From College to Cubicle

My Thoughts on Life, The Bachelor(ette), and the Pursuit of Happiness

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Down with the Pant Suit

July 18, 2012 / / 1 Comment

For those of you who don’t know Yahoo recently hired Marissa Mayer as their new CEO. To me this marks the hiring of probably one of the first female CEOs who I repect, and the best part? Much of the commentary about it (until she announced she was pregnant) was regarding her credentials, background, and whether her and Yahoo were a perfect fit – not about the fact that she was female. Was it mentioned? Well yes of course some bloggers and articles mentioned it, but the vast majority did not (once again until she announced she was pregnant).

Why is this so important to me? Because Mayer has been someone I’ve looked up to for awhile. One of her quotes sums up my belief about being a female in tech perfectly “I’m not a woman at Google, I’m a geek at Google.” I work for a company where I, quite honestly, don’t think of myself as a female employee. I don’t think about things like “oh she just got hired because she’s a female” nor do I worry about my male coworkers being more likely to succeed than me. These things are just (thankfully) not part of my concern on a daily basis at Abbott, in fact I don’t really think about them at all. I think of myself as just another PDP trying to be successful. I think of myself as a bookworm who is passionate about technology and business, and how they interact and drive each other forward. I hope to do good in the world. I’m not a female out to prove that I can succeed just like the guys or more than the guys, I’m just an employee trying my best – like everyone else, and like Marissa Mayer.

Marissa Mayer is the first relatable female CEO for more than just her opinions on being a female in tech. My favorite part? She’s not the stereotypical female out to prove herself in a pantsuit with a stern look on her face, trying to act like one of the men. No. She’s a sweater-wearing geek who seems to care about her appearance enough to straighten her hair and wear makeup (occasionally) and heels (also on occasion). She’s a unique personality who’s well educated, has a wonderful resume, and doesn’t feel the need to act like anyone but herself. You look at pictures of her and there’s not one picture of her in the dreaded pantsuit – and I truly believe this has nothing to do with Google’s casual dress code due to the fact that there are no pictures of her in jeans either. She’s a professional who has no desire to be perceived as successful or powerful – she lets her work speak for itself. That’s something people everywhere (male or female) can look up to.

Oh, and her name is Marissa. I find that kind of awesome too…

 

Weekly Health Challenge

July 9, 2012 / / 0 Comments

In an effort to change some of my unhealthy habits, I’ve introduced a new weekly health challenge into my life!

My first challenge last week was giving up soft drinks, pop, soda, Coke, or whatever you call it. I’ve been drinking 1-2 Diet Cokes a day recently and I decided it was time to force myself out of the habit of purchasing a Diet Coke at around 10am every morning and then again (if the first was already consumed) at 2:30pm. Thanks to illness this habit proved very easy to break since I was more likely to want water or tea last week than Diet Coke! I started the challenge Thursday so I’ll continue it through at least this Thursday.

I’m allowing myself one exception per week to each health challenge. So my soft drink challenge exception was the Wimbledon final. Sadly my drinking Diet Coke didn’t propel Andy Murray to victory, but it was worth the exception – I realized after a few sips it didn’t really taste that good with my meal, so I switched to water and never finished the Diet Coke! It’s still in my fridge so maybe I’ll finish it later this week, but I’d say that’s a good sign that I’ve broken my Diet Coke habit!

So what’s my challenge for this week? This challenge is overlapping a little bit with the Diet Coke challenge since I wanted to get in a pattern of starting my challenges on Sundays. In an effort to make sure the two challenges worked well together this week’s challenge is helping to fill the Diet Coke void – to drink at least 1L of water a day. I never drink enough water, so this is hopefully going to help me get in the good habit of drinking water! Yesterday the task seemed daunting at first when I filled up the empty 1L Diet Coke bottle with water – but I not only accomplished my goal, I drank more than 1L! Hopefully the rest of this challenge goes as easily as day 1!

If you have any ideas for future health challenges let me know! They aren’t all about food and drink – some of the ones I have in mind are exercise related, and some are “mental health” related (ex. novels), and one is even apartment cleaning related – so really anything goes! I’ll keep you updated on any interesting challenges!

