Sandy Salton

My family has lost a great man - and although I never really got to know him, I feel like this story is worth sharing.

My husband's Grandfather, Sandy Salton, passed away yesterday afternoon after a long battle with Parkinson's Disease.  Before going to a nursing home, my husband told me that he, his father and grandfather often played a game called 500.  For those who don't know how to play, it's a 4 person card game that follows the rules of trump (ie if Hearts are trump, the Jack of Hearts is highest, Jack of Diamonds is second, then all hearts starting with the Ace are highest).  The 2s and 3s of the deck are set aside,10 cards are dealt to each person and 5 cards are put in the middle. (This game also had a Joker, which is the highest Trump)

My husband shared with me that the game was often one of strategy debate.  Did your partner play correctly?  Sometimes the hints one can drop when bidding, or laying a card first can be misread and this often sparked a debate amongst those playing.

I never played cards with Sandy, but I visited him in the nursing home a few times.  After I got engaged, my husband and I made a trip to the nursing home after a wedding shower, and I think a few times after that.  Each time, my husband excitedly wanted to show his grandfather the beautiful diamond engagement ring.  I would hold it up to him for a few moments and he would typically show an enthusiasm that was apparent despite his condition with limited speech and movement.  For reasons beyond just this - I could tell that he was a very special man.

Yesterday, after learning of his grandfather's passing, my husband wanted to teach me this game of 500 that he often played with his Grandfather, even though there was only 2 of us playing.  He said that he wanted me to know how to play so we could play it with his family this weekend.  We dealt the cards as if there were 4 people and as I was learning, my husband played the other 3 hands (trying to play as if he hadn't seen the other cards).

The cards were dealt after a practice round when I looked at my hand and realized that I needed to bid.  I thought I could take 9 of 10 tricks with the hand that I was dealt (10 is the highest you can bid).  My husband, obviously in disbelief of me being able to have such a good hand, decides I have won the bid and I took the opportunity to take the 5 cards in the middle to exchange for my cards.  At this point, I knew I had all 10 tricks, I laid down my hand and I had...

9 Diamonds and the Ace of Hearts.

Maybe I'm being silly, but I kind of feel like that meant something.  I asked my husband if I thought that his Grandfather could be with us at that very moment, and he said yes.  I explained to him that I felt he was because we were playing "his" game and that when we visited him - I always showed him my diamond.  This time he showed me his.

First Week At My Dream Job

I had an amazing first week at my new job at Iowa State.  My very first day of work reminded me so much of my orientation at ISU back in 2002.  The day consisted of me getting my ISU Card, setting up my email address and registering for classes meeting new people.  I am going to be working closely with the Department Chairs to help coordinate events, write articles and produce a monthly and quarterly newsletter, analyze data and many other things.  The job is a new position that, I like to think, I was born for.

My goal has been to work my ass off.  I have a lot to prove to make them impressed... it IS Iowa State after all.  The people I work closely with are so accomplished that my experience pales in comparison.  I can't wait until I learn more about my position and I'm able to tackle projects that are given to me on a regular basis. 

One of the things that intimidates me the most is the fact that I've been given my very first office.  The fact that I have my own walls and window and door goes kind of hand in hand with the fact that, I feel I've been given a position that comes with a lot of responsibility and I have to respect that honor.  This is one of the best things that's ever happened to me!  If you had told me 2 months ago, or even 5 years ago, that I'd be working in the College of Business I would have laughed at you in your face.  I never thought I could acheive this!!!

Please have a seat in my office.

Where I'm getting my work done.

A view of Curtiss Hall and Ross Hall from my desk chair.

Today I was fortunate enough to attend the retirement party of a secretary of the COB and a former department head.  They had 28 and 20 years of experience at ISU and the speeches given were so moving.  You can really tell that ISU has a really tight knit community and one of the speeches actually made me tear up.  But the best part is that one of the department heads (who I'm still intimidated by) gave a speech and was quite hilarious.  Laughing at the jokes of my superior made me feel much more comfortable - because now I know that humor can go a long way, even with the intellectuals! 

Now that I'm super busy with work, I'm unfortunately not going to be able to sneak in blogging at work anymore... I'm going to try and update on weekends and have the posts publish on a regular basis throughout the week!!!

Group Step

I wish I had a picture or a video of my workout yesterday to share.  I'm extremely positive that it would leave you in stiches.

