Office Chronicles: Nacho Libre Day, hosted by the Activities Committee

I'm on what we call "Service Reception" right now, from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm. Basically, I route calls throughout the Tax and Accounting Divison - which are the two offices here in Ann Arbor and Dexter. I'm the voice who says, "Good morning, Service Reception. How may I direct your call?" (I've been doing a lot of that this morning - the users are calling in like crazy!) In the meantime, between calls I have time to write about Nacho Libre Day and our Activities Committee.

This is the image that I received in an e-mail on Tuesday, December 9 - subject line: "December Nacho Liebere Event!"
Here in Customer Service, we have our own version of The Office's Party Planning Committee - the Activities Committee, or "AcCom." Pretty self-explanatory. The commitee members plan activities. Today's activity was a red-eye viewing of "Nacho Libre," which was slated to begin at 7:25 am but officially started at 7:45 am (due to technical difficulties). Four were present this morning for the viewing: Jay (our boss, the big cheese), Max (most helpful during intern training - he would always say at the end of each session, "any questions, concerns, confessions?" He also has the whole Pistons team on his desk - in the form of bobble heads), Jason (AcCom member), and me. Jason ended up having to leave due to an emergency, but the viewing continued as planned.

AcCom coordinates monthly birthday celebrations held on one morning meeting of each month. Since I started working here, I have experienced two such celebrations: October was the game Spoons with donuts to eat, and November was the game Balderdash - with fruit to celebrate. December's celebration is next week Wednesday, with another round of Spoons on the agenda. AcCom also coordinated our Thanksgiving potluck, held the week before turkey break, as well as the White Elephant Christmas Party after work last Friday.

In September during my interview for this job, I asked about the social interactions outside of work. Brian, my interviewer and present team leader, told me that the department was great about spending time with one another outside of work. Sandy, another colleague who interviewed me, said that there is always laughter heard throughout the department. And now that I'm here, I'm happy to say that both of them weren't lying. The reason that I wanted to write about our Activities Committee is because I love how it really does cultivate a sense of community within the department.

The event will continue at lunch, with a nacho bar. I can actually smell the seasoned ground beef and venison (yes, venison - our team leader Brian is a bow hunter) marinating in crockpots in our meeting area, located at the back of our department.

(I wrote the above paragraph sometime earlier this morning. And now that it is 12:00 pm, after routing a million calls throughout the Tax & Accounting Division of Thomson Reuters, I am off to lunch!)

a case of the Mondays (or lack thereof)

Last night I fell asleep to "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire." I was watching it with my dear friend Esther, who has informed me that I snore. She ended up leaving shortly before midnight, which is when I finally climbed into bed - pretty late for a girl who has to be at work by 8:30 am. When I go to bed late, I usually end up with a case of the Mondays. I find it necessary to mention that today is an exception.

This morning, I was making my usual round of UltraTax renewal calls. Spoke with one user who definitely wanted to renew his software, but told me that he would have to wait to speak with his wife about it first. He shared with me that she recently had surgery to remove a cancerous mass, but that she was home today and cancer-free - not the purpose of my call, but I was thrilled to hear the news. Ended up getting thrown on incoming calls shortly after that call, and decided at 11:58 am - two minutes before my lunch - to pick up a call from the UltraTax cue. I figured I could wrap the call up in about 2-3 minutes.

Two and one-half hours later, I had walked the user through updating his yahoo account password so he could check his e-mail for the password to our website so that he could renew and download his software. He also said that I had an accent, which I explained was the Michigan "e-yac-cent." (I also wanted to say, "Same to you!" because he was from New York). He said that he felt bad for making me skip my lunch, and that I could charge a sandwich to the credit card that he had given me during our conversation. I let him know that it wasn't necessary because Jimmy John's came today with free samples, and I had gotten a sandwich already. He said that they didn't have Jimmy John's in New York, but they called sprinkles - like the kind with which to top ice cream - "jimmies." That inspired me to share with him about how here in the Midwest, we affectionatly call carbonated beverages "pop" - and the user thought that that was "old-fashioned," compared to East Coast "soda." This led to another nice tangential conversation about sociolinguistics: he said that it was easy to tell the people from the Bronx because while saying "soda," it comes out sounding like "soder." And yes, we really did go over everything. While helping him to download the licenses for his software, I told him to go to the "help" menu, but he said that it should say "call Iris" there, which was sweet.

When I finally took my lunch break, my boss asked me to step into his office for a project for me to think about, since I was so "creative." And the way that came about was from spearheading the effort to decorate the department for our Harvest Fest (I don't think I ended up writing about that on this blog - we turned our department into CandyLand a couple of months ago...) In any case, the new project at hand has to do with designing labels for custom keyboard shortcuts - so I have something new to think about.

After that, I sat and ate lunch next to my co-worker Katie's cube. We ended up having a conversation about what we do. Both of us agreed that our initial impressions of working in customer service were very different from what we actually do. Almost everyday, we have to transfer licenses from software license holders who are deceased to living individuals at the firm. But the point of the conversation was that what we do isn't just monthly billing and software renewals - it really is listening to the bits and pieces of what go on in people's everyday lives, and seeing how change is ever constant. For example, the user that I was on the phone with for two hours changed his e-mail address because his wife had passed away and he had been using her e-mail address. And the answer to his secret question to reset his password was his pet, "Jade," who incidentally was also deceased. The user said, "as you can see, a lot has changed in my life."

After all of that, I still don't have a case of the Mondays - despite the exposure to extremes (celebrating over free Jimmy John's/empathizing with users in their personal losses). I find it extremely exhilarating to hang up the phone and know that I have helped someone to resolve their issue, in a relatively efficient manner. And now that I have said all of that...on to more phone calls!

Office Chronicles: chaos in the call center

The phones are ringing at the Tax and Accounting Divison of Thomson Reuters.

On any other day, that statement would not be out of the ordinary. But on Thursday, December 4, the call center went down - over and over again. When you work in a department where most, if not all, business is conducted on the phone, the call center going down is not a good thing.

