Guten tag from Berlin... NYC catch up!

Hello from Berlin everyone!  For those of you who have been following the blog for a while, you know that this isn't my first time writing to you from Germany.  And it certainly isn't the first time I've eaten delicious meals from Germany.  I'm a very lucky girl in that sense.

I arrived here yesterday morning after an 8 hour flight from Newark.  Before I get into my time in Germany, I wanted to recap my night in NYC because it was awesome!  It started by visiting one of my best friends from college in the office where she works.  She is an incredibly talented industrial designer working for one of the most innovative companies I know and seeing her in  her office was totally cool.  Her company's set up is so drastically different from mine and it is an industrial designers dream world.  It was cool to see her in her element and gave me flashbacks to when I used to hang out with her in Studio back in college.  I've been an "I.D. groupie" for quite some time now :)

We stopped and had a quick dinner splitting an amazing avocado, mozzarella and tomato salad and some chips and guacamole (as Kate mentioned, "Avocado with a side of avocado.")  Although green-stuff-heavy, it was both delicious.

Dinner was followed by a long walk to Pier 40 where I was joining Kate's work team for a 10:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. double header soccer games.  It was really cool to play underneath the skyline of NYC and with the city lights around us and I had SO much fun playing with her team AND I scored my first goal ever since I started playing soccer again a few years ago.  I was so excited!!!

There was so much laughter, encouragement, and just a fun atmosphere with her team.  Everyone was just doing the best they could and it was great to run around and get sweaty.  The team, which originated as a group of people from her office, was a bit more diverse that night.  I guess a lot of people from the office bailed so the remaining people brought siblings, roommates, friends who were new to the city, and friends visiting the city (me!) to join the team.  It was the last game of the group had so much fun that they all decided to keep that team for the next season.  I wish I lived in the city so I could participate!

Afterwards we went to a local bar to get some post work drinks.  I joked that it was practice for my upcoming week in Germany :)  It was a great time in NYC with Kate and unfortunately far too short.

After brunch the next day, I headed to Newark to catch my flight to Germany.  It was a really fun night and I was glad I was able to spend it with Kate because I had missed her birthday celebration in the city earlier that month.  Love you Kate and happy belated!!

And now, I'm in Germany!  Which... I will recap to you in another post!  :)

Later Post: First day of summer

Note: This post was written on Friday afternoon, June 21st but this is the first time I've had internet and time to actually get it online.  Sorry for the delay!

Hey everyone, happy first day of summer!! I can’t even explain how happy this wonderful sunshine and warm weather makes me. I get sweaty just carrying the groceries from the car to my apartment in this weather, but I don’t even care. I will manage a little sweatiness for this sun any day.

So, the first day of summer in Upstate New York is definitely feeling a lot like summer. We have temps in the 80s and a bright beautiful blue sky with lots of sunshine. And I decided just yesterday to take the day off and use today to relax and do some errands before leaving on a business trip. I realized I had no meetings today and as of yesterday afternoon hadn't packed a thing so I really needed the day as well.

Last night I had my regular bi-weekly happy hour that I organize and we had a unique mix of people show up from interns to more senior people covering almost every branch/division. It was really fun and one of the perfect examples of why these happy hours I do are fun. I love seeing people mingle and meet new people that they normally wouldn't talk to! The weather was beautiful and I chose a bar with a great outdoor area. We went to the Centre Street Pub in Schenectady, which is fairly new, but a great addition to the Schenectady bar scene. They even have a place to play corn hole (or “bean bag toss” to some) in their back patio. It was nice to be outside and catch up with friends outside of work, and in the outdoors!

