Work work work work work

Now that I got your attention with the most skipped song on the radio. I decided to give you an update on my thoughts and life in CA.

Keep in mind I haven't even been in CA for a month yet. First of all I love California's weather. Everyday is the perfect temperature not to hot, not to cold. It is hard to be upset when the weather is always on your side. Second of all I love the job I am on. I was promised I would move to California in order to be an assistant superintendent and I was given just that. I have a lot of responsibilities but I am able to spend 90% of my day on site working directly with the subcontractors who our setting the foundation for our building. The combination of the weather and looking forward to going to work is something to be happy about.

However ...

I am constantly being asked if I like California, if I see myself living here for awhile. Unlike people who know where they were born to be living, I don't know where I am set out to live. I hate the part of life where people think about things permanently. I am still pretty young, you can ask the guys on site they think I'm 12. I do not know where I want to end up, and it is still too early to know if I am in love with California. It would be naive of me to tell you that "OMG I LOVE CALIFORNIA I NEVER WANT TO LEAVE". I have been here for 21 days, would you marry someone after knowing them 21 days? If you said yes to that, please message me or email me, we need to talk.

I came out to California for the experience. To say I lived in California, to work for another superintendent who believed in me, and because life is to short to say no to opportunities.

The time difference has been pretty hard with keeping up with my family who live in the boondocks of Upstate NY. But my mom has pushed her bed time back till 10pm on some nights so I can still catch her at my 7pm.

To having dreams but also being a realist.

Anybody with me?

"You could travel the world, but nothing comes close to the golden coast"

When I was a little girl (I mean I still look like I'm 12), my sisters would always run around the house talking about how one day they would pack up everything they had and move to California. "Its perfect Mary", they would tell me. The funny thing is none of us Adams kids have even stepped foot in the state of California. I would always laugh at them because they were so serious about something they knew nothing about.

Well here I am a day away from moving to California. I am laughing at myself. I am 23 years old and never have stepped foot in the state of California. But I am embarking on a journey that will make California my home for at least 2 years. I will be 2,800 miles away from DC and farther from my hometown, the great metropolis of Canajoharie NY.

Not only am I leaving behind the Nations capital,  my home for almost 2 years. I am leaving some of the greatest people I have ever met. I can't bring myself to say goodbye to these wonderful people who have made DC home for me. I try not to cry but thinking of saying goodbye to some people makes my eyes start to water. I have a super soft spot in my heart for two people in particular. The original G's, the beginning squad, I will miss Megan Angelini and Terry Moore so so much. My eyes water thinking about leaving my first site life family.

Don't get me wrong, I am excited for this opportunity. The chance at a new position, a new state, a new project team. It's like becoming a freshman all over again. Some of you are probably thinking, Mary being a freshman was terrible. You're right it wasn't great, but its a chance at a new start! I am in need of a breath of fresh air, it doesn't hurt that its west coast air.

Luckily for me, this is "the time to move". As people are telling me "You have to do this when your young and nothing is holding you back". Well people are right, nothing is holding me to DC.

My emotions are crazy and so is my adrenaline. I am ready to try something new, but just a little sad to have to say "See you later". I will be back for sure DC! Especially for bottomless brunch! Also I'm sure you will still be able to hear me from California. My voice is very loud.

To everyone I have met in DC, THANK YOU. Thank you for weekends in the city, exploring the monuments, bottomless brunches, dance offs, and adventures. Also shout out to Liz Crowley who took me in when I was homeless and made me feel at home!

Don't forget me DC and friends, because I won't forget you.

To putting it all on the line, because what do you have to lose...

Anybody with me?

" I want to scream and shout and let it all out"

I was holding out for a blog post to announce some exciting news. BUT little did I know, life changes and some of those changes are out of your control. I thought I would be heading to Miami but with a change of plans I decided to turn it down. Later I thought I would have an opportunity like no other in California which also fell through the cracks.

Sometimes you work so hard to get away from your problems that you are forced to face them.

The weather in DC right now seems to be a direct correlation with the status of my life. The blizzard is fierce along with my feelings about my job. I have learned some of the best life lessons from this week, along with how important it is to be able to talk to people. If you are delivering news to someone it's important to consider their feelings and their career goals. In general communication is key in construction.

