This past weekend I got to travel to Niagara Falls with my friend, Kristen, and her mom. This was one of the places on my list to visit while I'm living in the New York and I was excited when I discovered Kristen also had an interest in going there! We rented a car and left mid-afternoon on Friday and it took us well over an hour to go less than a mile from my apartment to the Lincoln Tunnel that would take us out of the city! I'm glad I don't drive here all the time! Unfortunately, most of our drive that night was in the dark, so we didn't see too much. There were a lot of storms in the area, but we only saw hard rain for a few minutes. However, I drove in the most windy conditions I've ever witnessed-- I kept feeling the car being jerked all over and got pretty scared at one point!! We didn't make it to Niagara until really late and pretty much went straight to bed!
We stayed at a hotel on the American side of the falls, in walking distance of the Rainbow Bridge that you can walk across to get into Canada. That's where we headed first thing on Saturday morning. We spent the entire day in Canada seeing the views from way up high to down low and up close!! You can see my pictures and a narrative of everything we saw and did here.
It was an amazing day! I loved the falls-- they were so beautiful and peaceful, but also very strong and powerful.
Sunday, we got up early to begin the drive back to NYC so Kristen and her mom could catch their flight back home. The drive back was very pretty through up-state New York and Pennsylvania.
It was a quick weekend trip, but so worth it. We had a great time!
Wednesday, December 06, 2006
Monday, December 04, 2006
I hear there's been quite a snowstorm back in the mid-west. I wish it had hit a week earlier so my family could have been snowed-in there for a few days. They had over 15 inches of snow and shut down all the highways in my hometown of Columbia, MO. Crazy! Even in Dallas they had a slight wintry-mix. My family said it wasn't very much though. As I heard the weather stories from Missouri and Texas, I kept thinking about the Artic Blast of 2005. That was last December when there was a little ice storm in Dallas. Before the weather even hit the metro-plex, people began to panic and leave work early and all the major channels went to "Artic Blast 2005" coverage and canceled Oprah, Dr. Phil, etc.... Dallas never gets any kind of harsh weather, so the weathermen have to make the most of these situations. So funny!
Up here in NYC, it still has not even flurried. In fact, on Thursday, it was almost 70 degrees out! Not what I expected living up here! However, I did go to Niagara Falls this weekend and managed to see about 5 snowflakes there. I'm working on getting my pics together so I can tell you about that trip, but it was amazing!
My friend Kristen & her mom were in town and went with me to Niagara. Prior to going to Niagara, I got to join them on a Holiday Decorations tour around Rockefeller Center and we also went to see A Chorus Line on Broadway! The decorations tour wasn't quite what we expected, but it was neat to get out and begin seeing some of the lights and store deocations around town. I had been wanting to see A Chorus Line and really had high expectations for it, but was a little disappointed. It was a little slow for me. The dancing was really, really good, though.
Up here in NYC, it still has not even flurried. In fact, on Thursday, it was almost 70 degrees out! Not what I expected living up here! However, I did go to Niagara Falls this weekend and managed to see about 5 snowflakes there. I'm working on getting my pics together so I can tell you about that trip, but it was amazing!
My friend Kristen & her mom were in town and went with me to Niagara. Prior to going to Niagara, I got to join them on a Holiday Decorations tour around Rockefeller Center and we also went to see A Chorus Line on Broadway! The decorations tour wasn't quite what we expected, but it was neat to get out and begin seeing some of the lights and store deocations around town. I had been wanting to see A Chorus Line and really had high expectations for it, but was a little disappointed. It was a little slow for me. The dancing was really, really good, though.
The rink @ Rockefeller Center
The famous Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree!
Cute Nutcrackers outside an office building
Cute little brownstone that is now a restaurant.
Cartier tied up like a gift!
Christmas Tree at the NYC Palace Hotel
These big red balls are outside my NHL
office building, which I just learned is
actually part of the whole Rockefeller
Center complex.
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
My Never-Ending Thanksgiving Weekend
Thanksgiving was a great weekend. It seemed to go on forever and that’s always nice! You can see pictures from the weekend here!