Fourth of July

July 4, 2012 / / 0 Comments

I realized today that I’ve only been in Iowa once for the 4th of July since high school. This is so sad to me! Fourth of July should be about friends, family, parades, fireworks, carnivals, and general merriment! So I present to you, in pictures, what my Fourth of July used to look like: 

 

 

 

 4th-of-july-08-12

 

 

Happy Fourth of July!

Travel Update

June 22, 2012 / / 0 Comments

Ok so a lot of you have been wondering about my travels recently. Unfortunately I don’t have time right now to update pics, but here’s the cliffs notes version of what I’ve been up to travel-wise since I went here:

  • Brussels (mmm chocolate)
  • Neuschwanstein (my future home in case you’re curious)
  • Munich (rainy)
  • Heidelberg (strangest/coolest castle I’ve seen yet)
  • Amsterdam (Queen’s Day)
  • Mainz (didn’t explore much, just did the half marathon)
  • Road trip to Rome including the following:Lucerne, Lake Como, Florence, Bologna, Innsbruck, Munich, and more! Highlight: Saw the Pope
  • Barcelona: It was nice to see a real beach.
  • Berlin: Strange, cool city
  • Long trip to London (Andy and I saw the Queen! Twice!)
  • Geneva (lake + me = sunburn)

So there’s my life for the past 3 months in bullet points. I’ve gotten to do some pretty awesome things, but I tried to just give highlights because otherwise I’d bore you all with too many details!

 

Dear Old People

May 22, 2012 / / 0 Comments

Dear Old People,

Why aren’t you living up to the stereotypes? Between the executives at JPMorgan Chase, the various budget and debt crises and last minute legislation around the world (Greece, Italy, Spain, the US, the list goes on), and people everywhere spending money for no reason and declaring bankruptcy to avoid paying for their massive purchases, my faith in the generations older than me is fading.

It seems like more and more stories of massive financial messes are appearing. Most of them center around three concepts: debt, risk, and budget. All three are things about which our opinions are supposed to, like wine, change with age.

What happened to the stereotype I (and most of my generation) have of people older than myself? I’m supposed to be making terrible choices and they’re supposed to tell me that it’s not responsible. They’re supposed to save their money to keep the white picket fence painted and the children (or grandchildren) happy and educated. They’re supposed to be risk adverse so they can retire and move to a cute little retirement community in Florida. They’re supposed to always support saving and once you’ve saved enough entering into low or in extreme circumstances medium risk investing. Ok a little bit sarcastic, but I think you probably get my point. Let me compare this to shoes.

I’m supposed to be the one buying impractical but stylish shoes. People with maybe 30 years on me are supposed to be buying practical shoes that, while focused on comfort, have elements of style. Retired people are supposed to be completely indifferent to the opinions of others and go for the comfortable shoes which help ease the pain of the years of wearing impractical shoes. 

This is similar to the lifestyle people typically lead at those ages. Young people are supposed to be able to make mistakes, but there’s always an older person to guide them. After a few years they’ll realize they need to be more careful and are no longer willing to endure the possibility of loss on that magnitude (or pain in the case of shoes), and eventually mentor a young risk-taker. Then people enter retirement age they’re supposed to be frugal in an attempt to live within their retirement means (though of course they champion responsibility since they know the generations younger than them must save enough to live on after retirement).

I know that stereotypes aren’t always good, but I believe these exist for a reason. Everything I’ve heard in school and the real world is that as you get older you become (rightfully so) more risk-adverse. You play it safe and ensure that you can survive any storm. Why isn’t this applying to company, government, and household decisions?

Governments everywhere are spending WAY more than they can afford. People are spending more than they make, and taking advantage of bankruptcy to forget the debt on those homes they never could afford or those clothing purchases on credit cards that were never payed off. Executives are taking on way more risk than they can handle and often entire companies are brought down by these decisions.

Meanwhile many young people are unemployed and eager to work, and those who have jobs are busy trying to pay off their student loans. Those who have jobs and even those who don’t are largely forced to be financially responsible because, well, student loans don’t disappear with bankruptcy.

