24 Years...

I turned 24 yesterday, which when asked how old I was today for a focus group questionnaire, I had to sound like a moron because I said 23, paused, said twenty-umm, I'm 24. Doesn't sound like a hard question normally.

This year's birthday was ten times better than last year's birthday due to 1. Not having to work (well, I had a training for the Auto Show, but that doesn't count) 2. Getting a massage 3. I was not in Iowa 4. Got to go out drinking with friends. Now, the plan for my birthday was to go ice skating then out to the bars, but yesterday was the biggest snow of the season, so a lot of people couldn't make it out and we had to skip the skating. Still, it overall was a good day. I appreciate all the birthday wishes. Last year on my birthday I was working alone in Iowa, so really, anything that happened this year, even a blizzard and earthquake, totally beats it.

24 sounds like a better age than 23, so I think it'll be a good year. I'm working at the Chicago Auto Show until the 21st, so if you go, come visit me!

Happy February!

It's February 1st, and for some reason today, I decided to get my butt in gear. I'm going to start watching what I eat again, exercise regularly, and work a decent amount of hours every day. Also, I'm going to buy some books on different aspects of marketing to get some learning in while I have the chance. Yes, these resolutions should have came a month ago. I'm a little late.

I ran for the first time since August (or somewhere around August) and I think, 3 hours later, I am finally done coughing and wheezing. I've never gone running outside in the winter before, and I think I'll have to alter it a bit so I don't feel like death for hours after. The mix of being terribly out of shape and the 30 degree weather did not agree with me one bit. I succeeded in a 1.5 mile run some, walk some, run some, etc with hopes of major improvement. The other problem is running makes me hungry, and it's hard not to snack when I'm so hungry.

Does anyone have any recommendations on good books about business/marketing/etc that are informational and interesting? I want something that is actually readable.

Exciting things coming up are my birthday next week and working the Chicago Auto Show for 10 days. I'm excited to work outside of the house for awhile as well as keep doing Uloop. Still job searching, but I'm confident when it's time for the right job, we will find each other.

Good luck with your February resolutions if you decide to have any. Hopefully the ground hog will give us some hope of early spring tomorrow.

Not much is new

I really did not mean to make this a once a month blog. I really do need to get better with updating. Unfortunately, not a whole lot has happened in January. I've been on a few interviews, but no job offers. No promotional jobs. Luckily Uloop has been here to keep me occupied during the days.

Working from home is an interesting thing. I seem to wake up at 10:10am every morning, without setting an alarm. I wake up, watch Price is Right while reading/responding to emails, job searching, then do Uloop work from 11am-4 or 5pm every day. I watch almost the same tv shows every day. I usually don't get out of my pajamas until 1 or 2pm. This doesn't sound that great, but there definitely are some perks. Hours are flexible, dress code is extremely flexible, and I can watch whatever lame sitcoms I want while I work. Of course, I miss working with people, but I'm sure that I will be on a permanent schedule with no flexibility soon enough. I've also begun having a routine of night activities, which has made the weeks more enjoyable.

So, I keep on job searching. I keep on interviewing. I keep on doing what I can to get by. Things on the horizon are working the Chicago Auto Show February 12-21st, possibly Vegas the first week of March, then Cancun the end of March. It would almost be easier not to get a full time job till April, but of course I can't hope for that. If someone offers be a full time job tomorrow in a salary range I can live on, I'll have to take it.

There's a lot of thinking of, well, how would life be if I were still at Jimmy John's? I'd be going to Vegas this weekend for them. Almost everyone I worked with before is still working for them. It's been four months of semi-unemployment, but I'm still confident I made the right decision. Every time I go to Map Room on a Tuesday, or bowling with co-workers on a Wednesday, I know the decision was the right one. I'm surviving, I'm making money, I have a social life. Instead of feeling like my life is on hold, it's in progress. Of course, a full time job would be nice again, but things are ok. I'll update more. 2010 and my 24th year of life will be better than the last, I'm positive.

