Current Dream Vacation

Several months ago, a friend from work went on a week long yoga & surf retreat. She came home happy, rejuvenated, excited about life, and just... renewed. I didn't ask a lot of questions at the time, other than how it was, and got a pretty generic "AMAZING!" answer. Shame on me for not probing more at the time.

As I was researching trips, I remembered my friend's experience and asked her about it. Upon a few And then I decided that I have to go. The reviews on TripAdvisor are nothing but glowing. Yoga junkie I am not, but couldn't we all spend a week practicing yoga, surfing, and enjoying the company of strangers? Plus, there's a 6-passenger plane ride involved, zip-lining, cooking classes, massages, and so much more.

Anamaya Resort in Montezuma, please have me! And Delta, please lower the cost of your flights. Anyone want to join me? Right now I'm tentatively planning to go July 20-27, because nothing says relaxation like booking a trip less than 2 weeks in advance.

The rest of 2013

 

When I find images for blog posts, I usually search a "__ + tumblr" because I guess that's where all the good pictures are. As I was exploring for a different post, I came across this image, and thought it would be fun to talk about all the things we want. Plus, we're halfway through the year, so why not reflect on some of the resolutions we made in January? What do you want for the rest of 2013?

 

I want to throw a surprise party. I want to fall in love. I want to save money. I want to continue to make my parents proud. I want to take another incredible, inspiring trip. I want to stop picking at my fingernails. I want to be with all my best friends in one place, and take a picture. I want to donate blood. I want to thank the people who mean the most to me. I want to hire someone to work with me. I want to get all A's, and I want all the kids at school to like me!

 

What do you want? What are you dreaming of? What would make 2013 the best year ever?

 

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Triathlon Training Update

So, we're less than a month away from the first triathlon. Crazy how time flies, right? Training has been going better than I thought it might. I was sidelined for about 10 days after an unfortunate ankle sprain in Las Vegas and a rib that somehow popped out of place. The sprain still bothers me from time to time, although not enough to stop running, swimming or biking, and the rib is back where it belongs and causing me no more problems. Hooray!

GT swimming facilities

So in terms of training...I knew I had to join a pool so I could swim. I explored a couple different options (LA Fitness, YMCA, and Georgia Tech's CRC) and landed on the CRC for a couple of reasons. Mainly price - as an alum, it was $30/month with a 3 month minimum. For $90, I'll be able to swim whenever I want all summer long. What a steal. The only downside for non-alumni is that, well, you can't join. I guess it's what one might consider a perk? The other 2 were also a little less convenient to get to. Not that the CRC is exactly close, but I've been going in the mornings and usually there is parking, the lesiure pool has been quiet, and it only takes about 15 minutes total to get from my house into the water. I also bought a bathing suit, goggles, and a swim cap. Bathing suit rocks, goggles rock, swim cap sucks. (I linked to them mainly because if anyone reading this has no idea what to buy and wants to buy based on someone else's recomendation, go for it. I couldn't find any recommendations from the blogs I read on either of the above, which was incredibly annoying to me.)

As for the swimsuit, I tried about 7 before settling on one I liked. Some were too tight, others had weird straps, others were too low in the back, on and on and on. But now I have one, it was ~$60, and I'm happy.

I also found a training plan that I am following really loosely. And even that might be an overstatement. I found it here and I'm half-heartedly following the 10 Week Sprint Distance Program - Beginner. I spent one night adding all my training goals to my calendar. Let's be real, I am a list master, so if it's on my to-do list, it's way more likely to happen. Somehow my reminder list still looks like this:

 

 

So overall, I'd give myself a B- on triathlon training, but that's adding a lot of "A for effort" points. I try to swim at least once a week, and hop on a treadmill or run outside at least 3 times a week. The bike part? Ugh, I don't want to talk about it. I bought my bike in February and have taken it outside a grand total of twice since I bought it. I can ride the indoor bike for about 15 minutes before I get tired and bored and do something else. I really don't have high hopes for the bike part of this race. Any tips on bike training?

 

 

 

BUT, I plan to join my parents at the lake at least 1 night every weekend for the rest of the summer, and will bring my bike along and ride it in the country and hope for the best come race day. I figure if I can get up to 6 miles on it, then I can manage the 8 included in the triathlon course.

 



So there you have triathlon training. If all goes well, I will be really rocking and rolling come September! Fingers crossed I can stay motivated that long.

 

Perusing the Internet, v2

I've mentioned before that I'm not the best internet browser, but recently I've found some really fascinating, inspiring, interesting or thought-provoking reads that I wanted to share.

• Is 30 the new 20? I can relate to feeling less responsibility, taking less ownership, and putting things off 'until I'm 30.'
• Watching a love story unfold brought tears to my eyes. The song, the dancing, the monologue... so touching!
• I live for the day I can have all the people I love more than anything in the world in one place
• Even though I was in Iceland 5 short months ago, I'm already daydreaming about going back, this time when the sun is shining nearly 24 hours a day. Maybe we won't see the Northern Lights, but all the other adventures we could explore leave me wishing wishing wishing.
• Could you live in 78 sq. ft? I remember the cramped quarters of the dorms freshman year of college, and those were ~200 sq ft for 2. Oh, how I loved the close proximity of those dorms (see bullet point #3) but I don't think I could ever go back. 
 
• One of my give-up's from the Lenten Adventure was using my phone while I was waiting. This article articulates that much better than I ever did. I wondered the whole time if the author talked to the girl or not. I would have.
 
• Did you know beer makes you high?
 
• The best Bachelorette blog ever

Please tell me what you've been reading about? I'm always desperate for new material!

Calphalon Convection Oven Giveaway

Many moons ago (actually more like 2.5 years), a friend of a friend moved to town and was job-searching. We met up for a Friday evening drink and talked about life, work, moving to a new city, sorority life, and a million other things.

