Posts Tagged ‘change’

Office move

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: , , , ,
30 March 2016
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It’s been a long time since we’ve had a major change at the office and today’s the day that we kicked it off. At 6 PM, everyone had their stuff packed in boxes and the movers began to roll things over to the newly opened section of the office, which has been under renovation for weeks (nearly 3 months). We have officially taken over the entire floor and get to enjoy the new area. Our current space will be closed off for renovations before the big reveal in May, when the entire office will be at its peak. I’ll get to enjoy that for about a month before I head off for business school!

At the end of the day, we went to the new part to start putting together new furniture, arrange desks, and get everyone’s boxes to their place. We have a ton of new meeting rooms and a nice hardwood area where the cafe and event space/theater are. I’ve found my new favorite room, which is a little one that can fit two people and is tucked up right against the window. It’ll be a cozy place for me to do webinars and get away from the mess of people in the main area.

For the next month, we are all going to be crammed into a space that is about half of what we were in. This means that the sales team is no longer in their own area and quite honestly, all of us are dreading the level of noise that means across the entire open office. I’m pretty sure I will seek reprieve in one of the meeting rooms or other public spaces. Or, perhaps I’ll be able to work outside a bit since our wifi signal can sometimes be picked up downstairs in the courtyard.

Tomorrow’s going to be a strange day as we discover a new pattern. I always enjoy some change, so this should be fun. 🙂

Seasonal shift

laelene Posted in video blog，Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,
12 November 2015
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With the days getting cooler and shorter, we’re on the brink of the holidays. Some things I enjoy most from this change are the festive lights that start popping up everywhere, the rain that will eventually turn to snow, and the potential deals to be had! Here are some videos showing a few of those experiences…

twinkling tree holiday lights from Mary Qin on Vimeo.

snowfall in reston town center from Mary Qin on Vimeo.

There’s something very exciting about the first snowfall of the season. It starts a new era.

target black friday time lapse from Mary Qin on Vimeo.

Last year was the first time we did Black Friday shopping on Thanksgiving night! And the first time I took advantage of Black Friday deals in years. Or maybe ever.

Refresh

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: , , , , ,
29 March 2014
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It’s time for a change again. I decided this morning that I needed to update my blog theme so I could make use of a horizontal menu bar again. While I enjoyed the look of the theme I was using, it wasn’t working the way I want it to anymore. How I manage the blog evolves all the time, and so the look and organization of it gets an overhaul too. The next time I make a change, it’ll probably be to allow dropdown menus, but for now the single menu bar approach will work just fine.

little fat notebook blog with page style wordpress theme

This new look will hopefully make it easier to find my FSOT page and key categories like “how tos” and “reviews.” I also like some of the flourishes, like that super cool tiger image that makes up the comment box and the pretty Japanese kanji sprinkled throughout. I played around with the stylesheet a bit so it’s more customized for me (mainly just made the link color more visible in the post, since it was hard to tell any text was a link before). One of these days I really need to learn CSS so I can be more versatile in my editing. And when I really feel like treating myself, I’m totally getting a custom theme created. One day…

little fat notebook blog with ink and wash wordpress theme

January Favorites 2014

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,
25 February 2014
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collage of january 2014 favorites including groupons, snow days, yuzen, snuggling, home hopping, moving offices, gloves, origins free facial, and carrabbas first tastesLet’s take a look back on how the year got started!

1. Groupons – Panda really got into getting Groupon deals for our meals and now we often try new places based on what deals he’s been finding. This was one of the places we went for lunch/brunch one time.

2. snow days – Before storm after storm attacked our region, I was still enjoying the snowfall and this one in particular was exciting. Panda and I got a chance to enjoy it together and I had my first work from home day.

3. Yuzen – Jen was kind enough to send me the men’s Yuzen box as a gift for Panda! I love how everything about it really caters to guys more, including the actual look of the box. If you want to know what came in it, watch out for the review.

4. snuggling – I was sick much of the month, so I spent a lot of time resting in bed, getting cozy with the blankets. I love feeling all toasty and swathed in softness. It’s so very comfortable.

5. home hopping – This entire month we had access to both the apartment and condo, so we’d spend time hopping between them. We started moving boxes over to the new place little by little and I spent some time enjoying the space. All was lovely but then I saw the morning traffic and knew I’d be in for quite a change in my morning commute with the move.

6. moving offices – It was really exciting to finally be moving to the new office that I’d been hearing about since I started. Taking some time in the afternoon to go help out and build furniture was a nice break for me from the stress of work. I very proudly helped build something like 8 motorized desks!

7. gloves – Mornings were so cold I had to wear gloves while driving, until my heated steering wheel kicked in. Even then, if I didn’t wear gloves the tops of my hands would be cold. A few times my hair even froze on my way from the apartment to the car.

8. Origins free facial – I’ve been getting the Origins free facial offer for years, but never took advantage of it. This time I decided to give it a try and it was much more thorough that I anticipated. It lasted a good 20 minutes and the lady used seven products on me.

9. Carrabbas First Tastes – Panda and I got to attend our second First Tastes event at Carrabbas and we had a lovely time with the mother daughter pair who sat across from us. This is always a wonderful event to attend and I hope they keep hosting them!

January was all about getting back into the groove out east. We’re truly settling in and everything is feeling like home more and more. What were your favorites in January?

