I'm In Love!

With my job.

I had my first day at Adobe today and I LOVE it already. Everyone was sooo nice. There is an on site gym with showers, 4 break rooms with free snacks and drinks, a "music room" where you can play piano or guitar on the instruments provided, an XBox 360 where people can be found playing rock band and Halo during breaks, and a few pool and Foosball tables.

Also, I can already tell that my co-workers and I will be two peas in a pod. When I logged in to my work computer, my desktop background had been set to a Justin Bieber desktop. hahahaha. That co worker is now called Biebs by me. On the whiteboard in my office my co workers wrote me nice/funny welcome notes. The girl in the office next to me is super nice and friendly and around my age.

All of the conference rooms are named after Adam Sandler movies, including but not limited to waterboy and 50 first dates. The IT people are down in the basement, and above the door, etched in glass it says "not the basement". They prefer to call it the "Garden Landing" (sounds way better than a basement right?) People have their offices decorated super fun and I can't wait to decorate mine!

In other news, Adobe is ranked #41 on the top 100 companies to work for for 2012, and I can definitely see why.

I love my job.

Cha Cha Cha Changes!

Change is scary. It is soooo much easier to just stick with what you know and what you are comfortable with. But alas...how can you grow if you just stick with the status quo?

I applied for a full-time position at Adobe, that would start in April after I graduate.  I have gone through three interviews for it, and got a phone call on Friday about it...

They aren't ready to hire for the full-time position yet, but the manager that I would be working for is swamped and really needs someone to help her for the time being. She offered me a temp position, through March. Through this whole process she has been extremely honest with me, which I love. She said that this temp position may or may not lead to a full-time position, so there is the possibility that I will be unemployed in March. (begin hyperventilating here). She told me that I was, however, one of her top candidates for the position, but I am competing for the job with someone who is internal. (intimidating!)

I was honored that she chose me to come in and be the temp. As we were talking, she also mentioned that one of my professors had sent her an unsolicited, "glowing" recommendation about me. I hadn't asked the professor to do so, but he knew that I was going through the interview process at Adobe. I was sooo grateful that he took the time to do that, and I think it helped a ton.

So, in short. I will now be an employe at Adobe! Which happens to be my dream company to work for.

Yes I am scared out of my mind that I will be unemployed. Yes I am probably crazy for leaving a stable job where I know I can stay employed as long as I want. But, I can't just sit safe in my harbor and expect to accomplish anything.

Here's to new beginnings and adventures!

Happy 2012!

Best.Semester.Ever

No it wasn't the best because it was easy, because it definitely was not...at all...

It was the best because my friends made it that way. I had all but one of my classes with Dustin and Jaraka, and they kept me alive. We made the following list of our favorite moments:(in no particular order) Which you probably won't find as funny as me...but hey...I had to get through the semester somehow.