Even though our mini-date went splendidly, our paths just never really crossed again, intentionally or unintentionally. However, we've both kept up with one another via blogging, and she emailed me last week and asked me if I would mind posting about a giveaway she's hosting.

Ya'll, this girl is inspiring! She's planning a trip to Africa this fall and is working hard to raise money to fund said trip. I am a kitchen gadget fanatic, so I am super thrilled about sharing her convection oven giveaway with you! Plus, it supports one of my favorite things in the entire world, traveling. Win, win, winning all around.

If you are feeling so inclined, please help Whitney out on her journey to Africa with a small donation. I traded in my beloved Starbucks to help a friend make her dreams come true, so perhaps you could do the same?

Click here to donate. Click here to read more details about the giveaway. Click here to read more about her plans in Africa. The rules/guidelines/requirements are below.

• From now until next Friday (June 28), for every $5 you donate to the Africa campaign, you'll be entered to win. So if you donate $5, you'll get an entry. $15? Three entries. $30? Six for you! Whoo!
• If you Tweet a link to the giveaway, you'll get another entry. Be sure to mention @wbiber
• If you post the link on Facebook, you'll get an additional entry. Again, be sure to tag Whitney so she can track it :)

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That Time I Decided to go to Graduate School: Why?

If you are just tuning in, I recently wrote about a few steps in the graduate school application process. I did this all a little backwards, but that's because I wrote about what was easiest first. Taking the GMAT, writing the essays, getting in.

But now, what you may still be wondering, is why. Why business school, why part-time versus full-time, why now. I'm not sure I can fully answer those questions completely on the internet, but I'm going to try.

The background: Nearly 3 years ago, I found my dream job. I'm talking this job was made for me. I started 3 years ago and haven't looked back. Since then I've been promoted twice, watched others come & go, and never questioned my own career. I have a phenomenal relationship with my boss, I have colleagues that I respect, look up to, and admire. I am respected, looked up to, and admired. I receive constructive feedback, I get to voice my opinion, and I truly feel like I belong.

But 2.5, nearly 3 years, is a long time to be doing the same thing. Don't get me wrong. I work in Human Resources - every day is different. I work in a project based industry. Every day is even more different. But the ebbs and flows, the processes, some of those things started to become less challenging. I was still obsessed with my job, loving the people I was working with, but I was starting to miss something. I was starting to miss the excitement that comes along with a new challenge.

First try: So I started tossing around the idea of graduate school. I actually even purchased a GMAT study guide with the intention of studying for and taking the GMAT back in 2011. I wasn't quite ready at the time, and consciously or subconsciously I'm not sure, but I didn't push myself. I was barely a year into my job, I still had tons to learn, and I think deep down I knew I wasn't ready.

Second try is a charm: But then I got the itch. I was primarily motivated by some of my closest friends who were also applying to business school. I walked alongside and watched as they stressed about essays, GMAT scores, recommendations, and so much more. I offered my mostly unsolicited advice, and watched with joy as they succeeded and with tears when they didn't. After a particularly stressful night of tossing around essay ideas, talking about what the path would look like without business school, and generally depressing ourselves, my best friend said, "GOD I can't wait until you go through this process so you can see what it feels like."

And away we go: Click. Just like that, something went off. I didn't say anything then, or for a long time. In fact, I didn't tell anyone but my roommate until I went to Iceland, but by then I had already started the process. I was scared. I was nervous that I wouldn't write appropriate essays, that my college GPA wasn't good enough, that my GMAT wouldn't be high enough.

The real why: I knew my career path was stunted without an MBA. I would continuously compare myself to those with an MBA and feel inferior. I would lose out on potential opportunities, internally or externally.  I am comfortable in my role, but I am always looking for new opportunities or ways to advance within the company, and having an MBA will help me get there that much faster. Could I have gone on to be extremely successful without it? Absolutely.  I like to think of the MBA as the fast-track to where I want to be. So that was my motivation. That's why I did it, and I am 100% sure it was the right choice for me, at this point in my career.

Is it right for you? I can't answer that question. The criteria for me included feeling comfortable enough in my job that I was willing to basically take on another part-time job for 3 years, being fully supported financially to take on something like this, and being supported by my colleagues and managers. Check, check, and check.

Why part-time versus full-time, you may ask? I don't think it's worth $100,000 plus the loss in salary for me to go back to school full time. In fact, I feel pretty strongly that it's not worth it for most people who pay out of pocket. Some of you may feel differently, but that's my take. If your company is paying, that's an entirely different story. I just think there aren't many jobs that are worth the sacrifice. But, all that being said, I commend those of you who do it. It's a risk I certainly couldn't and wouldn't take.

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BB Cream

I think I'm a little late to the party. In fact, I know I am. Proof, times three. Seriously. It's not often you find makeup advice, suggestions, or thoughts around here. I try to leave that to the professionals, which I am most certainly not.
 
My friend Whitney posted about the best BB creams the other day, and I kept thinking about it. I realized I got a BB cream in my BirchBox a few months ago, and no time like the present to try it.



The one I got in my BirchBox was Marcelle BB cream. I had no idea what to expect (I pretty much ignored all those blog posts I referenced above... what can I say, I'm a creature of habit!) so imagine my surprise when I realized this stuff was tinted! Then I got all nervous that it would be the wrong color. The only reason I put it on is because I've been looking for something lighter than foundation to incorporate into my summer makeup routine, and I think I've found it!



Now I just need to go to CVS or Target and buy 7 different kinds and figure out which is my favorite. I really liked the Marcelle brand but I am excited to try other kinds. I'm also not excited about the $27.00 price tag, so let's see how they compare!

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