Sign of the Times?

Don't you love it when you get mail? I'm not talking about bills or catalogs, but a thank you note or birthday card? It's kind of fun because it occurs so rarely - case in point, the article below.

This piece of news illustrates two major "signs of the times" - the increase of electronic mail over paper mail and the severe economic situation our country is facing today. As a side note, I'd like to point out that despite all of our technology advances, the police department still only accepts money orders to pay even $5 fees...

Postmaster General: Mail days may need to be cut
WASHINGTON (AP) - Massive deficits could force the post office to cut out one day of mail delivery, the postmaster general told Congress on Wednesday, in asking lawmakers to lift the requirement that the agency deliver mail six days a week.

If the change happens, that doesn't necessarily mean an end to Saturday mail delivery. Previous post office studies have looked at the possibility of skipping some other day when mail flow is light, such as Tuesday.

Faced with dwindling mail volume and rising costs, the post office was $2.8 billion in the red last year.

Total mail volume was 202 billion items last year, over 9 billion less than the year before, the largest single volume drop in history.

And, despite annual rate increases, the postmaster general said 2009 could be the first year since 1946 that the actual amount of money collected by the post office declines.

Nothing says Chicago like Italian Beef!

Check it out this website entirely devoted to Italian Beef and where you can get the best in Chicago (meaning you should probably come visit me if you aren't already in town).

http://www.italianbeef.com/

Wall-E Cheese Sandwich

In an attempt to spice up my posts a bit, I thought I'd post a picture of the cutest sandwich ever courtesy of my boyfriend :)

Do Chickens Tweet?

I must be so challenging to be a seasoned workforce veteran in today's technology-driven society. I would consider myself a spring chicken with enough curiosity to severely maim a cat but sometimes I find myself struggling keep up with the latest technology trend.

Yesterday, after reading the Ad Age e-newsletter that I signed up to have sent daily to my Gmail account, I discovered that General Motors was voted one of the 40 best Twitter brands in 2008.

Martin Retail, the company that I have worked at for more than 7 months, does advertising solely for General Motors and I had NO IDEA that they were on Twitter. In fact, I didn't even know a company or brand could be on Twitter. In fact, I didn't really know WHAT Twitter was beyond another social networking/ blog type of program. So my curiosity kicking in, I decide to investigate Twitter a little further. Al I found was that even after joining Twitter, reading the FAQs, browsing other people's pages and letting people "follow" me, I STILL don't understand.

For a while, I was reluctant to embrace new technology trends, convincing myself they were just fads and telling myself I was too busy to deal with the technological mumbo-jumbo anyway. But then I realized that it was 2007, I was about to enter the "real world" and I hated not being in the know. So over the past year and a half, I've done a complete 180 and constantly look to different types of media to stay up to date on world events, major news, entertainment news, the advertising world, my company, happenings in my town, what's going on with my friends and helpful advice beyond my personal "Megan bubble".

So now I have a Facebook page, a Myspace account (if you can call a name an account), a G-mail account, an "iGoogle" customized homepage and a blog. I sign up to get daily e-newsletters from a variety of organizations and other news sources. I can message my friends via AIM, Yahoo, G-chat, Facebook and by text. My digital camera pictures are stored on my Macbook, I listen to my ipod daily, watch my favorite TV shows online and use my cell as my primary phone. I conduct most of my "business" online – sending gifts, doing my banking, enrolling for classes, dealing with my benefits, etc. Google and Wikipedia are my lifelines when I don't know the answer.

Yet, there are so many technologies that I still don't get, like Twitter. As you can tell from my technology "resume" I am proficient in many areas and regularly use a variety of different types of technologies yet there is still so much I am in the dark about. My only hope for not becoming a laggard is remaining in advertising – a business that forces you to keep up with the latest trends, employs many young, creative thinkers and where "survival of the fittest" rings true.

Despite all the obstacles and hurtles it seems that slowly the veterans are coming around and seem eager to learn, whether their motivation is actually interest or just an attempt to stay afloat.
Maybe tomorrow I'll give Twitter another try. After all if my friend's Mom can have a Facebook page, my dad can get LinkedIn and my boss can send a proposal from his Blackberry while on the toilet maybe there's hope that a spring chicken can learn how to tweet.

