The Un-Professional

I’m in my upper twenties. I’ve been working in the “real world” for almost five full years. I should be “professional”. But – I’m not. I sit at my desk cross legged. I sometimes forget to put on my shoes when I run to get water. I like to laugh and tease. I have music on constantly (work appropriate mind you). I rarely wear a full suit. I don’t even own a portfolio to carry meeting notes and papers.

Then there are yesterdays. I run from one meeting to the next. Some I’m just participating in, others I run, others were scheduled due to my request. People look to me for answers – people look to me to provide direction and input. And like yesterday I sit there providing those answers and inputs as I fidget with my nail that broke as I hurried into the building. Not real professional. As I walk out of those meetings I often wonder what in the world I’m doing.

Peter tells me to remember Timothy: “Let no one look down on your youth.” When you get right down to it though, it isn’t my youth that makes me think I shouldn’t be where I am – it’s just me. I didn’t pursue where I am today (and mind you it isn’t that grand), I’m undereducated, I’m not real professional. Basically I have no right to be running meetings, to be giving advice, to be traveling and “leading” delegations, to have people with three times my experience look to me to tell them what to do.

It reminds me of what I told a friend the other day: You are where you are because of God. My problem is that while I know that is the truth, I so often praise myself for being in a position I know I don’t deserve. It’s God that opened up each and every door for me. It’s Him who provides clarity of thought. It’s Him who helps me accomplish every last duty and e-mail through the day. He is the almighty and I’m the subject. But yet I praise myself. I pray that no matter what the accomplishment I’ll remember why I am where I am today – Because of God’s grace.

9:30PM Window Cleaning

People should not get the wrong impression. Me cleaning windows at 9:30PM does not mean I’m overambitious or am so busy that 9:30PM is the only time I can clean windows. No it just so happened that 9:30PM was the first time I really had a desire to clean the windows. And I have to say, doing them at night is a blast. Not only do you not have the glare of the sun in your eyes, you also don’t see streaks (thereby making the cleaning process shorter), the air is cooler and more enjoyable, AND you get some crazy looks from the people walking by. What is not to love? I also learned valuable lessons while cleaning said windows:

1. Living next to a street causes windows to get black. Who knew!


2. New windows that fold out are the bomb diggity – although you do have to be careful when balancing yourself on a chair, and are holding the spray and paper towels, and are propping up both windows on your torso. It can get just a tad precarious.


3. Clorox wipes once again prove their wonderfulness. They collect all the crime and filth without having to pull out the ‘ol bucket and cloth.


4. Living on the first floor is very helpful when screens fly away from you. Thankfully, my quick reflexes allowed me to catch our flying screen, but when contemplating what would have happened if I had not caught the screen I became thankful I would not have to go traipsing down several flights of stairs to retrieve my screen in my lounge wear.


5. Curtains look dirtier against clean windows. Too bad I also didn’t have the urge to do a load of laundry at 10:30PM after finishing the windows.

There you have it folks: Lessons from Sarah on the glories of 9:30PM window cleaning.

Random Days Making Up Weeks

There are some days that seem to go perfectly. I get a good amount done at work, am cheerful when I get home, make a good dinner, and actually straighten up the house making the next day pleasant to wake up to. Then there are days when I cannot figure out what I got done that day, am irritable, just eat leftovers (or go out), and then plop into bed with dishes spread around the dinning room and my work stuff spread in the living room. Why are some days so productive and others so not?! (NOTE: I realize the grammatical inaccuracies of that sentence, but I did that to emphasize the not.) Is it really all about my attitude when I wake up in the morning? While it sounds so cliché and boring I honestly think it does tie back to my morning perspective.

When I wake up do I consciously thank my Lord for giving me the day or do I blankly walk into the bathroom and stare into the mirror wondering what I’m going to wear that day? As I get changed do I pray that my thoughts, words, actions would be of my Father's or do I grumble that I’m going to have to dress for meetings? As I walk into work do I pray I will be a witness to my coworkers or do I think about everything I need to do and how I’ll avoid that annoying person I always seem to run into? As the day progresses and I experience frustrations do I pray for patience or do I broil inside? As you may have guessed my first inclination is to do the latter in each of these circumstances. Not surprising – I am a sinner. But it is sad for I am a Christian claiming Christ as my LORD.

It is not shocking that often when I have Sarah Focused Days there is a severe lack of focus and direction to my weeks. The days truly become random days making up weeks. But I’m making a resolution today that this week (that already has started poorly) will be much more God filled so my week will be focused and purposeful.

The open windows let the sounds of rain seep into our room as I rolled out of bed. It made me smile. My polka dotted rain boots had been sitting by the front door waiting to be used. And today was the day!

