three things thursday.

we have almost survived another week. hope it has been a good one thus far!

1. yesterday morning we oddly lost power. i was getting ready to leave for work and then BOOM and all the power went out.  My first thought was, oh well i am glad i have my make up on already. and then I thought, oh crap, my car is in the garage and i cannot call my boss to tell him that i will be late since my car is stuck in the garage.  I knew I had to pull the red thing from the ceiling, but I didn't know I had to lift the door too.  After pulling and pulling I quit and called Kyle.  Who then turned his car around, came back to the house (with his coworker in the car) and came home to rescue me and my car.  Oh my knight in shining armour.  :o)

2. I have cried over Tuscaloosa two times in my life. First, when I left that amazing city after graduation and then again yesterday. Tuscaloosa was hit really hard by a tornado yesterday - the mayor described the damage as "catastrophic" {see picture to the right and that is just a TASTE} my friend's little sister has a friend who died in the storm and i have a friend who lost his house and 15th Street is just pretty much gone. it is so hard to look at pictures and watch videos of all the destruction and all the people who have lost so much. Tuscaloosa means the world to me, it holds a huge part of my heart and all my memories bring nothing but joy. it was 3 or so of the best years of my life to date and it breaks my heart to see a place i love damaged and destroyed. it breaks my heart more to hear that the firemen say they will be discovering bodies for awhile and it hurts my heart to know that they're spray painting body counts on the houses. i cannot even begin to imagine what families are going through and how parents are holding up - I know my parents would have been freaking out from 600+ miles away. all my friends have to say was "it is really bad" and that "it was terrifying" ... college is supposed to be a happy and fun time full of amazing memories and good memories - it breaks my heart to know that there are so many students who are displaced and no longer have a place to call their home away from home. it makes me want to head there some weekend and just help. do something. anything. the campus and the stadium were missed but so many awesome businesses and homes were flattened. thankfully, everyone i know that is still in Tuscaloosa are accounted for and okay and the auburn community is amazing for setting up "Toomers for Tuscaloosa".  my thoughts and prayers are with everyone there. forever i love alabama.  if you want to help out .... you can text REDCROSS to 90999 to give $10

3. My life is about to get REALLY busy at work. I am participating in my 1st training class as a teacher next week and then we have to dive right into planning another one that is in June ... and on top of it all I am in the process of selecting a new background screening company and then have to have it all rolled out and implemented by June 1 ... and we may possibly be switching software companies so there are meetings on top of meetings about that and if we do switch that will start the traveling (probably) to train.  Needless to say, I am pretty happy that I bowed out of Ragnar, I don't think I could have done it.  But I LOVE my new job and am SO happy that I chose to take this role over the one the other company had offered me.  I am busy but a good busy, a different busy than before.

Take some time to hug your family. So thankful the weekend is coming up.  What are you doing? Anything fun? 

Three Things Thursday.

... three things thursday. once again. not about running. just about life. maybe i should change the name of my blog from "barbie rus" to "barbie lives" ...

1. This past Monday I put in my 2 weeks notice at the company I have worked at for pushing 3 years.  It was bittersweet, there are SO many things that I have loved about that company. But, in December I was contacted by a company to "talk" about them, me, and what I wanted.  We never connected for who knows what reason, but about 2 weeks ago I was courted again and started talking to them. They offered me a position I just could not turn down.  Though I loved working with my coworkers and many people in the company and though i loved SO many aspects of the company as a whole, I just felt thought it was time to gain new experiences.  I hate to say that I felt that I had hit my glass ceiling at the company I had been with for years, but I was having the feeling that I was "stuck" where I was since I was stable and good at my job.  My old company was without a doubt my "family" here in Atlanta... they're all I have really known since moving here and I am so so thankful for that and for them and for all the memories. I would lie if I said that it was not scary to jump and make a HUGE change since I had a world of job security at my old company, but you don't gain anything without trying and without taking risks no matter how huge they may be.  So what's next?  I am working as a Talent Manager and I will be responsible for building a team of recruiters, managing them, training and coaching and developing them, and still recruiting & working with clients.  Needless to say - I am ready for the challenge and am excited to be starting something new on Monday.  The question is: will it be better or worse for my running life.  They talked about a work life balance... so *fingers crossed* better.
2. After putting in my notice, I was pretty much told I was done - which is understandable since I was going to competition and had access to a database full of candidate and client info.  SO, I have had 4 days to watch Gilmore Girls, shop for the new house, read the book I have to read prior to Monday, lunched with girlfriends, run errands, drink wine, walk the dog, nap with the dog, play with the dog, and take bubble baths!  Tomorrow after lunch with a friend, I am planning on getting my Stone Mountain pass and suffereing through a run.  It has been the 1st 4 days where I had NOTHING to do since moving to Atlanta and I could totally do this for a living.  Why can't I just be rich with zero responsibilities.
3.  Kyle and I picked our 1st dance song last night and we danced to it in the living room.  And no... I don't want to share what our song is because I want it to be a surprise to those who will be attending our wedding.  I love the song so much that I am listening to it now.  Ok, one lyric and if you want to look it up, you can do so.... "you're a mystery, you're from outerspace, you're every minute of my everyday" ....  But I love having our house and all the space so we can dance to my iTunes.  Tomorrow is Kyle's birthday and I am even more excited about that!! =)

With that... I will now give my lifetime movie full attention! =)

three things thursday.

thursday hello again. weekend. come faster. please.
well. i wrote this early since right now I am en route to Charlottesville VA for Kyle's best friend's wedding. I may just freeze to death and if that is the case. It has been real. =)

1. kyle and i live in an apartment. we like our apartment despite the crazy events that have happened here in the 2 years we have lived here. we just have the viewpoint that things happen when you live in apartments, you kinda sign up for it.  WELL... we want to rent a house. Our lease is up 2.24.11 and we (err... I) have been scouring the web for rental properties.  We're running into a few issues (1) all the cute houses are pretty much in the ghetto (2) all the houses are renting for WAY too much (3) houses in our price range in the areas we like that look like winners don't allow for pets. (4) when we find a house we like the realtor just drops off the face of the earth.  I don't want to be homeless and I want my dog to have backyard.
2.  I sometimes I look back at past blog posts and wonder hi. did you graduate college? do you know the differences between your there/their/they're. I understand that I am just writing a bunch of nonsense and jibberish and my brain is moving faster than my fingers but seriously, I am 26 years old with a college degree, I should know the difference. (I almost typed "no" instead of "know. oi.) The worst part about the whole lack of correct use of words is that not knowing that sort of thing (there/their/they're ... we're/were ... its/it's) is a top pet peeve of mine.  ...so for future reference, please do not judge me or think i am a moron...
3.  I do not tend to talk about my job too much. Our company has a crazy social media policy. My friend and I always joke that her infamous facebook post is what prompted said media policy but whatever. My job. I am a recruiter. It makes for some long hours, stressful times, but some awesome stories. You really have to be able to laugh at things when you're a recruiter for a staffing firm.  We have a girl who calls into our branch every week to let us know she is available and looking... and everytime she spells her last name for us and says "E as in apple" ... wait what? E = apple. No it doesn't. Not in my world and probably not in yours either.