Brooke and her mom arrived on Wednesday evening and we headed directly to the Upper West Side where the balloons for the parade were being inflated. It was cold, crowded, and starting to drizzle, but it was still fun to see some of the balloons! They were on 2 streets, but we just walked down one of the two streets. The most exciting part was when we walked by The Beresford—my mom had told me before that a lot of celebrities live there. Sure enough, Jerry Seinfeld was standing right outside the door! We all got a good glimpse of him. I’m not sure what he was doing, but my guess is that he was waiting for his car to pull up to the curb to take him somewhere. Brooke’s mom suggested Italian for dinner so I took them to a place in my neighborhood called Pietrasanta. I knew they had Pumpkin Ravioli and I thought that was a good fit for Thanksgiving! Brooke got that and it was really good! Her mom and I tried other things, but we were all very happy with the food! Afterwards, we walked around Rockefeller Center some. I had not seen it since they’d put all the Christmas decorations up and it looks so pretty! We also saw Sak’s and it has blue snowflake lights all over the building and every so often, they play Christmas music and the snowflake lights do a dance to it. It was really cool! I was originally going to stay at the hotel w/ them, but their room got messed up and they had only 1 bed and my place is less than 10 minutes away, so I ended up just going home for the night and that worked out well.
Thursday was the parade, of course! Unfortunately, it was a miserable day for the parade. It was raining and only got up to about 37 degrees. Brooke was a trooper and went downstairs at 5:45am to save us a curb spot! I got there around 6:45 and she was already soaked and so was the quilt she was hoping we could sit on. I went on a search for crates to sit on, but ended up walking home and getting 3 little stools we have. So, Brooke, her mom, and I sat lined up on the curb on our stools under our umbrellas until the parade finally started coming by around 9:30. We did have a good view, though! We lasted for probably 3/4ths of the parade and were too cold and decided to call it quits. We went upstairs to their hotel room and watched the rest on TV just like the rest of America! It was much more enjoyable there. It took me a LONG time to warm up! I’m glad I got to see the parade in person, but it would have been so much better if the weather had been nice.
For lunch, we went to a family-style Italian restaurant called Tony’s Di Napoli. Brooke’s aunt was in town because she’s a dance coach and a group of her girls were in the parade. So, we had lunch with Brooke’s aunt, cousin, and all these high school girls and their mothers. It was really enjoyable and our food was good. They had a Thanksgiving meal that day, but we opted for the Italian menu. Pretty much everyone there was from Waco and the lady sitting next to me (one of the dancer’s mom’s) was so nice to talk to!
After lunch, I had to head home and to the airport. The airports were so empty that night and I had 3 seats to myself on the plane! I was exhausted by that point and slept all the way to St. Louis. Then, I had a 2 hour drive to Columbia, so I didn’t get in until after midnight. It was GREAT to see my family and Bob & Miriam Perry (who we stayed with and are long-time family friends)!
I also got to see some of my friends from high school while I was there. On Friday morning, my mom, Miriam and I went to my friend Courtney’s parent’s house to visit her family. Courtney is two years younger than me, but we grew up taking piano lessons from Miriam and going to church together. She also went to Baylor and still lives in Waco. She had a baby boy in the spring so I got to see him for the first time. Very, very cute baby! It was good to see her family after so long, too! Her mom was my junior high school business teacher—one of my favorite classes and teachers!
For lunch that day, I met 4 longtime girlfriends, Kelly, Maggie, Jessica, and Jill, for lunch at Shakespeare’s. In my opinion, Shakespeare’s is the best pizza in the entire world. I can’t make a trip to Columbia without having some! The company was nice too! We all went to Jr. high and High School together and everyone but Kelly went to elementary school together, too. And Jill and I started going to church together when we were 2 or 3 and preschool when we were 4. Actually, I think my first two memories are of Jill—she broke her leg when we were 4 and I guess I was traumatized or intrigued by it because both my first 2 memories revolve around her leg. Basically, I’ve known these girls for a long time! Jill and Kelly live in Columbia now and it was nice that Maggie and Jessica were home from Chicago and Austin so we could all catch-up!