I did the boot camp class over lunch time at work on Thursday and it was so nice out that I simply couldn't wait to get back outside. I’m really loving that class and even though I've only attended 3 so far, I’m loving how I feel afterwards and think it’s making a difference. I’m finally starting to notice a bit of a difference with my body since I’ve changed my exercise routine a bit, did the Advocare cleanse, and have just been counting Weight Watchers points. I think I am down about 5 lbs and feeling confident. Today, on my day off, I stopped at Marshall’s to return a couple items, and ended up going on a little bit of a shopping spree. It was one of those days though that just everything seems to work out and look cute! Sometimes when I go shopping I enter the dressing room with 15 items and leave with a tank top or 1 dinky thing that I actually like how it looks. Today, everything was feeling good! That’s how I know that my extra diligence to exercise and eating right is paying off.

I will admit that I am a tiny bit nervous about my work trip and don’t want to take any steps backwards with the progress I am making, so I am going to try really hard to be as good as possible. I also packed lots of exercise clothes and my running gear to hopefully get some miles in!

Right now I am on the train to NYC where I will spend the night with one of my best friends whom I haven’t seen in a while, and then depart from the airport tomorrow afternoon for my work trip.

The ride from Albany to NYC on the train is pretty nice!

It should be a fun night in New York and very different from other NYC trips I've had. I’m going to be playing with my friend on her work soccer team tonight – they have a double header with games at 10:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. Yikes! I don’t think I've ever exercised so late in the evening, but I’m excited to join her team and get to know her work friends while doing something active. Hopefully they don’t laugh at my soccer skills…

Hope you are all enjoying your first day of summer and enjoying lots of delicious summery foods. I had to eat up all the leftover fruit and food in my kitchen today so it was a random day of eats for me but this apple/banana with peanut butter and my train ride snack of chopped fruit with lemon juice has totally been hitting the spot! I also made a fresh back of chili lime almonds today to take with me on my trip as a snack throughout the time I am away. I’ll try to check in as much as possible!

Binge race registration & a happy day!

Hey everyone, hope you had a happy Wednesday!  I certainly had an interesting day.

Remember how I locked my keys in my car yesterday so I had to get a ride home from work and to work today?  Well, when we got in to work I said to Dave, "Okay, so my car is over by the gym so you can just drop me off by-- OH. MY. GOD."  I honestly couldn't believe what an idiot I'd been.  Yeah, um, I had forgotten the spare keys at home.  UGH.  Seriously, what is wrong with me this week?  I also forgot my cell phone at home on Monday, which I never do.

Luckily, I have really awesome friends, and my friend Melissa agreed to drive me back and forth to Albany over lunch.  I didn't even have to introduce her to a significant other (because she is getting married in July... yay!)  I'm very lucky to have such wonderful friends who helped me out with minimal teasing.  Even though I don't mind it.  You gotta laugh at yourself people.  If you can't laugh at yourself, you aren't going to get far.  At least if you're me, that is :)

The rest of today was really good... the sun was shining non-stop, which we haven't seen for quite a while here in Upstate New York!  It was great to spend time with friends driving around (even though it was due to my forgetfulness) and post work I got in 3 miles outside.  I went for a run with Dani and another friends, which was really nice.  It was one of those days that I felt like I could run forever.  I've never been someone who runs with other people and I have to say, I am really enjoying it!

Following, Dani and I went to the driving range!  We decided that to make life a little more interesting we are going to start spending our Wednesdays trying new things.  The driving range was first up on our list.  The weather was gorgeous out still so it was a perfect way to finish off a beautiful day.  Even though we really didn't know what we were doing all that much...

I came home happy and smiling and made a delicious but simple salad for dinner.  Greens with sweet italian chicken sausage and chili lime almonds.  I actually went back and made myself seconds because I still had the Weight Watchers points left, I was feeling hungry still, and heck, I had worked out.  Plus, when I am feeding myself good, healthy foods, I don't feel bad about eating it at all!  The chicken sausage is all natural and the almonds are the ones I roasted myself and are so delicious.  When KO came to visit a few weeks back she at one point said, "The almonds are the best thing about this weekend." Which, I gave her a lot of crap for, because, really?  The best part of your weekend visiting your best friend is the almonds?  Gee, thanks, haha.  But her point was just that the almonds were really, really good.

