I started my new job this week. The title of my job is the same as the title of this post, but it's too long to write out again, so from here on out, I am an EMPA. When I talk to people, they want to know what I will be doing at my new job. I'll try to explain.
I work for Indiana University's Center for Survey Research. They conduct surveys for various clients. I (and 5 others) were hired to work on the annual National Survey for Student Engagement (NSSE). Over 600 colleges and universities participate in the survey every year, and our job is to process all of the materials that come in from the colleges and universities and are sent out to respondents.
We are spending this week learning more about NSSE and some of the tasks that we will perform. We spent this afternoon pouring over sample spreadsheets of student information "cleaning" them. Our job was to practice finding all of the capitalization, punctuation, and address formatting errors so that we can e-mail and mail the surveys successfully. It was very quiet and very tedious.
Yesterday, the EMPAs had to wait around for the PowerPoint presentation to be set up and we discovered that of the 6 new hires, 5 of us recently moved to Bloomington because a significant other is attending IU for grad school. It sounds like the other grad school spouses are spending their time a lot like me: watching lots of television and movies.
It's nice to start a job with lots of other new people. Even though there are still awkward silences during our break times, we're all learning together and have the shared experience of being in Bloomington because of someone else's education. Hopefully, it will lead to something a little bit more exciting next year!
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Sunday, September 13, 2009
One car
Luke and I only have one car. We decided that we would sell one of our cars when we got married since Bloomington has pretty good public transportation and we would save money. Being a one car family hasn't been too rough yet since I've been home and can pick Luke up if he needs a ride.
Today, I'm taking the car to Effingham, Illinois, to hang out with Michelle. Luke will be staying in Bloomington to work on homework and watch the Colts.
Luke just saw a local Wendy's commercial. They are having a contest for 4 free Colts home game tickets. Luke says, "Guess what I'm having for supper!?" And I reply, "Are you going to walk?" Luke is sad now.
Today, I'm taking the car to Effingham, Illinois, to hang out with Michelle. Luke will be staying in Bloomington to work on homework and watch the Colts.
Luke just saw a local Wendy's commercial. They are having a contest for 4 free Colts home game tickets. Luke says, "Guess what I'm having for supper!?" And I reply, "Are you going to walk?" Luke is sad now.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Our thing
It only makes sense that Luke and I would spend a lot of our time together watching movies, especially since we met and started to get to know each other through our movie watching, but it has gotten a little extreme since we have moved. I guess that not knowing many people has something to do with it. However, this is more than just simple movie watching. We have a goal.
Anyone who had ever visited Luke's apartment knows that he has a pretty large DVD collection (let's estimate somewhere in the 200s). Then Luke got married and came to be co-owner of all of my DVDs (whether he wants to be or not). One day, Luke decided that we both have to see all of the movies in our ownership. So we went through our (alphabetized) collection and pulled out all of the movies one or both of us has not viewed. I counted somewhere around 80 movies that we now have in queue to watch...in alphabetical order. After we watch each movie, the person who added the movie to the collection has to explain what they like about it and why they bought it.
Whether I want to or not, I had to watch Brotherhood of the Wolf and I will have to watch From Hell.
Now I, being the kind and gracious person I am, have given Luke the opportunity to stop a movie. He was obviously not enjoying Bridget Jones 2: The Edge of Reason. And I did not blame him at all; the first movie was done much better and this one strays so far from the book it's barely recognizable. Ten minutes into the movie he was obviously in pain. I told him that if it didn't improve in 15 minutes that we could stop the movie. Luke is incapable of doing this, though. He has a goal. He will do everything to complete this goal. So Luke sat through the entire movie and complained about it. If I was on the fence about this movie before, Luke has now completely ruined it for me.
The next movie that was formerly mine was Chasing Liberty. Okay, small confession here: most of the movies I added to the collection are chick flicks (Luke also had a chick flick to add to the collection, though!). Chasing Liberty is one of my guilty pleasures. Watching it brings back fond memories of living with Michelle and checking this movie out from the Vinita Park library over and over and over until Michelle finally gave it to me for Christmas. I didn't want Luke to ruin it for me.