Beth & Brian went out Friday night so I got to give Ryder his bath and put him to bed. I was trying to find his jammies and turned around and he had found his dad’s hat and put it on—so cute! This weekend was also the first time I got to see him walking!
On Saturday, I got to go to the MU football game and sit in a box. My sister’s friend works for coke so she got us all tickets in their box. It was a lot of fun. The weather couldn’t have been more perfect for football. Ryder loved it the game! And Mizzou dominated KU. Jill’s family has a box a few doors down from the coke box, so we got to visit with her and her mom and see Jill’s baby girl, Sydney, who I hadn’t seen in a year—too many cute babies this weekend!
My mom and I did some shopping later on Saturday—Columbia has several newer boutique type stores that were very cute! I was impressed with the new additions!
Beth, Brian, my dad, and I went to the good ol’ Columbia mall on Saturday as well. Beth wanted an Orange Julius—she worked there in high school and The Perry’s own it, so they’re a favorite drink of hers. We also let Ryder try out the carousel and he loved it! He rode it twice and cried when we left.
That evening, my family went to some friend’s house to visit. It was fun! They had been to New York recently (I was out of town) and they had a couple of places I hadn’t heard of that I have now added to my list of places to go!
My family left early on Sunday—I would have as well, but the flights were SO much cheaper on Monday, so I waited. Sunday morning, I tried out a newer church in Columbia called The Crossing. I’d heard about it several times and wanted to check it out. I enjoyed the teaching and the music. There were a lot of people there—mostly young people. I wish they’d had something like that when I lived there—seemed like a good place to be involved!
Sunday afternoon was slow and lazy. I felt like I’d already done everything there is to do in Columbia! It is such a nice town and so pretty, but I’m not sure I could go back to living somewhere so slow-paced. I find myself a little bit antsy and bored. But, Miriam had taped Grey’s and we hadn’t watched it yet so we did that. Then, we started getting out her Christmas decorations! That night, I went and had dinner with my friend Kelly and her husband Greg. He did all the cooking and it was really good! I also got to tour her house, which they had just barely moved into last time I’d seen it. I also got to see her wedding pictures from the last time I was in Columbia a year ago.
Monday morning, I was off to St. Louis. I left early enough so that I could hit a mall—specifically a mall with a Chick-fil-a! Got lunch, did some shopping and driving around St. Louis and then caught my flight back home!
It was a great long weekend!
Brooke and her mom arrived on Wednesday evening and we headed directly to the Upper West Side where the balloons for the parade were being inflated. It was cold, crowded, and starting to drizzle, but it was still fun to see some of the balloons! They were on 2 streets, but we just walked down one of the two streets. The most exciting part was when we walked by The Beresford—my mom had told me before that a lot of celebrities live there. Sure enough, Jerry Seinfeld was standing right outside the door! We all got a good glimpse of him. I’m not sure what he was doing, but my guess is that he was waiting for his car to pull up to the curb to take him somewhere. Brooke’s mom suggested Italian for dinner so I took them to a place in my neighborhood called Pietrasanta. I knew they had Pumpkin Ravioli and I thought that was a good fit for Thanksgiving! Brooke got that and it was really good! Her mom and I tried other things, but we were all very happy with the food! Afterwards, we walked around Rockefeller Center some. I had not seen it since they’d put all the Christmas decorations up and it looks so pretty! We also saw Sak’s and it has blue snowflake lights all over the building and every so often, they play Christmas music and the snowflake lights do a dance to it. It was really cool! I was originally going to stay at the hotel w/ them, but their room got messed up and they had only 1 bed and my place is less than 10 minutes away, so I ended up just going home for the night and that worked out well.
Thursday was the parade, of course! Unfortunately, it was a miserable day for the parade. It was raining and only got up to about 37 degrees. Brooke was a trooper and went downstairs at 5:45am to save us a curb spot! I got there around 6:45 and she was already soaked and so was the quilt she was hoping we could sit on. I went on a search for crates to sit on, but ended up walking home and getting 3 little stools we have. So, Brooke, her mom, and I sat lined up on the curb on our stools under our umbrellas until the parade finally started coming by around 9:30. We did have a good view, though! We lasted for probably 3/4ths of the parade and were too cold and decided to call it quits. We went upstairs to their hotel room and watched the rest on TV just like the rest of America! It was much more enjoyable there. It took me a LONG time to warm up! I’m glad I got to see the parade in person, but it would have been so much better if the weather had been nice.
