RenainReslife
-
Happy September!
Hi there fellow dreamers! It has been a moment since I caught up with y’all…actually over a month. This past month has been quite restful, productive and transformative. For those that follow you may know that I am also “Rena in Reslife.” Well nearly 4 months ago I transitioned my career and though I am still “Rena in Reslife” it is a completely different setting. In my previous role August would be one of my busiest seasons where as this past August I actually started the month off with a vacation! It was great and surreal. I took a much needed girls trip on a cruise to the Bahamas! It…
You May Also Like
It’s a Pizza Party Day!
-
11 Years!!
That’s right we are officially an 11 year old blog! January 25, 2008 was the very first Ciggy Chat post!! Back then we were on .blogspot.com however we’ve stepped up over the years…honestly a lot of it happened in this last year. After turning 10 years old we did the following: we started a 100 daily post challenge give or take a few days Day 1….Day 100 turned from ciggychat.blogspot.com to CiggyChat.com established that this blog is about “A Dreamer’s Journey” with a few pop ins of #RenainReslife started a Facebook Group for the blog and its followers connected to Pinterest, twitter, and instagram Throughout this past year you’ve read…
You May Also Like
16 Days to Christmas
-
22 Days till Christmas!!
Hi there friends, It’s 22 days till Christmas! This past weekend kicked off the events of the season. White Elephant Gamble Saturday was my first holiday event of the season and it featured a true white elephant gift exchange where in this case the rules are anything goes – meaning it does not need to be a brand new gift but something from your own home. My gift that I brought was very kid-friendly as I knew their would be kids at the event as a family was hosting this party. The recipient for my gift was an 8 year old! So for a family friendly gift exchange, you may…
-
28-27 Days till Christmas!
Disclaimer: This post started 28 days till Christmas but somewhere along the line it became 27 days. Hi there friends, The writing challenge continues and today is officially 28 27 days till Christmas! Update on Holiday Events As I shared last night, I have roughly 13 or so events that I need to prepare for with all the gift exchanges and gatherings. I shared that Ebates is definitely one of my go to spots for online shopping but another place that I use frequently is Amazon. Particularly Amazon Prime is the resource that I use to help me beat the crazy lines in person and get all the white elephant presents…
You May Also Like
16 Days to Christmas
-
Balance & Priorities
Personally and professionally I’ve been struggling with this topic of finding the right balance and prioritizing what when. In this day and age with social media and instant gratification everything appears to be a priority. Whatever is asked is expected to be simply answered or made top priority but how does one do that when they are pulled in several different areas. My specific work is unique where I live where I work so it’s often a fine line of balancing my business day versus my personal time. The worlds blend as I often may socialize with my colleagues and more often than not I’ll respond or work on “work…
You May Also Like
It’s a Pizza Party Day!
-
Not quite finished…
A few days ago, I posted about not being satisfied meaning not accepting the status quo. Today’s post is similar but different. I’ve been in work mode, activities, and training of my team from about 7:15AM till maybe 30 minutes ago and friends I’m not quite finished yet. (I took a break to shower but still haven’t eaten yet.) In order to go into tomorrow there are still a few more things I need to tackle. Emails to review. To do lists and tasks to prepare and assign and something else I’m surely forgetting. Those are just the bare minimum. In order to do the things I really want to…
You May Also Like
It’s a Pizza Party Day!
-
Long Day
Today was a long one filled with a few heavy topics as we trained our folks in handling tough situations. Situations like sexual assault, suicide prevention, and domestic/date violence. I helped to facilitate some of those conversations and discussions. I believe the biggest takeaway that came from today is about having genuine connections and real relationships with people. In doing that you’re able to be a support to someone and have someone looking out for you too. At the end of a long day or in the midst of any of the situations we discussed it helps to have someone that is genuinely there for you and to know that…
-
Training has begun!
Today was the start of student staff training at my university. Though classes don’t start for another two weeks or so, this is definitely the start of the school year for those in the reslife world. It’s always a bittersweet feeling of the summer being over but a fresh new look at the year ahead and your team back ready to tackle what is to come. During this time, I promise I always feel like I am forgetting something and not fully ready yet we always get through it and all things that need to happen do. It is the end of the day and I must sleep to be…
-
Working Meetings
Today is TGIT (Thank God It’s Thursday!) However, I am not quite ready for tomorrow to be Friday or more accurately closer to the end of July. For my fellow friends in Reslife, we all know that August is a crazy month for us filled with trainings and the students moving back in. For some of my friends that may have started even earlier as we have professional training at some universities and colleges that start as early as June. When students leave at the end of May, there is a universal thought of the following two things that will happen in a Reslifer’s summer: Relaxation Get new work projects…
-
Training Season
Hi Friends, So I’ve shared previously that I am within residence life. Summer for us is short-lived though we work in a school setting. So today kicked off the start of the training season for me. At my current institution this is the current line-up: – Week of ProStaff Training – A Quick Week Break to Plan & Finalize Things – Week of Graduate Staff Training – A Week & A Half of Student Staff & Leader Training – Student Move-In & Welcome Activities – The Start of the Fall Semester There is still much to do and less time to get it all done. That’s my quick update for…
