Conference = Lots of alcohol

Sitting here tonight in my hotel room, the last night in Seattle, I started thinking about how we spent our nights during the conference. Every single night we drank alcohol!

Towards the end of my college career (and a little after), I spent a lot of time enjoying smaller parties with alcoholic beverages. However, around the time I turned 25 I stopped drinking as much. Sure, I would have a drink here or there, but I really didn't drink much at all. But, when I started working in Admissions, I noticed that every time there is a conference going all, they serve LOTS of alcohol and it's like I'm in college again!

It all started last year when I attended the WACAC Conference in San Diego. We stayed out to the wee hours of the night hanging out in the gas lamp and having everything we wanted from the bar... for free. Then, I went to the Summer Institute at UC Santa Cruz and our nights were spent like new college freshman... playing drinking games. Then I went to NACAC in Austin, Texas and every night we had a party to attend that served free alcohol! That was just last year!

This year we had the WACAC Legislative Conference in Sacramento, WACAC in Las Vegas, User Group Conference in Portland, Maine and then NACAC in Seattle... it was a repeat of last year, but in new locations!

I really do attend all of these conferences for professional development. And, I believe that the majority of others do as well. But, why do they serve us unlimited amounts of alcohol for free? It's crazy! Haha... I can't wait until I find out the bill for the California Suite Party that a bunch of California universities threw here in Seattle (and every year)... I had never seen so much alcohol consumed... and by High School Counselors and Admission Counselors.

Just my thoughts - we're supposed to be learning, but a lot of alcohol is consumed during these conferences.

I Love Seattle

Who would have ever thought that I would love a city that is known for it's rain?

I had never been to Seattle without rain, and this trip has been a great introduction to sunny weather in Seattle. I know it doesn't happen very often, but it was wonderful! But, that got me thinking... even when it was pouring rain, I still loved this city!

I can't describe why I like it, but I do. It's a great city - it reminds me of San Francisco, but much cleaner! It's a nice city with new things around every corner. There are seasons here, which means that you get to see all of the colors of the leaves. And, from what I've experienced, the people here are really nice.

I don't think I would mind moving to this area. I don't know if that would ever happen, but I don't think I would mind.

I'm Exhausted!

I am exhausted!!!

I have been in Seattle, Washington for the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) Conference since Wednesday. I have only been here three days, it's been exhausting!

During the days we're getting up to go to sessions and hear speakers on many issues regarding College Admission and Counseling. Then, at night we've had parties and socials to attend to network with others in the profession. So, last night I got back to the hotel room at around 2:30am and was in my first session this morning at 8am! I'm exhausted! I have a few hours of freedom right now, but then it's on to the next party at the Experience Music Project.

Don't get me wrong... this conference is great and I have a great time every time. The sessions are great and I totally see myself taking all of these things that I've learned back to the office. And the parties are great because everything is free and I get to meet so many great people. But... I can't wait until I can go back to normal life and have my regular 8-5 job because right now I'm exhausted!

Two Weeks in One Suitcase!

Today I left for Seattle and won't be back home until Sunday, October 5! That's the longest I've been away from home. And, what makes it worse is that I am not traveling with anyone for most of this time. No Maverick :-( I'm with a few co-workers, but only for a few days while we are attending a conference. Then, they all leave Saturday/Sunday and I still have a week by myself!

Have you ever packed for 2 weeks? and tried to fit it in only one suitcase? That's right, I had to pack two weeks worth of clothing in one suitcase because the other suitcase that I still had to pay extra for was already reserved to hold my materials for college fairs (viewbooks, inquiry cards, etc.) That was one of the hardest things I ever had to do because I had to pack for professional dress and colder weather. That's right... it's currently raining in Seattle. I thought I would finally get to experience this great city with sun, but unfortunately I was wrong. But that's okay... I still love this city, even during the gloomy times.

So, back to packing for two weeks. It's hard! All of my clothing is now very wrinkled. And the thing that makes this even harder is that there are two times during this trip that I have to pack up those dirty clothes because I have to get on another plan to go to another city. On Tuesday I fly to Spokane, Washington and then on Thursday I fly to Portland, Oregon. And then finally I get to fly home on Sunday, October 5.

I'm sure I'm going to have fun during this trip, but right now I'm exhausted and I can't wait to go home!

