Taking Off

It's getting very close to my favorite time of year - fall is almost here!

I know August is still technically summer but when you work on a college campus, it signifies the kick-off for fall and represents some of the best parts of it - there is nothing like a college campus buzzing with the excitement of a new academic year. Sorry spring, you just don't measure up.

So today was great - there were students everywhere and I had an opportunity to speak to almost 400 incoming students about our program.  Unfortunately, I didn't get to speak to them all at once. They were scheduled to come through in groups, which meant I got to repeat my information session sales pitch about 9  times. Not so bad for me - I could talk about my program all day long -  but certainly not great for my colleagues who had to hear it every. single. time. The good news is that I'm confident any of them could fill in for me since they now have it memorized.

Next week we have a two day welcome back orientation and classroom visits and all our students should be back on campus. Fun stuff! And that's not meant to be sarcastic - it really is fun.

It's also exhausting.

And I'm already worn out! I literally was running around all day - just a constant flow of activity and people. This usually actually kinda energizes me but today I'm dragging. I went out of town for a very short, overnight  training trip but had to leave at an ungodly hour - I was out the door by 4:30. Yes, a.m.  Which maybe wouldn't be so bad if I weren't neurotic and hadn't stayed up past midnight the night before. And let's be real, I don't care how energetic you are - 3.5 hours of sleep can only get you so far. I didn't sleep well either. One, it just takes me a minute to unwind when I travel and then once I finally do get to sleep, it isn't quality because I just don't sleep good away from home.

No complaints, I do it to myself. I just can't force myself to go to sleep. Seriously, I think I want to start a nocturnal community.  Standard business hours would be from 3:00 p.m. -1:00 a.m. and no one would get out of bed before 10:00 a.m.. And is it sad that it actually sounds like heaven to me? Not the business hours part - because who really cares about that - but the sleeping in part. Love, love, love sleeping in.

The training was great though- really worth the time and money. During the training I appreciated it, but it really wasn't until the drive home when we started mapping out some things that I really got excited about it. It was just good to see how applicable it was. So many times you go to a training and you get pumped up momentarily but then you go back to the office and it doesn't really transfer, or you forget about it. And what good is it then?

So this was so really good stuff and on the drive home we planned out an entire day of staff development. Which I already had on the calendar but was able to incorporate this new material, which will really add another dimension. Which might be important because we'll be spending a lot of time on strategic planning.  And it's really, really surprising but not everyone finds it as fascinating as I do. Can I redo my community? I want a nocturnal, nerdy community. That's what I really need.

So, busy day tomorrow and an even busier Saturday. Got a girls weekend planned so there are no illusions of catching up on sleep. And you know what, I don't even want to! I'm gonna spend as much time having a blast with my girls and worry about sleep later - this weekend I'm only focusing on fun!

And two things, because I realize I often fail to provide any follow-up. I mean, I'm sure you're just out there really wondering about all this stuff- keeps you up at night and everything.

So the spending fast I was on a while back?  I did really, really good until that Friday - then I had a lunch date. And I'm sorry, spending fast or not, I don't ever pass up a lunch date. Still it was helpful...I'm still spending too much but at least it made me more aware. So now instead of just blindly spending, I think about it. And feel a little guilty. But not guilty enough to not spend. Just guilty enough to ruin it for me. Soooo...not really sure if that little experiment was a win or not.

And I'm not sure if that guy came up to the office on Monday or not because I only worked a half-day. He did come up today though. It really worked out perfectly because I was in a meeting so I literally just run out, got the stuff, said thank you and ran back. Perfect.

Except for one thing.

And I'm not even sure I should admit this, because logically I know how horrible it is and I'm not sure yet if I really want to reveal the depth of my vanity...Soooo...this is SO stupid and irrelevant but...I was kinda frustrated because I looked like total crap today. Literally, it was ugly. Or uglier than usual. No makeup, glasses, frumpy clothes. Really? The day I look the worse is the day you pop in? It's rare that I'm not dressed up and without make-up so of course, this would be the day. And it totally shouldn't matter but in a small way, it does.

See, see how superficial and vain that is? Gaw, can you imagine what I would be like if I actually had something to be vain about? It's a lucky thing I don't have a killer body or a model quality good looks. Thanks God, for making me a short, squaty girl with average looks. You did the entire universe a favor with that one...