For lunch, we went to a family-style Italian restaurant called Tony’s Di Napoli. Brooke’s aunt was in town because she’s a dance coach and a group of her girls were in the parade. So, we had lunch with Brooke’s aunt, cousin, and all these high school girls and their mothers. It was really enjoyable and our food was good. They had a Thanksgiving meal that day, but we opted for the Italian menu. Pretty much everyone there was from Waco and the lady sitting next to me (one of the dancer’s mom’s) was so nice to talk to!
After lunch, I had to head home and to the airport. The airports were so empty that night and I had 3 seats to myself on the plane! I was exhausted by that point and slept all the way to St. Louis. Then, I had a 2 hour drive to Columbia, so I didn’t get in until after midnight. It was GREAT to see my family and Bob & Miriam Perry (who we stayed with and are long-time family friends)!
I also got to see some of my friends from high school while I was there. On Friday morning, my mom, Miriam and I went to my friend Courtney’s parent’s house to visit her family. Courtney is two years younger than me, but we grew up taking piano lessons from Miriam and going to church together. She also went to Baylor and still lives in Waco. She had a baby boy in the spring so I got to see him for the first time. Very, very cute baby! It was good to see her family after so long, too! Her mom was my junior high school business teacher—one of my favorite classes and teachers!
For lunch that day, I met 4 longtime girlfriends, Kelly, Maggie, Jessica, and Jill, for lunch at Shakespeare’s. In my opinion, Shakespeare’s is the best pizza in the entire world. I can’t make a trip to Columbia without having some! The company was nice too! We all went to Jr. high and High School together and everyone but Kelly went to elementary school together, too. And Jill and I started going to church together when we were 2 or 3 and preschool when we were 4. Actually, I think my first two memories are of Jill—she broke her leg when we were 4 and I guess I was traumatized or intrigued by it because both my first 2 memories revolve around her leg. Basically, I’ve known these girls for a long time! Jill and Kelly live in Columbia now and it was nice that Maggie and Jessica were home from Chicago and Austin so we could all catch-up!
Beth & Brian went out Friday night so I got to give Ryder his bath and put him to bed. I was trying to find his jammies and turned around and he had found his dad’s hat and put it on—so cute! This weekend was also the first time I got to see him walking!
On Saturday, I got to go to the MU football game and sit in a box. My sister’s friend works for coke so she got us all tickets in their box. It was a lot of fun. The weather couldn’t have been more perfect for football. Ryder loved it the game! And Mizzou dominated KU. Jill’s family has a box a few doors down from the coke box, so we got to visit with her and her mom and see Jill’s baby girl, Sydney, who I hadn’t seen in a year—too many cute babies this weekend!
My mom and I did some shopping later on Saturday—Columbia has several newer boutique type stores that were very cute! I was impressed with the new additions!
Beth, Brian, my dad, and I went to the good ol’ Columbia mall on Saturday as well. Beth wanted an Orange Julius—she worked there in high school and The Perry’s own it, so they’re a favorite drink of hers. We also let Ryder try out the carousel and he loved it! He rode it twice and cried when we left.
That evening, my family went to some friend’s house to visit. It was fun! They had been to New York recently (I was out of town) and they had a couple of places I hadn’t heard of that I have now added to my list of places to go!
My family left early on Sunday—I would have as well, but the flights were SO much cheaper on Monday, so I waited. Sunday morning, I tried out a newer church in Columbia called The Crossing. I’d heard about it several times and wanted to check it out. I enjoyed the teaching and the music. There were a lot of people there—mostly young people. I wish they’d had something like that when I lived there—seemed like a good place to be involved!