If I had been as productive as I should have been, making phone calls on our cash cow UltraTax, then I don't think I could have appreciated the situation for its worth. (I was chatting with Lauren in Hong Kong instead...)

All of a sudden, all around me I hear, "Hello? Hello?" "Are you there?" "Can you hear me?" multiplied by the 24 other people in the department, and then exclamations of "oh!" and groans of "ohh no..."

We have a tiny window called "Q-View" on our desktops where we can see how many people are in each phone cue. When the phones were down, the cues started filling up. One representative exclaimed, "Oh my gosh, these people are stuck in phone cue hell!"

I was fortunate to wrap up each of my calls and miss the first few times that the phones went down - but the last call I made a few moments ago cut out while I was wrapping up a conversation with a user.

On our office instant messenger, someone sent out a message saying that she had chocolate in her cube. Subsequently, I heard footsteps rushing in her direction and "chocolate? I think we need some vallium here..."

My co-worker Katie says that we should write to The Office writers and tell them about today as an episode idea. I also wish I could write today as funny as it all happened, so here was my attempt. and I'm sure the phones will probably go down again once I finish this post and call another client.

Random fact of the day: Ann Arbor is home of the cubicle. (Said by my co-worker Linda while we were waiting for the phones to go back up again)

Shout out to Lauren Milewski because it's her 23rd year on this earth today, Hong Kong time.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
*update* this just in, at 1:50 pm in my inbox from my boss, the big cheese:

"FYI… the phone issue turned out to be due to a combination of a bad cable and a failed “fail-save” backup device. The cable was responsible for the up and down nature of the problem earlier today. The backup device failure was the culprit for the last couple of hours of down time.

The expected/needed behavior, of course, would have been for the fail-over to make the whole issue invisible. That didn’t happen and will result in some investigation and reconfiguring.

Anyway… unlike past fixes today this one is the real deal. So, proceed confidently. Thanks for your patience. We haven’t had this much excitement in Call Center in years."

(In years! An exciting day indeed!)

Office Chronicles: the medicine cabinet

I burned my finger last night while making dinner for myself. My thumb slipped off of the potholder and onto the searing hot cookie sheet. Fortunately, the stove in my tiny apartment is right next to the sink, so I quickly turned the faucet on and ran the seared surface of my right thumb under cold water. (My co-worker Katie tells me that she learned in chemistry "back in the day" that one should actually put a burn in lukewarm water, and gradually turn it to cold. Oh well...)

While I have the appearance of making important decisions by weighing all of the factors involved (it's true, I am a contemplator...), I actually make my decisions based on the most random details. Prime example: church shopping. My parents took my opinion into consideration when choosing the church that we have attended since we moved to Michigan in 1992. I still haven't told them that I actually picked it for the Sunday School snacks... Next example: first job out of college.

The day of my interview at the formerly known as Thomson Tax & Accounting, I was given the usual tour of the facility. I will admit, I was wowed by what I saw - kitchens galore, an ice cream machine, massage chair, exercise room... but I think what did it for me was the medicine cabinet.

I'm actually not kidding. It's a large white metal case mounted on a wall right between the restrooms near my department. My tour guide's exact words while talking about the medicine cabinet: "We don't want you to be sick - we want you to feel better!" (While I counted it as genuine, I now realize it's because they need us to work...work, work!)

I've opened the medicine cabinet a few times prior to today. My eyes hurt from staring at a computer screen for 7.5 hours a day, so I went in search of eye drops one day - and lo and behold they were there, in tiny one-use portions. I'm also starting to develop a dependency on coffee since starting work - so every now and then when my caffeine-deprivation headaches kick in, I run to get a packet of Ibuprofen.

I am currently typing with my right thumb swathed in "Cool & Soothe - the aqua dressing that cools and heals" gauze. While trying to find the appropriate adhesive tape with which to wrap my finger, I scanned the rest of the cabinet for interesting finds. The names/products I found worth mentioning are as follows: Insta-cool Cold Spray, Super-Stop Blood Clotter, Cramp Relief, q-tips, cough drops, and blue bandaids (latex-free). I have never considered marketing as a viable career path prior to reading some of those product names (sounds like they need help in the pharmaceutical marketing industry...) Maybe that'll be the next bend in the road after this one! (I'm kidding).

So it's Thanksgiving Eve and I'm itching to drive home to Kalamazoo - but I'm sitting anticipating incoming calls for another hour. The cues are quiet after a crazy day, so I got the chance to take pictures and post this blessed object of my affections...

The casualty

Tanksliving

Rain showers today in Ann Arbor. It's 37 °F outside, but feels like 27 °F. Although Turkey Day is a little less than two weeks away, Christmas songs made their premature debut on the radio at the beginning of the month. Looks like we're approaching that time of year again - "'Tis the season to be... consumerist - fa la la la la, la la la la." Let's certainly hope so - especially with buzzwords like "recession" and "depression" being thrown around.

Within the world of retail decor, the fourth Thursday of November has gotten the shaft. (Not to mention the fact that the day after the fourth Thursday of November is the biggest shopping day of the year...) In fact, in August, I had lunch with my adopted grandparents at Cracker Barrel, and was shocked and amazed to find juxtaposed two trees - one filled with Halloween decorations, and the other laden with Christmas ornaments. That said, it's easy to forget Thanksgiving, or even a lifestyle of thankfulness.

Cornucopias, pilgrim hats, and shopping sprees aside, "In 1623 a day of fasting and prayer during a period of drought was changed to one of thanksgiving because the rain came during the prayers. Gradually the custom prevailed in New England of annually celebrating thanksgiving after the harvest." (Thank you, History Channel: http://www.history.com/minisite.do?content_type=Minisite_Generic&content_type_id=874&display_order=2&mini_id=1083)

As the Little Drummer Boy pa-rum-pum-pum-pums you towards Christmas, think on things that you can be thankful for as we anticipate the Thanksgiving holiday. Here's a taste of what I'm looking forward to driving home to soon...

Thinking at an ungodly hour of the night; or, losing my marbles

I woke up at 2:30 am (thank you, sleep cycle) and also happened to remember that I needed to move my car. And now I am wide awake, thinking about how different my life is now from a year ago.

