A Nugget of Work Advice From April Ludgate of 'Parks and Recreation'

There's a scene from NBC's "Parks and Recreation" that has stuck with me ever since it aired.

During the episode "Filibuster," characters April Ludgate and Andy Dwyer are eating dinner after Andy surprises her with a 19-hour visit to Pawnee. Andy has been working temporarily in London for a rich lord. 

Not the brightest crayon in the box, Andy admits he doesn't want to work there anymore because he feels inadequate, scared and confused, and he has no idea what he's doing. He says he's like Chuck Norris, but in present day: "some old guy with a beard who used to be good at karate but became a dumb has-been."

His wife's advice is one of the best life reminders I've heard in a long time. 

"No one knows what they're doing," she says in a straightforward voice. "Deep down, everyone is just faking it until they figure it out. And you will, too, because you're awesome and everyone else sucks."

While watching the episode on Hulu Plus during my "lunch break" at home the day after it aired, I realized most of my professional career so far has been just that. 

With Patch, everything was so new to everyone who worked there. Even though we were backed by AOL, the veteran corporation that many know as the leader in dial-up Internet in the '90s, Patch was very much a startup. 

And even though none of us knew exactly what we were doing, many of us still ran successful hyperlocal news sites. For the editors in the metro Atlanta area, we almost always met our goals for unique visitors and user engagement, and we always met the quota for producing content. On top of that, we were respected and loved by our communities, who are asking for many of the editors to come back. The only thing that failed was the profitability side, which editors had no control over.

While none of that matters now since the company was reduced by 90 percent, it's still something to consider while I'm searching for my next venture. I gained a lot of experience working for Patch, from video editing to recruiting bloggers, but I'm still a baby when it comes to the writing world. Let's hope I can pull it off just enough for my next career. 

It's back to the books. Credit: Morguefile

Zombie Run

Run for Your Lives, the zombie 5k obstacle course mud run I had been training for, was a few weeks back.

It was not what I imagined at all, but it was still enjoyable. I don't know if I would do it again, mainly because of all the mud. I was so muddy from it that I was still finding mud in my nose three days later.

I think what frustrated me the most was that I had trained so hard and met my goal, yet it didn't matter. It had rained badly the night before and morning of the race, so at times we had about six or so inches of fluffy, tough mud.

The mud was pretty much impossible to run through, so we only sprinted when we needed to, which were when zombies were around. My muscles weren't used to some of the obstacles, so that took a toll on my body, especially since I didn't stretch after the run. My left thigh is still is a bit messed up from the race.

I almost made it out alive. Everyone had three flags at the start, and the zombies would try to take them. I had all of mine up until the very last zombie obstacle. There was a five-foot opening in this maze-type area, and a zombie took my last life while I was trying to go through it. I was so close =[

But alas, everyone still received a medal.

And last but not least, some pictures taken over that fabulous weekend:

Elliot, left, with me and Patrick, right, hanging out before the big mud slide at the end.

Patrick and I before the big slide.

Before the race.

Post-race.

Just me, post-race.

I think I like the before and after pictures the best. We got so muddy!

There are some great shots taken by the Run for Your Lives photog, but they're super expensive. It's $15 per digital photo, and $50 for the whole photo bundle. I'm glad I had friends who took pictures and video of it =]

Catching up

I finally have a minute to update! And by saying that, I probably just jinxed myself.

Let's try to get things up to speed: I'm actually losing weight with exercising and changing my diet. (Well, sort of, anyway). Last time I checked last Saturday, I lost 4 lbs., which isn't a whole lot, but when you're only 5 feet tall, it's a lot. Plus, my goal is to lose no more than 10 lbs. and get toned.

This week and next week I'm guest editing for the Norcross Patch. Laura, one of the best editors I've ever worked with, decided to leave the website, and now Patch is hunting for her replacement. So far, I'm being considered for the position, but I'm not getting my hopes up; the same thing happened with the Lilburn Patch, and the position went to someone else, so I just don't want to be disappointed.

And here are the photos of Gatlinburg I promised:

 

We got there the day after it snowed just a little, and it was perfect weather. The roads weren't icy at all, but the rivers and mountains were covered in it.  

The actual shops downtown were pretty dead, though. Having arrived just after New Year's, I thought it would be a bit crowded, but the streets were scarce. I still got some awesome mugs, though. Which reminds me: 

Favorite mug. Instagrammed.

Now You Sea Me, So Exercise.

Couldn't sleep. These days, I end up sleeping at 4 a.m. and waking at noon. I thought exercising everyday is supposed to help you sleep better?

I figured I'd update. I've neglected blogging, and it was because of that guest editor job. Don't get me wrong; it was good money and good experience, but it was time consuming like nobody's business. I blame some of it on not being accustomed to certain formats and protocols. Regardless, hopefully doing it placed me higher on the job ladder, because I'm not finding anything else to do at the moment.

Which gives me enough time to finally get my exercising straight. I've finally gotten serious about the 5K I'm doing in March. I'm hoping I stick with it, at least until the run so that I'm not a complete failure. With the obstacles and everything, I'm hoping I can run it in 40 minutes. Then again, I'm not sure what the obstacles actually entail, so 40 minutes could be really shitty.