Sunday afternoon was slow and lazy. I felt like I’d already done everything there is to do in Columbia! It is such a nice town and so pretty, but I’m not sure I could go back to living somewhere so slow-paced. I find myself a little bit antsy and bored. But, Miriam had taped Grey’s and we hadn’t watched it yet so we did that. Then, we started getting out her Christmas decorations! That night, I went and had dinner with my friend Kelly and her husband Greg. He did all the cooking and it was really good! I also got to tour her house, which they had just barely moved into last time I’d seen it. I also got to see her wedding pictures from the last time I was in Columbia a year ago.
Monday morning, I was off to St. Louis. I left early enough so that I could hit a mall—specifically a mall with a Chick-fil-a! Got lunch, did some shopping and driving around St. Louis and then caught my flight back home!
It was a great long weekend!
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
Thanksgiving's here!
Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and here in New York it’s the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade! I can’t wait! My friend Brooke and her mom are coming in today for the weekend. They have a hotel on the parade route and I am going to stay with them there tonight, so that should be awesome for tomorrow morning!
Late tomorrow, I’m off to Missouri. My family is spending Thanksgiving there with close family friends. I’ll miss the big Thanksgiving feast, but will get to spend the rest of the weekend with everyone and I’m looking forward to it (and mom said she’d try to save me some of my favorite potato casserole)! I’ll also get to see a few friends from high school which is always fun.
I’ve been working as a contractor at the NHL for 8 days now. It has gone pretty well. It’s been pretty slow, but okay and really has gotten better every day. I think I will like the people I’m working for/with, but the office is generally VERY quiet and I’m afraid that could make me crazy some days. They’ve been really nice and pretty much have told me it will turn into a full-time permanent job in a couple of weeks (unless something unexpected comes up). They’ve been willing to work with me on my vacations I already had planned for Thanksgiving and Christmas and a short trip to Niagara Falls next week, so that is really nice.
Otherwise, you may remember me mentioning a position at a company that owns private schools. Well, I was supposed to have an interview there over 2 weeks ago, but it was cancelled at the very last minute. I followed-up on it several times, with little response, so I finally decided to just give up on it. But, they called finally. They wanted me to meet them at noon today, but I didn’t think it was a good idea to take off from the NHL—I need to be on my best behavior here so I don’t miss out on the full-time opportunity. So, it looks like the school company is willing to meet me next Tuesday evening. I’m a little turned-off by them at this point, but I am going to go and check it out—maybe there is a reason for their flakiness over the past few weeks. We'll see and I'll keep ya updated until I'm locked-in somewhere.
Late tomorrow, I’m off to Missouri. My family is spending Thanksgiving there with close family friends. I’ll miss the big Thanksgiving feast, but will get to spend the rest of the weekend with everyone and I’m looking forward to it (and mom said she’d try to save me some of my favorite potato casserole)! I’ll also get to see a few friends from high school which is always fun.
I’ve been working as a contractor at the NHL for 8 days now. It has gone pretty well. It’s been pretty slow, but okay and really has gotten better every day. I think I will like the people I’m working for/with, but the office is generally VERY quiet and I’m afraid that could make me crazy some days. They’ve been really nice and pretty much have told me it will turn into a full-time permanent job in a couple of weeks (unless something unexpected comes up). They’ve been willing to work with me on my vacations I already had planned for Thanksgiving and Christmas and a short trip to Niagara Falls next week, so that is really nice.
Otherwise, you may remember me mentioning a position at a company that owns private schools. Well, I was supposed to have an interview there over 2 weeks ago, but it was cancelled at the very last minute. I followed-up on it several times, with little response, so I finally decided to just give up on it. But, they called finally. They wanted me to meet them at noon today, but I didn’t think it was a good idea to take off from the NHL—I need to be on my best behavior here so I don’t miss out on the full-time opportunity. So, it looks like the school company is willing to meet me next Tuesday evening. I’m a little turned-off by them at this point, but I am going to go and check it out—maybe there is a reason for their flakiness over the past few weeks. We'll see and I'll keep ya updated until I'm locked-in somewhere.
Saturday, November 18, 2006
Lion's and Tigers and....Reindeer???