Police and Tickets

I'm a big fan of The Adam Carolla Show that is on 97.1 Free FM here in Southern California. He is also syndicated all over the country. So, for example, last week when I was in the Central Valley, I was still able to listen to Adam Carolla, Teresa Strasser and Bald Brian.

If you have never heard the show, I will tell you that Adam rants about everything. He can find a reason to complain about everything and I find it hilarious. One of the things that he rants about is "cops giving out chicken "s" tickets." He has talked about this subject so many times, but it finally got me thinking... it's true. I know that there are great police officers out there that really try to save us from crime, but how come there are so many that spend their time trying to give out tickets?

Here's an example. I live on a street that gets a lot of people driving down it, with a speed limit of 30 mph. Just a few houses down there is a small cross street with a 4-way stop. Almost every day a cop hangs out in different locations giving out tickets to people that don't stop long enough. I've been lucky and have not been given a ticket here, mainly because I know this is a place cops like to give out tickets. My parents have been witness to this too when a cop parked behind their car while visiting and that's where he was hiding to catch people. Maverick and I were walking my parents out saying our good byes and we see the cop parked behind their car with the air conditioner on. All of a sudden he peels out, does a u-turn and starts going something like 50 mph to catch up to a car that didn't stop long enough at the stop sign! That cop was so much more dangerous than someone not stopping long enough!

I'm complaining or ranting about this because when I come home from work every day, I see at least 3 Sheriff or Highway Patrol Cars "hiding" so that they can give out stupid tickets. I see these police officers just in the short time it takes me to get off the freeway and drive home (less than 5 miles). Is it because I live in a nice neighborhood that doesn't see much crime, so this is what they have to do? Giving out tickets to the good people driving home from work or the mom's picking up their kids from school?

I've experienced this "stupid ticket" phenomenon last year and it infuriated me. I turned at a right light, and there was a small sign that said "No Turn On Red" that I never saw. The car in front of me turned on the red light first, but I got a ticket. Was it because I was nice looking and the Sheriff woman knew that I wouldn't fight her or give her a hard time? The guy that turned before me looked like a gangster... did she not pull him over because he looked "scary." That was a $391 ticket! Luckily I took it to court and won the fight and got my money back!

It just really irritates me that so many police officers have to sit around giving out tickets for stupid reasons like this. If you're going to waste your time hiding to give out tickets, why can you sit on the freeways and catch the people that are going 90+ mph weaving in and out of traffic. I see so many of these people everyday on my way to and from work and I have never seen a CHP. I just know that every day when I see these people driving dangerously, I ask, "Where is a cop when you need them?"

Okay, that's my rant of the day =D

Craziness after travel

Today was my first day back to the office after being away for just five business day. All I can say is that it is crazy coming back to work after just a few days. I had over 20 voicemails to return, new projects to take care of and still more intern training and paperwork! It's a good thing that I was checking email while I was out of town because if not, I would have had over a hundred emails to response to as well!

I love getting out of the office and visiting students... but I never look forward to going back to work. Don't get me wrong... I really like being with my co-workers, but it seems as though the make-up work never ends after I'm out of the office.

I think I'm going to do a little work tonight from home and hopefully I'll be all caught up before I go on my next trip to the Pacific Northwest next week... and this time I'm going to be gone for almost two weeks!!

Annual Clean-Up Day

It is times like this that I realize how much of an adult I am now. Today was our trash company's annual clean-up day and they took away EVERYTHING we didn't want for free! So, last night Maverick and I cleaned out our garage and got rid of a couch, a few chairs, a reclining chair and some e-waste. We've been wanting to clean out our garage for a while, but we just haven't had time... plus, how were we going to get rid of the junk? This annual clean-up day is great and I'm going to look forward to it every year. haha... I am such an adult.

But hey... the garage now has space and I can almost park my car in the garage. We got rid of the things we didn't want last night, but I didn't say we organized. Maybe today...

Glad to be home!

I am home after being gone for about four day in the Central Valley of California. I met with hundreds of students and spoke to just as many parents. I'd exhausted and so happy to be home.

As soon as I got home, I was greet by beautiful roses that Maverick got for me! He wasn't home, but he wanted to have something to welcome me back home. They're beautiful!

It's so good to be home. It's fun traveling for work, but after a few days I miss home. The Central Valley is interesting, but not a place that I ever want to spend too much time - I miss the Pasadena area where we live!