A year ago, sometime between the hours of November 10 and November 11, I slept a fitful sleep after having just broken up with my boyfriend of two years. I remember opening my eyes to the gray dawn streaming into my room. I actually wanted to go back to sleep, to forget. But I knew I would just wake up once more to feeling snapped in two. I'm pretty sure I woke up with my arms in the air, grasping for something in front of my face, which actually ended up being nothing.

The rest of the day was a blur. I don't sing in the shower (often...), but I managed to squeak out a few notes that morning because the pain in my heart was excruciating:
In the chaos, in confusion, I know you're sovereign still...
(here is a better version of it, if you're not familiar with the song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axqXMuW8x1U)
And at the end of the day, my comforter served as the largest kleenex in the world as I laid in it wrapped up, an ashen and tangled heap.

But here I am a year later, having more than survived to write about it. This breakup has been one of my most significant defining moments thus far in my young life - and I'm certain that there will be more. A year ago, I felt like a bomb had detonated somewhere close to me - and if you saw me walking around a year ago today, I literally looked shellshocked. I don't mean to keep looking back - but I do, because for every ounce of pain that I experienced on the inside, that kind of broken was, and is, beautiful.

It's November 11, I have been single for exactly one year, and I have no frame of reference anymore in terms of life experiences. Everything is new - and everyday, I am more confident that God engineers our circumstances perfectly. In fact, I found myself being reminded of this fact through an illustration I heard at a tiny church service I found at the airport during my three hour layover in Atlanta on Sunday.

It was about a little boy running around with marbles clenched in his tiny fist. His father knew that the marbles were dangerous because (1) the child might swallow them or (2) the child might drop the marbles while running and slip and fall on them. In order to lure the boy away from the marbles, the parent produced a new and better toy - an airplane - for which the boy would have to let go of the marbles in order to grasp at the better thing.

Without remorse, I think it would be appropriate to say that I have lost my marbles...

a day in the life of a customer service intern

(Writing this at the close of the day, while watching the last U.S. presidential debate - so forgive me if I'm spacey...also, I like how the diagonal stripes on the Senator from Illinois and the Senator from Arizona's ties are slanted in the same direction. And that's all the political talk that you'll be getting from the girl who got a BA in Political Science...)

Since moving to Ann Arbor and starting my new job, I haven't really sat down to write about the nitty gritty of the day and have written emo-colored posts. Still in training because it's only week two, but things are starting to become more regular at work in terms of schedule. I work for the company formerly known as Creative Solutions, which was acquired by Thomson in 1979, which merged with Reuters on April 17 earlier this year. It's located in the Avis Farms corporate park where State Street turns into State Road, south of I-94. My commute ranges from 9-12 minutes depending on traffic in the mornings, during which I listen to NPR on 91.7.

Upon approaching the two sets of floor-to-ceiling double doors, one can see a tiny sticker strategically placed on the left door of each set: PLEASE USE THE OTHER DOOR. Week two, and I still forget this, sometimes. Once inside, I show my makeshift badge (because the interns haven't gotten the sweet new ones with Thomson Reuters orange) at the front desk and veer to the left towards the Customer Service Department and make my way over to home sweet cube #402 to check my schedule for the day.

Once the clock strikes 8:30 am EST, one of two things happen - either a half an hour meeting, or starting straight to work. Most mornings, like today, start with general meetings (some of which get me started in the day with a deer-in-headlights look, just based on all of the new information. Now picture me looking like that through most of the training sessions, every day!) When the meeting concludes, everyone is released to their work. Every now and then I hear laughter throughout our small department. And even though we have a real water cooler, we have an imaginary one where people gather and talk on the way to actually getting water. My favorite is the hot water, tea, and coffee area - which greatly aids in keeping me awake for meetings! And now for the good stuff...

Today, the interns started on a calling campaign, to check in with firms about product renewals for the professional software that Thomson Reuters sells. Today was also the deadline for businesses to file their 1040s, which makes for very stressed CPAs. Correction: which makes for very stressed CPAs at some of the firms that the interns were calling about product renewals today because according to our electronic schedules, that was the task at hand. Bad idea.

Having made some of these calls yesterday, I was feeling relatively confident about the task for the morning. I had no expectations when I made my first phone call, in which I ended up getting put through to a CPA at a small accounting firm. "It's 1040 deadline day, so this better be important," the voice on the other end of the phone warned me. Within moments, what should have been a short conversation became very escalated, with the client taking his frustrations regarding today out on me, his sales representative, the products, the company...I can't remember how I ended it, but I'm pretty sure my fingers were shaking as I finished typing up notes from the call. Probably something like, "I'm very sorry sir, have a great day..."

Okay so actually (and fortunately), not all calls are like that. But after hanging up with Mr. "I become unreasonable sometimes" (he said that, true story), I have to admit, I was shaken. Acknowledged: it was a bad day to call about something minor, like a product renewal. It was also not a good day for this overly emotional and hormonal girl to hear the words "if you're calling today, then you're weird" on the other end of the line. (So I took a walk and cried for a little bit - definitely the hormones, leave me alone!)

The rest of the workday went on uneventfully - except for getting lots of genuine apologies for what had happened on that campaign call, and reassurances from my new colleagues. I work with the nicest people - but that's to be expected with customer service. (I think...) And tomorrow? Different from today because I get to sleep in a tiny bit.

While walking towards home today, I reflected on a few things after having been on the other end of the line where the customer is always right. For instance, when you're really steamed about something and you have the opportunity to call some 800 number and complain, don't take it out on the little person. That voice on the other end of the line - whether calling from an election phone bank or some telemarketing center in India, regardless of the thickness of their skin - is someone's child, spouse, relative friend...a valuable person. Hearing that CPA react under pressure made me think about my crummy treatment of telemarketers, who are just doing their job; made me think about how I react and how I treat others when I am stressed out. I'm not a telemarketer. But today made me think about how I only think about things like this when I myself have experienced it. Naturally. But I wish that I could care more about things without necessarily having experienced them myself.

I'll post more on life at the office as I get to know it better...