Let's just say I am a bit frustrated this week. Frustrated because college didn't teach me when in my career, I am valuable  enough to stand up for what I want to do. Frustrated because things didn't go my way. Frustrated because I work hard and put a lot of heart in to what I do. Yes this may sound immature and a bit like a pity party. But I full heartedly believe that every twenty something who is trying to figure out the working world feels the same at some point in their career.

Before this blog post sounds like a diary entry from a middle school girl that just got dumped, I understand that things happen for a reason. Some of those things are out of my control. Sometimes things just get under your skin, or rub you the wrong way. I am grateful for all my lessons learned on my current job and will also have many more lessons learned when I start my quality control role.

I will use this weekend to reboot and get my determination and drive back.

Sometimes you just need to scream and shout and let it all out,

Anybody with me?

"Hello.... How are you... "

Yes Adele's new song is pretty baller.

As many of you might know or might not know,  for awhile I was thinking about leaving DC. I had given up on the nations capital for its expensive, fast moving, and overwhelming atmosphere. I got through the honey moon stage and really convinced myself that Washington, D.C. was too much for Mary G. I started visiting my friends and looking into other places to live.

Until....

I realized the life I made myself here is too great to give up. I would have too many regrets if I moved. As many hours I put in with Clark, I wouldn't want to put those hours in somewhere else. I work with some of the best people. My roommate hasn't missed a single speech competition I have been in. My coworker and partner in crime Megan, includes me in so many of her plans and our trailer jam sessions.  My superintendent challenges me everyday and also gives me fresh vegetables from his garden. I know he thinks I'm crazy but at least he thinks I'm funny. I get to solve problems and make people laugh especially the Clark Civil team I work with. I'm sure they think I'm a clown but I show them work can be fun and productive. I get to play on multiple sports teams where I meet really great people. Johanna Hsu, one of my biggest supporters, is going to NYC with  me this coming up weekend to watch me crawl over the NYC marathon finish line. Through Jo I met Roxy who is a hoot!! I spend only a little time with her on Sunday's but it's one of my favorite hours of the weekend.

Although I am far from my family and my closest friends from college. There is something about the places I go that make me feel so welcome and that I belong.

Sometimes you just focus to much on the bad that you forget about all the great things going for you. Like people that love and care about you. The people like Liz Crowley, who messages me to tell me my future with Clark is beyond bright. Little does she know, she was a great role model for me. Or Kyle who reminds me to step back and realize our jobs our truly amazing. I could never forget my first cube mate Nell, her note sits right over my laptop "stay strong".


I don't know about you guys but I am quite a lucky girl. All these people support me and I can only hope I show enough of my appreciation to them.

Also I am a week away from the NYC marathon. I am going to be honest with y'all and myself. My goal is to finish. Please make fun of my time or remind me how much training I should have done. I am very aware of how I dropped the ball. Once I make it through this Houston will be my redemption, to myself and all the haters.


Cheers to an honest post.
This week thank someone who makes your day just a little brighter.

Anybody with me?
MG

Now watch me whip, now watch me nae nae

 So I'm sure you weren't expecting this song choice but you will see why.

This weekend I went to Boston Massachusetts. There's something about catching  up with friends that that makes you think. First of all I had one of the best weekends I have had in a long time. Even though I lost a jacket and spent most of my time dancing in rain boots, I crushed it.

 Although  I am over a year out of college I still feel like I am very new to the real world. Or "adulting" is what I like to call it. When seeing my fellow classmates I can't help but reminisce about all of our crazy times in college. A part of me really misses those times and how close I used to live to my friends. It was almost heartbreaking to have to say "see you soon" or "until next time".

I think it's hard to be in your twenties. You aren't sure where you are is where you want to be. You want to try something new but not because of a "grass is always greener" mentality. You want to make sure you are giving everything a chance before you make a big decision. The scary part is these decisions have to be made by you, which is a lot of responsibility .

I was recently told by my friend Hannah, one of the best analogies. A city is like a relationship you have to test it out and see if you like it. You have to find out what works best for you. This involves finding out what you like and don't like.

The best part about your twenties is you have options. You don't have anything holding you back from trying something new.

One thing I love to do is dance. I don't have to have drinks , just some sick beats and a decent dance floor. I don't care what people think of my dancing and it makes me feel free. I think there are times in your life when you don't feel "free"and you have to do something to change that. The feeling of freedom and having choices is why we live in 'Merica, am I right?  ;)

If you are unhappy, find your solution to set yourself free.

