Continental

A few of my new favorite people met up at Continental, a bar in Rosslyn, where we played pool, drank Jagerbombs, and hung out. No one was ready to go home at last call, so the party continued at my house, where we somehow consumed another couple bottles of wine. Good times with great peeps. You guys are awesome; we have to do that again (although next time there will be no drinking after 3am for me).

Thanksgiving

Happy Turkey Day! I started my day as always, with the parade. My mom called promptly at 9am to make sure I was up and watching. This happens every year. No kidding. At least I'm not in AZ anymore, where it starts at 7am. Those 7am calls used to hurt. Quick notes on the parade.... Rick Astley? Really? WTF? Also, I love that they made a Horton balloon; he's my favorite Dr. Seuss character of all time.

My mom and I had planned to spend the holiday together but couldn't, due to a sickness in the family. My mom headed down to Florida for the long weekend and I stayed home. I am thankful for the time alone; I still had a lot to do to recover from my Italy trip. I went to Toby's aunt's house for dinner with her family. I know all of them so it was a lot of fun and probably the next best thing to being with my own family. And the food was great; I will definitely be collecting some recipes.

Kristen

I have been looking for my friend Kristen for years. She was my best friend in middle school (that's junior high to you non-Ohio-ers). We stayed friends through high school, even though I moved to Arizona, and I even saw her the summer before I transferred to Purdue. Somehow we've lost track of each other since then; it's been 7 years. And then today I found her on Facebook. I'm officially a HUGE fan of facebook. K- it was amazing catching up with you.

While I have given in to Facebook and like catching up with all these old friends, I still refuse to send invisible items, like drinks and trees. What is this nonsense? And there will be no poking!

Running: Day 1

I've been debating on picking up running. I went for my first run today at the gym. I did:

1/4 mile walk
1 mile run
3/4 mile walk
1/2 mile run
1 1/2 mile walk at a steep incline

So 4 miles, 1 1/2 of which was a run. Not bad for day 1 right? I'm thinking I might try to run 3 days a week and see how it goes. I tried running once before but I started having trouble with one of my knees. But for now, I feel fantastic. The only downside...... running is REALLY boring. So like I said, we'll see how it goes.

Italy

Italy was amazing and just what I needed. I've been wanting to get back to Europe since my last trip 5 years ago. Now was kind of the perfect opportunity for a trip so I took advantage of it and just went; I planned everything in about a week and it was one of the best trips I've ever taken. Traveling alone is such a different experience, and a great way to self-reflect. I had 10 full days in Italy, between Rome, the Cinque Terre, Florence, and Siena.

My travels started off a little shaky. My flight was delayed so I, with 3 others, were re-routed through Boston (instead of NYC) and then on an Alitalia flight to Rome. Except that Delta failed to let Alitalia know we were coming. We finally got checked in and then the printer wouldn't work. I ended up getting on my flight with a hand-written ticket, no kidding.

Rome: I spent 3 days in Rome, taking in all the sights. I have seen a lot of the biggies before so skipped some and just re-visited the ones that were truly amazing, like St. Peter's, the Borghese Gallery (my favorite), and the Colosseum/Forum area. I also decided to seek out sculptures by my favorite artist, Bernini. Last time I was in Rome, I found that every sculpture I loved was by Bernini. Now I can basically pick them out. So I did a little research before I left and went to some smaller churches and searched out Bernini. It added a little something extra to my Rome experience (since I've already been to Rome twice). I also discovered some new statues and artists in the Borghese Gallery I hadn't noticed before because I had been so preoccupied with those by Bernini.


Rome has always been a series of mishaps for me and this time was no different. There are too many to recount. I was scammed at least a couple of times and just had trouble in general. I tried to visit a church, Santa Maria Vittoria, 3 times but due to various mishaps, never got to go inside. There's a Bernini statue there I was trying to see. I love Rome but it's such a big city and involves so much walking. It was nice to leave and get to the beauty of the Cinque Terre.