Grad School Learning - beyond the textbook

While you do learn many valuable life skills in Kindergarten, I’ve found that I’ve learned equally valuable life skills and information from my grad school classes. Here are just a few snippets of wise information passed on to me from some very interesting professors and through my experiences thus far at DePaul.

Valuable Information That I’ve Learned from Grad School:

1. Grad school brings a whole new level of creeps & idiots who somehow slip through the cracks at the admissions office and end up in the same class as you and forces you to revamp your strategies for dealing with difficult people.

2. You are not only allowed to, but you should, ask your HR department at work about where YOUR pay falls within your salary grade and the schedule of your manager’s appraisal period.

3. Graduate professors all have a unique story and eclectic background. For example, I have had a management professor who is in several bands, a marketing professor who grew up in eastern Europe and has lived and worked many places across the globe and an economics professor who travels abroad to places like Vietnam to name a few.

4. A government deficit isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as long as it’s balanced by other factors.

5. All managers should be required to take at LEAST 1-2 management courses.

6. History repeats itself, making articles regarding business from 20-30 years ago relevant again today.

7. An INCREASE in an Asset account, such as Cash, is recorded as a DEBIT.

8. Obama’s chief economic advisor, former President of Harvard, once presented a scientific theory to explain why there are much more men than women in the natural sciences at high tiered universities with the following premises: 1) Women are smarter, on average, than men (a very normal curve). 2) However, men have more outliers – meaning there are more “dumber” men and more “genius” men than women. He was forced to resign.

9. Make yourself noticed – in class, in the workplace, among your friends – people will remember you better. Bad publicity is better than no publicity.

10. Keep an “Atta girl” folder on your work computer and add docs with date & description when other co-workers give you praise, completed projects and regular lists of things that you completed. You never know when this might come in handy!

2009 Starts with a Bang!

After a rough end to 2008, 2009 is set to be a turbulent year full of highs, lows and will require a lot of patience and an open mind to innovative ideas.

The new year dawned with everyone across Chicagoland and the United States hanging on to their job, their house and their stocks for dear life. The economy was not looking good and everyone was turning to our incumbent president Barack Obama for a quick-fix solution. Despite Obama’s quick and careful cabinet selection and pending legislation, it will be months or even years before our economy really sees a turnaround.

Speaking of Barack Obama, the United States is looking forward to changing history tomorrow by inaugurating our first black President who is already hard at work to try to change the country for the better. Tuesday, Feb. 20 will be a day not soon forgotten and one that has been a long time coming for the United States and the State of Illinois.

Speaking of the State of Illinois, Rod Blagovich, our current governor, is treading on thin ice as his impeachment trial gets underway. After several weeks of completely ignoring the nationally-released audio tapes that implicated him of multiple accounts of corruption and going on with his normal every day life, he shocked the nation as he appointed Roland Burris to take over Barack Obama’s Senate seat at the close of 2008.  He has continued his antics by refusing to step down and swearing in the same government officials that will work on his impeachment over the next several months.

Burris, refusing to step down from the appointment, has caused a stir in Washington in regards to whether he should be seated after Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White’s initial refusal to sign Burris’ nominating document. Probably to save face for any possible shred of decency left in Illinois’ government sector, White finally signed the document last week that allowed Burris to be seated in the U.S. Senate.