With some tea and dark chocolate to finish off the night.  It's been a pretty great day for eating, for friends, for enjoying the outdoors, and for being happy with where I am in life.  I hope you are feeling as positive as I am right now.  Oh, AND, I didn't even mention... I binge registered for races today.  I am now officially signed up for a bunch of stuff in the coming months. It's a sure fire way to kick myself out of any sort of funk I am in.  Two sprint triathlons and another half marathon -- here I come!!!!

I locked my keys in my car today.

Today during lunch I went to the boot camp class again that I had attended on Thursday in the rain (it is every Tuesday and Thursday.) After a great workout, I went back out to my car and popped the trunk to put my gym bag in it.  As soon as I slammed the trunk shut, I realized that my keys were in my gym bag.  And I hadn't unlocked the car doors.  UGH.  Oh, and addition to my keys being locked in my car, as was my wallet, my apartment keys, and my ID badge for work are all locked in my car.

Anyways, luckily, my friend Dave said he would drive me home after work and then drive me in to work tomorrow morning. So, just minor adjustments had to be made to survive the night without my car or any of the things in it. I had plans to meet a friend for dinner and I did have to pay with a roll of quarters I had at home, but that’s okay. It’s still money, right?

And, I realized one pretty cool thing out of this. As some background information, I introduced my friends Jenna and Dave who have been dating for a while now. Anyways, I just now realized I have the best argument whenever I need a favor.  A quick snapshot of how I got Dave to rescue me from my locked keys in my car.

Go me.

Anyways, speaking of boot camp and me doing stupid things.  Last week when I did the class for the first time in the rain on Thursday, my clothes and sneakers were pretty gross and wet after class.  However, I lad to leave my gym bag at work because I left right from work to go to New York City on Thursday and then came back just briefly before leaving for the weekend.  Oh, and not to mention, I forgot about it.

So when I got in to work on Monday and opened up my little closet thing at my desk.  Oh man, did my gym bad not smell good.  Soaking wet clothes and sneakers crumpled up in a ball stored away for 3 days... ugh.  I didn't know how I was going to get it out of my cubicle and down to my car without stinking up the whole office.  And what would happen if I got stuck with someone in the elevator?  That would be terrible, for them.  I was really nervous about it but I finally just snuck the bag out to my car.  And it was nice and sunny yesterday so when I got to my car I decided to leave my sneakers on top of my car to dry (and smell) out in the sun.

Well, later in the day we had one of those sudden torrential down pours.  So, fail for me.

Looks like this week is going well :)

Father's Day weekend recap and eating embarrassment

Hey everyone!  I hope that you had a good Father's Day weekend and enjoyed the sun that was out for a bit.  I certainly did and could have used a bit more, to be honest!  I headed out on Saturday morning to my dad's house in Massachusetts where I met up with him, his wife, and my little twin brothers for a day on the water.  It was seriously so great to be out on the water... I don't have enough of that in my life here in Albany.  It was made even greater to be there with some super cutie pies.

I'm fully obsessed with these little munchkins and love interacting with them, seeing them learn, and grow.   As I'm a big "little kid" myself, I have lots of fun things I like to share and teach them.  I'm lucky enough that we snagged this little video from the weekend.  Watching it just makes me smile!


One of the cutest things is seeing them interact with one another.  Their conversations, their friendship, their rivalries.  They are adorable and at such a fun age.  They love taking pictures right now.  So I ended up with a lot of these on my camera at the end of the weekend...

After going out on the boat we went home where I stayed the night at my Dad's.  Little boys in PJs are just as cute as little boys on boats.  Use these photos of Tristan as an example (Nicholas passed out for the night early.)

The morning consisted of some snuggles with the boys, Father's Day presents, and a 3-mile run.  I'm really glad that I had the motivation to get up and run because it made me feel a little better about some of my decisions later in the day.  Oh, and before I left, there were obviously some more pictures.  I let them each take turns with my camera.  I'm sorry but they are just too cute not to share :)

Nicholas's picture of Tristan and I

Tristan's picture of Nicholas and I.