Cinque Terre: My last attempt at visiting the Cinque Terre ended quickly due to some poor planning (ahem.... Dan Vogt). We arrived during a festival and there were no hotels ANYWHERE and we had to leave. So this time I made sure to have a hotel in place before arriving. I've wanted to do the 7 mile hike that connects the 5 hill towns along the water for 5 years now and I finally got my chance. The hike was unbelievable, although my calves hurt for the following 3 days. There is nothing better than a hardcore hike to clear your mind and reflect. It took a little over 4 hours to do the hike and I have never seen so many stairs in my life. And when I say it was on the water, well, it was ON the water. In some places, the path was about a foot wide and then there was a sheer drop to the rocks and water below (no railing).

I had some great dinners and ordered the local cuisine, which was pasta with seafood. There were things on my plate staring back at me and others that I couldn't quite determine how to eat. But it was an experience. I met a man who was also dining alone (maybe 55ish and not creepy) who asked me to join him for wine one night. He was from the hill town I stayed in (third generation). We talked about Italy, the U.S., politics (everyone is interested in Obama over there), etc. It was awesome- the complete cultural experience that I never could have had if I wasn't traveling alone.

I spent some time exploring the 5 hill towns and just relaxing. I had a terrace in my room that overlooked the water. The weather was perfect for the 2 days I was there and I even sported a tank top and flip flops one day. It could not have been more beautiful and I did not want to leave.

Florence: The shopping was incredible. I had no appreciation for leather the last time I was here. Or bags. I'm only slightly ashamed to admit that I have a bag obsession (it must be genetic, mom). I am a sucker for cute bags and Florence was like my little piece of bag heaven. I got a couple of bags, also a jacket, and a couple of belts. Great deals.

I did a walking tour of Florence. We visited places that I never would have seen otherwise and the tour guide had all kinds of interesting stories and bits of history to share. That's what makes it real to me; I love the history. I also visited a lot of the better known sights, like the Duomo, Pitti Palace, Medici Chapel and Tombs, one of the smaller churches there, and the Central Market, which had things I had never seen before. One thing I can say about the Italians: they eat every part of the pig, which does impress me in some ways. I saw pig feet, brains, intestines, organs, and uh, penis, for sale in the market. Crazy.

I have to comment on the boys in Florence. They are creepy. I can't tell you the number of times guys asked me to go out or whether I needed "an Italian boyfriend". One of the vendors actually hugged me which basically made my skin crawl. I was staying at a hotel with an American owner and she explained that there are a lot of students in the area and American girls have a "reputation". Needless to say, I did not spend any time with any of the Florence boys.

Siena: I wanted to visit one of the smaller towns in Tuscany and chose Siena. It was amazing. The cathedral is more interesting than some of the better known ones, like the Duomo in Florence. There were several interesting museums and crypts and places to view the hills of Tuscany. This was a very relaxing place to spend one of my last days in Italy.

I returned to Rome to fly home. It was evening and I was exhausted and went out looking for a quick bite to eat. I passed the Santa Maria Vittoria church and it was open even though it was after closing hours. I just happened to pass by during Friday night mass! I went inside, listened to the last 15 minutes of the mass, and then was able to do a quick lap of the church and see the Bernini statue that I had unsuccessfully tried to see 3 times when initially in Rome. It was the perfect ending to my trip.

I met a ton of people on my travels, including a couple from Nashville, a couple from Australia, a woman from Michigan, the Italian man, and a guy from NYC on my flight home. It was such a different experience going alone and I really enjoyed it. I also really enjoyed the gelato and the wine. There is nothing better than gelato. The goal was to have some at least everyday and I'm pretty sure I succeeded in that. The wine was also great, of course, and I had some each evening- just ordered whatever the local specialty was (white in the Cinque Terre, red everywhere else).

I returned from Italy feeling refreshed, back to myself again, and ready for the next chapter in my life. There's nothing like a trip to clear your head. For those that know my normal travel style, I journaled about everything on my trip (literally filled an entire journal). Those are the best souvenirs I have from my travels. I like capturing the details of the mishaps and sights, as well as the very strange things that go through my head.

My recommendation to those that have thought of travel but haven't done it yet and figure they will go someday........ go now! You will never regret it and it will change your perspective on the world. Plus, I noticed in the last 5 years that more things are being roped off and/or being moved to museums. The longer you wait, the less authentic the experience will be. Now I just need to decide where my next adventure will be..............

