Status update:
Passed the damn masonry exam.
I now have OSHA exam to finish this weekend. Then I will be moving towards getting my SWAC access card, ideally by May. Then WTC inspections!
Running:
I ran only once this week, and I plan on running tomorrow morning & Saturday to make it 3 days, maybe I will run Friday through Sunday to follow the required mileage.
Wedding:
Dress is back from the tailors.
Les & I had our first dance class, and it was wonderful! The song we chose works for a Rumba, and Les apparently took Rumba classes at 12 years old! The classes were fun, and we are looking forward to more.
The paperwork parts going to be figured out soon. It will all work out!
Thursday, April 28, 2016
Monday, April 11, 2016
Reviewing 4/4-4/11
Happy Monday
Wedding Successes:
- The dress is now at the tailors, more than 2 months ahead of time. Perfectly on schedule.
- I have the beautiful blue tango shoes - FROM ITALY
- I have coordinated with my dance choreographer, we will start lessons in perhaps 2 weeks.
Exam Successes:
- I PASSED IT! On the first try!
- My boss then tells me that i need to take the second, accompanying Welding Exam. This is pressuring, but it would come with a reward.
- In the mean time, I have taken pole classes to make myself feel better.
Marathon Training Successes:
- I have been consistently running 3 days a week.
- I used some REI Co-op membership "points" i "earned". I got a $30 discount on the cheapest running watch out there that has a GPS function ~$60 w/shipping.
Soleus GPS One
The reason it is the cheapest is that it does not have the function of allowing me to download my running maps. Since I am not going to be posting my trails on the internet, this seemed like an unnecessary characteristic for me when hunting for running watches. I got it in a beautiful mint green, and I like it.
Coffee Addiction:
I broke down and had a cup of coffee the day before the exam. As a result I had a hissyfit at work, since I was so tired that I almost fell asleep while in Grand Central Station.
It took 1 hour to drink a whole cup of coffee, and my heart felt kinda like a hummingbird.
I also drank a few sips of coffee on Saturday between a 'marathon' shopping day at the outlets & a pole class. As a result, I felt heart burn while inverting. Oh well, staring again. As of today, it's been 2 days.
XO Heres to the rest of a good week
Wedding Successes:
- The dress is now at the tailors, more than 2 months ahead of time. Perfectly on schedule.
- I have the beautiful blue tango shoes - FROM ITALY
- I have coordinated with my dance choreographer, we will start lessons in perhaps 2 weeks.
Exam Successes:
- I PASSED IT! On the first try!
- My boss then tells me that i need to take the second, accompanying Welding Exam. This is pressuring, but it would come with a reward.
- In the mean time, I have taken pole classes to make myself feel better.
Marathon Training Successes:
- I have been consistently running 3 days a week.
- I used some REI Co-op membership "points" i "earned". I got a $30 discount on the cheapest running watch out there that has a GPS function ~$60 w/shipping.
Soleus GPS One
The reason it is the cheapest is that it does not have the function of allowing me to download my running maps. Since I am not going to be posting my trails on the internet, this seemed like an unnecessary characteristic for me when hunting for running watches. I got it in a beautiful mint green, and I like it.
Coffee Addiction:
I broke down and had a cup of coffee the day before the exam. As a result I had a hissyfit at work, since I was so tired that I almost fell asleep while in Grand Central Station.
It took 1 hour to drink a whole cup of coffee, and my heart felt kinda like a hummingbird.
I also drank a few sips of coffee on Saturday between a 'marathon' shopping day at the outlets & a pole class. As a result, I felt heart burn while inverting. Oh well, staring again. As of today, it's been 2 days.
XO Heres to the rest of a good week
Sunday, April 3, 2016
4.3.16 Week in review
Week 4/3/16
Wedding
- I bought my tango shoes! Therefore, all of my req'd wedding accessories are taken care of.
- I have set up dance lessons for next Sunday afternoon
- It has been determined that there will be no flower crown, but instead flowers tucked into my relaxed wedding up-do. SIMPLE!
