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Slimer’s Back!

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So, best email ever today…..’your car will be ready after 3pm’.  YAY!  That only took six weeks.  Poor car, but at least I have it back now.  And it’s clean and washed and kind of smells like ammonia, but at least I know it’s clean.  haha.

As much of a pain as this whole thing was in the beginning – getting the car into a shop, dealing with the deductible, dealing with the cost of the rental, dealing with the insurance, etc., etc.  Once it was all worked out, it really was fairly easy to deal with (despite feeling like it was much, much longer than six weeks).  The insurance waived the deductible and eventually decided they would pick up the cost of the rental (rather than continuing to encourage me to pursue the other guy legally)….I’m guessing it probably had something to do with both me and the other driver having the same insurance, so in essence I’d have been going after them.  With his license, business card, and his voice on my original call to the insurance company.  Yeah…probably better to pick up the cost of the rental than fight an airtight case….haha.

It was perfect timing too, since the satellite radio subscription ran out while I was driving home last night….way to renew, enterprise.  When I got to Enterprise this afternoon, I literally parked the car in the middle of the driveway….I wasn’t sure where else to go with it in the garage….gotta love downtown San Francisco.  The people at Enterprise were great….the same guy that rented the car helped me turn it back in.  He gave me a bottle of water and helped load my stuff into the van that would take me around the block to German Motors.  Though, I will admit, I’m a little sad that the guy with the full gold grille wasn’t my shuttle driver today.

I got to German Motors and was welcomed by the receptionist.  She grabbed my file and let me know they were still bringing the car around.  However, she did ask me for the deductible.  I let her know that it was being waived, and got ready to pull out the slew of emails and voicemails stating that was the case.  She went to check with Rachel, the person I had been dealing with over the past month and a half.  I waited and held off on signing anything.  She came back out and told me I could sign it, the deductible was something else, and Rachel would be right out.

While all of this was going on, some other guy came up looking for a pair of glasses or something that had been left in his car.  It sounded like his car was totaled (not fun…for a bit, I thought that might be the case with mine), as he was getting a new one.  The receptionist gave him his glasses and was working on a plan to get him into his car to get whatever else he needed when Rachel came out of her office.  It was great to see her, they were waiving the deductible, and she went to make sure my car was being pulled around.

The receptionist came back and asked what happened with the deductible and I told her it was being waived.  Glasses dude decided at this moment to mutter, ‘must be nice’, under his breath….REALLY?!  Ok, I don’t know why you’re here….you don’t know why I’m here….you don’t know what I’ve been through, so keep your mouth shut.  Luckily, Rachel came back at that moment and walked me out to  slimer, all green and shinny as the day I bought him.  Yay!  It’s my car.  She told me she’d miss it being in the shop…it was always the brightest one there, so she always knew where it was.  haha.

A quick check of the trunk and walk around, and I was off.  Big thanks to Rachel and German Motors for keeping me updated and getting Slimer up and running again.  Later than I thought, but Mr. Passat and I had a good time commuting.  I’ll miss the carefree commute….I could get in anywhere…everyone cares more about their Tesla, Audi, Mercedes, than I did about my RENTAL CAR.  Oh commute adventures….but that is another story….

And Slimer is back!  And we have an adventure to go on tomorrow :).

Fixed the ankle….got the car back…life is moving in the right direction.  Here’s to the rest of the month and coming out stronger than I went in.  And really, as crazy as the past month has been….looking back today and realizing how much I’ve learned.  That’s what’s really crazy.

Until next time, over and out…..

Graduation Weekend!

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So, great weekend…I’m not really sure where to begin, and on some level, I still can’t believe it’s over.

My parents got to town on Thursday night, and our friends from San Diego got here Friday. It was great to see them, and I’m so glad they were able to come.  

I bought a dress on Black Friday, so I was excited to wear that…of course it’s orange and pink, and they recommend dark colors for under the regalia. Oops….haha.  My parents and brother brought a necklace and a charm.  Which was perfect, since I couldn’t find one to wear, that worked with the dress.  So, I wore the necklace, and can’t wait to wear the charm.  Kevin picked it out – it’s a heart with the Japanese symbol for love on it.  He looked forever, and chose that one, since it would mean something to me since I love to travel and loved Japan so much.  

We took two cars over, which was a little nerve wracking, since we only had one parking pass, and parking for classes over there was always challenging.  We passed the barrier in front of the church, and it made me smile.  I’m sure it was annoying to anyone not involved with graduation, but I enjoyed seeing the no parking, special USF event banners in front of the church.  Luckily, there was a ceremony that had just gotten out, so we were able to find two spots pretty close together, and close to where we needed to be.  