I headed out to my Mom's parents house for a quick visit with some members of my family there.  We used to have tons of big cookouts and pool parties at my grandparents all throughout the summer and the plan was to have a throwback party for Father's Day but the weather didn't cooperate.  We hung out by the pool but the weather wasn't really warm enough to use the pool -- except for the really, really brave.

Nonetheless, it's always a good time to hang out with family and celebrate the fathers in my family!

I came back to Albany on Sunday night tired and with a lot going on in my head.  I tried to write a blog entry last night but wasn't exactly sure how to express what I was feeling.  I'm still not entirely sure, but figured I'd just keep it brief.

So, I didn't do the best with eating well this weekend.  I planned to.  I had every intention of sticking with the plan of the cleanse I was 1/2 way through.  I drank a black coffee on my drive -- first one in my life -- to avoid sugar and milk.

But for some reason I felt the need to overcompensate when I was with other people.  My family all reads the blog and let me know that they'd read how I was trying to be healthy lately, yet I pretended I wasn't.  "What? No, it's totally fine.  It doesn't matter.  I can eat whatever."

And then once I broke the seal, I just indulged a lot.  Double ice cream.  Lots of frosting from cake.  More servings then necessary of meals.  Just a lot of nonsense that wasn't needed.  I knew what I was doing and made the decisions, so I've decided to not be mad at myself.  However, I wanted to figure out why I felt that way and why I made those decisions.

I think I was feeling embarrassed.  I've gotten used to sitting here alone in my apartment spilling my thoughts on to the blog, it's sometimes weird when people mention the really personal things that I write.  I've been trying to connect more with the bloggers I don't know that read this and forgot that I still have to see some people in real life :)

Anyways, I'm doing my best to have a healthy attitude about things.  I don't know if that cleanse thing was right for me.  I broke all the rules anyways.  I'm just going to keep on, keeping on!

Today I caught up on laundry, grocery shopping and cooking.  I tried to make a new recipes of flavored roasted almonds and it came out gross and had to be scrapped.  Sad face.

Otherwise, a pretty uneventful Monday.  Hope you are all having a great start to your week and a happy, happy belated Father's Day to all the Dad's, Soon-To-Be-Dad's, and Dad-like-figures out there!  XOXO.

Random things for Friday

Hey guys, hope you had a great week.  I needed a little break from being here every day, I've been in sort of a down mood, but I'm sure that will lift!  At least, I'm hoping :)  Since, I've got a bunch of random things to catch you up on, I figured I'd just do my normal end-of-week list of bullets.  In no random order, here it goes...

1.)   I just got back today from a one night trip to New York City for work.  Today started a bit gloomy but it ended up being a beautiful day.  It's always nice to be in the city and feel small for a little bit.  It is so close, yet so vastly different from my little home of Albany.

For lunch today I had a delicious salad that included "pineapple poached pears" and walnut crusted chicken breast, cherry tomatoes, blue cheese, sauteed onions, and a strawberry vinaigrette that I got on the side.  I was actually pretty proud of myself because the salad was supposed to come with crispy fried onion on top but I swapped them for sauteed.

2.)  I also have been making some other strong choices this week that have made me pretty happy.  I avoided free cookies and cupcakes today at the conference I was at.  Yesterday at work we were celebrating "Global Wind Day" and I avoided the Choco Tacos and Chocolate Chip Cookie Iced Cream Sandwiches.  Who doesn't love a Choco Taco?!  And when was the last time you even saw a Choco Taco?!  But I said no.  Instead, I participated in a wind turbine building contest with some friends (we lost) and took a few fun photos to hang at my desk :)

3.)  One of the reasons that I have been working extra hard this week to be "good" is that I'm actually participating in Raven's 10-Day Advocare Cleanse.  A big group of bloggers are doing it together and I've actually really enjoyed having the group's support and finding new, fun, interesting blogs to follow.  I decided to do this cleanse because it isn't a juice or liquid cleanse -- it involves eating-- but eating incredibly clean and also taking some additional supplements and vitamins to cleanse the body.  When I first read about it and decided to join I saw that the guidelines said to mainly eat fruits, veggies, and lean protein.  No alcohol, no dairy, no sugar, no wheat, limited fats and obviously nothing processed.