Obligatory End of 2009 Post

Yes, in just about 24 hours a new decade begins. The aughts (is that how you spell it?) are over. The year has been pretty turbulent, and I wish it was ending with more of a concrete future for what's ahead, but what fun would that be? I don't think it was necessarily a bad year, but it was quite the transition.

Things I'm thankful for this year:

-I'm officially out of Champaign and living in Chicago
-I traveled a lot of the country, and know, it's always going to be Sweet Home Chicago
-One full year of no school!
-Lots of really random part-time marketing work that keeps life interesting
-I'm pretty much not allergic to cats anymore

Things I'm glad to leave in 2009:
-Lots of interviewing that led to no where
-Gaining some weight, then dieting and working out a lot to lose it
-A new hotel every week instead of my own bed
-Too many lost weekends due to travel
-Waking up at 6am all the time (see a theme here?)
-Being 23. What a boring age to be.
-Drinking too much in really boring U.S. towns

Goodbye 2009. Hopefully we send you off with a really fun party tomorrow night. Champagne is in the fridge. Bring it on '10.

Things I've Learned from Working in a Mall

I've never worked in retail or in a mall setting before doing these Windows Phones promotions and it's been an interesting experience. I have much more respect for those that work in small stores all day and deal with customers for eight plus hours. I've learned/come to expect some things from malls that would have never crossed my mind before. If you've worked in retail, do these sound familiar?

1. There is a mall sound, a constant buzzing/talking/roar that is always going on.

2. You have no idea what the weather is like outside, or only have a slight idea by what the customers are wearing.

3. You say the same greeting all the time. It's very hard to vary it.

4. Samples are amazing and always available somewhere. Cinnabon, smoothies, ice cream, coffee, sausage, garlic bread, Chinese food, there is always a tray of samples somewhere.

5. I expect a mall discount at the food court. I'm wearing a branded t-shirt, I want my 10% off and will choose food court restaurants based on who gives a better discount.

6. Some customer always want you to explain something or chat about the product while you're closing and trying to leave.

7. The first hour of work is the best because barely anyone is there yet and your fellow employees are all still friendly and not tired.

8. Kids love balloons and lollypops. This isn't solely retail-related, but was reinforced this weekend.

9. You look forward to breaks and what to eat during that break all day.

10. You really wish you had those gel soles for your shoes, but are too lazy to find/buy them for your shift.

11. Not knowing exactly where random stores such as Justice or Build a Bear are will make women shoppers very angry at you.

Don't judge that man trying to straighten your hair at the kiosk. Don't be mean to the woman asking if you'd like to fill out a quick survey. Don't be completely rude to an employee and think you sound cool because of it. Don't tell me you don't need $10,000. Don't let your five year old drink an energy drink. Don't buy your five year old a Smart Phone. Definitely go see the puppies at the puppy store.

Who needs New Years for Resolutions

I've decided I'm going to get into a regular work-out routine again. I've done this by investigating some gyms in the area (although gym memberships are expensive!) and doing a half hour workout off of a workout video today. I've been doing a free pilates class once a week for the last few weeks, but now that that's over, I need to get into the groove I was in on the road. It was so much easier when a high-tech gym was a floor below me in a hotel or when it was nice out and I didn't mind being outside for a run.

I figure if I start doing this now, at least twice a week, I'll be in a good groove once the New Year starts. Eating better is going to be tough with the holidays still here, but I can start working on that again too.

Do you have any resolutions to be started in the next few weeks?

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Belated Thanksgiving! I hope yours was full of good food, friends, and family. I am thankful I've seen a ton of friends this week. The actual eating two dinners in two hours at two different sides of the family part is not that fun, but the rest of the week has been cool.

I've been a complete blogging slacker, but mostly because nothing is very new and exciting. No huge life changes. No big purchases or trips. But the holidays are here so time to enjoy them.

My five week stint with HTC and AT&T has come to an end, and I'm pretty sick of cell phones. But, since I have no full time work yet, I'm going to do the next stint with Verizon. This one is a lot shorter so hopefully won't be as monotonous.

