Well, That's Not What I Thought Would Happen

So I thought that I would just have to keep on my apartment management to get my hot water heater fixed and then I could finally just enjoy my awesome apartment - apparently not.

I'm really bummed right now because of the things that I have found out this evening.

First, I received an e-mail from the manager that basically said they can see nothing else that could possibly be wrong with my hot water heater and so I feel they will take no more measures to fix it because they don't believe me when I say that this stuff is wrong: getting only 20 minutes of water before it turns cold is wrong. The hot water heater taking 6-8 hours to recharge its hot water is wrong. Not being able to do laundry or run my dishwasher and take a shower in the same day is wrong.

Everyone I have asked about it has said: that's ridiculous! You shouldn't be running out of hot water after 20 minutes. AND, it should only take about 30 minutes for the hot water heater to recharge so you can use it again.

So I talked to my mom about it, once again, because I just really didn't know what to say to the apartment people anymore to get them to do something. I was heartbroken when she said that I probably just need to look for another place...I am certain that I would adore my apartment if major appliances didn't break every month. Well, yeah...

After all this crap I decided that it would be a good idea to just take a break for a while and think about things. I still have to live here for 8 months at least so I needed something...and it came along in the form of a very nice old man, Nick, and his dog, Bear, that live below me. I went outside for a second and Nick was out there - he invited me to come over and watch the Cowboys game. It would be a good chance for me to hang out with a few people from the complex and get to know my neighbor a little better. This sounded great and was just what I needed.

While I'm hanging out, Nick said, "Well, I'm out of here in a week. I bought a house."

I don't know why it upset me so much but this is pretty much the only neighbor I have gotten to know and now he's moving. Not good, not what I wanted to hear.

I know that I just need to take a whole different viewpoint on this whole apartment thing so I can make the situation better for myself...but for now I am just going to be a little sad. I'm tired of fighting to get my maintenance issues fixed and I'm tired of working so hard to make my apartment work out.

The Holiday Season

Well, I leave in just a little while to catch my flight to Austin. My mom warned me of the treacherous traveling conditions between Dallas and Austin during the Thanksgiving weekend, so we booked me a flight home. I appreciate it.

So this is the first big holiday event that I am encountering while being away. It's a bit of a production getting me home and shuttling me around but it doesn't feel quite as momentous as I thought it would. I will be glad to see my family though.

It will be strange to be in Austin with no car...eh, we'll be doing so many family things that I bet I won't have a lot of extra time to do anything else anyway.

I wonder if I will miss them more after I get back to Dallas...we'll see.

Integration, Collaboration, and Brainstorming

After learning that integration is the very best way do advertising, I was surprised to find out that sometimes agencies are talking about it more than actually doing it. So I set out on a quest to find an agency that "gets it" - I want to mesh well so having similar ways of thinking is important.

So learning is one thing and doing is quite another. I understood why it was so important but now I just think it is so cool when I see it. At my agency, integration is just a given - they live it. But I was honestly surprised at how commonplace it is to just invite someone from all/any area to get them involved in a brand.

I have been in several brainstorms already that pull in creatives, media, account services, planning, and clients all at once to come up with new ideas. And we have brainstormed different things - media touchpoints, consumer profiles, strategic directions, and non-traditional advertising methods, among other things.

When I get pulled in to one of these meetings I think it is extra-important that I contribute in some way. I want to show that I am a valuable part of the team. And it's such a relaxed atmosphere that I have felt very comfortable just throwing out my ideas. Again and again I have been told, and it has been reinforced, that "ideas can come from anywhere". It is truly amazing to see so many people hard at work together and enjoying it. :)

This also just feeds into this atmosphere of collaboration at the agency - everyone is very happy to help each other out because we all understand that we are working towards the same goals.

I just can't get over how cool it is.

Passion!

What is your passion?

Once you have thought about that - can you turn that passion into what you do as a job? Try not to think of money here, though yes you have to pay the bills, because if you don't enjoy what you do no amount of money will be a good trade-off for the time you spend in your life at work.

I feel very lucky that I have found a job/profession/career that I feel very passionate about. I think it would be hard to show up every day at a job that I just didn't care about at all.