A Good Day

I met Toby in Tyson's today for some girl-time. Badly needed. I wasn't planning to do any shopping but somehow we managed to shop. I got my first pair of Merrell's (shoes for hiking and stuff) and they are awesome! They'll be great for Italy and my hike in the Cinque Terre. I also finally found a pair of knee-high boots. I've seriously been looking for boots for years (like, I'm still wearing the same boots I got probably 8 years ago). So yeah, it was way overdue but I just hadn't found anything I liked and/or was comfortable. T and I ended up buying the same ones.

After our shopping excursion, I met up with Dan Murphy for dinner at Bonefish Grill. I've been wanting to check this place out since it opened, which has probably been a year or more. It's within walking distance of my house. Anyway, good food, good company, and a fun evening.

Boys Night Out..... Plus Me

Last weekend before Italy. Tonight I went out in Baltimore, which was supposed to be a coed group outing, but turned into 4 guys and me. Story of my life. Good thing I've always liked hanging with the boys. We bar-hopped, doing a drink per bar. Who am I kidding though? I left half-drunk bottles at every bar. I can hang with the boys but I can't keep up with their drinking. Anyway, it was a good night out. Ooh, and there was beer pong at one of the bars. I love the Bmore bars; they don't have all that trendy uppityness you get in DC.

Speaking of Spontaneous........

I'm going to Italy! I've been debating on this for a couple of months and figured I should just do it. I have the ability to take a little time and go so I'm heading out soon. I've always loved Italy and know it will be one of those places I continue to go back to throughout my life. Why not now?

Mid-term Results

We got our test results back tonight in class and I was in for a shock. The test was rough, at best, and I was fully expecting about a 70%. The professor saved the top 3 grades for last and then announced it to the class, which included my test. I'm not big on being called out for getting a good grade- then you have to stare at your desk while the rest of the class glares at you for breaking the curve. So yeah, I got a 94%. No idea how that happened.

Happy Halloween

And yet another year goes by where I don't dress up. Maybe next year. I hung out with an old friend tonight that I haven't seen in about 3 years. Some of you may know him as Baltimore Boy (aka Mike Sutton). We dated way back when for a short time (short by my standards anyway). We've kept up over the years but this was the first in-person meeting in 3 years. We always had a lot of fun together. I wasn't sure how it would be to see someone after 3 years but it was like old times. The conversation was easy and we had a lot of fun. We got dinner and then got a few drinks at a bar. We were just about the only people not in costume at the bar so that was a little strange but otherwise, good times.

The only pic from tonight is a horribly bad one of me so here's one from way back when.

No, I'm not drunk, just have closed eyes.

I was flipping through a bunch of these old pictures when looking for a pic for Facebook and the thing I notice most is how blissfully happy I look. I've buried that girl somewhere underneath the serious and stressed out version of me. I mean, I'm a happy person but I think sometimes I forget to just let go and be completely happy in the moment. Maybe that's just part of getting older. I've gotten so caught up in work and stuff over the past few years and lost a little of my spontaneity and spunk. Someone once described me as spunky- I'm gonna be that girl again.

Just Like New

I got the carpeting in my living and dining room replaced today and it looks amazing. My house feels clean again and it makes me ridiculously happy. It was not so fun moving the furniture but everything is back in order now and the place looks great. I realized after the fact that I should have organized a flip-cup tournament in my house before replacing the carpet. Sigh.

Stupid Test

I had the midterm for my simulation class tonight. It was stupid. That's the best descriptor. This class has been really easy all semester and then the test was difficult and not anything like what we've done so far this semester in homework, etc. There was theory and coding and creation of simulation models (on paper). Yeah, stupid. I'm glad it's over; the rest of the semester should be cake.

Facebook is Addictive

I've been hearing about Facebook for awhile and just figured it was the next big thing for the "kids" out there. I was finally convinced to start my own page when you people just wouldn't shut up about it. :) Plus, when I heard all these 30-somethings were on it, I figured I had to at least check it out. I've already reconnected with a couple of people I had completely lost track of over the years. It is awesome! I still only have one old, bad pic up for my profile but I will work on that soon.

