Turn that frown upside down!

Monday was a rough day.

It was my first staff meeting at work, and oh my goodness was it overwhelming.  Over 6,000 employees in one auditorium for over 2 hours?  Yikes.

After that, we had an all trainers meeting followed by a team meeting.  Let's just say, there were a lot of meetings today.  And as an employee still fully engrossed in training, and desperately trying to learn the lingo of the land, I had to think really hard... all day long.

I know that sounds silly, but it is so true.

This company runs on acronyms, and I don't know any of them.  I am trying to learn the names of each application, and I haven't even attempted to learn what each app does!  I don't know computer stuff.  I don't get Star Wars jokes.  Basically, I don't speak dork yet.

Now, don't get me wrong, I am not judging dork at all!  Dork is what created a job for me!  But, I don't understand what is being said!  Therefore, in my 5 hours of meetings yesterday, I had to listen really hard.  I had to think about what the acronym might be referring to.  Or, what the Yoda reference may have meant.  Then I would quickly think about how I need to buy Star Wars to watch, before I was struggling to keep up with which app was being discussed.

Needless to say, I left work with a pounding headache.  I thought too much.  I looked at too many screens.  I didn't drink enough water.  I was beginning to stress about upcoming deadlines.

I drove home, popped some ibuprofen, took Wilbur out for a walk, and decided to turn my day around.  The day hadn't been all bad, but my headache was taking over, and I needed to end on a good note.

I called the cable company and I spoke to the nicest man named Paul.  Paul helped me to pick the right cable package for me.  He made sure it includes ABC, Food Network, CMT and TLC.  Then he scheduled for the technician to come out Wednesday evening between 5 and 7pm.  Perfect!

While I was on the cable high, I went to the mattress store.  I know I need to get off my air mattress, but I have been working late, and I hate leaving Wilbur alone longer than he needs to be.  But on Saturday even my horoscope told me to buy a new mattress, so I knew it was time.

I went into Mattress Firm where Gabe helped me to pick the perfect mattress.  I awkwardly jumped around on the beds, feeling a bit like Goldilocks.  As I went down the row I would barely let my head hit the pillow before saying, "oh no, toooooo soft" and moving onto the next.  Gabe occasionally came back to check on me, but he left me to my bouncing, shifting, sitting, side sleeping and back sleeping.

After a good thirty minutes of bed testing, I picked my favorite, and the sales game began.  Gabe tried to sell me a nicer frame, I denied him.  Gabe tried to sell me a special mattress pad, and I denied him again.  Gabe told me the mattress pad normally sells for $119, but he would give it to me for $69.  I said no thank you.  He asked me why I didn't why to buy his super special mattress pad, and I told him I already had one.  Of course, that was a lie.  I was just planning to go to Target to buy one for less than $69.  Finally, Gabe pulled out the big guns.  He would sell me the super special mattress pad/ protector for $25.  Sold, fine sir.  Sold.  I would have paid more than that at Target, so Gabe, you win.  Better yet, I win.

With my mattress protector and washing instructions in hand, I headed home.  But, I took a detour.  I went to Bed Bath & Beyond to buy myself new sheets for my new bed.  I was able to drive from one side of town to the complete opposite side without using my GPS, and that alone put a smile on my face!   At BB&B I found egyptian cotton sheets, that I think will feel wonderful.  I spent almost as long shopping for sheets as I did for my bed!

I decided that while I was in the area, I should give Home Depot a shot for purchasing a kitchen trashcan.  I have an awesome slide out trashcan drawer in my kitchen with a slot for a trashcan.  But, I hadn't yet found a trash can that fit it!  I bought one that was too tall, one too wide, and one too deep for the opening.  Home Depot was my last stop before I was going to give up for a while.  So, while I was in the neighborhood, I ran in, bought a trash can for $6.97 and left.  On my entire drive home, I was sure the trashcan would be too big.  At one stoplight I would look at it and think, yeah, it looks too tall.  At the next stoplight I would look at it from another angle and think, yup, definitely too wide.  I cursed myself as I brought it up to my apartment, knowing I was wasting time and energy. 

I walked into the apartment and sighed with relief.  Not only had Wilbur successfully spent the time I was gone out of his kennel, but he was quiet!  Or he was not noisy enough to have the neighbors complain, but I'll go with quiet.  I played with the pup for a few minutes, reminding him that I hadn't abandoned him yet.

Begrudgingly I went into the kitchen to test the new trashcan.  And much to my surprise, it fit!  I threw a little party and got Wilbur super worked up.  Wilbur doesn't know what "trashcan," "it fits," or "we really live here now" mean, but he now knows that they are all good phrases.

With my new trashcan in place and my puppy tired from the trashcan party, I continued on my productive streak.  I unpacked the rest of my clothing, hanging and folding, and placing each item in its new home.

And as if that weren't enough, I started one of my many picture projects!  I have tons of framed photos but many have old photos in them, and all have dirty glass.  So, one by one, I opened the frames, took out the photos and cleaned the glass.  I only sliced two of my fingers, and I still have frames to fill, but it was a good evening's work.