The dogs also greeted me when they go home. They were so excited to see me :)

It's just so nice to be home! I'm going to enjoy the next week and a half then I'm off again for almost two weeks to the Pacific Northwest.

Theft at the Restaurant

I have to admit... For dinner tonight, I ate at the same restaurant chain that I ate at yesterday. I had to since it was so conveniently located just down the street from my hotel and the fact that it offered "To Go" options.

I made a stupid mistake while I was at the restaurant. The server brought me my food and drink and then she walked away with my credit card that I had taken out of my wallet. I set my wallet down on the counter and adjusted everything to make it easy when I would walk out of the restaurant. She came back with my receipt and the copy that I needed to sign. I was so hungry that after I signed my copy, I didn't even put my credit card back in my wallet and picked up all of my things and then went to car.

I got back to the hotel, ate my food, and then went to put everything away and found that my wallet was not in my purse. I looked all around and could not find it. I went out to the car and could not find it. So, I called the restaurant and they had it! I immediately got in my car and drove over to the restaurant. I was so thankful that they had it, I thanked them and then walked out without even looking in the wallet.

I got on the freeway to then go to my college fair of the night. While driving, I looked in the wallet to get my money ready for the parking structure I knew I would be going in and my wallet was empty of any money! I had $40.00 in my wallet when I went to the restaurant, but now it was gone! I was so upset, both at the person that stole the money and myself for making such a stupid mistake.

As soon as I could pull over to make a call (since we need to be hands free while driving in California), I called the restaurant to talk to the manager. I explained that it was a stupid mistake on my part for leaving my wallet, but wanted to let her know that $40 was taken from my wallet. Instead of apologizing for my experience, her first response was, "It must have been a customer because I know none of my employees would have done that." I was shocked by this response and said, "well, again, I want to admit that it was a stupid mistake and I just called in case it was one of your employees so that you knew that you might have a thief in your restaurant." Again, she refused that none of her employees would steal.

I'm sad that I lost the $40, but really upset that there was no sympathy for my situation. I'm also upset that this manager would not admit that it could have been one of her employees.

It's not cool that someone stole my money! This is definitely a time that I'm hoping karma is real!

Table for One

I travel a lot for work, which means that I spend a lot of time alone on the road. This includes eating meals all by myself. For the most part it doesn't bother me to be alone because it's a great opportunity to just relax and not have to worry about anything.

But, there are some days that it really gets to me... like today. I decided to go to Chili's today for lunch after one of my college fairs. I wanted in right after another woman and the hostesses assumed that we were together. Then, the hostess says, "Would you like to get seated now, or would you like to wait for your guest?" I told her that I was by myself and only needed a table for one and she looked at me with such pity and was probably thinking, "Oh poor girl, she has no friends."

I was also looked at by other customers like I was pathetic. I know I sound paranoid, but I've been going on business travel for three years now and today the people really got to me because they were so obvious about looking at me.

Table for One. There's nothing wrong with people eating alone, or traveling alone. First, there are a lot of people that have to travel for work, so obviously they're going to be alone. But second, what's wrong with being alone? If I didn't have alone time, I think I would go crazy. Some people really need to be alone with themselves and their thoughts.

So, next time you are at a restaurant and someone asks for a table for one, don't judge them. There is nothing wrong with the majority of us.

Travel Season Does Not Mean Vacation

So many times when I'm getting ready for travel season at work, those people that don't travel always think that it's a vacation. Not even close. Yesterday I drove two hours to get to Bakersfield, three hours at a crazy college fair and I was working remotely for a few hours. Sure, I might have free time in the middle of the day, but I'm working until 9:00 or 10:00 today.

This morning I got up at 6am so that I can drive an hour and a half to Visalia for a college fair from 9am to 1pm. Again, I'll have some free time during the day in which I'll use to respond to work email and then it's on to another college fair from 6pm to 9pm. Below is the picture from the fair before the craziness of thousands of students arrived at the Rabobank Convention Center.


One day I wish I could take one of these people with me on the road for them to see just how much all of us counselors are actually doing when we're on the road doing recruiting!

Fire Season

It's September and I'm a bit scared of fire season. As I was driving up to Bakersfield today, I noticed how dry the hills surrounding the 5 and 99 Freeways were. Below are a few pictures:

Look how yellow and dry the hills are! It has been so hot in Southern California this summer and I'm afraid that the fire season will be just as bad as last year. I remember last year coming out of work to find my car covered in ash - it's scary.