Tonight I went to the Bronx Zoo for their Holiday Lights special. I've been working on putting together an extensive list of all the things I need to see/do in the City during the Holiday season. When I saw that the Holiday Lights festival at the zoo was starting this weekend, I decided to get a head-start! It actually didn't turn out to be very impressive, but it was okay and seems like a nice zoo. It did start getting me in the Christmas mood as has walking around the city lately. Places are already getting all decked out for the Holidays! Anyway, here are some pics from the zoo!
Sunday, November 12, 2006
Choclate Lover and Diana DeGarmo fan!
On Friday, I went to The Chocolate Show. Wow! So much delicious chocolate. Basically, it's just a place for chocolate vendors to come and display and sell their stuff. But, every vendor has samples!! I don't think I've ever eaten so much chocolate! Granted, most of the samples were tiny, but with the number of vendors there, they added up quickly! I tried some different things like Green Tea infused chocolate. One of my favorite things was this piece of chocolate filled with a cinnamon/carmel mixture- it was great! I also tried some delicious dessert wines. One place even had bananas with chocolate fondue- yum! There were also two theatres with cooking demonstrations. I went to one with Alexandra Guarnaschelli, the chef at Butter. She was awesome!! A great speaker and really funny-- definitely kept me entertained. They had asked her to cook something savory since everyone else was doing sweet things (it was the chocolate show)! So, she did Duck with Cocoa. We all got to try some and it was amazing. Her pastry chef made little chocolate cakes filled with a carmel sauce-- also very good. I went to Butter in Sept. with my high school friends and we weren't too impressed, but after this show with Alexandra, I became so endeared to her, I may have to try it again! I also saw a show with Martin Howard- the pastry chef from Brasserie 8 1/2. He was not nearly as entertaining. He does a show called "The Chocolatinas" and he is dressed in drag and it was all very horrible. I thought it might be entertaining, but I decided that he has no personality so he dresses in drag to make up for that, but then just comes off looking both boring and stupid. He made this chocolate briocche stuff..didn't compare to the food made by Butter! Check out pictures from the chocolate feast here!
Saturday, I spent the day with my old co-workers Joy & Kristin, as well as two other girls, Carlie and Kelli. All really fun gals! We did some shopping and then went over to Broadway hoping to score lottery tickets for Wicked. We didn't get any there, so then we tried for Spelling Bee and thought for sure we'd get those because there weren't many people there, but again we got none. So, we ended up getting standing-room-only tickets to Hairspray. It was really, really good and we only had to pay $20! I'd seen it in Dallas and liked it, but Broadway is Broadway! Diana DeGarmo (runner-up on a previous American Idol) was in it. I'm a huge fan of hers now! She was a great actress and has an amazingly powerful voice. Standing wasn't bad, but at intermission, Kristin, Kelli and I got some seats of someone who had never shown up and that was much better!
Saturday, I spent the day with my old co-workers Joy & Kristin, as well as two other girls, Carlie and Kelli. All really fun gals! We did some shopping and then went over to Broadway hoping to score lottery tickets for Wicked. We didn't get any there, so then we tried for Spelling Bee and thought for sure we'd get those because there weren't many people there, but again we got none. So, we ended up getting standing-room-only tickets to Hairspray. It was really, really good and we only had to pay $20! I'd seen it in Dallas and liked it, but Broadway is Broadway! Diana DeGarmo (runner-up on a previous American Idol) was in it. I'm a huge fan of hers now! She was a great actress and has an amazingly powerful voice. Standing wasn't bad, but at intermission, Kristin, Kelli and I got some seats of someone who had never shown up and that was much better!
Wednesday, November 08, 2006
1 in 20
As a Christian living in Manhattan, I am by far in the minority. At The Journey, they often reminded us of the statsitic...1 in 20 people are believers. Whenever I'm riding the subway, chances are, I'm the only Christian in my car. But, since leaving my job at the church, I've been amazed at the number of Christians I have come across during my job search. I already told you about the woman at the media-ad firm. I was never 100% certain she was a Christian, but I think she was and I think that's why she went out of the way and put so much effort into trying to find something that would work for me. We had that in common, we clicked. My head-hunter told me yesterday that she had asked about me- wondered if I regretted my decision to turn her offer down. I don't regret it, although, I think working with a woman like that could have been a great experience.