- The flower bouquet can be with Ranunculus + trader joes
- I will be bringing my wedding dress to a tailor by April 9th to start the fitting process
Running
- Ran 3 miles Tuesday, 3 miles Wednesday before work, & 4 miles on Friday with Les
- I think I will use my REI reward of $30 toward the cheapest GPS running watch on the market this week
Studying
- Exam this Tuesday
Wedding
- I bought my tango shoes! Therefore, all of my req'd wedding accessories are taken care of.
- I have set up dance lessons for next Sunday afternoon
- It has been determined that there will be no flower crown, but instead flowers tucked into my relaxed wedding up-do. SIMPLE!
- The flower bouquet can be with Ranunculus + trader joes
- I will be bringing my wedding dress to a tailor by April 9th to start the fitting process
Running
- Ran 3 miles Tuesday, 3 miles Wednesday before work, & 4 miles on Friday with Les
- I think I will use my REI reward of $30 toward the cheapest GPS running watch on the market this week
Studying
- Exam this Tuesday
Monday, March 28, 2016
3.28.16
Happy Post Easter Everybody!
What's been going on this last week?
-My schedule was pretty intense, I had 5 inspections on Monday, 4 on Tuesday, 4 on Wednesday, 1 on Thursday, none on Friday. This was really unual, and out my my control. I hope this upcoming week is more steady.
-I received my social security card in the mail last week. I need it for the application process called SWAC. SWAC is secure worker access card that needed my background information for the last 10 years and my passport as well. Last week I had successfully completed the background info and documents portion of this process. I got my photo taken for my badge. The next steps for this week are having my background information clear with the government, setting in on a training class for safety, then I should be able to attend WTC inspections. https://www.secureworker.com/apply-online.asp
- My favorite TV shows are on right now: RuPauls Drag Race, Girls & Boad City. Its nice to have exciting entertainment to look forward to.
A great interview from Ru with a few spoilers from the season thus far
- I haven't had any coffee for over 10 days. I have been drinking green tea, herbal tea, and a little black tea instead. I bought matcha tea at a place called David's Tea to be my prime alternative to coffee. I know I am not 'caffeine free' but I can feel my TMJ in my jaw is not as bad as before.
Here is the Matcha Maker I got . The lady at the store said, when I expressed disdain about the price, Buy Once, Cry Once. Afterwards you won't regret it. She was right!
- I got myself some sweet office supplies. I have been at AK Engineering for just about 3 years now and I figured it was time to get a pencil holder that I could actually use! I also got a paper tray because other inspectors who I am training come with me on site and write draft reports for me. So I now have a place for them to throw my draft reports! Check it out!This is a cheerful thing I have done for my desk-life.
So thats the summary of last week. For this week:
Wedding: Figure out dancing lessons, shoes, tailoring of the dress
Running: I successfully ran 3 x before work last week. This upcoming week, run 3 x before work, and once on the weekend.
Studying: I have 8 more days to study
What's been going on this last week?
-My schedule was pretty intense, I had 5 inspections on Monday, 4 on Tuesday, 4 on Wednesday, 1 on Thursday, none on Friday. This was really unual, and out my my control. I hope this upcoming week is more steady.
-I received my social security card in the mail last week. I need it for the application process called SWAC. SWAC is secure worker access card that needed my background information for the last 10 years and my passport as well. Last week I had successfully completed the background info and documents portion of this process. I got my photo taken for my badge. The next steps for this week are having my background information clear with the government, setting in on a training class for safety, then I should be able to attend WTC inspections. https://www.secureworker.com/apply-online.asp
- My favorite TV shows are on right now: RuPauls Drag Race, Girls & Boad City. Its nice to have exciting entertainment to look forward to.
A great interview from Ru with a few spoilers from the season thus far
- I haven't had any coffee for over 10 days. I have been drinking green tea, herbal tea, and a little black tea instead. I bought matcha tea at a place called David's Tea to be my prime alternative to coffee. I know I am not 'caffeine free' but I can feel my TMJ in my jaw is not as bad as before.
Here is the Matcha Maker I got . The lady at the store said, when I expressed disdain about the price, Buy Once, Cry Once. Afterwards you won't regret it. She was right!