Looking forward, looking back: one month to a year

If you worked with me, then you'd know that I stole the first part of the title of this post from our monthly department meetings, abbreviated as "LFLB." They are reflective meetings (I mean, as reflective as one can be at 8:30 am), in which statistics from the past month are observed and improvement from the previous month recognized. And then the cycle begins again: after looking back, time to look forward.

So for those of you who are wondering what the second part of this post's title means, I will clarify for you. I have one month until my one year anniversary. Anniversary, you ask? Even though anniversaries are merely celebrations of epochs in peoples' lives, I think that anniversary is widely connoted with marking milestones in an interpersonal relationship. So am I dating anyone currently? No, not at present. And I haven't been for almost one year - and that year will be completed in a month.

It's bittersweet to think about, actually. While I was in a relationship, I was one of those girlfriends who observed those seemingly nonsensical anniversaries on the 10th of every month, without fail. Even if no actual celebration or dinner took place, that day was supposed to be special for me, because it reminded me of when something new started from love. Interestingly enough, that particular relationship ended two years from its start date, on the very next day. After the break up, it was hard getting out of the habit of always looking forward to the 10th because it reminded me of what had happened on the 11th five months ago, six months ago, seven months ago...

Technically, it's the 12th - but since I haven't gone to sleep yet, it is still the 11th to me. Perhaps it's foolish to keep looking back. It's been a long and difficult process regaining my bearings after losing something so precious to me. And it was very easy to remember how disoriented I felt in the process of breaking (up). The continual looking back eventually became a crutch, an excuse for not having direction and purpose after graduation. At the suggestion of a long-time acquaintance/newly-found friend, I discontinued contact with my former better half. It helped with the pain - a lot. But unfortunately, I am the girl who remembers everything that everyone else forgets. And even though I was trying to forget, to be okay, memories - good and bad - would come back to haunt me in the form of flashbacks. Sometimes, I wish I had a sea of forgetfulness.

But actually, I'm glad that I don't - because when I look back, I see how much I learned in that relationship and after. Even though it didn't end up the way that I wanted it to, I learned some important and painful lessons about love. That it's not all about butterflies and romance and being "in love..." but that it's a choice, to will the highest good for the other person - regardless of the relationship: friendship, familial, romantic... and that's only scratching the surface. (Disclaimer: I am not an expert at neither love nor "personal relationships," as my social psychology book described romantic relationships).

This isn't meant to be an entry with a sad violin playing in the background (even though I will admit that I cried today for the first time in what has been a long time, when someone asked me if I was "okay," as in "okay post-him"). I am thankful for the times that the plans I had for myself didn't work out - because they always worked out better than I thought they were going to. Weeping may endure for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning. It's a month to a brand new year (if you haven't noticed, I love new years...) - not that the newness hasn't started already. One month to a year, and someday I'll probably forget that I ever had to mark the 11th as an anniversary for myself. But for the time being, I am looking forward to yet another opportunity to celebrate starting afresh.

p.s. I am stealing Alex Lee's shoutouts:
shout out to Alex for becoming my friend and sharing advice with me like a good friend would
shout out to Rachael Baby for reading my blog (and for having an awesome face)

Chasing dust bunnies and conveying sushi

As I sit down to write this, I haven't been home since 7:55 am when I walked out the door to day 2 of work this morning. To be quite honest, I was dreading it last night when I had lain (yes - it is "lain," if you don't believe me http://www.karenleefield.com/blog/laid-lain-lay-lie.html. Running through my head: 'Oh my gosh, a blog about language!!!') down to sleep. Fortunately, God knows exactly how we are feeling and exactly what we need - and He provides perfectly. I thought that today was spectacularly blog-worthy for illustrating the previous sentence.

If you are reading this and you are/were (1) my parents and sister Ariele; (2) on South Quad Resstaff 07-08; (3) my multiple dates to the 2008 BBA Formal, then you are sitting smiling up at me on my desk. This is because I determined to chase the dust bunnies away so I could place the said framed photographs on my desk, and so I could put up the lovely "The Path" calendar from my dear cousin-in-law Matt Green (very appropriately given to the author of this blog) and also place my very fancy-shmancy Vera Bradley post-it notes holder (with matching post-its) courtesy of my fashionista cousin Marie on my desk, without fear of the said dust bunnies dirtying everything. (And now that they're gone, I can put up more pictures of the faces I love!)

Between chasing away the dust bunnies (which I thought was a clever way to describe my day - but actually was a minor part of what made it so wonderful), I learned a lot more about what I'll be doing starting tomorrow (Eeek!) and a lot more about the people that I'll be working with. Found out that most of them are between the ages of 22 and 25, so I was thrilled to find myself in the company of people with experiences comparatively similar to mine. And, being customer service interns, everyone is tremendously nice (including the actual customer service representatives), so I'm looking forward to making lots of friends (I hope...) and learning a lot.

On the way out of work, I realized that my phone was off. When I went to turn it on, I found that my battery was basically zilch, along with a text message from my dear friend Gina, asking me if I wanted to have dinner with her. (Would I ever!) I prayed that my phone would hold out long enough to tell her that I would, and that I would stop at her house on the way home from work - which, incidentally, is very close to my new workplace. My battery died as soon as I hung up. We were in the parking lot at Cherry Blossom, the sushi restaurant off of State Street (which used to be Chi Chi's Mexican Restaurant, and if you know what those buildings look like, it makes for a humorous architectural combination). Gina hadn't even turned the car off when she got a phone call about someone whose car was towed, and could she pick him up at the corner of Hoover and Sybil?

Of course, we turned the car around and headed north to campus to pick up Zach Morairty, whose car had been towed while he was swimming at the Intramural Sports Building, or the IM Building. Gina actually didn't know where the intersection that Zach was waiting at was located - but the person sitting in the passenger seat (ahem, yours truly) had lived one street east of the said intersection. Now for a crash course in what to do when your car gets towed in Ann Arbor, if ever you find yourself in that unfortunate predicament...