FYI (and Luke's), I know that most chick flicks have completely implausible story lines and that there are scenes that are cheesy. I can smell cheese. Trust me. However, Luke feels the need to point these things out in the movies I love. So each time one of these scenes came on, I had to remind tell Luke, "Don't ruin this for me."
He did pretty well with Chasing Liberty. Anyone want a copy of Bridget Jones 2?
Anyone who had ever visited Luke's apartment knows that he has a pretty large DVD collection (let's estimate somewhere in the 200s). Then Luke got married and came to be co-owner of all of my DVDs (whether he wants to be or not). One day, Luke decided that we both have to see all of the movies in our ownership. So we went through our (alphabetized) collection and pulled out all of the movies one or both of us has not viewed. I counted somewhere around 80 movies that we now have in queue to watch...in alphabetical order. After we watch each movie, the person who added the movie to the collection has to explain what they like about it and why they bought it.
Whether I want to or not, I had to watch Brotherhood of the Wolf and I will have to watch From Hell.
Now I, being the kind and gracious person I am, have given Luke the opportunity to stop a movie. He was obviously not enjoying Bridget Jones 2: The Edge of Reason. And I did not blame him at all; the first movie was done much better and this one strays so far from the book it's barely recognizable. Ten minutes into the movie he was obviously in pain. I told him that if it didn't improve in 15 minutes that we could stop the movie. Luke is incapable of doing this, though. He has a goal. He will do everything to complete this goal. So Luke sat through the entire movie and complained about it. If I was on the fence about this movie before, Luke has now completely ruined it for me.
The next movie that was formerly mine was Chasing Liberty. Okay, small confession here: most of the movies I added to the collection are chick flicks (Luke also had a chick flick to add to the collection, though!). Chasing Liberty is one of my guilty pleasures. Watching it brings back fond memories of living with Michelle and checking this movie out from the Vinita Park library over and over and over until Michelle finally gave it to me for Christmas. I didn't want Luke to ruin it for me.
FYI (and Luke's), I know that most chick flicks have completely implausible story lines and that there are scenes that are cheesy. I can smell cheese. Trust me. However, Luke feels the need to point these things out in the movies I love. So each time one of these scenes came on, I had to remind tell Luke, "Don't ruin this for me."
He did pretty well with Chasing Liberty. Anyone want a copy of Bridget Jones 2?
Monday, August 31, 2009
I kind of forgot about this!
I need to work on remembering that I have to keep you all updated on my life!
Okay, that's a lie. I remembered that I have this little corner of cyberspace devoted entirely to my life, but my life is so boring right now, that I've been too ashamed to write anything. Here's a rundown of the month of August:
1. Lived with the Huseby's for over a week.
2. Moved into our own house! YAY!
3. Unpacked, unpacked, and unpacked.
4. Luke went to math camp.
5. Jill dropped Luke off at math camp.
6. Jill picked Luke up from math camp.
7. We've written thank you notes.
8. Cooked. For real, I haven't cooked this much in a long time.
9. Went to an interview today!
10. Tried to talk Luke out of buying a deep freeze to put in our storage closet.
11. Hosted our first overnight guests since moving in: Ruth (Luke's sister) and Melissa.
I'll hopefully be able to maintain number 10 and add a number 12 soon: Went to work.
Okay, that's a lie. I remembered that I have this little corner of cyberspace devoted entirely to my life, but my life is so boring right now, that I've been too ashamed to write anything. Here's a rundown of the month of August:
1. Lived with the Huseby's for over a week.
2. Moved into our own house! YAY!
3. Unpacked, unpacked, and unpacked.
4. Luke went to math camp.
5. Jill dropped Luke off at math camp.
6. Jill picked Luke up from math camp.
7. We've written thank you notes.
8. Cooked. For real, I haven't cooked this much in a long time.
9. Went to an interview today!
10. Tried to talk Luke out of buying a deep freeze to put in our storage closet.
11. Hosted our first overnight guests since moving in: Ruth (Luke's sister) and Melissa.
I'll hopefully be able to maintain number 10 and add a number 12 soon: Went to work.
