The big 3-1

Saturday was my 31st birthday. And I can honestly say it is the best birthday I have ever had. It involved a 5 mile run, hanging out with a dog and some chickens, cupcakes, farmers market, pool time, our first art purchase, more chickens and dog, Kanki, bowling, karaoke, and it was all with my bestest friends. THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH! It was a wonderful, wonderful day. And here's the photographic proof!

CELEBRATE!

A few pics from the night of celebration - introducing Dr. Brady! W00T!

Lauren, me and Dr. Brady

One of my new T-shirt creations!

My girls and me with Brewmaster Nate!

BFFs

Mer and Liv

The ladies love the Brady!

Dr. and Mrs. Brady

Two Duke Dr's!

Ending the night at Cookout!

It's Official!!!!!

Mike defended the dissertation today! He is officially Dr. Brady!!!!! After over 23 years of schooling, he is finally done. I am SO proud of him. We are celebrating tonight - AND this afternoon! WOO HOO!!!! Fun pics to come later!

There is progress!

Job Hunting by Aldo Luongo

Oh the job hunt. Job hunting is never "fun," but in today's economy fun never even enters the picture. The market is flooded with qualified (and over qualified) applicants for the most mundane of positions. So getting picked out for an interview, let alone actually getting the job, are really tough right now. Yet, due to our circumstances, I am forced into the job hunting masses yelling with each e-mailed application "pick me! pick me!!" Luckily, a few folks have heard the call.

I was interviewed for a very sweet position at Ohio State last week but found out today that I came in second for the position. It's a bummer that I didn't get it, but it was validating to know that I am shooting in the right direction for what jobs I feel I qualify for. This was an assistant director position - higher than I have held before, but it's a position I feel I am more than capable of performing well if given the opportunity. The person that accepted the position had directly performed the work required, so really I just couldn't fully compete. But hey - I was the #2 person in line for it.

I also had an interview today with a boutique marketing firm in Columbus that I ran across randomly on the interwebs. I liked the name of the company, I liked their client list and they just all around looked like the kind of place I would like to work. I went out on a limb and e-mailed the President of the company my resume and said that if they had any opportunities I would be interested. A couple of weeks later I was having a surprise first interview with one of their associates. Fast forward today, and my second interview is now complete. It appears they want to bring me up to meet face to face sometime in the next couple of weeks. Awesome. (I'll provide more details down the road - not really ready to share specifics at this point.) It's a small company that's been succesful since its inception 13 years ago. They are growing and need more hands. It looks like a great opportunity to come into an organization early and at the ground level - a great way to learn a lot and advance. I have high hopes for this one.

I also have to say THANK YOU to my awesome colleagues who have passed on my resume and made phone calls or sent e-mails on my behalf. I have some new friends in Ohio now thanks to amazing informational interviews, and I alreday have a string of lunch dates set up for when we arrive in Columbus. There is progress, folks - hope I can report some actuals sometime soon!!!!!

On the Mike front, I am thrilled to report that Mike is now allowed to put weight on his ankle and start moving it around. Today marks one week since he was given that clearance. We go back to the doctor on July 1 - at that point, they will probably ask him to start manipulating the ankle even more. Mike is also ONE WEEK AWAY from his dissertation defense. The draft version of the diss goes out to his committee on Thursday afternoon or Friday morning. After that, he waits. Next Wednesday, June 24 is his scheduled defense date. Stay tuned!

Food Inc

This film opens up in select cities around the country today, so if you can go see it, GO SEE IT.

It's not about Democrats or Republicans, the right or the left - it's about industry's control on our food and what we can do to make ourselves and other beings on this planet healthier and happier. PLEASE check it out!

Komen on Saturday

Well, I am still running. Not doing the long distances anymore, but I'm still running. I have been running a 5K three times a week in the morning. A friend from work is training for a sprint triathalon, and I met her once last week and will meet her once this week to do the Buehler trail. I also ran Buehler once on my own last week and once with Lauren. This morning I did my home 3 mile run, and tomorrow I will meet my work buddy. This is all in preparation for this Saturday's Susan Komen 5K race. I am again doing the competitive run. I would LOVE to get a sub-30 minute time on the race. Not sure if it's possible, but I am going to try. Last year's chip time was 35:48 (37:27 on the race clock posted at the finish). When I ran the race for the first time, in 2005, I ran it in 30:26 (30:57 on the clock posting). Let's see if I can do it!

I also have to take in effect that the night before, I will be attending Jeff and King's annual "Prince vs Michael Jackson" party on Ninth Street. I have unfortunately had to miss the past several Jeff and King productions, but I will be sure to be at this one. I will get a few hours of dancing in before dancing off to sleep. If you are looking for one of the best Durham dance parties of this year, this is it! (click on the photo to go to the Facebook Event page)

Ridiculous Addictions: The Tudors

I can't help it. I'm addicted. Mike and I flew through Season One of Showtime's "The Tudors" in a couple of days. Last night we watched season 2, disk 1 in one sitting. I can't wait to start on disk 2. I've never been a history nut of the period, etc, so honestly I am learning a lot along the way. From friends who do know the era pretty well, they've commented that while there are of course a few liberties in the plot, overall the main story line is pretty accurate. I love the costumes, the political intrigue, and the ridiculous hotness of every character (I doubt everyone was actually so pretty in real life).

The main problem I have with the show is that it's really tough to know what kind of timeline it's moving on. Something that on screen looks to happen over a period of days may actually, in real life, may have taken place over several months or even years. But luckily the show has intrigued me enough to go read about all the people afterwards. I've been reading stuff on the interwebs to keep me up to speed and assist me in actually learning something reather than wasting my time watching TV.

The great thing is, too, that you don't have to wait to see what happens with the story line. We already know :-) It's just fun to see it all acted out by hot people in beautiful costumes!!!!!

Happy Birthday, Merlivia!

Saturday was a great evening - Mer and Alivia held a joint birthday party at Alivia's (aptly renamed "Alivia's and Meredith's" for the night) to celebrate. We all had a blast. Here's pics to prove it :-)

And today June 1 actually IS Meredith's birthday! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DEAR!