Luck, preparation & opportunity

I've been thinking in my head about how I'd write this post for at least three weeks now. Do you ever do that? Write blog posts in your head while something is happening, after it's happened, etc? I guess that's the test of a true blogger at heart. If only I could have managed to get it finished and posted three weeks ago...some of you have already heard the good news via Facebook or IRL.

But, I digress. I'll cut to the chase.

Things have been a bit quiet here for the last two or three weeks because...

I FOUND MY DREAM JOB. (!!!)

Correction: not only did I find my dream job, but I interviewed my little heart out for it - a three-week, 10-separate-interview process that had me strung out like Amy Winehouse.

And then, I was hired for said dream job, and I had to keep it a secret for an entire week before the formal announcement. Do you know what it's like to keep a secret in like that? Two words: balls hard. (That sounds awkward).

And oh hey Twitter haters - I did it all through the power of Twitter. :D

Now... for a quick explanation of what my "dream job" exactly means... Apologies ahead of time, for I think this is a topic that might bore some of you other than my most loyal, loyal readers and best friends. (Heart!) And I promise I'm not turn this blog from lifestyle into an industry-specific blog, but I'm just so dang proud and happy, I need to catalog this moment in time if for nothing else than a record for my future self.

For those of you who don't know me personally, I don't really talk much about work here. (Blogging 101, hello! Unless you want to get Dooced). But I think you could probably already pick-up that I'm a huge fan of social media. Of Facebook. Of Twitter. Of blogging and networking online in communities such as 20-Something Bloggers, LinkedIn, Flickr, Yelp and more. Of the Internet in general, technology, computers. Of how it can all make your life so much easier. Make you more knowledgeable. And also make you broke. (Oh Amazon.com, RueLaLa and Etsy, how I love thee). How it breaks down barriers in time and distance and opens opportunities for happenstance, connections and friends.

My interest in the online world started with blogging, stemming from my love for writing and my journalism degree in college. Blogging allows anyone to be a published writer. And Carrie Bradshaw just sexified it for me even more. I took turns blogging for a local Seattle Web site and then became a "dating" blogger for a local newspaper. And of course, there's this little baby that I've had for nearly four years now. But, it wasn't until my last job that I realize social media - blogging, Twitter, Facebook and more - could actually be a career. And I could do it every day and get paid for it. I wouldn't have to click out really quickly when someone came walking up behind me at work. Or worry that the IT team could tell how much time I'd been spending on the Internet. Hey - maybe I could just find a job where I was supposed to be on the Internet all day. Supposed to read blogs all day. Wouldn't that be neat?

I think that some people will look their whole lives for something they're passionate about that they can turn into a day job. For me, this is social media. I eat and breath this stuff. I started to think long and hard about how I could get up every morning to do what I'm most passionate about.

So over the summer, I decided to take a much-needed mental break off. (Hello best summer Seattle has ever seen. Hello private dock on Lake Washington. Goodbye natural tan lines I'll never see again). I gathered my wits about me to figure out exactly what I wanted to be doing and where; I made a note to never let myself feel as unhappy in a job as I had been this past year.

And then I waited. I networked. Went to every event I could find in Seattle in the social media scene. Met a bunch of people. Volunteered to be on some planning committees for social media events. Built up my resume. Spent every day in the trenches of social media sites. Built up my personal network. And waited. Waited for that job to open up at a company I wanted to be at, where I'd have an "in" with someone I was connected to.

During this time, my roommate and I happened to be chatting, and she quoted something to me that truly stuck:

Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.

I was preparing myself. I immediately wrote it on a sticky note and posted it up to remember. Don't worry Je...you're preparing yourself right now. I kept telling myself that when people made me feel pressured or stressed out about being unemployed.

And then it happened. The perfect opportunity came along. And I didn't even have to send out 100 plus resumes on Craigslist or scour multiple Web sites. It was the ONE job I found that I really wanted after I'd prepared myself all summer to go balls to the wall when I found a job I wanted to fight for, and win.

So, I'm proud to say I'm now a Community Manager for an awesome local start-up in Seattle. Where everyone is fun, and not grumpy, and not overly stressed out, and not corporate. Where I can wear jeans and don't have to be into work until 10 a.m. (!!!)

