Getting in the Spirit
Posted on December 23, 2015 by Ching under Confessions, Life.
It’s Christmas Eve eve! Can you believe it? This year has gone by so quickly.
We started celebrating early in the month when we had our Optima Customer holiday party, which was a nice break from our long days and busy schedule. Ever since this project started in October, it has consumed my life. I missed out on several things that I had planned on attending/completing the latter part of the year namely, the First Contact Resolution workshop in San Antonio, Six Sigma Yellow Belt training, the CRC and C&I joint Christmas party, and the team building and volunteer service day at the Wichita Art Museum that I organized. And those are just the big things, I’ve missed pretty much every Rotary meeting since our October project kickoff (although I did get to participate in the Andover Caring & Sharing volunteer activity) and I’ve had to bow out of several other obligations (thankfully, I’m getting great support from my teammates and boss). I guess my life will just have to be on hold until we’ve seen this project to fruition.
The hours are long and the work often seems overwhelming but at least the people I’m working with are amiable and fun. Everyone is super knowledgeable and I’m learning a ton which is really exciting for me. I thoroughly enjoy learning new things so when we began current state interviews immediately after the project kick off I remember telling everyone it feels like Christmas because I’m learning something from every single person I come in contact with. I’m like a really dry sponge just absorbing everything. Anyway, fast forward two months and now it really is Christmas.
I’m still really excited about everything I’m learning but I am starting to get bummed about missing out on stuff. And, I really miss having a routine. I guess I’ll just have to make new routines.
I missed Customer Service Week festivities (which we celebrate in the CRC during the week of Veterans Day) and other fun stuff in the CRC. I remember being at work late one evening to take care of stuff and we stopped by Faith’s office because I just had to show Brian her elaborate Christmas decor. She happened to still be in there making even more decorations. We got to visiting and Brian saw the photo booth pictures we had taken last year that were up on Faith’s cabinet walls and I made a comment about how we didn’t have a photo booth this year for Customer Service Week. Faith told me that we did have one and showed me a punch of the pictures she and others took in the photo booth. I just happened to be in Topeka that day and missed it.
Here are some pictures of Faith’s amazing Christmas decorations.
Recently, we had a holiday decorating contest at work. I pretty much missed most of it too but I did take pictures while I was at work late one evening.
The participation this year was so much more than we had seen in previous years and the level of creativity was out of this world. Everyone really got into it. It was great to see and helped get in me in the spirit because up until then I really wasn’t feeling the magic of Christmas. Probably because I’ve just been so busy.
In years past I’ve usually got my trees (one upstairs and one in the basement) up by Thanksgiving and I’m usually done with Christmas shopping by then too. This year I’ve been so busy that I decided to only put one Christmas tree up (the one upstairs) and I’ve really started to question the whole gifts situation. I know of others who only get presents for children in the family and not any adults. I’m pitching that idea to Brian for next year because that would really save us a lot of time and stress.
This year I wanted to crochet presents for everyone but severely underestimated the time it would take to complete each present. Since I started later based on this incorrect assumption I was only able to complete three crochet projects and then had to come up with a backup plan for the rest of our giftees. That left us scrambling for presents last minute. Well, it feels last minute for me anyway, since I’m usually ready well ahead of time. Christmas seems to have snuck up on me this year (I suppose that’s what happens when you’re busier than usual) and I feel completely unprepared.
Here’s one of the three completed projects. Maybe next year I’ll be able to complete more. Or, if Brian goes for the “no Christmas presents for adults” idea then I may not have to make any at all except for the ones that I wish to make. That would be less pressure for me to get these crochet projects done. LOL.
Anyway, it’s nice to finally be off work. I’m still working a little to stay caught up but I’m grateful that I can just work remotely and whenever I feel like it (which is usually at odd hours of day). Since I’m on vacation, technically any work I do is just extra. For now I’m done checking email until after Christmas so I can finally start truly getting into the Christmas spirit. I hope you guys get a good long break from work and have a wonderful holiday season!
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One Day and Three Parties
Posted on December 20, 2015 by Ching under Events.
We are taking a break from socializing this weekend because we kind of overdid it last weekend. In additional to the usual Saturday stuff, we had three parties to attend. In order to optimize time and mileage, we planned our evening as follows: Hideki’s Rock Band and White Elephant party first, Cory and April’s “stock the bar” housewarming-slash-poker-slash-fight-night party next, and ending with the Second Wave dance party at the Wichita Art Museum.
Here are some photos from our first stop.
I really wished that we didn’t have a schedule conflict that evening because I wanted to stay for the white elephant gift exchange. They are super fun!
