Why Are You Quitting Your Job?

Well, Denver, thanks for asking. Although I get to wear comfy jeans now everyday, the automotive advertising industry is just not for me. So I'm hitting the road.

Me and my good friend Tahj are taking a 2 month long road/climbing trip through the North and Northwest. We are gonna hit up a bunch of climbing hot spots, see some country we've yet to see, meet some people, eat cheaply, and live in the Element.

Why am I taking this trip? Because I love the unknown. I love traveling, experiencing, growing. I feel very stuck at my comfy corporate job and I don't like that feeling. So instead of just living in quite desperation and trying to convince myself that it's not THAT bad, I'm just gonna leave it all and do something else.

What will I do when I get back? I don't know. I'm leaving my options really open. Maybe my calling in life is different than anything I've done before. I don't know. I hope this trip will open me up to new ideas and passions. Like Sanitago said in The Alchemist, "I can always go back to being a shepherd. I can always be a diamond salesman again. But I had a dream. And I met a King...that doesn't happen to just anyone." (that is totally paraphrased).

So that's why. September 22nd will be my last day in corporate land...

Oh Corporate America....

So as of today, the creative department at my office, which consist of 4 of us, are allowed to wear jeans or cargo pants everyday. This is great news...for me. I'm a lover of cargo pants...and my co-worker Chris is a lover of jeans and all-stars. So we're pretty happy today in our comfy attire. But I just know as soon as AE's and others start noticing, they're gonna throw a hissy. A TOTAL HISSY. I think it'll be fun...drama at work really adds excitement to the day. Especially when it's about something this silly.

Another hissy is gonna be thrown when I quit. I'm planning on putting in my "7 week" notice on Monday. I know 7 weeks seems like an insane amount of time for a notice, but, well, I'm kind of a big deal around here. I'm the only editor so it's not like anyone can just pick up the slack until they find a new editor. So I'm giving them a long time so we can take time to find a good replacement and then teach them out to "guerilla edit". That's what I call it...with automotive advertising, you have to edit so RIDICULOUSLY fast it's practically inhuman. So anyway, 7 weeks should be a sufficient notice.

Right now, to me, Corporate America is nothing more than a bunch of adults throwing hissy fits.

I got Tagged!

Five Things in my Freezer
1. ICE
2. FISH
3. FROZEN FRUIT
4. COLDNESS
5. UMMMM...I'M PRETTY SURE THAT'S IT

Five Things in my Closet
1. SNOWBOARD
2. SHOES
3. LAUNDRY BASKET
4. EXTRA SHEETS
5. THE BOOGY MAN

Five Things in my Car
1. MICAH P. HINSON CD (AWESOME)
2. SEATS THAT LAY DOWN
3. A CORAL FROM BELIZE SHAPED LIKE A GUN
4. PICTURES OF ME AND SARA
5. A NOTEBOOK

Five Things in my Purse
1. CELL
2. PEN
3. HUMPERDINK COUPONS
4. PICTURE OF MY NIECE
5. LIP GLOSS

And the Lucky Five...
1. NOT GONNA TAG PEOPLE.

I, I, I, I....

I AM: Ready for change.
I WANT: My stomach to never ever hurt again.
I HATE: When I give in to the sin.
I MISS: The feeling of freedom I had in Belize.
I FEAR: Judgement.
I HEAR: A song by Neutral Milk Hotel.
I WONDER: How my parents will react to the "road trip".
I REGRET: That one guy...oh what's his name...
I AM NOT: Gonna give in next time.
I DANCE: Around my apartment while watching RENT.
I SING: Pretty dang often. And pretty dang badly.
I SEE: A beautiful beginning...
I CRY: sometimes.
I AM NOT ALWAYS: Very sure.
I MAKE WITH MY HANDS: Shadow puppets.
I WRITE: Like a doctor.
I CONFUSE: Myself with too many questions and possibilities.
I NEED: More of you.
I SHOULD: Run more often.
I START: Everything...I jump on ever bandwagon I can.
I FINISH: In the middle...rarely first and rarely last...if I finish at all that is.

My LOVE Language

The Five Love Languages

My primary love language is probably
Physical Touch
with a secondary love language being
Quality Time.