I know some of you have seen me post my Whrrl stories here recently... It's now my job to be the Community Manager for Pelago, makers of Whrrl. To connect with and grow the community, build our blog, run our Twitter and Facebook, read industry blogs, attend local events and conferences to represent Whrrl, etc. We get to partner with some really big fun brands - TOP CHEF (Whoop!) and E.L.F. make-up, just to name a few. I'll also be attending BlogWorld Expo in Vegas over the next four days where I'll get to actually listen to and hopefully meet famous bloggers and social media geeks like Guy Kawasaki, Jenny the Bloggess and Seth Brogan, in addition to network my little butt off at some pretty fun parties.

I still need someone to pinch me. This.is.actually.my.job.

A number of my friends have said to me, "I'm so happy for you...you're so lucky!"

And I think to myself...

Sometimes, luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.

Currently Feeling: A little stressed. I'm still not packed for Vegas, and I fly out at 6 a.m.
Currently Anticipating: 90-degree weather in Vegas! I still get some of summer!
Currently Loving: This recipe for sweet potato gnocchi. YUM.

PROST!

Another October, another fall, another Oktoberfest, HOLLA! For those of you who've been a long-time reader, you know I'm a HUGE fan of Oktoberfest. We're lucky enough here in Washington to have TWO of the top 10 celebrations in the nation. One of them in Fremont each year, which is where I ran my first 5K race, and the other one in Leavenworth, which I attended last weekend with the BF and some college friends. I've written about my past Oktoberfest's in Leavenworth here and here, but I thought I'd share it in a new way this year - through WHRRL! You know you love it.

Powered by Whrrl

Currently Feeling: A little under the weather, but thankfully I'm kicking this cold rather quickly. I have an immune system of steal!
Currently Anticipating: My little sister's 21st birthday this weekend! Oh my gosh! I seriously can't believe she's going to be 21.
Currently Reading: Rattled, a memoir by Christine Coppa. Freaks the shiz out of me, I tell yah.

She's ALLIIIIVVEE.

I have a SUPER exciting blog post update that I haven't been able to get out... it's been in draft form for two weeks! Yowza.

AND... I'm well over my 100 followers mark that I mentioned in July that I'd do a giveaway when I hit that milestone. Those of you who tuned in, voted for a box of Je's favorite things... so a giveaway is in need!

Those and more to come soon. Stay tuned.

xoxo

Je

Check it off! I crossed the finish line!

I completed my first 5K last weekend! (Something that is on my Bucket List). Some of you know that I've been training the last two months for it... sorta. One of my best friends, Kristen, and I tried to work up to running the entire 5K with an interval training program we found on Runner's World. But, it turned into us kinda bailing out more often than not to bike ride or sunbathe and running only three days a week.

But I did it! I ran the whole time... I'm pretty proud. I've never ran a race before, and it was super fun. The biggest challenge I thought was sticking to my own pace at the beginning while every one took off a breakneck speed. I'm pretty slow, but I wanted to make sure I paced myself, so I could run the entire time.

I didn't feel like it was a huge struggle, but I was glad to see that finish line (with beer and bananas. Oh my, what a pair). I'm definitely going to sign up for another race in a couple months to keep up the cardiovascular momentum!

And of course, after all that running and working out, a girl's gotta eat. So, I washed down my 5K calorie burn with a corn dog! DUH.

Currently Feeling: Pumped from the Pearl Jam concert last night. Eddie makes my heart sing.
Currently Anticipating: Sunbathing today! End of summer, what? It's supposed to be 89 degrees in Seattle.
Currently Loving: That I can smell the saltwater air coming through my windows right now. I love living near the water!

Fill this jar up with your love, baby

Recently I did the super awesome girlfriend freak out where it feels like your life and relationship is over because ________ (fill in blank). For me, it was, "You never plan any dates nights!" Honestly, I don't know how The BF could possibly get a word in edgewise to plan a date since I'm always saying... "Do you want to go here...do you want to do this...let's do this on Thursday." But it suddenly became important to me that he was coming up with romantic, fun ideas just as much as I was. Like duh, read my mind! So, we agreed that we'd switch off every other week or date night - I'd choose a destination or activity, then he would, repeat.

But then I came across the most wonderfully glorious idea ever on one of my favorite local blogs - Seattle Date Night. The author, Mandy, wrote in the post, "A wise couple once gave me a great idea that I had to share..." I immediately fell in love with the idea and had to share it with you too.

