All Good Things Must Come To An End

Or so they say. Yup, my eight week sabbatical is over! Thursday was my first day back at work, and true to Intel tradition, my cube was "decorated". I walked in to find the whole thing saran wrapped - as well as everything in it. They also loaded it up with 60 balloons and four boxes of Cheez-It's! I really do have an awesome team!

My Cube!

Sabbatical was really wonderful - I went back to work so relaxed and refreshed! I can't believe how much I did on sabbatical - the trip to Europe, house boating with the girls, cleaning and reorganizing the whole house, and lots of reading and relaxing. It was amazing! I really do live the most wonderful life!

I did get a little bored at the end (my husband wasn't home for the entire last month), so it was nice to go back to work and actually be around people! It really was the perfect amount of time off!

Ronald McDonald House

I know I don't blog much about work (for very good reason - I think it can definitely get you into trouble), however, I work for a fantastic company, Intel. Besides making the best processors on the planet, Intel is also very conscientious about doing good in the community. At least once a quarter we all don our blue t-shirts and head out to do something to help others.

Today we went to the Sacramento Ronald McDonald House to volunteer. In case you're unfamiliar with what they do, let me enlighten you. Ronald McDonald houses provide a "home away from home" for families who's children are undergoing treatment for anything from cancer to traumatic injury in one of the five area hospitals. The families are given a private bedroom with shared kitchens, playrooms and living rooms to allow them to be close to their children during their difficult times.

My team was there today to complete two projects. The first was creating journals that are given to the children and families. They can draw pictures, write down their feelings and document their experiences. We used rubber stamps to decorate the pages and tied them all together with ribbons. The second project was to create greeting cards for the families to use while they stayed at the house. They could use them to send thank you notes to doctors and nurses or notes home to other family members.

While it was heartbreaking to hear some of the children's stories and even more heartbreaking to hear that there are so many families in need that the Ronald McDonald House actually has to turn them away, it felt good to be able to help out, even if it was in a small way!

Will.i.am Joins Intel

I don't typically blog a whole lot about work, but I thought this was way too interesting not to share!

Today it was announced that Will.i.am (one of the Black Eyed Peas) joined Intel today as the Director of Creative Innovation.

I am beyond excited about this for a variety of reasons. The first is that I really love Will.i.am's work. Last year I went to see the BEP with Adam and Eva and was really impressed with the intermission show that he put on. From sounds to colors to music, he really mixed it up. I can definitely see where our products fit perfectly into the music, mixing and recording that he does.

Secondly, because of the work Will.i.am does in the music world, I think he's going to do some really creative things with Intel. They haven't really gone into detail about what the partnership involves, but I can imagine there's going to be some really fantastic marketing. I can't wait to see what amazing things they come out with to fuse the music and technological worlds, which are already heavily tied together!

Here's a picture of Will.i.am with his brand new badge:

Will.i.am Shows Off His New Intel Badge

Do you think they'll bring him in for a concert?

The Grace Foundation

One of my favorite things about working at Intel is that they really try to do good in the community. This week, my team is doing a volunteer work team builder. This means instead of spending money to go out and have drinks or a lunch or mini-golf, we go as a team and volunteer our time. I've been planning the one that we're doing this quarter and am so amazed by the organization that we're going to help.

I was told by one of my coworkers that there was a place near Folsom called The Grace Foundation. They rescue horses in the Northern California area that have been neglected or abused. The stories on their website are heartbreaking... I can't even imagine how people manage to be so horrible to animals.

But they don't stop there. The Grace Foundation realized that children and at-risk teens are often subjected to the same abuse and neglect that these beautiful animals are. So they've created programs to get children involved in the care and rehabilitation of the horses. They have all sorts of programs that teach children to ride, care for the horses, and about what it takes to be a veterinarian. They also offer equine therapy programs for people with special needs.

I am so incredibly excited to head over there on Thursday... I can't wait to do my little part in helping these horses out!