Next stop: Cory and April’s house.
Poker was already underway when we got there so we played with Mater for a while and watching some UFC while waiting for a break in the tourney.
Of course, Brian and the cat fell in love with one another.
There were so many munchies every where we went. We grazed all night.
There were even more munchies when we got to the Second Wave party at the Wichita Art Museum. They had a fabulous meat and cheese spread.
And, and amazing cupcake table. There were two of these lovely ladies walking around the event and offering cupcakes to guests.
I’m glad Jenni could make it even though she try to decline at first saying she didn’t have the money for a ticket. I was like, “You are my guest, silly! You don’t have to pay.”
Here’s the story of how that came about: I organized a team building activity at the museum and, since I only have three team members, I opened it up to eleven others in the CRC who are interested in helping. Anytime we have five or more people volunteering at least half a day (four hours minimum) at a non-profit organization then we can ask work for a team building match which means, in addition to our volunteer time, the organization gets a check for $1000.
Our group was there the day before to help prepare the Wichita Art Museum for the 80 Days Around the WAM 80th Anniversary Party. A couple of weeks before the event, Kourtney (the coordinator I was working with at the museum) informed me that each of the volunteers and a guest could attend the Second Wave dance party for free. Anyway, several people couldn’t make it so that left several entries to the party. We didn’t want it to go to waste to we opened the party invite up to friends and others in the CRC. That’s how Jenni got in for free. Even so, we failed to round up 24 people. Only a handful of us could make it.
Faith and Shanda each brought a couple of guests. James brought his wife. Derek and Darcy both attended. I was expecting a couple more people from work and their spouses but I didn’t see them at the event. All in all, we only had 17 party-goers RSVP and only 13 showed up.
It worked out for the best though, because Amy didn’t end up making the volunteer activity on Friday and I only made the last hour because I had some last minute meetings come up. So we really only had 10 half-day volunteers and it wouldn’t have been fair to take up 24 spots at the party. With Amy and I missing, we only had 20 spots available so it worked out that we were under our allotment.
I thought it was going to be a cash bar at the party so I was pleasantly surprised that it was an open bar. I guess that would make sense considering the $50 admission price.
I got to see my friend and Leadership Wichita classmate Teresa (above) and prominent Wichita Twitterer Cindy there, and had a blast partying with friends and coworkers. The band was phenomenal but, as with any party, it took a while for the dance floor to get going. Once it was going everyone seemed to be having a great time. Although, we joked that perhaps one of the reasons we got invited to attend is they needed some young people in the crowd. LOL.
Jokes aside, I think everyone had a great time including Darcy even though she was a tad disappointed at the lack of good looking, eligible men her age at the party. Derek mentioned that he would love to attend again next year. I had to burst his bubble that the event only happens every two years so he’ll have to wait twice as long for the next one. I’m glad we were able to attend the 80th anniversary one, though. This was a big year for Wichita Art Museum and they threw a great party. Glad we were able to celebrate with them!
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Light Your Heart 2015
Posted on December 13, 2015 by Ching under Babies, Events.
Brian and I had a blast at the Light Your Heart last weekend. This fundraising event for Heartspring used to be the Lights on the Lake launch party but they discontinued Lights on the Lake last year so naturally the benefit had to be renamed.
They had a different band this year, but they were very good.
Here’s a picture of how the venue was decorated.
Here are some pictures of our great-looking group.
The Bowmans always look happy and fabulous.
Looking back at my pics from the evening, I realized that I missed taking a photo of Michael and Rachel. Yikes! I think it’s because they kept wandering off. LOL.
We wandered away from the table a few times ourselves. A couple of times to bid and rebid on silent auction items and once to take some photos at the photo booth.
The photo booth was cool but it wasn’t as cool as the photo booth last year. The photo booth last year could accommodate more people. And, I don’t know what it was with this photo booth but we could not get the timing just right. We would pose and then the camera would snap a picture just as we would move. It was fun, though.
There were lots of great silent auction items this year, but it seemed like there were fewer than last year. I bid on the WSU items but didn’t win any of them.
It’s a good thing too because we ended up winning one of the live auction items.
Attendance seemed low this year compared to last year. Last year they filled a much larger venue. I’m wondering if Garth Brooks had a lot do with it.
People weren’t bidding as much in the live auction either so we thought we’d help out. LOL. Last year the puppy fetched $3500. This year we were able to take it down at $1400. Granted Goldendoodles look like teddy bears and probably go for a lot more in general, but our little Shiba is the cutest little puppy ever. That said, even though we would have donated even more for the privilege of adopting her, I’m glad the bidding ended when it did.
