i remember that swagger...

hey.  it's your negligent friend, holly.  let me just blow the dust off this blog here...

uh, you should back up if you have asthma or allergies...

ah, that's better.

so, a quick life update.

location: indianapolis, indiana
more specifically: travis and kelli's house

why i love it: well, to start, travis and kelli are there!  duh.  living with them is fun and awesome.  there's lots of good food, movie quoting, hugging, and jeopardy watching.  i am only an hour from marion, so i can get up there a couple times a month to meet with students and spend time in that heart community.  i am close to my family while not living in a room that is full of boxes that have been packed since last april.  when it's warmer out, i have quick access to a pool.  and i have a rad prayer closet in my room.  and it's only ten minutes from work.

wait, what?

yeah, i got a job.  no, it's not specifically using my degrees (and i still wouldn't trade them for anything).  but it is using the sum total of knowledge and skills i have accumulated in thirty years.  i work for capital analysts of the midwest.  i am pretty much a glorified receptionist.  but they want to turn the position into more.  cause of all my sweet aforementioned skills.  ;)  it's a wealth advising/management company.  what they do is pretty cool, actually...helping people steward their money, etc.  i really enjoy the environment there.

reminds me of interning at bridgeway: there is a lot of randomness to my job, and i work for a ton of different people/personalities.

reminds me of managing finish line: there's a money focus (but kind of the opposite of the one there) and a helping people focus.

reminds me of being a financial specialist for rec sports: i get to use excel so much!  i work with checks and help take care of lots of details for many people.

reminds me of grad school stuff: i am interrupted a bunch, get to organize and create helpful systems, and get to make up parts of my job as i go.

reminds me of powernine: i listen to people speak a language i don't understand, i think everything makes more sense in spreadsheets, i direct emails, and i wear t shirts and sweats (ok, that last part is a lie.  i have to wear nicer clothes.)

i guess if you want more, you'll have to ask.  but i like it.  i am in a settled season, which is a nice change for me.

i really am going to try harder about blogging (at least during my nors), so if you have writing challenges you would like to throw at me, i am open.  i may even consider creating a goals list.  so let me know if you have any of those, too.

my favorite...running shoes to make other people buy

once upon a time, in a faraway land called wisconsin, i worked for a little company called finish line. in what seems like a different lifetime entirely, my favorite part of my job was taking care of customers. customer service is important in most jobs, and especially so in retail. but i mean something beyond just good customer service: i loved connecting one-on-one with customers, learning why they were in the market for running shoes (training for a marathon? starting to work out for the first time since...ever? cross-training? trying to impress a dude at the gym?), and then helping them find the *perfect* pair of shoes. there was nothing more gratifying than knowing they were excited to get healthy (or get a man). i loved seeing people try on different shoes...and when they put on the right ones, their eyes would light up.

man, i must have really liked it if i can look back so fondly on those dark days...

anyway, more than any other type of shoe (and this can be verified by a quick look in my closet), i LOVE running shoes. but i am totally biased. i have been a runner* forever.

my first race in wisconsin was the crazy legs. and i needed shoes. so, although i had already been spending significant portions of my paychecks on lots of [sporty but non-running] shoes at finish line, the first pair that i bought for actual athletic purposes were these:

these are my asics gel-1120s. i got them, and i loved them, and then made every customer try them on after that. they have some gel (but not enough to make them outrageously expensive), great arch support, they breathe well, and they're very light. these are good shoes. and at least two faithful readers of this blog own them because of me.

you are welcome.

i should mention, though, that not everybody has cool shoelaces like this. you only get extra special shoelaces if someone's cat has a bad habit of eating every pair of shoelaces you own. hypothetically speaking, of course.

do you have a favorite pair of running shoes? what is your favorite style of shoe to wear?

*mmm, yeah, ok, i'm very conditional about my running these days. it's mostly when a frisbee is in the air. but still.