Once we arrived, I headed over to the library where they had asked us to meet, and the family went to get in line to get seats. We were supposed to be in the library by 5:45, but that time quickly came and went, and we weren’t really sure why we were there so early.  It did give me some time to catch up with the people I knew, and there were more than I thought there would be, so that was nice.  I was also able to have one of the Josten’s guys fix the hood on my regalia, that was nice too.  Finally, at 6:20, we were ushered out into the cold to line up.  We still didn’t really know what was going on.  Luckily, they got us in some from of a line pretty quickly, and through the grounds and into the church we went. 

The processional was cool.  I found my family and got to wave, yes, it was like I was five again.  Haha.  We got to watch the faculty come in, and it was cool to see them in regalia. They all had different stuff and outfits and hats on.  Not sure what it meant, but still cool.  The Dean’s assistant sang the national anthem, wow…she had a great voice.  Then the dean and the Prevost said a few words, Prof Yang, who I wrote the paper with, did the opening prayer.  There were two student speakers, and then the honorary doctorate was awarded.  I don’t remember much about her, other than she centered her speech around labor unions in Guatemala. Perfect for a class of business students…..

Then the Prevost did the presentation of the graduates, congratulated the class of 2012, and told us to move our tassels. Yes, you did read 2012 right.  Funny thing, my family didn’t notice it, but all the students did….

Walking up to get my diploma was pretty surreal, and over way faster than I wanted it to be.  Once they read through the undergrads (thankfully, it’s December and there weren’t many of them)., they started the grad students. As we walked up, they took two photos of us.  The whole thing happened really quickly and we were pushed and pulled in multiple directions – stand in the right spot…fix the tassel and hood, etc.  Then we were up, up the stairs, card to the attendant, and walk across the stage. Or get pushed across the stage. It was a little crazy. The guy collecting the cards with our names on them was  telling everyone to keep moving and pushing them forward. Then when I got to the Prevost handing out the diploma cases, he shook my hand, and pulled me forward faster.  It was fine, but I do wish I’d had a second to enjoy the moment. But, my professor was on stage, along with another that I really liked, so it was cool to say hello (albeit quickly).  Once I shook the Prevost’s 
hand and made it down the stairs on the other side, I followed the directions from volunteers around 
the church and back to my seat. I couldn’t believe I had really graduated. And I was pretty sure the smile was going to freeze on my face.  We patiently waited for everyone else to have their rushed moment – and placed bets on whether or not they would shove the baby carrying guy across the stage – they did….

The ending speeches and prayers went pretty quickly, even with one of them in Chinese. The Prevost joked about how he’d given us the most expensive Christmas gift we’d ever get….haha, kind of funny, but not really.  He also pulled out a Santa hat and joked about how he should have worn that with his graduation garb.  It was one of those hats where the top flips back and forth. That was pretty funny.  Then, it was over and the recessional had begun.  We went out a side door, so were out in the courtyard pretty fast, and it was crazy.  So many people everywhere….students trying to find families, families trying to find students….and of course, I had no idea where my family was.  Picking a meeting place may not have been a bad idea.

I did run into one of my professors, Stackman, so that was cool.  He said congratulations and did this cool bow thing. Then, I realized it was cold and getting dark, and I should find my family.  I went around to the front of the church, thinking they might be there, or inside.  But, they were kicking people out of the church, so I decided to wait at the top of the steps – they’d find me eventually. And they did.  Sylvia found me shortly after I stopped there, and took me back around to where everyone was. Brian had flowers for me, and everyone had hugs.  We quickly decided to head to dinner and take pictures there, since we were short on time and it was dark out. My friend Mark gave me a pen on our way home.  A nice, fancy, handmade pen….very cool.

We took the cars home and Uber(ed) to dinner.  Uber is great, similar to a cab, but way cleaner and faster. We had dinner at 7 Hills – a nob hill restaurant owned by one of our friends, and our go to for special occasions. As is typical, they didn’t disappoint. They have an appetizer that I really like, a ravioli uvo thing. They only had two left that day, and they were saving them for us…so delicious.  We toasted with champagne, had good food, and good wine…and some port, and overall had a good time with awesome family and friends.  And, I wore the grad garb for the entire thing….haha…I had intended to pull it off, but we needed photos, and then it was an additional layer in the cold. Kind of like a giant blanket. 

In other news, our old kitty has pretty much stopped eating. No fun, but hopefully the vet can help figure out what’s wrong and how to fix it. We should hear from her early this week, and will go from there. Hopefully it’s something easy to fix.  

One down, one to go…..

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Second to last day of class….check, pick up graduation wear….check….so close, yet, one paper and presentation away.  But, so surreal at the same time. After three years, I can’t believe it’s here!  I went out early on Black Friday to find (and hopefully get a discount on) a dress.  I found a great one at BR, bright colored and fun, but of course not part if their Black Friday sale. Luckily, I was able to use my employee discount.  My family from NY and our friends from San Diego are coming to celebrate – I can’t wait, but first about that paper and presentation. Luckily, we had movement on that tonight too.

