A Different Kind of Super Bowl Sunday

It feels strange to NOT be working on Super Bowl Sunday.  For the past six years, I've spent this week and day Super busy.  As it turns out, it's actually a lot of fun to not be stressed and exhausted during Super Bowl week.  I was able to get a lot done this week with most of my colleagues out on the west coast.  And I'll certainly enjoy watching the game in my pajamas rather than running around on the field level concourse in a suit! I'm hoping for an exciting game regardless of the outcome. It would be nice to see Manning win and ride off into the sunset, but I also love the heart and personality of Cam and the Panthers.  Honestly, I'm most excited about the commercials and our tasty array of goodies!  Happy Super Bowl Sunday, friends!!

Who are you rooting for tonight - Panthers or Broncos?

Andrea :)

A Little Taste of Hawaii - Pro Bowl Style

After roughly 11 hours in the air, I landed in Honolulu late last Tuesday night.  I hadn't eaten a solid meal the whole day so my first task after checking into the sprawling Sherton Waikiki hotel was finding some food.  This task was much more difficult than it sounds around 11pm on a Tuesday, but I finally stumbled upon an open restaurant - McDonald's!

Surprisingly, sleeping wasn't an easy task that first night either.  And the morning came quickly!  Unfortunately, I was up before the sun nearly every day of the quick trip. Our first day held a walk-through at the stadium and assistance with the Pro Bowl Draft that afternoon.

The Draft proved to be the most exciting part of the week for me.  My job was securing various players for on-stage interviews in a room set aside for entertaining military personnel.  Along the way, I chatted with a few of my beloved Bengals that were roaming the area.  We commiserated that they wouldn't be playing in the Super Bowl, but everyone seemed to have high hopes for the future!  It turned out to be a fun, yet tiring afternoon - I returned to the hotel and immediately fell asleep.  So much for dinner!

An early morning was in place for Thursday with our group set to make the hour and a half journey out to Turtle Bay resort for practice.  Team Irvin and Team Rice each had their time on the field and we monitored the fans to ensure they stayed within their boundaries.  The highlight of the day was stopping at Matsumoto's Shave Ice stand on the way back to the hotel.  And checking out the massive North Shore waves along the coast as we drove back to Waikiki.

Friday was a day of relaxation.  I didn't have any specific assignments so I spent the day relaxing, reading, and doing a bit of work on the computer.  Thankfully, each room had a balcony with a fabulous view of the ocean.

Saturday, we repeated our trek out to practice stopping at Kahuku Grill for lunch.  I tried the world famous coconut shrimp...and loved it!  So tasty!  I spend the rest of the evening packing up since I was set to fly home on a red eye right after the Sunday afternoon game.

Game day went by in a flash!  Our group helped to activate various on-field experiences so we were busy non-stop from pre-game to post-game.  I was able to spend a little time on the field during the 3rd quarter experience, but otherwise I was shuffling people to and fro all day.  Needless to say, I didn't have any problem sleeping the entire 11 hours back to NYC!   

I was surprised to arrive home to beautiful flowers from my lovely husband!  More importantly, I was glad to see him again after a week away!

Andrea :)

#collaboreads: A Non-Fiction Book

Have you felt the pull toward a different career path, but allowed fear to keep you in your current situation?  Have you ever considered leaving your job with no Plan B allowing you nothing but time to figure out what's next?  Have you ever wanted to just take a leap...and see what happens on the other side?  It can be so easy to get stuck in a routine or want to ensure you have the next thing lined up before you move on. Honestly, it was refreshing to read Tess Vigeland's story as she made a huge leap of faith from a prominent radio host on NPR's Marketplace to the great unknown.  When I saw this month's topic was non-fiction, I was thrilled this book had just arrived in my mailbox!   

RIVETING.

What part of the book could you NOT get enough of?

Perhaps it is the current state of my life, but I absolutely could not get enough of this book.  So many of the thoughts and fears rang true for me.  I have been struggling for some time to figure out my passion.  While this book doesn't necessarily help with figuring it out, it does present a number of interesting stories and findings from studies as they relate to work and happiness.  Tess shares much of her own story, but also pulls from the experiences of others.  This was a great way to include different perspectives and make the book even more engaging. 

ELEMENTS.

How did you relate to/care for the characters?
What's your thought on the plot line and twists and turns?

While I enjoyed the overall theme and message of the book, I did find it a bit difficult to relate to many of the characters simply due to age and life circumstance.  Most of them were in lucrative careers pre-Leap and had a bit of a financial net to fall back on.  However, there were a couple of stories that related more to the average Joe.  Similar to Tess, I don't currently have any children, but I was happy to read stories about individuals who did and still made the Leap.  It was also helpful that Tess included the dark side of Leaping as well as the exciting, new, adventurous side. 

ASSOCIATE.
What other books are like this one? If none, did it remind you of a particular TV or movie with it's themes and characters? Does it serendipitous-ly line-up with things going on in your life or the news right now? 

I would classify this book in the self-help line.  It was a bit of a biography, but mostly it was set up to be a tool to help others going through the Leap process.  I can't think of any others that were like it exactly, but self-help was immediately what came to mind when I started reading it.  As I mentioned, it was very insightful for me.  Over the past couple of years, I have thought many times about other career paths that would be a good fit for me.  It was interesting to see how similarly my thought process and fears were to others in the book.  Additionally, I was fascinated by the information Tess presented in regard to how closely we associate ourselves with our work - how much of our identity is wrapped up in what we do from 9-5.

DESIGN.
You know you judged this book by the cover. What did you think of it? 
How did it relate to the contents of the novel? And the font and layout of the pages? 

The cover was boring.  It didn't really stand out at all.  I did like the tag line that was included on the cover though.  After much thought, I'm not entirely sure how the cover could be changed effectively.

STARS.  
How many out of five do you give this book? Would you recommend this book to a friend? 

I give this book 4 stars.  It was a quick read that kept me engaged and wanting to learn more with each chapter.  It was written in a way that made me feel like we were sitting down for a chat - very personable and honest.  If you have ever considered taking a leap of faith in your career, I highly suggest giving it a read. Click here to learn more about the book!  

Andrea :)

*I received this book from Blogging for Books in return for my honest review.