The Grace Foundation

One of my favorite things about working at Intel is that they really try to do good in the community. This week, my team is doing a volunteer work team builder. This means instead of spending money to go out and have drinks or a lunch or mini-golf, we go as a team and volunteer our time. I've been planning the one that we're doing this quarter and am so amazed by the organization that we're going to help.

I was told by one of my coworkers that there was a place near Folsom called The Grace Foundation. They rescue horses in the Northern California area that have been neglected or abused. The stories on their website are heartbreaking... I can't even imagine how people manage to be so horrible to animals.

But they don't stop there. The Grace Foundation realized that children and at-risk teens are often subjected to the same abuse and neglect that these beautiful animals are. So they've created programs to get children involved in the care and rehabilitation of the horses. They have all sorts of programs that teach children to ride, care for the horses, and about what it takes to be a veterinarian. They also offer equine therapy programs for people with special needs.

I am so incredibly excited to head over there on Thursday... I can't wait to do my little part in helping these horses out!

Happy August 1st!

Well, it's been a couple days... things have been busy! Mike left for a fire on Thursday night, so I've had the house to myself for the last couple of days. Friday I headed down to Folsom in the afternoon for our 2010 Back Pack Drive count (we're getting close). I co-lead the annual event - Intel buys the back packs and the employees donate all of the supplies needed to get the kids through the school year. We pick one school and on the first day of classes, we go in with brand new back packs for the entire school. It's such a cool event to be a part of! We're moving steadily towards our goal, and we deliver next week... I can't wait to see the looks on the kids faces! After I finished up there, I headed into Bed Bath & Beyond to get some new towels and sheets... much needed on both fronts! Nicki and Raymond invited me over for pizza, so I hung out with them a little on Friday night.

Saturday I ran a ton of errands and started cleaning the house. Then, in the afternoon, Nicki, Skyler and I headed out to the Amador County Fair. I was very surprised... it was way more fun than the State Fair was this year! We saw a ton of animals, played some games and went through a couple of the exhibits. The theme this year was "Welcome to the Jungle", so they had this whole exotic animal exhibit... including an armadillo and a porcupine! I had never actually seen either one of these, so it was pretty cool! I also had my obligatory funnel cake (it was way too hot at the State Fair and I didn't feel like eating anything sweet or fried). It was delicious!

Today's game plan is some serious laziness... I have some more cleaning and organizing I want to get done this morning, but then I plan to just be mellow for the rest of the day! I can't believe that it's already August!!! Where is the time going?

Book review to follow a little later today!

Movie Review: Eclipse

Yesterday, my work did a really cool thing. They rented out the Palladio movie theater in Folsom and offered every Intel employee at the Folsom and Sacramento sites the chance to go see a movie for free. IT was pretty darn cool. When we walked in, each of us got a free small drink and small popcorn (which in movie theater speak is gigantic!). My friend Jess and I signed up to see the latest Twilight move, "Eclipse".

Here's the thing... I hated the first movie (it was horribly done... I think they had no idea it was going to be as big as it was, so it was lower budget). The second movie was much better.

I don't love Robert Pattinson as Edward. For some reason, he just doesn't look or act the way I envisioned him after reading the books. I think they nailed Bella with Kristen Stewart and while I like Taylor Lautner as Jacob, he's a pretty bad actor. I loved the storyline and this one really kept me interested and entertained. I loved the wolves... the animation on them was awesome!

I can't wait for the next movie... without giving anything away, it's by far my favorite book of the series... and if they keep going with the same production quality that this last one had, it will be fantastic!

Catching Up Big Time

Well, the last time I wrote was quite a while ago. Things have been busy and, to be brutally honest, have felt a little out of control. I haven't had much time to think, let alone actually sit down in front of a computer and write about all of the stuff going on. Things are settling and I hope to be a little better about blogging! So, here's a great big catch up post since I last wrote at the end of March.