Working as a full time brand ambassador definitely does have its perks. I haven't woken up at 6am in months, I can take naps, and it's always a nice surprise when I get the mail and there's a check waiting for me. I am sick of the job hunting, but I'm not expecting much until the new year starts. No one out there wants an experienced field marketing specialist?

Off to go be in a taping of a pilates class which will be airing on local television. If you happen to come across it on local Chicago tv, please don't laugh too much.

Halloween: Chicago Style

Halloween the past few years for me has been really hit or miss. Last year I was flying back from Florida so had to hurry home and throw together a costume to go to a party where I only knew a handful of undergrads I still knew. The year before that, I worked as a Morganette all night and dealt with extremely drunk students at bars that were way too crowded.

This year I got to escape a college campus and do Halloween the real way. I worked at a mall all day for a promotion, but this mall did trick-or-treating, so I got to actually see little kids all dressed up on Halloween and give them candy. That tradition does still exist! After we ran out of candy after about a half hour it wasn't as fun, but I still saw a lot of adorable kids in adorable costumes. Sidenote, who knew Power Rangers were still so popular?

After work, I went home, got all dressed up (Tinkerbell again, I cheated and recycled a costume, but I had no time to shop), then hit up an apartment party then some bars. It was a really fun night and I still got to spend it with some of my favorite gals, Amy and Mary.

Amy also hosted her annual Pumpkin Party this year, in which we carved pumpkins, drank too much cider with rum, and almost had the cops called on us.

A very successful Halloween season indeed, and it's hard to believe it's November already. The weather is warmer now than it was a month ago, which is just Chicago for you. I'm jobless again in three weeks (well kind of, I probably have another one right after that), but still interviewing for full time gigs, and still keeping my head up. I'm back to working for Uloop a bit which is nice to have as well. I'm excited for the holidays coming up and enjoying those in the city.

Looking for work is a full time job

I am juggling a lot right now.

I have a five week job that is over 30 hours a week, I'm picking up some online work starting on Monday, I'm looking for/doing promo jobs to go around the 30 hour a week job, I'm in focus groups for extra cash, I want to get the liquor promos going, Amy and I are working here and there on our own business, and I'm interviewing a lot. Plus, I'm trying to make time to see family, have a social life, go out to new places, and really develop a life in the city. It's a bit exhausting.

Getting back to a full time job I think will be much more relaxing than this, even though the thought of set hours every day all the time is daunting. I really like waking up after 9am and not being so exhausted by 10pm I need to go to bed.

I'm also having debates with myself as to whether I should go for jobs that may be way more fun and match my skill set well and barely pay anything, or settle for a job that may not be that great but has set hours and pays well. Come on ideal job that has an awesome salary, where are you?

On the road again

I think what I became to accustomed to on the road was the novelty of the situations you get yourself into, and I shouldn't have taken those for granted.

Here I am, in Minneapolis, at the Embassy Suites near the airport, in a huge room with a living room attached and an Irish roommate I barely know, to start training for a five week job. We got off the plane, took a shuttle over, checked in, was told there was free booze for 20 more minutes, drank 3 drinks with our Chicago group, went to the bar for another, then hung out in a co-workers hotel room to keep drinking a case of beer. These are all people I met for 45 minutes a few days ago, and now I am spending 3 days in Minnesota with them (and working with them the next five weeks). I forgot how strange life on the road can be, and how different it is than normal life. Being back on a plane, then in a hotel, brings back all the on the road memories in full force. I don't miss the not being home, but I do miss the stories I could tell about that one time in, dot dot dot.

People all the time tell me they wish I had my jobs because of how unusual they are. Instead of sleeping in my bed tonight, I'm in a hotel. It's something I've been doing for the past year, but after a few weeks away from it, was beginning to really enjoy being home, and was dreading leaving again. I love the change in scenery, and I really love that it's only for two nights. For two nights I can meet new people, drink at random bars, be a little hungover for training, and enjoy the free trip. The travel part is not my life, and I'm still very glad for that. The novelty is back, at least a little bit. I never want to get to the point again where the novelty of the situation is gone.