Also, I mentioned my "exploratory interview" at Warner Music in a previous post. But, I did not mention that the HR girl I met with there was also a Christian. She was very familiar with The Journey and was very open about her involvement in the church. She also took an interest in me, but, unfortunately, they don't have any finance/acct'g positions to fill right now.
You may remember that I had an interview with the NHL over 2 weeks ago. It has turned into quite a process. First, the Director of Acct'g over there got very sick-- so sick, he was placed in the hospital for over a week. During that week, everything got put on hold. Except that everyone else over at the NHL had time to do some thinking. They all liked me and wanted me except for this one lady, Mary, who I did not even meet. Mary noticed on my resume that I worked for The Journey and she must have googled it or something because she became worried that I would be "too" Christian. She seriously asked my head-hunter if I would say "God Bless You" every time I saw her. As my head-hunter was explaining this to me, he told me that he, himself is a Christian and was just baptized a couple of weeks ago. I was surprised to hear this! I talk to him almost daily and now he brings up Christ in almost every conversation we have.
Sunday night, I had my 4th encounter with a random Christian in the city. I was on the bus going to church and was talking on the phone to a friend, telling her about my NHL experience and this Mary lady. I thought I was talking quietly, but I think I probably always talk too loud on the phone and apparently the woman in front of me could hear everything I was saying. She was an older lady-- probably near 80 and very cute. We came to her stop and she got up and situated her cane, then turned around towards me before heading to the door and said "I hope you find the right job. It's in God's hands!" How sweet! And completely unexpected. According to the odds, there should not have been another Christian on that bus!
So, why all the Christians? I don't know why. Maybe God is using these people as an encouragement to me during this time of uncertainty-- they have most definitely helped keep my hopes up! But, it keeps me asking the question...does God want me to working for a Christian right now, or not? When I had the opportunity to at the ad-firm, that definitely sounded appealing....easy. But, life as a Christian isn't meant to be easy. At The Journey, I learned a lot about how important it is to purposefully put yourself into non-Christian environments so you can befriend these people and, hopefully, be a tool God uses to glorify Himself to them. So, maybe a non-Christian environment is one where I can best be used for HIS purposes. The NHL is definitely a non-Christian environment. Anyway, I'm not sure what God has planned for me ultimately as far as my work environment goes, but I know He does have a plan and that it is perfect and for that I am excited!
Soooo, back to the NHL--- I went back there on Monday to meet this Mary character, basically so she could see if I am a crazy Christian...I was going to see if SHE was the crazy one! The conversation was pleasant though...I told her "God Bless You" several times, of course! (Just kidding)! So, now, they've decided to hire me. Except that they have this crazy background process that takes TWO weeks! So, I'm planning to start Monday working on a contract basis and then will become a normal full-time employee in about a month.
This contract deal is good, because I'm not feeling a strong sense one way or the other about taking this job. This will give me more time to feel out the job and also figure out if it's where I'm supposed to be at this time. I've always had very strong feelings one way or another about past job opportunities. When I left EY and went to the law firm, there were jobs I turned down first because they didn't feel right. However, when the law firm job came up, I had a complete sense of peace almost from the very beginning. And with The Journey, I also had a complete sense of peace-- I knew it was where I was supposed to be. It didn't turn out like I anticipated, but I don't regret it and I know that God used my time there for a reason. And with the ad-firm job, I had a sense of uneasiness that couldn't be explained and I just knew it was not the right place for me. With the NHL, I feel none of that, so it's nice to have the time to see before I am committed to the full-time job. Plus, the inflow of some cash would be kind of nice!
Additionally, another opportunity has come up. It would be doing the accounting for a company that owns 10 private schools in the city. Nine of the ten schools are for autistic children. It is a for-profit company, which is good- I don't think I'm ready to get back in the non-profit world just yet. It sounds very, very interesting. I was supposed to interview yesterday, but the CFO had an emergency come up at the very last minute. We haven't rescheduled, but I am hoping something works out this week before I start the contract work at the NHL.
So, that's the update on me and my crazy job situation!! GOD BLESS YOU!!!
