This has been the longest week I've ever experienced. 
Last Thursday, rumors started flying at work that there were going to be layoffs, but no one really knew anything for sure. I spent the whole weekend being stressed but in general trying to convince myself that it wasn't really going to happen.
Come Monday, we start seeing people getting laid off and leaving work. A few were turned around as soon as they came in Monday morning. That's when I started really panicking, being the newest permanent employee in my department and feeling rather expendable. I cannot even describe the feeling at work on Monday - the tension and anxiety levels were through the roof. And they made us wait around like that until 3:30. FINALLY, we get called in to a meeting.
So I'm walking with my fellow co-workers to said meeting when my boss pulls me out of the crowd and says he and I are not supposed to go to that meeting and that's all he knows. I almost fell over. The stress of not understanding what was happening was insane. I left the building for about 15 minutes, walked around to try to relieve some of the stress, called my mom. When I get back I find out that the people in that meeting were laid off (others had been turned around on their way there as well)....they were given an appointment time to return in the following days for their severance package and to pack up their desk, then escorted out of the building.
In all, 20% of the company is gone. But almost half of the people out of my department were cut. It's a completely different environment at work now. We were all friends in my department. I think all of us remaining are feeling some degree of survivor's guilt. (I certainly am...I have basically replaced the person who trained me, and he'd been there for seven years before me.) Not to mention the workload is insane - it doesn't seem like it has been cut back much, and yet we have half the staff. I think at the moment the department manager is not quite sure how to reallocate us. I guess we'll just have to wait for the dust to settle...
All in all, I am so thankful to still have this job - I feel EXTREMELY lucky. I feel terrible for my coworkers and everyone else who has been stranded by this economy. I hope all of you are doing well.
XOXO
Mere
Last Thursday, rumors started flying at work that there were going to be layoffs, but no one really knew anything for sure. I spent the whole weekend being stressed but in general trying to convince myself that it wasn't really going to happen.
Come Monday, we start seeing people getting laid off and leaving work. A few were turned around as soon as they came in Monday morning. That's when I started really panicking, being the newest permanent employee in my department and feeling rather expendable. I cannot even describe the feeling at work on Monday - the tension and anxiety levels were through the roof. And they made us wait around like that until 3:30. FINALLY, we get called in to a meeting.
So I'm walking with my fellow co-workers to said meeting when my boss pulls me out of the crowd and says he and I are not supposed to go to that meeting and that's all he knows. I almost fell over. The stress of not understanding what was happening was insane. I left the building for about 15 minutes, walked around to try to relieve some of the stress, called my mom. When I get back I find out that the people in that meeting were laid off (others had been turned around on their way there as well)....they were given an appointment time to return in the following days for their severance package and to pack up their desk, then escorted out of the building.
In all, 20% of the company is gone. But almost half of the people out of my department were cut. It's a completely different environment at work now. We were all friends in my department. I think all of us remaining are feeling some degree of survivor's guilt. (I certainly am...I have basically replaced the person who trained me, and he'd been there for seven years before me.) Not to mention the workload is insane - it doesn't seem like it has been cut back much, and yet we have half the staff. I think at the moment the department manager is not quite sure how to reallocate us. I guess we'll just have to wait for the dust to settle...
All in all, I am so thankful to still have this job - I feel EXTREMELY lucky. I feel terrible for my coworkers and everyone else who has been stranded by this economy. I hope all of you are doing well.
XOXO
Mere
Did anyone else try to go out and do anything today? I did and let me just say that the traffic was RIDICULOUS! Seriously, I am asking you, was it all just because of the Superbowl? If so, I am astounded how a football game can have such a major effect.YIKES! 
XOXO
Mere
XOXO
Mere
I love all the interesting people I meet riding public transit. I spend around an hour on public transpo every day in my commute to and from work - and I have been witness to some pretty interesting things and have talked to some pretty interesting people...
On my way home today this lady sits down next to me. That's fine - that's sorta what you expect during prime commute hours on a subway train. But I keep my nose buried in my book and mind my own business.
The next stop the train makes this lady taps me on the shoulder and asks me if I know what stop we're at. So I tell her, and try to go back to my reading. But, oh no, now that she's got my attention, she's going to complain about how the conductor should announce the stop we're at (which he was doing, but the speakers near us were kinda crappy, and she apparently couldn't hear it at all) and how if they don't announce they should receive a pay cut. "What if you're a tourist? What if you never really ride the BART?! How the heck are you supposed to know when to get off?!?! I guess you will just have to rely on your fellow passengers! How ridiculous!!!"