I know how lucky I am to have my jobs, with all the craziness that comes with them. I have no set schedule, no guarantee for work, but I have awesome experiences, meet new people, and have fun. I'm back to enjoying my life.

In the movies

One of the highlights of the week was being an extra in Little Fockers. I was in the far background of a scene with Ben Stiller and Robert Deniro, and super close to the camera (within a foot) in a scene with Ben Stiller (who was also within a foot of me), so I will definitely be in the scene if they don't cut it. They shot it at the Sheridan red line stop, which is just down the street from us. It was pretty fun!

This week was filled with meetings, interviews, and trainings. It was super busy and will hopefully lead to making money in the near future. I go to training in Minneapolis on Monday for my five week job for AT&T. I met with the people I'll be working with, and they seem pretty cool. I have an interview Monday morning before I fly off for a real marketing job too, so hopefully that'll go well.

I thought a few weeks in I would start to miss being on the road, the structured schedule, and knowing what I was going to be doing every day. That's definitely not the case. I'm loving living in the city more every day and the craziness that comes with it. I get to have so many jobs and opportunities other people don't get to do. That's not to say I won't enjoy having a set schedule again. Keeping track of my schedule has been a little crazy. I'm having a lot of fun though, and I'm excited to see how all these jobs, interviews, etc will turn out.

I'll let you know how Minneapolis is! Flying not driving, woo hoo!

Settling in

Even though I've technically been living here since the beginning of July, this week I really made the transition into actually living here. I'm on the el constantly and am comfortable making transfers and knowing where to go. I took the bus for the first time yesterday. I can give directions pretty well. I'm starting to hit the hot spots that people have been telling me about.

As for work, I've been working pretty steadily this week, and when not working, am setting up interviews and meetings in order to make more money. I was offered a job, but it was commission only so I turned it down. I just accepted a month long gig that will be steady money and hopefully be kind of fun. It involves a 3 day training trip in Minneapolis, so back on the road again in a week! At least they are flying me there, so I won't have to do an 8 hour drive.

So I'm back to being a promotional model full time again until something else comes along. It's really nice living in one spot, working in the city, and taking the el back to my own bed. I wish I got to have some of the summer in the city, but there's always next summer.

Week One of Unemployment

I have to say the first week of unemployment was pretty awesome. I did get sick and had to visit the doctor, but just a cold, and the upside was I didn't have to force myself to work through a fever and a really sore throat.

This week was full of relaxing, job hunting, sleeping late, doctor's appointment and dentist appointment, and hanging out with friends. By Friday at 5pm, I had some various jobs in the works (nothing full-time career type, but some jobs to hold me over) and today I had a response about an interview that might actually lead somewhere. I feel good about being able to support myself and am enjoying actually living in the city.

On Thursday I got to get paid to watch 10 court cases of the Judge Pirro show, which was really entertaining. Off to the NBC studios in the loop, saw Mike Tyson in the lobby, then some very melodramatic court cases with a snarky judge for a few hours. An interesting way to spend the afternoon.

So far so good. Lots of balls in the air in terms of jobs, but I'm optimistic. Have a good rest of your weekend!

Streamwood, IL...the final week

Working in Streamwood, IL this week up in the northwest burbs.

Staying at the Hilton Garden Inn in Hoffman Estates. It's really nice, big rooms, very comfy bed, free internet, microfridge, cookies and coffee in the lobby, small hotel bar, nicer business center, pool, hot tub, exercise center, and a nice variety of shampoos and mouthwash. Got to visit with Darwin and Jess since they live just a few minutes away in Palatine.

Tonight is my last night on the road as a Guerrilla Marketing Specialist with Jimmy John's. It's definitely had its ups and downs the past year. Almost exactly a year ago I was getting ready to hit the road and live in Michigan for a month. In some ways I have no idea where the year went. In other ways, I feel like I've missed out on my life. I won't be traveling as much anymore, but when I do, it'll be special again and I'll look forward to it.

