On My Own

As previously mentioned, I moved to Houston. After much thought and attempting to coordinate roommates and housing, I decided I want to get my own place. For the summer, I was able to sublet an apartment from a Rice student who was away for the semester. I just recently found my very own place and I now live at Promenade Hermann Park in an A1. I'm very excited to decorate and buy my own furniture. Pictures to come soon!

As seen on Facebook

You may have seen this already. You may have made assumptions. I'm sorry to have misled some of you, but I am not engaged.

However, I'll make sure my faithful blog readers are some of the first to know if this changes.

What do you do?

I love Houston and I love my job! I think I have the greatest job in the world! The only problem with being an actuary is that it's kind of hard to describe. I've said all of the following, and they are all true.
I am a consultant.
I calculate risk.
I count dead people.
I work with pension plans.
No, I am not in finance.
It's confidential.
Eh, you don't really want to know.
I help calculate pension plan benefits.
It's kind of like that guy in Along Came Polly, but not quite.
I fill out government forms.
I can't tell you. 

So, what my division of my company does is they work with companies with pension plans. Then, we help them know how much money they need to keep in their pension fund to avoid government sanctions and to be able to pay all their liabilities. We also help them estimate or calculate benefits that they owe employees for their profit sharing or pension plans. Then, we fill out the necessary government forms and we file them. We also can help design these sorts of plans, I think. Don't quote me on that last one. Also, we go out to lunch a lot (twice a week for every week thus far), we play games at lunchtime on Fridays (last time was Pictionary), we have ping-pong tournaments (my game could be improved) and apparently we have lots of good cooks who bring yummy baked goods to the office. There have only been cookies once thus far, and my waistline approves but my tummy does not. But again, my job is great and I am loving it here!

Lent

I'm intrigued by lent. I like the thought of having a little support from all the other people around the world who are giving up something to better themselves. Thus, this year, I have decided to participate. My vice that is going: Television. If you've ever met my roommates, you'll know this'll be a toughie. Wish me luck!

Love, Your Secret Admirer

Remember when you were little and you always wanted a secret admirer? He'd write you love letters and send flowers and chocolate, and if you were lucky, jewelry. Then, you'd meet each other and fall in love and live happily ever after.

Well, these showed up on my porch Sunday (Valentine's) with a note which read, "To: Hayley." My roommate heard a pounding on the door (I couldn't hear it from the basement) but she was occupied saying a prayer and didn't immediately respond. When she opened the door, the culprit was gone and one dozen pink roses were on my porch.

 

 I have NO idea who sent them. You see, only two people know where I live (not even my family has come to visit me!) and thus my list has been limited to these two people, plus the people in my ward because apparently my address is in the online ward directory. So here is a breakdown of the suspects.

Suspect A: The Saturday Night Date

This fellow was the first culprit my roommates and I supected. He and I have been on several dates, including one on Saturday night. He gave me an identical pink flower on Saturday. But why would he give me identical flowers? He also adamently denied giving me the flowers, and he isn't good at keeping secrets, especially when pressed. My roommates and I now highly doubt he was the giver.

Suspect B: The Friend

My awesome friend is one of two non-wardies who knows where I live. She could be the deliverer because she is an awesome friend and knows I'd love this. She might not because she is trying to save money to go on a mission and thus I doubt she'd buy them. But, after I told her about them, she did tell me to just enjoy them and not worry about who sent them, because I'd probably never find out, which makes me wonder.

Suspect C: The random guy in the ward

I've been on one date with him and he has asked me out again, but conflicting schedules prevented a second. He's nice and thus may have done this as a surprise. But why would a guy do this if he won't get the credit?

Suspect D: The family

But they don't know where I live. Never mind.

That's all, folks. Who do you think my secret admirer is? Any other thoughts? Please discuss.

Evviva!

My older sister and I recently decided she wanted to go to Italy, so of course I'm going to tag along to tour-goude/translate/accompany!  Yeah!  It has been a really, really long time since I've been there--four years to be exact.  I'm trying to plan an itinerary for Carly and myself, and so I'd like to hear what your favorite things to do in Rome, Florence, and Venice were.  We'll be in country about 8 days.

Thanks!

New Year, New Job

My last post was slightly premature, because the day after I wrote it, I got a job offer!  Woohoo!  I will be moving to Houston (oh, how I love humidity an heat...but really, I like Texas: Exhibit A and Exhibit B) and I will be an actuary.  I start May 3, so I have some time to plan (and overplan) my move, my new job, and my new recreational activities--because hiking, climbing, and skiing just probably won't happen in a state that flat.  Here's where I need help: I don't know a SOUL in Houston.  Do you, dear readers, have friends who reside in our nation's fourth largest city with whom I could chat?  I'd prefer singles who still live there that could tell me what the social scene is like and would have good tips on which areas of town are better for those with my demographic (read: single female LDS professional working downtown).  Thanks!

Also, this means my blog will no longer be going private, and I have thus deleted the comments containing email addresses because I don't want my email floating around the internet, so I assume you feel the same way.  Thanks all who requested invites!