Agenda for 3.16.10

What is in store for today!?

Well I could not sleep last night, so it is likely going to be a long day... but a little green tea, and it should not be hard to still be productive!

Today will begin with a quick meeting with Billy to discuss our pitch to the Farmers' Market Board regarding bringing a market to campus.

Then off to Intro to Materials. I hope that we do not have a quiz today because I have not prepared. I had to miss on Thursday due to a meeting, so I could be behind without knowing it - story of my life these days.

After Materials, Billy and I are heading straight to the Town Center to the FMB meeting to make the pitch... we are going to be pretty informal with it. We really want to get the board's insight as to what they would like to see (if interested at all) in regard to a market on campus.

My 1:1 with Dean Pugh is just after the FMB pitch. We missed our last 1:1, so there could be a good deal to talk about. We'll likely touch on football ticket pricing (as we make that pitch tomorrow), student fee review board (as we are deliberating on the fee area proposals later this evening), design review board (and the processes needed to be taken to realize a student seat on the board as soon as possible), some campus council ideas, and a few other items.

Erica and I are meeting after I finish with Dean Pugh. We cancelled cabinet this afternoon, but she and I are going to meet (in lieu of missing our meeting Monday because of Student Fee Review Board hearings) to send out updates, to dos, and reminders. We try not to micro-manage (because I despise being micro-managed), but sometimes our roles have to take on that function momentarily.

I'm only going to Senate for a brief moment to provide my report. We are beginning SFRB deliberations at 6:30, but luckily we are back in the Union tonight (been in JBHunt for the hearings due to scheduling conflicts in the Union) so I'll be able to stay at Senate right up to that time.

I need to touch base with my new friend at USO, but it does not look like there will be much time today... I'll shoot for tomorrow.

I'm not sure what time we'll finish up with fee reviews (or if we will have to flood into tomorrow as well), but I am hoping to be out by 10 to work a little on design - there is much to do with our design project before Spring Break!!! (DC - 4 days! NC - 9 days!)

The list

So it might seem pathetic to some that there is a list. And even more so to others that I am willing to post it... but really, it is a list of things that are attractive to me... not necessarily a list that must be fulfilled. Though I know I have not met him yet... and I am not sure when I will... I do know (or rather trust) that I will know when it is right... indepedent of any items on a list.

But nonetheless... here it is:

Ambitious

Intelligent

Tall (I might be short, but I'm attracted to tall ones!)

Good smile

-Thus, good (scratch that, GREAT) teeth

Polished

-Yet rugged (Megan may be the only one who understands this)

Love of travel

Athletic

Romantic (but not overly)

Good hair (Example: Patrick Dempsey)

Christian (Methodist is a plus)

Conservative

Chill (high maintenance guys are the worse)

Sense of humor (that makes me laugh)

Dimples are a plus

Honest

Confident (but not cocky)

Musically gifted

Multi-lingual

Good with friends

Good with family

Willing to look at a map (that might be a stereotype, but this is my list/blog!)

Initiative

Understanding

Charismatic

Polite

Leads

Outgoing

Outdoorsy

Chivalrous (but not overly)

La Vita Disordinata

For someone who loves order and functionality, I cannot keep my room nor car clean for the life of me.

Two years ago, when the mess began, I blamed it on my busy life...

Either I am lazy or I guess it just has not slowed down since, except when I have been traveling (and thus not in proximity of my bedroom or car to tidy them up).

Now I do not keep a trashy room or car. There are not dirty plates or other food remnants and such around... it just is not tidy. There are clothes on the floor (clearly an understatement, as there are enough clothes to go through an entire bottle of detergent on my floor) and if I did not sleep above my covers with my favorite blanket, my bed would likely never get made (so it just does not get unmade)!

I think I have almost given up at this point. I will get it cleaned and then within one search (because I have to search when things are put away, rather than knowing where they are when things look ary), it looks as though a tornado has struck once again.

I have been thinking about goal-setting a lot in the recent days, and perhaps this is a goal that I need to set. Part of me wonders if it is worth setting as a goal, but then I think about the times when it just simply stresses me out to walk into my bedroom... it is definitely worth setting as a goal.

So I guess the question is do I initiate action on this goal now... or should I be honest with myself, admit that it will likely be a failed goal if attempted now, and just be intentional upon moving into my new apartment after graduation...

