Savannah, Georgia

It has been a long while since my last post - how sad. Nathan and I just returned from an amazing weekend in Savannah, Georgia. We arrived Friday evening in time for a wonderful dinner at River House Seafood, located directly on the Savannah River. We were picked up after our dinner for a private carriage ride, where we learned all about Savannah history. We stayed at the Hamilton-Turner Inn on Lafeyette Square. The house was gorgeous - the first in Savannah to get electricity! Saturday we were greeted with an amazing breakfast of Georgia Peach French Toast and then set off to explore the shops. We were able to go by Paula Dean's Lady and Sons, although the line was much too long to waste our only full day standing around. But it was neat to see regardless. We spent the afternoon enjoying the weather out in Lafeyette square, Nathan enjoying a cigar and me catching up on my most recent book. Saturday night we went to our dear friends Jamie & Josh's wedding at another local mansion. It was great wedding with an open bar, which always makes things a little bit more enjoyable. :) Sadly we had to return on Sunday, but we are already planning our return!

So if you are looking for a great weekend getaway, we highly recommend visiting Savannah, GA. You can check out pictures of our stay here. 

Life as an Adult

Two ways I know that I am exhausted

1) When I went to get into my car today after work, I noticed that the lock looked broken. Then my key wouldn't unlock the door and the bag of stuff to return to Dillards on my backseat was missing. Then I saw a package on the floor and my immediate thought was "Someone has broken into my car and left their pot!" I was on the phone with my sister at the time and walked her through all of my hysteria - until I saw the iPod on the console and realized that it wasn't my car.

2) My husband said hello to me and I replied, "Hi, Pootz," which is the nickname I call my dog. 

I think I need sleep. The first week on the job has been good but extremely tiring. 

Favor the Personal

I was astounded as I stood in line at a local department store, waiting somewhat impatiently for the clerk to help me. I stood in line, the sole person vying for her attention, for about 15 minutes while the clerk continued to take several phone calls in favor of helping me. So what's so astounding about that - it happens all the time! Here's what it is - we have come to favor the impersonal over personal. The clerk was favoring the people who wanted to connect via technology rather than helping the person who took the extra step to come into the store. As I observed this, I realized that it's not just in retail environments that technology seems to interrupt personalized face-to-face interactions. How often have you been having an in-person conversation with someone, only to be "put on hold" for a phone call or text? Or perhaps it's you who does it to others? Why is it that when our phones ring we have an emotional reaction that tells us we are so important that we must see what someone needs from us in that very moment, completely disregarding the people around us? With all the emailing, texting, phoning, IMing, etc, it seems to me that we should take advantage of every opportunity to connect with people face-to-face and develop relationships with co-workers, customers, friends, and family. The best business people, the best friends, the best spouses will be those who learn to favor the personal over the impersonal and remain present in all in-person conversations. 

The moral of the story: Turn your phone on silent, put the phone calls on hold when a customer comes into your store, favor the personal. 

More on the Generations Buzz

Last week I had my final customer program with The Soderquist Center. I coordinated the Spring Milestone at Greystone Estate. It was a neat group of participants that spurred on rich conversation. I had the opportunity to talk with them about my generation. It seems Gen Y is causing quite a commotion as we enter the workforce. I thought I would share a few of my insights here.

Where I've been:

• I was born in 1984 to loving, Christian parents who are still married today.
• Until I got married, they were the most important people in my life. They gave me a solid foundation of faith, family, & finances.
• I did not have to work for my first car, but I did have a 1984 clunker...
• I got my first email address in the 6th grade. I don't remember life without the Internet.
• I am 23 and debt-free and do not own a credit card. Not all of us grew up with the "entitlement epidemic." My parents biggest pet peeve was the "ribbon for just participating."
• I attended Oklahoma State University, got married, went to John Brown University for my MBA through a fellowship at The Soderquist Center and have landed here.

Where I'm going:

• I don't know. It's that simple. I don't have a 5-year plan. I don't believe in planning your personal life that far out. Don't mis-understand me. I do believe in preparing for 5 years out, but not planning.
• I am less concerned with what I will be do as I am about who I will be.

What's important to me in a job:

• Relationships. They are the foundation to any great team. I have to like the people I work with, report to, and interact with on a daily basis.
• Flexibility. Who said 8-5 are the only productive hours in the day? In a world of endless connectivity, why does an office have to be the only place where work gets done? Simple answer, its not.
• Growth. I want to be developed and grow in skills and knowledge. I don't mind putting in the extra hours, as long as I'm developing. I want to know where I'm headed.
• Meaning. I want to know that what I am doing is important. I need to be able to see how my role fits into the bigger picture & success of the company - don't we all?
• Feedback. This goes back to growth. I can't grow if I don't know what to work on. It's a simple question of "how am I doing?"