We retrieved "Dr. Z," as he refers to himself sometimes, who informed us that we needed to take him first to the Police Station downtown (on the corner of 5th and Huron, for Ann Arborites) to pay some fee (to support the city of Ann Arbor, indubitably). There, he was directed to the tow truck company's headquarters, which was located southeast on Packard Street the other side of town. Once there, he was directed to where his car was actually located (just past the intersection of Carpenter and Ellsworth, again for Ann Arborites). We actually just missed the person who was supposed to release Zach's car to him by seconds, and watched him drive in the opposite direction from us in his yellow tow truck.

Fortunately, on the way to our final destination, we spotted a sushi restaurant tucked into the little strip mall while waiting at a stop light at the intersection of Carpenter and Ellsworth. Convinced Zach to join us for dinner instead of waiting for the tow truck man to come back. Found, to our delight and surprise, a neon sign that indicated to us even before setting foot in the restaurant that it would be "conveying sushi" to us. I'm pretty dense sometimes, so I thought that the restaurant was trying to be witty about how it would present sushi to us. I mean, I don't know how much clearer you can get with sushi. And then I saw it - the conveyer belt! (I feel sheepish as I write this, because I have already experienced the wonder of conveying sushi in my young life!)

The three of us sat next to the conveyer belt which, I might add, was very distracting with small plates of mouth watering sushi passing us by. Some of my favorite descriptions of the sushi and its ingredients included "snow sauce" (and that is made of...?), "Dark Knight" (had some BBQ eel in it, unfortunately didn't try it this time), and "Lion King" (also a must try for next time!) Apparently it's the first conveying sushi restaurant in Michigan - so if you're reading this somewhere in this pleasant peninsula (either one - taking into consideration my yupers, one in particular who is a Babe and likes sushi too...I know she's thinking this comment is "awkward"), check out Sushi Nara (unfortunately, I can't seem to find a website. If they have one, someone tell me!) Oh, crucial - almost forgot to mention our dessert: fruit tempura! I have never experienced fruit tempura before tonight, and it was breaded and confectionary-sugared goodness. You must try it at some point in your life.

Post-dessert and successful retrieval of Zach's car (which happened immediately after dinner), we drove to a small prayer gathering, for the working-people Bible study at my church. To describe it to people who aren't familiar with the church that I have attended for the past four years, we break church down into what are now called "life groups," or small groups of people who gather together to pray and worship together, and to discuss God, the Bible, and anything else once a week. The life groups divide according to "life stages": children, high school, undergrad, post-undergrad/graduate, working/young adult, and married. (This is just a very general breakdown, and of course, there are the inevitable overlaps). My life stage is working/young adult, and it was very refreshing to gather with people who share similar experiences.

So far, especially after my first day of work, it's been really easy to be homesick and lonely. Also, I am a "rank sentimentalist," as Humphrey Bogart's character Rick is described in the movie "Casablanca." Tonight, we gathered together and prayed with one another, to speak truth into one another's lives - about God's character and who He can be to us. (I know some of you disagree about what "truth" is - this is not the issue at hand. We can discuss that another time though, if you like!) What really encouraged me was that these people were praying specific things for me that were so relevant to my life, without having prior knowledge about how my life has been these past few days and weeks. I am not trying to be mystical, but I was comforted to know that in prayer, the Holy Spirit was conveying (sushi - no, not actually) to these people what to pray for, based on God's perfect knowledge of needs in my life (again, I'm sure some reading might say that this is to be debated). Regardless of your feelings about God, I felt assured of the fact that He knows exactly what's going on in my life - even to the smallest details, like the fact that Gina's text was actually the pick-me-up that this newly working girl needed! And sitting in the car with Gina, giving her directions about how to pick up Zach. And that even though Zach was probably stressed out about the towing ordeal, we all got to know one another better over a dinner that probably wouldn't have happened if his car hadn't been towed.

More and more, I am convinced that God uses everything - even detours, towing ordeals, and bends in the road. And if you finished this, you deserve a star (we give them out in the customer service department! But I will write about that another time...)

A day of firsts, and then some...

It's official - I'm in the workforce outside of school for the first time. First drive to first job orientation in Dexter, MI this morning- while accumulating miles on the first car I co-signed for. First time meeting the six other interns that were hired. First lunch party with the interns at the Ann Arbor site. First round of meetings that I had to fight to keep my eyes open for (including one about information security, which made me want to come home and change all of my passwords for everything - and did!) First cubicle. And for the first time in a while, feeling very humbled by the fact that while I've always prided myself on picking up things quickly, I felt almost completely overwhelmed by the new challenges presented by a first job. While I was driving home during my first 5:00 pm rush hour, I was almost certain that I'd want to write about my entire day play-by-play in even more detail than I have just shared now. But now that I'm home (oh yes, that too - first working-life domicile: 443 S. Division, #1; Ann Arbor, MI 48104. p.s. I love mail...) and half-watching Heroes with the roomie and her adorable little yorkie, Maximus, I don't really feel like doing that (due to the fact that my brain is fried from all the information thrown at me today!) I will say though, that towards the end of orientation, I was pretty sure that I was in love - with my new first post-undergrad place of employment, Thomson Reuters. (I actually loved Reuters, the news source, first - for their "Oddly Enough" news...but that another day. In in the meantime, check it out: http://www.reuters.com/news/oddlyEnough)

Now for the "and then some..." I actually wanted to post on Sunday evening, after driving back to Ann Arbor from Kalamazoo - in which I did a lot of thinking and planning for an amazing post full of plugs and favorites (obviously, I didn't write it...) I made a spontaneous trip home this weekend in order to retrieve some things for work that I'd left at home. The fact that my cousin Marie flew in from Orlando on Friday for a wedding and to spend time with baby Emerson also gave me a reason to go home. Picked her up in Detroit, tried getting dim sum with her and Christine Freires (but we got to the restaurant just after 3:00 pm, just after they had stopped serving it. I envy my darlings in Hong Kong who have access to it at any time!), and then made the drive home to Kalamazoo. Okay, now I start random plugs.