1. In our Organizational Development class, our professor asked Brenda if he could share part of her paper and she straight up said "no, you can't". The professor couldn't tell that she was kidding, until she told him she was serious...I guess he wasn't used to that. It was great.
2. We had an early morning Saturday meeting for our MBA 544 teams class. It was a long meeting just trying to figure things out, and at one point Jaraka flipped her hair over her face, ran her fingers through it, and flipped it back. At the same time, Josh and Dustin said "wow Jaraka, you have amazing hair." laughter ensued. 
3. We had a late night Wednesday meeting for our MBA 544 teams class. All of you who know me know that I don't function well at night. Consequently, I found everything extremely funny. Jaraka was telling us a story. She said "today I dropped a giant..." but then my hysterical giggling interrupted her. Everyone looked at me like I lost my mind, which I partly had, and through tears I said "I thought you were going to say you dropped a giant deuce today". She finished her sentence to say she had dropped a sign on her foot...I'm so mature.
4. Again, another late night meeting for the above mentioned class. We were feeling in a rut, so what better to do than have a rolly chair race down the halls of the Tanner building. 
5. My friend Dustin likes to talk a lot in class and participate. He always raises his hand and has something to say. It never bothered me. No one else seemed to contribute. But then during our midsemester feedback for one of our classes, someone had complained to our professor that Dustin dominates the conversations. Dustin was asked by the professor, in front of the class, to no long participate. 
6. For our MBA class, we had a hefty project due. This project included "observation" worksheets where we had to gather data etc for our analysis. Our team was overconfident in one another, and consequently no one really checked on the worksheets to see if they were done correctly or up to par. These worksheets are worth 1 point each. Dustin's worksheet got a score of .25. that's right. POINT 25. "The width of the arrows indicates the amount of communication" it seriously looked like a first grader did it, not a college senior. 
7. In our strategic management class, there is one of those kids.  You know the type, kind of weird and awkward, but thinks he is a little cooler than he is. We were in a stadium like seating room, and Jaraka, Dustin, and I had a clear view of the guys laptop screen. His desktop background was three large pictures of Jesus, with 3 smaller pictures of his wife doing the facebook/myspace face (the one with the lips pushed out and the hair over the face) next to said pictures of Christ. Dustin noticed it first, who pointed it out to me, who gmail chatted Jaraka. The giggling was almost uncontrollable.
8. Also in our Strategic Management class, we had a business simulation where we had to run our own company and make a bajillion different decisions and anticipate our competitors moves and try to make a profit. It was hard. Garrett, an extremely sarcastic, blunt individual, had a team that was doing awful and had negative profits so far for every round. He offered to say the prayer at the beginning of class. Here is how the prayer went, probably one of the most sincere I have heard "please please PLEASE let our teams make a profit in the simulation" I lost it in the middle of the prayer. His team made a profit every round after that prayer.
9. For our organizational consulting class, we had a very scatterbrained professor who you had to read his mind to do well in the class. Garret made a google doc and sent it to everyone in the class so we could add our notes to it while the teacher was doing a final review. However, the document turned into a conversation talking about the ridiculousness of the class and the comments made by the professor. All in good fun of course. We actually love that professor.
10. Jaraka learned to NEVER leave her computer alone in a room with Dustin and I. The first time she did it, we changed her desktop background to a Team Edward Twighlight background. Super gay. Then she did it AGAIN. This time Dustin hacked her facebook and changed her status to say that she had really loud farts and was in class and asked if anyone had any suggestions to ease the pain. 
11. I now have a most embarrassing moment thanks to Dustin. Dustin lovingly calls me Hermione due to my obsessive nature about school and grades. This was a great little inside joke...until I turned in my final for our consulting class. It was an in-class final. We also had an in-class midterm. I was the first person done. Then for the final, I was the first person done again...I even waited around for 10 minutes so someone else could finish so I wouldn't be "that" girl. But everyone was slow, so I stood up, walked to the front of the room, stapled my paper, and heard Dustin yell for the class to hear "Thanks a lot Hermione". The whole class laughed at me. Felt my cheeks turning red...so much love.

Gets Me Everytime...

I love music. I love the power it has to completely change your mood. Not to get all spiritual on you but...

I was having kind of a rough day today, so I thought I would put on some good ol' Mormon Tabernacle Choir (MoTab) to lift my mood.

I don't know what it is about the song "I Believe in Christ" but it seriously gets me every time. Every time we sing it in church, I end up teary eyed, like a goober. It is just so powerful and makes me feel so at Peace and firm in what I believe. I especially love the third and fourth verses:

I believe in Christ – my Lord, my God!

My feet he plants on gospel sod. I’ll worship him with all my might; He is the source of truth and light.

I believe in Christ; he ransoms me!

From Satan’s grasp he sets me free. And I shall live with joy and love In his eternal courts above.

I believe in Christ; he stands supreme!

From him I’ll gain my fondest dream. And while I strive through grief and pain, His voice is heard;

“Ye shall obtain.”

I believe in Christ; so come what may!

With him I’ll stand in that great day, When on this earth he comes again To rule amoung the sons of men.

Here's to music making me feel a hundred ba-jillion times better than I did

One of Those Days

You ever just have one of those days? Like no matter how hard you work, or what you do, it doesn't matter? There will just be a nay sayer, or someone who throws you under the bus, or someone who doesn't appreciate your efforts? Do you ever feel like you are the only one who cares or puts effort into anything?

I wonder a lot why I care so much about succeeding, and why I seem to care more than other people.  Am I the only one who thinks it is considerate to help other people with their parts of the project, even though I don't have to? Everyone just seems to have the attitude: I did my part. I'm done. That is not group work. That is not being part of a team.

I think people know that I care and know that I pay attention to due dates and know that I will do anything (as long as its ethical) to get a great product ready to turn in, so they just let me do it. They also know that no matter how stressed I am or how much I have to do, they can slack and I will make up for it because I want to succeed. Isn't that a catch 22?

Sorry for my rantings. It's just been one of those days. I just wish someone else would care as much as I do. (Also...Aunt Flo's visit is imminent...maybe another contributing factor to my emotions. TMI? Sorry)

Now for some positive things:
I graduate in April
I love Mark alot!
I am physically healthy (mentally healthy too...on most days hehe)
My drive to succeed is a good thing...just frustrating at times
I have the Gospel in my life :)
I live in America
I have great in-laws
I have had the opportunity to gain an excellent education
Fall leaves are pretty!
It's holiday season!

Okay. I feel better. Thanks for letting me rant. I'm done.