Yes, Gen Y is unique - just as every new generation who enters the workforce. We are faced with the same questions and challenges as a new wave of thought & expectations enter corporate America. Instead of constantly grumbling about our differences, though, why not embrace the positive? Why not take advantage of the experience and wisdom of the Baby Boomers while coupling it with the tenacity and creativity of my generation? Seems like win-win to me!

Food for the Soul

Colossians 2:13-15

13When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, 14having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. 15And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.

Life Update

The Internet. It's something I use daily, hourly, minutely (is that a word?). Yet I've never quite taken the time to really try to wrap my head around how it actually works. It's kind of like those deep, theological questions that you just can't bring yourself to think about because it just makes your head hurt. Or de ja vu. That one definitely makes my head hurt. After years of using but not quite understanding the World Wide Web, I have found myself immersed in it. I recently accepted a position with a local web development company named Rockfish Interactive. I will be an Interactive Producer for them starting on May 12th, which is a fancy and impressive way of saying Project Manager. So I am spending my free time reading up on Wikipedia about a variety of terms I've heard for years but never quite understood. The very Internet that allows me to publish this blog is a very complex conglomerate of a lot of things I do not understand. There is so much more to it than this pretty interface that I see. It's amazing to think about the minds that saw this, that knew what it could mean for global communications. Fascinating. 

I'm looking forward to joining the team. I've been working with them on the Soderquist website for the past few months and know that I am in for a wild and rewarding ride. Before landing at Rockfish, though, it was a long journey of soul-searching. I interviewed for a variety of positions around NWA - most of which were not culture or lifestyle fits for me. I had my last interview at one company last week that solidified my choice to go to work for Rockfish. During my interview, one of the interviewers brought up a "hot button" - Generational stereotypes. She mentioned that my generation didn't seem to want to work, feel like we are entitled to much more than we're ready for, and won't commit to any company. She then asked me my view of those things. Wow - there is nothing like being blatantly stereotyped to your face. You know what they say when you assume things... I rebuffed her comments by pointing out that some of those issues are age related - not generational - and that there is a greater case for personality differences and individualized management than for generation-wide shifts. I am a Gen Y'er, but I am committed to working hard, don't feel like I've earned anything yet, and will show the same amount of commitment to my employer as they show me. I want to gain experience in a variety of things so I can do the best possible job at whatever I am doing. I was quite offended by her comments to me. Needless to say, I did not take that job. 

In other, brief, news:

• I officially graduate May 10. My final day at The Soderquist Center will be April 30. It's hard to believe I have been in NWA for 2 whole years!
• Nathan & I are landscaping our side yard - we are super excited and promise to post pictures of the final results when it's more than just a pile of rocks. 
• Nathan & I are quickly approaching the 2-year mark. Marriage is best thing this side of heaven.

So that's a brief overview of what's up in my life now, for all my "avid" readers. :) Just keeping up with my blog title - Meanderings!

Lessons from Jackson

The other day my husband and I returned home to find that our precious one-year-old Shih tzu had ravaged a pair of Nathan's underwear. Nathan discovered the evidence as Jackson and I were curling up in bed. He picked up what was left of the garment & asked Jackson calmly, "Jackson, what did you do?" Our sweet pup, realizing that his fault had been found out, immediately turned over onto his back in surrender as if saying, "I know I did wrong - I'm sorry!" Nathan held the evidence closer to drive home the point. Jackson crawled closer to me for protection, fearing that the worst might come - a loud, resounding "No!" He looked back at Nathan, still holding proof of his disobedience. Still hunched close to the ground, Jackson climbed into my lap, begging to be held and forgiven. We have a great dog. How could I not scoop him up and give him some love? He was so meek. 

So often I find myself in the same situation as Jackson, knowing that I did wrong and desperately wanting to climb into my God's lap for comfort and forgiveness. Just as Jackson couldn't hide his disobedience from us, I cannot hide mine from an omniscient God. Time and time again I forego the better things that God has for me to chew on some dirty ol' underwear in the hamper. If I'd only looked past it, I would have seen that God has greater blessings for me! How thankful I am that God continually scoops me up and gives me some love when I just surrender to him.