I went to the gym yesterday, I had the best intentions when I walked into that Group Step class.  Little did I know that there are complicated instructions to stepping up and down and around and to the side and behind and kicking and lifting your arms.  Whew.  I was THAT girl in the class who looked like maybe something just hit her in the head and couldn't quite grasp how everyone else was doing the moves SO PERFECTLY!?  Was I in a class of professionals?  I must have been. 

Of course, my eyes were primarily following the girl up front who had to be some sort of dancer doing little extra spins and twirls where it didn't seem quite necessary.  That threw me off my game. 

Step up, down, over, other side, squats!

It was seriously the most out of place experience I've had at the gym to date.

That being said, I can't wait to give it a go again next week. 

I'm going to weight watchers tonight for my first official weigh in.  I missed last week because, hmmm what was it again?  Oh yes, I got offered my dream job and instead of going to a meeting I decided to jump up and down and scream a lot.  Last week was a roller coaster for sure as I indicated in my previous post.  However, that was no excuse for not hitting the gym even once.  So I'm back on gym track.  Luckily, I can say that even with Thanksgiving with the fam in Omaha I didn't go incredibly out of control eating every sweet I saw.  I weighed myself this morning to get a preview of what's to come, and I anticipate a decent loss.  One day at a time, no?

I start my new job on Monday.  The new job comes with new hours - 8-5 I believe, and that means I'm not going to get to go to the same gym classes I have been getting used to.  However, since I'm starting later, that opens up the early morning classes!  This includes: Group Step, Group Power, Group Centergy (haven't tried this one yet), Cardio Drill Express (whatever this one is), and many others.  I'm actually particularly excited about starting to do a Group Ride class which is essentially a spinning class, but all these "Group" classes are some kind of brand where the instructors get their plans from the "Group" people (corporation?). 

This week has also been quite a blur so far.  My last day at my current job is tomorrow.  I'm excited to blow this popscicle stand.  Honestly the work has been less than fulfilling.  Plus the pay has been rather low compared to what I'm used to getting.  Now with my new job, I'm going to be getting insanely awesome benefits and vacation time.  I can't wait to write more about working at (what I hope is) my dream job!

Promiscuous Job Seeker

The title of this blog might be a little bit misleading.  I am only promiscuous in the sense that starting November 28th I will be holding the 4th job I've had since the end of August.  Now-now, don't judge.  If you've read my previous entries about my job search, being dumped by a notoriously evil bank, starting work as a soybean dispatcher (paging Dr. Cliche Iowa Job), and now working at what can only be described as a dream job... well it's been a roller coaster.  Especially this week.  Come along with me, let me tell you the story of how I became an Iowa State University employee.

September 2011:
This Easley was checking out area businesses that are hiring, obviously checking out the ISU website for open positions.  I see a job that sounds like I could be qualified for, I take time to write a very customized cover letter, pull together 8 references from former bosses and colleagues, submit my application, all online.

October 2011:
On the first day starting as a soybean dispatcher, I get a phone call from someone wanting to do a phone interview.  Like right then, on the spot.  No time to prepare!  What do I do?  I DAZZLE her with my skills, while nervously hoping I don't say "um" or "like" more often than sounds natural in a mature woman's voice.

I ace the interview, the woman said she wanted to schedule me to meet with someone face to face for an interview.  I gladly agree to this.  I send her a thank you email with a letter of recommendation from my old boss TK attached.

Weeks pass...

Nothing...
Nothing...
Nothing...

Until!

November 11, 2011:  (11/11/11, how perfect?!)
I miss a call while at work from the person that I was going to have a face to face interview with.  The conversation went something like this.

Them: Sorry about not getting around to scheduling that interview we talked about.  You're clearly the best candidate in the world and we are sooooo super duper sorry for making you wait this long.
Me: Oh please, I figured you'd call - it's only natural you'd want to hire me eventually.  I'm sure you're just waiting until a new position opened up that would be even more awesome than the original one I applied for.
Them: That's exactly what happened.  So we really want to have you meet with 4 phD's, 3 secretaries, 3 other members of staff and a partridge in a pear tree.
Me: Of course, that doesn't sound intimidating at all. 
Them: Excellent, see you Monday!

Before the interview, I was really anxious - but eagerly looking for support from friends and family.

