Where I've Been - One Month Left

Hello AGAIN from Columbus, OH. Pretty sure this has been my most frequented location of tour...and let me check - Yep, according to foursquare it has been (47 check-ins here to be exact).

Well, I only have ONE MONTH left of tour now, which is so stinking crazy! And to be precise, I have 29 days until I'm on a plane back "home" (which is going to be NC at this time) and because we have to drop the vehicle/trailer off in Wisconsin & finish up work in Chicago before we fly home...technically I only have 25 days left of actual "event" work. I cannot believe that it's almost been a year & that I've been living out of hotels for almost ten months now. Ha.

I could officially do this at the very end of tour, but I feel like writing about it now, the "best & worst" of Map Team 1 (aka Team Jetfire) from my perspective & a review of the last 9+ months.

We've been to 23 states, driven approximately 39,000 miles...visited countless cities, (I) made it to 12 MLB stadiums and 2 Spring Training stadiums. Our most common event to do in our "free time" is shopping, whether it was just window shopping or actual shopping, we found ourselves in a mall in basically every city that had one. My favorite cities were, Orlando (probably because it was right after spending a MONTH in Indianapolis in February...), Kansas City, State College, PA & Milwaukee (disclaimer: when we visited these cities, the weather was PERFECT & usually the events were fun, which had to do with my "decision" on this). My least favorite cities were; Annapolis, Maryland...rude people, nothing special to look at or do, Wheeling, WV - terrible, just terrible...oh & I also disliked the entire state of New Jersey.

Let's talk food: Best cupcake (and we tried SEVERAL) goes to Smallcakes Cupcakery in Kansas City, which is also where I had the best BBQ of my LIFE...at Oklahoma Joes! Best Brazilian place (we tried a couple) was at Brazil Grill in NYC on 8th & 48th, most of the staff spoke Portuguese & according to Michelle, the food was pretty authentic! We had a running theme of finding "fro-yo" in places & basically Menchie's has the best. And the best brew I tried along the way (didn't have much of an opportunity for this) was White Beer from Lakefront Brewery in Milwaukee.

While at work: My favorite event to work as far as the "cool-factor" goes, was probably the Jets/Giants Draft Party at New Meadowlands Stadium (aka MetLife Stadium). While I enjoyed working NFL, NHL, NBA, MLB, PGA, LPGA, NCAA & Minor League Baseball events...that one really stuck out since I actually got to go on the field (first time EVER on an NFL field) and be a part of the action, it was really fun! The most interesting event has to go to the Lunar New Year event in NYC, our very first event! It was SO different than any other event we worked & will forever stick out in my mind like, yeah...I just did that (along with driving a SUV & trailer through Manhattan!) Another cool event was the series of Droid Scavenger Hunts we did for the launch of the Samsung Charge...it was really fun to be a part of something so interesting & viral-marketing driven! The only "celebrities" I saw/met were, Steve Nash of the Phoenix Suns while in Indianapolis, Jack Nicklaus in Dublin, OH and I got to meet Dan Mead, President and CEO of Verizon Wireless, while at State College, PA.

While at play: My favorite thing we did on our day off is when Kevin & I were able to go to Universal Studios in Orlando to see the Wizarding World of Harry Potter! I have a whole blog post about it back in March, if you haven't read it...you should. :) I also very much enjoyed going to sporting events, I got to see baseball games at Yankee Stadium in New York, Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, PNC Park in Pittsburgh, and Miller Park in Milwaukee as well as the Braves vs Tigers spring training game at the ESPN, Wide World of Sports Complex in Kissimmee, FL! And just recently I was able to watch the Red Wings take on the Blackhawks in a pre-season game in Chicago at the United Center!

The most beautiful place we went would have to be Traverse City, Michigan, and I would say it's because I'm biased...but looking back on all the places, that really was the most beautiful in my opinion. It also had my favorite hotel we stayed at...the Great Wolf Lodge, which we stayed at by force, due to a complete sell-out of hotels for the National Cherry Festival!

I think that pretty much sums it up for now, hopefully I can do a more complete overview with some exciting stuff to throw in from these next 25 days! Hope this posts finds you all well, MUAH!

Progress Report!

Oi from Chicago! Sorry I haven't been able to update...and probably kept so many of you in suspense these past few days! (Haha) I've been incredibly busy with all my training, meeting my crew members & making friends with the whole group of trainees. There are twelve of us total, 4 groups of 3...all about to head out on an adventure of a lifetime! :)

Everyone is great so far, I especially love my two travel partners! After spilling my life story to Michelle when I first arrived from the airport, we quickly bonded over being Christians & praying on the plane for a Christian travel partner! Thank the Lord, prayers answered for both of us! She's originally from Brazil & will be teaching me Portuguese along the way (hint hint - Oi (said "oye") means hello! She is a very cool, very sweet girl & I'm excited to learn more about her & travel the U.S. with her!! My other travel partner is Kevin, he is great! He's done a tour before & is going to be an awesome resource on the products & event sites, I can't wait to learn from him!

