Thursday, March 27, 2008

Another day, another dollar! Only, not really...

Once again I’m having huge troubles remembering what I did prior to Friday, so I guess we’ll start there. My office was closed on Friday, so my mom got me a flight home for the weekend. It was so great to go home and celebrate Easter and my cousin’s 21st with my family. I got to reunite with a lot of friends from high school, go shopping, hang out with my dog, go to church… it was a crazy busy weekend, but I really enjoyed it.

Then came Monday—my first business trip! What an experience; I absolutely loved it. We flew down to Long Beach, MS on Monday morning. I met my bosses at the airport around 9:30, and then when we got to Gulfport we met up with another woman who is working with us on the project. When we got to Long Beach, I wasn’t really sure what to expect. But what I found was a city destroyed by and never rebuilt after Hurricane Katrina. What I found was a group of people, welcoming us with open arms, desperate to get their city back the way it was. And unfortunately, the Long Beach, MS these people know isn’t going to come back. Their houses, their apartments, their small businesses are not going to exist in the way they knew ever again. But what we can do is try and give them something close—something better maybe, with a prospect of a lively downtown, a beautiful beachfront, a centralized business district, and properly organized neighborhoods and street networks. And that is why planning fascinates me as a profession—because we have the capability to create and reinvent places for people to live, work, and play all at once. And without places, without community, without anywhere to go, we exist solely unto ourselves, floating, not prospering, and unhappy.

Our meeting was constructive. We talked with citizens, the city council, and the mayor. We answered questions and helped calm fears and I learned SmartCode! No joke—last night I was dreaming about transect zones. I’m not kidding. It was sick. The woman from outside ASG that we are working with was extremely helpful. I was sitting next to her during the meeting and she answered every single question I had (and I had a lot of questions). By the end of the meeting I actually felt like I could participate in the project—like I could make suggestions and contribute. That was a great feeling—for once I didn’t feel completely lost. Afterwards we went to a casino and had a nice dinner. It was the place open at ten p.m. in the whole city. Unfortunately, I practically fell asleep at dinner because I was so tired. But it was really nice to get to know my bosses better and to have an opportunity to talk about things besides work. I had a lot of fun and I can’t wait till I go to Texas next week for the CNU conference!

Lessons of the week:

1) Zoning is totally more complicated than you think it is.
2) People in MS have awesome accents.
3) No matter how far from your friends and your home you may be, when you go back it’s like nothing ever changed. And that is more comforting than anything.

Friday, March 21, 2008

What week is this?

This experience is starting blow my mind—my routine is beginning to melt away into insanity and to be honest, I kind of like it. I’m going to blame the weather, the transformation from winter to spring, the smell of rain. My insides are stirring—I’m just aching for something to happen. I’ve been spending very little time in my apartment. I can no longer accept just coming home from work and vegging till bed time. A complete social immersion has taken place since I’ve realized our time left here is growing shorter. But of course with friends comes drama—the high school “he said, she said” and who’s mad at who never really goes away, does it? I think it’s just that everything has just been more exaggerated—more happiness, more anger, more parties, more cigarettes, more shopping, more fun, more crushes, more fights, more excitement. More everything. My mind is on overload—I need more sleep.

The past week has been a roller coaster of many sorts. I keep going back and forth from complete and total contentedness to a depressed sort of nostalgia. I think a lot of it has to do with my aunt. It’s been nine months already since her passing—and it just dawned on me that Easter ‘07 was the last time I saw her well. With Easter approaching again, I’ve been feeling a sadness kind of overcoming everything I do. I miss her.

So—home tomorrow. I’m looking forward to it. The break will be nice. Monday, I leave for a business trip with work. We’re going to Mississippi for a workshop of some sorts. I’m not really sure of the details. I hope I don’t get stuck there… I’m going to be missing the PLS and class but I’m not too worried about it. I think it’s really cool that I’m even going on this trip, and I hope I’m going to learn some things while I’m down there. Speaking of learning—my class’s midterm was last week and I want my grade!

I’m getting so adjusted to being here finally that now I never want to leave. The transition back to school is probably going to be harder than the transition to Washington. It’s a different kind of a busy here—it’s more structured and far less chaotic than college. Here, at 5 o’clock I know I’m done. At school that’s when my work is just getting started. Maybe I’ll be able take this schedule and transfer back to my life at school. Look out—you may see a new, improved, and more organized Ashley Livingston next semester.

