Who Knew

You may have heard about a little 'snow day' we are having here in Raleigh today, as is much of the Southeast part of the country. ( Which I must give a shoutout to those folks in the Atlanta-Metro area and in Alabama who have been hit much harder and struggled much more. Many of you have struggled to get home, be safe, and be warm. You will not hear this girl ever making fun of people in the South for not being able to handle winter weather) So this snowy weather meant that NC State cancelled classes after 1pm yesterday and all of today.  I've seen some AWESOME photos of people playing in the snow (there was at 600+ person snowball fight on the Court of North Carolina today) and I have enjoyed having a little time off at home, snuggled with the fur babies and watching Weeds on Netflix. And doing work. Oh yeah! My friend and co-worker Cameron and I have been doing phone interviews for our summer internship positions today from the comfort of her apartment. Some people...

If I hadn't figured out YEARS ago that I was a scattered mind individual and created systems to keep it together, gracious me, I would be a disaster.  I found myself in a meeting today, semi-panicked, because I couldn't use my phone to take notes of things that were coming to mind, so I had to flip over a sheet of paper I was using and just write down a couple of key words to keep it together. If I can't 'document' it somehow, it'll be gone. And my organization system might not make sense to everyone, but it works. For example, I have a silver turtle candle holder on the 1st shelf of my bookcase. Under that turtle goes receipts and documents I need to file. No real rhyme or reason as to how that became 'my place' but that's how it works while I'm in this apartment. I have a similar system with my keys- all 3 sets (car, apartment, work). If I stick with the system, I can usually avoid misplacing or losing things... key word = usually. But some...

This weekend I was reminded of why I ended up in my career.  There was a really long period of time where I thought I wanted to be a teacher, but when I was in the classroom, I found I wasn't fulfilled. While I personally loved poetry, I hated trying to get the class I was student teaching with to learn the information. I struggled with how is this going to help them grow up and be good people... Especially when many of them were experiencing forms of abuse and neglect. I was more concerned with addressing their physical and emotional needs. It was hard to admit the career I thought was perfect for me was in fact totally wrong. Between an awesome mentor and being involved on campus, I discovered that I could make working on a college campus a full time job. I earned my masters and started in a full time capacity in 2009. I've been so lucky to work with so many amazing college students since I began my masters in 2007. And this weekend was one of the best I've had in my role...

If you know me, you know that disorganization sends shudders down my spine. That everything has a place. And a system of being done. Trust me, there is a right and a wrong way of emptying the dishwasher. And there are times on your alarm clock you should not wake up to. An order that you should bathe in the shower. And yes, while you're asking me if I knew I had OCD tendencies, I do. I was just having a conversation with my physician about it today as a matter of fact. Post-It notes are my favorite kind of reminder. Normally, I have several going all at once--especially on my desk at work. I have a notepad in my car and in my purse. And then just in case, I use the 'Notes' function on my iphone like it's no ones business. I was comparing notes in my phone to notes in my notebook I keep in my purse earlier, just to make sure I hadn't missed anything. Yes- I know... it's neurotic. Scars are another kind of reminder. I saw something the other day that descr...

Happy 2014 y'all. I've seen people tweeting and facebooking all sorts of interesting things to introduce the new year. I myself am guilty in partaking in some of this hype as well. '2013- Thank you for the lessons. 2014- I am ready' is one you'll find on my Instragram account (JCriz for those of you wondering). And while I love inspirational and motivating quotes, I hate New Years. Yep, you read it right. In general, I'm not a fan of 'holidays.' Thanksgiving I truly love because its about food and fabulous people that I love. But things or occasions where there is pressure to find gifts or create fuss don't bring me joy. I have, on more than one account, been called a grinch. Guilty as charged... to some extent. And I will have you know, I tried very hard to get into the holiday spirit this year. I bought some new decorations and put up my tree. It worked a little bit. Maybe I'm especially cynical this year, as I'd thought I'd hav...