Anyway, this is what I did today in 31 minutes:

I wish there wasn't a glare. But yes, that is 2.916. My goal, and though it may not be much, is to do three miles under 30 minutes. I'm hoping I can do that by the end of January so I can start training outside in February, with real hills and real dirt and real weather, but I've been fluctuating with my timing. Sometimes I have a good run, and sometimes I don't. This, so far, has been the best, considering timing and speed and treadmill hills.

I've only been running three times a week, and on my off days, I try to work out my core. So far, I think it's been helping, but only time will tell. I still don't think I have any upper body strength.

As for nails:

Now You See Me by L'Oreal. This is the first color I have absolutely loved since buying Power Clutch by Essie a few months ago. I'm always a fan of neutral colors that stick out, and this does the trick.

And I realize, after posting this, that this photograph doesn't correctly portray the actual color of my nails. It's more of a gray-blue, not the bright blue pictured above via Instagram. It's still a pretty picture, though, isn't it? I took it while waiting to get my tires rotated. I like the contrast with my red flats =]

For a more accurate shade, check out this person's blog. Gorgeous color.

Earlier this month my roommate, my brother, his girlfriend and I ventured for a two-day trip to Gatlinburg, Tenn. I'll post some pictures of that next post.

My Snitch Came In!

It's obvious from previous posts that I like to buy things. Recently, I purchased this fabulous Harry Potter item:

I hear it opens at the close.

And it does! Only to reveal a watch.

I got it off Etsy from someone in China who was selling it for $3. It cost more to ship it, but everything ended up being less than $10. The necklace seems like it's decent quality, too, at least a bit better than Forever21 quality. Tons of them can be found on Etsy, and I'm very tempted to get a silver one to match my engagement ring.

Also from Etsy:

Yes, I know it's not positioned correctly. The arrow should be pointing southwest, not northwest. But I'm so glad I finally replaced my Hello Kitty decal.

And here's one last purchase I made:

It was an impulse buy, made while I was interviewing a lady in Stone Mountain Village. After making jewelry for 20 years and collecting items for the past three years, she decided to open her own shop filled with the jewelry she makes and antiques she finds at auctions and estate states.

I saw this tree jewelry holder and couldn't resist. And at $30, it seems like a steal to me, because it doesn't look like something that will tarnish in a few years. Even though I only had $27 on my Paypal card when I bought it (I used my credit card), I totally don't regret buying it at all.

Hopefully I'll do another update this week since next week I probably won't have time. I just got word that I'll be guest editor for the Lilburn Patch next week. Super stoked because that means more money and more experience for me! I've been such a slacker these past few months, I'm not sure if I can handle it. (Of course I can.)

'Hunger Games' Withdrawal

I just finished "The Hunger Games" this weekend, and I'm having trouble picking out my next book to read. I promised myself that I would read "A Game of Thrones" next, but I can't seem to get into it, possibly because I know the main storyline since I've watched the HBO series.

I'll probably do a review of "The Hunger Games" at one point since I'm going through a crazy fan phase right now. I almost want to go back and reread them already, but I will constrain myself since I just made a list of books I need to read.

 
This weekend was pretty legit. Went to see Max Bemis and Sherri Dupree at the Masq on Friday and it was surprisingly good for an acoustic show. From a concert-goer who likes to mosh, crowd-surf and skank, it's hard for me to stand still at a show, so when I say it's good, it truly was a good show.

As husband and wife, they're super adorable. Sherri, who's the lead singer of Eisley, has a pretty good voice. Max, the lead singer of Say Anything (who I've seen about 3 or 4 times), played more stuff off his band's records than I thought. He has three albums under his solo-acoustic name Max Bemis and the Painful Splits, so I thought he was going to play mostly from that. From the early days of "Baseball" to his latest days under the band's self-titled album, he played a little bit of everything. He even played "The Church Channel," one of my favorites that he never plays.

Saturday we all went to a cocktail birthday party. Overall, it was enjoyable, not to mention a fun excuse to dress up.

My dress is from Modcloth. It's backless, but I didn't take a picture of the back, so check it out here.

My shoes are super cute, too. Unfortunately, this is the only picture I have of them:

My friend Beza and I decided to try on each other's shoes. Mine are the pink nude ones, from Charlotte Russe.

Lots more to talk about, but I will reserve it for another post. Later!

Carne Guisada

I've been perusing Skinnytaste for the past week and want to make and eat almost everything on there. Last week, I tried the Chicken and Mushroom recipe, which wasn't too bad, and then yesterday I tried the Carne Guisada.

I couldn't find achiote/sazon, one of the ingredients the recipe asks for. I also didn't cook the beef for the hour-and-half that it asked me to, so the beef was a bit tough. I cooked the potatoes for the 20 minutes it asked for, though, but that was still tough, too.

Regardless, it tasted amazing. Will cook again.

Tonight, I'm making Portabella Pizza Bites, which is supposed to be on the healthier side. Alex is currently going through a mushroom stage, so I thought it would be a delicious dish. Let's hope I don't screw things up.