Convenience and lower probability of rage

The United States Post Office continues to inspire the inefficient with its processes. I am continually amazed at how much of a pain in the arse it is to mail stuff the isn't a 1-ounce letter in a regular envelope. While I realize that we as laypeople only see the tip of their business iceberg, it is nevertheless frustrating. The reason that I know about that whole "iceberg" concept is because I took an Innovation class and one session featured a consultant who had worked with the lumbering institution. Apparently there is a lot of corporate business that is conducted away from our ignorant eyes.

I can't imagine how much fun that quagmire must be.

But I hath digressed.

Today in my mail I was gifted a postcard all the way from Sweden. Sent by my sweet friend K-Jak in typically innovative and offhandedly cool Swedish fashion. All that was missing was an coupon for Ikea.

At any rate, this postcard featured...me! (and her, dancing on the beach in the Bahamas)

She had uploaded a photo, written me a message, and mailed it to me...all for a few Krona. Impressive!

So I immediately skeedaddled to the site, realized I couldn't safely navigate my VISA card through a Swedish-language site; and resorted to Googling an English-speaking company offering the suchsame loveliness.

I found it. Hazelmail!

For a few Hazelbucks I sent post to a few friends. Of course each had a picture they'd find relevant.

Like, say, this:

So, check it out. You can pay with a Visa and buy each card for $1.50, or purchase 12 Hazelbucks for $12, and use each Buck for one postcard. If my MBA math serves me right, that's a 33% discount.

Yay!

PS: Apologies to those who already knew about this stuff 10 years ago. I guess I was just holding onto the life-sucking experience of standing in line at the Barracks Shopping Center location praying for a bullet to the brain.

Sage words

"To win once is hard. But to win again is even harder because now you have to live up to expectations. And you're on everyone's target list. I think this is what commentators mean when they talk about 'courage'."
-Sam Chun of Radix Group; sponsor of Richard Sachs Cyclocross Team
I started my new jobbyjob yesterday. Very exciting stuff going on at Frito Lay. I am overjoyed to get the mental workout of balancing strategy with tactics. Marketing is one of the most exciting professions because of this. Flying 30,000 feet off the ground while having one ear glued to it.

Wow. I missed being at work. I really did.
Here are some more pics from our amazing vacation. Kristen and Jason's wedding in McCall was magical and I can't imagine a more lovely lakeside setting. Complete with a rainbow!

Though I'm excited about my new life in Dallas, I really really really miss my Darden friends.

Really.

A lot.

2000 words (and change)

+ a video.

need i say more?

okay. i'll say more. such as: "i promise to re-enter blogland next week. the week i start my new jobbyjob!"

I'm back

And Greece was AWESOME!!!! I had so much fun with some of my best friends in the world. I am truly blessed by the relationships Darden gave me. I have nothing but great memories of the past two years.

And when I came home, my compost pile had gifted me zucchini! Hopefully my future tenants will appreciate nature's volunteer bounty and NOT plow it under in favor of some nasty fescue groundcover.

Oh. Big girl on a little bike...

While I'm gone...

...I trust the American people to legalize gay marriage in all states! At the rate of gay marriage activity, it would make sense that most would have it ironed out by the time I return (June 16).

New Hampshire's legalization now leaves us with just 44 states to persuade by the time I come back.

Get goin, peeps.

In other news, I am going here:

With 16 or so of my closest girlfriends (plus Chinesom and Viken)

...Which will be amazing, thank you.

Peace!

A poor argument

Here is a perfect example of how the liberals argue on irrelevant points and as a result fail to persuade. In fact, they build higher walls that keep the rest of humanity out.
As a flaming liberal granolagirl myself, I am ashamed by the faulty logic at play here.

News flash, lady: your vision of Utopia might not be the right one for most of humanity. Quit forcing it and listen to what other people have to say, instead of drawing tenuous connections and using the word "should" so damn often. No matter what you say from your lofty perch, the majority of people WILL NOT stop eating at McDonald's! So please quit asking them.
Sheesh.
/end rant

Back in the saddle

but not really riding my bike.

After an ill-fated attempt at a trip to India, I am gearing up for a mini-vacation in Greece with 15+ of my closest girlfriends (plus Chinesom and Vikken). It's going to be wonderful and I can't wait to watch the sun set over Santorini.

I am also furiously planning a road trip with my buddy James. We are headed for a wedding of our dear friends Kristen and Jason in McCall, ID.

Being a Northwestern girl, I enticed James to fly into Medford and join me on a cross-Oregon drive to enjoy the seld0m-seen sights of my homestate, as well as take a trip down memory lane. My first ever bike adventure took place in Eastern Oregon, and I'm excited to once again see the roads around Enterprise, Halfway (now known as half.com), Joseph, John Day, Prineville (home of the legendary Les Schwab Tires), and Hell's Canyon.

We will be treated to vistas like these:

Aaaaaah.

Time has forgotten these places. In 2007, Wallowa County was holding strong with a population of 7,130. My heart beams with pride at the thought of these incredibly beautiful locales where life is truly lived...and nobody has a Blackberry.

So, dear reader(s?); never fear. I will blog again come July. I start workywork on the 13th, so it'll be interesting to see what news I find fit to print. While I hold out hope that the rest of the world is interested in the ins-and-outs of snack activation strategies, I know that some will pine for pics like this. Us hanging out on lakeshores with friends. Generally being (temporarily) unemployed and royally in-debt. Yeehaw!

Thanks, AndyMoon, for the pic. You non-Facebooker, you.