Last night, The BF and I made a Date Night Jar. We sat down with little scraps of paper and wrote down things we'd always wanted to do, things we had already done together that we enjoyed, fun things to do around Seattle that we just hadn't gotten to yet and a few ideas from the article, 50 Great Date Night Ideas.

It was a super fun, bonding moment and was practically a "date" in of itself since we made dinner, opened champagne and sat down to write out all our dates. (We came up with a lot!) And the best part about it is that we both get to put things in the jar that we really love to do, but the other might not so much. For instance, the BF put Go to a rock climbing gym because he loves to rock climb. Even though it scares the bejesus out of me, I've never done it, so I thought it was a great idea.

We have so many fun ideas in there, it makes me anticipate date night that much more because I can't wait to see what we pull next out of our little jar of love.

(And now I'll let you leave to go puke up your lunch).

Currently Feeling: A bit anxious to see how this 5K goes on Sunday since I've been pretty dang busy this last week and have slacked on my training.
Currently Anticipating: Photography class tomorrow, a lunch at Purple on Thursday and Fremont Oktoberfest on Friday!
Currently Reading: I Was Told There'd Be Cake by Sloane Crosley.

Spam (the edible kind), charity and mini celebrations

It's been a little quiet here for the last week - September has been a busy, busy month. So much for slowing down after summer... I have a fall that's looking like it might be just, if not twice, as busy as summer. I can only imagine how exhausting it is for the BF to date me. Poor guy thought he was going to catch his breath after our summer of a million camp trips and plans.

But, I digress.

After tomorrow, I will have attended four networking/industry related events in five days. I'm signing up for everything to network my little butt off. If you don't network professionally (in person), I'm telling you - GO. Do it now. You'll reap huge benefits from it. In fact, every time you go to a networking event, an angel gets it's wings, clouds turn into marshmallows, and rainbows, kitties and unicorns rain down on you from the sky. True story.

Thursday I went to a fun scavenger hunt/networking event around Seattle, put on by a local, fancy hotel, a theatre and a mobile food truck where I tried SPAM for the first time. That's right, I said SPAM. I'm slightly embarrassed that it was actually super good, and I went back for seconds on my Spam slider. I guess I won't be able to tease the Bestie anymore when she goes to pick up Spam for her dad's Christmas stocking. Who would have known ham in a can would be so tasty? I guess that's just a testament to my love for all things pig. I know what I'm getting my dad for Christmas!

Friday I went to a charity meet-up put on by Q-13 Fox for the Washington Burn Foundation, and why yes, the firefighter calendar models were there. I try to rarely miss events where male calendar models are in attendance charity is involved.

And finally, Saturday night was the accumulation of an event I helped plan for the last couple months - Twestival Seattle - a "social media for the social good" event put on through Twitter to raise money for a local charity. We chose YouthCare, a Seattle nonprofit that supports homeless youth, and we raised more than $6,000 for them. How exciting is that! Twestivals are happening in cities all across the globe this month, so if you can, find out when and where one is in your city and go support your local cause!

I'm also in full swing with my digital photography class that started two weeks ago. It is SO awesome. Words cannot describe how excited I am to get to know my Nikon P90 (on loan from the Nikon COOLPIX Circle) a little bit better and learn about all sorts of things like lighting and composition. AND I'm doing an awesome job slacking on my training for the first 5K I have schedule to run NEXT WEEKEND. Yikes!

Anyway, it feels pretty great to be creative, focused on knocking off some of my goals for 2009 and involved in such awesome events around my community. Lately I've CHOSEN my time, my path and where to spend my energy, and I've become happier than I've been in a long time.

In other news - remember that bottle of wine I was saving since last Memorial Day when the BF and I picked it up on our first camping trip of the summer? We were able to pop that open in celebration this past week. After six months of LOTS of hard work, the BF finished the guest bathroom that he had gutted, re-tiled, painted, installed fixtures in, etc. It was something he had to finish before he could get a roommate, and it was hard for him to find time between working, The Mini and the million plans I always had for us on the calendar. It strained our relationship at times - the lack of time spent together, the stress, the length of time it took to finish. And now he has a roommate in, so the first thing we did was crack the bottle and salute to all the hard work being over!

I don't know if it was because we'd been saving it for four plus months, or because it was actually an expensive, quality bottle of wine over $10 - but it was the tastiest wine I've had in a long time, and turned out to be the best way for us to celebrate.

Huh, maybe there's something to this whole "late 20-something" stuff, after all.