I started my search for this kind of job in college when I was picking out my major. I had no idea what I wanted to do when I arrived at college. Yes, I was Undeclared Liberal Arts. But I really think that that was the best thing for me. I was able to take courses in every possible area that I thought I would be interested in - I just followed my degree plan to see how the course would be counted and then found something I wanted to take. In the process, I found exactly what I didn't want to do, and that at least helped rule out some options. ;) Another thing was that I kept in the back of my head the thought that I wanted something besides the typical desk job. And all of my thinking about it and searching for it (again, tenacious) led me to discover something that I enjoy, smile about, get excited about, laugh over, and show off with pride.

Will I want to do Account Planning forever, until I retire? I don't know yet. So on top of finding this career, I continue to explore my other passions to not only have a well-rounded and fulfilling life but to figure out if there's anything I would like to do if Account Planning starts to be more of a job than a passion.

I really want to talk about this because I really want everyone to find something they're passionate about to do. I want to know that all of my friends and family really enjoy that 40 hours a week (at least) that they spend doing one thing. Working is a huge part of your life so why not enjoy it?

I like telling people what I do (even if I think they'll judge me for being in advertising - eek!), I enjoy handing out my bad ass business card, and I love talking to people about what Planning is. On top of that, I love talking to people who are passionate about something/anything - it makes the conversation so much more interesting and enjoyable! :)

So I challenge you - if you haven't found what you are passionate about, no matter where you are in your career, what age you are, if you think you can do it or not - just try it. What could it hurt if you don't currently enjoy your job? And this applies to school too! If you're still in school and wondering why, evaluate what you're doing and where that's leading you.

Again, I love this quote: If there's passion, it's right.

Because I'm Tenacious

I recently decided that tenacious is a really good way of describing me. I don't easily give up when I go on a hunt for something. Let's try another way if the first one doesn't work.

I think this is what planners need to be. A lot can be done without doing primary research if you just dig for stuff that's already out there...and dig, and dig, and dig some more. Don't give up because there's really great stuff that's already been researched. Now you'll probably use the information you find in a completely different way than was originally intended, putting together different sources to complete your puzzle, but it starts with you finding those little nuggets of information.

When I'm given an assignment at work, I search and search - different sources, different ways of searching, thinking of any combination of search terms that will get at a different way of finding the information I want. I check out professional research sites we have subscriptions to, but I also search for news articles, websites, blogs, pictures, YouTube videos, and even Facebook groups to get at something new. Google is your friend. Secondary can reveal a hidden treasure. And I search until I think I've got it - you have to cut off the search at some point to move on with what you're trying to do.

If I gave up or didn't try different things, we wouldn't get as much useful information. And I really like uncovering exactly what I was looking for - it's fun to find it. So keep at it!

And The Verdict Is...

Sooo....I got to enjoy a temperature-controlled apartment ALL evening. :)

I think tonight I will sleep so much better - it's not too hot, I can actually make it colder or warmer based on what I want and need, and I just have peace of mind that (for now) things are alright at my apartment.

Yay.

...and of course there was a cool-front this evening, so my new air conditioner came just in time to be turned off. Whatever. :p

I Just Feel Helpless

I am sitting once again in a warm apartment - my air conditioning is acting up for the third time since I moved in just three months ago.

I feel like there is absolutely nothing I can be doing to make this better. I just have to sit and wait for the new air conditioning unit to come in because they are just going to replace it at this point. My apartment is my home and my sanctuary, or at least it's supposed to be. I feel like my life has been put on hold for a few days because everything is not right. If you don't feel comfortable at home, where exactly do you go?

I'm just hoping that after this gets fixed I will get to enjoy my apartment for a while without any major problems. Knock on wood for that one because I already asked that the last time my air conditioning went out. :/ I enjoy my apartment very much but I'm just frustrated about all of these problems.

I talked to the apartment manager and they even offered me the model apartment to sleep in, so I have options. I feel it's getting better but it's still not great.

So I know that people have to deal with maintenance issues all the time, but can we spread 'em out a little bit? :p

We Rock!

I've started to see ads on tv that we work on...and that I at least helped in some small way to get done...

:D

Sweet.

Mommy!

My mom is coming into Dallas as we speak and I get to hang out with her all weekend. I'm pretty excited about it...I didn't know I would get this excited. So hopefully we can do some stuff around here and I can talk to her about some stuff I've been feeling since I moved.

...I don't think I would even hang out with her this much if I visited Austin...

It's nice. :)