365great Day 237: change

laelene Posted in 365great，Tags: , , , , , ,
06 November 2013
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365great challenge day 237: changeI’m a big fan of change. It probably stems from moving frequently as a child and getting used to constantly adjusting. Things that are new and fresh are always fun, even as I miss the nostalgic stuff. I’ve never lived anywhere for more than 4 years consecutively and that’s the way I like it – as the years draw on, the itch for someplace difference gets stronger until I have the chance to relocate. I like to replace my laptop every 3 years or so and I upgrade my phone every 2 years as my contract allows. I love meeting new people, exploring new activities, and expanding my horizons. I try not to get stuck in the same habits too, whether it’s sleeping on the same side of the bed or arranging my furniture in a set way. I don’t like eating at the same place all the time (though I generally tend to order the same thing… can’t always have change I guess!) and like to try different ways of doing things to keep myself on my toes. It’s pretty easy for me to get bored, which is probably why I keep things fresh by maintaining a certain level of changing in my life. Just look at the beauty that can come of change in this picture – you can already see the butterflies that will be emerging from the cocoons in all their glory. Make room for change (embrace it, even) and you open yourself up to endless worlds of wonder. What great transformations you get to experience!

365great Day 220: progression of life

laelene Posted in 365great，Tags: , , , ,
20 October 2013
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365great challenge day 220: progression of lifeLooking back on my life, each stage has had its own importance and shaped me in a different way. From the early years of being raised by extended family in China to my childhood move to the US… from my youth in quiet, peaceful towns to my adulthood in cities… from staying close to home for college (but then studying abroad) to my recent cross-country move… the continual progression of life is pushing me to all sorts of experiences. I’ve enjoyed all of these opportunities and I look forward to everything that growing older will bring. I think it’s a beautiful thing to see how much changes and how much growth there is over the years. I went from a super shy kid to a far more social teen. I went from being Chinese to Chinese-American. I went from being a student to being a worker. I’ve identified as a nomad, a traveler, a foreigner, a swimmer, a runner, a sprinter, a Navy cadet, an Air Force cadet, a loner, a social butterfly, a pledge, an active, a volunteer, an intern, an employee, a manager, an instructor, a counselor, a tomboy, a girl, a woman, a lady, and the list goes on… and with each, I’ve learned more about myself and evolved into who I am today. I’m happy with where I am today yet I also look forward to a great future.

Blog makeover

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: , ,
26 July 2012
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Yesterday I finally decided it was time to update my blog’s look since it’s been two or three years and my needs have changed.  While my old theme served me well, I wanted some different features. For one, I wanted my intro section to be above the fold. Additionally, I wanted the subscription box to be visible above the fold too. I planned on adding a “Follow Me” section with icons linking to my profiles on social media sites, but that wouldn’t be immediately apparent on the old theme. Other than that, I wanted a similar three-column layout with nice use of colors, but something a little less flashy.

So here’s how my blog looked before and after the changes:

maryqin.com blog using the wordpress theme notedpad chaos

The old look.

maryqin.com blog using the wordpress theme page style

And the new look!

As you can see, there’s more width in the blog post section to allow for larger pictures and videos. You also get more content above the fold since the lists are more condensed vertically. Finally, it’s much easier to see who I am, how to subscribe to the blog, and where to find me on other sites! I’m quite pleased and I’m sure this theme will last me a few more years.

New pad

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: , , , ,
02 January 2011
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I’m all settled in!  It was a jam-packed day of driving around, moving furniture, and otherwise getting comfy in my new abode.

I picked up Panda around 8:30 and got back home within an hour.  My dad then came along with us to get the rental truck, which took something like 40 minutes!  There were only two people in front of us in line, but the one guy working took his time and made quite a few mistakes too.  Except for standing the in cold for so long and getting a rather curt, “What do you want?” greeting, we had a pretty smooth transaction.  The guy even had his dog Harley and some treats for the boy, so I fed him one when he came around to sniff me.  My dad drove the truck back to our house since he’d driven moving trucks before, for the many moves we’d done during my childhood.

At home, Mom was already moving things out to the curb for easy loading to the truck.  Between the four of us, we got everything packed up within half an hour and were on our way down to my new apartment.  As we left our valley, it began to drizzle and the whole way down was wet.  We had to move everything in the rain, but at least it wasn’t coming down too hard.  My shoes and pant legs did get very wet though.  This time we managed to get everything up to the apartment in about 45 minutes and I was surprised that even the large items could fit in the elevator.  I hadn’t imagined it to be so big.  My dad and I went to drop off the truck before the rental place closed and we were charged $10 for dropping it off after-hours.  Meanwhile, Panda, my mom, and my new roomie stayed to set things up in the apartment.

When my dad and I got back, it was time for my parents to trek out to Hollywood to do some duty-free shopping for some relatives.  Panda and I then went out to Costco, Staples, and Bed, Bath & Beyond to look for a desk for my room and a shower curtain for the bathroom.  I ended up buying a bunch of food to stock up on.  🙂

A positive change

laelene Posted in photo blog，Tags: , , ,
29 September 2009
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The old couch was giving us some back problems.

The old couch was giving us some back problems.

There is a lot of give.

There is a lot of give.

All gone!

All gone!

Much more supportive and firm.

Much more supportive and firm.

Such a fun texture!

Such a fun texture!

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