After my super long and rough day at work, I was able to turn it around.

The moral of the story: With the help of an adorable dog, a credit card and ibuprofen, anything can get better!

Oh, the telephone!

When posting my photos from my weekends with Heather and bachelorette-ing, I completely neglected my telephone!  Oh, how quickly I forget about my amazing camera phone.  Yes, Meaghan, it is 2012.  You have a camera on your telephone, and you use it.

Without further ado, here are the forgotten photos.

A typical photo in Times Square.

A man on the subway doing something I would never do... Leaning on the door!  Breaking the rules and completely disregarding the signs saying "Do not lean against doors."

My mother strongly dislikes the phrase "love means never having to say, 'I'm sorry.'"  So, I found this billboard to be especially funny.

Both of us on The High Line.

A forbidden photo inside the theater.  We were sitting next to Exit 15 and Exit 16... oh, Saratoga.

Heather couldn't leave without a NYC hot dog!

During the weekend Heather and I bonded over our pet peeve of people not taking the stitch out of  pleats and slits.  This woman had a jacket filled with pleats... and the stitches!

Fast forward to Virginia...

Humongous Saturday morning mimosas!

The prizes that Nicole had for the bachelorette party.

"Toto, I have a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore."

A more fitting title would be, "Meaghan, I have a feeling I'm not in Thailand anymore," but there isn't a youtube clip to go with that one.  

I went for a run this afternoon, and it became blatantly obvious that I'm not in Thailand anymore.  If I hadn't already noticed that I'm not in Khon Kaen, this run made things very clear.

I started running in Khon Kaen as a way to tire Manao out before I went to work every morning.  Then, I really enjoyed it.  And for a while, I felt as though I was rockin' it.  I was running six mornings a week, with at least three of those mornings involving 7.2 miles in 1 hour and 6 minutes.  I knew everyone that ran, they all smiled, waved and gave the me the thumbs up or counted on their fingers with every lap I finished.  Then, life happened.  I had a terrible sinus infection, then the accident, then the traveling, then the move, and here I am as slow as ever.

My run this afternoon really put things in perspective for me.  For one, I was passed.  By Thai standards, I was pretty quick.  And by New York standards, I'm a joke.  But, my speed is not the only joking matter anymore.  Let's break down what I realized on this run.

lululemon spandex with discreet zippers and strategically placed reflective material: cool

vs.

Reebok pants that are in the limbo phase between being spandex and being sweatpants: not cool

Tech shirts in fluorescent colors that breathe and wick sweat: cool

vs.

Hooded Alma College sweatshirt from the Champion outlet with imperfect screen printing: not cool

Running because you are fast and good looking: cool

vs.

Running because you want to be fast and hope to eventually look good: not cool

Clearly displaying your iPhone, and most likely listening to Pandora as you run: cool

vs.

Clipping an iPod shuffle to your shirt and jamming to B Spears: not cool

(But I think I win this one- no one wants commercials while you are running, and Britney is my number one motivator!)

Black and/or neon colored sneakers, preferably Adidas or Nike: cool

vs.

White, teal and gray Mizunos that are comfortable and very supportive for my knees and back: not cool

(Also, I think I win this one as well.  My back feels good and I love my sneaks.  LOVE them!)

But, no matter how silly I looked running along the East River, I had an incredible afternoon.  Just look at these photos, how could I not love running here?  

I can run to see the Statue of Liberty!  That's awesome!

Hi, Brooklyn.  Last night was fun.

I'll be back on the river tomorrow, probably rocking a very similar outfit, but loving every second of it.

The Slideshow Saga

Well, it isn't exactly a saga, but I liked the alliteration.  And "The Slideshow Story..." oh wait, that would have worked.  Either way, I'm not changing the title, and I'm going to tell you the tale.

For months I have been thinking about what to do with my tens of thousands of photos from the last two years.  Quite a few have made it on to facebook, but I wanted something more monumental.  Eventually I will make myself a photo book, but I still wanted more.  So, naturally, I thought of a slideshow.  I do love slideshows, but I especially love iMovie.  It is Ah- May- Zing!

But, I have made my fair share of typical iMovie slideshows.  They all use the same 5 songs, the same transitions, and the same 3 seconds per slide.  It becomes boring.  And, to spend a full three seconds on each slide would take four- eh- ver!

Then, I found a song.  For some reason, I started listening to Bibio's album, Ambivalence Avenue (if you haven't listened to it, I highly recommend it).  One song, "Lovers' Carvings," really struck a chord with me.  I knew I wanted it to be in my slideshow.

My vision for the slideshow grew.  What if I could make the slides change in time with the music?  What if I could consolidate my photos to only a few songs?  What if I could consolidate my photos to only one song?  And so it began, my crusade to create a slideshow of two years in a single four minute song.

So, without further ado- because I am so darn excited to share it!- my slideshow of two years, cut down to 276 photos in 4 minutes.  Watch closely... it's fast!