From College to Cubicle

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

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Where are you from?

February 18, 2012 / / 0 Comments

“Where are you from?”

I hate that question. Responding to that question is only becoming more and more difficult. Yet I get asked that question almost daily. Do you want to know where I was born and raised? Where I live now? Where I went to school?

There are a variety of factors complicating my response to this seemingly easy question:

  • I will probably always consider myself an Iowa girl at heart, and being proud of my home state I usually want to respond that I’m originally from Iowa (though few people really want to know that anymore).
  • I live halfway between two cities. In suburbia. Do I say I’m from Chicago? It takes me about as long to get to Milwaukee as Chicago despite living in Chicagoland! I fly out of the Milwaukee airport sometimes and drive through there, but that’s the limit of my Milwaukee experience. You’re much more likely to find me in Chicago than Milwaukee, but the fact remains that I live halfway between the two.
  • The easiest landmark to explain where I live is an amusement park. Unfortunately if this person just wanted the city they are all of the sudden starting to get my life story when I start to include local landmarks.
  • I still hold Notre Dame close to my heart, yet when people ask where I’m from if I respond Iowa they usually just assume I went to school there. Nothing wrong with Iowa, but I am extremely loyal to my alma mater. If people are really curious about how I got to living/working where I do today I consider ND a huge part of that.
  • I never know how much detail someone wants. If they want to know where I am originally from, they should ask that! If they want to know where I go to school, they should ask that! If they want to know where I live, they should ask that!
So if you are still reading this, I have a warning for you. If you ask me where I’m from you just might be listening to me talk for awhile…
Oh and one more thing: Go Irish! Beat Trojans!!!

I Need a Team to Cheer For

February 18, 2012 / / 0 Comments

Growing up in Iowa I never really watched the NFL (other than the Super Bowl). Now that I’m in the real world (and a part of the country where people care more about the NFL than Iowa football) I need to find a team to cheer for! Every Friday without fail a coworker asks me if I’ve decided to root for the Packers yet. Every Monday without fail my manager asks why I haven’t started cheering for the Bears yet. Andy’s been working on brainwashing me into being a Packers fan for months. Who should I cheer for? I don’t know, but I am working on a list of reasons I should/shouldn’t cheer for teams (based mostly on colors and mascots).

Who should I cheer for?

  • Cincinnati Bengals – No. Bizarre looking uniforms.
  • Pittsburgh Steelers – Probably not. They have the same uniforms as Iowa, and I don’t like Iowa’s uniforms…
  • Chicago Bears – Probably not. Despite hearing daily news updates on everything Bears… the orange uniforms are bizarre looking and the bear isn’t very cute.
  • Detroit Lions – No. I don’t want to have to go to Detroit to watch a game for the team I choose, and lions aren’t blue in nature.
  • Green Bay Packers – Sorry Andy, but probably not. I don’t really like the colors and don’t understand why cheese is a rallying point.
  • Minnesota Vikings – No. Can’t find it in myself to cheer for a bunch of guys parading around the field in purple (unless there’s a musical at halftime, then count me in).
  • Indianapolis Colts – TBD. I like the colors, horses, and cheering for underdogs, so a possibility, but part of me also wants to cheer for a team with a brightish future, being a Notre Dame fan is hard enough…
  • Jacksonville Jaguars – No. Jaguars are cute, and their attempt at making one ferocious is laughably terrible.
  • Carolina Panthers – No. I don’t like panthers, Jimmy Clausen, or Cam Newton.
  • New Orleans Saints – TBD. I find myself wanting them to win, but don’t really like the colors.
  • Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Probably not. I’m not a pirate person. Skulls don’t inspire me to cheer for a team.
  • Miami Dolphins – No. Worst colors in NFL.
  • New England Patriots – No. Everyone cheers for them and Tom Brady has oddly blue lips.
  • Philadelphia Eagles – No. The eagle looks scary/weird and the colors are bland.
  • Washington Redskins – No. “Redskins” is not my idea of a cute mascot and I don’t like the colors.
  • Oakland Raiders – No. Colors are boring.
  • Arizona Cardinals – TBD. Mascot reminds me of angry birds.

*Note: If a team isn’t listed here it’s not because I forgot. I am trying to form an opinion of every team, and am only about halfway through my list.

The Other Side of the Career Fair

February 18, 2012 / / 0 Comments

This week I was fortunate enough to be able to attend the ND Career Fair as a recruiter. I dreaded career fairs when I was actually looking for jobs. I hated trying to figure out what was going through the minds of recruiters, trying to look up every possible tip on getting a job, and awkwardly selling myself to people I highly doubted would remember me five minutes later.

From the other side of things I can say I was wrong on one thing: there are some people I remembered 5 minutes later… but in many cases that was not a good thing.

“So… I’m new to the career fair, can you tell me what I’m supposed to do?”

“What is Abbott?”

“I’m in the process of switching majors. All I know is I don’t want to be a finance major anymore, but I’m not sure what I’m switching to. Do you have any jobs that I might qualify for?”

Um… While these questions all help me figure out from the first question that I’m not talking to someone who actually wants a job with Abbott IT, I also felt bad for these students. Finding jobs is hard enough for people right now, and I have low hopes for those particular students’ job search. At the same time I know that I (and the portion of the ND world who ACTUALLY wants a job) spent at least a LITTLE bit of time figuring out which booths were worth going to!

The career fair taught me that effort truly pays off. There were some people that were so prepared with questions I felt like I was being interviewed! There were students who were sending thank you emails on their phones after every booth! There were some students with resumes that made me feel like I should be the one working for them!

Mendoza students are taught all sorts of tips for finding a job in the real world, and my experience on the other side of the career fair taught me just how valuable that advice can be. Well, how valuable it can be if people actually take the advice to heart…

College Didn’t Make Me Wise

February 18, 2012 / / 0 Comments

I’ve been at my job for two months now, and in those two months I’ve learned a lot. Since working and moving have kept me busy this summer, I haven’t had a chance to catch my breath… until now! After reading a friend’s blog (shout out to Katie Santella) I’ve decided I should start one of my own!

These last couple months have taught me a great deal. I’ve learned how to wake up before the sun rises. I’ve learned that “sleeping in” is now 9am. I’ve learned how to navigate the North Shore suburbs via car and Metra. I’ve learned the most efficient way to walk to the Six Flags Great America entrance from my apartment. I’ve also started thinking of wisdom I’d like to pass on to anyone who has managed to keep reading until this point:

  • Just because I’m an IT Professional doesn’t mean I can help you solve your obscure computer problem.
  • Diet Coke is always the first thing sold out in a vending machine
  • The day you decide to start a diet will be the day cookies mysteriously appear at your desk. This will mark the end of your diet.
  • Legal pads are far superior to spiral bound notebooks
  • One must plan for the human traffic jams by the coffee every morning
  • Pandora makes everything better
  • People assume anyone under the age of 40 is an intern
  • There is no problem a bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch won’t solve
  • Life without TLC, HGTV, MTV, Discovery, and ESPN (ok, I do get ESPN3) is survivable
  • Long Day? Look at a picture of a Shiba Inu and your day will instantly be better:
  • Day not better yet? The manatee squash will ALWAYS work
Manatee Squash Gif - Manatee Squash
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