Work has still been super busy... right now it's taking up most of my time. Lots of great opportunity for me, but there's lots of stress that goes along with that. Fortunately, it looks like there's a light at the end of the tunnel... another month or so and things should slow down. I can do it, I can do it, I can do it...

Many of you remember good old Big Red... my first (and only) car. My parents bought her for me in September of 1998 (my junior year in high school). I've been driving her ever since... why mess around with a car payment when you have a car that moves forward? Alas, the end has come for Big Red who started having some serious (and expensive) transmission problems. I figured if I was going to spend money, it might as well be on a new car. So, we say goodbye to Miss Big Red (September 1998 - March 2010):

The good news about saying goodbye to an old friend is that obviously, I needed a new friend to get me to and from work. Ladies and gentlemen, say hello to Oliver:

Oliver is a 2010 Toyota RAV4. I'll start this section off by reminding you that I just came off driving a 12 year old car. Holy cow, things have changed. Obviously, things like safety have drastically improved (I went from 2 airbags to more than I can count. I'm pretty sure if I get in a crash, my car just turns into a marshmallow). There are other little things like a gas gauge that actually tells me how much gas I have as well as sun visors (my old ones fell off... I've been driving with my hand shielding my eyes from the sun for the last 3 years). I was absolutely terrified of the car buying process... to be nice, car salesmen are not exactly known for being helpful, honest people. Mine was spectacular. He wasn't pushy, he laid out the options for me and I got a great deal. I'm so super happy!

Everything else is going well... at the end of May, Mike and I went to Yosemite for a couple of days and had a wonderful time hiking around. We had been hoping to climb Half Dome, but thanks to the winter that never ends, there was still snow. Here's us at the top of Yosemite Falls:

Well, that's about it for now... I think you're all caught up. I promise to try to be better about keeping this updated!

Chaos

I know, it's sort of a weird title. I'm sort of at a weird spot right now, so I guess it's fitting!

The last few weeks have been a whirlwind. All of it good, but all of it a little on the overwhelming side.

First, Mike and I decided to move in together. I'm beyond excited, but am remembering just how much I hate moving. All of it is just super overwhelming. To make things even more complicated, I can't sell my house right now, so I'm working on getting it rented out. And by working on renting it out, I mean that I'm working on getting my crap moved out. The whole thought of being a landlord is beyond my comprehension right now.

Secondly, I took a new job at work. Now, I typically don't write about work on my blog (I think it's safe to say that things can get said that don't need to be on the internet), but this is a really good step for me in my career. It's doing a similar job to what I'm doing now, just with a different focus (desktop processors rather than server processors). It will be helpful in expanding my product knowledge as well as some of the other programs that I haven't been exposed to yet. Again, totally excited about it, but that doesn't make it any less overwhelming.

Ok, so that's only two things... but it's two BIG things! :)

One...

... more day until the madness is over. Think happy thoughts for me tomorrow between 9:30 and 10:30am!!!

What A Day!

Well, the last few days have been quite busy and eventful! I traveled to and from Newark to prepare for a meeting I was leading today. All the hard work was worth it - the meeting went really well! It's been a tiring two days though - yesterday I drove to and from and today I flew to and from. That's a lot of travel time!

Then, to make matters worse, I think I've contracted the plague. Apparently my dad brought some Hawaiian bug home and managed to pass it to my mom. This morning I wake up with a sore throat and a very husky voice (OF COURSE on the day of my presentation!). However, those appear to be the only symptoms, along with a little bit of a stuffy nose. So if I keep telling myself it's just allergies, maybe I won't get any worse. That's my plan and I'm sticking to it!

One more thing... I NEED PLEDGES! Come on people - I only need to raise $150 and I've already got $25! Don't make me pledge for myself!

Other than that, nothing super spectacular to report. God, my life has become boring... maybe I need to get some finches again...

I'm off to bed.