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Naturally Curly
One of the things Luke and I are working on is cutting back our lifestyle. Since we were both working full-time and living with other people, we had lots of expendable income. And now...we don't.
My big spending area tends to be my hair. A couple of years ago I started actually spending money on haircuts and hair products. I'd been using a line of products called Deva Concepts. I really like this line of products and they've been working really well on my hair, but my current problem is twofold: they cost a lot of money (even when I can use my 20% off card) and there are no retailers in a 25 mile radius of Bloomington.
So I've been searching this website for other options. It's been very helpful, along with slightly confusing. I've been using the routine from the book Curly Girl by Lorraine Massey, which helps you figure out your hair type pretty simply. NaturallyCurly.com goes further in breaking down the hair types and has what appears to be a much more elaborate care routine.
The website has helped me find much less expensive product. I tried the new gel this morning and it held up through the humidity pretty well, but it looks pretty awful after driving with the windows open. It has a fair amount of alcohol in it, but the store I went to was out of the kind I really wanted, so we'll try that one the next time. I'm hoping that the conditioner is good.
I'm still trying to figure out what to do about a haircut. I want one pretty badly right now, even though I don't need one yet. I'm thinking of just going to the place in the mall to see if they will at least cut it dry. That would save about $20.
Any suggestions for an inexpensive curly haircut? Let me know!
My big spending area tends to be my hair. A couple of years ago I started actually spending money on haircuts and hair products. I'd been using a line of products called Deva Concepts. I really like this line of products and they've been working really well on my hair, but my current problem is twofold: they cost a lot of money (even when I can use my 20% off card) and there are no retailers in a 25 mile radius of Bloomington.
So I've been searching this website for other options. It's been very helpful, along with slightly confusing. I've been using the routine from the book Curly Girl by Lorraine Massey, which helps you figure out your hair type pretty simply. NaturallyCurly.com goes further in breaking down the hair types and has what appears to be a much more elaborate care routine.
The website has helped me find much less expensive product. I tried the new gel this morning and it held up through the humidity pretty well, but it looks pretty awful after driving with the windows open. It has a fair amount of alcohol in it, but the store I went to was out of the kind I really wanted, so we'll try that one the next time. I'm hoping that the conditioner is good.
I'm still trying to figure out what to do about a haircut. I want one pretty badly right now, even though I don't need one yet. I'm thinking of just going to the place in the mall to see if they will at least cut it dry. That would save about $20.
Any suggestions for an inexpensive curly haircut? Let me know!
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Huseby House really delivers!
The Huseby House is a quiet B & B on the north side of Bloomington, Indiana. It's so much more than your typical Bread & Breakfast, though. Two full meals a day are served, made with love and care by the proprietress. Selections range from classic comfort foods, such as Chicken Pot Pie (with made-from-scratch whole wheat biscuits), to the exotic, such as Gara Masala. Make sure the brownies aren't left in the oven overnight, though...There might be a mouse on the loose.
Ben and Emy, the proprietors, also offer storage. Go ahead and bring your U-Haul full of all of your belongings and park it in front of the house! They welcome large screen televisions to be set up in their living room...well, Ben welcomes large screen televisions to be set up in their living room. While it is permissible to bring in and set up an XBox, beware that it can become a nuisance when it's time for dinner and Ben and Luke...errrr...some people are having a difficult time pausing their play.
There are plenty of things to do at the Huseby House. You can choose from one of their many games or take in a movie on their television (or your own television, if you choose to bring it in and put it on top of the piano). They have a collection of games to choose from, and they will willingly oblige you and even play a game that they absolutely hate, like Monopoly.
Luke and I have stayed here on all of our overnight trips to Bloomington. They are very flexible and don't require reservations months in advance. They are close to Indiana University and other Bloomington attractions, like the Wal-Mart Supercenter.
Ben and Emy, the proprietors, also offer storage. Go ahead and bring your U-Haul full of all of your belongings and park it in front of the house! They welcome large screen televisions to be set up in their living room...well, Ben welcomes large screen televisions to be set up in their living room. While it is permissible to bring in and set up an XBox, beware that it can become a nuisance when it's time for dinner and Ben and Luke...errrr...some people are having a difficult time pausing their play.