If the economy and government were enough for Illinois to handle, Chicago is in the midst of one of the snowiest winters in 30 years and the coldest in 15 years. Seriously the news reported our neighboring town of Aurora at -30 degrees ACTUAL temperature and -50 degrees WINDCHILL last Friday (1/16) morning. So needless to say, I’m second-guessing my choice to move back to Chicago this past year…

The weather has brought more than just miserably cold mornings and required at least 3 layers of clothing on every part of my body; it’s brought a lot of ice and car accidents. Unfortunately, a close co-worker was involved in a very severe accident last Thursday. Luckily, another co-worker saw his car at the accident scene on her way to work and when he didn’t show up 40 minutes later, called the hospital to discover he was in fact brought in.  After heading over to the hospital, two co-workers were able to get in touch with his parents and fiancé who immediately rushed to meet him. We all prayed as the news seemed getting worse – a removed spleen, kidney, shattered pelvis and broken ribs. The following day brought much more positive news – the surgeries went well, he was being closed up and the doctors’ were impressed with how well he seemed. He continues to improve but his condition is still serious. He is a great guy with a very promising future, so please keep him and his family in your prayers over the next couple of weeks.

In a much less serious and traumatizing ice-related incident - I was on my way to the train station at 7:15am for my Saturday class in the Loop and despite my rush, was driving fairly slow down the neighborhood streets since the snowplows and salt trucks often forget us in unincorporated Naperville. The road curved and I turned my steering wheel, but my wheels kept going straight taking me right into the ditch. The good news - no damage to my car, myself or anyone else save a dusting of needles that I dragged off the nearby pine tree. The bad news – I needed a tow truck to get me out. After my mom came in her car to wait with me for the tow, I noticed movement in the house who’s side yard I was in. Being a nice person, I walked up to the door to explain the situation, let the homeowner know that a tow truck was coming and give her my business card just in case she found damage to her lawn. I felt a little better learning I was the second person this week to end up in her ditch, until she called the cops. Long story short, I made it to my class an hour late with a safely towed & working car returned to my driveway and a police report waiting for me at home. BUT I am very thankful that it wasn’t much worse.

In the upcoming week, my mom is undergoing some surgery so please pray for positive results and a speedy recovery!

So far 2009 has proven to be chaotic, unbelievable and an emotional rollercoaster, but I still have high hopes for the coming months for the country, the economy, the State (and state) of Illinois, my co-worker, my family and myself. 

Mayo & Beer... a life lesson

Not my own words... it was passed on to me from a good friend.

But I liked the metaphor a lot and thought it was very relevant to my outlook on life right now!

Enjoy!

When things in your life seem almost too much tohandle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough,remember the mayonnaise jar and the 2 Beers. TWO BEERS: A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the classbegan, wordlessly, he picked up a very large andempty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it withgolf balls.
He then asked the students if the jar was full. Theyagreed that it was. The professor then picked up a box of pebbles andpoured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly.The pebbles rolled into the open areas between thegolf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand andpoured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filledup everything else He asked once more if the jar wasfull. The students responded with a unanimous "yes." The professor then produced two Beers fromunder the table and poured the entire contents intothe jar, effectively filling the empty space betweenthe sand. The students laughed. "Now," said the professor, as the laughter subsided,"I want you to recognize that this jar representsyour life. The golf balls are the important things;your family, your children, your health, yourfriends, and your favorite passions; things that ifeverything else was lost and only they remained,your life would still be full."

The pebbles are the other things that matter likeyour job, your house, and your car. The sand iseverything else; the small stuff.

"If you put the sand into the jar first," hecontinued, "There is no room for the pebbles or thegolf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend allyour time and energy on the small stuff, you willnever have room for the things that are important toyou." "Pay attention to the things that are critical toyour happiness. Play with your children. Take timeto get medical checkups. Take your partner out todinner. Play another 18. Do one more run down theski slope. There will always be time to clean thehouse and fix the disposal. Take care of the golfballs first; the things that really matter. Set yourpriorities. The rest is just sand." One of the students raised her hand and inquiredwhat the Beer represented.

The professor smiled. "I'm glad you asked. It justgoes to show you that no matter how full your lifemay seem, there's always room for a couple ofBeers with a friend.”

This is NOT a New Year’s Resolution…

… (because New Year’s Resolutions are too often broken and this is a lifestyle change) this is just an additional reflection on my “Quarter-life Crisis” post a few days ago.

It’s not that 2008 was a total wash – I did start my second job, graduate school, become more “professional” at work, continued my healthy lifestyle, tried new things, became closer with my family and enjoyed some really fun times with old & new friends. But I want to make sure that I continue moving my “post-college” life forward and toward my goals.