- I got myself some sweet office supplies. I have been at AK Engineering for just about 3 years now and I figured it was time to get a pencil holder that I could actually use! I also got a paper tray because other inspectors who I am training come with me on site and write draft reports for me. So I now have a place for them to throw my draft reports! Check it out!This is a cheerful thing I have done for my desk-life.
So thats the summary of last week. For this week:
Wedding: Figure out dancing lessons, shoes, tailoring of the dress
Running: I successfully ran 3 x before work last week. This upcoming week, run 3 x before work, and once on the weekend.
Studying: I have 8 more days to study
Sunday, March 20, 2016
Week summary of 3.13.16-3.20.16
Running
- I got in 3 runs last week by run-commuting. Tuesday & Thursday for 30 minutes, and Friday just 20 minutes. This year I have to give special attention to my back and hips so as to not get injured!
- I did a full circuit of physical therapy on Thursday. I plan on keeping this a weekly task.
- I did a full circuit of physical therapy on Thursday. I plan on keeping this a weekly task.
- Strength training: Pole private at Body & Pole was a definite conditioning experience: Hip & shoulder opening, Back & core strengthing. I look forward to the exams being behind me so I can train more frequently. A great way to relax.
- I came out to Les, told him I got into the Marathon. He looked a little worried for me, because I typically get overwhelmed. Luckily is it still 9 months away!
Studying
- I finally signed up for the exam. I registered for the first option to do a morning session from 8 AM to 12 PM which was April 5th. The seminar professor had recommended taking the exam no less than 2 weeks after the end of the seminar, and the date I chose is 17 days after the seminar, which means I'm not following the recommendation to the "T", which is causing pangs of doubt. The reason I chose April 5 was because that the date with my preferred time slot of 8 AM. The other scenarios of taking the exam at 4 PM after 3 inspections is unpleasant to think of. It will all work out has to be my mantra with this.
- I completed the 'homework' of 8 chapters of the workbook
- I completed the 'sample test packet' of 40 pages hand written by the seminar teacher, who is also a person who wrote the exam.
- I am in the process of reviewing the notes from the 16 hours of seminar I went thru those two Saturdays ago.
Goals: Finish reviewing and identifying all possible sample problems by 3/27.: (The structure of the exam is 60 questions from 3 possible reference materials, 30 questions from a set of construction plans. It is recommended to spend 1 hour on the open book portion and 2.5 hours on the plan set). Review and memorize the answer and location to the sample problems between 3/27 & 4/3. Handle the exam on 4/5/16. Have a massage booked for 4/5/16. Have a nice birthday in between the studying.
Wedding
- I need to get my dress tailored
- I need to consider dancing shoes for the first dance.... I have beautiful glitter wedges for the garden party part of the party, but I didn't purchase them with dancing in mind..
- Les & I are doing well on keeping track, and the Barden conference calls are going well :)
Good things from the week:
1) I found a 5 dollar bill on my short run on Friday
1) I found a 5 dollar bill on my short run on Friday
2) I have a close friend who just gave birth to a healthy baby girl!
3) I successfully navigated the NYC social security office this week
4) Rupaul Drag Race Season 8 is a joy and very entertaining to watch
5) I registered for the J.P. Morgan Corporate Race with my company, it is a NYC city wide empolyee fun-run that AK Engineering is signed up for
6) My boss had a workout class-bonding hour booked at a work out studio called Throw-Back Fitness. It was silly and fun.
7) I have so far gone 2.5 days without a cup of coffee - an achievement! I had taken a personality test that stated that my personality was Anxiety - what a bummer! So i realized I just need to stop fueling the fire with so much darn coffee. I have been drinking green tea and Matcha tea instead. I'm not going cold turkey from coffee, but I do feel noticably more pleasant. Here's hoping everyone else around me and that silly internet quiz will notice a change in like a month or so.