Since I've been here it's pretty much been team building & learning A LOT of new information!! However, I couldn't be more happy so far. The company is amazing & I'd love to eventually come back & work in the office once I'm done with this (and possibly another tour depending on HOW much I love this!) I really enjoy Chicago too, it's such a fun city...so much to see, so much to do. When we arrive the Bears were losing to the Packers (which we got updates throughout our flight from Atlanta to Chicago which was cool)...but it was still a fun atmosphere! (And if you didn't catch it from before, I was happy with the Bears losing!) :)

I've eaten a lot of "Chicago" traditions...and I now feel like a cow! I did get a response from Weight Watchers though & I will be able to visit almost any location for a meeting each week, no matter where I sign up as long as I have the monthly pass! I'm really excited...hoping to sign up officially in my next city! Which brings me to my itinerary for the next couple months! But, guess what...I'm going to keep it a secret for now, since nothing is really finalized. Let's just say my first destination will hopefully keep me healthy..."an APPLE a day keeps the doctor away" after all! That's all I'm saying, but from what I've heard, I won't be in the midwest very much in the beginning of the tour, I'll be all over, but I don't know many of the details & NOTHING is set in stone, so I'm going to just go day by day.

Tomorrow we leave for Wisconsin where we'll be doing our "on the job" type training. We'll be outside for part of it & it's going to be COLD! Some of the people in training are from California, New Orleans, Florida, Georgia, etc...they're all freezing! Haha. Well, until later...tchau! (Which is "good-bye" in Portuguese, pronounced like chow). Muah!

45 Weeks in a Suitcase

The day is getting closer! Tomorrow I leave Charlotte and head to Chicago (which I would like to point out has a 28 degree high temperature difference for the day! Brrr!) In preparation for my departure I've been spending the last couple days running back and forth to Target, the mall and Bed Bath and Beyond, trying to ensure I am the most organized I can be for my 45 weeks on the road!

As of last night I had my 29" suitcase packed & ready to go and surprisingly enough, it only weighed about 52 lbs! I forgot to add my tennis shoes & Starbucks coffee when I weighed it, so it might be slightly higher, but I really hope it isn't enough to get charged at the airport! I took everyone's advice and rolled my clothes, which seemed to work out quite well. It obviously didn't change the weight, but made a considerable different in the amount of room I have left in my suitcase! I picked up a couple new items to help keep me organized, but one of my favorite items is a small "organizer" if you will, it's about 14" x 10" or so and has a mesh top, basically it is to keep your things organized. I used it to put all my "intimates" in (bras, undies, socks) so I don't have to go digging for them as they might slide around while I'm hauling my luggage from place to place! If I hadn't already been to Target about six times in the last four days, I'd probably go pick up another one for my tanks & t's!

So, for 45 weeks on the road, this is a rough estimate of what I packed:
- Fitness equipment (Yak Trax, armband, swim gear)
- Healthy supply of "intimates" (Something I learned at my former employer - 3 bras: 1 to wash, 1 to wear & one to spare!)
- 1 pair: dress flats, Chucks, flip flops, running shoes & I decided to wear my Minnetonka (like Ugg) boots since I have the Midwest Region!
- A roll-up bag FULL of everything for the bathroom (I am picky with hair/skin care)
- Accessories: wrap/scarf, winter scarf, 2 winter hats (including my cupcake hat of course!), gloves, small clutch, belt
- Curling iron & blow dryer (some of you probably think the dryer is unnecessary because they usually have them in rooms now, but my hair takes FOREVER to dry & this particular model works well on my hair & it's travel-sized!)
- Sleep mask
- 4 long sleeve tops
- 4 "casual" t-shirts (like plain v-necks with small pocket)
- 6 tank tops (I usually wear them under everything)
- 1 pair: Lounge shorts, yoga pants, leggings
- 2 pair of shorts
- Long sleeve black "sweater"
- Fitness outfit: tank, tshirt, l/s dry-fit, jacket, pants, shorts
- Dress clothes: Top, black pants, khakis, dress
- 2 pair of jeans
- 3 regular tshirts (Representing WMU, Tigers & Red Wings)
- 2 sweatshirts: 1 zip up & one pullover (pullover is Tigers of course!)