So I have come up with a few small goals for 2009 to hopefully cure my Quarter-Life Crisis or at least keep it at bay…

Re-discover my inner nerd – Over the holiday break, I rediscovered my love for reading and acquiring new knowledge. So every month I want to read a new book in each one of the following categories (not including required books for class) – 1) history/ biography, 2) advertising/ management, 3) self-help – like for being better at my job or thinking more innovatively, etc.

Be less of a hermit – the holiday season makes it easy to be a social with parties, visitors, time off of work and the underlying cheer of the season. However, I am not as social as I used to be - mostly because I enjoy getting a good night’s sleep, my sweatpants are REALLY comfortable, I am trying to save money and I don’t have a place of my own. But my friends are really fun and I want to go out while I still have my youth and vitality. I also apologize to anyone that I have flaked on over the past year. My pet peeve is people who don’t follow through and I found myself being that person occasionally. So again, I’m sorry and it won’t happen again!

Re-discover my individuality – In my management class on Saturday, we went around the room and introduced ourselves and had to say something we did for fun. While that may seem like an easy question, I struggled to think of something I currently participated in and was not too cliché (like hanging out with my friends or working out). I USED to dance, I USED to do pro bono marketing, I USED to write novels & short stories regularly, but I don’t do those things any more. So my goal is to work on what makes me unique an rediscover my passions – like reading about history or scrapbooking or watching the Blackhawks with my dad.

Make a daring leap – I am a constant worrier and tend to over-analyze risky situations. Risky situations in my book include anything that involves a large amount of time, money or uncertainty… so a lot of situations. But I am going to take a leap this year and do something unplanned.

TALK – While I think I’ve improved staying in touch with friends in general, I seem to rely on many non-personal forms of communication like facebook, g-chat, text messages and an occasional birthday note. But I want to do a better job of really communicating via email or (gasp) by setting aside time to make a phone call. I am a champion multi-tasker, which is why I rely heavily on the “quick & easy” forms of communication, but I want to make it more of a habit to invest in a few more minutes to make a phone call because good friends are rare and I want to stay vested in the ones I have.

Try not to have a worse day than you – sometimes I tend to exaggerate my sorrows and get frustrated over the small things. (Okay maybe more than sometimes). But I am going to try to keep my mind on the big picture and focus on the positives each day. J But maybe I’ll let you have a better day than me every now and then because I’m sure some crisis will come along at some point. 

2008: Were You Part of History?

Although I may not feel that I personally accomplished a lot in 2008, I’d like to think that I made my mark in history and I will be able to tell my kids and grandkids about the time when…

1. I voted for Senator Barack Obama who became the first black President ever elected in the United States of America.

2.  I went to the Cubs first game in the Central Division Playoffs at Wrigleyfield during their record-setting season and saw the Cubs go 100 years without winning the World Series… my wounds are still not healed.

3. I worked for (and maintained employment at) a General Motors-exclusive advertising agency during a time where the American auto industry was on the verge of extinction until they were granted millions of dollars of emergency government loans. 

4. I was the “end person” for a close friend who successfully completed the Chicago Marathon… maybe some day I will actually run it myself or maybe not...

5. I went to Mardi Gras in St. Louis (second only to New Orleans).

6. Gas reached upwards of $4 a gallon and I was forced to change my lifestyle and cut back on visits to Justin in Columbia because gas cost $200 for the trip there and back – more than a plane ticket. 

7. I ACTUALLY watched Michael Phelps win his record-setting eighth gold medals at the Summer Olympics in Beijing. 

8. I lived in Chicago during the 10^th snowiest winter on record with more than 23 inches of snow at the end of December.

9.  Justin and I bumped into Rolland Burris on the eve of the New Year after his extremely controversial appointment to the vacant Illinois U.S. Senate seat left by Obama by Governor Rod Blagovich who is on the verge of being impeached. 

10. I saw David Cook the 2008 American Idol winner from Kansas City switch on Kansas City Plaza’s Christmas lights over Thanksgiving.