Monday, March 14, 2016
3/14/16 Monday
Happy Rainy Monday
Wedding stuff completed
1. Les sent the Chowgirl's catering company the signed proposal.
2. Officiant & I are communicating about the date for our skype session to review vows
3. not much to do honestly
4. Aunt Candy is coming!
Marathon
1. Last night I did the full physical therapy to attend to my tired hips.
The level of running base I need to have by the wedding is comfortably running 12 miles a week. So, like 15 weeks to get to that level comfortably. That is a lot of time honestly, which i appreciate. I will have the goal of getting myself out there on the road 3 times a week for short runs, just to be excited about it again. With Daylight Savings I will chose to run-commute after work to enjoy the extra sun :)
Studies
1. I had gotten through the 'homework' given by the structural seminar guru to do chapters 1-8 of the Structural Steel Inspectors workbook. I put in 2 hours pounding through, but got stuck where it felt the material isn't applicable. A little frustrating. So instead I will do the following:
- Tuesday I will tab my international building code book as I have been informed to
- Once tabbing is complete I will go through the personalized workbook the instructor also handed out.
- Then I will review all the portions in the hand outs.
Once completing these steps I will sign up for the exammm. eeek
Work Stuff:
Need to find social security card & get my passport for gaining a special access card for my World Trade Center inspections. The places I will be inspecting are future retail spaces like H&M and a fancy watch place, but the procedure for getting into WTC at 185 Greenwich is a royal pain.
Goodthings
1. I had a nice walk through central park because I had two inspections directly across from eachother, that the best way to reach it was by strolling
2. I got to visit the inside of the Occulous - the wtc path station that looks like an eyelash - and it turns out it isn't waterproof! The contractor Structuretone was running around trying to maintain the leaks!
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/07/nyregion/as-oculus-at-world-trade-center-opens-so-does-a-neighborhood.html
3. Yesterday I had just seen a beautiful Disney short called "Lava". It is a tear jerker!
4. My realtor informed me today that my (most likely) future landlord had just sent the architectural plans to the Jersey City permitting office for review. This is good news. Hopefully they will be approved, and then construction can happen.
Wedding stuff completed
1. Les sent the Chowgirl's catering company the signed proposal.
2. Officiant & I are communicating about the date for our skype session to review vows
3. not much to do honestly
4. Aunt Candy is coming!
Marathon
1. Last night I did the full physical therapy to attend to my tired hips.
The level of running base I need to have by the wedding is comfortably running 12 miles a week. So, like 15 weeks to get to that level comfortably. That is a lot of time honestly, which i appreciate. I will have the goal of getting myself out there on the road 3 times a week for short runs, just to be excited about it again. With Daylight Savings I will chose to run-commute after work to enjoy the extra sun :)
Studies
1. I had gotten through the 'homework' given by the structural seminar guru to do chapters 1-8 of the Structural Steel Inspectors workbook. I put in 2 hours pounding through, but got stuck where it felt the material isn't applicable. A little frustrating. So instead I will do the following:
- Tuesday I will tab my international building code book as I have been informed to
- Once tabbing is complete I will go through the personalized workbook the instructor also handed out.
- Then I will review all the portions in the hand outs.
Once completing these steps I will sign up for the exammm. eeek
Work Stuff:
Need to find social security card & get my passport for gaining a special access card for my World Trade Center inspections. The places I will be inspecting are future retail spaces like H&M and a fancy watch place, but the procedure for getting into WTC at 185 Greenwich is a royal pain.
Goodthings
1. I had a nice walk through central park because I had two inspections directly across from eachother, that the best way to reach it was by strolling
2. I got to visit the inside of the Occulous - the wtc path station that looks like an eyelash - and it turns out it isn't waterproof! The contractor Structuretone was running around trying to maintain the leaks!
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/07/nyregion/as-oculus-at-world-trade-center-opens-so-does-a-neighborhood.html
3. Yesterday I had just seen a beautiful Disney short called "Lava". It is a tear jerker!
4. My realtor informed me today that my (most likely) future landlord had just sent the architectural plans to the Jersey City permitting office for review. This is good news. Hopefully they will be approved, and then construction can happen.