At which point I smile and nod and go back to my reading. And at the next stop she taps my shoulder again to ask me where we are. "I don't want to miss my stop! I have no idea where we are, they should give some indication!!" So I tell her there are signs in the station that you can see when the train stops, in case you can't hear the conductor. I determine which stop she wants to get off at, tell her that's in two more stops and go back to my reading with the hopes that I have given her everything she needs to know.
Of course not. She proceeds to tell me about how she stayed up the whole night. "Oh my god, have you ever done that??? I'm just SOOOO tired, you know what I mean? It's like, you stay up - you don't sleep - the WHOLE night, and then you're just so tired the next day," she says, shaking her head in disbelief. "It's not really funny, but it's just so funny how tired I am. And then you start to feel really spacey - you know what I mean? I just feel so spacey right now. And then you get dizzy. I'm not dizzy right now, thank god, but I'm tired and I don't want to miss my stop. I told my friend I was taking the subway home, and she was all 'Oh, be CAREFUL, hon!' And I still have to catch the bus after this, which is even worse!!!"
The whole time I'm smiling and nodding, not really saying much other than "yeah..." Maybe I shouldn't have even done that. Maybe I was encouraging her. Or maybe she was too tired and spacey to care. She then began mumbling something about being in undeveloped countries, blah, blah, blah.... I was turning back to my book and trying to read. She taps my shoulder again, as we're pulling up to the station she wants to get off at. "OH my GOD!!! I was reading the other day that in some country called Yemen they are so starving that they have to feed their children this crap that makes them high! I mean can you BELIEVE that?!?!?!"
I was so afraid she was too spacey to remember that this was her stop. I kept glancing over at the train door and then back at her to kind of give her the hint that she should really be getting up to go. There was no way I could actually verbally interrupt her. Finally, at the last second, she gathered up her things. "Well, this is me! Wish me luck on the bus!"
Ahh, public transit. Go green and take public transpo whenever you can!
You never know who you'll run in to 
XOXO
Mere
On my way home today this lady sits down next to me. That's fine - that's sorta what you expect during prime commute hours on a subway train. But I keep my nose buried in my book and mind my own business.
The next stop the train makes this lady taps me on the shoulder and asks me if I know what stop we're at. So I tell her, and try to go back to my reading. But, oh no, now that she's got my attention, she's going to complain about how the conductor should announce the stop we're at (which he was doing, but the speakers near us were kinda crappy, and she apparently couldn't hear it at all) and how if they don't announce they should receive a pay cut. "What if you're a tourist? What if you never really ride the BART?! How the heck are you supposed to know when to get off?!?! I guess you will just have to rely on your fellow passengers! How ridiculous!!!"At which point I smile and nod and go back to my reading. And at the next stop she taps my shoulder again to ask me where we are. "I don't want to miss my stop! I have no idea where we are, they should give some indication!!" So I tell her there are signs in the station that you can see when the train stops, in case you can't hear the conductor. I determine which stop she wants to get off at, tell her that's in two more stops and go back to my reading with the hopes that I have given her everything she needs to know.
Of course not. She proceeds to tell me about how she stayed up the whole night. "Oh my god, have you ever done that??? I'm just SOOOO tired, you know what I mean? It's like, you stay up - you don't sleep - the WHOLE night, and then you're just so tired the next day," she says, shaking her head in disbelief.
"It's not really funny, but it's just so funny how tired I am. And then you start to feel really spacey - you know what I mean? I just feel so spacey right now. And then you get dizzy. I'm not dizzy right now, thank god, but I'm tired and I don't want to miss my stop. I told my friend I was taking the subway home, and she was all 'Oh, be CAREFUL, hon!' And I still have to catch the bus after this, which is even worse!!!"The whole time I'm smiling and nodding, not really saying much other than "yeah..." Maybe I shouldn't have even done that. Maybe I was encouraging her. Or maybe she was too tired and spacey to care. She then began mumbling something about being in undeveloped countries, blah, blah, blah.... I was turning back to my book and trying to read. She taps my shoulder again, as we're pulling up to the station she wants to get off at. "OH my GOD!!! I was reading the other day that in some country called Yemen they are so starving that they have to feed their children this crap that makes them high! I mean can you BELIEVE that?!?!?!"
I was so afraid she was too spacey to remember that this was her stop. I kept glancing over at the train door and then back at her to kind of give her the hint that she should really be getting up to go. There was no way I could actually verbally interrupt her. Finally, at the last second, she gathered up her things. "Well, this is me! Wish me luck on the bus!"
Ahh, public transit. Go green and take public transpo whenever you can!
You never know who you'll run in to XOXO
Mere
Today in the Life...