Got home in time to go to a CD release concert with my sister. The artist releasing the CD was a Western Michigan University bass professor and husband of a violin professor my sister takes lessons from sometimes. I didn't make the trip home intentionally to attend the concert, but I'm glad I was able to attend it. If fit into a specific genre, the repertoire for the night could fall into the category "jazz" (and the discussion on "jazz" later...) I love jazz because it's music that I can think to. Listening to the music that night made me think about how much I miss music, and how, even though it has been such a huge part of who I am, I haven't invested into it in the past four years. (Oh, and I almost forgot why I mentioned this in the first place. The CD's out, check it - http://www.tomknific.com/)

The night before I actually moved to Ann Arbor (which was last Wednesday - if I didn't tell you already, now you know because you're reading this), I watched a movie with my parents called "Music Within." It's about the man who played an integral role in drafting the Americans with Disabilities Act. I can't remember who said the quote that the main character poignantly shared at the beginning of the movie - or the quote itself, but it had to do with finding the music within us. At first, I was a little bit disappointed at the end of the movie because it didn't actually have anything to do with actual music. After some more thinking, the movie has grown on me because it had to do with finding those things that make us run - and not just the functioning kind of run. (http://www.musicwithinmovie.com/ in the event that you were interested...) (And if you know me, I have a strange way of linking things to one another. Tom Knific's concert inspired me to give my little friend Kate a voice lesson the next day. So there's what little I've done so far with my music minor).

Okay, so I mentioned those things because today was my first day on the job - at my customer service internship, which also has nothing to do with music. But, I guess it's my way of trying to find that music within me. Hope that on day two, my brain is less like mush while trying to absorb everything!

Happy New Year

So I realize that it's far from the start of an actual year on the Julian calendar, and January 1 is a few months away yet...but it's September 28, my first official day being 23 years old.

(Yesterday was the first day in four years that I've woken up at home, in my own room, in my own bed, with no school to think about!) (Yesterday was also a beautiful September day spent in the company of my family and people that I love very much. Thanks also to everyone who was far away but remembered that yesterday was a day of certain importance to me!)

Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, begins this week. I'm not Jewish (but I think my father often wishes that he was more than he will admit...), so I'm not claiming any expertise on the holiday. But what little I do know about has some significance for me.

Rosh Hashanah is for atonement - for making things new. This morning at church, I found out about a particularly beautiful ritual which is observed by some during the holiday. Observers approach a body of moving water and empty their pockets of the contents by turning them inside out, where they are swept away by the water. Some observers come prepared to the waters with bread, if they have nothing else, to cast upon the waters. The tradition is supposed to symbolize sweeping away the old and the burdens of the previous year.

My favorite story book heroine's teacher, Muriel Stacey, (from Anne of Green Gables) always reminded Anne Shirley of this concept: "Tomorrow is always fresh, with no mistakes in it." I think this is the same concept with a new year - new beginnings.

When I heard about the ritual this morning, I put my hands in my pockets. Aside from residual lint that escaped our old and trusty dryer's lint catcher, they were empty. Even though my pockets were empty, I thought about how the past year was fraught with much confusion, sadness, and pain - which, if tangible, were more than a thousand pockets could handle. (Yes, November was probably a mild case of post-traumatic stress disorder...) I know that there are others who have suffered far worse emotional trauma than I - and that the road ahead is marked with more trials to come.

In spite of all of that, I am thankful. The Christian faith is an enigmatic and a paradoxical one. The last becomes first and the first becomes last. Something must become broken in order to be rendered complete. It is necessary to die to your own desires in order to truly live - to gain life in Christ, who lived a sinless life only to die, for people like me - constantly making mistakes and having to continually turn my pockets inside out, more often than new years celebrations come around.

It's a new year for me, even though I'm not Jewish - and I'm happy that my new year coincides with a holiday where many observe the beauty of starting over. Happy New Year!

Detours

"God is the engineer of our circumstances." For some reason, I've been hearing this non-political catchphrase a lot lately. And rather than just thinking it, I'm starting to believe it more and more as time goes by.

I heard the catchphrase on Sunday, in a sermon given by a guest speaker. He was actually the pastor at the church my family and I started attending when I was in first grade. He left shortly after that, and was replaced by another man - who just resigned in August. I know change is ever eminent and ever present, but it was still surprising to watch someone who had a significant presence in my life leave quietly. Anyway, if he hadn't resigned and left, I wouldn't have heard what I did last Sunday. The first pastor I had known at our church nearly 16 years ago returned as a guest speaker, and talked about the in-between times...how a lot of living happens between points A and B. How you know where you're supposed to be going (point A) and actually getting "there" ("there," being point B). I guess it interspersed the "everything happens for a reason" somewhat cliche/not cliche catchphrase into his message, too. I mention all of that because I've realized that I've always tried to live my life at breakneck speed, and get impatient when things get "off track," videlicet, things aren't going according to schedule or my way.

Today was a beautiful illustration of what should have been a tight schedule gone awry. This morning, I had a dental appointment at 11:50 am, and immediately afterward an eye appointment at 1:30 pm. I missed by dental appointment by half an hour on Tuesday because I'd gotten the times mixed up in my head with another appointment earlier on Tuesday morning (had to do with work stuff. Oh yeah, did I mention that I'm moving back to Ann Arbor? I'm moving back to Ann Arbor. That adventure later...) The receptionist graciously rescheduled me for today, since she knew that I'm moving soon. Showed up for my appointment on time today. Five minutes went by. Then 10. I start to get really antsy when I'm idle so I picked up the nearest People magazine, dated August 25, and paged through the whole thing. Twenty minutes had gone by, and I was alone in the waiting room - and dangerously close to missing my eye appointment today (which, I did. But they rescheduled me for 9:00 am Monday morning, ouch!) Found out from the receptionist that there had been three emergencies that needed immediate attention at the office that morning, and that everything in their schedule was backed up.