Currently Feeling: Happy to have a family dinner with my sister tonight while she's home from college. Barbecue ribs... mmm.
Currently Anticipating: This week! More super exciting stuff going on in Je-ville!
Currently Loving: All the great fall TV that has started - Project Runway, Top Chef, America's Next Top Model - I'm in TV heaven!

Whrrling my way at the Seahawks game

Ever heard of Whrrl? It's a pretty sweet app/Web site that allows you to create "stories" to share with your friends on Twitter, Facebook, blogs, etc. I went to my very first Seattle Seahawks game last night, so I thought I'd make a mini story for YOU. Check it out!

More stories at Qwest Field

Powered by Whrrl

Currently Feeling: A little sad it's the last big camping weekend of the summer.
Currently Anticipating: One last summer fun, swimming and floating weekend!
Currently Reading: Such a Pretty Fat by Jen Lancaster. So freakin' funny!!

Movin', shakin' and money savin'

Last week, I was flipping through last month's Self magazine, and I stumbled across a little box about BooksFree.com, which is basically Netflix for book lovers. If you know me AT ALL or read this blog AT ALL, you know I'm a huge fan of reading and have had a huge Summer Reader list. Not only do I love to read books, but I love to buy them too. I have a rather large (color coordinated at that) bookshelf in my apartment and for some weird reason, it gives me a strange little joy to add books to the shelves every time I finish one.

But the thing is about not having a job, is that you have to learn to cut corners; and buying books in threes and fours every month is rather expensive. So I looked into this BooksFree.com site, and I AMSOFREAKINGEXCITED. The concept is genius, if you ask me. I wish I would have thought of it... I only have to pay $10.99 a month to receive two in two out, just like Netflix. That's less than most paperbacks you'll buy at bookstores. And the selection is larger and more available (no long waiting lists for new books) than your local library. You can even borrow cookbooks! So in some ways, it can be a "try before you buy" thing, and you don't have to keep crappy books you don't like.

I signed up immediately, of course. The first two books I have coming to me are:

• Hungry Girl: Recipes and Survival Strategies for Guilt-Free Eating in the Real World by Lisa Lillien
• I Was Told There'd Be Cake by Sloane Crosley

And some additional titles in my queue:

• The Hour I First Believed by Wally Lamb
• Stolen Lives: Twenty Years in a Desert Jail by Malika Oufkir
• Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight: An African Childhood by Alexandra Fuller
• Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
• The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
• The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion
• Unaccustomed Earth: Stories by Jhumpa Lahiri
• The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz
• A Girl Named Zippy: Growing Up Small in Mooreland Indiana by Haven Kimmel
• The Tender Bar: A Memoir by J. R. Moehringer
• Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time by Greg Mortenson
• Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

I can't wait to get started! AND... to save even more money, I checked my absolute favorite online shopping saving site - RetailMeNot.com, which has coupon codes for nearly every place I shop online at, so I always check it. And sure enough, they have a coupon for 25% off your first month at BooksFree.com! (DAX8)

Happy reading, lovers.

Currently Feeling: A little shocked and weirded out that it's already September. This summer went SOOOO fast!
Currently Anticipating: Labor Day weekend and my boyfriend all to myself!
Currently Needing: To finish my professional Web site - so damn time consuming.

Today is a very good day

I feel like my dopamine levels are through the roof right now.

It's only noon, and I've:

• Rocked my training run this A.M., pushing through my "walk" portion and running the last little bit. It felt great!
• Took the first of my (FREE) 10-week digital photography class, and it was totally awesome. I'm super excited for what the next nine weeks will hold!
• Painted my toenails in a sparkly hot pink.

On the agenda for the rest of my day:

• Pick up a Seahawks T-shirt to wear to my very first game tomorrow. (Excited to tailgate)!
  
• Buy ingredients for an orange-miso glazed tofu recipe I found in this month's Self magazine.
  
• Head to my parents' house for dinner and chatting (they're awesome)!

I hope you're having a fabulous day too!

Currently Feeling: Starving for lunch... I think I'll make a Flatout pizza today!
Currently Anticipating: Receiving my pedometer watch in the mail. I hate waiting for packages and checking the mail every day.
Currently Wanting: This special ice tea brewing pitcher! I need!

