Eek.

OK, so I've already dropped the ball when it comes to my 2011 to-dos. I'm 1) not updating my blog and 2) definitely not getting enough sleep. Oh, and my reading list? Yeah. I'm not even reading crap now. I'm reading nothing.

I suck. My bad.

Anyway, it is a new week so the past will be the past and I'll move on. This week, btw, is the half marathon! WOOHOO! So excited! :) Like I said, 1:48 would be great, but I haven't been training that well and per the negative split calculator I just looked up...well, it may not happen. I always start my runs slowly and then increase the pace, but the negative pace calculator wants me to start at 8:25! (BTW, if you don't know what negative splits are, read about 'em here.)

I think I have to use the calculator I looked up as a general guide only. I run a pretty ridiculous negative split (example: my 13 mile run was a 9 min pace the first few miles and then about 8 minute or under for the last couple miles...a difference much greater than the average -2% negative split most people see.) For the training run, my avg pace was 8:30, so I hope in the race with all the ppl cheering me on I'll be able to average about 8:15. So if you live in Houston -- come and cheer for me!

But enough about pace and negative splits and boring stuff like that. I'm just STOKED to run this year! Unlike in the past, I'm not freaking out about this race. I know I didn't train the way I was supposed to...I also know that I have the potential to run WAY faster if I do train properly. I hope that this half and the one I do in a few weeks (Austin baby with my friend Brittany!) will kick me into gear and force me to start taking my training seriously. I really think I have the potential to be a pretty strong recreational athlete (some would argue I already am) but I want to be better. I really want to run a half in under 1:45 soon, but to do that I need to start including tempo and speed work into my runs. (Might also help if I run more than 2x a week....)

It's gonna be a busy week at work but I will make an effort to blog a few more times. We have our company retreat this weekend, and I have a TON of work to do for it. (I've been tasked with helping develop our 2011-12 digital strategy and so far, I have nothing to show for it other than some brilliant ideas floating around in my head. Gotta get them on paper STAT.)

So with that....good night folks! I spent about 2 hours cleaning my room and getting rid of old stuff I didn't need, so not only is my room clean (thanks not to my poor cleaning skills, but those of my maid) it's also ORGANIZED! But now, I need to sleep. To-do list to continue this week.

XOXO

Why 2011 is going to rock. Part 1.

(Disclaimer: this post sounds like I overdosed on Prozac. If insanely happy people annoy you, stop reading this now. You have been warned.)

I am in an AWESOME mood today. Why? Because today I got some really, really, REALLY exciting news.

Come March 11 - 15th, yours truly (and this guy) will be attending SXSWi! I am so stoked! For those of you unfamiliar with SXSWi, read about it here. We'll be soaking up loads of digital and social media goodies to bring back and share with the crew at the 'Pont. I couldn't be more excited to partake in such a fantastic event!

But that's not it. This year is going to rock for so many reasons! Here are just a few of the things I have to look forward to: the half marathon (maybe 2), a week of skiing, MS 150 training, SXSWi, more skiing, the actual MS 150, my first tri...and that's just 'til May! Also plotting a VERY cool trip in late summer/fall -- deets TBD but passport will be required. And around that same time, my brother Gil will be back from Afghanistan and Robby will be at flight school only a few hours away in Alabama. Added bonus: I have several friends (and my parents!) planning trips to Houston in the next few months.

I LOVE LIFE!

Now off to bed -- I have an 8 miler tomorrow morning! WOOHOO!

XOXO

Number 6!

Number 6 on my to-do list for 2011:

Be a grown up. (aka get my own place!)

Here's my story:

Like most northeastern gals, I did the requisite post-college drill: after graduating from a small northeastern college w/ an obscure degree (um, hello French Lit....), my pals and I moved ourselves into a TINY (but hip) Boston apartment, paid an exorbitant monthly rent and resigned ourselves to double beds in 10 x 10 rooms.

Fast forward a few years (during which time I moved into a mouse-infested but rocking 12 person house -- ask me about the legendary parties we used to hold) and I'm in TX, where everything is bigger and, some would argue, better. It's certainly a lot cheaper. Yet even with extra space and cheaper rents, I'm still living like a 23 year old. I don't own anything but bedroom furniture, a desk and about a million books. I still sleep on the same double bed I bought right after I graduated. My bed spread and sheets don't match, and don't even ask me about my bathroom towels....

