I headed back to Madison.

My family is great and my boyfriend is amazing. There are not many people that know how (and willingly) deal with my neuroses.

The weather is beautiful.

I am moving closer to my Chicago loves.

The best 2/3's of me are still traveling, but at some point we will all be re-united... and the wait will be worth it.

I am so full of excitement and hope for the future that I could burst. There is so much to look forward to.

posted by Katie80 @ 6:00 PM 2 comments