Music please (buh nuhnuhnuh buh nuhnuhnuh...)

(Benny Benassi - California Dreaming Remix)

So many exciting things in the works right now! I sat down and had several meetings with our Global BusDev/Marketing director and it is set in stone that I will be going to work at one of our UK offices for a portion of the summer!

Everyone has been sooo supportive and hospitable about it, I'm so touched I don't know what to say. Before I had even been sure I was going, people were already recommending me places to go and their relatives to stay with, Claude called some of his guys to tell them they have to take care of me and show me around town when I arrive, I've already have several people (including another global executive!) ask me to have lunch with them when I arrive, and our Legal Counsel picked up the phone instantly when I was talking to him and called up his buddy who had just finished renovating an apartment to see if I could potentially stay there.

The group I'll be working with has already been talking about projects I can work on with them. I'm so stoked because this is the group I've been working with (through phone and email) for a few years now and I've always told everyone they have my dream jobs!

Talking with genuinely great executives always wow me with their intelligence, confidence, and insight. With Raul, I find myself trying to write down a lot of what he says just so I can remember exactly how he said it. Not like other executives who *ahem* tell you to your face that they don't want to pay anyone more than they are paying you to do your job -- and yes, this particular person actually said that to me after asking me who I'm passing my responsibilities to when I leave for school.

Speaking of which, I've decided that I will be transferring to GVSU the fall semester of 2008. There are a hundred reasons why and I could list them all out, but the main reason is that the school is a much better fit for me and the situation I'll be putting myself in will be more ideal than what I've been doing. Figured out there was something wrong with it, here's my attempt to change it and make it right. Otherwise I'll be stuck in school for the rest of my life.

Separately, Claude's new replacement started this past week. His name is Scott and I've been impressed with him so far. I shouldn't say he's Claude's new replacement though... I don't think anyone could every replace what Claude has been to me! But so far so good... I'm still keeping my guard up but I'll be excited to see what he does with our team.

The training courses I taught these past two weeks went well - each time I taught it, I'm happy to say I improved a lot from the previous course. My Flash presentation came out real well and I plan on making it interactive so it can be used as a stand alone application (I know that's not what Flash is for but I'm trying to cut PowerPoint out of my life). But from a management standpoint, I was truly challenged by some complicated questions and by some of the most executive members of our company, including our global IT director who was in town for the week.

And they call me the eternal intern

"Tammy, I wish you were like 3 years older and working for me because then I'd give you a job and a good salary and tell you to set the world on fire!"

Because it's nine in the afternoon

This weekend has been one of the best and busiest in a long time! Definitely a step up from last week :)

I took on a few hefty projects at work this week working with new programs (Flash CS3 in particular) and it feels goooood. It's taken me to new challenges at work I haven't experienced yet, but it's also reminded me how much I miss Claude. It's difficult not having a boss to consult with, seek advice from, and even vent to. But alas! I sent him an "easter basket" (more like a box filled with goodies and bubble wrap) and he called me back. We're meeting for lunch tomorrow and I am super excited!

Flash training last week proved exactly what Claude had suggested to me a year ago. He randomly sat me down to tell me that he thought I would add value to myself in the company if I learned the program, especially since it is part IT (programming/computer savvy) and part marketing. Well, he was right! So my plan is to make something extravagant -- with the Flash trial I downloaded -- for another project I am working on, and then when I request the purchase, I'll have something to show for it and a whole audience to testify to the use of the program.

My first global piece of literature is coming out next week too! This means that everyone at all our locations will see it! I am excited/nervous but it will put my name on the map if I'm not already. I've put so much energy into it, I don't even need anyone to see it. I'm pretty happy with this work (this is rare - usually I'm pretty critical of it). I was able to find a good balance between uniqueness while still staying with recognizable branding. Wow I almost just wrote recognisable... I'm getting used to writing in UK English.

Tomorrow, this woman who I've been talking with in HR at our UK location (the mothership of the company) is sending over the paperwork for the big internship. I'm talking about the invite I received in the fall for my Bus Dev/Marketing internship to be moved to the UK for the summer! And the global director of Bus Dev/Marketing (the one I interviewed with), is going to be here next week and asked if we could sit down and discuss. So excited that I'm one step closer with the plans and paperwork.

B's mom flew in today and to visit, so I'm also looking forward to that :) We're taking her to the melting pot for an appetizer before a fun and relaxed night. B and I are finally going to take her to Choice, and he's going to buy a Mandarin fish... gorgeous little creature... the picture isn't really accurate. It's green with blue and purple swirls. But it's also quite expensive. Jacob, the firefish goby, was hiding for the last few days and we were convinced he had died and been eaten by the shrimper. I know, isn't that weird? The most aggressive animal in his BioCube tank is actually a shrimp. He's not a crazy thing that attacks everyone, but he sort of bullies them by snapping at them a little bit if he can get within reach of him.

Oh and also, my angelfish laid more eggs that have already sort of hatched. Hopefully they'll survive this time!

All because of you, I haven't slept in so long

When I get in deep arguments, I usually feel:
Angry at myself for letting someone else make me feel so frustrated
Upset that I sometimes feel I'm left with nothing/noone
Jealous of the people who always have someone... always
Sleepless/restless because I don't want to try to sleep with these thoughts consuming my mind
Pathetic for the previous lines above

Ready to abandon anything and everything in order to not have to sort any of this out at that moment. If all the internship paperwork works out, I'll get my chance to do it this summer.

Time to stuff someone's laptop with errors

This week has been one of the toughest I've had in awhile. My job is more or less about managing people, not really about managing tasks. I don't mean in a manager's managing sort of way, I mean in a customer service sort of way. What makes it difficult, is not having a boss who will vouch for me... or at the very least, not having a boss. Period. What makes it even worse, is having a fill in boss who actually contradicts what I do and say.

I feel like I can relate to this real well: "Time to Stuff Someone's Mailbox w/ Flat Lids"

Customer, upon receiving her Moolatte: “This has a round lid, can I have a flat lid?”

Me: “I’m sorry, the only lid that fits that cup is a dome lid.”

Customer: “But I want a flat lid, Starbucks always gets me a flat lid! Why can’t you?!”

Me: “I’m sorry, ma’am, but the flat lids we have won’t fit that cup.”

Customer: “I want to speak with your manager.” *mutters* “Stupid kids…”

(I go and get my manager)

Manager: “What’s the problem, ma’am?”

Customer: “This stupid employee of yours won’t give me a flat lid!” *brandishes the drink in his face*

(My manager takes one of every single lid in the store and puts them in front of her)

Manager: “Go ahead then.”

Customer: *proceeds to try and put the lids on the cup, none of which fit* “This is ridiculous! Why don’t you have a flat lid?! Starbucks always has a flat lid!!”

Manager: “Then go buy your drinks there and leave my employees alone.”