Sorry all, that this post is lacking the “on Monday I did this and Tuesday I did that” stuff. I’m honestly having a hard time remembering anything I’ve done this past week. Allow this entry to be a description of the emotional activity of a TWC student instead of the physical. In the end, I think that’s more important anyway.

Lessons of the week:

1) Don’t be afraid to stay up late and do something fun on a week night once in a while. You’ll be a little tired for work, but hey that’s why God invented Starbucks.

2) If it’s okay with your supervisor, listen to your iPod while you work. I’ve been listening to a lot of fast paced, fun music today and I’m really pumped up. Plus, it’s helping the day go by really quickly, and I’m focusing well on my work.

Thursday, March 13, 2008

Week 7

Things with my internship are improving dramatically. Since my long deliberations with Fred, I’ve come to the conclusion that despite its pitfalls ASG is the best placement for me. I have a career goal, and that’s not something I give up on. Throughout college I’ve had educational pursuits in almost every possible major area. From engineering to medicine to anthropology—I’ve tried it all—and said to heck with it all. I finally have it figured it out—now it’s time to buckle down and do it. I guess deep down I knew I was never going to leave, but now that I am definitely staying I’ve found a new sense of determination and excitement about my job. This is where I need to be to get to where I want to go (Thanks Jill).

I’ve been going through a lot of self assessment lately. I’ve been in the process of finding myself—making the transition into a very different lifestyle than I’ve previously known. Socially, life as an “adult” is very different. On a daily basis I interact with people of all ages, races, and belief systems (both politically and religiously). Unlike college, where you can self select the group of people and ideology you wish to be surrounded by, you are forced to deal with people you may not want to all the time. The hardest thing I’ve found is being able to take a step back and realize that you can’t change what a person thinks or believes. You have to have the strength in your own beliefs to sit back and agree to disagree. This has been the biggest lesson of my time here. It’s not the responsibility of grocery shopping, maintaining a home, or getting up for work every day that makes being a grown up so hard—it’s everything else.

Despite its difficulties, this is a transition I love making. The sense of accomplishment of waking up and doing a day’s work is wonderful. While as an intern I may not be making the largest contribution, I am still working hard, trying my best, and doing what I’m capable of to add to the company. This is what I came here for.

Lesson of the Week:
1) If you have very little self control when it comes to spending money… just leave your debit card at home, and carry an ATM card from a savings account for emergencies.

Friday, March 7, 2008

Week 6

Well I had a crazy traveling adventure this week! It was a special event for my sorority back at school on Saturday so I decided to fly out for it. I flew out of Baltimore because it was so much cheaper than Reagan but little did I know what an adventure it would be just trying to get to Baltimore.

I woke up at 6 a.m. to leave for the metro at 7 a.m.. I needed to transfer at Metro Center, but when I got there it said the next train wasn’t coming for 25 minutes! That didn’t leave me enough time to catch my Amtrak to Baltimore so I had to go outside, find an ATM to get cash, and then find a cab at 7:30 a.m. on a Saturday. That was successful enough—but when I got to Union Station that was a whole other adventure to find my train! I thought the train was going to bring us right into the airport, but it didn’t. I had to cross the street and then wait for a shuttle bus to come take me to the airport from the train stop. The way back was even worse—I don’t want to get into it!

Finally I got to Cleveland, a few hours later, and I have never been so excited to go there! All my friends were so happy to see me, and our new pledge class is great. Here is me, my little sister, and my brand new grand little—just a very small fraction of the whole fam!


I was only there for about 36 hours but it was completely worth it. The visit reaffirmed how much I love APhi and Case and I have to say it was so hard to come back here. But now it’s Wednesday, and I’m back in the swing of things. This past weekend seems like a distant dream now.

No lecture this week, just a resume workshop with Fred at TWC. The weather on Monday was fantastic—70 degrees, sunny, light breeze. I wish it could stay that way forever. Unfortunately, it won’t.

I’m so tired right now, work has been long and stressful this week. Tomorrow Fred and I are coming to a final decision about what to do—my internship either is, or isn’t. I’m sick of waiting, and want to make some headway.

Lessons of the week:

1) If you can avoid it, don’t fly out of Baltimore unless you have a ride!
2) If your internship really isn't right for you (and I mean is just awful) then don’t wait around. Consult with your program advisor and make a change. Your time here is limited and you will want to make the most of it.