Peter (being the wonderful man he is) had offered to drive me to work. Most of the way to the car he walked next to me, but would put a fair distance between us when he saw me near the puddles. He knew my instincts. I wouldn’t just step in them – I’d jump. What good are boots if you don’t utilize their purposes? They aren’t rain shoes – made to keep the soles of your feet dry, they are rain boots – made to keep your entire leg dry as you jump and splash through the sidewalk.

Maybe I’m immature and should get over loving my boots and splashing in puddles. But it is a good reminder to me to keep my heart like a child’s. Easy to extend love. Willing to enjoy the little things in life. Approaching God with a whole hearted nature – without restraint – without question. Sometimes it is hard for me to remember that God is a father as well as a leader, ruler, and judge. But when I think of myself as a child I remember that God is an all sufficient God. Maybe you’ll think it is a stretch – but I like my polka dotted rain boots…they remind me of who God is.

Cinnamon Rolls

As I continue to live, I realize how frequently mankind likes to think they have it hard. “I’m so busy!” “My boss is sooo unfair!” “Everyone I work with is so stupid.” “I have an awful commute.” “I not only am a wife and mother, but have a zillion other things to care for.” “I never get more then 4 hours of sleep.” “I never have time/money to pamper myself.” “I need a job…now.” And so on and so on. We are all guilty of saying one if not all of these at some point in our lives. (Well, OK, so guys will never say they are a wife and mother, but just stick in husband/father and it still works.) Many of these are very legitimate. There are some legitimately nasty bosses out there. I personally know wives and mothers who have so much on their plate it isn’t humanly possible for them to get it all done. Having time and money to pamper oneself is not always frequent. Several people in my life need a job…now. But are those legitimate reasons to complain?

You can always say “there are others out there that are worse then you, so you shouldn’t complain”. Yes, that will indeed always be the case. But I think often we use that methodology for “a-righting our thinking” in an incorrect manner. I will not deny that it is a good practice to remember there are people in the world who really need our prayer and support. But go beyond that. What I’m thinking is that countering our lives with others lives doesn’t give God the praise He deserves. God has given you life. He has showered you with grace. He attends to your daily need for food, roof, friends, family, etc. Beyond your daily needs, God even blesses us with unnecessary pleasures, like meat that is on a 75% sale, large freezers to keep said sale meat, money to buy “fun” foods like cinnamon rolls, hot showers, internet to stay connected to friends, cell phones to talk to family/friends, money to purchase pretty things for our houses, etc. How many of these things have I forgotten to thank our God for because I find them normal, everyday things that SHOULD be in my life? Hmmm. How little I comprehend how frequently God has placed His hand into my daily life. How little I thank Him for His pleasures - even down to the little ones like cinnamon rolls.

Random Thoughts of the Day

1. Travel: Last week I realized that almost every month this past year I’ve gone somewhere outside of NOVA.
   Oct 08 – Williamsburg
   Nov 08 – Indiana, Pennsylvania
   Dec 08 – Germany, Kazakhstan, Pennsylvania
   Jan 09 – Indiana
   Feb 09 - Kazakhstan
   Mar/Apr 09 – Austria, Georgia
   May 09 – Georgia, Indiana
   June 09 – Georgia (are you noticing a trend?)
   July 09 – Indiana, Ohio
   Aug 09 – Washington State
   
2. Blog: My “Third Georgia Trip” blog post. It is still sitting on a computer, but without home internet it is stuck on said computer. It was rather a crazy trip so I feel obligated to post it, but alas and alack haven’t taken the opportunity to drag the computer “all the way” down to the business center (for those of you who have not visited Peter and I that is a whole block away).
   
3. Discovery (thanks to Lee): The National Arboretum. Beautiful gardens, pretty pathways, and lots of quiet. Oh, and a 400 year old bonsai tree that survived the Hiroshima nuclear blast. Pretty amazing if you ask me!
   
4. My Third Love: Budgets. No I don’t want to be an accountant, but budgets really are something I thoroughly enjoy. I like figuring them out, sticking by them, redoing them when necessary, making them balance, figuring out how much things will cost, etc. I am not a number person, but I like numbers in excel.
   
5. Gum: I have rediscovered my love/hate relationship with cinnamon gum. It use to be the only kind I’d get, but I would always be frustrated by either how hard it would get in a short amount of time or the lack of flavor in 20 seconds. So I didn’t buy it for YEARS – like 15 of them. But the other day while strolling the aisles of Target I saw it was on sale. And I now remember the wonderful tingling sensation in your mouth with the first chew and am also experiencing a bit of jaw pain…

Thanks all folks!