There are plenty of things to do at the Huseby House. You can choose from one of their many games or take in a movie on their television (or your own television, if you choose to bring it in and put it on top of the piano). They have a collection of games to choose from, and they will willingly oblige you and even play a game that they absolutely hate, like Monopoly.
Luke and I have stayed here on all of our overnight trips to Bloomington. They are very flexible and don't require reservations months in advance. They are close to Indiana University and other Bloomington attractions, like the Wal-Mart Supercenter.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Newishness
I felt like getting married, moving to a new state (even a new TIME ZONE), and finding a new job warranted a new blog. Hopefully, this will be a smarter, hipper Jill (hahahahaha). Okay, maybe I'll just try not to put my foot in my mouth too much.
To begin, here are my thoughts on the new things in my life:
1. Getting married.
So, we're going on Day 6 with this one. Marriage is good and balancing. I would probably be freaking out about #2 and 3 more if it weren't for Luke. I get stressed and think that everything will far apart, and he's a lot more even keeled. Luke helps me remember the bigger picture. I could barely sleep during the two weeks leading up to the wedding; I kept waking up thinking of everything there was to do (wedding related and non-wedding related). Maybe it's just knowing that there's nothing I can do or control, but since the wedding my sleeping is much better.
The actual wedding day was amazing. The day started with breakfast at Soulard Coffee Garden with my bridesmaids and family. I found out that the night before Mom (who offered to steam all of the girls' dresses for the wedding, including mine) had pricked her finger on a pin that was in my gown. Joe told her not to touch the dress and proceeded to press it himself. He spent two hours on it! It was the most unexpected part of my day and made me feel very loved by my brother. Breakfast was great--the potatoes at Soulard Coffee Garden are delicious.
After breakfast it was time to get ready for the wedding. Michelle had opened up her home to all of the girls. My mom got ready with us, and my friend Bekah was there, too. Katie and Kelly came about an hour before we had to leave. It was a great group of some of my favorite people in the world.
Luke and I took pictures first at Lafayette Park. It's a lot quieter than Forest Park and much more colorful. We saw each other for the first time on a little bridge and then took a few pictures there.
The ceremony was beautiful. It was everything I wanted it to be: personal (we wrote our own vows), prayerful, and praiseful. I cried as Luke said his vows to me. They were so heartfelt and totally him. I just couldn't (and still can't) get over his devotion and love for me. I can only hope that he knows and sees and experiences how deeply I love him.
I had so much fun at the reception. The food was delicious, the guests were dancing, and the weather was perfect. We had a patio area right off of the dance floor for the people who didn't want to dance. It was happening both inside and out! I didn't want the night to end, but I was totally exhausted by around 9 o'clock.
It was seriously the best day of my life. There were only about 100 people there, which was great because we actually got to talk to everyone. Hopefully, I'll have some pictures to post soon.
2. Moving to a new state
All of our belongings are in the U-Haul in front of our friends' Ben and Emy's house. Ben and Emy are our friends in Bloomington and have graciously opened their home to us each time we came to Bloomington to look for houses. We haven't been able to close on our home yet, which is frustrating for Luke and stressful for me. If we can't close by Friday, I have found a couple of apartments that are available immediately.
Luke and I went to Indiana University today to check-in with his department. The secretary was incredibly helpful: told Luke when he should register, when he'll be able to get his student ID, and asked about my job situation. We met a couple of current graduate students and they were also friendly and helpful. Hopefully, Bloomington will start to feel like home quickly.
We've also switched the computer and car clocks so that they are now on Eastern Time Zone.
3. Finding a new job
This will probably be an on-going topic (and on-going drama). I'm not going to be teaching (unless God changes something quickly). Part of it is the stress of finding a job; Bloomington schools tend to hire IU grads, and the schools that are farther out are farther out. I don't want to be in the car every day for an hour and a half. Plus, Luke and I are now a one-car couple, and I don't want to add the stress of commuting to that situation. And I was also getting a little burnt out on the teaching thing this year. Maybe it was just elementary school that I was tired of...I don't really know, but I kept thinking about other things that I'd like to do.
I really want to get my Masters of Library Science while we're in Bloomington. So, hopefully I'll be able to get a job that will both support us and give me thre freedom to pursue a degree. I've been thinking a lot about what that job could be and applying for positions that I may or may not be qualified for. I would like something with the University, or maybe with a non-profit. maybe I'll work on writing a bit more, too.
Okay, those are the big three. Hopefully, I will be keeping this up regularly :-)
To begin, here are my thoughts on the new things in my life:
1. Getting married.
So, we're going on Day 6 with this one. Marriage is good and balancing. I would probably be freaking out about #2 and 3 more if it weren't for Luke. I get stressed and think that everything will far apart, and he's a lot more even keeled. Luke helps me remember the bigger picture. I could barely sleep during the two weeks leading up to the wedding; I kept waking up thinking of everything there was to do (wedding related and non-wedding related). Maybe it's just knowing that there's nothing I can do or control, but since the wedding my sleeping is much better.
The actual wedding day was amazing. The day started with breakfast at Soulard Coffee Garden with my bridesmaids and family. I found out that the night before Mom (who offered to steam all of the girls' dresses for the wedding, including mine) had pricked her finger on a pin that was in my gown. Joe told her not to touch the dress and proceeded to press it himself. He spent two hours on it! It was the most unexpected part of my day and made me feel very loved by my brother. Breakfast was great--the potatoes at Soulard Coffee Garden are delicious.
After breakfast it was time to get ready for the wedding. Michelle had opened up her home to all of the girls. My mom got ready with us, and my friend Bekah was there, too. Katie and Kelly came about an hour before we had to leave. It was a great group of some of my favorite people in the world.
Luke and I took pictures first at Lafayette Park. It's a lot quieter than Forest Park and much more colorful. We saw each other for the first time on a little bridge and then took a few pictures there.
The ceremony was beautiful. It was everything I wanted it to be: personal (we wrote our own vows), prayerful, and praiseful. I cried as Luke said his vows to me. They were so heartfelt and totally him. I just couldn't (and still can't) get over his devotion and love for me. I can only hope that he knows and sees and experiences how deeply I love him.
I had so much fun at the reception. The food was delicious, the guests were dancing, and the weather was perfect. We had a patio area right off of the dance floor for the people who didn't want to dance. It was happening both inside and out! I didn't want the night to end, but I was totally exhausted by around 9 o'clock.
It was seriously the best day of my life. There were only about 100 people there, which was great because we actually got to talk to everyone. Hopefully, I'll have some pictures to post soon.
2. Moving to a new state
All of our belongings are in the U-Haul in front of our friends' Ben and Emy's house. Ben and Emy are our friends in Bloomington and have graciously opened their home to us each time we came to Bloomington to look for houses. We haven't been able to close on our home yet, which is frustrating for Luke and stressful for me. If we can't close by Friday, I have found a couple of apartments that are available immediately.
Luke and I went to Indiana University today to check-in with his department. The secretary was incredibly helpful: told Luke when he should register, when he'll be able to get his student ID, and asked about my job situation. We met a couple of current graduate students and they were also friendly and helpful. Hopefully, Bloomington will start to feel like home quickly.
We've also switched the computer and car clocks so that they are now on Eastern Time Zone.
3. Finding a new job
This will probably be an on-going topic (and on-going drama). I'm not going to be teaching (unless God changes something quickly). Part of it is the stress of finding a job; Bloomington schools tend to hire IU grads, and the schools that are farther out are farther out. I don't want to be in the car every day for an hour and a half. Plus, Luke and I are now a one-car couple, and I don't want to add the stress of commuting to that situation. And I was also getting a little burnt out on the teaching thing this year. Maybe it was just elementary school that I was tired of...I don't really know, but I kept thinking about other things that I'd like to do.
I really want to get my Masters of Library Science while we're in Bloomington. So, hopefully I'll be able to get a job that will both support us and give me thre freedom to pursue a degree. I've been thinking a lot about what that job could be and applying for positions that I may or may not be qualified for. I would like something with the University, or maybe with a non-profit. maybe I'll work on writing a bit more, too.
Okay, those are the big three. Hopefully, I will be keeping this up regularly :-)
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