The drive to Bakersfield wasn't too bad. It went pretty fast and I was able to find lots of things on the radio to keep me entertained. And finally I made it to Bakersfield:


I'm not in my hotel room and it's pretty nice. I'm a Marriott girl and I'm loving this location - huge room and a great fitness room with televisions on all of the machines! Plus, I'm getting great points that I'm saving for a great trip to Hawaii!

I'm going to relax for a little while and then it's on to the Rabobank Convention Center for the Kern County College Night.

Preparing for the Trip

I woke up this morning to my mom calling. Her first question was, "Are you okay?" Of course I was okay and wondered why she was asking. I guess she woke up this morning to the sound of my voice continually calling her in a panicked tone - it really wasn't me, so she must have been dreaming.

Luckily she only called about 15 minutes before I needed to actually wake up to get ready to pick up my rental car from Enterprise. Maverick drove me to the Enterprise and I went in to get my car and of course I got my Chevy Cobalt. The University only allows me to rent compacts, so I usually end up with Cobalts. This time I got a deep blue color and it runs really well - it should be easy to find in the sea of parking lots I will be in this week.

After that, I came back home to say bye to Maverick before he left for work. Then, I was on my way to run my errands (post office, bank and target). I love doing errands during the weekdays in the morning - I wish I could have everyday off. It's nice to sleep in and do everything that I need to do when places are less crowded. But, I'll be in the world of working for a bit longer - until we win the lottery :-)

When I was at Target, I bought a few cards for Maverick. I want to make him feel loved and missed while I'm gone because I feel so bad for leaving him. When I first got this job, he was happy for me and thought it would be fun. But, I don't think he realized how much I'm away from home during the Fall (September - December). For example, I'll be away from home for almost two weeks at the end of September through October, missing his birthday. So, I'm going to prepare him a bunch of little notes to show him how much I love him and will hide them around the house before I leave today.

It's stressful leaving on business trips. There's so much to do, but at least it will be nice to be out of the office for a few days!

Shots and Fetch

This weekend we have tried to relaxed around the house before I leave on my trip to the Central Valley. But, we did find some time to take our new puppy Maya for her first set of shots.

First, we picked up Maverick's brother and his puppy Mocha (Maya's sister) and then we all went to PetSmart to get them their shots. We made it just in time because after we got there, they shut down the line and would not accept any other walk-ins. Maya was brave and had an easy time with her shots. We then took her back to Maverick's brother's house to let the sisters hang out and play around in the backyard... she had so much fun playing with other active dogs!

After that we took her home and played fetch with her - she's just three months old and she is the best "amateur" fetcher I've ever seen. That "little" puppy that keeps growing is so cute and always wants to play - she's so smart! Below are some pictures of her:

There she is waiting for Maverick to throw her the ball.

She couldn't wait for the ball - she showed us her jumping skills!

And, finally she was tired and just wanted to lay down with her ball.

But, before we took her back to the backyard, we let out our other dogs (Chelsea and Zashi) to have a little fun as well. Chelsea and Zashi are much older and don't have as much energy as Maya, but sometimes we think she can transfer her energy to them... like yesterday. Here's some pictures of Chelsea chasing after Maya:

May wants to play, Chelsea is just going to chase after her barking "stay away from me"

And here's a picture that captures all of their personalities (Maya in the back playing, Chelsea trying
to get away from everyone and Zashi just being calm)

I'm going to miss these little dogs when I'm on my trip!

On the Road Again

Working in college admissions can be quite crazy and hectic, especially during the fall when travel season starts! I was at work until 7pm last night trying to prepare for the trip, plus getting all of my other duties done.

On Monday, I start my 3rd travel season with the University of La Verne. I'll be driving up and making my way through the California Central Valley. I hit Bakersfield first, then on to Visalia, Fresno, and so may little cities in between. During the week, i'll be attending seven college fairs and one high school visit - it's going to be crazy. It should be a much more productive trip as I have placed college fairs in place of high school visits this year. Last year I visited a lot of high schools, but representing a school that is not well known by those that don't live in the area can be hard - there were quite a few high schools I didn't meet anyone except a counselor. College fairs are much more productive for me when I'm out of the area and I anticipate that I will meet many new prospective students!

Until Monday, I'm going to try to relax and just spend my time with Maverick. I'm leaving him for 5 days when I go on my first recruitment trip of the season.