That pretty much sums it up as far as my suitcase goes, there are some other random things like my travel coffee mug (that was a going away gift from one of my BFFs, Marisa) and some Starbucks coffee (because we all know I love me some Starbs) and I also have a backpack that will hold my computer, a couple books, most of my "technology" items, etc.

Now that everything is packed, I'm going to be spending the morning filling out paperwork for the job, making copies of important documents and trying to pack away all my things so it's out of my sister's way (I feel HORRIBLE that I have to leave everything here!) Hopefully I can be focused & productive, because I want to leave plenty of time to hang out with the fam! My sister & I are going to get pedicures later & then we're all going to head to Mellow Mushroom for pizza! (My exbf said it was the best pizza he's ever had & he's been to Italy! So I've been wanting to go since there is one fairly close, I can't wait!)

So, unless I get inspired to write tomorrow, this will be my last post from "home"! If training isn't too hectic I will be sure to post from Chicago & Wisconsin! I can't wait to land in Chicago sporting my GREEN hoodie, I wonder if I'll get nasty comments from "Da Bears" fans! Until next time...See ya later! <3

Quarter Century

Today is my 25th birthday! Happy birthday to me! Twenty-five years, wow.

This morning I woke up at 6:00am and couldn't fall back asleep even though I tried! It wasn't only because today was my quarter-century birthday, but also because yesterday I received the BEST early gift I could have asked for. I FINALLY GOT A MARKETING JOB! This job is with a company that has a phone company as a client, I will be traveling the U.S. in an SUV, pulling a trailer with two other team members promoting this phone company! Events may include retail/store events, sporting events (please, please, PLEASE let me experience something AWESOME like the Super Bowl or World Series!) and concerts (again, awesomeness would be appreciated!) The only trick to this great opportunity is I get flown out to Chicago, on SUNDAY! Woah. Sidenote: Yes, Sunday is the Bears vs. Packers playoff game, I'll be proudly sporting my new GREEN sweatshirt with a Detroit Tigers t-shirt underneath shouting the words "GO PACK GO" when necessary!

While I'm VERY excited for this opportunity, I can't help but be a bit stressed. I mean starting Sunday I have to be packed in a suitcase & carry-on for 45 weeks on the road, in all types of weather! BUT, I am PRAISING GOD that I have been given this opportunity!! It will all be fine! I went and scoped out a few different suitcase models and although I think it would be sweet to get a hard shell model to stick my stickers I plan to collect at each place I visit, I really didn't think it was the best for my travels. Plus, my sister has a coupon for Kohl's & on top of their great deals I'll be getting a steal for my purchase!

So, back to my birthday! Like I said earlier, I woke up a bit early & couldn't fall back asleep, so I got up to hang out with my sister & niece (which I will miss terribly when I leave!) and my sweet sister had bought me my favorite Starbucks coffee and chocolate donuts! YUM! We hung out at the house for a bit and I took Gabby for a walk (which is another thing I will miss!) and even though it wasn't sunny and warm, it was still nicer outside than in Michigan! Once back at the house, the doorbell rang & there was a package for me! Two of my great friends, Shannon & Kari had sent me such a sweet & thoughtful gift of an Edible Arrangement! The three of us have lost weight on Weight Watchers...and for a while were corresponding back & forth regularly on our progress. Currently Shannon is the only one officially on Weight Watchers as Kari was blessed with pregnancy and I...well, I just can't afford it! After stuffing my face with fresh fruit, my sister, niece & I got ready to head to Nona's Sweets, which is a bakery in the University area of Charlotte with some of the BEST tasting cupcakes! I chose a chocolate with vanilla frosting and chocolate sprinkles...SO GOOD! Gotta have balance, right? After cupcakes we headed to Kohl's to look at luggage & ultimately went home on account of my boo boo being tired. I ended up going to the large mall to check out a luggage store to get some ideas on what I really thought would be best for me in my upcoming travels!

I stopped and got Panera for my sister & I for dinner and enjoyed a tasty panini and piece of french baguette upon my arrival home! At 7:00PM the Red Wings were playing the Penguins and sadly, they lost...but my brother in law and I enjoyed a couple new stout beers during the game!

Overall, I had a wonderfully "successful" birthday! Between the few cards I received (yesterday was a holiday & I think SOME of them are late! lol), the time spent with my family, the delivery of the fruit bouquet, the overwhelming Facebook posts, the texts, phone calls and emails...I can easily say I'm incredibly blessed to have so many loving friends & family!

And as my Facebook status said this morning...I can honestly say, each day of my twenty-five year old life has been a blessing, sometimes a blessing in disguise, but none the less...ALWAYS a blessing, a gift from God!