Work Talk

This is probably the busiest month of the year for me - right up there with the month of July for Ryan and I! I work in Event Planning and Donor Relations for Portland State University and I am putting on a fundraiser on the 23rd, called Wine & Roses. It is a wine tasting event with silent and live auctions, live entertainment and dancing, and a sit-down dinner served by our student-athletes (I love that part). All of the money raised goes to support scholarships for PSU Athletes, so the interaction between our donors and athletes is really important. It's awesome for me to get to be on the other side of things now and do my part to help new athletes pay their way through college! I have worked at/on the event in some capacity for the last 3 years and am now the person in charge this year! A lot of responsibility needless to say, but I wouldn't know what to do with myself if I wasn't busy - us Tripp girls are just that way right?

With a lot of changes in our department this year and the addition of extra staff hours, we have grown the event 3 times the size of years past and have almost 500 people registered to come at this point. I almost fell out of my chair when I realized what our numbers were at today. Without meaning to, I have changed a lot of little things about what the event used to be so I hope it turns out alright. Please cross your fingers and say a prayer for me! I told a friend yesterday that it is like planning a big wedding - just very professional with a lot of activities and money involved! I have never worked with this large of a budget before :) I have been doing fairly good handling all of the stress so far, but know the next few weeks will be tiring and long (I'm sorry Ry for all of the late nights so far and to come). I'm actually still at the office now...don't tell my boss :)

I was just thinking of quitting for the day when I received this e-mail from my boss. It really inspired me so I thought I would pass it on.

Christian Ways to Reduce Stress
An Angel says, "Never borrow from the future. If you worry about what may happen tomorrow and it doesn't happen, you have worried in vain. Even if it does happen, you have to worry twice."
1. Pray
2. Go to bed on time.
3. Get up on time so you can start the day unrushed.
4. Say No to projects that won't fit into your time schedule or that will compromise your mental health.
5. Delegate tasks to capable others.
6. Simplify and un-clutter your life.
7. Less is more (although one is often not enough, two are often too many).
8. Allow extra time to do things and to get to places.
9. Pace yourself. Spread out big changes and difficult projects over time; don't lump the hard things all together.
10. Take one day at a time.
11. Separate worries from concerns. If a situation is a concern, find out what God would have you do and let go of the anxiety. If you can't do anything about a situation, forget it.
12. Live within your budget; don't use credit cards for ordinary purchases.
13. Have backups; an extra car key in your wallet, an extra house key buried in the garden, extra stamps, etc.
14. K.M.S. (Keep Mouth Shut). This single piece of advice can prevent an enormous amount of trouble.
15. Do something for the kid in you everyday.
16. Carry a Bible with you to read while waiting in line.
17. Get enough rest.
18. Eat right.
19 Get organized so everything has its place.
20. Listen to a tape while driving that can help improve your quality of life.
21. Write down thoughts and inspirations.
22. Every day, find time to be alone.
23. Having problems? Talk to God on the spot. Try to nip small problems in the bud. Don't wait until it's time to go to bed to try and pray.
24. Make friends with Godly people.
25. Keep a folder of favorite scriptures on hand.
26. Remember that the shortest bridge between despair and hope is often a good "Thank you Jesus."
27. Laugh.
28. Laugh some more!
29. Take your work seriously, but not yourself at all.
30. Develop a forgiving attitude (most people are doing the best they can).
31. Be kind to unkind people; they probably need it the most.
32. Sit on your ego.
33 Talk less; listen more.
34 Slow down.
35. Remind yourself that you are not the general manager of the universe
36. Every night before bed, think of one thing you're grateful for that you've never been grateful for before. God has a way of turning things around for you.