I can’t believe how fast these past few months have gone….it seems like it was just summer, but we’ve already made it through Black Friday and are marching right into Christmas. Black Friday weekend was far less crazy than last year, well, at least I wasn’t up 29 hours again. As much fun as that was…. I did have a couple workouts interrupted by phone calls and another just as I was grabbing dinner, but, it comes with the territory….and I wasn’t up for 29 hours. Thank god.

We had a great thanksgiving, or friendsgiving.  Great times with great friends, delicious food, everything you’d want from the holiday. And mulled wine….who could forget mulled wine. We did our typical Macy’s Black Friday, less crazy since we got there long after it opened, but we got our ornaments and a few gifts. Spent the rest of the weekend watching holiday movies and decorating.

I love the holidays…and I’m realizing how much fun I thought this post would be and it seems really rather dry…haha. Oh well. It happens.

Busy December ahead….trail marathon this weekend, then if I don’t get eaten by a mountain lion, the nutcracker, dinner with friends, and finally back to NY for Christmas.

Until next time…..

And the countdowns begin….

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I spent the entire day in class….what fun for a Saturday. Ugh…but, then I realized it was the last time I would have class on a Saturday…ever. That made it much more bearable. So, I began my countdowns, and realized how excited I am for the future.  And, without further adieu, days until:

  • Berkeley half – 12 hours and counting….
  • Thanksgiving – five
  • Black Friday – six
  • North Face Marathon – 14
  • Last day of class – 16
  • Graduation – 19
  • Christmas – 32
  • Everest – 154
So much going on….I figured out that the next day I will be able to sleep in will be some weekend in mid-December. Or possibly thanksgiving. If the old navy world doesn’t blow up. Fingers crossed. And possibly a couple of toes.
I also realized that I completely forgot about my 14 year work anniversary. Not a huge deal, or a milestone year or anything…but, probably the first time I’ve just forgotten about it. Just a testiment to how crazy it’s been….

And I just had a passing thought about what day it was….was it a weekend. Sadly for a second, I really couldn’t remember. Oh the joys of holiday crazy at work and weekend class and a race.

I’m eating a cookie that tastes like the holidays…it’s amazing. And Brian made up the recipe himself. Amazing….I don’t want to know what would happen if I tried to create a recipe. Haha….

Other than that, not too much going on. Rode my city bike for the first time in forever.  Great ride to class and the ride home wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought it might be. And fun to back on a bike. Now enjoying a relaxing night at home – no work, no school, just relaxing. And thinking about that race tomorrow. Perhaps it’s time for a glass of wine…..mmmmm….wine.

Until next time….over and out.

Is it April yet?

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So, I’m finding myself asking if it’s April yet….which is kind of funny, since there is so much going on right now and in the near future that will be a lot of fun – Thanksgiving, Black Friday, graduation, my parents visiting, North Face marathon…but, we’ve started to really plan for everest.  And, I’m really excited….really, really, excited.  We’re figuring out how we’re getting all of our stuff and looking at flights.

We got our boots tonight and are going to start breaking them in tomorrow.  I’m sure that will be an adventure….and I’ll have sore feet – these boots are really stiff.  But, I guess we have to start somewhere.  Hopefully they’ll be good in time for the trip.

Other than that, I’m working through the last few weeks of school…in a rough class.  We can’t seem to figure out what the professor is looking for, or what exactly she takes points off for.  So frustrating.  But, it’s my last class.  And, they don’t do any sort of graduation with honors for grad students…so, I really can’t bring myself to care.  I mean, I’m still going to do the work, but I’m not going to stress about it.  Or at least I’m going to try not to.

I’m also in the process of organizing an MBA panel for my professor that sponsored my paper.  Oh the things that sound good over a beer in Germany….haha…it’s been a good experience thus far.  I have some panelists…and HR wants to come, so that’s a good thing, right?

OK….I think that’s it for now.  Must finish the midterm and get ready for tomorrow’s hike….over and out…for now.

Always an Adventure….

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Today, I am thankful there is a gap office next to school…I am even more thankful that I can access the cafe and microwave there….and that there is always the possibility of running into an old friend or two…

Let’s back up. So, chiro appointment = work all the plane soreness out of my back/neck/shoulders = awesome. Since it was right next to school, I went there to work remotely before class. Worked out just fine until I went to heat up my food and the microwaves were broken…both of them.

For a second or two, I get briefly frustrated about both wasting the dinner I brought and having to buy new food. Then I remember there’s an office with a microwave and a non-crowded place to sit…if I’m lucky, maybe even a napkin or two. And, on my way to what ended up being a private dinner in the 2 Folsom cafe, I ran into two coworkers I haven’t seen in a long time.

Then, it was my last first day of class….a little bittersweet, but definitely more sweet. On a positive note, my team seems pretty engaged. On a negative note, I am waiting for a train at 10:30 and want to be at home….

Until next time….