While waiting, I saw a tiny woman with dark hair emerge from behind the door where the patients' rooms are. A surprised "oh!" escaped from my lips when I realized that it was my Auntie Esther, the wife of my mother's brother. She nodded in my direction to acknowledge my presence, and then hurried past me, saying with a cute and slight Tagalog accent, "batroom!" (in other words, "bathroom"). My aunt doesn't have her driver's license, so she had to call my uncle and wait for him to come pick her up from the dentist's office. Half an hour gone by, still sitting in the waiting room. My aunt was waiting, too, so we sat together and talked until my uncle came. I see my aunt quite often, actually, at numerous family dinners due to the fact that she and my uncle live about a five minute drive from my house. I didn't realize until talking with my aunt today that it's hard to get one-on-one conversation time with people sometimes at our family gatherings sometimes, due to the sheer amount of people present, so I was thankful that we ran into each other. I waited nearly an hour before my dentist actually started working on my teeth.

With my eye appointment canceled, I had a window of time, so I went to wait at my Cousin Christine's (Auntie Esther's daughter) and visited with her, her husband Matt, and baby Emerson. During my hour waiting to pick up Ariele from school, Christine and Emerson fell asleep, passed out cold. Matt and I ended up talking about life, and about me starting this new adventure into working life. He said he remembered where he was when he was almost 23, and has been thinking about how he felt, how I must be feeling now. I appreciated his encouragement, and knew that I wouldn't have been able to spend time holding baby Emerson and indulging in good conversation if my schedule hadn't been a little bit off.

Schedule being off made me late to picking up Ariele, which is usually at 2:50 pm everyday. It ended up working out because we had to pick up a new violin bow for her to try out after 3:00 pm downtown. When I woke up, my day was so set, usually stays set when there's a schedule. The neurotic that I was/am/always have been usually hates detours, but lately I am learning to appreciate them. For example, this "year-off" detour from law school/grad school of any kind. If I'd hopped into school right away, I wouldn't have been able to think about appreciating detours...

Nothing too eventful for today.

Here comes the son... (do-do-do-do) it's all right (echo guitar)

He's here, he's here! Little Bear was born yesterday at 2:06 pm at Borgess Hospital in Kalamazoo, Michigan to Matt Green and Christine Advincula. I dreamed earlier in the summer that I read in an e-mail that his name was Jason Ryan Green, and in the dream I was distraught about the fact that I found out the news through e-mail. I didn't tell the name from the dream to anyone until yesterday, when I saw the little baby for the first time. And was I (and by I, I mean my subconscious) ever wrong! His name is Emerson (as in Ralph Waldo) Michael Advincula Green. If you haven't read his history (and by his, I mean a snippet of his family history), see the previous post. In the meantime, here are pictures to celebrate his birthday, September 20, 2008

Look at all of that hair!

"Blue eyes, baby's got blue eyes..."

If you read the previous post, here is Christine - granddaughter of Librada Advincula - with the little Bear.

Dr. Green and his son, Matt Green

L-R:

the new Uncle Jesse!

Mom, or "Lola Emma"

Auntie Ariele

the new grandfather, Lolo Mig

I love this picture of Marmee and baby Bear

Stories from a somewhat non-typical Saturday

Saturday afternoon. Violin music fills the house as my sister practices, diligently as usual. My father was just sitting at his computer, blasting his favorite smooth jazz - which, I don't hesitate to add, is not a favorite of Ariele's and mine. A Manila native and ever cautious, Dad shows me a slideshow about thievery at ATMs, and follows up with his commentary about how messed up it is that some people can't just make an honest living - his standard warning for us to be "wise as serpents, meek as doves," or in other words vigilant. My mother, the nurse, is at work until this afternoon. From the looks of it, pretty typical for a weekend in the Macadangdang household.

Except it's not! Received a text message from my cousin soon to be Auntie Marie this morning, shortly after Ariele and I got home from her quartet rehearsal. It said something like this: "The bun is finally coming out of the oven slowly! Christine's in labor!"

My cousin Christine notified the family via e-mail sometime in March of this year that she and her husband Matt were pregnant. (I got the news the same day that a certain Miss Lauren Milewski found out that she had gotten the Fulbright to teach English in Hong Kong, and the same day that my sister found out that she had gotten into summer music camp at Northwestern University. A fabulous day!) The baby, still affectionately known to the family as "Bear," (since the parents didn't want to reveal his name until his birth) was due to arrive in this world on September 15, 2008. I am happy to report that Christine went into labor around 5:00 AM today, and hopefully I can post pictures next time heralding Bear's birth. The reason I didn't wait to write and post pictures is because I think that Bear's history, even though he is not quite a citizen of this world just yet, is worth telling. I'm a story teller, so just um...Bear with me (hahaha, I laugh at my own bad jokes).

Once upon a time, about 23 years ago, Librada Advincula decided to visit her children in the United States. So she hopped on a plane and visited her son Mig and his family, and her daughter Emma, and son-in-law Edison Macadangdang in Kalamazoo, Michigan. During her brief time in the United States, Librada suffered a stroke. She was attended to at Borgess Hospital in Kalamazoo by a Dr. Philip Green. Librada passed away shortly afterwards in her sleep, the same week that Emma found out that she was pregnant -with the author of this post. Years later, Dr. Green's son Matt met Librada's granddaughters, Christine and Marie, in the seventh grade. Christine and Matt (also known as Matt and Christine) fell in love and were a couple for approximately 14 years before tying the knot in July 2005. In March 2007, the husband of Librada's youngest daughter Grace suffered a stroke in the Philippines. Emma, the nurse, kept constant vigilance over her brother-in-law's health, and enlisted the help and advice of the same Dr. Green. In March 2008, Dr. Green's son and Librada's granddaughter announced that they were having a baby. In August 2008, Emma and her family were able to visit her sister Grace, her recovering husband, and family in Saskatchewan. Who could have guessed that twenty-three years after Librada Advincula met Dr. Green at Borgess Hospital that her granddaughter and his son would bring a child into the world at the same hospital?

2:29 pm update: as I finish this post, I am happy to announce that Bear is out! I am excited to find out his name, and will definitely post pictures soon. Inevitably, I don't know all of the details surrounding my grandmother's death, or how everyone was feeling. I'm sure that Christine or Marie could tell the story better because they knew our grandmother. I am sad that I was never able to meet my Lola Librada, but I am amazed at how the pieces of the puzzle called life come together, a beautiful and tangled web. From what I do know, a young doctor helped an elderly woman, unknowingly made contact with his in-laws years before their children met, that the doctor would eventually help the same woman's son-in-law, that their connection later in life would be a little boy known as Bear...