Some people would call my room/style eclectic, but I don't think they'd mean it as a compliment.

So.... 2011 is gonna be the year I grow up, suck it up and do the things that most 28 year old college grads do. Like, get my own apartment. Buy a couch, a TV and a kitchen appliance other than a blender, martini glasses and cookie cutters. I don't know when I'm going to do this. I don't have a lease and my roommate Amy (shout out one of the best roomies EVER!) doesn't seem in a hurry to kick me out. But it will happen this year. It has too.

And since we've taken a trip down memory lane in this post...

Here's a somewhat recent photo of my first roomies out of college -- Katherine (aka Kma) and Emily (aka Eminem). I have some photos of us when we were 21 and 22 but they are awful, or at least they are of me. 'Twas clearly one of my "ugly stages."


When I moved out of the apartment I shared with Em and Katherine, I moved into a super fun house with 11 other roomies -- 2 girls and 9 guys. It was an AWESOME group of people. Think The Real World, but with MIT, Ivy League and liberal arts grads. Here are photos from some of the crazy parties we used to throw. Yes, that dance floor was my living room. The other room was our front hall. Like I said, we threw good parties.

I need some iron

Happy Sunday folks!

My run Saturday AM was glorious -- great weather, great company and great time (about 8:30 for 12.5/6ish miles). Barring any bad weather, illness, etc. I should be able to do the Houston half at about an 8:15 pace....so about 1:48ish. If I trained properly for this race -- (surprise!) I didn't -- I'd be able to crush 1:45 I think. But I'm lazy and hate tempo runs and speed work. We'll just wait and see what Jan. 30 brings. Whatever the outcome, I'm looking forward to the half being over so I can sleep in on Saturdays again. (Or at least until late February when my Saturday AM bike rides kick off.)

In the meantime, check out my bruised leg! I got a massage on my IT band after my run yesterday. Didn't think much of it although my IT band was sore last night and this AM -- more than usual. So I show up to do a recovery 3 miler and yoga class today and one of my friends asks: "Jen, what happened to your leg???" I had no idea what she was talking about -- til I looked down and saw THIS!!!!

At least I now know why my IT bad was sore....and where NOT to get a massage again.

Number 4! And 5!

Drum roll please....

I've now updated my blog three days in a row??? THREE DAYS IN A ROW! I'm a rock star!

Now, onto business: to do items for 2011, numbers 4 and 5.

#4. Do a triathlon. EVERYONE assumes I do them. And when I tell them I don't....well, this is how the convo usually goes:

THEM: "What races are you signed up for this spring?"
ME: "I'm doing the Houston half."
THEM: "No, I mean, after that." (SILENT THOUGHT TO MYSELF: You mean the Houston half doesn't count as my one race for 2011???)
ME: "...."
THEM: "Do you do triathlons?"
ME:"Uh..."
THEM (with a look of shock, horror and disgust): "You don't do triathlons? Really??" (SILENT THOUGHT TO MYSELF: Um, do you know how lazy I am???)
ME: "Uh, maybe next year."

I've said 'maybe next year' for the last two years. In 2011, it's time to say 'YES! I'm doing a triathlon!' And you know what? I don't think I'll suck! I'm a pretty strong runner and biker, and as for swimming, well, I don't drown. This is the year I'm going to DO IT. I'm thinking about a spring sprint with with my friend Kristin. Houston peeps, any tris you recommend??

#5. On a more serious note....item number 5 involves some heavy spring cleaning. In 2011, I'm ridding my life of people and things that don't make me happy. I've spent WAY too much time trying to make sad and miserable people happy, and I've wasted WAY too many hours doing things I think I "should" do and not things I want to do. But that's changing.

In 2011, I'm not spending time w/ people who don't bring positive vibes to my life. I'm also not forcing myself to do something that doesn't make me happy in some way. (Example "something": gourmet cooking. I hate it and I suck at it. So friends, moving forward you'll just have to deal with my boring marinated chicken, overcooked pasta and ginormous salads. At least I make a mean, and some would say, kinda gourmet-y cookie.)