Why is it that many young people are able to live within their means and pay back debt, while many in older generations, particularly those in power (governmental, financial, or even within a company) are not exactly serving as good role models?

Sincerely,

A young, employed, recent college grad living within her means while chipping away at her student loans

 

p.s. I acknowledge that my generation also has many learning from their elders and racking up debt with no payback plan in place. Luckily they’re not in power so they’re (largely) only hurting themselves and will (hopefully) learn from these mistakes.

Gutenberg Marathon Mainz

April 26, 2012 / / 0 Comments

A little over a week from now I’m running a half marathon. Yes, this is the same girl who had a stress fracture this past fall and wrote not too long ago about how excited I was to finally be able to run one mile.

I found out about this half marathon a month ago, so I had very little time to train. Luckily because I was almost done with my getting back to running decent distances,  I was able to pick up from there and use this as further motivation. Am I completely ready for the Gutenberg (Half) Marathon Mainz? Probably not. Am I excited for it? Absolutely!

My parents will be here, so I fully expect to hear jokes and funny comments coming from my father at periodic points along the route, and see lots of pictures afterwards taken by my mom. Since the route is along the Rhine I’m not sure if mom’s pictures will be of the view or of me, but I guess I’ll find out soon!

I have really enjoyed training for this race, since it’s made me remember why I like running so much. I’ve been able to get back into the longer distance runs much quicker than I expected, and I’ve been able to explore my surroundings a little bit! Now I just need to finish the race.

Oh, and in true German style you get beer for finishing.

Coffee

April 24, 2012 / / 0 Comments

epic fail photos - Monday Thru Friday: I'm a Caffeine Fiend!

 

Ok so I’m not actually a coffee drinker, but this reminded me of many people I know (esp. Andy) who can’t quite function until they’ve had their morning coffee.

1000m

March 30, 2012 / / 0 Comments

Why are road signs here always telling me that an exit is 1000m ahead? I may not be an expert on the metric system, but I do know that 1000m=1km. For some reason this really bothers me.

In the U.S. I’d be incredibly annoyed if every sign said “Exit 1760 yards” or “Exit 5280 ft.,” so why 1000m? There must be some reason for doing this, I just haven’t figured it out yet. So it’s become a new goal of mine. If anyone reading this knows please share – I’m incredibly curious!

192 Million Burritos

March 28, 2012 / / 4 Comments

Right now New York is the best city in the world when it comes to one thing. What is that?

Calorie Listings! Everywhere!

I don’t actively count calories, but when I am at a restaurant and see the calories in whatever I’m ordering I find myself looking for the healthiest option that I will still find good. When I’m at a restaurant in Des Moines, Chicago, or Wiesbaden I find myself just guessing at what might be healthy. While I know that calories don’t come close to telling us everything about a food, it’s definitely an excellent place to start.

Has anyone else actually looked up the nutrition facts to something you order at a restaurant? When I do this I find myself surprised. Who would’ve thought that the fatty sounding option isn’t always the worst for you. Often there are those healthy sounding options on menus that turn out to be the most unhealthy item available. Salads are sneaky.

So I know that there are many controversial points currently being discussed as the Supreme Court is looking at “Obamacare.” I really don’t like to portray my political views publicly, but I will say one thing. I hope that no matter what happens to the rest of Obamacare, there is one part that should somehow happen – chain restaurants adding calorie counts to their menus.

It doesn’t affect businesses – I’m still going to eat my McDonald’s and Chipotle and the various other chain restaurants affected periodically, I just might decide to opt for two hamburgers instead of a burger and fries, or a burrito bowl instead of a burrito.

What would happen if the entire United States opted for a burrito bowl instead of a burrito at Chipotle – simply removing the flour tortilla and thus 290 calories? Well according to their 10K in 2011 they had $2,269,548,000 in revenue. Assuming this revenue is entirely from stores, let’s do a little made up math based on my experience at Chipotle.

I would guess that 1/2 of people get burritos at Chipotle (that guess is on the low side), and the other half gets other options (bowls, quesadillas, tacos). Since we’re looking at the half that gets the burritos, we’ll start by dividing the revenue in half.