Cheesecake and Conversation

Jason, the guy I work with that is perpetually leaving for Iraq but never actually leaves, came back early from a trip home to the great state of Alabama (said in my head with Jason's accent) before leaving for Iraq next Friday (I'll believe it when I see it.). Anyway, we met up at Maggiano's for dinner (yum) and then had the bright idea to go to The Cheesecake Factory for dessert. It was a great night of good conversation and good food. However, between the glass of wine and piece of cheesecake, I passed out from a sugar coma by midnight. :)

New Tile

I got my entry/hallway re-tiled today and it looks amazing! The guy said he'd show up between 9 and 10am and service people are ALWAYS late so I figured it was safe to get in the shower at 8:45. Not so much. The dogs started barking to let me know someone was at the door so I got to answer the door soaking wet in a towel. Yeah. But once I was dressed and could let him in, the tiling went well. It took forever though; he was here until 5:30pm.

I used to have tile just in the entryway but I now have tile all the way down the hall to the bedroom. It looks so good. I had the generic white, cheapest-thing-they-make tile previously. This is so much nicer. I just keep admiring it.

This all came about because I need new carpeting. When I had the 3 foster pups 2 years ago (1 of which was Izzie), they more or less ruined the carpeting in the living/dining area. I needed to recarpet this small hallway too. Well, I'm extraordinarily anal about things matching and I knew it would make me crazy if the carpet in the hall didn't match the carpet it would touch in the bedroom and stairs. Plus, tile in front of the laundry closet is a great bonus since I spill detergent like it's my job. So I decided to get tile put in for the entire entry and hall. The new carpet in the living/dining room will be installed next week. For now it looks a little funny where the tile touches the carpet because the carpet is just laying on the edge of the tile, waiting to be replaced.

Person that Made me Smile Today

I was on IM and saw my friend Jason's away message, which read: "A Level 3 CMMi... that's from that internet game right?"

Apparently someone actually asked this??? Regardless, thanks for making me smile.

Jason Mraz

Toby and I went to see Jason Mraz in concert tonight. His CD's have been playing on permanent loop in my car for some time now. I just can't get enough. I can't remember the last concert I went to where I actually knew the words to almost every song. It was soooo much fun and he puts on such a great show.

Plus, he ranks pretty high on the sexy man chart. He can sing, dance, is soulful (lyrics), and is cognizant of the world around him. Oh, and he's a complete goofball. I heart him. Excuse me while I wipe the drool from my chin.

Girls Night Out

I realized I haven't been out dancing in almost 3 years which is just wrong so I decided to plan a girls night out. I was hoping to go to a bar we used to go to called Polly Esther's, which plays 70s and 80s music but then found out it closed 2 years ago. I'm so out of the loop. I was surprised by how many other girls were on board with going out- we ended up with 10 between dinner and dancing.

We met for dinner at a place called Cafe Soleil in DC. It was a really small place with a nice atmosphere and good food. Then we hit the clubs. Or club, as it turned out. We decided to start at Sign of the Whale, which was one of my favorites years ago. We thought we would start there, see how it was, and then head elsewhere. We ended up closing the bar. I would post more pictures but I'm not sure there are any others that won't embarrass people. Here's me with Toby and with Anne.

Early in the evening, Sara and I decided that we needed to make the group co-ed and somehow ended up in the middle of a Bachelor Party. Everyone else joined us shortly. The guys were all really nice, not gross and just looking to score (bonus), and we all had a great time. We played a new "drinking" game that didn't involve drinking (yes, contradiction). I have no idea how to explain it but it was fun and now I have a new bar game to play.

New Bar Game: Fingers on the Glass!

Sometime late in the night, I realized we weren't dancing and felt the need to change that. I spent the last half hour or hour (no idea really) dancing, which was great. I even danced with some 22-year-old boy. Yes, I said 22. (I'm shaking my head with some level of shame now.) While I normally wouldn't give a 22-year-old the time of day, I now realize what the appeal to this age is. This kid was in awe of me. Seriously. He said a lot of really nice things that no 30-something man would say, not in a bar to a stranger anyway. I recognize that this is probably for the best but being around a guy that wasn't jaded by a long history in the dating scene was nice.

Toby and I caught the very last metro out of the city and got the very last cab at the metro station. We got back to my place around 4:15am and into bed around 5am. I would call that a good night out. :)

All Hands and Happy Hour

We had an All Hands meeting today for work. We have them on most government holidays because our project people don't need to be at their project site but the days aren't observed holidays by Platinum (like Columbus Day, Veterans Day, Presidents Day, etc). I've learned that All Hands is not a common term, so to explain- it just means that everyone from the company meets for a day of training and team building.