Tomorrow morning I have a 13 mile run, so don't expect any post until tomorrow afternoon or Sunday. In the meantime, HAPPY FRIDAY! Have a beer or two for me tonight at happy hour -- I'll be at home hydrating (on water) and going to bed at 9 pm. Fun times.

To-Do Item #3

WOW! I'm updating my blog again! A day after my first post of 2011! I'm on a roll!

This next post is gonna be short, since I have a to-do list I get PAID to manage waiting on me. #3 on my "2011 To-Do List" is:

GET MORE SLEEP.

This won't be easy for me. I have SO much I want to do, SO many people I want to see, SO many early morning runs and bike rides....24 hours just isn't enough time in a day. But I have to make sleep a priority in 2011 -- the consequences of not enough sleep suck. Not getting enough sleep makes me cranky, stupid, and ugly. It also leads me to fall asleep at inopportune times, like while watching a movie, at a party (that is always embarrassing), in the middle of a phone conversation, while kissing a cute boy...

Right now I think I get about 6.5-7.5 hours of sleep a night. I've come to realize that 8.5 is what I need -- and I need to make it happen in 2011. My plan is to track the amount of sleep I'm getting as often as I can. So far, I'm not doing well. Last night I got about 6 hours of sleep. Eek.

On that note, back to work so I can get out of here at a decent hour and go to sleep!

I don't do resolutions...

....but as my coworkers and boss can attest to, to-do lists and I are friends. Very good friends.

So instead of 2011 resolutions, I'm crafting a to-do list for 2011. I'm picking 10 things and writing them out -- in a public place where hundreds of people my mom can keep me honest. We'll see how I do. I'm aiming for a 100% success rate; knowing me, 50% will be worth celebrating.

The first item on my to-do list: Update my blog more than once a quarter. Ideally, once a week. So to get started, I'm going to post each of my "to-do" list items as its own blog post. That guarantees at least a few more posts in the next couple weeks. YAY! See, I'm making progress.

So now that to-do item #1 is taken care of, let's move on to to-do list item numero 2:

Stop reading crap (um, hello Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) and trade up for some real literature. Think AP English, albeit 10 years later. There are a million lists of "Top 100 books" you can find online, and on average, I've read anywhere from 10 to 50 of the books on the lists. Yes, this is a depressingly low number for a liberal arts educated chica like myself.

But we're gonna fix this travesty! A few books I hope to cross off (and a couple I want to reread) this year include:

- Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, by the great James Joyce. Technically I read this my junior year of HS, but by reading I really mean laying in bed, reading a couple lines and then falling asleep. So yeah, I want to read it for real this year. It's a bitch of a book, but its a lot shorter than Ulysses, so I think I can do it. (DISCLAIMER: I'll bet you 10 bucks I don't make it past page 5 of this book. Just putting that out there now.)

- Native Son. Another book I read -- this one for real -- but I can't remember much about it. I do remember it making an impact on me when I finished it at 16, so I think rereading it 12 year later would be even more powerful.

- A Passage to India by E.M. Forster. I LOVE Forster, which makes it all the more ridiculous that I haven't read this book. My high school thesis was even an analysis of his earlier work (A Room with a View, Where Angels Fear to Tread, I think Howards End...). Anyway, I really don't think I've read A Passage to India, which I must read this year.

- A Farewell to Arms. I have nothing to say about this one except how sad it is that it's on this list.

- The Catcher in the Rye, 1984 and Animal Farm. See above comment about Hemingway. I have no idea how I reached the age of 28 without reading these books, but I did.

- The Age of Innocence, by Edith Wharton. I love NY, I love the 19th century, I love societal tragedies. Done, done, and done.

- Slaughterhouse-Five. Looking back, I think all of my ex boyfriends owned this book. And since they are all pretty smart dudes with good taste (after all, they did all like me at one point!) I'm gonna trust that this is one book I should read.

- War and Peace, by Tolstoy. I think this book is buried somewhere in my bookshelf. All 1,500 pages of it.

- Les Miserables -- but not in English! I wanna read it in French. (However, given that I can barely read a French newspaper now, I think this book will remain on the list for 2012.)

There are about a million other books I should read -- but we'll start with the ones above. Any others I should definitely add?