$2,269,548,000/2 = $1,134,774,000 so this is the number we’ll start with for burrito revenue. Burrito prices are $5.10 for chicken, $5.25 for steak, $5.65 for carnitas (which when researching I found out all the carnitas are prepared in Chicago!), $5.50 for barbacoa, and $4.95 for vegetarian. Once again relying on my experience at Chipotle I’d guess that Chicken is ordered three times more than the other options and steak is ordered twice as much as the other options. So we have:

($5.10×3 + $5.25×2 + $5.65 + $5.50 + $4.95)/8 = $5.24 per burrito

I’d say that less than half of people get chips and a drink when they order. Unfortunately I can’t find this information anywhere. So I’m going to assume based on my extensive experience standing in line at Chipotle that (on the low side) 1/4 of people get chips and 1/4 of people get a drink.  In 2011 it cost $.45 in most markets for chips, and .95 for chips and salsa, $1.40 for guac, and $1.85 for chips and guac. I’m going to average those since I’d say that probably 1/4 of people get one of those options, but I have NO idea what’s most popular.  So $1.16 for the average chips (or guac) purchaser. Drinks in most regions in 2011 were $1.50. Very few people get non-soft drinks at Chipotle so I’m going to assume (since some markets have drinks for cheaper than $1.50) that the average drink price is $1.50 to balance out cheaper and more expensive drinks.

Assuming 1/4 of burrito orders have a $1.16 charge and 1/4 of orders have a $1.50 additonal charge, that’s an average of .67 cents added to each burrito. This brings our average order up to $5.91. You might be thinking “I always pay more than that” – well don’t forget this doesn’t include taxes and prices vary by market. So how many burritos were ordered in 2011? $1,134,774,000/$5.91 = 192,009,137 burritos. 192 MILLION BURRITOS!!

If all of those people ordered a burrito bowl instead of a burrito it’d save the Chipotle customers 290 calories per burrito by not eating the flour tortilla. That’s a total of 55,682,649,730 calories saved. At 3,500 calories per pound, that’s about 15,909,328 pounds less that America would weigh if everyone made 1 healthy choice based on calorie count. Even if only 1/4 of orders were a burrito instead of a burrito bowl that would be 3,977,332 pounds. Wow.

Now I’m not suggesting at all that Chipotle should no longer sell it’s signature burritos. I’m just saying that if Americans were presented with the information, some Americans might actually start to make informed decisions about our health. There would still be many people who wanted to order a regular burrito, and I know about the calorie count in the tortillas yet I sometimes make that informed choice, but what would happen if 1/4 of burrito purchasers a year when looking up at the calorie contents on the menu made the decision to order a burrito bowl instead of a burrito? America would be 3,977,332 pounds lighter.

 

p.s. There is no Chipotle in Germany so after writing this I want to eat a burrito bowl, but instead I think I’ll have to make myself a burrito tonight.

 

Disclaimer: If any of my math is incorrect I apologize. This entire calculation is based significantly on assumptions and I’m attempting to type this on a German keyboard, so typos and inaccurate information are likely. 

Parking Struggles

March 19, 2012 / / 0 Comments

My biggest struggle so far with living in Germany? Parking. My apartment has this stacked parking system similar to the one pictured above, and my spot happens to be one of the smallest due to a ledge that’s above my spot. What’s the problem with that?

Well at first I was given an SUV. Didn’t know they had SUVs in Europe? Me neither. I think they searched all of Germany to find me one… Then they gave me a VW Passat. Which is a normal sized car in the US, but in my parking spot it’s too big unless I back in (due to the weird ledge). But if I back in then I have to park where my bumper is 2 inches from the wall in order to fit my wheel in the place where the wheel is supposed to go. Now backing in isn’t the issue, it’s that my spot is fairly slanted, and reversing backwards you have to kind of get a head start… A head start when you need to park that close to the wall is a little scary!

In addition to my parking struggles in my spot, the parking ramp’s button to lift the gate (and therefore leave the garage) wasn’t working Saturday. So I had to flag down someone in the street and have them open the garage from the other side with the key just to get out.

Hopefully I will get used to the parking system… and soon!

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