Also, I mentioned my "exploratory interview" at Warner Music in a previous post. But, I did not mention that the HR girl I met with there was also a Christian. She was very familiar with The Journey and was very open about her involvement in the church. She also took an interest in me, but, unfortunately, they don't have any finance/acct'g positions to fill right now.
You may remember that I had an interview with the NHL over 2 weeks ago. It has turned into quite a process. First, the Director of Acct'g over there got very sick-- so sick, he was placed in the hospital for over a week. During that week, everything got put on hold. Except that everyone else over at the NHL had time to do some thinking. They all liked me and wanted me except for this one lady, Mary, who I did not even meet. Mary noticed on my resume that I worked for The Journey and she must have googled it or something because she became worried that I would be "too" Christian. She seriously asked my head-hunter if I would say "God Bless You" every time I saw her. As my head-hunter was explaining this to me, he told me that he, himself is a Christian and was just baptized a couple of weeks ago. I was surprised to hear this! I talk to him almost daily and now he brings up Christ in almost every conversation we have.
Sunday night, I had my 4th encounter with a random Christian in the city. I was on the bus going to church and was talking on the phone to a friend, telling her about my NHL experience and this Mary lady. I thought I was talking quietly, but I think I probably always talk too loud on the phone and apparently the woman in front of me could hear everything I was saying. She was an older lady-- probably near 80 and very cute. We came to her stop and she got up and situated her cane, then turned around towards me before heading to the door and said "I hope you find the right job. It's in God's hands!" How sweet! And completely unexpected. According to the odds, there should not have been another Christian on that bus!
So, why all the Christians? I don't know why. Maybe God is using these people as an encouragement to me during this time of uncertainty-- they have most definitely helped keep my hopes up! But, it keeps me asking the question...does God want me to working for a Christian right now, or not? When I had the opportunity to at the ad-firm, that definitely sounded appealing....easy. But, life as a Christian isn't meant to be easy. At The Journey, I learned a lot about how important it is to purposefully put yourself into non-Christian environments so you can befriend these people and, hopefully, be a tool God uses to glorify Himself to them. So, maybe a non-Christian environment is one where I can best be used for HIS purposes. The NHL is definitely a non-Christian environment. Anyway, I'm not sure what God has planned for me ultimately as far as my work environment goes, but I know He does have a plan and that it is perfect and for that I am excited!
Soooo, back to the NHL--- I went back there on Monday to meet this Mary character, basically so she could see if I am a crazy Christian...I was going to see if SHE was the crazy one! The conversation was pleasant though...I told her "God Bless You" several times, of course! (Just kidding)! So, now, they've decided to hire me. Except that they have this crazy background process that takes TWO weeks! So, I'm planning to start Monday working on a contract basis and then will become a normal full-time employee in about a month.
This contract deal is good, because I'm not feeling a strong sense one way or the other about taking this job. This will give me more time to feel out the job and also figure out if it's where I'm supposed to be at this time. I've always had very strong feelings one way or another about past job opportunities. When I left EY and went to the law firm, there were jobs I turned down first because they didn't feel right. However, when the law firm job came up, I had a complete sense of peace almost from the very beginning. And with The Journey, I also had a complete sense of peace-- I knew it was where I was supposed to be. It didn't turn out like I anticipated, but I don't regret it and I know that God used my time there for a reason. And with the ad-firm job, I had a sense of uneasiness that couldn't be explained and I just knew it was not the right place for me. With the NHL, I feel none of that, so it's nice to have the time to see before I am committed to the full-time job. Plus, the inflow of some cash would be kind of nice!
Additionally, another opportunity has come up. It would be doing the accounting for a company that owns 10 private schools in the city. Nine of the ten schools are for autistic children. It is a for-profit company, which is good- I don't think I'm ready to get back in the non-profit world just yet. It sounds very, very interesting. I was supposed to interview yesterday, but the CFO had an emergency come up at the very last minute. We haven't rescheduled, but I am hoping something works out this week before I start the contract work at the NHL.
So, that's the update on me and my crazy job situation!! GOD BLESS YOU!!!
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