Land of the Cacti

Ok, sorry to all you "Zonies", but I officially do not like Arizona. Yesterday's trip was hellish. First things first, I got up at 4am. That sucks. A lot. No matter how much I pretend it's a vacation. Then I got a big old Starbucks mocha at the airport, drank it and then got on the plane. The coffee hit bottom about 20 minutes into our flight and my stomach decided that it did not like coffee at 5am. So I felt sick for the next two and a half hours.

We arrived at 8:30am and it was a balmy 92 degrees. Lovely. Our rental car was a black Kia with black leather interior. We were later told by the guys we went to lunch with that no one in Arizona does black leather seats. Shame on Hertz. Later in the afternoon we reached 113 scorching degrees.

The best part of the day was the plane ride home. If you recall a few weeks ago, we had an aborted flight to Arizona due to "electrical failure". Back to yesterday - we get on the plane at 8:30pm. We taxi out toward the runway when suddenly all of the engines shut down. The flight attendants are huddled in the back of the plane, standing on the seats and looking above the overhead compartments. The pilot comes on and says that we had smoke on the back of the plane and were going back to the gate to have it checked out. One hour (and a dozen mechanics) later they assure us that we can take off. I asked the flight attendant if she was sure and she told me that the pilot had "reved the engine too fast, causing it to smoke and the air conditioning sucked that smoke in". Nice. Who built the plane, Pontiac?! So we take off to the flight attendant saying "enjoy your flight". We made it, but it was definitely difficult to enjoy. Keep in mind that we're now in hour 20 of my day. We finally make it back home and by the time I'm in my bed it's after midnight. What a day! I had to go into the office for a while this morning but decided at 11:30am to work from home. Which meant working in front of the TV and taking a nap. I love my job!

Shuttles and Planes

So, today I get up at 4:00am in order to make a 6:40am flight to Phoenix for work. I'm at the airport on time, meet my coworkers, and get some coffee. First sign that things weren't going to go well... BAD coffee. The Starbucks lady at the airport pumped TONS of syrup into my white chocolate mocha... way too much. It ended up tasting goopy. Yuck. Then we get on the plane, taxi out, hear the engines rev to take off and...

stop. The pilot comes over the loudspeaker to tell us that we had "electrical problems" and that "an engine line light" was on. So we turned around and had to go back to the terminal where they were going to do repairs.

Two questions:
1. Did I really want to be flying on an airplane that was having engine problems?
2. Why did it take us getting all the way out to the runway to discover this light? I mean, in my car the "your car is broken lights" tend to come on right when your start the engine. Did they come on when the pilot turned the plane on and he just hoped it would go off (I do that sometimes with the car...)?

So we ended up being delayed so long that we missed our meetings in Arizona and just scrapped the flight. I'll end up going at the end of the month instead. But that made for a very long day and thankfully my boss sent me home early to nap.

Now that I think about it, my flight was very much like the NASA space shuttle... only they didn't ask me to hang underneath the plane while was flying to fix it. Thank God. I don't know too much about electrical systems. Besides, they don't say anything about parachutes in those nifty safety talks.

I'm definitely going to bed early tonight!

Brain Hurts

My brain hurts.

It's been a long while (ok, since college) since the last time I can remember actually being challenged at work. Not something like a little task. I'm talking my brain is just soaking and soaking and soaking. It's like a sponge. It's in overdrive. It hurts.

I'm glad though. I feel so appreciated. People compliment you when you have good ideas (believe it or not, I've had a few, even though I'm only a three weeker). It's amazing. I love being in a culture where I'm almost forced to think. Well, actually, I am, if I want to keep up with the rest of the group. It's awesome.

I come home exhausted though. I know that once I get the hang of everything and it's not all new it won't be quite so challenging. And maybe I won't be quite so tired then.

Just a little shout out here: Jo, it was awesome talking to you today... I'm so excited about your wedding! I booked my flight and hotel room today... I can't wait!