And right now, my sister and my dad are on the phone with Dr. Green's son and Librada's granddaughter, the proud parents, with the little one's lusty cry in the background. Can't wait to meet him!

Monday, Monday... (and cue music)

(Even though it's Tuesday... I am still going to write about Monday).

My life has finally taken on some sort of schedule: I volunteer at a small non-profit here in Kalamazoo from 9:30 am - 2:00 pm, and then I drive down the street and pick Ariele (baby sister) up from nerd school (also known as KAMSC, or the Kalamazoo Area Math and Science Center. See?). Even though Monday essentially mirrored today in terms of activity, Monday was difficult. And today, much better.

I have found that "work" is great for working on character flaws. Kept finding myself in tight people situations at "work" (affectionately known as volunteering) yesterday and really wanted to just punch somebody in the face. My "boss" started the non-profit in 2001, and in October, their organization will be hosting their 6th annual Minority and Women-Owned Business Expo (I think I have typed/said that phrase at least a million times in the past 48 hours). I actually think the idea is really cool.

On the other hand, what I don't think is cool is when my "detail-oriented" boss pays attention to minute details that border on insanity; for instance, telling me the tag of my sweater is sticking out and should she tuck it in for me? (For real?? There are other worse things to worry about!) I found myself at my wits end at lunch time. "Um..." said she, "we don't eat at our desks..." and proceeded to lecture me about why we don't eat at our desks. I really wanted to throw whatever I was eating at her, but decided that doing so was against my better judgment. So, I retreated into break room to pace.

I knew I had a bad attitude, and that things would only get worse if I didn't do something about it. I prayed something like, "God, I don't even want to have a good attitude...!" and proceeded to ask him to help me throughout the rest of the day. Once I'd calmed myself down, my "boss" walked in a few minutes later (to which I thought, 'wow, Lord, that was quick!') and apologized for not being able to explain everything to me thoroughly, and that it was stressful around the office because of the Expo coming up so quickly. I guess people who said they'd support the Expo or sponsor haven't delivered like they said they would. And for a small non-profit, I can definitely see how that would be stressful.

Monday gave me the opportunity to see the stuff I'm really made of... very humbling, but I'm glad that at least I know more areas that I need to grow in character, more rough spots in my heart that need filing. I won't lie and say that I fixed everything overnight. Actually, by the end of yesterday, I was feeling quite wretched. I will say, however, that an attitude change and a penitent heart make a world of difference (which I will probably write about later...)

In brief, today was better because: "boss" was more gracious today (thank goodness!); connected really well with two of the women who work at the office during lunch time; heard some good news about an internship (but still have to make a decision by Monday); and Ariele passed her road test. In other news, my cousin Christine is "still preggo," in her own words, and I hope to write a post very soon about her little boy...

A somewhat lengthy explanation of the bend in the road

(An addendum to my last post...)
Cousin Marie: So what is your goal in writing this blog?
Obvious Answer: Try to take over the world!
Not-so-obvious-Answer: Nothing deep or profound (though goodness knows I try to be both as much as possible, and occasionally succeed...emphasis on occasionally).

Here's my (long-winded) explanation (hem hem, the political science way) for the blog newly christened "a bend in the road."

Fellow Anne Shirley fans will recognize the title of this blog from a conversation that Anne has with Marilla, at the end of the book Anne of Green Gables. For those not so familiar, here's an excerpt from the last chapter, also titled "The Bend in the Road" of the aforementioned book:

"I'm just as ambitious as ever. Only, I've changed the object of my ambitions...I mean to study at home here and take a little college course all by myself. Oh, I've dozens of plans, Marilla...I shall give life here my best, and I believe it will give its best to me in return. When I left Queen's [College], my future seemed to stretch out before me like a straight road. I thought I could see along it for many a milestone. Now there is a bend in it. I don't know what lies around the bend, but I'm going to believe that the best does. " - Anne of Green Gables

A year ago, my future seemed to stretch out before me like a straight road: take the LSAT, apply to law school, go straight to law school after undergrad, take the Bar, become a lawyer, get married, have 2.5 children and a nice dog, send them off to their sixteen years of school, retire, travel, and then die. (Sounds morbid, but accurate).

One crisp and cold evening last year, I was walking the perimeter of the Law Quad with my dearest Charlotte Wu. As we circled around and around, she asked me why I wanted to be a lawyer. It seemed that for every reason I gave her, she found some sort of counterargument (which made me think that it should have been her that aspired to be a lawyer, and not me!). It was through those probing questions that I realized that I wasn't so sure about why I wanted to do what I said I wanted to do after all.

Thinking about all of that gave me cold feet, and incidentally, I happen to not be in law school right now. This is my bend in the road. Certainly isn't where I pictured myself after April 26, 2008. Like Anne, I'm hopeful that the best lies out there. I guess while figuring all of that out, this is what this blog is for.

And now Ariele and I are going to play Wii Fit with our cousin Jesse, and visit with his very pregnant sister Christine and her husband Matt. Next post will probably be about Christine and Matt's son, "Bear," who is due to come into the world supposedly tomorrow. (But I am betting on the 17th). Thanks for reading!

Finally.

My last blog-type endeavor was conducted under the auspices of a certain xanga.com. I can't remember the last time that sunshine0927 (that would be me) posted her thoughts online about life.

If anyone ends up reading this inaugural post (I would be surprised, as I haven't told anyone about the creation of this blog), know that my inspiration came from reading the adventures of various important people in my life who are, at present, far away from where I am. (And I do enjoy reading about your lives!)

That said, I am not writing from somewhere on the other side of the world (unless you are, for instance, in Hong Kong reading this - then in your case, I most certainly am!). The "adventures" I will write about will be, at best, prosaic. . .but I suppose my newest adventure will be to find the extraordinary in the mundane. And if you are reading this, I hope to share about that adventure with you.

Thanks for reading!