I didn't do a heck of a lot of research and was just planning to follow these guidelines and it wasn't until a day in that I realized some people doing the cleanse were following extremely strict guidelines.  Now, had I seen this set of rules earlier... I wouldn't have signed up for this.  I learned back in January that when diets make me feel like "cheating" when I eat carrots or grapes, it's not going to work for me.  So I just vowed to spend this 10 days following the "fruits, veggies, lean protein" guideline as much as possible and trying extra hard to avoid sugar, dairy, alcohol, fats, and wheat whenever possible.  My snacks this week have included lots of berries, apples, green beans, carrots, egg whites and almonds.  Meals have included some of the following:

Chicken sausage, roasted onion, sweet potato, and brussel sprouts

Corn on the cob (with lime juice and salt), chicken sausage and sauteed mushrooms

Trader Joe's mixed grains with cucumber, tomato and red onion

4.)  I made a really yummy sauce to put on top of brussel sprouts and other roasted veggies.  It consisted of simmering together a 1/2 cup red wine, 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar, and a tablespoon or so of honey.  It thickened to a syrup and was delicious!

5.)  A couple weeks ago I bought a small basil plant from Trader Joe's.  I put it in a ceramic pot and put it in my backyard.  I sort of forgot about it but we used some basil in our eggs when my friends were here.  This week I grabbed the pot and brought it inside to take some basil to use in my couscous/veggie salad and I realized there were all grubs all over the plant!  They were so gross!!!  I tried to pick them off but they were nasty and it freaked me out.  Not gonna lie, I put it back outside because I didn't really want to deal with it.  Does anyone know what I do in this situation??  Can the basil be saved?  Is it still okay to eat?  The bugs freaked me out.

6.)  This funky, sort of down mood has stuck with me all week.  I know that I'm just being overly emotional because I've had the strangest desires to listen to Delilah on the radio  in the evenings.  I listened to Delilah for hours on Monday night while I did my cooking for the week.  "Dellliiiiilaahhhhh.... Love someooooone tonight!"

7.)  I got a few good workouts in this week.  Monday I did my own interval circuit workout at the gym with a mix of kettle bell squats, push ups, kettle bell swings, and sit ups.  I also went for a 3 mile run with Dani on Wednesday.  And on Thursday I tried the boot camp at the work gym for the first time.  And get this people, it is an outdoors class and I actually went and completed it (along with others) IN THE RAIN.  It is a lunchtime class at work and it downpoured the whole time.  This is how I know I am not the same person I used to be.  I went out, at lunch time, at work, in the rain, and did a boot camp class.  At first I tried to avoid getting wet and wore my rain coat out, but then it was just a mess and I took it off and embraced working out in the soaking rain.

You know when it rains and all the worms come up from the ground?  Ugh.  It was totally gross doing the moves where we were on the ground because I could see worms around and wanted to avoid them. But it felt good to get soaking wet, muddy, and grassy with 20 other people at lunchtime at work.  It made the day go by fast and was such a funny, random thing for my Thursday!

8.)  Last week I had the first game in the summer soccer league I am playing in.  I am terrible and barely know what I'm doing but it's fun.  And at our game last week, for the first time I met someone in real life who had read my blog before actually meeting me!  Remember how I told you about the random message I got from a co-worker Mark who saw my blog on All Over Albany about Taco Tuesday?  Well, turns out Mark is on my soccer team!  It was so cool to meet someone in real life who I'd originally connected with over this blog.  Not sure if you're still a reader... but if you are... hi Mark!