We were disappointed to find out that you don’t get to take the puppy home with you that night. You actually have to go to the store and sign a bunch of papers and they give you a bunch of extra stuff too like a crate, bed, toys, food, etc. Makes sense. We’d never won a puppy from a live auction before so we didn’t know.
Here’s a picture of all the stuff we got with our puppy adoption. The Snuggle Puppy
Anyway, I’m glad we lost all of the silent auction items that we bid on because that would have made for a very expensive evening otherwise. Heartspring is a great organization though so we are happy help. We named our new puppy Saki, which in Japanese can be translated as “blossom of hope” — fitting considering the circumstances.
Here’s to Saki, the newest member of our happy family!
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Big Brothers Big Sisters Holiday Party
Posted on December 13, 2015 by Ching under Events.
Brian, Nickira, and I had the wonderful opportunity to attend the Big Brothers Big Sisters holiday party at Botanica last weekend.
We saw Thunderdog, Santa Claus, and Mrs. Claus. We also did crafts and played bingo. It was a lot of fun and Nickira received several presents.
Thunder dog gave Nickira a gigantic stuffed dog, almost the same size as her.
Santa gave Nickira a present and we also got a photo with him.
Here’s Nickira with her giant dog and other Christmas loot.
She loved her dog. She got the biggest stuffed dog out of all the kid there. That was the absolute highlight of the day.
The dog was so soft and comfortable that she promptly fell asleep on it on the way home.
Here she is completely out. She was so out of it that she ended up drooling on the dog. LOL. And then we finally had to wake her up when we arrived at her house.
I didn’t get to see Nickira this weekend because we enrolled our new puppy Saki (more on that later) in puppy school and yesterday was her first day. I’m hoping I’ll be able to spend some time with her on Thursday so we can give her Christmas present to her.
We missed the Big Brothers Big Sisters Christmas party last year so this was my first one and I didn’t really know what to expect. It was really cool actually and we had a great time. Nickira liked it so much she said that we have to go again next year.
We will most definitely be back!
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A Savage Christmas Party and White Elephant
Posted on December 6, 2015 by Ching under Events.
Every time I get caught up on the blog I get behind again. LOL.
Our project director Kim Savage hosted a wonderful holiday get together at her home last week. We enjoyed a nice dinner and had a fun white elephant gift exchange. The Savages were wonderful hosts and made everyone feel welcome.
By the way, there are actually way more people on the project than pictured above. Some couldn’t make it and there were a few people who had already left by the time we got around to the group photo.
While we were waiting for everyone to show up at the hotel lobby to carpool to the party I took a picture of Kelsey with her very festively wrapped white elephant gift. Both Kelsey and her present were so cute, I just had to.
The best part about this is that, if you look at our project manager Andy’s party attire next to Kelsey’s, they look like they’re going to two totally different events. LOL.
The white elephant gift exchange went well. Of course, Andy had to outdo everyone. Despite the $25 gift limit he managed to put several things in his gift. His seemingly bottomless gift bag included a giant bottle of Svedka, a couple of bottles of Fifty Shades of Grey wine (one red, one white), and a bottle of Boone’s Farm Blue Hawaiian (it was nasty but Radhika seemed to enjoy it). His gift was naturally the most coveted gift of the evening. Mine didn’t fare too badly and was stolen at least three times as well before being benched but I actually followed the gift limit rules. Granted, it would have cost more than $25 had it not been on sale at the time but Red Envelope gifts always present well and tend to look more lavish than they really are. I got five of those gifts to give a way last year and just happened to have this one left in storage. Since I didn’t have time to order anything online for the event, I ended up using this one and it worked out. Looking back, this gift is probably one of the most well-received gifts that I’ve given to people that I really should have bought a dozen to save for occasions like this one. Now that Red Envelope has folded I can’t get them anymore.
Everyone was a really good sport about the white elephant gift exchange. The first gift to be stolen was Andy’s and once the gift stealing started we implemented a twist where anyone stealing a gift had to take a swig off the Boone’s Farm as penalty. It made you really think twice about whether you wanted to steal because, besides Radhika who seemed to like it, everyone agreed that stuff is nasty. That didn’t slow down the stealing, though. Gifts were still stolen and the bottle was pretty much wiped out by the end of the game. Probably because Radhika drank half of the bottle.
Speaking of Radhika, she ended up going home with my present and I went home with hers. After all of the gift stealing was said and done, we just ended up exchanging presents with one another.
This was the first of many holiday parties of the season. We are off to a great start!
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