So what now? I'm not really sure. I want to do marketing work in Chicago (if you know of any work, let me know!) I'll be doing temporary contract work while I find something more permanent. I'm in a strange place of being a little sad to leave, being thrilled to leave, and being really unsure about the future. I know it's time to move on, but it's still weird that I'm leaving behind the last year of long car drives, flights, hotels, bars in strange towns, sandwiches, Priceline requests, and being at work at 7am. But, time to live in Chicago and enjoy all that there is there. I'm excited to start and see what life is like in the city on the weekdays.

Where in the USA is Kathryn? Chicago. Stay tuned.

Oprah's Season 24 Kickoff Event in Chicago

On Tuesday, Jenna, Mary Z, and I danced to the Black Eyed Peas "I Gotta Feeling" on Michigan Avenue on Oprah's 24th Season Kickoff Party in Chicago. See the Flash Mob Dance here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T22VEBznFVo

It was awesome that we could be in the front (we're in the bottom righthand corner of the screen in front of the first jumbotron and by green scaffolding), get to perform in this record-breaking event, dance with 20,000 people on Michigan Avenue all together, and get to see an awesome concert. It was a pretty amazing thing to be a part of. Every time I hear this song I want to break into dance now!

Macomb, IL

In Macomb, IL this week, the home of Western Illinois University. It's a relatively small campus, and I didn't know anyone who went here or anything about it before coming.

Unfortunately, staying at a Super 8 all week. Now, for a one star hotel, it's not as bad as previous one-star hotel mistakes. There were really no other options, and it was cheap enough where I didn't need Priceline so could change the reservation if there were huge roaches or stained sheets. Other than pretty uncomfortable beds, drab decoration, no extras, and a musty smokey smell in the hallway, it's decent. Micro-fridge, free internet, meager but free breakfast, deadbolt on the door, and it's bug free. Priceline AND my negotiation skills failed this week. A sad week indeed.

Did anyone out there go to Western? Any suggestions of things to do here? So far I was told to go to Forum or The Pace. Other than going running (which is killing my legs and will have to take tomorrow off), activities seem few and far between.

3 more days till vacation! I can't wait for a whole week in Chicago with no traveling, moving, packing, or waking up at 6am!

Clinton, IL

I think the most ironic part of this week is until Tuesday when we did a quick drive of the area, I had no idea I had worked here before, and done sampling for Red Burrito. Once I saw said Red Burrito/Hardees I realized I had worked a day here a few years back sampling chips and salsa with Amy and did some antique shopping where I bought Jenna a very old camera for her graduation.

Anyway, I'm back again, this time for a week. Second Clinton on the road so far. This one in Illinois, last time in Iowa. The town is small, but has a good variety of things in it for a small town. I love that it has a town square and it's so easy to imagine how it used to look 100 years ago. I'm staying at the Sunset Inn and Suites, which is probably most known for it's fantasy suites. I am staying a normal, king sized, non-smoking room, and it's pretty nice. I wasn't expecting much from a hotel with fantasy suites and physical keys for the doors, but the room and lobby is very clean, comfortable bed, flat screen tv, microwave/fridge, free breakfast and internet, and nice pool/hot tub/sauna. My only negatives are no key cards, but it has a dead bolt so I feel safe enough, and the towels don't smell the freshest. The regular rate is more expensive than I can afford, but they have a cheaper rate if they don't fully clean your room and only change the towels and garbage. I recommend the cheaper way, since the only real difference is making the bed and it saves $15 a night.

I was able to spend two nights in Champaign this week, one overnight in my old townhouse complex I just left and one short night in my old apartment building I lived in for two years. It was very strange being in both places I've left behind with new tenants, old friends, living there. It brought back a lot of memories from Champaign life that I've forgotten a bit now that I'm up in Chicago, but it was a good way to spend some time this week. I think Champaign will always be familiar and a second home to me. Or at least for the next few years. I'm sure once I know no one there anymore Champaign will be that town I lived in a long time ago.

As a sidenote, I hear a lot of people looking to do my job/are interviewing/are on the road read my blog. Leave me a comment and say hi. No offense to Rachael, but the only comments I get are from her, sometimes Mackin or Beth, and various companies who I happen to mention. Another new town in Illinois next week! Let's see how cool Western is...

