Hey there, hi there and hello there everyone. A belated Happy Valentine's Day to you all and a special President's Day to you ... especially those lucky dogs that got today off:) I apologize for the late blogging action, but I didn't see Waverly Hall until 11:30 last night and Mr. Sandman was calling my name!I had a pret
ty brief week at Aflac last week as I was in the office just three days. We accomplished a great deal and even today I learned that our long awaited Online Services web redesign is coming sooner than we thought ... which is a first! I also found out that my boss-man Mike is going to have me be the "community manager" of our social forum coming up in the next few months which will be a very exciting opportunity to continue my blogging experience with the duck:) Last Thursday we had the best leadership activity that I have been a part of at Aflac in the last year and a half. Motivational speaker (or a motivated speaker as he likes to call himself) Brian Biro joined us for a day of "Breakthroughs." He shared with us various heart-felt stories about his experiences and how we can help our teams approach breakthroughs in our personal and professional lives. He was truly able to bring simple concepts to the forefront once again with a great deal of energy and enthusiasm. Brian even
had us go on a "blind date" with a peer of ours we did not know. I hooked up with Troy from our Nebraska call center and we went on an excursion throughout Claims, bought some food out of the vending machine and visited the men's bathroom ... all while I led Troy blindfolded:) (Incriminating pictures let the rest of the group know of our trip to the restroom ... laughter ensued). We wrapped up the day with so much energy I was sweating ... which isn't hard to believe I know. Everyone in our group (over 75 people), had the opportunity to have a breakthrough; literally with their hand and a board ... karate style. The great thing about it was that every single person overcame their fears and broke through the board. It was a very
moving experience which brought tears to many people's eyes when they realized that all they had to do, was break through!
The work week was great, but my first Valentine's Day with an
actual valentine was even better! I took Jenny up on her birthday gift to me and met up with her in Chicago on Friday for a little weekend getaway. I knew the trip was going to be good when my flight left on time and even landed early which is unheard of for me! She picked me up and we had some amazing (heart-shaped) Chicago style pizza at Giardano's. After walking it off a bit on Michigan Avenue, we headed back to the hotel to get ready for one of the best concerts I've been to in a while. We scurried over to Chicago's House of Blues for the Alternate Routes and Matt Wertz concert in the best concert hall I've been to. The place was packed and both groups put on a
great show for the packed house. Friday the 13th finished without any black cats or broken mirrors, so I knew the weekend would be ok. Saturday we did a lot of chillaxing (a mixture of chilling out and relaxing). We walked the streets of Chicago to visit the Art Institute, went to see the ice sculptures at Grant Park, the magic bean in Millennium Park before refueling at the Grand Lux
Cafe (great suggestion Sunshine:). Afterwards we putzed around a bit before going to see the Valentine's Day fireworks downtown which we both thoroughly enjoyed. After a movie (The International was pretty good) we relaxed in the hot tub before hitting the hay. Sunday was just as wonderful after the best continental breakfast I've had at the Residence Inn. We took a stroll down to Millennium Park again, but this time we stopped for a fantacular time on the ice rink for some skating. We were both a sight to see indeed ... including our Michelle Kwan-esque turns. That was probably the best time had during the weekend for me, but we ended it with a visit to Navy Pier before Jenny dropped me off at the airport. Although it was a great weekend, it always gets a little tougher to say goodbye at the end ... but thank you so much for a wondermous weekend in the Windy City!
Well, there is still lots of work to be done this evening for the Literacy Alliance's Trivia Bee kick-off tomorrow, so I better get at laying down some beats on Garage Band ... did I mention I love my Mac?!
It was great chatting with everyone over the weekend, seeing my old pal Shannon and learning that I may have a couple visitors in the next few months! I can't wait to see the Flugum family again as well as Dad and Barb; I'll try to warm up the temp for you!
Until next time ... enjoy what you do!
Alwayz,
Nate
ps, glad to hear you're having good times sis!
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