9.)  It's been rainy and cool for the majority of this week which has been PERFECT sleeping weather and made it so hard to get out of bed in the mornings.  I hope this weekend is nice because I have some pool days planned!

10.)  When Teenie came to visit a couple weeks ago she gave me her Netflix password.  This has been the best and worst thing that has ever happened to me.  I cannot stop watching Netflix.  I caught up on Mad Men and have now been rewatching Parks and Recreation from the beginning.  I'm on an Aziz Ansari kick after seeing him in live!  But tonight, all I wanted to do was watch a couple episodes and relax on the couch.  But, alas, Netflix is down.  AUGHHHHH!!!!!!

Happy Friday everyone!  Hope you have a great weekend and give an extra big hug to your dads!

How do you measure a year in the life?

Do guys have as many mood swings as girls?  I feel like I've been up and down lately.  Just yesterday I wrote about how I was proud of my 5 years at GE and tonight I'm feeling like I haven't done anything with my life.

I went to dinner tonight with some friends, which was great and really fun but it made me realize that I'm in the exact same place I was in a year ago.  I know this feeling will pass because it comes and goes sometimes but it sucks when I am feeling it.  One of my friends I saw at dinner, I hadn't seen in literally a year and of course the question is, "What's new?!?" and when recapping that... it makes me think... well, nothing is new.  I live in the same apartment.  I have the same job.  I'm still single.  I'm still working every day to maintain a healthy lifestyle and resist eating fro yo covered in candy every day.

Yes, I have done a whole bunch of crap within the past year... I went to Brazil.  I had some great experiences for work.  I dated someone for a few months.  I ran a half marathon.  Blah, blah, blah.

I just sometimes get caught up in, I don't know, that my life should be at certain points at certain times maybe.  That years should be measured with some kind of noticeable change.  A new location or a new  job or a new relationship.  I just feel weird sometimes when you have those awkward small talk catch up conversations.  I'm obviously not going to tell her about a vacation I took last August.  Or a relationship that both started and ended months ago.  I just jump to today.  And today is the same as last year.

But you know what, I will use that for motivation to make changes today to make tomorrow better.  To find new experiences to challenge myself and grow myself as a person.  To keep my life exciting and keep making myself better.

At least I can certainly try.

I didn't feel that motivation really strongly until after dinner though.  So it wasn't around to stop me from eating a roll tonight at dinner.  But, in my defense it was right out of the oven and warm and that is something that would be a pity to waste.

Happy 5 year work-versary to me!

Alright, so I am sucker for anniversaries.  Have you ever seen that episode of Parks and Recreation where Ben and Anne get overwhelmed because Leslie is always celebrating anniversaries?  Well, I'm not that bad, but I do like milestones and use them as a time to reflect, remember, and look forward.

In addition to my 5 years living in Albany that I hit last month, just yesterday I also hit another anniversary-- 5 years since my start date of June 9th at the company I work for!  Looking back now, I had no clue how much taking that job would affect me and I vastly underestimated where those 5 years would take me.  I signed on for a 2-year program that involved 8-month functional rotations.  About a year or so into the job, I had a pretty good idea that I'd be made an offer to stay with the team after the program ended.  So after doing a rotation in public relations, a rotation in employee communications, and a rotation in marketing communications, the team created a role for me leading digital communications.  After a year and a half in that role, I moved to a different part of the company, leading marketing communications for a division of one of the businesses.

Working at a science and engineering company has been an adventure to say the least.  I had no appreciation for engineering before I came in to this company.  I applied for the job because it was the only one I could apply for in the fall of my senior year of college.  I'm actually pretty sure I missed the e-mails advertising it and only knew about it because I ran into a friend in my major on campus while she was heading to an info session (I was probably heading to the bar or something...)  I am so glad the stars aligned as they did (and side note: that friend is a blog reader.  hi Sarah! do you remember this?) After applying and interviewing for the role, I was made an offer and accepted it because I was in desperate need of a paycheck and wanted a JOB.  They could have assigned me to do anything in any part of the country and if it meant money, I would have accepted.  Well, they sent me to Albany and so began a big phase of my life.