To happiness and a dance floor.
Anybody with me?

P.s. I have won some dance offs in my time.

Something has changed within me, something is not the same...

I never watched Wicked but this song has been stuck in my head all day. I spent the last month pretty sad,stressed out and a bit overwhelmed. To most people this sounds awful and depressing, and most people are right. I stopped working out and training for that marathon. I came home from work everyday to eat dinner and the go to bed so I would wake up for the next day. Life seemed to be that motion of sleep eat work, and then repeat.

But why?

There are two parts of construction. You can work in the office; estimating, budgeting, and purchasing jobs. You can be in the field; actually watching those jobs be built. All I ever wanted to do was to be on site till I realized I knew nothing about being on a job. The first thing I noticed was earlier hours, second thing: everything is time pressing and can impact the schedule, third thing: you make a lot of mistakes. There are a lot of things about construction I don't know. I couldn't get over the fact I didn't know enough. But instead of having confidence in myself I was losing sleep about all the things I had to learn.

How do you get over the fact that you are going to make mistakes? You have a superintendent tell you that you are going to make them your whole life but you better learn from them. Then you own up to your mistakes and find a way to fix them.

The saying "nobody's perfect" is not just a song by Hannah Montana, but something that I needed to stop being so immature about. When you are given a responsibility like managing different subcontractors you can either take the challenge or run and hide. I think I lost my confidence somewhere due to the fact I was so scared to make a mistake.

Here's a lesson to you recent college grads or just anyone in general. Take every task you are given as a challenge. Own it, ask for help, and know that you will make mistakes. Mistakes will help you learn.

I am back to marathon training and doing more after work then just going to bed. I am learning everyday how to deal with new issues and most importantly I have met another person that has played a key role in helping me grow in my career. Megan and I call him Ter-Bear, but don't tell him that. But most importantly if you don't take away anything else from this post, take away this: Terry Moore is the man. With over 30 years of experience compared to my puny one year, I am reminded everyday, I have a lot to learn and there is nothing wrong with that.

To taking on challenges and making mistakes, because chances are you probably don't know everything.

Anybody with me?

Guess who's back back again......

It has been awhile since I decided to write a blog post. For awhile I felt as if blogging wasn't for me anymore, I lost my followers/supporters, and that what I wrote just wasn't interesting anymore. But most importantly I got caught up in a little thing called work. 

Recently I decided I need to change two things about myself.

 1) When someone asks how I am, or how I have been doing; I need to stop responding with busy. Everyone is busy with themselves, work, family, etc. Busy is such an interesting word, it is almost empowering to feel busy. Busy gives someone a sense of worth or importance. Oh sorry I can't go, I have been so busy. Listen people! Everyone is BUSY. It is almost as boring as telling someone "I'm good". 

2) This brings me to another thing I want to work on: keeping in touch with friends. We rely so much on someone else using their phone to text/email/call/facebook message, that we get so caught up in the moment we lose friends. Recently I sat down and made a list of 8 people I haven't talked to in forever and wrote them cards. It has brought me such joy this week to get a text from them thanking me for the card and reaching out. I still have more cards to send out, but it was nice to know I could make someones day.

Sometimes just hearing something nice from someone will get you out of your rut. I was recently told by one of my very good friends Curtis that this quote reminded him of me "the purest of people do the purest things and in return have the purest of lives".  Then he reminded me that blogging is a part of who I am and I blog to become a better version of myself.

Sometimes you just need someone to kick you in the butt to get yourself back together. 

I recently clocked in my 1 YEAR at Clark Construction, in which I told people I felt like I have been working forever. This is coming from the girl that has a sign on her desk that says "born to party, forced to work". A year in, I still feel like a new hire sometimes at Clark. They pile on the responsibilities and challenge you everyday. Along with a challenging work atmosphere you meet some amazing people. 

So to catch you up with my life.. I am now back to blogging. I am working on catching up with friends. Continuously learning more about construction. Writing my book. Improving myself everyday.

Also while leaving the metro today this one asian tween tried to hold my hand. You haven't missed much world, my life is still awkward.

To stop saying "I have been so busy"

Anybody with me?