I'm letting the Crazy Cat Lady out of the bag

I own a quirky little cat - she has tons of personality, she's a little sassy and a little craaazy at times, but she can also be oh-so-sweet and is absolutely adorable. I think the Cat God gifted me with a mini cat version of myself. Kinda like how your mom says, "Just wait until you have a kid just like you some day!" Well, I had a cat. For those of you who haven't read since I purchased her in 2006, her name is Stella (middle name Artois). I also refer to her as:

1. Stell-belle (or Bella-Stelle)
   
2. Bella
3. Stella kitty
4. Pretty girl
5. Squishy face
6. Lover kitty
7. Trouble maker (when she does something bad)
8. Little biatch (when she does something really bad)
9. Needy-little-thing (when she follows me everywhere and meows)
   
10. Princess kitty
11. Baby-baby
12. Fluffy butt
13. Sweet girl
    

I think that might be it; do you officially think I'm a crazy cat lady?! If you don't... read on. Anyway, I don't know that I've ever loved something as much as I love her. I think owning a pet is a really life-altering experience, whether you're a dog person or cat person, or like ferrets. To me, this is only the tip of the obsession iceberg with how I'll probably feel some day when I have kids. (Scary). Some of the things she does that are super cute and quirky are:

• She makes Wookie sounds - that's right; I just made a Star Wars reference. But it's sooo funny. Every time you scare her, or bump or, or gently push her with your foot, she'll make a purring Wookie sound.
  
• She follows me everywhere. If I'm in the kitchen cooking, she's watching me on the kitchen floor. If I'm watching TV, she'll plant herself on the couch cushions above me. If I'm in bed, she's at the foot of it, or on top of the pillows above my head.

• Every time I take a shower, she stands outside and "talks" to me. Like she can't believe I left her alone for 10 minutes, somewhere that she can't be right next to me. She does the same thing when I'm out on my patio with the screen door or slider closed.
  
• She hides her eyes when she sleeps - she'll press her face against a pillow, or the edge of the coffee table, or a pile of clothes so she can have darkness. It's like her own personal sleep mask!

• She has an obsession with soft, fluffy things that are the same consistency as her fur. She used to drag white, fluffy mohair gloves out of my former roommate's room and carry them around in her mouth. She also does this with a white ski hat and a pair of white petal flower hair clips I own. I'll come home and always find them in the middle of the bathroom floor. She's also a big fan of feathers...

Crappy cell phone pic

• She has a little spot under the bottom left-hand side of my bed that she goes and sits in the dark when she wants to be alone. If she's not right next to me - she's in her little hiding spot.
• She tries to burrow her way underneath a pile of clean clothes on my bed, or underneath the covers and pillows because she likes to be in dark "caves." This also includes climbing into overnight bags, suitcases or paper bags after grocery shopping.
  
• She is always at the front door when I come home. (I don't know how she pulls it off).
• She's obsessed with the smell of my filed nails, I think? Every time I pull the nail file out - she's on my lap in lightning fast speed, rubbing her face against the nail file and sniffing it.
• She'll also run from wherever she is, at breakneck speed, if I'm opening a can of tuna and then meow insensitively at me. In fact, I made a mini video of it for you:

• She attacks my feet, or Mike's too, whenever they're sticking out from the end of the bed. It kinda hurts and pisses us off when she snags our bare skin, but it's also a super funny game she plays, and we usually have to dive under or hide our feet if we hear her coming.
• When I clean her litter box, she likes to go and sprawl out in it. Kinda like, "Ahh...finally. It's clean and this feels sooo good!"
• She sprawls out on her back, with all feet spread out in different directions, and oftentimes she stretches both paws out to the side in a flying Superman pose.

Another crappy cell phone pic

• When she sits on the edge of the bed or couch and watches me, she folds her little paws, one over the other, like she's prim and proper.
• She let's me hold her like a baby, and squish her nose, and nuzzle my face into her fur over and over again, and she doesn't budge. But sometimes, just sometimes if she's frisky and doesn't want to be held, she'll squeak when I do it, which just makes me laugh. I'm always trying to get her to squeak or make Wookie sounds.
  

The greatest thing about pets, I think, is that they all have their own little quirky personalities like this... and I just find it so damn endearing. I'm gonna be a red hot mess when this little thing leaves my life.

Currently Feeling: Remorse after my garlic fries, kettle corn and nachos at the Mariners game last night. Grrr stadium food!
Currently Anticipating: Figuring out the Labor Day weekend plans today - I want to go camping for the (last) time this summer. :(
Currently Loving: The HungryGirl.com daily e-mails that Kristen introduced me to!