Sunday, March 13, 2016
3/13/16 Sunday
Wedding
1. We followed up on the catering proposal
2. I gave Les my portion of the catering cost
3. I booked the hotel accomodations for the saint paul wedding night
4. I updated the guest list portion of the wedding excel sheet
5. Les looked up dancing classes. apprently the going rate is $90/hr.
6. We reached out to the officient to schedule a skype session in April
7. I looked up noise ordinances, and it isn't required for non-amplification
8. We casually browsed wedding bands/rings
Marathon
1. Need to do PT
2. Is it wrong that I am excited about wearing something fancy on my possible marathon day? I am thinking of a Beyonce Inspired Racing Top along the lines of "Who runs the world? GIRLS!" this is leading down a worm hole of etsy & pinterest possibilities. Whatever it takes to get committed I guess
Studying
1. Yesterday was the last seminar. I feel stressed about it. I feel stressed by the time crunch of having to pass this test and then sign up for a second seminar a month later for Welding. When I was at the seminar I was informed that this certification isn't even worth that much in comparison to the one held by AWS, the American Welding Seminar. This makes me think that the International Code Council Exam that I am signing up for is CHOPPED LIVER. Disgusting and worthless... no... it is going to look good no matter what but I feel annoyed and anxious about it.
#1 - The tasks I will take will be finishing the work book.
#2 - Reviewing the handouts I received
#3 - Memorizing the portions highlighted during the seminar
#4 - Sign up for the exam, to be taken before 4/15.
Worst case scenario will be that I fail this exam 3 times, then I won't be able to take the Welding Seminar with this Guru teacher. My job prospects at AK Engineering won't fail because of that. It is a bit unrealistic to pass this exam when I have zero relevant job experience to reinforce it with. And I was hesitant to sign up for these exams in the first place BECAUSE of the stress. but oh well. All I can do is put in 3 hours of work today and then try to chill the F out and be happy because I am not at work right now.
5:20 OK I put in 3 hours on this. Got from Chapter 5 (1-16) & ch. 6 (1-9) in that time. I need other books that are in the office, so i will make good progress tomorrow with all of the required materials.
Good progress, I can rest easy now for the rest of this crazy weekend.
Here are some Cheesy quotes I am going to store for safe keeping:
"Do you need a mentor, or do you need to make a decision and move forward?"
"The road to success is dotted with many tempting parking places"
Love you
1. We followed up on the catering proposal
2. I gave Les my portion of the catering cost
3. I booked the hotel accomodations for the saint paul wedding night
4. I updated the guest list portion of the wedding excel sheet
5. Les looked up dancing classes. apprently the going rate is $90/hr.
6. We reached out to the officient to schedule a skype session in April
7. I looked up noise ordinances, and it isn't required for non-amplification
8. We casually browsed wedding bands/rings
Marathon
2. Is it wrong that I am excited about wearing something fancy on my possible marathon day? I am thinking of a Beyonce Inspired Racing Top along the lines of "Who runs the world? GIRLS!" this is leading down a worm hole of etsy & pinterest possibilities. Whatever it takes to get committed I guess
Studying
1. Yesterday was the last seminar. I feel stressed about it. I feel stressed by the time crunch of having to pass this test and then sign up for a second seminar a month later for Welding. When I was at the seminar I was informed that this certification isn't even worth that much in comparison to the one held by AWS, the American Welding Seminar. This makes me think that the International Code Council Exam that I am signing up for is CHOPPED LIVER. Disgusting and worthless... no... it is going to look good no matter what but I feel annoyed and anxious about it.
#1 - The tasks I will take will be finishing the work book.
#2 - Reviewing the handouts I received
#3 - Memorizing the portions highlighted during the seminar
#4 - Sign up for the exam, to be taken before 4/15.
Worst case scenario will be that I fail this exam 3 times, then I won't be able to take the Welding Seminar with this Guru teacher. My job prospects at AK Engineering won't fail because of that. It is a bit unrealistic to pass this exam when I have zero relevant job experience to reinforce it with. And I was hesitant to sign up for these exams in the first place BECAUSE of the stress. but oh well. All I can do is put in 3 hours of work today and then try to chill the F out and be happy because I am not at work right now.
5:20 OK I put in 3 hours on this. Got from Chapter 5 (1-16) & ch. 6 (1-9) in that time. I need other books that are in the office, so i will make good progress tomorrow with all of the required materials.
Good progress, I can rest easy now for the rest of this crazy weekend.
Here are some Cheesy quotes I am going to store for safe keeping:
"Do you need a mentor, or do you need to make a decision and move forward?"
"The road to success is dotted with many tempting parking places"
Love you
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