Winter Fun

Things I have had to purchase since moving to Ohio:

1. New tires for my car. After sliding backwards downhill during the January snowstorm, I knew it was time to upgrade the Altima's tires. God bless the driver behind me who backed up and let me safely slide down the hill. This episode proved to be a scary, yet fun experience.

2. New windshield wiper fluid. My previous brand froze after 15 minutes on the highway, blinding me for a good portion of my commute. That's a big fat NVG - "not very good."

3. A snow shovel, which I now carry around in my car. After receiving 7 or so inches of snow in Stow over the weekend, I learned that my apartment complex doesn't have the best snow plowers in the world. In their infinite wisdom, the plowers decided to push all the snow behind everyone's cars, making it impossible for anyone (SUV's and trucks included) to get out of their parking space. I had to go to a few places before I found a Giant Eagle that hadn't sold out of shovels.

An updated list will undoubtedly be posted in the future.

Make a Difference

It's almost time to kick off the summer 2010 Northern Ohio Team in Training season! I spoke at a recruiting session this morning at the LLS office. Unfortunately, not many people showed, but no one was discouraged by the poor attendance. I think the poor turnout was due to a combination of the cold weather being and the Saturday morning start time. Regardless, I got to meet some of the LLS staff and coaches and got to know the office a bit better. Everyone was so welcoming and enthusiastic about the program and the upcoming season.

If you have any interest in participating in a Team in Training event or donating to LLS, please go to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's home page. Type in your ZIP code and you will be directed to your local chapter. LLS is the world's largest voluntary health organization dedicated to funding blood cancer research, education and patient services. The society's mission is to cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease and myeloma. LLS provides patient and family services for those suffering from blood cancers, raises awareness about these diseases and promotes increased federal biomedical research through its advocacy program.

If you need extra incentive to sign up, here are some facts about blood cancers:

An estimated 913,000 people in the US are living with or are in remission from blood cancers (leukemia, Hodgkin lymphoma, NHL and myeloma).

Leukemia causes more deaths than any other form of cancer among children and people under the age of 20.

LLS's donations have raised more than $600 million. This life-saving research has caused the five-year survival rate to more than quadruple for leukemia patients, more than double for Hodgkin lymphoma patients, and increase to nearly 70% for NHL patients.

Happy training!!

Moving Right Along

I signed the lease to my new apartment today! I'll be picking up the keys on Friday. The movers will be getting my things up to Ohio around February 1st! I can't wait to have my own place again and to be closer to work. I'll be sure to post pictures once I get settled in.

More exciting news -- I've been selected to be a mentor for The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's Northern Ohio summer triathlon team. I'll be helping athletes prepare for the Greater Cleveland Triathlon in August. I'm thrilled I was selected and can't wait to get more involved in the coming months. Not only is Team in Training a great cause -- it allows you to meet new people and stay in shape. I'll be using this blog as a way to communicate with my mentees and to post information I find on training, racing, nutrition, etc. Let the fun begin!

Week One -- Done

I survived the first week at my new job. Even though I didn't have a computer the first day or access to many of the systems until Friday, it was still a good week. My coworkers are all very nice, and I have the rare benefit of being trained by my predecessor, who is teaching me everything he does. I feel very fortunate to be employed by a great company and already I can tell that they are going to challenge me and expect more out of me than my previous job did. Things will be picking up next week and my schedule is likely to get hectic, but that's to be expected at year-end. Apparently my boss and coworker are also fans of margaritas, so there may be some drinking after a tough day in the office. What a great team-building exercise!

I went apartment hunting for most of the day today and decided to take one in Stow, which is halfway between my family and work. The place is very nice, well-run and pet-friendly. The kitchen has upgraded, stainless steel appliances and a washer/dryer in the unit. The clubhouse has a 24-hour fitness center and a lounge with a big screen TV, fireplace, gathering area and a continental breakfast on Tuesdays and Thursdays. More importantly, the complex is right next to the Metroparks tow path (yay biking!) and a dog park (yay Onyx!). This place was by far the best one I visited. I don't know how much I'll enjoy going back to apartment living, but it's only for 6 months, so I'll deal. The 65 minute commute I currently have has already gotten old, so a 35 minute commute sounds really good right now. If all goes well, I should be able to move in as early as Friday.

Once I know when I can move in, I have a moving company ready to transport my things from Charlotte to Stow. I can't wait to have my own bed back! I'm thrilled that my new employer's very generous relocation package will be paying for the move and two months of my rent. They've even given me a month's extra salary to use for miscellaneous expenses. You can't beat that!

Things are coming together and I am excited for the coming weeks. I think this move is one of the best things I could have done for myself :o)

New Year, New Job, New Races

Happy 2010!

I apologize for being such a blog slacker, but between my move to Ohio, job interviews and the holidays, it's been a busy, fun-filled couple of weeks. I will try my best to keep up with my blog in the new year.

I am happy to report I will be starting my new external reporting job in Canton on Monday. I am very excited to begin this new chapter of my life with a great company and a position very similar to my previous job. I plan to utilize the relocation package the company offered me, so I should have a new place to live in the near future. Although I'll be starting during year-end (aka the busiest time of the year), I'm grateful to be employed when so many others are struggling in this economy. Everyone I interviewed with was extremely nice and very honest about the company, the department and the position. I'm looking forward to getting to know everyone and make some significant professional progress with this company. Until then, I have lots of paperwork to fill out, a condo to sell and a new place to rent/buy. Once I get settled, I have all the fun administrative tasks to tackle such as getting a new driver's license, procuring new license plates, finding a new doctor/vet and transferring my CPA license, etc. The joys of moving are endless!

Quick holiday update: I managed to (a) see lots of people (b) eat lots of food and (c) drive through lots of snow. I think that about covers it. Seriously, I was very lucky to be surrounded by my family for the holidays and am looking forward to seeing them more often now that I've moved. Christmas Eve included dinner with the McKeon/Eva clan complete with a birthday cake for Jesus (mostly for my little cousins since they enjoy cake so much). I also got to meet Leo's family later that evening and made a strong showing at the peanut butter bake-off. Christmas Day was spent with my Dad's family at Grandma Billick's house. Grandma made her famous pierogies and all was right with the world.

It's time to start planning which races I'll be participating in in 2010. My goal is to complete a Half Ironman along with several other Olympic distance events. Contenders so far are the Philadelphia Insurance Triathlon, the Cleveland Triathlon and the Cedar Point or Patriots' Half Ironman. I'll keep you posted.

Cheers!

Oh Christmas Ale

Oh Christmas Ale. It's how I make it though the holidays. Special thanks to Sarah for passing along the link.

Busy Weekend

It's a jammed-packed weekend for yours truly. I'm heading to my last Charlotte Checkers hockey game tonight with Kristin. There is a Team in Training benefit called, "The Princess and the Puck" to honor a 1-year-old girl who is in remission. It never ceases to amaze me how many young children are diagnosed with leukemia and how resilient the little ones can be.

Tomorrow morning I fly to Cleveland to see my family and interview on Monday for a company headquartered in Mentor. Overall, it's a job very different from what I do now, but it also incorporates SEC reporting, so I'll have some ground to stand on if I get the job. It was really nice of them to fly me into town and allow me to spend some time with my parents. I also have a rescheduled interview with a public firm on the 16th, so things are coming together.

I have two showings scheduled at my condo this weekend. One will be a second showing while the other is a first. Please send good thoughts my way on Saturday as I'd really like to get the place sold soon.

Have a nice weekend everyone!