How do you measure a year?

How do you measure a year? In miles? In hotel rooms? In states or cities visited? In airports? In gas stops? In emails sent? Or blog posts?

One year into my first real job. Officially the 25th marks the date, but I started on a Monday, so close enough. I hope everyone else has enjoyed, or at least appreciated their last year as well.

One year ago, I was finishing up my studying for a sandwich test that would begin my training. The summer ended with classes about to begin on campus, I had a new townhouse, a new roommate, a car that had over 150,000 miles on it, thought a two hour drive was long, had only eaten Jimmy John's three times before, and had no idea about Priceline.

Here I am, one year later with an apartment in Chicago, the same roommate, a new car with 16,000 well earned miles on it, 22 states visited in the past year, and only order a #4, no sprouts, easy mayo, cut in half. I've seen professional sports teams play live that were not Chicago teams, feel fine with a seven hour drive, know the parking situation at Midway like the back of my hand, have a deeply developed love/hate relationship with Priceline, and have more tiny shampoos/conditioners/lotions than I know what to do with. I have plenty of new shotglasses and a pile of keycards in a bowl. Sync, GPS, and Sirius Radio are my new best friends in the car. Tons of blog posts to go back and appreciate. The weekends mean so much more than they used to.

Things that have surprised me over the past year: I'm still not allergic to cats, $65 a night will get you an awesome hotel, and while the scenery may change across the country, the people are pretty much the same. I can walk into any JJ's in the country and jump on the line without any transition at all. If you need something in a strange city, strangers will help you out. Illinois is not so bad. Of all I've seen and done the past year, I'm always glad to come home.

Let's see what happens in year two post-college life.

Sioux Falls, South Dakota

All week has been a constant state of, "Am I really in South Dakota? Have I really spent a week in North Dakota AND a week in South Dakota?" Yes, I am in South Dakota, Sioux Falls to be exact, the largest city in the state.

When we asked locals what there is to do here, every single one replied "party" or "drink". Most of our after work time has been spent at a bar called Shenanigans in the Empire Mall. We partook in a gallon of beer on Sunday, $2 bottles on Wednesday, and tonight is buy one, get one shots and all you can drink for $9. They also have kareoke. Other than Shenanigan's, we hit up Bracco's which is a more island themed restaurant/bar which had a a nice outside patio.

On Monday night we hit up the Royal River casino on a reservation about 40 minutes away. They only had blackjack and poker as table games, no craps, but $3 minimum was nice. Lost money, as I usually do at casinos, but had fun and played blackjack for awhile.

Staying at the Residence Inn by the Empire Mall, which as all Residence Inn's are, is awesome. Free dinners Tuesday-Thursday nights (beer and wine included), friendly staff, full kitchen with an attached one bedroom, huge comfy bed, free internet, free breakfast, cookies at the front desk, alright exercise room, and business center that wasn't working the first few nights.
Sidenote- why do the business centers/printers at hotels never work? Residence Inn's remain my favorite hotel because they feel the least like a hotel I think. Plus everything is free!

So hello and good bye South Dakota, it's been alright, but not the most exciting state in the world. Does make this 22nd state in the past year! And...4 more days till I've been with JJ's for a year!

8 Mile...Livonia, MI

Working on 8 Mile in Livonia, Michigan (by Detroit). Have also visited the lovely suburbs of Troy, Royal Oaks, Novi, and soon to be Farmington Hills and Taylor. The whole team is up here, so there's been a lot more going out than normal. We went bowling at Lucky Strike on Monday night and out to the bars in Royal Oaks on Tuesday.

Staying at the Radisson in Livonia. It's pretty nice, very sheek lobby and bar, although the bar has been closed. The business center computer was actually normal speed and the printer worked, free internet (that didn't work for awhile last night, but otherwise fine), fun Sleep Number beds, good workout room, nice pool and hot tub, and right by some stores and restaurants.

If you're around Detroit, come by a JJ's tomorrow for $1 subs!