Show me the money

The Army's fiscal year runs from October to September. As of July, we are now in the 4th quarter.

What does this mean for me? The furniture orders are poring in because different garrisons are trying to spend all their money before the end of the year. This means long hours, but most importantly - OVERTIME!!



Overtime is amazing! I love getting paid extra. How did I ever survive without overtime? How did I ever survive without a government job?

I love my job and the money, and I really, really, REALLY hope that I get offered a permanent job!

Megan Walks!

Back in March, my sister Megan was in a motorcycle accident. She ended up getting her leg amputated at the end of that month. After her 4 week stay in the hospital, she was able to go home. She used a wheelchair and walker for a bit. But walkers are "for grandmas" and using a wheelchair makes her "feel like a crippled person." So Megan worked hard at therapy, and learned to walk with one leg using crutches.

She's been waiting several months for her residual limb (which she named Aiden) to heal enough to get her prosthetic. Last Wednesday, the wait was finally over! Megan couldn't decide which leg to get, so she tried two out. On Wednesday she tried the Plie and on Thursday she tried the C-Leg. They're both microprocessor leg. Here's an easy to understand explanation from a prosthetic newsletter, "In real time the decision-making chip signals the swing-phase control to react so the limb will be ready for heel strike at the appropriate instant and place. Then at heel strike, the microprocessor signals the knee to restrict flexion until late stance phase, providing needed stability for full weightbearing,then gradually allows flexion in preparation for toe-off. Smart knees can further detect danger of falling or slipping and react to keep the knee from contributing to a fall."

Showing off her personalized socket-the part that her thigh goes in to.

She spent hours and hours getting her leg adjusted.



So, so happy!

Better Late Than Never

My mom says I'm the worst about updating my blog, and I would have to agree. My birthday was last month, and the day started off great. The girls at work surprised me with cupcakes!

Lauren decided to draw on a mustache with the cupcake icing. After seeing this photo, she has decided to be Johnny Depp for Halloween.

After work, I had my birthday dinner at PF Chang's.


Enjoying my birthday dessert shooter and my new watch.


Being 21 was great, but I can't wait to see what 22 will bring.

My birthday

My birthday is on Friday, and here are a few items on my wish list.

1. Skagen watch. I'm allergic to nickel and finding a watch that doesn't give me a nasty rash is pretty difficult. Skagen is one of the few companies that specifies what material their band is made out of. You'd think that every expensive watch would automatically be made completely out of stainless steel, but that is not the case.



2. Crocs. I spend most of my work day sitting at the computer, but I still want to wear comfortable shoes. I've always thought that Crocs were pretty ugly, but that was before I went to the Crocs store during my trip to Boston. Crocs now sells comfortable heels, wedges, and flats.



3. Sour Patch Fruits. Favorite. Candy. Ever.

What I Do

I recently talked to some of my friends from school who are also going through their internship. I have to admit, I'm a teeny, tiny bit jealous. They're doing creative projects, picking materials, visiting job sites, drawing plans, meeting sales reps and getting free food. And I'm doing boring government work.

I'm sure all ten of my readers are just dying to know what I do for a living, so without going into too many confusing Army acronyms, I am a technical writer. Our office orders furniture for all the garrisons in the Army. We don't pick it out, we don't draw furniture plans, we just handle furniture procurement.

Here's the process:
1. Some designer/architect/DPW (department of public works) decides what furniture is needed. 25 conference tables, 100 task chairs, etc
2. We write FIDs (furniture item descriptions) or specifications, as they are called in the civilian world. "Specifications" means the detailed written description of construction, workmanship and materials of the work to be undertaken. This document is usually over 100 pages.
3. We send the specifications to furniture companies.
4. Furniture companies send us back big binders of their furniture, which they think matches what we want.
5. The furniture companies are always wrong. We write a Technical Review telling them in great detail that they aren't giving us what we want.
6. Furniture companies think that our requests are obscene. They don't understand that we are the Army, and if we want a desk drawer that can hold 150 lbs, then that's what we're going to get. The Technical Review process goes back and forth in several rounds, until the furniture companies give us what we want.
7. Contracts are given to the furniture company that gives us what we want at a decent price. We order the furniture. I don't have anything to do with step 7. The contract specialists and project managers handle this part.

It's boring work, but I'm thankful to have a job. And most importantly, I'm getting paid a lot more than the other interior design girls who get to do creative work. Government work does have its benefits.

My life has changed

Life has changed in our family ever since Megan became a crippled (yes, I called my sister crippled, but in a loving way. I figure if her family calls her crippled it won't hurt as much when meanies call her crippled to make fun of her). Of course Megan is the one experiencing the biggest change, but the rest of the family is also affected.

1. Handicapped parking is amazing! No longer do we have to park in the boonies and walk a mile to get inside Target.

2. I get to lug Megan's crutches around while she drives around stores.



3. Speaking of stores, employees are very helpful to customers in wheelchairs. Whenever I go shopping with Megan I'm guaranteed to get good service.

I got a haircut!

I have had long hair nearly my entire life, except for a very brief period of time in 7th grade when I got my hair cut just below my ears. After about ten years, I decided it was time to have short hair again. I also wanted something more professional now that I have a real job.

Here's my hair before (this photo was taken about a year ago):


And my hair after: