In the last month, B and I hit up Nashville, TN and moved to Char-town. We visited my cousin Leigh, who I absolutely adore, had the opportunity to shop, eat great food, spend time with those I hold so dearly to my heart, and see some new things. We visited the Jack Daniels Distillery and Arrington Vineyards, needless to say, our wine rack is full with our own wine :) and the bar is stocked with JD.
Not the greatest picture, but it works...
I had a fantastic last week at work in Lynchburg August 10-14. I was super busy, but I was able to look back on all that I had learned and contributed in a year. Granted I definitely felt I didn't live up to my expectations or potential, but I am so grateful and proud of the opportunity. I also received an awesome token of love... it is heat treated, stainless steel (so it's a beast for its size), with two guide tubes. It has the AREVA emblem on the top and reads "In Appreciation of your commitment and dedication HANNAH ARRINGTON Areva's US Fuel Sector 2008-2009. Super cool. Ohh and I got a gift certificate to Home Depot that I quickly used on hanging baskets and new pots for my patio.
Billy and I are not huge fans of living in Lynchburg, but the surrounding areas are so beautiful and we had time to really grow together without all of the city distractions.
Anyway, so in Charlotte we have been having the time of our lives. We are extremely busy, but using it to strengthen us a individuals and as a couple. Billy is in school full time for Sustainable Technologies with a concentration in Green Builds, and I am working towards my MBA. We are also both enrolled in French Class on Monday nights from 7:00-9:00. Billy has been working with a mutual friend on his business Premier Ozone. He has a knack for it, and really enjoys the work. He was recently promoted to Marketing Coordinator / Technician.
I am now in a Mechanical Systems group designing the EPR (primarily working on the Component Cooling Water System). I also accepted the position of Alumni Director for Theta Tau, which gives me another set of responsibilities. Although recently I have only been working on drafting the Bylaws and trying (unsuccessfully) not to piss certain individuals off. More on that later...
Anyway, my schedule currently looks like this:
Monday:
7:15-4:45 Work
5:00-6:15 Class
7:00-9:00 Class
Tuesday:
7:30ish-5:30ish Work
6:00-7:30 Gym
8:00-until Catch up on Theta Tau stuff
Wednesday:
7:15-4:45 Work
5:00-6:15 Class
6:30-7:30 Gym
Thursday:
7:15-4:45 Work
5:00-5:45 Run Myers Park if I get out of work on time
6:00-8:45 Class
9:00-9:45 Run if I can't get out of work at 4:45
Friday:
8:00-4:30 Work (every other Friday off)
6:00-7:00 Gym
8:00-until Friend time
Saturday:
Usually we are traveling somewhere
Sunday:
4:00-6:00 Golf Class / Lessons
6:00 (or whenever) Soccer League
So my point is that my schedule is pretty tight, and that does not even outline all of the time I must spend studying.
As for the Alumni Director position, it has been relatively smooth sailing outside of the work required to become an official group (Bylaws and other docs)... until recently. Issues were brought up from almost a year ago, that I thought were certainly put to rest by now. One individual has been responsible for bringing up the old stuff and adding new spin on other old stuff. It appears very evident to me that obviously something is bothering that individual heavily regarding the organization; however it was difficult to reach what the problem actually was or is. Last night we had a meeting where a problem would be brought up, then contradicted, then a spin on the problem would be brought up, and then explained as "not a problem". In retrospect, I reacted poorly. I said, "Wait who really has the problem here?" (rhetorically), and I also decided I was done trying to understand the issue after multiple contradictions and vague responses because we were getting absolutely nowhere. I basically said I was done, moving on, ignoring the ridiculous "issue" (if it even is an issue). We eventually moved on, came to some agreements, and all seemed fine. Until I received a hateful email this morning outlining where I went wrong, i.e. questioning who really has the problems (which was very relevant and obvious) and bringing up old incidences (which was why the meeting called in the first place... old issue surrounding a vote).
Ultimately I have chosen to vent on my blog, and move forward, not letting anything get in the way of doing a great job as Alumni Director, but I can't help that it hurts. I guess what hurts most is that I thought all was fine after the meeting... to my face I am doing a good job and all was swell... in an email I am a vindictive bitch that needs to recognize her wrongs. I can admit I responded poorly, but my words were still true. I just don't know how to work with people that you never know what you will do to set them off... that no matter how careful you are, there is always something that was wrong.
I said it with emotion, which I should have left out. Working with engineers (ohh wait, I am one), it can become very obvious why women do not always hold the highest positions. We do take things personally, we are emotional, we are compassionate. It just doesn't always mesh so well with business.
I do feel better being able to write about it, because I can't discuss it with the people who are involved without being unfair to the individual, and I certainly don't want to continue upsetting this person because I cannot take a mix of smiles, happy chit chat, and damning emails. My best advice for any and everyone is NEVER use email to express anger unless your distance requires you to do so. Not only will your point come a across more effectively in person, but you will be much more respected for doing so. Luckily I learned this in college, not everyone was so fortunate.
Off to Oak Island this weekend.... YAYAYYA!