Travel Journal: Tbilisi

“Georgia: the country, not the state.”

How many times have I said that when explaining to people where I’m preparing to go or from whence I’ve just returned? Far too many to count. It is a statement usually followed with me drawing an air map of Russia and explaining where Georgia lies in relation to that large land mass. Unlike Austria not many people say “Ooo, I want to go there someday!” But that is fine with me. I like going places new and exciting. It doesn’t have to be a tourist trap for me to feel comfortable. Besides, unbeknownst to most, The Republic of Georgia is a beautiful land filled with unique people.

Not surprisingly there aren’t any direct flights to Tbilisi Georgia, so my Colleague and I transited Vienna Austria in order to board our Georgian Airlines flight. Yes, there is a Georgian Airlines. And yes, they allow smoking on this flight. Again, yes, this means I got sick: I’ve been hacking away since I returned and that isn’t due to me contracting swine flu. Honestly, I didn’t mind the smoking until I woke from my sprawled position in Row 10 (not many people fly from Vienna to Tbilisi, meaning I had a whole row of seats to myself) and realized I couldn’t breathe.

We arrived without incident (except for the not breathing part) in Tbilisi and quickly made it through passport control. Getting into Georgia is just about as easy as getting into Georgia the State – you present your passport - they waive you through – no visa necessary. This was the first time I arrived in this Republic during the day (most flights arrive at 3AM) so I enjoyed looking out my plane window unto the beautiful snow capped mountains. As we drove to our hotel I was able to see more of the land: an interesting combination of dilapidated buildings and city streets. The city of Tbilisi is quite an old city which is evident by the old stone and brick buildings that line the streets. Mountains surround the city making it appear safe yet adventuresome. I know, that sounds like an odd combination, but let me explain. The city was placed right along a large river that runs through the bowl shaped valley. Georgians of old did placed fortresses along the mountain rise using the height as look out posts and the terrain as fortress walls. The natural barricades make you feel safe from the outlying countryside. But then as you look up to the beautiful grassy mountains surrounding the city, you want to explore. On most of the mountains there is either a fortress or a church which draws you upward – you want to investigate those buildings and see the sites those buildings claim as their view.

Georgians by nature are poetic people. They are affected strongly by stories and symbolism. One doesn’t have to stay long in Georgia to find this out. In the center of Freedom Square, which positions itself in the center of the city, is a large pillar which holds a golden statue of St. George slaying a dragon – a dragon symbolizing Mother Russia. As your eyes are drawn up to the shiny golden statue you see Mother Georgia standing tall and erect on the mountain directly behind St. George. She holds a glass of wine in one hand welcoming friends and a sword in her other to slay the enemy. I’ve been told by the locals that it can also be said the wine is for the enemy to make them weak and vulnerable to the sword. Take it for what you will, but there she stands looking over her land.

Below Mother Georgia are coble stone streets winding up the hills which spoke out from Freedom Square. Georgian drivers are not afraid to take these winding brumby streets at rates which made me convinced their cars MUST have shocks the size of barrels. Oh, and beware, pedestrians do NOT have the right of way. That is right folks: crosswalks are nonexistent so take care when crossing the street. Do not listen to the voice of your mother in your head that says look both ways before you cross the street because there is no way you can be prepared for a car zipping around Freedom Square at 60 MPH. But cross these streets my Colleague and I did as we attempted to keep ourselves awake after flying for two days. Our time in Georgia really was rather short so it wasn’t necessary to get on their time schedule, but sleeping at 2PM really throws you off no matter what, so we explored.

To make our time even more “adventuresome” we were able to experience Georgian Protests. In case you didn’t know (which I’m assuming most of you doesn’t know) right now the president of Georgia is being asked to step down. He was democratically elected but the people no longer feel he is a good democratic leader. Assessing the truth of that statement is not the purpose of this posting, but I must say the protesters were some of the most peaceful organized protesters: expect for the time my Colleague and I got stuck trying to cross the street as a LARGE group of people decided it was a good idea to run down the city street. To cap off our experience our hotel apparently was being occupied by a high level government official. Basically we were in a lock down which is interesting when the guards at the Hotel door don’t speak English and you want to get back to your room. Fear not Colleague and I are rather persuasive. What was my favorite part of the protests?: the part where they brought out fake jail cells and filled Freedom Square and proceeded to sleep in them all night.

As we walked to our Cab for our early morning flight we passed groups of people laughing and talking as they surrounded the fake jail cells. I still am not sure of the effectiveness of protests, but I must say I admire those who can take a stand for something without shouting or destroying their surroundings. People who can make a point with dignity and resolve.