~ Up and at 'em at 5:30
~ The bus does not arrive on time, so my boyfriend has to drive me to the subway
~ Find a parking ticket on the car...stupid street sweeping
~ The subway trains are running 20 minutes late
~ Lose my nostril jewelry, subsequently use a paper clip to keep the piercing open
~ Practice some French while working
~ Tease my boss about his excitement over finding bubble wrap
~ Eat a yummy burrito for lunch
~ Leave work early cuz I have nothing else to keep me occupied
~ Walk my uncle's dogs
~ Pig out on junk food while watching Top Chef
~ Into my jammies and getting cozy under the covers at 9:00
~ Mess around on SG for a while...
It's safe to say I did not have a stupendous morning, but the burrito lunch turned everything around...Burritos are my chicken noodle soup. It was so nice to have such a lazy evening.
XOXO
Mere
~ Up and at 'em at 5:30
~ The bus does not arrive on time, so my boyfriend has to drive me to the subway
~ Find a parking ticket on the car...stupid street sweeping
~ The subway trains are running 20 minutes late
~ Lose my nostril jewelry, subsequently use a paper clip to keep the piercing open
~ Practice some French while working
~ Tease my boss about his excitement over finding bubble wrap
~ Eat a yummy burrito for lunch
~ Leave work early cuz I have nothing else to keep me occupied
~ Walk my uncle's dogs
~ Pig out on junk food while watching Top Chef
~ Into my jammies and getting cozy under the covers at 9:00
~ Mess around on SG for a while...
It's safe to say I did not have a stupendous morning, but the burrito lunch turned everything around...Burritos are my chicken noodle soup. It was so nice to have such a lazy evening.
XOXO
Mere
Well, I finally got together with my wonderful photographer to shoot another set over the past weekend. We had tons of fun together working on the set. I'm looking through all the pictures now...I'm so happy with how they turned out.I can't wait to share the fruits of my labor with all of you! 
XOXO
Mere
XOXO
Mere
Number 44!!!
I am an American - born and raised in the midwest. For four years, though, I left my home country to go to college. Being out of the country, I gained a valuable perspective on the world opinion of the United States that I think, unfortunately, many Americans do not get a chance to hear. From the outside, I watched the choices that my government was making, and my sense of patriotism and feeling of confidence in my country became almost nonexistent. We could have been changing the world in such positive ways, but instead we were serving our own selfish interests, regardless of the impact on the lives of our neighbors.
But today, I felt I could stand up and say once again that I am proud to be American. With today's inauguration of President Barack Obama, I feel like we're stepping down the correct path. Here are some quote from his inaugural address that really spoke to me:
"In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned."
"As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals...And so to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: Know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more."
"...our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint."
"...we can no longer afford indifference to suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it."
"What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility -- a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation and the world; duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task."
I am so excited about the prospect that Obama will help lead the country in a new direction€“ where we are no longer the bully, but instead reach out a hand to countries that need us. I am excited about his policies and I can't wait to see how his government and the American people will address the current (immense) challenges that face them, and what we will be able to achieve in the coming years.
XOXO
Mere
I am an American - born and raised in the midwest. For four years, though, I left my home country to go to college. Being out of the country, I gained a valuable perspective on the world opinion of the United States that I think, unfortunately, many Americans do not get a chance to hear. From the outside, I watched the choices that my government was making, and my sense of patriotism and feeling of confidence in my country became almost nonexistent. We could have been changing the world in such positive ways, but instead we were serving our own selfish interests, regardless of the impact on the lives of our neighbors.
But today, I felt I could stand up and say once again that I am proud to be American. With today's inauguration of President Barack Obama, I feel like we're stepping down the correct path. Here are some quote from his inaugural address that really spoke to me:
"In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned."
"As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals...And so to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: Know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more."
"...our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint."
"...we can no longer afford indifference to suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it."
"What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility -- a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation and the world; duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task."
I am so excited about the prospect that Obama will help lead the country in a new direction€“ where we are no longer the bully, but instead reach out a hand to countries that need us. I am excited about his policies and I can't wait to see how his government and the American people will address the current (immense) challenges that face them, and what we will be able to achieve in the coming years.
XOXO
Mere
Well, at least I am a HOPEFUL now!
My first submission was rejected (suprise, surprise) but it is now up in the Hopefuls Pics section. I had a ton of fun doing this shoot, and I am really happy with how it turned out. If you haven't checked it out yet, hop on over to my pics I would love to hear your comments on the set!
My first submission was rejected (suprise, surprise) but it is now up in the Hopefuls Pics section. I had a ton of fun doing this shoot, and I am really happy with how it turned out. If you haven't checked it out yet, hop on over to my pics
I would love to hear your comments on the set! 
