Up in the Air

The past month has been absolutely crazy. I started my new job on June 20th and got to spend an entire week training at our corporate office in Austin, TX. I had the opportunity to meet a lot of people who I have only had a chance to speak with via email and phone so it was a great opportunity to put faces to their names. The other new LS is Laney and she was so much fun. She is from Georgia and has been with the company for about as long as I have. She taught me all about sweet tea and Nascar. It was sad to say bye to her because as a team we hardly ever get to work together as we are all in separate locations. I spent the majority of my week with the Leasing and Marketing department learning everything I am going to need to know when I am out on the road. My new boss, Meredith, is great! She was so helpful and I can tell I am going to love working for her. Austin is an amazing city, for those of you who have not had the opportunity to visit, I highly recommend it. I had enough BBQ and Tex Mex to last me a life time.  I was able to meet up with my good friend Lu who moved to Austin last March to work for Dell and we had a great time catching up and of course, prank calling Brett :)

Laney and I at this great Mexican Restaurant on Lake Travis at sunset

After Austin it was back to Phoenix for the weekend to "pack" and then I was off to Buffalo, NY. I spent the week with another LS named Ryan and he taught me the ins and outs of being at the properties. I learned a lot from him and am thankful to have him as a great resource. Ryan and I had the opportunity to visit Niagara Falls one afternoon and it was an amazing thing to see. We took the Maid of the Mist tour and got drenched by the Falls. Many inside jokes about our hideous ponchos were made and it was great. I posted a few pictures on my Facebook so be sure to check those out!

I actually took this picture with my iPhone

After getting drenched on the Maid of the Mist

After a week in Buffalo it was time to return to Phoenix to actually move out of my apartment. I am going to go ahead and blame my parents for my hoarding but who knew you could accumulate that much stuff over 3 years. It was nice getting rid of my "college stuff" and really made me look forward to my first grown up apartment. Goodwill was probably in love with me over the amount of clothes and useless stuff I donated. Note to all future movers: Never move out on 4th of July weekend. Moving in 112 degree weather is not something anyone should have to experience. I did have the opportunity to hang out with Lexi and Rachel for a little bit before saying goodbye for a couple of months- very sad but we still manage to have a great time together. I claimed a cabinet in their new condo to store my extra suitcase and clothes. I also got to a chance to try Windsor in Central Phoenix over the weekend with Ana. The food was delicious as expected  and it was great catching up with Ana! My (ex) roommate Dan came back to Phoenix over the weekend so we had the chance to visit Chelsea's Kitchen for dinner one last time before he heads off to grad school in August. I think I actually dream about their mac n cheese.

After a busy/hot/great weekend it was time to head to Baton Rouge, LA for my first solo assignment as a Leasing Specialist. I was greeted in Louisiana by a wonderful thunderstorm and horrible humidity.  Besides the great weather they have here, Louisiana is a great state and Baton Rouge is a really cool city so far! The people I have met here are some of the nicest people I have ever met. Everyone is so friendly and very talkative. It makes eating dinner alone every night much better. The property I am at is about 1/2 mile from LSU and it is a beautiful campus. It is a lot of work out here, I am spending a lot of time doing marketing for the property and also working with the staff to make sure everything is perfect. As of now I am scheduled to be here until July 22nd but since I have this weekend off I am flying to Chicago to see my old roommate from freshman and sophomore year, John, as well as some other friends. I am really excited to get to see those guys, it's been a while now!

Great view from Tsunami, a rooftop sushi I ate at in downtown Baton Rouge

Clearly an Arizona boy.. I thought it was going to be Hurricane Katrina Part II (and my sweet rental car)

Today was a great day because we got a letter from my older brother Bobby. For those of you who do not know, Bobby is in Army bootcamp at Fort Benning in Georgia. He is doing great! He said that they did the gas chamber the other day and it was the worst experience of his life. Can't wait for more details on that... He has family weekend at the end of August and graduation on September 30th so I am hoping those are off weekends so I am able to make it! For those of you interested, Fort Benning actually has a Facebook page that they post updates and pictures of boot camp http://www.facebook.com/pages/2-58-Infantry-Battalion-Soldiers-in-Training/160397847305300. I think it's time I learn about some military terminology what all the different numbers mean, I have a feeling I am going to be hearing a lot about it in the coming months.

I know this is a pretty long post, I am going to try and post more often so I am not writing novels and staying up past my bedtime :)

Matt