Freaking out is an understatement.

The interview started at 1:00, I was there 30 minutes early.

The interview went really well.  I built rapport with everyone - even the phD's who, admitedly, I was super intimidated by because I thought I'd sound like a real dummy compared to the intellectuals.  My favorite discussion was when they brought up my study abroad experience.

phD1: So do you still practice spanish?
Me: Not as much as I would like to, but I really enjoy languages.  In fact I'm learning German using Rosetta Stone.
phD2: No kidding!  What version do you have?  I'm learning Spanish using Rosetta Stone.
Me: I have the older version, but I understand the newer ones have even more interaction using smart phones and other devices.
phD3: You should really be learning Mandarin
(All 3 phD's laugh as if it's impossible to learn)
Me: Well I do know one phrase in Mandarin that means "How are you?"
(In case this ever comes up in an interview it's: 你 好 吗)
phD3: (who at this point I should mention he's from China) That's right.

End Scene

I really think I proved that I show intellectual curiousity by learning other languages, and given that ISU's students are from around the world, I think this really helped.

Oh, did I mention at the end of all the interviews - I met the Dean of the College of Business?  Talk about intimidating.  This man is a legend.  He's set to step down as Dean this summer - but he's done a lot of good for the College of Business, and I know everyone is going to be really sad to see him go.

After the rest of the interviews, I drove to the MU where I sat in the cafeteria exhaustedly writing thank you notes.  11 of them in total.... which you wouldn't think is a whole lot until you realize you're racing the clock to finish writing and get them to the post office before they close so the recipients should receive them the next day.

Bringing back the art of hand written Thank-You Letters.

For the record, I didn't forget to stamp the letter to the Dean.  I was very prepared at the start of this interview that I had already addressed and stamped the other envelopes so I'd have one less thing to do when I needed to send them on the actual day of the interview.  The Dean interview was a surprise so I had to buy a stamp from the post office.  This is the one they slapped on it:


So professional.

After waiting in line at the post office to buy the aforementioned stamp and to drop off my letters, I got back into my car to find a text from a former Bernstein coworker, and a GLA coworker.  Both saying they just got a call regarding ISU calling them for a reference.  Both said they gave glowing recommendations.  I LOVE THEM.  I couldn't be happier that they called to let me know this because it prepared me for what was about to come.

CAR DANCING!

Oh yes, I danced in the car whilst listening to "Sexy and I Know It" which henceforth will be a song of luck and excitement.

Ok, but really, one of my friends said that as part of the glowing recommendation, they relayed that ISU was really impressed by me and leaning towards hiring me.  And that prepared me for the tentative offer I received on Monday.  Tentative - because I needed to pass a background check.

On Tuesday I received an email that required I submit my information to an outsourced background check system.  I was told in advance that it would be 24-48 hours after I submitted that they'd hear back and give me a formal offer.

LONGEST 52 HOURS EVER

I don't have anything in my past to really be worried about.  I've got good credit, I didn't lie on my resume, I haven't committed any felonies (unless I'm criminally good looking) but still I was waiting on pins and needles all damn day.  Thursday was the worst.  I had this gnawing feeling in the pit of my stomach that something was wrong.  It was really agonizing - especially when it was 48 hours since my submission for my background test.  I kept checking my phone, hoping I missed a call, or an email. 

Finally at 3:00 Thursday, I was offered a formal job at ISU.  And I definitely accepted.

So after work yesterday I went in and signed my letter of intent.  My new boss had some time and decided to give me a quick tour.  Including showing me my very own OFFICE.  I have 4 walls, a window and a DOOR.  All to myself.  Pardon me for not being able to concentrate on anything else after I found out that I was going to have an office. 

Yesterday pretty much ruled. 

Today, I had to quit my contract job.  That's a story I'll tell once I'm actually done working here (next week).

Marathon.

I'm going to do a marathon!  Not a race marathon, but a motivational "keep fit throughout the winter" program that my gym has going on. 

Basically, the premise is - go to a workout class, get "2 miles".  Finish 13 classes and you've finished a marathon.  Finish a marathon, get your name into a chance to win an iPad! 

As if I needed more motivation to want to hit up workout classes!  My goal will be to complete 3 marathons before the promotion is over.  That's 36 classes in 2 months. 

Totally doable. - That's what she said.