Sprinter

Sprinter (noun): a combination of seasons spring and winter. A period of about 6 weeks when the seasons are in limbo and residents feel the affects of both Spring and Winter.

This past week has been a meteorologic nightmare. Last Thursday I went on a nice long walk around the block with the sun beaming down in the 60 degree weather. Yesterday, a winter storm rolls in unannounced.

I left for work at 12 noon yesterday with my wool coat and flat shoes on. At around 4 p.m. I walked past the doors and was surprised to see an inch of accumulated snow and blizzard like conditions (blowing and drifting). By the time I left work around 9 p.m. I barely made it out of the mall parking lot before I realized there was no way I was going to make the hilly, curvey, 45 minute drive home. I thought I would drive a few miles down a major road to find a hotel. After watching a salt truck slide sideways down a hill right in front of me and putting my car in reverse until I could turn around, I eventually put "hotel" in my GPS. 3.4 miles. Ok, I can do that.

The only problem with being new to a city and depending entirely on your GPS is that you are not familiar enough with the side streets to know if the GPS is taking you on the most efficiant route, or in this case, the least hilly/curvey. After 2.3 miles, I made a left turn of faith onto a snow and ice covered side street. Only 1.1 miles left right? I can make it. I drove with my foot on the break down the hill until......I see a Jeep with its front tires stuck in the ditch and the rest of its body blocking all of the right lane and most of the left lane (lanes were not identifiable anyway though). I attempted to turn around, which I did succeed at until I realized I had been going down hill and my Toyota Corolla was in no way going back up. So I was faced with a decision: do I abandon my car in the middle of the road going down a hill in God knows where Pittsburgh, or do I attempt to go down the hill and avoid hitting the Jeep.

I went down the hill. I felt like I had just run a marathon and I could see the finish line shining in neon light: the "Comfort Inn". I could not have been more thankful I had made it there safely; however, I was in a part of town I had never been in and I'm just going to say it: that was the dirtiest hotel I've ever stayed in. And that includes the Howard Johnson in Orlando, FL :)

And, while I was laying on the bed, on top of the sheets and comforter (ew), Channel 11 News took a break from talking about all the cars littered on the parkway to talk about how Pittsburgh was chosen as one of the most livable cities. Hm. Ironic to say the least.

Faves

Wow! Two posts in one day? I just wanted to share my favorite super bowl commercials. My two favorites were from Bridgestone. The Carma one with the beaver below:

I think we can all relate to the panic this guy was feeling:

And finally, the monkeys make another appearance:

What were your favorites??

Save your Pennies

I need some good inspiration to write anything of significance. Today my inspiration comes from this article I read yesterday on yahoo finance called "6 Little Things that Cost a Lot". It is a great reminder of how meaningless purchases satisfy short-term but leave you, or your bank account, feeling empty in the long run.

I particularly liked reading this article because I have recently taken up the art of saving up for something I really want. I no longer buy coffee at work unless I have an unbearable headache and I am bringing my poor-excuse-for-a-lunch to work so I can avoid spending $16 on a salad from Red Robin. All of those little purchases really do add up, and I am proud to announce that I have saved an additional $200 a month from scrimping on stuff I really don't want and/or need. Every time I think about buying something I think "Would I rather have this or would I rather be able to retire early?" There are very few things that I want more than retiring early, so the answer is almost always NO.

Saving your money on the meaningless things of your daily routine make it so much more worth it when you let loose just a bit and buy a coffee with your friends. So what is your guilty pleasure? Is there something you could cut out each day and your life would not be significantly impacted by it, but your long-term investments would be? The point is that satisfaction does not come from a tall cup of over priced coffee. It comes from meeting your goals, whether they be financial in nature or not. 

Change

I have always found the study of people fascinating. Understanding why people operate the way they do intrigues me. One thing I have a hard time understanding is most people's  resistance to change. Change is such a natural part of life. In fact, if nothing ever changed than your life would be the same as it was when you were born (boring)! I've always like the saying "the only thing that never changes, is everything is always changing". Change can be uncomfortable at times, especially when you are stepping into the unknown (I think that is what makes change hard for most people). But, when has anything significant happened in your life without change? Every exciting and interesting event that has happened in my life resulted due to some sort of change. Without change, my life would be boring and uneventful, and for those of you who know me personally, know I get bored very easily.

I recently watched the Social Network, a good movie in many regards. I've always found true stories so much more interesting than fiction, so I was mildly entertained. There was a scene when Mark Zuckerberg makes a comparison between facebook and fashion. He says facebook will never go out of style because, like fashion, it will always be changing and adapting to its new environment. What a brilliant man! That concept can be applied in just about any business model. Your client is never the same. Their life changes, so should your product! Especially if you are trying to gain a customer for life, shouldn't you consider that their preferences will be different for their first purchase and for their last. No wonder Mark Zuckerberg was the person of the year according to Time Magazine and his company is valued at $50+ billion. Wow!

What is ironic though, is how resistant most people are to the most recent update to their facebook profile. The changes are minor really. All of the same features are present, merely located in different spots. I can't count how many people's statuses were referencing the fact that they did not want to take a few minutes to adjust to a change, especially because this particular change is not going to have a huge impact on your life.

Few changes that happen in your life are important enough to allow them to upset you. Change is really a great thing, especially if you're looking to be different and unique. If everyone did everything the same, there would be no facebook, there would be no vanilla coke, there would be no Internet at all, and most importantly, there would be no blog called classified by christy.

Open

I've decided to start a blog after recently realizing I have little-to-no life outside of work. Most of my days consist of work, followed by a commute, followed by landing on the couch to watch the DVR'ed Chelsea Lately from the night before and falling asleep a few minutes before 8:30 p.m. I've always assumed I had nothing of interest to state to the entire world, or at least all of the "socialites" who sit of facebook  waiting for the next status update. But, now I am taking a new approach...openess (is that a word?). So, consider this my opening statement to an even more transparent year-in-the-life of a girl with no life, few friends, and no creativity.

Being open is a good policy for anyone. I really do believe that. When people know you like them (or don't) life becomes so much easier. I respect people so much more when they are straight forward with me and I am brutally aware of their dislike for me, rather than play a game of passive-aggressive metaphorical ping-pong. No one wants to guess whether your overly friendly greeting was sincere or simply a strategic move to make the opponent believe they are liked while you talk insults when said opponent turns their back. Just do me a favor and tell me how you feel so we don't have to play this confusing and rather boring game. Plus, it really is about honesty. I don't like to lie, you shouldn't either. And lying is confusing anyway...you have to keep changing your story to adapt to the current conditions. So much work.

So today is the first day of openness to all who are interested and not interested. I will write every few days about whatever comes to mind. Hopefully something decent and entertaining, for your sake. Let me know what you think...and be honest.