Oh, and make sure to listen to the song of the day for today. I absolutely love this one. In fact, if you have iTunes and $0.99, I highly recommend downloading it. The reason I picked Rascal Flatts this week is that I'm on a kick. I've always liked their songs, but I recently heard an interview that made me fall in love with the band. They have won tons of prestigious awards in the country music realm, but they haven't really sold out. They said that they just love making music (that's what they all say). The really cool part was that they said the really don't like having solos. They love the intricacies of harmony. They love the blend and balance. That's how I grew up hearing music, in harmony and I think it's so great when a group really focuses on that. In the last week I've bought two of their CDs. Kati has the third. TWO THUMBS UP!

On that note, I'm off to bed. Have a great day!

I'm baaaaaaack!

Ok, ok, ok.... I know it's been forever. Forgive me. Work has been so crazy and I'm just totally tired by the time I get home. I promise to make some time for this from now on.

So today was a long day. I had a nice training class all day long and some big issues pop up. When I left my desk this morning I had 45 emails. Tonight I have 91. Yikes. But I like it. It's finally something challenging and exciting. Yeah!

My sister comes home tomorrow... I'm so excited! I can't wait to see her! It's been FOREVER since we've lived in the same house!

I'm going to try a new feature in the "Song of the Day" section. I'd like to highlight one group a week and give you several different songs (one per day) by the group or artist. That way you get a real taste of the music. Also, we can do a guest spot if anyone hears a song they really love... just send me an email and I'll make an area for it!

Oh, so get this. I was listening to the radio as I was driving to work this morning. They go into the local traffic reports, you know, the normal crash on the freeway, etc. Then they get into surface streets. I'm not kidding, they said they had an alert because 11 baby ducks were in the right hand lane on one of the roads. The witty traffic reporter then said "Well, maybe they're looking for the mama or daddy duck". Well duh, smarty pants. No, mama duck told them to go play in the street.... I'm not making this up! What is the world coming to when the traffic reports include baby duck crossings!

On that high note, I'm headed to bed. I'll post some more tomorrow!

I Have the Coolest Job Ever!

Ok, so I officially have the coolest job in the world. Seriously. Today was my first day and it was quite eventful. Besides not being able to get through the door, it went really well. You see, they have those security doors that only let you in if you have a badge. And the key is that they only let ONE PERSON in PER BADGE. Well, I tried to follow Dad in... he kept walking and I was stuck trying to shove it open. I looked like a dork until the security guard had to tell me to go around through the main door. lol. I guess if that's the worst of my problems I'm in good shape.

So I went to an orientation class that went from 8:00am to 1:30pm. Covered all the basics about the company and policies and stuff. Then I had to go have my ID badge made. I look devilish because they left the red eyes in. Mwa Mwa Mwa... After that people from my group came to pick me up (there are 7 buildings there... it's HUGE and they don't want you wandering around like a lost lamb). They introduced me to people and then I had a one-on-one with my manager. She's so cool. She then introduced me to my team. I swear to you, they're all under 35. And most are under 30. It's amazing, but everyone is really smart and works really hard.

And get this. They're giving me my paid vacation at the end of the month. HOLY COW! AND I can pretty much come in when I want as long as I do my stuff (well, and I have to put in the time, but I could go in early and leave early or vice versa). And she said we can work from home every now and then.

I love it.

Seriously. Happy.

So happy I have a headache and have to go lay down!

Announcement

Hello everyone!

Drumroll please...

*Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr*

Today I resigned from my job.

Why?

I've accepted a position back home with Intel. I'm so excited! I'll be moving back home in two weeks and will begin shortly after that! Yeah!!!! This is a wonderful opportunity with a great company! I'm sad to leave here, but I definitely think it's for the best!

That means tonight I must do what the poll tells me and box up the birds. Gonna be hard. Gonna shed some tears. But they absolutely can't make the trip and my mama said no. So Petco, here I come.

I'm so excited I could explode!

omg omg omg