Complete set of results

Physical Touch:		10
Quality Time:		9
Words of Affirmation:		5
Acts of Service:		4
Receiving Gifts:		2

Information

Unhappiness in relationships, according to Dr. Gary Chapman, is often due to the fact that we speak different love languages. Sometimes we don't understand our partner's requirements, or even our own. We all have a "love tank" that needs to be filled in order for us to express love to others, but there are different means by which our tank can be filled, and there are different ways that we can express love to others.

Take the quiz

I Like Trees

Aside from clouds and mountains, trees are my favorite part of nature. There are so many different ones and they are so expressive. Some look sad and lanky, others mighty and strong. It's amazing how "people-like" they can appear.

I'm dying to go to Sequoia National Forest and see the HUGE Sequoias there. Those blow my mind.

I read this on Matt T's Blog: "I want my life to constantly evolve. To grow like a tree with deep roots and many branches. I’m aiming to not hold back and to keep my eyes open for new opportunities."

Beautifully put. Life is about growing and branching out...taking on new and different opportunities. I feel like our society has twisted us into thinking the ideal life is one with a steady job and day-in-day-out routine. But there is so much more out there....our world is HUGE and infinite with possibilities. It seems most people grow to a certain point, learn just enough to get by, and then remain stagnant for the rest of their lives.

I don't want to be stagnant. I want to grow to be as big as a Sequoia. I want my bark to appear beautiful because of all the layers it holds in. I want to be taller than most because of how much I've grown. And of course I want to be deeply rooted in what is right and good.

"Like a cedar of Lebanon he will send down his roots; his young shoots will grow.
His splendor will be like an alive tree, his fragrance like a cedar of Lebanon.
Men will dwell again in his shade."
Hosea 14:6-7

My Element

I just bought a car. I JUST BOUGHT A CAR. I've never done that by myself. I've been driving the same Ford Exlporer that my Dad bought since I was 18. So this is QUITE an exciting day.

A Honda Element...so functional, so cool. The main reason I decided on the Element, aside from the fact it's a rockin' car, is because it's the best car for a LONG road trip....long like the one Tahj and I are planning for this fall.

Road/Climbing Trip '06. Can't wait. It's in the planning stage currently. But the tenative plan is to leave at the end of September and be on the road for about 7 weeks. We're hitting up tons of climbing hot spots through the west/northwest. We'll be living in the car or in a tent mostly. Luckily, the Element's seats fold down and together to make a nice little double bed.

Now that I bought the car I can check that off the list of things needed for the trip. Next thing I need to do is tell my parents I'm quitting my job and driving around the country, living in my car. THAT will be fun...ugh.

Popping the Bubble

I'm starting a blog. I blog on myspace sometimes, but I don't like how it only allows you to have a certain amount of post before it starts deleting old ones. Plus I've had a lot to say lately...and all my new friends and plenty of old are on blogspot...therefore, I'm blogging now. This first post is actually just a copy of my last post on myspace. Here goes:

I have now been out of college longer than I was in it. Which is kind of unbelievable to me...how did I reach this age so fast? Time is a crazy thing. It's the most consistent element in nature, yet it seems like it moves at such an inconsistent rate; sometimes it's the turtle, sometimes it's the rabbit. But regardless, we always wake up older.

Going back to Edmond, to O.C. (my college), makes my head heavy with memories, good and bad ones. This weekend when I was there, though, it was less about memories and more about self-realization (which seems to be my life theme for 2006). Man, I've changed. Not only in my appearance, but in my person. I was very closed off in college...closed off to people out of the norm, to spirtual truths that seemed strange...I lived in, as some know it, the "O.C. Bubble." It was a happy place, but I'm so glad I popped it and stepped out.

The last 4+ years of post-grad life have been far from easy. I've been hurt a lot, made a load of mistakes, and been in the wrong. But I wouldn't change any of it, for it's all been instrumental in who I am now. And I like who I am now much more than that sheltered girl I was at age 19.

I do wish that I could go back to that time, knowing what I know now, and re-live my college years. I would care less about trying to be cool and just be myself. I would befriend those who are eccentric and artistic, rather those who are dull cookie cutter images of each other. I would walk around with my arms stretched wide and spin, rather than walk quickly with my head down and my arms crossed. I would visit other churches, even of other denominations, until I found one that I actually fit in with.

But of course I can't go back and change that time. So I'll take it for what it was worth. And I will learn from it...learn from the past, girl, don't re-live it.