I got to make the big announcement to the company about our successful Level 3 appraisal. I was surprised by how interested people were and how many questions were asked. I also gave training on conducting Peer Reviews (reviewing peers work on the projects). Generally, I don't really care for speaking to large groups. Over the years I've developed a nervousness that I have no control over. I still get up there and speak because I refuse to give in to the nervousness. It's more irritating than anything. It doesn't seem to make any sense since I grew up dancing on stage at competitions. I think it has more to do with the fear of forgetting what I was supposed to say or saying something really stupid than actually a fear of getting up in front of people.

Anyway, the training went well. I was worried that with such a large group, people would just sort of glaze over and not pay attention. But there were a lot of questions so that's a good sign that the training was worthwhile. It makes me happy to finally feel like I'm not just "that chick from corporate". I actually know the people on the projects. I think it makes for better training sessions because people feel like they can approach me and ask me questions. So I left feeling like it was a success. We ended the day with a Rock Band competition which was just ridiculous (in a good way).

Ok, on to the good stuff........ happy hour! A bunch of us (well, the cool kids) went to a bar called Ned Devine's in Herndon for happy hour after the meeting. We planned to be there for a few hours but it quickly turned into an all night event. I think the clincher was probably the jagerbombs. I have self-control to turn down most drinks, but I will not turn down a jagerbomb. Jager by itself.... eh. Red Bull by itself..... gross. The combination of the two..... magical. :) The night was a lot of fun and I realized around midnight that I was in no shape for driving. I had to hang out another hour or more just to make sure it was safe to drive. I won't consider driving when there's even a chance I've had too much to drink- just too stupid. I think I got home around 2am and yes, Tuesday hurt.

Anne, me, and Molly at Happy Hour

Jagerbombs!!!

CMMI Level 3!

I've spent the last year and a half of my career getting my company ready for this. CMMI is a process improvement framework that provides standards for implementing process improvement across 22 process areas (things like risk management, measurement and analysis, project planning, etc). There were so many processes to institutionalize within the company before going into the appraisal (18 of the 22 areas for Level 3). Some companies get to level 3 faster but we took our time and made sure it was done the right way. The appraisal went pretty smoothly because of that.

The appraisal lasted 2 weeks and the appraisal team consisted of a mixed group of employees and external (independent) appraisers. I was actually on the appraisal team and yes, they monitor this conflict of interest. We reviewed about 500 documents from the organization and interviewed 19 employees (keep in mind our company only has about 85 people).

I wasn't sure what to expect during the interviews. You just never know what people are going to say. I was floored by the amount of positive things employees had to say about Platinum Solutions and the processes our Quality Management Group has implemented. The team made fun of me because I kept saying how the interviews gave me "warm fuzzies". It makes me feel like I'm doing something worthwhile which gives me a reason to get up and keep going to work each day.

Most days went well. We had one really long day where even the most patient team members lost their cool. That's what happens at 1am when you've worked 16 hours and still see no end in sight. It was stressful but we made it!

The appraisal team has determined that we are CMMI Level 3 compliant. Now the findings go back to the Software Engineering Institute for review and final approval. We were actually chosen for a random audit by the SEI so they have already audited our appraisal along the way. While that made us nervous when we initially heard about it, we can now be confident that they will come back with an approval. And bonus- no one will be able to question the integrity of our appraisal since it was audited. We should have our official Level 3 rating within the month.

I always find it strange how big events are so anticlimactic. I feel like there should be a huge event that marks the moment in time. Today, the final day of the appraisal, when we knew we were getting Level 3, I could have cried. (I didn't.) I had no idea how much stress and anxiety I've been carrying around about this appraisal. The successful appraisal confirms that the work I've been doing is good. It's a major milestone for the organization and for my career. I'm not sure I could have recovered to continue working towards Level 3 if we had failed.

As soon as I got home, I passed out. All of the stress built up over a year and a half just flowed out and I was exhausted. Now I have this feeling of not knowing what to do with myself anymore. I get to go to work like a normal person without this constant pressure of getting to Level 3 looming over me. I've become accustomed to the pressure; being stress-free (ok, who am I kidding?, but maybe less stressed) is foreign now. I kinda like this new feeling.