I'll think on that. For now, rest assured that I am sleeping on top of my covers on a bed that is surrounded by mountains of clutter. Sleeping will be my oasis from la vita disordinata.

Thoughts on Strengths...

Analytical. Achiever. Focus. Learner. Significance. When viewed individually, these five words have little consequence, but together they represent my five strengths as an individual, my areas of personal competitive advantage that I bring with me to the table in any situation. When first introduced to the concept of the StrengthsQuest program, I believed it to be similar to the many other personality inventories that I have taken over the years as a part of leadership development and training series. But soon after my five character themes (or strengths) were revealed to me, I began to see the true value in this assessment. It enables participants to realize their strengths and capitalize on them, rather than overspending effort in areas of weakness.

Over time businesses and economies have discovered the benefits of tapping into their competitive advantages, rather than trying to compete in markets where the advantage just cannot be gained. Why then when individuals such as Ray Lee Hunt say that “it is more important to know your weaknesses than your strengths,” do we as human beings believe that he means we should focus on bettering ourselves in our weaker areas? Would it not be wiser to follow the aforementioned model and tap into our own strengths, our personal competitive advantages? I believe so.

Since the revelation of my strengths nearly one year ago, I have tried to see their effect in everything that I do, be it in academics, the professional realm, and even in my relationships. People usually say that they change significantly throughout their undergraduate careers; I think there is some changing that occurs, but more than anything, I think it is the time when people become more aware of themselves as they already were. In learning my strengths, I understand why I wanted to pursue a degree in Industrial Engineering and why I now wish to begin my graduate studies in engineering management. My competitive advantages, my innate yearning and dedication to analyze any system, commitment to accomplishment, ability to apply focus in any situation, compulsion to glean information from any avenue possible, and desire to garner the feeling of significance among all who surround me, make me an ideal candidate for management, especially within the engineering field.

- From my personal statement to a few graduate schools...

I love...

I love to travel!

I love late night walks (with Megan)!

I love languages!

I LOVE the color turquoise!

I love frozen grapes!

I love elections - though I never thought I would say that!

I love photography!

I love to smile!

I love adventure, though I have many fears!

I love Fayetteville!

I love sailing (on the Mediterranean for Memorial Day)!

I love bubbles!

I love birthdays - whether mine or a friend's or a stanger's!

I love peppermint bark!

I love callalilies!!!

I love the Arkansas Razorbacks!

I love closing my eyes as a plane descends and guessing when it will hit the ground!

I love Audrey Hepburn!

I love Christ!

I love la bella vita!

I love holidays, though I do not think they have to be formal to be special!

I love green tea!

I love learning, as dorky as that may be!

I love love love to laugh!

I love crossing off things on my ToDoLists!... so much so that I sometimes write down things that I have already finished just to cross them off...

I love Sunny D!

I love to analyze everything and everyone!

I love my dad's handwriting, though I would never admit that to him ;-)!

I love swingsets - especially at night in Wilson Park!

I love bloody marys!

I love exclamation marks (and use them excessively)!

I love my mom's artwork!

I love to play boardgames - though monopoly gets a little too intense!

I love massages!

I love sappy romantic movies - I can admit it!

I love Mozart!

I love Duke basketball!

I love black and white photos - perhaps with a dash or turquoise!

I love to cuddle!

I love being independent!

I love the beach, but I am beginning to think that I love mountains more!

I love dresses!

I love and collect wine corks!

I love bubble baths!!!

I love making lists!

I love snail mail!

I love spinach, though I hated it as a child!

I love StrengthsQuest!

I love depth over breadth!

I love Pi Beta Phi!

I love the people I meet traveling!

I love my family!

I love being barefoot, though I generally wear heels!

I love Auzzie accents!

I love surfing, though I am terrible at it... its a rush!

I love meeting new people!

I love Chinese food - crab rangoon in particular!

Did I mention that I love the color turquoise!?

Life is... planned?

"We must be willing to get rid of the life we've planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us."

- Joseph Campbell

A close friend of mine posted this quote on her facebook wall about a week ago, and it really struck a chord.

I do not exactly know what this quote means for my life just yet, but I hope to let myself find out.

I am a planner. I analyze. I strategize. I plan. And I like for everyone and everything around me to go according to plan. Now I am not opposed to change. Change is good - and definitely welcomed. But it too must be analyzed, strategized, and then planned... or so I have always thought.