On my first day they gave me a pair of safety glasses and started talking about steel toed boots and proper environment, health and safety protocol for the labs.  I had no idea what the hell was happening.

And now, honestly, I can’t imagine that there is any other company I could work for, or job I could have accepted, where I could have learned as much.  The subjects I was writing and talking about were so diverse from healthcare to aviation to energy to home appliances.  In doing my day job, I learned so much about how everything in the world works and about business in general.  Literally the first 3.5 years my job was like living inside of an episode of “How Stuff Works.”

Still, every day, I don’t just learn professionally and functionally, I’m literally exposed to new things every day that makes me a better, more well rounded person.  From how power is produced to how emerging markets meet their energy demands to the cultural norms of the many nationalities I work with.  I am always learning.

In my 5 years I have traveled to Germany twice (soon to be 3 times!), Connecticut, Orlando, San Francisco, Lake Tahoe, Denver, Toronto, Atlanta, New York City, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, and more.  I’ve gotten to climb a wind turbine, have lunch with an astronaut, work with politicians, CEOs, top tier media, be interviewed on screen, write for print publications, meet incredibly smart scientists, engineers, bloggers, writers, and creative minds.  I've had world class trainings, made lifelong friends, and worked on projects and programs that I truly am proud of and feel are making a difference in the world.  There has been multiple days when I think to myself, “I can’t believe I get paid for this!” or “Am I really allowed to be doing this?”

I’ve developed such a great appreciation for the world around me and the technology that goes into everything in our lives.  From airplanes to electricity to light bulbs.  My job has changed my thoughts on all of these things from mundane parts of life to incredible technological achievements.  I’ve become even more curious, found the world to be even more beautiful, and expanded my mind in incredible ways.  I call myself an “engineering groupie” and although I am not sure what my next few roles will be, I can’t imagine myself working outside of the technology sector ever again.

My first 5 years in the working world have set the standard HIGH for the rest of my career.  I’m a bit worried that it could only possibly go downhill from here. Not to mention, if it weren’t for this job, I wouldn’t have met some of the most interesting and inspiring people I’ve ever come across.  People who have become some of my best friends.  For all of this, I will always be grateful.  It’s hard to believe it has been 5 years, but that’s what the calendar says.  I can only hope that the next 5 years bring as much learning and new experiences as the past!  Happy 5 year work anniversary to me!

Here are just a few random pictures from the past 5 years.  I enjoyed going through these so hopefully you enjoy checking them out :)

One month on the job in Crotonville, NY!

Scientists at work at Global Research in Niskayuna, NY

Presentations in Trevose, PA

American Renewal commercial filmed in Niskayuna, NY

The clean room of Global Research in Niskayuna, NY

Meetings in Minden, NV

Lunch on the roof top in Schenectady, NY

The Energy Learning Center in Niskayuna, NY

Customer event in Osnabruck, Germany

Our team at AWEA 2012 in Atlanta, GA

Inside a wind turbine blade in Gainseville, Texas

Flash mob at AWEA 2012 in Atlanta, GA

With a jet engine in Atlanta, GA

First business golfing experience with the guys outside Atlanta, GA

Conference in San Francisco, CA

Trade show giveaways in Orlando, FL

Midnight tour of FedEx Global Hub in Memphis, TN

Global Parts Warehouse in Olive Branch, MS

Trade Show in Toronto, Ontario

Training in Crotonville, NY

Team bonding in Denver, Colorado

Cooking in Greenville, SC

CEO event in Munich, Germany

Chalk art in Chicago, IL

Tornado at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, IL

Cubs game in Chicago, IL

Thumbs up at AWEA 2013 in Chicago, IL

Team outing in Saratoga, NY

Training in Orlando, FL

Volunteering in Greenwich, CT

And a number of pictures from one of my all time favorite life experiences... climbing a wind turbine!