Er, here is one way to snip through the clutter....

Ew.

Saw these biz cards for a Turkish circumcision doc on Adfreak.com. It definitely makes a statement....

Being strategic....and then just getting sh*t done

As most of you know, I work at Pierpont Communications, one of the largest communications firms in the South. It's an awesome company -- brilliant people, cool accounts and a LOT going on, every single day.

My role in particular is pretty neat. In a firm that focuses largely on public relations and public affairs, I'm one of two dedicated marketing professionals. Yep, I'm special. :) And unlike many of my peers, who spend 100% of their time on client work, my job is divided into three distinct roles: client work, marketing for Pierpont and managing the graphics department. Essentially, in any single day, I may do some strategic research into a client's competition, write and proof copy for a Pierpont eNewsletter we're sending out, and create estimates and purchase orders for new design work that a client needs. To sum it up -- I am an account planner/client manager/production coordinator, all in one. But that doesn't fit on a business card, so they just call me a Sr. Account Executive.

So yeah, I'm ALL over the place. And I LOVE IT! But that doesn't mean it is easy. The most challenging part: making sure that I think strategically and critically....while at the same time ensuring that we stay on schedule and on budget with every projects. Yeah, it's crazy.

Fortunately, I manage my professional life a bit differently than my personal life. In my personal life, I'm not exactly what you would call organized. My room is a little messy (not dirty...just messy!), I sometimes make plans and forget about them (I have been called a flake, albeit a very nice one!), I leave a trail of stuff wherever I go (like in airports and hotels...) and I tend to forget to reply to personal emails, voicemails, and texts (sorry, but I really do forget!). But at work, I've got my stuff together. Why? Because of the tips below....

- There is a time for project management. And then there is a time for strategy. Multi-tasking doesn't work if you want to be a strong project manager. And it definitely doesn't work if you need to think critically and intelligently for a client. When you need to manage a project -- like write work orders, check schedules and just make sure stuff is getting done -- devote yourself to that. When you need to be more strategic -- write copy, critically research a client's industry or just spend a few minutes thinking and processing a client's brand strategy -- devote yourself to that. It's hard to switch between the two quickly -- devote time to each one separately to ensure success.

- LISTS ARE AWESOME. I make lots of lists, and I spend ample time reviewing them every day. My "master list" is actually a notebook with EVERY task I have to do. It's VERY long, and at any given time I can have four pages of "to-dos" listed. Then, I have a smaller, "Daily list" that I create from this master list -- it just lists all the urgent tasks I need to complete that day. As I finish projects, I cross them off from both lists. I like this dual list process because it allows me to keep track of everything I need to do at some point, but still prioritize what I need to complete that day.

- Turn off the email. Yep, that's right. Turn off your email. If I am working on a project that requires a lot of concentration -- developing a strategic brief for example, or crafting copy for a website or brochure -- I turn my email off. In any given hour, I'll get up to 20 emails about 20 different projects....it's distracting! Turning off my email allows me to focus on what I need to do without getting sidetracked every three minutes to read an email.

- Take breaks! I think my brain is a pretty efficient little machine (hello!?!? It did go to Mount Holyoke!) but even it needs some rest every now and then. When I'm working nonstop, my brain gets pooped -- I overlook details, focus too much on just "getting stuff done" and am inefficient when doing anything that requires real thinking and strategy. The key for me is to take a mini break every hour. Even just getting up and getting a glass of water, or hitting the ladies room -- it all provides rejuvenation so you can provide the best work possible.

What about you? What tips can you share when negotiating between strategy and project management -- two very different, yet equally important, tasks?

Halloween!!!

It's Halloween and per usual, I don't have a costume yet. Last year I was Mary from There's Something About Mary -- it was awesome. And before that, I was a Doublemint twin -- again, awesome.

What should I do this year? Feel free to provide new ideas in the comments section. My brain is fried and not being very creative...

What should I do for Halloween?
	Go as a Greek Goddess. I'd go as Aphrodite, duh!!
	Don something cheesy and sleazy -- think "sexy nurse." Yawn.
	A flapper. Again, yawn.
	Betty and Veronica...but I need a brunette to join me.
	Screw it all and just go camping!
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